This 117 part expository study of Luke was preached at Flagstaff Christian Fellowship in 1997-2000. Audio and manuscripts are available for each lesson (except lesson 77 which does not contain audio).
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Postmodernism is the prevailing philosophy of our day. A main tenet of this philosophy is that there is no such thing as absolute truth. Rather, truth is personal and subjective. It is not discovered, but created. In religious and spiritual matters, especially, to say that you have the truth is viewed as arrogance because this implies that you’re right and others are wrong.
You’ve probably encountered this philosophy when you have attempted to share the gospel with someone, only to have him or her respond, “It’s great that you believe in Jesus and that it works for you. But I’m into the New Age vegetarian natural Zen approach, and it works for me.” Spiritual truth becomes a matter of personal opinion and whatever works.
But postmodernism is not only “out there.” It’s also in the evangelical church. George Barna claims that 53 percent of those calling themselves “evangelical Christians” do not believe in absolute truth. And 43 percent agree with this statement, “It does not matter what religious faith you follow because all faiths teach similar lessons about life.” (Cited by Douglas Groothuis, “Telling the Truth Today,” Focal Point, Summer, 1995, p. 3.)
Postmodernism also lies behind the strong push toward tolerance, where doctrinal truth is played down and love and unity are magnified. It also shows itself in the emphasis on feelings over thought. If you listen to testimonies, it is rare to hear someone say, “I am a committed Christian because I became convinced of the truth claims of Christianity.” Rather, you will often hear, “I went to a Christian concert and felt so good when I heard the music. So I went forward at the altar call and felt a warm sensation come over me. Ever since then I’ve felt so good!”
I agree that the Christian faith is not just a matter of the head, but also of the heart. But it is not just a matter of the heart. The emotional aspect of the Christian faith must be firmly grounded on the historical and doctrinal truth of the faith as revealed to us in Scripture. Otherwise, we have no firm foundation when our feelings change and we have no objective basis for evaluating our feelings. It is essential to affirm that the Christian faith is rooted in objective history and absolute, unchanging truth.
Luke wrote his gospel to assure his acquaintance, Theophilus, of the truth concerning the life and ministry of Jesus Christ. Beyond Theophilus, Luke “wrote for people at some remove from the ministry of Jesus, both in geography and time, and his task was to provide them with such an account of the story of Jesus as would enable them to see that the story with which they had already become partially acquainted was a reliable basis for their faith” (I. Howard Marshall, Commentary on Luke [Eerdmans], p. 35). We don’t know for sure who the specific recipient, Theophilus, was. His name means “friend of God,” and the title, “most excellent,” seems to identify him as a ranking Roman official (see Acts 23:26; 24:3; 26:25). He had received some instruction in the Christian faith and he probably was a believer. But he was troubled by some nagging questions so that he needed assurance about the truthfulness of what he had believed.
Theophilus may have been troubled by questions like, “Is the Christian faith I believed in really the truth and the only truth? If it is true, why was Jesus rejected by His people and crucified? Why are Christians being persecuted? Why have most of the Jews rejected the message, while the Gentiles are receiving it?” (Adapted from Darrell Bock, Luke [Baker Exegetical Commentary], 1:65).
Although Luke never identifies himself as the author of this gospel, since the earliest days of the church he has widely been accepted as the author of it and the companion volume, Acts. Both volumes are addressed to Theophilus and are linked to the same author. This means that by sheer volume, Luke, a Gentile, wrote more of the New Testament than any other man, including Paul (Luke is the longest book in the New Testament). Luke is mentioned by name only three times in the New Testament (Col. 4:14; Philemon 24; 2 Tim. 4:11). From these references and from the “we” sections in Acts (16:10-17; 20:5-15; 21:1-18; 27:1-28:16) we learn that he was a physician who accompanied the apostle Paul and faithfully labored with him in the gospel. He stayed with Paul right up to his final imprisonment and execution.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke comprise what are called the synoptic gospels, because they all tend to treat the life of Christ from a similar perspective and use much common material, whereas John takes a different approach. There has been much debate over which of the three was written first and on what sources the gospel writers used. Most scholars believe that Mark was written before Luke and that Luke used it as one of his sources, since nearly half of Mark’s verses are found in Luke.
None of the gospels are biographies, strictly speaking, but rather are selective, interpretive sketches of the life of Christ, each with a different purpose. Matthew was aimed at the Jew to show that Jesus is the Messiah-King of Israel. Mark was written with a Roman slant to show Jesus as the suffering servant Savior, focusing on His deeds. John, written both to the Jew and Gentile, portrays Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God, so that the reader might believe and have eternal life. Luke is aimed at the Greek to show Jesus as the ideal man, the Son of Man, the Savior of all people.
Luke has a number of distinctive features. He devotes more space to the birth and infancy of Jesus than any other gospel. He alone mentions the incident from Jesus’ youth, when He was left behind at the Temple. On the other end of Jesus’ life, Luke alone mentions the ascension and, in his companion volume (Acts) traces the history of Jesus’ followers beyond that momentous event.
Luke clearly has a universal emphasis, showing that the gospel is for every class, race, and nation. The angels tell the shepherds that the news of the Savior who has been born is “good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people” (2:10). The aged Simeon prophesies that this Child is God’s salvation which He has prepared in the presence of all peoples, “a light of revelation to the Gentiles” (2:32). As John the Baptist preaches, Luke alone (of the synoptics) cites Isaiah, that “all flesh shall see the salvation of God” (3:6). When our Lord begins His ministry at Nazareth, He creates animosity by pointing out that Elijah was sent to a Gentile widow in Sidon and that the Gentile Naaman the leper was cleansed (4:25-27). Luke closes with Jesus’ commission that “repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations” (24:47).
Not just Gentiles, but sinners of every stripe are the focus of Luke’s gospel. He uses the word “sinners” 16 times, more than Matthew (5), Mark (5), and John (4) combined (W. Graham Scroggie, A Guide to the Gospels [Revell], p. 367). By focusing on sinners, outcasts, the poor, and women (who were often disregarded in that day) and by showing that Jesus Himself, even in His birth in the stable, was rejected, Luke shows Christ to be the tender Savior of those whom society rejects or despises. Luke is distinctive for a lengthy section (9:51-19:27) that traces Jesus’ final journey toward Jerusalem where He will face ultimate rejection. The theme of the whole section is also the rejection of Jesus, the Son of Man.
Luke is the only synoptic gospel to call Jesus “Savior” (2:11). He alone uses the word salvation (6 times) and ten times he uses the word for preaching the good news, which is only used once in the other gospels. Luke alone of the three uses the word grace (8 times) and Luke is the only Gospel writer to use the words “redemption” and “redeem” (J. Sidlow Baxter, Explore the Book [Zondervan], 5:254). The theme verse of Luke occurs in the context of the salvation of the despised tax collector, Zaccheus, where Jesus explains His mission: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (19:10). Walter Liefeld states, “The entire Gospel of Luke pictures Jesus as reaching out to the lost in forgiveness” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary [Zondervan], 8:811).
Luke has been called the Gospel of Prayer because of his emphasis, not only on our need to pray, but also on Jesus’ prayer life. Nine times Luke tells of prayers that Jesus offered in the crises of His life, and seven of these are unique to Luke (Scroggie, p. 370). It has also been called the Gospel of the Holy Spirit, who is named more in Luke than in Matthew and Mark together, and even more than in John (Baxter, p. 246). There is a marked emphasis on Jesus’ dependence on the Spirit. Thus Luke shows us Jesus as the Savior who was fully human, but who triumphed as man through dependence on prayer and the Holy Spirit.
Darrell Bock (pp. 1, 2) points out four issues that were particularly problematic in the church of Luke’s time. First was the question of salvation, especially of how the Gentiles could be included as God’s people on an equal basis with the Jews. While Luke answers this issue primarily in Acts, he paves the way in his Gospel by his emphasis on salvation to the Gentiles.
Second, there was the seeming paradox that the most natural audience for the gospel message, the Jewish nation, was largely responding negatively. Why was God’s plan meeting with such hostility? In Acts Luke shows that the church did not separate itself from Israel, but that the nation had turned the church out. Luke’s Gospel shows how the nation and its leaders had rejected Jesus, thus charting the course that followed for the church.
The third issue was how a crucified Jesus fit into God’s plan. How could He bring the consummation of God’s promises? Acts supplies the major answer by emphasizing the centrality of the risen Savior in the preaching of the Apostles, but Luke lays the groundwork by presenting the Christology underlying this message.
Fourth, what does it mean to respond to Jesus and how should His disciples live until the day He returns? Bock (p. 2) states, “This is a major burden of the Gospel of Luke: to define Jesus’ mission and that of the disciples who follow him. The bulk of Luke explains how Jesus prepared the disciples for his departure and prepared them to minister in his absence. This is where the crucial Lucan section of chapters 9-19, the Jerusalem journey, fits into the Gospel and controls its purpose.” That section’s thrust, says Bock (p. 23), “is that Jesus gives a new way to follow God, which is not the way of the Jewish leadership. The theme is ‘listen to him.’” A broad outline of Luke may be helpful:
1. Introduction: Purpose for writing (1:1-4).
2. The Advent of the Son of Man (1:5-4:13).
3. The Ministry of the Son of Man: Galilee (4:14-9:50).
4. The Rejection of the Son of Man: Toward Jerusalem (9:51-19:27).
A. Mounting opposition (9:51-11:54).
B. Instructions in view of the opposition (12:1-19:27).
5. The Suffering of the Son of Man (19:28-23:56).
6. The Triumph of the Son of Man (24:1-53).
With that as a brief overview, I want to examine Luke’s introduction, which shows us his purpose for writing. To sum it up:
Since Luke’s Gospel is an accurate, orderly, historically true account of the life and ministry of the Savior, we can believe it with confidence.
The main thrust of this introduction is that Theophilus and all of Luke’s readers would know that the matters he is about to relate are historically true and thus believable. Three points:
Luke is at pains to make this clear, and it is not a trivial point. The apostle Paul links the entire Christian faith to one verifiable historical event, the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. If that is not true, says Paul, then go be a hedonist: Eat, drink, and be merry, because tomorrow you die and there’s nothing else. But if it is true that Jesus was raised bodily from the grave, then He is Lord and we must submit our entire lives to Him (see 1 Corinthians 15).
What this means is that Christianity is not a religious philosophy based on the speculations and ideas of some great religious thinkers. Christianity is primarily about the God who created the universe miraculously invading human history in the person of Jesus Christ who uniquely revealed God to us. Thus the great doctrines of the Bible are not matters of personal opinion or philosophical speculation. They are matters of revelation from God and therefore, they must be submitted to. This is especially true concerning the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. God has revealed Himself in history in the person of Jesus Christ. Luke wants us to know and believe this with absolute certainty.
How can we know that this is true? Luke mentions several things to establish the credibility of his account. First, there were many written witnesses to the life and ministry of Christ which Luke consulted (1:1). We do not know who these witnesses were. They may have included the Gospel of Mark, but probably also included other written sources which are no longer extant. But the fact that there were many and, as we can presume, that Luke used these many witnesses at points where they all lined up, lends credibility to Luke’s research.
Second, Luke states that many of these written sources were eyewitnesses to the entire ministry of Jesus Christ (1:2). Since this was an essential qualification for an apostle (Acts 1:21-22), Luke is here referring to apostolic witnesses who had handed down what they had seen and knew to be true because they had been with Jesus. Also, these men had become “servants of the word,”, the gospel (1:2). They were not religious hucksters, but men of integrity whose character and lives backed up the message of self-denial and servanthood as preached by Jesus Christ.
In addition to all of these witnesses, Luke himself, although not an eyewitness to these things, had carefully researched the written and oral accounts to verify everything before he wrote (1:3). Probably while he was living in Caesarea during Paul’s two-year imprisonment, Luke had interviewed a number of the eyewitnesses, including Jesus’ mother Mary, to make sure he had the story in its correct form. Even though we who hold to the verbal inspiration of Scripture believe that Luke was inspired by the Holy Spirit, this does not mean that the Spirit dictated Luke’s message to him. Rather, the Spirit guided Luke as he carefully researched the history of Jesus’ life and ministry, and guided him as he wrote so that his words were exactly what God intended. Thus the inspiration of the Holy Spirit does not preclude the use of careful scholarship on Luke’s part.
It’s not surprising that critics jump on Luke’s claim to accuracy. If they can show that he made historical errors or that his account cannot be reconciled with the other gospel writers, then they do not have to submit to the message, namely, that Jesus is Lord. So we have the liberal “scholars” of the “Jesus Seminar,” who get together and vote on which parts of the gospels they think are “true” sayings and deeds of Jesus. But their votes are based on the assumption that the gospel writers were inventing or bending history to make a theological point to their readers, which flies directly in the face of Luke’s plain assertions in this introduction! And, their votes are based purely on subjectivism, which is not careful historiography.
There are some difficult problems which scholars have raised about Luke’s historical accuracy. One concerns the census in the time of Quirinius mentioned in chapter 2. There is no record that Augustus ever ordered such a census, and there is dispute over whether Quirinius was indeed governor of Syria at the time when Jesus was born. The fact that there is no independent record of such a census does not mean that it did not happen. We lack many historical records from the reign of Caesar Augustus. And the same is true regarding the years of Quirinius’ governorship. As one scholar has pointed out, “The probabilities are against Luke’s having been careless of a point so easily checked when he was affirming to a prominent leader his own care for accuracy, and was using historical detail to substantiate his central message.” Another scholar, William Ramsay, asked “how, if Luke made such a glaring error in the facts surrounding the birth of Christ, did these inaccuracies escape the attention of the enemies of the Gospel in Roman times?” (W. T. Dayton, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible [Zondervan], 3:1006).
One more observation before leaving this point: The fact that Luke wrote his account insures us of the abiding accuracy of what we read. An oral report can change over time, so that hundreds of years later the details can be quite embellished. But we have the very words that Luke recorded. After reminding us that Christianity is a religion built on facts, J. C. Ryle (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], 2:2) states,
The first preachers did not go up and down the world, proclaiming an elaborate, artificial system of abstruse doctrines and deep principles. They made it their first business to tell men great plain facts. They went about telling a sin-laden world, that the Son of God had come down to earth, and lived for us, and died for us, and risen again. The Gospel, at its first publication, was far more simple than many make it now. It was neither more nor less than the history of Christ.
Thus, Luke’s Gospel is rooted in the facts of verifiable history.
He wrote about “the things accomplished among us” (the KJV renders it the things “most surely believed among us,” but the context supports the NASB and NIV rendering). What had been accomplished among them was the saving purpose of God in sending His own Son as the Savior of sinners. When Luke says that he is writing it out “in consecutive order” (NASB), the Greek is better translated, “in orderly fashion.” Luke sometimes does not follow a chronological order, but he carefully, thoughtfully arranged his material to show that Jesus is the Savior not just of the Jews, but of all who will trust in Him. The French commentator, Godet, observes that if Matthew is “A treatise on the right of Jesus to the Messianic sovereignty of Israel,” then Luke is “A treatise on the right of the heathen to share in the Messianic kingdom founded by Jesus.” (F. Godet, A Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke [I. K. Funk & Co.], p. 40.) That’s Luke’s purposeful message.
Luke wrote so that his friend, Theophilus, would be certain about these crucial matters. Of course, he wrote for a much broader audience as well. God’s truth as recorded by Luke is true for every person and every culture of every age. It is not subjective “truth” which people are free to take or leave as it may suit their fancy. Luke confronts us with the awesome person of Jesus Christ, the Chief Cornerstone. If we do not submit our lives to Him, then at the judgment, that Stone will scatter us like dust (Luke 20:18). If Luke’s message about Jesus is true as he claims, then you can no longer live as you used to. You must believe the message, submit your life to it, and hand it off to others who must do the same. As Paul told Timothy, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).
J. C. Philpot wrote,
Right views concerning Christ are indispensable to a right faith, and a right faith is indispensable to salvation. To stumble at the foundation, is, concerning faith, to make shipwreck altogether; for as Immanuel, God with us, is the grand Object of faith, to err in views of His eternal Deity, or to err in views of His sacred humanity, is alike destructive (cited in “Free Grace Broadcaster,” Fall 1997, p. 19).
After careful research based on many eyewitnesses, Luke wrote his Gospel to show that Jesus is the eternal God who came in human flesh to seek and to save those who are lost. Faith in Jesus Christ is rooted in the accurate historical record that has come down to us in Luke’s Gospel. It is not an optional idea that you might want to consider if it grabs you. It is absolute truth to be believed and handed on to others.
1. How do you respond to a Christian who says, “Love is more important than correct doctrine”?
2. How can we help people in our relativistic culture see that there is absolute truth in the spiritual realm?
3. How can we distinguish between core biblical truths, which we must believe, and secondary matters, where there’s room for sincere Christians to differ?
4. If Luke is historically accurate, how can we deal with harmonistic problems between the Gospel accounts?
Copyright Steven J. Cole, 1997, All Rights Reserved
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Have you ever prayed for something over and over again, year in and year out, but God has not answered? I hope that you can answer yes, because if you say no, it only shows that you are not a praying person. If you pray, you have prayed for things that God has not yet answered.
One unanswered prayer that every committed Christian should be praying is that God would send revival to our country. It is as of yet unanswered because nothing that is being described as revival today even comes close to the many examples of true revival that God has sent in times past. True revival is not a matter of hanging a banner in front of the church that announces, “Revival This Week, 7 p.m.” True revival is not a superficial, emotional response that results in a temporary experience, but no long-term fruit of righteousness.
True revival is when the living God sovereignly and powerfully breaks into human history with the good news of His salvation. It invariably begins with His people coming under deep conviction of sin and turning from that sin in genuine repentance. It always involves a recovery of biblical truth, especially the truth about how sinners are reconciled to a holy God. Therefore, it also involves a recovery of the centrality and authority of God’s Word over all of life. The renewed sense of God’s presence, power, holiness, and truth then inevitably spills out of the church and into the world, resulting in many genuine conversions. If you want to read two excellent books on the subject, I recommend Revival, by Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and Revival and Revivalism, by Iain Murray.
Our text records God breaking into history with the greatest revival ever, since it involved the coming of the Savior into this world. If our nation is to be spared God’s awful judgment for our many sins, we desperately need true revival. Therefore, these verses deserve our careful attention.
Most students of the history of revivals acknowledge that God is sovereign concerning when and where He sends revival. We cannot plan and orchestrate such a powerful moving of Almighty God. As John Blanchard has put it, “Man can no more organize revival than he can dictate to the wind” (in “Reformation & Revival” catalog, p. 10). Yet, at the same time, there are certain conditions that are common to most revivals. While meeting the conditions does not guarantee revival, not meeting the conditions surely prohibits revival. Our text is no exception. It shows us,
While God is sovereign in bringing revival, we must be prepared to receive His sovereign grace.
Zecharias and his wife, Elizabeth, were faithful, believing Jews, both from the tribe of Levi. Luke sets the scene for what follows by informing us that they had no child and that they were both advanced in years (1:7). As a priest, Zecharias would serve at the temple for two one-week periods each year, apart from the three great festivals (Howard Marshall, Commentary on Luke [Eerdmans], p. 52). Because of the great number of priests, estimated at between 18,000 and 20,000, they used a system of lots to determine which priests got to offer the incense on the altar in the holy place. This was a once in a lifetime privilege (Mishnah, Tamid 5.2), and so it would have been the high point of Zecharias’ priestly ministry.
The incense offering pictured the prayers of God’s people rising up to Him in a pleasing aroma. While the priest offered incense inside the holy place, outside the worshipers were praying. The most common prayer was that God would visit His people with salvation through the Messiah. As Zecharias was offering the incense, suddenly an angel appeared to him and announced that his prayers had been heard. He and his wife would have a son, and he would not be an ordinary son, but the very one predicted by Malachi, the forerunner who would prepare the way for the Lord. Walter Liefeld states, “God was breaking into the ancient routine of Jewish ritual with the word of his decisive saving act” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary [Zondervan], 8:826).
There is debate about whether Zecharias would have been offering prayer for a son at this sacred moment in his priestly ministry. Most likely he was praying with everyone else for the deliverance of Israel, but in His grace, God answered his prayer for the Messiah to come and at the same time answered his prayers of many years for a son. But the angel’s sudden appearance with this great news, not only of a son for Zecharias and Elizabeth, but of the soon coming of the Messiah, shows us how …
It had been 400 years since God’s people had heard a word from God. As in the days just before Samuel’s ministry, “word from the Lord was rare in those days, visions were infrequent” (1 Sam. 3:1). All this while, a faithful remnant among God’s people was praying that He would fulfill His longstanding promise of sending salvation through His Messiah. Then, suddenly, without advance notice, God broke into history and announced what He was about to do in the birth of John the Baptist.
Although Luke does not explain the meaning of any of the Hebrew names for his Gentile readers, I cannot help but think that there is a divine significance to each of them. John means “God has been gracious,” and that was certainly fitting. Liefeld states, “That the child was named before his birth stresses God’s sovereignty in choosing him to be his servant” (ibid.). Commenting on verse 15, Howard Marshall states, “The language expresses divine choice and care of a person from his very birth, but here in connection with 1:41-44 a pre-natal sanctification of John is implied; even before he was born, the hand of God was on him to prepare him for his work. Thus in the strongest possible way the divine choice of John for his crucial task is stressed” (p. 58).
The name Zecharias means “God remembers,” and it shows us that no matter how long it may seem to us, God has not forgotten His covenant promises. The meaning of the name Elizabeth is not as certain, but it probably means, “My God is an oath,” pointing to God’s absolute faithfulness to His sworn promises. Together, these three names, John, Zecharias, and Elizabeth, point us to God’s sovereign grace toward His chosen people. In the matter of salvation, God sovereignly and faithfully takes the initiative in His time in accordance with His covenant of grace.
It was “in the days of Herod” that this word of hope came to Zecharias. Herod was an immoral, violent king of Edomite descent who claimed to be a Jew in his religion, but was such in name only. He reigned as king of Judea from 37-4 BC. He held onto power by murdering numerous family members over the years, including one son just five days before his own death. He was the same tyrant who slaughtered the infants of Bethlehem in his attempt to kill the newborn king of the Jews. It was near the end of this evil reign that the Lord broke into history with His gracious message to Zecharias.
Herod’s reign followed the 400 silent years from the time of Malachi, years when Israel had been oppressed by various foreign powers. Even religion in Israel was corrupt. The high priests and members of the Sanhedrin vied for power and prestige. They made a healthy profit in the business of selling animals for sacrifice in the temple precincts. It was a bleak situation spiritually and morally. Perhaps in spite of his name, “God remembers,” Zecharias often wondered if God had forgotten His people.
But it’s often at such bleak times that God breaks into history with true revival. His power is made perfect in our weakness. Both personally and nationally, God’s salvation is revealed to those who are helpless in themselves, who have no hope but God Himself. It was not a coincidence that when God wanted to raise up Samuel as a prophet for Israel, He caused a godly woman, Hannah, to be barren. Even so here, when He wanted to send His forerunner before Messiah, He withheld children from Elizabeth, and waited until she was too old to produce a child. Then, unmistakably, the resulting blessing came from His almighty hand.
If things seem spiritually dark in our day, and they certainly do, we should be encouraged to pray for true revival. As Isaiah reminds us, “the Lord’s hand is not so short that it cannot save; neither is His ear so dull that it cannot hear” (Isa. 59:1). What applies nationally to our need for revival also applies personally to you. If your situation seems spiritually hopeless, if your sins have overwhelmed you, cry out to God to save you. The theme of the Gospel of Luke is that the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost (19:10). If you feel lost and in despair, then you are a candidate for His gracious salvation.
Thus God sovereignly takes the initiative in sending revival and often waits until things are hopeless so that no one will glory in himself, but only in the Lord.
Even though the times were spiritually dark, here were Zecharias and Elizabeth, “righteous in the sight of God” (1:6), going about their lives in obscure faithfulness. When Luke states that they were “walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord,” he does not mean that they were sinlessly perfect, which no one is. Rather, they walked consistently in the fear of the Lord, seeking to obey Him in all their ways. Mary and Joseph were another godly couple in Israel. It was through such obscure people, quietly living in godliness, going about their normal duties, that the Lord brought about this great breakthrough in salvation history.
If God brings revival in our day, it will be because His ordinary people walk in obedience before Him, seeking His kingdom and glory. You may think, “Who am I? What can I do? I’m not particularly gifted. I’m unknown in the Christian world.” But look what God did with these unknown but faithful people! You may not be able to preach like John, but John wouldn’t have been there had it not been for his faithful parents. If you walk in daily obedience before Him, entreating Him to pour out His grace on our land, He could use you as the mother or father of a great Christian leader who would turn our country back to God. That leads to the second point. While revival is a matter of God’s sovereignty…
As I said, we can’t orchestrate a true revival, but we can thwart one. We need to be the kind of people that Zecharias and Elizabeth were, so that God can use us if He chooses to do so.
John Calvin comments, “In ordering our life, … therefore, our first study ought to be to approve ourselves to God; and we know that what he chiefly requires is a sincere heart and a pure conscience” (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], 16:10). Men may look at our deeds, but God looks first at our heart. This means that we must trust in Christ for forgiveness of all our sins and for His righteousness in place of our own. We must judge our sins on the thought level, because “all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do” (Heb. 4:13). We can fake it before the church and the world, but we can’t fake it before God.
It is ironic that Herod was called “Herod the Great” by his contemporaries, but here John is called great by God (1:15). It would be the wicked son of this wicked tyrant who put John to death. But in the final court of God, both Herods will not be great, but John will be highly esteemed. The true estimate of any life is not what others think, but what God thinks. So we must guard against living for the approval and applause of others. With John and his godly parents, we must live to be approved unto God.
John, the man God used to spark this great revival, was set apart unto God while even in his mother’s womb. There is debate over whether he was a Nazirite (Num. 6:3), since there is no mention of his hair not being cut. But clearly, God wanted John to be distinct from the culture around him, even from the common religious culture. Rather than being controlled by wine, he was to be controlled by the Holy Spirit (see Eph. 5:18). He was to go before the Lord “in the spirit and power of Elijah,” (Luke 1:17), to “turn back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God” (1:16). While John did not do any physical miracles, as Elijah did, he was powerfully used of God, as Elijah was, to turn many back to God. Conversions are a far greater display of God’s mighty power than physical miracles are.
While God has gifted us all differently, and the results of His working through us will differ, we all should seek to be used by Him in the process of turning sinners back to God. To be used in this way, the first requirement is a life that is distinct from our evil culture. People will read our lives to see if we are truly different or whether we’re just putting on a show. Then, as we live under the control of the Holy Spirit, He will use us to bear witness to others of the hope that is within us. As Peter wrote, “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” (1 Pet. 3:15). If we live righteous lives, set apart unto God, filled with His Spirit, then God can use us to bring revival.
John would be used to “turn back many of the sons of Israel to the Lord their God” (1:16), and to “turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous” (1:17). These are the two great commandments, to love God and to love others, beginning in the home. In times of spiritual declension, people invariably forsake these two great commandments. They turn away from God in self-willed disobedience, and they selfishly disregard love for others. Therefore, in times of revival, the process must be reversed: People must turn in repentance toward God, seeking to obey His holy commandments; and, they must turn in repentance toward those they have wronged, beginning in family relationships and begin to practice biblical love.
One reason I am so strongly opposed to the psychological approach that has flooded into the church in recent times is that it does not focus on these two great commandments by dealing the deathblow to self. In fact, quite the opposite, psychology seeks to affirm the self. One of the basic assumptions of the “Christian psychology” movement is that at the root of many, if not most, of our problems is low self-esteem. So the counselor’s job is to help the counselee see how worthy she is and to teach her how to be more assertive so that she can deal with her abusive spouse or with her rebellious children.
This mentality is pervasive in the Christian world! I read an article stating that one reason pastors fall into adultery is low self-esteem. I recently saw some literature from a ministry that seeks to help homosexuals. It stated that one cause of homosexuality is low self-esteem. The same philosophy lies behind so-called “Christian” treatment of anorexia and bulimia.
In direct opposition to this, the Bible clearly asserts that at the root of all of our problems is the love of self. The adulterous pastor does not love Christ or His church or his own family or the woman he defiles. He loves one person more than all others--himself! The homosexual is not loving God or other men. He is loving himself, seeking to gratify his own lust. The woman with an eating disorder is self-absorbed. She is vainly trying to find love and acceptance by having a slender body. Her focus is not on how she can daily love God and serve others. She loves herself, and most “Christian” counselors feed the flame by teaching her how to love herself even more!
Self-love is also at the root of our relational problems. Why are fathers and children angry and alienated from one another? Perhaps the dad has neglected his children because he is pouring himself into his career in the hopes of being a success. Who is he loving? Or the children are defiant and disrespectful toward their parents, whom God has told them to honor and obey. Who are they loving? Or a wife decides that being a homemaker is not fulfilling, so she goes off on the career track, neglecting her husband and children. Who is she loving? The sins in families often escalate, so that the ones sinned against sin in response, leading to a chain reaction of sin. At the heart of the whole relational breakdown is the love of self.
If we want God to send revival, God’s people must humble themselves, confess their wretched love of self, and seek to obey God and serve one another in love. Rather than blame others, we must point the finger at ourselves in genuine repentance. We must go to God first, and then to those we have sinned against, and ask forgiveness for our self-centered attitudes and sinful behavior. In The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [Eerdmans] (1:136), Alfred Edersheim describes the home of Zecharias and Elizabeth:
Such a household … would have all that was beautiful in the religion of the time: devotion towards God; a home of affection and purity; reverence towards all that was sacred in things Divine and human; ungrudging, self-denying, loving charity to the poor; the tenderest regard for the feelings of others, so as not to raise a blush, nor to wound their hearts; above all, intense faith and hope in the higher and better future of Israel.
If we want God to send revival, we must be righteous in His sight, set apart to Him, filled with His Spirit, and repentant of all our sins. Finally,
John’s ministry was to “make ready a people prepared for the Lord” (1:17). Since it was Jesus, born of the virgin Mary, for whom John was preparing the way, it is clear that Jesus is the Lord, eternal God in human flesh. But the point is, it is the Lord Himself who visits us in revival. If the presence of the angel was an awesome thing, causing Zecharias to be gripped by fear, how much more awesome is a visitation from the Lord Himself! Many Christians in our day are flippant toward the Lord. John MacArthur tells of a pastor friend of his who told John that the Lord often appeared to him while he was shaving. John’s incredulous response was, “And you keep shaving?”
Whenever in the Bible people encountered either an angel or the Lord Himself, there is one uniform response--reverent fear! If we want the living God to visit us with revival, our hearts need to be prepared. As Paul put it, “I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience both before God and before men” (Acts 24:16). If we are daily judging our sin on the thought level, seeking to live as those set apart for the Lord, filled with His Spirit, repentant of all our sins, we will be prepared for that awesome event, should it happen, that the Lord Himself would visit us in revival.
When God sends revival, He also sends great joy. The angel announced to Zecharias that he would have joy and gladness at John’s birth, and that many would rejoice (1:14). They were not just rejoicing at the birth of the child, but at what this child would bring—good news of a great joy for all the people, the news of the Savior (1:19; 2:10). Sin always causes pain and destruction; God’s salvation and righteousness result in great joy and gladness as relationships are reconciled.
I wish I could read to you the descriptions of revival in Iain Murray’s excellent book, Revival & Revivalism. He reports how churches felt a sense of God that also flooded them with humility to the point that they felt that they had scarcely begun to be Christians. They had a new understanding of the greatness of the Savior and of conviction of sin (p. 30). They also were impressed by the power of God’s truth. Far from emotional excess, “Congregations were then awed and subdued and it was often the degree of silence and stillness, more than anything else, which showed that a new day had come” (p. 138).
Murray repeatedly shows that there were no extraordinary means employed, no special campaigns, but rather the normal means of prayer and the preaching of the Word. But suddenly God broke into the midst of churches so that people who before had been complacent were now gripped with the reality of eternity and everyone sensed, “that in very deed, God was in this place” (p. 139). We need to pray that God would graciously send us such a visitation of His saving grace. And, we need to prepare ourselves to welcome the Lord Himself into our midst.
Copyright 1997, Steven J. Cole, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Every thinking person has struggled with the problem of doubt. C. S. Lewis, who was an atheist before he was converted to Christianity, acknowledged that just as the Christian has his moments of doubt, so does the atheist. He wrote, “Believe in God, and you will have to face hours when it seems obvious that this material world is the only reality; disbelieve in Him, and you must face hours when this material world seems to shout at you that it is not all. No conviction religious or irreligious will, of itself, end once and for all this fifth-columnist in the soul. Only the practice of faith resulting in the habit of faith will gradually do that.” (Cited in “Focal Point,” July-September, 1989.)
Doubt comes in varying degrees. There is the doubt of the proud skeptic, who delights in his own intellect. He pits himself against God as if he is a match for the Almighty. He delights in upsetting the faith of weak believers. He sets forth his arguments against God’s existence or the Christian faith as if he is the first brilliant thinker in history to come up with such insights. Such doubters often find jobs teaching at American universities! The Bible dismisses such scoffers with the word, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’” (Ps. 14:1).
Another level of doubt is that of the person who wants to believe, but he’s struggling with difficult questions and he has not yet come to see the glory and excellency of the Lord Jesus Christ as the all-sufficient Savior of sinners. While this person’s questions are often sincere, invariably they are mixed up with sin, especially the sin of wanting to run his own life apart from the lordship of Christ.
In dealing with this type of person, I often use John 7:17, where Jesus said, “If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself.” I’ll point out that while there are some tough questions, the core issue is one of the heart, of being willing to obey God. I encourage such people to read the gospel accounts with an open heart and ask the question, “Who is Jesus Christ?” If He is God in human flesh, who offered Himself as the sacrifice for sinners, then we must trust Him and submit ourselves to Him. Once our hearts are subject to Him, He will give us satisfactory answers to most of the tough questions.
Another type of doubt is that of the believer who has gotten his eyes off the Lord in the midst of a difficult situation. The disciples were there when they were being swamped by the storm at sea and they shouted, “Save us, Lord; we are perishing!” He first rebuked the disciples, “Why are you timid, you men of little faith?” Then He rebuked the wind and the sea (Matt. 8:25-26). The distraught father was there when the disciples could not cast the demon out of his son. He entreated Jesus, “But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” Jesus responded, “If You can! All things are possible to him who believes.” The father cried out, “I do believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:22-24).
All of us who believe in Jesus Christ as Savior have been there, too. We believe, but we get our eyes off the Lord and onto the trial that looms before us. If you put a penny close to your eye, it will block out the brilliance of the sun. If you let a trial consume your vision, it will block the glorious power of the Almighty God.
Zacharias was there that day in the temple when Gabriel, the angel who stands in God’s very presence, appeared to him and promised to give Zacharias and his wife, Elizabeth, a son. He should have been ecstatic with joy. Every day for years this devout couple had prayed, “Lord, if it would be Your will, give us a son.” But that had been years ago. Now it was too late. They were both long past the time when even couples who had children were able to conceive. Zacharias had reconciled himself to reality—they were not going to have a son. He had come to terms with God over the matter: “God is sovereign. He is free to bestow His blessings on whom He wishes. For some inscrutable reason, He has withheld that blessing from us.” And now, Zacharias was not willing to open himself to the roller coaster of hopes and fears that he had long left behind. And so he doubted the word of the angel.
What can Zacharias teach us about the problem of doubt?
Zacharias was “righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord” (1:6). Being righteous in the sight of the Lord means that his godliness was not an outward show, like the “righteousness” of the Pharisees, but a matter of the heart. The man walked with God and he had done so for many years. The fact that such a godly man doubted shows us that none are exempt from the problem.
Other great men and women of faith in the Bible also had their moments of doubt. Sarah stumbled over a similar situation. When the Lord announced to Abraham that his wife would give birth to a son, Sarah, listening on the other side of the tent wall, laughed in doubt (Gen. 18:10-15).
The son of Zacharias, John the Baptist, had a time of doubt. He was languishing in prison and he began to wonder, “If Jesus is truly the Messiah, why am I, His messenger, here in prison?” So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus, “Are You the Expected One, or do we look for someone else?” Jesus replied, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them.” Then He gently rebuked John’s doubt by adding, “And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me” (Luke 7:22, 23). Jesus went on to tell the crowd that among those born of women, there is no one greater than John. He was a godly man, but he had his time of doubt.
So doubt is a problem, even for those who are righteous in God’s sight. If godly men like Zacharias and John fell into doubt, we should be on guard, so that we do not fall. Since even the godly have fallen, we may wonder, “What is the source of doubt?”
Have you ever talked to someone who said, “If I just saw a miracle or had a direct word from God, I would believe”? It doesn’t work that way. Here, Zacharias had an angel suddenly appear and speak a direct revelation from God, but he did not believe. Later in Luke, the rich man in Hades pleaded with Abraham to send someone to warn his brothers, so that they would not also come to that awful place of torment. Abraham replied that his brothers had Moses and the prophets. But the rich man said, “No, Father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!” But Abraham replied, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises from the dead” (Luke 16:27-31). Doubt is not a problem of evidence, but of the sinfulness of the human heart. Even those who are righteous struggle with the sinful nature.
You may wonder, “How does Zacharias’ question differ from Mary’s question (1:34)?” When the angel told her that she would become pregnant with Jesus, she asked, “How can this be, since I am a virgin?” The angel did not confront her for doubting. Abraham laughed and brought up the matter of his and Sarah’s old age when he was promised a son, but he was not corrected for doubting, while Sarah was (Gen. 17:17). Gideon twice asked God for a sign, and he was not rebuked. But Zacharias asked the angel for a sign, and was rebuked for his doubting. Why these differences?
I think John Calvin (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], 1:23) is correct when he brings up these varying cases and points out that the difference was not in the words spoken, but in the hearts of each person. He acknowledges that while God is free to punish one person and pardon another, as He sees fit, that is not the explanation here. Rather, God, who sees the hidden secrets of each person’s heart, knew that Zacharias was different than Abraham, Gideon, or Mary. Zacharias was limiting God by the normal course of human nature. He and Elizabeth were too old to have children. Case closed! But he should have acknowledged, as Gabriel says to Mary, “Nothing will be impossible with God” (1:37).
Our sinful hearts make us all prone to limit God by human potential. The disciples fell into this error when they were faced with the crowd of 5,000 hungry men, plus women and children. Jesus asked Philip, “Where are we to buy bread, that these may eat?” John explains that Jesus asked this to test Philip, since He knew what He was about to do. Philip did a quick calculation and concluded, “Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little” (John 6:5-7). Philip may have thought that he was giving a faith-stretching answer, because the disciples clearly did not have 200 denarii to buy bread. But he was limiting God to work through normal human means. But God had a completely different solution, namely, miraculously multiplying the few loaves and fishes they had on hand.
So even if we’ve walked with God for years, when we are faced with a seemingly impossible situation, we need to look to our hearts, which are prone to limit the Almighty by human possibilities. God has given us abundant evidence in Scripture that He is the God of the impossible. Nothing is too difficult for Him. The source of our doubts is not a lack of evidence. It is rather our, sinful hearts.
We don’t know how long Zacharias and Elizabeth had been married, but it easily could have been 30 or 40 years. In that society, being childless was a matter of reproach (1:25). For many of those years, they had entreated God to give them a child and take away their reproach, but God did not answer. Now that they were physically too old to have children, they had come to terms with their disappointment. They had concluded that it must not be God’s will. So when the angel suddenly announced that they would have a child, Zacharias doubted.
You’ve been there, haven’t you? You prayed for something so long and your request was denied for so long that you concluded, “It isn’t going to happen.” Then, maybe even after you stopped praying, suddenly there was a glimmer of hope that your prayers were about to be answered. But you didn’t want to get your hopes up, only to have them dashed again. So you protected yourself by saying, “Let’s wait and see.” But in your heart, you were doubting God.
A humorous story in the Book of Acts shows the early Christians falling into this same error. Herod Agrippa had executed the apostle James and then had arrested Peter, planning to put him to death just after the Passover. No doubt the church had prayed for James to be delivered, but their prayers had not been answered. They were disappointed, but when Peter was imprisoned, they called another prayer meeting. While they were praying, an angel miraculously delivered Peter from his prison cell. He went to where he surmised the church would be gathered, and stood outside knocking on the door. The servant girl recognized Peter’s voice and got so excited that she forgot to let Peter in. She ran in and announced that Peter was at the door. But everyone in the prayer meeting said, “You’re crazy! It must be Peter’s angel.” But Peter continued knocking. When they opened the door, they were amazed (Acts 12:1-17).
Thankfully, God in His grace often pours out His blessings in spite of our doubts! That was the case with Zacharias. God lovingly disciplined His servant, but Zacharias’ doubts could not thwart the sovereign plan of God. Part of the solution to our doubts is to understand the source of them, as I have been explaining. We’re all prone to doubts because of our sinful hearts, often coupled with disappointments and trials. But Luke also wants us to see that …
Darrell Bock comments, “Zechariah, righteous as he is, needs to learn that God will fulfill his promises when he sovereignly chooses to act…. The major lesson … is that God will do what he promises in his own way” (Luke [IVP], p. 37). This is a tricky matter where it’s easy to fall off the horse both ways. On the one hand, some Christians deny God’s sovereignty by making their supposed faith sovereign. They command God around by faith, as if God is under obligation to obey because they barked the orders. Not so! God is sovereign, not the prayers of puny man.
On the other hand, it’s easy to yield to disappointment if God has not answered as we thought He should have, and our disappointment quickly leads us into doubt. The biblical balance is not to waver in unbelief if God doesn’t do something the way we thought He should have. We allow God to be sovereign, but we believe that if He said He would do something, He will do it, even if it takes a different form than we had expected.
Remember, Luke addressed his gospel to a man who was probably a young believer who needed assurance in his faith. The opposite of doubt is not a leap in the dark. The Christian faith is founded on solid historical evidence. Luke wrote to convince Theophilus and his other readers that God was in fact at work in this amazing history of Jesus’ birth and life. He structured these early narratives with this purpose in mind. There are two strands that come together to dispel our doubts by showing that God does what He says He will do.
Luke underscores this point in several ways. First, there is the structure of the first two chapters of his gospel. There is a parallel pattern here of two birth announcements (John the Baptist, 1:5-25; Jesus the Messiah, 1:26-38); a meeting between the two mothers, Mary and Elizabeth, which serves as the link (1:39-56); and, two birth stories (John, 1:57-80; Jesus, 2:1-40). Through this structure, Luke wants us to see that God is clearly at work in the births of these two men. He sovereignly broke into history and announced what He was about to do. Then He proceeded to do it.
This theme is further underscored in the angel’s announcement to Zacharias, where he cites the prophet Malachi’s prediction of the return of Elijah the prophet and says that John will fulfill that prediction. He also predicts a number of other features of John’s life and ministry which did, in fact, later happen. Luke is driving home the point that what God says He will do, He will do.
This is emphasized in one other way that is a bit more obvious in the Greek text than in the English. In verse 18, Zacharias expresses the reason for his doubt by saying, “I am an old man.” It is an emphatic expression, ego eimi in Greek. In verse 19, the angel responds by using the same emphatic expression, “I am Gabriel, who stands in the presence of God; and I have been sent to speak to you ...” It’s a deliberate contrast between the feebleness of man’s word and the power of God’s Word. It’s as if Gabriel said, “You may be an old man, unable to father a child, but I am no less than the angel who stands in God’s very presence and comes to speak His word at His command.” Thus, clearly, the word of God overcomes the word of man.
Thus one way we can know that God will do what He says He will do is by observing His prophetic word. There are many prophecies in Scripture that were fulfilled later in Scripture. God spoke, and later God did what He said He would do. That should strengthen our faith. Scripture also contains many prophecies yet to be fulfilled. While some of the details may be fuzzy, the overall scheme is pretty clear, and it’s also clear that in our day it is all lining up just as God has said. The world is set up for a powerful leader to bring the nations together under a one-world government, as Revelation predicts. Through the computer revolution, the mechanism is in place to control all buying and selling by giving each person a mark, as the Bible also predicts. The move toward religious unity and tolerance will culminate in the one-world religion, the whore of Revelation 17. So as we see God’s “prophetic word made more sure” (2 Pet. 1:19), we should put our doubts to rest and trust in the Word of God.
Although our doubts do not keep God from graciously blessing us according to His promise, He does lovingly discipline us in our doubts, that we may share His holiness. So the angel struck Zacharias dumb and, apparently, deaf (see 1:62). By doubting God’s ambassador, he was doubting God Himself. God took that seriously. As a loving Father, He taught His erring child a lesson he would never forget. The angel specifically states Zacharias’ sin: “because you did not believe my words” (1:20). This is further underscored later in the narrative, when Elizabeth exclaims of Mary, “Blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord” (1:45). That’s Luke’s point: Since God will fulfill His word, we should be believing, like Mary, not unbelieving, like Zacharias.
Zacharias’ chastisement was appropriate for his sin. He shut his mouth in silence when he should have praised God, so he would be silent until the day when his lips were loosed to praise God in front of others (1:67). Doubt has nothing to say; faith opens the heart and lips in praise to God.
Thankfully, doubt need never be fatal. We can recover if we will submit to God’s gracious discipline. During his months of silence, Zacharias submitted to God by meditating on His Word and being thankful for His faithfulness in fulfilling His gracious promises. This is evident from the stream of praise that gushes forth when he finally has his speech restored (1:68-79). It is loaded with references to Scripture and how God has fulfilled His promises. If Zacharias had spent those silent months grumbling about how unfair God was to strike him deaf and dumb, he wouldn’t have erupted in praise as he did.
We should learn from this godly man. When God graciously disciplines us for our doubting hearts, we can either grumble and chafe under it, or we can thankfully submit to His chastening. If, like Zacharias, we submit, we will grow stronger in faith and be filled with joyful, thankful hearts. Thus,
We can overcome the problem of doubt if we will see that God does what He says He will do.
In the matter of faith and doubt, the crucial thing is not our feelings and not even our faith. The crucial thing is the object of our faith. You can have great faith in a faulty airplane, but it will crash in spite of your great faith because it’s not a trustworthy plane. You can have little faith in a sound airplane, just enough to get you on board, and that’s all it takes to get you where you’re going. It’s not your faith, but the object of it, that matters most.
Luke wants us to see that God is faithful to His promises, especially in the matter of sending the Lord Jesus Christ to be the promised Savior. We can trust such a God and such a Savior. He has a proven track record of keeping His word.
The doubts that we all have show us that we need a Savior because we are sinners. Only sinners would doubt the all-powerful, faithful, gracious, sovereign God who has given so many evidences of His trustworthy nature. And the good news of Luke is that it is precisely for sinners that Jesus came to this earth: “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). In your confusion and doubt, call out to Him to save you from your sin. He is mighty to save all who cry out, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner” (Luke 18:13).
Copyright 1997, Steven J. Cole, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
A man heard a message on the end times and decided to make all he could before the economy collapsed. He took his life savings, went to the race track, and prayed for wisdom on how to bet. (He hadn’t heard my message on gambling!)
Just before the first race began, the man noticed a Catholic priest who came onto the track, sprinkled some water, waved his arms and made some signs over a horse. The horse won by seven lengths. The same thing happened on the second, third, and fourth races. The man waited one more race, just to make sure. The same thing happened--the horse the priest blessed won. So on the sixth race he waited until the priest did his thing and then he ran off and placed his whole life savings on that horse. The race began. The horse ran fifty feet and fell over dead.
The man was horrified. He ran down to the priest and said, “Priest, I have to talk to you!” “Yes, what is it my son?” “Priest, I watched you; in every race, the horse you blessed won. So I went and bet everything I had on this horse, but it died! What happened?” The priest shook his head sadly and said, “You must be a Protestant.” “Why do you say that?” asked the man. “Because,” said the priest, “you don’t know the difference between a blessing and the last rites.”
That story illustrates that there are some differences between Protestants and Catholics! Our text raises another area of more substantial difference, namely, how we view the virgin Mary. These verses are the basis for the Catholic Ave, Maria, or “Hail, Mary,” a prayer to Mary that is the core of the Rosary. That prayer concludes,
Hail, holy Queen, Mother of Mercy! Our life, our sweetness, and our hope! To thee do we cry, poor banished children of Eve; to thee do we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping, in this valley of tears. Turn, then, most gracious Advocate, thine eyes of mercy toward us; and after this our exile show unto us the blessed fruit of thy womb, Jesus; O clement; O loving, O sweet Virgin Mary.
This raises some important questions: Should Christians hail Mary? (To hail means to greet with enthusiastic approval or to summon by calling.) Is she “our life, our sweetness, our hope?” Should we pray to her (or to any saint) or ask her to intercede with Jesus on our behalf? If not, how should we view Mary? Does she deserve a higher status than that of other believers? Our answers to these questions must come from Scripture alone, which is unchanging, not from the traditions of the church, which do change. In light of the strong movement today to drop all denominational barriers and to join together with the Catholic Church as if we were all one, these questions are not merely academic. Let’s look first at what the text tells us of Mary; then at what it says of her Son.
Background: In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s being pregnant with John, the same angel, Gabriel, who had appeared to Zacharias was sent to Mary. Note how God took the initiative in sending His Son and in choosing Mary out of all the other young women in Israel. If we were going to announce the choice of a young woman as the mother of the long-promised Messiah, we would probably do it on prime time TV, with much advertising and hype beforehand. But God did it quietly and without fanfare.
Mary was not living in the center of Jewish culture and religion, Jerusalem, but in the often-despised town of Nazareth in Galilee. God often chooses the foolish things of the world to humble those who are wise in their own sight. Mary was probably a teenager, since Jewish girls in that culture usually married in their teens. The Jewish betrothal lasted about a year and was legally binding, requiring a certificate of divorce to end it. Mary was betrothed to Joseph, a carpenter.
Gabriel greeted her by saying, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you” (1:28). (The King James Version adds, “You are blessed among women,” which probably was inserted by copyists from verse 42, and thus is not supposed to be in verse 28.) The word “hail” is simply the common Greek word used for greeting someone. In Hebrew, it was “Shalom!” The phrase, “favored one,” means that Mary has found grace in God’s sight (1:30; see Gen. 6:8). The emphasis is not on Mary’s merit, but on God’s sovereign choice. God singled out Mary for an important task. The phrase, “The Lord is with you” means, “God will give you His help for the task He has called you to do” (see Judges 6:12).
Mary didn’t seem to be afraid of the angel’s presence, as Zechariah had been (1:12), but she was troubled by his words. I think she was overwhelmed at the implication of what the angel was saying, that God had singled out her–of all people–for a special task. While God noticed Mary, she was humbly unaware of anything special about herself.
The angel went on to explain what was about to happen, that Mary was to conceive and bear a son named, “Yahweh saves” (Jesus, = Joshua, in Hebrew). The angel’s words make it plain that this son will be the promised Messiah, the fulfillment of God’s promises to David centuries before (see 2 Sam. 7:16). Mary didn’t doubt the angel’s words (as Zacharias had, 1:18), but she did ask for clarification. Since she is yet a virgin, and the implication was that this would happen before her betrothal to Joseph was consummated, how would it take place? Gabriel briefly explains the miracle of the virgin birth, which I’ll comment on in a moment.
Then, although Mary did not ask for confirmation, the angel graciously supplied it by telling her that Elizabeth, who had been barren and was now past her childbearing years, had conceived John by God’s power (through union with her husband). Then Gabriel added that great reminder, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Mary’s beautiful response was, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word.”
After Gabriel left, Mary quickly went the 80 or so miles to visit her relative, Elizabeth. Probably she wanted to rejoice together with her about what God was doing and to compare notes on their recent experiences. As soon as Mary greeted Elizabeth, John, in Elizabeth’s womb, leaped for joy. Through the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth recognized that Mary was carrying the promised Messiah in her womb and she proceeded to bless Mary for what God was doing through her.
If grace is deserved, it is no longer grace. By definition, grace is God’s undeserved favor. Mary refers to God as her Savior (1:47). Scripture is clear that only sinners need a Savior. Thus Mary is acknowledging her own need for God’s grace and salvation. John Calvin points out that if Mary had to receive grace from God just as we do, then it is absurd to seek grace from her, as if she can somehow bestow it (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], 1:33). Mary is not a dispenser of grace to others, but a recipient of it herself.
The Bible is abundantly clear that no one is saved by his or her own merit or good works, but only by the merit of Jesus Christ and His death on the cross on their behalf (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:4-7). That was true of Mary; it is true of every other person since Adam and Eve fell into sin, except Jesus Christ alone. The Catholic Church teaches that in order for Jesus to be born sinless, Mary had to be born without sin. In the 1850’s Pope Pius IX declared as dogma (which every Catholic must believe) that Mary was immaculately conceived or born without original sin (Dave Hunt, A Woman Rides the Beast [Harvest House], p. 443). The fallacy of that dogma (apart from the fact that the Bible never teaches it) is, Mary’s parents would have had to be sinlessly conceived for Mary to have escaped their sin, and so on all the way back to Adam. Without stating the method, the angel simply affirms that through the power of the Holy Spirit, Mary’s offspring would be preserved from sin through the virgin birth or conception (1:35).
The lesson for us is that if Mary, who was obviously a godly young woman, needed God’s grace, how much more do we! But the way we receive God’s grace is not through Mary, but only through the Lord Jesus Christ. He is offered freely as the Savior of sinners who trust in Him (John 3:16).
Unlike Zacharias, Mary did not seem to be troubled by the angel’s sudden presence, but rather by his words. Calvin (p. 34) states, “It instantly occurred to her that the angel had not been sent for a trifling purpose.” Mary took seriously this word to her from God. When the angel greeted her, “Hail, favored one! The Lord is with you,” she didn’t flippantly reply, “Cool!” She was troubled by what it meant and pondered it seriously.
This tells me that teenagers can and should be serious about the things of God. The prevailing theory in youth ministry today is that you’ve got to entertain kids with funny skits and speakers who are comedians. Only in that context can you occasionally slip in any teaching about God. I’m not against wholesome fun or humor. But at the same time, we don’t need to go with the cultural flow. Young people can have a heart for the things of God.
Although she was astonished and puzzled by the angel’s words, so that she asked for clarification (1:34), she did not doubt. As Elizabeth affirms through the Holy Spirit (1:45), “blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what had been spoken to her by the Lord.”
The lesson for us is clear: If God has spoken clearly through His Word, we must believe it without wavering. We may need to study it further to make sure we understand it properly. We may need to acknowledge that we do not understand all the depths of it, as Mary probably never fully understood the miracle of how God could take on human flesh through the virgin birth. But the angel’s word in verse 37 is always true: “For nothing will be impossible with God.” If we believe in God, we believe in the possibility of miracles.
It’s interesting that Zacharias asked for a sign, but was disciplined for his doubting. Mary believed and did not ask for a sign, but she was graciously given one anyway (the word about Elizabeth). Often if we believe we are given more confirming evidence; if we doubt, we are not given any confirmation, because our hearts are not right before God.
By saying, “Behold, the bondslave of the Lord; be it done to me according to your word” (1:38), Mary opened herself up to many trials. Her fiancé heard of her pregnancy and decided that he would have to divorce her (Matt. 1:19). Her friends would have shunned her and her family may have disowned her. She would have been publicly shamed and rejected for the rest of her life. But in spite of all the potential hardship, Mary obediently submitted to God’s will for her life. As a result, she was greatly blessed with this unique role in all of history, to be the mother of the Savior.
Often, submitting to God’s will is not the easiest way to go. It may involve giving up the desire for popularity or worldly success. It may mean leaving family or friends to go to the mission field. In some cases, it means giving up the potential for marriage and family in order to serve God. But whatever hardship we endure in obedience to God, He will richly repay. Because Mary obeyed God, she was blessed among women.
Conclusions about Mary: The Pope prays to Mary, that she will “comfort, guide, strengthen, and protect the whole of humanity” and that she would “obtain for us the grace of eternal salvation” (Dave Hunt, p. 445). A popular tract, “The Rosary, Your Key to Heaven,” declares,
The Rosary is a means of salvation, because a true child of Mary is never lost and one who says the Rosary daily is truly Mary’s child…. Mary is our all-powerful Advocate and she can obtain from the Heart of her Divine Son whatever is good for her children…. No one is beyond redemption if he but turns to Mary Immaculate. (Cited by Hunt, pp. 446-447.)
Dave Hunt (p. 447, italics his) comments,
Though the Bible never hints at such a thing, and though Paul never preached it or told it to anyone, yet for the Catholic, Mary has become the essential conduit through which salvation and all grace flows. Jesus and God the Father play an important role too, but it is Mary who brings everything together and dispenses all God’s gifts to those who through devotion to her become “her children.”
Our text and the whole Bible make it clear that Mary is not to be elevated above any other believer. Yet at the same time, we should not react to Catholicism’s veneration of Mary by neglecting to learn from her. As a godly woman who trusted and obeyed God, she has much to teach us. But we can learn even more by looking at Mary’s Son:
Background: Gabriel told Mary that she would conceive in her womb, and bear a son, and that she should name Him Jesus (1:31). Furthermore, “He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David; and He will reign over the house of Jacob forever; and His kingdom will have no end” (1:32-33). And, Jesus is called Mary’s “holy offspring,” “the Son of God” (1:35). Elizabeth refers to Mary’s child as her Lord (1:43), which implies His superiority to her offspring, John the Baptist. There is enough here for a series of sermons, but I can only make some brief observations:
Walter Liefeld states, “Luke presents the theology of the Incarnation in a way so holy and congruent with OT sacred history that any comparisons with pagan mythology seem utterly incongruous” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary [Zondervan], 8:829). While the virgin birth (or conception) is clearly a miracle, there is no hint of God cohabiting with Mary. Rather, the Holy Spirit would “overshadow” her. It is the same word used for the glory of God resting upon the tabernacle (Exod. 40:35), and for the cloud overshadowing the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9:34). While there is a mystery here, the sense is that the awesome presence of the Holy Spirit would envelope Mary and miraculously cause her to conceive the Lord Jesus, who is eternally God and yet, from conception in Mary’s womb, fully human. Jesus had a human mother, but no human father. He is unique in all history in that He is undiminished deity and perfect humanity united in one person.
As I already mentioned, the angel states that Mary’s offspring would be holy (1:35). Calvin (pp. 43-44) explains, “Though Christ was formed of the seed of Abraham, yet he contracted no defilement from a sinful nature; for the Spirit of God kept him pure from the very commencement: and this was done not merely that he might abound in personal holiness, but chiefly that he might sanctify his own people. The manner of conception, therefore, assures us that we have a Mediator separate from sinners, (Heb. 7:26).”
Neither Mary nor Elizabeth fully understood Jesus’ deity at this early point in time. Luke builds his Christology from the ground up, letting it unfold as the story makes it more clear. But the things revealed at this point fully allow for the further revelation. Elizabeth refers to Mary as “the mother of my Lord” (1:43). By “Lord” she probably was referring to Jesus as the Messiah, and she probably did not realize that Messiah had to be divine. But it later becomes clear that He is not just a human descendent of David and of Mary, but also fully divine.
The Savior had to be fully human, yet without sin of His own, to bear the sins of the human race. But He also had to be fully God so that His sacrifice had infinite merit before God. We must affirm both Jesus’ humanity and His deity. Thus we must affirm His virgin birth.
Gabriel’s description of Jesus shows that He alone is to be worshiped because He alone is God in human flesh. The angel said, “He shall be great” (1:32). While the angel said of John the Baptist that “he will be great in the sight of the Lord” (1:15), of Jesus he said, “He shall be great,” and added, “and will be called the Son of the Most High.” Hebrews 1:5 states, “For to which of the angels did He ever say, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten you’?” Jesus is uniquely God’s only begotten Son.
Jesus later said that John the Baptist was the greatest person ever born naturally on this earth (Matt. 11:11). That means that John was greater than Mary. But John himself acknowledged of Jesus, He is “mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thong of His sandals” (Luke 3:16). John also testified, “After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me” (John 1:30). Remember, John was born six months before Jesus, yet he acknowledged that Jesus existed before him. No wonder John exclaimed, “This is the Son of God” (John 1:34). “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). Any elevation of Mary that puts her on the same plane as Jesus is utter blasphemy! Jesus alone is the uniquely great Savior and Son of God.
Jesus is the fulfillment of God’s promise to David a thousand years before, that one of his descendents would reign on his throne forever (2 Sam. 7:12-14). Although there is controversy among godly scholars over this point, it seems clear to me that the kingdom in Luke’s thinking has both present (Luke 11:20; 17:21) and future (Luke 13:28; 19:11; Acts 1:6, 11; 14:22) aspects. He is king over His people right now. But, also, I take the words at face value to mean that when Jesus returns, He will literally reign over Israel, as well as the whole earth, in His millennial kingdom.
But whatever one’s views of prophecy, every godly scholar agrees that the day is soon coming when every knee shall bow before Jesus as King of kings and Lord of lords. You can either bow voluntarily now, or be forced to bow later. Jesus made it clear that on that terrible day of judgment, the King will say to those who have not submitted to Him, “Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt. 25:41). Clearly, now is the time to trust in and submit to Jesus as Savior and Lord!
The bottom line for us concerning the relationship of Mary and Jesus is:
While we should imitate Mary’s faith and submission to God, we should trust in and submit to Jesus as Savior and Lord.
On March 23, 1743, when Handel’s “Messiah” was first performed in London, the king was present in the audience. When the performance got to the moving “Hallelujah Chorus,” with its words, “For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth,” the whole audience, including the king, sprang to its feet, and remained standing through the entire chorus. From that time, it became a custom to stand during that chorus whenever it is performed.
But the custom of the British monarch standing changed over time. About 100 years later, when Queen Victoria had just ascended the throne, she went to hear “The Messiah.” Those in her court who knew protocol had instructed her that she must not rise when others stood at the singing of the “Hallelujah Chorus.” So, as the singers were exclaiming, “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! For the Lord our God omnipotent reigneth,” Victoria remained seated--but with great difficulty.
Finally, they came to that part of the chorus where they proclaim Christ King of kings and Lord of lords. Victoria could stay seated no longer. She rose and stood reverently with her head bowed before the Lord who alone is great.
Was Mary great? Yes, as far as those who need a Savior go, she was great for her humble submission to the will of God. In that we should imitate her. But Mary herself would be quick to acknowledge that in the true sense, only God is great. By the miracle and mystery of the virgin birth, Mary’s Son was the eternal God in human flesh. “O come let us adore Him!”
Copyright 1997, Steven J. Cole, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
John Calvin begins his classic Institutes of the Christian Religion with this profound sentence: “Nearly all the wisdom we possess, that is to say, true and sound wisdom, consists of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves” (Westminster Press, 1.1.1.).
The late Martyn Lloyd-Jones often argued that one of the main indictments of the modern evangelical church is that we do not know God. Not knowing God as we ought, we do not know ourselves as we ought, and as a result we are focused on ourselves and our own happiness, rather than on the glory of God (see, for example, his Revival [Crossway Books], chapters 7 & 15). But Scripture always promises happiness as the by-product that God graciously gives to those who know Him and seek His glory.
Today we are going to be instructed by a teenage Jewish girl who, it seems, knew God far better than most of us do. Our text is the hymn of praise that Mary spoke in response to Elizabeth’s recognition through the Holy Spirit that Mary was carrying the promised Messiah in her womb. In this hymn, Mary extols God for His covenant mercy and for His righteous judgments. Although she was probably only 15 or 16 years old when she spoke these words, Mary had a deep understanding of God and His mercy. If you do not know God and His gracious salvation through Jesus Christ, I encourage you to listen carefully, so that you may come to know Him. If you do know God and His salvation, the lesson is:
We who have received God’s salvation should glorify Him for His mercy and judgment.
As I explained in our last study, the Roman Catholic Church has erred greatly in its teaching about the virgin Mary. The Bible is clear that she was not immaculately conceived, she is not the “Queen of Heaven,” she is not our life, our sweetness, nor our hope. We are not to pray to her as our advocate. She cannot obtain or impart salvation to anyone, no matter how faithfully they pray the Rosary. The Bible is clear that Mary is not to be elevated above any other believer. But at the same time, we should not react to Catholicism’s erroneous veneration of Mary by neglecting to learn from her. This beautiful hymn has much to teach us.
Mary’s hymn is brimming with information about the attributes of God. But it is not cold, academic information. Mary is extolling God as she considers what He has done in choosing her to be the mother of the Savior. She calls Him “God my Savior” (1:47), which implies that Mary knew she was a sinner; none but sinners need a Savior. Implicit in the term “Savior” is the fact that we are lost and alienated from God because of our sin. As those who are lost, we don’t just need a little boost from God to set things right. We don’t just need a few tips on how to get our lives in order, how to polish our self-esteem, how to succeed in our families or businesses. Savior is a radical term that implies that we are helplessly, hopelessly lost unless God in His mighty power intervenes to rescue us.
God’s power is explicitly stated in Mary’s referring to Him as the “Mighty One who has done great things for me” (1:49). She adds, “He has done mighty deeds with His arm” (1:51). The psalmist declares that the heavens are the work of God’s finger (Ps. 8:3; see also Exod. 8:19). When God parted the Red Sea for Israel and brought it down on the Egyptian army, the people sang that it was due to God’s right hand, which is majestic in power (Exod. 15:6). But here Mary declares that God’s sending the Savior and scattering His enemies in judgment is due to His arm. As Isaiah 59:16 proclaims, God’s “own arm brought salvation to Him.” Calvin explains Mary’s meaning: “God rested satisfied with his own power, employed no companions in the work, called none to afford him aid” (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], 16:58). In other words, salvation is solely God’s work, not at all from man. God does everything, we can do nothing except receive His gracious gift.
Mary further teaches that God’s name is holy (1:49). His name refers to His person, the sum of His attributes. To be holy means to be set apart. In this context, it refers not only to God’s absolute moral righteousness, but also to His being set apart as the only sovereign authority over people (Darrell Bock, Luke [Baker], 1:152). Thus He is to be held in highest esteem and to be feared.
Thankfully, Mary does not leave us with just these attributes of God, or we would not dare to approach Him! She goes on to emphasize God’s great mercy (1:50, 54). God’s mercy and His grace are close in meaning, both emphasizing His undeserved favor. But mercy has the connotation of God’s compassion due to our miserable condition. When Mary speaks of God’s mercy on those who fear Him, we should not conclude that somehow their reverence earned them God’s favor. His mercy is always unmerited in the sense that it flows totally from His great love and not at all because of anything worthy in the creature. But when God bestows His mercy, those who have received it respond with grateful reverence to Him.
In addition to His mercy, Mary adds that God is the giver of good things (1:53). As James 1:17 reminds us, “Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation, or shifting shadow.” Jesus taught that even earthly fathers, though evil, know how to give good gifts to their children. How much more will not the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to His children who ask Him (Luke 11:13)? In line with this, Mary shows that God is faithful to His covenant promises (1:54, 55). Even though 2,000 years had elapsed since God’s promises to Abraham, God had not forgotten. What God has promised, He will fulfill in His time.
In giving instruction on how we can magnify the Lord, Charles Spurgeon encourages us to ponder the attributes of God:
Begin with his mercy if you cannot begin with his holiness; but take the attributes one by one, and think about them. I do not know a single attribute of God which is not wonderfully quickening and powerful to a true Christian. As you think of any one of them, it will ravish you, and carry you quite away. You will be lost in wonder, love, and praise as you consider it; you will be astonished and amazed as you plunge into its wondrous depths, and everything else will vanish from your vision (Spurgeon’s Expository Encyclopedia [Baker], 12:124-125).
Thus Mary teaches us about the nature of God. Also,
Understanding God’s mercy and grace is fundamental to a relationship with Him. We are saved by God’s grace through faith (Eph. 2:8, 9). As we received Christ Jesus the Lord, so we are to walk in Him (Col. 2:6). His mercy and grace should permeate our daily walk with Him. Note three things about God’s mercy:
God’s mercy is a sovereign mercy. Mary mentions God’s mercy to Abraham and his offspring (1:55). There is only one reason given in Scripture that Abraham became the father of our faith: God sovereignly chose him. Abraham was a pagan man from an idolatrous family in a pagan land when God called him (Josh. 24:2). Why didn’t God call Abraham’s father or brothers? Why not people already living in the land of Canaan? Why did God choose the descendants of Abraham through Isaac and Jacob to be His people? Why not Ishmael? Why not Esau? Why not the Egyptians or Russians or Europeans or Indians or Chinese? We don’t know why. All we know is that God chose Israel because of His sovereign purpose. Moses tells them it was not because they were greater in number or more righteous than any other nation; it was simply God’s sovereign love toward them (Deut. 4:37; 7:7; 9:4; 10:15).
Many do not like the doctrine of God’s sovereign election. They want to glory in their choice of God. It’s true that God does not save anyone apart from their choice of Jesus as Savior and Lord. But it’s also true that no one would choose Jesus unless God had first graciously done a work of sovereign grace to make him willing (John 6:44, 65). God states plainly, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy.” Paul explains, “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (Rom. 9:15, 16). This means that God alone is to be glorified in our salvation.
God’s mercy is a covenant mercy. God made a covenant with Abraham and repeatedly reminded him and his descendants of that covenant as the basis of His dealings with them. God’s covenant assures us that though we may waver, God will not renege on His covenant of grace. If He has begun a gracious work in you, you can be assured that He will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:6), not because of your performance, but because of the word of His gracious covenant in the Lord Jesus Christ.
God’s mercy is a benevolent mercy. “He has filled the hungry with good things” (1:53). God is a loving Father who will tenderly do that which is good for His children all the days of their lives. Though we often face difficult trials, and even death, we can know that the Good Shepherd is with us even in the valley of the shadow of death. He has prepared a place for us in heaven where “He shall wipe away every tear from [our] eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain” (Rev. 21:4). Hallelujah!
When we contemplate the nature of our God and His great mercy towards us in Christ, we will join Mary’s song, “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
But, perhaps you’re wondering, “How can we know that we are the objects of God’s great mercy? Mary shows us,
Mary mentions a number of characteristics of those who are the recipients of God’s great mercy.
Mary calls God “my Savior” (1:47); it’s very personal. Mary was from a Jewish home; the Jews were God’s chosen people. She easily could have thought, “We’re good Jewish people. We keep the feasts and follow the commandments. That’s all I need.” But even though she was a moral young woman from a good family, she knew, even as a teenager, that she needed a Savior. She had personally trusted in God and His Messiah as her Savior.
It’s not enough to know God as your parents’ Savior. It’s certainly not enough to belong to your parents’ church. Christ must be your Savior. That means that you see yourself as a sinner who has broken God’s holy law. You stand guilty and condemned before the bench of His righteous justice. There is nothing you can do to deliver yourself. All you can do is cast yourself on His mercy. That is precisely what you must do. When you do that, you will find that God will become your Savior. It was the man who cried out, “God, be merciful to me, the sinner” who went down to his house justified before God (Luke 18:13).
Mary’s hymn of praise is shot through with Scripture. It is similar in many ways to Hannah’s song of praise (1 Sam. 2:1-10), but there are many other similarities to the Psalms and other portions of the Old Testament. Although she was a young girl in a culture that tended to restrict training in the Scriptures to boys, Mary knew the Bible. We’ve already seen that she knew a great deal about God’s attributes and mercy. She knew what God had done in the history of His people, and what He had promised to do in sending His Messiah.
Peter exhorts us, like newborn babes, to long for the pure milk of the Word that we may grow in respect to salvation, if we have tasted the kindness of the Lord (1 Pet. 2:2, 3). I gained new insight into that verse when I was a young father. I made the mistake of taking our newborn into my arms when I was not wearing a shirt. She saw my nipple, and even though it was surrounded with hair, it looked good enough. She latched onto me, thinking that she would get the milk she craved. I discovered that a newborn goes after her mother’s milk with a vengeance! Have you tasted the Lord’s kindness? There’s a lot more to be had in His Word.
I’m not convinced that there is any specialized distinction between “soul” and “spirit” (1:46, 47). What Mary means is that from the depths of her innermost being, she was exulting in God. She was worshiping God in truth, since her words came right out of Scripture. But she was also worshiping Him in spirit, since her praise came out of her heart. Her emotions were involved, so that her entire being was caught up with the wonder and majesty of God and His grace to her. She expressed it in this song.
It’s no accident that the longest book of the Bible is a song book (Psalms). God loves to hear the praises of His people. He wants us filled with joy as we think about what He has done for us. If you don’t sing, you’d better learn, because in heaven the saints gather before the throne and sing, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing” (Rev. 5:12). The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. Those who have received His mercy will be filled with praise and joy.
We’ve already seen Mary’s big view of God. But note also that she refers to “the humble state of His bondslave” (1:48); and she mentions that God has “exalted those who were humble” (1:52). The word means “lowly.” She also states that those who have received God’s mercy fear Him (1:50). It is the uniform experience of those who have encountered the living God that they are awed by the greatness of His splendor and terrified because of their own puniness and sinfulness in His holy light.
A popular author, who travels around the world putting on seminars and who teaches in a major evangelical seminary, states that we should not see ourselves as sinners, not even as sinners saved by grace, but rather as saints who occasionally sin (Neil Anderson, Victory Over the Darkness [Regal Books], pp. 44-45). I submit that he does not know God or his Bible. It is the uniform experience both of God’s saints in the Bible and of those who have walked with Him in church history, that the closer they draw to God, the more they despise themselves as insignificant, unworthy sinners. As Calvin explains in the Institutes (1.1.2),
It is certain that man never achieves a clear knowledge of himself unless he has first looked upon God’s face, and then descends from contemplating him to scrutinize himself. For we always seem to ourselves righteous and upright and wise and holy—this pride is innate in all of us—unless by clear proofs we stand convinced of our own unrighteousness, foulness, folly, and impurity. Moreover, we are not thus convinced if we look merely to ourselves and not also to the Lord, who is the sole standard by which this judgment must be measured.
The more we see how great God is, the more we will sense our own sinfulness, which will lead us to magnify all the more His abundant mercy toward us in Christ.
“He has filled the hungry with good things” (1:53). This refers primarily to spiritual, not physical, hunger. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matt. 5:6). Yes, they will be satisfied in God and His abundant grace, yet at the same time, they will still hunger and thirst for more of Him.
But note: the prerequisite for being filled is to be hungry. If you are filled with your own self-righteousness, you are not spiritually hungry. If you think that you’re a basically good person, and that it might be nice to sample a bit of God, that He might help you round out your life, you are not hungry. Hungry people are not cool, confident, have-it-mostly-together sort of people. Hungry people are desperate. They know they will perish if they do not find food soon. It is those who recognize their desperate spiritual condition and cry out, “Save me, Lord, or I perish,” whom God fills. He gives them “good things,” every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:3). Thus they are satisfied and yet they always long for more of Him.
It would be great if everyone acknowledged his need of God’s salvation and experienced His mercy, as Mary did. But her song makes it clear that some refuse God’s mercy and come under His judgment. To make sure that we are not such, we must look at …
Mary describes these as “proud in the thoughts of their heart” (1:51). Pride is the original sin that brought Satan down. He appealed to Eve’s pride, that she could be like God, and she fell. The Bible declares, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (1 Pet. 5:5). It’s a serious thing to have God opposed to you! We must join hymn-writer Isaac Watts, who says that looking on the cross where the Prince of Glory died causes him to pour contempt on all his pride.
Not only are those under God’s judgment proud, they are powerful in themselves, but not in God’s sight. They are “rulers” whom He has brought down from their thrones (1:52). Like Nebuchadnezzar, they do not realize that it is God who is “the ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes” (Dan. 4:17, 25).
Finally, those under God’s judgment are plentiful in worldly goods, but poor before God (1:53, “rich”; see Luke 12:21). The one who is the object of God’s mercy may be blessed with material goods, but he is deeply aware that he is a steward who will give an account to God. But those under God’s judgment disregard the Lord and squander their wealth on their own pleasure, with no thought for the poor or for God’s purpose.
Note God’s condemnation on these people: God scatters the proud (1:51), brings down the rulers (1:52) and sends the rich away empty-handed (1:53). What frightening words! God does not just neglect or ignore such people. He actively scatters them, brings them down and sends them away empty-handed! You may say, “Why does God do this? Doesn’t He desire that all people be saved?” Yes, He has made provision for all who will come, but they must come on His terms, not theirs.
An article in Newsweek a few years ago (12/17/90) on the baby-boomers who are coming back into the church reported how they were religious consumers, picking and choosing what they want from a church that offers the services they’re looking for. It stated, “They don’t convert—they choose.” Sadly, many churches are catering to the consumer, offering seeker-friendly services.
I hate to break it to you, but God isn’t operating a religious department store! You come to Him His way, as a guilty sinner needing a Savior, or not at all. God doesn’t negotiate a deal. If you repent of your pride and selfishness and sin, and come to the cross, He will pour out His abundant mercy on you. If you cling to your own righteousness and self-esteem and sufficiency, God will send you away empty. And if God sends you away empty, you are empty in the absolute sense of that word! You have nothing to look forward to in eternity but the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
D. L. Moody said, “Christ sends none away empty but those who are full of themselves.” The church at Laodicea professed to be a Christian church. Things seemed to be going fairly well in that church, from their perspective. They said, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.” God’s perspective was a bit different: “You do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked.” (Rev. 3:17). The Lord told them to repent. He said to that church, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20).
The offer still stands. If you will repent of your sin and cry out to Jesus Christ to save you, God will graciously pour out His mercy on you. Then you will be able to sing Mary’s song, “My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.”
© Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Suppose that you had just visited Niagara Falls. You marveled at the massive power of all that water gushing over the falls. So you decided to see what the river looked like about a mile upstream. As you’re there, you see a guy in a rowboat, floating downstream toward the falls, oblivious to any danger. You yell at him, but he seems to be deaf. You jump up and down, waving your arms. He finally sees you and waves back, a smile on his face.
If there was a speedboat moored nearby, you could jump in and race out to where he was and throw him a lifeline. But he may not even take it, because obviously, he is not aware that he is in any danger. He’s just cruising down the river, and to take your lifeline would interrupt his leisurely cruise.
The guy in the rowboat represents many in our culture today. Many of them are in church on a given Sunday. They’re cruising down the river of life, fairly contented with how things are going. But they’re oblivious to the fact that God’s terrible judgment lies just ahead. Or, if they think about it, they surmise that it only applies to people who aren’t in a good boat like they’re in. They’re in the rowboat of their own good deeds, and they figure that it will carry them through what they think may be a few ripples of the judgment. But they have no idea of the terrible wrath of God upon sinners, and they don’t see themselves as sinners. So any warnings you shout to them, or any efforts to throw them the lifeline of salvation, are ignored. They don’t see their desperate need of salvation, and so they don’t respond with gratitude and relief to the tender mercy of God in sending the Savior.
Zacharias could easily have been the man in the rowboat. He was a faithful Jewish man who performed his duty as a priest. He and his wife kept the Lord’s commandments and ordinances (Luke 1:6). He wasn’t a godless man, like the pagan Romans who occupied the Jewish homeland. He wasn’t a religious hypocrite, like the profane Herod who reigned over the land. Zacharias easily could have thought of himself as a man who was secure in the rowboat of his own good works, with nothing to fear from God’s judgment.
But, thankfully, Zacharias did not see himself that way. He knew that the falls were rapidly approaching, and he saw himself as helplessly drifting toward them with increasing speed. And so, when God revealed to him that he would have a son who would be the forerunner of the Savior, Zacharias broke forth in this beautiful psalm of praise to God for His great mercy in sending the Savior who had been promised to the fathers centuries before.
You’ll recall that although he was a godly man, Zacharias had doubted the word of the angel that he and his wife would have a son. To discipline him, the Lord had caused Zacharias to be deaf and dumb for at least nine months. But the promised son had been born, and at his circumcision, family and friends gathered, assuming that they would name the boy Zacharias, or at least after another relative. But when Zacharias wrote on the tablet in obedience to God’s command, “His name is John,” his tongue was loosed and he broke forth in this torrent of praise to God for His great salvation.
Salvation is the theme of Zacharias’ prophecy: He mentions “redemption” (1:68); “salvation” (1:69, 71, 77); and, “being delivered” (1:74). The main message of these profound verses, is …
The tender mercy of our God moves Him to provide salvation for those who are in desperate straits.
I want to develop five themes related to salvation:
Zacharias states that God has “accomplished redemption for His people” (1:68). Whereas nine months earlier Zacharias had doubted the word of God, now he believes so strongly that he speaks of a future event as if God has already done it. The word “redemption” implies that those being redeemed are in bondage. Slaves need redemption, not free people. God’s salvation comes to those who know that they are enslaved by sin.
This is further underscored twice by stating that God is saving His people from the hand of their enemies who hate them (1:71, 74). While this salvation obviously has a national political aspect to it, which will be fulfilled when Christ comes the second time to deliver Israel from her enemies and establish His millennial kingdom, it also has a personal spiritual reference (1:77, “forgiveness of sins”). As the apostle Paul reminds us, we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against the powerful spiritual forces of evil (Eph. 6:10-12). Satan and his forces are behind both the political enemies of God’s people and their spiritual bondage before they are saved. As Paul also states, “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4). But the point is, those who need God’s deliverance are in desperate straits—in bondage to sin, oppressed by Satan—and they know it.
Their desperate condition is further described as “those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death” (1:79). The picture is of travelers who have lost their way in the wilderness and are overtaken by night. They grope for the path, but it eludes them. Finally, in despair, they can do nothing but sit down in the darkness, where death from wild beasts lurks in the shadows, and hope for the morning light. They can’t sleep because they are too cold and too afraid. Every time a wolf howls in the darkness, they shudder.
It’s a graphic picture of those who sit in the darkness and shadow of death that comes from sin. They are lost in the darkness, not knowing which way to go. They are afraid of death that lurks in the shadows. They are in a desperate situation.
The common element with each of these metaphors is that those in these desperate straits know that they need God’s deliverance. They know that they’re in bondage and that their enemies are too strong for them. They know that they’re lost in darkness and the shadow of death. If morning doesn’t dawn soon, they will die. They also know that the deliverance they need is far beyond their own ability to accomplish. If God doesn’t break into their situation, they’re doomed. Even Zacharias, who is described as a righteous and blameless man (1:6), knew that he desperately needed God’s salvation.
One evidence that God is about to accomplish His redemption for you is that the Holy Spirit has opened your eyes to the guilt of your sin. You formerly were blinded to your sin and need of a Savior, but now you realize that you are in bondage to sin, and you long for deliverance. You realize that you cannot deliver yourself. Like that rowboat heading for Niagara Falls, all of your good works could never deliver you in the day of God’s righteous judgment. If you see the desperate straits you’re in, it’s evidence that the Sunshine from on high is about to rise on your needy situation. There is good news for you.
If it were up to us to save ourselves, we all would be doomed. But, thankfully, it’s not up to us. Salvation is of the Lord. This comes through strongly in these verses. Note first that the Lord God “visited us” (1:68, 78). We did not go searching for Him; He came and visited us. He saw our helpless condition, took pity on us, and came down to meet our enormous need in the person of the Savior.
This prophecy is steeped in the Old Testament. The theme of God visiting His people comes from Genesis 50:24, 25. As Joseph was dying in Egypt, he predicted that God would visit his descendants and bring them from there to the land that He had promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In the Septuagint, the Greek uses an emphatic Hebraism, “in visiting, God will visit you,” which means, “God will surely visit you.” Then Joseph repeats, “At the visitation with which God shall visit you, then you shall carry my bones with you.” After an interval of 400 years of slavery in Egypt, we read of God telling Moses (Exod. 3:16): “Visiting, I have visited you” (see also, Exod. 4:31).
Even so, in Zacharias’ time, Israel had not heard a word from the Lord in 400 years. The nation was now under the Roman yoke of oppression. It seemed as if God had forgotten His people. But then, after the birth of the forerunner of Messiah, and knowing the angel’s promise to Mary that she would bear the Son of God, Zacharias prophesies, “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited us and accomplished redemption for His people.”
If you were living in abject poverty and one day a kind billionaire visited you, you might have a ray of hope that he would take pity on you and give you some help. But God has done more than that. He not only saw our desperate condition and sent us help; He actually took our human condition on Himself! He took on human flesh, not as a mighty king, above our weaknesses, but as a baby, subject to our frailty, yet without sin. As if that were not enough, He even took our sin on Himself on the cross, bearing the penalty we deserve! It was all God’s doing because of His tender mercy (1:78), not because we deserved it. God visited us in the birth of Jesus Christ.
There are many other evidences in our text that salvation is God’s doing, not our doing. He accomplished it (1:68). “He raised up a horn of salvation for us” (1:69). The horn is a symbol of the strength of an animal, such as a bull (Ps. 132:17; 18:2). Here it points to the fact that salvation required God’s mighty power because our enemy is so strong. But God did it--He raised it up. He did it in fulfillment of many prophecies that He had given centuries before (1:70-71). Alfred Edersheim found more than 400 Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament, but even apart from these specific prophecies, the whole of the Old Testament points to Christ (cited by Norval Geldenhuys, Luke [Eerdmans], pp. 93-94).
Furthermore, God sent the Savior in accordance with the oath of His covenant with Abraham (1:72-73). Two thousand years before Jesus Christ was born, God sovereignly chose Abraham, a pagan from Ur of the Chaldeans, and promised to make a great nation of him, to give his descendants the land of Canaan, and to bless all the families of the earth through him (Gen. 12:1-3). Jesus Christ was the descendant of Abraham in whom God’s promises were fulfilled.
God also raised up John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, in accordance with prophecies made hundreds of years before. In Isaiah 40:3 and Malachi 3:1; 4:5, God predicted that He would send His messenger in the spirit and power of Elijah to prepare the way before Him. Even though Zacharias and Elizabeth were humanly beyond their childbearing years, God sent His angel to promise that they would have this son who would fulfill these prophecies by making “ready a people prepared for the Lord” (Luke 1:17).
The point is that God did all this apart from human initiative, effort, merit, or ability. God planned it, He prophesied it, and He carried it out, in spite of Zacharias’ doubts and inability to father a son. The salvation God provided in Jesus Christ comes totally from Him. We cannot do anything to earn it or work for it. All we can do is receive it.
In addition to all of these proofs that salvation is God’s doing, not ours, there is also the theme of God’s great mercy that permeates Luke 1 (see vv. 50, 54, 58, 72, 78). As we saw last week, God’s mercy and His grace are somewhat synonymous, meaning His undeserved favor, but His mercy has the added connotation of His compassion on those who are in great misery. God’s mercy is an overwhelming concept, but when the Holy Spirit speaking through Zacharias adds, “the tender mercy of our God” (1:78), it sounds almost too good to be true!
We’ve just seen that His salvation is not for people who have it pretty much together. They are in bondage to sin, oppressed by Satan, sitting in darkness and the shadow of death. It would seem reasonable for God to say, “Make some efforts at self-improvement, and maybe then we can talk about salvation.” But, no, the tender mercy of our God means, as Paul puts it, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly…. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5: 6, 8).
This runs counter to the commonly held notion that we can save ourselves by our own effort or ability. It goes against the idea that we are worthy to be saved. No! Salvation is from God, apart from human merit, that no one can boast. If you think you can do something to save yourself or to provide for your own salvation, you have too high a view of yourself. Salvation is for those who know that they are in desperate straits. It is God’s doing, not ours.
Though Jesus’ name is not mentioned specifically in Zacharias’ prophecy, His person is described so that there is no mistaking it. This horn of salvation is from “the house of David” (1:69). Zacharias and Elizabeth were both descended from Aaron who was from the tribe of Levi (Luke 1:5), but Jesus was descended from the tribe of Judah through David (Matt. 1:2-17; Luke 3:23-38). Jesus Himself affirmed that He is the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham (John 8:56-58).
Also, the coming Savior was none other than God in human flesh. John went “before the Lord to prepare His ways” (1:76). The Lord (who is God) is Jesus. That John recognized the divinity of Jesus was obvious when he said that he was not even worthy to untie the thong of His sandals. John affirmed that Jesus had a higher rank than him because He existed before him, even though physically John was six months older than Jesus (John 1:27, 30).
Zacharias refers to this Savior as “the Sunrise from on high” (Luke 1:78), a reference to Malachi 4:2: “The sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings.” Jesus Himself claimed, “I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). Clearly, Jesus Christ is the Savior of whom Zacharias and all Scripture prophesied. “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). God’s salvation is in Jesus Christ alone.
Thus, salvation comes to those who know they are in desperate straits. It is God’s doing, not ours. It is accomplished through the Lord Jesus Christ.
As I mentioned, there will be a national deliverance of the nation Israel from her enemies when Jesus Christ returns and crushes the nations opposed to His chosen people. But, as verse 77 states, salvation is also personal. It consists in the forgiveness of our sins. The Jewish religious leaders were looking for a political Messiah who would deliver Israel from Rome. They thought that everything would be fine if such a leader would come on the scene. But John the Baptist confronted them with their personal sins and need of personal salvation: “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance, and do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham for our father,’ for I say to you that God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham” (Luke 3:7, 8).
We all like to think in terms of political solutions to the problems that our society faces. If the government would just get it together, our problems would be solved and life would be peaceful. But God’s salvation goes deeper than that. It confronts the individual with his or her sin by saying, “The problem isn’t just out there with the government. The problem is in your heart. You have sinned against a holy God, and there will be no true and lasting peace until you have the peace in your heart of knowing that your sins are forgiven.”
Only God can forgive sins and He does not do it arbitrarily, but in accordance with His perfect justice and righteousness. The penalty for sins must be paid or God is not just in forgiving them. On the cross, Jesus Christ offered Himself as the ransom for sinners. Since He was man and lived perfectly in obedience to God’s law as a man, His sacrifice had merit for the human race. Since He was God in human flesh, His sacrifice had merit before the throne of God’s perfect justice. The sinner who trusts in Jesus’ death on his behalf can be assured that God is propitiated or satisfied. Why did God send His Son as the sacrifice for sinners? Because of His tender mercy! “Amazing love! How can it be, that Thou my God shouldst die for me!” (Charles Wesley).
Zacharias says that we, “being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all our days” (1:74-75). Contrary to popular opinion, God does not save us primarily so that we will be happy. The Christian life is a blessedly happy life, full of joy and gladness. But that is a by-product, not the chief focus. God saves us so that we might glorify Him (make Him look good) through a life of holy service. People who think they’re saved but who live for themselves and their own happiness are deceived. True salvation always results in a life of growing holiness given over to serving the gracious God who has granted deliverance from the bondage of sin.
Years ago a Salvation Army officer, Captain Shaw, went to India as a medical missionary to a leper colony. His eyes welled with tears as he saw three lepers who were prisoners, their hands and feet bound by chains that cut into their diseased flesh. Shaw turned to the guard and said, “Please unfasten these chains.” “But it isn’t safe,” the guard replied. “These men are not just lepers; they’re dangerous criminals.”
“I’ll be responsible; they’re suffering enough,” Shaw said, as he took the keys, and tenderly removed the shackles and treated their bleeding ankles and wrists.
About two weeks later Captain Shaw had his first misgivings about freeing these criminals. He had to make an overnight trip and feared leaving his wife and child alone. His wife insisted that she wasn’t afraid; God would protect her. So the doctor left. The next morning when Mrs. Shaw went to her door, she was startled to see the three criminals lying on her steps. One explained, “We know the doctor go. We stay here all night so no harm come to you.” That was their response to the doctor’s act of love for them—to serve him freely out of gratitude. That should be our response to God’s freeing us from bondage to sin—to give our lives in holy service to Him.
Have you personally experienced the tender mercy of God by receiving the forgiveness of sins He offers in the Lord Jesus Christ? Has the Holy Spirit opened your eyes to your desperate situation outside of Christ? You sit in darkness and the shadow of death, awaiting God’s awful judgment. You can do nothing to save yourself. But God has done it all. In His tender mercy, He offers you a full pardon if you will receive Jesus Christ.
Years ago, a man named Dr. Barnardo, who ran a London orphanage, was approached by a dirty, ragged little boy who asked for admission. The doctor looked at him and said, “But my boy, I don’t know you. What do you have to recommend you?”
The boy was both needy and bright. He quickly held up before Dr. Barnardo his ragged coat and with a confident voice said, “If you please, sir, I thought these here would be all I needed to recommend me.” Dr. Barnardo caught him up in his arms and took him in, because that truly was all he needed to recommend him—his rags.
Do you need forgiveness? Then bring all your sins and apply to Jesus. Because of His tender mercy, God will pardon all who seek His forgiveness. Salvation means the forgiveness of our sins by God’s mercy. There’s no such thing as sin that is greater than the tender mercy of our God!
Copyright Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
A few years ago, newscaster Andy Rooney responded to the charge that his profession only covered the negative side of everything. He imagined a newscast in which it was reported that planes took off and landed safely. In Florida, the orange crop was hit by another night of average weather. The oranges just hung in there and grew. In Detroit, General Motors announced that 174,000 Chevrolets would not be recalled because they were all perfect. Rooney’s point was that good news isn’t always appreciated unless it’s against the backdrop of bad news.
Our text tells us the best news in the world, but two factors make it difficult for people to appreciate it. First, the Christmas story is perhaps the most widely known story in history. As a result, many people, even Christians, shrug it off as not being especially exciting or relevant to the problems they are facing. Second, many people do not realize what dire straits they are in regarding their standing before God and their eternal destiny. So when they read the familiar story that a Savior has been born in the city of Bethlehem, they yawn and say, “That’s nice. What’s for dinner?” Not seeing their desperate need for salvation, they fail to appreciate the fact that this story is the best news in all of history.
The best news in the world is that a Savior was born for you, who is Christ the Lord.
A couple of years ago, Moody Magazine (Jan./Feb., 1996) reported that 49 percent of professing Christians agree that “all good people, whether they consider Jesus Christ to be Savior or not, will live in heaven after they die.” If that opinion is true, then the story of the birth of Jesus may warm your heart and make you feel good. But it won’t be the best news in the world, news that you cannot live without. However, if the Bible is correct in stating that all people have sinned and apart from Christ they are under God’s condemnation, then the news that the Savior has been born is hardly just nice! It is the best news in the world and it is absolutely crucial! Consider five aspects of this good news:
This needs to be emphasized in our day. So many legends, such as Santa Claus, have become intertwined with the Christmas story that people lump them all together and forget that the birth of Jesus Christ as reported in the Bible is true history. Some may ask, “Who cares if it’s history or not? The story about the virgin Mary, the Christ child, the angels, the wise men, the shepherds, and all that stuff is a heartwarming tale that children love to hear. It helps everyone focus on peace on earth for a few brief days every year. So what difference does it make if it’s really true or not?”
It makes all the difference in the world. If it’s just a heartwarming legend, you can choose to believe or disbelieve it. It’s your option, based on how it makes you feel. It’s a completely subjective decision, binding on no one.
But if the story is actually happened as reported by Luke, then the birth of Jesus the Savior confronts every person with some objective facts that cannot be shrugged off as personal opinion. The fact that these events happened as reported means that God exists and that He truly broke into human history in the birth of Jesus in fulfillment of many prophecies. The fact that God actually sent a Savior implies that people without the Savior are alienated from God and desperately need to be reconciled with Him through the forgiveness of their sins.
This means that the relationship between God and His people is not based on an inward experience inside their own heads, but upon a reality that was seen, heard, and authenticated by these witnesses. It means that you don’t just believe in Jesus because it makes you feel warm and happy inside, or because He helps you face life’s problems or because you like the Christian traditions of worship. It means that you believe the Christian message because it is true. Even if it brings you persecution and death, you cling to it because it is better authenticated in history than even the fact that George Washington was the first president of the United States. The good news about Christ the Savior is historically true.
The angel states it plainly in verse 11: Jesus, born of the virgin Mary, is the “Savior, who is Christ [Messiah, “Anointed One”] the Lord.” Consider who this Savior is:
He is fully man. He was born in the city of David, to descendants of David who were there to register for their taxes. That sounds pretty human, doesn’t it? Do you suppose Joseph grumbled about having to make a 90-mile, three-day trip, just to register to pay his taxes to the despised Romans? Isn’t it interesting that the God who sovereignly used the Roman emperor’s tax edict to get Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem for the birth of the Messiah (to fulfill prophecy) didn’t also sovereignly arrange for a room for them in the inn? There weren’t any special royal privileges for this baby. They laid Him in a feeding trough. Contrary to the popular Christmas carol, this baby did cry! There was no halo around His head. What the shepherds saw was a wrinkled, red, newborn human baby. Jesus the Savior assumed full humanity so that He might bear the sins of the human race.
He is fully God. The angel told the shepherds that this one who had been born in Bethlehem was Christ the Lord. We must interpret this title in light of its use in the Old Testament and in light of its context in Luke. In the Old Testament, the Lord clearly is God, Yahweh, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob! Luke uses the same word in 2:9, where is says that the angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them. He uses it in 2:23 to refer to “the law of the Lord” and “holy to the Lord.” If the word means something different in verse 11 than it does in verse 9 or verse 23, surely Luke would have clarified it. The Savior had to be man to bear the sins of humans; but He also had to be God so that His sacrifice had merit before the holy throne of Almighty God. Only Jesus is that unique Savior.
Before moving on from this term, Lord, we must note that it implies that Jesus has authority over every person, as well as over all angelic and demonic powers. It is absurd for a person to say, “I’ve accepted Jesus as my Savior, but not as my Lord.” You can’t divide Him into neat categories to serve your selfish needs! Jesus is both Savior and Lord, which means that submitting your entire life to Him is not an option for you to consider adding to the salvation package at some later date. It is demanded by virtue of who He is, the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth!
This Savior is the Christ (or Messiah). Messiah is the Hebrew and Christ is the Greek word for “Anointed One.” It refers to Jesus as the special Anointed King and Priest, who brings God’s salvation to His people. In the Old Testament, the only two office bearers to be anointed were the King and the High Priest, but the messianic expectation centered on the kingly aspect, as portrayed in Psalm 2. The title, Christ, especially focuses on the fact that Jesus is the One who fulfilled all the Old Testament prophecies about the promised Savior.
Finally, note that this one who was born is the Savior. This implies that those He came to save are lost, alienated from God, under His just condemnation because of their sins. What Jesus saves us from is the awful wrath of God. The term also implies that we are helpless and can do nothing to save ourselves. We need outside intervention if we are to be delivered from God’s judgment. Jesus alone provides salvation for sinners.
So this combination of terms, that this Jesus who was born is a Savior, who is Christ the Lord, attributes to Jesus the highest possible view of His person. Any message that implies or states that Jesus is less than fully human, less than fully God, less than fully Lord, or less than fully the Savior from sin and judgment, is not the good news of the Bible. The good news centers on the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Have you ever considered why the story does not say, “Now there were in the same region scribes and Pharisees, keeping watch over their scrolls and religious rituals”? Or, “There were kings and princes keeping watch over their treasures at the palace.” God chose to reveal the birth of the Savior to simple shepherds who were going about their duties. Why shepherds? God chose shepherds to show that …
The good news is for all people, not just for the elite. As Paul told the Corinthians, “Consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God” (1 Cor. 1:26-29).
If the gospel were some complicated philosophy that required years of graduate study and a high I.Q. to grasp, then those who attained it would boast of their intelligence. If the gospel required sums of money or high social standing to attain, there would be no hope for the poor and lowly. But the beauty of the good news is that even an uneducated, illiterate tribal man in the jungle can understand that he is a sinner and the Jesus Christ is God’s Savior, and by God’s grace, he can believe and be saved.
The good news involved the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. It is likely that the very sheep these men were tending in the fields that night were being prepared for slaughter at the Passover in Jerusalem. Thus it is symbolic that the shepherds who were watching the Passover lambs would be invited to Bethlehem to view the Lamb of God who would be slain for sinners.
In His perfect justice, God has declared that the wages of sin is death. But in His love and mercy, God provided the very penalty His justice demanded. The entire Jewish sacrificial system pointed ahead to Jesus Christ, the perfect sin-bearer, who offered Himself as the acceptable substitute for sinners. If you trust in Him as your sin-bearer, God transfers your guilt to Him and His perfect righteousness to you.
The good news provided us with a Good Shepherd. God has always had a special place in His heart for shepherds. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were shepherds. King David was called from tending the sheep to shepherd God’s people. David was a type of his promised descendant, who would reign on David’s throne, who said of Himself, “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:11). If you will trust in Jesus as your Savior, He will become your Good Shepherd, who will care for you as no other can. He knows your deepest needs. He will protect you from wolves and thieves who would destroy your soul. He came to give His sheep abundant life (John 10:10-13).
So God revealed His Savior to these simple shepherds to show us that His good news is for common people. It involved the sacrifice of the Lamb of God. It provides us with Jesus as our Good Shepherd.
The good news about Christ the Savior is historically true. It is based on His unique Person. It reaches the common person.
The events that happened to those shepherds on that historic night were symbolic of what happens to every person who responds to the good news of Christ the Savior. First, they were sitting in the darkness of the Judean night. Coming immediately after Zacharias’ prophecy that the Sunrise from on high would “shine upon those who sit in darkness” (1:79), the story of the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night is more than a coincidence. It shows a fulfillment of God’s promise. Their sitting out in that black night is a picture of every human heart without the Savior. We all sit in darkness and the shadow of death.
Then, suddenly, there was a great flash of light. An angel of the Lord stood before them and the glory of the Lord shone around them. It was as if a prolonged lightning flash lit up the night sky. But it was more than a physical event. It symbolized what happens to every person when the Holy Spirit illumines his or her darkened heart with the light of the gospel. Whereas before they were blind, now they see. As Isaiah prophesied, “The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them” (Isa. 9:2).
It’s easy to understand the shepherds’ next response: They were terrified. Sitting in darkness in a deserted place is enough by itself to make you a bit jittery. They were watching their flocks because of the danger of robbers or wolves. So they’re sitting there, kind of on edge, but also fighting drowsiness, when suddenly the sky lights up like the noonday sun, and a man who had not been there seconds before was instantly standing before them, brilliant in his appearance. Instant terror!
It’s much the same when the light of the gospel flashes upon your mind. Sitting in the darkness of sin may have been a bit spooky, but it was tolerable. But suddenly the glory of God’s absolute holiness shines into your sin-blackened heart, and you realize, with Isaiah when he got a vision of God, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isa. 6:5).
But, thankfully, God in His tender mercy does not leave us in that terrifying situation. The angel immediately spoke words of comfort and joy, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of a great joy …” (2:10). With John Newton, we sing, “’Twas grace that caused my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved. How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.”
The intensity and the sequence of these events will vary from person to person. There is a sense in which as we grow in our walk with God, our awareness of the utter blackness of our hearts, the blinding intensity of the unapproachable light of God’s presence, and the joy of knowing that our sins are forgiven, will continually increase. They aren’t all present in fully developed form at the moment of conversion. But they will be present to some extent in the heart of every believer. If you do not, to some degree, know the fear of God and the joy of sins forgiven, I question whether you know Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord. Note one final thing:
The shepherds did not hear this great news and then sit around discussing it. They didn’t send a delegation to the rabbis in Jerusalem to get their view of things. They didn’t say, “We’ve always believed these things. After all, we’re Jews, we know the Scriptures, that Messiah is to be born in Bethlehem. Thanks for telling us!” Rather, they responded in several definite ways:
The response of faith. Although the text does not explicitly say that the shepherds responded by faith, it describes their response of faith. They obviously believed the words of the angel or they would not have left their sheep and gone to Bethlehem to see for themselves what the Lord had revealed to them.
And, what did they see when they got to Bethlehem? Did they see a kingly child arrayed in royal robes in a golden cradle with servants attending Him? Did He and His mother have halos over their heads? Not quite! They saw a common couple from Nazareth in a primitive stable with a normal-looking newborn baby. It wasn’t exactly the way you would expect God to bring His Anointed Savior into this world. But the shepherds viewed this baby with eyes of faith, in accordance with the word of God given through the angel.
When God reveals Christ to your soul, you must respond with eyes of faith. Jesus may not be the kind of Savior you expected. You might have had in mind a Savior who could give you everything you’ve always wanted. Your thoughts about the Savior might not have included birth in a stable, let alone crucifixion on a cross. But this Jesus is God’s Savior and you must personally believe in Him as revealed in the Bible.
The response of proclamation. “When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child” (2:17). It is “good news of a great joy which shall be for all the people” (2:10). The shepherds didn’t stop to think about how people might respond. Some might have said with raised eyebrows, “You saw a bunch of angels and then you went and saw carpenter and his wife with a baby in a feeding trough, and you think he’s the Messiah, huh? Right!” But that didn’t stop these men from relating the story. Once you have seen the Savior with eyes of faith, you cannot stop telling others the great news.
The response of praise. “The shepherds went back glorifying and praising God” (2:20). When God has taken you from the darkness of your sin and by His grace revealed His Savior to your soul, your heart will be filled with praise and joy. As the apostle Paul puts it, believers should be “joyously giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:11-13). Those who have heard God’s good news should respond with faith, with proclamation, and with praise.
The response of endurance. “The shepherds went back …” (2:20). Went back where? Went back to sign a book contract and to appear on Christian TV shows? They went back to launch a ministry called “Shepherd’s Vision,” and they became famous throughout the land? No! They went back to their sheep.
That’s kind of a letdown, isn’t it? After the great things that they saw, they went back to the routine job they had been in before. They didn’t set up tours of Bethlehem. They didn’t put on seminars on how to have visions of angels. They went back to their jobs, but praising God for His abundant grace to them.
God doesn’t call us to a spectacular, flashy, constantly exciting life. He calls us to believe in the Savior, and then He sends us back into the routine to learn to rejoice in Him and His great salvation day in and day out.
A man traveled a great distance for an interview with a distinguished scholar. He was ushered into the man’s study, where he said, “Doctor, I notice that the walls of your study are lined with books from the ceiling to the floor. No doubt you have read them all. I know you have written many yourself. You have traveled extensively, and doubtless you’ve had the privilege of conversing with some of the world’s wisest men. I’ve come a long way to ask you just one question. Tell, me, of all you’ve learned, what is the one thing most worth knowing?”
Putting his hand on his guest’s shoulder, the scholar replied with emotion in his voice, “My dear sir, of all the things I have learned, only two are really worth knowing. The first is, I am a great sinner, and the second, Jesus Christ is a great Savior!”
If you know those two things personally, you know the best news in the whole world, that a Savior has been born for you who is Christ the Lord!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Charles Eliot was the president and then, in retirement, the president emeritus of Harvard University. During the summer of his 90th year, he made his way slowly down the road from his cottage in Northeast Harbor, Maine, to the cottage of his neighbors, the Peabodys. Mrs. Peabody greeted him warmly and invited him into the living room. After a brief conversation, Eliot asked if he might hold her new baby.
Mystified, she lifted her infant son from his crib and laid him in the arms of Harvard’s venerable president emeritus. Eliot held the baby quietly for a few minutes. Then, with a little gesture of thanks, he returned him to his mother, explaining, “I have been looking at the end of life for so long that I wanted to look for a few moments at its beginning.” (In Reader’s Digest [8/83].)
We all need hope. Especially in old age, but also at all other points in life, we need hope. One of the blessings that comes along with the little ones God entrusts to us is hope.
And yet, the hope that comes with children is an uncertain hope at best. There is always the uncertainty of disease or death. What parent of a newborn has not gone in by the crib in the middle of the night and put his or her ear down close enough to make sure that the little one is breathing? If the child survives disease or an early death, there is the uncertainty of this evil world. Crime, child molesters, drunk drivers, the threat of terrorism or war, and economic instability make every parent worry about the kind of world our children and grandchildren will grow up in.
Given these uncertainties, when we meet an elderly person who is filled with hope, we need to sit up and take notice. Here is someone who could be pessimistic, cynical, filled with fears and anxieties. But he is brimming over with firm hope. We had better listen. We might learn some things.
Simeon was such a man. When he held the infant Jesus in his arms in the temple courtyard, we see more than just an old man taking hope in any newborn. Rather, we see an old man who has put his hope in the promises of God. This was no ordinary newborn! He was the fulfillment of God’s promises to His people. As we observe this elderly saint with this child in his arms, we learn some valuable lessons about the hope we all so desperately need:
Those who hope in God’s promises in Christ will be rewarded.
Let’s look first at the hope that Simeon had and how it was rewarded. Then we will look at the object of his hope.
Simeon is described as “righteous and devout” (2:25). “Righteous” means that his behavior in the sight of God and towards his fellow man was in accordance with God’s standards. He wasn’t a phony, practicing his good deeds to be seen by others. He quietly and consistently obeyed God, even when people weren’t looking.
“Devout” has the connotation of reverent. It sometimes means careful. It means that Simeon wasn’t careless about the spiritual life. While you can skim over these two words in a flash, they reflect a lifetime of cultivation. No one accidentally becomes righteous and devout. Simeon cultivated his walk with God.
The key to Simeon’s righteous life can be seen in his view of himself in relation to God. In verse 29, the word “Lord” is an unusual one, used only five times in reference to God. We get our word “despot” from it. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon says that it means “absolute ownership and uncontrolled power.” Simeon saw God as the Sovereign Lord who had prepared His salvation (2:30, 31) and had graciously allowed Simeon to see it. And Simeon saw himself as the slave of this Sovereign Lord. Slaves have no rights. They belong to their owner and their only obligation is to obey. Simeon had a high view of God and a humble view of himself.
Keep in mind the times in which Simeon lived. The Jewish religious leaders were largely political and not deeply spiritual. There had been no prophet in Israel for 400 years. Israel had been oppressed by one foreign power after another during those long centuries, and even now they were ruled by the corrupt Herod under the dominion of Rome. It would have been easy for Simeon to get caught up in the political fervor of the times and to wonder skeptically, “Where are these great promises of God for His people?” But instead, he was righteous and devout.
If we hope in Christ, we must take care to live righteously. We will view God as the Sovereign Lord, our Master, and ourselves as His slaves. We will comb His Word to determine how He wants us to live, and we will walk with Him every day. To hope in Jesus Christ means to live righteously.
He was “looking for the consolation of Israel” (2:25). This refers to the time prophesied by Isaiah (40:1-2) when God would comfort His people and remove their sins by sending His Anointed One, the Messiah. How long had Simeon been looking? Probably all his life! It would have been easy for him to think, “Generations have come and gone and these promises have never been fulfilled. Why expect that it will happen in my lifetime? Just settle in for the long haul, and give up this notion that Messiah will come.”
Do you live expectantly? Do you expect God to answer your prayers, or are you surprised when one gets answered? Must have been a coincidence! Do you expect the Lord to return soon? Maybe you’re thinking, “Come on, people have been expecting that for 1,900 years, and it hasn’t happened.” But those people were the better for living each day expecting Him to come in their lifetimes. In our day, the signs of His coming are all around us. Will the Son of Man find faith in us when He comes (Luke 18:8)? People of hope live expectantly, waiting on God to fulfill His promises.
In case you missed it, the Holy Spirit is mentioned three times in verses 25-27: “the Holy Spirit was upon him.” “It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit…” “He came in the Spirit into the temple.” Here is an Old Testament saint, living before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, and yet he probably lived more in the fullness of the Spirit than most Christians today!
Have you ever asked yourself, “If God were to withdraw His Holy Spirit from me, would I even notice the difference?” Would your week have gone any differently than it did if the Spirit had pulled out? To walk by the Spirit means to depend on Him consciously for everything you do. You depend on Him to resist temptation. You ask Him for insight into His Word. You rely on Him for the right attitude in the midst of trials. You seek Him for wisdom in difficult decisions.
When you live in the power of the Holy Spirit, your life is marked by hope in God. Paul wrote (Rom. 15:13), “Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Joy and peace and hope are the opposite of depression and anxiety and despair. That verse does not just apply to certain personality types, or to those who are in relatively trouble-free situations. As you learn to live in the fullness of God’s Spirit, the God of hope will fill you with His joy, peace, and abounding hope! If you lack these things, don’t get more depressed in hearing me say this. Get on your knees every day and ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit. To hope in Christ means to live righteously and expectantly in the power of the Holy Spirit.
God rewarded Simeon’s hope, so that he held in his arms the Lord’s Anointed, as the Holy Spirit had promised. Simeon was a fulfilled man. There is no hint of regret in his voice, no bitterness, no remorse at having spent his life as he had. He was rewarded in at least three ways, which apply to all who hope in God:
I will show in a moment the amazing grasp of spiritual truth that Simeon possessed. When Jesus was born, King Herod had to call for the chief priests and scribes to discover what the Old Testament said about the place of His birth. They could give the correct answer, but they missed the fact of it. It was revealed to humble shepherds and now, to this godly old man who had been waiting on God for this very event.
Simeon understood through the Holy Spirit that this very Child in his arms was the Lord’s promised Anointed One. He knew that not all would welcome Him, but that there would be opposition resulting in much anguish for Mary (2:34, 35). From Isaiah the prophet, Simeon knew that this Child would be for Israel “a stone to strike and a rock to stumble over” (Isa. 8:14). The commentator, Godet (A Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke [I. K. Funk & Co.], p. 88), shrewdly observes,
Simeon discerned beneath the outward forms of Jewish piety, their love of human glory, their hypocrisy, avarice, and hatred of God; and he perceives that this child will prove the occasion for all this hidden venom being poured forth from the recesses of their hearts… We feel that this old man knows more about the moral condition of the people and their rulers than he has a mind to tell.
Even the disciples seemed to be caught off guard by the opposition Jesus faced. Especially they didn’t expect the cross. But Simeon seemed to know that God’s Anointed would cause division and opposition. He knew that God’s revelation was also for the Gentiles. His understanding of the things of God enabled him to be stable and unaffected by the currents of evil around him.
That’s the kind of understanding we should seek as we hope in Christ. While we must be careful and diligent students of God’s Word, the kind of knowledge we should seek is not just academic. We should pray that we would have insight into the ways of God so that we would have divine wisdom to discern our times and live in godliness in this evil day.
For Simeon, this one moment in the temple made all his life worth the living. His deepest desire in life had been to see the consolation of Israel, the Lord’s Christ. Maybe he expected to see a powerful king riding on a white charger or sitting on a throne. What he actually saw was a common couple with a newborn baby, going through the everyday ritual of cleansing and presentation as prescribed in the Jewish law. But the Holy Spirit revealed to Simeon, “This is the one.” He responded, “I’m ready to die now that I have seen this Child!” His godly desires had been fulfilled.
Proverbs 10:24 states, “The desire of the righteous will be granted.” Psalm 34:10 affirms, “They who seek the Lord shall not be in want of any good thing.” Psalm 84:11 says, “No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.” Psalm 37:4 promises, “Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart.” Where did we ever get the idea that if you follow the Lord, He will make you miserable? As a loving Father, He will satisfy the desires of our hearts if we hope in Him.
This does not mean that the Lord will grant all our selfish wants. Each of those promises contains a condition. He grants the desire of the righteous. They who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing. He withholds no good thing from those who walk uprightly. He gives the desires of the heart to those who delight in the Lord. When you delight yourself in the Lord, His desires become your desires. The focus of your prayers becomes, “Father, hallow Your name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” If you are hoping for your kingdom to come, your hope will be frustrated. If you are hoping for His kingdom to come, your hope will be abundantly fulfilled, because His kingdom will come in power and glory.
Those who hope in Christ will be rewarded with an understanding of the things of God and the fulfillment of their godly desires. Also,
“Now, Lord, let Your bond-servant depart in peace, according to Your word” (2:29). The picture is of a sentinel being relieved of his watch. Simeon has watched for Messiah all his life. Now he has seen Him and is ready to be relieved of his duty and go home. He was ready to die in peace because he had seen Jesus Christ.
You are not ready to die until you’ve seen Jesus. I do not mean, “see Him” literally or in a vision. What I mean is, you are not ready to die until you have seen Jesus Christ as God’s anointed Savior, and you have welcomed Him into your life as your own Lord and Savior. But once you know that the blood of Jesus has covered all your sin so that you can stand before the Holy God in the righteousness of His Son, then whether you live for another 60 years or 60 hours, you can know that the sting of death is removed because Jesus bore it for you. You’re ready to die in peace.
I just finished reading a powerful book, Richard Baxter’s The Saints’ Everlasting Rest, written in 1649. The subtitle is, “A Treatise of the Blessed State of the Saints in Their Enjoyment of God in Heaven.” For almost 400 pages he develops the theme that the great hope of Christians is not in this life, but in heaven. Our focus on heaven is to shape our every day in this fleeting life. He argues, “For he that fears dying, must be always fearing; because he hath always reason to expect it. And how can that man’s life be comfortable, who lives in continual fear of losing his comforts?” (p. 224). The believer whose hope is truly in Christ and not in the things of this world is ready to depart and be with Christ, which is far better (Phil. 1:23).
So to hope in Christ means to live righteously and expectantly in the power of the Holy Spirit. Those who hope in Christ will be rewarded. But how can we know that our hope is not just wishful thinking? How can we be sure that our hope will not disappoint us?
Everything we hope for is centered in the person of Jesus Christ. If He is not who the Bible proclaims Him to be, we have put our hope in an empty wish. Note how Simeon describes the child in his arms: He is “the consolation of Israel” (2:25). He is “the Lord’s Christ,” the one prophesied of throughout the Old Testament (2:26). He is God’s “salvation” (2:30), “a light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel” (2:32). He “is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel” (2:34). This is no common Child! Briefly note four things about Jesus Christ:
Although this text does not mention Jesus’ virgin birth, it is important to affirm it here. Liberal critics, who try to undermine the authority of God’s Word, pick up on the reference to Jesus’ father and mother, and that they were amazed at Simeon’s words (2:33), and conclude that Luke here used a source that was unaware of the virgin birth. In the previous chapter (1:26-38) Luke makes the virgin birth quite plain. Either Luke was stupid to use a source within the space of a chapter that contradicts what he just affirmed or the critics are stupid. Take your pick!
The reference to Jesus’ father and mother is simply the outward perspective. The fact that they marveled shows that they were in the process of collecting the various pieces of the puzzle as to who this Son of theirs really was. The fact that Jesus was conceived in Mary by the Holy Spirit while she was still a virgin preserved Him from sin and means that He alone is qualified to save us from our sins.
But although Jesus was sinless, He yet identified Himself with us in our sin. He was circumcised according to the Law (2:21), a picture of God cutting away the sinfulness of our hearts so that we are set apart unto Him. He was dedicated to the Lord as the Law prescribed. His mother went through the ritual purification required by the Law. Later, Jesus would submit to baptism under John. He did not go through any of these rituals because of His own sinfulness, but that He might be identified with the people He came to redeem from their sins.
God chose the nation Israel as His means of bringing salvation to all the earth. Jesus was the light of God’s revelation to the Gentiles, who were outside the covenant people of God. That God used Israel to bring salvation to the world brings glory to Israel as His chosen people. When Israel rejected Jesus as their Messiah, God brought a partial hardening to Israel until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in; and then all Israel will be saved (Rom. 11:25, 26). But the point is, Jesus Christ is not only the Savior of the Jews, but of any person from any nation who will call upon Him. It is the glory of the gospel that wherever it goes, no matter how primitive or pagan the culture, when people believe in Jesus Christ, their lives are transformed as they are delivered from the penalty and power of their sins. Jesus is God’s salvation for everyone.
He “is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel, and for a sign to be opposed” (2:34). For men to fall, they first must be standing. The meaning of this verse is that those who view themselves as upright before God in their own merit will stumble and fall over Jesus because they refuse to lay aside their pride and to trust in Christ alone for salvation. But those who confess their sin and their need of Him will be raised up to eternal life. Jesus’ coming brought opposition from the proud because He revealed the thoughts of their hearts. Just as the sun rises to give us light, but it also casts shadows, so Christ who came to bring salvation also brought judgment to those who refuse to submit to Him.
A sword would pierce Mary’s soul (2:35). This is a prophetic reference to the anguish Mary would feel as she witnessed the crucifixion of her son. Simeon may had in mind Isaiah 53:5, “He was pierced through for our transgressions,” or Zechariah 12:10, “They will look on Me whom they have pierced.” Through the Holy Spirit, Simeon understood what even the disciples failed to grasp until after the event, that the Christ had “to suffer these things and to enter into glory” (Luke 24:26). Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness from our sins (Heb. 9:22). If you are trusting in your own goodness to get into heaven, you will fall on judgment day. But if your trust is in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, who is God’s only Savior, you will be welcomed into God’s holy presence on that day. Can you say with certainty, “Jesus Christ is my salvation?”
If Christ is your salvation, you can have hope no matter how difficult your circumstances. During World War II, some American prisoners in a German concentration camp secretly received word of the Allied victory three days before the Germans heard of it. During those three days, their circumstances were no different. They still suffered all the privations they had become used to. But their attitude changed dramatically. A wave of hope spread among the prisoners. Victory and liberation were assured! They could endure those last three days because they had hope.
Whether you’re suffering from a deadly disease or grieving over the loss of a loved one or facing overwhelming trials of some other nature, you can have hope if you will trust in Jesus Christ as God’s salvation for you. He has won the victory over sin and death and hell. Those who hope in Him will not be disappointed!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
What is the measure of a life well spent? How do you know whether you are wasting your life or investing it in the things that really matter?
In America we have several yardsticks by which we measure a life. One is usefulness. We are pragmatists at heart. We feel that if a person does something useful for society, whether it is a profession or a trade, he or she spends his or her life well.
Another yardstick we use is busyness or sheer activity. Our lifestyles reflect our values here—we’re all extremely busy people. Our weekly calendars are full to the brim. We have the notion that if you just sit around, you’re wasting your life.
We also gauge our lives by adventure and excitement. If we can’t get it firsthand, we pick it up vicariously on TV or at sporting events. Our heroes lead exciting lives, either through romance or life-and-death risk taking. We read magazines like People that tell us about the rich and famous, secretly wishing that our lives could be like theirs. We generally think that a person who dies rich and famous has achieved success.
Behind all of these yardsticks is that of personal happiness. Even if a person dies poor and unknown, if he or she was happy or content, that is what matters.
Against these yardsticks of a life well spent, I want to introduce you to Anna. She comes on the biblical page, is described in three short verses, is not even quoted directly, and is gone. If we met a modern-day Anna, we would probably find her a bit odd. Her values clearly are out of sync with those of modern America. Can you picture a reporter for People magazine interviewing her?
Reporter: What is your name?
Anna: Anna, daughter of Phanuel, tribe of Asher. I’m Jewish.
Reporter: Whose daughter? Wanna spell that? How old are you, Ma’am?
Anna: Some say I’m over 100, but others say I’m 84. I like that better!
Reporter: Well, either way you’ve been around the block a few times. I’ll bet you’ve had an interesting life. What have you done?
Anna: Like most Jewish girls, I got married in my teens, but my husband died when I was in my early twenties, before we had children. I’ve been going to the temple almost every day since then.
Reporter: You go to the temple every day? That’s amazing! What do you do there?
Anna: Well, I fast and pray a lot. And, I’m a prophetess, so I hear messages from God now and then.
Reporter: Right! (He thinks to himself, “Maybe this story belongs in the Guinness Book of World Records, not in People magazine!”)
What does this brief glimpse of Anna’s life teach us?
A life devoted to God is a life well spent.
By our American standards, we might look at Anna’s life and think, “What a waste! Eighty-four years, most of it spent in the temple fasting and praying! You’ve got to be kidding! That’s not the kind of life I want to live.” I’ll grant that we’re not all called to devote ourselves to a ministry of prayer and fasting. Obviously, God had gifted her in that way, and she lived accordingly. But apart from her unique gifts, the principle holds true: Anna lived fully devoted to God. God looked on her with favor. In the Bible, every fact is confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses. Along with Simeon, God chose Anna to bear witness to the infant Jesus as the Messiah. She played her God-given role well. Her life was well spent.
But you still may be thinking, “Come on, didn’t Anna really waste her life?” You may not verbalize it, but you may be thinking, “Religion has its proper place, but this is a bit extreme. Why spend your life in devotion to God?”
Isn’t it? Stop and think about it—what else matters in this life? The Pharisees and scribes thought that their religious duties were what mattered. They scurried around the temple precincts that day performing their rituals, oblivious to this unique baby who was being dedicated to the Lord. It gave them a sense of pride to be able to say, “All my life I have kept the commandments of the Torah.” But they missed the Messiah because they were really more devoted to themselves than to God.
The Sadducees thought that political influence and power were what mattered. “Life after death,” they scoffed, “is just pie in the sky when you die. What matters is here and now!” A group of them passed within yards of the child and Anna as they debated the latest edict from Rome.
The temple merchants thought that a good income was what mattered. They hawked their temple money and sold their officially approved sacrificial animals within earshot of this humble couple and their newborn son. They lived well and left a nice inheritance to their children when they died. But they missed God’s Savior that day. In contrast to all these, Anna knew that devotion to God is all that matters. She recognized the child as God’s promised Messiah. She was wiser than all the religious leaders in Jerusalem.
I read once about a computer company that went public and its president became an instant millionaire. Hours later he lost control of his Ferrari, crashed through 20 feet of guardrail, and was killed. The Los Angeles Times reported, “Until the accident at 4:30 Wednesday afternoon, it had been the best of days for [the president] and the thriving young company, …” The same week another obituary for a Chinese politburo official, who died of a heart attack, stated that his “death came one week before he was expected to be elected vice president of China.” If either man died without Christ, we should ask, “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul?”
I read recently of a man who thinks he knows how to live to be 120. I thought, “Okay, let’s grant that he succeeds. Then what?” Even if we could figure out how to live 900 years, like the early patriarchs, we still have to die and face eternity. In light of that, devotion to God is really all that matters in this life! With it, we can enjoy earthly blessings if God grants them. Without it, everything is an empty shell. The fact is, not everyone can attain the things that the world labels as success. But,
No matter what your station in life, you can devote yourself to the Lord, and that makes whatever you are and whatever you do count in light of eternity. Take Anna, for example.
Anna was a woman. While Jewish women enjoyed more respect in that day than women in other cultures, there still was a fair amount of discrimination against them. The rabbis did not approve of the same amount of instruction in the Torah being given to girls as to boys. They regarded women's minds as not adapted for such investigations (Alfred Edersheim, Sketches of Jewish Social Life [Eerdmans], pp. 132-133). The women were restricted to an area of the temple called “The Women’s Court.” They could not enter the inner court where the ceremonies were performed. According to Josephus, women and slaves could not give evidence in court (cited by Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel [McGraw-Hill], 1:156).
And yet the Lord is pleased to include the testimony of Anna concerning Jesus. God is no respecter of persons. He is pleased with the devotion of any person, male or female.
Anna was a widow. In fact, she had been widowed at an early age. She easily could have grown bitter toward God. She could have complained of her loneliness. Widows in that culture didn’t have much opportunity to get an education and learn a business or trade to provide for themselves. They were often the target of unscrupulous businessmen. No doubt Anna had experienced a difficult life. And yet she did not turn her back on God. In fact, God declares that He has a special concern for orphans and widows: “A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows is God in His holy habitation” (Ps. 68:5). Anna took refuge under God’s protective care. Her trials drove her to deeper devotion to God, not away from Him.
Anna was elderly. While the elderly were more respected in that society than they are in ours, they were still subject to the abuse of the unscrupulous. In our pragmatic society, the elderly are often viewed as useless. They can’t take care of themselves. They can’t make a living. Although many may think it, few are crass enough to say what Colorado Governor Richard Lamm said a few years ago. During a discussion of spiraling health care costs, Lamm said that terminally ill elderly people have “a duty to die and get out of the way.” In the context, Lamm was not speaking of the right of a competent, terminally ill patient to refuse treatment that would only prolong the dying process. He was speaking of the death of the elderly as a service to society so that limited resources could be freed up for other more useful goals (reported in “Action Line,” April 11, 1984). Thankfully, God does not view the elderly as useless or as a burden on society! If an elderly person is devoted to God, their life and death is precious in His sight (Ps. 116:15).
The point is, no matter what your station in life—male or female, young or old, rich or poor—you can be devoted to God and He will be pleased with your devotion. The world may ignore or despise you, but God always has had such a godly remnant. They are the salt of the earth; they preserve the whole mass from corruption. You can be counted among them.
Thus we’ve seen that devotion to God is all that matters; it is available to all.
Worship: Most likely Anna did not live in the temple, but Luke means that she was there all the time. The word translated “serving” (NASB) has the nuance of worship or service to God. Anna’s worship took the form of “fastings and prayers” (2:37). Fasting means going without food for some period of time, and is usually joined with prayer. For the Jews, the most common fast lasted from sunrise to sunset, although longer fasts are mentioned in the Bible. The Day of Atonement was an annual national fast. Otherwise, fasting was done in times of personal or national distress, or as preparation for special times of seeking the Lord. While there are no commands in the New Testament epistles for us to fast, there are examples of fasting (Acts 9:9; 13:3; 14:23; 2 Cor. 6:5; 11:27). Personally, I have found fasting to be a beneficial way of setting aside time to seek the Lord in times where I needed to know His will or in times of crisis.
Anna’s worship also took the form of prayers. Some of God’s saints are especially gifted for the ministry of prayer in that He enables them to devote large blocks of time to it. Part of that time involves interceding for others, but part of it also will be devoted to praise and thanksgiving. The main thing in prayer is to seek God and commune with Him.
Even if you are not gifted in the ministry of worship and prayer, you need to set aside time to seek the Lord as Anna did. Take a half-day each quarter or one lunch hour each week or an hour each Sunday afternoon to spend in devotion to the Lord. Read His Word, sing some hymns or praise songs, and pray. The familiar ACTS—Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving, and Supplication—is a helpful outline to follow in your prayer time.
Witness: Anna couldn’t keep it to herself; she “continued to speak of Him” to others (2:38). If your cup is brim-full, you can’t help but slop some of it on others. If you are excited about your relationship with the living God who sent His Son to save you from your sins, people around you will know about it. Some believers justify their not witnessing by saying, “I don’t talk about it; I just live the message.” But part of living the Christian life is talking about it!
We all talk about the things we love. Have you ever been around a sports fanatic? What does he talk about? “Did you see that game last night!” Have you ever been around a young man or woman who has just fallen in love? What do they talk about?
Yes, you need to be tactful and sensitive. Yes, you need to wait on the Lord for the right opening. But, all too often we don’t err on the side of being too bold or insensitive. The order, by the way, is important: Worship first, then witness. The reason Anna was telling everyone about the Lord Jesus was that she spent much time in private devotion with the Lord. All too often, the reason that we do not bear witness is that we have lost our first love.
Waiting: Not only Simeon and Anna, but others also were “looking for the redemption of Jerusalem” (2:38). While that phrase has nationalistic nuances, it also refers to the spiritual redemption that God had long ago promised and now was bringing to fruition for His people (Isa. 40:1, 9; 52:9; 63:4). J. C. Ryle (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], 2:74-75) observes that although these people lived in a wicked city, they “were not carried away by the flood of worldliness, formality, and self-righteousness around them. They were not infected by the carnal expectations of a mere worldly Messiah, in which most Jews indulged. They lived in the faith of patriarchs and prophets, that the coming Redeemer would bring in holiness and righteousness, and that His principal victory would be over sin and the devil.” Even so, those devoted to God in our day “wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come” (1 Thess. 1:10).
Devotion to God is really all that matters. It is available to everyone. It takes many outward forms, but always involves worship, witness, and waiting for His final redemption to come.
Anna was devoted to God, but the second she saw the baby Jesus, she thanked God and began to speak of Jesus to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem. Note:
God the Son and God the Father are inextricably joined in Scripture. In Psalm 2:7 Messiah states, “I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord: He [God] said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You.’” This does not mean that the Father brought the Son into existence at a point in time. Rather, the “today” is the day of God’s decree. Since it is an eternal decree, it means that Christ is eternally the Son of God, one with the Father. While we can never fully understand the nature of the Trinity, we must affirm the revealed truth of Scripture, that the eternal relationship between the First and Second Persons of the Trinity is expressed as that of Father and Son.
This means that you cannot know God the Father apart from God the Son. In John 8:19, Jesus told the Jews, “You know neither Me nor My Father; if you knew Me, you would know My Father also.” First John 2:23 states, “Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also.” You cannot separate God and Jesus Christ. Those who say they worship God but who deny the deity of the Son of God are sadly mistaken. Jesus claimed, “He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him” (John 5:23).
God the Son is the Redeemer of God’s people. In the eternal decree of God, God the Father determined to send God the Son to bear the sins of His elect. The entire human race is in bondage to sin and under the just condemnation of God’s law. But, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us … in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal. 3:13-14).
To understand the concept of “redemption,” you must keep in mind three things. First, redemption implies antecedent bondage. A free person does not need redemption; slaves need redemption. Every person is born enslaved to sin and under the curse of judgment imposed by God’s holy law. Second, redemption implies cost. A price must be paid to buy the slave out of bondage. Since the wages of sin is death, that was the price to redeem us from our sins. A sinless substitute had to die in our place. Jesus Christ did that on the cross. Third, redemption implies the ownership of that which is redeemed. Since Christ bought us with His blood, as Paul states, “… you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:20).
Many years ago, Dr. A. J. Gordon was the pastor of a church in Boston. One day he met a little boy in front of the church who was carrying a rusty cage with several birds in it. Gordon asked, “Son, where did you get those birds?” The boy answered, “I trapped them out in the field.” “What are you going to do with them?” “I’m going to play with them for a while and then I guess I’ll feed them to an old cat we have at home.”
Dr. Gordon asked the boy how much he would take to sell the birds. The boy answered, “Mister, you don’t want them. They’re just old field birds and they can’t sing very well.” Gordon replied, “I’ll give you two dollars for the cage and the birds.” “Okay, it’s a deal,” said the boy, “but you’re making a bad bargain.”
Gordon paid the boy who left happily with his money. Gordon then walked around behind the church, opened the cage, and freed the birds. The next Sunday Dr. Gordon took the empty cage into the pulpit and used it to illustrate his sermon on redemption: he paid the price so that these creatures in bondage, doomed for destruction, could go free. He said, “That little boy said that the birds could not sing very well, but when I released them from the cage, they went singing into the blue, and it seemed that they were singing, ‘Redeemed, redeemed, redeemed.’” (Paul Lee Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations [Assurance Publishers], p. 1231.)
You cannot be devoted to God unless you have been redeemed by His Son. That redemption cost Him dearly, but He offers it to you as a free gift that you can only receive by faith. The instant you receive it, He will free you from sin and judgment. You can go your way singing His praises, devoting your life to Him who loved you and gave Himself for you (Gal. 2:20).
On his deathbed, Matthew Henry, whose commentary on the whole Bible is still widely used almost 300 years after his death, said to a friend, “You have been used to take notice of the sayings of dying men—this is mine: that a life spent in the service of God and communion with Him, is the most pleasant life that anyone can live in this world.” Anna would agree. A life devoted to God is a life well spent. A life devoted to anything else, no matter how noble, is a life ultimately wasted.
Whatever you do for a living, make sure that love for Jesus Christ is at the heart of why you are living. Then, whether you live a short or long life on this earth, you can have the assurance that you have spent it well.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Each month over a million bracelets are being sold with the letters WWJD on them. It stands for, “What would Jesus do?” Some young people report that wearing the bracelet makes them stop and think so that they do not rent an R-rated video or engage in other sinful behavior. As long as you answer the question based on Scripture, rather than your own ideas, it’s a good question to ask yourself often: “What would Jesus do?”
Jesus Christ is the only one ever to live a sinlessly perfect life. First and foremost, we must come to know Him as our Savior, but in addition to that, He is our primary example for godly living. He lived in perfect dependence on the Father, always obedient to His will. This was true not only after He began His public ministry, but also from His youth up.
In Luke 2:39-52, we have the only reference in Scripture to the years between Jesus’ birth and the beginning of His ministry when He was about 30. Some of the apocryphal gospels that circulated in the early centuries of the church contain fanciful and miraculous legends from Jesus’ childhood. He touches some clay birds and they come to life and fly away. He touches a plow that Joseph had botched up and it is instantly made right. Some other legends are more disturbing: The young Jesus curses some bothersome children who immediately wither up or drop dead.
After such fanciful tales, the account in Luke of Jesus getting left behind at the temple sounds pretty tame! But that argues for its authenticity. Most likely Luke got this material from Mary (2:51). We might wish that there was more given in the Bible about Jesus’ childhood years. But Charles Simeon (Expository Outlines on the Whole Bible, [Zondervan], 12:269) notes, “There is little related of him to gratify our curiosity, but enough to regulate our conduct.” Luke includes the story primarily to show us who Jesus is as the unique Son of God, but also so that we will imitate Him in our conduct.
We should imitate Jesus, the Son of God, in spiritual growth, in routine faithfulness, and in commitment to God’s purpose.
Before we look at how we should imitate Jesus, we must be clear on the matter of who He is.
Have you ever put yourself in Joseph and Mary’s sandals, and thought about what it would be like to be the parents of a perfect child? Some of you are thinking, “I would like to have that problem!” But it must have been a difficult role at times! Keep in mind that Joseph and Mary did not have the Gospel accounts to read when they were raising Jesus. It must have been like putting a puzzle together without the picture on the box to look at. They would get a piece here and another piece there, and slowly it began to take shape. But it wasn’t always clear what the final picture would be. This is the second time that Luke has said that Mary treasured all these things in her heart (2:19, 51). She must have often wondered, “Who is this unique Son of mine?” The story of the boy Jesus being left behind at the temple gave her another piece of that puzzle.
The Old Testament prescribed that every Jewish man should appear before the Lord for three feasts each year: Unleavened Bread (Passover), Weeks (Pentecost), and Booths (Deut. 16:16). By Jesus’ time, it was customary for those some distance from Jerusalem to attend only one feast. Joseph and Mary’s custom was to make the 80 mile journey from Nazareth each year for the Passover. This incident happened when Jesus was 12. We don’t know whether this was the first time He went with them, but it must have been the most exciting time of the year, to leave the small town and go to the capital for this celebration that drew thousands of worshipers.
Joseph and Mary stayed for the whole week of festivities and then started back in the caravan. Probably Joseph thought that Jesus was with Mary and she thought he was with Joseph. The fact that they had not checked to make sure probably reflects the fact that they trusted Jesus and knew that He was responsible enough to be where He was supposed to be. When evening came and the caravan stopped for the night, they discovered that Jesus was not with the group.
If you have ever had a child get lost, you can identify with the panic that gripped these conscientious parents. We once lost Christa at Disneyland when she was seven. One minute she was standing next to us, the next minute she was gone. We went through about ten minutes of terror that seemed like ten hours before we found her! You always think worst case scenario—she was kidnapped by a child molester and we’ll never see her again. Joseph and Mary had a lot more time to think the worst than we did. Three days (2:46) probably means one day traveling, a second day returning to Jerusalem, and on the third day they found Him. Given the amount of time, you can appreciate Mary’s emotional words, “Son, why have you treated us this way? Behold, your father and I have been anxiously looking for you.”
Jesus responded, “Why is it that you were looking for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?" (The Greek text is elliptical and could mean, “about the things of My Father,” but in light of the question of His whereabouts, “in My Father’s house” is the best translation.)
Although neither Joseph nor Mary understood Jesus’ words at the time, she treasured them in her heart and later they bore fruit. When we encounter the mysteries of Scripture, we should do the same. This story and especially Jesus’ answer show us that He came as true man, and yet as more than man, as the unique Son of God, to do the will of His Father.
Jesus was fully, truly human. In Luke 2:40, we have a summary of Jesus’ life from infancy to age 12: Physically He grew stronger. Intellectually and spiritually He grew in wisdom and the grace of God was on Him. Then, in verses 41-51 we have the single incident from Jesus’ twelfth year. In verse 52 we have a summary of His life from 12 until adulthood: He kept making progress in wisdom and in normal physical development (“stature”) and in favor with God and men. The references to God’s grace and favor do not mean His undeserved favor, in the sense that the words are used with sinners. Rather, it means that God’s special hand of blessing was on Jesus in a way that was obvious to everyone.
You may wonder how Jesus, who is eternal God, could grow in wisdom and in favor with God and men. If He is perfect, why did He need to grow? Alfred Plummer explains (The Gospel According to St. Luke [Charles Scribner’s Sons], p. 79): “At each stage He was perfect for that stage, but the perfection of a child is inferior to the perfection of a man; it is the difference between perfect innocence and perfect holiness.” In His humanity, He submitted to His parents. Though in His deity Jesus knew all things, in His humanity He had to grow in godly wisdom and in understanding of His divine calling and mission. The point is, Jesus was truly human.
In early church history, several different heresies denied the true humanity of Jesus. Some said that He was just a spirit or that He seemed human, but was not actually so. The apostle John was battling some such heresy when he wrote that his own hands had handled Jesus and that “every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God” (1 John 1:1; 4:2). We need to be careful in emphasizing Jesus’ deity not to slight His humanity. If Jesus was not fully human, then we do not have a Savior, since only a man can save humans from their sin. Nor would we have a Savior who can identify with our weaknesses.
Jesus was fully, truly God. This is the implication of Jesus’ question to His parents. Mary has just mentioned how she and Jesus’ father were anxiously looking for Him. In response, Jesus draws a gentle, but distinct, line between Joseph as His earthly father and God as His true Father. He is showing that the latter relationship has priority over the former. Plummer (pp. 77-78) comments,
It is notable that the first recorded words of the Messiah are an expression of His Divine Sonship as man … These first recorded words are the kernel of the whole narrative, and the cause of its having been preserved. They must mean more than that Jesus is just a son of Abraham, and therefore has God as His Father. His parents would easily have understood so simple a statement as that.
Jesus’ words confirm what the angel had told Mary, as recorded by Luke in 1:32, 35, that her child would be called “Son of the Most High,” and that “the holy offspring shall be called the Son of God.” This title was also affirmed at Jesus’ baptism, when God’s voice from heaven proclaimed, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased” (Luke 3:22). Later Jesus’ Jewish opponents understood His claim to have God as His Father to be a claim to equality with God, and in responding to them, Jesus clearly confirmed their understanding (John 5:18-47).
In our day, several prominent cults deny the true deity of Jesus. If He is not eternal God, we have no Savior, because His death on the cross had no merit beyond Himself. So we must affirm both the true humanity of Jesus (apart from sin) along with His true and undiminished deity. He is fully God and fully man in one unique Person. When He took on human flesh, He voluntarily laid aside the use of some of His divine attributes and took on the form of a servant for the sake of our salvation (Phil. 2:5-12). As a man, Jesus showed us how human life is to be lived in constant dependence on the Father and obedience to His will. The Jesus whom we should imitate is none other than the unique Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity in human flesh.
There is an unexplainable mystery here, in that although Jesus was fully God, yet as a man He had to grow spiritually. He increased in wisdom between birth and age 12 (2:40) and He made more progress in wisdom between age 12 and adulthood (2:52). Wisdom in the Hebrew Scriptures comes from a word meaning “skill.” The artisans who worked to build the Tabernacle had the God-given skill to take raw materials and form them into a beautiful finished product. Spiritually the wise man or woman takes the circumstances of life and weaves them into a beautiful finished product that gives glory to God.
The Word of God is the blueprint He has given us to follow if we want to construct a life that gives glory to Him and brings satisfaction and blessing to us. If you’ve ever built a home, you wouldn’t want to hire a contractor who showed up on the job with a bunch of lumber and started nailing it helter-skelter, grabbing whatever piece was close at hand. When you asked him about the plans, he laughed and said, “I never use plans. They’re too restrictive. I just go with the spirit of whatever seems right.”
And yet many Christians construct their lives in that fashion! They’ve hardly ever glanced at God’s blueprint, much less studied it so that they know how He wants them to live. If you challenge them about their haphazard ways, they accuse you of being legalistic and say that they just follow the Spirit. The fact that Jesus as a 12-year-old boy could intelligently interact with these Jewish teachers shows that He was already quite knowledgeable in the Scriptures. He was growing in wisdom, which implies applying God’s Word to daily life. Note four things about such growth:
Spiritual growth takes time, but we must actively engage in the process. The fact that Jesus was growing in wisdom and still increasing more in wisdom (2:40, 52) shows that it is a lifelong process. But it is not automatic. Jesus hungered and thirsted after such wisdom so much that He set aside some of the “normal” things children like to do so that He could learn the Scriptures. Joseph and Mary also show us that growth is a process. They did not yet understand exactly who Jesus was, but they were growing in that understanding. The question you must ask yourself is, “What am I doing to grow in the things of God?” Do you have a regular time in His Word and in prayer? Are you reading solid books that instruct you in the faith? Do you engage in spiritual discussions with other like-minded believers?
Spiritual growth involves an active interest in the Word of God. Think of all the interesting things in this bustling capital city that could have captivated the interest of a 12-year-old boy from the country. He could have been in the marketplace, watching the vendors haggling over prices with their customers. He could have been fascinated with the architecture of the palace and temple, or with the great walls of that ancient city. He could have joined with other boys in pretending that they were the great generals, defending those walls. He could have explored Hezekiah’s famous water tunnel, or any number of other interesting historical sites. He could have been watching the throngs of interesting people. Yet his parents found Him in the temple with the teachers, listening, asking intelligent questions, and giving answers that displayed unusual understanding (2:46, 47). If you want to grow in the things of God, like Jesus you must have a thirst for spiritual truth, demonstrated by listening to those who teach the Word, asking questions, and interacting on these great truths.
Spiritual growth should be focused in two directions: Toward God and toward others. Jesus grew “in favor with God and men” (2:52). These directions reflect the two great commandments, which are summaries of the two tables of the Ten Commandments, to love God with your total being, and to love your neighbor as yourself. In his introduction to Calvin’s Institutes, John McNeill quotes A. Mitchell Hunter who says, “Piety was the keynote of his character. He was a God-possessed soul. Theology was no concern to him as a study in itself; he devoted himself to it as a framework for the support of all that religion meant to him.” McNeill goes on to observe that “in Calvin’s pages we are everywhere confronting God, not toying with ideas or balancing opinions about him” (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. by John McNeill [Westminster], 1:lii). Calvin rightly saw sound theology as the necessary foundation, but he argued that such doctrine “must enter our heart and pass into our daily living, and so transform us into itself that it may not be unfruitful for us” (ibid., 3.6.4). Always study the Word with a view to knowing and loving God and loving others.
Spiritual growth can get off track if we are not on guard. Here I am not looking at the example of Jesus, but at Joseph and Mary. They both meant well when they supposed that Jesus was with them in the caravan, but they were mistaken. And, neither of them understood Jesus’ gentle words of correction. This shows us that even godly people who mean well can be mistaken. Joseph and Mary’s failure to grasp the nature of Jesus’ mission and calling will later be matched by the disciples, who did not understand the necessity of the cross. This shows that we all must maintain teachable hearts and be willing to change our views when we have gotten off track. I regret that I used to teach much of the self-esteem errors that currently flood the church. God used Calvin’s Institutes to show me where I was wrong. Joseph and Mary were humble enough to receive correction from their 12-year-old Son. We must be teachable enough to receive correction from wherever God kindly brings it. We should imitate Jesus in spiritual growth.
This time in the temple, interacting on the things of God with these teachers, was undoubtedly the high point of Jesus’ life to this time. Then we read, “He went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and He continued in subjection to them” (2:51). What a letdown that must have been! To go back to boring Nazareth after the excitement of Jerusalem! To go back to the daily chores of carrying water and cleaning up in the carpenter shop after discussing theology with the leading rabbis in the temple! Yet Jesus went back and in the daily routine He continued to make progress “in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.”
Note also the routine faithfulness of Joseph and Mary. Luke 2:22 mentions their obedience to the Law of Moses in dedicating Jesus and in observing the purification laws. Verse 39 states how they performed everything according to the Law of the Lord. Verse 41 mentions their custom in going to the Feast of the Passover each year. This couple lived quietly in routine faithfulness to the commandments of God. If we had a son like Jesus, we would have said, “This kid is going to be a success some day! Did you see how the rabbis were amazed at His answers? Let’s enroll Him in the advanced track school for future rabbis. Let’s move to Jerusalem where He can be discovered by the leaders. The kid has a future!” But they took Him back to Nazareth and modeled for Him routine faithfulness in the things of God.
One of the chief concerns that parents should have is the welfare of their children’s souls. And one of the main ways you can help them spiritually is to live before them each day in routine faithfulness in the things of God—reading your Bible, prayer, regular church attendance, honesty, kindness toward one another in the family, concern for the lost. We should imitate Jesus and Joseph and Mary in routine faithfulness.
Even at age 12, Jesus was clear on the priority of His commitment to God’s purpose: “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” (2:49). Jesus here sets the priority of His commitment to the Heavenly Father even above His love for His parents. While we must love our family members, love for Jesus must take precedence if a conflict arises (Luke 14:26).
The word translated had to be means it is necessary. It is a term Luke often uses to set forth Jesus’ mission: “I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for I was sent for this purpose” (4:43). “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day” (9:22). (See also, 13:33 [go to Jerusalem]; 17:25 [suffer]; 19:5 [remain with Zaccheus]; 22:37 [be numbered with transgressors]; 24:7 [suffer, die, be raised]; 24:26 [suffer and come into glory]; and, 24:44 [Scripture about Him must be fulfilled].) This repeated word shows that Jesus did not come to do His own will, but the will of the Father who sent Him.
Even so, if Jesus has redeemed us, we are not our own. He saved us for a purpose, and He gifted us so that we can spend our lives serving and glorifying Him. While not all are called into the pastorate or to go to a foreign culture with the gospel, every Christian is called to serve God in some capacity. If you don’t have a sense of mission and you are not engaged in fulfilling that mission, you are probably living for yourself. But the Bible calls us to no longer live for ourselves, but for Him who died and rose on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:15). We should imitate Jesus in our unswerving commitment to God’s purpose above all else.
An Irish legend tells of a king who disguised himself and went into the banquet hall of one of his barons. He was escorted to a lowly place among the throng who sat at the feast. The brilliance of his conversation and the nobility of his manner soon attracted the attention of someone with sufficient authority to escort him to a higher table. The same thing occurred once more, and soon he was seated among the nobles of the land. After a display of great wisdom, one of the lords spoke out, “In truth, sir, you speak like a king. If you are not a king, you deserve to be.” Then the king removed his disguise and took his rightful place among his subjects.
That is what should have happened when the Lord Jesus Christ came to this earth. Although he was “disguised” as a lowly carpenter from Nazareth, He was the King of kings and Lord of lords. But His subjects were so blinded by their own pride and sin that they were not willing to bow before Him, even though He stated repeatedly and gave sufficient proof that He was the eternal God come down to redeem them. (Adapted from Donald Barnhouse, Let Me Illustrate [Revell], pp. 180, 181.)
Do you recognize Jesus as the Son of God, as your Savior and Lord? If not, ask God to open your eyes to who Jesus is so that you can receive Him. If He is your Savior, imitate Him in spiritual growth, in routine faithfulness, and in commitment to God’s purpose for your life.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
In 1984 Marla and I attended church while we were on vacation in San Diego. The speaker that morning had left the pastorate to get involved in the political movement known as the Religious Right. His topic was “The Second Most Important Day of Your Life.” He told us that the most important day of our lives was the day we trusted Christ as Savior. He got that right! But, the second most important day of our lives, he said, would be when we went to the polls and voted for Ronald Reagan for a second term!
Although I wouldn’t rank that day among the 100 most important days of my life, the man was right that day in his assessment of the moral decline of our nation. Problems like abortion, pornography, widespread sexual immorality, the breakdown of the family, violence, and the prohibition of any Christian expression in our public schools are alarming. I’m glad that there are some godly politicians and Christian leaders who are trying to fight these evils through the legislative process.
But I also believe that it is ultimately futile and misguided for Christians to put their hope in the political process to fix the rampant evils of our society. To try to bring America back to traditional family values and moral reform through politics is like trying to put a tuxedo on a pig. Even if you get it on him, it won’t do much long-term good, because you haven’t changed the nature of the pig. In times of moral declension, what the world needs most is not a political solution.
When times are bad, the message we need is the good news of God’s salvation.
Through the gospel, God goes to the heart of the problem, which is the human heart. When sinners repent and believe the gospel, they will change morally from the inside out. The preaching of the gospel is clearly God’s solution for the moral problems facing this evil world. Luke begins this new section that introduces the ministry of Jesus Christ by listing the political and spiritual leaders at the time when the forerunner, John the Baptist, began to preach. It illustrates that …
Luke lists these leaders to show us that the gospel is rooted in actual history. It is not a fairy story that illustrates spiritual or moral truths. It is true history that happened at a particular time and place. Because of several chronological problems, there is debate as to the exact year that John began his ministry, but it was somewhere around A.D. 29. Luke begins at the top: Tiberius was Caesar. He was the stepson of Augustus and reigned from A.D. 14-37. He was not a notoriously evil man, like his successor, Caligula, or his later successor, Nero, but neither was he a godly man. His mention reminds Luke’s readers that Rome had dominion over Israel.
Pontius Pilate was the governor of Judea from 26 to 36. He would become infamous for delivering Jesus over to be crucified in order to placate the Jewish leaders. Herod Antipas was the son of the wicked Herod the Great. He reigned over Galilee from 4 B.C. to A.D. 39. He would later imprison and then behead John. Herod’s brother Philip ruled over a region to the east and north of Galilee. Lysanias was governor of Abilene, further to the northeast.
The prominent spiritual leaders were Annas and Caiaphas, whom Luke mentions as sharing one high priesthood. Annas had been the high priest from A.D. 6 to 15, but had been deposed by the Roman authorities. Several of his sons and eventually his son-in-law, Caiaphas, replaced him (A.D. 18-36). But Annas wielded the power and retained the title, so that the two men could be referred to under one high priesthood. But even though it was a spiritual office, it is clear from the New Testament that neither of these men knew God or was concerned about spiritual matters. They were politicians who cared about their own power and prestige. It was in this corrupt political and spiritual situation, with Israel under Rome’s thumb, that John began his ministry.
It had been 400 years since there had been a prophet in Israel, calling the people to spiritual renewal and reform. Bad times abound, but times are especially bad when there is no word from the Lord. Those who knew God and waited for the consolation of Israel must have despaired at times. But they knew that what they needed was not better politicians. They needed a word from God.
God had prophesied through Isaiah and later through Malachi that He would send His messenger before the coming of Messiah (Isa. 40:1-3; Mal. 3:1; 4:5, 6). Finally, 400 years after Malachi, “there came a man sent from God whose name was John” (John 1:6). If you ask why God waited so long when the world was in such desperate need for the Savior, my answer is simple: I don’t know, and neither does anybody else. We do know that God is sovereign and all-wise and that He moves in history in His perfect time (Gal. 4:4).
In this dark time of political and spiritual corruption, “the word of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness” (Luke 3:2). That phrase should affect us like a beam of sunlight and a breath of fresh air would come to trapped miners: “The word of God came to John”! If Luke had said that in these bleak times the word of a new government plan to reduce poverty had come to Pilate, we would say, “So what?” If Luke had said that the word of a new program to increase religious involvement among the Jews had come to Annas and Caiaphas, we would say, “Ho hum!” What the world needs when times are bad is not new political or religious programs. The world needs a word from God.
John was not in Rome or Jerusalem, the centers of power. He was in the wilderness. God often works apart from worldly channels. John was not sitting out there cooking up his plan for how to have a successful ministry. The text literally reads, “The word of God came upon John.” G. Campbell Morgan observes, “The force of the preposition is that of pressure from above. The word of the Lord came upon him, pressed down upon him from above. Here is the qualification for preaching. The message of God comes upon a man” (The Gospel According to Luke [Revell], pp. 47-48).
I agree with Morgan and other commentators that a man needs a special call from God to preach His Word. It need not be mystical or miraculous, but he needs a strong inner sense that God has called him to the work. Otherwise, when tough times of discouragement or opposition come, as they surely will if a man preaches the truth, he will not stay in the battle.
A man who preaches God’s Word must always remember that it is not his own word or ideas that he proclaims, but God’s Word. Sometimes, as we will see in a moment, God’s Word is not warm, fuzzy and popular. If a preacher becomes a man-pleaser, he ceases to please God (Gal. 1:10). Instead of proclaiming God’s Word, he becomes a politician trying to keep his popularity ratings high.
During the Gulf War, a man wrote to his senator urging him to support the ejection of Iraq from Kuwait. He received two separate replies from the senator’s office. The first letter agreed with him and stated the senator’s strong support for President Bush’s response to the crisis. The second letter, sent by mistake, thanked the man for opposing the war and pointed out that the senator had voted against the war resolution! That senator was like another politician who was asked where he stood on an issue. He said, “I have friends who are for it and friends who are against it, and I am with my friends.”
In bad times we desperately need an authoritative word from God, proclaimed by His faithful messenger. What is that word?
John came “preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (3:3). The message of forgiveness of sins addresses all people everywhere in every age, because all have sinned and thus are alienated from God. The primary need of every person is reconciliation with God through the forgiveness of his sins.
Luke quotes from Isaiah 40:3-5 to show that John’s ministry was a fulfillment of that prophecy. The Hebrew text is translated, “Then the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will see it,” i.e., God’s glory. But Luke reads, “all flesh will see the salvation of God,” because he is not quoting from the Hebrew version, but from the Greek Septuagint (LXX, ca. 200 B.C.). The LXX added the phrase “salvation of God” as “a contextual equivalent” (Darrel Bock, Luke [Baker], 1:291), where “salvation” explains more specifically the way in which men will see God’s glory, namely, through His saving work in Jesus Christ. God is glorified when people are reconciled to Him through the atonement Christ provided on the cross. Note three things about this salvation the world so desperately needs:
“The salvation of God” means that God is the originator and provider of salvation. Luke has already used this particular word in 2:30, where Simeon holds the baby Jesus and proclaims, “My eyes have seen Your salvation.” What we are saved from is our sin and the impending judgment of God because of our sin. Thus a key element in salvation is the forgiveness of sins (3:3; see Luke 1:77). Since only God can forgive sins, and the Bible is clear that He does it only by His free grace, no man can save himself by earning it through any amount of good deeds or human merit or effort. Salvation comes totally from God who planned it before the foundation of the world, announced it through His prophets, and sent His messenger John and His Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
The great British preacher, Charles Spurgeon, tells of the time, just months after his conversion at age 15, when it dawned on him that his salvation was totally from God. He was sitting in church when, he says (Autobiography [Banner of Truth], 1:165),
The thought struck me, “How did you come to be a Christian?” I sought the Lord. “But how did you come to seek the Lord?” The truth flashed across my mind in a moment—I should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him. I prayed, thought I, but then I asked myself, How came I to pray? I was induced to pray by reading the Scriptures. How came I to read the Scriptures? I did read them, but what led me to do so? Then, in a moment, I saw that God was at the bottom of it all, and that He was the Author of my faith, and so the whole doctrine of grace opened up to me, … and I desire to make this my constant confession, “I ascribe my change wholly to God.”
Writing to his father about this experience, he said, “I trust that I feel sufficiently the corruption of my own heart to know that, instead of doing one iota to forward my own salvation, my old corrupt heart would impede it, were it not that my Redeemer is mighty, and works as He pleases” (ibid., p. 115).
Salvation by man’s efforts or merits does not have the power to change the corrupt human heart. But God is mighty to save. The only message that will bring relief to this evil world is the message that salvation is from the Lord.
“John came preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” God’s message to a lost and hurting world begins with the issue of sin. Jesus taught that when the Holy Spirit came, He would convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). Until people are brought before God in His holiness and wrath against all sin, they do not realize their desperate situation. They justify themselves by comparing themselves with others, and they think that God will be tolerant on the day of judgment. So they assume that all will be okay on that day.
In a great section in his Institutes of the Christian Religion ([Westminster Press], 3.12.1), John Calvin argues that we can never be justified before God by our own good works. He points out that before we compare ourselves with one another and so acquit ourselves, we need to remember that we will one day stand, not before a human court, but before God’s heavenly court. He asks:
How shall we reply to the Heavenly Judge when he calls us to account? Let us envisage for ourselves that Judge, not as our minds naturally imagine him, but as he is depicted for us in Scripture: by whose brightness the stars are darkened [Job 3:9]; by whose strength the mountains are melted; by whose wrath the earth is shaken [cf. Job9:5-6]; whose wisdom catches the wise in their craftiness [Job xamine the deeds of men: Who will stand confident before his throne?
Luke’s quote from Isaiah 40:3-5 shows us in figurative language the problem that sinful human hearts have in receiving the King of kings and His salvation. Isaiah pictures the scene when a king announced that he would visit a remote village. The rocky, twisted, up-and-down mountain trail was good enough for the villagers, but it was not suitable for the king. The village needed to get a road crew out there to straighten out the path, to fill in the ravines and level the mountains in the way, to remove the rocks and fill in the potholes, so that the king had a smooth, straight road for his arrival.
It’s a spiritual picture. If we just have to do with one another, we can tolerate the twisted, rocky, potholed ways of our heart. But if the King of Glory is coming, we’re in big trouble! Our hearts are full of ravines of sin and impurity. There are mountains of pride and self-righteousness in the way. We walk the crooked paths of deceit and falsehood. There are the rough, rocky, and potholed roads of greed, jealousy, self-will, blame, and disobedience. The King doesn’t travel on those kinds of roads!
Don’t misapply the analogy. It is not teaching that you must remove every trace of sin and corruption before you can receive the King into your life. That would be impossible! But the Holy Spirit must convict you of the awful sinfulness of your heart, so that you recognize your desperate need for God’s salvation. You must face the bad news about yourself as a sinner before you can welcome God’s gracious salvation.
Repentance and faith are often linked in Scripture and are the flip sides of the same coin. Repentance has the main idea of turning (Luke 1:16, 17) or changing one’s thinking and behavior. It involves recognizing our sin and alienation from God so that, rather than continuing in the same direction of self-will and disobedience, we turn back to God and appeal to His mercy. Faith is the hand that receives God’s mercy or grace. Faith lays hold of Jesus Christ as the perfect Substitute who died for our sins. Forgiveness means that God releases us from the penalty of our sins because His Son Jesus bore that penalty for us, and we are trusting in Him. Thus in summarizing the gospel message to the disciples after the resurrection, Jesus said, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead the third day; and that repentance for forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem” (Luke 24:46, 47).
Repentance and faith are not something you must do to earn salvation. The shed blood of Christ merited salvation for every sinner who will lay hold of Him. Repentance and faith are God’s gracious gifts that enable us to receive His mercy. J. C. Ryle explains,
There is nothing meritorious in this. It forms no part whatever of the price of our redemption. Our salvation is all of grace, from first to last. But the great fact still remains, that saved souls are always penitent souls, and that saving faith in Christ, and true repentance toward God, are never found asunder (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], 2:87).
The Scriptures instruct the person who has repented and believed in Jesus Christ to confess that faith in water baptism. John’s baptism was a unique rite that pointed people ahead to the promised Messiah. It pictured God’s washing or purification from sins, but it was not complete apart from what Messiah would do in offering Himself as the Lamb of God, the perfect sin-bearer. That is why, when Paul later found some disciples of John in Ephesus, who did not know about Jesus Christ, when they believed he baptized them in the name of the Lord Jesus (Acts 19:1-6).
For those who have believed in Christ, baptism is a public confession that symbolizes what Jesus Christ has done spiritually for the one who has believed. He has washed us from all of our sins and He has identified us totally with His death, burial, and resurrection to new life. Since the word “baptism” means dipping, and since going completely under the water best pictures what baptism means, immersion is the best mode of baptism. If you look up every occurrence of “baptism” in the New Testament, you will find that it always has reference to believers, and never to infants who cannot yet believe. If you have believed in Christ and know that He has forgiven your sins by His grace, you should be baptized in obedience to His command (Matt. 28:19).
In the early 18th century, England was infected with a plague of materialism. The gap between the rich and poor was widening, but moral degeneracy marked every level of society. The Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, led an openly immoral life and often made fun of virtue. Moral laxity pervaded the nation. Drunkenness, gambling, and cruel amusements were an obsession. Crime was rampant, and criminal law was unfair and barbarous, making criminals only more desperate. The Church of England had, for the most part, ceased to be a vital force. Many ridiculed and railed at the Christian faith without reserve (these conditions summarized from A. Skevington Wood, The Inextinguishable Blaze [Eerdmans], pp. 9-16).
God broke into this dismal and seemingly hopeless situation by saving a young man, George Whitefield, who had been raised in his mother’s inn and tavern. His friends, John and Charles Wesley, also were saved out of their legalistic religion to a living faith in the Redeemer. Through these men, the good news of God’s salvation spread to that decadent society and saved it from the brink of anarchy and revolution. In his biography of Whitefield, Arnold Dallimore observes (George Whitefield [Cornerstone Books], 1:25),
We shall need to remember that it was among a people broken by gin that Whitefield and the Wesleys went about in the nobility of their ministries and that there was triumphant meaning to Charles Wesley’s lines on the deliverance effected by the Gospel:
Hear Him, ye deaf! His praise ye dumb,
Your loosened tongues employ;
Ye blind, behold your Savior come,
And leap ye lame for joy!
He breaks the power of cancelled sin,
He sets the prisoner free!
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me!
That same liberating, powerful message is what we need for our dismal, spiritually dark times. Let’s believe it, live it, proclaim it, and pray that God would break through in our day with His powerful Word of salvation!
Copyright 1998, Steven J. Cole, All Rights Reserved
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
When Marla and I lived in California, we needed to buy new carpet for our house. We checked around and found out that the best prices were at a place in San Bernardino called “Crazy Frank’s.” “Great,” I said, “what’s his phone number?” “Well, Crazy Frank had his phone taken out years ago because people just bugged him all the time by calling to ask about prices.”
“Oh, well, where is Crazy Frank’s located?” “He doesn’t have a sign. It fell down years ago, and he never bothered to put it back. It’s on such and such a corner. Just look for a window with a lot of rolls of carpet inside. The old sign is leaning against the front of the building. And, one more thing: Expect to be abused. Crazy Frank doesn’t deal politely with his customers.”
Marla went down to Crazy Frank’s one day by herself while I was working. Sure enough, Crazy Frank was rude and abusive. He told her to get out of his store because she wasn’t serious about buying carpet. But, we went back together. While I was there, I heard Frank swear angrily at another customer who left his store in a huff. But we finally bought carpet from Crazy Frank.
Why would anybody put up with such inconvenience and abuse to buy carpet from that man? How could he stay in business when he treated customers that way? The answer was simple: he had by far the cheapest prices on carpet anywhere in town. A competitor told me that he couldn’t buy carpet pad wholesale for what Crazy Frank sold it to me retail. If saving money was your goal, you had to put up with Crazy Frank’s abuse to get his prices.
Crazy Frank was no prophet and he certainly was not a godly man. But as I studied this portion of Luke’s Gospel, I must admit that John the Baptist made me remember Crazy Frank. The parallel account in Matthew tells us that part of John’s audience consisted of the influential Pharisees and Sadducees, the religious leaders from Jerusalem. If you wanted to market your ministry and to succeed in the religious climate of the day, surely you would want to court the endorsement of these men. But John saw them coming and said, “You brood of vipers, who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Obviously John had not taken the Dale Carnegie course in “How to Win Friends and Influence People”!
Why were people flocking way out to the wilderness, where John had no phone, no sign, and not even an air-conditioned building, in fact, no building at all, to hear him hurl such abuse at them? The answer was simple: There had been no word from God for 400 years, and the people knew that John was not preaching his own word, but God’s word. They knew that he spoke the truth. Even though it offended the religious leaders, who left without submitting to God’s word through John (Luke 7:30), many received John’s message, repented of their sins, and were baptized. They knew that John truthfully spoke God’s word to them.
When we come to a portion of Scripture like this, we need to be careful. It’s easy to be offended by it, because it lays the axe to the root of our hypocrisy, self-righteousness, and pride. It doesn’t build our self-esteem to be called a brood of vipers! If we get offended and respond defensively, we will go away like the Pharisees and Sadducees did, comfortable with the veneer of our religiosity. But we will not be prepared to face the wrath to come.
The proper way to respond to this text is to respond as we would to a surgeon who said, “You have cancer and if you don’t submit to the treatment immediately, it will take your life. But, even though the treatment is painful, if you will submit to it, we can cure you.” You might be able to go find a quack somewhere who would tell you that you are wonderful and that you don’t need to worry about your cancer. Just take these sugarcoated pills once a day and you will feel fine. But if you have cancer, you need the truth. God’s message for us through John the Baptist is,
Because of God’s impending wrath, we must make sure that our repentance is true, not false.
Verses 7-9 warn us of the dangers of false repentance. Verses 10-14 show us the nature of true repentance.
The theme of 3:7-9 is clearly that of warning. John mentions “the wrath to come,” “the axe …already laid at the root of the trees,” and that “every tree … that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” Furthermore, he anticipates the excuse that his Jewish audience would raise, that they were exempt from God’s judgment because they were children of Abraham. He shows them that it was not valid. His warning shows that there is such a thing as false or superficial repentance and that it will not deliver a person from the impending wrath of God. Therefore, we need to be sure that we can identify and avoid such deception.
John’s pointed question, “Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” questions the motives of his listeners. Even though they may go through the outward ritual of water baptism, they needed to examine their hearts. Were they truly repentant toward God for their personal sins or were they just following the religious fad of the moment? The picture behind John’s language was that when there was a brush fire, or when a farmer would burn the stubble from his field, any snakes in the grass would escape ahead of the flames. But as soon as they were safe, they would resume their subtle, crooked, poisonous ways, because their nature as snakes had not been changed. They were just trying to save their skins so that they could go on with their snake-in-the-grass ways.
In the same way, false repentance is just outward and oriented toward self, not toward God. The falsely repentant person may momentarily fear God’s judgment and “receive Christ.” He may go to an evangelistic rally where many go forward, and since his life has not been happy and he wants to be happy, he joins the crowd at the front. But he has not faced the corruption of his heart before God. He is not truly sorrowful for offending God’s holiness. He does not cry out to God for a new heart that will hate sin and love righteousness. Like Esau, he may regret, even with tears, that he has lost his birthright. Like Judas, he may feel badly that he has betrayed the Son of God for a few pieces of silver. But his repentance is just superficial and outward, not a matter of the heart.
The religious leaders among John’s crowd would have agreed that repentance was a good thing for the tax collectors and other “sinners” in the crowd, but they did not apply it to themselves because they assumed that they were basically good people. After all, they kept the Law of Moses. They observed the religious rituals. They tithed their money. And, besides, they were children of Abraham. God had promised to bless the seed of Abraham. They knew that God would judge the heathen someday, but they were not like those despised wretches.
But John—how dare him—does not call them the children of Abraham, but the children of vipers! He preaches the same message to the religious leaders as he does to the tax collectors and prostitutes: “You must truly repent and bring forth fruit in keeping with your repentance.” John cuts beneath the religious veneer and says, “I don’t’ care how religious your background! Your heart is just as corrupt as those who are outwardly sinful. Your pride in thinking that by your own goodness you can stand in God’s holy presence is just as offensive to God as the greed of the tax collectors or the immorality of the prostitute.” God’s view of the human race is repeatedly stated in the Hebrew Scriptures:
Gen. 6:5: Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
Gen. 8:21: …the intent of man’s heart is evil from his youth.
Ps. 14:2, 3: The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.
Ps. 51:5: Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me.
Isa. 64:6: For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment;…
Believing in the basic goodness of the human heart is one of Satan’s most pernicious errors. But we cannot truly repent if we cling to the notion that we have anything in ourselves to commend us to God. The axe must be laid to the root of self-righteousness.
The fearsomeness of the judgment is described by the words, “wrath,” “axe,” and “fire.” Who can endure the holy wrath of the infinite God? Who can stand if the arm of the Lord is swinging the axe against him? Who can be thrown into the Lake of Fire without terrible consequence? Just because His judgment is delayed does not mean that it will not happen. To deny that a terrible day of judgment is coming, you’d have to tear out of your Bible the Book of Revelation plus many other passages, including many words of the Lord Jesus. J. C. Ryle (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], 2:90) comments,
Let us beware of being wise above that which is written, and more charitable than Scripture itself. Let the language of John the Baptist be deeply graven in our hearts. Let us never be ashamed to avow our firm belief, that there is a “wrath to come” for the impenitent, and that it is possible for a man to be lost as well as to be saved. To be silent on the subject is positive treachery to men’s souls. It only encourages them to persevere in wickedness, and fosters in their minds the devil’s old delusion, “Ye shall not surely die.” That minister is surely our best friend who tells us honestly of danger, and warns us, like John the Baptist, to “flee the wrath to come.”
Once at a funeral service I conducted I noticed that the remembrance card had John 3:16 printed on it. But it was printed as follows: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes on Him should have eternal life.” What was missing? The words not perish, but! I don’t know if the family had requested it printed that way or if the funeral parlor had done it, but I pointed it out to those in attendance. There are only two eternal destinies: Either you believe in Jesus Christ and have eternal life, or you perish! Because God will certainly judge all false repentance, we must be careful to make sure that we are truly repentant.
As we saw last week, the main idea in biblical repentance is turning from sin to God. If we truly have turned from sin to God, our lives will show it. Our thinking, emotions, attitudes, and behavior will be different. Repentance is a lifelong process for the believer, but it must begin at a certain point:
Before a person is repentant, he denies or excuses or justifies the sinfulness of his own heart. A well-known pastor who preaches a false gospel recently stated, “I’m very proud of who I am…. I have not broken a single one of the Ten Commandments. I have not broken any of the teachings of Jesus Christ, and so I’m proud of my faith and my message.” It is clear that that man does not know Jesus Christ, because the Bible says, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:10). Those who have truly repented before God have confessed their sin and their need for a Savior. They have given up all false hopes for right standing before God, whether it be their own religious heritage, their good deeds, or their good intentions. As Charles Spurgeon put it, “You will be as surely damned by your righteousness, if you trust in it, as you will by your unrighteousness” (Spurgeon’s Expository Encyclopedia [Baker], 14:305).
When John tells his hearers that they must not put confidence in their religious heritage as children of Abraham, he also hints at their true need, namely, that God would impart life to their stony hearts: “God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham.” God had promised through Ezekiel (36:26, 27):
Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.
Thus true repentance recognizes the sinfulness of my heart and realizes that I am powerless to correct the situation because of the weakness and corruption of my flesh. So I cry out to God for a new heart, and He graciously provides what I cannot do. He imparts a new nature to me that loves righteousness and longs to obey Him. He gives me His Holy Spirit to empower me to walk in His ways. Just as a tree bears fruit according to its nature, so the truly repentant soul begins to bear fruit according to this new nature, fruit that pleases God and is observed by others.
Howard Marshall (Commentary on Luke [Eerdmans], p. 143) clarifies an important point: “Such works are the expression of repentance or conversion, and not, …[the] means of securing merit in the sight of God, since the possibility of repentance is due in the first place to God.” Or, as John Calvin explains (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], “Harmony of the Gospels,” pp. 189, 190, italics his), “It ought to be observed, that good works (Titus 3:8) are here called fruits of repentance: for repentance is an inward matter, which has its seat in the heart and soul, but afterwards yields its fruits in a change of life.” Calvin also points out (pp. 192, 193) how hypocrites often try to prove themselves as worshipers of God by outward ceremonies. But they can’t fake the deeds described here by John, since such deeds require them to dip into their pocketbooks.
When those in the crowd who were convicted of their sin asked John, “What shall we do?” you might have expected John to say, “Eat locusts and wild honey and live as simply as I do.” But he did not. He could have said, “Keep the rituals in the temple faithfully.” But he didn’t say that. His answers are refreshingly simple and practical. Each answer relates to the second table of the Law, our relationship with our neighbor. As the apostle John put it, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20). John the Baptist is saying that the fruits of repentance will be seen in the way we relate to others, especially in the particular station in life where we live and work.
Also, note that each of the fruits of repentance mentioned by John relates to possessions or money. John’s teaching here is not comprehensive, of course. Those who are truly repentant will be growing in the many other areas mentioned in the Bible. But, as Jesus points out in Luke 16:10-13, our stewardship of the money God has entrusted to us is the litmus test of whether we will be faithful in more important matters. While we all must grow in this area, and fruit takes time to ripen, those who are truly repentant will be growing in these three areas that John mentions.
True repentance will bear the fruit of generosity toward the needy.
“Let the man who has two tunics share with him who has none; and let him who has food do likewise” (3:11). The word “tunic” refers to an undershirt worn under the coat or outer tunic. John is not advocating communism nor is he saying that it is wrong to own more than one change of clothes. Rather, he is advocating the simple generosity that comes from the attitude, “God has met my needs and this poor man could use what I have an abundance of. I’ll give it to him.”
I also add that John’s statements do not represent the entire biblical teaching on helping the poor. Paul states that if a man will not work, neither should he eat (2 Thess. 3:10). The Book of Proverbs mocks the foolish sluggard who refuses to work, save, and plan for the future, and then is in want. Such people may need temporary financial help, but they also need correction and instruction. If they refuse to act responsibly, they will have to face the consequences. But at the same time, we must seek to treat others as we would want to be treated if we were in their situation. We can’t close our hearts toward a person who is truly in need when we have the means to help. One fruit of repentance is growing generosity.
True repentance will bear the fruit of honesty without greed in business.
In the Roman system, tax collectors would bid with the government for the tax business in a certain region. The high bidder would get the contract, and then he would be free to pocket everything he collected above his bid. Obviously, such a system was subject to great abuse. The Jews hated their countrymen who went into such a corrupt business.
But John doesn’t tell the tax collectors to get out of that line of work. Rather, he tells them, “Collect no more than what you have been ordered to” (3:13). In other words, be honest and don’t be greedy. Do your job in a fair and upright manner.
It always grieves me when I hear of businessmen who profess to be Christians, but they are dishonest and greedy in the way they do business. True repentance isn’t compartmentalized into Sunday mornings. It affects the way you act in your business the rest of the week. This is one reason, by the way, that a Christian should not be yoked with a non-Christian in a business partnership (2 Cor. 6:14-18). The non-Christian will want to cheat and cut corners, especially if being honest means losing money. But the Christian should be committed to being honest even if it costs him. Integrity is more important for the Christian than money.
True repentance will bear the fruit of not abusing power for personal gain.
Again, John does not tell the soldiers to get out of their particular line of work. God approves of civil government, which necessarily includes law enforcement and proper national defense. But John does tell the soldiers not to abuse their power for personal gain, and to be content with their wages. This would not be easy when you saw your fellow-soldiers using the system to fill their own pockets, while you’re scraping by with low wages. It would be easy to rationalize, “Everyone does it; it’s the way the system works.” But the repentant soldier will not go along with the flow. He will practice the golden rule toward others and he will deal with his own greed by learning contentment in the Lord.
There are three possible responses to a straightforward message like John’s: Some will be offended and walk away without any repentance. They will face God’s coming wrath. Others will be superficially repentant. They will put on the cosmetics of outward change, but they won’t honestly face the corruption of their hearts. They, too, will face God’s coming wrath, probably with great surprise. The third response is to be truly repentant, to realize the sinfulness of your heart, to turn to God and appeal to Him for a new heart and a clean conscience through the blood of Christ. These will go on to grow the fruits of repentance.
John’s abrupt style might offend you, like Crazy Frank’s style offended his customers. But remember, Crazy Frank had by far the cheapest prices in town. And especially remember, John the Baptist spoke the true word of God. It’s far better to “shop at Crazy John’s” and save your soul than to walk away offended and face the wrath to come!
Copyright, 1998, Steven J. Cole, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
If you are a Christian, then one of your deepest longings is to see others come to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. And yet who among us has not felt tongue-tied when an opportunity to tell someone about Christ was staring us in the face?
I still remember an incident from my college days over 30 years ago. I was in a group discussion class where our grade depended on having interesting discussions that captured the attention of the rest of the class. So we would discuss subjects such as sex, drugs, sex, racism, sex, politics, sex, etc. On every issue, I took the biblical view of things, although I didn’t openly identify myself as a Christian. A guy named Ralph always took the liberal, worldly view. He favored free sex, homosexuality, drug use, and everything else that I was against.
After one class, he came up to me and said, “I want to ask you a question: Are you for real, or are you just putting us on in there?” He caught me off guard and I didn’t know what to say, so I just said, “Yeah, that’s really the way I am.” But I never mentioned Jesus Christ as the reason for why I believed in moral behavior. Over the years as I’ve thought of my failure, I have prayed for Ralph, that God would bring along another Christian who would boldly tell him about the Savior. It was my failure in that situation that motivated me to get some training in how to share my faith.
I believe that it is very helpful for every Christian to receive training in how to share the good news about Jesus Christ. While I cannot provide such training in a single message, I do want to go over some essentials that we must cover if we want to point people to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Our method and manner of presenting these truths will vary, but in some way people must clearly understand these issues.
John the Baptist’s life and ministry pointed people to Jesus Christ. As John 1:8 explains of John, “He was not the light, but came that he might bear witness of the light.” In our text, we see how John pointed people to Christ. It is significant that at the beginning of the passage, people are speculating about whether John himself might be the Christ. But by the end, where Luke reports Jesus’ baptism, even though John was the one doing the baptizing, he isn’t even mentioned! John has completely faded from view and, as with the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration, we are left with Jesus alone and a voice from heaven confirming Him. Even so, if we want to be used by God to point people to the Savior, we must fade from view and leave the person with Jesus alone, along with the divine testimony, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well-pleased.” That God the Father is well-pleased with God the Son is at the foundation of the gospel message we are to proclaim.
Luke uses this section to take John, the forerunner, off the scene and to authenticate the person of Jesus Christ, whose official ministry is inaugurated in Luke 4:14. The genealogy of Jesus (3:23-38) and His temptation (4:1-13) also serve to authenticate Him. Darrell Bock (Luke [Baker], 1:345) comments,
The emphasis here is that heaven has spoken. God has revealed his choice. Much as a political party puts its stamp on a presidential candidate, so here God has shown who will accomplish his plan….
The testimony of heaven is that Jesus is the beloved Son. When God speaks, the reader is to listen.
From John’s ministry and from the Father’s testimony, we can learn three elements that we must employ if we want to point people to Christ:
Pointing people to Christ requires confronting their sin, warning of the reality of the coming judgment, and exalting His supremacy over all.
As we have seen, John’s message is summed up as “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3). Repentance from sin and faith in Jesus Christ are at the heart of the gospel. A person who does not see and feel himself to be a sinner has no reason to need a Savior. If I came up to you and said, “I have great news! The governor has just offered you a pardon from prison,” you would not be very thrilled with that news, and you might even be offended. Why? You are not guilty of any crime deserving of prison. But, if you have just been convicted of a serious crime and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, my announcement would be the most welcome news you could imagine.
If you walk up to a person who is not a Christian and say, “I have great news! God loves you and Jesus Christ died for your sins,” the person will not appreciate your message and he might even get offended. He will think, “Of course God loves me! God is love and I’m a basically loveable person! But as for this sin stuff, I’m only human and I have my faults, but I’m not that bad of a person. Why do I need Jesus to die for my sins?”
How do you get a person who thinks of himself as basically good to see the utter sinfulness of his own heart so that he will see his need for the Savior? God’s method is to preach His perfect Law to the sinner so that he sees how utterly he has failed to keep that Law. “Through the Law comes the knowledge of sin” so that a man sees that he is accountable before God (Rom. 3:19, 20). Thus the Law becomes “our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24).
We see in Luke 3:19 that John the Baptist preached the Law even to Herod Antipas. Herod had divorced his own wife and seduced Herodias, the wife of his half-brother, who was also his own niece. By so doing, he was guilty of both adultery and incest. John confronted Herod with this violation of God’s Law, along with other wicked things that he had done. We don’t know if John did this in a private interview with Herod, through a sermon when Herod was present in the audience, or if John’s public rebuke of Herod in his absence got back to him. But John boldly proclaimed that the ruler was under the same Law of God as the common person. Sadly, Herod did not respond with repentance, but rather added to his many sins by locking John up in prison and later executing him. But in spite of the consequences, John didn’t soften the message, because he knew that neither Herod nor anyone else would come to Christ unless he was first convicted of his sin.
Herod’s treatment of John should alert us to the fact that we may not be warmly welcomed when we bring up the matter of a person’s sin. But even so, we must remember that we do no one a favor by tiptoeing around the sin issue. Modern evangelicalism has fallen into the trap of marketing the gospel as the way to have a happy life, but we often minimize or sidestep the serious nature of sin. But until a person comes under the conviction of the Holy Spirit so that he sees that he is justly guilty before God, he will not appreciate God’s grace that was shown to us in the cross of Christ. Being forgiven little, he will love Christ little.
The Bible tells us that sinners are “darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness” (Eph. 4:18, 19). Obviously, we cannot break through all the defenses that sinners have erected to justify themselves as they continue their course of sin. Only God by His mighty power can break through their hardened hearts and reveal Christ to their souls. He does it primarily through His Word, both written and preached.
Thus one of the best ways you can confront a sinner with his sin is to get him to read the New Testament. He won’t be five chapters into Matthew until he reads that if he has been angry with his brother, he has broken the commandment not to murder. If he has lusted after a woman in his heart, he has broken God’s commandment against adultery. You can also give him tapes of sermons by preachers who preach God’s Law. We have an excellent video in our church library, “The Ten Cannons of God’s Law,” by Pastor Ray Comfort, that will help you understand how to use God’s Law in your witnessing to bring people to conviction of sin. But remember, you are not really pointing a person to Jesus Christ unless you help him to see that he is a guilty sinner, under the just condemnation of God’s holy Law.
John the Baptist made it clear that the coming of Jesus the Messiah would cause a division among people. Some would be wheat gathered into His barn, but others would be chaff which He would burn up with unquenchable fire (3:17). This illustration was familiar to all of John’s hearers. When a farmer harvested his crop, he would thresh the grain with a heavy sledge that separated the kernel of wheat from the outer shell or chaff. Then he would take a shovel-like winnowing fork and throw the wheat and chaff into the air when there was a breeze. The chaff would blow to the side, while the heavier wheat would fall to the ground. The chaff would be swept up for burning.
It is a picture of God’s coming judgment. There will be only two destinies. Either by God’s grace through the new birth, you become wheat and bear fruit unto eternal life; or, by remaining hardened in your sin, you live a life that is fruitless in light of God’s purposes and you will go into unquenchable fire. The Greek word for “unquenchable” is asbestos. While the flames of hell are probably figurative language, God uses the most frightening imagery possible to warn us that the torments of that place of eternal punishment are so awful that no one would dare risk going there!
Along with playing down the seriousness of sin, modern evangelicalism often sidesteps the horrors of hell. The mood of our culture is tolerance, love, and forgiveness. We don’t want to punish prisoners, but to rehabilitate them. If, after years of appeals, a murderer is actually put to death, we do it in the most painless way possible, through lethal injection. But even that form of capital punishment is opposed by many. As a result, when we talk to sinners about the gospel, we feel like we have to apologize for God and skirt around the unpleasant matter of hell. The dominant theme of our message is, “God loves you just the way you are.” But the Bible clearly warns that “he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:36).
In personal witnessing, people need to know that if they do not repent and believe in Jesus Christ, they are simply storing up wrath for themselves in the day of the righteous judgment of God (Rom. 2:5). While this may be difficult news, it is ultimately good news. Note Luke 3:18: John’s warnings of judgment are described as his preaching the good news to the people. If it is true that God’s awful judgment is ahead, then even though it may not be pleasant to think about, it is eternally good news to tell people that God has provided the way of escape. We have not told them the gospel if we dodge the warning of God’s coming judgment.
Again, one of the best ways of communicating this is simply to let the person read the Bible. Jesus spoke more about hell than anyone else. Let the person read Jesus’ words, so that you get out of the way and he stands face to face with the Word of God. The idea that basically decent people will all go to heaven someday apart from repentance and faith in Christ is radically opposed to the Word of God. We must warn sinners of the coming judgment.
John the Baptist would later say about Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). John was not jealously trying to promote himself and his ministry. He wanted people to look beyond him to Jesus alone. Even though in the flesh he could have tried to capitalize on the wave of popularity over his ministry, John humbled himself and exalted Jesus Christ. We must imitate his example in our witness to the lost. To do this …
John tells people that his baptism is merely with water, but that Jesus’ baptism is far more powerful, since it will be with the Holy Spirit and fire. More of this in a moment, but for now the point is that John humbled himself and pointed people to Christ. Also, John humbled himself by acknowledging that he was not even worthy to untie the thong of Jesus’ sandals. This was viewed as such a degrading act that even Hebrew slaves were not required to do it.
If we want to point sinners to Jesus, we must humble ourselves so that they do not stumble over us. Sometimes we Christians come across to unbelievers as if we are not sinners. They usually smell the hypocrisy and turn away in disgust. We need to let lost people know that by nature, we are the same as they are. We are just beggars telling other beggars where they can find the Bread of Life.
Jesus is exalted here both by the witness of John and by the witness of God the Father at His baptism. We see that …
Jesus is supreme in the power and holiness of His person.
John confesses that Jesus is “mightier” than he is and that he is not worthy to untie Jesus’ sandal thong. It is not an easy thing for a man to admit that another man is mightier than he is. But John knew that even though Jesus was younger than he was, Jesus existed before him (John 1:30) because Jesus is God in human flesh. By His power, He holds the very universe together (Col. 1:17). The miracles He performed bear witness to His power. Liberal scholars who explain away Jesus’ miracles are not bearing witness to the Jesus of the Bible. He is Almighty God and nothing less!
By saying that he was not worthy to untie Jesus’ sandal thong, John was acknowledging the inherent holiness of Jesus’ person. John was a godly man by human standards, but in his heart he knew that he wasn’t even in the same league with Jesus. Jesus later could ask His critics, “Which of you convicts Me of sin?” (John 8:46). He repeatedly claimed that He was obedient to the Father’s will and spoke only what the Father commanded (John5:19, 30;
Jesus is supreme in the power and effects of His ministry.
When John contrasts his water baptism with Jesus’ baptism by the Holy Spirit and fire, he is saying that Jesus does inwardly what John’s ministry outwardly symbolizes. A person can go through the outward ritual of water baptism, but it is of no effect unless Jesus does a supernatural work in his heart through the baptism of the Holy Spirit and fire.
How should we interpret this baptism of the Spirit and fire? There are several views. There is only one preposition (“with,” Greek, en) governing the two words (the NIV is incorrect in repeating “with”), so that it refers to one baptism. Thus it seems to me that this baptism must apply to one group, those who respond to the gospel. The Holy Spirit regenerates these people and progressively purges them from their sins by His purifying fire. The unquenchable fire of verse 17 refers to the eternal punishment of those who reject the gospel. Alexander Maclaren (Expositions of Holy Scripture [Baker], Luke, p. 76) explains it this way, “Either we shall gladly accept the purging fire of the Spirit which burns sin out of us, or we shall have to meet the punitive fire which burns up us and our sins together. To be cleansed by the one or to be consumed by the other is the choice before each of us.”
The point is, Jesus is the Person who by His coming divides all humanity into two eternal camps. Either you repent of your sins and believe in Him, resulting in His giving you the Holy Spirit to empower you and purge sin out of your life. Or, you go on in your sins and die in them, facing the terrifying fire of eternal judgment.
Jesus is supreme in the powerful affirmation of Him by the Father and by the Holy Spirit.
The way Luke presents Jesus’ baptism minimizes John’s role (he is not even mentioned) and even downplays the baptism itself. Rather Luke emphasizes that after the baptism, while Jesus was praying, heaven was opened, the Holy Spirit descended in the form of a dove, and a voice came out of heaven affirming, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.”
The fact that Jesus would even submit to baptism signifies that at the outset of His ministry, He identified Himself with the sinners He came to save. Luke emphasizes Jesus’ prayer life, which shows His dependence as the Son of Man on the Heavenly Father (there are seven references to Jesus praying in Luke: 3:21 [baptism]; 5:16 [growing fame]; 6:12 [choosing the 12]; 9:18 [just before Peter’s confession]; 9:29 [Transfiguration]; 11:1 [before Lord’s Prayer]; and, 22:41 [Gethsemane]).
The fact that heaven was opened shows that in Jesus, God was breaking into human history. The Holy Spirit’s descent as a dove probably points to the gentleness and purity of the Spirit, and also shows the Holy Trinity united in the launching of Jesus’ ministry. The affirmation of the Father from heaven relates to two Old Testament texts: Psalm 2:7, where the Father says of Messiah, “You are My Son”; and, Isaiah 42:1, “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.” (Note the clear reference to the Trinity in this Old Testament passage!) The Father’s being pleased with His beloved Son assures us that He is satisfied with His offering Himself on the cross for our sins. If we are in Christ, the Beloved, then we are accepted in the presence of the Holy God.
When you bear witness, always bring people back to the exalted person and work of Jesus Christ. If they bring up objections or questions, answer them briefly if you must, but steer the conversation back to Jesus Christ. If we lift Him up, He will draw men to Himself (John 12:32).
Even if you have not seen the popular movie,“Titanic” (I have not and don’t plan to), you know the basic story. The supposedly unsinkable ship hit an iceberg on her maiden voyage, sending 1,517 people to their watery graves. What you may not know is that most, if not all, could have been saved. Another ship, the Californian, had passed within sight of the Titanic and made radio contact at 11 p.m. At 11:30, the captain and wireless operator on the Californian went to bed. Ten minutes later, the Titanic hit the iceberg. Although the officer on duty on the Californian saw the distress rockets from the Titanic, he wasn’t sure what they meant and he couldn’t arouse the sleepy captain. A report testified that if the Californian had responded, many, if not all, of the lives that were lost could have been saved.
We may condemn the captain of the Californian who slept while 1,500 people perished nearby. But aren’t we often guilty of the same thing if we’re complacent while people around us perish? We need to be sensitive. I’m not suggesting that we use offensive methods. But we must not hold back from warning people about sin and judgment. We must tell them about the supremacy of Jesus Christ and how they must trust in Him alone as their Savior from the wrath to come. I pray that we all would join John the Baptist in pointing people to Christ, even if it costs us as it did cost John.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Many people these days are turning to financial counselors for advice and help with investments. An article I read on this urges the reader carefully to check out a potential advisor’s credentials before you allow him any knowledge of or access to your money. It makes sense, if your money and future security are at stake, to have some good reasons to trust the person giving you advice.
If it makes sense to check out the credentials of a financial advisor, it makes even more sense to be sure about the credentials of one to whom you entrust your eternal destiny as your Savior from God’s judgment. While all of the Gospel accounts, and even all the Bible, serve to establish the credibility of Jesus as the promised Messiah and Savior, Luke focuses on three lines of evidence prior to introducing the beginning of Jesus’ ministry: (1) The testimony of John the Baptist and of God the Father and the Holy Spirit at Jesus’ baptism (3:15-22); (2) the genealogy of Jesus (3:23-38), which we’re considering in this study; and, Jesus’ victory over Satan’s temptations (4:1-13). Luke’s purpose in putting the genealogy here is to show how …
The genealogy of Jesus shows Him to be God’s promised Savior for all people.
I wish I could simply dwell on that theme alone, but there are a number of difficult problems raised by this text that we need to consider. After looking at these problems, we will look at some conclusions we can be sure of. Then we will consider some practical lessons we can apply.
The main problems concern the many differences between Matthew’s genealogy (Matt. 1:1-17) and Luke’s. Matthew begins with Abraham and moves down to Jesus. Luke begins with Jesus and moves back through Abraham to Adam. Matthew deliberately arranges his genealogy into three groups of 14 generations each (Matt. 1:17), with a total of 41 names. (He may do this because the numeric value of the name “David” in Hebrew is 14.) Luke has 77 names, apparently arranged in 11 groups of seven, although he never calls attention to this. At the part where the two genealogies overlap, Matthew has 41 names and Luke has 57. Matthew traces the genealogy through David’s son, Solomon, whereas Luke goes through David’s son, Nathan.
Between Joseph and David, both genealogies come together only at Shealtiel and Zerubbabel, who lived just after the Babylonian captivity. None of the other names in this period are the same. Matthew lists Shealtiel’s father as Jeconiah (in accord with 1 Chron. 3:17), but Luke lists him as Neri (3:27). Matthew lists the father of Joseph (Mary’s husband) as Jacob; Luke lists him as Eli (or Heli). Matthew lists four women, but Luke does not list any women in spite of his emphasis on women in his gospel.
Of course some Bible critics throw out any attempt to reconcile these differences and simply assume that there are errors in the Bible. I dismiss such skeptics, since they deny the inspiration of Scripture and exalt man’s wisdom over God’s Word. Among those who believe in the authority of Scripture, there are two basic approaches to this material. Some argue that both Matthew and Luke are tracing Joseph’s genealogy. There are several variations of this approach. The other main approach is that Matthew traces Joseph’s genealogy while Luke traces Mary’s line.
The oldest attempt at resolving the problems comes from Julius Africanus (ca. A.D. 225), who claimed to have received his information from the descendants of James, the brother of Jesus. He stated that Matthan (listed in Matt. 1:15 as the grandfather of Joseph) married a woman named Estha, by whom he had a son, Jacob. When Matthan died, his widow married Melchi (Luke 3:24) and had a son Eli (Luke 3:23, the father of Joseph). Apparently, Africanus did not have the same manuscript of Luke we possess, which has the names Levi and Matthat between Melchi and Eli. Eli married but died without children. His half-brother, Jacob took his wife in levirate marriage, so that his physical son, Joseph, was regarded as the legal son of Eli.
Africanus admits that this theory is uncorroborated, but contends that it is worthy of belief. If this theory is true, then both genealogies represent the line of Joseph, but they diverge quickly due to the levirate marriage of Joseph’s mother. According to Africanus, Matthew provided the natural line, while Luke provided the royal line. It is possible theory, since levirate marriage was not completely unknown in the first century (Matt. 22:24-28). But it leaves us with the unresolved problem of the two missing names in Africanus’ list. (The preceding and following information is taken primarily from Darrell Bock, Luke [Baker], 1:919-923, and I. Howard Marshall, Commentary on Luke [Eerdmans], 157-161.)
A more modern variation of this view is tied to the work of Lord Hervey, modified by J. Gresham Machen (The Virgin Birth of Christ [Baker], pp. 207-209). They claim that Luke gives the physical descent of Joseph, while Matthew gives the royal, legal descent through Joseph. The simplest approach argues that Jacob (Joseph’s father in Matt. 1:15) was childless and so Eli (Joseph’s father in Luke 3:23), who was Joseph’s actual father, became the heir through levirate marriage to Jacob’s widow. Machen argues that Jacob and Eli were brothers, so that when Jacob died childless, his nephew, Joseph, became the heir. There are other plausible variations of this approach, but we cannot prove any view, including the following one, since we lack the necessary information.
The other main way of harmonizing the two genealogies was first proposed by Annius of Viterbo in 1490, that Matthew gives the genealogy of Joseph, whereas Luke traces the genealogy of Mary (nicely defended by Norval Geldenhuys, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke, [Eerdmans], pp. 151-152). This view argues that when Luke says that Jesus was “supposedly” the son of Joseph, he intends then to trace Jesus’ descent through Mary, whose father was Eli. It is argued that since Luke has already described the virgin birth of Jesus (1:26-38), it is natural for him to list Jesus’ physical descent through her, alerting his readers by the word “supposedly.” Of what value would the genealogy of a supposed father be? Mary is not named in 3:23 because women were not normally listed in either Roman or Jewish genealogies. Also, since Mary seems to be Luke’s source for much of his material on the early years of Jesus, and since the Jewish genealogical records were well preserved, especially among families of Davidic descent, it would be natural for Mary to supply these records to Luke.
Also, proponents of this view claim that Mary, not just Joseph, had to have been of Davidic origin. Otherwise, the early Jewish opponents of Christianity, who knew that Christians claimed that Jesus was born of Mary but not through Joseph, would have attacked Jesus’ right to the Davidic throne. But they never challenged Jesus on this matter.
A further support for this view is that it fits Luke’s purpose. Since he was writing for a largely Gentile audience, Luke wanted to trace Jesus’ physical descent (which had to be through Mary), showing that He was not only the son of David, but also son of Abraham (through whose descendants God promised to bless the nations), and son of Adam (which relates Jesus to the entire human race). Matthew, on the other hand, writing for primarily a Jewish readership, wanted to authenticate Jesus as the legal heir of the throne of David through Solomon, who was Joseph’s ancestor. Since Jesus was Joseph’s adopted son, Matthew traces the legal right to the throne through him.
The main criticism of the view that Luke traces Mary’s line is that she is not named here. Thus Luke’s readers would understand assume that he is tracing Jesus’ descent through Joseph, even though he gives the disclaimer that Joseph was not his natural father. Also, it is argued against this view that genealogies were not traced through the female line. But, as Leon Morris points out (Luke [IVP/Eerdmans], p. 100), Luke “is speaking of a virgin birth, and we have no information as to how a genealogy would be reckoned when there was no human father. The case is unique.” Since there are a number of reputable Bible scholars on both sides and we lack sufficient information, we cannot be dogmatic, but I am inclined to the view that Luke traces Mary’s line.
As mentioned, the two genealogies touch only once between Joseph and David, namely with the names of Shealtiel and his son Zerubbabel. The problem is that Matthew, in line with 1 Chronicles 3:17, lists Jeconiah as Shealtiel’s father, whereas Luke lists his father as Neri (3:27). There are several possible solutions, but I will offer one that fits with the view that Luke is tracing Mary’s line. In Jeremiah 22:30, the Lord curses the disobedient King Jeconiah (also called Coniah and Jehoiachin) by saying that none of his descendants will sit on David’s throne. On the surface, this curse would seem to contradict God’s covenant with David that one of his sons would rule forever. Since Jeconiah is in the line of David through Solomon that goes down to Joseph, if Jesus had been the natural descendant of Joseph through Solomon, He would have fallen under this curse. In fact, Jeconiah died in captivity in Babylon and none of his descendants ruled after him. But, Jesus was only the adopted son of Joseph, not his natural descendant. Thus He was not under the curse, but He was qualified to be heir to David’s throne legally through Joseph back through Solomon. But Jesus was David’s natural descendant through Mary back through Nathan.
There are some other problems I will skip for lack of time. All of the problems have plausible solutions, but the problem is, we lack sufficient information and thus every solution must be based on some unverifiable speculations. Thus we can’t know for sure which solution is correct. Maybe by now you’re wondering, “Is there anything we can know for sure from this passage?”
Even though there are differences between the genealogies of Matthew and Luke, there are reasonable solutions to the problems. It is a known fact of history that the Jews kept careful genealogical records (see Geldenhuys, p. 151). This was especially true of families who were in the Davidic line, since the Old Testament prophesied that Messiah would be born of the house of David. The fact that Matthew and Luke vary so greatly shows that neither writer was copying the other at this point. They each had distinct purposes in writing and thus used material appropriate to their purposes. Luke claimed to have carefully investigated the facts before he wrote (1:3). To assume, as liberal scholars do, that there are errors in the record is to assume that we know more than Matthew and Luke did, or that they were sloppy about their facts. That kind of arrogance is unwarranted. We can trust the record as written.
Whatever solution we adopt, we can be sure that Jesus was the Son of David, the Messiah of God’s people. Also, since as far as we know the genealogical records were completely destroyed in A.D. 70, when Titus destroyed Jerusalem, no one after Jesus could legitimately prove a claim to David’s throne. He is the only candidate for Messiah!
Both Matthew and Luke, independently of one another, make it clear that Joseph was not the physical father of Jesus, but that He was uniquely conceived in Mary through the Holy Spirit (see Matthew 1:16, 18-25; Luke 1:26-38, 3:23). The virgin birth allows for Jesus’ deity, which is clearly established in the rest of the gospels. But also both accounts show that Jesus was fully human, descended from the men listed in the genealogies. Jesus alone as God in human flesh is uniquely qualified to be both the Messiah of Israel and the Savior of those from every nation who call upon Him.
While Matthew focuses on Jesus being the Messiah and King of Israel by tracing His genealogy back through David to Abraham, Luke has a different purpose. He wants to show that Jesus is the unique Son of Man and Son of God, Savior of all people. Thus he traces Jesus’ genealogy back beyond Abraham to Adam who was directly created by God (“son of God,” 3:38). Not only does this argue for a literal Adam, it links Jesus with all humanity, showing that He is not only the Savior of the Jews, but also the Savior of any son or daughter of Adam who will turn to Him.
There is a reason why Luke waited until this point, between the baptism and temptation of Jesus, to insert this genealogy. By calling Adam the son of God, Luke does not mean for us to see Jesus as the Son of God in the same way (Luke 1:32, 35 and 4:3, 9 emphasize the uniqueness of this title for Jesus). Rather, Luke wants us to see an important contrast. The first Adam, created by God, was supposed to reflect God’s image, but he failed through yielding to Satan’s temptation, plunging the human race into sin and death. But Jesus, the second Adam, the unique Son of God, triumphed over Satan’s temptation (4:1-13). Through His sacrificial death on the cross, He alone offers salvation from the curse of sin and death brought about by the first Adam. Luke’s point is that Jesus is the only qualified Savior of the human race.
Let me offer three practical applications:
When Adam and Eve sinned, God promised that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent on the head, while the serpent would bruise him on the heel (Gen. 3:15). Depending on the date of Adam and Eve, it would be at least 4,000 years before that promise would be fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was bruised on the heel by Satan in the crucifixion, but who bruised him on the head through the resurrection. About 2,000 B.C. God made a covenant with Abraham that through one of his descendants, all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Gen. 12:3). For two long millennia, Abraham’s descendants waited for that promise to be fulfilled, as it finally was in Jesus Christ. God made a covenant with King David that one of his descendants would rule on his throne forever (2 Sam. 7:12, 13). That descendant was the Lord Jesus Christ, born 1,000 years after David, although He yet awaits His actual reign over Israel and all the nations from David’s throne.
Even though by human measurements thousands of years seem like eternity, to God a thousand years are like yesterday or like a watch in the night (Ps. 90:4). The fact that God fulfilled all of these promises to Adam, Abraham, and David, the ancestors of Jesus, shows us that He is the sovereign over human history. We are like the grass that sprouts up in the morning and withers by evening, but God is the eternal Lord of history. We can trust that He is going to bring world history to its conclusion in precisely the manner indicated in the Bible. Though the nations rage and the rulers of the earth take counsel together against the Lord and His anointed, seeking to cast off His rule, “He who sits in the heavens laughs, the Lord scoffs at them” (Ps. 2:3, 4).
The outworking of the sovereign purpose of God is not as efficient and quick as we often would like it to be. Why did God wait for all those thousands of years before He sent the angel Gabriel to Mary and announced that she would be the mother of the Savior? Many generations lived and died before Jesus was born. Just before His birth were the silent four centuries since the last prophet had spoken. During those long centuries there were several different oppressors of God’s chosen people. Why didn’t God act sooner? We don’t know. But we do know that God had detailed the history of those four centuries to Daniel (chapter 11) and that “when the fulness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law” (Gal. 4:4).
Even when Jesus the Savior finally came, He waited until He was about 30 (Luke 3:23) to begin His ministry. (He was probably in his early 30’s.) Surely He was qualified to begin ministering sooner. But He waited until the age when David assumed the throne, the age when priests in Israel entered into their duties (Num. 4:3, 23).
We’re all so impatient, especially when we’re going through a difficult trial or when we’re asking God for an answer to an important matter that concerns us. We want Him to work now, not later. But we must learn to wait on Him and to trust Him when He doesn’t work according to our timetable. In fact, sometimes He doesn’t even work things out in our lifetime! That leads to the third application from this genealogy:
Adam, Abraham, David, and all of the other men listed here died without receiving the promises. As the author of Hebrews tells us, these men were living for the life to come, counting on His promises for heaven (Heb. 11:13-16). The apostle Paul said that if he had hoped in Christ in this life only, he was of all men most to be pitied (1 Cor. 15:19). Have you pondered that statement? Can you honestly say that?
Modern American Christianity has become focused on how to have the good life here and now. We market the gospel as a great program to fix whatever problems you may be encountering: “Do you need to succeed at work, raise a harmonious family, develop your self-esteem, lose weight, manage your money properly, or achieve your maximum potential? Try Jesus!” Heaven is a nice bonus, thrown into the deal for good measure. But it’s not our focus.
But the clear message of the Bible is that life is terribly short and uncertain. Further, it is filled with difficult trials. While God will give you strength to endure the trials and at times He will graciously deliver you from them, the Bible also makes it clear that if you live faithfully for Christ in this hostile world, your troubles may increase, not decrease! The hope of the believer is not in a happy life here and now, although God may bless us temporally. The hope of the believer is in the return of Jesus Christ, or, if we should die before then, in the hope that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord through all eternity. That hope of heaven through faith in Jesus Christ will sustain us in our present trials. We can know that our lives, however short and trouble-filled, can have a purpose beyond the grave because we can share in the great cause of Jesus Christ, the unique Son of God and Savior of the world.
Canon Dyson Hague wrote (cited without reference in “Messiah in Both Testaments,” by Fred John Meldau, p. 3),
Centuries before Christ was born His birth and career, His sufferings and glory, were all described in outline and detail in the Old Testament. Christ is the only Person ever born into this world whose ancestry, birth-time, forerunner, birth-place, birth-manner, infancy, manhood, teaching, character, career, preaching, reception, rejection, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension were all prewritten in the most marvelous manner centuries before He was born.
Who could draw a picture of a man not yet born? Surely God, and God alone. Nobody knew 500 years ago that Shakespeare was going to be born; or 250 years ago that Napoleon was to be born. Yet here in the Bible [in the OT prophets] we have the most striking and unmistakable likeness of a Man portrayed, not by one, but by twenty or twenty-five artists, none of whom had ever seen the Man they were painting.
Luke’s genealogy is only one proof of many that Jesus Christ is God’s promised Savior. The question I want to leave you with is, “Can you say for certain that this Jesus revealed in Luke, born in fulfillment of God’s promises to Adam, to Abraham, and to David, is your Savior? If so, are you trusting in Him, obeying Him, and looking for His soon coming? Jesus, Son of Mary and Joseph, Son of God, is our only hope for this life and for the life to come!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
To live in this world means that you will encounter temptation. Some, like playwright Oscar Wilde, don’t even try to fight it. He said, “I can resist anything except temptation.” Others want to be delivered from temptation, but they would like it to keep in touch from time to time. But if we want to be godly people, we must learn to resist the temptations that come at us from the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Jesus Christ is our great example and teacher when it comes to resisting temptation. He was “tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). If we want to be like Jesus, we will be eager to learn from Him how He resisted the devil. This account of Jesus’ temptation must have come down to the disciples and to us from Jesus Himself, since it was a private encounter. Luke uses the incident both to confirm Jesus as the righteous Son of God at the outset of His public ministry and to teach us how to follow Him in obedience to the Father.
Before we examine the account itself, there are two problems we need to deal with. First, if you have a King James or New King James Bible, your text adds some phrases that are omitted by the NIV and NASB. In verse 4, Jesus’ quote from Deuteronomy 8:3 adds, “but by every word of God” (in accord with Matt. 4:4 & Deut. 8:3). In verse 5, your text adds “on a high mountain” (in accord with Matt. 4:8). In verse 8 your text adds, “Get behind Me, Satan!” (see Matt. 4:10, “Be gone, Satan!” [the Majority text of Matt. 4:10 reads, “Get behind Me, Satan]; and Matt. 16:23).
The question with each variant reading is, How did the original text of Luke read? Bible scholars use two criteria to determine which text is probably original. The first, called external evidence, is to weigh the manuscript evidence for the various readings. Generally, the oldest manuscripts are the most reliable, especially if the same reading occurs in different manuscript families. The second criterion, called internal evidence, is to try to determine how the variant may have crept into the text. In other words, is it more likely in these cases that a scribe would have dropped the phrase as he copied the manuscript, or would he have added the phrase for some reason? If the external and internal evidence both line up, you have a fairly strong case that a reading is the original.
In each of the variants mentioned, both the external and internal evidence support the shorter readings. The earlier manuscripts do not contain the added phrases. And, it is easier to explain how a later scribe would have added the phrases to make Luke conform to Matthew than it is to explain how the scribe would have accidentally dropped these phrases from Luke.
The second problem we need to address is that Luke reverses the order of the second and third temptations as recorded by Matthew. Critics accuse the accounts of being in error. But, the accounts are only in error if they both make claim of being chronological accounts, which neither does. Our Western mindset seems to demand that everything be given in chronological order. But the gospel writers did not think that way, and there is no inherent reason that their way of thinking was wrong. To make a theological point or for the sake of literary structure, they sometimes rearrange material out of chronological order to fit their purpose.
In this case, there is debate about which account gives the true chronology. Probably Matthew gives the order as it happened, whereas Luke rearranges things in line with his purpose. As Darrell Bock explains, “Luke presents this temptation last, because it places the climax in the city where ultimately the drama surrounding Jesus’ life will be resolved. Luke makes much of Jerusalem (Luke 9:53; 17:11; 18:31; 19:11)” (Luke [Baker], 1:379).
With those technical problems out of the way, let’s turn to the spiritual lessons that come out of Luke’s account, namely, that …
Jesus’ victory over Satan shows Him to be the righteous Son of God and shows us how to overcome temptation.
Three lessons:
It is clear that Jesus believed in and the Bible teaches the reality of a personal evil spirit called Satan (“adversary”) or the devil (“slanderer” or “accuser”). Evil is not just an impersonal force. The devil and the demons are angelic beings who rebelled against God and now are behind the evil in this world. While the devil is a powerful and intelligent being, he is not omnipotent, omniscient, nor omnipresent. While his final doom is secure, for the present he is a powerful and cunning adversary of the saints. We must not be ignorant of his schemes (2 Cor. 2:11). Here we learn …
After His baptism, Jesus was led into the wilderness by the Holy Spirit. Some say that Jesus went there deliberately to engage Satan in this conflict, but I believe that He went there to commune with the Father so that He would be clear regarding His calling as He began His ministry. For 40 days Jesus fasted as He drew near to the Father. This reminds us of Moses who spent 40 days without food or water on Mount Sinai with the Lord before he received the Law (Exod. 24:18; 34:28). Elijah went 40 days on the strength of the food given to him by the angel to Horeb, the mountain of God (1 Kings 19:8). Both of these fasts and Jesus’ fast were miraculous events, because no man can go 40 days without food or water, especially if he is physically active, as Elijah was.
The Greek grammar of verse 2 would indicate that Jesus was tempted over the duration of the 40 days, but the three temptations described may have occurred at the culmination of the period when His hunger became intense. It was precisely when Jesus became hungry that the devil appeared with his temptation to turn the stone to bread. By the way, Matthew has stones (plural), while Luke has stone, but there need not be any contradiction. The devil easily could have said, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become bread. In fact, there is a stone right at your feet. Why not command that stone to become a loaf of bread?” We do not know nor can we speculate on whether the devil took on human form, whether he spoke audibly or whether he suggested the thought to Jesus without an audible voice.
The point is, Satan hit Jesus with this temptation at the precise moment that Jesus was hungry. He always works like that—he hits you when you’re down. He bides his time until you are vulnerable, and then he moves in with his subtle suggestion of evil.
I once heard a godly man tell of how he had been ministering in India for a month. On his return flight over the Atlantic, an attractive stewardess was especially kind to him, giving him a lot of attention. Being weary from traveling, he appreciated it. He had to spend the night in Washington, D.C. before catching his final flight home the next morning. As he went to get off the plane, he thanked the stewardess for her service. She responded by inviting him to come to her apartment for the night rather than going to his hotel. He was tired, he had been away from his wife for a month, and here was a very attractive young woman offering herself to him in a situation where no one would know. This was the opportune moment for Satan to hit! By God’s grace, the man declined the offer, but he said that there was a brief moment in which it sounded very inviting. So be alert as to when you are vulnerable. That’s when the enemy will hit!
In Luke’s second temptation, Satan somehow shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. Perhaps this was a graphic verbal description or a vision. We know that it was not a literal view from a high point, because no point is high enough to see all the world’s kingdoms. Satan proceeds to offer all this domain and its glory to Jesus, claiming that “it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.” All he asks is that Jesus bow in worship before him.
Satan’s offer, like all his offers, was a mixed bag of truth and error. Jesus later calls Satan “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11). Paul calls him “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4). But the Bible is also clear, and Satan cleverly alludes to it even here, that God alone sets up kings and grants authority to whomever He wills (Dan. 4:17, 25). Satan’s authority is at best delegated and temporary. The Bible is clear, as Jesus answers, that God alone is to be worshiped and served. But Satan mixes up the truth of his powerful authority with the error of worshiping him.
This is why you always have to be on guard against false teachers. Invariably they present something that is true, but they mix it up with that which is false and unbiblical. One current popular example is a man who does a great job of setting forth who we are in Christ, how we are saints. But then he states that we are not to see ourselves as sinners, but only as saints who occasionally sin. That’s dangerous error, mixed up with truth! Satan baits his hook with truth so that we swallow the whole thing.
Like a clever salesman, Satan sets out his wares without mentioning the price tag. He always shows the pleasures of sin (which are real), but he doesn’t mention the stiff consequences that inevitably follow. “Worship me and I’ll give you dominion over all the kingdoms of the earth.” Sounds good! But he fails to mention that Jesus will then be the servant of Satan, not of the Father, that the holy union between Father and Son will be forever broken and that Jesus’ mission as Savior will be ruined.
Satan still works that way: “Give in and enjoy the pleasures of sex like all your friends are doing! Why deprive yourself? Life is short, this may be your only opportunity.” He doesn’t mention the risk of venereal disease (including AIDS), or pregnancy, or the spiritual and emotional consequences of giving yourself to someone outside of God’s design of lifelong marriage. He dangles before you the good feelings of taking drugs or getting drunk, but he hides the ruined lives of the drug addict or drunkard on the streets. And, of course, he never sets before you the eternal wrath of God!
Hunger is a legitimate need, but for Jesus to use His power independently of the Father to meet His need would have been wrong. Being Lord of all the kingdoms of this earth was a legitimate goal for Jesus as the Son of God, but bowing before Satan to achieve that goal was wrong. Throwing Himself off the pinnacle of the temple and trusting God to spare Him from injury sounds like a great display of faith, which is a good thing. But actually it would have been presumption, which is sin.
Satan’s goal in all three temptations was to get Jesus to act independently of the Father rather than to submit to the will of God, which included the cross. It would have been a tempting shortcut to gain the glory of ruling all the kingdoms of this world without the agony of the cross. But the Bible is clear that anything we do apart from faith and obedience is sin (Rom. 14:23). This means that we have to be careful not only to pursue godly goals, but also to use biblical means of attaining those goals.
For example, church growth is a good goal, but if the church adopts worldly marketing and sales techniques or waters down the message to bring people into the church, we’ve fallen into the devil’s trap. We need to be careful to follow biblical methods as well as goals. We should learn from our Lord Jesus how to be wise to Satan’s schemes.
At Jesus’ baptism, the Father proclaimed, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased.” Our text shows why Jesus was well-pleasing to the Father. He always lived to do the Father’s will (John 5:19, 30). We also see Jesus living in total dependence on the Holy Spirit (Luke 4:1), who had descended on Him at His baptism. Jesus thus lived as the perfect man in perfect obedience to the Father as He depended totally upon the Holy Spirit.
Luke organizes his genealogy of Jesus backward, so that it ends with “Adam, the son of God” (3:38). Then, just three verses later we encounter Satan telling Jesus, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” In the Greek, there is no doubt in Satan’s challenge. He acknowledges Jesus to be the Son of God. Luke obviously wants us to see a contrast between Adam, who as man was supposed to reflect the image of God, but failed; and, Jesus, the true Son of God who was victorious over Satan’s temptations. Where the first Adam was defeated by Satan, the second Adam triumphed. Also, there is a contrast between the settings of the two incidents. Adam and Eve sinned by eating the forbidden fruit in a garden where they had plenty. Jesus resisted turning the stone into bread in a barren wilderness where He was very hungry.
There is also a parallel and contrast between Israel in the wilderness for 40 years and Jesus, the Messiah of Israel in the wilderness for 40 days. God provided Israel all the manna they needed, and yet they grumbled and tested God by asking for meat. Jesus had no food in the wilderness, but He was satisfied with the food of doing the Father’s will. As Walter Liefeld observes (Expositor’s Bible Commentary [Zondervan], 8:863), Jesus was physically empty but full of the Spirit. How often our experience is the reverse! Luke wants us to see the sufficiency and superiority of Jesus the Son of God. He triumphed where sinful man has failed.
At this point we need briefly to address the question, Could Jesus have sinned? In fact, how could the Son of God even be tempted? God cannot be tempted by evil, so in what sense was Jesus tempted? Here we plunge into a deep mystery where ultimately we must back off without total resolution. The mystery centers on how one person can be both fully God and fully man at the same time.
It is helpful to distinguish between temptation and testing. Since the fall, we can be tempted to evil by our own sinful desires from within or by Satan from without. Jesus did not have a sinful nature, and so He was never incited to sin in the same way that we are. God never tempts anyone to evil (James 1:13). But, every temptation is also a test, where God tries us to reveal what is in our hearts (Deut. 8:2; 2 Chron. 32:31). Also, we can sinfully put God to the test, demanding that He prove Himself (Luke 4:12, Deut. 6:16). Here Satan was tempting Jesus from without, but the temptation was also a test that proved that Jesus was the obedient Son of God who would not put God to the test.
But, still, we have not answered the question, “Could Jesus have sinned?” Some say that the temptation was not genuine unless He could have succumbed. No less a theologian than Charles Hodge believed that Jesus could have sinned, but did not (Systematic Theology [Eerdmans], 2:457). But most conservative theologians hold that while the temptation was real with regard to Jesus’ human nature, since the total person of Christ contains both a human and a divine nature, the person of Christ could not have sinned. I agree with this view. No matter which view you hold, Jesus’ victory over Satan proves that He is qualified to be your Savior. As Hebrews 2:18 states, “Since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.”
Thus we must be wise to the schemes of Satan; we must bow before the superiority of the Son of God.
Jesus shows us five strategies for overcoming temptation:
Not only during these 40 days, but also at other times, Jesus would get away from the crowds and even from the disciples to spend time alone with the Father (5:16). If Jesus needed such times, how much more do we.
But be forewarned: Time alone with God can be a special time of drawing near to Him, but it can also be a time of intense temptation. Jesus was alone and fasting when He was tempted. Time alone with God does not prevent temptation, but it will strengthen us to overcome it. If you are consistently in God’s Word and in prayer, you will be forewarned and forearmed for standing against the schemes of the devil.
Jesus was tempted immediately following His baptism, when the Father affirmed Him from heaven and the Holy Spirit descended on Him as a dove. Jerome said, “Baptism does not drown the devil.” If Jesus’ baptism did not prevent His being tempted, neither will ours. We must walk with God every day and be especially on guard after a time of spiritual victory.
Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit, and led by the Spirit when He was tempted (4:1). The filling of the Spirit will not insulate you from temptation, but if you walk in the Spirit, you will not carry out the desires of the flesh (Gal. 5:16). It does not say that you will not have such desires, but rather that you will not fulfill them. Each day we should yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit, and walk in conscious dependence on Him. Again, if Jesus depended on the Holy Spirit, how much more must we!
Each time Satan attacked, Jesus answered with Scripture, specifically with quotations from Deuteronomy. How many verses from Deuteronomy can you quote? To use Scripture as Jesus did, we must commit it to memory. We will not always have a Bible and concordance with us when we are tempted. But God will bring to our mind appropriate Scripture to ward off the enemy’s attacks.
But, again, be careful! Satan can also quote the Bible for his own purposes! The main rule of biblical interpretation is to compare Scripture with Scripture, letting the Bible interpret itself. Be careful to interpret a verse in its context, rather than just subjectively grabbing a verse and saying that it means whatever you feel it means. You cannot properly apply Scripture until you properly interpret it. This is one good reason to read the whole Bible over and over. It gives you balance, so that you don’t get carried along with every wind of doctrine that blows. I recommend that if you struggle with a particular sin, write down all the verses on it you can find and commit them to memory.
Note verse 13: Jesus’ victory over Satan was not final, and neither is ours. You can win a victory today, but the enemy will bide his time and return another day, especially when you’re most vulnerable. As long as we are in this body, we cannot claim complete and final victory over the world, the flesh, or the devil. Someone has said, “Temptations, unlike opportunities, will always give you many second chances.” Constant vigilance is required. By the way, the Bible commands us to flee certain sins, but to resist the devil. If we put on the full armor of God, we can stand firm in the evil day. But we can’t relax our guard until we are face to face with our Lord Jesus. He has overcome the enemy, and if we depend on Him, we can resist temptation.
A little girl was asked if Satan ever tempted her to do wrong. “Oh, yes,” she replied, “but when he knocks at the door of my heart, I just pray, ‘Lord Jesus, please go to the door for me!’” “What happens then?” she was asked. “Oh, everything turns out all right. When Satan sees Jesus, he runs away every time!” In her simple faith, that little girl realized that even the strongest Christian is no match for the devil. Only Jesus has defeated him, so we must be strong in the strength of our Lord.
F. B. Meyer wrote, “There is only one way by which the tempter can be met. He laughs at our good resolutions and ridicules the pledges with which we fortify ourselves. Satan fears only One, He who in the hour of greatest weakness defeated him and who now has been raised far above all principalities and powers to deliver frail and tempted souls. Christ conquered the prince of this world in the days of His flesh and is prepared to do as much again for each of us as we seek His aid” (in “Our Daily Bread,” 1980).
Jesus’ victory over Satan proves that He is the righteous Son of God, mighty to save all who call upon Him. If we trust in Him as Savior and walk in His strength each day, we can overcome temptation when it hits, as surely it will.
Copyright, 1998, Steven J. Cole, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
I should have expected it, but one of the surprises I experienced when I entered the pastorate was that most of my opposition came from those inside the church, not from outsiders. Early in my ministry I was called on to help arbitrate a conflict in a neighboring church. The chairman of the board in that church, without even talking to the pastor, had written a letter to all the members criticizing the pastor for not feeding them from the Word, for quoting “liberals” in the pulpit (the liberal turned out to be C. S. Lewis!), and for not spending enough time doing visitation.
As I listened to the charges, I realized that the chairman was a man who had been in that church for years. He was not ignorant of biblical principles for dealing with conflict, for keeping the unity of the church, or for respecting those who labor in the ministry of the Word. And yet he had violated what Scripture clearly commands in order to push his own agenda and to try to control the pastor. And many in the church sided with him.
The first major conflict I encountered in my ministry came after about three years, when I preached an extended sermon series on the Christian family. Part way through the series, all of the older people in the church stopped coming on the same Sunday. Since we were a church of only about 100, it was quite obvious that they were gone! I learned that they were disgruntled because my series did not relate to their needs. Here were people who had been in church for years. They should have been mature in the Lord. They should have used the occasion of my preaching on the family to take under wing some of the younger families in the church, many of whom were newer believers who needed nurture. But instead, thinking only of themselves, they left the church! When I would not back down, most of them never returned.
I am not passing judgment on the eternal destiny of all those people, or of anyone else who causes conflict or opposition in the local church. God alone knows their hearts. I am simply illustrating what even the Lord Jesus experienced in His ministry, that most opposition comes from the religious crowd, not from those outside. Luke begins his treatment of Jesus’ ministry with the account of His visit to His hometown of Nazareth where at first He was superficially acclaimed, but then He was strongly rejected.
This visit to Nazareth did not begin Christ’s ministry. We can see that in Luke 4:14, 15, which gives a background summary of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, and in 4:23, where Jesus alludes to the miracles He had already done in Capernaum. But, also, from John’s Gospel we learn that Jesus ministered in Judea for about a year after His temptation. We cannot be sure if the incident here recorded by Luke is parallel to Matthew 13:54-58 and Mark 6:1-6, but if it was, Luke has moved it forward chronologically to suit his purpose. The reason Luke begins with this story is that it serves as a cameo of Luke’s Gospel: Jesus goes to His own people and reveals Himself as their promised Messiah, but they reject Him; so the gospel message goes to the Gentiles. The story shows us some reasons why religious people often reject Jesus Christ:
Religious people reject Christ because they do not want to submit to His lordship and they do not want to admit their sinful, desperate condition.
As we study this portion of God’s Word, we need to take it to heart that most of us are religious people or we would not be in church listening to this sermon! Being religious does not guarantee that we will accept Jesus Christ. If anything, it increases the danger that we will reject Him for the reasons just mentioned, as I will explain. It was the religious crowd in Nazareth that not only reacted against Jesus’ sermon, they went right from their “church” service to try to shove the speaker off a cliff! I trust that no one here would do that, but still, we must be careful to examine our own hearts, so that we do not imitate the religious people of Nazareth in their hostile rejection of Jesus.
Outside of Nazareth, the news about Jesus was spreading, and so far it was favorable: He was “praised by all” (4:15). Probably at this point, the people of Nazareth were proud of their hometown boy who was becoming famous. A few may have grumbled, “Why doesn’t He come to Nazareth and show His stuff here? Does He think He’s too good for us now?” But others said, “He’s just too busy. But He will come and we’ll see if the rumors are true.”
Sure enough, He soon came into town, and everyone turned out at the synagogue that Sabbath. The synagogue probably originated during the Babylonian captivity, after the Temple had been destroyed. It served as a local center for worship and instruction each week, even after the Temple had been rebuilt. A typical synagogue service consisted of the reciting of the Shema (Deut. 6:4-9, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one….”), prayers, a reading from the Law, another reading from the Prophets, instruction on the passages, and a benediction.
Any qualified male could read the Scripture and expound on it. So Jesus stood up to do this. There is debate about whether He deliberately chose the passage from Isaiah 61:1-2, or whether it was the assigned portion for that day, but Luke seems to hint that He picked the passage Himself. (The KJV includes in 4:18 the line, “to heal the brokenhearted,” which is in the LXX of Isaiah 61:1, but there is weak textual support for the phrase in Luke. Also, Luke adds from Isaiah 58:6 the phrase, “to set free those who are downtrodden.” We can’t say for sure, but perhaps Jesus expounded on the phrase from Isaiah 58 during His sermon, and Luke summarizes it here.) We have here (4:21) only a sentence summary of Jesus’ sermon, because Luke states that Jesus began to speak, and the people mention “the gracious words which were falling from His lips” (4:22), implying that He said much more.
But, the point is, the initial response to Jesus’ sermon at Nazareth was favorable, although superficial. They were speaking well of Him and were amazed at the smooth manner in which He communicated. As sermon critics, they were giving the “hometown kid” good marks on His delivery and style. “Not bad! I can see why we’ve been hearing good reports about the young man. He’s a polished speaker.”
But it wasn’t long until the nodding heads began to stop, and the approving smiles turned to frowns. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked. “Who does He think He is, making these claims about fulfilling this Scripture? He’s implying that His message applies to us! We’re not poor! We’re not slaves! We’re not blind and downtrodden! How dare He imply that He can be our Savior, as if we even needed one! If He really is so great, then why doesn’t He do here some of the miracles we heard that He supposedly did in Capernaum? Then we might believe in Him!” They were initially impressed by Jesus’ style, but they took offense at the substance of His sermon. Their offense soon turned to rage and rejection.
Even though it came right out of their own Scriptures, they were offended when Jesus brought up the stories from Elijah and Elisha’s ministries and applied it to them. The point of both stories was the same. Israel was at a low point of idolatry and moral corruption. God told Elijah to pray that it would not rain, and so a famine came over the land. That meant that Elijah himself needed food. God could have picked any one of many widows in the land as the place to send Elijah for sustenance, but instead, God sent him to a widow in Sidon, a Gentile. Through her, God provided both for her and for the prophet. Similarly, in Elisha’s time, there were many lepers in Israel whom God could have cleansed. But instead, God chose to heal a pagan man, Naaman the Syrian, a general in the army of Israel’s enemy.
These stories offended the religious crowd in Nazareth for two reasons. First, they were offended because the stories clearly teach that God sovereignly chooses those on whom He bestows His mercy, and that no one can demand His grace, because all are undeserving sinners. If God chooses to go outside Israel and bestow His blessing on a widow in Sidon or a general in Syria, while withholding His blessing from those in Israel, He is free to do that.
Proud man will accuse the Almighty God of being unfair because He does not pour out His grace on everyone, as if everyone was deserving of it! But the Bible teaches that there is none righteous, not even one (Rom. 3:10), and that God owes nothing but judgment to all sinners. If He chooses to show His mercy to some, that is His prerogative as the Sovereign Potter, but Scripture plainly declares, “He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires” (Rom. 9:18). And if proud man cries, “That’s not fair,” Scripture’s answer is, “On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God?” (Rom. 9:20). That doctrine is offensive to religious people who think that they are deserving of God’s blessings because of their basic goodness.
The second reason these stories offended the religious crowd was that they show that God is pleased to bestow His blessings on pagans as well as the religious. The widow in Sidon and Naaman the Syrian were both pagans, outside of the covenant blessings of God’s chosen people. There is a wrong way to apply the doctrine of election, namely, to grow conceited and think, “I’m really something because I’m one of God’s chosen people. But that person is not as good as me, because he is a pagan.” The proper application of the doctrine should fill us with humility, gratitude and fear (Rom. 11:17-22). When we realize that God shows His mercy to one kind of person only—sinners—we who know God should reach out with compassion to those who are lost.
Let’s apply this point to ourselves: It’s easy to accept Jesus on a superficial level. We hear that God loves us and that Jesus cares for all our needs, and that’s true. So, we welcome Him into our lives. But at some point early on we begin to get a bit uncomfortable as we realize that Jesus’ teaching confronts our pride and self-righteousness. Rather than building up our self-esteem, Jesus begins shining the light of His holiness into the dark, hidden closets of our soul. We begin to see that “nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh” (Rom. 7:18).
At this point, you have a crucial decision to make. You can dodge the hard truths of the Bible, either by throwing out the whole thing or, as many people do, by finding a church where you hear more soothing, comfortable messages. Or, God’s way is that we face the hard truth about ourselves and submit to Jesus as Lord. In a sermon on this passage, Charles Spurgeon (Spurgeon’s Expository Encyclopedia [Baker], 8:256) said,
I learn, from this incident in our Lord’s life, that it is not the preacher’s business to seek to please his congregation. If he labours for that end, he will in all probability not attain it; but if he should succeed in gaining it, what a miserable success it would be! He must lose the favour of his Master if he should once aim at securing the favour of his fellow-men. We therefore ought to preach many truths which will irritate our hearers; we ought to declare to them the doctrines which are really for their present and eternal welfare, however distasteful they may be to their carnal reason and natural inclinations. As the physician must give bitter draughts to his patients if he would cure them of their diseases, so must the preacher, who is truly sent of God, proclaim unpalatable truths to his hearers, and he must preach the more often upon those very bitter truths because men are so unwilling to receive them.
Thus, God’s way is that …
Jesus did not beat around the bush with these people. After reading Isaiah’s prophecy, Jesus plainly declared, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” That’s a staggering claim! Jesus is saying that Isaiah’s words, written over 700 years before, apply to Him. Look at what these words proclaim: Jesus claims to be speaking and acting under the influence of the Holy Spirit (4:18). By the way, in this verse you have all three members of the Trinity: the Lord (God the Father), the Spirit, and the Messiah. The word “anointed” is the Greek word for Christ, of which the Hebrew is Messiah. Jesus is claiming to be the Lord’s Christ or Messiah. He claims to be the “sent one.” He did not come of His own initiative, but He was sent by the Father to bring God’s salvation to the world. The terms “poor, captives, blind, and downtrodden” primarily have a spiritual meaning. Note that Jesus claims not only to be preaching the gospel, but also to be bringing it to pass: He is setting free those who are downtrodden.
In Isaiah, “the favorable year of the Lord” is a reference to the Jewish year of Jubilee, where debts were released and slaves were set free. It was a spiritual picture of the day or time of God’s salvation. Jesus not merely proclaims the good news as God’s anointed prophet. He is the good news, the One who would offer Himself as God’s sin-bearer, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
The word “favorable” (4:18) in Greek is the same word that is translated “welcome” (4:24). In other words, even though Jesus proclaimed the favorable news of God’s salvation, the people did not favorably accept Him as God’s anointed prophet. They were acknowledging Him as Joseph’s son, but they refused to recognize Him as God’s Son, which even Satan acknowledged (4:3, 9)!
The point is, to accept God’s good news, you must accept Jesus as He is and as He claimed to be, as Lord and Christ. If you accept Him merely as a nice Savior who helps you to be happy, but you do not submit to Him as Lord, you are not truly accepting Him. If you accept Him as a Savior for others, but do not confess your own need for a Savior from your sins, you are not truly accepting Him. Jesus came as God’s anointed Savior and Lord, and we must accept Him as He claimed to be. That leads to the second reason religious people often reject Jesus:
The folks in Jesus’ audience liked to think of themselves as basically good people. After all, they were Jews, not pagan sinners! Didn’t the fact that they were in the synagogue that day show that they were good people? Then along comes this young whippersnapper who implies that God’s message is for the poor, the captives, the blind, and the downtrodden! They had more self-respect than to see themselves like that! And then He goes even farther and implies that He is going to take God’s blessings to the Gentiles! “Of all the nerve! After all we did for Him when He was just a boy growing up here in Nazareth!”
Of course the irony is that even though they saw themselves as basically good, religious folks, they got so angry at Jesus’ convicting message that they left their worship service in a rage with the intent of killing Him! Jesus let them lead Him as far as the brow of the hill to reveal the murderous intent of their hearts. Then, whether miraculously or simply by the power of His commanding person, He walked away from them. But through this they should have seen that they were not basically good people at heart. They were good as long as no one confronted their true heart condition. But as soon as Jesus exposed them for what they really were, they rose up to destroy Him.
What is the heart condition of every person, religious or pagan, according to God’s Word? We are poor, spiritually destitute, bankrupt before God. We cannot buy our way into heaven because we have nothing to offer God. We can only receive from Him. We are captives, spiritually enslaved to sin. We are under the domain of the kingdom of darkness, unable to free ourselves from the wicked tyrant who rules this evil world and unable to extricate ourselves from the sin that holds us in its power.
Furthermore, we are blind, spiritually unable to see the light of the glory of the gospel of Christ unless He opens our eyes. Just as a blind person has no power or ability in himself to open his eyes unless God performs a miracle, so the spiritually blind sinner cannot do anything in himself to remedy his condition unless God sovereignly and powerfully opens the eyes of his heart. Finally, we are downtrodden. The word means “shattered” or “broken in pieces.” Alfred Plummer (The Gospel According to St. Luke [Charles Scribner’s Sons], p. 122) says that this strong expression “is here applied to those who are shattered in fortune and broken in spirit.”
The main thing that keeps religious people from accepting Jesus is their pride that hinders them from seeing their true condition in God’s sight. The church in Laodicea was there. Their assessment of themselves was, “I am rich, and have become wealthy, and have need of nothing.” God’s assessment was, “You are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” (Rev. 3:17). But the good news is, when God opens your eyes to see your true condition before Him, that’s the first step toward receiving the good news. If you know that you’re destitute and someone offers you a million dollars as a free gift, that’s good news! If you know that you’re spiritually poor, and God offers freely to forgive all your sins through Jesus Christ, that’s the greatest news in the whole world!
I conclude with two applications. First, if you are familiar with Jesus you must be especially careful to apply His teaching to your own heart. The people of Nazareth were not receptive to Jesus’ teaching in part because they were overly familiar with Him. “Is this not Joseph’s son?” Familiarity can breed contempt. They had known Jesus when He worked in His father’s carpentry shop. But now they couldn’t conceive of Him as the promised Savior and Lord.
If you grew up in the church or if you’ve been in the church for years, it’s easy to grow so familiar with spiritual truth that you don’t let it affect your own heart. You begin thinking, “Repentance is something the non-Christian needs, but me? I’m a pretty good person!” “Salvation, the tender mercies of our God—ho hum!” Before you know it, you’re right there with those lukewarm Laodiceans! You lose the sense of gratitude that ought to flood your soul when you consider God’s abundant grace.
Second, if you reject Jesus today, you may not get another opportunity to receive Him. The people of Nazareth rejected Jesus, so He passed through their midst and went His way. He may have returned once more, although most scholars think that this was the last time He preached in Nazareth. Rejection of the gospel can be final and fatal! It’s interesting that when Jesus read from the prophet Isaiah, He stopped in the middle of a verse, after reading, “to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” The next phrase reads, “And the day of vengeance of our God.” Why did He stop there? Because in His first coming, Jesus came with the good news of salvation for the poor, the captives, the blind, and the downtrodden. The second time He will come as the Righteous Judge, bringing God’s vengeance on those who refused His offer of salvation.
In verse 21, Jesus says, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” The phrase, “in your hearing,” points to the availability of the good news. If you’re hearing it, it is being offered to you. The word “today” points to the urgency of the good news. Today is the day of salvation. You may not have tomorrow.
Last year a man jumped from a plane and his parachute didn’t open. It took him more than a minute to fall 3,000 feet. Somehow, he survived. But what do you suppose he thought about in that long minute? Did he cry out to God? If you have not trusted Christ as Savior and Lord, you’re right where that man was. You’re free-falling toward eternity, but you won’t fare well when you hit.
Jesus offers right now to release you from the downward pull of your sin that is plunging you toward God’s judgment. If you will respond by receiving Him as Savior and Lord, then rather than going His way and leaving you, Jesus promises, “I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20).
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
While I appreciate our American form of government, the down side of it is that it fosters a lousy concept of what it means to submit to authority. Democracy and our Bill of Rights mean that we can challenge anyone, from the President on down. Nobody can tell us what to do! We have our rights! We won't submit unless we’re forced to submit!
About the closest thing we have to learning submission is the military, at least as it used to be. I’ve heard that now the military practices sensitivity toward recruits. But I'll never forget the most inappropriately named man I've ever met, Mr. Angel. He was the guy in charge of us recruits for the first week of Coast Guard boot camp. He was built like Clint Eastwood, tall, lean and mean. His reputation went before him, so that everyone feared him before he set foot in our barracks.
The first time Mr. Angel flung the door open and stomped in, cursing at the top of his voice, no one in our company said, “You don’t have a right to talk to us like that!” When Mr. Angel said, “Hit the floor, you no good bunch of (expletives deleted),” we all hit the floor instantly. Then he said, “You stupid bunch of lame-brained idiots! Don’t you know how to respond to a command? When I give a command, you had better say, ‘Sir, aye, aye, Sir!’ and then obey.” If your response was a bit delayed or not quite as enthusiastic as Mr. Angel had envisioned, you found yourself suddenly hanging by your lapels at eye level with this furious mad man who was snarling unkind profanities and informing you of his plans for doing you great bodily harm. The Coast Guard’s reason for throwing you into the arena with a guy like Mr. Angel was to teach you that when someone in authority spoke, you had better listen and obey immediately.
From the outset of his gospel, Luke wants to establish the point that Jesus Christ is in authority. He is Lord over all, and thus the proper response to Him is to submit to Him and do what He says. After showing us how Jesus was rejected in His hometown of Nazareth, Luke doesn’t want anyone to get the mistaken idea that Jesus is not Lord. So he walks us through a Sabbath day with Jesus, showing us how He preached the Word, cast out demons, and healed the sick with authority. He wants us to see that …
Because Jesus is Lord over all, we should submit to Him and serve to further His purpose.
Have you ever wondered what a typical day was like for Jesus? Our text shows us a typical Sabbath day for our Lord. He went to the synagogue, where He taught the Word. While there He healed a demon-possessed man, the first miracle recorded in Luke. Then he went over to Simon Peter’s home for dinner. Simon’s mother-in-law (Peter was married) was ill with a high fever (only Luke, the physician, notes that it was a high fever), and Jesus healed her. Instantly, she arose with enough strength to serve the Lord and the other guests. Then, after sundown, when the Sabbath was over, the whole town lined up at Peter’s door with their sick loved ones, and Jesus healed them. Early the next morning, Jesus slipped away to a quiet place (Mark, not Luke, tells us it was for prayer, even though Luke often emphasizes Jesus’ prayer life). The crowds found Him and entreated Him to return, but Jesus refused, explaining that He had a mission to preach to the other cities also.
These incidents show us clearly who Jesus is, but also we see ourselves and how we should respond to Him.
The clear theme here is Jesus’ authority, seen in three areas:
Note 4:31, 32: Jesus “was teaching them on the Sabbath, and they were amazed at His teaching; for His message was with authority.” The synagogue crowd was probably used to rabbis who would cite other rabbis and speculate on what they thought the Scripture meant. But Jesus spoke plainly and clearly, saying, “This is what God means by this Scripture and this is how you should obey it.” He spoke as one sent from God who knew what God declares. He wasn’t offering helpful hints for happy living. He proclaimed the sovereign authority of God and called people to obey His authoritative Word.
Note also the emphasis on Jesus’ preaching in 4:43, 44. When the people came out to persuade Him to return to Capernaum, Jesus refused, explaining that He had to preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, for He was sent for this purpose. And that is precisely what He did: “He kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea” (meaning here, all of Palestine). Let’s apply this:
First, Since Jesus emphasized the preaching of the Word, so must we. In every age there has been an attempt to diminish the importance of preaching God’s Word. This is no accident, since Satan knows that the Word of God is powerful unto the conversion of sinners and the edification of the saints. One of the main factors in the Reformation was the recovery of the preaching of the Word in churches that had become accustomed to a priest droning in Latin through a bunch of rituals. John Calvin put an emphasis on explaining and applying God’s Word from the pulpit in a systematic way. He taught through the Bible, verse by verse.
In his excellent book, Calvin’s Preaching [Westminster/John Knox Press], T. H. L. Parker notes that Calvin’s “high view of preaching did not meet with universal approval either outside Geneva or within” (p. 9). There were many who complained that they did not like Calvin’s emphasis on the authority of the Word and the need to reform our lives in obedience to God. In a sermon on 2 Timothy 3:16, on the way God’s inspired Word gives reproof and correction, so as to train us in righteousness, Calvin addresses those who complained that they didn’t want his hard sermons on holiness: “What! Is this the way to teach? Ho! We want to be won by sweetness.” “You do? Then go and teach God his lessons!” “Ho! We want to be taught in another style.” “Well, then, go to the devil’s school! He will flatter you enough—and destroy you” (cited by Parker, p. 14).
As in Calvin’s day, so in ours, there are those who say that preaching is not needed, that it is not in tune with our times, that people can’t bear to hear messages filled with doctrines that make them think and that exhort them to obey. So many churches have turned to what J. Vernon McGee used to call, “sermonettes for Christianettes.” But just as the preaching of the Word brought Reformation in Calvin’s day, so it will in our day, if we are receptive to God’s authoritative Word of Truth.
Second, Since Jesus emphasized the authority of God’s Word and the need for obedience, so must we. Jesus, of course, spoke with an authority which no other preacher can imitate, because Jesus is the Son of God. But, at the same time, Jesus upheld the authority of Scripture and the need for us to submit to it. Luke reports that Jesus was sent to preach the kingdom of God (4:43). Much could be said about the kingdom, but at bare minimum, it is the place where Jesus is Lord and people are subject to Him. Leon Morris sums it up as “God’s rule in action” (Luke [IVP/Eerdmans], p. 111). The kingdom of God is both present and yet future. It is present to the extent that people live in submission to God’s authoritative Word. It is future in that the day is coming when Jesus will return and rule with a rod of iron on the throne of David. In His earthly ministry, Jesus always upheld the authority of Scripture and the need for us to obey it (see Matt. 5:17, 18).
Thus when we come to the Word, we must study it for understanding, because we cannot obey what we do not know. But our knowledge should always be with a view to obedience. As Calvin put it in the same sermon, “The Word of God is not to teach us to prattle, not to make us eloquent and subtle and I know not what. It is to reform our life, so that we desire to serve God, to give ourselves entirely to him and to conform ourselves to his good will” (Parker, p. 15).
Third, Since Jesus unswervingly devoted Himself to His mission to preach the kingdom of God, so must those whom He has called to preach. There were many good things that could have distracted Jesus from His purpose, such as going back to Capernaum and having a more extensive healing ministry. But He refused the pleas of the people and did not get sidetracked from the purpose for which God sent Him. Again, there are many great causes and activities that pastors can get involved with. I see many pastors who spend the bulk of their time organizing programs and serving on committees and many other things, most of which are worthwhile activities. But if God has called a man to preach, then he had better devote himself to the ministry of the Word, and not get bogged down with all these other obligations (Acts 6:4).
Thus, Jesus’ lordship is seen in that He taught the Word with authority. Also,
Luke shows us, first with the man in the synagogue and then with many who came to Peter’s door, that Jesus had authority over evil spirits. Did you know that outside of the Gospels, there are only four references to demon-possession in the whole Bible: two in the Old Testament (Saul, 1 Sam. 16:14 ff.; the deceiving spirits in the mouths of Ahab’s prophets, 1 Kings 22:22 ff.) and two in the Book of Acts (the Philippian servant girl, 16:16 ff.; the sons of Sceva, 19:13 ff.; see Norval Geldenhuys, Luke [Eerdmans], p. 174)? It seems that when Jesus began to minister, the powers of hell knew that they were in a battle to the death, and so Satan unleashed his forces to oppose Jesus.
Luke reports that this man in the synagogue had a spirit of an unclean demon. This probably refers to moral impurity. The demon impelled the man, above and beyond his own lusts, to immoral behavior. Who knows how long this man had sat in that synagogue week after week, listening to the droning of the rabbis, not disturbed by what he heard. Perhaps he had been able to hide his problem from public view up to this time. But when Jesus preached, the demon recognized Jesus’ power and purity, and he cried out through the man’s voice, “Ha! What do we have to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
Jesus silenced the demon and without any hocus pocus or incantations, He simply commanded it to come out of the man and it obeyed. The reason Jesus silenced this demon and the others who were proclaiming Him to be the Son of God (4:41) is that He did not need or desire the testimony of these evil witnesses, even though what they said was true. The demons believe in God, but they shudder (James 2:19) because they are under His judgment.
Demonic forces are very much at work in our world today, although sometimes they are given more credit than they deserve. The world and the flesh are usually quite capable of dragging us into sin without demonic influence. Believers are indwelled by the Holy Spirit and thus cannot be possessed by demons, but believers can come under demonic attack (Eph. 6:10-20) and opposition (2 Cor. 2:11; 1 Thess. 2:18). Evil spirits are sometimes behind false doctrine, and thus we must be discerning (1 Tim. 4:1; 1 John 4:1).
If you or a family member have any involvement with the occult, such as astrology, ouija boards, fortune telling, seances, etc., either deliberately or innocently, you must repent of these evil practices and get rid of any paraphernalia related to them. While believers should not go around looking for confrontations with demons, if you come in contact with a demonic person, you can claim the name and power of the Lord Jesus Christ over that demon and command it to leave. But, remember, even Michael the archangel did not dare pronounce a railing judgment against Satan, but rather said, “The Lord rebuke you” (Jude 9). Demons are frighteningly powerful forces for evil, but greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). The power to overcome demons is not in us, but in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus healed Peter’s mother-in-law and then He healed many from the town who lined up at Peter’s door that evening. While Mark 1:31 says that Jesus took Peter’s mother-in-law by the hand, Luke reports that He rebuked the fever. I think the reason Luke mentions this is to emphasize Jesus’ authority. Just as later Jesus would rebuke the raging wind and sea (Luke 8:24), showing His authority over the forces of nature, so here he rebukes the fever to show that He is the Lord over disease. Note, also, that Luke distinguishes between demon possession and disease (4:40, 41). While some illness can be due to demonic power, clearly not all illness is due to demonic power. To go around rebuking the demon of cancer or whatever disease is not in line with Scripture.
There is much confusion today because some teach that Jesus’ promise to the disciples, that they would do greater works than He did (John 14:12), means that we should routinely be seeing miracles of healing and even resurrections from the dead. If that’s what Jesus meant, then Paul was in sin when he told Timothy to drink a little wine for his stomach ailments (1 Tim. 5:23). He should have told him to claim his healing by faith. Paul must have lacked faith when he told Timothy that he left Trophimus sick at Miletus (2 Tim. 4:20). Why didn’t he heal him? When the author to the Hebrews wrote to this second-generation church, they had to be reminded of the signs and wonders that the apostles had performed (Heb. 2:4). It is obvious that those miracles already had diminished in frequency. To claim that we should be experiencing the same frequency of miracles that Jesus did is to misunderstand the purpose of miracles in the Bible.
Contrary to what many think, miracles are not uniformly distributed throughout the Bible. They occur mostly in clusters around the time of Moses, again with Elijah and Elisha, a few in Daniel’s time, and at the time of Christ and the apostles. These were all crucial periods of God’s dealings with His people.
There were several reasons for Jesus’ miracles. First, they authenticate His person and teaching, proving Him to be the Messiah sent by the Father (see Luke 7:20-22). Second, the miracles show us who Jesus is. He feeds the 5,000 and claims to be the bread of life. He claims to be the light of the world and opens the eyes of a man born blind. Third, the miracles give symbolic lessons of spiritual truth. The sick and the dead represent the human race, broken under sin. Without Christ, they are helpless. But when He speaks the word, they are instantly cured. Thus the miracles show us God’s great gift of salvation. Finally, the miracles show us either implicitly or explicitly how we should respond to Jesus Christ. We must come to Him in our utter helplessness and cast ourselves totally on His mercy and power. The miracles also warn us how not to come to Jesus, since many sought after Him not so that they could follow Him as Lord, but just to use Him for their own selfish purposes. An evil and adulterous generation seeks after miracles.
Let me give some brief guidelines about seeking God’s miraculous healing today. First, check your motive. God’s glory, not your comfort, should be foremost (Phil. 1:20). Second, submit to the Lord, who knows better than you do what is best in any situation. Paul thought it would be best to get rid of the thorn in his flesh. God knew otherwise (2 Cor. 12:7-10). Third, don’t limit God by unbelief (Mark 6:5, 6). God is able to do the impossible, if it’s His will. So, pray for miraculous healing, believing that God is able, but recognize that it may not be His will. Fourth, look for the spiritual lessons God is trying to teach you in the trial. There may be a sin you need to confess (James 5:13-16). You may need to learn to trust God in a greater way (2 Cor. 1:8, 9). You may need to learn to focus more on the things above and the hope of heaven (Col. 3:1-4). You may need to rearrange your priorities (Matt. 6:33). God uses affliction to conform us to the image of His Son, and so instant, miraculous healing is often not His will.
Thus Jesus’ authoritative teaching, casting out demons, and healing the sick shows that He is Lord over all. It follows that …
I can only touch on three lessons:
These incidents show the human race under Satan’s cruel dominion, broken and wounded under the effects of the fall. We should look at the demoniac in the synagogue, at Peter’s sick mother-in-law, and at the long line of sick people lined up at Peter’s door that evening and see ourselves spiritually. The human race is under the curse of the fall, captives in Satan’s domain of darkness, headed for spiritual judgment, the second death.
I like to watch people when I’m in a public setting. It’s fun to imagine what they are like, to think about their lives. But it also can be sad, because every person you see is in the process of dying. With some it’s not so obvious yet—they’re young and healthy. But others walk with a limp, their bodies are maimed or scarred, their physical features are marred by the hard things they have endured. Like the bumper sticker says, “Life is tough—and then you die.”
I don’t know how many families there were in Capernaum, but when they heard that Jesus was at Peter’s house and that He could heal, they lined up en masse. I wonder if any home in Capernaum was not represented? That scene could be multiplied in every town and village in the world. It’s a graphic picture of the desperate, needy condition of the human race before God. In light of that great need, we all should cast ourselves on His mercy and submit to Jesus as Lord, because He is the only Savior.
Jesus could have quieted the crowd and then prayed, “In the name of the Father, you all are healed.” Instantly, everyone in the crowd would have been healed. They could have gone home, and Jesus would have had an easier night. But instead, He laid His hands on each one (4:40), showing His compassion and care for the individual. The Bible is clear that we must come to Jesus on an individual basis, and that when we do, He will deal with us personally and compassionately, like a shepherd with his sheep. Jesus does not beat His wounded sheep. He tenderly binds up their wounds and pours healing oil on their sores. You are invited to cast all your cares on Him, because He cares for you (1 Pet. 5:7).
The people of Capernaum used Jesus to get healed, but they did not submit to Him and serve Him. In fact, they wanted to hinder Him from His purpose by keeping Him to themselves. Later, Jesus condemned the people of Capernaum, because in spite of the many miracles they had seen, they did not repent (Matt. 11:20-24). But Peter’s mother-in-law pictures the proper response for those who have experienced the Savior’s healing touch: she arose and began to serve Him (4:39). The danger is that we will use Jesus for whatever need we have and then, after He does what we want, we set Him aside and go on with our personal agendas.
If we see our true condition before God, we’re all like those people in Capernaum—wounded, sick, and needy. We need to do as they did and come to Jesus. When you do that, He deals with you personally, touching your ugly sores and imparting His cleansing and healing to your soul. Then you have a choice: Like the people of Capernaum, you can walk away and never truly believe in and follow the Lord Jesus. Or, like Peter’s mother-in-law, you can rise up and immediately begin serving Him out of gratitude. That is the only reasonable and proper response if you’ve felt the Sovereign Lord’s healing touch in your heart.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Years ago the British agnostic Thomas Huxley had to leave early one morning to go from one speaking assignment to another, so he got into a horse-drawn taxi to go from his hotel to the train station. He assumed that the hotel doorman had told the driver of the carriage that they were to go to the train station. So when he got in, he simply said to the driver, “Drive fast.”
Off they went. After a short while, Huxley, who was somewhat familiar with the area, realized that they were actually going in the opposite direction from the train station. He yelled to the driver, “Do you know where you’re going?” Without looking back, the driver replied, “No, sir, but I’m driving very fast.”
Obviously, it doesn’t do much good to go fast if you’re not going in the right direction! Yet, many people, even Christians, are like that. Their lives are busy, they are going full bore, but they haven’t stopped to evaluate where they ought to be going. Before we know it, life has whizzed by, but we haven’t spent it focused on the right purpose. As Christians, we all would agree that if we want to spend our lives properly, we must be in line with God’s purpose.
In Luke 5:1-11, we see the Lord Jesus helping some fishermen get their lives aimed in the right direction. Scholars are divided over whether this incident is identical with Jesus’ call of these fishermen as recorded in Matthew 4:18-22 and Mark 1:16-20. We probably must leave the question somewhat undecided. But we know that John 1:35-42 records the first meeting between Jesus and Peter. The incident in our text takes place about one year later. James and John, and perhaps some others, such as Peter’s brother, Andrew (although unnamed), were present, but the focus in our text is on Jesus and Peter. These men had all met Jesus and had begun to follow Him, but they were not yet completely committed to His mission. This incident redirected their lives.
In the opening verses (1-3), Jesus is teaching God’s Word, but Peter is working at his fishing business. By verse 11, Peter has left his business to follow Jesus in catching men, not fish. Jesus’ words in verse 10 are the key for understanding and applying this story: “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” The word “catch” literally means “to capture alive.” Although in their vocation, the fish they caught would die, in their new focus, dead men would be caught and come alive for Jesus. The story shows us how Jesus transforms everyday people (even sinful people, like Peter) into His servants, involved in His great cause of catching people for God. It teaches us that …
The greatest purpose we can have in life is to follow Jesus in catching men for Him.
Picture the scene: The multitudes were pressing around Jesus, listening to the word of God. And where were Peter, James and John? They were involved with their business, cleaning their nets after a frustrating night of fishing with no catch. And so Jesus’ job was to get their eyes off of fish and onto Himself and lost people. Archbishop Trench puts it, Jesus was “designing Himself ... to take the fishermen in his net” (Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord [Baker], p. 83). The first lesson is:
There is nothing wrong with success in business, per se. God wants us to be diligent and to do well in our work. It is not more spiritual to be mediocre in our jobs and it is not inherently more worldly to become successful. Also, when I say that we must shift our focus from success in business to success in catching people for Christ, I am not implying that everyone must leave so-called “secular” employment and work full-time in the gospel. Some are called to do that, as Peter was, but certainly not all. It is not more spiritual to be in full-time ministry than it is to be a faithful servant of the Lord in some other kind of work. It is just a matter of gifts and calling.
But, having said all that, I do insist that if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you must adopt His purpose for your life, and His primary purpose for His children never involves becoming a success in our jobs. His word to all of us is, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures upon earth,” but rather, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness” (Matt. 6:19, 33). Whatever you do to make a living, your main goal should be to glorify God and your main focus should be to be a witness for Jesus Christ through your behavior, your attitudes, and your words. This requires a shift in focus where you begin to view people as Jesus did and to view yourself as His representative in your sphere of influence. The people you come in contact with are your mission field.
These fishermen just had what was probably the most successful catch of their careers. The two boatloads of fish probably would have brought in a handsome profit at the local market. Like a miner who finally finds some gold, this successful catch probably whet their appetites to go back out and try for more. They easily could have thought, “Wow, if this keeps up, we could get rich!” But because Jesus clearly stated a new focus for them, we read instead, “when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed Him” (5:11). Things changed from this moment because of what Jesus did and said. Catching fish did not compare to following Jesus and catching men. Christ and His purpose had now captivated them.
So my question is, “Are you living for Christ’s purpose for your life?” As I said, this does not mean that you must be gifted in evangelism or that you must go into full-time ministry. Only some are called to do that. But it does mean that because you have met Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord, your life is not your own. You no longer are living for selfish purposes. You live to glorify Jesus Christ and to use the gifts He has given you to help in the great cause of catching people for Him.
It means that at the end of your life, you will not measure success by whether you have accumulated a lot of money or by how high you have climbed on the corporate ladder. You will measure your life by whether you have faithfully used what God has entrusted to you to further His kingdom. Whether directly through your verbal witness or indirectly through your example, your giving, your good works, your service, or whatever, there will be people in heaven because you did not live for yourself, but for Jesus Christ and His kingdom. We have to make this fundamental shift in focus if we want to be used in catching people for Jesus Christ.
Alexander Maclaren observes, “There is nothing more remarkable in the whole narrative than the matter-of-course fashion in which our Lord takes the disposal of these men, and orders them about” (Expositions of Holy Scripture [Baker], on Luke 5:4, p. 103). First, Jesus gets into Peter’s boat and asks him to put out a little way from the land so that He can teach the crowd without them pressing against Him. Then, when He is through teaching, Jesus directly commands Peter to put out into the deep and let down the nets for a catch. Here is a carpenter telling a professional fisherman how to do his job! Peter knew that the best time to fish was at night and that he had just fished all night to no avail. But, after registering his brief protest, Peter quickly adds, “but at Your bidding I will let down the nets” (5:5). His obedience resulted in miraculous success.
Because of Jesus’ words about catching men, we are warranted in viewing this miracle as a lesson on evangelism. It contains at least five lessons we need to learn:
In verses 1-3, Jesus is preaching the word of God to the crowd, and as 4:43 makes clear, His message focused on the kingdom of God, the realm where God is sovereign and people are subject to Him. The fact that His message is called “the word of God” means that it comes from God as its source. The word Jesus preached originated with God and therefore had God’s authority. As Jesus said, “I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me” (John 8:28).
When we talk to people about the gospel, we simply have to tell them what God has revealed about Himself, about the Savior, and about our need for Him. Witnesses don’t make up their own stories. Witnesses are under oath to tell the truth about what they have seen and heard. The Bible is God’s Word to us through His faithful witnesses. Our job, like that of the apostles, is to tell what God has done through His Son Jesus.
So if you want to be more effective in evangelism, get into the Word so that you are clear about the gospel. You must understand and be able to show people what Scripture says about concepts like sin, judgment, Christ’s substitutionary death, God’s grace, and saving faith in Jesus Christ. Not every Christian is a preacher, but every Christian is a witness. To be an obedient witness, you must learn the basics of the good news.
It is clear that Jesus took the initiative in turning these fishermen into fishers of men. Peter, James, and John weren’t sitting out in their boats one day when one of them got the brainstorm, “Hey, we ought to become evangelists!” That was probably the furthest thing from their minds. But the Lord had different plans and His plans prevailed.
You may be thinking, “This message does not relate in any way to me. I am not an evangelist and I never will be.” As I said, it may be true that you aren’t gifted in evangelism and that you aren’t called to do evangelism full time. But, it is God’s will that you adopt His purpose as your purpose, and it is clear from this text that the Lord’s purpose involves taking ordinary people like these fishermen and turning them into His agents for catching other people for God. In Luke 19:10 Jesus stated His purpose, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” If we claim to be His followers, but we don’t have a heart for reaching the lost, we are not in line with His purpose.
When we do get involved in reaching the lost, we have the assurance that the Lord goes before us. We don’t have to blaze our own trail. The Lord has sovereignly chosen a people before the foundation of the earth, and we are cooperating with His eternal purpose in taking the gospel to those whom He has chosen. As Paul put it, “For this reason I endure all things for the sake of those who are chosen, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus and with it eternal glory” (2 Tim. 2:10). Since the initiative lies with the Lord, we can obey with confidence, knowing that He will use our witness for His eternal purpose.
The Lord directs Peter the fisherman as to where he ought to cast his nets! We don’t know whether this was a miracle of the Lord’s omniscience, in that He knew where the fish were at, or whether He commanded the fish to this spot and they obeyed. But clearly, Jesus was giving the orders and when Peter obeyed, he got these miraculous results. If we aren’t sure what to do to reach out to lost people, we need to pray, “Lord, show us where the fish are that You want us to catch, and we’ll cast the nets there.”
We have some friends in California who travel around the world taking the gospel into Muslim countries. But the Lord recently impressed on the wife that while she was going all over the world with the gospel, she was neglecting her own neighbors. So she made an effort to spend some time with a neighbor. As they were talking, not about anything spiritual, out of the blue the neighbor said, “My daughter and I need to go to church. Do you know of a good church we could visit?” Not only did she invite her to church, she told her the good news about Christ and the neighbor has now trusted Him as her Savior. Maybe you’re thinking, “That never happens to me!” You need to remember that …
On this occasion, Peter got almost more fish than he could handle—the nets began to break and the boats began to sink! On the Day of Pentecost, the same thing happened spiritually, as Peter preached and 3,000 trusted in Christ. On another occasion, the Lord directed Peter to the house of Cornelius, and before Peter even finished his sermon, the whole group had responded! But whatever results we see or do not see, we need to keep in mind Paul’s words, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth” (1 Cor. 3:6). While we should try to become more effective in presenting the gospel, we need to remember that true conversion comes from God alone. It’s possible to get decisions through slick methods of salesmanship, but we can only see conversions when God imparts new life through His Spirit.
So, the message of evangelism is founded on God’s Word. The initiative, the guidance, and the results in evangelism all come from the Lord. So, we don’t have to do anything, right? Wrong!
If Peter had not obeyed by putting out into the deep and letting down the nets in obedience to the Lord, this miracle would not have happened. The Lord could have made all the fish swim to shore and jump into Peter’s boat, but He didn’t do that. Peter had to obey and then the Lord did this miracle.
At first, Peter voiced his objections as to why it wouldn’t work. Thankfully, he quickly added, “But at Your bidding …” But, like Peter, it’s easy to come up with a hundred reasons why we can’t do what the Lord has told us to do. Sometimes His commands may strike us as kind of screwy, as this command must have struck Peter. But, like Peter, we need to set aside our reasons why it won’t work and obey the Lord in seeking to bring people into His gospel net. Just let down the net of the gospel in obedience, and let the Lord bring the fish into it.
Thus, to catch men for Christ, we must shift our focus from success in business to success in the gospel. And, we must learn to obey the Lord’s sovereign authority when He tells us to bear witness of His good news.
Peter had already had much contact with Jesus. He had seen Him do miracles, including the mass healings at his own door in Capernaum. But this miracle, affecting his personal trade, hit home in a way the others had not. Suddenly Peter saw Jesus in a new light and at the same moment, was overwhelmed with his own sinfulness. Invariably, the most effective witnesses are those who have an exalted view of the Lord Jesus Christ and who are painfully aware of their own unworthiness to be His witnesses.
(1). Jesus is the powerful Lord. Although this miracle did not alter any physical laws of nature, it does reveal the power of the Lord Jesus over nature. The key that shows Christ’s power is Peter’s phrase, “at Your word” (5:5). What word is that? Scripture declares that God created the heavens and earth by His word (Gen. 1:3 ff.; Heb. 11:3). It also declares that Jesus “upholds all things by the word of His power” (Heb. 1:3). At His word and kingdoms rise and fall. And, it is the word of His gospel that is “the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom. 1:16). Salvation is not a human self-help program. It requires God imparting a new heart and new life to those who were dead in their sins. The work of evangelism does not depend on our feeble powers of persuasion, but on God’s mighty working in the hearts of sinners.
(2). Jesus is the holy Lord. When Peter saw Jesus’ mighty power, he was instantly overwhelmed with Jesus’ holiness in contrast with his own sinfulness. A more logical prayer would have been, “Don’t depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” But Peter wasn’t being logical here. He was expressing what Isaiah felt when he got a glimpse of the holiness of the Lord and cried out, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isa. 6:5). People today, first God’s people, but then those who do not know Him, need a fresh vision of the absolute holiness of the Lord. Such a vision shows us our desperate need and our own inadequacy to meet that need. Thus, casting off any perceived goodness of our own, we will cast ourselves completely on God’s abundant mercy.
(3). Jesus is the gracious Lord. Note the Lord’s gracious reply to Peter: “Do not fear, from now on you will be catching men.” Jesus’ words, “from now on” are great words of hope for us all! Maybe you’ve failed miserably. Perhaps you are overwhelmed by your own sinfulness. Fall before Jesus as Peter did and confess it to Him and you will hear His gracious words, “from now on.” He is the gracious Lord of new beginnings for those who repent. To catch men for Christ, we must grow in our understanding of who He is, the powerful, holy, and gracious Lord.
Peter’s recognition of his own sinfulness did not disqualify him from catching men for Christ; rather, it qualified him. If you think that you have it together well enough that you’re qualified to serve the Lord, you are not qualified to serve Him! The Lord calls into His service those who are constantly, painfully aware of their own sinfulness and weakness, because they are the only ones who are also constantly aware of their need to rely totally on Him. Even the apostle Paul, when speaking of the gospel ministry, lamented, “Who is adequate for these things?” Then he answered his question, “Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God” (2 Cor. 2:16; 3:5).
It is the transforming grace of God in Christ that qualifies us and motivates us to reach out to others with the gospel. It was Paul’s recognition of himself as the chief of sinners that drove him to preach the gospel (1 Tim. 1:15; 1 Cor. 15:9, 10). If you know the depravity of your own heart, but you also know the abundant grace of the Lord Jesus, then you will go out as a beggar who has found bread to tell other beggars where they can find the same.
One final brief observation:
Peter had to call his comrades to come and help him pull in the great catch of fish (5:7). He couldn’t do it alone. And in the work of catching men alive for Christ, we don’t work alone. It’s always a joy when I hear of someone who trusted Christ through my preaching. But, invariably, I also hear that someone else in the body has been praying for that person and witnessing to him or her. We work together to bring in the catch, but behind it all, we are not responsible for the catch. The Lord is! We work together, but the Lord gets the credit and glory.
Is the thing that captivates your life your business or the Lord’s business? Are you focused on catching fish or on catching men? I read about an elderly man who ran a variety store. It had once been a thriving business, but as he got older, the man became obsessed with keeping the store neat and clean. He spent hours arranging and rearranging the merchandise on the shelves. Some days he wouldn’t even open the store, for fear that it would be thrown into disarray. That man had lost sight of the purpose of his store!
While it sounds ridiculous, it’s easy to do. Gradually, your focus shifts from the Lord’s purpose of catching people in the gospel net to your business, whatever it may be. I pray that the Lord will use this message to show us all that the greatest purpose we can have in life is to follow Jesus in catching men alive for Him. I pray that each of us will go out into our respective mission fields armed with that purpose, and that the Lord will be pleased to give us a miraculous catch of men and women and young people for His kingdom!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Have you ever been around someone who was filthy, but who did not seem to be aware of his condition? How would you like it if that person were your doctor? Just as he is about to examine you, you notice that his hands are grimy and caked with blood. And he isn’t wearing rubber gloves! The fact is, just 150 years ago, medical doctors did not know that infection is spread by dirty hands. The finest hospitals were losing one out of six women after childbirth to what they called “childbed fever.” A doctor’s daily routine would begin in the dissecting room where he performed autopsies. From there he made his way to the hospital to examine expectant mothers without ever washing his hands!
A Hungarian doctor, Ignaz Semmelweis (1818-1865), was the first man in history to associate not washing with the resulting infection and death. He washed with a chlorine solution before examining expectant mothers and after eleven years of practice, his death rate was only one in fifty. But in spite of his success, he spent his life arguing in vain with his colleagues. Although he lectured widely, virtually no one believed him. Doctors and midwives had been delivering babies for centuries without washing, and no outspoken doctor was going to change them now! Semmelweis died insane at age 47 with his colleagues still laughing in his face.
That seems incredible, and yet there is a spiritual parallel. Millions of sinners are spiritually defiled, caked with years of filthy sins, but they are oblivious to their need for cleansing. Every day their minds are filled with pride, lust, greed, jealousy, anger, hatred, vengeance, ingratitude, and a host of other sins. Their lips spread damaging gossip, they distort the truth when it is to their own advantage, they tell off-color jokes, their common speech is punctuated with filthy words, and they even take the holy name of the Lord in vain. They watch with approval TV shows and movies filled with sensuality, violence, and every form of corruption. Their behavior is motivated by whatever is to their own advantage, even if it hurts others. And yet, if you ask such a person, “Why should God let you into heaven?” invariably he will answer, “Because I’m a basically good person.”
The doctors who denied the connection between their unwashed hands and the infection of their patients needed a microscope to see the bacteria that caused the infection. A sinner who does not see his need for cleansing needs the conviction of the Holy Spirit through God’s Word to open his eyes to his filthiness before the Holy God. Once he sees his great need, the sinner can then come to Jesus, who alone can deal with that need.
Our text shows us a leper who came to Jesus for cleansing. In the Bible, leprosy is a dreaded disease that is a picture of sin. This is alluded to in our text by the fact that the leper does not ask for healing, but for cleansing, which Jesus granted. The words “clean,” “cleansed,” and “cleansing” occur three times (5:12-14) to underscore the analogy. Leprosy rendered a man ceremonially defiled, so that if he was healed, he still had to go to the priest and carry out an extensive ritual of cleansing before he could be accepted back into the religious community and worship.
In the Bible “leprosy” can refer to a number of skin diseases, but in its worst form, it was what we know as Hansen’s disease (R. K. Harrison, The New Testament Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. by Colin Brown {Zondervan], 2:463-366). This awful disease takes two forms (according to R. H. Pousma, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, ed. by Merrill Tenney [Zondervan], 2:138-139). Both start with either a white or pink discoloration of a patch of skin. The more benign form is limited to this skin discoloration in a number of places, and even untreated cases heal in from one to three years.
William Barclay (The Daily Study Bible: Matthew [Westminster Press], 1:295) describes the hideous progression of the worse form of this disease:
It might begin with little nodules which go on to ulcerate. The ulcers develop a foul discharge; the eyebrows fall out; the eyes become staring; the vocal chords become ulcerated, and the voice becomes hoarse, and the breath wheezes. The hands and feel always ulcerate. Slowly the sufferer becomes a mass of ulcerated growths. The average course of that kind of leprosy is nine years, and it ends in mental decay, coma and ultimately death.
Leprosy might begin with the loss of all sensation in some part of the body; the nerve trunks are affected; the muscles waste away; the tendons contract until the hands are like claws. There follows ulceration of the hands and feet. Then comes the progressive loss of fingers and toes, until in the end a whole hand or a whole foot may drop off. The duration of that kind of leprosy is anything from twenty to thirty years. It is a kind of terrible progressive death in which a man dies by inches.
It was this form of leprosy, no doubt, that the Bible refers to when it describes the leper as being “like one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes from his mother’s womb” (Num. 12:12). The rabbis said that the leper was under “the stroke.”
While the physical disease was horrible, the terrible social consequences in ancient Israel only added to the misery. According to Josephus, lepers were treated “as if they were, in effect, dead men” (cited by Barclay). The Mosaic Law prescribed that the person be cut off from society, including his family. He had to wear torn clothing, have his head uncovered, cover his lips and shout “Unclean! Unclean!” wherever he went to warn others to keep their distance (Lev. 13:45).
Luke the physician tells us that this man was full of leprosy (Luke 5:12). His disease was in advanced stages. But he was desperate enough to break the taboo and approach Jesus, falling on his knees before Him, begging, “If You are willing, You can make me clean.” I can see the disciples recoiling with a gasp of fear at being so near to this diseased man. Imagine their further shock when instead of drawing back, Jesus stretched out His hand, touched the man and said, “I am willing; be cleansed”! And rather than Jesus becoming defiled, the man became instantly clean! This miracle shows us the cleansing power of Jesus, not only over leprosy, but also over sin. The spiritual lesson is the great news that …
Jesus cleanses every sinner who senses his need and appeals to Him.
At first you might wonder, “Why wouldn’t everyone want to come to Jesus for spiritual cleansing?” But, the problem is, sinners are blind to their defilement, and so they see no need to come to Jesus. Thus,
The first step in this process is that …
This leper knew that he was in bad shape and that if Jesus did not help him, he had no hope. He must have heard of Jesus’ many miracles of healing, so in desperation he risked possible flogging by approaching Jesus. The man’s desperate situation caused by his leprosy is a picture of the devastating nature of sin:
Just as lepers were ceremonially defiled and cut off from public worship, so sinners are defiled in the sight of the Holy God. Uncleansed sinners can never be in heaven with God who dwells in unapproachable light. Just as leprosy not only affects the outward appearance, but also the internal organs, so sin takes a toll both on the body and on the soul. Even the sinner’s good works are contaminated like filthy rags in God’s sight (Isa. 64:6).
The leper had to live separately from his family and friends. He could never feel the warm, caring touch of his wife. He could not hold his children or grandchildren on his lap or feel their arms around his neck. He could not share meals with his family or be present to enjoy a moment of laughter. Obviously, such isolation caused a breakdown of what formerly were close and caring relationships. In the same way, sin causes strain and often a complete rupture of human relationships. Husbands and wives who once felt deeply in love are bitter and alienated by sin. Fathers who once would have protected their children from any enemy are harsh and cruel toward their defiant, angry teenagers, due to sin on both sides. Because of this breakdown of relationships, …
Can you imagine the loneliness that must have engulfed this leprous man after he had to move out of his home and live apart from his loved ones? As soon as sin entered the human race, the first couple, who had enjoyed total intimacy with each other, expressed as being naked and unashamed in each other’s presence, now covered themselves with fig leaves and Adam blamed Eve for his troubles. Since sin isolates us from each other and from God, it results in loneliness. Sinners are often like two porcupines who need to huddle together because of the cold, but when they get close, they prick each other.
Just as leprosy grew progressively worse until the leper died, so with sin. If it is not cleansed by Jesus Christ, the sinner faces physical death and then what the Bible calls “the second death,” eternal separation from God in the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:14-15). It’s interesting that the same instruments of cleansing used to restore the leper—cedar wood, hyssop, and scarlet—were used only in one other situation, namely, the cleansing of one who was defiled by touching a dead body (Num. 19:6, 18; Lev. 14:4-7; R. C. Trench, Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord [Baker], p. 135). As James 1:15 puts it, “when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.”
This leper had no human hope for a cure. No doubt there were some quack doctors with their “snake oil cures” who would take every dime a poor leper had, but they couldn’t cure him. Probably well meaning family and friends would tell the leper of some folk remedy that supposedly had cured another leper. Perhaps he tried a change in diet. But nothing worked. All the will power in the world would not cure him. No amount of good intentions or positive thinking or promises to live differently would help. He had no hope apart from a miraculous cure through Jesus.
Even so, there is no human cure for sin. You can make resolutions and promise to change. You can go for psychotherapy and try to gain insights into your past. Some of the wisdom of the world may help you learn to get along better with others, but none of it can reconcile you to the Holy God whose law you have broken. You can deny your guilt and tell yourself that it isn’t there. But it is there, and there is no human way to remove it. This leper shows us the only hope for us as spiritual lepers:
Alfred Edersheim tells us that a leper who violated the necessary separation was threatened with 39 lashes (The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [Eerdmans], 1:493). But this man, full of leprosy, figured that he had nothing to lose. If they beat him he would probably die, and that couldn’t be any worse than his living death. So he boldly came near to Jesus and cried out in faith, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” We don’t know if the man meant for title “Lord” to carry its full sense of deity, since it could mean only “sir.” But in light of his faith that Jesus had the power to heal him, at the very least the man was acknowledging Jesus to be a great prophet. By the phrase, “if You are willing,” the man was not questioning the Lord’s compassion. Rather, he was submitting to His sovereignty, since clearly it is not God’s will to heal every person physically. He was not demanding healing, but was coming submissively in faith.
This leper is a great example of how sinners can and should appeal to Jesus for cleansing from their sins. We should come in faith that He is able to cleanse us. We know that He is willing to cleanse every sinner who comes to Him, because He Himself declared, “the one who comes to Me, I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37). But, even so, we should not come demanding cleansing, as if we somehow had a right to it, but with the submissive spirit that says, “Lord, you could justly condemn me for my many sins, but if You are willing, you can wash me and make me whole.” What happens when a sinner thus comes to Jesus?
We see Jesus’ compassion for this miserable man both in His physical touch and His kind words: “I am willing; be cleansed.” Jesus could have healed the man by speaking the word without touching him, but, to the utter shock of those who saw it, Jesus touched this diseased man. William Barclay observes, “To the Jew, there would be no more amazing sentence in the New Testament than the simple statement: ‘Jesus stretched out his hand and touched the leper’” (ibid., p. 296). Any ordinary man would have contracted ceremonial defilement by that touch. But rather than being defiled, Jesus imparted complete, instant cleansing to this man. Someone has said that Jesus’ words, “I am willing,” backed up with this work of power, are the words of God and God only, whose almighty will is the cause of all things (cited by J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], 3:140). It shows:
This leper did not get dressed up in his finest, cleanest clothes and try to hide the horrible sores and disfigurement that covered his body. He came to Jesus with all the ugliness of his disease and appealed for cleansing and Jesus responded by instantly, permanently cleansing him from every trace of the disease. Sometimes people think, “I can’t come to Jesus until I clean up some of my worst sins.” Or, they come to Jesus but try to hide or minimize the awfulness of their corruption. Don’t do that. Come to Jesus with all your foulness and oozing sores. Hold up in His sight the stumps of hands that have been eaten away by sin. The instant you do, you will feel Jesus’ healing touch as He says to you, “I am willing; be cleansed.” He grants it freely, based only on His grace, not on anything in the sinner.
The cleansing that Jesus offers is not just cosmetic. It cleanses the defiled conscience, the inner man. Just as this leper was instantly and totally healed, so the sinner who trusts in Christ is instantly and totally cleansed, reconciled completely with God. Any religion that teaches that you are saved gradually by your good works and deeds of penance is both cruel and evil. It is cruel because it holds sinners in the bondage of guilt. They never know whether they have done enough good works to tip the scales of heaven in their favor. It is evil because it denies the cleansing power of Jesus’ blood and righteousness freely granted to the believing sinner. But the Bible clearly affirms that “to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness” (Rom. 4:5). Even though you are full of the leprosy of sin, come to Jesus and appeal to Him for cleansing and He will freely, instantly grant it.
Some legalistic folks object that if God grants complete forgiveness apart from our works, then people will live as they please. But Scripture clearly teaches that this is not so:
Jesus ordered this cleansed leper to tell no one, “But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, just as Moses commanded, for a testimony to them” (5:14). Luke only reports the result, that the news about Jesus spread even farther (5:15); but Mark 1:45 tells us that the reason the news spread even farther was that the cleansed man disobeyed Jesus and proclaimed his healing freely. Probably the intent of Jesus’ command was not for the man to be forever silent about his healing, but rather that he first go and fulfill the requirement of the Law. Jesus wanted to bear testimony to the Jewish priests both that He came to fulfill the Law and that He is the Messiah who has the power to cleanse not only lepers, but also sinners (see 5:20).
This cleansed leper’s disobedience is understandable—who wouldn’t be inclined to shout it from the rooftops? But that still doesn’t excuse him; he should have obeyed Jesus (see Mark 1:43). From this we can learn that …
No doubt the man did not understand why Jesus would command him to be silent. It was kind of strange, to have a situation where a man was disobedient for witnessing! But Jesus was concerned about the witness to the priests and He knew that proclaiming this miracle would only bring larger crowds who wanted healing but who were not interested in obedience to God’s Word. But the man acted on the basis of his feelings, not in obedience to the Lord Jesus.
We live in a feeling-oriented culture. Often when I ask a young person about their conversion, the answer I get goes something like this: “I just felt the Lord in the meeting and in the music and I felt good all over, so I went forward and prayed the prayer, and I’ve never felt so good in all my life. I really feel the Spirit here in your church, too.” A few weeks later when they’re having serious problems in their Christian walk, I hear, “I haven’t felt the Lord’s presence like I did before.” It’s all feelings, but hardly any knowledge of God’s Word and no concept of obedience. Hear me on this: If you live your Christian life on the basis of feelings, you will not be obedient to the Lord. How then should we live?
Jesus based His command to this man on what Moses commanded (Leviticus 14). There was a specific, elaborate process of cleansing which the leper was to follow. If he had followed it, he would have learned a lot about God’s holiness, man’s defilement and God’s forgiveness. Even when we do not understand the reasons behind God’s commands, if we obey, we will be blessed.
The Lord Jesus is our example of complete obedience. To keep His focus in the face of mounting popularity and increased demands on His time, we read that Jesus “would often slip away to the wilderness and pray” (5:16). Jesus had to make time to do that! So do you and I. It does not happen accidentally in the face of the busy schedules and many responsibilities we all wrestle with. But if you have experienced Jesus’ miraculous cleansing from your sin, then He calls you to a life of total obedience to His Word. To be obedient, you must make time to get alone with God and His Word to commune with Him.
By nature, some people are neatness freaks while others are “messies.” A little clutter of junk here and there and a little dust may be okay in your house, if you can live with it. But a little clutter of sin in your life is not okay. None of us should be “messies” when it comes to sin. A few years ago, NASA built a nine-story “clean” room, so clean that it filters out all dirt and dust bigger than .3 microns. A human hair is between 40-100 microns. What if Christians took that much effort to clean the sin out of their lives! The Lord who has cleansed us from our sin by His grace calls us to complete obedience to His Word. “You shall be holy, for I am holy,” says the Lord (1 Pet. 1:16). Jesus cleanses every sinner who appeals to Him and then He calls us to a life of cleanliness through obedience to His commands.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
A young boy, dirty and dressed in scruffy clothes, came into a Christian bookshop in an English village. His head reached just above the counter. He asked the shopkeeper, “How much are yer Bibles, mister?” The man pulled his cheapest Bible off the shelf, one with children’s pictures, but the £1.5 in the boy’s grubby hand was not enough.
“Hang on, I’ve got more money in my sock,” the boy said. He sat down on the floor, pulled off a shoe and then a long, woolen sock. “The Bible’s not for me; it’s for me mate. I want him to know Jesus like I do.”
“You can have the Bible,” the shopkeeper said. “Shall I rub the price off?” Putting his sock and shoe back on, the boy answered, “No, leave it on. I want me mate to know how much I like him.” As he walked out the door with the Bible, he stopped, turned and said with a grin, “It’s a good book, ain’t it mister?”
By seeking to bring his friend to Jesus, that boy was being the best kind of friend in this world. I want to talk about how we can help our friends find God’s forgiveness.
To help our friends find forgiveness, we must bring them to Jesus who has authority to forgive sins.
This is the message of the colorful story of the paralytic man whose friends lowered him through the roof as Jesus spoke in a crowded house (Luke 5:17-26). It’s a humorous story. Mark tells us that it happened in Capernaum. Peter lived there and Mark, who got his information from Peter, is the most elaborate in describing the men digging through the roof. If this was Peter’s house you can imagine how he, not to mention his wife, felt to have his house jammed with people and then to see these four guys dig a hole through his roof to let their friend down in front of Jesus!
As a preacher, I find the story humorous because I can relate to the problem of dealing with distractions while you’re preaching. As Jesus was speaking, some of the people in the front row began feeling dirt raining down on their heads. As they looked up, they saw a patch of daylight through the ceiling. As they kept looking, it grew until they saw four sweaty-faced men who proceeded to lower this guy on a stretcher right in front of Jesus. How do you stick to your message when that happens! I once had an elderly lady on the second row pass out in the middle of my sermon. I didn’t know whether she had died or what! I had to pause while they carried her out of the church! We used to have the local ambulance driver in our church, and his alarm wasn’t a beeper; it was a loud horn. When that baby went off, anyone napping through my sermon thought that the last trump had sounded!
Jesus had a minute to think about His response. He startled everyone by saying to the paralytic, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” It must have startled the guys on the roof. One of them had his head down through the opening so he could hear. The other guys were asking, “What did Jesus say?” He relayed, “He said that his sins are forgiven.” “His sins are forgiven! Didn’t He heal him? You mean we went to all the trouble of digging this hole in the roof and letting him down just so he could get his sins forgiven? We want him healed!”
It startled the Jewish religious leaders in the audience. Luke tells us that they weren’t just the locals, but that they had come from “every village in Galilee and Judea and Jerusalem” (5:17). They weren’t there to get blessed by Jesus’ teaching. They were there on official business, to check out this popular young upstart and catch Him in some heresy. Jesus gave them their money’s worth! His words were deliberately calculated to create a dilemma from which these scribes couldn’t escape without admitting that Jesus was God in human flesh. He said to this paralytic, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” His words show us that …
Here is this poor man lying helplessly in front of Jesus. In that day, they didn’t have wheelchairs, ramps, or handicap parking places. He could not earn a living, except to beg. He was dependent on his friends to carry him anywhere he needed to go. He couldn’t dress himself or take care of his bodily functions. It would seem that his main need was for physical healing. But first Jesus said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” To heal the man’s body would have made his life more comfortable. But without healing his soul, he would have died and faced God’s righteous judgment. His main need was forgiveness of sins, not physical healing.
Some may look at this poor man and say, “His main need is for emotional healing. Imagine what he must feel like, being totally dependent on others for everything he does. Imagine what it must feel like to lie in the streets and beg every day. We need to help him see that he is a worthwhile human being, created in the image of God.” But Jesus did not say, “Friend, I want you to feel good about yourself.” He said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
Others may have said, “What this man needs is economic and educational help. Let’s give him food stamps, government health care benefits and some job training.” But Jesus said, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.”
Forgiveness of sins is not just a little option, thrown in with the total benefit package of the abundant life. If the Bible’s message about death and eternal judgment is correct, then forgiveness is the main need of every person! People don’t primarily need their marriages fixed. They don’t primarily need their emotional problems resolved. They don’t primarily need economic help. People need to know with assurance from God that their sins are forgiven. All other needs are secondary. As Jesus taught on another occasion, “What profit is it to gain the whole world and lose your soul?” (Matt. 16:25). There’s something much more important than having a healthy body and plenty of money: Having God forgive your sins.
Sometimes a severe problem—a health problem, an emotional problem, a family problem, a financial catastrophe—can be the best thing in the world for us. Later, this man would have looked back on his paralysis and thanked God for it, because if he had never been paralyzed, he never would have begged his friends to carry him to Jesus. He never would have heard those words, “Your sins are forgiven.” With the psalmist, he could say, “Before I was afflicted, I went astray, but now I keep Your word” (Ps. 119:67).
Jesus wasn’t necessarily implying that the man’s paralysis was the direct result of his sins. It may have been. In opposition to the rabbis of His day, Jesus taught that while all suffering is due to the fall of the human race into sin, not all suffering is due to specific sin on the part of the individual (Luke 13:1-5; John 9:1-3). But Jesus knew that the main need of every sinner is not to get our health or emotional or financial or whatever problems solved. Those problems should drive us to seek God. When we do that, it becomes clear that our main problem is our alienation from Him due to our sins. Thus forgiveness of sins is our main need.
Probably these four friends (Mark 2:3 tells us there were four) were motivated more by their friend’s physical need than they were by his spiritual need. But their actions in getting around this crowd by letting the paralytic down through the roof is a great illustration of how we should do all we can to bring our needy friends to Jesus. Note some of the qualities pictured in their actions:
*Creativity—Hey, why not the roof? The homes of that day usually had an outside stairway leading up to a flat roof. Scholars differ over whether this caused major or minor damage to the homeowner. But these men had the philosophy, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.” If there was a closed door, they found an open roof. If you can’t reach somebody one way, try another way. If you can’t get into a closed country as a missionary, why not get in as a businessman or some other way?
*Urgency—Why not wait until the crowds had dispersed? There was always tomorrow. They could have told their friend, “It must not be God’s timing.” But these men knew that their friend needed help, so they didn’t let the crowd stop them. While we can’t force the gospel on people, we should communicate the urgency of eternal matters: “Now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2).
*Sacrifice—If you want to reach people for Christ, you may have to sacrifice some material things, including a perfect house. Your carpet may get coffee or food stains on it. Your kids’ toys may get broken. I’m not suggesting that you let people run wild and destroy your home. That’s not good stewardship. But neither is it good stewardship not to have people over because you want to preserve everything. Don’t view your home as a museum. View it as a missionary outpost.
*Persistence—We need tact, and we shouldn’t pressure a person who is not open to the gospel. But if we try once to talk about spiritual things and a person is not open, do we back off and conclude that he must not be one of the elect? Or do we keep at it?
A family that had moved into a new apartment was besieged by salesmen. One busy day a dairyman came to the door. “No,” the woman said firmly, “my husband and I don’t drink milk.”
“Be glad to deliver a quart every morning for cooking.” “That’s more than I need,” the woman replied, starting to close the door.
“Well, ma’am, how about some cream? Berries comin’ in now, and ...”
“No,” the woman replied curtly, “we never use cream.”
The dairyman left and the woman congratulated herself on her sales resistance. Actually, she had already ordered from another dairy, but she hadn’t said so. But the next morning, the same dairyman was back at the door, a bowl of dewy strawberries held carefully in one hand and a half-pint bottle of cream in the other.
“Lady,” he said, as he poured the cream over the berries and handed them to her, “I got to thinkin’—you sure have missed a lot.” The woman changed dairies. (Reader’s Digest, [5/82].)
That’s the kind of positive persistence we need in sharing the berries and cream of the good news.
*A team effort—It took four men to get this one man to Jesus. That is often the case. We dare not get jealous over who gets the credit. The main thing is getting the person to Jesus. It’s great when several people work together in bringing a common friend to the Lord. It almost always takes more than one.
So we’ve seen that forgiveness of sins is the main need of every person and that it is such a pressing need that we should do all we can to bring our friends to Jesus.
Luke has been establishing Jesus’ authority: in 4:32, in His teaching; in 4:36, over demons; in 5:1-11, over the disciples and over creation; in 5:13, over the worst of diseases; and, here, His authority to forgive sins and His authority over the Jewish leaders. This is Luke’s first mention of the Jewish religious leaders and their opposition to Jesus. They needed to submit to Him as Messiah.
By leading off with the pronouncement, “Your sins are forgiven,” Jesus set up a dilemma for His critics. He knew that they would grumble by asking, quite correctly, “Who can forgive sins but God alone?” But when He spoke the word and healed the man, it was obvious that God’s power was present. If Jesus were speaking blasphemy by forgiving the man’s sins, then how could they explain God’s granting Jesus the power to heal him?
Jesus used this miracle to prove His claim to have authority to forgive sins. His power in the visible realm over paralysis established His authority in the spiritual realm to forgive sins. He read His critics’ minds and then asked them, “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins have been forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?” (5:23). From a human standpoint, it’s easier to say, “Your sins are forgiven,” since there’s no way to verify it. From God’s perspective, to forgive sins is more difficult, since it involved the sacrifice of His Son. Jesus took that which is humanly more difficult—healing the man—and used it to verify His claim to forgive his sins.
To help a friend find forgiveness, we need to explain two important truths:
If you offend me, then I can properly say, “I forgive you.” But if you have offended others, it would be ridiculous for me to say, “I forgive you for offending all those other people, too.” I don’t have that right.
For Jesus to forgive all of this man’s sins must mean that they all were committed against Jesus, which is only possible if He is God. Jesus knew the reasoning of the Pharisees (“only God can forgive sins”) and He didn’t correct them, as any God-fearing Jew would have done if people were accusing him of taking on some action that belongs only to God. He didn’t clarify things by saying, “I only meant that God offers forgiveness to this man.” Rather, Jesus confirmed their reasoning by the miracle.
Jesus’ deity is further attested by the title “the Son of Man.” It was Jesus’ favorite designation of Himself (over 80 times) and comes from Daniel 7:13, where Daniel had a vision of the Messiah coming in the clouds to receive His future kingdom from the Ancient of Days. If I were to call myself a “son of man,” you would say, “So what else is new?” It’s no big deal. But for Jesus, it was a big deal to be not just “a son of man,” but “the Son of Man,” because He is the eternal God who took on human flesh through the virgin birth, the Son of Man who will fulfill Daniel’s prophecy. Clearly the title had overtones of deity (Luke 9:26; 21:27; 22:69).
The point is, if Jesus is not God, He cannot forgive our sins because our sins have offended the holiness of God before whom we all must someday stand. But if He is God, then He does have authority to say to any who come to Him in faith, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The title “Son of Man” also points to our Lord’s humanity. Jesus used it especially when referring to His own suffering and death (Luke 9:22; 9:44, 18:31-33, 22:22, 48). It points to Him as the representative Man, fully human apart from sin, who bore the penalty for our sins on the cross. As a sinless man, Jesus Christ could bear the sins of the human race; as God, His death had infinite value. Jesus, and only Jesus, has authority to forgive sins. To help our friends find forgiveness, we must help them see that Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man in one unique person.
But is knowing that enough? Is there anything that a person must do to be forgiven by Jesus?
Grace means unmerited favor. You can’t do anything to earn it. This man didn’t have to get cleaned up before he came. He didn’t try to impress Jesus with how he could walk with crutches. He didn’t tell Jesus about his perfect record of synagogue attendance as a reason he qualified for forgiveness. Jesus granted forgiveness as a free gift, with no merit on the paralytic’s part.
The only condition mentioned is, “seeing their faith” (5:20). Whose faith did Jesus see—the four friends’ or the paralytic’s? Both. Alexander Maclaren explains, “As Abraham’s intercession delivered Lot, as Paul in the shipwreck was the occasion of safety to all the crew, so one man’s faith may bring blessings on another. But if the sick man too had not had faith, he would not have let himself be brought at all, and would certainly not have consented to reach Christ’s presence by so strange and, to him, dangerous a way ...” (Expositions of Holy Scripture [Baker], on Mark 2:1-12, p. 64).
Like this paralytic, lost people can do nothing in themselves to be saved. They cannot even believe apart from God, since faith is His gift. Yet they must believe! Just as here Jesus commands this paralytic to do something impossible—rise, take up his bed, and walk—even so, He commands sinners to repent and believe. Since salvation is totally of God, including the faith to believe, He gets all the glory (5:25, 26). No one was praising the faith of the five men. The healed man didn’t go away boasting, “I got healed by my own free will.” Everyone glorified God because they knew that He alone could do this mighty deed. Since the saving of a sinner requires the mighty working of God, He alone should get the glory.
While we are saved by grace through faith alone, saving faith always issues in obedience. Jesus could see the faith of both the friends and the paralytic because they had acted on it by coming to Him. When Jesus said, “Rise, take up your bed, and go home,” the man not only believed His words; he acted on them. That’s what each person must do: Personally trust Jesus Christ to forgive your sins and give you eternal life and then live in obedience to Him.
Luke draws a marked contrast between the Pharisees and the four men who brought their friend to Jesus. The Pharisees had no sense of their own spiritual need. They were there as critics for the purpose of finding fault with Jesus. They had no concern for the paralytic man. They felt no great joy when Jesus healed him. In spite of the miracle, they left that day even more critical, ready to take their charge of blasphemy back to their comrades.
But the four men came as seekers who realized that they had a friend with a major problem that only Jesus could fix. Even though they encountered obstacles that would have stopped others, they persevered by faith until they received from Jesus what they had come for. Both sets of men were present at the same event. Both saw the same miracle. Because of their pride and critical spirit, the Pharisees went away empty. But because they were needy and came in faith, the four men and their friend went away rejoicing with the friend’s sins forgiven and his body healed.
If you come to church as a proud skeptic, watching for something you don’t agree with to pounce on, you’ll find it. You’ll go away convinced that you’re right and that Jesus has nothing to offer you. But if you will come to Jesus as needy in soul as this paralytic was in soul and body, believing that Jesus truly can forgive your sins and reconcile you to the holy God, you will go home forgiven, rejoicing and glorifying God.
Although they meant it critically, the Pharisees asked the crucial question about Jesus: “Who is this man?” (5:21). The fact that He could speak the word and heal this paralytic should have answered their question: He is God in human flesh. It’s a question each of us must face. If you answer it as the Pharisees did, you will die in your sins. If you answer it as the paralytic and his friends did, you will know the joy of God’s gracious forgiveness.
An African proverb says, “There is only one crime worse than murder on the desert, and that is to know where the water is and not tell.” We who know Jesus know where the living water is. Let’s tell our friends, so that they can find forgiveness.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
“As soon as I get well, I’m going to go to the doctor.” If someone told you that, you might think that he needed to see a different sort of doctor, namely, a shrink! Doctors are not for those who are well. Doctors are for the sick.
“As soon as I can clean up my life and conquer some of my bad habits, I’m going to become a Christian.” That statement is just as crazy as the man who says he is going to the doctor as soon as he gets well. But even though it is crazy, it is one of the most widespread mistaken ideas both inside and outside the church, that Christianity is for good people.
You hear it when it is said of a notoriously ungodly person, “If he ever darkens the door of a church, the building would probably fall down.” It’s communicated nonverbally in many churches by the way everybody looks and dresses. I’m glad that we’re more casual here, but in many churches, most folks wear suits and dresses. If a person isn’t dressed up, he feels a bit out of place on Sunday morning.
Another way we communicate that Christianity is for good people is by separating ourselves from ungodly people. We avoid getting to know our neighbors, except to observe that they drink a lot of beer and spend their Sundays quite differently than we do. We’d be greatly relieved if they would move out and a decent Christian family would move in. We fill our calendars with activities with church folks. We make sure that our kids never have contact with unchurched kids. If we’re really lucky, we work with Christians so that we can go for weeks without rubbing shoulders with pagans. Maybe someday we’ll be able to move into a Christian retirement community where we’ll spend our golden years in total isolation from all those wicked people in the world.
Many non-Christians think that Christians are good people who have all their really bad problems worked out. They can’t relate because they know that they’ve got some serious problems which they wouldn’t dare mention among such a company of smiling, happy churchgoers. They mistakenly think that Christianity is for good people and they know that that excludes them.
The only problem with this prevailing notion that Christianity is for good people is that the founder of Christianity taught precisely the opposite. In so doing, Jesus came into opposition with the religious crowd in His day. In the story of the calling of Levi (= Matthew), Luke teaches us a vital lesson:
Jesus did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
This lesson is so crucial that I would venture to say that if you do not understand it, you probably are not a Christian in the true sense of the word. If you think that Jesus saves pretty good, basically moral, church-going people, you do not understand the heart of the gospel. If you think that someday when you stand before God, He will let you into heaven because you’ve tried to do your best, you’ve been regular in attending church, you’ve given money to the church, you’ve never intentionally hurt anyone, then you’re in for a rude awakening. Jesus’ words here should jolt you into re-thinking your understanding of the Christian faith.
Do you view yourself as a basically good person? Then you should be alarmed! Jesus excludes you when He says, “I did not come to call the righteous.” Jesus spoke these words to men who were religious leaders. They had devoted their lives to God and to the Jewish religion. They never missed a synagogue service. They attended all the religious festivals at the Temple in Jerusalem. They ate only kosher food. They followed the ceremonial law to a tee, avoiding anything that would defile them. They had set times each day for prayer. They tithed not only their money, but even their table spices (Matt. 23:23)! They diligently studied the Hebrew Scriptures and could cite large portions of it from memory. They were even “Calvinists”: they viewed themselves as God’s chosen people! But Jesus excluded them when He said to them, “I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
We need to be very clear about what Jesus meant. He did not mean that anyone is good enough to get into heaven by his own righteousness. Jesus was using irony or sarcasm, saying in effect, “If you guys think that you’re good enough to merit salvation, then you don’t see yourselves as spiritually sick. Thus you won’t see any need for the doctor.” Jesus only saves one kind of person: A sinner who knows that he is a sinner.
The Pharisees and scribes spent so much time studying the Scriptures that they should have shown them that there is no one righteous in God’s sight. Genesis 6:5 states, “Then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” That verse did not apply only to the Gentiles. King Solomon states that “there is no man who does not sin” (1 Kings 8:46). David wrote (Ps. 14:2, 3), “The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.” Looking on his own heart, David prayed, “Do not enter into judgment with Your servant, for in Your sight no man living is righteous” (Ps. 143:2). The prophet Isaiah (64:6) laments, “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment.”
Invariably, those who view themselves as righteous do not know God as the Holy One. When the godly Isaiah had his vision of the Lord, lofty and exalted, with the cherubim crying, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts,” he wailed, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts” (Isa. 6:5). Job, whom God called the most blameless and upright man on earth (Job 1:8), said, “My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes” (Job 42:5, 6 NIV). No one who gets a glimpse of God in His absolute holiness dares to think that his own righteousness will enable him to stand before this Awesome God!
Invariably, those who view themselves as righteous are comparing themselves with other sinners, not with God. The Pharisees looked at the tax collectors, the prostitutes, and those who were not scrupulous about keeping the Jewish rituals and thought, “We’re better than these people.” But, of course, they were looking at things outwardly, not as God looks, at the heart. Jesus later confronted them with this hypocrisy when He said, “You are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness” (Matt. 23:27). If we try to impress one another, we can put on a pretty good show. But people can’t see our corrupt hearts.
But the holy God aims the laser beam of His penetrating gaze beyond the outward, down to the depths of our thoughts and motives (Heb. 4:12-13). He sees the pride that makes us think we’re somehow better than others. He knows the lustful thoughts that we’re able to conceal even while we sit in church. He sees the greed that moves us to hoard our money or spend it on our own luxury, even when we see others in need. He is aware of the anger and jealousy that we manage to conceal under a phony smile and an insincere compliment. He knows the way we love the things of this world, while our hearts are lukewarm toward the Savior who gave Himself for our sins.
John Calvin (The Institutes of the Christian Religion [Westminster Press], 3.7.4) writes with penetrating insight of the inherent sinfulness that clings to us all:
For, such is the blindness with which we all rush into self-love that each one of us seems to himself to have just cause to be proud of himself and to despise all others in comparison. If God has conferred upon us anything of which we need not repent, relying upon it we immediately lift up our minds, and are not only puffed up but almost burst with pride. The very vices that infest us we take pains to hide from others, while we flatter ourselves with the pretense that they are slight and insignificant, and even sometimes embrace them as virtues. If others manifest the same endowments we admire in ourselves, or even superior ones, we spitefully belittle and revile these gifts in order to avoid yielding place to such persons. If there are any faults in others, not content with noting them with severe and sharp reproach, we hatefully exaggerate them. Hence arises such insolence that each one of us, as if exempt from the common lot, wishes to tower above the rest, and loftily and savagely abuses every mortal man, or at least looks down upon him as inferior…. But there is no one who does not cherish within himself some opinion of his own pre-eminence.
If you do not identify with what I’ve been saying, if you think it applies to others, but not to you, then you, like the Pharisees, are one of the “righteous” whom Jesus did not come to call to salvation. But, if as I describe the Bible’s evaluation of the sinfulness of the human heart, you acknowledge, “Yes, that is the way I am, I know that I am a sinner,” then I have great news:
As Paul put it, “Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). As Jesus says it here, “It is not those who are well who need a physician, but those who are sick.” If a man thinks that he’s in great shape, then he won’t go to the doctor, even if he’s got cancer. The Pharisees had spiritual cancer, but they thought they were pretty healthy. But the tax collectors had no illusions about themselves. They knew that they were terminal sinners. Many of them feared that they were such terrible sinners that they were hopelessly beyond God’s reach. But Jesus made it clear that it was just such people He came to seek and to save and that He was able to save.
As you probably know, tax collectors in first century Palestine were a despised lot. Most of us have heard the horror stories about the IRS lately, but even if they are heartless, most IRS agents aren’t getting rich themselves at taxpayers’ expense. But the tax collectors in Jesus’ day were getting rich personally by extorting money from their own countrymen. They were greedy, dishonest, and heartless. They had no concern for the poor, the widow, or the orphan. They loved money so much that they were willing to be despised, excommunicated from the synagogues, and classed with murderers, robbers, and prostitutes. The good life they were able to enjoy because of their crooked profession made them willing to bear the scorn of their fellow Jews. Levi was this kind of man.
When Luke tells us that Jesus saw Levi in his tax office and said, “Follow Me,” and Levi left everything behind, rose and began to follow Jesus, I think Luke is compressing the story for impact. There was probably a longer process involved. Perhaps Jesus had visited Levi’s tax office on numerous occasions, to pay the taxes for His widowed mother or to represent His impoverished neighbors. Probably Levi had heard Jesus teach the crowds who gathered nearby. No doubt he had heard reports of Jesus’ miracles and of how He had told the paralytic, “Friend, your sins are forgiven you.” But now Jesus deliberately observed Levi (the Greek word means “careful and deliberate vision which interprets its object,” according to G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament [Charles Scribner’s Sons], p. 203) and authoritatively commanded, “Follow Me.” And Levi walked away from his tax office, left his greedy profession and obeyed Jesus’ call.
Note that Jesus took the initiative with Levi and not the other way around. Scripture is clear that there are none who seek after God until God first seeks after them (Rom. 3:10-11). Jesus said, “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him;… No one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father” (John 6:44, 65). He said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you …” (John 15:16). Because all people are dead in their trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1), they cannot decide to follow Jesus until He imparts new life to their dead hearts and calls them from spiritual death to spiritual life.
Thus the difference in Levi’s life and the reason for his radical response to give up his greedy way of life and follow Jesus was not due to Levi’s decision to change; rather it was due to Christ’s powerful, effectual call to salvation. There is a popular, but false, teaching that says that God has done all that He can do to save sinners, and the rest is up to their free will. Jesus is pleading, He wants you to repent, He is trying to woo you to Himself, but the decision is up to you. Alas, God is powerless before the almighty will of man! But if salvation is thus dependent on the will of man, the bottom line is, contrary to the plain statement of Ephesians 1:11, God does not work all things after the counsel of His will, but rather after the counsel of man’s will.
Thankfully, Scripture plainly declares that salvation is not from the will of man, but of God (John 1:13). “In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth …” (James 1:18). “Salvation is from the Lord” (Jonah 2:9). The good news is that “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). B. B. Warfield says, “Sinful man stands in need, not of inducements or assistance to save himself, but precisely of saving; and Jesus Christ has come not to advise, or urge, or woo, or help him to save himself, but to save him” (cited by Loraine Boettner, The Reformed Doctrine of Predestination [Presbyterian & Reformed], p. 164).
So whether you are an outwardly terrible sinner, as Levi was, or a self-righteous sinner, as the apostle Paul was, there is hope for you. Christ did not come to call the righteous, but sinners. When Christ effectually calls a sinner, the Holy Spirit convinces him of his sin, He enlightens him in the knowledge of Christ, He renews his will and persuades and enables him to embrace Christ (see Westminster Shorter Catechism, question 31). The result is that the sinner freely and willingly repents and trusts in Christ alone for salvation. That powerful, effectual word of Christ is the only scriptural explanation for the conversion of a sinner like Levi into the Apostle Matthew.
But, it is obvious that Jesus Christ does not call sinners to remain as sinners. Rather,
Repentance means turning from the sinful way I was living to follow Jesus as Savior and Lord. Levi’s actions as described in verse 28 picture biblical repentance. He walked away from his greedy lifestyle and became obedient to Jesus Christ. While not everyone is required to give up their job and all their money the instant they come to Christ, everyone must see that repentance means turning to God from our idols, to serve the living and true God (1 Thess. 1:9). It is not just a change of mind with no resulting change of behavior. It is a change of the total person.
Repentance is inseparably linked with saving faith. Obviously, Levi believed that Jesus is the Messiah who has the authority to forgive sins and to command our total allegiance or he wouldn’t have left everything to follow Jesus. In the story of the paralytic just preceding Luke shows that Jesus truly had the authority to forgive sins. His point in linking that story with this one of Levi’s conversion is to show that Jesus has the authority to forgive a sinner of the worst kind by calling that sinner to repentance.
We tend to think of repentance as a negative necessity. You’ve got to do it to get out from under God’s judgment, but life won’t be as fun any more. But Jesus links repentance with great joy, both in heaven and on earth (Luke 15:7, 10, 22-27, 32). While our text does not state that Levi was joyful after he repented, it is implied in that he put on a great banquet and invited all his unsavory friends to meet Jesus. Repentance ushers us into the full banquet of God’s abundant mercies. We will be filled with gratitude to our gracious Lord who so freely bestows His salvation on such undeserving sinners. So we should view repentance as a delight because of all its benefits, not just as a duty that deprives us of the temporary pleasures of sin.
Invariably, repentance means that I will accept Jesus’ mission for my life. You cannot truly repent and believe in Jesus and then decide that you’re going to live for yourself and aren’t going to follow Him as Lord. While the Lord’s purpose as to the particulars of how we serve Him will vary, the bottom line for all of us is that He wants to use us as repentant sinners to call other sinners to repentance through us.
There are three specific implications of accepting Jesus’ mission for our lives as seen in Levi’s response:
(1) We must make contact with lost people to reach them for Christ.
That sounds perfectly obvious, but it is anything but common in practice. This is my biggest problem when it comes to reaching others for Christ: I simply do not know that many non-Christians well enough to talk about spiritual things. And my occupation serves as a barrier to the process. As soon as somebody finds out what I do for a living, they draw back as if I had bubonic plague. But we all need to develop relationships with those who need to know the Savior.
By the way, recently converted people often have the most contacts with lost people. Levi had a whole house full of friends who needed to meet Jesus. Great! Let’s help new believers do all they can to bear witness to their lost friends.
But maybe you’re wondering, “I thought Christians were to be separate from bad company. Proverbs warns about the danger of wrong friendships. Isn’t it dangerous to socialize with lost people?”
If you socialize for the purpose of carousing with people in their search for pleasure, yes, that’s wrong. But if your purpose is to relate to them as a fellow sinner with a view to introducing them to the Savior, that is proper and good.
I emphasize “fellow-sinner” for two reasons. First, if you remember that you’re a sinner, you won’t come across as holier-than-thou. Second, you will be on guard so that you won’t be tempted to join in with things that would draw you back into your old way of life. Most Christians have it backwards: they associate with sinning believers and separate from unbelievers. But Paul tells us that we are not to associate with any so-called Christian if he is sinning, but that we are to associate with unbelievers (1 Cor. 5:9-13). Purpose is crucial in our contacts with lost people.
Who would have thought that this greedy, hardhearted tax collector would become a disciple and write the first Gospel? Imagine what the other disciples must have thought when Jesus called Levi! Or what the early church thought when the Lord called Paul! But the Lord is in the business of calling those whom the world thinks to be unlikely candidates for salvation. We need to be careful never to despair of anyone’s salvation, no matter how entrenched in sin the person may be. It is to God’s glory to save the most desperately wicked.
Can you imagine a doctor's office with a sign on the door: “We do not treat the sick”? As a church, we dare not imply, “Good people only; sinners not welcome.” Jesus did not come to call good people, but to call sinners to repentance. If you think of yourself as a good person, you should be alarmed. Christ saves sinners, not pretty good people. But if you confess, “I am a sinner,” you have the promise of Scripture that “Christ died for the ungodly.” If you will repent and believe in Jesus Christ, you will know the joy of having Him dine at your table and of seeing Him use you to share His good news with other sinners.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Someone incorrectly, but nonetheless humorously, defined a Puritan as “a person who suffers from an overwhelming dread that somewhere, sometime, somehow, someone may be enjoying himself.” That definition is incorrect because the Puritans had as their purpose “to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” Since God is absolutely good, truly enjoying Him is the greatest joy possible.
But we all have met someone who fits that incorrect definition of a Puritan—a religious person who only seems to be content when everyone else is miserable. They put starch in their underwear and they want to make sure that everyone else lives the same way! These folks are like Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon Lutherans, who are suspicious of a place like Hawaii that doesn’t have harsh winters. Those Minnesota winters are good for you because they make you tough. These folks will have trouble adjusting to heaven if it doesn’t have harsh winters!
Two of the biggest spiritual killjoys have been ascetics and legalists. Ascetics deliberately make life tough on themselves and think that pleasure is evil or, at least, tends toward evil. They wouldn’t feel quite right to enjoy life. Legalists delight in keeping their lists of rules and judging those who don’t have or keep the same rules. Invariably, their rules are not the weighty matters of God’s Law, such as love, justice, mercy, and matters of the heart. Rather, they congratulate themselves for keeping manmade standards dealing with external things and they judge those who ignore these things. Ascetics and legalists are gospel killjoys.
In our text, Jesus encounters some who tended toward asceticism and some who were legalistic, especially with regard to Sabbath observance. These events probably did not occur chronologically next to each other, but Luke places them in this context to show the supremacy and authority of Jesus over the old system and to show the growing hostility toward Jesus from the Jewish religious leaders. They grumbled when He forgave the sins of the paralytic (5:21). They grumbled some more when Jesus and the disciples ate and drank with tax-gatherers and sinners at Levi’s house (5:30). And they were unhappy about Jesus’ disciples plucking, rubbing, and eating the heads of grain on the Sabbath. Jesus’ defense shows us how to avoid these two gospel killjoys:
To avoid the gospel killjoys of asceticism and legalism, focus on the joy of a personal relationship with Christ.
Satan wants to promote the mistaken idea that Christianity is a joyless, grit-your-teeth-and-endure-it sort of religion. If people think that, they will turn to something or someone other than God as the source of their joy. God’s purpose is for His creatures to glorify Him. A joyless Christian or someone who finds his greatest joy in something other than God, does not glorify God. We only glorify God when we find true joy in Him. Thus asceticism and legalism are both enemies of the good news Jesus came to bring.
Everyone who seeks after God recognizes the problem of controlling the flesh. Due to the sin that indwells us all, we all are drawn after many of the sinful pleasures that God forbids in the Bible. Asceticism is the attempt to conquer these sinful passions through self-denial of some form. This can include fasting (abstaining from food), celibacy (abstaining from marriage or marital relations), poverty (renouncing any accumulation of worldly goods), and other similar practices. But asceticism differs from the self-denial Jesus advocated in the realm of motive.
Outwardly, it would seem as if John the Baptist lived an ascetic lifestyle. He remained single, he lived on a meager diet, he dressed simply, and he lived a Spartan life for the sake of God’s kingdom. Although the Pharisees were generally opposed to John the Baptist’s ministry because he confronted their hypocrisy, they found common ground with John’s disciples on the practice of fasting. So they sought to use this against Jesus and His disciples, who seemed to be more into feasting than fasting.
The Law of Moses only prescribed one fast per year, on the Day of Atonement, although Jewish custom had added four yearly fasts. But the stricter Pharisees fasted every Monday and Thursday. You could tell they were fasting because they whitened their faces, put ashes on their heads, wore old clothes, and looked as sober as possible. They had the idea that you couldn’t be spiritual unless you looked and felt miserable. And, they wanted to impress everyone else with how spiritual they really were. Jesus attacked this in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:16-18) when He said,
And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.
So fasting, if it stems from our heart as a means of devoting time to be alone with God to seek Him in prayer, can be rewarding. The motive is crucial. John the Baptist and his disciples no doubt fasted out of the proper motives, whereas the Pharisees and their disciples did not.
But in our text, Jesus doesn’t draw lines between John’s disciples and the Pharisees. Instead, He defends His disciples by asking rhetorically whether you can make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is present. The answer is, “Obviously, not. A wedding is a time of feasting, not fasting.” Thus while Jesus the Bridegroom was with them, His disciples were not called to fasting. Then Jesus (for the first time in Luke) alludes to His own impending death. In that day His followers would fast.
Jesus follows this with three short explanatory illustrations that make the point that He is ushering in a new day spiritually. No one cuts a patch from a new garment to patch up an old one. This would ruin the new garment and it would not match the old one. Nor does anyone put new wine into old wineskins. The old, brittle skin would burst, losing both the old skin and the new wine. With these two illustrations Jesus claims that He is offering something new and distinct from the old dispensation of the Law. As Messiah, He is ushering in the new day. While there is obvious continuity, in that Jesus fulfills the Old Testament promises regarding Messiah, there is also a definite transition. Judaism had become encumbered with many manmade traditions. Jesus had to cut these away in order to offer the new wine of gospel joy.
The third illustration (5:39) is probably both a warning and an explanation. The person who is used to the old wine will not desire the new, but will be content with the old. The Pharisees would resist Jesus’ ministry because they were so entrenched in their traditions. The point of this illustration is not that the old ways are better than the new, but rather that a person who is used to the old ways will be prone to resist the new. But the Pharisees would have to break with their old, ascetic and legalistic ways if they wanted to follow the new way of joy that Jesus was offering.
The key point, especially with regard to fasting, is that the person of Jesus stands apart from and in contrast to the old way of the letter of the Law. Later (Luke 9:23) Jesus clearly teaches the need for self-denial if a person wants to follow Him, and so He is not negating that here. Rather, He is emphasizing the motive of His presence and the difference of relationship over ritual (more about that in a moment).
Should Christians practice fasting? There are no direct commands to fast in the epistles, but there are examples of Paul and others fasting in times of personal crisis, in special times of seeking the Lord, or when they needed God’s guidance (Acts 9:9; 13:2, 3; 14:23). Fasting can be helpful if you need to repent of sin or if you sense that you’ve drifted from the Lord and need to draw near again. Fasting can be appropriate during a time of grief; to seek deliverance or protection; to express concern for God’s work; to minister to the needs of others; to overcome temptation; and to express love and devotion to God (see Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life [NavPress], pp. 151-172). So, fasting is not commanded, but it is commended as a means of seeking God.
It’s interesting that both self-discipline and joy are listed as the fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22, 23). Again, motive is crucial. If the Lord prompts us to fast for one of the reasons just mentioned, then we should obey. But we always need to be on guard against pride and the flesh. God is not impressed with outward ritual or anything that feeds our pride (Isa. 58:1-12). If we’re not careful, fasting can turn into asceticism, which kills the joy of the gospel. If we fast, we must do it as unto the Lord, not to impress others.
Luke presents the Pharisees’ confrontation with Jesus’ disciples over their picking grain on the Sabbath to show the growing tension between the Jewish leaders and Jesus and to show that He is Lord of the Sabbath. The Law of Moses allowed for picking the grain as you walked through a neighbor’s field (Deut. 23:25). The problem, in the Pharisees’ minds, was that picking grain was reaping, rubbing the grain was threshing, blowing away the husks was winnowing, and the whole process was preparing food. All this was work according to their rules, and thus forbidden on the Sabbath. So the disciples were not breaking God’s Sabbath commandment, but rather the rabbinic refinement of that commandment. Jesus and the disciples were challenging pharisaic custom.
But surprisingly, Jesus did not point out that His critics were following the commands of men rather than the commands of God. Instead, He took an incident from the life of David (1 Sam. 21:1-7) in which he violated the letter of the law in order to meet human needs. David and his men were fleeing from Saul. They came to the Tabernacle, where David asked the priest for the consecrated bread, which was put on the table of shewbread and replaced each Sabbath. The priests could then eat the old bread (Lev. 24:9). But in this case, David and his men, who were not priests, ate the bread. Jesus’ point is that legitimate human need (hunger) superseded the letter of the ceremonial law. People take precedence over ritual, even if that ritual is ordained by God.
His critics were probably thinking and about ready to ask, “What makes you think that you can compare yourself with David?” But then Jesus makes the stunning claim that He, the Son of Man, is the Lord of the Sabbath! Since God had instituted the Sabbath at creation (Gen.2:1-3), as well as stipulated it in the Ten Commandments through Moses, Jesus was saying that He was above Moses and was in fact on the same level as God who originated the Sabbath command! As the Lord of the Sabbath, Jesus had the authority to interpret the force, intent, and limits of the Sabbath law. As the next incident and many others in the Gospels show, Jesus challenged the legalistic approach of the Pharisees, which was not God’s intent in giving the Sabbath law.
Legalism always kills the joy of the good news that Jesus came to bring. It is a common problem in our day, but there is a lot of confusion about it. So we need to be careful to understand what it is and what it is not. In the first place, obedience to God’s commandments is not legalism. Jesus often emphasized the importance of obedience to God’s Word. The Bible is full of various rules, some negative, some positive, which God has commanded for our good. Keeping them is not legalism. Being under grace does not mean that we are free to disobey God or hang loose with regard to His moral commandments.
Secondly, keeping manmade rules is not necessarily legalism. There are many areas not specified in the Bible where we need some rules to function as a Christian family or church. While these human rules are not as important as the commands of Scripture, there is a proper place for them and keeping them is not tantamount to legalism. For example, if your parents set a curfew for you, they are not being legalistic and you are not free to disregard their curfew because you’re “under grace”!
So what is legalism? Essentially, it is an attitude of pride in which I congratulate myself for keeping certain standards and condemn those who do not keep them. Usually the legalist thinks that his conformity to these rules makes him acceptable to God, either for salvation or sanctification. Invariably, these standards are not the great commandments of the Bible, such as loving God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. Most often they are external things which the legalist is able to keep (see Matt. 23:23-28).
The legalist judges spirituality by external conformity to certain rules. “Do you keep the Sabbath as we have defined it? Very well.” It doesn’t matter whether your heart is full of pride or lust or greed. What matters is that you keep the Sabbath rules. Legalists ignore motives and inner righteousness. What matters to them is outward conformity. God hates that sort of thing, because it stems from the flesh (Isa. 1:11-14). God is concerned that we please Him from our hearts.
What about this matter of the Sabbath? Is Sunday the Christian Sabbath? Are we required to observe it as the Jews observed Saturday? If not, does it apply in any way to us? After all, it is one of the Ten Commandments, and all of the others apply to us! If you want a more detailed treatment, I refer you to my message, “God’s Day of Rest” (Gen. 2:1-3 [12/17/95]). But briefly, I think that in reacting against legalism concerning the Lord’s Day, we’ve thrown the baby out with the bath water. The principle of setting one day in seven apart for worship and rest is a gift that God has given to the human race for our benefit. “The Sabbath was made for man.” If we treat every day the same, except that on Sunday we attend a church service, we’re missing the blessing God intended by giving us the Sabbath commandment. We should set apart the Lord’s Day as a special day for worship and for rest from our normal duties. If we do not, we will suffer for it.
Clearly, we are not under the rigorous regulations which applied to the Jewish nation, where God demanded that a man caught gathering sticks on the Sabbath should be stoned (Num. 15:32-36). But neither are we free to shrug off the Sabbath principle completely. Some say that Christ is to be Lord of all our time, so we don’t have to set apart one day a week to Him. That’s like saying that since all our money belongs to God, we don’t have to give regularly. God knows how we’re made and that we need one day a week to worship, to rest, and to reflect on spiritual matters. There is a biblical basis for arguing that that day should be Sunday.
So even though we are not under the letter of the Jewish Law, there is an abiding principle of setting apart unto the Lord one day each week. We don’t do it to earn points with God or to check it off our list to prove that we’re spiritual. We don’t take pride in our observance of the Lord’s Day and condemn those who are not up to our level of spiritual insight. But we should set aside the Lord’s Day out of love for Him, in order to honor Him.
So, asceticism and legalism kill the joy of the gospel Jesus came to bring. But how do we get and maintain that joy?
Jesus refers to Himself here as the bridegroom. Remember, He was talking, at least in part, to some disciples of John the Baptist. So Jesus picked up on something John had said just prior to his imprisonment and used it to frame His answer. John had referred to himself as the friend of the bridegroom and to Jesus as the bridegroom. John said that his joy was made full by hearing the voice of the bridegroom (John 3:29). So here Jesus uses this analogy and points out what was obvious to anybody in that culture, that the soberness of fasting was incongruent with a wedding feast.
Jewish weddings lasted for seven days and were to be a time of joy and festivity. Even if the wedding week occurred during the most strict of Jewish fasts, the Day of Atonement, the bride could relax one of the ordinances. All mourning was to be suspended. Even the obligation of daily prayers ceased. To make the bride and groom happy was seen as a religious duty (Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [Eerdmans], 1:663). So Jesus says, “You cannot make [them] fast while the bridegroom is with them.”
As we’ve seen, there are times when fasting is appropriate. There are times when the most spiritually mature Christians will be sad, when they will grieve, when they won’t be marked by joy. But Jesus is the bridegroom and when He is with His people, they normally will not be marked by the gloom of fasting, but rather by the joy of the wedding feast. The joy of the Christian life is being personally related to our loving Bridegroom!
The picture of Christ as our Bridegroom is a beautiful one. I’ve never yet performed a wedding where the bride was standing there thinking, “I dread getting married to the creep standing next to me.” It’s written all over her face that she thinks this guy hung the moon. Of course, she will find out otherwise very shortly! But she loves her groom and she can’t suppress her joy. If you’ve lost the joy of your Christian walk, you’ve got to get back to your first love for your Bridegroom, who gave Himself on the cross for you.
You can’t patch Jesus unto a joyless system of asceticism or legalism. You can’t pour the new wine He brings into the old wineskins of keeping manmade rules as the basis of your relationship with God. Darrell Bock comments on verse 35: “What is key about the change of perspective is that it all turns on Jesus’ presence. He is the issue that defines the practice…. The groom is what really matters, and the audience needs to see that he—Jesus—is the key point” (Luke [Baker], 1:518). The joy of the gospel is based on a personal relationship with our loving Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Marla and I will celebrate our 25th anniversary next year. Suppose you saw me looking kind of glum and asked me what the matter was. I said, “I’ve got to spend some time with my wife. When we got married, she made me agree to spend at least ten hours a week with her, and I’ve only spent five so far this week. So I guess I’d better do it. I know it’s for my own good, even though I don’t like it.” I think you’d have good cause to wonder if my marriage was very healthy. I’ve just described a relationship based on asceticism and legalism. There’s no joy in that.
In a marriage based on love will there be self-denial? You bet! Will I obey my marriage vows, even when it’s tough and I don’t feel like it? Yes, every time! But it won’t be a grit your teeth and take your medicine kind of denial and obedience. Rather, it’s marked by joy because of the love relationship I enjoy with my wife. While there is the normal ebb and flow of emotions in our marriage, there is a deep undercurrent of joy when I am with her.
It ought to be the same in your relationship with the Lord Jesus. If you know the joy of a personal relationship with Him, there will be times when you fast. You will discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. You will obey His Word. But your motive will not be to earn right standing with Him or to impress others with your spirituality. Your motive will be the joy of knowing and pleasing your Bridegroom. Don’t let the gospel killjoys of asceticism and legalism rob you of the joy of an ongoing relationship with your loving Bridegroom. He is the source of our joy!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
When Marla and I lived in Dallas during my seminary days, we would sometimes go out to hear some of the local music groups. One group had a song that would always bring the crowd to life. As I recall, the words went, “You done stomped on my heart and squashed that sucker flat. You just kinda sorta, stomped on my aorta.” I suppose the crowd liked it because so many have been hurt by a romance gone bad that they identified with the words. I liked the song because I thought it was creative to find a word that rhymed with aorta!
There are probably many of us here who have had someone we love stomp on our hearts. But I can say that it’s true of every person here that if you’ve spent any time around Jesus, He has stomped on your heart. Or, to use another expression, Jesus has stepped on your toes. He doesn’t do it accidentally, followed by a polite, “Excuse me, I’m so sorry.” He deliberately aims for your toes, lifts His foot, and comes down hard. He always goes for the jugular: He just kinda sorta stomps on your aorta!
Of course Jesus does not do this because He has a mean streak. He does not enjoy inflicting pain on us. He does it out of love to confront us at our major point of weakness or sin, so that we will face up to it and come to Him for the healing we need. He has to take deliberate aim and stomp hard because we all are so entrenched in our sins that we’re comfortable in them. We excuse them as faults, we shrug them off as trivial, we dodge them as not of any consequence, until—STOMP—Ow! Jesus gets our attention. We can no longer ignore or hide our problem. At this point, we are faced with a crucial choice: How will we respond to Jesus’ confrontation?
In our text, we see two types who got their toes stomped on by Jesus, with two very different responses. The scribes and Pharisees got their toes stomped on and responded with rage, discussing how they could get rid of Jesus. I believe that the man with the withered hand also got his toes stomped on, but he responded with obedient faith and was healed. The lesson for us is:
When Jesus stomps on your toes, don’t resist Him, but respond with obedient faith.
The setting was that Jesus was teaching in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Note again the emphasis on Jesus’ teaching ministry. As Matthew Henry puts it, “Those that would be cured by the grace of Christ must be willing to learn the doctrine of Christ” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary [Fleming H. Revell], 5:638). In the synagogue was a man with a withered hand. The scribes and Pharisees were watching Jesus closely, to see if He would heal on the Sabbath. There is great irony here, because Jesus’ enemies tacitly admitted that He had the power to heal. This fact alone should have jarred them into recognizing that Jesus was sent by God and that He had God’s approval on His ministry. But instead, they were there to spy on Him. The word translated “watching closely” has the nuance of sinister motives, perhaps from looking sideways out of the corner of their eyes (Alfred Plummer, Luke ICC [Charles Scribner’s Sons], p. 169). They were there to find reason to accuse Jesus.
Luke notes that Jesus knew what they were thinking. He always does, by the way! He knows what you are thinking even now. So Jesus knew that what He was about to do would stomp hard on the toes of the scribes and Pharisees. He also knew that the manner in which He performed this miracle would put the man with the withered hand in the spotlight, which was probably uncomfortable for him. The man’s life was not in danger. He had lived with this problem for many years and certainly could live with it for another day. Jesus could have waited until after sundown that night to avoid a confrontation with the Pharisees. He could have taken the man aside privately to spare him any embarrassment. But instead, Jesus called the man front and center, spoke the word and healed him visibly in front of everyone. We should learn that …
The attitude with which you approach Jesus makes all the difference in the world. These scribes and Pharisees did not go to the synagogue that morning to worship God and learn how to be more pleasing to Him. They went to find fault with God’s messenger, Jesus. Some have suggested that they might even have planted the man in the synagogue to see whether Jesus would heal him in violation of their Sabbath laws. The rabbis taught that you could not heal on the Sabbath unless a life was in danger, a baby was being born, or a circumcision needed to be performed (Darrell Bock, Luke [Baker], 1:528). Anyone else could wait until the next day for treatment. This was not specified in the Hebrew Scriptures, but in the rabbinic laws. But because these Jewish leaders were following their traditions above Scripture, they approached Jesus with a critical spirit, looking for a reason to find fault with Him. And, He obliged them!
Your attitude walking in the door of the church is a major factor in determining whether you will leave with joy and a full heart or with bitterness and an empty heart. If you come in the door grumbling, trying to find fault with the church or with me as God’s messenger, you will find things to criticize. If you come in the door humbly to worship God and receive His resources for your need, you will leave blessed and rejoicing.
Even though Jesus was the best teacher who ever expounded the Scriptures, unfolding their meaning as no mere man could do, the scribes and Pharisees did not benefit at all from His teaching ministry. These were men who diligently studied the Scriptures in the original languages from their youth up. You would think that when a gifted teacher like Jesus opened up God’s Word, they would have drunk it in like thirsty sponges! Yet if you had asked them as they walked out of the synagogue, “What did you get from Jesus’ sermon?” they would have said, “Nothing!”
While every teacher of God’s Word must strive to teach in an interesting, relevant manner, it will avail nothing if the hearers do not come to learn with teachable hearts. Having a teachable heart is one mark of genuine conversion. Before we are saved, we are proud know-it-alls who are not subject to God or His Word. We find fault with the Bible and with anyone who tries to lay its teaching on us. But when God does a work of grace in our hearts, we become teachable.
John Calvin, in the preface to his commentary on the Psalms, gives a rare autobiographical sketch of how God had worked in his life. He was raised as a devout Catholic in France. His father at first determined that John would be a minister, but then changed his mind and sent him to law school. In obedience to his father, young John was pursuing that avenue of training when God, “by the secret guidance of his providence,” gave a different direction to his life. He describes it this way: “And first, since I was too obstinately devoted to the superstitions of Popery to be easily extricated from so profound an abyss of mire, God by a sudden conversion subdued and brought my mind to a teachable frame, which was more hardened in such matters than might have been expected from one at my early period of life” (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker reprint], Psalms, p. xl).
The key thing in his conversion, Calvin says, was when God “subdued and brought [his] mind to a teachable frame.” When God does this work of grace in your heart, you notice several changes. For one thing, you begin to recognize and set aside the false assumptions that previously dominated your thinking. If you begin with wrong assumptions, you can prove anything. The Pharisees began with the false assumption, “Our interpretations of the Sabbath are correct.” So even though Jesus authenticated His teaching by many miracles, the Pharisees resisted Him and had to conclude, “He must be doing miracles by Satan’s power.” Their faulty assumption led to a disastrously faulty conclusion. Before you get saved, you assume, “The Bible is full of errors. Evolution is scientifically established. Morality is relative to one’s culture. Human reason is supreme. Etc.” When you are born again, you have to confront and discard your previous false assumptions.
Another mark of genuine conversion is that your pride is humbled so that you can admit that you do not know it all and that you have been greatly mistaken on a number of things. You begin to submit yourself and your thinking to God’s Word rather than to your own proud, but ludicrous, logic. Jesus confronts the Pharisees with the lunacy of their logic when He asks, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good, or to do harm, to save a life, or to destroy it?” (6:9). The answer was obvious, but it exposed the ridiculous logic (or illogic) of the Pharisees who were saying, “You can’t heal this man on the Sabbath, but it’s okay for us to go plot how to kill You on the Sabbath!” Like so many who are into religion, but whose hearts are not submissive to God, these men were majoring on the minors and neglecting the crucial matters. As Jesus put it on another occasion, they were straining gnats and swallowing camels (Matt. 23:24). They were plotting murder while defending the fine points of their views on Sabbath keeping!
If you have an unteachable spirit, Jesus and His Word will stomp all over your toes! You’ve got to humble yourself under God and His Word and apply it first and foremost to yourself—not to your spouse, not to your children, not to your parents, not to anyone else—but to yourself! Make sure that you apply it to your attitudes and thoughts, not just to external behavior.
Jesus deliberately provoked this confrontation with the Pharisees to expose the hardness of their hearts. They were motivated by selfishness, as seen by the fact that they couldn’t care less about this poor man and his needs. Only Luke the physician notes that it was his right hand that was withered. One of the apocryphal gospels reports that the man was a bricklayer, unable to work and support himself because of his infirmity. We don’t know if this was true, but whatever he did, it would be difficult not to have a functional right hand. But the Pharisees were more concerned about trapping Jesus in some error than they were about this man.
Their selfishness is exposed in their rage against Jesus when He merely speaks the word and heals the man. The Greek word “refers to a blinding, irrational rage that is likened to insanity” (Darrel Bock, Luke [IVP], pp. 116-117). They were not rejoicing that the man had been healed. They were raging because Jesus had violated their petty rules. Both selfishness and pride were behind their irrational anger.
If you struggle with anger, especially irrational, explosive anger that makes you want to harm someone else, Jesus is going to stomp on your toes! If you’ll stop and examine the source of your anger, invariably pride and selfishness will surface. Pride makes me angrily assert that I am right without even listening to the other side: “We don’t need to discuss the matter! I’m right and you’re wrong!” Selfishness means that I didn’t get my way, and I want my way! At the root of all anger is a refusal to submit to the sovereignty of God who is not doing things as I want them done!
Thus Jesus stomped on the toes of the Pharisees because they had a critical spirit, an unteachable spirit, and a selfish spirit. But I believe Jesus also stomped on the toes of the man with the withered hand. From him we learn that …
Put yourself in this man’s place. If you have any sort of physical handicap, the last thing you want is for someone to call attention to it in a public setting. If you have a blemish on your face, you try to camouflage it with make up. Perhaps this man kept his hand pulled up under his robe so that people wouldn’t notice it. Yet Jesus looks directly at the man and says, literally, “Rise and stand in the midst.” In other words, “Front and center where everyone can see your problem.” How embarrassing! Didn’t Jesus know how the man must feel? Think of what this did to his self-esteem! Why couldn’t Jesus have taken him aside privately and not called attention to his problem?
Our pride makes us want to hide our embarrassing problems both from public view and from Jesus’ view: “Withered hand? Why no, I just like to keep it up my sleeve. Nice weather we’ve been having, isn’t it?” But hiding your problems from Jesus and denying that you have them is a sure-fire way not to get them healed. Like this withered hand, it may be something that has hindered your life for years. It has kept you from being all that God wants you to be for His kingdom. Every time anyone gets near to exposing your problem, you quickly withdraw and divert attention from it or get defensive and angry.
But Jesus always goes for the jugular! To the immoral woman at the well, Jesus said, “Go call your husband and come back.” To the rich young ruler, He said, “Go sell everything you have and give it to the poor.” To the woman with the issue of blood (how embarrassing!), who just wanted quietly to get healed and be on her way, Jesus stopped in the busy crowd and demanded, “Who touched Me?” He made her confess in public what had happened to her. To this man Jesus said, “Stretch out your hand.”
What if the man had stretched out his good left hand? “See, it is perfectly good! No problems with my hand!” I think he would not have been healed. Right there in front of the whole crowd, he had to stretch out that embarrassingly withered right hand for it to be made whole. Even so, you may have an embarrassing sin problem that Jesus wants you to confess in order to be healed.
So Jesus often deliberately stomps on your toes. The question is, “How will you respond?” When Jesus stomps on your toes …
The response of the scribes and Pharisees was quite different than the response of the man with the withered hand. They went away in a rage, determined to do away with Jesus. He went away healed. Let’s learn that …
How do you respond when God’s Word confronts your sin? It may be a sin that you have kept hidden from public view. Perhaps you have convinced yourself that it’s really not a big problem, even though it actually causes you a lot of trouble. People often do this with drug and alcohol abuse. They hide the extent of it from everyone else and then they convince themselves that it’s really not so bad. Besides, they tell themselves that they need it to cope and probably everyone else does it to some extent, too. When the Lord confronts them with the problem through caring family or friends, they get defensive and angry. If they go to a church where the Bible is preached, and the sermons confront their sin, they drop out or find a church that isn’t so threatening. I often hear of people who stop coming here because my preaching stepped on their toes. Well, it steps on my toes, too! But the sad thing is, if you walk away from God’s Word, you won’t get healed.
The man with the withered hand pictures how we should respond when Jesus stomps on our toes. He could have refused to do what Jesus asked because of fear of the Pharisees. They easily could take out their anger on him: “You know what our law states. Why didn’t you wait and come back tomorrow for healing? This upstart Jesus is just undermining our heritage and way of life! You shouldn’t have gone along with Him!” But the man wanted to be healed even if it meant enduring the wrath of the Pharisees.
He could have refused to obey Jesus out of embarrassment, as I’ve already said. When Jesus asked him to stretch out his hand, he could have thought, “Is He mocking me? He knows that my problem is precisely that I cannot stretch out my hand!” He could have thought of a lot of excuses why he couldn’t do what Jesus asked him to do. But instead, recognizing his own impotence and need, he believed and obeyed Jesus. He was instantly healed.
There were several elements in his obedient faith that we must follow. First, he recognized and admitted his need and inability. He didn’t angrily say, “Why are you singling me out? I’m no different than anyone else here.” He didn’t deny or camouflage his problem. He didn’t offer to go fifty-fifty in helping Jesus solve the problem. If you want Jesus to heal your soul, you must admit, “I am a hopeless, helpless sinner. My thoughts, my attitudes, my words, and my deeds have continually violated Your holy Word. I cannot save myself. Lord, I need Your powerful Word to save me.”
Second, he believed in Christ’s ability to heal him. This isn’t stated, but it’s implicitly behind his action. Probably he had heard how Jesus had healed the paralytic. He knew how Jesus had healed everyone who gathered at Peter’s door one evening. He had just heard Jesus teach. Now Jesus was looking directly at him. He knew and believed that Jesus had the power from God to heal him. Even so, we must look at the records of Jesus’ life and ministry and come to the conclusion that He is who He claimed to be. He is God in human flesh, the only Mediator between sinners and a holy God. He is able to save my soul.
Third, he acted in obedience to Christ’s command. Jesus commanded him to do something impossible: “Stretch out your hand!” But with the command, Jesus imparted the power and ability to obey it. The man obeyed and was instantly healed. Jesus commands sinners to do something impossible: Repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:15). If you will look to Him and cry out, “Lord, I cannot repent and believe by my ability, but grant me repentance and faith by Your grace,” He will do it and you will be instantly saved.
Although the text does not say so, I agree with G. Campbell Morgan’s insight (The Westminster Pulpit [Baker], 1:294) that Jesus didn’t heal this man so that he could wrap his healed hand in a bandage and protect it, but so that he could use it. By exercising and using it, he would maintain the new strength. Even so, when the Lord has delivered us from our sins, He expects us to use our healed lives in service for His glory.
Morgan also points out that the only man in the synagogue that Jesus sought out was the man with the greatest need. If you have a problem, it does not exclude you from Jesus. Rather, it makes you the target of His gracious call. You may have an embarrassing problem that you would rather not face up to and you certainly don’t want to expose it in public. But Jesus says to you, “Arise and stand in the midst! Admit that you have a sin problem.” He just kinda sorta stomps on your aorta! But if you will respond in obedient faith, He will say, “Stretch out your hand!” He will impart the power of His salvation, and you will be changed in your heart to the praise of the glory of His saving grace. When Jesus stomps on your toes, don’t resist Him. Respond with obedient faith and He will save you and use you for His glory.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Do you ever look around at all the hurting, needy people in the world and feel overwhelmed? I do. Every day on the news we hear about people in desperate need: victims of war, disease, crime, poverty, family and personal problems. Even if we limit it to Flagstaff or to the people who attend this church, we encounter a pile of needs!
We all know that God is the only final answer to those needs. People need to know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. God’s people need to rely on His strength. God probably has many ways He could have used to dispense His truth to this hurting world. He could have used the angels who would have been more obedient and efficient at getting the job done than His followers have been. He could have spoken directly from heaven to every person on the globe. No doubt God had many other options. I can’t tell you for sure why He chose to do it the way He did. But we know from our text and other Scriptures that …
Jesus’ method for ministry was prayerfully to choose a few men to minister to the needy masses.
The setting for Jesus’ choosing the twelve apostles was the growing hostility against Him (6:12, “at this time”). Jesus knew that He would not always be with His followers (5:35), and so He spent the night alone on a mountain with God in prayer. The next morning He chose the twelve from among the larger number of His disciples. Then, Jesus descended to a place where a great multitude of needy people surrounded Him, eager to hear Him teach, to be healed of their diseases, and to be freed from the demonic forces that oppressed them. While verses 17-19 introduce the setting for the sermon that follows, they also tie in to the selection of the twelve. We see four things here: The needy masses; the powerful Master; the Master’s method of selecting a few to minister to the many; and the men the Master selected.
Luke refers to both “a great multitude of His disciples” and “a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon” (6:17). The multitude of disciples would include all those who were following Jesus. The fact that the great throng had left their normal jobs or daily routines and had traveled on foot, some for great distances, to reach Jesus shows their extreme neediness. Their desperate situation is also pictured in 6:19, as they all try to touch Jesus, since “power was coming from Him and healing them all.” Some of these people had carried their loved ones to that place on donkeys or carts on rough, rutted roads. Most were Jews, but probably many of those from Tyre and Sidon were Gentiles who had heard of Jesus. But whoever they were and wherever they were from, their sense of great need had impelled them to overcome the difficulties and get to Jesus.
Wherever you go and whomever you encounter in this world, you can know that the person has great needs because the entire human race is under the curse of sin and death. God imposed suffering, hardship, and death as the curse on the human race because of Adam and Eve’s sin (Gen. 3:14-19; Rom. 8:18-23). As those born under the curse of sin, we add to our misery by multiplying our own sins. As Job lamented, “Man is born for trouble as sparks fly upward” (Job 5:7). The suffering, sickness, sorrow, and pain that we all encounter, along with the inevitability of death, should cause each of us to realize our own alienation from the holy God and our desperate need for reconciliation with Him before we die.
According to an old fable, a man made an unusual agreement with Death. He told the grim reaper that he would willingly accompany him when it came time to die, but only on one condition—that Death would send a messenger well in advance to warn him. The agreement was made. Weeks winged away into months, and months into years. Then one bitter winter evening as the man sat alone thinking about all his material possessions, Death suddenly entered the room and tapped him on the shoulder: “Time to go!” The man was startled and cried out in despair, “You’re here so soon and without warning! I thought we had an agreement.”
Death replied, “I’ve more than kept my part. I’ve sent you many messengers. Look at yourself in the mirror and you’ll see some of them.” As the man complied, Death whispered, “Notice your hair! Once it was full and black, now it is thin and white. Look at how you cock your head to listen to my voice because you can’t hear very well. Observe how close you must get to the mirror in order to see yourself clearly. Feel the aches in your joints as you move around. Yes, I’ve sent many messengers through the years. I’ve kept my part. It’s too bad you aren’t ready, but it’s time for you to go.” (Story from “Our Daily Bread.”)
The inevitability of our own approaching death, not to mention the many other problems we all face, should show us our great need for the Lord Jesus. But, even if we recognize our great need and come to Jesus, we must be careful. Many of the people in this crowd just wanted to use Jesus to fix their problems so that they could get on with their own agendas. They did not want to follow Him as Savior and Lord. He was graciously healing them all and delivering them from demonic affliction. But if they remained in their sins and did not follow Jesus, their cure was only temporary, not eternal. They still had to die and face God’s judgment.
A few years ago, a couple came to the church I pastored in California. They made a profession of faith and went through the new believers’ class I taught. The wife had severe chronic back pain. Shortly after this, I learned that they were going to a “Science of Mind” cult, where apparently she had obtained some relief from her pain. When I talked to the husband about the spiritual dangers of that cult, he replied, “My wife has pain; we’re going to go anyplace where she can get relief.” They dropped out of the church.
But even if it had been Jesus who had given her relief, but she had not confessed her sinfulness and trusted in Christ as Savior, the outcome would be the same: she would still be alienated from God. So we dare not come to Jesus to fix our problems but not trust in Him as Savior and Lord. And we should not present Jesus to people as the One who can fix their temporary problems without warning them of the judgment to come. Needy people need to come to Jesus as the only Savior from sin and judgment.
Jesus is clearly the focal point of this passage. We see Him in private, praying to the Father; with His followers, choosing the twelve; and, in public, ministering to the needy mass of people.
The Master in private: Praying to the Father.
In light of the growing hostility and facing the need of selecting the twelve, Jesus went off to a mountain by Himself to pray, and He spent the whole night in prayer to God. This is the only instance in the New Testament of someone spending the whole night in prayer. As the perfect Man, the Lord Jesus shows us how we as men and women should live in total dependence on the Father. Since Luke emphasizes Jesus as the Son of Man, he often shows us the importance of prayer in Jesus’ life. When Jesus was baptized, He was praying (3:21). When His popularity was increasing, and multitudes were flocking to Him, Jesus “would often slip away to the wilderness and pray” (5:16). Just prior to Peter’s confession, Jesus had been praying (9:18). It was observing Jesus praying that led the disciples to ask, “Lord, teach us to pray (11:1, 2). And, near the end, Jesus faced the prospect of Peter’s denials and His own impending suffering on the cross through prayer (22:32, 41-45).
If our Lord was so aware of His need for communion with the Father, how much more should we be! Note, by the way, that Jesus had to get alone in order to pray. If we do not take the time to get alone with God, we will not be people of prayer. While we can and should pray even when we’re in a crowd, we cannot pray as we should unless we get alone with God.
The Master with His own: Choosing the Twelve.
One of the main things Jesus was praying for that night on the mountain was the Father’s guidance in the selection of the twelve apostles. These men would carry on His work after He was gone. Jesus would focus His time and effort on these men, teaching and training them for their mission. They in turn would teach and train others.
We don’t know for sure why Jesus chose twelve, although it probably is linked to the twelve tribes of Israel. Jesus was making visible His claim on the nation. He was showing that He was beginning a new people of God to contain the new wine of His kingdom. Jesus later would choose 70 others for a mission tour (Luke 10:1). Beyond these specially appointed ones, many were following Him as disciples. But the twelve held a special place of importance. Jesus later told them that in His kingdom they would sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel (22:30).
It is a mystery that although Jesus knew all things and prayed all night before choosing the twelve, He still chose Judas Iscariot. This is the mystery of the interplay between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. God determined before the foundation of the world that Judas, the son of perdition, would betray Jesus into the hands of sinners. And, yet, Judas was responsible for that terrible deed! Clearly, Jesus did not make a mistake in choosing Judas (John 6:70). He perished in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled (John 17:12). From this we can learn that even when we pray for God’s guidance and seek His wisdom, sometimes the outcome is less than perfect because of the inscrutable sovereign plan of God. But we still must seek God’s guidance and trust Him when the outcome is not what we had hoped for.
The Master in public: Ministering to the needy masses.
Jesus taught God’s Word, He healed the sick, and He cast demons out of others. He is an inexhaustible supply of God’s power, available to all who come to Him. All of Jesus’ servants are like batteries—they get drained when people tap into them. They can only give so much without recharging. But Jesus is like the wall socket—the power just keeps on coming! Unlike a wall socket, you can plug into Jesus all the physical and spiritual needs of this great multitude, and He still was not overloaded. When Jesus sends us out to do His work, we dare not try to meet needs ourselves or we will quickly wear out. We can only point hurting people to the Master who has an inexhaustible supply of grace and power.
Thus we see the needy masses and the all-sufficient Master. Also, we see …
We’ll look in a moment at the men Jesus chose. But for now, think about His method. He entrusted the entire kingdom program to these men. His method was to train them to train others. It was the principle of multiplying His work through others. As the apostle Paul told Timothy, “The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, these entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim. 2:2).
The task of proclaiming the gospel to the world’s six billion people is daunting. But the principle of multiplication yields amazing results. You’ve heard examples like this: Suppose you had a choice of two jobs, each lasting 35 days. One pays $1,000 a day; the other pays a penny the first day and doubles the amount each day. If you took the first job, you would earn $35,000. But if you too the second job, you’d end up with $171,798,717.84!
I realize that the process doesn’t work perfectly with people. But if every Christian would not only lead one person each year to the Lord, but also train that person to reach one more, it wouldn’t take long for billions to hear, assuming that we are crossing cultural and linguistic barriers. So our goal should not only be to win people to Christ, but to disciple them so that they will reach others who will reach still others. If you don’t have a discipling mindset, you interrupt the process the Lord set in motion.
Thus we have the needy masses, the all-sufficient Master, and His method of multiplication. Finally, let’s look at …
It’s amazing how common these men were! I doubt if any of us would have chosen them, had we been there at the time. None of them were educated in the rabbinic schools. None were a part of the influential Sanhedrin in Jerusalem. None were successful businessmen, unless you count the formerly crooked tax collector, Matthew. At least four were fishermen. We simply don’t know much about many of the others.
There are four lists of the apostles: Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-19, here, and in Acts 1:13. The lists vary somewhat in order, but Peter is always first and Judas Iscariot is always last in the three synoptic gospel lists where he appears. Luke tells us Jesus named Simon “Peter,” which means “rock.” Except for Simon Peter in Luke 5:8, Luke has used the name Simon up to this point. After this, he uses Peter (except in 22:31 & 24:34). Peter’s brother Andrew isn’t mentioned often in Scripture, but every time we see him outside of the lists, he is bringing someone to Jesus. In fact, he brought Peter to Jesus and then was content to take a back seat to his brother’s leadership among the twelve. Although Peter was unstable and impulsive, he became the rock upon whose confession the church would be built. Though he failed Jesus by denying Him on the night of His betrayal, the Lord restored him and used him to win 3,000 converts on the Day of Pentecost.
James and John were brothers, and also cousins of Jesus. James was the first of the twelve to be martyred. John was the disciple Jesus especially loved, the one to whom Jesus from the cross entrusted the care of His mother. He became the author of the fourth Gospel, of the three Johannine Epistles, and of the Book of Revelation. Jesus called these brothers the sons of thunder, I think because of their fiery temperaments. But John became known as the apostle of love.
Philip was from the same town, Bethsaida, as Peter and Andrew. After Jesus found and called Philip, Philip found Nathanael, whom most think is the same as Bartholomew. The synoptics all link Philip and Bartholomew together. Philip seems to have been a bit slow to catch on to spiritual truth, but his slowness is for our benefit. In the upper room, he said to Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus gave the clear reply, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’” (John 14:8, 9).
Bartholomew is probably Nathanael (of John 1:45-51; 21:2). The name Bartholomew means “son of Talmai,” and thus was not his given name. The synoptic lists do not mention Nathanael, while John does not mention Bartholomew. In John 21:2, all the other men are apostles, and Nathanael is among them. Thus, it is likely that Bartholomew is Nathanael. All we know about him is recorded in the encounter between him and Jesus in John 1:45-51.
Matthew is the converted tax collector, Levi, author of the first Gospel (Luke 5:27-28; Matt. 9:9-17). Thomas, also called the Twin, is infamous for his doubting the resurrection (John 20:24-29). All we know about James the son of Alphaeus is his name. Most think that Simon the Zealot was a member of the radical political party that was known for its hatred of Rome, including those who collected taxes for Rome. I can’t help but wonder if he and Matthew exchanged some startled glances when Jesus picked them both! Most scholars identify Judas the son of James (Luke 6:16; Acts 1:13) as Thaddaeus (Matt. 10:3; Mark 3:18). All we know of him is that he asked Jesus a question in John 14:22. Last on the list is the infamous traitor, Judas. Iscariot probably is a family name stemming from his home region in Judea. If so, he is the only non-Galilean among the twelve.
Every Christian is a disciple of Jesus. The word means a learner and it especially referred to someone who attached himself to a teacher in order to acquire his wisdom and knowledge. With regard to Jesus, it implies faith in Him as the Savior and Messiah of Israel. It also implies abandoning our former way of living for ourselves and following Jesus and His teaching. The disciple is learning to be like Jesus, his teacher and Lord.
But only a few Christians were called as apostles in the formal sense of the word. It means one who is sent out under the authority of the sending one. The twelve apostles and Paul were given special authority to lay the foundation of the church. When the eleven apostles sought a replacement for Judas after his defection and death, they stipulated that he must be a man who had accompanied them during the whole time of Jesus’ ministry and who was a witness of His resurrection (Acts 1:21, 22). In this restricted sense, of course, there are no apostles after the first century. No one today has authority over local churches in the same sense as the original apostles.
But in the sense of being “sent out ones,” there are apostles today. We call them missionaries. They are sent out under the authority of the church to plant churches in other cultures. So the office of apostle as designating the twelve and Paul is no longer functional. But the gift of apostle in the sense of missionary is valid.
It is clear that the Lord sovereignly chose these twelve men for this office of apostle. It was His choice, not theirs. They did not volunteer; He conscripted them. While there will never be any others chosen to this high office, there is a principle here that applies to us all: The Holy Spirit sovereignly distributes spiritual gifts as He wills (1 Cor. 12:4-11). This means that He has gifted and called every believer into a sphere of service in the body of Christ. You don’t volunteer to serve Jesus; you are drafted! If you are a believer in Christ but you do not have a ministry mindset, where you are seeking to be used by God as He directs, you are a disobedient believer! Jesus did not save you so that you can sit around and be happy. He saved you to be His chosen instrument to testify to others of His grace and to build up the saints through the exercise of your gifts.
There is one other lesson we can apply from this list of the apostles. You don’t have to be flashy or famous or influential in the worldly sense to be used by God. We all know about Peter, James, and John, but what do we know about James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, or Judas the son of James? Not much! Nothing, really. And yet these men were a part of the twelve apostles who will sit on twelve thrones judging the tribes of Israel! Although they were not outwardly well known or influential as Peter was, they were faithful men who served according to their gifts. That’s what God requires of you and me.
Let me ask, do you see the masses and their great needs? Are you burdened for them with compassion as Jesus was? If you feel overwhelmed by the great needs, then look to the all-sufficient Master, who has grace and power to spare. It’s His job to heal and save them. But how does He do it? Through choosing faithful men and women to multiply His grace to others. He chooses common men and women from a variety of backgrounds and conscripts them into His service. If you’ve trusted in Him as Savior and Lord, He has appointed you to serve in His cause.
A familiar legend reports a conversation between Jesus and the angel Gabriel after the Lord’s ascension back into heaven. They talked about what had happened down here—of Christ’s birth, His life and ministry, His death and resurrection. Then Gabriel asked, “And how will the people of the world get to know about all of it?” Christ’s reply was, “Well, I have a little company of friends there whom I have asked to publish it.” “But what if, for any reason, they let you down and fail to do it?” Gabriel asked. Christ replied, “I have no other plan.”
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
“And they all lived happily ever after.” We all like stories with a happy ending. We read them to our children and grandchildren. But, as grown-ups, we know that such stories are not true. Living happily ever after only happens in the realm of make believe.
Or, does it? In what is perhaps His most well known teaching, “The Beatitudes,” Jesus presents the qualities that make for a happy or blessed life. As Luke reports the teaching, four times Jesus pronounces blessings on people with these four qualities and four times He pronounces woes on people with the opposite qualities. To be blessed is to have inner joy and happiness because God’s favor is upon you. To have woe is to have sorrow and pain because God is against you. Thus Jesus is showing us how to be supremely happy or supremely miserable.
Stated that way, you may wonder why anyone would choose to be supremely miserable, especially when the offer of supreme happiness is set before him or her. But things aren’t quite that simple, because the happiness Jesus offers often entails short term trials and pain, but eventual and eternal joy, whereas the world offers short term gratification, but fails to take into account the eternal perspective. As Leon Morris observes, “Jesus promised His followers that they would be absurdly happy; but also that they would never be out of trouble” (Luke [IVP/Eerdmans, p. 127). Due to the blindness of sinful human hearts and the deception of sin, many in the world pursue happiness in ways that seemingly will succeed. But Jesus boldly asserts that those who follow the world’s ways will come up empty. He draws a distinct line and challenges us to come over to His side. As William Barclay states, “The challenge of the beatitudes is, ‘Will you be happy in the world’s way, or in Christ’s way?” (The Daily Study Bible, Luke [Westminster], p. 77).
Before we examine this first section of Jesus’ teaching, we need to touch on several matters. The most obvious question is whether or not this sermon in Luke 6 is the same as the Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew 5-7. The bottom line is, we can’t know for certain. There are solid commentators on both sides of the issue. Luke’s version is much shorter than Matthew’s (30 verses compared to 107), and there are some differences in the parts that overlap. Both versions are obviously summaries of longer messages that Jesus delivered. Both begin with a set of beatitudes and end with the parable of building the two houses, although there are differences in many of the details.
The most obvious difference is that Matthew 5:1 reports that Jesus went up on a mountain to deliver this sermon, whereas Luke 6:17 states that He descended to a level place. Those who like to look for contradictions in the Bible are quick to pounce on this as an example. But even if the two accounts are the same sermon on the same occasion, it need not be contradictory. Jesus had gone up on the mountain alone to pray. He descended to meet with His disciples and with the multitude. There easily could have been a plateau on the mountain that was large enough for the multitude to gather on. From Luke’s perspective, Jesus descended to this level place. From Matthew’s angle, Jesus went up on the mountain to teach. It just depends on how you look at the event.
So the sermon could be the same sermon at the same locale, but with variations in how it was reported. Or, it could be that Jesus taught the same material with slight variations on more than one occasion, as almost every preacher has done. We can’t know for sure, but neither view involves us in contradictions. I’m inclined to the view that both sermons are the same, although reported from different slants.
The sermon in Luke falls into three sections: in 6:20-26, Jesus draws a distinct line between His followers and others and pronounces blessings on the former and woes on the latter; in 6:27-38, Jesus spells out the primary ethic of His kingdom, the practice of love; and, in 6:39-49, He emphasizes the importance of obedience to His teaching. He addresses the sermon primarily to His disciples (6:20), but obviously there are appeals to outsiders as well. The blessings are aimed at encouraging and strengthening Jesus’ followers in the face of mounting and inevitable opposition and persecution, but they also serve to draw in outsiders with the intriguing promise of future reversal. The woes warn believers of dangers to avoid, but they also confront unbelievers with the future consequences of their current behavior. The entire sermon shows Jesus’ disciples (i.e., all Christians) how we should live. But it also shows unbelievers and hypocrites their need for repentance because of the huge gap between their behavior and Jesus’ teaching.
With that as a brief overview, let’s focus on 6:20-26, where Jesus sets forth the contrasts of blessings and woes on four groups of people. Since He specifically is addressing His disciples, we should see the primary intent as giving encouragement and instruction to believers. God will bless them though the world may hate them. But they must be on guard against the world and its mixed up values. But there is also a secondary application for those caught up with the world. Jesus is warning them of a coming reversal when they will be left empty if they do not repent. Jesus is teaching:
To live happily ever after, live decisively for God’s kingdom and reject the world’s values.
The theme of happiness is stressed in the series of blessings and woes. The idea of living decisively comes through in the clear line Jesus draws between the two ways of God’s kingdom versus the world’s values. The aspect of living happily ever after is underscored in the future focus of the blessings and woes.
Jesus draws a clear line between two groups of people, so that you must identify yourself with one group or the other. You can’t straddle the line. On the one hand are those who are poor, who hunger now, who weep now, and who are despised by men because of their identification with Jesus. These folks are blessed because of both present, but mainly future, rewards. On the other hand are those who are rich, who are well-fed now, who laugh now, and who are acclaimed by men. These are under woe because of what awaits them.
Immediately we are faced with some interpretive problems. Is Jesus extolling poverty in a material sense or should we take it spiritually, in line with Matthew’s “poor in spirit”? Is Jesus commending hunger above a healthy diet? Is He promoting weeping and sadness above laughter and joy? Is there some virtue in having people hate you? How should we understand Jesus’ words?
In the first place, we would be wrong to interpret these words to refer in blanket fashion to the financially poor, the physically hungry, the emotionally grieving, and those hated by their fellow men. The Old Testament urges compassion toward the deserving poor, but it also heaps ridicule on those who are poor because they are lazy or foolish. Augustine pointed out how the poor Lazarus laid his head on the rich Abraham’s bosom. Later in Luke, some wealthy women are favorably mentioned who helped support Jesus and the apostles (8:1-3). And, Jesus welcomes the rich tax collector, Zaccheus, into the kingdom (19:1-10).
So Jesus is not issuing a blanket approval on everyone who is financially poor, nor a blanket condemnation on everyone who is financially rich. The same can be said of the other groups. God graciously gives us food to meet our needs, and there is no inherent virtue in going hungry. The Bible commands God’s people to be filled with joy and praise, and Jesus is not contradicting that here. There are many of God’s servants who are commended and thought well of in the Bible. So there is nothing inherently wrong with these categories as such. We would be mistaken to understand Jesus to be teaching that simply by being in these categories a person is somehow blessed or under woes to come.
So how should we take Jesus’ words? One key is to remember that Jesus is talking to His disciples. Luke has already mentioned twice that these men left everything to follow Jesus (5:11, 28). A second key is that these men are suffering “for the sake of the Son of Man” (6:22). Jesus compares their ill treatment to that of the prophets in Old Testament times (6:23). Thus Jesus is talking about godly people who have given up opportunities to further themselves in the world in order to follow Him. In other words, there is a definite spiritual underpinning to Jesus’ categories.
This spiritual slant is further supported by Luke’s previous use of the terms. In Mary’s song (1:46-55), she praises God who has “filled the hungry with good things, and sent away the rich empty-handed” (1:53). Jesus cited Isaiah 61:1 when He preached in the synagogue in Nazareth, that the Spirit had anointed Him “to preach the gospel to the poor” (4:18). These terms, “poor, hungry, and those who weep,” are not exclusively spiritual, in that those who are destitute of life’s essentials are often much more aware of their spiritual need before God. Those who are rich in this world’s goods often do not sense their desperate need for God. But the terms are primarily spiritual in that Jesus did not come to offer Himself on the cross to deliver men from physical poverty, hunger, and grief. He came to deliver sinners from their spiritual poverty, spiritual hunger, and grief over sin. One writer explains,
The hungry are men who both outwardly and inwardly are painfully deficient in the things essential to life as God meant it to be, and who, since they cannot help themselves, turn to God on the basis of His promise. These men, and these alone, find God’s help in Jesus. They are not an existing social or religious group…. They are believers who seek help from Jesus because of their own helplessness. (L. Goppelt, cited by Darrell Bock, Luke [Baker], 1:575).
Leon Morris (p. 127) explains further,
He is not blessing poverty in itself: that can as easily be a curse as a blessing. It is His disciples of whom Jesus is speaking. They are poor and they know that they are without resource. They rely on God and they must rely on Him, for they have nothing of their own on which to rely…. The rich of this world often are self-reliant. Not so the poor.
And so when Jesus says, “Blessed are you who are poor,” He is referring to those who have recognized that the greatest need in life is spiritual, not material. Rather than pursuing a life of accumulating the world’s goods, these people have recognized their spiritual poverty before God and have come to Him, often at the expense of worldly success. When Jesus says, “Woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full,” He is referring to those who are living as if this world is all there is. They are not rich toward God by laying up treasures in heaven (Luke 12:21). They are living for selfish pleasures and comforts and they are relying on themselves to gain these things. In light of eternity, it’s a foolish way to live.
When Jesus blesses the hungry and pronounces woe on the well-fed, He is not speaking primarily in physical terms. The main point is spiritual. Those who are physically hungry are truly blessed if they come to God in their need and learn to rely on Him for all their needs as their caring Father. Those who are physically well-fed are truly to be pitied if they ignore their spiritual starvation and need for God, who sustains us both physically and spiritually.
When Jesus blesses those who weep now, He is referring to His followers who suffer in this wicked world because of their identification with Him. They will get the last laugh because God will welcome them to His sumptuous banquet table. Those who laugh now are like the rich man in Jesus’ parable, who say to themselves, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.” But God said to him, “You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?” (Luke 12:19, 20).
When Jesus blesses those who are hated, ostracized, insulted, and spurned for His sake, He compares their treatment to that of the godly prophets. The reason for their ill treatment is that they have stood for God’s truth and righteousness, which sinners, especially religious hypocrites, hate. Jesus’ disciples who are so mistreated should rejoice and leap for joy, because they have great reward in heaven. But Jesus compares those who are well-spoken of to the false prophets. It’s never hard to gain a following: Just flatter people and tell them how wonderful they are. They will flock to hear you and buy your books. You will be famous and successful on earth, but rejected in heaven.
One reason Jesus paints with these broad strokes of black and white, with no gray, is to draw the line and make us examine ourselves. Which side are you on? I immediately want to say, “Lord, how about someone who isn’t poor or rich? I’m just kind of middle class! How about someone who isn’t starving, but I’m not a glutton? I’m not going around weeping, but neither am I a comedian. People aren’t throwing rotten eggs at me, but neither am I Mr. Popular. Isn’t there room for a guy like me in the middle?” Jesus replies, “No, you’re either decidedly for Me or you are decidedly against Me. There’s no middle ground.” He forces us to get off the fence and decide: Are we living for this life and its temporary pleasures or are we living for Jesus and His eternal kingdom?
The kingdom Jesus speaks of is both a present reality and a future promise. To the poor who have followed Him, Jesus says, “Yours is the kingdom of God.” They presently possess it. In this sense, the kingdom means living decidedly under the lordship of Jesus, obeying His commands, living with the aim of pleasing Him. But, the kingdom is also a future promise, in that Jesus plainly taught that He would return to reign on the throne of David and to rule the nations with a rod of iron. In this sense, Jesus’ followers all mourn at the present reign of darkness under the prince of this world, and we long for the soon-coming day when, according to His promise, there will be a new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells (2 Pet. 3:13).
So, if you want to live happily ever after, you must see that there are two and only two ways to live. You can live for the things and pleasures of this world, which are destined to perish. Or, you can submit yourself to Jesus Christ and live for His present and coming kingdom. Every follower of Jesus, not just the super-dedicated, will be in the second camp. There is no middle ground, sort-of Christian, with one foot in the world and one in Jesus’ kingdom. You must get off the fence and declare yourself to be on Jesus’ side.
Jesus’ teaching here presupposes and demands an eternal perspective. Without that, His words are nonsense. Why be poor, hungry, sorrowful, and hated in this life if that’s all there is? Critics of Christianity will often scoff, “You believe in pie-in-the-sky-when-you-die.” The proper response is, “Absolutely! And you’re a fool not to believe it!” The Bible is abundantly clear that the hope of the believer is with God in eternity, not in this short life on earth (see 1 Cor. 15:19, 32; Heb. 11:13-16, 35-40). As Charles Simeon put it, “He alone is happy, who is happy for eternity” (Expository Outlines on the Whole Bible [Zondervan], 12:345).
Jesus here boldly asserts that there will be some startling reversals in eternity. He often taught this with the aphorism, “The last shall be first, and the first last” (see Matt. 19:30; 20:16; Luke 13:30). The world, the flesh, and the devil deceive us by offering us instant gratification through the pleasures of sin. We look around at other sinners who seem to be having a good time in life and we wrongly conclude that we’re missing out. The psalmist was there when he looked on the easy life of the wicked and concluded that he had turned from sin to God in vain. What got the psalmist back in focus? “When I pondered to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight until I came into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end. Surely You set them in slippery places; You cast them down to destruction” (Ps. 73:16-18).
D. L. Moody observed, “This life is all the heaven the worldling has, and all the hell the saint ever sees.” The believer knows that there is a God who will judge the world, and so he adopts a pilgrim mindset. We desperately need to recover this eternal perspective in our day. While I realize that the Four Spiritual Laws booklet has been greatly used to lead many to faith in Christ, in my judgment it focuses too much on the abundant life here and now and not enough on the hope of heaven and the fear of hell. But the emphasis of the Bible is clearly on the latter. “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36). You can’t straddle the line. Followers of Jesus focus on the life to come, not on the fleeting pleasures of this present world. That’s the only way to true happiness.
Leon Morris (p. 126) observes, “Together with the following woes, these beatitudes make a mockery of the world’s values. They exalt what the world despises and reject what the world admires.” Clearly Jesus is saying that the values of His followers are radically different than the values of the world. There should be clear line between the believer and the person of this world in terms of how we think, what we do, what we seek after, and how we use money.
Yet, sadly, all too often there is no discernible difference between professing Christians and their worldly neighbors, except that the Christians go to church services. The worldly guy is living for personal peace and increasing affluence; so is the Christian. The worldly guy seeks pleasure vicariously by watching immoral, profane TV shows and videos; so does the Christian. The worldly guy spends his money to increase his own comfort and pleasure; so does the Christian, except for the two or three percent average that he gives. The worldly guy thinks that all good people who do the best they can will get to heaven; shockingly, so do vast numbers of those professing to be Christian. A recent Barna Report asked, “Can a good person earn his way to heaven?” Those responding “agree strongly” or “somewhat agree” included 22% of Assembly of God, 30% of nondenominational, 38% of Baptists, 54% of Lutherans, 58% of Episcopalians, 59% of Methodists, and 82% of Catholics (reported in “Viewpoint,” Reformation & Revival Ministries May/June, 1998). Christians must think biblically.
These poor, hungry, sorrowful, and rejected people Jesus refers to have abandoned the world’s support system and have cast themselves totally on God for their daily bread, for their personal and emotional needs, and for their eternal well-being. The world’s rich, well-fed, happy men of acclaim are trusting in themselves and their own accomplishments. But, as Darrell Bock writes, “An attitude of independence from God is the road to destruction” (Luke [Baker], 1:582). The follower of Jesus trusts in Him totally for sustenance, joy, approval, and salvation. We live to hear from Him some day, “Well done, good and faithful slave;... enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21).
A question I often ask people who come to me for counsel is, “Do you want God’s blessing in your life?” Of course, we all instinctively want to answer, “Yes, of course I do!” But before you answer so quickly, stop and think about it. How you answer that question will make a huge difference in how you live. The person living for God’s blessing has deliberately decided to reject the world’s values and to live under the lordship of Jesus as King. Turning his back on this fleeting world and its pleasures, he is living in light of eternity. Letting go of self-sufficiency and self-confidence, he has cast himself on Jesus both for salvation from God’s judgment and for sustenance in this life. So, ask yourself, “Do I want God’s blessing on my life?” It’s the only way to live happily ever after. Jesus tells you how to have it: Live decisively for God’s kingdom and reject the world’s values.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Marla and I enjoy accounts about people who try to conquer Mount Everest. We read Peter Jenkins’ Across China and we recently saw the Imax movie, “Everest.” But even though I enjoy reading about other people’s efforts to climb the world’s highest peak, I would never try it myself, even if someone offered to pay the $60,000 or more cost for me. Frankly, I’m not interested in investing the time, effort, and risk necessary to succeed.
The text before us is the Mount Everest of Christian behavior. Jesus sets the standard of love as high as it can possibly be set. He says that our love for others must match the love of God Most High, who is kind to ungrateful and evil men (6:35). He not only commands us to love family and friends. Jesus radically requires us to love even enemies who have aggressively hated us, cursed us, and taken what rightfully belongs to us. Jesus’ standard here is so high that many of us may respond as we would to the offer to climb Mount Everest: “No way!” We don’t even want to try, because it seems utterly impossible.
But if we are disciples of Jesus, we do not have the option of responding that way. This radical love is not just a special requirement for the super-committed. It is clearly God’s standard for all His children. If Jesus is our Savior and Lord, we must struggle to understand and apply His teaching here. While we may not reach the summit in this life, we should die trying. In setting forth the primary ethic of His kingdom, Jesus shows us that …
God’s radical love requires our kind treatment of those who mistreat us.
God’s radical love extends to all people, even to those who are ungrateful and evil. As His children, our love should reflect His love. While in Matthew Jesus sets forth this radical love against the backdrop of pharisaic misinterpretations, Luke, writing primarily for Gentiles, sets it before us in raw form. He shows us that we must love all people, not just those who are nice to us. Further, it is not enough passively to endure wrongs. We must actively engage in good deeds toward those who have treated us wrongfully. Our love must be self-denying, not self-seeking. We must set aside what we think to be our personal rights if we want to follow our Lord in practicing this radical love. If anyone here thinks, “I do love others as Jesus here commands,” I’d like to talk to your family to see if they agree! Perhaps once or twice someone here has made it to the summit of this Mount Everest of love for a brief visit. But none of us lives up there consistently. We all have room to grow!
Before you climb a mountain, you need to be clear on where the summit actually is, so that you don’t climb the wrong mountain. Many people have misunderstood Jesus’ words here and thus have headed toward the wrong summit. For example, some have taken Jesus to be teaching pacifism, both on a personal and governmental level. Others have used Jesus’ words to advocate indiscriminately giving to anyone who makes a request. I read of a university student who gave everything he had to help several alcoholics who asked him for money. He went without food and went bankrupt because he thought he was obeying Jesus’ teaching here.
So we must follow sound principles of interpretation and application as we come to these difficult commands. On the one hand, we don’t want to explain away their radical nature, but on the other hand we don’t want to take them with such a strict literalism that we end up in conflict with other Scriptures. Jesus seems to be stating these commands with hyperbole in order to shock us with the radical nature of His standard of love in contrast to the world’s standard that most of us assume as true. I offer four guidelines for properly understanding Jesus’ words here:
Look at the totality of Scripture. We must assume that Jesus did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them (Matt. 5:17). Nor did Paul, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, contradict Jesus. Thus when Proverbs mocks the lazy man who won’t work or the fool who misspends his money, and when Paul stipulates that the man who will not work should not be given food, they are not contradicting Jesus’ teaching here.
Look at the context of this passage. As we saw in our last study Jesus is painting with bold strokes in black and white to draw a contrast between His way and the commonly accepted way of that culture. To jolt His hearers out of their self-complacency and to show them their failure to love as God demands, Jesus boldly draws this line. But He does not get into the details and finer nuances of application that other Scriptures provide.
Look at Jesus’ life to interpret His words. Jesus lived what He taught. By looking at how He lived, we can properly understand and apply what He taught. If Jesus was teaching passive non-resistance to all evil men, how do you explain His making a scourge of cords and driving the merchandisers out of the temple? When Jesus was struck on the cheek during His trial, He did not retaliate, but neither did He offer His other cheek. Rather, He confronted the illegality of His mistreatment by stating, “If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?” (John 18:23). While Jesus was generous and not greedy, He did not go around naked because He had given away His coat and tunic.
Look at your heart and apply the spirit of Jesus’ teaching to yourself, not to others. Clearly, Jesus is confronting our sinful motives of selfishness, greed, and standing for our rights. We’re all prone to blame others and exonerate ourselves. But Jesus here aims at our hearts and challenges us to apply it. When He says, “But I say to you who hear” (6:27), He is contrasting it with those who are under woe because they do not hear so as to obey. Those who really hear what Jesus says will not point the finger at others; they will point it at themselves and will deal with their wrong motives. To sum up, we should not take Jesus’ commands with a strict literalism that contradicts other Scripture, but neither should we dodge their cutting edge. They convict us all and we all need to grow in this radical love. Jesus’ teaching falls under four points:
Jesus assumes that His followers will have enemies. He has just stated that His disciples are blessed when men hate them, ostracize them, heap insults on them, and spurn their names as evil for His sake (6:22). We shouldn’t have enemies because of our obnoxious or insensitive behavior. But if we live righteously and hold firmly to God’s truth, we will have enemies in this evil world. Our lives will convict sinners who will try to bring us down so that they can justify their own sins. But we must respond to all mistreatment by actively loving those who wrong us, never by retaliating.
Jesus begins with a general statement, “Love your enemies.” The word is “agape,” love that is committed to the highest good of the one loved. Such love is not primarily a feeling, but an action stemming from an attitude. Thus it can be commanded. The attitude of love thinks about the other person as a fellow sinner who needs to know the forgiveness of sins that is in Jesus. We were once just as this sinner now is—selfish, blinded by sin, and alienated from God. But thankfully, God showed us mercy. This attitude frees us to act in ways that show God’s love and grace to the wrongdoer. Thus Jesus adds, “Do good to those who hate you.” It is not enough just to refrain from getting even. It is not sufficient to separate yourself from the one who has wronged you. Jesus says that we must actively do good to the wrongdoer!
You say, “How do I do this?” Jesus gives some specific examples. “Bless those who curse you.” If a person verbally attacks you, respond with kind words. If he calls you names or cusses you out, don’t respond by telling him off, even if you avoid using swear words. Respond graciously. You might say, “I’m sorry if I did something to offend you. I don’t want there to be anything between us. Can we talk about it?”
Jesus gives us further direction: “Pray for those who mistreat you.” He doesn’t mean to pray the imprecatory psalms! He means to pray sincerely for their well-being, which probably includes their conversion to Christ. You can rest assured that if the person does not repent, God will bring His righteous judgment upon him in due time. But rather than feeling sorry for yourself because you have been mistreated, feel compassion for this sinner who is headed for hell, if God does not intervene. Pray that God would be merciful in saving the person for His glory.
Then Jesus gives His well known “turn the other cheek” teaching. This often has been wrongly interpreted to mean that a Christian should never defend himself against aggression. It also has been used to argue that believers should not join the military or the police force. But Jesus was not talking about governmental force. Scripture gives governments the right to bear the sword against evil doers (Rom. 13:1-4). When soldiers asked John the Baptist what they should do to repent, he did not tell them to get out of the military, but rather not to use force wrongfully (3:14). So Jesus’ teaching does not apply on that level.
Neither does Jesus mean that we should never confront those who are in sin. He drove the merchandisers out of the temple. He strongly confronted the Pharisees in their hypocrisy (Matthew 23). He rebuked His disciples when they were wrong (“Get behind me, Satan”; Matt. 16:23). Biblical love does not mean being a doormat. Turning the other cheek does not mean that a godly wife should silently endure physical abuse from an evil husband. She can and must confront his sin in a proper spirit, and if it continues, call the authorities that God has ordained for her protection. If someone is threatening your life or actually attempting to kill you, you must defend yourself and call the police. The same is true if we witness someone else being attacked.
So, what does it mean to turn the other cheek? Jesus is confronting our selfish spirit that stands on our rights and demands that the other person pay for his offenses. In Matthew’s account, Jesus stipulates getting hit on the right cheek. To be hit on the right cheek, a right-handed man would have to give you a backhanded slap, which was an insult. Even if Luke is referring to someone hitting you on the jaw, the principle is the same: You don’t have to fight back and defend your honor. Again, this is not referring to someone who is trying to kill you. But if a person loses his temper and hits you once, Jesus is saying, “Don’t reciprocate.” Don’t have the spirit that is quick to prove, “No one is going to mess with me and get away with it!” That spirit stems from selfishness and pride. We are commanded to radical love that does not retaliate.
When Jesus commands us to offer the other cheek, He is not speaking literally. Doing that might only provoke the other person to further wrong. He means, don’t let the person’s insult or wrong toward you hinder you from further ministry to him. I read of an Irish boxer who got converted and became a preacher. One day as he was setting up his tent for meetings, some local toughs came and began heckling him. One of them took a swing at the preacher and hit him on the cheek, knocking him down. He got up and pointed to his other cheek. The guy clobbered him there, knocking him down again. As he rose to his feet, the preacher took off his jacket, rolled up his sleeves, clinched his fists, and said, “The Lord gave me no further instructions.” Pow! He missed Jesus’ point! We should not retaliate in a spirit of getting even or standing up for our rights. Setting aside all selfishness and pride, we should seek to minister to an abusive person.
We should interpret Jesus’ next example (6:29b) in the same manner. If someone takes away your coat, don’t withhold your shirt. Those were the only two pieces of clothing people wore in that day. Jesus didn’t mean literally to give him your underwear so that you go naked! Jesus is hitting our greed and selfishness. We wrongly value our things more than we care about people. We’re so prone to take offense over small wrongs committed against us. Like a slap in the face, taking your coat is a trifling offense. This doesn’t apply if someone is ripping off your life savings or your family’s home. It does not mean leaving your door unlocked or your possessions unguarded. That only encourages thieves and it isn’t good stewardship. But it does mean that we should not be so attached to our belongings that we become angry, hateful people if someone takes something from us. Let it go and thank God that life is far more than possessions.
We also must interpret Jesus’ final command (6:30) in the same way. He does not mean that we should indiscriminately give money or goods to everyone who comes along and asks. Nor does He mean that it is wrong to hold people accountable for things they have borrowed from us. Biblical love seeks the highest good of the other person, and it is not seeking his highest good to foster his irresponsible behavior. As Leon Morris states, “If Christians took this one absolutely literally there would soon be a class of saintly paupers, owning nothing, and another of prosperous idlers and thieves” (Luke [IVP/Eerdmans], p. 130). Rather, Jesus is confronting our greed and selfishness and encouraging us to be generous people. In all of these things, His radical love requires us to respond to wrongs with positive ministry toward the wrongdoer, not with retaliation or personal vengeance. Jesus sums this up in the next principle, known as “the golden rule”:
If everyone would follow this simple rule, we would have no angry quarrels, no lying, stealing, abusive speech, or violence. Everyone would treat everyone else with respect and kindness, being sensitive to their feelings. It would be heaven on earth!
Most of us respond by thinking, “Yes, if my wife and kids would just do what you’re saying, our home would be great! I hope they’re listening!” But we can’t point the finger at others. We must obey this radical command in spite of how others respond or treat us. As someone has said, “The Golden Rule is of no use to you whatever unless you realize that it is your move.”
So again, Jesus confronts our selfishness, because to obey this principle we must think of others and not of ourselves. How will the other person feel? How would I feel if I were in his place? A New Year’s resolution read, “Resolve to be tender with the young, compassionate with the aged, sympathetic with the striving, and tolerant of the weak and the wrong. Sometime in life you will have been all of these yourself.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow observed, “If we could read the secret history of our enemies, we should find in each man’s life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.”
The golden rule deals the death blow to selfishness. Loving self is at the root of all our conflicts and relational problems. Why are we sensitive so that we get our feelings hurt? Because we love self more than we love the other person. Why do we get angry and demand our rights? Because we love self more than we love the other person. Why do we blow up or clam up rather than talk through our problems in a spirit of seeking to build up the other rather than tear him down? Because we love self more than we love the other person. Contrary to current “wisdom,” we do not need to learn to love ourselves. We need to regard others as more important than ourselves (Phil. 2:3, 4). Even if the other person is wrong, ask yourself, “How would I want to be treated if I were wrong?” Treat the other person that way.
Jesus’ point here is that His followers must go far beyond the way that the world loves. Sinners (Jesus means unconverted people who do not regard God) love those who love them (6:32). Sinners do good to those who do good to them (6:33). Sinners lend money to other sinners in order to receive back either the money with interest or other favors (6:34). In other words, sinners have selfish motives in their “good deeds.” What’s in it for me? If I treat this guy right, he might help me out in the future.
But Jesus’ followers must show radical love toward others from pure motives, namely, to please the God who loved us and gave His Son to redeem us from our sins. If God is pleased, then the response of the other person does not hinder our love. If he is mean to me, I can still show him God’s love. If he never says “thank you,” I can still love him. In verse 34, Jesus does not mean that we should foolishly loan money to a scoundrel who probably will never pay us back. That would only foster his irresponsible behavior, which is not to love him. Rather, Jesus is making us examine our motives, to see whether we operate as the world does, for personal advantage, or whether we genuinely seek the welfare of others, even if there’s nothing in it for us. Our love for people should go beyond the world’s way of loving.
Thus the radical love Jesus calls us to requires that we respond to wrongs with positive ministry, not retaliation. It requires treating others as we wish to be treated. It exceeds the world’s standards of love. Finally,
Jesus sums up His directives in this verse. When He says that “you will be sons of the Most High,” he does not mean that you become a child of God by your loving deeds, but rather that you prove or show it in that way. We bear His likeness, just as our physical children bear a resemblance to us as parents. God shows His kindness to ungrateful and evil people by giving them life, health, food, clothing, and many other blessings. Most of these people never express their gratitude to God. Yet He keeps on giving it to them. When we show God’s radical love by being kind to those who mistreat us, by treating others as we wish to be treated, by giving when there’s nothing in it for us, sometimes those in the world will notice and ask, “Why are you different?” That’s when we tell them about God’s love in Jesus.
Sometimes we hear of a lifeguard who risked his life to save someone from drowning. Say you’re the lifeguard, and you’ve been watching a beautiful girl on the beach. She goes in the water, and the undertow begins sucking her out to sea. She calls for help. Will you go to rescue her? Probably you’d be out there in a flash!
But let’s say that as you’re sitting in your lifeguard tower you see a guy who wronged you terribly. He lied about you and stole your girl friend. Even worse, he caught you alone one night and beat you up, even though you did nothing to provoke him. He goes into the water and is drowning. Would you go to rescue him?
Jesus did: “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). That’s the radical love of Jesus, that He would offer Himself in the place of sinners who ignored Him, broke His commandments, and refused to let Him be the rightful Lord of their lives. The only way you can begin to climb the Mount Everest of loving others with Jesus’ radical love is to respond to His love by trusting Him as your Savior and Lord. Then the Holy Spirit will give you the power to love others as Jesus loves you. If you know Christ, take a few more steps up the mountain this week. Think of someone who has wronged you. Pray for an opportunity to do something kind for him or her. Let God’s radical love that found you as a sinner flow through you to those who have mistreated you.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
A young man was filling out a college questionnaire to help determine roommate compatibility. By the questions “Do you make your bed regularly?” and “Do you consider yourself a neat person?” he checked the box marked “Yes.”
His mother read his answers and, knowing they were far from the truth, asked why he had lied. “What?” he replied. “And have them stick me with some slob!”
We’re all prone to excuse our own faults and magnify the faults of others. You know how it goes: “I’m quiet, you’re unassertive; he’s a wimp.” “I’m concerned; you’re curious; he’s nosy.” “I’m thrifty; you’re a bit tight; he’s cheap.” “I drive with the flow of traffic; you go over the speed limit; he’s reckless.”
Jesus knew our common propensity to justify self and blame others. As He concluded the section of His sermon dealing with the requirement of loving even our enemies, He knew that we would try to dodge its demands by judging our enemies and excusing ourselves. So He gives a strong corrective by showing how we should focus on showing mercy, not judgment, even toward those who have wronged us (6:36-38). Then, to help us apply it, He goes on to show that we must focus on judging our own sins or we will be like blind men trying to lead the blind (6:39-40). Only when we have judged our sins can we then see clearly to help another person with his sins (6:41-42). In fact, we must judge ourselves down to the heart level, because only a good heart can produce good fruit (6:42-43). Thus Jesus is teaching us that …
To love as we ought, we should focus on showing mercy toward others but (also) on judging our own sins.
Remember the question that I asked in our last study, a question I often ask those who come to me for counsel: Do you want God’s blessing in your life? The Bible states that God’s ways are not our ways (Isa. 55:8). If we want God’s blessing in our lives, we must go God’s way, which is usually counter to the ways of the natural man. Man’s way is to go easy on myself and to judge others more harshly than I judge myself. God’s way is to be merciful toward others and to judge my own sins. Since it goes against the flesh, it is something we must constantly work at if we want to please God and experience His blessing.
“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful” (6:36). Only those who have personally tasted of God’s great mercy can show such mercy toward others. Everyone who has received God’s mercy knows himself as a sinner who deserves God’s judgment. If you do not view yourself that way, you do not understand the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is not that I was a pretty good person who needed a little something extra in my life, and God provided that something extra. The gospel is that I was hopelessly alienated from God, guilty of violating His holy law. I could do nothing in myself to be reconciled with God. No amount of good works would qualify me for heaven, because they could never cancel out my sins. I was dead in my sins, living according to the desires of the flesh, ignorant of God and His holy ways. Then,
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), … (Eph. 2:4-5).
That’s the great news of the gospel! When you have personally tasted God’s great mercy in Christ, you can begin to show that mercy to others who, like you, do not deserve it. Mercy, like grace, is God’s undeserved favor, but with the added nuance of His compassion because of our helpless condition. Often when someone has wronged us, we want God’s justice for him. We want him to pay for what he did. But what if God had shown us justice, not mercy? We would be paying for our sins in hell! If we know God as our merciful Father, then we must, as His children, show His mercy toward those who have wronged us. Jesus goes on to show us what this means:
To show mercy to others means not to judge them.
When Jesus commands us not to judge others, He does not mean that we should not evaluate others’ actions, beliefs, or teachings. This is often carried to ridiculous extremes in our tolerant culture. I once served on a jury with a woman who told us after hours of deliberation that she could never vote to convict the woman on trial, even though she was clearly guilty, because the Bible says, “Judge not, lest you be judged.” If people who think like that would read their Bibles, they would see that immediately after that command in Matthew 7:1, Jesus said, “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine” (Matt. 7:6). Just a few verses later, He warned about “false prophets who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves” (Matt. 7:15). In order to obey these commands, we must make some judgments: “This person is a dog or swine; this guy is a wolf in sheep’s clothing.”
Neither did Jesus mean by not judging that as a church and as individual Christians we should overlook or tolerate serious sin or doctrinal error in other professing believers. Both Jesus (Matt. 18:15-17) and Paul (1 Cor. 5:9-13) made it clear that we must confront a sinning Christian and, if he does not repent, eventually we must put him out of the church. Jesus condemned the Pharisees for their wrong behavior and teaching (Matt. 23). Paul condemned the Judaizers for adding works to the gospel of grace (Gal. 1:8, 9). John, the apostle of love, exposed and condemned those who denied apostolic teaching and told the believers not even to receive such people into their house or give them a greeting (1 John 2:18-26; 2 John 10, 11). None of these men violated Jesus’ command not to pass judgment. We must be discerning people.
So, what does Jesus mean by “do not pass judgment”? He further explains it by “do not condemn.” To judge others is to look down on them with a condemning spirit, presuming that we know their heart motives. It stems from a self-righteous spirit on our part. To judge someone stems from a desire to get even or to make the person pay for what he did. We don’t want God to pardon him; we want God to zap him! We would be gratified to hear that the guy got into major trials: “It serves him right after what he did to me!” If we heard that he repented and God saved him, we would think, “That’s not fair!” All of this reflects a spirit of judgment on our part, not a spirit of mercy.
Jesus illustrates a judgmental spirit in His story of the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18:11-14). The Pharisee prayed, “God, I thank You that I am not like other people, swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.” He was self-righteous and proud, looking down on others as being not as good as himself. But a non-judgmental person is humble. He sees himself as a sinner, no better than any other sinner. This proper view of himself frees him to show mercy, not judgment, to fellow sinners.
To show mercy to others means to pardon them.
To pardon a sinner is to release him from the guilt and penalty of his sin. Christians know that God has forgiven them much; thus they must forgive others much. Jesus illustrated this in the parable He told about the two slaves who owed a king different amounts of money (Matt. 18:23-35). The first slave owed the equivalent of $10 million. His wife, children, and all that he had would have to be sold in order to settle the debt. When he entreated the king to be patient with him, the king was moved with compassion and forgave the whole debt.
But then that slave went out and grabbed a fellow slave who owed him a few thousand dollars (a hundred days’ wages). It was not a small amount, but neither did it compare to the debt he had owed the king. The forgiven slave demanded that his fellow slave pay back every cent, and he would not show him mercy. He had him thrown into prison. When the king heard of how he had treated his fellow slave, he threw the first slave into prison and demanded that he repay everything he owed him. Then Jesus applied it, “So shall My heavenly Father also do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart” (Matt. 18:35).
Pardoning those who have sinned against us is not optional! We should not extend forgiveness verbally to the one who wronged us until he repents, since God does not grant forgiveness to sinners until they repent. But we must forgive the person in our hearts and be ready to forgive the instant he repents, just as God is ready to pardon every sinner who turns to Him in repentance. An unforgiving spirit is a judgmental spirit, opposed to God’s mercy.
To show mercy to others means to be generous toward them.
Verse 38 is often taken out of context by fund-raising preachers who use it to promise, “If you give to this ministry, God will give you back more.” While it’s true that God will bless generous givers, it is not true that He will give them back more than they give. In its context this verse means that even if we have been burned by people we have helped, we must continue to be generous to those in need, just as God generously showered His mercy on us.
The description “good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they will pour into your lap” comes from the grain markets of that day. A good merchant would pour grain into his measure. Then he would press it down and shake it so that it would settle. Then he would pour in more grain until it ran over. He would take that overflowing measure and pour it into the lap of your robe, which could be pulled up to serve as a big pocket. That’s how God poured out His generous mercy on us! That’s how we should respond to needy people. To show mercy to others means not to judge them, to pardon them, and to be generous toward them. Children of the merciful heavenly Father should be marked by such mercy, even toward those who have wronged us.
If we do not judge others, we will not be judged. If we pardon, we will be pardoned. If we are generous, we will be treated generously. Does our Lord mean that people will treat us that way? Or, does He mean that God will treat us that way? I take it to mean both. On the human plane, the statements are proverbial in the sense that they are generally true, not absolutely true in every case. It is generally true that if you are a merciful person, not condemning others for their faults, others will be gracious toward you. If you are quick to forgive, others will be prone to forgive you. If you are generous, others will be generous toward you. On the other hand, if you condemn people, if you refuse to forgive, if you are stingy, it will come back to you.
This is illustrated by an incident in the childhood of Louis Mayer, the founder of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studio. He had a fight with another boy and lost. While his mother was bathing his black eye, he told her how the fight was entirely the other boy’s fault. His mother said nothing, but after dressing his eye, she took Louis to the back door of their home. Nearby were several hills that created a fine echo. She told him to call those hills all the bad names he could think of. He did so and the bad names all came back to him. “Now,” she said, “call out, ‘God bless you.’” He did so and back came “God bless you.” Mayer said he never forgot that lesson. How you treat others comes back to you.
But Jesus’ words also apply to God’s treatment of us, both now (through other people, as just mentioned) and in the future judgment when we stand before Him. If we truly are in Christ through faith in His shed blood, there is no eternal condemnation (Rom. 8:1). But our deeds will be judged and those that are wood, hay, and stubble will be burned and we will suffer loss. We will be saved, yet so as through fire (1 Cor. 3:15; 2 Cor. 5:10). The Bible says that God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5). As we’ve seen, a judgmental person who refuses to forgive others is self-righteous and proud. We put ourselves in opposition to God if we condemn and refuse to forgive those who have wronged us. If we persist in our stubborn refusal to obey the merciful Father, it may reveal that He is not our Father, in which case we are under His judgment and wrath.
General Oglethorpe once said to John Wesley, “I never forgive and I never forget.” Wesley replied, “Then, sir, I hope you never sin.” If we are sinners who need mercy, we must show God’s mercy to those who have wronged us. Jesus goes on to show us that rather than judging others, our focus should be on judging ourselves:
Some commentators struggle with the flow of thought here, but I think there is a logical flow. Jesus was speaking primarily to His disciples, whom He was training to be leaders. Rather than judging others (6:36-38), they must judge themselves or they will be like blind guides of the blind, whose followers would be just like them (6:39-40). Thus they must take the log out of their own eye before they try to help others with the speck in their eye (6:41-42). As they examine themselves, they should look at their fruit (6:43-45). If their words are judgmental, bitter, and evil, it indicates that their hearts are evil. But if they are merciful, forgiving, and generous, it indicates that God has truly done a work of grace in their hearts. That is the flow of thought here.
Jesus is pushing His disciples to examine themselves. If they are blind to their own sins, how can they help others deal with their sins? Although Luke does not mention it here, the backdrop for Jesus’ illustration was the Pharisees, whom He called blind guides of the blind (Matt. 15:14; 23:16, 24). These men were marked by spiritual pride. They did not confront their own sins and acknowledge their constant need of God’s grace. If the disciples followed them, they would become like them, falling into the pit of self-righteousness. But if they will follow the merciful Lord Jesus, they will become like Him. It’s a warning to be careful to follow spiritual leaders who confront their own sins and to avoid leaders who are self-righteous. If we want God to use us to disciple others, …
Note that Jesus does not say that we should not help a brother with the speck in his eye, but rather, we should first take the log out of our own eye so that we can see clearly to help him with his speck. The word for “log” refers to the main supporting beam of a house. Your fellow worker has a speck of sawdust in his eye that he needs help removing. But how ridiculous for you to try to help when you have a beam in your own eye!
Jesus is humorously pointing out how prone we all are to focus on and exaggerate the faults of others but to minimize or even ignore our own glaring faults. We’re quick to blame others, but we’re slow to blame ourselves. If someone else is late for an appointment with me, I think, “How inconsiderate! Doesn’t he know that I’m busy?” But if I’m late for an appointment, I think, “He’ll just have to realize that I’m a busy man. I couldn’t help being late.” If I’m in a hurry, I ride the tail of the guy in front of me, muttering, “Step on it! I don’t have all day!” But if a guy is riding my tail, I say, “Back off! What’s the big rush, man?”
I see this often when I counsel couples with marriage problems. I ask her what their main problem is and she says, “I have my faults, but I could be a good wife if my husband wasn’t so inconsiderate and selfish!” And off she goes! Then I ask him what the problem is and he says, “I’m not perfect, but that woman is impossible to please!” Off he goes listing all of her faults.
But you won’t begin to love the other person as you should and you won’t grow spiritually until you begin to confront your own sins with God’s Word. The Word is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of our hearts, exposing us before God’s holy standards (Heb. 4:12-13). Have you ever been working outside until dark? You thought you were not very dirty. Then you went into the bathroom, flipped on the light, and looked in the mirror. The light and the mirror showed you that you were filthy! God’s Word is like that. You think you’re a pretty loving person until you read Luke 6:27-38 or 1 Corinthians 13! Then you realize that you’ve got a lot of growing to do. If you want to please God by loving others as you should, you must be in God’s Word, applying it to your heart, not to the heart of the person that you’re having difficulty with.
Once God’s Word helps you get the log out of your eye, you will be much more compassionate in helping a brother with his speck. You’ll say, “Brother, I sympathize with you, because I used to have far more than a speck in my eye. Let me share how God can help you get your speck out.” Rather than being proud, you will be humble. Rather than being judgmental, you will be merciful. Rather than being insensitive, you’ll be understanding.
Then Jesus gives another illustration to show that we must examine the fruit that comes from our lives. Such fruit reveals our hearts, because we produce according to what we are. Our words reveal what fills our hearts.
Jesus’ point is obvious: A tree produces after its nature. The fruit primarily refers to our words which reveal that which fills our hearts (6:45). What is inside comes out of our mouths. If you are often spewing out angry, bitter words that tear down others, that blame them for all your problems, then your heart is not right before God. Jesus is not teaching here that some people are inherently good, while others are not. The only way you can get a good heart is to be born again through the power of God’s Spirit. Once you are born again, it is not automatic to live by the new man or heart. There will be a struggle between the old and the new. But those who truly have tasted the Father’s mercy will strive to put off the old man and put on the new. They will seek to please God, beginning on the thought level. As those who have received mercy, they will focus on showing God’s mercy toward others.
Note that the good man has a good treasure or storehouse in his heart (6:45). Where does this come from? It comes from meditating often on God’s great mercy in Christ toward you. As Paul said, “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20). Let God’s great mercy fill your thoughts and you will have a storehouse of mercy to serve to others.
Ask yourself these questions: Am I marked more by a merciful spirit or by a critical, judgmental spirit? Am I blaming God or others for my problems, or am I working on removing the log in my own eye? Am I frequently judging my own life, down to the thought level, by God’s Word? Am I truly born again? Is pleasing Christ the focus of my life? To love others, especially those who have wronged us, as Jesus commands, we must focus on showing mercy to others, but on judging our own sins.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
A widespread false teaching in the evangelical church today is that you can accept Jesus as your Savior, but that obeying Him as Lord of your life is optional. Those who promote this teaching mistakenly think that they are preserving the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith, apart from human works. They do not deny the importance of submitting to Christ as Lord, but they do insist that it has nothing to do with saving faith. And so they teach that it is possible for a person truly to believe in Christ as Savior even though he never submits to Him as Lord.
I believe that this teaching rests on a mistaken notion of the nature of saving faith and that it gives false assurance to many who think they are Christians, but are not truly saved. Scripture is clear that without holiness, no one will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14). Genuine saving faith always results in a life of progressive godliness. If a person claims to be saved, but has no hunger for God’s Word, no growing hatred of sin, and no growth in godly living, he needs to examine whether he is truly in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5).
As Jesus comes to the end of a sermon in which He has said some difficult things, He drives home the necessity of obeying what He has taught. He asks pointedly, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” Then He concludes with His familiar parable of two men building separate houses. The first lays a foundation on the rock, so that his house stands firm when the flood bursts against it. The second foolishly builds his house without the proper foundation, so that it is destroyed by the flood. In the parable, the foundation is obedience to Christ’s teaching. The man who did not build on the foundation heard Jesus’ teaching. He agreed with it superficially, as seen by the fact that he calls Jesus “Lord.” But he did not obey Jesus’ teaching, resulting in tragic loss. Thus Jesus is showing us that …
Obedience to Christ is not optional because it is at the very foundation of the Christian life.
Some may say, “Now, wait a minute! I thought that faith, not obedience, is the foundation of the Christian life.” After all, we are saved by grace through faith apart from works (Eph. 2:8, 9). The one who believes in Jesus has eternal life (John 3:16). So how can you say that obedience is foundational?
The answer centers on the nature of saving faith. Saving faith inevitably and necessarily results in a life of holiness and good deeds. Many who quote Ephesians 2:8-9, that we are saved by grace through faith, not as a result of works, fail to go on to quote verse 10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Those who quote John 3:16 fail to go on to John 3:36, which states, “He who believes the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Many other New Testament verses virtually equate saving faith with obedience and unbelief with disobedience, because the connection is inseparable (see Acts 5:32; 6:7; Rom. 1:5; 2:4-10; 6:16; 10:16, 21; 15:18; 16:19, 26; 2 Thess. 1:8; Heb. 3:18, 19; 5:9; 11:8, 31; 1 Pet. 1:2, 22; 2:8; 4:17). As we saw in our last study, the nature of the tree determines the type of fruit. If a person has received a new nature through faith in Christ, that new nature will bear good fruit. We are saved by grace through faith apart from works, but the faith that saves always results in good works.
Also, at the outset we must be clear that Jesus was not teaching that His followers can be sinlessly perfect in this life. If the requirement of getting into heaven is perfectly obeying all that Jesus taught, no one will be in heaven. Not even the most devoted Christian loves God all the time with every fiber of his being. No one perfectly loves his neighbor as himself. The apostle John tells us, “If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John 1:8). Thus Jesus is not teaching that we must achieve sinless perfection in order to enter His kingdom. Rather, He is teaching what James later underscored in his epistle, that faith without works is dead (James 2:17, 26). Genuine faith is not simply intellectual assent. Genuine faith submits to the lordship of Jesus, resulting in a life of progressive holiness.
Jesus here shows three reasons why obedience to Him as Lord is not optional: first, because it is the true test of professing Christ (6:46); second, because it is the foundation that will withstand the tests of time and eternity (6:47-48); and, third, because those who do not obey Christ face sudden and final destruction (6:49).
If we call Him our Lord, we prove it by doing what He tells us to do in His Word. Note that Jesus unequivocally asserts His rightful position as Lord. He does not say, “Don’t call me Lord. Only God is Lord.” Rather, He assumes that He has the rightful authority to be Lord. His lordship governs all of life, down to our very thoughts. Thus obedience to Jesus as Lord is not just an option for some who want to be more committed. It is part and parcel of the Christian life. Those who do not submit to the lordship of Jesus have good cause to question whether they are truly Christians.
Implicit in Jesus’ words is the fact that there is the real danger of a false profession of allegiance to Christ. In the parallel in Matthew 7:21, Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.” He goes on to cite examples of those who even have done impressive things in His name, but who will be rejected at the gate of heaven because they also practiced lawlessness. Outwardly these men would have seemed to others to be righteous, but God tests the hearts. God knew their selfish motives, their lustful thoughts, and their greedy desires. So even though they had prophesied, performed miracles, and cast out demons in Jesus’ name, they were turned away from heaven. Outward obedience is not enough; God demands that we judge our evil thoughts and attitudes, bringing every thought into submission to Christ. If we name Jesus as Lord, we must enthrone Him as Lord of all our lives, even down to the thought level.
We will miss the thrust of Jesus’ words here if we do not recognize that He is giving us a strong warning. His warning implies the danger of deception. This is a matter where we could be faked out. These men who did all these things in His name are shocked when Jesus tells them that He never knew them and commands them to depart from His presence. Further, He is addressing His warning to those who call Him “Lord,” not to those who do not. If you asked these folks, “Are you a Christian, a follower of Jesus?” they would have responded, “Oh, yes! Amen! Jesus is Lord!” But, they were sadly deceived. Not only did these folks call Jesus “Lord,” they called Him Lord with feeling and with emphasis. That is the implication of the double vocative, “Lord, Lord.” They didn’t lower their voices and mumble when they said it. They would have strongly asserted that Jesus was their Lord. And yet, as Jesus’ parable goes on to show, they were heading for major destruction because their profession was superficial and false.
Thus Jesus’ warning is addressed to most of us. Most of us here would say, “Yes, I’m a Christian. Jesus is my Lord and Savior.” But Jesus is saying, “Examine your heart! Do you really seek to obey Me, beginning on the thought level? Do you judge your sin in the light of My Word? Or, could you be fooling yourself? Are you excusing your disobedience by claiming to be under grace? Are you justifying yourself by thinking, ‘Everyone does this’?” Obedience to Jesus on the heart level is not optional, just for the super-committed. It is the true test of whether your faith in Christ is genuine or counterfeit.
Jesus goes on to show by His parable of the two house-builders further reasons why obedience is not optional. First He shows us the necessity of obedience by a positive example, and then by a negative one. He ends His sermon abruptly with the negative example, leaving us to think about the tragic scene of a house destroyed by the flood.
The first home-builder represents the man who not only hears, but acts upon, Jesus’ words. He goes to the trouble of digging deep into the soil until he hits bedrock. He anchors his foundation to the bedrock, so that his house rests on a solid foundation. When the storm hit and the flash flood burst against that house, it stood firm because it was well built.
The house represents our lives. We’re all building a house. The question is, are we building our lives on the sure foundation of obedience to Jesus or are we building it on the sand of empty profession? To build a house involves a lot of time and expense. It’s not like throwing up a shed, where you don’t plan to spend much time inside and it isn’t expected to last. In a new home, you can install the finest hardwood cabinets. You can spend extra money on brass doorknobs and crystal chandeliers. You can put in a custom masonry fireplace. But if the house is not resting on a solid foundation, you’re throwing your money away. If you build the house of your life without obedience to Jesus on the heart level, it’s like wasting your money on a house without a foundation.
When you build a house you can be sure, no matter where you build it, that storms will come to test your foundation. The geography and climate of Palestine is much like that of Arizona, subject to sudden flash floods. Dry streambeds can quickly turn into raging torrents that sweep away almost everything in their paths. If you’re building your home near such a streambed, you had better make sure that it has a solid foundation.
The flood refers both to the trials of this life as well as to the flood of future judgment when we all must stand before God. The context in Matthew emphasizes more the future judgment, while Luke focuses more on the trials of life. But neither passage refers exclusively to one or the other. The person who has built his life on obedience to Jesus Christ has a solid foundation that will carry him through both the floods of this life and the future judgment. The person who professes to know Christ, but who is not walking in obedience, will be wiped out when trials hit in this life. And, he will be totally ruined when he stands before God at the judgment. There are only two final results: the one house stands, while the other house falls. There is no middle possibility of sustaining just a bit of damage. This points to the fact that there are two and only two final destinies, heaven and hell. Those who truly believe in Jesus as revealed by their obedience to Him will be in heaven. Those who profess to believe in Jesus but deny Him by their disobedient life will go to hell (Titus 1:16).
Before the flood, both houses would look the same to the casual observer, but there was a vast difference between them after the flood hit. One stood firm, the other was a shambles. The difference was in the hidden part, the foundation. Foundations aren’t very glamorous, but they are absolutely essential if you want a building to stand over the long haul. The foundation of obedience enables a Christian to stand firm when trials hit.
What are some of those inevitable floods that test our faith? There are the trials that we all face—disappointments, setbacks, sickness, loss of loved ones, the loss of a job, being let down by family members or friends, etc. There are the certain floods that go along with growing older—the loss of health and strength, being confined by the limitations of our bodies. And, of course, there is the steady, relentless approach of our own death. All these trials test whether we are true disciples of Jesus Christ or just fair-weather followers who were not sincere in our faith.
Further, there are the floods of temptation that come at us from the world, the flesh, and the devil. This evil world, under the dominion of Satan, presses on us relentlessly, often in subtle ways we are not aware of. It may be an enticement to cheat on an exam in school, to steal, to indulge in immorality, to set our minds on the fleeting pleasures of riches. When those blue-collar workers recently won the world’s largest lottery jackpot, most of us were tempted by the greedy thought, “What would I do if I won all that money?” Some may have yielded to the temptation of buying a lottery ticket, hoping to strike it rich. Few of us thought, “Wouldn’t it be great to win all that money so that I could give it all to the Lord’s work!”
The point is, if you’re not establishing the habit of obedience to Jesus every day, taking every thought captive to Him, confessing and forsaking all known sin, you are building your life on sand. When these inevitable temptations come, they will sweep away any profession of faith that you have made.
Of course, the final trial we all must face is to die and stand before God. He knows everything about us (Heb. 4:13). If we have been hypocrites, putting up a good front before others, claiming to be Christians, but all the while living in disobedience, it will all come crashing down in the flood of God’s judgment. The Bible is abundantly clear that that day is both certain and final. Everyone will be called to account before God’s throne. Those who may have fooled everyone on earth will not fool God in heaven. Only those who have lived in obedience to God’s Word, constantly examining themselves by it, judging their sin, seeking to be pleasing to God, will stand. Those who have said, “Lord, Lord,” but who have not sought to obey Him, will be ruined finally and forever.
That leads to the final reason Jesus gives that obedience is not optional. It is not optional because it is the true test of professing Christ; it is not optional because it is the only foundation that will withstand the tests of time and eternity.
As you consider the man who built his house without a foundation, you have to ask, “Why would he do such a dumb thing?” There could be several reasons. First, it involved a lot of time and hard work to dig by hand down to the bedrock and the foolish man was lazy. It was much easier to throw up the house without all the hassle of putting in a proper foundation. So he followed the path of least resistance. If you’ve ever done home improvement projects, you’ve come across situations where the previous owner “fixed” a problem by doing it the easy way, but it wasn’t right. In the long run it would have been better to do it right in the first place, because you have to tear apart his botched up easy fix in order to really fix the problem.
There’s a spiritual parallel. Disobedience is usually much easier than obedience, and it seems at the time like it will get you where you want to go more quickly than the more difficult path of obedience. The guy who threw up his house without a foundation was sitting inside sipping lemonade while his neighbor was out in the hot sun dripping with sweat as he dug his foundation. You young men see a guy who is living with his beautiful girl friend, enjoying all the pleasures of sex with seemingly no consequences. Meanwhile, you’re in the trenches battling for moral purity in obedience to Jesus, and you wonder, “Why am I digging this foundation while that guy sits in his comfortable house with his girl friend on his lap?” Wait till the flood hits and you’ll know the reason!
Another reason the guy didn’t bother to dig a proper foundation is that he wanted the immediate benefits of the house without the necessary labor and time to build it correctly. He had a roof over his head and all his furniture nicely arranged while his neighbor wasn’t even above ground yet. Spiritually, a lot of people come to Jesus for the benefits He offers. Seemingly, they’re instantly enjoying the blessings of salvation even though they have never repented of sin and they are not daily judging their sin by His Word. They enjoy the good feelings of singing praise songs and swaying with the music. They like the love and fellowship of the body. But in their private lives, they are not digging the foundation of obedience to God’s Word. The flood will hit and their spiritual house will come crashing down.
A third reason this guy didn’t bother to put in a foundation is that he was short-sighted. He was living for the here and now, without thought for the future. It wasn’t raining when he threw up his house. The riverbed was dry. Flood? What flood? A flood was not in his thinking. He just wanted to get inside his new house and enjoy the comforts it provided. Spiritually, we are fools if we do not live in light of death and the judgment to follow. This very day your soul may be required of you, and then where will you be? If you profess to be a Christian, but you’ve been living all these years for self, with no regard for furthering the kingdom of God, your life is built on sand. It will collapse when the flood of God’s judgment hits.
When you peel away the outside, so many professing Christians, even many who are engaged in ministry, are just living for self. What motivates their Christian service is not the glory of the Savior who gave Himself for them. They’re not doing what they do because they love the Lord Jesus. They’re motivated by the strokes they get from serving. They love the affirmation. But if their service goes unrecognized or someone else gets the credit, they get angry and quit. Their motive was to please self, not to please the Lord. They were not laboring with a view to the future judgment when they would hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
What can we do to make sure that our house is built on the rock of obedience to Christ, not on the sand? Jesus mentions three things (6:47): Come to Him, hear His words, and act on them.
First, you must come to Jesus. This implies a personal, one-to-one relationship between Jesus and you. In the parallel passage in Matthew, Jesus says to the hypocrites who had done all their impressive works in His name, “I never knew you” (Matt. 7:23). Do you know Jesus and does Jesus know you? Christianity is not a system of rules where you decide you will start working on the list. It is fundamentally a personal relationship with the risen, living Savior. Your sins have separated you from Him. But He shed His blood to reconcile to God every sinner who will stop trusting in himself and his own good deeds and who will trust in Jesus’ blood as the only satisfaction for sin.
Second, you must hear Jesus’ words. This implies growing in your knowledge and understanding of His teaching as revealed in the Bible. If you are not feeding daily on God’s Word, learning from it how He wants you to live, you are living according to the desires of the flesh. You are being squeezed into the world’s mold. The teaching of the Bible centers on two main subjects: how to love God with all your heart, mind, and soul; and, how to love your neighbor as you do in fact love yourself. In other words, the Bible shows us how to relate properly to God and to others. As you read and study your Bible, your aim should not be simply to fill your head with knowledge, although proper knowledge is essential. The bottom line for biblical knowledge is that you will please God by loving Him and loving others as He commands.
Third, Jesus says that you must act upon His words. This implies soul-searching obedience, down to our very thoughts, motives, and attitudes. It means continually examining ourselves in light of Scripture. When you read a psalm that says, “Praise the Lord and sing for joy,” you ask yourself, “Is my mind filled with praise to God and joy in Him, or am I marked by grumbling and complaining?” You apply Scripture to your life. The bottom line of our time in His Word should be, “How then should I live?”
The forecast is that there is a 100 percent chance of a flood hitting your life in the near future. In light of that forecast, now is the time to check your foundation. If you are living in daily obedience to Jesus on the heart level, your house will stand. If you call Him “Lord” but you are living for self, you had better start digging!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
All of us who know Christ have loved ones and friends who desperately need to know Him too. We all would like to see God use us to help reach these and others with the gospel. There is perhaps nothing more thrilling than when God uses you to bring another person in touch with His saving power. Every Christian wants to become a more effective servant of Jesus Christ in reaching others with the gospel.
If I were considering a man for a staff position at the church and he presented a letter of commendation from a respected Christian leader, it would be a strong point in his favor. But if the Lord Jesus Himself commended the man, I would do well to take note. He will be an effective servant of Christ and I can learn much from his faith.
Only twice in the gospels does Christ commend a person for great faith—the Syrophoenician woman (Matt. 15:28), and this centurion we meet in our text. Both are Gentiles; one is a woman, the other a man. It is as if the Lord is saying, “The way of faith is open to people of all nationalities, male or female.” The faith that pleases God is not an exclusive thing reserved for the religious crowd. Any and all can lay hold of God by faith.
This centurion is a model of effective Christian service. Though he was a man in authority over 100 soldiers, he became a servant to his own servant by calling Jesus to heal him. As such, he is a picture of serving the Lord Jesus by reaching out to those in need, who may be lowly and despised by others. He was the channel through which Christ’s power flowed to this dying boy.
Although the centurion was in the military, which is not known as a seedbed for piety, he had great faith. It is interesting that every centurion mentioned in the New Testament is presented in a favorable light. This man shows us that we can serve Christ in any “secular” job. The centurion lived in Capernaum, which Jesus later castigated for its lack of faith (Luke 10:15), but he was not affected by their unbelief. This shows us that we can be godly people in the midst of an evil, unbelieving world. Wherever you are and whatever you do, this centurion shows you how to be an effective servant of Christ. He possesses three qualifications that every servant of Jesus Christ must seek to develop in his or her life:
An effective servant of Christ needs an exalted view of Jesus, a lowly view of himself, and a caring view of others.
*He is Lord—the One in Authority. Therefore, the effective servant will have faith in Christ’s sovereign authority.
The centurion had an exalted view of the Lord Jesus Christ and of His authority over this hopeless disease: “... just say the word, and my servant will be healed” (7:7). The centurion understood the principle of authority. He knew what it meant to speak and to have his words obeyed.
But he knew that his servant’s desperate condition was beyond the realm of his authority. He needed to go to the One in authority over all creation. He recognizes Jesus to be that One. He even knew that Jesus did not need to come and physically lay hands on his servant. The Lord of Creation, who spoke the universe into existence, simply had to speak the word and his servant would be healed. That is an exalted view of Jesus Christ!
Note that the Lord Jesus accepts and even praises this man’s exalted view of Himself. Alexander Maclaren wrote, “Christ takes as His due all the honour, love, and trust, which any man can give Him—either an exorbitant appetite for adulation, or the manifestation of conscious divinity” (Expositions of Holy Scripture [Baker], on Matt. 8:8, 9, p. 383).
The miracles are pictures of spiritual truth. Christ’s power in healing this dying servant is a picture of His power to save those who are perishing in their sin. The message is clear: the power of salvation lies with the Savior, not with the sinner. All too often, I fear, we think, “I wish the Lord would save this person, but, after all, it’s up to the person’s free will.” But if salvation were up to the sinner’s free will, no one would be saved, because the sinner is spiritually dead. But if, as the Bible teaches, salvation is of the Lord, then we can pray in faith, “Lord, speak the word and impart new life to this sinner,” and know that He can do it. The effective servant believes in an exalted Lord who is mighty to save those who cannot do anything to save themselves.
Where did the centurion get this faith? Scripture teaches that faith is the gift of God (Eph. 2:8, 9); but also, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word concerning Christ” (Rom. 10:17). God imparts faith through the hearing of the Word about who Jesus is. We read (Luke 7:3), the centurion “heard about Jesus.” It is only a speculation, but I think that this centurion may have heard about Christ from the nobleman in Capernaum whose son Jesus healed (John 4:46-54). Both men were in government service. Jesus healed the nobleman’s son at a distance, which would have encouraged the centurion to believe that Jesus could do the same with his servant. At any rate, he heard of Christ and he believed. If we want to be more effective servants of Christ, we need to ask God to show us through His Word a more exalted view of the Lord Jesus. And, we need to direct others into the Word and pray that God will open their eyes to the glory of the exalted Savior.
Note verse 9, “not even in Israel have I found such great faith.” The word “found” implies that the Lord is looking for faith. We tend to think that God will use a person with unusual gifts, but even more important than giftedness, the Lord will use a person who simply trusts in Him. He is looking for men and women of faith.
Faith caused the Lord to marvel. Only two times in the gospels is it said that Jesus marveled: Here, and in Mark 6:6, at the unbelief of the people of this same city, Capernaum. Nothing gladdens the Lord more than when a person has faith in Him and His authority. And nothing saddens the Lord more than unbelief.
Dr. Robert Dick Wilson was a professor of Hebrew at Princeton Seminary in the early part of this century. He knew almost 40 languages! But he was not only a scholar; he was a man of faith. Once Wilson went to the seminary chapel to listen to his former student, Donald Grey Barnhouse, who returned to preach. Afterwards, he said to Barnhouse, “If you come back again, I will not come to hear you preach. I only come once. I am glad that you are a big-godder. When my boys come back, I come to see if they are big-godders or little-godders, and then I know what their ministry will be.”
Barnhouse asked him to explain. Wilson replied, “Well, some men have a little god and they are always in trouble with him. He can’t do any miracles. He can’t take care of the inspiration and transmission of the Scripture to us. He doesn’t intervene on behalf of His people. They have a little god and I call them little-godders. Then there are those who have a great God. He speaks and it is done. He commands and it stands fast. He knows how to show Himself strong on behalf of them that fear Him. You have a great God; and He will bless your ministry” (Barnhouse, Let Me Illustrate [Revell], pp. 132-133).
The Lord is looking for people like this centurion, “big-godders,” who know that Jesus Christ is Lord and who know how to come to Him in simple faith and say, “You say the word, Lord, and this will be done.” Charles Spurgeon said, “O preacher, if [you are] about to stand up to see what [you can] do, it will be [your] wisdom to sit down speedily; but if [you stand] up to prove what [your] almighty Lord and Master can do through [you], then infinite possibilities lie about [you]!” (The Soul Winner [Eerdmans], p. 165.)
Before we leave the subject of faith, and in light of Professor Wilson’s comment about big-godders believing that the Lord can take care of the inspiration and transmission of the Scripture, let me comment on the harmonistic problem between Matthew’s and Luke’s accounts of this story. Matthew 8:5-13 pictures the centurion going personally to Jesus, but Luke indicates that he did not even see Jesus, but appealed to Him through others. How do we reconcile these differences?
There are two opposing approaches. The rationalist assumes that either Matthew or Luke is in error. Probably Luke embellished the story. I contend that that is an arrogant approach that exalts human reason above the Bible and presumes that either God did not inspire Scripture or else that the God of truth inspired error.
The other approach does not abandon reason, but rather submits reason to the Word of God. Since “all Scripture is inspired by God,” and since God’s Word is truth (John 17:17), these accounts must be in harmony. We know that Matthew was an eyewitness to the ministry of Jesus, and that Luke composed his gospel after careful investigation of the facts (Luke 1:3). Thus it would be presumptuous for us, living almost 2,000 years later, to accuse either of these first century historians of error. The differences in their accounts show that they weren’t doctoring the story.
These accounts can be harmonized by recognizing that Matthew and Luke had different purposes in writing. Matthew wrote primarily for a Jewish audience, to explain why the Jews rejected the gospel and why it was open to the Gentiles. To make his point, as he often does, Matthew condenses the narrative. It would be extraneous to his purpose to go into the detail about the centurion approaching Jesus through messengers. Besides, it is true to say that what a man does through his agents, he does himself. We see this in the story itself: “he built our synagogue” (7:5). They do not mean that he personally did the work, but rather that he built it through workers. Thus Matthew eliminates unnecessary details to show that this Gentile centurion had faith in Jesus.
But Luke’s purpose was different. He was writing to a Gentile audience, most of whom had not seen Jesus. For him, the greater detail about this centurion who believed in Jesus, although he did not see Him, was quite to the point, so he included it. The two accounts do not contradict each other.
To return to our theme, an effective servant of Christ will have an exalted view of Christ—that He is Lord—and thus will have faith in His sovereign authority.
*I am unworthy: Humility. Therefore, the servant will have faith in God’s grace.
In verse 4, the Jewish delegation tells Jesus that this man is worthy, but in verses 6 and 7 the man says of himself that he is unworthy both for Christ to come under his roof and for him to come in person to Christ. Isn’t that the way it often is? The man whom the world views as worthy views himself as unworthy. He knows his own heart.
The man had reason for boasting. He was a man of great faith. He was a good man who loved the Jewish people. He was a generous man who had built the synagogue. He was a compassionate man toward his slave. He could have boasted in any of these things. He even could have boasted in his humility!
On one occasion the well-known preacher, Harry Ironside, felt that he was not humble enough. So he asked an older friend what he could do about it. The friend replied, “Make a sandwich board with the plan of salvation in Scripture on it and wear it as you walk through downtown Chicago for a day.”
Ironside followed his friend’s advice. It was a humiliating experience. As he returned home and took off the sandwich board, he caught himself thinking, “There’s not another person in Chicago who would be willing to do a thing like that!”
How do we grow in humility? True humility stems from seeing my insufficiency and Christ’s all-sufficiency. The centurion’s servant was about to die (7:2). He was helpless to deal with this irreversible illness and imminent death. What a picture of the human race, impotent to deal with the ravages of sin and its ultimate result, spiritual death! The centurion saw his own insufficiency to deal with the problem, but he also saw Christ’s all-sufficiency. So he said to Jesus, “Just say the word, and my servant will be healed” (Luke 7:7). False humility says, “I can do nothing” and stops there. True humility adds, “But I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Phil. 4:13) and cries out to Him to work.
It’s a lesson we keep learning all our lives. I often experience it in preparing messages. I come to a point where I cannot get the flow of the passage. The message isn’t gelling. And I’m under time constraints! I don’t have time for it not to come together! Then I realize afresh that I can’t put sermons together. I can’t adequately communicate God’s truth. Only He can. And so I call to Him out of my weakness, and He answers.
One of my spiritual heroes is George Muller, who trusted God to support over 2,000 orphans in Bristol, England, in the last century. His biographer observes, “Nothing is more marked in George Muller, to the very day of his death, than this, that he so looked to God and leaned on God that he felt himself to be nothing, and God everything” (A. T. Pierson, George Muller of Bristol [Revell], p. 112). That’s the proper focus of a servant of Christ.
That’s what grace is all about. I do not deserve God’s blessing. I am not worthy for Him to use me or to answer my prayers. But I don’t come to Him based on my worthiness. I come asking for His undeserved favor. This centurion didn’t approach the Lord based on his worthiness, even though others saw him as a worthy man. He saw himself as unworthy to come to Christ; but he also knew that Christ received sinners because of His grace. And so he approached the Lord on behalf of his slave.
To be effective servants of Christ, we need an exalted view of Jesus—He is Lord over all, powerful to save. We also need a lowly view of ourselves: “I am an unworthy servant. But God uses unworthy servants who trust in His grace. And so God can use me to bring His salvation to others.”
“*They are needy”: Compassion. Therefore the servant will have faith in Christ’s authority and grace towards others.
The centurion’s compassion is seen in his attitude toward this slave boy. Slaves in that day were commonly regarded as property to be used and discarded at the will of the owner. But the centurion “highly regarded” this slave. The Greek word means “precious”; it is used to refer to Christ as the cornerstone, precious in God’s sight (1 Pet. 2:4, 6). The centurion was a man of rank and power. He gave orders and they were obeyed. He easily could have said, “If this slave dies, we’ll have to get another one.” But the centurion’s position and power had not gone to his head. He had concern for this one whom society would normally have despised. And so he entreated Christ on behalf of his slave. And of course the Lord Jesus did not regard this slave as too unimportant to heal. Christ cares for every person, especially for the poor or despised in the eyes of the world.
My mother modeled this kind of compassion to me when I was a boy. She often exhorted me to be on the alert for kids at church or school who seemed to be excluded or on the fringe and to befriend them. She would say, “Think about how you would feel if you were them, and treat them as you would want to be treated.” I remember her coming in the house, with the car running outside, and telling us, “I’ll be home in a few minutes. I passed this woman walking down the road with a baby in her arms and three toddlers, carrying their groceries. I’m giving them a ride home.” Often she would go over to a state hospital near us and bring home a deranged old woman to eat Sunday dinner with us. She had whiskers growing on her chin, and she would drool and make strange noises while she ate. She would shake profuse amounts of salt and pepper on her food and then exclaim as she ate, “Peppy! Peppy!” But my mother showed her the kindness of Christ.
For years now my parents have shown the love of Christ to a mentally incompetent man who was living on the streets when they met him. They have spent hours helping him with personal and business affairs. They have fed him often at their table, even though he smells and he eats heaps of food. Their phone often rings with calls from other people whom you could rightly call strange or very different. I don’t know how many of these people will be in heaven someday, but any who are there will testify, “It was because the Cole’s cared for me when others rejected me.”
All too often, I tend to look at people from the human perspective and think, “This guy is hopeless. Why bother with him?” Or I look at somebody else and think, “This guy would make a great Christian!” But that’s not the Lord’s perspective. He can take the most unlikely people (from our point of view) and do great things with them to the glory of His grace.
As Paul reminded the Corinthians, “For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no man should boast before God” (1 Cor. 1:26-29).
Years ago, when I was involved with Campus Crusade as a college student, we tended to be overly concerned about the image of the people who were in leadership in the campus ministry. The guys had to look “cool” in the way they dressed. We were looking for guys like athletes or fraternity men who could attract others to the ministry.
But God “blessed” us with two guys who didn’t fit the image. One guy would wear clothes that I can only describe as “out-of-it.” He wore slacks with belt loops, but no belt. He would wear white socks with black dress shoes. And he couldn’t help it, but he wore clunky looking glasses and had pimples all over his face. He just didn’t fit the image. And he insisted on being the greeter at our outreach meetings, where we were trying to impress the cool fraternity and sorority crowd!
The other guy was what we called a greaser. He slicked down his hair with thick grease. He wore black Levi’s, dark shirts, and black boots and he rode a motorcycle. And this was at Long Beach State, where the California surfer look was the “in” thing!
But those two guys had the most fruitful small groups of anyone. The first guy went on to serve as a pastor and now is a seminary professor. I’ve lost track of the other one. But God taught me that He chooses and uses people whom I would reject. God often saves the despised of the world and uses them as trophies of His grace. Effective servants care about such people.
The Lord is looking for servants like this centurion:
*Who have an exalted view of Christ—He is the sovereign Lord of authority, and thus they trust Him for the impossible.
*Who have a lowly view of themselves—they are unworthy and insufficient, but they know Christ as gracious and all-sufficient.
*Who have a caring view of others—they are helpless, and thus need compassion. Christ’s authority and grace extend to those whom society may despise.
Hudson Taylor, the great pioneer missionary to China, used to say, “All God’s giants have been weak men who did great things for God because they reckoned on God being with them.” May that same powerful God do great things through us as we trust Him in our weakness!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
It is not news, and yet at the same time we hear each day in the news, that we live in a hurting world. In the past several weeks we have heard about bombings in Kenya, Tanzania, and Ireland. There is continuing tension in the Middle East and between India and Pakistan. There is civil war in the Congo, which just went through civil war in the past year. The list could go on and on.
Moving from the global to the personal realm does not eliminate the problems. We’ve all heard about the tragic domestic violence in our community in the last few years. We all know families that are breaking apart and parents who are heartbroken over their rebellious children. Many, even in Christian circles, struggle with severe personal problems. Nineteenth century British preacher Joseph Parker said, “Preach to the suffering, and you will never lack a congregation. There is a broken heart in every pew.”
In such a world, there is a desperate need for a message of true hope to overcome the despair and of real power to overcome our weakness. Sometimes we feel like the guy who saw some light at the end of the tunnel, but then he realized that it was a train coming at him. That is false hope! We need true hope.
The gospel of Jesus Christ offers that true hope and real power to this hurting world. This is graphically portrayed in Luke 7:11-17. There are three recorded miracles where Jesus raised a dead person back to life: Jairus’ daughter (in Matthew, Mark, and Luke); Lazarus (only in John); and the raising of this widow’s only son (only in Luke). All of Jesus’ miracles go beyond the literal fact in that there are great spiritual lessons to be learned from them. John referred to them as “signs,” meaning that they have significance beyond the outward. They point us to something deeper. Spurgeon said, “They are sermons to the eye just as His spoken discourses were sermons to the ear” (12 Sermons on Conversion [Baker], p. 80). Even so, this account of Jesus raising this young man to life and giving him back to his mother is saying something beyond the actual facts of the matter. It shows us that …
The life-giving word of Christ is a message of hope and power in a world of despair and weakness.
This woman who had lost her husband was now in despair over the loss of her only son. And, of course, she was powerless in the face of death. But Christ’s life-giving word brought hope and power into that dismal scene.
This miracle is a parable of the task we face as witnesses of the gospel. Evangelism is not the job of a salesman who persuades people to believe in Christ. Evangelism is nothing less than the raising of those who are dead in their trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). When we share the gospel with them, God must use it to raise the sinner from death to life just as Jesus raised this man from physical death to physical life. And the result is no less powerful.
Note how Luke paints the scene: Two large crowds converge. The one crowd was grieving and hopeless. Hired professional mourners would have been wailing loudly. The bereaved mother, wearing torn clothes, would have been walking, probably upon the arms of comforters, in front of the open stretcher bearing the shrouded corpse. It was a hopeless scene.
Enter the second crowd, coming from the opposite direction, following Jesus, the Messiah, who was performing great miracles. The lively chatter and the bright faces would have shown that this crowd had hope. What a sharp contrast between these two crowds! Wherever the Lord Jesus is absent, there is despair in the face of death. Wherever He is present, there is hope. The hope that Christ gives shines through in three ways:
The Lord felt compassion for her (7:13). The word literally is related to the word “bowels” and describes feelings that come from deep inside. In other words, it was not just an intellectual sympathy. Jesus felt deeply for this hurting woman.
Whenever the Lord Jesus confronts human sorrow and need, He feels compassion. He did then, when He was upon earth. He does now, as our sympathetic High Priest in the heavenlies. He is not a stoic Savior. That kind of compassion brings hope. In our despair, we are prone to feel like nobody understands. Our loneliness intensifies the despair. But to know that someone else feels with us brings a ray of hope. We are not alone! Jesus understands and cares!
Jesus’ words, “Do not weep,” would have been insensitive if He had not been able to do something about her problem. Christ never calls upon people to stop their tears when those tears are wholesome. But in this instance, He is lovingly calling upon this woman for a spark of trust in Himself. He is tenderly saying, “Look to Me! I can do something about the cause of your grief.”
If we want to be effective witnesses for Christ, then we must ask Him to deepen our compassion for the lost. It has truly been said that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. When we show people the compassion of Christ, it often opens their hearts to hear the truth of the gospel.
The hope that Christ gives shines through in a second way:
God’s unmerited favor gives us hope. This woman did nothing to merit this miracle. Unlike the centurion in the miracle just preceding (7:4), no one said to Jesus, “This woman is worthy for you to grant this to her.” She did not even ask the Lord to do it. There is no trace of faith or expectation on her part. And there was nothing in the dead young man to merit this miracle. Jesus didn’t say, “What a good looking corpse! I’ve never seen such a fine corpse! I’m going to raise him from the dead.” I don’t care how nicely you dress them up, corpses do not have any merit. This miracle came totally from Christ’s great compassion and love. It was all of grace.
The gospel is all of grace, not at all of works. It is not, “Try a little harder! Clean up your life! Do these good works so that you can receive God’s salvation.” That is the message of man’s religions, and it only increases despair, because the already despairing sinner thinks, “What if I can’t measure up?”
But the message of grace brings hope. It says, “Even when we were dead in our transgressions, [He] made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:5). God does not save anyone because they have worked hard to get their corpse in pretty good condition. When we were dead He made us alive so that “He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:7). Evangelism is the work of seeing Christ raise the dead. Since it is totally of His grace, it does not depend at all on what sinners do. Thus it brings hope to the hopeless.
Our text reveals the hope that comes through Christ’s compassion and through His grace. Also,
Christ performed His miracles in a variety of ways. It is significant, therefore, that each time He raised the dead, He did it the same way: by speaking to the dead person and calling him or her back to life. It was His bare word that quickened the dead.
There is great power in God’s word. He spoke the universe into existence through His word. The centurion said to Jesus, “Just say the word, and my servant will be healed” (7:7). We have in the Scriptures that same powerful Word, “living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12). Isaiah 55:10-11 promises, “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth, and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”
The power of God’s Word gives us great hope, because it is able to bring change to our hopeless situations. Just as Christ spoke personally to this dead young man, so He speaks personally to the hearts of dead sinners today. Just as this young man who could not arise, because he was dead, did so instantly in response to Christ’s word, so now those who are dead in their sins can respond instantly and receive new life when the Lord speaks the gospel through His servants and through His written Word.
As witnesses, we need to direct people into the Word of God. If you want to see your children solidly converted, read the Word of God to them and when they are able, encourage them to read it on their own. As you talk to people about their need of Christ, quote Scripture and challenge them to read it for themselves.
Gaylord Kambarami was the General Secretary of the Bible Society of Zimbabwe. Once when he offered a man a New Testament, the man responded, “If you give me that Bible, I will roll the pages and use them to make cigarettes!” Gaylord replied, “At least promise me that you will read the page before you smoke it.” The man agreed, so he gave him the New Testament and went his way.
Fifteen years later, Gaylord was attending a convention when the speaker on the platform suddenly spotted him, pointed him out to the audience, and said, “This man doesn’t remember me, but 15 years ago he tried to sell me a New Testament. When I refused to buy it he gave it to me, even though I told him I would use the pages to roll cigarettes. He made me promise to read the pages before I smoked them. Well, I smoked Matthew and I smoked Mark and I smoked Luke. But when I got to John 3:16, I couldn’t smoke any more. My life was changed from that moment.” He had become a full-time evangelist, pointing others to the powerful message of God’s Word.
Thus in the gospel of Christ we have a word of hope for a despairing world. But hope is useless unless it can deliver the goods. An impotent hope is no hope at all, but only wishful thinking. Thus the importance of my second point:
Modern man boasts of his power, but he is impotent against that great leveler, death. Bertrand Russell called it “omnipotent death.” If you remove God from the picture, as Russell did, he is right, because no one can stand against it. Although Jackie Kennedy Onassis and Princess Diana had all the money they needed, they could not stave off death. None are exempt.
But Jesus is Lord over death. When He spoke His life-giving word, the corpse came alive, sat up, and began to speak. Even so today there are powerful effects when Christ speaks His life-giving word to the hearts of those dead in their sins. Note, first:
He was transformed from death to life! There is an unmistakable difference between a dead person and a live one. One summer during seminary, I worked as Charlie Chaplin at the Movieland Wax Museum in Buena Park. The museum is filled with life-like wax figures of famous movie stars. But no matter how much those figures looked alive they were really dead—except for me, of course! I would pose in a frozen position as some unsuspecting person would approach. Sometimes another worker would tell them, “You can touch this one!” As they reached for me, I would reach out toward them, grab their hand and say, “Hello!” These people suddenly realized that there is a huge difference between a dead wax statue and a living person!
Even so, there is a great difference between religious people who are all dressed up with their good works to look alive and those who really have received spiritual life through the power of Christ. The former may fool some for a while, but if you look carefully you can tell that they do not have His life in them. Those truly born of God have many vital signs that reveal that He has given new life to them. We may not see it all at once, but we will see a difference. In this case, the dead man sat up and began to speak (7:15). We don’t know what he said, but those who have received the life of Christ normally will speak much of Him. They will have a new interest in the things of God. Spurgeon points out that whatever this man said, his mother did not criticize it. She did not say, “That sentence was ungrammatical.” She was too excited about the fact that he was alive. Sometimes new Christians say wrong things, but we must be careful not to criticize them too severely and instead rejoice in the signs of new life.
If we keep in mind the fact that evangelism involves raising spiritually dead people, we will avoid two dangers. First, we will not look at outwardly good people and assume that they do not need what we have to offer them in Christ. Look again! They are just lifeless corpses who need the life that only Christ can give. Salvation is always the act of God imparting life, never of man imitating life. Second, we will not despair that some cases are too hard for the Lord. Whether the corpse looks alive or looks dead, it is in fact dead, and it takes the power of God to impart life in either case.
“Jesus gave him back to his mother.” There was an emotional reunion of mother and son. Her tears of grief and sorrow were changed to tears of joy. The fellowship that had ended with his death was restored by his life. The help and support that her son had formerly given was now reinstated. It must have given the Lord Jesus great joy to present this young man alive to his mother.
One of the most powerful witnesses to the fact that a formerly dead sinner has received new life in Christ is that of restored family relationships. There is not so much a generation gap as there is a spiritual gap between young people and their parents. If both the parents and the young person truly have experienced new life in Christ, then there will be joy and fellowship where formerly there was anger and alienation.
I remember the first time I went to hear the Christian music group, “Love Song.” This was at the beginning of the “hippie” movement, when parents were shocked and angry with their kids for growing their hair long and wearing grungy clothes. Kids were alienated from their parents because of what they saw as hypocrisy. But at this concert, there was a long-haired, hippie-looking boy sitting there with his very straight-looking mom. It was obvious that he had become a Christian and had brought her to the concert. As Love Song gave the invitation to receive Jesus, the mom got up, went forward and knelt down. The boy went down, knelt beside her, and put his arm around her. It was a touching scene. Christ delights to give new life to sons and daughters and to parents and watch the joyful reunion. But the effects don’t stop there:
They feared and glorified God (7:16). While their estimate of Christ as a “great prophet” was not as high as it should have been, they nonetheless recognized the hand of God at work through Jesus: “God has visited His people” (Luke. 1:68).
Whenever Christ imparts new life to dead sinners, there will be powerful effects upon the observers. This is especially the case when the dead sinner really looked dead (when he wasn’t all dressed up in good works before). The genuine conversion of a drunkard or drug addict or immoral person or criminal can have a great impact for Jesus Christ. People cannot deny the transformation. They must acknowledge the reality of God. I would add in this connection that it is important for those who have been raised from the dead to live like it so that the name of Christ is not scoffed at through your poor testimony. It is a mistake to parade new believers in front of crowds before they have learned to walk in a manner pleasing to the Lord.
Perhaps as with Lazarus, some flocked to Nain to meet this young man who had been raised. The report went all over (7:17). It was a ripple effect, spreading ever wider.
Who can ever tell of the powerful effects of the conversion of one soul? The results may not be known for years and years, but they can be mighty. In the fall of 1934, a fiery Southern evangelist named Mordecai Ham, preached for eleven weeks in Charlotte, North Carolina. There a 16 year-old, outwardly religious but inwardly spiritually dead, boy came under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and received new life in Christ. Who can tell of the impact that that boy, Billy Graham, has had for the cause of Christ?
In 1929 in Germantown, Pennsylvania, the 17 year-old son of a steel worker became a Christian on his own through reading the Bible. For him, it was a transforming reality that changed his whole outlook, but he thought that he was alone in his experience. He knew no others who believed as he did. A year later, as he walked down the street, he came to a large tent. Wondering what was happening, he entered and heard an Italian-American man tell of his conversion out of crime and drugs and of how Christ not only freed him from prison, but from sin. When the invitation was given, the young man went forward. He entered in his diary that night, August 19, 1930, “have decided to give my whole life to Christ unconditionally.” That young man was Francis Schaeffer, whose writing, speaking, and films have had an untold world-wide impact for Christ.
You never know what can come from God imparting life to a single sinner through your witness! This should be a great motivation for us to take advantage of those seemingly “chance” encounters which we have with the spiritually dead. Jesus just “happened“ to walk into town at the moment this funeral procession was heading out. It was one of those divine appointments. Jesus was always ready, and so He raised this young man to life.
Even so, God gives us providential, but seemingly “chance” encounters with those who are dead in their sins. So often, I confess, I am spiritually dull and miss the opportunity. Later I think, “I could have said such and such!” If we would raise the dead as Jesus did, we must realize that we are always to be about our Father’s business, even as He was. The gospel is the life-giving word of Christ, a message of hope in a world of despair, a message of power in a world of weakness. Even through this sermon, the Lord may be saying to someone, “Arise from your spiritual death and sin and follow Me!”
At age twelve, Robert Louis Stevenson was looking out into the dark from his upstairs window watching a man light the street lanterns. Stevenson’s governess came into the room and asked what he was doing. He replied, “I am watching a man cut holes in the darkness.” That describes our job as witnesses—to cut holes in the darkness of this hopeless, hurting world with the good news that Jesus came to raise dead sinners to new life through His Word.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
At some time or another, every thinking person has wrestled with the problem of doubt. How can I be sure that Christianity is true? What if I have put all my hope in Christ, but I’m wrong? What if there is no heaven or hell? What if critics are right and the Bible is not the Word of God? Questions of this sort can nag at the heart of the most sincere believers.
Even unbelievers have their moments of doubt. C. S. Lewis, who was an atheist before he was saved, wrote (source unknown),
Just as the Christian has his moments when the clamor of this visible and audible world is so persistent, and the whisper of the spiritual world so faint that faith and reason can hardly stick to their guns, so, as I well remember, the atheist also has his moments of shuddering misgiving, of an all but irresistible suspicion that old tales may, after all, be true, that something or someone from outside may at any moment break into his neat, explicable, mechanical universe. Believe in God, and you will have to face hours when it seems obvious that this material world is the only reality; disbelieve in Him, and you must face hours when this material world seems to shout at you that it is not all. No conviction religious or irreligious will, of itself, end once and for all this fifth-columnist in the soul. Only the practice of faith resulting in the habit of faith will gradually do that.
We usually associate doubt with the infamous “Doubting Thomas,” but at first, all the apostles doubted the reports of Christ’s resurrection (Luke 24:11). In the text before us, even the great forerunner, John the Baptist, was struggling with doubt as he languished in Herod’s prison. Although some respectable commentators don’t attribute doubt to the great man, I do not agree. I think that in spite of the fact that John was a great man of God, he was wrestling here with doubt. Through his honest question, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for someone else?” and through Jesus’ reply to John’s disciples and His comments to the crowd, we can learn some things about dealing with our doubt.
These verses fall into three sub-units: John’s question and Jesus’ reply (7:18-23); Jesus’ commendation of John (7:24-28); and, a rebuke to Israel’s leaders for rejecting both John and Jesus in spite of their differences in style (7:29-35). Luke wants his readers to grapple with the question of Jesus’ true identity and with the response of faith His identity demands. Luke makes it plain that while many had repented and submitted to John’s baptism, most of the Jewish leaders had not responded rightly to John or to Jesus. Rather than follow in their footsteps, Luke wants his readers to think clearly about who Jesus is so that they come into a full assurance of faith in Him.
To understand this text and to deal properly with our own doubts, we must recognize that two kinds of doubters are portrayed here. In John we see the doubts of a godly man who was confused on account of the difficult circumstances he was in. He couldn’t reconcile his understanding of Messiah’s ministry with the fact that he, as Messiah’s messenger, was still in prison while the wicked Herod flourished. Quite distinct from John, the second group of doubters is represented by the Pharisees and experts in the Jewish law who did not want to face their own sin and rebellion. They were not just doubters; they were scoffers. They needed to submit their hearts to God. The overall principle is:
To deal with our doubts, we must submit our hearts to God’s revelation about Jesus Christ and hold to it in spite of our difficult circumstances.
The first principle of dealing with doubt is:
There is debate about whether verses 29 and 30 are Jesus’ words or Luke’s parenthetical explanation. They are probably Luke’s words, but either way doesn’t change the meaning. One group, made up mostly of common people including notorious sinners such as the tax collectors, acknowledged God’s justice in John’s preaching. In other words, when John thundered against their sin, in their hearts they said, “God is righteous and I am not. I am guilty before His holy throne.” So when John pointed the way to God’s forgiveness through repentance and baptism, these people readily responded.
But, the very people who knew the Scriptures and who should have welcomed John’s message and the Messiah to whom John pointed, did not. They rejected God’s purpose and refused to humble themselves to be baptized by this radical prophet. Their pride kept them from acknowledging themselves as sinners and from participating in an activity, such as baptism, where sinners admitted their need for cleansing. They thought, “We’re better than these no-goods. We know the Scriptures and they don’t. John’s baptism may be okay for them, but we don’t need it.” And so they missed God’s purpose through John’s ministry and they missed God’s Messiah whom John announced.
Jesus uses a parable to expose their root problem. Those who had rejected both John and Jesus were like children playing games in the market place. Jesus’ use of children for His illustration was a rebuke in itself, in that He is implying that these men who thought of themselves as too sophisticated for John’s crude style were, in reality, so immature that a children’s game refuted them. The picture is of one group of children saying, “Let’s play wedding and dance.” But their friends say, “No, we don’t want to play something happy.” So, the first group says, “All right, then let’s play funeral. We’ll play a dirge and be sad.” But the friends refuse to play this game as well. In other words, you can’t please them no matter what you do, because they don’t want to play unless they make up the game and the rules.
The point is that John came with an austere way of life, preaching God’s judgment, but the Pharisees didn’t like him. Then Jesus came along, enjoying normal food and drink, offering a message of God’s forgiveness to sinners, but the Pharisees didn’t like Him either. The problem was not in the message or in God’s messengers. The problem was in the proud, unrepentant hearts of these religious leaders. Verse 35 goes back to those who have submitted to God’s way (7:29). The thrust of it is, the ones who are truly wise will acknowledge God’s righteousness and their own need of repentance and will therefore submit to God’s messengers, but especially to Jesus who is the final revelation of God. They will not fall into the supposedly “wise” ways of the Pharisees and scribes, who refuse to submit to God.
Applied to our struggles with doubt, we all must ask, Is my heart truly subject to God’s revelation in Jesus Christ? Have I bowed before God’s righteous judgment regarding my sin? Have I repented of my sins? Have I laid hold of God’s provision of salvation in Jesus Christ? Have I publicly confessed my repentance and faith in Christ through baptism? Or, could my doubts merely be an excuse so that I can continue running my own life in my own way?
A few years ago a man who did not believe in Christ and his wife, who did believe, began attending the church I pastored in California. He had come for quite some time when his wife had to go into the hospital for surgery. I went to the hospital to wait with him while her surgery was under way. After we had talked about a number of things, I said to him, “Bruce, you’ve been coming to church for quite a while. Where are you at spiritually? Have you put your trust in Christ as your Savior yet?” He replied that he had not yet trusted in Christ. When I asked him why not, he said that he still had a lot of unanswered questions. I said, “Well, we’ve got some time right now. What are your questions?” He said, “I have a lot of them.” I said, “How about if you make a list of all your questions. If I can provide satisfactory answers to your questions, would you then become a Christian?”
He got a wry smile on his face, as if I had found him out. Then he said, “If I’ve been hearing you correctly, if I trust in Christ as my Savior, I’ve got to quit running my own life and let Jesus take over. Is that correct?” I said yes. He said, “Well, I’m not sure that I’m ready to do that yet.” He saw that the matter was not intellectual, but rather of yielding his will to God. A few months later, he did yield his life to Christ and I had the joy of baptizing him.
Doubt is often just a smokescreen for a heart that wants to play by its own rules. God has given sufficient evidence that Jesus Christ is who He claimed to be. If your doubts stem from sin and rebellion, you won’t see them removed until you repent and submit your heart to Jesus as Lord. So the first step for dealing with doubt is to turn from your sin and rebellion against God. Acknowledge that God, as the Sovereign Creator of this universe, has the right to run your life. Recognize that Jesus Christ offered Himself as the necessary sacrifice to satisfy God’s righteous judgment. Accept Christ as your Savior and Lord. Yielding your heart to Him will remove many doubts.
As I said, many weighty commentators refuse to attribute doubt to John, since he was such a great man of God. Jesus gives John the highest imaginable commendation (7:24-28). Unlike the reeds that swayed in the breeze along the Jordan River where he preached, John was a man of unswerving conviction. He didn’t change his message in the slightest when the big shots from Jerusalem came to hear him preach. Further, John’s convictions were backed up by his lifestyle. He wasn’t preaching so that he could wear the finest clothes and eat gourmet food. John was a prophet, and more than a prophet. He was the very messenger whom God promised in Malachi 3:1 to prepare the way before Messiah.
Because Jesus speaks so highly of John, many think that John’s question did not stem from his doubt, but was designed to shore up the doubts of his disciples. In spite of John’s greatness, I reject that interpretation for two reasons. First, Jesus’ gentle rebuke in verse 23 seems to be a word to John, not to his disciples. Note, by the way, that Jesus sent this rebuke directly back to John, probably without the multitude hearing. Then He praises John to the multitude. We often err by praising a man to his face and running him down to others behind his back. Jesus’ gentle rebuke says, “John, I’m the one; just don’t stumble over Me because I’m not doing things the way you may have expected.”
The second reason I think that John was doubting is that even the greatest men of God are still men of flesh, subject to times of doubt and despair. The mighty prophet Elijah wavered in his faith and ran from the wicked Jezebel, whose prophets he had slain, asking God to take his life. Ironically, he was one of two men who did not ever die, but were taken straight to heaven! Now, the “Elijah who was to come” wavers as he sits day after day in Herod’s prison. Why did John doubt?
It’s interesting to contrast the Elijah of old with John, who came in the spirit and power of Elijah. The Old Testament prophet saw God work many powerful miracles. In his duel with the prophets of Baal, he called down fire from heaven to consume his saturated sacrifice and then he took up a sword and slew all 400 of them. Later, when the wicked son of Ahab and Jezebel sent a contingent of 50 soldiers to take him captive, he called down fire from heaven and consumed them. When a second group of 50 came, he did it again. Yet John the Baptist had performed no miracles. When the wicked Herod decided to imprison him, he didn’t call down fire from heaven to consume the arresting soldiers. His prayers and the prayers of his disciples on his behalf to get him out of prison weren’t even being answered. John sat in that dark dungeon day after day, he ate the meager diet of bread and water, and he wondered, “If Jesus is the Messiah, then why am I still in prison?”
Whenever you’re going through a time of difficult trials, when it seems that God is ignoring your prayers, be on guard. It was in the context of enduring fiery trials that Peter wrote, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” Then he added, “But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. And after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you” (1 Pet. 5:8-10, italics added). Your trials do not mean that God does not exist or that He has lost control as the Sovereign of the universe. Hang on by faith, knowing that He will use your trial to strengthen and establish you. As Peter instructs just a few verses before (5:6-7), “Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God … casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.” Don’t doubt God’s sovereignty or His love when you go through extended trials.
Not only was John going through a difficult trial that would shortly result in his martyrdom, he also was dealing with disappointed expectations. John came thundering about God’s impending judgment on sinners. He was bold enough to rebuke even King Herod for his immorality. But Herod was still having his drunken parties, still living in immorality with his brother’s wife, while John was in prison. Also, John knew that Isaiah prophesied that Messiah would proclaim freedom to the prisoners and bring in the day of vengeance of our God (Isa. 61:1, 2). And yet, John wasn’t exactly free from prison and God’s vengeance had not been poured out on the likes of Herod. Besides, the Jews, especially the religious leaders, weren’t flocking to submit to Jesus as their Messiah. So John’s expectations about Jesus were disappointed.
William Barclay points out that John may have wrestled with the answer Jesus sent back through his disciples. He told them to go and report to John the many miracles they saw and the fact that the poor had the gospel preached to them. But, as Barclay puts it, “If Jesus was God’s anointed one, John would have expected him to say, ‘My armies are massing. Caesarea, the headquarters of the Roman army is about to fall. The sinners are being obliterated. And judgment has begun’” (The Daily Study Bible, Luke [Westminster Press], p. 89). John had to deal with his mistaken expectations of who Jesus is and what He came to do.
You’ve been there, haven’t you? You thought that Jesus would solve all sorts of problems for you, but instead, the problems have grown worse. You thought that He would make life easier and more abundant, but it has been more difficult and destitute. Perhaps some well meaning saint came along and told you that the reason things weren’t going so well is that you weren’t praying enough. So you prayed more, but the problems persisted. Then he said that you must be harboring some secret sins, so you confessed every sin you could think of, and prayed some more, but God still didn’t seem to be listening. It’s easy for even the godly to doubt at such times. So what’s the answer?
John may have died without resolving some of his theological confusion about Messiah. He knew from Isaiah that Messiah would baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire, but he didn’t seem to understand that Messiah would come twice—the first time to baptize with the Holy Spirit as He proclaimed the favorable year of the Lord; the second time to baptize with the fire of judgment as He will bring the vengeance of our God (Isa. 61:1-2; Luke 4:18-21). But even though John may not have understood everything, he still clung to Jesus. He teaches us two things about dealing with doubt:
Bring your doubts to Jesus Himself.
John sent his disciples straight to Jesus. He could have sent them to the scribes and Pharisees, and they would have only deepened his doubts and perhaps added a few more reasons to doubt. He could have consulted the Hebrew commentaries, but he probably wouldn’t have found much help there. He went directly to Jesus and Jesus gave him a solid answer, along with a gentle rebuke. Jesus did not say, “Cursed is he who doubts Me,” but rather, “Blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me.”
When as a believer you’re struggling with doubt, take your doubts to Jesus in prayer. Make sure your heart is in submission to Him. Make sure that you’re not harboring any sin that lies beneath the surface of your doubts. Then pour out your confusion or difficulty to the Lord. If you need a gentle rebuke, He will give it, but always with a view of bringing healing. Don’t take your doubts to those who sit in judgment on God’s Word. If you read Bible critics, they will not usually strengthen your faith. Reading solid, Bible-believing commentators may help you clarify a matter, and so this can help. But in all your study, you need to lay hold of Jesus Himself. So bring your doubts to Him.
Look to the person and work of Christ Himself.
Jesus told John’s disciples to go and tell John what they had seen and heard, and then cataloged His many miracles that fulfilled Old Testament prophecy. Jesus is saying, “Look at My life and ministry.” He worked miracles by the power of God to authenticate who He was. He preached the good news of salvation to the poor whom society disregarded.
Also, He affirms here that John was the messenger predicted by Malachi, which also affirms that Jesus is the promised Messiah. When Jesus states that John was the greatest of men, but then adds that “he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he,” He is affirming that while John was the greatest of the old era, someone even greater is here, namely, Jesus the Messiah, who ushers in the kingdom of God. John lived in the era of promise; the one who submits to Jesus as king lives in the era of fulfillment.
In explaining why the least in the kingdom is greater than John, William Barclay (ibid., 90) writes,
Why? Some have said that it was because John had wavered, if but for a moment, in his faith. It was not that. It was because John marked a dividing line in history. Since John’s proclamation had been made, Jesus had come; eternity had invaded time; heaven had invaded earth; God had arrived in Jesus; life could never be the same again. We date all time as before Christ and after Christ—B.C. and A.D. Jesus is the dividing line. Therefore, all who come after him and who receive him are of necessity granted a greater blessing than all who went before. The entry of Jesus into the world divided all time into two; and it divided all life in two. If any man be in Christ he is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
So when you struggle with doubt, go back to the basic question, Who is Jesus Christ? Read the Old Testament prophecies. Read the Gospels. Could He have been a charlatan? Or do His life and teaching ring true? In John 6, Jesus taught some difficult things and as a result, many who had been following Him withdrew. Jesus asked the twelve, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” Peter gave the great reply, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68-69). When you struggle with doubt, look to the person and work of Jesus Christ Himself.
I have been where Peter was many times, struggling with a hard saying of Jesus or a difficult personal matter that seems to undermine the truth of God’s Word. I have had to go back to the basics and ask, “Where else can I go? I know that Jesus is who He claimed to be. He is the promised Messiah. He is the only Savior. He is risen from the dead.” I may not understand everything, but if I cling to Jesus, I will come through the storms of doubt into calmer seas. To deal with your doubts, make sure that your heart is in submission to God. Then, look to God’s revelation about His Son and hold to it in spite of your difficult circumstances. Jesus will give you aid as you pray, “Lord I believe; help my unbelief!”
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Years ago I knew a man named Glenn who had been doing five years to life in Tehachapi Prison for drug dealing and other charges. One night, in the emptiness of his soul, he wandered into the prison chapel, where he heard the good news that Jesus Christ saves sinners. There, as he later learned, at the same moment that his mother was at home on her knees praying for her wayward son, Glenn got down on his knees and received Jesus Christ as his Savior. His life was dramatically transformed from that moment.
God put in Glenn’s heart the burning desire to tell everyone he met about Christ’s love for sinners. Everyone! One summer night, he and I walked along the boardwalk in Seal Beach, California. We could hardly carry on a conversation because every time we passed someone, Glenn would stop him to tell him about Christ. Another time I was sitting in a restaurant when Glenn walked in and spotted me across the room. He loudly called out, “Praise the Lord, brother Steve!” Then, since he had everyone’s attention, he stopped at each booth on the way to where I was to announce, “Jesus Christ saved me from prison and from sin. Here, read this!” He would hand each person a gospel tract.
I believe that God gave Glenn a special gift to talk to people about Jesus Christ that I lack. But apart from special gifts, Glenn had something that I wanted for myself and that every Christian should desire, namely, a fervent love for Jesus Christ. Glenn’s experience with the Lord was not a formal, go-to-church, run-through-the-motions thing. He was keenly aware of where he would have been if Christ had not reached down and pulled him out of a horrible pit, and he lived each day with fervent devotion to the Lord because of it. He often would say, “I have been forgiven much, and so I love much.”
But that’s where the rub was for me. I don’t have a dramatic, rags-to-riches testimony. I grew up in a Christian home. Accepting Jesus as my Savior is one of my earliest memories. I was raised in church. I have a pin in a drawer at home signifying seven years of perfect Sunday School attendance. I think the actual record was higher, but I just didn’t get the pin. I certainly had my normal share of childhood sins, but I never was rebellious toward my parents, even in my teens. I have never been anywhere close to being drunk. I have never used drugs. I have never been arrested. Compared to Glenn, it seemed as if I had not been forgiven nearly as much.
So I wondered, “How can I develop the same fervent love for the Lord that he seems to have?” I realized that the answer was not to go out and rack up some big sins, so that grace might abound. But Glenn got me thinking about the meaning of this beautiful story in Luke 7:36-50. While I still have a long ways to go, this story has helped me to deepen my own love for the Savior. I believe it will do the same for you if you will take it to heart.
William Barclay remarks, “This story is so vivid that it makes one believe that Luke may well have been an artist” (The Daily Study Bible, Luke [Westminster Press], p. 93). We need to meet the three main characters in this drama. We might call them the Pharisee, the Prostitute, and the Prophet.
The Pharisee: His name was Simon. This story is not a variation of the incident that took place in the home of a Simon the leper, where Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus just prior to His arrest. Simon was a common name. This Simon was a Pharisee, which means that outwardly he was a good, upright, religious man. He attempted to keep the Law of Moses. He tithed his income. He fasted regularly. He prayed at least three times every day. He never missed in his attendance at the synagogue. He was a decent man who was respected as a religious leader in the community.
His relationship to Jesus could be described as formal, distant and cool. He invited Jesus to his home for dinner, probably thinking that the theological discussion would be interesting. This young Teacher was creating quite a stir, and it would be intriguing to interact with Him. But Simon had no sense of personal need. He projected an air of having it together. After all, he was a Pharisee. For him, Jesus didn’t offer anything eternally vital. Scholars debate whether Simon’s withholding of water to wash Jesus’ feet, of the greeting kiss, and of the oil to anoint His head was rude or not. But certainly Simon’s reception of Jesus was much more reserved than he would have shown to the Chief Priest if he had come to dinner. Simon wanted to reflect a certain coolness and distance. He didn’t want his friends to think that he had gone overboard for Jesus or anything like that.
The Prostitute: The second character of the drama, deliberately left unnamed by Luke to guard her privacy, was probably a prostitute. She is not Mary Magdalene or Mary of Bethany. At the least, she was notorious in town for her openly sinful way of life. When she entered the room, eyebrows were raised and voices were lowered to whispers. Jesus’ question to Simon (7:44) is rather amusing: “Do you see this woman?” You can rest assured that Simon was aware of nothing but that woman from the moment she had entered the room! Although it was a common custom for uninvited guests to be able to drop in at such a gathering to listen to the dialog, Simon hardly expected to see the likes of her!
By His question, Jesus was about to showcase a prostitute as an example for a Pharisee to follow! The fact was, Simon had not really seen that woman. He had not seen that she had something he needed, namely, a loving, thankful heart toward the Savior. It took a lot of courage for this woman to seek out Jesus in this gathering that probably included many Pharisees. She knew that she would have to endure stares, whispers, and muffled laughter as the men nudged one another. But she wanted openly to express her love for Jesus, and she was willing to endure public humiliation to do it.
Luke does not tell us, but we must assume that this woman had come under Jesus’ teaching prior to this occasion. Jesus’ words to her (7:48, 50) are words of assurance, not first-time declarations. As this sinful woman had heard Jesus speak of the things of God, she sensed that here was a Man who did not condemn her. She had heard the Pharisees teach that the way to God was to keep the law, to observe countless Sabbath regulations, and to be diligent to avoid ceremonial defilement. But their teaching offered her no hope. It only added to her condemnation. She didn’t even know where to begin!
But then she heard Jesus say, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32). She heard of greedy tax collectors who had been transformed by coming to Jesus. Perhaps she heard of another sinful woman to whom Jesus had said, “Neither do I condemn you; go your way; from now on, sin no more” (John 8:11). She thought, “This Man offers hope even to a sinner like me!” And so she repented of her sins and put her trust in this one who came to seek and to save the lost. All of this had happened before that day in Simon’s house.
When she learned that He was nearby, she determined to go to Him and express her deep gratitude for all that He had done for her. At such a dinner, the guests reclined on couches with their heads toward the table, leaning on their left elbows, with their feet away from the table. She planned to slip in and anoint His feet with this expensive perfume as He reclined at the table. But when she got there, she was overcome with emotion. She could not contain her tears. As she clung to His feet and they became wet with her tears, she ignored the custom of a woman not letting her hair down in public. That hair that before she had let down for sinful purposes, she now undid to dry the Savior’s feet. She was so thankful that she kept kissing His feet. Kissing the feet was a common mark of deep reverence, especially to leading rabbis (Alfred Plummer, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel According to St. Luke [Charles Scribners Sons], p. 211). Finally, she took her bottle of costly perfume and poured it on His feet. She didn’t care what anyone else thought. She wanted to show her love for Jesus. In contrast to the cool detachment of the Pharisee, this prostitute had a fervent, demonstrative love for the Lord Jesus who had done so much for her.
Before we look at the third character of the drama, let me ask: Which of these two characters most describes your relationship with Jesus? Are you more like the cool, calm, and collected Pharisee? You’ve got it pretty much together spiritually, so you don’t really need what Jesus offers, namely, forgiveness of sins. Are you like Simon? Or, like this woman, do you see that without Jesus, you’d be hopelessly, helplessly lost in your sins? Like her, are you at liberty to express your deep feelings of love and gratitude for the Savior, in spite of what people might think? Luke wants us to take an honest look at ourselves and identify with either the Pharisee or the prostitute. Clearly, the prostitute is the preferable character here!
The Prophet: Jesus is the third main character of the drama. One of Luke’s main reasons for relating this story is to get us to reflect on the question, “Who is this man, Jesus?” The question came to Simon’s mind as he squirmed while watching this notorious woman kiss Jesus’ feet. He thought, “If this man were a prophet He would know who and what sort of person this woman is who is touching Him, that she is a sinner” (7:39). Luke uses splendid irony by showing that Jesus could read Simon’s secret thoughts, even though Simon doubted that He was a prophet!
The dinner guests also raise the question of Jesus’ identity: “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” (7:49). It’s not the first time in Luke that this question has been asked. Jesus demonstrated His authority to forgive sins by raising the paralytic from his stretcher (5:21, 24). Here, He ignores the murmuring of the religious crowd, assures this sinful woman of her forgiveness and sends her away in peace. You can only rightly forgive sins if they were committed against you. Luke wants us to consider that this man is not only a prophet, He is the one whose Law this sinful woman had broken. As God in human flesh, He could rightly forgive sins.
Having met the main characters, let’s come back to the central question: How do I develop the fervent love for Jesus that this sinful woman had, especially if my background is more like that of the Pharisee? Jesus answers that question in the story about the two debtors that He addresses to Simon (7:41-43). He brings out three simple truths:
Both parties are in debt. The greater debtor refers to the sinful woman, the lesser debtor to the Pharisee. But in God’s sight the woman was not necessarily the greater sinner. Outwardly, as men see things, yes, she was the greater sinner. It is true that sins of the body are worse than sins of the mind (1 Cor. 6:18-19). But God looks on the heart, not just on the outward sins. In his heart, the Pharisee was guilty of pride and self-righteousness, which are serious sins. Also, God judges according to the light that a person has received. To sin against clear knowledge and an informed conscience is more serious than to sin in ignorance, although both are sins. God takes into account the various circumstances that surround a person, such as the person’s upbringing, environment, and the factors that led the person into the sin. God would judge much more severely a young person from a godly upbringing who fell into a lifestyle of immorality than someone from a pagan country who had no knowledge of the gospel. So we do not know which of the two was the worse sinner in God’s sight.
But Jesus couches the story in this way to draw the Pharisee’s neck into the noose. Simon would have been thinking, “Jesus is right; this woman is at least ten times worse than I am.” But in so agreeing, Simon has just acknowledged that he, too, is a debtor! He may not be in quite as deep as the woman, but he is in debt as a violator of God’s holy law. Before you can love the Lord Jesus as the one who paid your debt, you have to come to see that you are, in fact, in debt. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 6:23). “There is none righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10). You must acknowledge, “I have sinned and am guilty before the holy God.” Jesus’ second point pulls the noose tight:
Both debtors were unable to repay. Both were in over their heads. If you can’t repay, you can’t repay! You’re bankrupt! The creditor can take everything you own to recover at least part of his losses. Which person is in bigger trouble: the guy drowning in 50 feet of water or the guy drowning in 500 feet of water? It would be ridiculous for the guy in 50 feet of water to look at the guy in 500 feet and think, “Well, at least I’m better off than that poor wretch!” And, it wouldn’t do any good for the guy in 500 feet of water to think, “If I can just swim over to where that guy is in 50 feet of water, I’ll be okay!”
And yet sinners often think like this! The self-righteous sinner thinks, “I’m better off than that degraded sinner who is drowning in 500 feet of water!” But all the while, he’s going to drown in his 50 feet! Or, the really bad sinner mistakenly thinks, “If I can just clean up my life by swimming over next to that guy in 50 feet of water, I’ll be just fine.” But in God’s sight, both are guilty as lawbreakers. Both are debtors and neither has the ability to repay.
To love Jesus much, you must come to the realization that you are in debt to God because of your sin nature and because of the many deeds of sin that you have committed. You must also realize that there is nothing you can do to repay the debt. All the good deeds in the world added to your sins is like putting frosting over a moldy cake. You’ve got to come to the place where you recognize that your entire cake is moldy and you can’t do anything to fix it.
In his autobiography, Charles Haddon Spurgeon spends a chapter telling of the five years of soul-agony he went through before he got saved at age 15. Although he was outwardly a Bible-reading, church-going son of a pastor in Victorian England, the Holy Spirit took him deeper and deeper in seeing his own pride, self-righteousness, self-sufficiency, and unbelief. He observes that much of the flimsy piety in his day (his comments are still true) was due to the fact that people professed salvation without any deep conviction of sin. He states, “Too many think lightly of sin, and therefore think lightly of the Savior. He who has stood before his God, convicted and condemned, with the rope about his neck, is the man to weep for joy when he is pardoned, to hate the evil which has been forgiven him, and to live to the honor of the Redeemer by whose blood he has been cleansed” (C. H. Spurgeon Autobiography [Banner of Truth], 1:54). He later remarks that he thought that he loved Christ better and could preach Him better to others because he was led to see the depths of his own sinfulness before he came to salvation (ibid., p. 85).
This is a main reason that I stand vigorously opposed to the teaching of Neil Anderson, who has become increasingly popular. He tells Christians that they are not in any way to view themselves as sinners, not even as sinners saved by grace, but rather we should see ourselves as “saints who occasionally sin.” He claims that if you see yourself as a sinner, you will sin more. But his teaching is diametrically opposed to every godly man from the past that I have read and it is opposed to Scripture. The more the Holy Spirit opens my eyes to the holiness of God as revealed in His Word, the more I see my horrible sinfulness. I argue that this process does not stop at conversion, but that the more a person grows in the Lord, the more he sees the terrible blackness of his heart. Yes, by God’s grace every Christian is a saint; but also, we should with Paul see ourselves as the chief of sinners. This growing awareness of the great debt we owe to God and of our utter inability to pay will lead us into a deeper love for Jesus who paid the debt Himself.
“When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both” (7:42). What wonderful words! Why did he forgive them both? Did he look at their character and say, “I think you’re worthy for me to do this?” No! Did he extract a promise to work off the debt in the years to come? No! He forgave them graciously or freely. It stemmed totally from him and not at all from them.
It is crucial that you not misinterpret the text at this point. Some commentators (especially Roman Catholics), based on verse 47, argue that it was this woman’s love for Christ that merited her forgiveness. But Jesus states plainly (7:50) that it was her faith that had saved her, not her love. Also, at the end of verse 47, Jesus does not say, “he who loves little is forgiven little,” but the reverse. The point of Jesus’ story in verses 41-43 is obviously that forgiveness precedes and results in love, not vice versa. In verse 47 Jesus is saying that this woman’s fervent love was an evidence of her great forgiveness which preceded it. For example, we may say, “It is raining, for the window is wet.” The wet window is not the cause of the rain, but the evidence of it. The woman’s fervent love was the evidence of her forgiveness, not the cause of it. When a person sees his debt of sin before God and his inability to meet the debt, it drives him to trust completely in the Savior who graciously forgives the debt. That is the key to developing a fervent love for Christ:
To love Jesus fervently, realize your great debt and your utter inability to repay it and trust totally in God’s grace to forgive it.
The more you see your debt and your own inability to repay it, the more you will see how much the Savior did for you when He took the penalty for your sin on Himself on the cross. When you see the depths of His great love, you will love Him more and more.
There are two groups that I hope will take this message to heart. First, there are those, like myself, who were reared in the church or who have been in the church for many years. You are familiar with the things of God; perhaps too familiar. You can quote John 3:16 while yawning. The gospel does not stir your heart as it used to do. You need to think about how much God has forgiven you so that you will shake your apathy and love Him fervently.
The other group consists of any, like this woman, who are overwhelmed with sin and guilt. I hope that you can see that there is hope for the very worst of sinners who will come to Jesus for forgiveness. He freely forgives both the small and large debtors who cast themselves on His mercy.
The Lord has given us a means by which we can stir up our love for Him: the Lord’s Supper. We should celebrate it often because it keeps us near the cross, where we see the Savior’s loving wounds that He freely suffered to reconcile us to God. Note Jesus’ word (7:40), “Simon, I have something to say to you.” He calls Simon by name and specifies that the story is directly for him. Right now Jesus is calling you by name. He wants His Word to bear in on you personally. Would you like to hear the Savior say directly to you, as He said to this sinful woman, “Your sins have been forgiven?” Then you must join her at Jesus’ feet, deeply aware of your many sins, but even more deeply aware of His abundant grace. Trust totally in Him to save you and not at all in yourself. You will then hear Him say, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Are you in the ministry? You say, “No, I’m just a lay person.” But according to Scripture, if you know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, you are in the ministry. You may not earn your living by the ministry, but neither did the apostle Paul, for the most part. But every believer is gifted for ministry or service and is accountable to God to use those gifts for His glory as His servant or minister.
Suppose I were a wealthy businessman who owned several franchises and I hired you to manage one of them. Several months later I stopped by to see how things were going. You were not at the place of business. In fact, it was locked up and it didn’t look like anyone had been there for some time. Cobwebs crisscrossed the doors and windows. When I finally tracked you down, I asked, “How is the franchise doing?” You said, “To be honest, I’m not sure. I haven’t been able to tend to it lately, because I’ve been so busy. Work has been hectic, the kids are in soccer, I’ve had several projects to do around the house, and I’ve needed to get away for a few weekends so that I didn’t burn out.” You can see how the owner would rightly be concerned about his franchise!
And yet so many Christians view their ministries just as that manager viewed his franchise responsibility. It’s not all that high on the priority list. If you get a little time once in a while to dabble in it, that’s fine. It’s a nice hobby. But when push comes to shove in a busy schedule, ministry isn’t very high on the list.
In Luke 8:1-3 we get a behind the scenes glimpse of how our Lord and the twelve were able to devote themselves full time to the ministry of preaching and evangelizing: Some women whose lives had been transformed by Jesus traveled with them, serving in practical ways and giving generously out of their private means. This passage is what I call a window-shade passage in Scripture. In the Bible are many passages where the shade is always up. These are the great themes of the Bible that run through it, visible to anyone who will pick up the Bible and read. But then, occasionally, you come to these passages where the window shade goes up and is quickly pulled back down. You can easily miss it, or you blink and ask yourself, “What did I just see?” It jumps out at you because it reveals something that is not a major theme throughout the Bible.
For example, in Genesis 15, God explains to Abraham the prophetic future of his descendants. He tells Abraham how his people will be enslaved and oppressed for 400 years before they return to the land of Canaan and then He adds, “For the iniquity of the Amorite is not yet complete” (Gen. 15:16). When I read that, I say, “Whoa! God knows in advance how much evil He will tolerate before He sends judgment on a wicked people. He is willing to keep His own people enslaved in Egypt for four centuries while He patiently allows the Amorites to fill up the cup of His wrath. Then He commands Moses to lead the people out and Joshua to exterminate the wicked Canaanite nations.” There is a wealth of theology packed into that brief window-shade verse!
In Luke 8:1-3, the shade goes up and we see the ministry of these women to Jesus and the twelve. The women in this story, like the woman in the previous story, had been forgiven much and so they loved Jesus much. They teach us that …
Those who have experienced the Savior’s mercy have the privilege of serving Him out of love.
It is crucial to understand that you cannot rightfully serve the Savior until He truly is your Savior. One of the most frequent gripes leveled at the church is, “They’re always after my money.” One reason people feel that way is that many churches wrongfully try to solicit funds from people who attend the church but who may not yet be believers. But giving to the Lord’s work and other forms of ministry are the privilege of believers only. A person who is not yet a believer may wrongfully think that by giving or by serving, he can earn his way into heaven. But the Bible is clear that no one is saved by good works (Titus 3:5). All good works, including giving, should follow salvation and be motivated by grace.
Note the theme we have seen in earlier studies, of Jesus’ emphasis on preaching and teaching God’s Word. “Proclaiming” is the word often translated “preaching” which means to proclaim as a herald. The herald announced to people the word of the king. He never made up his own message, but rather relayed what the king wanted his subjects to know. The word “preaching” (NASB) is literally, to evangelize or proclaim the good news. Jesus proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God, that God had fulfilled His promises and had sent Jesus as His Messiah and King, the one who would reign on earth and suppress all unrighteousness. Thus at the heart of Jesus’ message was His own lordship and right to rule over the lives of others.
The kingdom of God has both a present and a future aspect. Presently, Jesus reigns from heaven over all that willingly submit to Him as Savior and Lord. But in the near future, Scripture clearly teaches that He will return bodily to rule over the nations with a rod of iron (Rev. 19:15; Ps. 2:6-9). But whether in its present or future aspect, the kingdom of God is built around the lordship of Jesus Christ. Central to the very idea of becoming a Christian is that you have come to know that Jesus is God’s anointed Messiah and King and you submit your life to Him as Lord. The commonly heard notion, “I have accepted Jesus as my Savior, but He is not my Lord,” is appalling. If Jesus is not your Lord, then you are under Satan’s domain of darkness. If Jesus is your Lord, then you are in His kingdom, possessing redemption and forgiveness of sins (Col. 1:13-14).
The point is, Jesus preached specific content, that God is King, that Jesus is His Messiah, and that men must submit to His rule. Becoming a Christian is not just a matter of knowledge, but neither is it devoid of knowledge. At bare minimum, you must know that you have rebelled against the King of the Universe and that Jesus, who is God in human flesh, came to reconcile rebellious sinners to the Heavenly Father through His sacrificial death on the cross. To trust in Jesus as Savior cannot be divorced from submitting to Him as Lord.
These women, along with the twelve (except Judas), had heard Jesus’ preaching on the kingdom of God and had personally responded to that message by submitting their lives to Him. Judas is a warning to us that it is possible to profess Jesus as Savior and even to serve Him, but not to truly believe. But the rest, in spite of their shortcomings, had truly believed. We have already seen how Peter (5:1-11) and Levi (5:27-28) had responded to Jesus. But Luke now mentions these women, three by name and many others unnamed, who had responded to Jesus and were following Him.
Some, such as Mary Magdalene, had been delivered from evil spirits. Contrary to popular opinion, there is no evidence in the Bible that Mary had been an immoral woman. When Luke states that seven demons had gone out of her, he probably means the number literally. But, also, seven is the number of fulness and so he probably means that her life had been completely dominated by evil spirits. The gospels show that evil spirits can inflict both mental and physical infirmities on people in varying degrees. The worst recorded case is the demoniac in the tombs whom we will encounter later in Luke 8:26-39. But we don’t know any more about Mary’s past than is recorded in this passing reference. We do know that her life had been miserable because of this horrible affliction and that because she personally came in contact with Jesus Christ, she was set free.
The second woman mentioned who had personally met Jesus Christ was Joanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward. Her husband probably was responsible for managing Herod’s vast personal assets. We do not know if he, too, had believed in Jesus, but we can surmise that he did not object to his wife’s traveling with Jesus and His disciples. If he had objected, surely Jesus would have told Joanna to return to her husband and be a witness through her godly behavior. We do not know how she came to hear about Christ. Perhaps she heard through John the Baptist’s witness at court after his arrest. Or, perhaps she suffered from some illness and had gone to where Jesus was ministering and had been healed. Some have suggested that her husband may have been the nobleman whose son Jesus healed (John 4:46-54), but that is unlikely. We encounter her only one other time, as one of the women who went to the empty tomb on that first resurrection morning and reported back to the apostles what she had seen (24:10).
The third woman mentioned by name is Susanna. This is the only reference to her in Scripture. Perhaps she was well-known in the early church and that is why Luke gives her name here. Besides her, there were many others who are left unnamed. But they all had responded personally to Jesus Christ.
Thus to come to know Christ, you must know the content of the good news: who He is and what He came to do. Then, you must respond personally to Him.
There was a marked difference in the eleven and in each of these women that hinged on their meeting Jesus and responding to Him. The main difference is that previously their lives had been dominated by the curse of sin, but after meeting Jesus, they were set free from sin’s devastation. When you are in a public place, do you ever look at people and wince inwardly at the devastating effects of sin? Many people show its effects on their faces. Others have bodies that are crippled or in some degree of impairment. Death is the curse of sin written over the entire human race. We’re all in the process of dying. You would think that dying people would long for the deliverance that only Jesus can bring. But Satan has blinded them to their true condition and their fallen minds are darkened to the light of the gospel.
But when Christ powerfully breaks into a life with His good news of salvation, the captive sinner is released from bondage. The gospel always makes a demonstrable difference in the life of the person who has responded to it. The disciples left their nets and followed Jesus. Matthew left his lucrative tax collection business and followed Jesus. These women were delivered and healed from the afflictions that had dominated their lives. Now they, too, followed that ragtag band. Imagine the gossip that must have surrounded Joanna back in Herod’s court! It would be like one of the Kennedy heirs leaving her mansions and social circles to join an itinerant bunch of evangelists in Mexico! But Joanna’s entire value system was transformed. Formerly she had lived to enjoy the good life of the wealthy and famous. Now she lived to serve her Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. So, the prerequisite for serving the Savior is to come to know Him personally.
A non-ministering Christian is a contradiction in terms. Every person whose life has been changed by Jesus Christ is a servant or minister of Christ. By ministry, I am not so much referring to a task as I am to a mindset. We should constantly remember, “Jesus changed my life so that He can use me to affect others for Him.” Just as there are no spare parts on your physical body, so there are no spare parts in the body of Christ. Every passage that deals with spiritual gifts makes the same point, that every believer is gifted for service (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-31; Eph. 4:7-12; 1 Pet. 4:10-11). None are exempt. Let me fill in the sketch given in our text with some basics on spiritual gifts from the rest of Scripture:
All spiritual gifts fall broadly into two categories, serving gifts and speaking gifts (1 Pet. 4:10-11). Jesus called the twelve to train them to carry on His preaching and teaching ministry after His departure. These faithful women were gifted to serve in practical ways, perhaps preparing meals for Jesus and the apostolic band, and in giving financially to support their work. Jesus and the twelve were free to devote themselves to the speaking ministry because these women were faithful in their serving ministry.
In a similar vein, the apostle Paul instructs that some elders in the local church are to devote themselves to the ministry of the Word and that they should be supported financially so they can do this (1 Tim. 5:17-18). In 1 Corinthians 12, he makes it clear that all of the gifts, speaking and serving, are essential for the proper functioning of the body. None are better than others because they are all interdependent.
One of the emphases in Luke’s Gospel is the elevated position Jesus accorded to women. He shows the unique way God used Elizabeth, mother of John, and Mary, the mother of Jesus. He shows the privilege of the godly Anna, who held Jesus in the Temple. Later we will see the close friendship between Jesus and the sisters, Mary and Martha (10:38-42). All the gospels record the faithfulness of the women during the crucifixion and their privilege as the first witnesses of the resurrection. It is interesting that no where in the gospels is a woman recorded as being an enemy of Jesus; all His enemies were men. The prevailing Jewish attitude toward women was less than exemplary. The rabbis refused to teach women and restricted them to the outer court in the temple, along with the Gentiles. They did not regard the testimony of women in a court of law. But Jesus showed personal concern and respect for women. He healed them, forgave them, taught them, and accepted their ministry on His behalf. When you view it in light of the cultural context, Jesus’ treatment of women was nothing short of radical.
But while the Bible clearly affirms and elevates the role of women, it also maintains distinctions between men and women regarding the roles they are to fulfill in the home and in the church. Clearly, Jesus chose no women apostles, although He easily could have done so. Paul makes it clear that elders in the church are to be men, not women. He stipulates that women are not to teach men (1 Tim. 2:9-15). He also stipulates plainly that the husband is the head of the wife and that the wife is to submit to her husband, while balancing that with the observation that both genders are interdependent (1 Cor. 11:3-16; Eph. 5:21-33). Every time that Paul sets forth these principles, he appeals to the authority of the Old Testament Scriptures, not to cultural norms. Thus while we should welcome and affirm the ministry of women, as both Jesus and Paul did, we must be careful to follow the biblical principles on the proper roles for men and women.
Sometimes when the subject of spiritual gifts is discussed, people become obsessed with discovering what their gift is and, once they think they’ve found it, they refuse to do anything else. They think that they can’t help clean up after a social because they’re not gifted in serving! It is useful to have some notion of what your gift is so that you will know where to focus your time and efforts. I think that I am gifted as a pastor-teacher, so I focus on shepherding the flock and preaching and teaching God’s Word. But that does not mean that I do not serve, show mercy, evangelize, give, and do other things that are not my gift. We are all commanded to do just about every spiritual gift. Even if you’re not gifted in teaching, if you have children you are required to teach them the ways of God. Or, God may put you in contact with a new believer who needs instruction in the faith. Even though it’s not your gift, you’re on! Your gifts just show you where to focus.
One way of determining your gift is to do a number of things and discover what you enjoy doing and what God seems to bless. I don’t know if these women were gifted in giving, but they had sufficient personal means to give generously and I would not be surprised to learn that they greatly enjoyed being able to help support Jesus and the twelve. While developing and exercising a spiritual gift is not effortless (I work hard at preaching and teaching!), there is a sense of joy and satisfaction that comes from doing it.
By the way, there is no record of Jesus or the apostles ever soliciting funds for their ministries. I am not saying that it is wrong to let people know about your ministry and the financial needs that exist. But I do think that as givers we have been wrongly conditioned in our day so that we assume that if someone doesn’t loudly advertise that he has a need, he must not have a need. I am suggesting that the biblical pattern is that the donors should take the initiative in seeking out the needs of faithful workers, so that the burden is not on the workers to make their needs known. These faithful women could see that Jesus and the disciples were not getting rich off the gospel. They saw the needs and took the initiative to give without being pressured.
There should never be any competition or conflict between the various gifts, but rather cooperation and joy in diversity as we work harmoniously for the same cause. Do you ever chuckle at the diverse people the Lord draws together into His church? Among the twelve, you have Matthew the former tax collector and Simon the Zealot who used to plot how to kill tax collectors! Among these women, you have Mary Magdalene, a former demoniac, and Joanna, a woman of high culture and wealth. It brings great glory to the Lord and the gospel when people of different racial and social backgrounds, and with different personalities and gifts, come together as one body to serve Him.
But we have to be careful! As Paul points out, it’s easy for the eye to say to the hand, “I have no need of you” (1 Cor. 12:16). But it would be ludicrous if the whole body were an eye or if the ear said, “Because I am not an eye, I am not a part of the body.” These faithful women were not preaching the gospel along with the apostles, but they were just as important in the cause of Christ. Without them, humanly speaking, Jesus and the twelve would have had to spend time working to support themselves and would not have been free to preach the gospel.
Luke does not say this directly, but placing the example of these women right after the story of the woman who loved much because she had been forgiven much, the point is clear. These women had been healed of evil spirits and various sicknesses, and so they now served Jesus out of love and gratitude. Joanna was willing to give up the comforts of palace life and endure the hardships of following Jesus on His travels because of what He had done for her. God’s grace as shown to you at the cross of Christ is always the supreme motive to serve Him with all your might.
Again, we must be careful: It’s easy to serve Christ for the wrong motives. We like the recognition people give us. We like seeing the results. Or, perhaps we wrongly think we can work off our guilt through our service. But with Paul we should be able to say that God’s grace is what causes us to labor long and hard for Jesus Christ (1 Cor. 15:10).
So let me come back to my original question: Are you in the ministry? I hope that everyone here who has tasted the grace of the Lord Jesus in salvation will answer, “Yes, Jesus is my Lord and so I am under loving obligation to serve Him with all my life.” As Paul put it, “He died for all, that they who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf” (2 Cor. 5:15).
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
If you have been a Christian for a while, you have ridden the roller coaster of great joy in seeing someone make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, followed by awful disappointment as the same person later fell away from the faith. For a while he seemed to be dramatically changed. He got involved in the church. He was zealous for the things of God. But then a difficult trial hit. Perhaps he had a conflict with someone in the church. Or he had a personal health problem or he lost a loved one. His zeal cooled off and gradually he stopped coming to church. Every effort to restore him failed. Today he is back in the world.
Others don’t fall away altogether, but their early enthusiasm wanes. They settle into a routine that includes going to church as long as there isn’t something “better” to do for the weekend. But God is not central in their lives. They are more focused on their things and on having a good time in life. They profess to be Christians, but they have no burden for the lost and no desire to serve God. They are living basically for self and for pleasure. But they are not living in light of eternity.
How do you explain such people? Some would say that they have lost their salvation, but that clearly contradicts the many clear passages that teach that those whom God saves, He keeps for eternity. Others say that these folks are saved, but they are “carnal.” They can go through life living in this carnal or worldly state and they will still go to heaven, but they won’t have many rewards waiting for them. But this popular but false teaching contradicts Hebrews 12, which says that if a person is truly God’s child, then God will discipline him. If a person lacks such discipline, he is not a true child of God at all.
In the familiar parable of the sower, we see that even Jesus saw people respond superficially to His message. The parable serves both as an encouragement to His followers and a warning to His hearers. The encouragement to His followers is that when we see people respond superficially to the gospel and later fall away, we should not be discouraged in that even Jesus had the same response. The problem was certainly not in His preaching, but in the audience’s hearing. The warning to those who hear the parable, of course, is to take it to heart so that we avoid a superficial faith. Whatever the current state of our hearts, we can appeal to God to grant us a new heart so that we will hold fast to Him and bear fruit with perseverance. Clearly, Jesus was not teaching some sort of fatalism, that the kinds of soils are fixed forever. By God’s grace, a person can change.
To understand this parable, we must see the context: Jesus’ ministry was immensely popular (8:4). People were journeying from great distances to hear Him speak. Many confuse popularity with fruitfulness. When large crowds flock to a church, the preacher and the congregation think, “Look how God is blessing!” But, is He truly blessing? Jesus knew that large crowds did not equal God’s blessing unless those in the crowd were truly responding to God’s Word with saving faith. Jesus knew the selfish and fickle hearts of sinful men. He also knew the intensity of the spiritual conflict when the gospel is preached, that Satan waits to snatch the seed before it can take root in hearts. So He spoke this parable as a warning of the danger of a superficial response to the gospel.
Why did Jesus speak in a parable that even His disciples did not at first understand? Jesus explains in verse 10: “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, in order that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.” The latter half of that verse is a quotation from Isaiah 6:9, which is quoted no less than six times in the New Testament. Parables serve two functions: They reveal truth to those who are spiritually responsive; and they conceal truth from those who are spiritually superficial or scoffing.
Jesus’ words and the quote from Isaiah plunge us into one of the deep mysteries that we cannot fully grasp, the fact that God sovereignly grants salvation to His elect, but that sinners are fully responsible for their persistence in sin and their ultimate condemnation. For the disciples, God sovereignly granted that they know the mysteries of the kingdom of God (8:10). No one can boast that he discovered these mysteries by his own reasoning or investigation. Only God can reveal them and He does not reveal them to everyone. Is God then unfair? Not at all, because men are responsible for their selfishness, stubbornness, and sin. They have no one but themselves to blame for their own hardness of heart.
John Calvin (Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists [Baker], 2:108) uses the illustration of the effects of the sun on a person with weak eyes. When such a person steps out into bright sunlight, his eyes become dimmer than before, but the fault lies not with the sun but with the person’s weak eyes. Even so, when the Word of God blinds the reprobate, it is not the fault of the Word, but of the person’s own depravity. Thus by speaking in parables, Jesus was seeking to foster a genuine response from His elect who would apply the truth to their hearts. But He was also concealing the gospel from those who were merely curious but who were not willing to apply it to their hearts. They would continue in their spiritual blindness. But they would not thwart the sovereign purpose of God’s kingdom.
Jesus explained this parable privately to His disciples. We need to make several correlations to grasp the meaning:
(1) The seed is the Word of God (8:11). Of His own ministry, Jesus said, “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me commandment, what to say and what to speak. And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me” (John 12:49-50). Also, as Paul stated, “All Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16, literal translation). In other words, Jesus, the prophets, and the apostles were not religious geniuses who gave us their best ideas about God and man. Rather, they were inspired and moved by the Holy Spirit to record what God chose to reveal to us in His written Word (2 Pet. 1:21). God uses that word implanted to save our souls (James 1:18, 21).
Just as a seed has life in it, so the Word of God is alive and can impart life to those who are spiritually dead. Just as a seed has great power in it, so that it can sprout and grow to the point that eventually it cracks the foundation of a house, so the Word of God can germinate in the human heart and do a mighty work of transformation. Just as a seed can produce a tree that bears much fruit which gives nourishment, sustains life, and in turn produces more seeds to produce more trees and fruit, so the Word of God can bear fruit in human lives.
This means that when we talk to people about Jesus Christ, we must share the content of the gospel from God’s Word. So often in our day Jesus is presented as an emotional experience: “Believe in Jesus and you’ll feel better and your problems will be solved.” But many people know nothing of the Jesus in whom they are being encouraged to believe. To encourage a person who does not know what the Bible says about Christ to believe in Him is to encourage him to believe in a figment of his own imagination. Before you encourage such a person to make a decision for Christ, encourage him to read the Bible, especially the Gospels. He needs to know something about who God is, who man is, and who Jesus is as revealed in the Word before he can intelligently repent of his sin and believe in Jesus Christ.
(2) The sower is the one who proclaims the gospel. Jesus was speaking primarily of Himself as the sower. But His followers are also sowers of the Word as they proclaim the gospel to those who are lost. One purpose of this parable is to encourage Jesus’ followers to sow the seed faithfully in spite of disappointing responses. Even Jesus knew that many would not respond rightly to His preaching, but He went on sowing the seed in obedience to the Father. The disappointing responses do not indicate a lack of power or effectiveness in the seed, but rather they point to the problem of the soil, the sinfulness of human hearts. But God is pleased by the foolishness of our proclaiming the gospel to save some (1 Cor. 1:21), and so we must faithfully sow the seed.
Sowers must be people of faith. They trust that by scattering the seed, some of it will yield a crop. The sower does not understand exactly how this happens, nor does he need to understand. He just knows that it does happen, so he expectantly throws out the seed. One reason that I have devoted hours every week for almost 22 years now to preparing biblical sermons is that I believe that God’s Word will not return to Him empty without accomplishing the purpose for which He sent it forth (Isa. 55:10-11). So whether you give people tapes or printed copies of biblical sermons or tracts or Gospels of John or New Testaments, scatter the seed of God’s Word. In due time you will reap fruit for eternity.
By the way, are you sowing, watering, and nourishing the seed of God’s Word in your own life? I sometimes wonder what would happen if Christians would spend as much time each week reading the Bible as they spend reading the newspaper and watching TV. If you feed your mind on the world, you won’t grow in the things of God. If you sow God’s Word in your heart repeatedly, some of it will sprout and bear fruit if you’ve got good soil. That leads to the third key to understanding this parable:
(3) The soil is the human heart. Although the seed is powerful, it must fall on good soil to bear fruit. The Lord outlines four soils, only one of which is fruitful. When Jesus says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (8:8), He is exhorting each person to examine his own heart and take the appropriate action to become good soil. While only God can grant repentance and give good and honest hearts to those who are dead in their sins, we are responsible to seek Him for these things. That leads to …
Our response to God’s Word should be genuine, not superficial.
When Jesus mentions four types of soils, He is not giving percentages. Rather, He is showing four general responses to the gospel. At various times there will be more in one category or another, according to the sovereign moving of God’s Spirit. Also, we need to understand that the parable is not about momentary, immediate response, but rather about the response to the Word over the long haul. It takes time for the seed to sprout and wither, or be choked out by thorns, or to bear fruit. Thus we must continually examine ourselves to make sure that we are cultivating the seed of God’s Word in our hearts. The Christian life is a marathon, not a 100-yard dash.
The four soils can be grouped into two categories: the unfruitful and the fruitful. All four soils hear the Word. The first soil is the only one not to accept it at all. The second soil accepts the seed briefly and shows initial promise, but it soon dies out. The third soil seems to make even further progress, but eventually the thorns choke it out. Only the fourth soil eventually bears fruit.
Some would argue that since the last three soils accepted the seed, and since it is stated about the seed on the rocky soil that “they believe for a while” (8:13), these all are saved; only the first category is lost. But, clearly Jesus gives no encouragement or comfort to any except those in the fourth category. Darrel Bock explains (Luke [IVP], pp. 148-149),
Faith saves; the absence of faith does not. So to believe for a time is not to believe in a commendable way, since the end result is not faith. One cannot end up unbelieving and have a faith that saves, for then salvation comes in unbelief. Another way to say this is that genuine faith is permanent …. Our theological problems may emerge here because we tend to view faith as a response of the moment. The New Testament stresses that faith in Jesus is permanent, being established by a rebirth. Its permanence is suggested by its nature as the product of the regenerating work of God ….
Note, first, the three superficial responses to God’s Word:
Some of the seed fell along footpaths near the edge of the field. Dirt that is continually trampled under foot gets as hard as pavement, so that seed cannot take root there. Besides, the birds (representing the devil) come and eat the seed “so that they may not believe and be saved” (8:12). Jesus isn’t just using a figure of speech when He mentions the devil. There is a real spiritual battle raging for the souls of men and women. Satan hardens people’s hearts by the traffic of worldly philosophies. People engage in worldly, man-centered thinking so often that their hearts grow callused to the truth of God. For example, many in our culture are so steeped in the postmodern ideas that spiritual truth is relative and that it doesn’t matter what you believe that they automatically reject the exclusive claims of the gospel because it runs counter to the ideas they have trafficked in for all their lives.
It is ironic that these are people who would scoff at the idea of a personal devil, and yet that very devil is the one who snatches away the seed of the gospel from them! In their hardness of heart, they feel no need for God. We need to pray that God will break up the hard ground of their hearts with the plow of trials so that they will be open to receive the truth of the gospel.
This is not soil with rocks scattered in it, but rather a thin layer of soil over hard limestone. The warm, thin soil welcomes the seed, which seems at first to thrive more quickly than seed planted in deeper soil. But the roots cannot penetrate the limestone to find water, so when the hot sun rises, it withers and dies.
This represents the person who impulsively welcomes the gospel without counting the cost. Perhaps he heard that following Jesus would magically solve all his problems and that Jesus offers an abundant life, so he emotionally responds. At first, he seems to be zealous for the Lord. He seems to make rapid progress in the faith. But then, trials hit. Because his Christian experience was based more on emotion than on truth, he has no deep roots into the Word. He falls away. It’s not that he lost his salvation; it’s that he never truly was saved in the first place.
When we share the gospel, we need to be careful not to paint too rosy a picture. Yes, God freely forgives all a person’s sins the moment he trusts in Christ. Yes, God’s Word is sufficient for all the problems we face in this life. But, no, God usually does not solve our problems instantly or easily. The Christian life is a fight of faith, and while we are assured of final victory, the battle can get pretty tough in the meanwhile. We don’t do people a favor to gloss over the reality of what it means to follow Jesus.
The seed on the thorny ground lasts a bit longer than that on the rocky soil. But gradually the thorns take over and choke out the seed of the word so that it does not produce any fruit. Jesus identifies the thorns as “worries, riches, and pleasures of this life” (8:14). This is the person who wants the best of both worlds. He professes to believe in Jesus, but his heart is divided. He is still drawn after what this world has to offer. He may be rich or he may be poor. Jesus is not talking about the amount we possess, but about our focus. This heart among the thorns is not fully committed to seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. He is trying to serve two masters, but he really is serving mammon, not God.
The Bible does not condemn riches or pleasure per se, but it does condemn living for riches or pleasure (1 Tim. 5:6; 6:9-10). Even those who truly know Christ must continually pull out the weeds of greed and sensuality. We must constantly deny the lure of the world that falsely tells us to live for this life only. We must continually remember the exhortation, “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” (1 John 2:15).
The common factor of these first three soils is that none of them bear fruit. Some look promising for a while, but there was no fruit because they were never truly saved. So we all must examine our own lives and ask, “Am I bearing fruit for God over the long haul? Is my faith superficial or genuine?”
The good soil represents “the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance” (8:15). The word translated “honest” means “good” in the sense of attractive or useful. It is often used to refer to good works. A person who does good works from the right motives is an attractive person. There is something beautiful and winsome about such a life.
The fact that Jesus calls this heart “honest and good” does not mean that He believed in the inherent goodness of some people. Jesus certainly agreed with the Hebrew Scriptures which repeatedly affirm the sinfulness of every human heart (Gen. 6:5; 8:21; Ps. 14:3; Jer. 17:9). Jesus Himself taught that the human heart is the source of all sorts of wickedness (Mark 7:21-23). He told even His disciples that they were evil (Luke 11:13) and He told the rich young ruler that none is good except God alone (Luke 18:19).
Any good heart is good because God graciously has wrought the miracle of regeneration in that heart. In response to God’s grace, this person hears the Word, holds it fast, and bears fruit over the long haul with perseverance. Fruit is that which the life of God produces in and through a believer. It includes Christlike character, conduct, and converts. The fruitful Christian is not only a hearer of the Word, but also a doer of it. He feeds on it continually so that it confronts his sin, it challenges his wrong attitudes, and it shows him how to live in a manner pleasing to God. He is not being conformed to this world, but is being transformed by the renewing of his mind (Rom. 12:2).
The popular preacher, Chuck Swindoll, tells of ministering at a family conference. There was a young couple there with several small children, and it was obvious that they had some serious problems in their marriage. But as the week progressed, Chuck watched this couple change as they sat under the teaching of God’s Word. The husband seemed to hang on every word. The wife had her Bible open and followed carefully from passage to passage. On the last day, they both came up to Chuck and said, “We want you to know that this week has been a 180 degree turn around experience for us. When we came, we were ready to separate. We’re going back now stronger than we have ever been in our marriage.”
That’s tremendous! But the sad thing, Chuck said, is that at the same conference with the same speakers, the same truths, and the same surroundings, another man was turned off. He wasn’t open to God’s Word. He attended the first few sessions, but his guilt became so great and his conviction so deep that he went home. His family left hurting, perhaps even more so than when they came. What was the difference between those two men at the same conference? The difference was the condition of the soil of their hearts.
In Jesus’ audience that day were some who immediately shrugged off His teaching. Some welcomed His message but fell away as soon as persecution arose. Others, like Judas, allowed the thorns of greed to choke out the word. But many heard His word eagerly, held it fast, and brought forth fruit for eternity.
God wants each of us to check the soil of our hearts. Is it hard and resistant? Is it shallow and impulsive? Is it divided and worldly? Or, is it responsive to His Word over the long haul? Ask God for a responsive heart. Cultivate the seed of His Word every day. You will reap the fruit of eternal life in yourself and in others.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Challenging his wife with a riddle, the man began, “You’re the engineer of a train. There are 36 people on board. At the first stop, 10 get off and 2 get on. At the next stop, no one gets off, but 5 get on. At the third stop, 4 get off and 2 get on. Now for the question: What is the name of the engineer?”
“How should I know?” snapped the wife.
“See, you never listen! Right at the start I said, ‘You are the engineer of a train.’”
That little story shows how we often fail to listen carefully. What husband or wife has not had the experience of mumbling “Uh huh” while his partner is talking, but his mind is tuned out? One husband dropped his newspaper, looked directly into his wife’s eyes, and gave her his full attention while she was speaking. “Stop it,” she snapped. “You’re deliberately listening just to confuse me.”
Just as we often fail to listen carefully to other people, so we often fail to listen carefully to the Lord. His Word is often clear on the issue we are facing. But our minds are already made up and we don’t want to hear what God says because it confronts the direction we want to go. God can speak clearly, but if we are not listening carefully, we miss His will for our lives.
In our text, Jesus warns, “Take care how you listen!” (8:18). Is Jesus addressing the crowd or just the twelve? The full exhortation of verse 18 seems better suited to the whole multitude, but there doesn’t seem to be a break between Jesus’ private explanation of the parable (8:10-15) and these verses, which lends weight to the view that He is speaking only to the twelve.
The flow of thought seems to go back to verse 10, where Jesus explained that the purpose of His parables was both to reveal truth to the spiritually responsive and to conceal truth from the spiritually superficial. Jesus does not want His disciples to think that His main purpose is to conceal truth. Thus He gives the illustration of the lamp being set on the lampstand, not hidden under a container or bed, to show them that the main purpose of His teaching is to illumine the truth, not to hide it. But, at the same time, light serves two functions: it illumines, but it also exposes. Jesus’ teaching not only illumines the truth, it also exposes the evil that lurks in the dark corners of the human heart (8:17). Therefore, we must take care how we listen, so that we respond obediently to Jesus’ teaching, rather than shrink from it because it convicts us of sin. If we respond obediently, we will receive more light. If we shrink back, what light we think we have will be taken from us.
Luke then inserts the story about Jesus’ mother and brothers (8:19-21) to underscore the importance of obeying Jesus’ teaching. The key to being close to Jesus is not blood relationship or any other natural privilege, but obedience to God’s Word. This means that any person, Jew or Gentile, male or female, can be closer to Jesus than His natural mother and brothers were. The way to be close to Jesus is to listen carefully to His Word with a view to obedience. As in the parable of the sower, there is both an encouragement and a warning in these verses:
Since God’s truth is revealed in Jesus, we must listen carefully and obediently or His teaching ultimately will judge us.
Thus verses 16 and 17 make the point that God’s truth is revealed in Jesus. Verse 18 applies it by stating that we must listen carefully or that very truth will some day judge us. Verses 19-21 illustrate the point, that obedience to God’s Word is primary.
Many commentators understand verses 16 and 17 to be an exhortation to the disciples to function as light. They are not to hide God’s Word from God’s people, but to preach it clearly. The main support for this view is the connection with Matthew 5:15-16, where Jesus uses the illustration of the light on the lampstand and then applies it by telling us to let our light shine before men. But the lamp on the lampstand illustration seems to be one that Jesus used on several occasions, and we must interpret it by its context in each case.
Some argue that the context of Luke 8 fits this interpretation, that the disciples are to take the words which Jesus presently was compelled to speak in parables and make them plain after His resurrection and ascension (Norval Geldenhuys, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke [Eerdmans], p. 247). While this is a possible interpretation, and I am not opposed to it as a secondary thrust of Jesus’ words, I think the primary meaning is slightly different.
I think that Jesus is clarifying verse 10 so that the twelve do not mistake His point. Jesus’ teaching is the light that is put on the lampstand. His words are not given for the primary purpose of concealing God’s truth, but for revealing it. But, the same light that reveals truth also exposes sin. Because of this two-fold function of the light of God’s truth, no one can respond neutrally to Jesus’ teaching. Either we respond obediently and draw closer to God or we ignore it and deceive ourselves. What we think we have will one day be taken from us.
Let’s consider how what Jesus is saying in verse 16 applies to us. The lamp was a small clay pitcher with a spout, filled with oil and a wick. Obviously, a person didn’t light such a lamp for the purpose of putting it under a container or under a bed. He lit it so that he could set it on a stand and light up his house. In other words, the lamp had a very practical function. Without it, a person would bang his shins against low-lying furniture. He would trip over the kids toys that had been left on the floor. He couldn’t see to cook or read or do anything. The lamp was lit to be used, not to be hidden.
In the same way, God has given us the Bible, including the teachings of Jesus, to shed light on how we should live so that we don’t grope around in the darkness, whacking our shins on the obstacles that the Word warns us about. Many people, especially young people, want to know the will of God for their lives. Whom shall I marry? What should I do with my life? Etc. God’s Word reveals principles on each of these crucial questions so that you don’t whack your shins on the wrong ways of the world. Clearly, God’s will is that you should marry only a spiritually minded, God-centered Christian, because the Word commands us not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers (2 Cor. 6:14-18). His will is that we should spend our lives serving the Lord Jesus Christ, whatever we do to earn a living, because we are to seek first His kingdom and righteousness (Matt. 6:33). We are to be morally pure, because His will is our sanctification (1 Thess. 4:3). These and many other vital principles for right living are revealed to us in God’s Word of truth.
Several years ago when our children were young, Marla’s parents were building a new home in Ensenada, Mexico. We went down to visit them and were taking a walk along their dirt street. I looked over at Daniel, who was a toddler, and grabbed him just before he stepped into a huge open hole that workers had dug for a utility pole and left uncovered. Unlike the United States, where there are warnings and barricades, this hole was right along the street but with no protection.
Marla’s parents were renting a duplex next door to their new home, and we were staying in the second unit. Later that night, we had put the children to bed and Marla and I had just settled into bed when we heard the front door slam. I knew that I had closed it, so it startled me. I jumped up and discovered that Christa was not in bed—she was sleepwalking and had gone out the door! I immediately thought of that open hole and panicked! We had a few frightening moments before we found her safely next door, saying something nonsensical to Marla’s parents, who could not figure out what was going on.
Without God’s Word, people are wandering in this dark, dangerous world without illumination from God. They’re falling into the open holes of drug use, sexual immorality, anger, bitterness, self-centeredness, greed, and a host of other sins. God’s Word is the light that tells them how to walk so that they don’t destroy themselves with sin. As believers, we must live in the light of God’s Word ourselves. Then, by our example and our words, we must help others see God’s ways.
You may wonder, why wouldn’t everyone want God’s light to illumine their lives so that they can see how to avoid the holes and dangers of the dark? Jesus explained, “Men loved the darkness rather than the light for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light lest his deeds should be exposed” (John 3:19-20). This shows us …
There also is debate about the meaning of this verse. Some think it refers to God’s truth that will be made obvious through the apostles’ teaching. But the warning in the next verse to hear carefully fits better with the view that God’s light exposes the sinfulness of human hearts. But therein lies the danger: we all are inclined to hide from the light rather than to allow it to expose the foulness of our hearts.
Years ago, a wealthy Chinese businessman visited England and was fascinated by a powerful microscope and the wonders it uncovered. So he bought one and took it back to China. He thoroughly enjoyed using it until one day when he looked at some rice that he was planning to eat for dinner. To his shock, he saw tiny living creatures crawling in it. He didn’t know what to do, since rice was a staple of his diet. Finally, in frustration, he smashed his microscope to bits. It had revealed something distasteful to him, so he destroyed the source of the discovery!
That was rather foolish, but how many people do the same thing with the Bible or with sermons from the Bible that expose their sin. They don’t feel comfortable with what they see, so they get rid of the source rather than deal with the sin! The Puritan pastor, Thomas Watson, said concerning the Scriptures, “Take every word as spoken to yourselves. When the word thunders against sin, think thus: ‘God means my sins;’ when it presses any duty, ‘God intends me in this.’ Many put off Scripture from themselves, as if it only concerned those who lived in the time when it was written; but if you intend to profit by the word, bring it home to yourselves: a medicine will do no good, unless it be applied” (cited by Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life [Navpress], p. 53). That is what Jesus exhorts us to do in verse 18:
Jesus says, “Therefore, take care how you listen, for whoever has, to him shall more be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”
Note the emphasis on hearing or listening in the context: 8:8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 21. Listening carefully to God’s Word involves several elements:
First, listening carefully means taking the time to read the Word and meditate on its meaning. Even among those who attend church regularly, so many are simply ignorant of what the Bible says because they do not take the time consistently to read it and think about what it means. In our busy schedules, we often rush through devotions (if we have them at all) without taking the time to chew on what the text means and how it applies to our lives.
A few years ago there was a man in his eighties named Carl Sharsmith who had spent over 50 summers as a guide in Yosemite National Park. This man delighted in the spectacular beauty of that place, and he was always discovering some new facet of it to revel in. But often he got hit with a question that a lady asked him one afternoon: “I’ve only got an hour to spend at Yosemite,” she declared. “What should I do? Where should I go?” The old naturalist ranger finally found a voice to reply. “Ah, lady, only an hour.” He repeated it slowly. “I suppose that if I had only an hour to spend at Yosemite, I’d just walk over there by the river and sit down and cry.”
Just as there is enough in Yosemite to spend a lifetime of summers exploring, so there is enough in the Bible to spend your lifetime digging out and meditating on. If we do not understand it, we must ask God to open our minds to its meaning. We must go back and spend more time observing what it says and does not say. We must read the context over and over to get the flow of thought. Take the time often to spend with the Lord in His Word.
Second, listening carefully means always looking for Christ in the Word. Jesus chastised the Jews by saying, “You search the Scriptures, because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me” (John 6:39). With the two men on the Emmaus Road, “beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, [Jesus] explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures” (Luke 24:27). Whether we’re in the Old Testament or in the New, we ought to draw closer to the Lord Jesus if we are listening carefully to what God has revealed.
Spurgeon tells the story of a young preacher who preached a very fine sermon—what Spurgeon calls “a highfaluting, spread-eagle sermon.” When he was done, the young man asked an old Welsh preacher who had heard him what he thought of it. The old man replied that he did not think much of it. “Why not?” asked the young man. “Because there was no Jesus Christ in it.” “Well,” said the young preacher, “my text did not seem to run that way.” The old preacher said, “Never mind, but your sermon should have run that way.” He went on, “This is the way to preach. From every little village in England—it does not matter where it is—there is sure to be a road to London. Now, from every text in the Bible there is a road to Jesus Christ, and the way to preach is just to say, ‘How can I get from this text to Jesus Christ?’ and then go preaching all the way along it.”
The young preacher said, “Well, but suppose I find a text that has not got a road to Jesus Christ.” “I have preached for 40 years,” said the old man, “and I have never found such a Scripture, but if I ever do find one, I will go over hedge and ditch but what I will get to him, for I will never finish without bringing in my Master.” (Sermon, “How to Read the Bible.”)
For sake of time I mention only a third way to listen to God’s Word carefully: Listening carefully means always seeking to apply the Word to my own heart and life. The two questions that Paul asked the Lord on the Damascus Road are good ones to ask when you read the Word or listen to it being preached: “Who are You, Lord?” and, “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:8, 10). Those two questions are linked: If He is the risen Lord and Savior, who gave Himself for my sins, then it has a great deal of bearing on how I must live.
To read the Word without applying it doesn’t do us any good. The Word was not given to fill our heads with interesting facts, but to change our hearts into conformity to Jesus Christ. I have met Christians who can tell you the tense of Greek verbs in the New Testament and who will argue the subtle nuance of some theological point, but they are angry and insensitive toward their families. The whole point of Scripture is summed up in the two great commandments, to teach us how to love God and to love one another. If we aren’t learning to do that, we’re missing the point. If we listen carefully to God’s Word, He will give us more light so that we can grow more. But, …
Jesus’ warning in this verse applied to the Pharisees, who thought they knew the Scriptures, but missed the Messiah of whom the Scriptures prophesied. God judged them by taking away their temple and their land in the great destruction under Titus in A.D. 70. His warning also applied to Judas, who superficially listened to Jesus’ teaching, but did not apply it to his own heart. The Pharisees and Judas were not irreligious pagans. They seemed to be zealous for the things of God. Judas was one of the twelve. Yet both the Pharisees and Judas were deceived. They thought they knew God, but they didn’t know Him at all because they didn’t apply His Word to their hearts. In the end, they lost everything.
Because there is this element of self-deception, we must be very careful here. It’s easy for spiritual pride to slip in, where our knowledge of the Bible fools us into thinking that we are spiritually mature because we know so much. We must constantly confront ourselves with the standards of Scripture applied to our thoughts, attitudes, and behavior, especially as seen in our relationships at home. Is my thought life pure? Do I deal with my grumbling, unbelieving, unthankful spirit? Does my family see the fruit of the Spirit in my dealings with them? If I put on a good front at church, saying, “Lord, Lord,” but I don’t practice His Word in private and at home, I will be shocked some day to hear Him say, “Depart from Me, I never knew you, who practice lawlessness.”
Luke drives home the point with this incident of Jesus’ family coming to visit Him. He uses the story to show that the key to a relationship with Jesus is not birth or other natural privileges, but obedience to God’s Word. Those who obey Him are truly Jesus’ family. Jesus was not repudiating family ties or obligations, but He was setting priorities. Allegiance to God’s Word must be first, even more important than family. Jesus is most intimate with those who hear and obey His Word. As He told His disciples, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him” (John 14:21). If you want Jesus to disclose Himself to you, you must hear His word with a view to obedience. He calls such ones His mother and His brothers! The wonderful privilege of being close to Jesus is open to anyone who walks in obedience to Him!
Sometimes people complain that reading God’s Word or listening to it being preached is boring. I admit that some portions of the Word are difficult and that some preachers are not very exciting. But often our problem is with our own attitude, not with the Word or with the preacher.
Shortly before he died, Rowland Hill, an 18th century British preacher who was used greatly by God, was visiting on old friend who said, “Mr. Hill, it is now 65 years since I first heard you preach; but I remember your text, and a part of your sermon.” “Well,” asked the preacher, “what part of the sermon do you recollect?” His friend answered, “You said that some people, when they went to hear a sermon, were very squeamish about the delivery of the preacher. Then you said, ‘Supposing you went to hear the will of one of your relatives read, and you were expecting a legacy from him; you would hardly think of criticizing the manner in which the lawyer read the will; but you would be all attention to hear whether anything was left to you, and if so, how much; and that is the way to hear the Gospel’” (Told by C. H. Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students [Zondervan], condensed and edited by David Fuller, pp. 374-375).
Whether you’re listening to a sermon or reading God’s Word, take care how you listen! The Bible is God’s revealed truth. If you listen with a view to obedience, you will be blessed. There are riches there for you—if you will listen carefully as God speaks.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
One of the most awful experiences of my life occurred when I was in the Coast Guard. Sixty mile-per-hour gale-force winds were churning up 20-30 foot seas and we had to rescue a man and his daughter whose sailboat was dead in the water somewhere beyond Catalina Island. Our 82-foot cutter would roll until the screws came out of the water and green water came over the above-deck porthole. I would think, “We’re going over this time!” Then, we would roll the other direction. Sometimes we would crash head on into a gigantic wave and the whole boat would shudder as if it was going to come apart at the seams.
I tried to calm my fears by thinking, “You never read about the Coast Guard losing any boats in storms, so maybe we won’t go down.” I was so seasick that when I wasn’t afraid that we would die, I wished that I could. It took us nine hours from the time we left Long Beach until we had the sailboat safely in Avalon harbor.
Storms aren’t fun, either at sea or in real life. Yet we learn lessons through storms that we never would learn if life were always calm. The Christian faith is not just to get us to heaven when we die. It teaches us how to live in the here and now, especially when life gets stormy. Luke 8:22-25 relates the miracle of Jesus calming the storm at sea as the first of a series of miracles that culminate in Peter’s confession (9:20). These miracles have much to teach us (as they taught the disciples) about who Jesus is and what that means to us in the trials of life. This miracle shows us that …
Since Jesus is Lord over all, we must trust Him in the storms of life.
At the end of this brief story, the disciples remark with awe, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?” That is the question Luke wants us to consider: “Who then is this?” The clear answer is,
In the beginning, Jesus spoke and created the universe. Thus it was no big deal for Him to speak to the wind and waves of His creation and have them obey Him. Yet for the disciples, who were still growing in their awareness of who Jesus is, it was an amazing miracle. We all know that Jesus is Lord and we can repeat the phrase easily. But we often do not really know Him as Lord in the practical, daily situations we encounter. So the Lord often does for us what He did for the disciples:
Jesus said, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” Did He know what He was getting them into? Surely He did. He knows all things and so He knew they would encounter this storm. Although the disciples were veteran fishermen who knew this lake, they probably didn’t anticipate the storm. The Sea of Galilee is about 13 miles long and 7 miles wide. It sits in a depression that is almost 700 feet below sea level, surrounded by mountains that rise to about 2,000 feet above sea level on the eastern side. When winds funnel down those hills, it can create sudden, violent storms. It was one of those unexpected storms that hit that evening—unexpected to the disciples, but not to the Lord Jesus. It must have been quite a storm, because even these seasoned fishermen feared for their lives. But even though it was so terrible, the sovereign Lord led them directly into it!
When serious trials hit, I often hear people say, “The Lord didn’t cause this trial; He only allowed it.” Somehow they think that they are getting God off the hook. Sometimes they will even say, “Satan, not God, caused this tragedy.” They think that by blaming Satan or by saying that God only allowed it, they preserve His love. But they do so at the expense of His sovereignty.
But the Bible clearly affirms that God is both loving and sovereign. You will not derive any comfort in trials by denying God’s sovereignty. True, God may use Satan to bring trials, as He did in the case of Job. But God clearly states, “I am the Lord, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these” (Isa. 45:6b-7). You will find comfort in trials only if you affirm both God’s absolute sovereignty and His unfailing love. Note several features of life’s storms as seen in this storm:
Storms hit suddenly and without warning.
When we lived in California, we woke up to a news station. Sometimes their morning traffic report would mention a fatal accident and I would think, “That guy left home this morning to go to work, never thinking that he had just minutes to live. His family perhaps said a perfunctory good-bye, never imagining that they would never talk to him again.” Life’s storms are like that: Right now everything is smooth sailing. In a matter of hours, without warning, you’re in the middle of a crisis.
Such a storm not only tests and develops your character; it reveals it. Hudson Taylor, founder of the China Inland Mission, was talking to a young missionary who was about to start work in China. “Look at this,” he said. He pounded his fist on the table. The tea cups jumped, and the tea spilled. While the startled young man was wondering what was going on, Taylor said, “When you begin your work, you will be buffeted in numerous ways. The trials will be like blows. Remember, these blows will bring out only what is in you.”
So the time to develop resources to face the sudden storms that inevitably will strike is before they hit. If you don’t spend time with the Lord in the calm of life, you won’t know how to trust Him in the storms.
Storms hit believers.
This storm hit those with Christ in their boat as well as those without Christ in their boat. Mark 4:36 records that other boats were with them. If this were a fairy tale, we might read that when the storm arose, the other boats were swamped, but the boat with Christ in it sailed as smooth as glass. The fact is, Christians are not magically exempted from the storms of life. Just because you’re in Jesus’ boat doesn’t mean that it’s going to be smooth sailing. Christians are not exempt from trials.
Some think, “Yes, that’s true. But I’m serving Christ.” They think that being committed earns them special protection from storms. But observe:
Storms hit obedient believers who are serving Christ.
In fact, this storm did not hit the disciples because they had been disobedient but, rather, because they had been obedient! Jesus said, “Let’s go over to the other side” (8:22). These men, who had committed their lives to serve Christ, obeyed. And He led them straight into a storm! And in the same way, obediently serving Christ may place you smack-dab in the middle of storms you would have avoided if you had stayed on the shore.
I have often found that the most severe times of testing have come right after I have taken a new step of obedience. Just after Marla and I returned to Dallas so that I could complete my seminary training, we were mugged at gunpoint and I had to get four stitches in my hand. While my hand was still bandaged, I slipped in the mud and cut my other hand on a thermos I was carrying. We also encountered several other trials around the same time. Shortly after we moved to California to begin in the pastorate, our six-month-old daughter, Christa, had to be hospitalized with a congenital hip problem that meant being in a body cast for two months and wearing a leg brace for several years. The very day we decided to move to Flagstaff, we learned about a major problem with our house that entailed months of difficulties. Shortly after I began here I had to deal with some major problems in the church that resulted in a lot of turmoil. The point is, being obedient to the Lord does not exempt you from storms; it often leads you right into storms! Not only did the Lord lead the disciples into this storm. Note what happened next:
This is the only incident in the Bible that mentions Jesus sleeping, and what a time to fall asleep! It would be one thing if Jesus had said, “Men, a storm is coming. Peter, you stay on the helm! John, make sure that sail is secure! James, get that gear tied down!” If Jesus had been actively involved, giving orders, telling them, “Hang in there, guys, we’re going to make it,” the storm would have been difficult, but bearable. But just when they needed Jesus’ calm leadership and assurance, where was He? Sacked out in the back of the boat, oblivious to their dire need!
Have you ever felt like that in the midst of a trial? You get into it and it seems as if the Lord checked out and left you all alone! You’re bailing like crazy, but the waves are winning. You’re about to go under, and you wonder, where is the Lord?
He’s always there, even though sometimes it seems as if He’s not. But often He waits until we are at our wit’s end so that we sense how great our need really is. But even before the disciples called on Him, Jesus was there with them in the boat, going through the storm with them. He has promised, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). As Paul triumphantly affirms, no trial can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38-39).
I love the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who obeyed the Lord and found themselves in a storm of a different sort, thrown into Nebuchadnezzar’s fiery furnace. As he peered into the flames, Nebuchadnezzar was astounded and said to his officials, “Was it not three men we cast bound into the midst of the fire?” They answered, “Certainly, O king.” He replied, “Look! I see four men loosed and walking about in the midst of the fire without harm, and the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods!” (Dan. 3:24-25). I believe the fourth man was the Lord Jesus. He didn’t leave those faithful men alone in their trial, but went and stood with them in the flames.
Whenever you’re in a storm, even though you may think at first that the Lord is not there, He is there! The first thing we must do in the storms of life is to affirm that Jesus is Lord, even over the storms. Then,
This lesson comes through with Jesus’ question, “Where is your faith?” (8:25). If there is ever a time when it seems as if panic would be legitimate, it’s when you’re in a major storm and your boat is being swamped. And yet Jesus rebuked not only the storm, but also the disciples’ lack of faith! The fact is,
We all can fake it in calm waters. We can impress others with how together we seem to be. And, the disciples could cope with normal storms quite well. They had been in storms on this lake many other times. They were experts at handling their boat in rough waters. At first they probably thought, “No problem, we can handle it.” But this storm brought them to the end of themselves and showed them how they were trusting in themselves. Often, a crisis shows us a side of ourselves we were blind to. The Lord uses it to reveal new areas where we need to learn to trust Him. We all must come to know our weakness so that we will rely on the Lord’s strength. Storms often show us things that we don’t see in calmer times:
Storms reveal our distorted view of the problem.
The disciples excitedly cried, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” They thought they all were going to drown. But wait a minute! Who was on board with them? God’s promised Messiah! To think that God’s long-awaited Messianic kingdom could sink to the bottom of the Sea of Galilee was absurd! But in their panic, the disciples had a distorted view of the problem.
Not all fear is wrong, but Jesus rebuked the disciples because their fear was excessive. Some fear is useful because it leads us to take prudent caution for our safety. Sometimes fear makes us spring into immediate action to save our own lives or the life of a loved one who is in danger. But fear is excessive and wrong when it causes us to panic so that we are not thinking carefully in light of God’s promises. If we’re so focused on the problem that we cannot see God’s control over it, then we’re not trusting Him.
Storms reveal our distorted view of ourselves.
“Master, Master, we are perishing!” That “we” probably included Jesus, but I’m not sure that He was their uppermost concern. They weren’t saying, “Hey, guys, if we don’t get out of this storm, the Messiah will die!” First and foremost they were fearing for their own lives.
Storms have a way of exposing our self-focus. We can put on a front of caring about others until we realize that it’s going to cost us. Suddenly, it’s every man for himself! Self-pity is another sure sign that we have a distorted view of ourselves. Any time we’re feeling sorry for ourselves, we’re too focused on ourselves. We need to stop and get the big picture of what God is doing.
Storms reveal our distorted view of the Lord Jesus.
The disciples ask in awe, “Who then is this?” (8:25). That was their problem—they really didn’t realize who Jesus is. If they had known, they would not have been so amazed at what happened. They underestimated His power.
We do the same thing when we panic in a crisis. We try to solve our problem by figuring everything into the equation—except the supernatural power of Christ. Our distorted view of the problem and of ourselves clouds our vision so that we fail to see the marvelous person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Although Luke does not mention it, Mark’s account tells us that the disciples (I would guess, Peter) also said, “Lord, don’t You care that we’re perishing?” In a time of severe trial, it’s easy to doubt the Lord’s loving care for us. That’s why, by faith, we must always affirm two things in our trials: God’s sovereignty and His love (1 Pet. 5:6-7).
Thus we often think that we’re trusting in the Lord until a storm hits. It reveals to us how we’re not really trusting Him.
The disciples may have protested, “We were trusting in the Lord! We called to Him for help!” But they were not really calling to Jesus in faith or He wouldn’t have rebuked them by asking, “Where is your faith?” What they needed most in this dire situation was to trust in the living God.
That’s also what we need most in our trials. Sad to say, trusting God has fallen on hard times. Many “Christian” psychologists scoff at pastors who tell people that they need to trust God, as if that is worthless advice. But trusting God in a crisis is not useless advice! It is what has sustained the saints in many horrible trials down through the centuries. If you don’t know how to trust God in the storms of life, you need to learn because we are commanded to walk by faith and to be built up in faith (Col. 2:6-7).
The better we know the Lord, the better we can trust Him.
“Who then is this?” is the crucial question. Clearly, this Jesus is fully human. He had a body that got so exhausted that He could sleep in the midst of this storm. The full humanity of Jesus Christ should be of tremendous comfort to us when we are suffering from the limitations of our bodies. “We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).
But not only is our Lord fully human, He is also fully divine. He merely had to speak the word and the howling winds ceased and the surging waves were instantly as smooth as glass. Just as Jesus’ full humanity encourages us because He understands, so His full deity should encourage us because He is powerful to act on our behalf. Nothing is too difficult for the living God. Not a breath of wind or a drop of water can defy His sovereign will. The better we know Him, the better we can trust Him in our trials.
The bigger the storm, the more the Lord will be glorified when we trust Him.
We need always to keep in mind that the chief end of man is not to use God for our own happiness, but to glorify God no matter what happens to us. This storm revealed the glory of Christ in a way that would have been hidden had it not happened. The disciples got a glimpse of His majestic power, that “He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him.” The bigger the problem, the more our almighty Lord will be glorified when we trust Him.
Corrie Ten Boom, author of The Hiding Place and survivor of the German concentration camps, said that people often came up to her and said, “Corrie, my, what a great faith you have.” She would smile and respond, “No, it’s what a great God I have.” Our faith in trials should point people toward our great God.
The more we trust Him in this storm, the more we will know Him and be able to trust Him in the next storm.
The winds and the water obey Jesus without question, but we always have a choice. Sadly, we often fail to obey and trust Him. But notice that first the disciples feared the storm; then, they feared the Lord. Their fear of the storm was due to their lack of faith. Their fear of the Lord stemmed from their new awareness of His awesome power.
Faith in the Lord is not an automatic thing. It is something that we must choose to exercise, often in the face of overwhelming circumstances that seem to scream at us, “God doesn’t care about you. He doesn’t even exist or you wouldn’t be in this trial.” Faith sometimes must go back to previous situations where God has shown Himself faithful and say, “I rest there.” Often we have to go back to the history recorded in Scripture, where we read of God’s faithfulness to His people in horribly difficult situations. If you actively trust the Lord Jesus in your current trial, your faith will be strengthened to trust Him in the next storm.
I’ve heard Bible teachers say, “With Christ in the boat, you can smile at the storm.” Certainly there is a sense in which that’s true. But I don’t want to give you an overly rosy picture. We need to face squarely the fact that sometimes Jesus doesn’t calm the storm. Sometimes the boat does sink, even if we’re trusting in Jesus. John the Baptist wasn’t delivered from prison; he lost his head. Peter was miraculously delivered from prison, but James was put to death (Acts 12:1-17). So what should we do if we trust in the Lord, but the boat sinks? The miracle doesn’t come.
The answer is, “We trust in the Lord Jesus as we go under. We go down singing the doxology.” John Hus was burned at the stake for his faith, but he went out singing. Nicholas Ridley and Hugh Latimer were burned at the stake together. As the fires were lit, Latimer cried out, “Be of good comfort, Master Ridley, and play the man. We shall this day light such a candle by God’s grace in England as I trust shall never be put out!” Hudson Taylor lost his beloved wife Maria as they both sought to take the gospel to inland China. But he stood at her grave and sang, “Jesus, I am resting, resting, in the joy of what Thou art; I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart.”
Do you know Jesus in that way? If not, don’t wait until the storm hits. Seek Him now! Trust Him as your Savior, your only hope for heaven. Trust Him daily in the small problems you face. Then, whether He instantly calms the storm or whether your boat sinks, you will know peace that the world can’t know, the peace that comes from trusting in Jesus, the Lord over all of life’s storms.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Years ago a farmer from the interior of China had come to a mission compound where a doctor had removed the cataracts from his eyes. A few days after the farmer left, the doctor looked out his window and noticed the same man holding the end of a long rope. In single file behind him, holding to the rope, were several dozen blind Chinese whom the farmer had rounded up and led for miles to the doctor who had worked “miracles” on his eyes. Because his sight had been restored, he wanted others to experience the same thing! That story illustrates the message of the dramatic encounter between Jesus and Legion, the demoniac:
Those who have experienced Christ’s transforming power should proclaim it to others.
It’s a story with some strange twists in it. You would think that Jesus would deny the requests of demons and unbelievers, and grant the request of an eager follower, but He didn’t. Jesus granted the request of the demons, He agreed to the appeals of a group of unbelievers, and then He denied the entreaties of a man whose life He had transformed who wanted to follow Him! That seems backwards, doesn’t it? Why did Jesus act this way?
I believe that Jesus granted the request of the demons that He not send them out of the region and into the abyss because the final judgment of Satan and his forces is yet future. The time is coming when they will be cast into the Lake of Fire, but for now we are engaged in spiritual conflict against these forces of evil (Eph. 6:12). We don’t know for certain what happened to the demons after the pigs drowned, but I think they were free then to go trouble someone else. The water did not harm the demons.
I believe that Jesus granted the request of the local people to leave their region because His main mission at that time was to the Jews (these people were mostly Gentile) and because He will not force Himself upon those who harden their hearts against Him, especially after they have seen evidence of His mighty power.
And I believe that Jesus denied the request of the former demoniac to accompany Him because even though His primary mission at that time was to the Jews and even though these Gentiles’ hearts were opposed to Him, He knew that some of His elect among them would hear and respond. And so He told the man, “Return to your house and describe what great things God has done for you” (8:39). Thus the maniac became the missionary!
Thus the lesson for us from this miracle is that all of us who have experienced Christ’s transforming power should proclaim it. But that raises two difficult questions that we must ask ourselves:
To what extent am I experiencing the transforming power of Christ? What is there in my life that is explainable only by the spiritual power of Jesus Christ? It may not be as instantaneous and dramatic as the changes in Legion. But even so, there ought to be some obvious changes due to my experience with Jesus Christ.
To what extent am I proclaiming the transforming power of Christ? Do I have “holy huddle disease”? That’s a disease that especially affects us pastors, where you surround yourself with the saints, holding hands and sharing precious verses, but you never venture out among the pagans. I believe that Jesus went out of His way to cross the Sea of Galilee in the storm for the purpose of saving Legion and of teaching the disciples about His transforming power. No sinner is beyond the saving grace of God in Christ! Our text plainly shows that...
It is interesting to compare this miracle with the one that immediately precedes it, the stilling of the storm. In that miracle, we see Christ’s power over nature; here, we see His power over the supernatural. In that one, we see Christ’s ability to tame the wild sea; here, we see His ability to tame a wild man. In that one, we see Christ giving peace in a storm; here, He gives peace in a soul.
Picture the scene: It was either at night or very early in the morning when Jesus and the disciples arrived on the other side of the lake after the storm. As they are stepping out on the beach, they hear a terrifying shriek. They look up to see this naked wild man running toward them. (Actually, there were two men according to Matthew. Apparently, one was more notorious and the other was a silent follower, but we don’t know for sure. Mark and Luke only report one, but they do not say that there was only one.) The man’s naked body was covered with scars and caked on blood, with fresh bloody wounds in some places (Mark 5:5). His uncut hair and untrimmed beard were matted and tangled. He had a wild, demented look in his eyes. He reeked of body odor. Luke does not record what the disciples did, but I can picture them scrambling back into the boat or looking for rocks and sticks to defend themselves. But Jesus stepped forward, spoke the word to the demons, and Legion was a different man. We need to understand two things about the transformation that took place:
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation. Jesus didn’t use some clever method to convince Legion to make a decision to accept Him. Legion didn’t decide to turn over a new leaf and try harder this time. He didn’t sign up for a 12 Step group to overcome his addiction to demons. The gospel is nothing less than the mighty power of God imparting new life to a previously dead sinner. If God does not change the heart, there is no lasting change.
Man’s efforts at transformation fall short.
The human attempt to deal with this man had been to bind him with chains (8:29). But it didn’t work. Human solutions to problems that are spiritual in nature ultimately will fail.
Margaret Sangster, the social worker, told about seeing a small boy in an urban ghetto sitting on the stairs of a tenement. The youngster had been hit by a car several months before, but his parents, fresh from Appalachia, neglected to get him proper medical attention. Although not part of her case load, she took the boy to an orthopedist and learned that through an involved series of operations the child’s body could be made normal again. She cut through the bureaucratic red tape, raised the funds, and set the process of cure in motion.
Two years later the boy came to her office. To her astonishment, he walked in without crutches, and to show the completeness of his recovery, he turned a cartwheel for her. The two embraced and when the boy left, Margaret Sangster reported that a warm glow mantled the entire office. She said to herself, “If I never accomplish anything else in my life, at least here is one young man to whom I can point where I have made a real difference!”
At that point she paused in her presentation and asked, “This was all several years ago now. Where do you think that boy is today?” Caught in the emotion of that moment, several made suggestions—a school teacher, a physician, perhaps a social worker?
There was a longer pause, and with even deeper emotion Sangster said, “No, he is in the penitentiary for one of the foulest crimes a human being can commit.” Then she said, “I was instrumental in teaching him how to walk again, but there was no one to teach him where to walk.” Man’s efforts fall short because...
All who need transformation are in Satan’s domain.
This narrative reveals that there are two types of people in Satan’s domain, who need the transforming power of Christ. There are those who are conspicuously in Satan’s domain, such as Legion. These people make you shudder and draw back from them by their very appearance. They look evil.
But there is a second type of people in this story who are just as much in Satan’s domain and who need the same transforming power of Christ. But we might be inclined to overlook them. These are not conspicuous, but camouflaged. I am referring to the people of that area who flocked out to see what had happened to Legion. Outwardly, they were decent, respectable citizens. There are three clues that these people were in Satan’s domain just as much as Legion was.
First, the demons were at home in their region. They didn’t want to be sent out of the country (Mark 5:10). Second, these people were more concerned about the loss of their swine than they were about the healing of this man (or these two men). Sure, Legion had been a nuisance to them. He was so violent that no one could go near where he was (Matt. 8:28). But if his healing meant the loss of their swine, forget it. Third, they begged Jesus to leave (Luke 8:37). What a horrible request! They had feared Legion. But they were more frightened about Jesus (8:37). He threatened them and they didn’t want Him to get too close.
These people are like the man Harry Ironside talked to one night after he had preached. He asked the man if he was saved and the man said no, but he would like to be. Ironside asked him, “Do you realize that you are a sinner?” “Yes,” the man quickly replied, “but you know, I’m not what you would call a bad sinner. In fact, I’d have to say I’m a rather good one.”
There are many people like that man. They are in Satan’s domain of darkness, but they’re decent folks. They’ve never committed a felony. They love their mates and their children. They may even go to church and believe in God. But they don’t want Him getting too close for comfort! If a preacher brings up sins like pride, greed, lust, envy, racial prejudice, and the like that step on their toes, they get real nervous and put up their defense. They’re just as much in Satan’s domain as the conspicuous sinner, but outwardly they look more respectable.
All people, apart from Christ, are in one category or the other. Paul says, “For He delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13-14). The “us” included the religious Paul as well as the formerly pagan Gentiles. Every person without Christ is in Satan’s domain and needs Christ’s mighty power to deliver him.
None are too difficult for Christ to transform, but camouflaged sinners are often more difficult than the conspicuous.
We look at a story like this and say, “Wow! If Legion can be transformed, then there is hope for anybody!” Yes, there’s even hope for the respectable sinners! It takes the same saving power of Christ to transform them as it does to transform the demoniac. But they’re often the more difficult cases because they don’t see their great need. But Christianity is not a matter of dressing up a pig in the tuxedo of good works. It is a matter of God changing the nature of the pig! But in addition to Christ’s saving power, transformation also requires His teaching.
This is an inference on my part. The text does not directly state that Christ taught this man. But I believe that He did. Verse 35 reports that the man was sitting at Jesus’ feet when the local folks found him (see 10:39). It took a fair amount of time, perhaps a whole day, for the herdsmen to run off into the surrounding area and report what had happened and for the people to arrive back at the spot. I believe that Jesus was giving this man a cram course in spiritual things. I think that He taught him who God is and who He was as God’s Messiah, and what it means to live a godly life. The point is, salvation must be followed by sound doctrine so that the new convert can be transformed through the renewing of his mind. Legion, quite naturally, wanted to accompany Jesus (8:38). Who wouldn’t want to? His life dramatically had been transformed by Jesus’ power and through Jesus’ teaching. But Jesus said “No” to the man’s request. That leads to our second main lesson.
If you’ve experienced His transforming power, then you’ve got to express it. It’s at this point that many of us fail. How do we communicate the changes Christ has made (and is making) in our lives? Most of us lack the personality or gift to go out knocking on the doors of strangers to tell them about Christ. I would never take a job selling stuff door-to-door. And, apart from the erroneous theology, I would never want to be a Jehovah’s Witness! Yet, clearly, the Lord has called us all to be His witnesses. So how can we do it? There are two very normal parts to proclaiming the message that every one of us can do:
People knew this guy as a naked, wild, violent maniac. But when they went out to see him, he was sitting down, clothed, and in his right mind (8:35). There was obvious change.
Maybe you’re thinking, “But I wasn’t a naked, wild, violent maniac before I came to Christ. I was raised in the church. I trusted Him as a child. How can I show people that Christ has made a difference in my life?”
There are many ways. Our attitudes should show people that we are Christians. Do you have a cheerful, thankful heart, even in difficult times? Or, do you grumble and complain? Paul says that if we do all things without grumbling or disputing we show ourselves as lights in this crooked and perverse world (Phil. 2:15). What about your words? Do you encourage and build others up, or do you tear them down? Do you use foul language or is your speech pure? And, what about your behavior? Are you self-centered or are you always thinking about others and how you can serve them? Do you live for the same values and goals the world lives for? Do you blend in with the world or do you stand out as distinct? If you walk in reality with Jesus as your Lord every day, your life will be a witness.
There are three things to note here:
How do you go? You go with obedience and zeal.
It takes obedience. This man didn’t want to go home. He wanted to go with Jesus. Maybe he was a bit disappointed at first. But he obeyed. He had exchanged masters. Before, he served a destructive tyrant. Now he served a loving Lord. But sometimes our new Master asks us to do things we may not feel like doing. We must obey, if we want to be His disciple.
It takes zeal. Jesus said return to your house, and Legion went throughout the whole city! Mark says that he went to Decapolis, which was a region consisting of 10 towns! He was zealous to tell others about what Jesus had done for him! Sometimes those of us who have been Christians for a long while need to stop and think about how much the Lord did in saving us and to remember how desperately those who are without Christ need Him. Legion was going to witness to normal people. They had never lived naked among the tombs. But they were just as alienated from God as he had been. So he eagerly told them of their need for the Savior. We need the same obedient zeal that Legion had.
To whom do you go? Go to your house.
In other words, go back to the people who knew you before, to your family and friends, to the relationships that you already have. The New Testament pattern for evangelism is that you go back into your own circle of influence—family, friends, neighbors, job, school, common interest groups, and community contacts, and tell them what great things God has done for you.
“Yeah, but they all know me!” That’s the point! That’s why they have to see your transformed life. You go back “clothed and in your right mind”! Live Christ before them and when they ask why you’re so different, tell them!
What do you say? Tell them your story and the gospel of God’s grace.
Tell your personal testimony: “What great things God has done for you” (8:39). Tell how you met Christ, and what He has done in your life. All witnessing should have this personal element.
Explain the gospel: Who God is, who Jesus is, how we have sinned against God, what Jesus came to do as the sin-bearer. A person needs to know the basic facts of the gospel before he can intelligently respond. Part of the gospel involves telling them who Jesus is. I don’t know whether Legion fully understood the deity of Jesus yet, but Luke wants his readers to make the connection. In verse 39, Luke places the words God and Jesus emphatically at the end of the sentence to link them. The great things God had done were one and the same with the great things Jesus had done!
Emphasize grace: Every false religion in the world and every fallen sinner by instinct tries to approach God through good works. If you try hard enough and do enough, maybe God will accept you. But Christianity is not a religion of works, it is a relationship of grace. Grace means that God freely gives His salvation to those who deserve His judgment, apart from any human merit.
“But, Legion, didn’t you put on some clothes before you went to Jesus?” “No! I ran to Him just as I was, stark naked.”
“But Legion, didn’t you clean up and hide your bloody wounds before you went to Jesus?” “No! I looked hideous.”
“But Legion, didn’t you try to get rid of your demons before you went to Jesus?” “No! The demons were shrieking through my voice when I ran up to Him. He saved me just as I was, totally by His grace, not at all through anything I did.” That’s grace!
John Wesley was once riding his horse, singing a favorite hymn, when a robber accosted him with the words, “Your money or your life.” Wesley obediently emptied his pockets of the few coins he had and then invited the robber to go through his saddlebags, which were filled with books.
The disappointed robber was turning away when Wesley (who had much more presence of mind than I had when I was mugged!) called out, “Stop! I have something more to give you.”
The robber turned back and Wesley said, “My friend, you may live to regret this sort of life you’re living. If you ever do, remember this, ‘The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses from all sin.’” The robber hurried silently away and the man of God rode along, praying that the word spoken might be fixed in the robber’s conscience.
Years later, at the close of a Sunday evening service, a man stepped forward and asked to speak with Mr. Wesley. Wesley was surprised to learn that this was the man who had robbed him years before. He was now a well-to-do businessman, but, better still, he was now a child of God. God had used the words spoken that night in his conversion. Taking Wesley’s hand, he affectionately kissed it and said with deep emotion, “To you, dear sir, I owe it all.” “Nay, nay, my friend,” Wesley replied softly, “not to me, but to the precious blood of Christ which cleanses us from all sin.”
Let me close by asking you the two questions again:
To what extent are you experiencing the transforming power of Christ? Has He changed your life through His gracious gift of salvation? Is He continuing to change it as you walk with Him?
To what extent are you proclaiming the transforming power of Christ? Are you looking for opportunities with those you know to tell them of the great things God has done for you and of the great things He will do for them if they will come to Jesus just as they are?
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Generally, I enjoy backpacking. It’s great to get out into God’s beautiful creation and enjoy things you just can’t see if you stay where there are roads. But there are two things about it that I hate: the bugs and not being able to take a shower. The swarms of bugs force you to coat every inch of exposed skin with bug repellent, which makes the desire for a shower even greater. I can only stand about two nights before I’m ready to wash off the bug repellent, sweat and trail dirt with a hot shower. After backpacking, a shower always feels so good!
The same is true spiritually. If you are defiled by sin, it feels great to get cleaned off, inside and out, so that you have a clear conscience before the Lord. Being truly clean before God is important not only for how it makes you feel, but also because your eternal destiny depends on it. Sin alienates us from the holy God who judges not only our behavior, but even the sinful thoughts that we all have. If we die in our sins, apart from Christ, we face His righteous judgment and wrath. So both for how it makes us feel and for our eternal standing before God, it is crucial that we understand how to be cleansed from our sin.
For those who have trusted in Jesus Christ as their sin bearer, the Bible promises, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). He bore God’s wrath for us, so we do not need to fear the day of judgment. But we still need to apply the benefits of the cross to our hearts on an ongoing, daily basis so that we maintain a clear conscience. We have to bring sins of thought, word, and deed to Him and apply His cleansing blood. If we don’t do that regularly, we begin to feel pretty grungy. We all need cleansing because we all get defiled by sin.
An incident in the life of Jesus, in which He healed a woman who suffered from a hemorrhage, gives us a parable of how we can be cleansed from our sin. The lesson is simply stated:
To be cleansed, lay hold of Jesus by faith.
This story reveals three simple truths: First, that we all need cleansing; second, that Jesus has sufficient power to cleanse us; and, third, what we must do to receive His cleansing power.
This woman had suffered for 12 years from what was probably a uterine hemorrhage. It left her physically weak and uncomfortable. But the physical suffering was minor compared to the religious, social, and emotional aspects of her problem. According to the Law of Moses (Lev. 15:19-31), she was perpetually ceremonially unclean. Whoever touched her was unclean, so that even her own family had to keep their distance unless they wanted to be defiled. Whatever she lied or sat on became unclean, so that whoever touched those objects also became unclean. If her husband had relations with her, he became unclean for a week.
For a woman especially, relationships with her family and friends are the very stuff of life. In that culture, all of life revolved around the various religious feasts and celebrations at the temple, not to mention the weekly synagogue meetings. This poor woman was an outcast, cut off from her family, friends, and culture.
Not only that, but her problem had drained all of her finances. Mark 5:26 reports that she “had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse.” Luke, the physician, is a bit kinder to his profession. He simply states that she could not be healed by anyone (Luke 8:43; some manuscripts add that she had spent all her money, but omit that she had grown worse).
When Mark reports that she had endured much at the hands of many physicians, he wasn’t kidding. The Talmud proposes eleven different remedies, including drinking a goblet of wine containing a powder made from rubber, alum, and garden crocuses. Another potion was made from Persian onions cooked in wine (Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [Eerdmans], 1:620). She had tried them all, but none of them had worked. And, as with doctors in our day, there was no refund if the cure didn’t work. The woman was broke.
This woman’s ceremonial defilement is a graphic picture of how sin defiles us all. It creates distance between us and God, as well as distance from our family and friends. Often, like her problem, our sin is an embarrassing sort of thing. We’d rather not discuss it or have anyone know about it. We clear our throats and try to change the subject if anyone dares ask about anything that might bring it out into the open.
Like this woman’s problem, sin is often costly. Sins such as drunkenness, drug abuse, and gambling can reduce a family to poverty and can cost a person his employment, his health, and his life. Emergency rooms are filled with victims of sin—beaten, abused, raped, stabbed, or shot because of anger, greed, and disregard for human life.
Like this woman’s disease, sin is also degenerative. Her disease was slowly killing her, draining her strength and her very lifeblood from her body. That is how sin works in the human heart, starting at first perhaps almost imperceptibly, but sapping our strength as it continues, leading us toward a slow but certain death.
And, like this woman’s illness, sin is a hopeless problem apart from the Lord. Try as we will, we cannot extricate ourselves from its tentacles. Like climbing up an icy slope, we seem to make progress for a while, but then we slip and fall back to the bottom. We may compare ourselves with others and think that we’re not so bad. But when we recognize that we must compare ourselves with God in His absolute holiness if we want to be accepted into His heaven, we despair. There is no human remedy. We are defiled by our sin; we need to be cleansed; we cannot cleanse ourselves; nothing we try can rid us of our guilt. What can we do?
We don’t know how much this woman knew about Jesus, but she was part of the multitude that followed Him in the hopes of being healed. This incident probably took place in or near Capernaum, so she probably had heard of and witnessed some of the many miracles Jesus had performed there. Perhaps she knew some who had been healed just by touching Him (Luke 6:19). So she determined that she would go and try to touch Him, thinking, “If I just touch His garments, I shall get well.” (Mark 5:28).
Jesus was teaching by the sea when a man named Jairus desperately threw himself at Jesus’ feet and begged Him to come and heal his little daughter, who was at the point of death. Jesus started off, with the crowd pressing around Him. For a while, the woman despaired of getting near Him. But as she desperately tried to fight her way through the crowd, suddenly she saw Jesus just ahead of her. She reached out, grabbed the tassel on the edge of His robe, and instantly felt healing strength pulse through her body! She knew she was cured!
She had what she had come for and was ready to retreat when suddenly Jesus stopped and asked a question that seemed absurd to everyone in the crowd except for this woman: “Who is the one who touched Me?” The crowd was pressing against Him, but Jesus sensed the power that went forth from Him to heal this woman who had touched Him by faith. He didn’t ask the question to gain information, since He knew who had touched Him. He asked it to elicit her confession and to clarify for her what had taken place. It was not her touch that had cured her, but her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. It was not magic, but God’s power in Christ which had accomplished the cure.
Just as Jesus Christ was this woman’s only hope, because only He could cure her defiling illness, so only Jesus Christ can cleanse us of the defilement of our sin. He alone is the bridge between the holy God and our sin. When He died on the cross, God “made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Just as this woman was instantly cured, so all who come to Christ in faith are instantly cleansed of their sin. This incident shows us that …
He is sufficient in power. Even though power went forth from Him, it did not drain or exhaust His supply. He had just stilled the raging storm and He had commanded the demons to depart from Legion. He would shortly raise Jairus’ daughter from the dead. And yet His power was not drained. He has unlimited power to save anyone who will come to Him in faith.
He is sufficient in holiness. He had just been with two demoniacs who inhabited the tombs. This contact would be defiling to a normal Jew. This defiled woman touched Him, which should have rendered Him unclean. He would momentarily touch the hand of Jairus’ dead daughter, another defiling act. Yet none of this defiled Jesus or He could not have performed these mighty deeds.
You can come to Jesus with all of your sin and lay hold of Him by faith. Instead of defiling Him with your sin, His holiness and healing will be instantly imparted to you. He has saved those whom the world would judge to be the worst of sinners, with no drain on His mighty power and no smudge on His absolute holiness. But perhaps you fear coming to One so powerful and so holy. Then note:
He was in a hurry to get to Jairus’ dying daughter, yet He had time to stop and deal with this one needy woman. He did not scold her for the interruption. He didn’t upbraid her for her years of seeking human solutions to her problem. Nor was His purpose in calling attention to her to embarrass her publicly, although no doubt she was at first a bit uncomfortable. He spoke to her with tenderness, addressing her as “Daughter.” He spoke words of assurance and comfort, to confirm her faith and her healing, lest she go away unclear about what had happened. Archbishop Trench explains, “This woman would have borne away a maimed blessing, hardly a blessing at all, had she been suffered to bear it away in secret and unacknowledged, and without being brought into any personal communion with her Healer” (Notes on the Miracles of Our Lord [Baker], p. 118).
Whatever your problem, however great your sin, you can come to Jesus and know that He will treat you with compassion and kindness. As Isaiah 42:3 prophesied of Jesus, “A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish” (see Matt. 12:20). Like a skillful doctor, He may have to wound in order to heal. But He always does it tenderly. He welcomes every sinner who comes to Him to cleanse his dirty wounds.
Because Jesus is the sufficient Savior, you can know that He has adequate power to cleanse your sin. Because He is the sympathetic Savior, He will treat you with gentleness and understanding. You can know for sure that if you come to Him in faith, He will instantly forgive all of your sins, because He has promised it. You will be cleansed of all defilement if you lay hold of Jesus by faith. Let’s explore what that means:
By looking at this woman’s experience we learn five things about what it means to lay hold of Jesus by faith:
For 12 years, this woman had aggressively sought a cure for her illness. She had been to every quack she had heard about. She had tried every cure her friends suggested, no matter how troublesome or distasteful. She had spent every dime. She was actively doing all she could to find a remedy and she would not quit until she obtained the cure she was after. She was not put off by the large crowd that kept her from getting near to Jesus. She was not bothered by the fact that she would make everyone she touched unclean. She elbowed her way through. She didn’t worry about the fact that Jairus’ daughter was dying and that Jesus was hurrying to a life or death mission. She persisted with her goal.
A few years ago a pastor friend of mine wasn’t feeling well. He thought it was just the flu, so he didn’t do anything about it. But when he started feeling much worse, he went to the doctor and found out he had cancer. Once he knew how serious his condition was, he started fighting it with everything available.
Like my friend, many are oblivious to the cancer of sin and death spreading through their bodies. In some cases, they are unaware of the enormity of their guilt before God. Others ignore it and hope for the best. But you won’t be cleansed of your sin if you do not actively seek the cure. The faith that saves actively seeks the Lord: “Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts and let him return to the Lord and He will have compassion on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Isa. 55:6-7).
The best thing that happened to this woman was when she ran out of money without being cured. Then her only hope was to come to the One who heals without money or cost. As long as there are human remedies, we will try them. If we think that our good works can cleanse us, we’ll keep on working. But when we realize that Jesus is the only way we can be cleansed, we will be driven to rely on Him alone. Like Peter when he began to sink beneath the waves, we will cry, “Save me, Lord, or I perish!” The Lord delights to respond to such a cry of faith.
This woman had tried some difficult, bitter and expensive remedies. But this was easy and free! There were no bitter potions to drink. She didn’t have to apply the medicine three times a day for the next month. The disciples weren’t there collecting the fee. She touched Jesus by faith and she was instantly healed.
Many think that the more bitter the pill, the better the remedy. They stumble over the gospel because it is too simple, too free. Tell people that to be right with God they must crawl on their knees over broken glass, or repeat prayers every day until they die, or add their merits and good deeds to what Christ has done, and they will do it. But tell them, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved,” and they say, “No, that’s too simple.”
The problem is, faith in Jesus Christ is an affront to their pride. There’s no human glory in such a simple remedy. We want to do something difficult to earn salvation. But God’s way is simple and free: Put your faith in the Lord Jesus.
Perhaps you’re thinking, “I know that I am a sinner and I would like to know that all my sins were forgiven. You’re saying that all I have to do is trust Jesus. But I don’t have enough faith.” There’s good news even for you:
This woman’s faith was probably tinged with a bit of superstition. She thought that there was some magic power conveyed by touching Jesus’ garments. Her faith was self-centered. She came to Him only for the cure she wanted, and she would have been content to go away with nothing more. Her faith was quite ignorant. She didn’t know much theology. But the Lord took her weak, misguided faith, healed her on that basis, and sought to develop and strengthen it from there.
How much faith does it take to be cleansed from your sins? Thankfully, not much! Salvation depends on the strength of the Savior more than on the strength of our faith. When Jesus told her that her faith had saved her, He meant to clarify that it was not magic or superstition, but rather faith that was the means of God’s blessings coming to her through Christ. Faith is merely the channel, weak though it is, through which God works. But it is Christ, the object of our faith, not our faith itself, which cleanses us.
Say we were hiking in the woods when a forest fire began behind us. Strong winds were blowing it toward us faster than we could run. In a matter of minutes we would perish unless we could somehow get to a place of safety. Suddenly we come to a wide, deep gorge, spanned by a footbridge. If we cross the bridge, we will be safe. If we stay where we are, we will die in the flames.
How much faith does it take to get you to go across that bridge? You probably wouldn’t do engineering studies to make sure that the bridge was sound. You might hesitate if the bridge was rickety. But what if the bridge looked like the Golden Gate? Trucks and cars were rumbling over it. What kind of faith do you need to walk across a structure that is so obviously solid, especially when you are fleeing the rapidly approaching flames behind you?
Did your great faith save you? Not at all! It only took enough faith for you to go across the bridge, knowing that you would perish if you didn’t. If that bridge had been faulty, you would have plunged to your death no matter how great your faith. But if the bridge is solid, then weak faith is all it takes to get you across. The strength of your faith is not the real issue, but rather the strength of the bridge. Jesus Christ is mighty to save all who flee to Him.
It’s interesting that with Jairus and his wife, Jesus told them not to tell anyone about His raising their daughter from the dead, although it could scarcely be concealed. But with this woman who would rather hide her embarrassing condition, Jesus singles her out in front of the crowd and makes her confess what had happened. I believe Jesus asked Jairus and his wife to conceal what had happened because He didn’t want to pander to the shallow miracle-seekers. But He made this woman confess her faith and healing for several reasons.
As I mentioned, He did it for her sake. He wanted her to realize that it was faith in Him, not magic, that had cured her. He wanted her to be brought into personal communion with Him. He wanted her friends to know that she had been healed, so that she would be accepted back into the social and religious circles. And, He wanted her confession to bolster the sagging faith of Jairus, whose 12-year-old daughter was near death. If Jesus had the power to cure this woman’s 12-year-old disease, He could raise Jairus’ 12-year-old daughter.
If you have experienced Jesus’ cleansing of your sins, He wants you to confess it in public baptism. The waters of baptism symbolize the complete cleansing that Jesus works in your soul. For His name’s sake, for your sake, and for the sake of others who need their faith strengthened, every believer should be baptized to confess that you have been cleansed through faith in Christ.
Like this woman with the hemorrhage, we all have been defiled by sin. We must be cleansed or we can never spend eternity in the presence of a holy God. Only Jesus can cleanse us through His death on the cross. We must lay hold of Him by faith as she did that day.
Don’t be put off by those around you. Many in the crowd touched Jesus that day and weren’t healed, but this woman didn’t let that stop her. Don’t fear that your weak faith is not enough. Jesus will accept it and work to strengthen it. Don’t think about anything except that your sin has defiled you and that you desperately need what only Jesus offers, complete cleansing from your sin. Fear only that He will pass by this morning on His way to healing others and you will not touch Him and be saved. Weak faith is enough to lay hold of His mercy, but indifference or hesitation can result in the ruin of your soul. If you lay hold of Jesus by faith, you will hear His assuring words, “Your faith has made you well; go in peace.”
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998 All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
“Your daughter has died. Do not trouble the Teacher anymore.” I can’t imagine hearing anything more fearful than those words! I admit that my greatest fear is that one of my children will die. Most parents probably share that fear with me. I would much rather die myself than to have any of my children die.
What parent has not sat up at 3 a.m. with a sick child, praying that the fever would break and that the child would recover? What parent has not driven anxiously to the emergency room with a wounded or severely sick child, praying all the way that God would spare the child’s life? Our hopes for the future are bound up with our children and their children. If they die, hope dies. The future looks bleak without them.
Because of this strong parental love, all of us who are parents can identify with the distraught father, Jairus, who came to Jesus on behalf of his dying daughter. Luke tells us that she was his only daughter and that she was 12 years old. I have had the joy of having two 12-year-old daughters. A girl at 12 is like a rosebud, just beginning to open into a beautiful flower. She’s still a little girl, yet she is beginning to develop into a young woman. Every father delights to watch the wonder of that flower unfold.
But Jairus and his wife watched in horror as their little rosebud began to wilt and die. We don’t know what the illness was or how long it had gone on, but it was obvious that she was not getting better. She was at the point of death. For days now, Jairus’ wife had been saying to him, “You know, honey, this new teacher, Jesus, has been healing many. Why don’t you go and see if He would come heal our little girl.”
“I know He has healed many,” Jairus responded. “But you know how opposed our leaders are to Him. With my position as the leader of the synagogue, I just can’t go to Jesus.”
“I understand,” his wife replied, “but you know how He healed the son of the nobleman from our city. Jesus was in Cana at the time and He just spoke the word and the boy was healed here in Capernaum at that same hour [see John 4:46-54]. And He healed the centurion’s servant here in the same way [Matt. 8:5-13].”
“I know,” said Jairus, “but neither of them holds the position I do in the synagogue. I’m going to take a lot of heat from the rabbis if I go to Jesus. I could even lose my position!”
But finally, Jairus knew that he had no other choice. Either he went to Jesus with the hope that his daughter could be healed, or she would die. So off he went, leaving his wife at the girl’s bedside. In desperation, he threw himself down before Jesus and begged Him to come and lay His hand on his daughter that she might get well and live.
Jesus started off with the anxious father, but then He stopped to deal with the woman who had touched His garment and had been healed of her hemorrhage. As the precious minutes ticked away, some friends arrived from Jairus’ house who spoke those fearful words, “Your daughter has died; do not trouble the Teacher anymore.” Jairus’ heart sank! His daughter was gone! But Jesus overheard them and told him, “Do not be afraid any longer; only believe, and she shall be made well.” Jesus went to Jairus’ home, put out the noisy scoffers, and took Jairus, his wife, and Peter, James, and John with Him into the girl’s room. He took the dead girl’s hand, said, “Child, arise,” and to everyone’s astonishment, she got up immediately! Clearly, it was a lesson in faith for Jairus and his wife, for the disciples, and for us:
In fearful situations we must overcome hindrances to faith and put our trust in Jesus.
Sooner or later, we all face these fearful situations where we don’t know what to do. The bottom suddenly drops out from under us and we are overwhelmed. Such situations are never fun, but Jairus’ story shows us that …
There were at least three benefits to Jairus that apply to us:
It’s easy to drift off course in life and to spend our time in things that aren’t in line with our priorities, if we were to stop and think about it. But we don’t stop and think about it until a crisis like this brings us up short. As a synagogue ruler, Jairus was responsible for the maintenance of the building and for arranging the services. It was a position of status given only to those who had money and prestige. I can’t say for sure, but Jairus may have been a man who was over-committed to outside interests. But all of his success and prestige in the community suddenly paled in significance when he was faced with the loss of his only daughter.
Worldly success doesn’t insulate anyone from tragedy and death. It may afford a person access to the best medical treatment available. But doctors can only do so much. Every person must be ready to face death for himself and his loved ones. When it stares us in the face, we’re reminded that love for God and for others is the only thing worth living for.
When our daughter, Joy, was nine, we narrowly missed losing her when she fell out of a tree and barely missed landing on a rock that would have killed her. As it was, she had to have dozens of stitches in her arm. I have always deeply valued each of our children, so my priorities were not out of line. But then and even now, when I see the scars on her arm, my priorities come into focus. Becoming a “successful” pastor in the eyes of the Christian world isn’t my priority; being a faithful husband and father who imparts a love for God to my family is my priority.
I don’t know if the male ego was bent in the same direction in first century Israel as it is in our day. But in our culture, most men tend to be “macho.” We don’t like to admit that we’re weak and needy. We like to think that we’re tough, in command of every situation. You see it when it comes to stopping to ask directions. The wife says, “Let’s pull into this service station and ask how to get there.” He says, “I’ll find it, dear. Just relax!” Sure enough, two hours later, they finally find it!
But this fearful situation stripped Jairus of any pride. He fell at Jesus’ feet, totally helpless. It wasn’t a dignified place for a synagogue ruler to be. He probably got his nice robe dirty. But he didn’t care. He knew he needed Jesus. He was willing to admit his need and be humbled, even in public.
That’s what gives the Lord the opportunity to prove Himself mighty on our behalf! If we protect our pride and come to Jesus and say, “Lord, I’ve almost got the situation under control, but I could use a little advice from You,” He is robbed of His glory. But when we come and cast ourselves at Jesus’ feet and say, “Lord, You must do it or there is no hope,” He is glorified and others are drawn to put their trust in Him. Hudson Taylor, the great pioneer missionary, used to say that when God wanted to open inland China to the gospel, He looked around until He found a man weak enough for the task. Fearful situations strip away our pride and let the Lord prove Himself mighty.
Necessity is not only the mother of invention; it’s also the mother of faith. We don’t trust God as we should until we are forced to trust Him. There is nothing that drives us to desperation and fear like the threat of losing a child. But our fear can be God’s opportunity if we trust in Him.
Someone has said that we hang the heaviest weights by the thinnest wires. We put our hopes on this life, which is so tentative. We live and plan our lives as if death is a far-distant thing, something we need not think about until we’re in our eighties. But that which matters most to us can be taken quickly and without warning. When we stare death in the face, be it our own or the death of a loved one, we are suddenly reminded that life is a vapor and that we must be right with God.
Extreme necessity often drives a person to Jesus who wouldn’t come under less dire circumstances. Jairus had a position of prominence. He needed to maintain good relations with the Jewish leaders. Jesus wasn’t their most popular subject at the moment. In fact, they were plotting how they could kill Him (Mark 3:6). Chances are, Jairus wouldn’t have risked their disfavor by coming to Jesus if he didn’t have to. But his dying daughter forced him to come and trust in Jesus. This crisis proved to be of great benefit to him, not only in the healing of his daughter, but by giving birth to his faith in Christ, which meant eternal life.
Some of you face fearful situations today—a difficult marriage, a rebellious child, a personal health problem, the loss of a job or a financial setback. Whatever your fearful situation, it can be of great benefit if you let it clarify your priorities, strip away your pride, and drive you to trust in Jesus so that He can be glorified through it. But trusting Him isn’t easy:
When Jairus came to Jesus, he believed that Jesus could heal his daughter. But there were several hindrances or hurdles that Jairus had to overcome. I’ve already mentioned the hindrance of public opinion. What would the rabbis and others think of this synagogue ruler bowing before Jesus? There was also the hindrance of his own pride and reputation, which he would have felt the need to protect.
He also had to overcome the hindrance of interruptions, as this woman interrupted Jesus on His way to Jairus’ house. Jairus must have thought, “Why did this woman have to touch Jesus now, of all times? Let her touch Him tomorrow! My daughter is dying! Every second matters!”
Then his worst fears were realized as his friends came to tell him that his daughter had already died. That’s another hindrance to faith: Well-meaning, but misguided doomsayers who discourage us from clinging to the only source of hope. What they say may be true—Jairus’ daughter was dead. But they never add the mighty power of Jesus into their calculations. With Him there is hope even when human hope is lost!
With Jesus’ help, Jairus managed to hang on past that hindrance. But when they arrived at his house, he faced another. The house was already filled with professional mourners. Jewish custom demanded that even the poorest man hire a minimum of two flute players and one mourner in the event of a wife’s death. A man of Jairus’ position would have more. These people would perform a dance of death in which they swayed rhythmically with their hair hanging down. They gradually increased their mournful lament and the wild movement of their bodies until they worked themselves into a frenzy. That was the scene that greeted Jairus and Jesus as they came into the house.
Jesus quieted them and said, “Stop weeping, for she has not died, but is asleep” (8:52). The mourners began scoffing and laughing at Jesus because they knew that the girl had died. What did this man who just arrived on the scene and who hadn’t yet seen the girl know? Jairus was faced with another hindrance to his faith: Did he believe Jesus or these mockers who had the facts on their side?
Jesus’ words have led some to say that the girl wasn’t really dead, but just in a coma. But Luke makes it clear that the girl was dead (8:53, 55, “her spirit returned”). Why, then, did Jesus say that she was asleep? His words were a parable with one meaning for those who believed in Him and another meaning for those who scoffed. For those who believed, there was the hope that she would be awakened. In Jesus’ presence, death was only temporary, like sleep. But for those who scoffed, Jesus was a simpleton who didn’t know what He was talking about. He didn’t know as much as they did. They were confirmed in their unbelief. Jesus put them out and later gave strict orders to Jairus and his wife not to make known how He had raised their daughter back to life. To those who had, more was given; to those who did not have, even what little they had was taken away.
When we face fearful situations, believing in Jesus is not easy. We will face hindrances and setbacks which can shake our confidence in Him. The world will often laugh at us and say, “What a fool to trust in Jesus! We have the facts on our side.” But we must overcome these hindrances and cling to our Savior. Just as He called Jairus to faith in the face of fear, so He calls us.
I love the way that Jesus encouraged and nurtured Jairus’ weak faith in this crisis. He does the same with us today. Note these four ways Jesus encourages us to trust Him in fearful times:
Jairus believed in Jesus, but it wasn’t an especially strong faith. The nobleman from Capernaum had believed that Jesus’ word spoken in Cana would heal his son from that distance. The centurion from Capernaum believed that Jesus could heal his servant by speaking the word without entering his house. But Jairus didn’t go and plead, “Speak the word and my daughter will get well.” He asked Jesus to come and lay His hands on her. It was a weak faith in comparison to the others, but Jesus accepted it and worked with Jairus from that point.
The Lord Jesus is so gracious! He doesn’t refuse to work with you unless your faith is perfect. You may have to cry out, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24). Come to Jesus wherever you’re at, cast yourself upon Him, doubts and all, and He will begin the process of perfecting His good work in you.
Jesus started to go with Jairus, but then got interrupted by this woman with the hemorrhage. This was a hindrance to Jairus’ faith, in that while Jesus was dealing with her, word came that Jairus’ daughter had died. But it also served to strengthen his faith, as he saw Jesus’ power heal this needy woman. She had been 12 years in her affliction, the same number of years that Jairus’ daughter had lived. When Jesus called the woman “daughter,” He may have said it partially for Jairus’ benefit. In effect He was saying, “Jairus, this woman is My daughter who has been unclean for 12 years; I must heal her, too! What I do for her, I can do for your daughter.”
Jairus was put on hold while Jesus answered the call of this woman. Sometimes God puts us on hold. Our prayers don’t seem to be getting through. When that happens, it’s easy to think, “What’s going on? Why isn’t God answering my prayers?” But then we hear of how He has answered someone else’s prayers, and we’re encouraged. He can do for me what He did for that person!
When word came that his daughter had died, Jairus’ face must have reflected fear and panic. But Jesus quickly and tenderly calmed him: “Don’t be afraid; just trust Me” (8:50, Living Bible).
Notice how tenderly Jesus dealt with the little girl. He took the dead girl’s hand, a defiling act for a Jew. But Jesus could not be defiled by death. His touch communicated that He cared for her. Then He spoke tenderly to her, “Child, arise.” Then Jesus told the exuberant parents to give her something to eat! In all of the excitement, that practical matter could easily be overlooked. Jesus tenderly cares for the whole person.
Doesn’t this glimpse of Jesus’ tenderness make you want to trust Him! Like a father helping his youngster learn to ride a bike, Jesus comes alongside and cheers, “Attaway! Keep going! You’re doing great!” If we fall and skin our knee, He tenderly cleans and bandages it and helps us get up and start over again.
For Jesus, raising the dead was as easy as raising a sleeping child would be for us. He merely spoke the word and the dead girl came to life. Each time Jesus raised the dead, He did it by speaking: To the widow of Nain’s son, “Young man, I say to you, arise!” (Luke 7:14). To Lazarus, “Lazarus, come forth!” (John 11:43). Jesus said, “An hour is coming in which all who are in the tombs shall hear [My] voice and shall come forth,” some to eternal life, others to judgment (John 5:28). What a claim! On that coming day, His voice will cause bodies decomposed for centuries to be resurrected! Even now He speaks to those who are spiritually dead and imparts new life to them by His grace (John 5:25-26)!
Because Jesus is powerful over death, we can trust Him! John Calvin said, tongue in cheek, “There is no room to fear that [your] faith will be more extensive than the boundless power of God.... Our faith, however large, will never embrace the hundredth part of the divine goodness” (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker reprint], Harmony of the Evangelists, 1:414). No matter how fearful the situation, Jesus wants us to trust Him. He may or may not deliver our loved ones or us from death. But even if He does not, we can trust His mighty power and know that one day He will speak the word and all we who have trusted in Him will be gathered with Him, triumphant over sin and death.
The great Bible teacher, G. Campbell Morgan, lost his firstborn daughter. Forty years later, preaching on the story of Jairus, he said,
I can hardly speak of this matter without becoming personal and reminiscent, remembering a time forty years ago when my own first lassie lay at the point of death, dying. I called for Him then, and He came, and surely said to our troubled hearts, “Fear not, believe only.” He did not say, “She shall be made whole.” She was not made whole on the earthly plane. She passed away into the life beyond. He did say to her, “Talitha, cumi,” “little lamb, arise”; but in her case, that did not mean, stay on the earth level. It meant that He needed her, and He took her to be with Himself. She has been with Him for all those years, as we measure time here, and I have missed her every day; but His word, “Believe only,” has been the strength of the passing years. (Jill Morgan, A Man of the Word [Baker], pp. 82-83.)
However fearful your situation, Jesus’ word is for you: “Don’t fear, just trust Me.” He wants you to move from fear to faith in Him. Jesus is the only One who can calm our fears, because He alone has conquered death. On another occasion He said, “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also” (John 14:1-3).
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
One of the greatest privileges God has entrusted to us is that we have been chosen to carry on the work that Jesus Christ came to this earth to accomplish. Just before He ascended, He told His disciples, “You shall be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). We are here today as Christians because someone in the chain was faithful to tell us of the saving grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Although bearing witness for Christ is one of our greatest privileges, it is not an area where most believers feel strong. I have often thought that God could have chosen a more efficient method of spreading the gospel than entrusting it to the likes of me! He could have picked the angels to proclaim the good news, and it would have gotten done much more quickly. Jesus Himself could have returned to earth to visit a different people group every month and single-handedly He would have done a much better job than the church has done. But the fact is, He chose us to proclaim the good news. The very fact that His church is still going in spite of us is a testimony to His grace and power.
Our text records the first instance of the disciples going out under Jesus’ command to preach the gospel. Up till now, they had watched Him do it, but now He sends them out to proclaim the kingdom of God. We would be mistaken if we took these verses as normative for all believers or even for all those who are called to preach. It was a unique situation and Jesus gave unique instructions which He later modified (Luke 22:35-36). But even so, there are some principles here that we can apply as we seek to proclaim the good news of Christ as He has commanded us to do.
I am tying together two sections here. Verses 1-6 record the mission of the twelve; verses 7-9 report Herod’s response to their mission. The other gospels use this occasion to go into more detail about the martyrdom of John the Baptist, but Luke barely mentions it in passing. Rather, he focuses on Herod’s perplexed question regarding Jesus, “Who is this man about whom I hear such things?” (9:9). For people to believe in Jesus Christ, they must understand who He is. When they do understand who He is and believe in Him, then they must proclaim Him to others so that they have the opportunity to be saved and not to come into judgment.
Because of who Jesus is, we must proclaim the good news of His kingdom.
There are two questions to explore: Who is Jesus? And, what are we to do in light of that?
The matter of Jesus’ identity has been a crucial one in Luke right from the beginning. The angel announced to Mary that her offspring, conceived in her by the Holy Spirit, would be the Son of God (1:35). At His birth, the angels proclaimed that the one born was the “Savior, who is Christ the Lord” (2:11). Simeon and Anna both bore witness to the fact that this child was the Lord’s Christ, the Savior (2:26, 30, 38). John the Baptist testified that he himself was not the Christ, and that he was not fit to untie the thong of Jesus’ sandals because Jesus was far mightier than he (3:16).
At the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry, even the demons recognized that He is “the Holy One of God” and “the Son of God” (4:34, 41). When Jesus forgave the paralytic’s sins, the Pharisees grumbled, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” (5:21). Later, when John the Baptist was wavering in faith while in prison, he sent messengers asking, “Are You the One who is coming, or do we look for someone else?” (7:19). Jesus sent back the reply, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who keeps from stumbling over Me” (7:22, 23).
Later, when Jesus was having dinner with the Pharisee and He forgave the sins of the woman who anointed His feet, the other guests grumbled, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?” (7:49). After Jesus calmed the storm, the disciples fearfully asked, “Who then is this, the He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?” (8:25). Later, Jesus will ask the twelve, “Who do the multitudes say that I am?” (9:18); and, “But who do you say that I am?” resulting in Peter’s confession, “The Christ of God” (9:20). The ultimate confession comes from God the Father, who testified at Jesus’ baptism, “You are My beloved Son, in You I am well-pleased” (3:22); and, again at His transfiguration, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” (9:35).
So Herod was asking the right question, “Who is this man?” But, Herod was not asking the question with a view to repentance, but only out of his perplexity. His guilty conscience was nagging him about putting the righteous John to death, and now he feared that perhaps John had come back to life to haunt him. But as we examine the context, we learn three things about Jesus as Lord:
Jesus called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and to heal diseases (9:1). Power is the force or ability to do something; authority is the right to use that power. It is one thing for a person to have power over demonic forces and power to heal, but quite another thing to be able to confer this power on others. Jesus has that power and authority.
Furthermore, Jesus had the authority to summon and send out these men to do His bidding. They did not vote on the matter or discuss whether His plan was a good one. They did not negotiate the terms in order to get the best contract. Jesus commanded and they obeyed. Jesus sent them out to do two things: “To proclaim the kingdom of God, and to perform healing” (9:2). The two tasks were not of equal importance. Preaching the kingdom of God was paramount; the healings were to authenticate the message. They were proclaiming that in Jesus, the kingdom of God had come in fulfillment of God’s promises through the prophets. The miracles that Jesus and the twelve performed gave assurance to the people that He was indeed the promised one.
In our day, there are segments of the church that argue that we are to emphasize divine healing along with the gospel. The late John Wimber, founder of the Vineyard movement, claimed that the “greater works” that Jesus predicted that His followers would do after receiving the Holy Spirit (John 14:12) include signs and wonders. If we are not regularly seeing God use us to perform miracles, then we are not proclaiming the gospel as we ought.
What shall we say to this? First, God is just as able to perform miracles through His servants today as He always has been. We must be careful not to limit God’s power because of our unbelief (Mark 6:5, 6). But, having said that, we must also be careful to understand the place of miracles in God’s working. While there are miracles reported throughout the Bible, they mainly occur in clusters around the time of the exodus, during the ministries of Elijah and Elisha, and during the time of Christ and the apostles. The purpose of those increased miracles was to authenticate the word of God or His messengers during critical times in the history of His people. But once the purpose for the miracles had been accomplished, the miracles decreased in frequency.
For example, the Book of Hebrews was written to a second-generation church of mostly Jewish Christians who were tempted to go back to Judaism. The author is trying to convince them of the superiority of Jesus. In Hebrews 2:3-4, he states, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also bearing witness with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.” He is saying that the truth of the gospel was authenticated by these miracles performed by those who had been with Jesus, namely, the apostles.
But—here’s the point—if signs and wonders were still common in the church, why didn’t he appeal to their current experience? It would have been a much stronger argument to appeal to their common experience of miracles as a proof of Christianity than to appeal to miracles they had not even seen. Or, if the Hebrews were not experiencing such miracles, but should have been, he would have exhorted them to believe God for such things in their midst. But apparently such miracles had generally ceased. His appeal was to the authenticating nature of such signs as performed by the apostles and reported to these people as evidence of the true identity of Jesus as both Lord and Christ.
Another reason I do not believe that we should be emphasizing signs and wonders when we proclaim the gospel is that both Jesus and Paul censured those who sought for such things. The Jews saw Jesus multiply the loaves and fishes and yet they challenged Him to perform more signs (John 6:2, 26, 30). But they would not submit to Him or believe in Him. Paul said, “The Jews ask for signs, and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block, and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 1:22-24).
The real issue of the gospel is sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). People can gawk at miracles, but if they are not convicted about their sin and need for a Savior, they will not be saved from God’s judgment. The miracles that Christ and the apostles performed authenticate Jesus as the promised Savior. While we can pray that God would graciously heal a person of some disease, and He may do it miraculously, our emphasis should be on the person’s need of a Savior from sin. Jesus is the powerful Lord who can save every person who believes in Him.
Jesus sends His disciples out on this mission with instructions that they should take nothing for their journey. Rather, God would provide for their needs through the generosity of those to whom they ministered. Later, Jesus refers back to this incident and comments on how they did not lack anything (22:35-36). But He then changes the instruction and tells them to take along money and other provisions. Why the change? Apparently, here Jesus was concerned both about the urgency of their going immediately and the vital lesson they needed to learn about trusting God to provide for their basic needs. That lesson is further underscored in the next incident, the feeding of the 5,000.
While Jesus’ instructions to the twelve on this occasion are not to be applied literally, there is a valid principle here for all of His followers, namely, that our focus in life should not be on acquiring the world’s junk, but on spreading the message of God’s kingdom. In other words, “Seek first His kingdom and righteousness, and all these things [our basic needs] will be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33). Our focus should be on ministry, not on things. If it is, we can trust Him to provide for our needs (not all our wants).
Before I leave this point, I need to comment briefly on a difficult harmonistic problem. When you compare the parallel accounts (Matt. 10:9-10; Mark 6:8-9), you discover that in Matthew, Jesus prohibits taking sandals (also mentioned in Luke 22:35) whereas in Mark He allows sandals. But in Matthew and Luke, Jesus prohibits taking a staff, whereas in Mark He permits taking a staff. How do we solve this?
To be honest, no thoroughly satisfying answer has been proposed. Perhaps the best answer is that Jesus was saying that the disciples should not take an extra pair of sandals or an extra staff. It would have been unlikely for anyone to travel barefoot over the rocky terrain of Israel. And, it would be assumed that you always took a single staff on a journey. So each account agrees that Jesus was making the point, “Just go as you are; don’t stop to load up with extra provisions.” The problem with this view is why anyone would need two staffs. The answer is that Jesus was speaking somewhat hyperbolically and graphically to make the point that no extra provisions were to be taken. The point was, “travel light and depend on God” (see Darrell Bock, Luke [Baker], 1:815-816).
So our text shows Jesus to be the powerful Lord and the providing Lord. Thirdly,
The multitudes were still not clear on who Jesus was but, at the very least, they all knew that a great prophet had arisen in Israel. Some thought that John the Baptist had risen from the dead, others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of old had risen again (see 9:19). As Peter will correctly confess, Jesus is more than any of these; He is the Christ (= Anointed One, Messiah) of God (9:20).
But in a true sense, Jesus was also the prophet par excellence, the one predicted by Moses (Deut. 18:15). As the prophet above all of God’s prophets, Jesus can rightly pronounce God’s judgment on those who reject Him. Thus He instructs the twelve to shake the dust off their feet in witness against any village that rejected their message about God’s kingdom (9:5). When the Jews of that day traveled in heathen territory, they would shake the dust off their feet as soon as they entered Jewish territory, so as not to contaminate the land. By doing this, the twelve were giving a prophetic demonstration that the village was as pagan as the Gentiles were. It was a pronouncement that they had rejected God’s good news and that their blood was on their own heads (see Acts 13:51).
The point is this: The issue on judgment day will be, what have you done with the Lord Jesus Christ? He is the only way to God. If you receive Him as Savior and Lord, you pass from death to life and you will not enter into judgment. If you reject Him, you remain under God’s righteous condemnation. Thus to reject the message about Jesus was and still is a serious matter! Because Jesus is Lord, a person ignores or rejects Him at his own peril.
The disciples proclaimed “the kingdom of God” (9:2), which is also called “the gospel” (9:6). The kingdom refers to the fact that God is King or Sovereign and that people must submit to His rule over their lives. The gospel is that if anyone will turn from his sins (see parallel, “repent,” in Mark 6:12) and submit to Jesus as King, God will graciously forgive his sins and welcome him into His kingdom. But the good news also contains bad news. As Jesus here implies, some will not submit themselves to His rule. For these, the sober action of shaking the dust from their feet signals that they had rejected the reign of God and thus could only await His impending judgment. Thus, as Paul put it, the same message is an aroma of death to some, but of life to others (2 Cor. 2:15-16).
I wonder if the people in these towns realized the tremendous fork in the road of life that stared them in the face when the disciples passed through proclaiming the kingdom of God. If they refused the offer, the opportunity was gone and they were left under judgment. If they welcomed the offer, they were forever different, under God’s rule, looking ahead to the day when they would see the King and be with Him for eternity.
The gospel we proclaim is the greatest news in the world. If a sinner responds to it by trusting in Jesus as Savior and Lord, he is changed for time and eternity! The gospel was and still is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. You never know how far your witness for Christ will reach. None of the twelve spoke directly to Herod, but their message still got to him. Although he did not respond in faith, God will use the disciples’ witness to hold Herod accountable when he stands before the great white throne. Herod had the authority to behead John, but he couldn’t stop the powerful spread of the gospel.
The disciples went out proclaiming the kingdom (9:1-6) and the result was that Herod and the multitudes were talking about who Jesus was (9:7-9). That’s how it should be: when we bear witness for Christ: people should either understand or else be haunted by the question, “Who is this man, Jesus?” While you may have to answer some basic questions and objections, don’t get sidetracked on peripheral matters. Direct people to who Jesus is and to what He did on the cross. Encourage them to read the gospel accounts. As John 20:31 explains, he wrote his gospel “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.” Thus, we proclaim to people the good news of God’s kingdom rule in the person of Jesus the Messiah.
The battle we fight is primarily spiritual, and so we must pray that God will deliver people from Satan’s domain of darkness. God must open their eyes to the truth of the gospel (2 Cor. 4:4). In the Great Commission, Jesus said, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations” (Matt. 28:18-19). “You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses” (Acts 1:8). Relying on His authority and power, we tell people about the saving grace to be found at the cross of Jesus Christ.
Our lives must back up our message. The disciples were common men whose lives were different because of Jesus. When they went, they lived simply and stayed in homes. The people could see that their lives were in line with the message they proclaimed. If people see the reality of Christ in us, they will be more inclined to listen to our message. The disciples not only preached, but also healed in Jesus’ name. This means also that we must perform deeds of mercy that minister to the whole person. Certainly we can and should pray that God would heal the illness of the one with whom we are sharing the gospel. If they need basic medical care, we should try to provide it. If they need food and shelter, we should help the person obtain these things. But every person’s greatest need is not physical; it is spiritual. If we provide for the person’s physical needs but neglect the spiritual, they still will die and face God’s judgment. Each person desperately needs to know Jesus Christ as Savior.
When I was a boy, I used to watch “The Lone Ranger” on TV. At the end of each episode, after the Lone Ranger had saved the victims from some villain, he would mount his horse, Silver. The rescued victim would ask Tonto, who always managed to be standing nearby, “Who is that masked man?” Tonto would reply, “Don’t you know? That’s the Lone Ranger.” Silver would stand on his hind legs, the Lone Ranger would wave and cry, “Hi ho, Silver, away!” To the tune of the “William Tell Overture,” he would ride off into the sunset and get ready for the next episode when he would rescue someone else in need.
Through our witness, people should be able to answer the question, “Who is this Man Jesus?” They should know, “He is the Lord God in human flesh, who offered Himself in the place of sinners. Whoever trusts in Him is reconciled to God and receives eternal life as His free gift.” God has entrusted to us the great task of carrying on the work of Jesus. As Peter instructs us, “Set apart Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to every one who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; ...” (1 Pet. 3:15). Jesus is the Savior and Lord, coming to judge the world and reign as King! Let’s boldly proclaim it.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Do you ever feel overwhelmed with all that needs to be done in serving the Lord? We are needy people serving Christ in a needy world. Just this week we’ve heard of thousands killed and thousands more left homeless as a result of the hurricane in Central America. I often think of the billions who have yet to hear about the Savior. I feel overwhelmed with the immensity of the task and with my own inadequacy. How can I possibly meet the needs of this church, let alone the massive needs of this hurting world? Even the apostle Paul exclaimed, “Who is adequate for these things?” (2 Cor. 2:16).
No passage of Scripture has had a more profound impact on my service for Christ than the gospel accounts of the feeding of the 5,000. It could be argued that it is the most significant miracle Jesus performed, since it’s the only one God saw fit to record in all four gospels. I find myself coming back to its lessons again and again. Each time I come away refreshed as I recall how the Lord wants to give me His sufficiency for my insufficiency to meet the needs of this hurting world.
The Lord used this incident for the training of the twelve. We see this in His pointed challenge, “You give them something to eat!” John’s account (6:6) tells us that Jesus was testing them (especially Philip), knowing what He was about to do. The miracle itself is almost passed over. We are never told exactly how Jesus did it. The focus is not on the spectacular nature of the miracle, but on what it teaches those who serve Jesus about how He meets the needs of others through them.
Christ will give us His adequacy to meet the needs of people if we yield our inadequacy to Him.
Three things stand out in this story: the needy multitudes; the inadequate disciples; and the adequate Savior.
The apostles returned from their first preaching tour and gave an account to Jesus of all that they had done (9:10). Jesus withdrew with them to the vicinity of Bethsaida, on the northeast side of the Sea of Galilee. Mark’s account (6:31) tells us that the purpose of the getaway was rest. He also explains that there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and the disciples didn’t even have time to eat. So they got in the boat and started off across the lake, a distance of four to five miles.
But the trip across the lake was the only vacation they got, since the people saw them going and ran there from all the cities and arrived ahead of them. When the disciples saw that crowd of needy people standing on the shore, they must have thought, “Oh, no! Lord, can we turn the boat around?”
The fact that this many people would go to this effort to be with Jesus shows how needy they were. If you had taken a survey of the crowd, many would have said that their greatest need was for physical healing. There were blind, deaf, lame, diseased and dying people there. By the end of the day, others would have said that their greatest need was for food. There was nothing to eat in that desolate place. But whether anyone recognized it or not, each person’s greatest need was spiritual. Jesus could heal their bodies and fill their stomachs, but that was only a stopgap measure if they perished in their sins. So Jesus taught them about the kingdom of God, how they could rightly be related to Him (9:11).
Have you ever seen the bumper sticker, “Life is tough; then you die”? If a person does not know God and have the hope of eternal life, that bumper sticker is pretty close to the truth! Sin has taken a terrible toll on the human race. Often the problems people encounter can be the entry point for us to minister to them, not only physically or emotionally, but also spiritually, which is their greatest need. But that’s where we encounter our own problem:
Did you notice the contrast between Jesus’ attitude toward the multitude and that of the disciples? Jesus welcomed them (9:11), but the disciples said to Jesus, “Send the multitude away” (9:12). It may be that the disciples were just being practical about how to meet the needs of the crowd, but given the situation, I think we are warranted to read some exhaustion into their voices. They were spent. They wanted a break.
Then Jesus said something utterly ridiculous: “You give them something to eat” (9:13). “Say again, Lord?” “You give them something to eat.” There were 5,000 men, plus women and children. If there were 2.5 children for each man and woman, we’re talking about providing dinner for a crowd half the population of Flagstaff! That’s enough people to fill the NAU Skydome to capacity, with some standing in the aisles! All the food the disciples could come up with was five loaves and two fish, which came from a little boy (John 6:9). The entire incident underscores the utter inadequacy of the disciples to meet this overwhelming need.
The manner in which Jesus performed this miracle is significant. He could have called down manna from heaven. Commentators point out that this miracle took place in the wilderness and that the 5,000, seated in companies, recalls Israel camped by tribes in the wilderness under Moses. Calling down manna would have fit the situation. It would have been easier on the twelve. It would have been more efficient. But He didn’t do it that way.
Or, the Lord could have spoken the word and a loaf of bread would have miraculously appeared in each person’s hand. Everyone would have been more awed at Jesus’ power than they were with the quiet way this miracle was done. It would have been much more efficient and impressive than having the disciples distribute the bread and fish to this large crowd, which must have taken a long time.
Or Jesus could have called angels who could have taken the bread from His hand and flown directly to each group and given them the food. People would have been amazed. They would have talked about it for the rest of their lives. It would have been stupendous!
But how did Jesus do it? He used the disciples to distribute the bread and fish to the people. I’m convinced that the Lord did the miracle that way to teach the disciples that His method for meeting the needs of a lost world is through people. Christ meets the needs of people through people. But note carefully the kind of people He uses: Inadequate people!
Jesus uses tired, emotionally drained people. The disciples had just returned from their first preaching tour. Jesus knew they were tired and needed a rest. But their only rest had been the short trip across the lake. True, Jesus let them rest all day as He taught and healed the multitude. But, still, their tiredness and emotional condition comes through in their request, “Send them away.”
Jesus uses busy people. They didn’t even have time to eat because of all the people coming and going. I thought that our hectic schedules were unique to our culture, but apparently not! I have worked as a banquet waiter, so I know that once they started handing out the food to this huge crowd, they were busy men! But invariably the Lord doesn’t use people with extra time on their hands. He uses those who are busy and He keeps them busy. I’m sure that they didn’t have time to eat until that entire crowd had been served.
Jesus uses people who lack resources. The disciples’ comment about buying enough food for all these people was no doubt said with some sarcasm. They didn’t have nearly enough money to do that. The other gospels report that they did a quick calculation and told Jesus that 200 denarii (seven to eight months’ wages) would not be enough to give each person just a little bread. Obviously, the disciples didn’t have anywhere near that much cash in hand. Besides, they were in a desolate place. Even if they went to Bethsaida to buy bread, there wouldn’t be that much bread available. They were ridiculously lacking in the resources to meet Jesus’ demand to feed the multitude.
Some people say, “I’ll serve Jesus someday, but I’m too busy and stressed out to get involved right now.” Or, they think, “I plan to give generously to the Lord’s work after I get my finances in better shape. But right now I can’t afford to give much.” But they’re making the mistake of thinking that serving Christ is something we volunteer to do when we have adequate time, energy, and financial resources. Then they’ll choose to serve Him.
But Jesus doesn’t work through people who choose to serve. He works through His servants. Servants don’t volunteer to serve. They don’t tell their masters, “I’ll clean your house and fix dinner tomorrow, but I’m too stressed out or busy today!” Servants serve when they’re tired, emotionally drained, busy, and lacking in adequate resources. Servants serve because they’re under obligation to their master.
How do we do it? By yielding our inadequacy to the Master to use as He pleases. Five small loaves and two fish, a boy’s lunch—not much to feed such a crowd. Matthew records Jesus as saying, “Bring them here to Me!” That’s the key! Give your inadequate resources and abilities to Jesus. The insufficient becomes more than sufficient when surrendered to Christ! That points us to the third prominent feature of this story, the adequate Savior:
Two thoughts:
That sounds obvious, doesn’t it? But so often we make up excuses about what we don’t have and we fail to offer to Jesus what we do have. “If I just had more money, I’d give regularly to the church!” “If I just had the gift of evangelism, I’d witness more!” “If I just had the ability that others have, I’d serve the Lord.” “If I just ...”! But Jesus didn’t use all the bread in Bethsaida, which the disciples didn’t have. He used the five loaves and two fish that they did have. Jesus doesn’t ask you to give Him what you don’t have. He asks you to give Him what you do have.
A country preacher went to a farmer in his church and asked, “If you had two farms, would you be willing to give one farm to God?” “Yes,” replied the farmer. “I only wish I were in a position to do it.” The preacher persisted, “If you had $20,000, would you give $10,000 to the Lord’s work?” The farmer replied, “Yes, I’d love to have that kind of money! I’d gladly give $10,000 to the Lord’s work.” Then the preacher sprung his trap: “If you had two pigs, would you give one to the Lord’s work?” The farmer blurted out, “That’s not fair! You know I’ve got two pigs!”
The Lord doesn’t use what you don’t have. He uses the inadequate things you have when you yield them to Him.
The disciples weren’t giving the orders here. They were following Jesus’ orders: “Have them recline to eat in groups of about fifty each.” “Eat what, Lord?” “It won’t work, Lord!” “I’ve got a better idea, Lord.” No, they did what Jesus commanded. We need to yield ourselves to Him and let Him do as He sees fit. What Jesus did with this boy’s lunch is what He does with us when we give Him our inadequate abilities and resources:
Jesus blesses.
Without His blessing, we’re wasting our time. “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (Ps. 127:1). Do you covet God’s blessing in your life and labors for Him? A message by Watchman Nee, “Expecting the Lord’s Blessing” (in Twelve Baskets Full [Hong Kong Church Book Room], vol. 2, pp. 48-64) has had a profound influence on me. Nee argues that everything in God’s work depends upon His blessing. If it is there, even an insufficient amount is sufficient; if it is lacking, the greatest resources and efforts in the world will not be enough.
By God’s blessing, Nee means a working of God that is far in excess of human calculations. If you scrape together 200 denarii and buy enough bread to give everybody a little bit, that is not God’s blessing. But if there is no human way to explain the results in proportion to the gifts or working of those involved, that is God’s blessing. It’s not that we’re sloppy about our work and expect God to cover for our laziness and incompetence. We ought to work hard and be skilled in what we do for the Lord. But to have God’s blessing is not to expect results in proportion to my talents and labor, but in proportion to God’s abundance.
So often we’re just like the disciples. We see the need and start calculating with what we don’t have. Pastors think, “If I just had Bill Gates in my congregation as a tither!” But as Nee points out, “If we have to accumulate sufficient wages to buy bread for the needy multitudes, years and years will elapse before their need is met. We must expect God to work beyond all that man can conceive” (ibid., p. 63). Without the Lord’s blessing, five loaves and two fish were woefully inadequate. With His blessing, it was more than enough. May we covet God’s blessing and examine ourselves to make sure that nothing in our lives hinders it!
Jesus breaks.
Blessing and brokenness go together. You won’t find God’s blessing apart from God’s breaking. You can see it in the lives of every person God has used. Abraham and Sarah had to be past their ability to produce a child before God gave them Isaac. Jacob had to be crippled in his hip before he prevailed with God. Moses had to fail in his own strength and spend 40 years tending sheep in the wilderness before God used him to deliver Israel.
Vance Havner observed, “God uses broken things. It takes broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken alabaster box that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than ever.” (Source unknown.)
Most of us aren’t too weak to serve the Lord. We’re too strong, or at least we think we are. The Lord does not want our adequacy; He wants our inadequacy so that He can supply the adequacy. He puts His treasure in our weak, earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power is clearly from Him, not from us (2 Cor. 4:7). His strength is made perfect in our weakness when we yield ourselves to Him and allow Him to bless, break, multiply and distribute our few loaves and fishes to meet the needs of others. Jesus blesses; He breaks. Then,
Jesus satisfies.
Jesus “kept giving them to the disciples to set before the multitude. And they all ate and were satisfied” (9:16b-17a). The “all” included the boy who gave up his lunch! Everyone had enough. They even had leftovers! No one went hungry.
Don’t miss the end of verse 17: The leftovers added up to twelve baskets full. How many disciples? Twelve! How many baskets full? Twelve! A basket full for each disciple! But the disciples had to serve the hungry multitude first; only after that did they each collect their basket full. Sometimes we think, “If I give my time and energy and money to serve the Lord, what’s in it for me?” As Jesus goes on to explain (9:24), “Whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” Lose yourself in service for Jesus and He will make sure you get a basket full after you’re done!
The bread in this miracle is symbolic of Christ. He said, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me shall not hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst” (John 6:35). The Lord is teaching us that if we will surrender ourselves to Him to use as He pleases in meeting the needs of others, then He will satisfy us with a full measure of Himself.
We hear a lot about “burnout” in our day. While we need adequate rest and time off, we can test our labors for the Lord by this: If we’re burned out, there’s a good chance we’ve been trying to meet human needs with our inadequate abilities and resources. But if we come away tired, yes, but with the satisfaction of the fulness of Christ left over in our souls, then the Lord’s blessing was on us.
D. L. Moody was a man whom God greatly used. Thousands of people both in America and in England met the Savior through his tireless labors. But humanly speaking, Moody was a very inadequate man. One of nine children, his father died when he was four. He had little formal education. All his life his grammar was atrocious. What little religious education he received as a child was in a Unitarian church. At 17, he left home to work in a Boston shoe store. There, a Sunday School teacher called on him and presented the claims of Christ. In the back of that store, Moody trusted the Savior.
He applied to join a church, but they turned him down and kept him waiting ten months because he was so ignorant of the Bible. He moved to Chicago where, after work, he began to go out into the slums and gather the poor children to bring to Sunday School. A businessman who knew Moody before he became famous told of the first time that he saw him. Moody had gotten permission to hold a meeting in a little shanty that a saloonkeeper had abandoned. The businessman came in a little late and saw this heavyset man holding a small black boy in his arms. By the light of a few candles he was trying to read to him the story of the prodigal son. He couldn’t make out many of the words and had to skip them. The businessman thought, “If the Lord can use such an instrument as that for His honor and glory, it will certainly astonish me!”
After the meeting was over, Moody told the man, “I have only one talent; I have no education, but I love the Lord Jesus Christ. I want to do something for Him. Pray for me.” Henry Varley, a good friend of Moody’s in the early days of his work, once said to Moody, “It remains to be seen what God will do with a man who gives himself up wholly to Him.” Moody thought about that and said, “By God’s grace, I will be that man.”
God may not call you to preach to thousands, as Moody did. But if you’ve tasted His mercy, He does call you to serve Him in some way. He wants to use you to give the Bread of Life to those who are hungry. The requirement is that you see how inadequate you are to do anything for Him. Then, yield your inadequacy to Him to use as He pleases. He will use you to help meet the needs of a hurting world. And He will give you a basket full of leftovers for yourself besides!
Copyright Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Sometimes asking the right question is crucial for your well-being. When the temperature soared to 120 degrees, a missionary in South America was tempted to cool off with a swim in the local river, but he was leery because of the man-eating fish. The locals assured him, though, that piranhas only bite people while the fish are swimming in schools, which they never did in that part of the river. So each afternoon for the rest of the summer, the missionary enjoyed cooling off in the river.
Months later he heard reports that a local fisherman had fallen out of his boat and had not been found. Alarmed, he asked his neighbors if perhaps the man had been eaten by piranhas. “Oh, no,” they assured him. “Only while swimming in schools do piranhas bite people, and they never swim in schools around here.”
“But why not around here?” the missionary asked.
“Oh,” the neighbor casually replied, “they never swim in schools where there are alligators.” (Adapted from Reader’s Digest [7/96], p. 48.) Asking the right questions and answering them correctly can mean the difference between being safe and being an alligator’s lunch!
The same is true spiritually. Asking and answering correctly the right questions can mean the difference between eternal life and eternal condemnation. For example, one of the first major controversies to erupt in the early church was the question, “Must a man be circumcised to be saved?” (Acts 15:1). The apostle Paul said that if a person answered that question affirmatively, he was under God’s condemnation (Gal. 1:6-9)! Some errors are fatal!
While there are a number of crucial spiritual questions, none is more important than the question Jesus asked the twelve in Luke 9:20, “But who do you say that I am?” For example, there are thousands of people who believe that the Bible is God’s Word. They seek to obey its moral standards. They believe in Jesus’ virgin birth. They believe that He sacrificed His life to set us free from sin and death and that all who put their faith in Jesus can have their sins forgiven and receive everlasting life (these statements are affirmed in “What Does God Require of Us?” [Watchtower Society, 1996], pp. 6-7). Yet these people are going to hell because they deny the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am referring to the Jehovah’s Witness cult. The same could be said of other cults, such as Mormonism, that claim to be Christian, but deny either Jesus’ true deity or His true humanity. Thus
Jesus’ question, “Who do you say that I am?” is crucial for each person to answer correctly.
As I pointed out in our study of Luke 9:1-9, the matter of Jesus’ identity is one that Luke has repeatedly emphasized. It was in the birth narrative, where the angels announced the birth of the Savior, who is Christ the Lord (2:11). The forerunner, John the Baptist, denied that he was the Christ and pointed people to Jesus (3:15-17). Even the demons knew Jesus’ identity as the Holy One of God (4:34) and the Son of God (4:41). The theme surfaced again when Jesus forgave the paralytic’s sins and the scribes and Pharisees reasoned, “Who is this man who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” (5:21). The same question was asked when He forgave the sinful woman (7:49). When Jesus stilled the storm, the disciples even marveled, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?” (8:25). Herod raises the question when he hears of the miracles taking place: “Who is this man about whom I hear such things?” (9:9).
But now Jesus directly asks the twelve, first, “Who do the multitudes say that I am?” (9:18); and then, “But who do you say that I am?” (9:20). Peter’s confession, “The Christ of God,” is a turning point in Luke. Walter Liefeld observes, “Theologically, this is the most important statement thus far in Luke. It is the first time a disciple refers to Jesus as Messiah (cf. 2:11, 26; 3:15; 4:41)” (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary [Zondervan], 8:922). Peter’s answer is correct, even revealed to him by God (Matt. 16:17). But the disciples had the notion of Messiah as the reigning King. They did not yet understand the suffering and sacrificial death of Messiah.
Thus Jesus immediately mentions His impending death and resurrection (9:22) and the cost of discipleship for His followers (9:23-26, 57-62). Suffering has been hinted at before (2:35; 5:35), but this is the first explicit mention of it. It will become a frequent theme as Jesus sets His face to go to Jerusalem and the cross (9:51; see 9:44; 17:25; 18:31-33; 24:7, 46-47). But the disciples didn’t really comprehend it until after the resurrection (9:45; 18:34; 24:25-26, 45-46). It was their full understanding of the matter, that “the Christ should suffer and rise again from the dead,” that enabled them to go forth as bold witnesses, proclaiming repentance for forgiveness of sins in His name (24:46-48).
I want to explore with you several ramifications of Jesus’ crucial question, “Who do you say I am?”
I mean, only one answer is correct. It is not, “Jesus, however you conceive Him to be.” Jesus didn’t say, “Great answer, Peter! Do any of the rest of you have any different thoughts? Yes, Judas, how do you feel about Me?” Some say, “For me, Jesus is always accepting and loving.” But Jesus isn’t whatever you want Him to be. How you feel about Jesus doesn’t change who He is. There is a single correct answer to the question that is not based on feelings or personal opinions, but on objective revealed truth.
This is important to affirm because we live in a day when people think that spiritual truth is not objectively true. Rather, they see it as personally true. They do not view spiritual truth in terms of propositional revelation (doctrine), where God has spoken to us in the Bible in language we can understand. Nor do they see spiritual truth in terms of verifiable history, centered in the historical Jesus of Nazareth, whose teaching, miracles, death and bodily resurrection are reported in the New Testament by eyewitnesses.
Rather, our postmodern world views spiritual truth in terms of each person’s experience of it. As such, it is not verifiable. If it’s true for you, then it’s true. If your spiritual experience is different from mine, one is not right and the other wrong, even if they contradict one another. They can both be true, according to the current view of truth, because spiritual truth is determined by personal experience, not by objective, verifiable means.
This faulty view of spiritual truth is a central tenet of the unity movement that is urging Catholics and evangelical Protestants to drop their doctrinal differences and come together for worship and witness. Doctrine is viewed as divisive. Love for Jesus and for one another is all that matters. But the movement allows for “Jesus” and “being born again” to be defined any way that you conceive. For example, at the 1994 Promise Keepers rally in Portland, Oregon, Bill McCartney said that Promise Keepers didn’t care whether you were a Baptist, a Pentecostal, or a Roman Catholic. The main question, he said, is, “Are you born in the Spirit of God?”
Pastor James Singleton astutely responded,
What does that mean? Some people believe that they are born again in the waters of baptism. Others confess that they are born again at the time of their confirmation. Still others believe that they are receiving Christ and are born again each time they attend Mass. The problem with the unqualified question is that it can mean whatever you want it to mean. That philosophy fits with the spirit of the age that minimizes objective Biblical truth in favor of a subjective experience. (Cited in “The Evangelical Eroding of the Deity of Christ,” by Tom Watson [Countryside Bible Church], p. 9; italics in original.)
Thus it’s important at the outset to affirm that the question, “Who do you say Jesus is?” has one correct answer and many incorrect or partially correct answers. It is not just a matter of personal opinion or preference, where any answer is as good as the next. It’s a matter of God’s truth as revealed in His Word.
Some of you have already affirmed this point, because you didn’t like what I just said against the unity movement! You have to be careful here, because none of us likes confrontation or division. We all prefer peace and unity. But if you go by your emotions, you will fall into serious doctrinal error and defection from God’s revealed truth. But read your New Testament: more than any other thing, it warns against false teachers and false doctrine. Objective truth always divides people into opposing camps. Like Peter and the disciples, you may have to go against public opinion to arrive at the correct answer concerning Jesus.
Have you ever thought about how difficult it must have been for the disciples to commit themselves to Jesus as the Christ? For centuries, faithful Jews had been waiting and looking for God’s promised Messiah. Many lived and died without seeing that hope fulfilled. Sometimes prophets came on the scene, raising hopes that they might be the Messiah. But they died and the people kept waiting. Then, suddenly this young carpenter from Nazareth began preaching and performing miracles. Could He be the one? He certainly didn’t fit everyone’s image of what Messiah would be like. But the disciples committed themselves to Jesus as that long-awaited Messiah.
Remember, they didn’t have 1,900 years of church history to confirm their faith, as we do. They were the first ones to say, “This is the One!” And they had to say it in the face of public opinion that didn’t agree with them. This fact is underscored by the contrast between Jesus’ first question, “Who do the multitudes say that I am?” and His second question, “But who do you [emphatic in the Greek] say that I am?”
The disciples had to stand against three strong currents to affirm their conviction that Jesus is the Christ. First was the Roman government, which didn’t care if Christians worshiped Jesus as long as they also affirmed Caesar as Lord. But the disciples insisted, “No, Jesus is the only Lord!” That narrow view cost many of them their lives. If you take your stand with the disciples in proclaiming Jesus as the only way to God, you will have to go against the pagan culture of our day. People don’t mind if you hold your personal beliefs in Jesus, just so that you don’t contend that He is the only way! That’s too narrow and dogmatic. I saw a bumper sticker that said, “If you’re against abortion, don’t have one.” The idea is, “You can have your personal views of morality, but don’t tell me that my behavior is wrong. If you want to believe in Jesus, that’s your privilege, but don’t judge me for my beliefs!”
The disciples also had to go against the opinions of the Jewish religious crowd, which had varying notions of who Jesus might be. Some heard His powerful preaching against sin and thought of John the Baptist. Others saw Jesus’ miracles and were reminded of the powerful prophet, Elijah. Others thought He might be another of the prophets. All of these were perhaps flattering, but inadequate, ideas of who Jesus really was. The disciples had to stand apart from the Jewish religious crowd to affirm Jesus as Messiah and Lord.
In a similar manner, you may have to go against the Christian crowd of our day. Many who call themselves Christians have ideas about Jesus which fall far short of affirming Him as Lord and Christ. Some see Jesus as the all-tolerant, loving One, who never speaks against anyone’s sin. They seek to get their denominations to affirm sins such as homosexuality and abortion. Others use Jesus to endorse their worldly views of feminism or politics. Still others mix Jesus with some brand of pop psychology. You have to stand against these popular views of Jesus to confess Him truly as Lord and Christ.
The third, and most formidable, group the disciples had to oppose was the Jewish religious leaders (9:22). The disciples were not formally educated in the Hebrew Scriptures; these men were. The disciples had no public influence; these men were the recognized leaders in Israel. They were the interpreters of Moses, the guardians of the Jewish law. Who did this bunch of uneducated fishermen think they were to go against the common judgment of this august body of scholars?
You will often have to join the disciples in pitting your view of Jesus against the religious scholars of our day. Even some who call themselves evangelical deny the trustworthy nature of all Scripture. They interpret Jesus in light of the most recent “scholarship,” which invariably comes from men with an anti-supernaturalistic bias. One flagrant example is the recent “Jesus Seminar,” where a bunch of supposed scholars got together and voted on which sayings of Jesus were authentic. How did they determine this? They begin by assuming the gospels to be myth unless proven otherwise. From there they proceed with pure subjectivism. Using their methods and assumptions, we could easily conclude that the members of the Jesus Seminar really didn’t say what they claim to have said! This question, “Who do you say Jesus is?” divides people. You must take your stand with the disciples.
Peter’s answer, “the Christ of God,” is certainly correct. But, Peter had a different conception of what that meant than Jesus did. Peter meant, “You are the promised Anointed One who will sit on David’s throne, ruling the nations with a rod of iron.” That is quite correct when understood of Messiah’s second coming. But, in regard to His first coming, the more correct answer was, “You are the One Anointed by God to be crucified as our sin-bearer and raised from the dead by the power of God.” Jesus had to fulfill Isaiah 53 and other Scriptures which point to Messiah’s bearing the sins of His people before He would reign on David’s throne. Peter was correct, but he needed to come to a deeper level of correct understanding.
There is even a deeper level of correct understanding revealed here: “You are the crucified, risen Christ who is the Sovereign Lord.” Jesus’ prophecy (9:22) makes it plain that He did not die as a helpless victim. The Jewish leaders who crucified Him did not thwart God’s plan for Jesus to reign on David’s throne. They were guilty of the terrible sin of crucifying their Messiah, but at the same time, Jesus willingly offered Himself as the sacrifice for our sins. He was in sovereign control, even in His death. Peter later grasped this as he preached on the Day of Pentecost, “This Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. And God raised Him up again” (Acts 2:23-24a).
One of the beautiful things about the Christian life is that you grow into deeper and deeper levels of understanding about the infinite, unfathomable, sovereign person of Jesus Christ. Do you know Him as your Savior? That’s great! You start there. But don’t stop there! There’s much more! Jesus tells us how we can know more of Him: “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him” (John 14:21). Jesus promises to reveal more of Himself to those who obey Him.
So, begin with knowing Jesus as the Christ, the Anointed One of God, the Savior. But go on discovering all that He is as the Sovereign Lord of the universe. The joy of the Christian life is growing to know the Lord Jesus more intimately.
We’ve seen that this crucial question has an objectively correct answer; it divides people; and, it has deepening levels of correct understanding. Finally,
Jesus goes on to warn the disciples not to tell anyone and then He tells them of His impending death. Luke omits Peter’s rebuke of Jesus and Jesus’ corresponding rebuke of Peter (Matt. 16:22-23). But we know that Jesus’ words were not what the disciples expected to hear or wanted to hear. Their idea of the Christ was a political Messiah who would put a chicken in every pot and a donkey in every stable. They were thinking of power and dominion, not of suffering, rejection, and death.
But Jesus wasn’t sent by the Father to make everyone happy, so that they could go on living self-centered lives with God’s help. He came to deal with the fundamental problem of the human race: sin. The essence of sin is our stubborn self-will that says, “I’ll run my own life, God. Just help me feel good when I need You.” The cross, where the Lord of Glory took the penalty we deserved, was the only divine solution for our sin problem. If you haven’t come as a sinner to the crucified Christ and trusted Him as God’s provision for your sin, you have not responded correctly to Jesus’ crucial question.
If the disciples had gone out and proclaimed Jesus as the political Messiah who would lead a revolt against Rome, they would have met with widespread response. John 6:15 reports that after the feeding of the 5,000, the crowd wanted to take Jesus by force to make Him king. But God’s sovereign plan was the way of the cross, both for Jesus (9:22) and for those who follow Him (9:23). To follow a crucified Savior and to live a crucified life requires faith and obedience. It goes against the mentality of our day that says, “You’re worthy; feel good; use God for your own happiness.” But, clearly, it is the only response for those who see who Jesus really is.
A. B. Bruce said it well: “For the whole aim of Satanic policy is to get self-interest recognized as the chief aim of man” (The Training of the Twelve [Kregel], p. 180). For Jesus to have avoided the cross would have been for Him to seek His selfish interests. Satan would have triumphed. But Jesus came to do the will of the Father. That’s why He said, “The Son of Man must suffer” (9:22). He came to glorify the Father by being obedient, even to death on the cross. The “must” was the necessity of obedience to the Father’s will above all else. It shows that Jesus’ death was a necessary and inevitable part of the divine plan (13:33; 17:25; 22:37; 24:7, 26, 44). Understanding that Jesus is the Christ of the cross means that we who follow Him must walk in the way of the cross, which means trusting and obeying Him, even when it may not feel good for the moment.
What’s your answer to Jesus’ crucial question, “Who do you say that I am?” You may be standing with the multitude, saying, “Jesus is a fine example, a great teacher, even a prophet. But He is not the Sovereign Lord of my life.” That is a badly mistaken answer. You may be standing with Peter, saying correctly, “You are the Christ,” but not understanding the sort of Christ He really is. That’s an improvement over the first answer, but it is inadequate. You must stand with Jesus who came as God’s Anointed to bear your sins, who was raised in triumph over sin and death, who calls us to follow Him in obedience to the will of the Father. As Peter later preached, “God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36). If you stand there, ready to obey God no matter what the cost, you have correctly answered Jesus’ crucial question, “Who do you say I am?
If Jesus is not your sin-bearer and your Lord, I encourage you to read the Gospels with the prayer, “God, show me who Jesus is. If You show me that He is Your Anointed Savior and Lord, I will trust Him and follow Him.”
Copyright Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Thirty years ago, the teaching that Christians should love themselves and have proper self-esteem was virtually unheard of in evangelical circles. One of the first books to popularize the concept was James Dobson’s Hide or Seek [Revell, 1974], subtitled “Self-Esteem for the Child.” He began that book with the story of Lee Harvey Oswald, who shot President Kennedy. Oswald had been put down, ridiculed, and unloved all his life. The one thing he could do well was shoot a rifle. Dobson implies that if Oswald had just had the proper self-esteem, he would not have committed his infamous crime. Dobson goes on to state his thesis:
… whenever the keys to self-esteem are seemingly out of reach for a large percentage of the people, … then widespread “mental illness,” neuroticism, hatred, alcoholism, drug abuse, violence, and social disorder will certainly occur. Personal worth is not something human beings are free to take or leave. We must have it and when it is unattainable, everybody suffers (pp. 12-13, italics and quotation marks in original).
Dobson opened the door and the doctrine of self-esteem has flooded into the church. It is like the thistle, which is not native to our forests, but has spread everywhere since it was introduced. You cannot pick up a popular Christian best-seller or tune into a Christian talk show without finding this teaching. A promotional brochure for the Christian Rapha Treatment Centers contains endorsements from several well-known Christian leaders. It states, “Part of Rapha’s success is found in the unique ability to target and resolve problems of low self-esteem…. At the core of all emotional problems and addictive disorders is low self-worth. It is never the only problem; but it is so major an issue that, if not dealt with adequately, one is kept from experiencing lasting, positive results.”
Building your self-esteem and learning to love and accept yourself unconditionally are at the heart of the recovery movement that is being promoted in many evangelical churches. A popular workbook, “The Twelve Steps—A Spiritual Journey,” lists a number of milestones in recovery. Here are a few:
We have a strong identity and generally approve of ourselves.
We are recovering through loving and focusing on ourselves…
We feel comfortable standing up for ourselves when it is appropriate.
We love people who love and take care of themselves.
We have a healthy sense of self-esteem (p. 153).
A leading evangelical church uses that workbook in its support groups for adult children of alcoholics. Their orientation material states,
We learn to focus on ourselves in the here and now, and to detach from our obsession with the alcoholic. We learn to love ourselves and others, even though this may sometimes take the form of “tough love.”… We learn to allow ourselves to feel our feelings, and then to express them. This builds self esteem, which is the missing ingredient in our personalities, as it was never formed in childhood (“New Hope Support Group,” First Evangelical Free Church of Fullerton, p. 6).
That same orientation packet encourages people (without any warning) to read a number of books, including Melody Beattie’s Co-Dependent No More [Harper & Row], which is sold in many Christian bookstores and catalogs. Beattie dedicates that book to “me” (herself)! She states that God’s commandment to love your neighbor as yourself is the problem; her solution is the title of chapter 11: “Have a Love Affair With Yourself.”
Although I never went that far, for many years I taught that we need “proper” self-esteem. But then I came to see that the entire teaching is opposed to and condemned by Scripture. And I have grown increasingly concerned that because of the pervasiveness of this false teaching, there are many who think that they’re following Jesus, when actually they are only following self. They have been taught that the Christian faith and even Christian ministry are the avenues toward self-fulfillment. They’ve been told that Jesus will help you learn to love yourself, when in fact Jesus taught nothing of the kind. Rather, He clearly taught that …
If you’re living for self, you’re not following Jesus.
Jesus’ words follow Peter’s dramatic confession that Jesus is the Christ of God, which was followed by Jesus’ jarring prediction of His own death and resurrection (9:20, 22). In effect, Jesus was saying to the disciples, “I am not the kind of Christ you may think. I am not going to fulfill your desires for power and glory, at least not yet. I am not going to give you everything you want in this lifetime. I will come again in power and glory (9:26), but first comes the cross. And all who follow Me must follow in the way of the cross.” So He outlines for them all (Mark 8:34 shows that the “all” includes not only the twelve, but also the multitude) what it means to be His follower or disciple.
Before we examine this important verse, let me clear up another common misconception, namely, that discipleship is an option for the super-committed, but it is not mandatory for all believers. In other words, if you’re a masochist who likes hardship, deprivation, sacrifice, and perhaps even martyrdom, you can sign up for the discipleship track. You may be required to go to another culture and live in difficult or even dangerous conditions. You will probably be required to live at a poverty level, while your fellow Christians back home live in relative luxury. But, your reward in heaven will be greater. That’s the discipleship track, and we all hope that a few dedicated young people will go that route.
The other track, for the rest of us “normal” people, is the more sensible plan. You can pursue your dreams for success and personal fulfillment, live in increasing levels of luxury, and generally enjoy the good life in the fellowship of a good evangelical church. Every once in a while you need to drop something in the offering plate. But don’t worry about sacrifice, cross-bearing, or self-denial. Remember, we’re under grace, and all that sacrifice stuff is just for those on the discipleship track.
I contend that Jesus taught that there is only one track for those who believe in Him, namely, the discipleship track. While we’re all at differing levels of growth in the process of following Jesus, if you’re not His disciple, you are not a Christian. Every believer is called to be completely yielded to Jesus as Lord and completely dedicated to furthering His kingdom in accordance with the various gifts He has entrusted to you. If self is at the center of your life and you’re just using Jesus to fulfill self, you are not a Christian. Christians follow Jesus, which is diametrically opposed to living for self. In Luke 9:23, Jesus sets forth three requirements for following Him:
The word “deny” is the same word used of Peter’s denials of Jesus. It means to repudiate, renounce, or disown. Jesus wasn’t talking about denying yourself some little pleasure, like giving up chocolate for Lent. He was talking about a complete way of life involving a renunciation of living for your own selfish interests and an embracing of living for the sake of Christ and the gospel. The verb tenses of the three commands in 9:23 indicate that denying self and taking up one’s cross are basic decisions that result in a life of continual following of Jesus. Self-denial means “turning away from the idolatry of self-centeredness and every attempt to orient one’s life by the dictates of self-interest” (John Grassmick, The Bible Knowledge Commentary [Victor Books], 2:141). It means to give up the right to control your life and to give that right to Jesus Christ.
When confronted with such claims, most of us want to hedge our bets: “Can’t we work out some sort of compromise, so that I can live for Jesus part of the time, but live for myself, too?” Jesus answers this objection in verse 24: If you want to save your life (preserve it from self-denial; live to fulfill your own interests), you will lose it. But if you lose your life for the sake of Christ (that is, losing it in the sense of self-denial, which may or may not include literal martyrdom), you will save it, both now and for eternity.
This is not works salvation; God saves us by grace through faith. But, as Darrel Bock explains, “The essence of saving trust in God is self-denial, a recognition that he must save because disciples cannot save themselves, …” (Luke [Baker], 1:852). In other words, we begin the Christian life with the open confession that we cannot save ourselves by our own goodness or works. We denounce ourselves as sinners deserving God’s judgment and we entrust ourselves completely to Jesus Christ to save.
Then, just as we received Christ, so we walk in Him (Col. 2:6). We renounce self-exaltation (pride) and live to exalt God. We renounce self-will (directing our own lives) and live to do God’s will. We renounce self-seeking (living for our goals and desires, apart from God) and live instead to seek God and His kingdom and righteousness. Those who follow Jesus repudiate a self-centered life at every level. As Alexander Maclaren observes, “Flagrant vice is not needed to kill the real life. Clean, respectable selfishness does the work effectually” (Expositions of Holy Scripture [Baker reprint], “Mark,” p. 337).
Please note that Jesus is tacitly assuming that He is the rightful Lord of every person! He can make that claim because He is none other than the Lord God in human flesh. If He is not, He cannot demand our total allegiance; if He is, He commands nothing less.
Thus because of who Jesus is, receiving Him is not a matter of deciding that your life is lacking something and that Jesus will fill that void and give you the happy life you’ve always wanted. Jesus isn’t just one spoke in the wheel of your life. If that’s all He is, you have never dethroned self. To be a Christian is to deny self as both Savior and Lord and to enthrone Jesus in that place. This begins at the moment of salvation and continues throughout your Christian life. But if it has not begun, you have not become a Christian, since Jesus puts this requirement at the outset of a decision to follow Him.
“If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him ... take up his cross daily” (9:23b). Many Christians think that to bear their cross means putting up with a difficult mate or with a painful malady, such as arthritis. But taking up your cross is not an unavoidable trial that you passively submit to. Jesus says that it must be a daily thing that we actively choose to embrace. In Jesus’ day, the cross wasn’t an implement of irritation, inconvenience, or even suffering. The cross was an instrument of tortuous, slow execution. Jesus’ hearers knew that a man who took up his cross was, for all practical purposes, a dead man. A man bearing his cross gave up all hope and interest in the things of this world, including self-fulfillment. He knew he would be leaving this world in a very short time. He was dead to self.
Taking up your cross is not something you accomplish in an emotional moment of spiritual ecstasy or dedication. You never arrive on a spiritual mountaintop where you can sigh with relief, “I’m finally there! No more death to self!” Nor are there any shortcuts or quick fixes to this painful process. The need for dying to self is never finished in this life; it must be a daily thing. A Christian writer from the past century, A. T. Pierson said, “Getting rid of the ‘self-life’ is like peeling an onion: layer upon layer—and a tearful process!”
One of the main problems I have encountered in over two decades as a pastor is that we tend to be spiritually lazy and so we’re susceptible to anyone who comes along selling spiritual snake oil to cure our problems. Someone says, “Have this spiritual experience and you’ll be transported beyond all your problems and live a happy life.” So we buy it and for a while we may feel better. But we’re playing spiritual games. We’re still just as enslaved to sin and self as we were before. Why? Because we’re looking for miraculous, instant deliverance from a problem that Jesus said requires a daily, painful solution, namely, ongoing death to self.
What we lack and don’t want to develop (because it’s not easy) is spiritual discipline. Paul told Timothy, “Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness” (1 Tim. 4:7). Discipline isn’t miraculous or instantaneous and it’s not easy. No top athlete gets in shape by eating a dose of some wonder-food, like Popeye’s spinach. Nor does he work out for a few days and declare, “I’m in shape now!” It takes weeks, months, and even years. Neither does he finally get in shape and then kick back and say, “I’ve arrived! I’m in shape now, so I don’t need to work out any more.” The minute you stop working at it, you start getting flabby. It’s no different spiritually. Just as flabby muscles set in the day an athlete stops working out, so self asserts itself the day the Christian stops putting it to death.
In Titus 2:11-12 Paul wrote, “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing (lit., training) us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age.” Please note that this process of self-denial is not opposed to God’s grace, but right in line with it. I say this because when I teach that you must daily die to self through disciplined spiritual living, invariably someone accuses me of being legalistic. But neither Jesus nor Paul was legalistic for teaching self-denial! Paul says that God’s grace trains us to say no to all ungodliness and worldly desires and to replace those things with sensible, righteous, godly living. This is what the Puritans called the mortification of sin. It is something we must actively do every day (see Rom. 8:13; Col. 3:5 [in KJV or NIV; the NASB mistranslates it]).
It starts on the thought level: you must deny and forsake sinful thoughts and attitudes, and replace them with godly thoughts and attitudes as revealed in Scripture. If you deal with sin on the thought level, then it never gets any further. When greedy thoughts invade your mind, you instantly judge them and pray, “Lord, I don’t want to desire the things of this world that is passing away, but to seek first Your kingdom.” When sexual lust tempts you, you yank out your eye (to use Jesus’ words, Matt. 5:27-29) and pray, “O God, fill my vision with the purity of Jesus and His righteousness!” When selfish thoughts (“I have my rights! I don’t have to take this!”) crowd your mind, you nail them to the cross by praying, “Lord Jesus, You gave up all Your rights, took on the form of a servant and became obedient to death on the cross for me. Help me to display that same attitude right now” (Phil. 2:5-8). That’s how Jesus’ disciples live, not for self, but daily dying to self in order to follow Jesus.
Thus, following Jesus requires a basic decision to repudiate self-centered living and to put self on the cross every day. Finally,
“If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him ... follow Me” (9:23c). It’s a present imperative, pointing to a continual process of walking behind Jesus, going where He goes, doing what He does. It means not calling our own shots or doing our own thing, but submitting to Jesus’ commands and doing His thing. As Godet remarks, “The chart of the true disciple directs him to renounce every path of his own choosing, that he may put his feet into the print of his leader’s footsteps” (A Commentary on the Gospel of Luke [I. K. Funk & Co.], p. 267).
We’ve already noted the daily, ongoing nature of this process, so I won’t comment further on that. We’ve also noted Jesus’ Lordship, that we must submit to Him and obey Him and His Word if we would follow Him. But we need to notice the personal aspect of the process: “Follow Me.” Jesus didn’t mean simply, “Follow My commands,” although that is vital and cannot be dismissed. Obedience is not optional (Matt. 7:21-23).
But we need to remember that obedience ought always to be connected to the personal relationship we enjoy with our Savior and Lord. He says to the disobedient who outwardly did all sorts of things in His name, “I never knew you” (Matt. 7:23). They lacked the personal relationship. But to the obedient Jesus promised, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.... If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him” (John 14:21, 23). We should always link obedience with our personal love for Jesus.
Suppose a young woman takes a job as housekeeper and cook for a young bachelor. He gives her a list of the tasks that he expects her to do: cleaning the house, fixing his meals at certain times, etc. She performs those tasks in a satisfactory manner as his employee. But then the two fall in love and get married. She now may have to do many of the same tasks, but she does them out of a relationship of love, not out of sheer duty. That’s the difference between mere outward obedience and obedience from a personal relationship. To follow Jesus means continual obedience to Him as Lord, but obedience in the context of knowing and loving Him as our Bridegroom and Savior, who gave His life so that we could live with Him, both now and in eternity.
I read of a young nurse named Sheila who summed up her personal philosophy as “Sheilaism,” explaining, “It’s just try to love yourself and be gentle with yourself.” Well, at least she didn’t mistake her view for Christianity! But I’m afraid that a lot of American Christians are deceiving themselves, thinking that they’re following Jesus when really, they, like Sheila, are just into themselves.
The doctrine of self-love or self-esteem is not compatible with Jesus’ teaching on self-denial. It is sad that many advocates of self-esteem cite the command to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39) as biblical justification for self-love. Some even go so far as to say that we cannot love God or others until we first learn to love ourselves! But Jesus said that there were only two great commands—love God and love your neighbor. He assumed that we all love ourselves quite well. In fact, if we would just love others as much as we do love ourselves, we would fulfill the law of love. John Calvin saw this clearly. He wrote,
Hence it is very clear that we keep the commandments not by loving ourselves but by loving God and neighbor; that he lives the best and holiest life who lives and strives for himself as little as he can, and that no one lives in a worse or more evil manner than he who lives and strives for himself alone, and thinks about and seeks only his own advantage. (The Institutes of the Christian Religion [Westminster], 2:8:54).
Maybe you’re thinking, “Self-denial sounds so negative!” Let me remind you, I didn’t come up with this. Jesus did! In the short term, self-denial is difficult and not very pleasant. But there are eternal blessings in store when you follow Jesus on the path of the cross. He explains in verse 24: “For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it.” When you die to self and follow Jesus, He graciously gives you the ultimate in fulfillment as the by-product—the joy of eternal life and of being affirmed by Jesus before the Father when He comes in glory (9:26)!
If, like me a few years ago, you have been taken in by the self-esteem teaching, I encourage you to re-evaluate it in light of all Scripture, especially, Luke 9:23. You won’t find a single verse telling you to build your self-esteem or to love yourself more. You will find many telling you to die to self and to humble yourself. It’s pretty clear: Following Jesus means dying to self. Living for self means that you’re not following Jesus.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Motivation is the key to doing some things that you’d rather not do. Sometimes the motivation is negative: Read the assignment or you’ll flunk the course. At other times, it may be more positive. I read of a mother who was worried because her daughter, who was away at college, had not replied to the mother’s letters. The father told his wife that he would get the daughter to write promptly without even asking her to do so.
He wrote the daughter a letter, filled with news from home and that sort of thing. Then he casually added that he was enclosing a check. But he did not actually enclose the check. The daughter wrote back promptly, thanking him for the money, but pointing out that he must have forgotten to enclose it. Even college students can write to their parents if they’re motivated!
Jesus has just said some difficult things about His going to the cross and the fact that if anyone wants to follow Him, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily. As we saw in our last study, Jesus was talking about denying our selfishness and daily putting to death our sinful desires. Jesus’ words raise the question, “Why would anyone want to crucify himself every day?” Frankly, it doesn’t sound like a lot of fun! So Jesus goes on to give the explanation and motivation for why a person would want to do this. Verses 24, 25, and 26 all begin with the word “for.” Jesus is explaining why it is essential to live in the difficult manner He has just outlined in verse 23. To put it in the first person:
I should deny myself and take up my cross daily because I live in view of eternity.
Each of these three verses focuses on the eternal perspective. In verse 24, Jesus shows that there is a paradox: the person who seeks to save his life by not denying self in the short run will lose his life in the end. In verse 25 He shows that the profit of living for this world will be nothing compared with eternal loss of one’s soul. In verse 26 He shows that the temporary shame of being identified with Jesus and His teaching is a small thing compared with having Jesus ashamed of us at His glorious second coming.
British scholar Harry Blamires, in his classic book, The Christian Mind [Vine Books], states, “A prime mark of the Christian mind is that it cultivates the eternal perspective. That is to say, it looks beyond this life to another one” (p. 67). I agree with Blamires that we have largely lost this in contemporary evangelicalism. Our focus has become that of this world: What can Jesus do for me in the here and now? Heaven is nice and hell must be terrible, but those aren’t matters of concern for the present. Can Jesus fix my troubled marriage? Can He help me with my emotional troubles? Can He help me get that better job? The abundant life right now is our main concern. We have lost the eternal perspective. But in these three verses, Jesus shows us that to live wisely in the here and now, we must keep our focus on eternity:
Jesus here presents a paradox that applies both to our ultimate salvation and to temporal matters of discipleship. If we pursue our own agenda, we will lose in the end. But, if we let go of our selfish aims and entrust ourselves to the Lord Jesus, living for His purposes, seeking His will, we will gain eternal life when we die and multiplied blessings while we live. Verse 24 is really just a restatement of Matthew 6:33 in its context. If we eagerly seek all the things the world seeks, we will come up empty. But if we abandon that pursuit and seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness, all these necessary things will be added unto us.
The principle applies first and foremost to the eternal salvation of our souls. The way of the world is that we seek eternal salvation by our good works in this life: Go to church, give money, do deeds of kindness and mercy, try to live a moral life, and you will earn salvation. But that approach does not deal the death blow to our pride. Rather, it feeds pride. If our approach to eternal life is that we merit it by our good deeds, we can look down on those who are not as good as we are. We mistakenly think that we can commend ourselves to God. But the fatal fallacy in this approach is that it does not deal with our sin before the holy God.
I read recently of a 67-year-old man who has given an amazing 100 pints of blood. He often gives blood every 56 days, which is as soon as the blood banks allow. His comment was, “When that final whistle blows and St. Peter asks, ‘What did you do?’ I’ll just say, ‘Well, I gave 100 pints of blood.’ That ought to get me in.” (Reader’s Digest [7/98], p. 85.)
Muhammad Ali, the former boxing champion, now suffers from Parkinson’s disease. He jokes about his illness, “It’s a blessing. I always liked to chase the girls—Parkinson’s stops all that. Now I might have a chance to go to heaven.” He devotes his time to a number of charity causes.
“With everything I do,” he says, “I ask myself, Will God accept this? One day you’ll wake up and it’ll be Judgment Day, so you need to do good deeds. I love going to hospitals. I love sick people. I don’t worry about disease.” (Reader’s Digest [8/97], p. 83.)
Those two men are going to be shocked on judgment day. They are trying to save their souls by their good deeds. But they will lose their souls because they have not abandoned their good deeds as the basis of their acceptance with God and come, instead, to the cross where the Son of God offered Himself as the substitute for sinners. The cross, coupled with the doctrine of God’s sovereign grace, deals the death blow to our pride, as Paul clearly shows in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. As Paul there sums it up (1:28, 29), “And the base things of the world and the despised, God has chosen, the things that are not, that He might nullify the things that are, that no flesh should boast before God.”
Salvation is of the Lord, not of us. So the disciple abandons any self-approach to salvation (self-righteousness or good deeds) and casts himself completely on Jesus Christ to save. By losing his life, he gains it.
But the principle of Luke 9:24 also applies to all of the Christian life. It applies to our money, which is not ours, but the Lord’s. We mistakenly think that we gain financial security by hoarding our money and giving away very little. While the Scripture teaches that it is prudent to put aside enough to provide for future anticipated needs (Prov. 6:6-11; 2 Cor. 12:14; 1 Tim. 5:8), it also teaches that if we are generous in giving, God will generously supply all our needs (Luke 6:38; 2 Cor. 9:8-11).
The principle of losing our life to gain it applies to our service to others. If we live for ourselves, never thinking of the needs of others, we will be lonely, miserly people. But if we give generously of our time in serving others for Jesus’ sake, it comes back to us many times over. I often find that if I give time that I don’t have to spare, the Lord makes up the time to me in other ways.
The principle also applies to your family life. Husbands are commanded to love their wives sacrificially, as Christ does the church (Eph. 5:25-33). Such sacrificial love requires thinking often of your wife and her needs, and seeking to meet those needs. It means praying for your wife. It means serving her, even if you don’t get to pursue your favorite pastimes.
But many husbands think only of themselves. They want the family to serve them. They selfishly think, “I work hard all day. If I come home and serve my family, when will I get time for my needs to be met?” But if you serve your mate and your children, it comes back to you in the form of love, kindness, and close, caring relationships. But if you selfishly dig in your heels and say, “I’m not going to serve them any more than they serve me,” you’ll lose by not having your needs met at all.
The principle also applies to your relationship with the Lord. Many Christians think, “If I spend time in Bible reading, meditation on the things of God, and prayer, I won’t get everything done that I have to do.” They live at a frantic pace, seldom taking the time to spend in God’s presence, thinking about the things above and the life to come. They end up burning out, having stress-induced physical problems, and all sorts of other crises that make life careen out of control. But if we die to self by putting time with God as a priority, He puts the rest of life into perspective.
So the first motivating reason to die daily to self for Jesus’ sake is that when we do, He brings the blessings of salvation back upon us in the long run. When we live for self, we may gain in the short term, but we’ll come up empty in view of eternity.
If we could only keep it in mind: This life is a fleeting millisecond in light of eternity. And yet we devote all of our time and energy as if we will be on this earth forever and as if there were no eternity! Richard Baxter, in his profound book, The Saints’ Everlasting Rest ([Sovereign Grace Book Club], p. 151), writes,
Lord, what a strange madness is this, that men, who know they must presently enter upon unchangeable joy or pain, should yet live as uncertain what shall be their doom, as if they never heard of any such state; yea, and live as quietly and merrily in this uncertainty, as if all were made sure, and there were no danger! Are they awake or asleep? What do they think on? Where are their hearts? If they have but a weighty suit at law, how careful are they to know whether it will go for or against them! If they were to be tried for their lives at an earthly bar, how careful would they be to know whether they should be saved or condemned, especially, if their care might surely save them! If they be dangerously sick, they will inquire of the physician, What think you, sir, shall I escape, or not? But in the business of their salvation, they are content to be uncertain.
Someone recently told me of a young man whose family used to attend this church. He had become very successful in worldly terms. He picked up a friend to show him his new Ferrari, but never returned. They found the crashed car with the two young men’s bodies several days later. He gained the world, but may well have lost his soul.
The famous evangelist George Whitefield once told of seeing some criminals riding in a cart on their way to the gallows. They were arguing about who should sit on the right hand of the cart with no more concern than children who are going somewhere with their parents. It seems absurd that men who are about to die would be arguing about who gets the best seat in the cart! Yet isn’t that an indictment of us all? We’re all about to die! This life is so fleeting and uncertain. Eternity is ahead. Yet we devote ourselves to gaining position and possessions in this world, with no thought of the world to come!
The irony of Jesus’ perceptive statement is magnified by the fact that few of us ever come close to gaining the whole world. But even if we could do it, Jesus says, what good is it if we forfeit our own soul? Alexander the Great conquered vast territories and even ordered that he be worshiped as god, but he caught a fever and died at age 33. What good did his conquests do him in light of eternity? Just over 50 years ago, Adolf Hitler tried to conquer the world, but he ended up committing suicide when his plans failed. Some business tycoons, like Ted Turner, reject God and commit themselves to amassing a fortune. He owns more land than almost any other human being. But he soon will die and face God’s judgment with nothing to cover his sin.
How much wiser was Jim Elliot, who was killed at 28 trying to take the gospel to the fierce Auca tribe in Ecuador. At age 22 he had written in his journal, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose” (Shadow of the Almighty [Zondervan], p. 15). Two years earlier he had prayed, “Lord make my way prosperous, not that I achieve high station, but that my life may be an exhibit to the value of knowing God” (ibid., p. 13).
The Christian life must be lived daily by keeping in view the shortness of this life and the insignificance of the things of this world in light of eternity. When he was just 19, Jonathan Edwards wrote down 34 resolutions that he committed himself to practice for God’s glory. Number 9 was, “To think much, on all occasions, of my dying, and of the common circumstances which attend death” (The Works of Jonathan Edwards [Banner of Truth], 1:xx). That may strike you as a bit morbid for a young man, but Edwards was seeking to live in the light of eternity. A few months later he wrote, “I frequently hear persons in old age say how they would live, if they were to live their lives over again: Resolved, That I will live just so as I can think I shall wish I had done, supposing I live to old age” (ibid., 1:xxii).
To apply this, think about being at the end of your life. None of us knows how long we’ll live, but assume that the Lord gives you 80 years. In light of eternity, what would you want to accomplish as you look back on your life from that point? In light of this, write out a purpose statement that sums up what you want God to do through you in the years He gives you. Then write out some specific goals for the coming year in light of that overall purpose. Then, whether you live to be 80 or 40, you won’t spend your time trying to gain the world while losing your soul.
Although Jesus had just predicted His own rejection and death (9:22), He makes it clear that that will not be the final chapter. He will come again in His own glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. The apostle Paul describes that awesome event as a time “when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus” (2 Thess. 1:7, 8). The Lord Jesus described His own “coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other” (Matt. 24:30, 31).
A main reason I should deny myself and take up my cross daily to follow Jesus is that He is coming again in power and glory to judge everyone. Either He will be ashamed of me on that day or He will confess me favorably before the Father and say to me, “Well done, good and faithful slave… Enter into the joy of your master” (Matt. 25:21, 23). I don’t know whether Jesus will speak to me in English or whether He will give me the ability to understand Hebrew or whatever language is spoken in heaven. But in English, you can tell by a person’s lips whether he is going to say, “Depart from Me” or “Well done.” I try to live each day so that when I stand before the Lord Jesus in all His glory, I see His lips form the words, “Well done.”
Note that Jesus says that there is the danger that we will be ashamed of Him and His words. He spoke often, more than anyone else in the Bible, about hell. Are you embarrassed to warn people about hell? It’s not a popular doctrine in our day of tolerance and relativism. It would be much easier to drop Jesus’ many references to hell out of our conversations with unbelievers: “Let’s take a more positive approach, telling them about God’s love, not about His judgment. It sells better.” I’m not advocating that we go to the other extreme and become insensitive, judgmental hell fire and damnation witnesses. But I am saying that if we do not lovingly warn people of the danger of hell and judgment, we are probably being ashamed of Jesus’ words.
Another hard thing Jesus spoke about is the inability of sinners to come to Him apart from the sovereign grace of God. Jesus spoke very plainly about this in John 6:26-65, where He repeats in verse 65 what He had already stated in verse 44: “No one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father.” This is a hard doctrine! Thus verse 66 states, “As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore.” They didn’t like Jesus’ teaching because the doctrines of God’s sovereign grace humble the pride of the human heart. But we must bow before the hard sayings of Jesus, as well as the words that we like, if we confess Him as Savior and Lord.
To obey Luke 9:26, we have to elevate the fear of God above the fear of people. Later, in the context of repeating a similar warning about confessing Him before men (12:8, 9), Jesus says, “My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who after He has killed has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!” (9:4, 5). If we live each day in light of Jesus’ glorious return to judge the earth, we can daily deny self in order to confess Him before others.
In 1777, Dr. William Dodd, a well-known London clergyman, was condemned to be hanged for forgery (the penalties were a bit more severe back then!). When his last sermon, delivered in prison, was published, a friend commented to Samuel Johnson that the effort was far better than he had thought the man capable of. Dr. Johnson’s classic reply was, “Depend upon it, when a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.”
If we would keep in mind that life is very short and that eternity is just ahead, it would concentrate our minds wonderfully! Even though it is difficult and painful, we would daily put self on the cross and follow Jesus because we will soon stand before Him on judgment day. Instead of getting caught up with the things of this world, we would live in view of the world to come. The reality of eternity is the motivation for living obediently now, even though it means a slow, painful death to self.
An Italian legend tells about a man who had a servant who was rather stupid. One day the master became exasperated and told the servant, “You’re the stupidest fellow I’ve ever known. I want you to take this staff and carry it with you. If you ever meet a man who is more stupid than you are, give him the staff.”
The servant took the staff. He met some pretty dumb men, but he wasn’t sure if they were dumber than he was, so he never gave away the staff. Then one day he was called back to the castle. He was ushered into the master’s bedroom, where the master was on his deathbed. He told the servant, “I’m going on a long journey.” The servant asked, “When will you be back?” The master replied that he would not return.
The servant asked, “Well, sir, have you got everything prepared for your journey?” The master said, “No, I’ve not really made much preparation for it.” The servant asked, “Could you have made preparation? Could you have sent something on?” The master said, “Yes, I guess I had a lifetime to do that, but I was just busy about other things.” The servant went on, “Then you won’t be back to the castle, to the lands, to the animals?” The master said he wouldn’t be back.
The legend says that the servant took the staff which he had carried for all those years and said to the master, “Here, you take the staff. I finally met a man who was more stupid than myself.”
We’re all going to take that journey. Jesus tells us how to prepare. Trust Him as Savior and follow Him as Lord, denying self even when it’s hard. One day you will see Him smile and say, “Well done!” Then it will be worth it all!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
In attempting to speak on the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in His transfiguration, I identify with Peter, who felt that he needed to say something, but really didn’t know what he was saying! What can anyone say to describe or explain an event like this?
Peter referred back to this awesome spectacle when he wrote, “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, ‘This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased’—and we ourselves heard this utterance made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain” (2 Pet. 1:16-18).
So what can I add to this glorious event which one commentator describes as “the most significant event between [Christ’s] birth and passion” (Walter Liefeld, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary [Zondervan], 8:925)? I can only pray that God will be gracious in helping us to see the Lord Jesus in a clearer light so that we will follow Him more closely!
We’ve all heard the expression that someone is so heavenly minded that he is no earthly good. I suppose that there are people whose heads are so much in the clouds that they don’t accomplish much in practical terms. But the truth of the matter is, most of us are so earthly minded that we are of no earthly or heavenly good. The Bible is clear that if we want to walk in a manner pleasing to the Lord, we must set our minds on the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God (Col. 3:1-2). There is nothing quite so practical as gaining a clearer vision of the glory of Christ. Like Peter, John, and James, we must come down off the mountain to deal with difficult situations, but we will deal with them more effectively if we have seen the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
To understand the transfiguration, we must see it in its context. Luke has been gradually revealing to us the identity of Jesus Christ. People had different views—He is John the Baptist, Elijah, or one of the prophets come back (9:19). But by divine revelation, Peter acknowledged that Jesus is the Christ of God (9:20; see Matt. 16:17). But immediately after Peter’s confession, Jesus told the disciples of His impending death and resurrection. This jarred them and they did not understand what He was talking about, in spite of His repeated references to it (9:44-45; 18:31-34). They understood Christ as King, but they did not yet understand that He first must suffer and then enter into His glory (24:26).
Jesus also has made it plain that those who follow Him must follow in the way of the cross (9:23-26). Jesus did not come to please Himself, but to do the will of the Father, which supremely included the cross. Those who are His disciples must also deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow Him, even if it means persecution or martyrdom. Jesus concluded that discourse with a difficult verse: “But I say to you truthfully, there are some of those standing here who shall not taste death until they see the kingdom of God” (9:27).
There are various interpretations of what Jesus meant by this. Some liberals say that it was a mistaken prediction that Jesus would come back before some of the apostles died. We can dismiss this as the stupid ramblings of irreverent men. Others relate it to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, but it is difficult to see why that event represented the coming of God’s kingdom. Others interpret it as a reference to the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the rule of Christ through His church. But it seems to me that Jesus is referring to something more spectacular than that. I agree with many of the early church fathers who believed that Jesus was referring to the event that immediately follows, namely, His transfiguration. Three of the disciples there got a glimpse of what Jesus will be like in that coming kingdom, when He comes in the glory of the Father and His holy angels (9:26).
Jesus’ comment about not tasting death refers back to verse 24. He is saying that although some of those who follow Him will lose their lives for His sake, some of them would see a manifestation of the coming kingdom before they faced martyrdom, because to see Jesus in His glory is to see a preview of that day when He will return to reign.
Thus in the context, the transfiguration served to encourage the three disciples by showing them that even though their Master would suffer and die and though they, too, must follow Him in the path of the cross, the future glory of Jesus and of all who follow Him is certain. The disciples’ understanding, like their sleepiness and the cloud on the mountain, was foggy at first. But later this unforgettable experience came back to them with clarity and insight. Their experience teaches us that …
We all need a clearer vision of the glory of Christ.
While this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that not even all the apostles shared in, it is included in Scripture for our instruction. When I say that we need a vision of the glory of Christ, I am not suggesting that we should sit on a mountaintop and try to conjure up some mystical vision of Jesus. We can know Him only through His Word, where He has been revealed to us, and through the Holy Spirit who takes the things of Christ in the Word and discloses them to us (John 16:14). The Christian life is centered on coming to know Christ in an ever-deeper way. While I strongly believe in learning sound doctrine, we need always to keep in mind that the aim of knowing doctrine is to know the glorious Savior better. He is like a beautiful gemstone, where you see different facets of His glory as you view Him in the light of the Word.
Luke alone tells us that it was while Jesus was praying that “the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming” (9:29). Why would the eternal Son of God need to pray? Because He took on human flesh, yet without sin, and He lived in perfect dependence on the Father to show us how we, too, should live. In the incarnation, Jesus’ glory was veiled and He voluntarily limited the use of certain of His divine attributes as He took on the form of a servant and became obedient to death on the cross (Phil. 2:5-8). He did not surrender any of His divine attributes or He would have ceased to be God (which is impossible), but He took on the limitations of our humanity, apart from sin. As a man, Jesus needed to pray.
Yet it was while as a man in dependence on the Father, Jesus was praying, that His glory burst forth like the sun coming from behind a cloud. This was the intrinsic glory of Jesus that He shared with the Father before the creation of the world (John 17:5). It is the glory He now possesses as He sits at the right hand of God. When the apostle John later saw the glorified Jesus, he fell at his feet as a dead man (Rev. 1:17). Jesus is undiminished deity and perfect humanity united in one person forever.
In His classic work, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [Eerdmans, 1:198], Alfred Edersheim writes,
It has been observed, that by the side of every humiliation connected with the Humanity of the Messiah, the glory of His Divinity was also made to shine forth. The coincidences are manifestly undesigned on the part of the Evangelic writers, and hence all the more striking. Thus, if he was born of the humble Maiden of Nazareth, an Angel announced His birth; if the Infant-Savior was cradled in a manger, the shining host of heaven hymned His Advent. And so afterwards—if He hungered and was tempted in the wilderness, Angels ministered to Him, even as an Angel strengthened Him in the agony of the garden. If He submitted to baptism, the Voice and vision from heaven attested His Sonship; if enemies threatened, He could miraculously pass through them; if He was nailed to the cross, the sun craped his brightness, and earth quaked; if He was laid in the tomb, Angels kept its watches, and heralded His rising.
So to see the glory of Christ, when you read the Word, look for His humanity and His deity closely juxtaposed.
Scholars debate the significance of Moses and Elijah appearing with Christ, but it seems to me that the natural connection is that Moses represents the Law and Elijah the Prophets. As such, the entire Old Testament (the Law and the Prophets) bears witness to Jesus as Lord and Christ. Beyond this association, Moses also had a mountaintop experience where his face shone (Exod. 34:30). In the exodus, he led the people of God out of bondage. Our text states that Moses and Elijah were talking with Jesus about the exodus (literal Greek transliteration of “departure”) that He was about to accomplish in Jerusalem (9:31). Elijah is associated with the future coming of Messiah, when he would appear to turn the hearts of the people back to God and to prepare the way of the Lord (Mal. 3:1; 4:4-6; Matt. 11:9-14).
It is also interesting that both Moses and Elijah had unique departures from this earth. Moses died on the mountain and God buried him (Deut. 34:6). Elijah was carried to heaven without dying in a chariot of fire (2 Kings 2:11). Jesus also had a unique departure: angels guarded His tomb and then, after His resurrection, He ascended bodily into heaven.
But even though Moses and Elijah were two of the greatest men of God in the Old Testament, Jesus is far superior to them. We see this in Peter’s inept comment and the response from the heavenly voice. Peter, perhaps to prolong the glorious occasion, suggests celebrating the Feast of Tabernacles by building three booths, one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While he meant well, Peter’s comment was off because it put Jesus on the same footing as Moses and Elijah. The voice from heaven corrects this by removing Moses and Elijah and by stating emphatically, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” (9:35). These words also fulfill Deuteronomy 18:15, where Moses predicts that God will raise up another prophet and commands, “You shall listen to him.” Thus, the glory of Christ shows His superiority to and fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets.
The conversation about Jesus’ “departure” probably included His death, resurrection, and ascension. Moses and Elijah were discussing these foreordained events with Jesus as they stood on the mountain. Wouldn’t it have been something to hear their actual words! Moses and Elijah both had an interest in Jesus’ approaching death and resurrection because their salvation depended on it! Ever since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, those who hope in God had looked forward to the promised seed of the woman who would redeem them from their sins (Gen. 3:15). The sacrificial system, pictured by God in clothing Adam and Eve with animal skins and instituted formally in the sacrificial system under the Law, pointed ahead to the Lamb of God who would offer Himself in the place of sinners.
Our hope of salvation from the penalty of our sins rests entirely on the shed blood of the sinless Son of God who took on human flesh to be our substitute. His mighty resurrection from the dead verifies that the Father accepted His sacrifice on our behalf. His bodily ascension into heaven was coupled with the angelic promise that He will return in the same manner to reign in glory.
Thus the glory of Christ is a glory of His perfect humanity and undiminished deity. It is a glory of His superiority to the law and the prophets. It is a glory of His atoning death and His bodily resurrection and ascension.
The best manuscripts support the reading in 9:35, “This is My Son, My Chosen One” (some later manuscripts follow the other synoptic readings, “My beloved Son”). Luke shows that Jesus is the One whom the Father sovereignly chose to fulfill His eternal purpose of redemption. This is further underscored by the fact that Jesus often predicted His own death and resurrection (9:22, 44), as well as His coming again in power and glory (9:26). The word “accomplish” in 9:31 means to fulfill. It emphasizes what Scripture often teaches, that the death of Jesus was not an accident that spoiled the divine plan. Rather, He knowingly and willingly laid down His life for His sheep (John 10:11, 17-18; Isa. 53:10-12). And yet, those who killed the Lord of glory were responsible for their own heinous sin (Acts 2:23; 1 Cor. 2:8).
The sovereignty of God from start to finish in our salvation should give us great hope. It assures us that we are not saved because of our feeble will, but because of God’s mighty will, which He purposed in Christ before the foundation of the world. It shows us that although evil men rage against God and His servants, they cannot triumph. Even in the death of the Savior, wicked men were merely carrying out the divine purpose, while at the same time increasing their own condemnation, all to the glory of God! As we think about this mystery, with Paul we should exclaim, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways!” (Rom. 11:33).
So we need a greater and greater vision of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. How do we get it?
It was as Peter, John, and James were on the mountain with Jesus to pray that they got this vision of His glory (9:28). If Jesus had invited them to go with Him and they had said, “Not this time, Lord—there’s a great game on TV that I don’t want to miss,” they would have missed this life-changing glimpse of His glory.
Why did the Lord pick these three disciples and not at least the rest of the twelve? I’m not sure. He chose the same three to witness the raising of Jairus’ daughter and to draw apart with Him in Gethsemane. If we had been orchestrating this event, we would have done it in front of the whole multitude with the TV cameras running. But He just chose these three, who were especially close to Him. I’m glad Peter was there, since it shows us God’s grace. Jesus had recently rebuked Peter with the strong words, “Get behind Me, Satan” (Mark 8:33). Jesus knew that Peter would later deny Him. Yet His grace prevailed in Peter’s life. James and John clamored for first place among the twelve. James wouldn’t even live long enough to have much of a ministry, since he was killed by Herod. But the Lord picked them.
But while God is sovereign in His choice, we have a choice about whether we spend time alone with Him. We’re all busy, but we can make time for the things that are important to us. You may need to put on your calendar a half day to meet with the Lord. I can say for certain that if you don’t spend consistent time alone with God, you will not gain a greater vision of the glory of Christ.
It seems incredible that the disciples would sleep through an event like this, but at first that’s what happened (9:32). But then, “when they were fully awake, they saw His glory.” The same thing happened later in the Garden of Gethsemane, where the disciples were sleeping when they should have been praying. Jesus warned them, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41).
I often feel spiritually sluggish and lethargic. My quiet times sometimes are real quiet, because I fall asleep! My mind wanders to other things as I try to pray or read the Word. I am too easily distracted from seeking the Lord. My only counsel is to keep fighting off spiritual lethargy and do what you have to do to be alert. I find that praying while I walk helps. I’ve got to fight off distractions to meet with the Lord.
The disciples rightly feared as they entered the cloud, which was the Shekinah glory of God. We need reverent fear if we would see His glory. Then God proclaimed, “This is My Son, My Chosen One; listen to Him!” (9:35). After this, they saw Jesus alone (9:36). Even though Moses and Elijah appeared in glory, which must have been impressive, Jesus alone is to be the disciples’ vision and ours.
It’s easy to get distracted with good things that fall short of Christ. Paul mentions men who had become inflated with self-abasement, worship of the angels, and visions they had seen, but who were not holding fast to Christ (Col. 2:18). We can get caught up with spiritual experiences rather than with Christ Himself! We can get enamored with our theological knowledge and miss Christ. We need to exalt Jesus alone and keep our eyes on Him.
That is the meaning of God’s command, “Listen to Him!” The reason the disciples did not go down the mountain and start telling everyone what had happened was that Jesus had commanded them to be quiet until after His resurrection (Mark 9:9). That would have been a difficult command to obey, especially when they saw the other disciples! But they obeyed.
The path of obedience, as we have seen, is the way of self-denial and daily crucifixion of our sinful desires (9:23). It means continually losing our selfish lives for Jesus’ sake (9:24) and seeking His kingdom above the things of this world (9:25). It means confessing Him openly in this evil world (9:26). In thus losing our lives for His sake, we gain eternal life with Him.
Moses and Elijah, who appeared here with Jesus, give us a glimpse of the truth of His promises. Moses had considered “the reproach of Christ greater than the treasures of Egypt” (Heb. 11:26). He had been dead now for 1,500 years. Elijah had boldly confessed God before the wicked Ahab. He had gone to heaven over 800 years before. Yet here they were in glory with Jesus! We don’t know how the disciples recognized them, but they did. They show us that although we may suffer as we obey Him in this life, we will enjoy the reward of being with Him forever! If you had asked Moses and Elijah, “Was it worth it to endure hardship for Christ’s sake when you were on earth?” they would look at you as if you were crazy. “Worth it? To know the eternal glory of Christ?”
At the end of World War Two, a man named Murdo McDonald spoke to his American colleagues through the fence of a German concentration camp, where they were prisoners. He had to speak in Gaelic, since English was forbidden. He told them the news that the war was over. Germany was defeated; the Allies had won. It would still be three days before the Germans learned that news for themselves. During those three days, the Americans were still prisoners. They still suffered the poor food, the mistreatment, the confinement, and all the other hardships of being in a prisoner-of-war camp. Nothing had changed except the news that the war was over. But that news spread throughout the camp and transformed the response of the prisoners to their situation. Suddenly there was hope! Germany had been defeated. Victory was assured. They could endure the trials because of the truth that they were on the winning side.
The transfiguration of Jesus gives us a preview glimpse of the fact that He is the victorious Lord who is coming again in great power and glory. Jesus will reign and His truth will triumph over evil. If we can gain a vision of the glory of Christ, it will enable us to follow Him in the way of the cross.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
A recent Reader’s Digest cover story was about some distraught parents whose 11 year-old son had two serious brain tumors that soon would have taken his life. They managed to get in touch with one of the most skilled neurosurgeons in the world, who was able to operate and restore the boy to health. The cover picture of the doctor with the smiling, healthy boy is enough to make you want to be a neurosurgeon. A story like that touches us. I remember watching a movie in college about a heart surgeon who repaired a hole in the heart of a four-year-old girl. That movie almost persuaded me to go into medicine as a career.
That is the scene we encounter in our text. Jesus, Peter, John, and James come down from the Mount of Transfiguration to encounter a great multitude. Out of that crowd, one man shouts out, begging Jesus to look at his only son who is plagued by a disease similar to epilepsy. But it is more than mere epilepsy: a demon was exploiting the physical disease and making it much worse. The distraught father had entreated the nine disciples who had not accompanied Jesus onto the mountain, but they could not cast out the demon.
What a stark contrast between the majesty on the mountain and the mess on the plain! Peter, John, and James had just seen Jesus in all His glory, talking with Moses and Elijah in glory. They had been enveloped by the cloud and had heard God’s voice! Now they encounter a thronging mob of needy people, with this pathetic man and his convulsing son at the forefront. Mark 9:14 adds that the scribes were arguing with the disciples over the situation. They were probably using the disciples’ failure to argue that Jesus Himself was lacking in power. While they dispute, this poor, helpless father and his desperately needy son plead for help. What a scene!
Luke leaves out many touching details that the other gospels include. He doesn’t mention the father’s pathetic appeal, “If You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!” or Jesus’ reply, “‛If you can!’ All things are possible to him who believes.” To this the father gave that reply that all of us have often used, “I do believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:22-24). Luke also omits the disciples’ subsequent discussion with Jesus in which He explains, “This kind cannot come out by anything but prayer” (Mark 9:29).
Rather, Luke’s focus is on the failure of the disciples (the next two incidents also reveal the disciples’ need to learn and grow) and on God’s mighty power. Also, Luke links the crowd’s elation over the healing with Jesus’ prediction of His death and the disciples’ inability to understand what He was talking about. The overall picture is that even though the disciples are incompetent and in the dark at this point, Jesus is fully in command. He is not taken in by the fickle adulation of the crowd. He knows what He is doing and where He is headed, namely, to the cross. The lesson for us is, …
In our great need we can lay hold of God’s mighty power through faith.
We see four strands that tie this story together: the desperate need of people; the destructive power of the enemy; the mighty power of God to deliver from the enemy; and, our vital need for faith and obedience to lay hold of God’s power.
Because the human race is under the curse of sin and death, which stems from the fall, we all are desperately needy. Some try to mask their neediness by giving off an aura of confidence and competence. Others may be blinded to their need by their youthfulness, their health, or their financial security. But the fact is, every human being is fragile. We are a heartbeat away from eternity. Our health, our wealth, our loved ones, and our very lives can be taken in an instant. We see here three groups of needy people:
*The distraught father and his debilitated son: “Teacher, I beg You to look at my son, for he is my only boy.” Every parent can relate to this man’s pathetic cry for help. Our hearts go out for our children, especially when they have a debilitating illness or problem that we cannot resolve. Mark 9:21 reports that Jesus asked this father how long the boy had suffered from this problem and the father replied, “From childhood.” Probably the boy was a young teenager now. Other boys his age were learning a trade and beginning to look toward the responsibilities of manhood. But this boy’s life was being ruined by Satan.
This demon was destroying the boy physically, emotionally, spiritually, and socially. The symptoms were similar to epilepsy, plus a loss of speech (Mark 9:17). But the problem was not just neurological; it was also demonic. Frankly, it’s often difficult to sort out the physiological, emotional, and spiritual aspects of a person’s problems, especially if the person is using drugs. Drug use is at root a spiritual problem, but it also affects the person’s physiology and moods, so that the whole problem gets mixed up together.
Problems like this wreak havoc on the whole family. The family becomes defined by their problem. Others describe them as “the family with the demonic son.” Often others in the community feel uncomfortable being around them and so they avoid them. Certainly, they don’t want their children playing with a boy like this. Who knows what might happen? It might rub off on their children or the crazy kid might erupt in a fit of rage and harm or kill their children. It’s just better to keep your distance.
For the family with a boy like this, life centers on “the problem.” Every minute of every day the boy had to be watched for fear that he would have a violent seizure that would throw him into the fire or water where he could be killed. If the father had to attend to his work, the mother had to be on duty. She had to try to get the household chores done with this boy in tow. If she went to the marketplace, she was afraid that he would have a seizure there, and she would be a spectacle in front of the whole town.
Did you know that 80 percent of couples who have a handicapped child or whose child dies cannot handle the pressure and end their marriages in divorce? As a church family, we need to be sensitive to families that have problem children—be it physical, emotional, or spiritual problems—and surround them with the love of Christ. We need to listen without condemnation and we need to help in practical ways. This distraught father and his debilitated son show us one aspect of our desperate need before God.
*The deficient disciples: “They could not” cast out the demon and, “they did not understand” Jesus’ statement. In other words, the disciples were lacking in spiritual power and they were lacking in spiritual understanding. In these ways, they show us further aspects of our neediness before God. All of us face situations, either with loved ones or personally, where if we could, we would speak the word and deliver the loved one or ourselves from some overwhelming problem. But, the fact is, we can’t! We attend seminars, we spend a fortune on counselors, we read the latest books, we try so-called “proven” techniques. But the problems don’t budge. We lack the spiritual power to overcome them.
We also often lack spiritual understanding. Just when the multitudes are raving about Jesus and His mighty works, He drops the news on the disciples like a bomb: “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men” (9:44). But they just didn’t get it. In fact, Luke tells us that it was concealed from them so that they might not perceive it, implying that God concealed it from them.
From our vantage point, their dullness seems incredible. But it’s easy to play armchair quarterback! From their vantage point, Jesus was riding a wave of popularity. They thought Messiah would be the conquering king, triumphant over all His enemies. They had not figured out that Messiah had to come the first time to die for the sins of His people and that He will come again to reign in power and glory. So the notion of a rejected and killed Messiah was utterly incomprehensible to them.
The disciples’ lack of spiritual understanding shows us our need to depend totally on God for spiritual insight and truth. Many times I have gotten off track with some subtle spiritual error. At the time, I would have told you that I was right on target. Then God opened my eyes and I saw how far I had strayed. It’s so easy to get swept downstream with the spiritual climate of the day. That is one reason I find it helpful to read some of the great men of God from the past. They may have their own quirks, but they are outside of the quirks of our age and so they often help me to see the errors of our time more clearly. That leads to the third group that shows us our need before God:
*The defective generation: “O unbelieving and perverted generation!” Jesus is echoing Moses’ words about the generation that fell in the wilderness (Deut. 32:5). Perhaps after just communing with Moses and Elijah on the mountain and discussing His own impending departure, Jesus was especially aware of how far this generation was from God. There is debate about to whom Jesus is directing this rebuke. In light of the mention of the disciples’ failure (9:40), they would seem to be at the forefront. But it is a broad rebuke that also takes in the religious leaders and the multitude. That entire generation would soon reject and kill their Messiah. In that sense they were unbelieving and perverted.
Every generation has its own spiritual perversions. My grandparents’ generation was marked by a cultural Christianity that was a nice part of life, but it didn’t seem to penetrate down to how a person lived in the family and in society. My parents’ generation went through the depression and the war. They sought to overcome these problems through material prosperity. My generation rebelled against what they saw as hypocrisy and superficiality. We wanted to be real, to not play games, to live by our feelings. The current “Generation X” thinks that they’re going to solve the world’s problems through technology and by rewriting the rules without regard for God. As Christians, we would like to think that we are independent thinkers who are not influenced by our generation. But, the fact is, we are often like fish in the water that don’t know that they are wet. We live in an unbelieving and perverted generation and this shows us our desperate need for God.
The Bible teaches that evil is not just an impersonal force, but rather it exists and is furthered through Satan and the demons, who are personal spiritual beings. While Satan is a deceiver who often draws people into his web by promising them what they desire, his goal is to harm and destroy. Jesus’ told the disciples that “this kind” of demon is more difficult to remove than others (Mark 9:29), which indicates that some demons are more powerful than others. There is no indication that this boy or his parents had done something to open the boy to demonic power. Apparently, it was something God permitted to drive this family to Christ.
While most of our problems are due to the flesh, not directly to demons, we need to be on guard against the terrible destructive power of Satan. As I understand it, demons cannot possess a believer, but they can plague and harass believers. Be careful to do nothing to open the door to demonic power. Get rid of any occult paraphernalia. Destroy Ouija boards. Do not consult horoscopes or fortune tellers. Do not watch movies or read books that deal with satanic themes. Do not read accounts about Satan worshipers. We should not be naïve: we face an enemy who is far more powerful and cunning than we are. We should not fear him because our God is more powerful. But neither should we underestimate his power! The destructive power of the enemy further underscores our desperate need for God.
If this were a fairy story, it would embellish and emphasize the manner in which Jesus delivered and healed this boy. But Luke almost understates the healing itself. He describes the boy’s terrible convulsions in detail, but then simply states, “Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back to his father” (9:42). Then he clarifies what happened by showing the reaction of the crowd: “They were all amazed at the greatness of God” (9:43). The good news is that, “Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). Or, as Jesus says to this distraught father (in Mark 9:23), “All things are possible to him who believes.”
That is one of those statements that we all believe in theory, but it becomes increasingly difficult to believe in practice the more we think about it. If God’s power is so great that all things are possible to believers, then why is there so much pain and suffering in this world? Why do so many good people suffer while evil people prosper? Why do stubborn family problems and divorce abound, even in Christian families? Why don’t hospitals go out of business and police departments and armies dissolve from lack of need, if God’s mighty power is available to His people?
It would be wrong to take Jesus’ words further than He Himself meant them. Obviously, the “all things” means “all things within the will of God.” And we must affirm that in the present age, the will of God in its broadest sense includes the presence of evil and suffering. If the “all things” ever applied to anyone, it applied to Jesus. And yet He did not use the mighty power of God to escape the cross. In fact, He affirms the cross in this very context (9:44).
Also, it is easy to mistake our will for God’s will, even when we think we’re following God. For example, if you knew of a godly, powerful young evangelist whose messages were turning many to God, you would not think it to be God’s will for him to be cut down after less than a year’s ministry. Yet, that is precisely what happened to John the Baptist. For some reason, it was God’s will a few years later to deliver Peter from prison and extend his life, but it was not God’s will to deliver James, who was killed by Herod. Why James and why not Peter? No one can answer that question. But when it was God’s will to deliver Peter, the most secure prison and the strongest guards were no match for God’s power. But we need to be careful not to claim that we know with certainty in advance how God will act, because we are prone to be mistaken.
But when it is God’s will to work, His power is greater than any other power. His power is greater than any problem we face. God often does not deliver us instantly or miraculously, because we need to learn to walk by faith. Sometimes He doesn’t deliver us at all, for reasons in His sovereign will that we don’t understand. But we must call out to God in faith and trust His power that is available to us through Christ. As Jeremiah prayed when Nebuchadnezzar’s army was besieging Jerusalem: “Ah, Lord God! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and by Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You” (Jer. 32:17).
While this is a story about God’s ability to deliver this boy from this demon and from disease, it also pictures God’s power to save the most difficult people from Satan’s domain. If we had heaven’s perspective, we would realize that it is a far greater miracle for Jesus Christ to save a lost sinner from Satan’s power than it is for Him to heal someone from a physical ailment. Physical healing is only a temporary extension of life, but spiritual deliverance goes on for eternity. Our earthbound minds hear of a miracle of physical healing and marvel. But the angels in heaven marvel over a soul saved from hell. If we would see this, we would spend more time entreating God for His greater miracles of saving lost people and less time praying for miracles to make us more comfortable. If you are in bondage to sin and to Satan, if you will call upon the Lord Jesus Christ, He will save you by His grace.
We have seen our great need; the enemy’s destructive power; and God’s greater power in Jesus Christ. The final element is,
The need for faith is indicated in Jesus’ rebuke, “O unbelieving generation!” Matthew reports that the disciples asked Jesus privately why they could not cast out this demon and He replied, “Because of the littleness of your faith” (Matt. 17:20). True faith always is inseparable from obedience, which is implied when Jesus calls them a “perverted generation!” To be perverted is to go astray from the path of God’s righteous ways as revealed in His Word. We cannot rightly claim to be trusting God if we are knowingly disobeying His Word.
This father was trying to believe, although he was quick to acknowledge his shortcoming by crying out, “I do believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). But he shows us what every parent should do when troubled about his children, namely, bring them to Jesus. That’s what we all should do with all our problems and needs: bring them to Jesus. Bring them to Him as often as you need to, because He invites us to cast all our cares on Him (1 Pet. 5:7). Bring them to Him believing that He is able to do far more than we can ask or even think (Eph. 3:20). As you bring your needs to Him, examine your life, beginning on the thought level, to see if there is anything displeasing to Him. Confess and turn from any known sin and seek Him for grace to grow in holiness in thought and deed.
This story should encourage us to bring our problems to the Lord because He is gracious to work on our behalf even when our faith is weak and our understanding is misdirected. He didn’t wait until this father had great faith to deliver his son. He didn’t wait until the disciples arrived at strong faith and crystal clear understanding before He used them in His purpose. He is full of compassion and mercy. If we bring our troubles and problems to Him, even though our faith may be weak and our understanding may be cloudy, He is often gracious to deliver us by His mighty power.
Years ago a seagoing captain had his family on board as his ship crossed from England to America. One night, when everyone was asleep, a sudden squall hit and the ship rocked violently. The passengers woke up, frightened by the storm. The captain’s eight-year-old daughter also woke up. At first she was scared as she asked her mother what was happening. Her mother explained that there was a sudden storm. The girl asked, “Is father on deck?” “Yes,” her mother replied, “father is on deck.” Hearing this, the little girl snuggled back under her covers and in a few minutes was sound asleep. The winds still blew and the waves still hit the ship, but she could rest peacefully because she knew her father was at the helm (in “Our Daily Bread,” 1985).
Whatever our needs and however strong the enemy, we know that our Heavenly Father is even more powerful. Even if we face death itself, we know that our mighty Savior went to the cross and was victorious over sin and death there. In our great need, we can lay hold of God’s mighty power through faith. If this distraught father had not had this problem with his son, he might never have trusted in the Lord Jesus. While the problem was not pleasant, it was the means that God used to deliver the man from that unbelieving and perverted generation. If you let your problems drive you to Christ, you also will be delivered from this unbelieving and perverted generation. We are needy people, but Christ is a mighty Savior!
Copyright, 1998, Steven J. Cole, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
We live in a world of angry people. Road rage is on the increase. Americans on both sides are angry about whether or not to impeach President Clinton. Feminists are angry. Last month, angry homosexuals were blaming the murder of a homosexual in Wyoming by a couple of bar thugs on conservative Christians who speak out against homosexuality as sin! We frequently hear reports about anger spilling over into domestic violence. As if all this anger were not enough, people sign up for classes in assertiveness training so that they can learn to stand up for their rights!
Uncontrolled anger is as old as Cain and Abel. Down through the centuries, even believers have justified their anger as righteous when it was not even close. On a couple of recorded instances, Jesus was righteously angry, so it is possible. But we all would do well to heed the words of the Scottish hymn writer, George Matheson, who said, “There are times when I do well to be angry, but I often mistake the times.” If we want to be effective servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, we must learn to put aside anger and be humble and loving, even toward those who oppose us.
The disciples needed to learn this lesson. Our text tells of how they got in an argument among themselves as to which of them might be the greatest. It sounds awfully childish and dumb, but we would be blind if we did not see ourselves in their behavior. Every pastor knows of squabbles that have divided churches because one person was hurt that he was not properly recognized for his service to the church. People leave churches because they didn’t get their way on what color to paint the fellowship hall! Sometimes we hide our conflicts under the banner of doctrinal disputes, often over minor issues, but when you look behind the banner, it is really two sides shouting, “I’m the greatest!” “No, I’m the greatest!”
We also read of the apostle John trying to hinder a man who was doing the Lord’s work, but he wasn’t a part of their team. Jesus corrects this misguided zeal. Then we read of James and John wanting to call down fire from heaven on a Samaritan village that was not willing to receive Jesus and His followers. Again, Jesus rebukes them for their lack of love. These three incidents in the disciples’ training teach us that,
To be effective servants of Christ, we must learn the lessons of humility and of love for all.
The argument about who is the greatest disciple (9:46-48) teaches the lesson of humility. The incidents of opposing the servant of Christ who was not a part of the apostolic band (9:49-50) and of calling fire down from heaven on the Samaritan village (9:51-56) teach us the lesson of love for our fellow believers and love even for those who oppose us.
There is a major sectional division in Luke at 9:51, but I am joining the two halves in one message because they contain a common theme. From Luke 4:14 through 9:50, Luke’s theme is the ministry of the Son of Man in Galilee. Luke progressively unfolds the person of Jesus as the Son of God. From 9:51 through 19:28, we see the rejection of Jesus, the Son of Man, as He sets His face toward Jerusalem. There is mounting opposition against Jesus (9:51-11:54) and He gives much instruction (there are 17 parables in this section) in light of His approaching death (. There is mounting opposition against Jesus (9:51-11:54) and He gives much instruction (there are 17 parables in this section) in light of His approaching death (12:1-19:27). Luke does not describe a journey to Jerusalem in a straight, sequential sense, but rather he presents a shift of focus on Jesus’ part that culminates in the rejection and crucifixion in Jerusalem. It is in light of His approaching death that Jesus focuses on teaching the twelve. There are many lessons on effective Christian service.
The context of Luke heightens the absurdity of this debate among the disciples. Jesus has just announced His impending death (9:44) and He is about to set His face to go to that fate in Jerusalem (9:51). Sandwiched between these solemn pronouncements, the disciples bicker about which of them is the greatest! We will again encounter a similar episode at the Last Supper (22:24). But before we shake our heads and say, “How could they do that?” we need to acknowledge that we are made of the same fabric as the disciples; we struggle against the same problems. The fact that they got into a similar dispute on the eve of the crucifixion should also warn us that this isn’t a lesson that you learn once and store away in your file cabinet. It is a lesson that we must constantly apply.
Why did the disciples get into this argument about who was the greatest at this time? I can’t be dogmatic, but I have a hunch that it may have stemmed from the incidents just preceding. Jesus had taken Peter, James, and John with Him to the Mount of Transfiguration, leaving the other nine in the valley below, where they hadn’t been able to cast the demon out of the boy. Although Jesus had commanded Peter, James, and John not to tell anyone what they had seen on the mountain until after His resurrection, they probably felt privileged for what they had seen there. Perhaps some of the nine were thinking, “Why is that blabbermouth Peter in the inner circle? And why does Jesus pick those hotheaded brothers, James and John? I’m a much better disciple than they are!” And perhaps Peter, James, and John were thinking, “If these guys had seen what we saw, they wouldn’t have any problem casting out that demon! They just need to get their act together!” So there was rivalry and competition among the twelve.
What can we learn here about pride and humility?
Jesus knew “what they were thinking in their heart” (9:47). Pride was at the root of the original sin, where Eve thought that she could be like God if she disobeyed Him and ate the forbidden fruit. It is at the root of almost all sin, because we proudly think that we know better than God who has given us His commandments. We wrongly think that we know what is best for us, even if it goes against what God has clearly said. So to deal with pride, we must confess our selfish rebellion against God and humble ourselves before Him. If God gave us what we deserve, we would go straight to hell! We must repent of pride and seek His grace.
Also, dealing with pride on the heart level means examining our motives for what we do. Why do I serve Christ? Is it out of love and gratitude to Him, or is it to be recognized by others? What happens if I don’t receive the recognition that I think I deserve? Do I get hurt feelings and quit? Do I grow jealous of those who seem to be in the limelight? Or, do I truly rejoice with the success of other servants of the Lord because the name of the Lord is being glorified?
So often we’re like Linus in the Peanuts cartoon strip. His sister, Lucy, asks him what he wants to be when he grows up. He replies that he wants to be a humble country doctor. He says that he will live in the city and every day he will get in his sports car and drive to the country where he will heal everyone. In the last frame he says that he will be a world-famous humble little country doctor. So often, in our hearts we want to be world-famous humble servants of Jesus!
There can only be one “greatest” disciple, and the way you determine the winner is by making comparisons. But Jesus totally disarms this way of thinking. He makes no comparisons among the twelve, or between them and anyone else. The apostle Paul does the same thing with the factious Corinthians when he says, “What do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Cor. 4:7). In other words, God has given us everything that we are and have. We are only stewards or managers of it for His sake. Since it all comes from Him, it is ridiculous for us to be puffed up over our own gifts or abilities and to look down on others who don’t have what we have.
As Americans, we especially have to be on guard because our culture thrives on competition, not cooperation. We want to win, even (or, especially!) if it means crushing our opponents and making them look bad. If we promote teamwork, it’s only so that our team beats the other team. Imagine the idea of all the teams in the National Football League cooperating so that everyone ended the season as winners!
I read a great story about a missionary to the Philippines who was trying to teach a remote native tribe how to play croquet. He explained the rules and showed them how they could knock their opponents’ ball away. But these people lived in a culture that survived through cooperation, not competition. They were confused: why would you want to smash your opponent’s ball out of the court? “So you can win,” the missionary explained.
But these “primitive” tribesmen, playing in their loincloths, wouldn’t do it. After the first man got his ball through all the wickets, he went back and coached the others on how to do it. Finally, when the last man hit his ball through the last wicket, they all jumped up and down and shouted, “We won! We won!”
That’s the spirit we need if we want to avoid pride and promote humility. Paul wrote to the rivals in the church at Philippi, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind let each of you regard one another as more important than himself; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (Phil. 2:3-4). Rather than being jealous because someone else has some spiritual experience or recognition that we lack, we should rejoice because the Lord’s team has won.
The disciples were arguing about who was the greatest disciple of Jesus. At this point, Jesus was riding a wave of popularity. Crowds thronged around Him wherever He went. When Jesus was arrested and about to be crucified, it was a different story: they all left Him and fled. But for now, it made them feel important to be identified with Jesus.
To correct their pride, Jesus took a child and stood him at His side. In the Judaism of that day, a child under 12 could not be taught the Torah, and so to spend time with them was considered a waste (Theological Dictionary of the New Testament [Eerdmans], 5:646-647). But Jesus was showing that His followers must welcome and be kind to those whom society regarded as unimportant. Not only was this child not unimportant; by receiving ones such as this, Jesus’ disciples actually receive Him and the Father who sent Him. This shows us God’s concern for every person, no matter how unimportant our society may regard him or her. And it shows us that if we think we’re something because we know some “important” people, our focus is wrong. The only thing that makes us “something” is our association with Jesus, and that isn’t because of anything good in us, but only by His undeserved grace.
Perhaps there were some obvious non-verbal signs that showed Jesus what the disciples were discussing. But 9:47 indicates that He had supernatural knowledge of what they were thinking. Scripture tells us that there is nothing hid from His sight (Heb. 4:13). He knows every proud and jealous thought we entertain. If we would only keep that in mind, we would be quick to judge our proud thoughts the second we recognized them!
Also, as I mentioned, this debate about who is the greatest occurs in the context of the cross (9:44, 51). If we would keep in view the suffering that Jesus went through to save us from our sins, how could we go on exalting ourselves over others? It was my pride and selfishness that put the sinless Savior on the cross. As Isaac Watts put it in his great hymn,
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of Glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
So to grow in our usefulness to the Savior, we must grow in humility and judge our pride.
There are two groups represented here: those who are fellow servants of Christ (9:49-50); and, those who are opposed to Christ (9:51-56). We must learn to show love to both groups, although the form our love takes may differ.
I hesitated before I used the word “tolerant,” since it is a greatly misused word. It seems to be the supreme virtue in our country right now, and there is a correct sense in which tolerance is a virtue. The word is used wrongly as a means of opening the door to any and every kind of sin. In this wrong sense, we are told that it is arrogant for us to say that any behavior or belief is wrong; all beliefs and behavior are neutrally the same. In this sense of the word, Christians cannot be “tolerant.” We must hold firmly to sound doctrine and to biblical standards of morality. But in the correct sense, the word tolerant means treating those who differ from us with kindness, courtesy, and respect. I am using the word in this sense when I say that we must be tolerant with our fellow servants of Christ.
I don’t know whether John here was seeking to justify himself or whether he was confessing his sin in light of Jesus’ teaching about the least being the great. But he tells Jesus that they had encountered someone casting out demons in Jesus’ name (probably on their first preaching tour), and they tried to hinder him because he wasn’t a part of their group. Jesus corrected John, “Do not hinder him; for he who is not against you is for you.” On another occasion, Jesus said, “He who is not with Me is against Me” (11:23). Obviously, Jesus was not contradicting Himself. Rather (as several commentators observe), the second verse is one by which a person should test himself: if I am not fully committed to Jesus Christ, I am His enemy. To be neutral is to be against Him. But the verse in our text is one by which we test others: we should treat him as an ally unless he is obviously against us.
We would be wrong to conclude from this verse that we should join forces with everyone professing the name of Christ, no matter what their doctrine or practice. Some doctrinal differences are very serious and we must not compromise sound doctrine (Gal. 1:6-9). Some methods or practices by professing Christians mandate that we not work closely with them. But the warning of this verse is that we often cloak our pride of being right under the banner of religious zeal. God is bigger than our exclusive circles, and He uses people in His service whom we would not pick.
This opens up a subject that could easily require a whole sermon series. But let me briefly offer a few guidelines on when we should or should not work with other professing Christians. On a church level, it would be wrong to identify our church in a public manner with any church or group that denied fundamental doctrines of the gospel. To join in worship or outreach with a church that denies the substitutionary atonement of Christ or that we are saved by grace through faith alone would be wrong. To have our church join a unity service with liberal churches that deny the sinfulness of the human race or the need for the saving grace of Christ would be to compromise the gospel.
Also, there are times when it is not wise to work closely with other Christian groups even though they do hold to the fundamentals. Paul and Barnabas separated over the matter of whether to take Mark along with them on the second missionary journey (Acts 15:36-41). Obviously, some matters are more significant than others and so we must pray for discernment and seek to obey Scripture. The main thing is to guard against pride and to be kind and gracious when we must disagree or separate from other professing Christians because of different principles.
As Jesus set His face to go to Jerusalem, He sent messengers ahead into Samaria to make arrangements. But the Samaritans did not receive Him because they heard that He was going to Jerusalem, and they despised the Jews. There had been a centuries-long hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans, who were viewed as religious half-breeds. So the slightest provocation set off James and John who wanted to call down fire to consume these pagans. But Jesus rebuked them and they went on to another village. (The most reliable manuscripts omit the bracketed words of Jesus’ rebuke, and those that have them contain many variants.)
This incident shows our propensity to misuse the Scriptures to justify our own sinful anger. James and John thought that they were acting in the spirit of Elijah, who called down fire to consume the wicked King Ahaziah’s messengers who came to arrest him (2 Kings 1:1-16). They could cite chapter and verse to show that their anger was justified. But, they were wrong. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, not to destroy them.
While rejection is always difficult to handle, if our Lord was rejected, we can expect the same treatment in this wicked world. He deliberately steeled Himself for the coming rejection in Jerusalem (9:51). As His followers, we must steel ourselves for rejection and not take it personally, even if it is meant that way.
We should let the Lord be the judge. In this case, Jesus judged this village by leaving them in their state of rejection. They would have to answer to God at the judgment for not welcoming Christ into their village. While there is a proper time to “shake the dust off our feet” in protest against those who reject the gospel (9:5), we should be careful not to jump the gun. God is patient, not willing for any to perish (2 Pet. 3:9), and we must reflect His love and patience toward those who are opposed, praying that God would grant them repentance.
Living as we do in a culture that is seething with anger and that elevates pride to a virtue, we can have some great opportunities for witness if we will learn the lessons of humility and love for others. If you are mistreated, but you respond with humility and love, you will stand out as a light in the darkness. Be ready to let others know that it is only Christ in you that makes the difference.
If you struggle with pride and anger and have failed often, these verses offer hope. James and John were known as the Sons of Thunder. Matthew Henry observes that here they even want to add lightning to their repertoire! But James went on to give up his life as a martyr and John grew to be known as the Apostle of Love. If the grace of the Lord Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit could change these hotheads, there is hope for us all! Change begins when we acknowledge our sin and come to the cross in repentance. We should walk in the same way (Col. 2:6). If you have wronged someone through pride or anger, humble yourself, go and ask their forgiveness. As you learn to practice humility and love, even toward those who have wronged you, you will become an effective servant of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1998, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
A cartoon showed a church building with a large billboard in front that proclaimed: “The LITE CHURCH: 24% fewer commitments, home of the 7.5% tithe, 15 minute sermons, 45 minute worship service; we have only 8 commandments—your choice. We use just 3 spiritual laws and have an 800 year millennium. Everything you’ve wanted in a church … and less!” (Leadership [Summer, 1983, p. 81).
Sadly, there is more truth than fiction in that cartoon! Many churches are lowering the commitment level to attract attenders. They’re afraid that if they preach against sin, they might offend some folks, so they focus on the positive and speak about sin only in the most general terms. They don’t want to deal with touchy doctrinal issues, because people in our culture want to be tolerant and non-judgmental. They wouldn’t dream of practicing church discipline! Their focus is on being upbeat so that everyone feels loved and accepted unconditionally. As a result, we have millions of churchgoers who call themselves Christians, but who are not fully committed to Jesus Christ and the gospel.
George Gallup contends that fewer than ten percent of evangelical Christians could be called deeply committed. The majority who profess Christianity do not know basic Christian teachings and do not act differently because of their Christian experience. As a Lutheran pastor put it, “Ninety percent of our parishes across the country require less commitment than the local Kiwanis club” (Wayne Pohl, Leadership [Winter, 1982], p. 95).
In our text, Jesus makes some radical demands on His followers. Interestingly, just two verses later He laments that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few (10:2). If Jesus had hired a marketing consultant, he would have said, “Lord, if you want more workers, you’re going to have to be a bit more realistic. You just lost three good volunteers because you demanded all or nothing!”
But Jesus didn’t lower the standard. Following Christ is like taking a class on the pass/fail system. There is no curve. You either make it or you don’t. He requires that you devote everything that you are and have to Him or nothing at all. It is important to realize that these verses are not just directed to those who are considering “full-time” Christian service. They are addressed to everyone who would consider being a follower of Christ or disciple (the terms are synonymous). The Lord draws a line in the sand:
The only way to follow Jesus is totally.
In the context, Jesus has twice announced to the disciples His impending rejection and death (9:22, 44). He has resolutely set His face toward Jerusalem and the cross (9:51). He has also taught His followers that the first requirement of following Him is to embrace self-denial and the cross (9:23). Here we encounter two men who volunteer to be Jesus’ followers and one whom Jesus calls to follow Him. We don’t know whether these men responded or not, although the sense I get is that they did not. But Luke doesn’t focus on their response because he wants us to apply Jesus’ words to our own hearts: Am I following Jesus totally or just casually? As someone has observed, “There’s a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstances permit. When you’re committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results” (Art Turock, Reader’s Digest [11/94], p. 212). These verses show us that,
These three men all thought that following Jesus was a good thing to do. Two of them expressed their own desire to follow Him, which is more than could be said of many in the crowds who heard Jesus preach. But while they wanted to follow Jesus and viewed that as important, it wasn’t the most important thing. There were other factors that needed to be considered. In the words of the third man, “I will follow You, Lord; but …” (9:61).
That word “but” has kept many well-meaning people out of the kingdom of God! In the case of the first man, Jesus must have sensed that his offer to follow Jesus was a bit impulsive and idealistic. The man had not thought through carefully what following Jesus would entail. So Jesus spelled out for him up front the fact that following Him would mean giving up many of the personal comforts that he enjoyed and perhaps took for granted: “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head” (9:58).
I pondered this verse as I was sitting in front of my fireplace in my comfortable home, sipping some hot coffee! Does Jesus mean that to follow Him, we must sell our homes, deny ourselves all comforts in life, and become itinerant jungle missionaries? If so, very few would qualify. Even many missionaries have comfortable homes to live in. I think that Jesus was pointing out what He had already said in 9:23, that to follow Him requires a life of self-denial, not of self-indulgence. As J. C. Ryle explains,
He would have no man enlisted on false pretences. He would have it distinctly understood that there is a battle to be fought, and a race to be run,—a work to be done, and many hard things to be endured,—if we propose to follow Him. Salvation He is ready to bestow, without money and without price. Grace by the way, and glory in the end, shall be given to every sinner who comes to Him. But He would not have us ignorant that we shall have deadly enemies,—the world, the flesh, and the devil, and that many will hate us, slander us, and persecute us, if we become His disciples. He does not wish to discourage us, but He does wish us to know the truth (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], 3:339).
When I joined the Coast Guard Reserves the recruiter was not exactly honest. Honesty got in the way of their recruitment quotas, so it wasn’t high on their priorities! The recruiter learned that I liked to read, so he told me that there was a library on the base. What he didn’t tell me is that no recruit could go there until he earned the privilege, and that no one could possibly earn the privilege before the sixth week in boot camp, and then it would only be for an hour a week! One guy became the laughingstock of the base when he showed up for boot camp with his fishing pole and water skis, because the recruiter had told him that the base was on an island (true) and that you could fish and water ski there (true, a person might do that, but false if that person was a recruit!).
Jesus wasn’t a dishonest recruiter. He wants us to know up front that He is enlisting us in warfare against the powers of darkness, and that warfare is often difficult. If we’re looking for a program where our personal comfort is paramount, we should look elsewhere. Following Jesus must be more important than our personal comfort.
The second man thought that following Jesus was important, but not more important than family obligations. When Jesus said, “Follow Me,” he replied, “Permit me first to go and bury my father” (9:59). Commentators differ over whether the man’s father had just died, whether he was near death, or whether he had a few years to go. I am inclined toward either of the last two views, since if his father had just died, he probably wouldn’t be tagging along after Jesus at that moment. G. Campbell Morgan refers to a traveler in the Middle East who was trying to enlist a young Arab man as his guide. The man replied that he could not go because he had to bury his father. When the traveler expressed his sympathy, he learned that the young man’s father had not died, but that this was an expression meaning that he had to stay with his father as long as he was alive (The Gospel According to Luke [Revell], p. 133). So probably the man Jesus was calling was saying, “After my father is gone, I will follow You.”
The Bible teaches that we should care for our elderly parents. The fifth commandment enjoins us to honor our father and mother. Paul states that if we do not take care of our own families, we are worse than unbelievers and have denied the faith (1 Tim. 5:8). Certainly, Jesus was not negating the Ten Commandments. He came to fulfill the Law, not to abolish it (Matt. 5:17). But, if our commitment to family is greater than our commitment to Jesus Christ and His kingdom, we’ve got it wrong. Jesus’ reply, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead,” means, “Let those who are spiritually dead tend to such matters.” Then He adds, “But as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”
In our day there has been a resurgence of emphasis on the family in evangelical circles. Much of this emphasis is a needed corrective to the neglect of family relationships that often characterized Christian homes in the past. For example, missionaries in the past often would ship their young children off to missionary schools, where they were away from their parents during their formative years. Even Hudson Taylor sent his children back to England for their education, rather than keeping them with him and his wife in China. They viewed it as the cost of discipleship. I think that this practice is a gross misapplication of Christ’s words. If God calls me to the mission field and also gives me children, I believe He is calling me to have them with me on the field. If that is not possible, my first responsibility is to care for my children until they are old enough to be separated from me without causing them serious problems.
But, having said that, it is possible to be sinfully selfish about the family, where we wrongfully exalt the family over God’s kingdom purposes. I have heard of Christian families who do not get involved in serving the Lord because it would interfere with their family time. Some even stay away from church because they need a family day together. This teaches the children that family is more important than God and His work in this world. Some parents prohibit their children from involvement with missions because they fear that they could get killed in another country. If I may get personal, as many of you know, we almost lost our daughter Joy last summer in an accident in Mexico. I easily could have said, “You’re not going down there again.” I don’t want to lose her, and it is risky to drive on those roads. But to prohibit her from going would be a selfish command that puts family above the kingdom of God. If His kingdom is the priority, I must let her go, entrusting her to God’s protection.
The third man volunteers to follow Jesus, but with the stipulation that he first be allowed to go home and say good-bye to everyone. He thought that following Jesus was important, but not important enough to let go of the old relationships and ways. The Lord could tell that the man’s heart was divided. Like Lot’s wife, he just couldn’t quite cut the ties with the old life. He wanted to keep the door open so that if things didn’t work out, he could always go back. He wasn’t willing to make a clean break with the old contacts and way of life.
Jesus replies, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (9:62). In other words, His followers must be totally focused on His purpose. They can’t keep one foot in the world just in case things don’t work out in the Kingdom. Their hearts cannot be divided between living for the old way of life and living for Jesus Christ. In a picture of total dedication to a task, the ancient writer, Hesiod, speaks of “one who will attend his work and drive a straight furrow and is past the age of gaping after his fellows, but will keep his mind on his work” (cited by Darrell Bock, Luke [Baker], 2:983). Another writer explains, “Following him is not a task which is added to others like working a second job.… It is everything. It is a solemn commitment which forces the disciples-to-be to reorder all their other duties” (Karris, cited by Bock, p. 984).
When Jesus talks of putting one’s hand to the plow and turning back, He is not referring to someone who starts out in so-called “full time Christian service” but then leaves the ministry for “secular” work. He isn’t referring to how a person earns a living, but rather to a basic focus in life. The disciple must fix his eyes on Jesus Christ and His cause. He must seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). Whether he earns his living digging ditches or preaching the gospel, his consuming purpose in life is to know Jesus Christ and to make Him known. Thus,
It’s not just a slice of life, something that rounds out your life and makes it a bit nicer. It’s the center, the hub of your life. Everything else revolves around Jesus and His kingdom purpose. My career must be subservient to the will of God and His kingdom purpose. My family life must be centered on following Jesus Christ and serving Him. My spare time is not my own, to do with as I please. It must be yielded to Jesus Christ and His purpose. This is not to say that every spare minute must be spent in serving the Lord. He made us so that we require rest and recreation. We need not feel guilty about taking appropriate time off for leisure activities. But the reason for the time off is so that we will be refreshed to serve the Lord better.
I think that Christians need to do some careful thinking about the subject of retirement. While there’s nothing wrong with the concept of retirement, per se, Christians should view it much differently than the world does. We should view it as an opportunity to be freed up from our jobs so that we can be devoted to the Lord’s work. To dream of getting your Winnebago and parking it in Yellowstone every summer and Yuma every winter is not a godly focus, unless your purpose is to reach out to those in Yellowstone and Yuma! For the life of me, I can’t figure out why many pastors and missionaries retire from the Lord’s service at 65! I realize that we may need to slow down a bit as our bodies get older. But why should we ever retire from the Lord’s service? I’ll preach as long as some church will tolerate the old geezer!
Making our commitment to Jesus Christ the most important thing in life means several things:
Commitment to Christ cannot be based on an emotional, idealistic decision.
The first man was probably caught up with the euphoria of the moment. Crowds were following Jesus. Hundreds were being healed. Jesus’ disciples were a part of this exciting movement. The man wanted in on the action. So he gushes, “I will follow You wherever You go.”
But Jesus realized that the man had not thought it through carefully. He had not considered the cost. He hadn’t thought of the hardship, the rejection, and the persecution that would inevitably follow. He had an idealized, glamorous view of what it meant to follow Jesus. But it wouldn’t carry him through the tough times.
Profession is easy. Practice over the long haul is the test. You can attend an evangelistic meeting where the music is captivating. There is a wonderful spirit in the air. The preacher tells a moving story and gives an invitation and people start streaming down the aisles. You feel good about what he has said. You realize that you have some needs in your life that Jesus could meet. So you go forward and meet with a counselor. He explains that by believing in Jesus you can have all your sins forgiven and be assured of going to heaven. So you pray to receive Jesus.
But does that make you a follower of Jesus? Did you truly become a child of God at that moment? Maybe, but not necessarily! Do you understand that following Jesus and living for self are mutually exclusive, and that you are committing yourself to follow Jesus? Do you understand that following Jesus and clinging to your sins are not compatible, and that when you trust in Christ as Savior, you begin a lifelong battle against sin? Do you understand that while salvation is totally God’s gracious gift, apart from any merit or works on our part, the one who receives God’s gift is no longer his own; he has been bought with a price? He must now live for the One who loved him and gave Himself for him. Commitment to Christ as Savior cannot be based on good vibes.
Commitment to Christ cannot be a casual, whenever-you-find-the-time matter.
What could be more noble and biblical than burying one’s father? But Jesus won’t allow this would-be follower to postpone his commitment until it’s convenient, even for this noble purpose! If heaven and hell are true (and every follower of Jesus must believe that they are, since He taught both so clearly and forcefully), and if death is a daily potentiality for every person, then the message of the kingdom of God is urgent! The people we encounter each day are heading toward the glory of heaven or toward the agonies of hell, and they are a heartbeat away from their eternal destiny! We can’t be casual about our commitment to Christ in light of these solemn truths!
Commitment to Christ cannot be a phase in life that you put behind you someday.
To leave your options open so that you can go back to the old life if things don’t work out as a Christian is to reject following Jesus. Jesus later mentions Lot’s wife as a sober example to everyone who would follow Him when He says, “Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to keep his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall preserve it” (Luke 17:32-33). While the Christian life is a process of daily yielding more and more to the Lord, it can never be approached from the mentality, “I’ll try it and see if it works. Otherwise, I’ll go back to the old ways or try some other way.” If Jesus is the Lord, then the only way is to go forward with Him. Turning back is not even an option.
Since the only way to follow Jesus is totally, each one of us must soberly ask ourselves the question, “Am I following Jesus totally?” Am I holding back something for myself? Am I keeping one foot in the world just in case? Am I hanging on to some secret sins, just so I won’t miss out on what the world has to offer? Am I trying to serve Christ and mammon? Am I saying, “I’ll follow You, Lord, but …?” Everything after that “but” needs to go!
There’s a danger that you will hear a message like this and in a moment of emotion say, “All right, I’m giving everything to Jesus! I’m going all out for Him! I’ll be a missionary, even a martyr if necessary.” But, if you don’t count the cost, you will be like the first man. How do we implement total commitment to Jesus on a daily basis?
Someone observed that we think giving our all to the Lord is like taking a $1,000 bill and laying it on the table. “Here’s my life, Lord. I’m giving it all.” But the reality for most of us is that He sends us to the bank and has us cash in the $1,000 for quarters. We go through life putting out 25 cents here and 50 cents there. Listen to the neighbor kid’s troubles instead of saying, “Get lost.” Go to a committee meeting. Give a cup of water to a shaky old man in a nursing home.
Usually giving our life to Christ isn’t glorious. It’s done in all those little acts of denying self for Jesus’ sake, 25 cents at a time. It would be easy to go out in a flash of glory; it’s harder to live the Christian life little by little over the long haul (Fred Craddock, in Leadership [Fall, 1984], p. 47).
That kind of daily commitment in small increments begins with a total entrusting of your life and eternal destiny to Jesus Christ. He gave Himself on the cross so that you would not have to face God’s wrath on account of your sins. Jesus calls you to turn from your selfishness and sin and to follow Him. If you say, “I’ll follow Jesus, but …” you must erase the “but.” The only way to follow Jesus is totally.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
A pastor began his Sunday sermon by saying, “I’d like to make three points today. First, there are millions of people around the world who are going to go to hell. Second, most of us sitting here today don’t give a damn about that.” After a lengthy pause, he continued, “My third point is that you are more concerned that I, your pastor, said the word ‘damn’ than you are about the millions going to hell” (Reader’s Digest [5/79]).
It’s easy to get our priorities all mixed up, where we treat as major that which is minor and we treat as minor that which is crucial. One day Hudson Taylor was traveling on a Chinese junk from Shanghai to Ningpo. He had been witnessing to a man named Peter who rejected the gospel but was under deep conviction. In the course of events, Peter fell overboard, but no one made any effort to save him. Taylor sprang to the mast, let down the sail, and jumped overboard in hopes of finding his friend. But no one on board joined Taylor in his frantic search.
Taylor saw a fishing boat nearby and yelled to them to help, but they wouldn’t do it without money. Finally, after bartering for every penny that Taylor had, the fishermen stopped their fishing and began to look for Peter. In less than a minute of dragging their net, they found him, but it was too late. They were too busy fishing to care about saving a drowning man.
We can easily condemn the selfish indifference of those fishermen, but by indicting them, we may condemn ourselves. Are we too busy with our jobs and other activities to take the time to rescue those who are perishing without Christ? I realize that the analogy breaks down. We must be tactful and wait for the right opening before we talk to a person about spiritual things. But if a person’s response to the gospel is the deciding factor in where he or she will spend eternity, should we not do all that we can to get this crucial message to them? Do we have the proper sense of urgency about spiritual matters that we ought to have? Or, could it be that we really don’t give a … (darn)?
Our text records something not found in any of the other gospel accounts, that Jesus appointed 72 (or 70) others (besides the 12) and sent them ahead of Him to proclaim the gospel in the cities and villages where He was going to come. The question of whether it was 72 or 70 is one of the most difficult textual questions in the New Testament to resolve, since the evidence is quite evenly distributed. Commentators also debate whether there was any symbolic meaning behind the number. But since we cannot be certain about the number, it is tentative at best to speculate on any symbolic meaning. I think that the weight is slightly on the side of 72, but either way it’s not a major point to spend more time on.
Jesus sends these workers out with instructions and warnings that are similar to those He gave to the 12 before their preaching mission (9:1-6). Some of these instructions were unique to these men and to this mission (Jesus later changed the orders; Luke 22:35-36) and thus do not apply directly to us. But many of the principles and the overall thrust of the passage do apply to us. The overall thrust is that …
The gospel is crucial because people will be judged eternally on the basis of their response to it.
As I meditated on this passage four words kept surfacing: Prayer, Mission, Message, and Urgency.
Jesus was saying to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (10:2). What a mystery, that God is the sovereign Lord of the harvest, and yet He limits Himself, as it were, by our prayers for more laborers for His harvest!
When you think about the Lord’s words in verse 2, you have to ask yourself, “Do I pray for the harvest? Did I pray for the harvest this past week? Do I regularly pray for the Lord’s work around the world? Do I pray for His work in Flagstaff? Do I ask Him to raise up and send out workers into His harvest?”
Let’s be honest: We all pray for the things that matter the most to us. I pray often for my children, because they matter greatly to me. I pray for my wife, because she matters greatly to me. If I get sick, I pray for my health, because that matters to me. If we’re in financial difficulty or need a job, we pray earnestly for those needs, because those things matter to us. But the important question is, “Does the Lord’s harvest matter enough to me to motivate me to pray often for it?”
In the Lord’s Prayer (Matt. 6:9-13), what comes first? Prayer for the glory of God, that the Father’s name would be hallowed or revered. For that to happen, we must pray next that His kingdom would come and His will be done on earth as it is done in heaven. It is only when people submit themselves daily to God as King and seek to do His will that He is hallowed or glorified on earth. So Jesus there shows us that our priority in prayer should be for the Father’s glory and for His kingdom. Only after that does He instruct us to pray for our personal needs, such as our daily bread, forgiveness, and victory over sin. But the Lord’s instruction in that well-known prayer is clear, that if we are not praying first and foremost for God’s glory to be increased through the spreading of His kingdom, we are not praying rightly.
So to be obedient, we pray, “Lord, send out workers into Your harvest.” We’re thinking, of course, of young people who will dedicate themselves to world missions and of young men who will feel called to the pastorate. It is true that there is always a need for more godly missionaries and pastors. It is also true that a person should not go into those areas of service without a distinct call from God, and that not everyone has such a calling. Only some should devote themselves full-time to the work of the ministry.
But there is another sense in which every believer is to be a worker in God’s harvest field. Every believer is given a spiritual gift from God and is told to use it for His kingdom. Every believer is to be a witness of Jesus Christ to others in his or her sphere of influence. Every believer is to be a good steward of the material resources God has entrusted to him, so that we use our money and possessions to further His cause. So, you can’t pray for workers very long before the Lord taps you on the shoulder and asks, “What about you? I want you to work in My harvest.” That leads to the second word:
These men went out with a sense of mission. Granted, it was a special mission, and not everyone is commissioned by God to do what they did. But, if we’re all commanded to seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness (Matt. 6:33), it’s hard to escape the fact that we all should have a sense of mission from God. We may fulfill that mission in different ways, according to our various gifts and situations. But whatever we do for the Lord, we ought to have the seriousness of purpose that comes from realizing that we have a job to do and we will give an account to the Lord of the harvest for what we did about what He told us to do.
While the Lord’s instructions to these men were unique for their mission, the overall impression you get is that they were to be focused on their task and not let anything get in the way of their mission. Jesus warns them right off that He is sending them out as sheep in the midst of wolves (10:3). There will be opposition and danger, and they will be helpless by themselves to stand against it; thus, they must depend on God for protection.
Jesus tells them (10:4) to “carry no purse, no bag, no shoes” (presumably, extra sandals). They were to travel light and trust God for the provisions they needed. They shouldn’t get distracted by the belongings that they were carrying with them, but should stay focused on their mission. They were to “greet no one on the way.” This did not mean that they were to be rude or unfriendly, but rather that they were not to get distracted with lengthy chitchat that did not contribute to their mission. The disciples are not to be distracted from their mission by moving from house to house in search of the best food and lodging (10:5-8). Rather, if someone is willing to house and feed them and the person is sympathetic to the mission, they should stay there and get on with the work.
While the specific instructions do not apply to us, the main point does: We are not just to dabble in the things of God. We must stay focused on our mission. Jesus commands every believer to “seek first His kingdom and righteousness.”
A man was fishing without success when he noticed a woman nearby who was reeling in one after another. Frustrated, he finally asked the woman her secret. “Are you fishing for supper or for sport?” she asked. “I’m fishing for sport,” he answered. “Well, there’s your problem,” the woman stated. “I’m fishing for supper.” (Reader’s Digest [11/96].)
We aren’t to ask the Lord to send out hobbyists into His harvest. We’re supposed to pray for workers. Workers are intent on the job, because they’re working for their supper. If we care about the things God cares about, we will entreat Him to send out workers into His harvest field. We can’t sincerely pray for workers if we aren’t one of them. So we should begin to pray, “Lord, what is my mission? What do You want me to do to further Your cause?” Once you figure that out, these verses give at least two warnings:
Don’t give up because of opposition or rejection. Rather, expect it.
Sheep wandering in the midst of a wolf pack should not expect to have a jolly good time. Most of the opposition that Jesus and His workers encountered came from the religious establishment. When I went into pastoral ministry, for some reason I expected that most of my opposition would come from outside the church. The fact is, unless you try to shut down an abortion clinic or a pornographic bookstore, outsiders don’t really care what you’re doing. The main opposition you face comes from those in the church. Be prepared: If you get involved in serving the Lord, you will be criticized, mostly by those in the church.
Don’t get distracted by social contacts or material possessions. Rather, stay focused on your mission.
Just as these workers could easily have been distracted by engaging in meaningless chitchat with those they met along the way, we can be distracted by social contacts that are extraneous to our mission. We need to stay focused on our purpose. Jesus was known as the friend of sinners because He went to their social gatherings. But He never went just to socialize. He always went with a purpose, to seek and to save the lost. If you go to social gatherings without a sense of purpose, you’ll get sucked into the world’s meaningless ways and you’ll cease to be a worker in the harvest. The harvest worker’s focus is always, “Where is this person at spiritually and how can I be a part of bringing him or her to the Lord?”
Also, we need to be careful not to get distracted by material possessions. While God graciously supplies us with all things to enjoy, we are not to fix our hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God. We are to be rich in good works, storing up the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that we may take hold of that which is life indeed (1 Tim. 6:17-19).
Prayer, Mission, …
These harvest workers were to heal the sick and to say to them, “The kingdom of God has come near to you” (10:9). If their message was rejected, they were still to proclaim as they left town, “Be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near” (10:11). Thus by their lives (healing) and by their lips, they were to proclaim the message of God’s kingdom. Clearly, that kingdom had come upon these people whether they accepted it or rejected it. I argue that the healing ministry here was unique, in that these men were given power to heal everyone indiscriminately as a sign of the coming of the kingdom age in Jesus. No one in our day is given that kind of gift, since its purpose was unique. But, even so, we are to care for the total person and while we cannot promise God’s miraculous healing on every person, we can and should pray that God would be merciful in healing those who need it. But their greatest need is to come into submission to God as Lord and King.
The kingdom of God is that realm in which He rules. By saying that the kingdom had come near, or come upon these people, Jesus was not saying that there was no further fulfillment in the future. The day is still coming when Jesus will return and reign over Israel and the nations in accordance with all that the Old Testament prophets predicted (Acts 1:6; 3:18-24). But the kingdom in its initial phase had arrived in the person of Jesus and the message was that people must submit their lives to the King.
The message of the kingdom of God draws a definite line in the sand by announcing peace to those who submit to Jesus as King, but terrible judgment to those who refuse to submit. When the workers entered a home, they were first to announce peace to it. These were not just nice words, but were an actual announcement of God’s blessing if the people accepted and submitted to the message of God’s kingdom. If the people would not accept the message, the pronouncement of peace would return to the worker and it was to be replaced with a terrible warning of certain judgment to come (10:10-15). Darrell Bock comments, “The passage assumes God’s universal sovereign authority and the cruciality of the kingdom message for humankind” (Luke [Baker], 2:1002).
Just three years ago, Moody magazine (Jan./Feb., 1996) reported that 49 percent of professing Christians agree that, “All good people, whether they consider Jesus Christ to be Savior or not, will live in heaven after they die.” If that shocking statistic is true, then almost half of professing Christians do not believe what Jesus plainly taught about the judgment to come and hell!
Jesus didn’t speculate about the future judgment; He spoke about it with authority (10:12)! He makes it clear that people will be judged according to the degree of light that they rejected. There will be degrees of punishment in hell. It will be worse for those who heard plainly of Christ and rejected it than for those, such as Sodom, Tyre, and Sidon, that lacked clear witness. Verse 13 is mind-boggling: Jesus declares that He knows how those who never heard would have responded if they had heard! Yet even though they would have repented if they had heard, they did not hear and they will be judged for their wickedness and unbelief!
But the real warning that we must take to heart is this: These cities that Jesus warns of terrible judgment to come were religious cities that were familiar with Jesus’ message and miracles. Sodom, Tyre, and Sidon were pagan Gentile cities. The warning is that those who sit in church and yet remain unmoved by the offer of peace with God through Christ, those who are familiar with spiritual truths, but who refuse to submit to Christ as Lord—these religious people will be judged far more harshly than raw pagans who are ignorant of the gospel. J. C. Ryle puts it this way,
We need not run into any excess of riot. We need not openly oppose true religion. We have only to remain cold, careless, indifferent, unmoved, and unaffected, and our end will be in hell. This was the ruin of Chorazin and Bethsaida. And this, it may be feared, will be the ruin of thousands, as long as the world stands. No sin makes less noise, but none so surely damns the soul, as unbelief (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], 3:355).
We often hear people say that if they saw a miracle or actually heard Jesus in person, they would believe. Not so! These towns heard Jesus and saw His miracles, but they hardened themselves against Him. They would not submit to Him as King. To hear Jesus’ messengers is to hear Him, and to reject them is to reject Him (10:16). Jesus predicts Capernaum’s demise. They thought highly of themselves (exalted to heaven), but Jesus thought otherwise, and His word stands. The city of Capernaum is now an uninhabited heap of ruins. The same that happened there could easily happen to America. Our nation has had great light, but even many of those who profess Christ show by their disobedient and self-centered lives that they are not subject to His lordship. It is a terrible thing for those with such knowledge to reject the gospel!
So our text shouts at us the words: Prayer (do you pray for the harvest?); Mission (do you labor in the harvest field?); Message (do you proclaim by life and lips the kingdom of God?). Finally,
Again, I realize that we must be sensitive to people; we can’t grab them by the lapel and shout warnings about hell. But even so, do we have a sense of the urgency of our mission? “That day” (10:12), the day of judgment, is coming soon. Our message is not, “Try Jesus and you’ll feel better and have a happier life.” We must sensitively but plainly warn people that they are sinners who face God’s certain judgment, but they can know peace with God if they will trust in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. Time is short; we must keep eternity constantly in view.
During the 1981 Byron Nelson Golf Tournament in Dallas, a massive tree limb broke off and fell on a spectator who was killed instantly. It happened near the third hole where Charles Coody was playing at the time. Shortly after the accident, he was interviewed on the radio and he said, “After running over and seeing the accident, I tried to play golf, yet I had no desire to play after that. All of a sudden those three foot putts didn’t seem all that important.”
The suddenness and certainty of death should instill a sense of urgency in us who know what Jesus taught about the judgment to come. We should pray for openings with lost people. We should pray that God’s people would be working in the harvest with a sense of mission. We should clearly proclaim the message, that Jesus is Lord and King, and that people must accept His offer of peace now or face the terrible consequences later.
A few years ago the newspapers ran a story about a guy who jumped from a plane and his parachute didn’t open properly. It took him more than a minute to fall 3,000 feet to the ground. In those circumstances, a minute is a long time! What do you suppose he thought about as he sped toward the ground? I don’t know the answer to that question, although somehow the man survived. If that experience didn’t make him think soberly about eternity, nothing will!
People all around us are plummeting toward eternity without a parachute. Jesus Christ is that chute. If you know that fact, pray for the harvest and for more workers. Go with a sense of mission to labor in the harvest field. Live and speak the message in a way that honors Jesus Christ as Lord and King and that shows lost people His offer of peace. But don’t compromise the urgent warning, that to refuse the offer means certain judgment. In light of eternity, the gospel is the crucial message. We are the messengers.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
“Congratulations! You have just won the Reader’s Digest Five Million Dollar Sweepstakes!” Would that make you rejoice? “Congratulations! You have just been used of God to move a soul from eternal darkness to eternal light and life!” Now that should make the believer rejoice like nothing else! But all too often, when we hear of a soul being saved, we respond with, “That’s nice. Hey, who do you think will win the Super Bowl?”
Whatever makes us the happiest reveals our true values. Do we get more excited about temporal blessings or eternal ones? Do we get more excited about a new car or a new brother or sister in Christ? Our text is unique in that it is the only time in the Bible where it is said that Jesus rejoiced greatly. The word “rejoice” alone is too weak a translation. The Greek word means to exult or to be exuberant. Jesus mentions His own joy on at least two other occasions (John 15:11; 17:13), but here alone it says that He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit. What He rejoiced greatly about was the news of how God’s sovereign grace had resulted in the salvation of souls through the ministry of the 72 (or 70, depending on the textual variant). If thinking on these matters of sovereign grace caused Jesus to exult, then the same should be true for us as we grow to be more like Jesus.
God’s sovereign grace in salvation brings great joy to Jesus and should bring great joy to us.
To understand what made Jesus exult and what should make us exult, we need to grasp the meaning of God’s sovereign grace:
Scripture plainly shows that salvation from sin and from God’s judgment is all from Him and not at all from us, lest we boast. The apostle Paul hammers this home (1 Cor. 1:26-28) by emphasizing three times that it is God who has chosen us and that His choice did not depend on anything in us, but only on Him. His conclusion is “that no man should boast before God.” Then he adds, “But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, that, just as it is written, “Let Him who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Cor. 1:29-31).
The apostle John also makes it clear that the new birth is not by human effort or human will (John 1:12-13):
But as many as received Him, them He have the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
James makes the same point: “In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures” (James 1:18).
Some will say that God initiates salvation, but then it depends on our decision to believe. But Scripture shows us that both faith and repentance are the gifts of God (Eph. 2:8, 9, where the word “that” includes the whole salvation by grace through faith process). Phil. 1:29 states that it has been granted to us to believe in Christ. Acts 11:18 makes it clear that God grants repentance (see also 2 Tim. 2:25). Jesus said, “No one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father” (John 6:65).
Some try to dodge this by asserting that we are elect according to God’s foreknowledge (1 Pet. 1:1, 2). They say that this means that God in His omniscience knew in advance who would believe in Christ and that their faith is why they are His elect. But that view would make man the one who determines God’s eternal plan, whereas Paul, in the context of dealing with our election to salvation, declares that God works all things after the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11). Also, if our choosing God is the reason He elected us for salvation, then election would not be due to His grace, but due to our choice. Furthermore, a study of the Greek word translated “foreknowledge” shows that it means more than God’s knowing something in advance. It refers to God’s personal and determinative choice of an individual (Rom. 8:29) or nation (such as Israel, Rom. 11:2). It means that God determined before time began to know these people in a special way, to pour out His love on them according to His purpose. Apart from God’s knowing us, choosing us, and drawing us to salvation, we would be lost.
In our text, Jesus shows that …
He states that “no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (10:22). There are at least four reasons why we are dependent on God to reveal His salvation to us:
We are dependent on God to reveal His salvation to us because our finite reason is incapable of knowing the infinite God.
Philosophy begins with man and tries to reason toward God, but the finite human mind cannot, in and of itself, grasp the infinite Triune God (note the reference to each person of the Trinity in our text). Jesus’ statement here is a strong assertion of both His deity and His humanity. The fact that all things were handed over to Him by the Father shows Jesus’ humanity; the fact that only Jesus can reveal the Father to us shows His deity, because no mere man nor any created being could reveal the eternal God to us. “As the Son he was equal to the Father, but as man he was beneath the Father and received ‘all things’ from him” (Concordia Triglotta, in R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel [Augsburg Publishing House], p. 591). As God in human flesh, Jesus said to Philip, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father” (John 14:9). But our problem is bigger than just the fact of our finiteness:
We are dependent on God to reveal His salvation to us because we are spiritually blind by nature.
As Paul explains, the “natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Cor. 2:14, emphasis added). Just as a blind man cannot see a beautiful sunset because he lacks the necessary organs to do so, even so a sinner who does not have the Holy Spirit cannot grasp the things of God. When Jesus gives eternal life to those whom the Father has given Him (John 17:2), He imparts to them the capacity both to understand spiritual things and also to know God personally in Christ. As Jesus prayed, “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). Without such spiritual life in Christ, we are no more capable of knowing God than a corpse is capable of seeing and knowing a living person. But being spiritually dead and blind is not our only problem.
We are dependent on God to reveal His salvation to us because we are under the domain and power of Satan.
When the 72 returned, they reported to Jesus how even the demons were subject to them in His name (10:17). Jesus concurs by saying how He was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. He further underscores this by saying that He has given them authority to tread on serpents and scorpions without harm (10:19). In the context (10:18, 20), it is clear that Jesus was referring to the power He gave them over Satan and the demons, not to some literal ability to handle snakes or scorpions. The disciples’ success in ministry was “a symbol and earnest of the complete and final overthrow of Satan” (Alfred Plummer, The Gospel According to St. Luke [Scribner’s], p. 278).
The fact is, it takes the defeat of Satan to save a soul, because he has “blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4). When God saves us, He delivers us from the domain of darkness and transfers us to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col. 1:13). We cannot free ourselves from this bondage to Satan. God must do it for us (2 Tim. 2:25-26).
We are dependent on God to reveal His salvation to us because there is nothing in us that obligates God to reveal Himself to us.
Jesus states that He reveals the Father to whomever He (the Son) wills (10:22). Also, God was well-pleased to reveal His salvation to babes rather than to the intelligent. The phrase “well-pleased” points to God’s sovereign pleasure according to His secret counsel. Clearly, Jesus’ words would make no sense if He revealed the Father to everyone equally. As revealed throughout all of Scripture, God chooses certain individuals and reveals Himself to them, but He lets others continue on in their spiritual darkness. He chose Abraham, but He did not choose Abraham’s father, brothers, or neighbors. He chose Isaac, but He did not choose Ishmael. He loved Jacob, but He hated Esau. As Paul points out, God did this while they were still in the womb, before they had done anything good or bad, so that His purpose according to election might stand (Rom. 9:11). In case we missed the point, Paul strongly asserts, “So then it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (Rom. 9:16).
In other words, salvation does not depend on human will or human effort. It depends totally on God’s mercy, not at all on us. Martin Luther comments, “Here the bottom falls out of all merit, all powers and abilities of reason, or the free will men dream of, and it all counts as nothing before God; Christ must do and must give everything” (cited by Lenski, p. 593).
If you fight against this doctrine (and most of us do, at some point), I would suggest that it is because you have too high a view of man and you don’t have a high enough view of God in His absolute holiness. You have too high a view of man in that you think that God is somehow obligated to show mercy to everyone equally. But Scripture is clear that God is not obligated to show mercy to anyone. He could have treated us as He treated the fallen angels, and left us in our condemnation with no Savior. Is God unfair because He condemned all the fallen angels to the abyss without any chance of salvation? Of course not! They rebelled and they have no claim on God’s mercy. The same is true of rebellious, fallen man. In His holiness, God would be perfectly just to condemn the entire human race to hell. But He chose to show mercy to some, which is His prerogative. Thus,
This is what Jesus meant in Luke 10:22. It is what Jesus meant when the Jews demanded, “If You are the Christ, tell us plainly,” and He responded, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My father’s name, these bear witness of Me. But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:24-28). God’s sovereign grace means that salvation is totally from God and not at all from man.
Joy is a frequent theme in Luke, but this is the only time that we read of Jesus rejoicing greatly. Clearly, what made Him exult was the report of the 72 and the thoughts about the sovereign grace of God in salvation as He expresses it in 10:21-22. There are at least four reasons that Jesus exulted in God’s sovereign grace:
If man can glory in any part of his salvation, it robs God of the total glory that is due to Him alone. But if salvation is due solely to God’s choice and God’s power, then we can only boast in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:26-31).
I can almost hear Jesus laughing for joy as He speaks verse 17. Why God allows Satan to have dominion over this fallen earth for as long as He does, no one knows. But we do know that the day is coming when that deceiver will be thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where he will be tormented day and night forever and ever (Rev. 20:10). Every time a soul is saved from hell, it is a foretaste of God’s final and complete victory over Satan.
When Jesus says that God has hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and revealed them to babes, He does not mean that no wise or intelligent people will be saved, whereas those who lack intelligence will. Rather, the contrast is between those who proudly trust in their own reason and intellect versus those who humbly bow before God’s revealed wisdom in Christ. The proud man thinks that he can approach God in his own way, on his own terms, and through his own merits. But as Paul explains, God will destroy the wisdom of the wise through the power of the message of the cross: “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Cor. 1:21).
Obviously, Paul himself was an intelligent, well-educated man. But, as he says, all those things that were gain to him he counted as loss for the sake of Christ (Phil. 3:7). Scripture is clear that “God is opposed to the proud, but He gives grace to the humble” (Prov. 3:34; 1 Pet. 5:5). The humble person is the one who comes to Jesus as a needy sinner, trusting totally in God’s mercy and not at all in anything in himself.
It has rightly been said that pride is the mother of all vices and humility the mother of all virtue. Those who know the greatness of God’s holiness, His glory, and His saving grace in Christ, will constantly judge their pride and rely on Him for everything that is needed to live in holiness. For all these reasons and more, Jesus rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit when He thought about God’s sovereign grace in salvation.
Perhaps some of you are thinking, “I can accept the doctrine of God’s sovereign grace in salvation, but I can’t rejoice greatly in it.” If that is so, it reveals an area where you are not yet conformed to the image of God’s Son. Jesus exulted in this truth. Thus,
It should bring great joy to us for the same reasons that it brought great joy to Jesus, namely, because it glorifies the Father, it defeats the power of Satan, it humbles the proud sinner, and it promotes holiness in His elect. But, also, …
This is Jesus’ gentle correction to the 72 in verse 20. They were excited about how God had used them in defeating Satan’s forces through their ministry. Jesus is not telling them not to rejoice at all in such victories. Rather, He is putting it in perspective. Our greatest joy should not be in seeing how God uses us to serve Him, but rather in the simple fact that our names are recorded in heaven. Service has its ups and downs; but salvation through God’s grace and the assurance that whom He saves, He keeps, should fill us with steady joy.
Every joy that the person outside of Christ enjoys is temporal. Did he just win a million dollars in the lottery? Did he just get a promotion in his career? Did he just marry a beautiful young woman? Did he just get elected to a high public office? Don’t envy him for a second. Why envy a man who in a short time will be cast into the lake of fire? If he could only see as God sees, that successful man would gladly and quickly trade places with the person whose name is written in the book of life, even if that saint were suffering from terminal cancer! Our joy is eternal and will only grow greater when we pass into the presence of our Savior!
Certainly, all the saints before Christ were saved and looked forward to being with God throughout eternity. But, as the writer to the Hebrews states, “apart from us they should not be made perfect” (Heb. 11:40). Or, as Peter puts it, “the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful search and inquiry.” But, “it was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things into which angels long to look” (1 Pet. 1:10, 12). Because of this great salvation, we who believe should “greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory” (1 Pet. 1:8).
Some are robbed of joy when they think of God’s sovereign grace because they take the doctrine to conclusions that may seem logical, but they are not biblical. For example, some say, “If God has sovereignly determined everything, then why pray? What will be, will be.” But as we saw in our last study, Jesus commands us to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out workers (10:2). Clearly, Jesus knew all things that would come to pass, and yet He prayed often. So should we.
Others wrongly conclude, “If God is sovereign in saving people, why evangelize?” But again, the Lord sent out these workers to preach the gospel. Paul said that he endured all things for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation which is in Christ Jesus (2 Tim. 2:10). When Paul was tempted to leave Corinth because of the threat of persecution, the Lord told him to go on preaching and promised to protect him. Then the Lord added, “For I have many people in this city” (Acts 18:10). Because God had His elect in Corinth who were not yet saved, Paul needed to keep preaching. Earlier in Paul’s ministry, when the Jews stubbornly rejected the gospel and opposed Paul, he turned to the Gentiles. Acts 13:48 records, “and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed.” God’s sovereign grace in electing some to salvation should motivate us to evangelize, since we know that our efforts will be used by God to save His elect. The Book of Revelation assures us that Christ has purchased with His blood some from every tribe and tongue and people and nation (Rev. 5:9).
Perhaps someone is thinking, “What if God didn’t write my name in His book of life before the foundation of the world? What if I’m not one of the elect? How can I be saved?” The answer in Scripture is plain: Come in faith to Jesus and He will save you. Don’t worry about knowing God’s eternal decrees. Respond to Christ’s invitation. He said, “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will certainly not cast out” (John 6:37). His promise if for you: Come to Jesus and He will give you rest in your soul! You will know the great joy that Jesus had when He thought on God’s sovereign grace in salvation.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
The question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” is easily the most important question any person can ask. It is more important than the question, “Whom shall I marry?” It is more important than the question, “What career shall I pursue?” Life is so uncertain that a person could be in his grave before he marries or enters a career. So the matter of where one spends eternity is the crucial issue to settle before all others.
A man well-versed in the study of the Jewish Law asked this question of Jesus Christ. But it is possible to ask the right question with the wrong motives and that is what this Jewish lawyer did. He knew the answer to the question in his head, but his heart was not right before God. He was not open to the fact that he needed eternal life for himself. He knew the Law far better than the average Jew did. He kept the Law, or so he thought. He was no pagan or Samaritan! He was asking the question about eternal life to test Jesus. Perhaps he wanted to trip Jesus up or to demonstrate his own superior knowledge in front of the crowd.
But Jesus turned the question back on the lawyer. Then, when Jesus saw that the man was justifying himself, He told the parable of the Good Samaritan to show the man what God’s Law really demands. So in its context, this familiar parable deals with the questions, Can we be saved by our good works? If so, how many good works does it take? If not, what is the relationship between salvation and good works? The teaching is that …
Though we cannot be saved by good works, those who are saved will practice good works.
This lawyer no doubt thought that he already had eternal life because of the fact that he was a member of the covenant race. Not only that, he had devoted himself to the study of the Jewish Law and he was diligent to keep it. He never missed a Jewish feast or sacrifice. He observed the traditions of the Jewish religion. He was careful to avoid ceremonial defilement. He tithed not only his money, but even his table spices (Matt. 23:23). He kept the Sabbath fastidiously. He thought he had all the bases covered. He thought that eternal life came by keeping the Law of Moses and that he was qualified on that basis. He was just asking the question about eternal life to put this young, upstart rabbi through the paces.
Notice how Jesus responded: He directed the lawyer back to the Law of Moses (10:26). This shows that …
Jesus did not say to the lawyer, “What do the scribes and Pharisees say?” He didn’t ask, “What is the tradition of our Jewish religion?” He didn’t say, “That’s an interesting question. What is your opinion?” He didn’t inquire about any mystical spiritual experiences that the man had. Rather, Jesus directed the man back to the written Word of God: “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?”
The Bible and the Bible alone is our sole authority in matters of faith and practice. This may sound basic to you, and it is; but it is under constant attack and so we must hold firmly to it. It was one of the central issues of the Reformation (sola scriptura). It is a crucial dividing line between evangelical Protestant churches and the Roman Catholic Church.
You may recall that my Christmas sermon in 1997 was on the subject, “Should Christians Hail Mary?” A printed copy of that sermon found its way into the hands of the late local Catholic priest, who wrote to me about it. In his letter, he said, “It is true that some Christians such as yourself look only to Scripture, interpreted according to each believer’s insight, as the only channel of revealed truth. As you know, we Catholics believe otherwise.” Then he quoted from the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation, Vatican Council II:
That sacred tradition, sacred Scripture, and the teaching authority of the Church, in accord with God’s most wise design, are so linked and joined together that one cannot stand without the others, and that all together and each in its own way under the action of the one Holy Spirit contribute effectively to the salvation of souls.
So the Catholic Church links tradition, Scripture, and the teaching authority of the Church as showing the way of salvation. I replied in a letter to him,
I think you hit the nail on the head in pointing out at the start that we each have a different source of authority. I believe the Bible to be God’s authoritative Word …; you believe church tradition to have authority over the Bible. You may protest that they somehow hold equal authority (as your quote from the Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation states), but I dispute that. If any human authority, be it popes, church councils, church tradition, or whatever, changes or contradicts the clear teaching of Holy Scripture, and you side with that human authority, then clearly the human authority, not God’s Word, is the supreme authority.
I do not believe (as he stated) that every person can interpret the Bible as he chooses, as if it has no objective meaning. That kind of subjectivism leads to all manner of heresy. We must follow sound principles of biblical interpretation and we must respect the teaching that has been handed down to us from the godly men who have gone before us. But we dare not elevate church councils or creeds to the same level as the Bible, because in effect this is to put them over the Bible. Scripture alone is our authority.
This crucial doctrine is also under attack in the charismatic movement, where people put some supposed word from God that they have received on the same level with Scripture. Also, some put their own experience above Scripture, rather than test it by Scripture.
Years ago I heard a tape by the late John Wimber in which he said that a couple where one was not saved asked him to marry them. Wimber rightly refused to do the wedding, since Scripture clearly prohibits such a marriage. But then he said that the Lord showed him that he was wrong, that he had not listened to the Holy Spirit. He went on to explain that the unsaved person came to the Lord after the marriage, and that this is how Wimber came to see that he should have married them! I wrote to him, challenging him for abandoning the Bible as his authority. An aide wrote back, saying that he was checking into this and would give me a full reply, but I never heard from him again.
If we move away from Scripture as our only authority, we are adrift on a sea of subjectivity where we can end up saying many things that contradict the Bible. So, what does Scripture say on the crucial question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?”
The lawyer quotes the two great commandments, that we must love the Lord our God with our total being and love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus commends this answer: “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live” (10:28). Note that Jesus did not say, “God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” Neither did Jesus say, “You can’t do anything to inherit eternal life. Just believe in Me and you will have eternal life.” Why did Jesus answer as He did? Maybe He needed some training on how to share His faith! Or, maybe we need some instruction from our Lord on how to share our faith!
I think that Jesus was using the Law as God intended, as a tutor to bring this man to Christ so that he may be justified by faith (Gal. 3:24). This lawyer vainly thought that he was keeping the Law. His question, “Who is my neighbor?” was an attempt to justify himself (10:29), but Jesus’ parable showed him that he wasn’t even close to fulfilling the second half of the Law (loving his neighbor), let alone the first half (loving God).
The holy standard of God’s Law requires absolute perfection! As Jesus showed in the Sermon on the Mount, it demands not only that we outwardly not murder our brother, but that we not even be wrongly angry with him in our hearts! It requires not only that we not commit adultery, but that we be pure in our thought life! He sums up the requirement by saying, “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). As both Paul and James point out, if you fail to keep even one part of the Law, you have broken the whole thing (James 2:10; Gal. 3:10).
When it comes to loving God with our total being, we cannot begin to love a God whom we do not know. And, as Jesus has just said, “No one knows who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him” (Luke 10:22). If this lawyer had evaluated his life correctly by the standard of God’s Law, he would have seen immediately that he fell far short. He would have fallen down before Jesus and pled, “How can I know God and love God as I ought?” Jesus would have replied, “Repent of your self-righteousness and believe in Me. I give eternal life to those who hear My voice and follow Me.” As the apostle Paul clearly states,
Now that no one is justified by the Law before God is evident, for “The righteous man shall live by faith.” However, the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “He who practices them shall live by them.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”—in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit by faith (Gal. 3:11-14).
Thus God’s holy Law convicts us all of falling short and should make us realize that we cannot save ourselves no matter how hard we try. Jesus’ method with this self-righteous lawyer teaches us that we should not be too quick to tell people the good news before they see their self-righteousness and that they are both guilty of breaking God’s Law and incapable of keeping it.
When you see the impossibly high standard of God’s Law, you can go one of two ways. The right way is to let that Law drive you to Christ, who bore the curse of your sin on the cross. He alone perfectly loved God and loved His neighbor. We need His righteousness as our covering or we cannot stand before the Holy God. As Paul makes clear, God grants that righteous standing as a gracious gift to the one who trusts in Christ (Rom. 3:24). The wrong way to go is to try to bring down the standard to a level that you think you can keep, so that you can justify yourself by your own good works. The lawyer took the second route, and so Jesus told the parable of the Good Samaritan to show him that he fell short and to show him the kind of good deeds that the Holy Spirit will produce in the lives of those who have come to Him in faith.
When God saves us by His grace, He does not throw out the standard of His holy Law. Rather, as Paul puts it, “the requirement of the Law [is] fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit” (Rom. 8:4). Spurgeon put it, “what the law demands of us the gospel really produces in us.” He explains further,
Two ends are served by [Christ’s] setting up a high standard of duty: on the one he slays the self-righteousness which claims to have kept the law by making men feel the impossibility of salvation by their own works; and, on the other hand, he calls believers away from all content with the mere decencies of life and the routine of outward religion, and stimulates them to seek after the highest degree of holiness—indeed, after that excellence of character which only his grace can give (Spurgeon’s Expository Encyclopedia [Baker], 4:106).
Thus the parable of the Good Samaritan shows us a practical example of what it means to love our neighbor as we do in fact love ourselves. The Samaritan practiced the Golden Rule, treating this man as he would want to be treated. Specifically, Jesus is responding to the lawyer’s question, “Who is my neighbor?” by showing him that our neighbor is any human being with a legitimate need whom we can help. As John pointedly comments, “Whoever has the world’s goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth” (1 John 3:17-18). While no one can be saved by such good deeds, those who are saved should be practicing such deeds to the glory of God.
There is far more in the parable than I have time to comment on, but I want to point out three things about loving our neighbor:
The Samaritan did not go up to this wounded traveler and say, “Let me give you this gospel tract.” If the Samaritan were a Christian, that may be the loving thing to do later. But the man was half dead. Obviously, the loving thing to do first was to bind up the man’s wounds and get him to a place where he could recover. Once his immediate physical needs were met, the man might be open to hearing about his spiritual needs.
Amy Carmichael went to India where, in the name of Christ, she took in many homeless and unwanted children. One prospective donor made it clear that his money would go for evangelistic work, not for buildings. Amy sighed, “Well, one can’t save and then pitchfork souls into heaven. There are times when I heartily wish we could. And as for buildings, souls (in India, at least) are more or less securely fastened into bodies. Bodies can’t be left to lie about in the open, and as you can’t get the souls out and deal with them separately, you have to take them both together” (Elisabeth Elliot, A Chance to Die [Revell], p. 247).
The Samaritan saw that this man was badly wounded and he demonstrated his love by helping the man where he had need. The man was not a lazy professional beggar who refused to work for a living. He wasn’t lying by the side of the road because he got drunk or squandered all his money on pleasure. The Bible mocks the fool who wastes his money or who doesn’t work and then is in need. We aren’t necessarily loving such a man by giving him a handout. The Samaritan, by the way, did not give the man a lecture about how he needed to be more careful the next time so that he didn’t get himself into this kind of mess. The man was a victim and the loving thing to do was generously to meet his need.
The point is, love must be discerning. Jesus loved this lawyer by telling him this parable to convict him of his self-righteousness. Love isn’t always nice and syrupy. Sometimes love confronts a person’s sin. At other times, love quietly moves into action, as the Samaritan did.
Spurgeon says, “I never knew a man refuse to help the poor who failed to give at least one admirable excuse” (ibid., p. 110). Jesus doesn’t tell us what the priest and the Levite were thinking when they passed by on the other side of the road, but they both no doubt had reasons why they didn’t stop to help. Maybe they feared being mugged by the same band of robbers who had hurt this man. No doubt they were in a hurry. They had promised their families that they would be home at a certain time and they couldn’t spare the time to stop and help. Perhaps they didn’t want to become ceremonially defiled. Besides, surely someone else would stop and take care of the man. So as they scurried by, they sent up a quick prayer for the man to ease their conscience and kept moving.
I’m not saying that we should cast prudence to the wind and be stupid about helping the needy. It would be foolish for women to stop and pick up a hitchhiker or even to offer a ride to a man whose car is broken down. Sometimes there are legitimate reasons why we cannot render aid to someone in need. I also know that our world is different than the world in Jesus’ day. Then the only needs they knew about were those they personally encountered, whereas now we know about flood victims in Nicaragua, earthquake victims in Columbia, and famine victims in Africa. It’s easy to throw up your hands and say, “I could give away every dime I have and not even make a dent on the needs, so why do anything?”
I don’t pretend to have answers to all these difficult matters. But if we personally encounter a needy person or if we hear about needy people in another country and the Lord burdens our hearts, we need to respond as we are able. It’s easy to shrug off all responsibility with plausible excuses. Love overcomes the excuses and moves into compassionate action.
The Samaritan spent time, money, and a good deal of effort to help this needy man. He probably tore up some of his own clothing to bandage his wounds. He walked while the injured man rode on his donkey. He gave the innkeeper two days’ wages and told him that he would pay for any further charges. He was greatly inconvenienced by this whole episode, but he gave generously of his time and money without complaint.
The Samaritan also had to overcome racial prejudice to help this man, who was no doubt Jewish. The Samaritans and Jews had a centuries-long hatred for one another. Jesus no doubt shocked the lawyer by using a Samaritan as the hero of the story. At the end (10:37), the lawyer can’t even bring himself to say the word “Samaritan.” But I’m sure that the wounded Jewish traveler wasn’t prejudiced at this point. You lose your prejudices rather quickly when you’re half dead!
The Samaritan easily could have thought, “Let the Jews take care of him. He’s not one of my people.” But he saw him as a fellow human being, not as a man of a different race. All racial prejudice stems from pride. We are judging ourselves to be better than others because of factors that we have nothing to do with, namely, our genetic and cultural heritage. Love lays aside such pride and prejudice and shows compassion simply because the other person is a needy human being created in God’s image.
A little boy came home from Sunday School after learning about the Good Samaritan. He told his mother the story in great detail. He had all the facts straight and all the people in their right character roles. Then the mother asked, “What is that story meant to teach us?” The little boy replied, “It means that when we are in trouble, others should come to help us.” Well, not quite!
The story is here to show us that we cannot possibly be saved by our good works because we could never fulfill the perfect demands of God’s holy Law. While it is not the point of the parable, we still must recognize that what the Good Samaritan did for this half dead traveler, Jesus Christ did for us. He found us mortally wounded by sin. Men could not help us. Religion couldn’t help us. We couldn’t help ourselves. A relationship with God begins when you see that your own goodness falls far short of God’s Law. You need a Savior. Jesus is that Savior. He showed compassion toward us in that while we were yet sinners, He died for us (Rom. 5:8). “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed” (1 Pet. 2:24).
The parable of the Good Samaritan also shows us that if we have responded to God’s grace through Jesus Christ, then we are obligated to show the love of Christ in practical ways toward those who are in need. As Jesus concludes, “Go and do the same.”
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
In their book, First Things First [Simon & Schuster, p. 32], Stephen Covey and Roger and Rebecca Merrill ask this penetrating question: “What is the one activity that you know if you did superbly well and consistently would have significant positive results in your personal life?” They repeat the question with regard to your professional or work life and then ask, “If you know these things would make such a significant difference, why are you not doing them now?” They go on to discuss how we often wrongly let the urgent take priority over that which is truly important.
Let’s direct those questions toward our walk with God: “What is the one activity that you know if you did superbly well and consistently would have significant positive results in your walk with God?” Then, “If you know this would make such a significant difference, why did you not do it this past week?” I believe that that one significant activity is spending time alone with the Lord in His Word and in prayer. In the language of our text:
Sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to His Word is the one thing necessary in life.
That is the main message of this little story that gives us a glimpse into an incident in the life of Jesus and two sisters who hosted Him for dinner. The story is amazingly concise and yet packed with punch. Luke seems to put it here both to contrast it with the preceding incident and to elaborate upon part of it. In that story, a lawyer challenged Jesus by putting a test question to Him. In this story, Martha welcomed Jesus into her home. There’s a big difference between challenging someone and welcoming Him. Luke wants us to ask ourselves, “Do I put Jesus to the test or do I welcome Him into my life?” In the first story, the lawyer cites the two great commandments, to love God and to love our neighbor, but the emphasis, through the parable of the Good Samaritan, is on love for our neighbor. In this story, we see an example of what it means to love God, as Mary sits at Jesus’ feet. If we only had the story of the Good Samaritan, we might allow service for God to take precedence over devotion to God. But the story of Mary shows us that devotion to God must be the basis of all our service for Him. Worship must undergird our work.
It’s significant that every time we encounter Mary of Bethany in the gospels, she is at Jesus’ feet: here; when her brother, Lazarus dies (John 11:32); and, when she anointed Jesus before His death (John 12:3). It’s also significant that Jesus visited these women and was willing to teach them about spiritual matters. In that culture, many rabbis thought that teaching women was a waste of time. But Jesus took the time to evangelize and teach women, thus showing the value that God puts on every person. And through these women, especially Mary, the Lord teaches us a vital lesson about the main priority that we need to hold on to in the midst of our busy schedules, namely, that of sitting at His feet, which Jesus calls the one necessary thing, the good part.
Probably most of you agree with me, at least theoretically, that consistently spending time sitting at Jesus’ feet ought to be our main priority. But I would guess, based on my own struggles and on my years of pastoral experience, that most of you struggle with doing it consistently. I hope to motivate you by showing you why sitting at Jesus’ feet is the one necessary thing. Then I want to analyze some of the common hindrances we have to overcome if we want to do it consistently. And, I want to show you how to get started.
Many of you have tried to get into God’s Word and spend time with the Lord in prayer, but you lost your motivation. Maybe you jumped into Genesis with gusto, you hung on through Exodus, but you got lost and died somewhere in Leviticus. Maybe you didn’t get much out of it and so you quit. But whatever happened to kill your motivation, the fact that Jesus calls Mary’s action of sitting at His feet and listening to His word “the necessary thing” ought to be sufficient reason to commit yourself to it. But let me give four reasons why you should make sitting at the Lord’s feet the main priority in your life:
The best Greek manuscripts use the title “the Lord” (rather than “Jesus”) throughout this story. Luke is making the point that Jesus is none other than the Lord God, so that His word is God’s word. You may think, “It must have been wonderful to sit and hear Jesus speak as Mary did. I wish I could go back to that time and place and join her.” But the fact is, we all have the inspired Word of God available to us every day, and yet we often neglect it!
God has given us “everything pertaining to life and godliness” (2 Pet. 1:3) in His Word. The Scriptures “are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:15-17). 1 Peter 2:2 tells us, like newborn babes, to “long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation.”
As we’ve seen (Luke 4:1-12), Jesus overcame Satan’s temptations by quoting from Scripture that He knew by heart. As the psalmist proclaimed, “Your Word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You” (Ps. 119:11). God’s Word gives us knowledge about how to love God and to love one another (Luke 10:27). And yet so many Christians are defeated by sin and their relationships are strained, but they seldom get into the Bible to search for answers. It’s as if we were dying from cancer and we had a cure for cancer sitting on our shelf, yet we don’t take it off the shelf and use it!
Not only does God’s Word give us the wisdom that leads to salvation and the understanding we need to grow in godliness, it gives us the perspective we need to face life’s trials, including death. The Word promises us hope in the midst of our trials and hope beyond the grave. So is it any wonder that when Mary sat listening to the word of the Lord, Jesus said that she was doing the one thing necessary?
Mary’s sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to His Word implies a communion or fellowship of her spirit with that of the Lord. Like the two men on the Emmaus Road (Luke 24:32), Mary’s heart must have burned within her as she listened to Jesus explaining the Scriptures. Through her time communing with the Lord at His feet, Mary developed a sensitivity that enabled her to anoint Him for His burial, an action that Jesus said would be remembered wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world (Matt. 26:13).
We need to remember that the point of spending time in the Word and in prayer is not so that we can check it off on our Goals Chart. The point is to meet with the Lord, to commune with Him as Mary did, as we sit at His feet, listening to His word.
Martha was stressed out by the pressure of preparing the meal for her honored guest. She probably had worried about it for days since she heard that He was coming. She wanted everything to be right for the occasion. But because of her focus on these pressures, she ended up worried and bothered about so many things. She even blurts out an accusation against her Lord and against her sister, thus violating the two great commandments! If she had just taken the time to join her sister at Jesus’ feet, all of these pressures would have fallen into proper perspective.
This applies to us. It is so easy to allow the pressures of life to crowd in on us and get our focus in the wrong place. We can even think, “If I take the time to spend with the Lord, all the demands on my time will only stack up higher!” But a few minutes spent in the Word and in prayer can lift the burden and give us the Lord’s calm, clear perspective, even though our circumstances have not changed.
Mary chose the good portion, to dine at Jesus’ feet, listening to His Word. She would still have that long after the meal was forgotten. Mary was practicing the words of Deuteronomy 8:3, that “man does not live by bread alone, but … by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord.”
You can lose just about everything in life, but you won’t lose the time you spend communing with the Lord. You can lose your job, your money, your possessions, and even friendships. But as Paul says at the climax of Romans 8, nothing—tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword, not even death itself or demonic powers—can separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!
If spending time sitting at our Lord’s feet and listening to His word is so wonderful, then …
There are more reasons than I have time to list, but here are a few that come out of our text:
Martha was “distracted with all her preparations.” She was “worried and bothered about so many things.” There were all of the urgent demands of getting the meal prepared: setting the table, baking the bread, roasting the meat, fixing the vegetables, and coordinating everything so that it all got done at the same time. We don’t know if Jesus was alone or if the twelve were with Him, but if they were, it was a big production. Even if they weren’t, there was a lot to do and it was urgent.
Our modern world, with all its time-saving devices, has not eased the problem of time pressure. We all feel it. We all face deadlines, whether it is preparing the evening meal, getting a report done for school, or preparing for some important event at work. Many urgent things are good causes, even necessary. But often they are not important in the sense of really making a difference in our lives over the long haul.
You may recall the illustration I shared in the church newsletter last fall (from First Things First, pp. 88-89):
A time management expert was speaking to a group of business students. He pulled out a one gallon, wide-mouthed jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he took about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When no more rocks would fit inside, he asked the class, “Is this jar full?”
Everyone answered, “Yes.” He said, “Ahhh.” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He poured some in and shook the jar so that the gravel worked its way in between the larger rocks. Then he asked again, “Is the jar full?”
By this time the class was unto him, so they replied, “Probably not.” “Good,” he replied.
He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He dumped the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked, “Is the jar full?”
“No,” the class shouted. “Good,” he said again. Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and poured it in until the jar was full to the brim. Then he asked the class, “What was the point of the illustration?”
One eager beaver said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it.”
“No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point. The point is this: If you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all.”
Jesus is saying, “Time spent sitting at My feet and listening to My word is a big rock!” If we aren’t careful, busyness will crowd out that essential time we need with the Lord. Even good things, like serving the Lord, can wrongly crowd out the necessary thing.
This hindrance affects some personality types more than others. If you’re more like Martha than Mary, you’ll need to be on guard against it. Some people are prone to worry and fret over all sorts of things that others never even think about. Martha was probably thinking, “I wonder if Jesus will like the roast lamb? What will He think about the table setting? Have I made enough food? What is His favorite vegetable? And, look at Mary, sitting over there talking theology! Doesn’t she know that there are some practical matters where I need some help?” Mary was the more contemplative, devotional type. I would guess that she had helped out before Jesus arrived. But once He got there, she became engrossed in His teaching and didn’t even think about the many things that were bothering Martha.
I’m convinced that both Martha and Mary loved the Lord. Certainly there is room for all personality types in the Lord’s work. We need hard-working servants like Martha just as much as we need sensitive learners like Mary. But, even so, the Lord here corrects Martha and commends Mary. Martha thought that the Lord would agree with her and, of course, we all think like that! But the Lord sided with Mary on this occasion. This means that those who are prone to be like Martha, worried and bothered about all the things to do, need to be on guard. It’s so easy to let the good crowd out the best. They need to take the time to sit at Jesus’ feet and listen to His word. That is the one thing necessary.
Mary did not succumb to this hindrance of sitting at Jesus’ feet, but she could have. She could have thought, “If I sit here listening to Jesus, Martha is going to get all hot and bothered, so I’d better go help her.” But that would have been a mistake. It’s not that we should sit around having our devotions when there is housework or preparations for meals that need to get done. It’s not right to leave all the work to the servant types, while we spiritual types sit around not lifting a finger. The question is one of balance. Martha was overboard on her preparations and it was keeping her from this key moment of hearing Jesus teach on spiritual things.
I have observed that families have a way of hindering change. Even when there are severely unhealthy relationship patterns and some of the family members insist that they want the problem member to change, if he or she actually does change, it threatens everyone else because they can no longer blame the problem person for what’s wrong in the family. So they do things to cause the changed member to fail and then they say, “See, he’s no different than he ever was.”
So if you decide that you’re going to spend time each day alone with the Lord, and as a result of that time, you begin to change in your attitudes and behavior in the family, be on guard! Your new godly ways will expose their old sinful ways and convict them. Your change means that other family members can no longer blame you for their sinful ways, and they will attack you in an attempt to get things back to the old “normal.” You’ve got to determine to hold firmly and graciously to sitting at Jesus’ feet, no matter what other family members may say or do.
So, hopefully you are motivated to spend time consistently sitting at Jesus’ feet. You’re aware of the hindrances that need to be overcome and resisted in order to do it. Finally, …
We are not told what Martha’s response was, but it would not have been easy for her to change. The easy thing would be for her to break into tears at the Lord’s rebuke, to go off in the other room and feel sorry for herself because no one understood how hard she had tried to put on a good meal! In order to change, Martha had to stop blaming the Lord for not caring, stop blaming Mary for not helping, and sit down with a teachable heart and listen to what the Lord was teaching without worrying about her roast in the kitchen. I hope that Martha did that, but it wouldn’t have been easy!
If you’re a Martha (male or female) and you want to become a Mary (male or female), you’ve got to stop blaming others for why you don’t spend consistent time alone with the Lord. It’s not your mate’s fault, your kids’ fault, your boss’ fault, or your roommates’ fault. It’s not your impersonal schedule’s fault! It’s your fault! You’ve got to humble yourself by confessing your sin to God and you’ve got to put it in your schedule when you’re going to spend time with Him. If you struggle with finding the time, I would suggest for starters that you locate the power off button on your TV remote control and use it!
If you don’t have a consistent time alone with God, don’t begin with a goal of one hour per day, seven days per week! You’ll fall short and get discouraged. Aim at 20 minutes per day, at least five days per week. Get a good study Bible in a reliable modern translation. If you’ve never read the Bible, start with the New Testament and perhaps also Psalms and Proverbs. Once you’ve read through those books a couple of times, tackle the Old Testament. The Daily Walk booklet is a good tool to help you understand and apply what you’re reading. Keep a notebook where you jot down observations and ways that you need to apply the passage. The aim of your time is to meet with God through His Word and in prayer and to apply it obediently to your life. I strongly urge you to write key verses on 3x5 cards and commit them to memory. Go over them repeatedly until they stick in your brain. God will use the memorized Word to deliver you from temptation and to change how you think, how you speak, and how you behave. If you’re on the road a lot, get the New Testament on cassette and listen to it over and over. The aim is to change from conformity to this world to conformity to Jesus Christ through the renewing of your mind (Rom. 12:2).
Note that sitting at Jesus’ feet is something Mary chose to do. It won’t happen accidentally, because there are too many other things, many of them good things, to crowd it out. It’s not something you choose once for life and it’s settled. You have to keep choosing it over and over again, day in and day out, by saying no to other things so that you can say yes to this one necessary thing.
So the bottom line is, Jesus says that sitting at His feet and listening to His word is the one necessary thing for those who follow Him. You know that if you did this well and consistently it would have significant positive results in your relationship with God and with others. Knowing that this would make such a significant difference, will you begin to do it today and will you do whatever it takes to do it consistently from now on? If you will, you are choosing the good part, which shall not be taken away from you.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Joanne Shetler, a Wycliffe Bible Translator in the Philippines, noticed that the new believers in the tribe she was working with did not pray as they should. So she prayed, “Lord, do whatever it takes to teach these people to pray.” About a month later, she was in a helicopter crash there and almost died. That event prompted the people to pray fervently, “Lord, don’t let her die because our book isn’t done.” From then on, the people prayed. Having heard that story, do you dare to join this unnamed disciple in his request, “Lord, teach us to pray”? It could be dangerous!
Prayer is the acknowledgement that our need is not partial; it is total. So if we ask the Lord to teach us to pray, He may put us in situations where we are so overwhelmed that we recognize that we have no choice but to pray! So, if you dare, you can with fear and trembling say, “Lord, teach us to pray.”
It was after watching Jesus pray that this disciple was prompted to request instruction in prayer. If the Lord Jesus prayed often, what does that say about our desperate need for prayer! Jesus modeled for us a life of total dependence on the Father. His prayer life and His instruction on prayer are foundational as we struggle to grow in our prayer life. And I do struggle with prayer! The fact that prayer can be taught means that it can be learned, which gives me hope, although I’m a slow learner. If you also struggle to pray as you ought, then our Lord’s instruction here should be of great help and encouragement.
In our last study, we saw that sitting at Jesus’ feet and listening to His word is the one thing necessary in life. But sitting at Jesus’ feet implies not only listening to His word, but also communing with Him in prayer. Thus Luke 11:1-13 deals with the theme of prayer. Today we will look at Jesus’ model prayer, often called “The Lord’s Prayer” (11:1-4), although technically it should be called “the disciples’ prayer,” since Jesus never needed to pray for forgiveness. The Lord gave this same model prayer (in a bit fuller form) in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 6:9-13). Bible scholars debate whether Matthew and Luke are using the same or different sources, and why each writer put the prayer in different contexts. If this was a model prayer, it is likely that Jesus used it more than once to give instruction on this crucial matter. It would be natural for Him not to use the exact words on different occasions, even though the outline and basic content are the same.
The KJV and New KJV follow many of the later Greek manuscripts of Luke where copyists added the fuller version of the prayer from Matthew to make the two prayers identical. It is easier to explain how copyists would want to make the two prayers identical than it is to explain how some of the phrases could have been accidentally omitted. Thus the shorter version in Luke (as in the NASB and NIV) is probably the original reading here.
The variation in wording between the two accounts shows that Jesus did not intend for us primarily to repeat the prayer verbatim, but to follow the outline and basic content as a pattern for prayer. In Matthew, Jesus precedes the prayer by warning against praying with meaningless repetition (Matt. 6:7). There is nothing wrong with repeating the Lord’s Prayer in our corporate or private worship. But we always need to be careful not to fall into empty repetition. The main reason Jesus gave the prayer was for us to use it as a pattern. We can boil Jesus’ instruction down to this:
When we pray, we should focus on the Father’s purpose and we should focus on the family’s needs.
After the initial address, the prayer falls into two sections: First, the Father’s purpose, that His name be set apart and that His kingdom come; then, the family’s needs, for provision, for pardon, and for protection from sin. In the second section, the pronouns are all plural. This shows that our prayers must go beyond our personal needs to the needs of others. These two sections coincide with the summary of the law given by Jesus, to love God and to love our neighbor, which is also reflected in the two tables of the Ten Commandments. By praying for God’s glory and kingdom, I learn to love Him first and foremost. By praying for others’ needs, I learn to love them as I love myself.
In order to pray rightly, we must be able sincerely to address God as our Father. There is a general sense in which God is the Father of all people, since they are His offspring as Creator (Acts 17:26-28). But since the human race fell into sin, we enter life alienated from God. In fact, Jesus told the Jews that they were of their father, the devil (John 8:44). It is only when a person is born spiritually by God’s will and power that he becomes a child of God in the true sense (John 1:12-13) and thus can address the Almighty Creator personally as Father. Thus the first requirement if you want to pray rightly is to repent of your sins and put your trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior. Then and only then can you have access through Christ in the Holy Spirit to the Father (Eph. 2:18).
“Father” implies the intimacy and love of a personal relationship.
In the Old Testament, God was known as the Father of His people, Israel (Ps. 89:26; Isa. 63:16; Jer. 31:9). But, as Philip Keller points out (A Layman Looks at the Lord’s Prayer [Moody Press], pp. 11-12), in all of the Old Testament God is referred to as Father fewer than seven times, except indirectly and rather remotely. Yet in the Gospels, Jesus speaks of God as Father more than 70 times. Jesus used this title in all of His prayers, except for the prayer on the cross as He bore our sin, where He quoted Psalm 22:1, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
The term “Father” implies the intimacy and love of a personal relationship with the Sovereign Creator of the universe! It should encourage us to draw near to God and expect to find mercy and compassion. As John Calvin comments (The Institutes [3:20:37]), “For [God] is not only a father but by far the best and kindest of all fathers ….” He always welcomes His children in His presence.
I have a busy schedule with deadlines that I have to meet each week, so I have my secretary, Patti, screen my calls. Sometimes a salesman will call and want to speak to the pastor. He’s trying to get me to buy the latest video series on how to build a mega-church. Usually, I don’t ever talk to these guys, because Patti says, “He’s not available.”
But there’s one call that almost always makes it through instantly: “Can I talk to my dad?” My kids have access to me because they’re my children. I love them and I make myself available to them to meet their needs. If you know God as Father through faith in His Son Jesus Christ, you can always have access and know that He will hear your need and respond as a loving, kind Father.
“Father” implies the respect and authority of a submissive relationship.
The Jews of Jesus’ day tended to view God as so awesome and holy that they dared not be too intimate with Him. If someone got a glimpse of God, he thought that he would die. They dared not utter the name of God, because it was too sacred. They kept their proper distance in the temple, because if they touched any of the sacred objects, they would drop dead. They needed to learn that they could approach God as a kind and loving Father.
In our day, it seems that the reverse is true. Most American Christians think of God as their Good Buddy in the Sky. We don’t worry about His consuming holiness and His blinding splendor. We don’t fear His chastening hand. We’re more like the children who call their permissive fathers by their first names. We’re too casual about the Holy One.
But the term “Father” should not only encourage us to draw near to a kind and loving God. It should also cause us to respect His authority and to submit to Him in fear. As the author of Hebrews puts it, “we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much rather be subject to the Father of spirits, and live?” (Heb. 12:9). Thus while we can draw near to the Father as His beloved children, we must always do so with reverence, respect, and submission to His sovereign authority.
Our first focus in prayer should not be our needs, but rather the Father’s glory and purpose. In fact, the glory of God is the main purpose and end of prayer. Prayer isn’t to get our will done in heaven, but to get God’s will done on earth. Thus our prayers should begin by focusing on two aspects of God’s glory: that His name be hallowed and that His kingdom come.
The Father’s purpose is that His name be hallowed.
The word “hallowed” means to be set apart as sacred or holy. God’s name refers not only to how men address God, but to the whole person of God. It refers to all of His attributes and actions as revealed in Scripture. Thus our prayers should be that the living and true God would be treated as holy and exalted by people everywhere. We should want God to have the honor and glory He alone deserves as the Sovereign of the universe. It is a prayer that all sin and irreverence be judged so that all men bow in worship before God’s holy throne.
This focus on God’s glory was the constant focus of the Lord Jesus Christ. In His high priestly prayer, Jesus declared, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, … I have glorified You on the earth, … I manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me” (John 17:1, 4, 6). All of Jesus’ life fulfilled this prayer to hallow the Father’s name.
This prayer has hardly been fulfilled in the church, let alone in the world! I often hear Christians take God’s name in vain! In the world, God is not set apart as holy and revered. People often use God’s holy name as a swear word, putting God on the same level as human excrement! As Paul cites the psalmist, “There is no fear of God before their eyes” (Rom. 3:18; Ps. 36:1).
Setting God’s name apart as sacred or hallowed begins in our hearts. We must submit every thought to Him as the Holy Lord. Everything we say and do must take the Holy God into account. So as we draw near to God in prayer, we must first make sure that we reverence Him as holy. Then, we must pray for His church to set apart God as holy in their hearts. And, we must pray that His name would be hallowed in all the earth, as people from every tongue and tribe and nation come to bow before Him.
The Father’s purpose is that His kingdom come.
The second petition is a logical extension of the first. It points to that future day when Jesus Christ will return in power and glory to set up His kingdom on this earth and rule the nations with a rod of iron. Every child of God longs for that day when God will put down every enemy, when righteousness shall reign on this earth.
But it can also be applied to God’s ruling in my own and in every other human heart in the interim before that coming day of His outward reign. This request acknowledges God’s right to reign over my sinful heart. Before I can rightly pray, “Hallowed be Your name, Your kingdom come,” I must be in submission to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. I cannot pray about even the most basic matters until first I have yielded my own stubborn self-will to the rightful reign of the Father in my heart. So when I come to God in prayer, the first order of business is to submit my heart to Him in humble adoration and obedience.
Then I should pray that God’s kingdom would come in the hearts of my family. Each of them should set the Lord apart as holy and should daily submit their hearts to Him. Beyond my family, I should pray for others in the family of God, the church, that they would live out His kingdom and glory in a practical way. This especially includes church leaders, since if they fall into sin or rebellion, it has a greater impact than for others. Beyond that, I should pray for God to be glorified by His kingdom coming in our city, our state, and our nation, including the leaders in those spheres. Finally, I should pray for His kingdom to come around the world, through the spread of the gospel and through the holiness of His people, the church, in every land.
This kind of kingdom praying will affect our whole outlook on life. It should be clear that we are engaged in spiritual warfare. We should pray that the devil be overthrown and the rightful Lord of the universe be enthroned as King. John Piper points out that in wartime such as our nation experienced in World War II, people think and act differently than in peacetime. The papers carry stories about how the troops are doing. Families get together and talk about their sons and daughters on the front lines. They pray often for them and their safety. There’s an austerity and simplicity of life, since the whole nation is focused on the war effort.
Then Piper applies this to prayer. He says, “So what is prayer for? For war and wartime, not for civilian life. The primary reason prayer malfunctions in the hands of believers is their insistence on trying to take a wartime walkie-talkie and turn it into a domestic intercom. A tool made for tanks and trenches won’t work when you install it in your yacht or the lake cabin or the second, third, or fourth car” (Mission Frontiers [June/July, 1989], p. 16).
So when we pray, our first focus should be on the Father’s purpose, for His name to be hallowed and for His kingdom to come. Only after this are we permitted to focus on our needs.
There is a link between the two sections of this prayer. Our prayers for our needs for provision, for pardon, and for protection from sin ought to be so that we can work toward the accomplishment of the Father’s purpose, that He be glorified in all the earth. The goal of these personal requests is not our own happiness but, rather, to supply what we need to fulfill the Father’s purposes.
Daily bread is a figure of speech that refers to our basic physical needs. It recalls the manna that God provided each day for Israel in the wilderness. He gave them enough to supply their need for that day, but not enough to stockpile for the next day, except on the day before the Sabbath. This reminds us that we are to live simply in dependence on God, not trusting in our own resources.
Most of us have been blessed with far more than today’s necessities. We have plenty for weeks or months to come. But we dare not forget that it all could be taken away in an instant, even as the people in Central America have recently experienced with the hurricane and the earthquake. When we give thanks for our food, it should be with the recognition that we are dependent on God not only for this meal, but even for our next breath. And we should remember that the reason we ask God for provision is not so that we can be happy, but so that we can seek first His kingdom.
Just as bread is our basic need for our bodies, so pardon is our basic need for the soul, because we all have sinned. As believers in Christ, we have the assurance that His blood has once for all cleansed us from every sin (Heb. 10:10, 14). And yet we need daily to apply that blood to our hearts so that we can come before God with a clear conscience. It’s not a matter of my eternal standing before God; it’s a matter of my present relationship with Him.
I’m my dad’s son because I was born into his family. I’ll always be his son, even if I wrong him. But he and I can only enjoy a close relationship if, when I wrong him, I confess it and ask him to forgive me. In the same way, we will drift in our relationship with the heavenly Father if we are not sensitive to our sin by coming to Him for forgiveness as we need it.
Jesus ties in our forgiveness before God with our forgiving those who have wronged us (“indebted” refers to someone who has sinned against us). God’s forgiveness is granted only on the basis of His grace, not our works. The idea here is that if we, who are sinful, can forgive others, then surely God, who is perfect, will forgive us if we come to Him. But there is also the notion that the true mark of one who has been forgiven by God is that he will forgive others. I cannot honestly pray, “Father, forgive my sins,” if I refuse to forgive someone who has sinned against me.
This means that your relationship with God is inextricably linked with your relationships with your fellow man, especially with those in your family and in the church. You can’t just walk away from a strained relationship as if it doesn’t matter. If you’re bitter, you can’t pray rightly until you choose to forgive. And, the rest of us must pray for those in the church who are hurt and bitter, that they would forgive those who have wronged them.
The final petition is, “Lead us not into temptation.” This is difficult to interpret because James 1:13-14 tells us that God does not tempt anyone to sin, but that we are tempted by our own lusts. And James 1:2 instructs us to count it all joy when we encounter various trials (“trials” and “temptations” translate same word in Greek). Why would Jesus tell us to pray that God would not do what He cannot do? And, if the sense is “trials,” why should we pray that God would spare us from that which is for our good?
Jesus seems to be using the word in the sense of avoidance of temptation to sin. “Lead us not into temptation” is probably a figure of speech that expresses something by negating the contrary (D. A. Carson, The Sermon on the Mount [Baker], p. 70). For example, “not a few” means “many.” Jesus means that we should cultivate the attitude of fleeing from every situation where we might fall into sin. The idea is that, far from leading us into temptation (which He cannot do), God would lead us into His ways of righteousness where we will be kept from sin.
So the prayer, “Lead us not into temptation,” is an acknowledgement of the weakness and sinfulness of our hearts. It is an admission that if God were to withdraw His gracious hand, we would fall into sin immediately. It is an attitude that flees temptation rather than sees how close to the brink we can come. It has been paraphrased as, “Lord, if the occasion of sinning presents itself, grant that the desire may not be found in me; if the desire is there, grant that the occasion may not present itself” (cited by Godet, Luke [I. K. Funk & Co., 1881], p. 317, footnote).
During the Iranian hostage crisis in 1979, Greg Livingstone was asked to give a “missions minute” at a large evangelical church. Since he had only one minute to speak, he decided to ask them only two questions. The first one was, “How many of you are praying for the 52 American hostages being held in Iran?” Four thousand hands went up. “Praise the Lord,” he said. “Now, put your hands down and let me ask another question: How many of you are praying for the 42 million Iranians being held hostage to Islam?” Four hands went up. Livingstone said, “What are you guys—Americans first and Christians second? I thought this was a Bible-believing church!” (Missions Frontiers [May/June, 1994]).
If we learn to pray as Jesus instructs us, we will focus on the Father’s purpose, that His name be hallowed and that His kingdom come in all the earth. And, we will focus on His family’s needs for provision, for pardon, and for protection from sin, not so that the family will be cozy and happy, but so that the family will have what they need to carry out the Father’s purpose. “Lord, so teach us to pray!”
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
A messenger at a photo lab was leaving a building one day when his beeper went off. The message instructed him to pick up a package at an unfamiliar company with a 12-syllable, tongue-twisting name. The messenger looked skyward and sighed, “God, where am I supposed to go?” Just then the pager came on again, this time with the client’s address.
A man nearby witnessed this scene. Raising his arms to the heavens, he cried, “Why don’t you ever answer me?” (From Reader’s Digest [4/91], p. 127.)
All of us who are Christians have struggled with the problem of unanswered prayer. In fact, that problem can discourage us so much that we start thinking, “What’s the use?” and we even quit praying. We hear stories of how God answered prayer for others, but for us it just doesn’t seem to work. Sometimes we may try again, but we’re like boys who ring the doorbell and run away. We don’t stick around long enough to find out if God is home and if He is going to open the door and answer our request.
Jesus is responding to the request of an unnamed disciple, “Lord, teach us to pray” (11:1). In 11:2-4, He gives us the pattern for prayer, that we are to pray to the Father about His concerns and we are to pray about the family’s needs. In 11:5-13, Jesus continues His instruction by showing us how we should approach God in prayer.
If you live in a country with a sovereign monarch, you don’t just pop in on the king and say, “Hey, how’s it going?” If you have an interview with the king, you need some coaching on what to say and do and what not to say and do. You need to know what social courtesies are expected in the presence of the king.
When you come before the King of kings, you need some coaching about how to do it. Some may think that because God is sovereign and holy, perhaps we shouldn’t bother Him with our petty needs. Or, perhaps we should come apologetically and timidly, afraid to let Him know what is really on our minds. Maybe once we’ve let our needs be known, we should back off and not bother God again. Jesus shows us here how to approach God to receive the things we need as we seek to do His will:
Approach God with bold persistence, knowing that as a loving Father, He will provide for our spiritual good.
The instruction of 11:5-13 assumes the foundational instruction of 11:2-4. We must be children of God through the new birth before we can address God as Father and approach Him with our needs. We must be committed to seeking first His kingdom and glory, so that our prayers are properly motivated and directed. Our prayers for our needs are not just for the purpose of making us happy, but for the overall aim of seeing the Father’s name hallowed and His kingdom brought about on the earth.
In this context, Jesus tells a humorous parable (11:5-8) to teach that we should approach God with boldness as His friend, persisting until we obtain what we need in order to minister to our friends. Then (11:9-10) He applies the parable by telling us to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking in prayer until we obtain the answer we need. Next (11:11-12) Jesus shifts the picture with a ludicrous, but memorable, illustration of a boy asking his father for a fish or an egg. The father would not give his son a snake or a scorpion! Then (11:13) Jesus applies this illustration by saying that if we, being evil, know how to give good gifts to our children, how much more shall the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.
The strong emphasis in this whole section is on receiving answers to our prayers. The friend at midnight did not go away empty-handed. He got the bread that he came for. The application emphasizes that one who keeps asking, seeking, and knocking will receive what he is after. The story of the father and his son makes the same point: the boy will get what he asks from his father. The final application drives it home again with force: How much more will the heavenly Father respond favorably to those who ask Him? John Calvin observes, “Nothing is better adapted to excite us to prayer than a full conviction that we shall be heard” (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], Harmony of the Evangelists, 1:351). Our Lord wants us to come to the Father and keep on coming until He gives us what we need to see His kingdom come.
The story gives us a humorous incident from the culture of Jesus’ day. A guy has a traveler drop in on him late at night and he has no fresh bread to set before him. You couldn’t run to the all-night supermarket and buy a loaf of bread. They didn’t have freezers or refrigerators full of food. Cultural hospitality demanded that you give him something to eat. So the guy goes over to his friend’s house at midnight. It’s dark inside and the door is bolted shut. But, after all, this is his friend, and what are friends for? So he starts banging on the door.
Inside, the family would all be sleeping together in one place. There were probably some domestic animals inside for the night, and the banging on the door would arouse them, too. The guy groggily calls out, “Who is it? What do you want at this hour?” The “friend” cheerily explains his need. The guy inside says, “Stop bothering me! The door is bolted shut, we finally got the kids to go to sleep (every parent knows what that is like!), and I don’t want to get up and give you anything!” But the “friend” keeps on knocking and asking! Finally the guy in bed realizes that the quickest route to getting back to sleep is to get up and give him what he’s after.
Then Jesus gives an initial application (11:8) before expanding on it (11:9-10): Apart from the friendship issue (which may be a bit strained at this midnight hour!), the host will obtain what he went for because of his persistent boldness. The word translated “persistence” (KJV = importunity) has the idea of shameless boldness. The idea of persistence comes out in the present tense verbs of verses 9 & 10.
Before we look at the direct application, let’s consider some things about the story. First, it shows us that necessity drives bold prayer. The host had a need to provide for his friend, and he did not have the resources to meet that need. It is an awareness of great needs and our own lack of resources to meet those needs that will drive us to prayer. All too often we fail to pray because we assume our own sufficiency or competence. We wrongly think that we can get by with just a little boost from God here and there. But the fact is, we are destitute of physical, mental, and spiritual resources unless God graciously provides them. In every situation, we must recognize our desperate need and call on God for help.
Second, the need in this case was not directly personal, but the need of someone else. If the man himself had been hungry, no doubt he would have waited until morning to go to his friend’s house. But the need was not his; it was the midnight guest’s need that drove this man to his friend’s house at this unseemly hour. While we should go boldly to God to find help for our own needs, we should keep in mind that the main thrust of prayer is not just to meet our needs, but to further the Father’s kingdom. Thus we are to ask for what we need to meet the needs of others in the name of the Father’s business.
Third, the man already had an established friendship before he went to his neighbor’s house at midnight. He wasn’t just introducing himself for the first time that night! They had a personal relationship that he was acting upon. While God is often gracious to introduce Himself for the first time in response to a midnight knock on His door, the time to meet Him is before the midnight need! If you know Him as a familiar friend, you will feel more comfortable banging on His door at midnight when you have to!
Fourth, we should recognize the stark contrast between the man in bed and God. The man in bed was asleep, whereas God never sleeps. The man in bed did not want to be disturbed, whereas our requests do not disturb God. The midnight request probably put a strain on the relationship between these two friends, whereas our midnight requests do not strain our relationship with God. Jesus’ point is that we should be boldly persistent in bringing our requests to God at any hour and in any situation. If a cranky friend responds to this kind of bold persistence, how much more will your Friend in heaven respond!
Jesus applies the parable by telling the disciples to keep on asking, seeking, and knocking, with the promise that if they do, they will obtain their requests. The present imperative mood in Greek has the nuance of continuous action, and so I do not understand or agree with some well-known commentators who say that the idea is not persistence and that if you have to keep on asking, you are not asking rightly (G. Campbell Morgan, The Parables and Metaphors of Our Lord [Revell], p. 184). I agree that God is not like the neighbor in bed, where you have to keep bugging Him because He is reluctant to give you what you need. But the fact is, God doesn’t always answer according to our timetable. He knows when our faith has been sufficiently tried and our submission to His will is sufficiently complete so that the time is right for Him to grant our requests. Andrew Murray (With Christ in the School of Prayer [Spire Books], p. 49) explains,
Intercession is part of faith’s training-school. There our friendship with men and with God is tested. There it is seen whether my friendship with the needy is so real, that I will take time and sacrifice my rest, will go even at midnight and not cease until I have obtained for them what I need. There it is seen whether my friendship with God is so clear, that I can depend on Him not to turn me away and therefore pray on until He gives.
Also, the idea of persistence is reinforced by the increasing intensity of the words “ask,” “seek,” and “knock.” Seeking is stronger than asking; knocking is stronger than seeking. Although the word isn’t used there, the word knocking relates back to the story of the friend at midnight, banging on his neighbor’s door until the guy gets out of bed and gives him what he needs. I agree with Martyn Lloyd-Jones who writes (The Sermon on the Mount [Eerdmans], 2:201),
The importance of this element of persistence cannot be exaggerated. You find it not only in biblical teaching, but also in the lives of all the saints. The most fatal thing in the Christian life is to be content with passing desires. If we really want to be men of God, if we really want to know Him, and walk with Him, and experience those boundless blessings which He has to offer us, we must persist in asking Him for them day by day. We have to feel this hunger and thirst for righteousness, and then we shall be filled. And that does not mean that we are filled once and for ever. We go on hungering and thirsting.
If we come to realize that our request is not in accord with God’s will or if we get a distinct sense from God that we should cease praying, then we should not continue to pray for that need. But otherwise, we should keep asking, keep seeking, and keep knocking until God answers. I have one request I have been asking for almost 28 years, another that I’ve been asking for 25 years, and another that I’ve been asking for over 10 years without adequate answers. To answer these requests would be for God’s glory and the furtherance of His kingdom. They are not selfish requests. So I keep knocking, even though at times I grow weary. For reasons I do not fully understand, God has not seen fit to grant these requests. But, I believe that like the friend at midnight, my job is to keep knocking on behalf of my needy friends until I obtain from God what they need.
Jesus seems to be answering a silent objection: “If God is like the groggy, unwilling neighbor at midnight, then I’m not sure that I want to bug Him.” Jesus changes the picture to a loving father who meets the needs of his children and then concludes how much more the heavenly Father will meet the needs of His children. His aim is to encourage us to come to God as our loving Father, being assured that He cares for us and that He will meet our needs. As in 11:5-10, Jesus gives an illustration followed by direct application.
Some Greek manuscripts add from Matthew the clause that if a son asks for a loaf of bread, the father won’t give him a stone (see Matt. 7:9). But probably the original of Luke omitted that illustration and added the other about the egg and the scorpion. There is no need to harmonize the two accounts since Jesus gave the same teaching in two different settings. He just varied His illustrations.
The illustration is effective because it is so ludicrous. No earthly father would be so cruel as to give his hungry child something deceptive and harmful in place of the food the child asked for. A snake with its silvery scales could be mistaken for a fish and a coiled up scorpion could look like a small egg to a child. But when he takes these trustingly from his father, they harm him rather than feed him and meet his need. Even though we are evil by nature (11:13—note how Jesus assumes that men are evil even when they are acting with love toward their children), we would never treat our children in this manner. The argument is from the lesser to the greater. As Calvin (p. 353) expresses it, “If the little drops produce such an amount of beneficence, what ought we to expect from the inexhaustible ocean?” If sinful men so love their children and provide for their needs, how much more will God?
Then Jesus drives home the application: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” In the parallel in Matthew 7:11, Jesus is more general in saying that God will give what is good to those who ask Him. But here He specifies the Holy Spirit who, being God, is the greatest good we could imagine. While all who truly believe in Christ receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation (Rom. 8:9), we all need to know more and more of the Spirit’s fulness in our daily walk. Whatever our needs, our greatest need is to be filled continually with God’s Spirit. So Jesus instructs us to come as needy children and ask the Father to pour out His Spirit upon us.
Jesus’ specifying the Holy Spirit shows that He is not promising to meet our every whim for material things or for earthly benefits. But He is promising that if something is for our spiritual good and we come as trusting children and ask, the loving Father will give it to us. He may delay the blessing because He knows that I am not ready to receive it yet. He may have purposes of training me in faith and prayer that require His withholding the request for the present time. He may know what I do not know, that my request is not for my ultimate good, and so He will deny my request because He has something better for me. But Jesus is teaching that we should approach God with trust, as a child would come to a loving father, and if my request is for my spiritual good, the Father will give it to me. Andrew Murray (p. 37) puts it, “Fatherlike giving is the Divine response to childlike living.”
So verse 13 brings us back full circle to where Jesus’ instruction on prayer began (11:2), that we must come to know God as our heavenly Father. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (p. 202) states,
This is one of our main troubles, is it not? If you should ask me to state in one phrase what I regard as the greatest defect in most Christian lives I would say that it is our failure to know God as our Father as we should know Him.… Ah yes, we say; we do know that and believe it. But do we know it in our daily life and living? Is it something of which we are always conscious? If only we got hold of this, we could smile in the face of every possibility and eventuality that lies ahead of us.
One of Satan’s original ploys was to get Eve to doubt that God is good. His commandment was keeping something good from her. He still uses that ploy to cause Christians to fall and to keep unbelievers from God: If your God is good, why does He allow such pain and suffering in the world? Why does a good God allow a little child in a war-torn land to get his legs blown off by a land mine? Why does a good God allow a sweet little toddler to die a slow, painful death from cancer? Why does a good God allow His servants who are dedicated to doing His work to be killed by evil men? The difficult questions could go on forever.
The Bible doesn’t gloss over these problems or pretend that they do not exist. The Book of Job shows us that a partial answer centers on our finiteness and sinfulness and God’s infinite holiness. We as sinful creatures dare not challenge the Almighty Holy One. He is perfectly just to allow the most righteous man on the earth to suffer terrible things, because not even that man has a claim on God. Furthermore, Scripture shows that the final resolution to the problem of suffering and evil lies in eternity, not in this life, when God will reward the righteous and punish the wicked.
But the existence of pain and evil in this world does not undermine the goodness of God or His fatherly love for His children. Even when we do not understand why God allows the trials we are suffering, we must come to Him in faith and ask for a fuller measure of His Holy Spirit. Keep on asking and seeking and knocking. Jesus promises that we will not be sent away empty-handed. Approach God with bold persistence, knowing that as a loving Father, He will give you what is for your spiritual good. It is impossible for Him to do anything evil toward us.
A dad with a three-year-old son had just gone through the bedtime routine of reading a story, listening to his prayers, answering a dozen questions, giving him a hug, and saying good-night four or five times before slipping out of the room. Finally, after a long, hard day, he could relax.
He sat down in his easy chair and it was quiet for about five minutes before he heard, “Daddy, can I have a drink of water?” He said, “No, son, be quiet and go to sleep.” It was quiet for a couple of minutes before, louder than before, he heard, “Daddy, can I have a drink of water?” “Son, I said to be quiet and go to sleep!” There was silence again, but it didn’t last long. “Daddy, please can I have a drink of water?” The dad could see that he wasn’t getting anywhere, so he said, “Son, if I hear one more sound out of that room, I’m going to spank you!” You could hear a pin drop. The silence was thick for about one minute. Then he heard, “Daddy, when you come in here to spank me, would you bring me a drink of water?” Now the dad knew that his son really was thirsty! Why? Because he was boldly persistent in his request.
We all have friends who drop in on us at midnight. We don’t have in ourselves what they need. But we have a Friend and Father in heaven who has plenty to meet their needs. He invites us to disturb Him at any hour and to keep on knocking until we obtain what our friends need.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
In 1938, Orson Welles terrified millions of Americans with his radio narration of H. G. Wells’ War of the Worlds. The drama was so realistic that many thought that aliens were actually invading our planet, intent on destroying the human race. It was only fiction; no one should have believed such a far-fetched tale. But they did.
The Bible clearly affirms that we are engaged in combat with an unseen enemy that is intent on destroying the human race: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12). It is a frightening truth which no one should doubt or ignore. But many do doubt it and live as if it is not true.
The apostle John affirms that “the Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Luke is showing that Jesus’ miracles establish His legitimate authority as the Messiah, the Son of God, sent to deliver us from the power of Satan. But Jesus’ authority put Him into conflict with the Jewish religious authorities, who did not want to yield to Him. Luke 11:14-54 shows the mounting tension between Jesus and these religious leaders. Rather than approaching Jesus with teachable hearts and open minds, they accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan and they challenged Him by demanding some sign from heaven. As such, they were reissuing the third temptation that Satan had put before Jesus, to use His power for show by casting Himself off the Temple pinnacle. Jesus soundly refuted their demands by giving this extensive teaching on spiritual conflict, the heavenly war. We learn that …
Since Jesus’ miracles authenticate His victory over Satan, we must decisively follow Him.
In other words, this isn’t just a subject to banter about in an interesting discussion. Lives and eternal destinies are at stake. People cannot ignore Jesus. They must decide for Him or they are against Him. Neutrality is impossible. We either follow Christ into battle on His side, or we oppose Him and remain on Satan’s side. These are the crucial issues behind this section of Luke’s Gospel.
Scripture clearly teaches that Satan is a real spiritual being, not just an impersonal force for evil. He was an angel who rebelled against God and who commands a host of other evil spirits (called demons) who also rebelled against God. He is here called Beelzebul, a popular name for the prince of the demons. The derivation of the name is debated, but it probably went back to Baal worship and meant, “lord of the temple.” In 2 Kings 1:2, the king of Israel was injured and wanted to inquire of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, whether he would recover. This was probably a derisive Hebrew pun, which meant, “lord of the flies.” At any rate, Luke was not concerned about the word’s origin or meaning, but only used it as a popular name for Satan.
Satan and his demonic forces are committed to the ultimate harm and destruction of the human race. To rewrite the Four Spiritual Laws, “Satan hates you and has a terrible plan for your life!” Since God’s purpose is to be glorified through the human race, created in His image, Satan’s purpose is to defile and degrade people so that their lives do not bring glory to God. Some of Satan’s demons are more evil than others (11:26), but they all have the same evil purpose. Since the fall of the human race into sin, every person is born under Satan’s domain and power (1 John 5:19; Eph. 2:2). Jesus called him “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) and Paul called him “the god of this world [who] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving” (2 Cor. 4:4).
In this case, the demon caused the man to be dumb, or unable to speak (Matt. 12:22 reports that the demon also had blinded the man). We have already encountered Legion, who showed us the hideous harm that demons can inflict on people. While we may not encounter such extreme cases very often, we should not be lulled into thinking that Satan is not alive and well on planet earth in our day. As J. C. Ryle puts it (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], 3:17, on Luke 11:14-20),
Do we suppose, because bodily possession by Satan is not so glaringly manifest as it once was, that the great enemy is less active in doing mischief than he used to be? If we think so we have much to learn. Do we suppose that there is no such thing as the influence of a “dumb” devil in the present day? If we do, we had better think again. What shall we say of those who never speak to God, who never use their tongues in prayer and praise, …? What shall we say, in a word, of those who can speak to every one but God? What can we say but that Satan has despoiled them of the truest use of a tongue?
Sometimes we look at nice, decent, law-abiding people and assume that they are not in Satan’s domain, as if there is some large, neutral zone between God’s kingdom and Satan’s kingdom. But Satan is a deceiver, and he cunningly leaves many in their not-too-bad condition so that we look at them and think, “This person couldn’t be in Satan’s domain!” Do not be deceived! Even though a person may not look like Legion or may not be struck dumb and blind by demons, he or she is still just as much in Satan’s evil domain, headed for an eternity in hell, if he is not rescued by Jesus Christ. This means that every time we proclaim the gospel to a lost soul, a spiritual battle is raging. There are two and only two sides. Either the person ignores or rejects the gospel and remains in Satan’s domain; or, Jesus Christ saves him and he is transferred to the kingdom of God’s beloved Son (Col. 1:13).
In that day, there were a number of Jewish exorcists who tried to cast out demons by special potions or incantations or magical procedures. Sometimes they seemingly succeeded, although they often failed. But every time Jesus cast out a demon, He simply spoke the word and the demon obeyed. Yet in spite of His obvious power, these skeptics accused Jesus of casting out demons by Satan’s power.
We learn from this that belief in Jesus Christ is not simply a matter of having sufficient evidence. If Jesus had not done these mighty works of miraculous power, or if He had done them by some sleight of hand, surely His critics would have pounced on this and accused Him of practicing magic. But they never used that line of attack. Since they couldn’t dispute the fact of the miracles, all they could do was to accuse Jesus of doing them by Satan’s power. Even though Jesus here knew their thoughts, this did not convince them that He was from God! Truly, the god of this world had blinded them, as he does every unbeliever!
Jesus answered them by pointing out that if a kingdom or a house is divided against itself, it will fall. Similarly, if Satan were divided against himself, his kingdom would not stand (11:17-18). Then (11:19) Jesus takes up the case of the Jewish exorcists. For the sake of argument He assumes that these exorcists had some success. But the Pharisees had never accused them of being empowered by Satan. If they are going to be consistent, they must say that the Jewish exorcists also did their work by Satan’s power. Otherwise, those exorcists served to judge the Pharisees for their hypocrisy in singling out Jesus for condemnation, while accepting the exorcists, who did the same thing.
“But,” Jesus adds, “if I cast out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you” (11:20). The term, “finger of God,” goes back to Exodus 8:19, where the Egyptian magicians recognize God’s power through Moses. Jesus is saying that if Satan is not behind His power, then clearly, God is. By saying that the kingdom of God had come upon them, Jesus was referring to the initial phase of the kingdom as manifested in the presence of the King. Jesus’ deliverance of people from Satan’s bondage anticipates the coming day when Jesus will reign not only in hearts, but on the throne of David, when Satan will be bound from his powerful influence on earth. Until His enemies are made His footstool, Christ exercises His rule from the Father’s right hand in the hearts of all who submit their lives to Him.
Jesus further underscores His victory over Satan with the parable of disarming the strong man (11:21-22). Satan is the strong man armed. He is a powerful spiritual master. His homestead is the heart of unbelievers. All of an unbeliever’s powers and faculties are Satan’s possessions, at his use. Further, these possessions, securely under Satan’s rule, are undisturbed, or “at peace.” The unbeliever, dead in his sins, under the sway of the prince of the power of the air (Eph. 2:2) is unaware of his own desperate condition. As Matthew Henry describes it (Matthew Henry’s Commentary [Revell], 5:697):
The sinner has a good opinion of himself, is very secure and merry, has no doubt concerning the goodness of his state nor any dread of the judgment to come; he flatters himself in his own eyes, and cries peace to himself. Before Christ appeared, all was quiet, because all went one way; but the preaching of the gospel disturbed the peace of the devil’s palace.
Christ is the stronger man who attacks the devil and overpowers him. As Paul puts it, at the cross Christ “disarmed the rulers and authorities” and triumphed over them (Col. 2:15). What no mere man could do, Jesus Christ did in His death and resurrection. Satan is now a defeated foe, although he is still allowed to reign until his being bound at the second coming of Christ.
This means that Jesus Christ is the only one powerful enough to save a soul from Satan’s dominion and power. Men cannot do it by their own will power or moral reformation. Even though men can get free of problems such as drug and alcohol abuse, or even so-called “sexual addiction,” through self-help programs, this is not the same as salvation from sin and Satan. The focus of those programs is never the glory of God, but rather, the happiness of self. Satan is not unhappy if a drunk becomes sober and still goes to hell. What that sinner and every sinner needs is the deliverance that only Jesus Christ can give. As John Calvin put it, “Let us … learn that, as we are all subject to the tyranny of Satan, there is no other way in which [God] commences his reign within us, than when he rescues us, by the powerful and victorious arm of Christ, from that wretched and accursed bondage” (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], “Harmony of the Evangelists,” 2:72-73).
We’ve seen that there is a spiritual battle raging with two and only two sides. Jesus Christ and only Christ has authority over Satan’s power to deliver us from bondage to Satan. Third,
Jesus says, “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters” (11:23). In other words, neutrality is not an option. You can’t straddle the fence by saying, “I’m not a committed follower of Jesus, but neither am I a follower of Satan!” Nor can you correctly say, “I don’t follow Jesus or Satan. I’m my own master.” Jesus makes it plain: Either you follow Him or you are against Him and in Satan’s camp. Those are the only options.
Jesus goes on (11:24-26) to illustrate what happens to the man who tries to be neutral: It doesn’t work. Perhaps the man has experienced a moral reformation, either through the Jewish exorcists or through his own will power and determination. The demon that he struggled against for years has left him. As Matthew Henry (p. 697) describes it, Satan gives order to his troops to retreat temporarily in order to draw the deluded soul into an ambush. At first, it is wonderful! The man sweeps up the dirt from his soul and feels a sense of order and peace that he never felt when he was in bondage to his former sins.
But, meanwhile, the departed demon is restless. Passing through waterless places is a metaphorical expression that “denotes that to dwell out of men is to him a wretched banishment, and resembles a barren wilderness” (Calvin, p. 84). The demon is not a happy camper until he moves back in. So, he goes and finds seven other demons more evil than himself and they move in. “The last state of that man becomes worse than the first.”
What are we to learn from this illustration? J. C. Ryle says it well: “Let us observe … how dangerous it is to be content with any change in religion short of thorough conversion to God” (p. 25). Jesus’ words “are a solemn warning to us, never to be satisfied with religious reformation without heart conversion” (p. 26). As Martyn Lloyd-Jones points out, “we must always remember that there are other powers, beside that of Christ, which can give ‘results.’ … It is possible for men and women to get relief from many of their ills and troubles apart altogether from the gospel” (Evangelistic Sermons [Banner of Truth], p. 179).
This is especially important in our day when truth and doctrine are set aside as of no consequence. We don’t really care about doctrine. We want to know, does it work? What will the gospel do for me? Will it help my troubled marriage? If not, I’ll go to the world if it will get me some results. I had a church member ask me, “If my wife finds help by counseling with a Hindu psychiatrist, what’s wrong with that?” I didn’t say this in reply, but later I thought that I should have said, “If she got relief by sacrificing a chicken to Satan, would that be okay?”
A number of years ago, some people wanted to bring Twelve Step groups in my church, and at first I was open to it. I reasoned that the Steps seemed to be in line with Scripture and the program seemed to help a lot of people. Besides, a number of well-known evangelical churches were using them. But then I began reading the literature and I grew increasingly alarmed. It was obvious that the Twelve Steps “worked” no matter who or what you chose as your “Higher Power.” I thought, “If it works whether your Higher Power is Jesus or a Buddha idol, then it’s obvious that the Higher Power is not the real power.” It trivializes Jesus to lump Him with all the other possible Higher Powers, as if it really doesn’t matter which one you pick! At that point, I did a U-turn and told the church that I could not endorse those programs.
Here’s the point: If we get “help” from any other power than Jesus Christ and His gospel, we have not gotten true and lasting help. You may get a clean and well-ordered house, but you don’t have transformation of your soul. You may have a sense of peace and freedom from the troubles that plagued you, but you don’t have eternal life. You have a temporarily empty house, whereas the sinner who repents and trusts in Christ has the Holy Spirit as the new permanent occupant (11:13). Even more alarming, you may feel content enough without Christ that you assume that all is well in your soul. Not having a desperate sense of need, you will not flee to the cross to lay hold of the only true Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, whose shed blood is necessary to deliver you from Satan’s power. In that sense, your last state is worse than the first.
Also, as Lloyd-Jones points out, when you adopt a false philosophy or believe a false doctrine, at first it seems to give so much satisfaction. But after a while, it begins to wear off or disappoint. It leaves you, not just where you were before, but in a worse condition, because now you distrust everything, even that which is true. You become cynical even of the gospel. He observes, “There is no type of mentality which is so difficult to treat as that of a person who has been disappointed by someone or something in which he once believed” (p. 183).
So, Luke presses you to answer the question: Is Jesus Christ who He claimed to be or not? Is His authority as the Messiah sent from God established by the miracles He performed? Is Jesus the Son of God in human flesh? If so, you must commit yourself to follow Him whatever the consequences or results. You may suffer trials, persecution, and even death. But if Jesus is truly Lord, if He alone defeated Satan’s power, then you must commit yourself to Him and to Him alone, not to Him and to some human “deliverance” or program. How do you do this?
As Jesus was speaking, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts at which You nursed.” It is interesting that right in the context of Jesus’ teaching about demons, this woman extols Mary! She may have been well-meaning, but clearly she was misguided. She was trying to give praise to Jesus by saying, “Your mother is a woman truly blessed to have a son like you.” Of course, that was true; Mary was blessed by God to be the mother of Jesus. His response does not deny this, but He does correct the direction of this woman’s thoughts. He says in effect, “Natural family ties to Me are not the point; the point is to hear God’s Word and do it.” The person who is decidedly with Jesus doesn’t just mouth pious platitudes; rather, he hears what Jesus says and acts on it.
This is not to teach salvation by works because the Word of God that we must obey clearly teaches that we are saved by grace through faith alone. But the Bible is also clear that saving faith is obedient faith (Rom. 15:18; 16:26). Jesus’ clear authority over demonic forces shows that He is both Savior and Lord. Therefore, each person is forced to choose sides in the heavenly war. Having heard the Word of God, we must now act on it in obedience to Jesus or else we are opposed to Him and in league with Satan.
During that part of the Naval War College course known as Fundamentals of Command and Decision, the instructor was stressing the importance of being able to make sound decisions under pressure. A visiting officer from a small foreign navy spoke up. “Talk about decisions!” he said. “I was 700 miles out to sea in my destroyer when I received a dispatch from my base: ‘We have just had a revolution. Which side are you on?’” (Reader’s Digest [5/83].)
Thankfully, our decision isn’t that difficult! We have some solid evidence to go on. We have the clear record of the gospel accounts that relate to us what Jesus said and did. William Barclay puts it this way (cited by Leon Morris, The Gospel According to John [Eerdmans], p. 414):
Either, what Jesus said about Himself is false, in which case He is guilty of such blasphemy as no man ever dared to utter; or, what He said about Himself is true, in which case He is what He claimed to be and can be described in no other terms than the Son of God. Jesus leaves us with the definite choice—we must accept Him fully or reject Him absolutely. That is precisely why every man has to decide for or against Jesus Christ.
There is a spiritual battle raging with two and only two sides. Clearly, Jesus has authority over Satan and his forces. We are on one side or the other. If you are not decisively on Jesus’ side, you are against Him. To join His side, you must believe in Him and follow Him in obedient faith.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
As a philosophy major in college, one of the major fallacies that I often observed among philosophers was the assumption that all we need is enough evidence plus human reason in order to arrive at the truth. When it came to the existence of God, most philosophy professors delighted to show us students that we simply did not have enough evidence to prove it and we never could have such evidence. Thus at best we could be logical agnostics or we could abandon logic and take a leap of faith. But we could not be reasonable believers in God because there is insufficient evidence.
The problem with the assumption that evidence and reason are sufficient to arrive at the truth is that it ignores the need for God’s revelation to inform human reason and it ignores the inability of fallen human reason to grasp divine revelation. Because of sin, the human intellect is blinded to the light of God’s revelation in Christ and the gospel (2 Cor. 4:4). Just as a blind man can look at the sun and not see a thing, so fallen people lack the capacity of understanding and apprehending spiritual truth in and of themselves (1 Cor. 2:14). Thus a fallen sinner can look at all the evidence and logic in the world and yet not grasp the truth of the gospel unless God opens his eyes and grants him repentance and faith to turn from his sin and believe in Christ.
It is important to keep this in mind when we are presenting the gospel to unbelievers. Our Lord Jesus makes this clear in His confrontation with the Jewish leaders who accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Satan and who demanded that He perform some miraculous sign to authenticate His claims (11:15-16). In 11:17-26, Jesus responded to their accusation of casting out demons by the power of Satan. In our text (11:29-36), He deals with their demand to perform some spectacular sign. He is further underscoring His response to the comment of the woman in the crowd (11:28), “On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God, and observe it.” Jesus is showing us how we should respond to God’s Word of truth:
We must respond to God’s Word in repentance and obedient faith or we will face eternal judgment.
Verse 29 makes it obvious that Jesus had not had the opportunity to attend a modern course on how to reach the unchurched by making your message user friendly! Clearly, He had not heard of the methods of “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” As the crowds were increasing, Jesus opened His sermon by saying, “This generation is a wicked generation.” Then He proceeded to warn them about the judgment to come. That’s not how you keep the numbers increasing!
Any preacher who wants to build his church knows that you’ve got to make people feel good about themselves. An article in a local magazine on a growing Flagstaff church asked, “And just why do people keep coming to the Such-and-Such Church? Pastor So-and-So believes it’s the upbeat, animated atmosphere inside. ‘I think I bring excitement to the Gospel,’ he says. ‘People are tired of hearing about the sin in their life; they need to hear about the joy that is out there as well.’” I don’t deny that we need to hear about the joy that Christ gives, but there is no joy if we try to come to God without confronting our sin. Jesus shows us that there is a wrong way to respond to God and His Word:
The Jews were demanding a sign from Jesus to test Him (11:16), but Jesus confronted them with their wickedness in seeking for a sign (11:29). Christ, who knows the hearts of all men (11:17), knew that a hundred miraculous signs would not be sufficient for these scoffers. They had just seen Him cast the demon out of a man who could not speak so that he became able to speak (11:14). They had seen Him raise the paralytic (5:17-26), heal the man with the withered hand (6:6-11), and do many other miracles, but none of these signs had brought them to believe in Him.
What was their sin in seeking for a sign? Their sin was their rebellious, unrepentant hearts. They were curious to see Jesus perform miracles, but they were not contrite about their sins. They wanted to watch a good show, but they would have been quick to explain away any signs that Jesus performed because they were not willing to follow Him. In other words, their problem was not a lack of evidence. Their problem was a lack of repentance. Thus Jesus tells them that no sign will be given to them except the sign of Jonah.
There are two main interpretations of what Jesus means by the sign of Jonah in this context. One view is that the sign of Jonah refers to Jonah’s preaching of repentance. Jonah went to Ninevah and preached a message of impending judgment and the Ninevites repented. The allusion to the Queen of Sheba backs this view, in that she heard of Solomon and his wisdom and she responded favorably by traveling to Jerusalem to learn from him. The common factor between Solomon and Jonah was that they presented God’s message. The common factor between the Queen of Sheba and the Ninevites was that they responded favorably to the message. Thus Jesus’ preaching of impending judgment unless there is repentance is the sign of Jonah in this view (Darrell Bock, Luke [Baker], 2:1095-1097 argues for this view).
Others see the sign of Jonah as the resurrection of Jesus, as the parallel in Matthew 12:39-42 makes clear. There are several things in favor of this view. First, a sign was a miracle and it is difficult to see how preaching can properly be called a sign. Second, Jesus does not speak of Jonah’s or His words as a sign, but rather of Jonah and Himself as signs. The men, not their words, are the signs. Third, Jesus uses the future tense to say that He will be a sign to this generation. This looks ahead to His resurrection (Leon Morris, Luke [IVP/Eerdmans], pp. 200-201 argues for this view).
The parallel with Jonah is that the prophet was a man who, in effect, had “died” and had spent three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish. When he went and preached to Ninevah, the man himself was a testimony of God’s awful judgment against sin, but also of God’s mercy and power to deliver sinners from death. Jonah had sinned by disobeying God’s initial command to go to Ninevah and he had paid the penalty of that sin by being swallowed by the great fish. But when he repented, God had mercy on him. Thus Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites of God’s severe judgment on sinners, but also of His mercy and power to save those who repent. (Note, by the way, that Jesus assumed the truthfulness of the story of Jonah!)
In the same way, Jesus’ death on the cross showed God’s awful wrath against sin, as Jesus was pierced through for our transgressions (Isa. 53:5). But His resurrection from the dead three days later showed God’s power over sin and death and His mercy toward every sinner who will trust in Jesus. Thus Jesus’ death and resurrection was the ultimate sign that proves that He is God’s chosen Messiah, the one who would save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21).
The point is, because we all are like sheep who have gone astray, who each have turned to his own way, we cannot come to the holy God and demand that He jump through our hoops to meet our demands for proof. Our need is not for more proof; our need is for repentance. God has given us all the evidence we need in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We can only come to Him on His terms through the way He has provided, through the Lamb of God who died for our sins and was raised for our justification.
Jesus’ words spell out several implications of this:
“As the crowds were increasing,” Jesus began to say, “You’re all wonderful people. God loves you and so do I.” That’s not what He said! Jesus wasn’t into giving strokes to everyone to build their self-esteem. Centuries before the false prophets won a large following by saying, “Peace, peace,” when there was no true peace (Jer. 6:14; 8:11). God said that they healed the brokenness of His people superficially. Any preaching that does not confront sin is false preaching. God doesn’t heal by giving lots of hugs to make sinners feel better about themselves. He heals by confronting and cutting out the cancer of sin that is slowly but surely destroying people. So Jesus began by saying, “This generation is a wicked generation.”
We tend to view success in the ministry by numbers. If a church is growing, if thousands are flocking to it, then the pastor becomes a model for church growth. He writes books on how he did it and he puts on seminars where thousands of unsuccessful pastors come to hear how they can do what he did. The sad thing is, at very few of these seminars do the pastors hear that they need to preach against sin, to preach the holiness of God, to preach about the awfulness of the coming judgment. What they’re hearing is that they need to preach for only 15 or 20 minutes at the most, and use lots of stories, because people don’t want to hear stuffy doctrinal sermons. Don’t say anything to confront sin, because these people get beat up in the rough world all week long. What they want and need when they come to church is some good feelings and uplifting stories that will inspire hope for the next week.
As a result, people in American churches are starving for a word from God. Just before the apostle Paul was martyred, he wrote to his successor in the ministry, Timothy, and gave him one of the most solemn charges in all of Scripture:
I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry (2 Tim. 4:1-4).
Biblical preaching always reproves, rebukes, and exhorts. It does not tickle your ears and go along with your own desires. So when you hear the Word preached or when you read the Word, allow it to confront your sin. God only wounds in order to heal. When Scripture confronts you, don’t dodge it. By owning up to sin and turning from it, you will grow to be more like Jesus.
This is the lesson we should learn from the Queen of Sheba (“the South”), who went to great trouble, effort, expense, and time to travel from southern Arabia to learn God’s wisdom through King Solomon. Jesus’ point was that the men of His day had the very Son of God preaching God’s wisdom in their very midst, and yet they ignored Him, whereas this pagan woman was willing to travel hundreds of miles through harsh terrain to seek out someone not nearly as great.
We must ask ourselves, “Will the Queen of Sheba rise up and condemn us in the day of judgment?” We have the completed canon of God’s Holy Word in our own language. Men like Wycliffe and Tyndale suffered much persecution and Tyndale gave his life so that we could have the Bible in English. There are still many people groups around the world who do not have even one book of the Bible in their own language. Do we read the Word? Do we meditate on it daily? Can we truly say with the psalmist, “The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver pieces” (Ps. 119:72)?
I read of a man in Kansas City who was severely injured in an explosion. His face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He had just become a Christian when the accident happened, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in braille. But he discovered that the nerve endings in his lips had been too badly damaged to distinguish the characters. One day, as he brought one of the braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters and he could feel them. In a flash he thought, “I can read the Bible using my tongue.” At the time this incident was reported, the man had read completely through his Bible four times using his tongue! (in Donald Whitney, Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life [NavPress], pp. 30-31). So what’s your excuse for not reading your Bible regularly?
This is the lesson of Jonah and the Ninevites. Jonah despised the Assyrians, whose capital was Ninevah. They were a brutal, godless people, devoted to the destruction of Israel. But God told Jonah to go and preach to them. After his three-day submarine ride, the disobedient prophet repented and went to Ninevah. Just as he feared, though, the Ninevites repented and God withheld His judgment from them. Even the king of Ninevah put on sackcloth and publicly repented of his sin! It was one of the most astounding revivals in history! It shows us that no matter how wicked and worldly the sinner, if he hears the message of God’s impending judgment and yet of His great mercy in Jesus Christ, and comes in genuine faith to Christ, he will be transformed. The gospel is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes, whether it be the raw pagan or the religious do-gooder (Rom. 1:16).
This means that there is hope in Jesus Christ for the worst of sinners. No matter how terrible your past, if you will repent of your sin and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the one who bore your penalty on the cross, God will transform your life from the inside out. The men of Ninevah are a testimony of what God’s grace can do with any sinner who will repent and believe the gospel.
This is the main thrust of the parable that Jesus goes on to give (11:33-36). Jesus’ teaching is the lamp set on the lampstand. He was displaying God’s truth openly for all to see (11:33). If a person’s spiritual eye is clear, he can see the truth that Jesus proclaims. But, if a person’s heart is darkened by sin, the light does no good. No amount of light helps a blind man (11:34). Thus, the warning, “Watch out that the light in you may not be darkness.” Respond obediently to the light that you’ve been given through Jesus and you will receive more light. Ignore or reject the light that you’ve been given, and it will be taken away and you’ll be left in total darkness. But if you respond obediently to the light Jesus gives, your entire life will be lit up and you will be a light unto others (11:36).
Thus great privilege is also great responsibility. It is a great privilege to hear God’s Word preached and to read the Word. But that privilege also means that we are responsible to obey what we hear and read in the Word. If we respond obediently, our lives will be illumined by God so that we will know how to live in a manner pleasing to Him. Also, He will use our lives to shine on others who are lost in the darkness of sin. But, if we disregard the Word, even the light we have received will become darkness.
It is plain from our text that Jesus believed in a coming judgment where all the living and dead will be present. The Queen of Sheba and her retinue will be there. The people of Ninevah will be there. The men of Jesus’ day will be there. You and I and everyone we know will be there. God, the righteous judge, will judge every person based on the light they received and their response to it. As Paul argues in Romans 1 and 2, God has made Himself evident to all people through creation and through conscience, but men “did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened” (Rom. 1:21). All people have violated both the law of God and their own consciences and thus stand justly condemned before God (Rom. 2:12-16). Any darkness in our lives is not God’s fault. It is due to our own sinfulness and our stubborn refusal to obey God’s Word. Thus all people need a Savior from the coming judgment. Thank God, He has provided that Savior!
Jesus is the lamp on the lampstand, set there for all to see. He and His teaching is the “something greater” than Solomon or Jonah. His death and resurrection from the dead is the sign we need to confirm that He is God’s chosen one, God’s Savior. As Paul argues (1 Cor. 15:12-19), the entire Christian faith rests on the reality of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. If we don’t see Him and flee to Him for refuge from God’s wrath, the problem is with our darkened eyes, not with His shining light. We must cry out to God for eyes to see the light of Jesus Christ, who offered up Himself as the perfect sacrifice for sinners. “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
Several years ago, a man and his wife started attending the church I pastored in California. She was a believer, but he was not. After a few months, the wife needed surgery, and so I went to the hospital to sit with the husband while she was being operated on. After we had chatted about general things for a while, I said, “Bruce, you’ve been coming to the church for quite a while. I’d be interested to know whether you have yet put your trust in Christ as Savior or not.” He replied, “No, I still have some unanswered questions.”
I said, “Well, what are they? Maybe I can shed some light on them.” He said, “I have a lot of them.” I said, “Well, we’ve got lots of time right now. What are the main ones?” He still hesitated, so I said, “How about if you give me a list of your questions. If I can give reasonable answers to them, then will you become a Christian?” He said, “If I’ve been hearing you correctly, if I trust in Christ then I have to yield my whole life to Him and do what He says. Is that right?” I said, “You got it!” He said, “I’m not ready to do that yet.” Thankfully, a few months later he made that commitment to Christ and I baptized him.
The issue isn’t that you need more evidence. The issue is that you need repentance. You need to acknowledge that you have sinned against the holy God and that your good works could never pay for your sins. You need a Savior. You need to recognize that Jesus Christ is that Savior. He offered Himself on the cross to pay the price you deserve. If you will turn from your sin and trust in Christ as your sin-bearer, you will be flooded with light from God. You will be able to say, “I once was blind, but now I see!”
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
There is probably no sin more tolerated or more widespread in the Christian world than legalism. It may surprise you to hear it labeled as sin. Legalists are thought to be a bit overzealous or “uptight,” but they aren’t usually thought of as sinning in the same sense as adulterers, thieves, liars, and the like. To the contrary, legalists seem to be concerned about holiness.
Yet the Lord Jesus had more conflicts with the legalists of His day than any other group. It wasn’t the adulterers, the robbers and that sort, who put Jesus on the cross. It was the legalists. Later on, the Apostle Paul had the same experience, as the legalists dogged his steps, perverting the gospel of the grace of God.
When you study the life of Christ, it is noteworthy how He deliberately did things to provoke the legalists. He could have healed people on any other day of the week, but He often did it on the Sabbath. He could have been more discreet in violating the Pharisees’ rules, but He did it openly. When a Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner, He could have gone along with their elaborate hand-washing custom, but He deliberately ignored it. When they questioned Him about it, He could have been more polite, but He blasted them for their hypocrisy. When a lawyer pointed out that Jesus had offended them as well, He didn’t say, “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to offend you good folks.” He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well!” Jesus confronted legalism as sin.
And yet many Christian churches today are riddled with legalism, but the pastors are too “nice” to stand up to the legalists and say, “You’re not going to do that in this church!” The evangelical church today is plagued by “niceness.” Somehow we’ve gotten the idea that to be like Jesus means always being nice, never offending anyone, never confronting anyone. But clearly, if we want to be like Jesus, we must confront sin. And, legalism is sin!
What is legalism? Some erroneously confuse it with an emphasis on obedience. I have been accused of being legalistic because I preach that we must obey God’s Word. But every book of the Bible teaches that we must obey God. Being under grace does not mean that we are free to disobey God.
Others say that legalism is when we set up any manmade rules. But there are many areas not specifically addressed in the Bible where we need some rules in order to function as a family or church. Parents are not being legalistic when they set a curfew for their kids. Churches are not being legalistic when they follow certain procedures or practices.
So, what is legalism? Legalism is an attempt to gain favor with God or to impress our fellow man by doing certain things (or avoiding other things), without regard to the condition of our hearts before God. At the root of legalism is the sin of pride, because the legalist thinks that he is able to commend himself to God by his own good deeds. Invariably, he is only looking at externals, not at his heart. Also, the legalist’s pride motivates him to exalt himself in the sight of others by his outward behavior, again neglecting to see the corruption of his own heart. Thus legalism denies human depravity and exalts human ability. As such, it is opposed to the gospel of God’s grace. That’s why both Jesus and Paul clashed with the legalists.
Jesus hates legalism because it does not deal with the condition of our hearts before God.
Christianity is primarily a matter of the heart. Everything flows from a heart relationship with God, who transforms our hearts when He regenerates us. The Jewish religious leaders seemingly were seeking after God, but in reality they were self-seeking. They didn’t see themselves as sinners in need of a Savior. They saw themselves as good people because they kept the Law. But in reality, they didn’t keep the Law because they didn’t apply it on the heart level. Thus, Jesus in effect said that if they would be as careful about clean hearts as they were about clean hands, then they would be what they ought to be.
The structure of our text is that in 11:37-41 we have the setting and overall theme, that legalism puts the emphasis on the external to the neglect of the internal. Then, in 11:42-44 Jesus pronounces three woes on the Pharisees in which He sets forth some of the specific problems with legalism. At this point, an expert in the Jewish law speaks up in self-defense, pointing out that Jesus’ remarks not only condemn the Pharisees; they also insult the lawyers. Rather than apologizing, Jesus launches into a series of three more woes on the lawyers (11:46-52). The result was not repentance, but rather increased hostility on the part of the Pharisees and lawyers in an attempt to trap Jesus in something He might say (11:53-54).
Before we look specifically at the theme, take note that Jesus accepted social invitations from unbelievers. But, also note that He did not hesitate to confront unbelievers with their sin! He deliberately provoked this confrontation by doing something that surprised His host. But we need to be careful about how we apply this. Jesus was in a cultural context that understood the bold language of the prophets. Also, He is the Lord and as such has both the insight and authority to speak in this manner.
Paul instructs us, “Walk with [NASB, margin] wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you should respond to each person” (Col. 4:5, 6). The metaphor of salt implies that we can and should be provocative, but we also must speak in a gracious and sensitive manner. But in every social contact with unbelievers, keep your purpose clear. You’re there to be the instrument of the Holy Spirit in convincing the person about sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to proclaim the good news of God’s grace in Christ.
In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees, ostensibly in an attempt to keep God’s Law, had devised and added hundreds of manmade laws. But in so doing, they had shifted the focus from the heart to the outward man. This included elaborate rituals for washing themselves before meals and for cleansing their dishes and utensils. While there was a basis for these practices in the Book of Leviticus (11:33-34; 15:12), the Pharisees had taken them far beyond what God intended. Jesus uses this practice to confront the main issue.
Religion apart from God is always trying to fix the outer man to look good to other men, but it neglects the fact that the Lord looks on the heart. Jesus (11:39) confronted the Pharisees with the fact that although they went to great lengths to clean their cups and platters, they neglected to cleanse their hearts, which were full of robbery and wickedness. The Pharisees despised those who were openly sinful, but God looks not only at the outward person, but also on the heart. Inwardly, the Pharisees were greedy and wicked. Jesus compares this to washing the outside of a bowl and then eating out of it, even though the inside was filthy! The God who made the outside made the inside as well. Genuine religion is a matter of the heart, not just of external compliance.
The meaning of verse 41 is debated, but Jesus seems to be saying that if we deal with our hearts before God, then everything that flows outward is clean. As J. C. Ryle explains, “Give first the offering of the inward man. Give your heart, your affections, and your will to God, as the first great alms which you bestow, and then all your other actions, proceeding from a right heart, are an acceptable sacrifice, and a clean offering in the sight of God” (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], 3:48-49).
Then Jesus launches into the three woes on the Pharisees:
The Pharisees were meticulous about giving a tenth to God to the degree that they even tithed their spices! (Rue is a strong-scented herb.) While Jesus upheld the obligation of tithing (Lev. 27:30 was used to support the tithing of spices), He condemned them for neglecting the weighty part of the Law, namely, justice and the love of God. As He elsewhere affirmed, the love of God and the love of neighbor sum up the entire Law (Matt. 22:37-40). But the Pharisees would cleverly tell even their parents that they could not help them financially because their money had been devoted to God (Mark 7:11). Technically, they were tithing, but practically, they were neglecting to love their own parents!
Modern day legalists also major on the minors and minor on the majors. Some churches and Christian parents put major attention on rules about petty issues, such as dress codes or certain activities, but they tolerate serious sins, such as gossip, greed, and pride. If we shun people because of how they look, or over certain behaviors that, according to the Bible, are not major, we are guilty of the sin of the Pharisees.
For example, you may be surprised to know what Jonathan Edwards, Charles Spurgeon, G. Campbell Morgan, Martyn Lloyd-Jones, and C. S. Lewis all had in common. Yes, they were all godly Christian leaders who were greatly used by God. All except Lewis were gifted Bible expositors and pastors. But also, at least some of the time they were in the ministry, they all smoked!
Many Christians question your salvation if you smoke! I think that if you smoke, you should quit as soon as possible, because it is not good stewardship of your body. The men I just mentioned all lived before that medical evidence was known. But my point is that there are many Christians who are more concerned with getting people to stop smoking than with getting them to walk in the Spirit and stop doing the deeds of the flesh.
Jesus next condemns the Pharisees because they loved the front seats in the synagogues and the respectful greetings in the market places. They loved to have people notice how important they were! It made them feel good to be addressed as the Reverend Doctor So-and-so. But pride was at the root of it. They were focused on their own glory, not on God’s glory. Pride is at the heart of legalism; humility is at the heart of true Christianity.
The legalist can take pride in himself and his attainments because he is looking at outward matters, not at issues of the heart. He doesn’t acknowledge that his heart is just as sinful as the heart of the prostitute or robber. If he had been reared in their circumstances or had encountered the problems in life they had faced, he would have engaged in the same behavior, because he had the same heart of lust and greed. No, he sees himself as a notch above these sinners. He has attained a righteous life by his own hard work and discipline. The legalist is puffed up with pride.
Scripture declares that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (Prov. 3:34; James 4:6; 1 Pet. 5:5). One sure mark of the Holy Spirit’s work in our hearts is that we see ourselves as terrible sinners in the sight of God. We see that we deserve His judgment because of our pride, selfishness, and rebellion. Rather than comparing ourselves with others and concluding that we are basically good, we compare ourselves with God and conclude that no good thing dwells within us. Thus convicted of our great need, we flee to the cross for mercy. But legalists don’t like the message of the cross, because it confronts their pride.
Jesus compares the Pharisees to concealed tombs. If a Jew came in contact with a tomb or a dead body, he was ceremonially unclean for seven days (Num. 19:11-22). The picture behind these ceremonial laws was that sin leads to death and that the contamination of sin and death spreads to others if it is not dealt with. The Jew who became contaminated by contact with a dead body had to take responsibility for cleansing through the ashes of a red heifer and ritual washing (Num. 19:1-11). Here, Jesus accuses the Pharisees, who were meticulous about such laws of cleanliness, of defiling the Jewish nation through their own spiritual death! The charge must have shocked them!
The application is that the sin of legalism contaminates unsuspecting people. It turns off unbelievers and keeps them from the truth of the gospel, because they can see the hypocrisy of the legalists. It contaminates young believers, who are mistakenly taught that if they do certain things and do not do other things, they will grow in holiness and be pleasing to God. But invariably, the things that they are told to do and not do are not the important issues of the Bible, such as the love of God and neighbor (as summed up in the Ten Commandments). Rather, they are petty things, often things that Scripture does not directly command.
One reason many kids who grow up in Christian homes later reject the faith is that the parents and the church have been shot through with legalism. Instead of the joy of knowing God and of having our sins forgiven through His grace, the focus was on the rules and the outward conformity that had to be maintained so that everyone else would think that the kids (and parents) were good Christians. I’m not saying that Christian homes should not have any rules. But the emphasis in our homes and church should be on the joy of knowing God. As Paul says, “the kingdom of God is … righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit” (Rom. 14:17).
At this point, an expert in the Jewish Law who was at the dinner spoke up. Probably he thought that this young rabbi did not grasp the full implication of His words. He was not only indicting the Pharisees; His scathing words also insulted the lawyers and the entire Jewish religious leadership. But rather than apologizing or backing down, Jesus laid into the lawyers with three more woes:
The lawyers had taken the commands of Scripture and had multiplied them into hundreds of minute adaptations. But, like lawyers in every age, they had also come up with legal loopholes that enabled them to skirt around their own rules, while the average guy was still burdened with them. For example, on the Sabbath the lawyers determined that you could only travel 1,000 yards from your home. But if a rope was tied across the end of the street, the end of the street became his residence and he could go 1,000 yards beyond that. Or, if before the Sabbath a man left at any given point enough food for two meals, that point technically became his residence and he could go 1,000 yards beyond that.
On the Sabbath, you couldn’t tie a knot, because that was work. But a woman could tie a knot in her girdle. So if you needed to draw water out of the well on the Sabbath, you couldn’t tie a rope to the bucket, but you could tie a woman’s girdle to the bucket! (These examples are in William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke [Westminster Press], p. 158.)
The Sabbath laws were given for our benefit, so that we would set aside one day in seven for worship and rest. I believe that modern Christians err by throwing out the entire Sabbath principle. Most Christians treat Sunday just like every other day. But some err by coming up with specific lists of what you can and cannot do on the Lord’s Day. The main issue is our heart before God. We are to honor Him one day each week by ceasing from our normal routine and worshiping Him.
Legalism burdens people with peripheral issues and rules. Biblical holiness frees people by pointing them to the beauty of God’s holiness and love. As 1 John 5:3 states, “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.” When we obey out of a heart of love for God, even though it is not always easy, it will always result in great joy and blessing.
To summarize, Jesus is elaborating on the theme that legalism puts the emphasis on the external to the neglect of the internal. He has shown that it majors on minors, it focuses on self-glory, it subtly corrupts others, and it burdens people with peripheral rules.
The religious leaders of Jesus’ day did not submit their lives personally to the message of the Old Testament prophets, but they built monuments to them to make it look as if they honored them. But Jesus lumps the current leaders with their ancestors who killed the prophets. He is saying that the current leaders are finishing off the job that the earlier generations started. As in all the other woes, the underlying problem is that though outwardly they act as if they honor the prophets, inwardly they do not repent of the very sins which the prophets condemned.
When Jesus refers to the wisdom of God (11:49), He is not quoting any specific Scripture, but rather is summarizing and personifying all of God’s wisdom as revealed through the prophets. Abel was the first man to die because his righteousness convicted his brother of his evil deeds. In the arrangement of the books in the Hebrew Bible, Zechariah was the last prophet to be killed (2 Chron. 24:20-25). Jesus is saying that the blood of all the righteous men who were martyred in the Old Testament would be charged against this current wicked generation, because they rejected God’s revealed wisdom about their sin. This may point to the awful judgment on Jerusalem in A.D. 70 or it may also include the final judgment. The point is, legalists don’t apply God’s holiness to their hearts; they just put on an outward show of honoring it.
The key of knowledge refers to the personal knowledge of the living God through His revealed Word. As Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). True religion is a matter of knowing God personally and growing in that relationship with Him. Legalism is a matter of going through rituals and of keeping rules, but it’s devoid of the personal knowledge of God.
In many well-meaning but legalistic Christian homes, parents mistakenly think that the way to keep their teenagers in line is to lay down and enforce a lot of rules. But the way to keep your teenagers in line is to lead them to a personal knowledge of the Holy One. He’s with them when you cannot be there. If they truly know Him and know the great love of Christ who gave Himself for their sins, they will want to please Him, beginning on the heart level. As our kids grow in their walk with God, we should be able to ease up on the number of rules, not impose more. Our goal is to get each child to live under the lordship of Jesus Christ, in a growing personal relationship with Him. Legalism takes an external approach; biblical Christianity focuses on the heart relationship.
Some years ago, a church in Portland near a college wanted to develop more of a ministry to the students. They weren’t sure how to do it, but they tried to make them feel welcome. One Sunday, the church was packed and the service was already underway when a young man with unkempt hair, blue jeans, a T-shirt, and bare feet walked in. He came down the aisle, looking for a seat, but he couldn’t find one. Finally, he just sat down on the carpet at the front of the church. It created an uneasy atmosphere in this crowd of people who were mostly dressed in suits and dresses, seated in their rows of pews.
Then, every eye noticed an elderly man in a suit walking slowly toward the young man. Everyone wondered, “Is he going to scold the young man for dressing like that for church? Is he going to ask him to leave?” There was a heavy silence in the church as everyone focused on this scene. Finally, he got down to where the young man was sitting. With some difficulty because of his age, he slowly sat down next to the young man and worshiped there on the carpet with him. (Told by Becky Pippert, Out of the Saltshaker and Into the World [IVP], pp. 177-178.) It was a great example of not looking on the outward person or majoring on the minors, but of accepting the person as God does.
Remember, Jesus hates legalism because it does not deal with the condition of our sinful hearts before God. But Jesus loves grace, because it is by His grace that He transforms sinners into saints who love God and who love others.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Persecution is not something that American Christians know much about firsthand, but it may be coming our way soon. I heard on the news last week that the President is pushing a bill in Congress that would make it a hate crime to speak in any way against homosexuality or to promote negative attitudes toward it.
California’s new governor has voiced support for a sweeping pro-homosexual bill that would, among other things, require that children in public schools, starting in kindergarten, be taught that homosexuality is simply one among several equally healthy and valid lifestyles (World [4/10/99], p. 18). It is not inconceivable that churches will be threatened, at minimum, with the loss of our tax-exempt status if we stand against such laws. In the not-too-distant future, pastors and other Christians could face prison sentences for taking a stand on what the Bible plainly teaches.
Whether we face severe persecution or mere social rejection, we all need to think carefully about the question, “Would I confess Christ under pressure or would I deny Him?” It is not a minor issue, because Jesus declares that our eternal destiny hinges on our confession of Him.
The context for Jesus’ remarks is the hostility that resulted from His denunciation of the Jewish leaders (11:37-54). A huge crowd gathered, with so many people that they were stepping on each other. Jesus spoke primarily to His disciples, but in the hearing of all, warned them about the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. He was drawing a line: people could follow the leadership of the Pharisees or they could follow Him. But they must make a choice and stick with it in the face of potential persecution and even death. To try to straddle the line will bring a person into ultimate and final judgment. Thus,
We must beware of hypocrisy and confess Christ, even unto death, because hypocrites will face God’s judgment.
Clearly, Jesus believed that our words and deeds are significant in the light of eternity. Also, we must understand that Jesus’ warnings were directed primarily toward those who professed allegiance to Him. We would be foolish to shrug off His words as if they only applied to the unbeliever. He spoke first to His disciples, although it also applies to everyone. Jesus first gives the negative warning against the sin of hypocrisy, which is the same as denying Him; but Jesus also gives positive encouragement to confess Him, even if it results in martyrdom.
Jesus was not fooled into mistaking momentary popularity for long-term acceptance. The crowds were thronging around Him, but He knew the propensity of human hearts, even of His disciples, toward hypocrisy.
The Greek word for hypocrisy referred to a mask used in acting. It means to lead people to believe that you are something you are not. The hypocrite’s emphasis is on how others see him, not on how God sees him. Thus his focus is on the outward person, not on the heart. Jesus calls it leaven or yeast because it is subtle and insidious. Just as a small pinch of yeast will spread until it puffs up a large lump of dough, so a small amount of hypocrisy tolerated in our lives will spread until it contaminates us totally.
In Galatians 2:13, Paul charged Peter and Barnabas with hypocrisy because they openly ate with Gentile believers, but when the Judaizers came to town, they suddenly withdrew out of fear of what the Judaizers would think. If such godly, strong leaders as Peter and Barnabas were susceptible to hypocrisy, then it is a sin that we all need to be on guard against!
The Pharisees were hypocrites because they lived with a view to popular acclaim, but they did not live in view of God, especially on the heart level. We all like to be liked and we don’t want to offend anyone. So it’s easy to tell people what they want to hear rather than to be completely honest. And if people get a little better impression of us than is warranted, we let it go by because we want them to think highly of us. We all face a strong tendency to please men whom we can see, but to ignore God whom we cannot see. But Jesus points out the fallacy of this, because the God whom we cannot see, sees everything!
I’m not suggesting that to avoid hypocrisy we should be blunt or offensive toward people. We should be kind and sensitive, even when we need to confront. Nor am I saying that we need to tell everyone all of our private sins or faults in order to avoid hypocrisy. Obviously, we need to be discerning about those in whom we confide. But we must avoid deliberately misleading people into thinking that we are something we know we’re not. We should seek to be lovingly truthful in every situation, realizing that God knows our very thoughts.
Jesus says, “I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do” (12:4). That’s an interesting perspective: “The worst that they can do is kill you!” “Oh, whew! I thought maybe they could really do some damage!” Most of us have not had to deal with any kind of physical torture or death threats. It’s hard enough to maintain our testimony when we worry about what others will think of us, let alone if they threaten us with bodily harm! But if we focus on what people may do to us, whether it is just social rejection or whether it is physical torture and death, we will deny Christ when the pressure is on. So Jesus points us to a supreme danger that should scare us into avoiding hypocrisy:
The judgment spoken of here involves each member of the godhead, which should cause us to consider it with the utmost care.
Hypocrites will be judged by the Father (12:5).
Jesus says that rather than fearing those who can kill us, but do nothing further, we should “fear the One who after He has killed has authority to cast into hell.” Then, to emphasize an already strong point, Jesus repeats, “Yes, I tell you, fear Him!” The word “hell” is the Greek gehenna, which came from the Hebrew for the Valley of Hinnom, where the idolatrous Jews had offered their children in the fire to the pagan god, Molech. Later it became a garbage dump and a place where criminals’ bodies were thrown to be burned. The smoke rose perpetually as the garbage was slowly burned. Thus the name came to be used as a description of the place of eternal torment, “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48).
Believe me, I didn’t invent the idea of such a place as hell and I don’t even like it! But I can’t believe in Jesus and deny hell, since He spoke so plainly about it. If you say, “I don’t believe in a God who would send anyone to hell,” keep in mind that your believing or not believing has absolutely nothing to do with whether such a God exists! Whether you believe in Him or not, God has revealed Himself to us through His Son, Jesus. If you reject Jesus and His teaching about hell, you run the great risk that what He said was true. If it is true, you will be in big trouble on judgment day!
Hypocrites will be judged by the Son (12:9).
If a person denies Jesus before men, He states that He will deny that person before the angels of God. Obviously Jesus was not talking about a person who occasionally fails by denying Him. If He meant that, then Peter will not be in heaven! But if our way of life is to profess Christ when we’re around the Christian crowd, but to deny Christ when we’re around the pagans, we are being hypocrites. If we do not repent and take a stand with Christ, no matter what the cost, then He will deny us at the judgment.
Hypocrites will be judged by the Holy Spirit (12:10).
Verse 10 has caused a lot of confusion and anxiety! They are scary words! Many people worry that perhaps they have committed the unpardonable sin. Jesus states that if a person speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him, but that the person who blasphemes the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven. What did He mean?
First, it is helpful to consider what Jesus did not mean. Clearly, He did not mean that a person, whether a pagan or a professing Christian, who utters a word of blasphemy in a moment of temptation is forever beyond the reach of God’s grace. Peter horribly denied Christ and yet was restored. Paul says that he formerly was a blasphemer, yet he was shown mercy (1 Tim. 1:13). When Jesus drew a distinction between speaking a word against the Son of Man and a word against the Holy Spirit, He did not mean that somehow the Son of Man is not on the same level as the Spirit. The verse just before shows that if a person denies Christ, that person will be denied at the judgment. Rather, He was drawing a distinction between the level of the offense.
The ministry of the Holy Spirit is to bear witness to Jesus Christ (John 15:26) by convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). During Jesus’ life on earth, the Holy Spirit bore witness especially through the miracles that Christ performed. The Jewish leaders, however, attributed those miracles to the power of Satan, not to the power of the Holy Spirit (Mark 3:22-30). This was the unpardonable sin, because these leaders had sufficient evidence from the Spirit that Jesus was the Messiah, yet they hardened their hearts against Him. This was not a case of men attributing Jesus’ miracles to Satan on any one occasion, but rather of men who set their whole lives and hearts against the witness of the Spirit to Jesus Christ. To turn away from the light God gives results in a searing of the conscience and hardening of the heart that has no remedy. Such a person has no capacity to repent.
Can this sin be committed today? Some argue that since it specifically involved attributing Jesus’ miracles to Satan, it could only be committed during His life on earth. But it seems to me that the warnings of Scripture are applicable today, even if the exact sense cannot be duplicated. In other words, a person today can repeatedly turn his heart away from the witness of the Holy Spirit to Jesus Christ until he reaches a point where he is hardened beyond remedy. God only knows when a person crosses that line, but the point is, unbelief is nothing to fool around with. If the Holy Spirit has been convicting a person of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and has been showing the person that Jesus Christ is God’s anointed Savior, but the person rejects that witness, then he is on the path toward the unpardonable sin. He is in grave danger that God will withdraw the light he has been given and he will be hardened in unbelief. That is the unpardonable sin.
So the lesson for us is, if the Spirit of God is tugging on your heart, do not resist Him! If He is drawing you toward Jesus Christ, but the lure of sin is drawing you the other direction, yield to Jesus Christ! Otherwise, you may cross the line and your time of opportunity will be lost forever!
Thus Jesus’ words here show us that we must beware of hypocrisy because we will stand before God for eternal judgment.
To be a hypocrite is to deny Christ. The opposite is to confess Christ. Jesus speaks very tenderly to His followers here, calling them His friends (12:4) and assuring them of the Father’s loving care (12:6, 7). He promises that if we confess Him before men, He will confess us before the angels of God. So, what does it mean to confess Him?
To confess Christ means to proclaim to others the fact that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Lord and that our salvation is all from Him and not at all from us. Other Scriptures show that we do this initially through baptism, where we publicly confess that Jesus Christ is our Savior and Lord (Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:16; examples in Acts, e.g., 16:33). Then, through both our lives and our words, we openly acknowledge that we are followers of Jesus Christ and that He has saved us by His grace, apart from anything we have done. If Jesus Christ has truly saved you, then you will be a different person. You will be growing in righteousness, love, and truth. You will judge and confess your sins. When opportunities come up to tell others of the great love and mercy of the Savior, you will do it because of your gratitude to Him for saving you.
Don’t miss the fact that Jesus here not only accepts, but also openly promotes, His own preeminence. He states that every person’s eternal destiny hinges on his or her confession of Jesus! As Leon Morris puts it, “Jesus leaves His hearers in no doubt but that eternal issues are involved in their attitude to Him” (Luke [IVP/ Eerdmans], p. 210). Salvation is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. One who has truly been saved will openly confess that fact.
The question then is, How do we confess Christ, especially in the face of persecution?
This is the thrust of Jesus’ words in 12:2-3. Hypocrites live double lives, acting one way when they’re around the religious crowd, but living a different way when they’re alone. But that’s not a smart policy if there is an omniscient God who knows every thought we have. Genuine Christianity is a matter of the heart and it must be lived openly before the God who knows everything about us (Ps. 139). When we sin even in our thoughts, we must confess it to Him. Then, with the inner person cleansed and with an awareness of His presence, we will be able to confess Christ openly to others.
Jesus here tenderly addresses His followers as His friends. To be the friend of Jesus is far better than to be the foe of evil men. He tells us not to be afraid of those who can kill the body, but after that can do no more. Rather, we are to fear God who has the authority not only to kill our bodies, but also to cast our souls into hell. Some Christians say that we should always be positive and that we should only focus on God’s love. But, clearly, Jesus did not agree with that. Here He uses the fear of God’s judgment as a strong motivation for believers. We may fear rejection or even persecution by men. But we need to fear rejection and the ultimate persecution by God!
This is a basic lesson that every man who teaches or preaches God’s Word must come to grips with. If you want everyone to like you and sing your praises, you will be unfaithful to God’s Word. The apostle Paul said (Gal. 1:10), “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” He also said (1 Thess. 2:3-4), “For our exhortation does not come from error or impurity or by way of deceit; but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak, not as pleasing men but God, who examines our hearts.” You simply cannot be faithful to the message of the cross or to the holiness of God without stepping on some toes, no matter how tactfully you present it. So a basic requirement of every preacher and teacher is, you must fear God more than you fear men.
But, what if men not only reject or slander us? What if they actively persecute us?
After telling us to fear God, Jesus tenderly tells us of His providential care for us and then says, “Do not fear” [men]. He uses two illustrations to show us how much God cares for those who confess the name of His Son. The first is that of sparrows. Five sparrows were sold for two cents. In Matthew 10:29 He states that two sparrows were sold for a cent. If you bought four for two cents, they threw the fifth one in for free! Even though sparrows were of such little value to men, Jesus says that not one of them is forgotten before God. Jesus assures us, “You are of more value than many sparrows.”
Then Jesus tells us that God has numbered all the hairs of our head. In my case, God is good at subtraction! Jesus means that the smallest details of our lives are under the tender care of our heavenly Father. Contrary to modern “Christian” psychology, these verses are not teaching that we should esteem ourselves more highly than we do. Rather, we should esteem God more highly because of His fatherly care for us, in spite of our many sins and shortcomings. But, Jesus does want us as God’s children to feel assured in His loving care for us. No one can lay a finger on us apart from the Father’s permission. If wicked men kill us, we have His promise, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His godly ones” (Ps. 116:15). Knowing that the Father cares for us, we can bear witness even toward those who are hostile to us.
Jesus promises that if we confess Him on earth, He will confess us in heaven (12:8). Every Christian should live every day in light of someday standing before the One who gave His life for us. Our great hope should be that we will hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Then any suffering or rejection we have experienced will be worth it all!
Jesus warns His followers that they will be brought before religious and governmental authorities because of their stand for Him. But He says that we should not worry about what we will say at such times, because the Holy Spirit will instruct us at the moment when we need His wisdom. These comments apply to any time that we are under fire for our testimony. If we have been living for Christ and walking in the Spirit, we can rely on the Spirit to give us wisdom to respond in the moment of pressure.
Thomas Cranmer served faithfully as Archbishop of Canterbury under kings Henry VIII and Edward VI in England. But when Bloody Mary came to the throne, he was condemned to death for treason and heresy. He was forced to watch as Hugh Latimer and Nicolas Ridley were burned at the stake in Oxford. The fear of such a painful death caused Cranmer to recant his Protestant views and to sign a paper that he agreed with the Roman Catholic view of transubstantiation. But even though he recanted, the Catholics planned to burn him anyway. On the eve of his execution, he was brought before the church where he was expected to acknowledge publicly his shift toward Rome. But he shocked his enemies when he suddenly renounced his recantation, declared the Pope to be antichrist, and rejected transubstantiation.
Then, with a light heart and a clear conscience, he allowed himself to be hurried to the stake amidst the outcries of his disappointed enemies. As the flames curled around him, he boldly held out his right hand into the fire, the hand that had signed his recantation, and said, “This unworthy right hand,” while he held his left hand up toward heaven as he perished in the flames (J. C. Ryle, Light From Old Times [Evangelical Press], pp. 35-38).
Hopefully, none of us will have to face such a tortuous death. But, if we do, the way to be ready to confess Christ under such pressure is to be confessing Him now. What is a little rejection or ridicule, or even physical death, in the light of eternal life with our glorious Lord? May we boldly confess our loving Savior who bore our sins on the cross!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
It would be interesting and revealing some day to do an exit poll to find out all the things that people had thought about during the sermon. Some of the young men were no doubt thinking, “I wonder who that beautiful babe is sitting three rows over? I wonder if she has a boyfriend? How could I meet her?” Some of the young women were thinking similar thoughts about some cute guy.
Some of the men were thinking, “I hope he gets through in time so I can catch the game on TV.” Some may have been thinking about their work and an important meeting this week. Some of the women were thinking about what they would fix for dinner after church. Others were thinking about problems with their kids. Studies show that we can listen four times faster than people talk, so there’s a lot of time for other thoughts while you’re listening to a sermon!
I would probably take it personally that people are thinking about other things while I preach, except for the fact that people did the same thing when Jesus preached. Who am I to think that I can do better than the Lord? Jesus had just been preaching on the most solemn and weighty matters imaginable, that we need to fear God who can cast us into hell more than we fear men who can only harm our bodies. He stressed that whoever confesses the Son of Man on earth will hear Him confess them before the angels of God. He warned against the unpardonable sin of blaspheming the Holy Spirit. He was talking about heaven and hell. You would think that everyone in the audience would be tracking with Him on these eternally vital matters!
But just then a man in the crowd spoke up and revealed that he hadn’t been listening to Jesus’ sermon at all! He said, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” If I had been Jesus, I probably would have thought, “Where was this guy during my sermon?” The man was consumed with his problem and he had come to try to get Jesus to solve his problem. He wasn’t there to have Jesus change his heart. He wanted his problem fixed without confronting some deeper issues of sin in his life. In his mind, his problem was his greedy brother who wasn’t giving him his fair share of the inheritance. Surely, Jesus would see the injustice of this situation and right the wrong!
But instead, the man got something he hadn’t bargained for! Jesus saw that his words revealed his heart. The man’s heart problem was not his brother’s greed, but his own greed. Yes, the brother may have also been greedy, and Jesus’ parable was not just directed to the man, but to “them,” which probably included the brother along with the whole crowd. But this man had his focus on getting what he wanted in this world. Jesus shows him that his true need was to be ready for the next world. So the Lord refused to take the role of judge between the man and his brother. Instead, He showed the man how to be really rich, namely, how to be rich toward God.
To be really rich, we must be rich toward God.
First Jesus issued a strong warning against greed. “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.” Then, He told a parable to drive home the point. Jesus’ warning indicates that we need constant vigilance to keep this enemy of the soul at bay. It won’t happen accidentally. If you do not post a guard all day, every day, greed will creep in unawares and get a stranglehold on your life. Jesus here answers the vital question, “How can we invest our lives wisely so as to be rich toward God?”
The choice, simply put, is: Greed or God? Many might say, “Wait a minute! That’s too black and white. Life isn’t that neatly divided into separate categories. It’s more realistic to say that we can serve God and at the same time try to get rich.” But Jesus drew the line plainly when He said, “You cannot serve God and mammon” (Luke 16:13). He did not say, “should not,” but “cannot.” It is an impossibility to serve both masters at the same time. You must choose one or the other.
In Mark 4:19, Jesus said that the thorns that gradually grow up and choke out the word are “the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things.” Greed often isn’t a deliberate choice, where a person decides, “I’m going to become a materialistic hedonist by spending my life for as much money and as many possessions as I can get.” Rather, it creeps up around us without our realizing it. It gets a slow stranglehold on our lives, like thorns growing up around a healthy plant. So how can we determine if we’re falling into the sin of greed?
Here are five questions to ask yourself:
If I am often thinking about that new car or that nicer house or that better computer, and I seldom think about how I can know God better, I am tainted by greed.
If I sometimes cheat or lie or steal to get ahead financially or to avoid loss, I am being greedy. If I am willing to shred relationships or to take advantage of another person for financial gain, I am being greedy. If I care more about making money than about being a witness for Jesus Christ, I am being greedy.
If my happiness soars when I get a new car, but I am bored by the things of God, I am greedy. If I rejoice when I win a raffle or door prize, but I yawn when I hear about a soul being saved, I am greedy.
When the stock market drops, do I fall apart emotionally? If I get robbed or lose some or all of my things in a fire, does it devastate me? I’m not saying that we must be stoical about such losses. We will always feel some sadness when we lose things. But if it wipes us out, then we’re probably too attached to this world and its goods.
I presume that none of you play the lottery, but what if you won the Reader’s Digest Sweepstakes? What if a distant relative died and left you a large inheritance? Would your first thought be, “Now I can get that better house or car or boat”? “Now I can take that trip around the world I’ve always wanted to take.” Or, would you think, “Now I can support dozens of missionaries”? “Thousands of people can hear about Christ because He has given me funds to invest in the spread of His kingdom!”
Some may be thinking, “What’s the big problem with greed? Sure, we all know that it’s wrong to live for things and to grasp after them like Scrooge. But success is the American way. As long as we’re not extreme about it, can’t we pursue the nice things in life?” Our text reveals three fundamental problems with greed:
The man in the parable saw himself as the owner of all that he had. Did you notice the prominence of the first person pronoun in his speech? Six times he says “I,” without any regard for God. He refers to my crops, my barns, my grain, my goods, and, most frighteningly of all, my soul. He would have been in harmony with the proud and defiant words of William Henley’s “Invictus,” “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.”
The Bible declares, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it” (Ps. 24:1). God rightfully owns the whole works! If He lets us use any of it, He still retains the ownership and we will give an account to Him of how we used it as stewards. Our lives are not our own. We have been bought with a price. We belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. If He has given you health, you will give an account to Him for how you managed your healthy body. If He has given you intelligence, He will demand an account of how you used it for His purposes. If He entrusts material goods and money to you, someday you will answer for how you invested it in light of eternity.
The greedy man is proud. If you asked this man, “How did you get all this wealth?” he would have answered, “I got it all by hard work, using my head, and I had a little luck with the weather.” But he wouldn’t have acknowledged God’s grace as the source of it. The greedy man is self-sufficient. His confidence was in his many barns full of produce, not in God’s care. The greedy man is his own lord. He asks himself, “What shall I do?” He proudly declares, “This is what I will do.” He does not ask, “Lord, what would You have me to do?”
You don’t have to read between the lines to see that this man and his brother were not best buddies at this point! The money had come between them. How many families have been divided over the settling of the family estate! How many brothers and sisters are so angry that they won’t speak to each other because they are at war over possessions or money that belonged to their parents! In this case, I presume that the man bringing the complaint had some justification for his case. His brother probably had wronged him. But Jesus confronted this man with his own greed.
The Bible is clear that the number one priority is to love God and that number two is to love our neighbor as much as we do love ourselves. Our love of money and things is just a manifestation of our love of self more than our love of God and neighbor.
The rich man made a deliberate, thought-out decision (12:18-19), but he left out one critical factor: eternity! He had his bases covered for many years on earth, but not for eternity in heaven. Alexander Maclaren puts it, “The goods may last, but will he?” (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], p. 342). Of course, he had no guarantee that even the goods would last. His barns could have been hit by lightning and burned to the ground before morning. Thieves or an invading army could have taken it all from him. Rats could have eaten and polluted his storehouses. Nothing in this life is guaranteed except death (and, perhaps, taxes!).
The rich man thought that he was being prudent. He had thought matters through carefully. But God bluntly calls him a fool. The fool thinks about life, but he doesn’t include God, judgment, and eternity in his thoughts. So, at death the fool and his riches are parted for all eternity. God’s voice breaks into this man’s life like a thunderclap without warning: “Front and center before My throne! Give an account of how you have used what I graciously entrusted to you!” The rich fool was weighed in the balance and found wanting.
Two men were at the funeral of a wealthy man. The first man whispered to the second, “How much did he leave?” The second man replied, “He left it all!” We always do, of course!
So each of us has a choice to make about how we invest the rest of our lives: Will I serve God or will I serve greed? There’s a second fact to consider regarding how to be rich toward God:
The world says that life consists of things, but God says that life consists of being rightly related to Him and to others. The world would view this rich man as a success. He would be featured in business magazines as a model to follow. He had not gained his wealth by dishonest or corrupt means. He had worked for it, poured his money back into the business, and had done well. He was financially secure. He could now enjoy the good life: good food, fine wine, servants, and whatever pleasures money could afford. Isn’t that what we all aim for in life? Isn’t that why we go to college, so that we can get a good career, make plenty of money, provide the finer things in life for our children, and retire some day with plenty in our investments? What’s wrong with that?
William Barclay (The Gospel of Luke [Westminster Press], p. 164) points out that this man’s “whole attitude was the very reverse of Christianity. Instead of denying himself he aggressively affirmed himself; instead of finding his happiness in giving he tried to conserve it by keeping.” His goal was to enjoy life, but in seeking his life, he lost it. What was wrong was the man’s focus. He had the world’s perspective, not God’s perspective.
God’s perspective is not that riches are inherently wrong. Money can be a great good if it is used in line with God’s perspective. There are several wealthy men in the Bible, such as Job, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph who enjoyed God’s blessing and were godly men. But, to a man, they were generous men who lived in light of eternity. As Paul tells Timothy,
Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed (1 Tim. 6:17-19).
So if we want to be rich toward God, we need to be careful to distinguish between the world’s perspective and God’s perspective. We are bombarded daily with the world’s perspective, which invariably is focused on this life. God’s perspective always takes into account the life to come.
You deposit your life and all that you have into the Bank of Heaven. As you withdraw from the account, you consider God’s purpose through His Son, to be glorified in all the earth when every knee shall bow before Jesus. In other words, you “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” (Matt. 6:33).
This investment begins by depositing your life with Jesus Christ, which means, entrusting your eternal destiny to Him. All of the good works that you try to do for God will not begin to pay the debt of your sin when you stand before Him. Jesus Christ paid that debt. On the cross, He cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The Greek word means, “paid in full.” The wages of sin is death, and Jesus paid that price for you if you will put your trust in Him. When you stand before God and He asks, “What is in your account in the Bank of Heaven?” the only answer that will suffice is, “The blood of Your Son Jesus has paid for all my sins.”
Every investment requires trust, including the depositing of your life with Jesus Christ. When you put your money into the bank, you trust the officers and personnel of that bank to keep it safe for you. You may say, “Yes, but my money is insured by the Federal government.” So, you trust an institution that is trillions of dollars in debt and is run by the likes of Bill Clinton? If you can trust the U.S. government with your money, surely you can trust in Jesus Christ as your Savior!
Then, to be rich with God, you must expend what God has given you in line with His kingdom purposes. If you had come into a lot of money that you planned to invest, presumably you would take some time, thought, and effort to invest it wisely. You may even pay a financial counselor to give you some insights on where to put that money. Yet, while most of us are quite careful about investing money for our own purposes, we’re pretty sloppy when it comes to investing in light of God’s kingdom purposes. But, as the parable of the talents shows, we need to invest what God has entrusted to us in such a way that it will bring a good return in light of His purpose of being glorified among the nations.
Does this mean that we can’t spend any money on ourselves? Does it mean that we should live at a poverty level, drive old cars, only buy used clothes, and never spend money for personal enjoyment or pleasure? I doubt if many are tempted to go to those extremes, but, no, that’s not what it means. God has blessed us with many things and it is legitimate to enjoy those blessings with thankful hearts. Also, it is prudent and in line with Scripture to provide in a reasonable manner for our future needs through saving and investing (Prov. 6:6-11).
But, at the same time I think that most Christians need to think much more carefully about the question, “Am I really seeking first God’s kingdom?” Am I constantly thinking of the stewardship of my life and money in light of what God is doing? Or, could the deceitfulness of riches be getting a subtle stronghold on my life?
We expect missionaries to live modestly. We would be bothered if we heard that a missionary we were supporting was getting rich. And, yet, we aren’t bothered if we get rich and live lavishly. Missions strategist Ralph Winter argues that all Christians should live a missionary lifestyle and give the rest to the Lord’s work. We all should be as committed to the Great Commission as missionaries are, even if God has not called us to go to another culture. After all, Jesus didn’t say, “All you missionaries should seek first God’s kingdom, but the rest of you can just give a tenth, spend the rest on yourselves, and live as you please.” Probably, most of us need to give more serious time, thought, and effort to the matter of our stewardship in light of God’s kingdom priority.
To be really rich, Jesus says that we must be rich toward God by laying up treasure in heaven. Paul says that we do that when we are rich in good works, generous, and ready to share. We should think of ourselves standing before God, giving an account of what He has entrusted to us. Will we be really rich on that day?
At the end of the movie, “Schindler’s List,” the war is over and Mr. Schindler is leaving the many Jews whom he saved by employing them in his munitions factory. He has spent his entire personal fortune to bribe German officials in order to save these people from the death chambers. But as he looks at them, he breaks down weeping and laments, “I could have done more.” They try to console him, but he points to his nice car and says, “I could have sold it and save a few more lives.” He pulls out an expensive fountain pen and a watch and says, “These could have been sold to save another life.”
Schindler was not a Christian and he was not saving souls for eternity. Perhaps the man was a bit too compulsive about his mission. But, still, when we think of our Savior’s commission, to preach the gospel to every creature, we all need to ask ourselves, “Am I doing enough?” Am I laying up treasure for myself, or am I getting really rich, rich toward God, by laying up treasures in heaven?
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Economist John Kenneth Galbraith observed, “Money is a singular thing. It ranks with love as man’s greatest source of joy—and with death as his greatest source of anxiety” (Reader’s Digest [4/84], p. 93).
Most of us are prone to worry about money. If we don’t have enough, we worry about how to get it; if we have plenty, we worry about whether we really have enough and about how to hang on to what we have. Worry has been described as “a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained” (Arthur Somers Roche, in Reader’s Digest [6/88], p. 64). Worries about money can easily become that kind of deep channel.
Jesus wants His followers to be free from worries about money. He has just been speaking to the crowd about the dangers of greed and living for this world without a view to eternity. Now, He speaks to His disciples, who were perhaps feeling anxious about whether they would have enough to live on. He shows them that anxiety is opposed to trust in God, who lovingly cares for His own. He also shows that to go to the other extreme and pursue riches is at odds with seeking God’s kingdom. He is teaching us that …
To solve worries about money, we must trust in the God who cares for us and seek His kingdom above our own needs.
The world sings, “Don’t worry, be happy,” but it has no basis for such advice other than blind optimism. But the Christian can and should sing, “Don’t worry, trust God.” This is far from blind optimism, because it is based solidly on the nature and character of God and His many promises to us. Thus Jesus tells us,
The old King James Version translated Jesus’ command in verse 22, “Take no thought,” which some have mistakenly taken to mean that we should not devote any mental effort or time or energy into providing for our future needs. These people would say that we should not store up any savings for the future, we should not buy insurance, we should not concern ourselves at all with money matters. Just trust God and He will provide.
But in 1611 when the King James Bible was translated, the phrase, “take no thought,” meant, “don’t worry” or be anxious. The Lord was not encouraging a lazy, who-cares attitude about money. In fact, Scripture enjoins us to pay attention to financial matters (Prov. 27:23-24). While God provides for the birds, He doesn’t plop the worms in their mouths as they sit in their nests! They have to exert some effort to obtain the worms that God has provided. So here Jesus was speaking against inordinate, consuming, distracting worry. The Greek word has the basic meaning of being divided. It is the word used when Jesus rebuked Martha, “You are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one” (Luke 10:41-42). Here, Jesus gives us four reasons why we should not worry about money:
“Life is more than food, and the body than clothing.” Jesus is saying that the key thing in life is not things. And, Jesus is not just talking about trinkets and non-essentials, but rather, about necessary food and clothing. But even these things are not the key thing in life. The key thing in life is being rightly related to God. If your soul is rightly related to God, then He will take care of your body, as Jesus goes on to point out. But if you have a well-fed and nicely clothed body, but you are alienated from God, you are missing the main thing in life.
So, in effect, Jesus is saying, “If you want to worry, worry about the most important matter in life.” Food and clothing should not be your main worry. Your eternal soul should be your main concern. If someone says, “Yes, but I’m going to starve to death,” Jesus replies, “But where will your soul spend eternity?” “But I’ll freeze to death because I don’t have proper clothing!” “Yes, but then you’ll be too hot, if you’re not rightly related to God!” Don’t worry about money, because the core of life concerns the soul, not the body.
This is the only New Testament reference to ravens. Some think that Jesus mentions them because they were unclean birds, so that His argument is, “If God cares for these lowest of scavengers, won’t He meet your needs?” When Jesus mentions that the ravens neither sow nor reap, nor store up their food, He does not mean that men should not labor for their food or that they should not store up necessary provisions. God’s Word clearly establishes labor as the means by which we provide for our families and ourselves. Rather, He is contrasting the lowly raven with the rich fool in the parable just before. This man was wrongly focused on storing up plenty for the future, but he stupidly ignored God. By way of contrast, the raven gets along just fine without all of the rich fool’s anxiety about the future, because God cares for the ravens.
Then Jesus uses understatement to say, “How much more valuable you are than the birds!” Human beings are the apex of God’s creation, made in His image and likeness. Is it not reasonable to assume that if God cares for the lowly raven, then He will care for people, especially for those who are His own little flock (12:32)? The next time you see a raven, think about God’s care for those birds. You’ve never seen a starving raven! Even in the barren desert, they find plenty to eat. Then, banish your worries about money as you realize that God cares far more about you than He does about ravens. You can trust Him to provide.
Jesus points out the futility of worry. It never changes reality. If you worry, the outcome is the same as if you don’t worry. Actually, the outcome is worse because worry takes a toll on your health. But Jesus says that worrying won’t add any years to your life. Commentators are divided over whether He meant adding height to your bodily stature or years to your life. The cubit was a unit of linear measure, which supports the view that Jesus meant that you can’t grow physically by worrying about it. But, the cubit was about 18 inches, which isn’t a little thing when it comes to bodily height (12:26)! Since Jesus just talked about the rich fool whose life span was not his to determine, He probably meant here, “You can’t add any time to your life by worrying about it.”
It has been estimated that 40 percent of our worries are about things that never happen; 30 percent of our worries concern things that are past that can’t be changed; 12 percent of our worries are needless worries about our health; 10 percent are petty, miscellaneous worries; and, only 8 percent deal with legitimate issues. It’s not wrong to think about things that we can do something to change, but it is futile to consume our thoughts with matters that we can’t change. Someone has observed that we need to distinguish between problems and facts of life. Problems are matters that we can do something about. Facts of life are matters that we can’t change and so we have to live with them. But in either case, worry isn’t productive and it runs counter to faith in God.
“Lilies” probably refers to different kinds of wildflowers, not to what we think of as “lilies.” Consider the beauty and delicacy of a wildflower! Last week Marla and I hiked down to Horseshoe Mesa in the Grand Canyon. In that harsh desert environment there was a cactus with a beautiful bright reddish purple flower. It was spectacular! Not even Solomon in all his glory could match the beauty of a single wildflower! If God clothes the insignificant grass of the field with beautiful flowers, grass that was bundled up when dead and used to fuel a furnace, then shouldn’t we trust Him to provide the clothing that we need?
Jesus’ rebuke, “O men of little faith,” hits the heart of worry: our little faith in God. It is safe to say, is it not, that all worry stems from our lack of faith in God? When we worry, we are doubting that God truly cares for us. Keep in mind that Jesus here was addressing the disciples. He was talking to believers. And yet, believers who have trusted God with their eternal destiny can easily fall into a state of unbelief when it comes to the immediate problems they face, especially with regard to basic provisions. We all need to keep in mind Paul’s words, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (Rom. 8:32). In other words, if God did the greatest thing in saving us, can’t we trust Him to take care of comparatively lesser matters on our behalf?
The worst thing about worry is not that it makes us miserable, although it always does. The worst thing about worry is that it dishonors our loving Heavenly Father. Suppose that you saw my kids and they had worry written all over their faces. You asked, “What’s wrong?” They responded, “We’re not sure whether our dad is going to feed us tonight.” What would that say about my love for my children? You’d probably turn me in for child abuse. My kids certainly would not be a good advertisement for any orphans who were thinking about coming to live in our home! And yet so many of the Lord’s children live as if their Father in heaven either isn’t concerned or isn’t able to take care of their needs!
Thus Jesus’ first point is that to solve our worries about money, we must trust in the God who cares for us. His second point concerns a needed shift of focus on our part:
This section falls into two parts. First Jesus tells us what we should not seek (12:29-30); then, He tells us what we should seek (12:31-34).
When Jesus says not to seek after what you shall eat and drink, He does not mean that we are not to expend any effort or energy in working for a living! Rather, He means, “Don’t be all-consumed with these things. Don’t make these things your main aim in life.” He’s talking about where our primary focus should be. He commands us, “Do not keep worrying,” using a different word than in verse 22. The word here means to be lifted up and so some take it to mean, “Do not be arrogant or haughty,” in the sense of thinking that you can provide these things without God’s help. But the earliest versions of the New Testament and the context argue for the meaning, “Don’t be lifted up or tossed about, like a ship on the water.” In other words, “Don’t be unsettled and insecure; stop worrying about these things, since God will take care of you.”
Jesus says that when we’re consumed with making a living, we’re mimicking the world. The world lives in a constant frenzy of activity to get more and more. This should not be our focus.
I recently read that illustrates the world’s ways of seeking after more and more. An American businessman was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.”
The American then asked why didn’t he stay out longer and catch more fish?
The Mexican said that he had enough to support his family’s immediate needs.
The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening, where I sip wine and play my guitar with my amigos. I have a full and busy life, senor.”
The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor, eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then to L.A. and eventually to New York City, where you will run your expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But senor, how long will this all take?”
The American replied, “Fifteen to twenty years.”
“But what then, senor?”
The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right you would announce a stock offer, sell your company stock to the public, and become very rich. You would make millions.”
“Millions, senor? Then what?”
The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings, where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
Jesus says, “Don’t seek for the same things the nations eagerly seek.” There should be a distinct difference between us and the world regarding our pursuit of material gain. While hard work is a Christian virtue, anxiety about money is not! To get caught up with the world’s attitudes toward money is to forget that we have a Father who knows that we need all these things. So, what should we seek?
Jesus gives a command (v. 31a), an assurance (vv. 31a-32), an application (v. 33), and an explanation (v. 34).
Command: Seek God’s kingdom (12:31a).
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus expressed it, “Seek first His kingdom and righteousness” (Matt. 6:33). What does it mean in practical terms to seek God’s kingdom? Does it mean that everyone has to become a missionary or full-time Christian worker? Obviously, not! God’s kingdom is where He rules. To seek His kingdom means to put God first as Lord of everything in our lives and to aim each day at furthering His rule over us and over others. The day is soon coming when Jesus will return and rule the nations with a rod of iron. But until then, we are to live under His lordship in every area of our lives. And we are to seek to further His rightful rule over others as they come to faith in Christ and then live under His lordship.
In other words, God is not just to be a slice of life on Sundays or whenever we find Him useful to further our agendas. Rather, He is to be the center of all we think, say, and do every day. He is Lord over every facet of our lives, including our money. We live as His servants or stewards, seeking to glorify Him. That’s what it means to seek His kingdom.
Assurance: The Father will provide for all our needs if we focus on His kingdom (12:31a-32).
“These things” refers to the things the nations seek, namely, food, clothing, and other material needs. The thought of not seeking after these things, but rather of seeking God’s kingdom, causes some anxiety, even among God’s people. Thus Jesus says, “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has chosen gladly to give you the kingdom.” A little flock sounds pretty vulnerable in the midst of a dog-eat-dog world. But Jesus wants us to feel assured that none other than a loving Heavenly Father is watching out for us if we are committed to seek His kingdom. The full measure of kingdom blessings awaits us in the future, but even in the difficulties of this evil world, we can trust that the Father’s abundant mercies are on us because of His gracious choice of us.
Application: Give generously and you will have lasting treasure in heaven (12:33).
Jesus does not mean that we must literally sell everything we have and give away the proceeds. The Bible implies the right to private ownership of property in the eighth commandment, “You shall not steal.” Peter told Ananias that his property was his to do with as he saw fit (Acts 5:4). Ananias’ sin was not in holding back some of the proceeds, but in lying about giving all when he had not done so. Further, if Jesus meant that His followers must sell all their possessions, surely He would have rebuked those who owned homes, lands, etc., but He did not.
Rather, Jesus here is saying, “Have a loose grip on the things of this world, since they won’t last anyway. Instead, be generous in giving to those in need, and God will reward you with lasting riches in heaven.” The contrast is between storing up temporary treasure for yourself on earth (12:21) instead of laying up eternal treasures in heaven. If you struggle with greed and with living for this life only, give away your stuff. Giving generously frees us from greed and puts our focus on God and eternity. Verse 34 explains:
Explanation: Your heart follows your treasure (12:34).
We usually get this backwards: we think that we will put our treasure where our hearts are. But Jesus says that if we put our treasure somewhere, our hearts will be there also. Store your treasure in heaven by giving generously to the Lord’s kingdom and your heart will be drawn to heaven. Hang on to your earthly possessions greedily and your heart will be on this earth.
I have seen this work with regard to prayer. If I give money to a missionary, it’s easier to pray for him. Why? Because my heart follows my treasure. If my treasure is with a missionary, my heart is there with him, too, and I find it easier to pray for him. So Jesus’ point is, if you want your heart in the things of God, put your treasure in the kingdom of God. It’s the only investment in this shaky world with guaranteed safety and a high rate of return.
Underlying the Lord’s teaching and central to a biblical concept of money is the principle of stewardship. We do not own what we have; God does! He entrusts a certain amount to each of us to use for His purposes. Some of it He graciously allows us to spend for our needs and for our enjoyment. But our main focus must be, “Lord, help me to use what You have given me to further Your kingdom.”
Stewardship frees us from worry. Once when I was in the Coast Guard, we put out a fire on Frank Sinatra’s yacht. I remember talking to the skipper and being surprised at how nonchalant he was about the great amount of damage done to the boat. He said, “It’s not my boat, it’s Mr. Sinatra’s boat.” Of course it was also insured. But he was somewhat detached from the loss because he didn’t view the boat as his own. Since then, when my car has gotten dented in a parking lot or when other things beyond my control happen to my money or possessions, I say, “Lord, it’s Your car, Your money, Your stuff.” I’m trying to be a good steward, but it doesn’t belong to me.
So Jesus is saying, “Don’t worry about money. Trust in the God who cares for you and seek His kingdom above your own needs.” The Father will be glorified and you will have unfailing treasure in heaven.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
The summer after I graduated from seminary, I worked as a furniture mover in Dallas. I learned that many of the men I worked with had worked at this job for years, yet they had no job benefits—no sick leave, no paid vacation, no retirement, and no raises for seniority. The only benefit was that the job was strictly day labor, so they didn’t have to show up for work if they didn’t want to. If you wanted to work, you showed up at 7 a.m. and they sent out those who showed up.
Once in a while I noticed that one of the men wasn’t at work. When I asked where he was, the other workers would laugh and say that he got paid and got drunk. As soon as he needed more money, he would be back at work.
I have since discovered that there is a common mindset shared by most of those who are perpetually poor, namely, that they rarely, if ever, think about the future. I call it a “welfare mentality.” They only think about today. If they get some money, they don’t think about the fact that rent will be due in two weeks or that other bills will be coming due. They only think about the fact that they’ve got money in their pocket today. Since they’re “rich” today, they will treat all their buddies to a round of drinks. They’ll gamble or spend it all in frivolous ways. But the one thing they will not do is save any money, because they don’t think about the future.
Our Lord taught that we should not be anxious about tomorrow (Matt. 6:34), but He did not teach that we should ignore tomorrow! In fact, to the contrary, Jesus taught that our view of the future ought to be uppermost in our thinking about how we should live today. As followers of Jesus Christ, we should think often about the fact that He is coming soon and that every person must stand before Him to give an account. We should view ourselves as stewards who have been entrusted with time, money, and abilities, which we are to use for our Master’s kingdom. At some time—we don’t know when, but we do know that it is certain—our Lord will return and we must give an account to Him of how we used what He gave us. After telling His disciples to seek for His kingdom, Jesus goes on to exhort them to be ready for His return, because when He comes, He will judge everyone.
We should be ready for the Lord’s return, because when He comes He will judge everyone.
The text falls into two sections: the theme of 12:35-40 is readiness for His coming. The idea in 12:42-48 is that when the Lord comes, He will judge everyone according to what they have done with what they have been given.
Jesus uses four word pictures to emphasize the same point: Be ready for His return. “Be dressed in readiness” is literally, “let your loins be girded.” In that day, everyone wore long robes which were a hindrance if you needed to move quickly or freely. If a person planned to run or work, he would tuck his robe into a sash around his waist so that it would not interfere with his movements. The verb here indicates a state of perpetual readiness for action.
The second figure, “keep your lamps alight,” comes from a day when there was no electricity. There were no streetlights or city lights outside and no nightlights to help you find your way to the bathroom in the middle of the night. If you were expecting a midnight visitor, you would keep an oil light burning so that when he knocked on the door, you could see to let him in. Again, the idea is, be ready for the Master’s coming.
The third picture is of servants who are awaiting their master’s return from a wedding feast. Such feasts could last for days, often for a week. The servants would need to be ready when they heard their master arrive to open the door and serve him. Scholars debate whether Luke is using a Roman or Jewish reckoning of the watches of the night, but the point is the same: the master could come in the middle of the night when you least expect him, so you must be ready.
The fourth picture is of a thief breaking into a house in the middle of the night. If the homeowner had known when the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. He would have been ready and waiting. Then Jesus states the application of all four figures: “You, too, be ready; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect” (12:40).
Scoffers may say, “It’s been almost 2,000 years since Jesus spoke these words. Every generation since then has thought that it was the final generation before His coming, but they all died without seeing it happen. Face reality: It’s just not going to happen!”
The apostle Peter points out (2 Pet. 3:3-13) that such foolish scoffers fail to note that God spoke the universe into existence by His powerful word and that He has given us an object lesson of the terror and power of His judgment in the flood. The present heavens and earth are being reserved, not for a judgment of water, but of fire. Also, with the Lord, a day is as a thousand years and a thousand years are as a day. His view of time and ours are vastly different! The only reason He has delayed judgment is His great patience as He waits for more to come to repentance. Peter then uses Jesus’ image of a thief:
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God …” (2 Pet. 3:10-12a).
An error regarding the Lord’s coming called Preterism is gaining popularity in evangelical circles. The basic teaching is that the prophecies of Matthew 24 and the Book of Revelation were fulfilled in A.D. 70 when the Roman general Titus destroyed Jerusalem and scattered the Jewish people. There are various degrees of this teaching. The more mild Preterists would say that there will be a double fulfillment of some of these prophecies, and that Jesus Christ’s bodily second coming is still future. While I disagree with many of their interpretations, this mild view is not heretical.
But the extreme Preterists argue that Christ actually came back in A.D. 70 and that He is not coming again! Although those who hold this view say that they are attempting to deal with the biblical texts, I believe that the extreme Preterists go outside the bounds of orthodoxy and are guilty of heresy. Their view robs believers of the hope of the many promises of our Lord’s coming. While it is true that we all will stand before Him the instant we die, the Bible clearly teaches that we should live every day in the hope that He may come at any time: “Be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour that you do not expect!”
If you have any regard for Jesus’ words, you must be concerned with the question, “How can I be ready for His coming?” Our text suggests three things:
There is a sense in which Jesus is the Lord of every person. In this passage, He clearly assumes the authority to be the rightful judge of everyone who has ever lived. But, also clearly, it will only go well for those who are rightly related to Him, who submit to Him as their personal Lord or Master. They will be blessed (12:37, 38, 43) when He comes; the rest will face His punishment.
Some will say, “Jesus is my Savior, but I haven’t yet made Him my Lord.” Really? Can you find a shred of biblical evidence that gives you comfort with such a condition? I will grant that a person can truly be saved and yet fall into sin. Every saint struggles daily against the world, the flesh, and the devil, and many saints have not learned to have consistent victory over these enemies of the soul. But I deny that you can be truly saved and live in sin and yet be comfortable living like that! If you claim to know Christ as Savior and yet you’re shrugging off known sin as no big deal, you may be in for a serious reality check when Christ returns! The only people ready for His return are those who daily seek to bring every area of life under His lordship. It is a constant struggle, but if you are not engaging in the struggle, you need to examine yourself to see whether you are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). Those who are ready for Christ’s return seek to follow Him as Lord.
It should be obvious that a master is master of servants. His servants live to obey his commands and to do his bidding. Jesus here commends the servants who are up in the middle of the night, ready for their master’s expected return. They were not up at that hour because they didn’t like to sleep! They were up in the service of their master. Servants do not have a life of their own; they live to please their master. It is only after they have done what he asked that he might say, “You are free to have some time to yourself.” But even then, if he thinks of something else that he needs, he will call the servant and say, “I also need you to do such and such,” and the servant must drop what he was doing or change his plans and respond, “Yes, master.”
Being a servant of Jesus Christ is first and foremost a mindset and secondarily a specific ministry. My ministry is to be a pastor, but I only work at that task about 50 hours a week. But I am a servant of Jesus 24-7. Whether I’m shopping at WalMart or mowing my yard or spending time with my family, I should see myself as a servant of the Lord Jesus, obedient to His will. As Paul says, “You are not your own, for you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body” (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
In addition to a servant mindset, servants of Christ should seek out an area of service in line with their spiritual gifts. God has given all of us a function to perform in the body of Christ and that body will be healthy and grow to the degree that every member functions as he or she ought (Eph. 4:16). If you are not serving Christ in some capacity or looking for a place to serve, you are probably living for yourself. Servants seek to serve their Master. When He comes, He doesn’t want to find them sitting on a hill waiting for His return. He wants to find them serving Him.
“Blessed are those slaves whom the master shall find on the alert” (12:37). The homeowner should have been expecting the arrival of the thief. So, Jesus says, “You too, be ready” (12:40).
If you’re expecting a guest, especially an important guest, you live differently than if you are not expecting anyone. On several occasions during President Carter’s time in office, he spent the night in the homes of common people. It was his attempt to portray himself as the friend of the average person, a leader who understood the problems we all face. Although you might not want our current President to spend the night in your home, imagine how you would get ready if a normal President announced that he would be coming to spend the night. Your house would be spotless. All the beds would be made. You might even put a fresh coat of paint on some of the walls or woodwork. You would want your yard to look presentable. You might go to the nursery and buy some flowers to plant. You would want things to be clean and neat because you were expecting the President.
If you’re expecting the King of kings, how should your life look? Would you have been comfortable if He had come back during your activities this past weekend? Are there books or magazines or videos that you need to get rid of before He comes to your home? Do you watch TV shows where you would be mortified if the Savior knocked on your door while they were on? Jesus says that we should be ready immediately to open the door to him when he comes and knocks (12:36). We shouldn’t have to yell, “Just a minute,” while we shut off the TV and hide a bunch of embarrassing stuff in the closet.
Spurgeon uses the analogy of his dogs to show how we should expectantly be awaiting our Master’s return. He said that at the very moment he was speaking, his dogs were sitting inside his front door, awaiting his return. At the first sound of his carriage wheels, they would lift up their voices with delight because their master is coming home. Then he adds,
Oh, if we loved our Lord as dogs love their masters, how we should catch the first sound of his Coming, and be waiting, always waiting, and never happy until at last we should see him! Pardon me for using a dog as a picture of what you ought to be; but when you have attained to a state above that, I will find another illustration to explain my meaning (12 Sermons on the Second Coming of Christ [Baker], p. 141]).
So to be ready for Christ’s return, make sure that He is your Master; be involved in serving Him all day every day; and, live as if you expect His soon coming.
At this point, Peter asks whether the Lord is addressing this teaching to the twelve or to everyone else as well. Jesus’ answer is indirect, but in effect He says that while the teaching applies especially to them (since they have been given much), it also applies to everyone in proportion to how much they have been given. Thus,
In answering Peter’s question, Jesus lists four categories of servants, each of whom will receive a different reward or punishment. As in the parable of the soils, there is only one good category; the other three face punishment, beginning with the worst and moving toward the least severe. You can draw your own conclusions about whether the two categories who receive a whipping are believers who are disciplined or unbelievers who suffer in hell, but I wouldn’t want to risk being in either of those categories in hopes that they will be saved! I want to be solidly in the first camp!
The reason this parable especially applies to those in church leadership is that Jesus refers to the servants who have been put in charge of other servants to give them their rations at the proper time. The job of pastors is to feed the Lord’s flock (Ezek. 34:2). In Ezekiel 34, the Lord upbraids the shepherds of Israel because they dominated His flock and used them for their own purposes, just as those in the second category here were doing. But the faithful and sensible steward who will receive a reward regards the needs of the servants in his charge and remembers that he will give an account to his master.
Three times (12:37, 38, 43) Jesus calls these faithful servants “blessed”. He makes the startling statement that He, the Master, will wait on such servants (12:37)! He literally did that when He washed the disciples’ feet (John 13:1-11). Here, Jesus is probably referring metaphorically to the honor that He will bestow on those who have faithfully served Him when He comes. He also states that He will put them in charge of all His possessions (12:44). This also is probably a metaphor of the rewards of heaven. We will not spend eternity sitting on a cloud. The Lord will give us meaningful responsibilities throughout eternity if we have faithfully served Him here on earth. While we cannot fathom the blessings that God has in store for His faithful servants, if Jesus three times calls them blessed, you know that they will truly be blessed!
This is the worst category of punishment. These slaves wrongly thought that they had plenty of time before their Master returned and so they began to live for themselves by abusing those under their charge. They used their stewardship for their own pleasure and advantage, without regard for the Master’s purposes. But it is a fatal mistake. The Master will return and cut them in pieces (the word means “to dismember”). But, that isn’t the end of these unfaithful servants, because then they are assigned a place with the unbelievers, namely, hell (12:5).
I believe that these frightening words especially apply to unfaithful spiritual leaders who have used their office for their own advantage. They usually teach false doctrine because they want to dodge their sin, which is exposed by God’s Word. They use religion to promote their own greed and immorality. Jesus pronounces this most severe judgment on them because they have taken that which should have benefited people eternally and used it to destroy them. Their final punishment shows that they never truly repented of their own sins and submitted their lives to the Master.
But before you all say, “Whew, this doesn’t apply to me,” you need to realize that there is a secondary application to us all. If we know about the things of God, but we don’t repent of our selfishness and abusiveness toward others, especially in our homes, are we not just like these unfaithful stewards? This especially applies to every husband and father who professes to be a Christian. If we do not repent of mistreating our wives and children, whom God has entrusted to our care, woe to us when the Master returns!
This category knew the Master’s will, but they did not get ready or act in accord with His will. They will receive many lashes. This refers to people who have been in religious circles enough to know the truth, but they don’t act on it. Maybe they procrastinate, thinking, “Someday I’ll follow Christ and serve Him, but right now I’ve got to devote myself to my business. Besides, to get ahead these days, you’ve got to cut a few corners, and so I’m not quite ready to follow Christ.” Beware: To sin against greater light means greater punishment! To hear the truth proclaimed in church every Sunday and to go out and ignore that truth the rest of the week is a risky way to live. What if the Master comes this week?
The final category for judgment are those who did not even know the Master’s will. They will be judged less severely, with a few lashes, but judged nonetheless. Ignorance of God’s law is no excuse for not obeying it because we are responsible to know it. As J. C. Ryle points out, “Our very ignorance is part of our sin” (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], p. 94). Even those who have never heard of Christ have enough revelation through creation and conscience to know that there is a righteous God. But they have suppressed the truth in unrighteousness, so that they are without excuse (Rom. 1:18-20).
Jesus sums up the principle in 12:48: “And from everyone who has been given much shall much be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.” Those who have been given the most light have the most responsibility and will be judged the most severely. There will be gradations of punishment in hell. Jesus clearly assumes His own authority to judge every person!
Each person needs to answer the question, “Do I have a ‘welfare mentality’ regarding spiritual things?” Are you living for today only, with no regard for the Master’s return and the accounting that He will demand? Are you foolishly putting it out of your mind by thinking, “I’ve got time”? Jesus says that we should be “like men who are waiting for their master when he returns.” We should live each day with an eye on that future day when “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God” (1 Thess. 4:16). We will be blessed if the Master finds us ready when He comes.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Most of us have had experiences that have forever changed our lives, either for the better or for the worse. We didn’t know when we got up that morning that before night our lives would be different, but that’s what happened. Maybe you got in an accident that left you permanently impaired. Or, positively, maybe you met a person who would become your lifelong friend. January 5, 1974 was such a day for me, when I walked into an apartment in Long Beach, California, and someone said, “Steve, this is Marla.”
Hearing about the Lord Jesus Christ is just such a watershed experience, whether a person recognizes it or not. To hear about the unique person of Jesus Christ and what He came to do is a fork in the road of life. From that point, either you go down the path toward eternal life or you turn away toward eternal destruction. But you cannot hear about Jesus Christ and remain the same. He draws a line in the sand. Either you cross that line and receive the salvation He offers or you stay on your side of the line and eventually face His judgment.
Jesus has just warned the disciples of the need to be ready for His coming when He will judge every person (12:35-48). Those who have received the most light will receive the stricter judgment. Now (12:49-53) Jesus shows that His purpose was to cast fire on the earth and that fire would cause division, sometimes even among family members. So the disciples need to be prepared for conflict. Then (12:54-59) Luke records Jesus’ words to the whole multitude, where He chides them for being able to analyze the weather, but they ignore the signs of the times, namely that Messiah is in their very midst. He uses an illustration of a person who is going to get dragged into court with a losing lawsuit. If he’s smart, he will settle quickly before he loses everything. Even so, those who are in debt to God would be wise to be reconciled to Him now, before it is too late. So the message for us is:
Since Jesus draws a line that forces us to take sides, we had better be quick to get on His side.
There are three ideas in these verses: The purpose of Jesus’ coming (12:49); the means by which He would accomplish that purpose (12:50); and, the consequences of His purpose (12:51-53).
Jesus plainly states His mission: to cast fire upon the earth. That purpose was not yet fulfilled, because He adds, “How I wish it were already kindled!” The question is, what did Jesus mean by the word “fire”? Commentators differ, but most of the views overlap in their thrust, even if the specifics differ.
Some say that it refers to the coming of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, when tongues of fire rested on the disciples. Others say that it refers to the preaching of the gospel or God’s Word through His messengers. Others think it refers to the persecution and trouble that would accompany the preaching of the gospel through the disciples (J. C. Ryle catalogs the above views and their adherents in Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], 3:99). Others think it refers to judgment or purification.
Since fire can have all of these allusions in Scripture, it seems to me that the context of Luke 12 should be the major factor in determining Jesus’ meaning here. Jesus has been talking about the coming judgment (12:4-5, 8-10, 20-21, 35-48). He goes on to talk further about judgment (12:58-59; 13:3, 5, 9). John the Baptist warned the people about the wrath to come when “every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire” (3:7, 9). John predicted that the Messiah would baptize believers with the Holy Spirit and fire, but He warned that Messiah would “burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” (3:16, 17).
One commentator draws together these different nuances of the meaning under one theme when he says that fire refers to “the spiritual power exercised by the Lord through His Word and Spirit on the strength of His completed work of redemption—to the undoing of those who reject Him and to the refining of those who believe in Him” (Norval Geldenhuys, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke [Eerdmans], p. 367). I would contend that the predominant theme is judgment. While Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, His ministry necessarily also resulted in the judgment of those who reject Him. William Barclay states, “In Jewish thought fire is almost always the symbol of judgment.” Then he adds, “However much we may wish to eliminate the element of judgment from the message of Jesus it remains stubbornly and unalterably there” (The Gospel of Luke [Westminster Press], p. 169).
To encounter fire is by nature a catastrophic, life-changing event. Robert Fulghum (It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It [Ivy Books], p. 3) tells the odd story of a fire crew that broke into a house with smoke pouring out of the window and found a man in a smoldering bed. After the man was rescued and the mattress doused, they asked, “How did this happen?” The man replied, “I don’t know. It was on fire when I lay down on it.” That story strikes us as funny because it is so strange. Who in their right mind would lie down on a burning mattress? You can’t be passive about fire. You have to deal with it or it will consume you!
Jesus’ coming is like a fire. You can ignore it and you will perish or you can get on the right side of it and it will purify the dross out of your life. But the one thing you cannot do is to be neutral toward it. Jesus draws a line that forces us to take sides. Jesus goes on to show that ...
Almost all commentators agree that when Jesus speaks of the baptism He has to undergo, He is referring to the cross, where He would be immersed under the flood of God’s wrath against sin. While as the eternal Son of God, Jesus came to this earth for the purpose of going to the cross to redeem sinners, yet as being fully human, the thought of the cross deeply distressed Him. The agony of the cross for Jesus was not only the physical suffering, as terrible as that was. The worst agony of the cross was the reality of the sinless One becoming the sin-bearer. “He [God] made Him who knew no sin [Christ] to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).
The penalty for our sin is death, or eternal separation from the Holy God. God could not simply ignore the penalty or He would sacrifice His perfect justice and holiness. But to inflict the penalty on everyone would violate His great love and mercy. Through the cross, God can be both just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus (Rom. 3:26).
I often use the following illustration to explain this. Suppose you were arrested for driving 100 miles per hour in a 30 mile per hour zone. You were clearly guilty. They took you before the judge who said, “This is a serious offense. You could have killed someone. The penalty is a $10,000 fine or a year in jail.” You don’t have the money, so it looks like you’re headed for jail.
But let’s assume that the judge was your father and that he loved you. If he simply dropped the charges, he would be an unjust judge. You committed a serious offense and he must uphold the law. How can your father be both loving and just? The answer is, he could write out a check for $10,000 and offer it to you to pay your fine. If you accept that check, the law would be upheld and you would go free, although at great expense to your father.
Do you deserve to go free? No, you deserve judgment. Is there anything in you that merits your father’s kind treatment? Maybe you’ve always been a good boy and this is the first offense. If your father is acting on any merit on your part, then the analogy breaks down, because God did not send His Son to die for us because we are pretty good people. Even the best of us from a human perspective were sinful rebels from God’s holy perspective. In sending Jesus Christ to die for our sins, God was acting totally out of His mercy and not at all because of our merit.
To go back to the illustration, what should the young man do? He can say, “I don’t need your gift; I’ll pay for it myself.” Okay, he goes to jail! He could say, “I’ll accept your offer, but I’ll pay you back.” But let’s assume that the debt was not $10,000 but $10 trillion. There is no human way he could ever come close to repaying the debt. The only other option (and the proper one) is to say, “I don’t deserve your kindness, but I accept it. Thank you!” At that point, the law is upheld and so is the father’s love. The young man goes free because of his father’s undeserved favor.
That’s what God did for us at the cross of Jesus Christ. He paid the penalty we deserve. If we accept His gift of eternal life, we go free at His expense. God’s justice and mercy both shine forth.
You would think that every person would be quick to embrace the cross of Christ. But the Bible shows that while many receive Christ and find mercy, many others reject God’s offer because it offends their pride. They don’t want to admit that they are sinners deserving God’s wrath. They don’t want to admit that they can do nothing to atone for their own sins. So the cross becomes a stumbling block to them. And, it leads to division between them and those who accept God’s mercy, even to the dividing of close family members:
Jesus states that He did not come to grant peace on earth, but rather, division. The prevailing Jewish idea of that time was that Messiah would defeat Israel’s enemies and usher in an age of peace (Geldenhuys, pp. 366-367). The angels declared at His birth, “peace on earth” (2:14) and Jesus Himself often extended peace to individuals (7:50; 8:48; 10:5-6).
But Jesus here clarifies matters so that the disciples are not surprised by the growing opposition. God’s peace is extended only to those who respond favorably to His offer of forgiveness in Christ. Those who refuse God’s offer of peace remain His enemies (Rom. 8:7). Those who are not for Jesus are against Him (11:23). The offer of the gospel necessarily divides people into two opposing camps. There is no neutral ground.
Jesus uses an illustration (from Micah 7:6) to show that the divisions caused by the gospel go deep, even to the separation of close family members. The fact that Jesus does not apologize for this shows His exalted position. Because He is the eternal Son of God, we must follow Him, even if it leads to family division, because He is so much more worthy of our allegiance than even the closest of earthly ties.
Of course, we should always strive for harmonious relationships in the family and we should never do anything personally offensive to cause a rift. We should love and honor family members. We should be kind and gracious, even if family members are offensive toward us. But, if family members are offended by the gospel we believe, then so be it. We must be prepared to bear such hostility and to stand graciously but firmly for the gospel.
Many in our day are calling for unity among all Christians. Properly understood, unity is a biblical virtue. The Promise Keepers movement urges us to drop all denominational distinctions, even between Protestants and Catholics. There is going to be a large Christian unity rally next year at the ballpark in Phoenix, sponsored by both the Protestant and Roman Catholic churches. Several families have left our church because I do not promote the unity services held here in Flagstaff. Many cite John 13 to say, “Jesus said that the world would know that we are Christians by our love, not by our doctrinal purity.”
Of course we should be kind and loving toward all people. While we may debate minor doctrinal issues, we should not question someone’s salvation because he differs with us on such matters. Some issues are serious enough that we may need to work separately, even though we are fellow believers. But, if we set aside the core truths of the gospel for the sake of unity, at that point we are no longer talking about Christian unity, because we have given up the essence of what it means to be a true Christian.
Let me clarify this concerning Catholicism, since there is such a strong movement toward unity with Rome. While there may be individual Catholics who trust in Christ alone for salvation and thus are truly saved, such Catholics are not in submission to their church. The official teaching of the Roman Catholic Church is that salvation is a process that includes Gods’ grace through Christ plus our faith plus our works. This is precisely the error that the apostle Paul pronounced anathema on in Galatians 1:6-9. This is not the only serious error in Roman Catholicism, but it is the chief error. As long as the Catholic Church teaches another way of salvation than by grace alone in Christ alone through faith alone, we cannot join with them in Christian unity because they are not Christian.
If we proclaim a message that everyone loves, we can be sure that we are not proclaiming the gospel. The gospel confronts sinners with their rebellious hearts before God, and the fact is, many sinners take offense at that. The gospel humbles human pride, because it plainly declares that no amount of human goodness can reconcile us to God. The gospel shows people that they cannot do anything to help God out with their own salvation. The gospel hits even the most moral people with their own rottenness before the holy God and their own helplessness in saving themselves from His righteous judgment. The gospel proclaims, “You must repent of your sins and receive the imputed righteousness of the Savior as your only hope for heaven.”
As in Jesus’ day, so in ours: It is the religious people, who take great pride in their own righteousness, who are the most offended by the gospel. It is those who devise a system of human works mixed in with God’s grace who take offense at the cross. To proclaim that we are one with those who pollute the grace of God with human works is to deny the gospel, which is that we are saved by grace through faith apart from any human works. It is to proclaim unity where none exists.
Charles Spurgeon was accused of being divisive because he pulled out of the Baptist Union, which was tolerating liberals who denied fundamental biblical truth. He countered, “where there can be no real spiritual communion there should be no pretense of fellowship. Fellowship with known and vital error is participation in sin” (The Sword and the Trowel, November, 1887).
Our Savior clearly taught that if we proclaim and hold to the true gospel, we must be prepared for division, even among our family members. As J. C. Ryle (p. 98) pointed out, “It is not the Gospel which is to blame [for such divisions], but the corrupt heart of man.” But we must stand with our Lord, even when it results in such painful divisions.
Luke goes on to cite Jesus’ words to the multitude, where He chides them for being able to discern the weather, but not the times. The Messiah was in their midst, but they were missing Him! Then He gives an illustration showing that if we are quick to settle an unfavorable lawsuit against us, we had better be quick to settle with God before we come before His bar of judgment. Thus the point is:
The link between 12:49-53 and this section is that of the coming judgment and the crisis of decision that Jesus’ message precipitates. This section falls into two smaller sections:
In Israel, a cloud from the west came from the Mediterranean Sea and thus brought rain. A south wind came in off the Sinai desert and thus meant a hot day. Jesus then calls them hypocrites because they are able to discern the weather, but they fail to discern the significance of Jesus’ presence in their midst. Geldenhuys (p. 368) explains, “On account of their unbelief and spiritual blindness they do not see the cloud of grace and blessings which appears with Him to all who believe in Him, nor do they observe the glowing heat of the judgment which He brings for those who are disobedient.”
The point is, we hear a weather forecast and plan our day accordingly. If we hear that the Son of God has come, bringing salvation to all who believe, but judgment to all who ignore the message, should we not respond by immediately embracing Him? The second section underscores the need to get on Jesus’ side quickly, before it is too late:
Jesus asks a rhetorical question and then illustrates His point. When Jesus asks the crowd, “Why do you not even on your own initiative judge what is right?” He is not implying that unbelievers can, of their own free will and intelligence, decide to follow Him. Jesus taught (10:22) that “no one knows who the Son is except the Father and who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” Jesus is not contradicting Himself here. Salvation depends on God’s sovereign will, not on man’s darkened human will or intelligence. What Jesus means here is, “You don’t have to blindly follow the Pharisees on spiritual matters.” He is urging them to consider His claims for themselves.
Then He uses an illustration. The assumption is that your opponent has a good case against you so that if it reaches the judge, you’re going to get thrown into prison and you never will get out. The Roman Catholics use this illustration to argue for Purgatory, where a sinner can pay off his sins. But that only shows how hard pressed they are to come up with support for such an unbiblical concept! Jesus’ point is simple: If you know that someone has a case against you, settle up before it is too late.
From the context we know that Jesus wants us to apply this spiritually. God has a case against every sinner. We owe Him for our debt of sin. Jesus’ death on the cross is the only acceptable settlement. If we discerned the times, we would know that now is the day of salvation. God is offering to settle in full His claim with any sinner who will trust in Jesus Christ. But if we do not settle, there will be no escape on the day of judgment. We will never get out of hell because our debt is infinite since it is against an infinitely holy God. The person who discerns the true situation will be quick to get on Jesus’ side.
During a training session for soldiers who were about to make their first parachute jump, the sergeant explained how to open the reserve chute if the main chute didn’t open. A private nervously raised his hand and asked, “Sergeant, if my main chute doesn’t open, how long do I have to pull my reserve?”
The sergeant looked directly into the young private’s eyes and replied earnestly, “The rest of your life, soldier. The rest of your life.” (In Reader’s Digest, February, 1982.)
If you have not trusted in Christ as your only hope for forgiveness on the day of judgment, you are like that soldier plunging toward earth. Either you accept Jesus as your sin bearer and you are reconciled to God; or, you will come into God’s court of justice and pay your own debt, which is eternal separation from Him. How long do you have to get on Jesus’ side? The answer is, the rest of your life! Jesus has drawn the line. Will you trust Him now before it is too late?
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
In the past month we have been shocked by the massacre at Columbine High School in Colorado. We also saw stunned people in Oklahoma who in a few minutes lost everything they owned when killer tornadoes swept through their neighborhoods. We hear of earthquakes that kill thousands in other countries. We get nightly reports on the horrors of the war in Kosovo. On a personal level, many of us struggle with private tragedies—loved ones who die untimely deaths, accidents that leave devastating consequences, children who suffer from birth defects or serious diseases.
Naturally, we always ask, “Why?” Why did this have to happen to this person? Perhaps the victim was a good, loving person. Meanwhile we hear of scoundrels who live in relative happiness and prosperity. We question God’s goodness and fairness. Sometimes we even doubt His existence. It’s the classic philosophic problem of evil: How can an all-good and all-powerful God allow good people to suffer and wicked people to prosper?
The Lord Jesus gives us some answers to these difficult questions in our text. In the context, Jesus has just been rebuking the multitude because they were able to discern the weather, but they were oblivious to the signs of the times, namely, that Messiah was in their midst (12:54-56). He used an illustration (12:57-59) of a man who is going to be dragged into court with a losing lawsuit against him. If he is smart, he will quickly settle with his opponent before it’s too late. The point is, we all have a debt of sin toward God. If we are aware of our situation, we will be quick to get right with God before we come into judgment.
Then, Luke reports (13:1), “on the same occasion,” some were present who reported to Jesus about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. We don’t know any more about this event than is here reported. Apparently Pilate had sent in his troops to break up a gathering of Galilean Jews that he deemed dangerous. The Roman soldiers did not even respect the fact that the Jews were worshiping God by offering sacrifices. They slaughtered them so that their blood flowed together with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus uses this current event to make a spiritual point. Then He brings up another tragedy from recent history, when a tower fell down and killed 18 people, and uses that event to reinforce the spiritual lesson.
Jesus was speaking to men who did not apply spiritual truth to themselves (12:56-57). From His reply, we can also surmise that these men were smugly thinking that those who suffered such tragedies were deserving of God’s judgment, whereas the fact that they had been spared such tragedies meant that they were pleasing to God. Their theology was like that of Job’s comforters, who thought that Job was suffering because he had sinned. Jesus corrects this mistaken view by showing that we all are sinners worthy of God’s judgment. Twice (13:3, 5) He drives home the application: Were those who suffered greater sinners? “I tell you, no, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Then Jesus tells a parable (13:6-9) that underscores the point: If you don’t repent, you will soon face God’s judgment.
Thus rather than asking the question “Why?” with regard to suffering, we should ask the question, “What?” What does this tragedy teach me? Our Lord’s answer is,
Tragedies should teach us that since death and judgment are imminent, we need to be ready through true repentance.
Before we examine these verses in more detail, let me make a passing comment on our Lord’s method here. He could have used this occasion to launch into a critique of Pilate’s cruel ways, but He would have missed the spiritual opportunity. He could have plunged into a philosophical discussion of the problem of evil, but His hearers would have gone away unchanged. Instead, the Lord took this general topic and homed in on the consciences of those who had raised the subject. He applies it to them twice, and then He further drives it home with the parable.
The lesson for us is to take common subjects that come up, like the tragedies in Colorado and in Oklahoma, and apply them to the person’s need to get right with God before he stands before Him. Philosophic discussions are fairly safe; but Jesus turned such discussions into the personal need for repentance. He always had in view the need of sinful souls before the holy God. So should we.
There are two kinds of tragedies in the text: those caused by evil people; and, those caused by accidents or natural disasters. But the worst tragedy, as Jesus shows, will be the final judgment (“perish”), which involves not only physical death, but also spiritual death or eternal separation from God in hell (12:5). If we learn rightly from earthly tragedies, we will avoid the ultimate and final tragedy. So what should we learn from tragedies?
Jesus here assumes what the Bible teaches from Genesis on, that all people are by nature sinners who deserve God’s judgment. As the Book of Job shows, even the most righteous man on earth has no case against God, who has a perfect right to afflict that man with terrible suffering without answering to anyone for what He does. When we talk about “good” people or “innocent children,” we are only talking in relative terms. Some people are better in relation to other people, but no one is good in relation to God. Every child is born with an evil heart. Even the most righteous man on earth is a sinner who deserves God’s righteous judgment.
Also, the Bible teaches that man’s sin was the cause of God’s curse on creation (Gen. 3:14-19; Rom. 8:20-22). All natural disasters—floods, earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, epidemics, diseases, and accidents—stem from man’s rebellion against God. It will only be in the new heavens and new earth that God will wipe away every tear and all death from His redeemed, and there shall not be any curse (Rev. 21:4; 22:3).
Furthermore, the Bible teaches that there often is not a direct correlation between the degree of a person’s sinfulness and temporal judgment. Here Jesus twice asks, “Do you suppose that these [who suffered] were worse sinners” than others because they so suffered? He twice responds emphatically, “I tell you, no….” In Jesus’ day (as well as in our own), many had the mistaken view that people suffer in this life in direct proportion to their sinfulness. If a tragedy hits someone, he must have done something to deserve it, even if it was in secret. Even the disciples asked Jesus concerning the blind man, “Who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind?” (John 9:2). The wrong assumption was that someone was paying for his sin through this tragedy.
There is a general principle in the Bible that God blesses the obedient and that sinners reap the consequences of their evil ways. But there are many, many exceptions. The Bible often shows godly men who suffer and are killed at a young age (e.g., John the Baptist) and ungodly men who live long and relatively trouble-free lives (e.g., Herod). The ultimate biblical resolution to the problem of evil and suffering is the final judgment, when every wicked person who has not repented will pay for his sin, and every righteous believer in Christ who has suffered will be eternally rewarded.
Lurking just beneath the surface of the notion that someone who is suffering is a greater sinner than others is self-righteous pride. John Calvin points out, “This passage is highly useful, were it for no other reason than that this disease is almost natural to us, to be too rigorous and severe in judging of others, and too much disposed to flatter our own faults” (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], A Harmony of the Evangelists, 2:151). So if someone else suffers some tragedy, we are quick to assume that it was his own fault. But if things are going well for us, we smugly assume that it is because God is pleased with us. But, as Jesus shows, when tragedy hits someone else, rather than judging them, we should judge ourselves. The lesson we should learn and ponder is:
When tragedy hits someone else, whether it is a tragedy caused by evil people or one caused by some natural disaster, we all talk about it. We’re glued to the TV set, watching the details over and over as they are reported. But, when it’s over, most people go on unchanged, with no thought of how it applies to them. Jesus here shows that we should immediately take it to heart by asking, “What if it had been me? Would I have been ready to stand before God? Have I truly repented of my sins? Is my life pleasing to the Lord?” Because the fact is, sooner or later, it will be me!
None of the Galileans who were slaughtered by Pilate knew beforehand that their going to the temple would be their last act on this earth. If they had known what was about to happen, they would have stayed home that day. None of the 18 people standing by the tower of Siloam knew that it was about to fall and crush them to death, or they would have gotten out of the way. None of the parents of the children recently murdered in Colorado imagined when they said good-bye to their children that morning that it would be the last time. None of those in Oklahoma who perished in the tornadoes had any idea that they only had hours to live. My son-in-law, Shane, spent the day working in the town of Moore, which later was leveled by the tornado. He had no inkling that the entire town would be gone before he went to bed that night!
The point is, life is very fragile! Even though you are healthy and young, you could be in your coffin tonight. Because you are a sinner (13:2), you have one pressing need, to get right with God today, before you, too, perish. The second time (13:4), Jesus uses the word “debtors,” rather than sinners, which relates back to His illustration in 12:58-59, that we all are debtors against God. Either we will pay for our sin by eternal separation from God in hell, or we trust in the death of Jesus as the sinless substitute who bore God’s wrath on our behalf. Whenever we hear of a tragedy, we should immediately apply it to our own hearts by making sure that we are in the faith (2 Cor. 13:5). The key question we should ask ourselves is, “Am I truly repentant for my sins?”
Twice (13:3, 5) Jesus emphasizes, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” If we don’t want to perish, we had better understand what Jesus meant by repentance!
We must understand at the outset that repentance cannot atone for our sin. The blood of Christ alone satisfies God’s just wrath against our sin. We can weep over our sins for days, but our tears will not get us into heaven. Our sorrow for our sins does not somehow cancel out the debt we owe. Only Jesus Christ and His shed blood atone for our sins. Our trust must be in Him alone, not in our own faith or repentance.
Also, we must understand that true repentance and true faith are inseparable. We can and should distinguish between them, but they are like two sides of the same coin. Thus sometimes (such as in our text; Acts 11:18; 26:20), Scripture links salvation with repentance, at other times with faith (John 3:16), and at other times with both (Mark 1:15; Acts 20:21). Calvin (Institutes, 3:3:1, 2) argues that repentance is born of faith, not in the sense that there is a gap of time between them, but rather that “a man cannot apply himself seriously to repentance” unless he has first recognized God’s grace and trusts that God has been merciful to him in Christ. But, by the same token, no one can receive the grace of God in Christ without immediately turning from his past sins and “applying his whole effort to the practice of repentance.”
Thus faith refers to relying on God’s promise of mercy in Christ, whereas repentance refers to the turning to God from sin that always accompanies saving faith. It should be inconceivable (although some false teachers deny it) that a sinner could with one hand lay hold of the promise of eternal life through the death of God’s Son and at the same time, with the other hand, cling to known sin. The hands that reach out to Christ to receive pardon must also let go of the sin that needs pardoning. As J. C. Ryle puts it, “There never was one washed in the blood of Christ who did not feel, and mourn, and confess, and hate his own sins” (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], 3:110).
Faith and repentance are both initial actions, which God grants at the moment of salvation, and continually repeated actions that we must practice the rest of our lives. While a believer may experience hard times when his faith falters and he refuses to repent of known sin, no true believer can live in unbelief and sin as a pattern of life. The Christian life is marked by continual faith in the Savior’s blood and continual turning to God from our sins.
In order to repent of our sins initially and to grow in repentance, we need to get a bigger view of God’s absolute holiness and of His right to judge sinners; and we need a deeper view of our own sinfulness, down to the heart level. Both Jesus’ words in 13:3 & 5 and the parable that follows assume God’s sovereign right to judge every sinner. He is the creator and rightful owner of all that exists. It’s His vineyard and we are His fig trees, planted there for His purpose and use. As the owner of the fig trees, God has the right to expect those trees to produce fruit for His use. If they do not produce, He is perfectly just to cut down those trees and throw them in the fire. No one can dare say, “What do You think You’re doing?” if God decides to cut down an unfruitful tree. He made it for His purpose; He owns it; He can do what He chooses with it. The more we see of God’s sovereign and holy right to judge His creation, the quicker we will be to repent of our sins.
But also, to repent initially and to grow in daily repentance, we also must see our utter sinfulness and rebellion before Him. The owner of the vineyard planted these trees within the confines of the wall of his vineyard. They enjoyed his protection, his nurture, and his care. They drank up water from his supply and nutrients from his soil. But they were useless in the purpose for which the owner planted them. They didn’t produce any fruit.
In the same way, every person who has ever lived on this planet was created by a good and merciful God for His purpose, to bring glory to Him. Every person breathes God’s air, drinks God’s water, eats God’s food, and partakes of the life that God has granted him in His beautiful creation. Yet how many live only for themselves and their own pleasure, with no regard for God and His glory! Although through creation and conscience, if not through His Word, everyone knows that there is a holy God, they suppress the truth in unrighteousness and disregard God’s merciful warnings. If God should bring any tragedy into their lives, rather than humbling themselves and confessing their own sin and their need for God’s pardon, they often rail at Him, as if they deserved only blessings from His hand! As the Proverbs 19:3 (NIV) observes, “A man’s own folly ruins his life, yet his heart rages against the Lord.”
Jesus, then, is teaching that because of our sin, none of us deserves exemption from tragedies. If we all got what we deserve, we would instantly perish. Since life is fragile and the future is uncertain, we all need to get right with God before we die. The way to get right with God is through genuine heart repentance, where we confess our sins to Him and turn to Him from sin to receive His mercy. When we see someone else going through a tragedy, it should drive us to apply all these things to ourselves. Tragedies are God’s gracious reminders that a worse end than a horrible death awaits us if we do not repent. As He said (12:5), “I will warn you whom to fear: fear the One who after He has killed has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!”
“But,” you may ask, “how can I know that my repentance is genuine? If repentance spares me from perishing eternally, I want to know that my repentance is real.”
The parable (13:6-9) underscores the message of 13:1-5, that judgment is approaching and that we must bring forth the fruits of repentance before it is too late. The parable primarily applied to the nation Israel, which was about to reject her Messiah and come under national judgment. The three years of the parable may refer to the three years of Christ’s ministry in their midst, or it may just be a way of saying, “There has been sufficient time for the nation to bear the fruits of repentance. If they don’t bear fruit soon, they will be cut down.”
But, of course, the parable also applies to individual repentance, especially to those of us in the church. The fig tree wasn’t a wild one that sprouted up along the road where someone threw a fig seed. This tree was planted by the owner within the walls of his vineyard, which points to the special privileges of those who sit in church and hear the Word of God. If such people do not respond to the message of God’s grace by repenting of their sins and seeking to be fruitful in God’s kingdom, they are not just neutral. They are destructive to the owner’s purpose, in that they are just using up ground that otherwise could be fruitful. They are endangering their own souls and harming others as well.
What are the fruits of repentance? They include the whole process of growth in holiness that begins at salvation and continues until we are with the Lord. G. Campbell Morgan points out that just as the owner could expect figs from a fig tree, so God expects manhood from men (The Westminster Pulpit [Baker], 4:338). And, the true meaning of humanity, or manhood, is seen in the perfect Man, the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, fruitfulness is Christ-likeness in our character and in our conduct. The fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22-23) is a succinct list to begin to work on. While believers will never be sinlessly perfect in this life, they will make continual progress in holiness, not just outwardly, but in the heart, as they walk in repentance and in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Calvin has a very helpful discussion of this process in the Institutes, 3:3:8-20).
There is one other aspect of the parable that I have not mentioned: the role of the vineyard-keeper, who appeals to the owner to give him time to dig around the tree and fertilize it, in the hopes that it will yet bear fruit the next year. “If not,” he says, “cut it down.” This is a beautiful picture of God’s patience and mercy in Christ. As 2 Peter 3:9 tells us, “The Lord … is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”
The fact that a tragedy similar to the recent ones in Colorado and Oklahoma has not hit you should show you God’s great patience. If you have not repented of your sins and if you’re not bearing fruit in God’s vineyard, there is still time. But, don’t mistake God’s patience to mean that His axe will never fall. His patience does have a limit. Death and the final judgment could hit you at any moment. Your need to respond to God’s offer of repentance and pardon is urgent! Life is fragile; none are exempt from tragedies. But, if you have fled to Christ for refuge and you’re bringing forth the fruits of repentance in your life, you are ready if tragedy strikes. You will not perish!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
One of the most effective tools that Satan has used to keep people away from a relationship with the living God is dead religion. When our Lord was on this earth, His main battles were not with raw pagans. His main conflicts were with the religious crowd. Down through the centuries, Satan, the master counterfeiter, has smuggled religious people into churches in order to keep the others from a genuine, heart-transforming experience with God.
Perhaps the best description of dead religion came from our Lord when He confronted the Pharisees by saying (Mark 7:6-9),
“Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men’ [Isa. 29:13]. Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” He was also saying to them, “You nicely set aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.”
Luke has been showing the mounting division between Jesus and the Jewish religious leaders. Jesus is resolutely heading toward Jerusalem and the cross (9:51). In spite of His warnings to the leaders and the people that they can read the weather, but they’re missing the signs of the times, they continue to oppose Him. He has just warned them that if they do not bear fruit soon, the owner of the vineyard will cut them down. Luke does not identify the current incident as to time or place, but he puts it here to show that in spite of continuing opposition from the religious leaders, God is powerfully at work through Jesus in establishing and extending His kingdom. The two parables that follow (13:18-21) underscore the same point.
Luke has repeatedly emphasized Jesus’ teaching ministry (4:16-21, 31-32, 43; 5:17; 6:6, 17-49; 8:1; 9:11). Here, again, we find Jesus teaching. It must have been wonderful to listen to Jesus expound the Word of God! But even though Jesus was the most gifted Teacher who has ever spoken, those with hardened hearts resisted His message. Even though Jesus backed up His message by mighty works of power, the religious leaders were growing in their opposition to Him. This is the last time in Luke that Jesus is reported to have spoken in a synagogue. The window of opportunity is closing. But for those who are the objects of His grace, such as this hunchbacked woman in the synagogue, the power of real contact with the Savior transforms their lives.
Note how Jesus took the initiative in this healing. The woman exhibited no faith. She did not appeal to Him. She probably could not even look up at Him, since she was bent over with her face toward the ground. But Jesus noticed her need and did everything necessary to heal her. G. Campbell Morgan (The Gospel of Luke [Revell], p. 163) points out that Jesus saw her and then adds, “If there is a man or a woman in any assembly of human beings, more in need than any other, that is the man or the woman that Jesus is after.” That is true here today. Perhaps, like this woman, you have been coming to church for years in some spiritually bent-over condition. Perhaps people have ignored your need or have been helpless to do anything about it. But Jesus sees you and He wants the power of His Word to touch and heal your soul today. That power transforms you when you make real contact with the living Lord.
We should avoid dead religion and pursue reality with the living Lord.
This passage reveals seven contrasts between dead religion and reality with the living Lord:
It was a fairly normal day at the synagogue as the worshipers filed in. The men sat on one side, the women and children on the other. Perhaps a bit late, because she could not move very quickly, this bent-over woman shuffled into her regular spot in the back. People were used to her—she had been coming there for years. But it was difficult to talk with her. It took great effort for her to turn her head up enough to look at anyone’s face. Usually, she just looked down at the ground.
Probably the woman was a sincere believer in the Lord. Jesus calls her a daughter of Abraham. He later calls Zaccheus a son of Abraham after he believes (19:9). There is no indication that her problem was directly related to any sin. If so, surely Jesus would have given a word of rebuke or correction, but He gives none. The woman’s decided faith is probably indicated by the fact of her presence. Think of the many excuses that she could have come up with to stay away! Her youthful beauty was now disfigured by her hunched back, so she probably was self-conscious about how she looked. She probably experienced constant pain, which distracted her from concentrating on the service. It was difficult to walk the distance to the synagogue. She couldn’t look up toward the front to see what was going on. But in spite of these and many other potential excuses, she was there to worship God.
Most people looked at her and assumed that she had a physical problem, but Jesus perceived that her sickness was due to an evil spirit. Certainly not all and perhaps not many physical illnesses are caused by evil spirits but, clearly, some are. While demons cannot possess believers, they can afflict us in various ways. Paul attributed his thorn in the flesh to a messenger of Satan that was sent by God to keep him humble (2 Cor. 12:7). In his case, it was not God’s will to remove the source of affliction, so that Paul was forced through his weakness to depend on God’s strength. In other cases, such as here, it is His will to heal, but not until the problem had gone on for 18 long years. We don’t know why God waited that long. Perhaps it was simply that He would be all the more glorified in her cure (John 9:3; 11:4).
But in spite of all her years of going to the synagogue, this woman was in bondage to this debilitating illness that Jesus ascribes to Satan. As such, she is a picture of the millions who attend religious services every week for years, but they live in spiritual bondage to sin and to the prince of darkness. They are often sincere people, but they are bent over under the load of sin and guilt. The religious system tolerates their bondage and perhaps even shrugs it off as accepted. But it can’t deliver them from it. What they need is what this woman experienced, a personal encounter with the living Lord Jesus Christ. This leads to the second contrast between dead religion and reality with the living Lord:
What religion had not been able to do over 18 years and was not even attempting to do, Jesus did in an instant. He saw her, He spoke to her, He laid His hands on her, and she was instantly freed from this terrible affliction. She stood upright for the first time in 18 years. The difference that day for this woman was that she didn’t just go to a religious service. She had personal contact with the living Lord. Meeting Him personally freed her from bondage to the enemy of her soul and instantly cured a body that probably had severe spinal deformity. The length of the illness was no problem for Jesus. It just brought greater glory to the power of God in releasing her from her problem.
It would be wrong to conclude that the moment you meet Jesus Christ all your problems will instantly and miraculously disappear. Some people do experience dramatic deliverance from long-term problems, such as alcohol or drug addiction at the moment of salvation. Others struggle against such problems for years after conversion. It would be wrong to imply that such people are not truly converted because they still struggle. God simply has different lessons to teach them or a different purpose in His dealings with them.
But even though salvation does not always bring instant deliverance from long-term problems, it always results in an instantaneous, dramatic change of heart that comes from nothing less than the supernatural power of God. Conversion means that the formerly dead sinner receives new life from God. God changes his heart of stone into a heart of flesh that is warm toward the things of God. The formerly blind sinner’s eyes are opened so that he now can see spiritual truth. The formerly captive sinner is loosed from his chains and set free so that he now can have power over the sin that held him in bondage. All of these biblical metaphors for conversion teach us that it is not merely a human decision to turn over a new leaf. Conversion requires the life-giving power of God in raising the sinner from the dead.
Before he was converted, John Wesley was an intensely religious young man. Following in his father’s footsteps, he was ordained as a priest in the Anglican Church. Along with some of his friends, such as George Whitefield, Wesley met with the Holy Club at Oxford to promote religion. These men met regularly for prayer, the study of the Greek New Testament, self-examination, and accountability to do works of charity. They sought to practice high moral standards. Wesley went as a missionary to the Indians and colonists in Georgia. But when he returned to England, he lamented, “I went to America to convert the Indians; but, oh, who shall convert me?”
During his crossing of the Atlantic, Wesley had been on board with a bunch of German Moravians who had a genuine faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. During a storm at sea, Wesley was gripped by fear for his life, but these people were singing praises to God. When he got back to England, he started attending their meetings. On May 24, 1738, as Wesley listened to a brother read from the preface of Martin Luther’s commentary on Romans, he felt his heart “strangely warmed.” From then on, Wesley declared, he had only “one point of view—to promote so far as I am able vital, practical religion; and by the grace of God to beget, preserve, and increase the life of God in the souls of men” (A Skevington Wood, The New International Dictionary of the Christian Church [Zondervan], ed. by J. D. Douglas, p. 1034). Wesley’s phrase, “the life of God in the souls of men,” is the difference between dead religion and the power of reality with the Lord Jesus Christ.
The leader of the synagogue probably hadn’t noticed when this stooped-over woman had hobbled in that day. After all, she was a woman, and the Jews only tolerated women in religious matters. She probably was poor, so she wasn’t a big contributor to the synagogue coffers. He didn’t care about the fact that this poor woman had just been healed from 18 years of a terrible affliction. What bothered him was that it had been done on the Sabbath! So he stands up and scolds the whole crowd, including the woman, for coming on the Sabbath to get healed! Tenderhearted he was not!
By way of contrast, our Lord was full of compassion for those who hurt, especially for those who were being neglected or abused by the religious leaders. He saw the multitudes and “felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). While the men of Jesus’ day had a low view of women that led them to shut them out from spiritual matters, Jesus always had time to spend with women, to teach them the things of God and to show concern for their problems. Even though this woman was stooped over and perhaps hidden by the taller people in the crowd, Jesus saw her and took the time to call her over and deliver her from this illness.
If we have reality with the Savior, we will be growing in seeing people through His eyes of compassion. Although Jesus concentrated His time on the twelve, He always had time for those who needed His tender touch. The disciples thought that children were wasting the Master’s time, but He rebuked the disciples and welcomed the children into His arms. The disciples were baffled that He would take the time to talk with the Samaritan woman at the well, but Jesus knew that she needed the living water He had to offer. While sometimes due to human limitations or other commitments we must say no to the demands of needy people, we should never do so callously. We should grow in compassion as we walk with our compassionate Lord.
Here this poor woman has this dramatic healing and all this synagogue official can do is get angry and lecture everyone on the proper time to come for healing! Incredible! But we’ve all met people just like him.
I once performed a wedding at a church in San Bernardino, because the bride and groom were afraid that if they held the wedding at our church in the mountains, guests might not be able to come because of snow. The church required that their pastor stand up front with me and have a part in the ceremony. Before the ceremony, he invited me into his office. He lit up a Marlboro and I noticed an overflowing ashtray on his desk. I also noticed a fairly recent certificate of graduation from a seminary on the wall and so I asked, “Did you go into the ministry as a second career?” He said, “Yes, I did it so that I could live with myself.” I didn’t say anything, but I thought, “What a reason to be in the ministry!”
During the ceremony, as I was giving the message, a girl near the front stood up and flashed a snapshot. Nothing had been said to the congregation about not taking pictures, but this minister interrupted me. “Just a minute!” he snapped. Pointing directly at the girl, he snarled, “Pictures are not allowed! This is worship and we don’t allow pictures during worship!” I don’t remember how I recovered from that one, but it was a classic example of joyless, angry, dead religion breaking through at a time when there should have been great joy.
Sadly, many Christian homes are marked more by rules and by anger than by heartfelt joy in the Lord. I’m not suggesting that there should not be any rules or that they should not be enforced. But I am saying that if we have reality in Christ, the atmosphere in our homes should be thick with joy and not with anger. Anger is a deed of the flesh, but joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:20, 22).
Jesus calls not only the synagogue official, but also everyone who was in agreement with him, hypocrites. The official was a hypocrite because he didn’t have the integrity to address Jesus directly, but he scolded Jesus by scolding the crowd. Also, he pretended to be concerned about people—they could come and get cured on other days—but he wasn’t concerned about people at all. He was just concerned that someone had violated his rules. He was like a store owner I read about who became so obsessed with keeping his store neat that he locked the doors during much of the day to keep out customers because they were messing up his shelves! He had forgotten why he was in business.
The Bible teaches a proper use of the Lord’s Day. We should set aside one day in seven to worship God and to rest from our normal work. But to come up with intricate rules of what you can and cannot do to observe the Sabbath leads to hypocrisy. People end up focused on the rules and neglecting the point, which is to meet with God and His people and to rest from the regular routine.
In contrast to the hypocrisy of dead religion, Jesus always was truthful and genuine. If people were hypocrites, Jesus called them hypocrites to their faces. He wasn’t manipulative. He didn’t go behind people’s backs to share “prayer concerns.” I once had to confront a man in a group setting for his unbiblical behavior. In the prayer time at the end of the meeting, he piously prayed, “Lord, I forgive my brother for his unloving and judgmental spirit toward me.” I told him afterwards, “You didn’t need to forgive me because I didn’t wrong you.” He was just being a hypocrite.
The religious leaders valued their rules over relationships and, as Jesus pointed out, they even valued their animals over people. On the Sabbath, they felt free to untie their ox or donkey and lead them to water, but they didn’t want Jesus to heal this woman who had been bound by Satan all these years. It was not only in Jesus’ day, by the way, that people valued their animals more than they value people. I have encountered people who allow their dogs to come at me with their teeth bared, but when I defend myself, they get angry at me for threatening to harm their dogs!
Dead religion always has mixed up priorities. It glories when people keep the rules, even if their hearts are far from God. It is happy with outward conformity, even though relationships are shattered. It boasts in numbers, even if there is open sin in the camp. But reality with the Lord focuses on developing and maintaining a heart of love for God and for others.
Dead religion glories in outward, fleshly conformity. As Paul said with regard to the Judaizers, “They desire to have you circumcised, that they may boast in your flesh” (Gal. 6:13). When this woman experienced Jesus’ healing touch, she glorified God (Luke 13:13). The goal of Jesus’ ministry was to deliver people from Satan’s power so that God would be glorified. Those who think that they are saved by their good works glory in themselves. Those who have truly been saved know that it was totally by God’s grace, and so they give Him all the glory. As Matthew Henry observes, “When crooked souls are made straight, they will show it by their glorifying God” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary [Scripture Truth Book Company], 5:724). Or, as the psalmist exults, “How blessed is the one whom You choose, and bring near to You, to dwell in Your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple” (Ps. 65:4). People feel comfortable with dead religion because it does not confront the flesh; instead, it feeds the flesh. But Jesus always confronts our sinful pride and selfishness. The goal of the one who has met Jesus is to glorify God.
Luke concludes this story by noting that Jesus’ opponents were being humiliated, but the multitude was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him (13:17). As we saw before, Jesus and His teaching draw a line that divides. This miracle isn’t recorded here so that we can come to church, sit and say, “That’s interesting,” and go home the same way we were. It’s here to make us ask ourselves, “Which side am I on? Am I just going through the motions of dead religion, or do I have reality with the living Lord Jesus Christ?”
Think through these seven contrasts:
Ask yourself honestly, “Which marks my life: Dead religion or reality with the living Lord?” If you lack reality, your need, like that of this woman, is to make personal contact with Jesus Himself. He alone has the power to release you from dead religion so that you can walk in the joy of new life with Him.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Most believers have struggled with discouragement. Even some godly pastors have gone through low times when they have wondered if they have spent their lives in vain. Charles Spurgeon, John Henry Jowett, and Andrew Bonar all went through dark valleys of discouragement. So did the Scottish preacher, Alexander Whyte. His biographer said, “Resolute as was Dr. Whyte’s character, he had seasons of deep depression regarding the results of his work in the pulpit or among his people” (in Warren Wiersbe, Walking With the Giants [Baker], p. 263).
Let’s face it, sometimes it seems as if the other side is winning. The world certainly is not getting better and better. There isn’t a single Christian nation (or anything close) on the face of the earth. Evil people abound and seem to prosper. Godly people are a minority and even some of them fall into serious sins. If we look at what we ourselves have accomplished for the Lord, it seems so insignificant in the face of the huge task of establishing God’s kingdom on this earth. It’s easy for me as a pastor to think about how few have been transformed through my years of ministry and to grow discouraged.
The two parables in our text are here to encourage all who serve the Lord Jesus Christ with the simple truth that His side is going to win. The mustard seed will grow into a tree with the birds nested in its branches. The leaven will spread throughout the whole lump “The kingdom of the world [shall] become the kingdom of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He will reign forever and ever” (Rev. 11:15).
Luke links these parables to the preceding context with the word “therefore.” Jesus was facing opposition and rejection from the Jewish religious leaders (13:14). You have to put yourself back into the times to understand what the disciples must have been feeling. They had left their businesses and way of life to stake everything on the fact that this young carpenter turned preacher was none other than God’s Anointed One, the Messiah. He didn’t look like what everyone expected the Messiah to look like. He wasn’t born to nobility. He didn’t have connections with the religious leaders in Jerusalem. He had not been educated in their schools. He had no pedigree in the worldly sense of the term.
But His powerful teaching and the miracles He performed had convinced these men that He was the one. They expected Him to inaugurate His kingdom by overthrowing the Roman rule and establishing the throne of David again in Jerusalem. But things weren’t going according to expectation. The religious leaders were not lining up on His side. In fact, they were growing increasingly hostile. Rather than trying to win them over, Jesus was boldly confronting them by calling them hypocrites, so that they were being humiliated (13:17).
The disciples might have looked at themselves, men who lacked the education and sophistication of the religious leaders, and at the way things seemed to be heading, and have grown discouraged. But these two parables show them and us that in spite of small and seemingly insignificant beginnings, the gospel will prevail. Even though there is conflict and the task seems overwhelming, God’s purpose through Christ will triumph. Thus,
You want to be on Jesus’ side because ultimately He will triumph over all.
Although there are some different lessons, both parables make the same point, that ultimately God’s kingdom will triumph.
The parable is simple. The kingdom of God is like a man who sows a mustard seed in his garden and it grows until it is so large that the birds could nest in its branches. Probably Jesus was referring to a shrub that grows 8 to 12 feet high. The point is that a little seed could produce this unusually large shrub, so large that even the birds could find shelter there. There are two lessons:
The man took the seed and threw it into his own garden. As in the parable of the sower, the seed represents the Word of God, especially the central message of the Word, the gospel. (For my treatment of this parable I am greatly indebted to Spurgeon’s insightful sermon, “The Mustard Seed: A Sermon for the Sabbath-School Teacher,” Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit [Pilgrim], 35, #2,110.) The parable assumes that the man had a garden and that he desired to reap a crop. Sadly, many professing Christians go through life without any concept that the Lord has given them a corner of His field to sow and produce a crop for Him. He is the landowner to whom we all must give an account. Your garden consists of the people with whom you have contact, to influence them for the sake of the kingdom of God. You should desire to see God use you to produce a harvest for Him in your garden.
The way to produce a crop is to sow the seed of the gospel. The man threw the seed into his garden. Until he did that, the seed did not sprout and start growing. You can go to the nursery, buy a package of seeds, take them home and set them on your shelf. The package tells you that these seeds will produce tomatoes within so many weeks. So you wait, but the time goes by and you don’t see any tomatoes. You go back to the nursery and complain that the seeds didn’t produce any crop. The nursery clerk asks, “When did you plant them?” “Plant them? You mean I have to plant them?” There is no such thing as a seed that will produce a crop without being planted. And the gospel will not have any effect until it comes in contact with sinners. If we want to reap a crop, we must sow the seed of the gospel into the hearts of sinners.
Spurgeon points out that the man sowed the plain seed. He didn’t wrap it in gold leaf or dress it up in any other manner. He just put the bare seed into the bare soil. The point is, we don’t have to embellish the simple gospel message. Our brilliant ideas and persuasive techniques are not the power of God to salvation. The gospel is the power of God to salvation (Rom. 1:16), and so we must be clear about the gospel and present it clearly to others.
In order to welcome the good news of the gospel, people must be convinced of the bad news of their condition before the holy God. The bad news is that we all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Some of us may be better persons than others, but none of us can ever qualify for heaven by our own goodness. To try to enter God’s holy presence through our own righteousness would be like flying into the sun; we would be consumed instantly. Hundreds of times and in hundreds of ways we have violated God’s holy laws so that we stand guilty before Him. God can’t just forgive everyone or He would no longer be just. Sin must be punished and the penalty is eternal separation from God.
Against this backdrop of bad news, the good news is that God has not left us to face His judgment. He sent a Savior in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ. Being fully God and fully man, Jesus was the only one who could live the sinless life that God requires and offer Himself as the one whose death could satisfy God’s just demand for sinners. And, the best part of the good news is that God doesn’t offer the Savior to us in exchange for our vows or efforts to earn His salvation. He offers eternal life to us as a free, undeserved gift, received by faith alone. He promises that the one who believes in Jesus as his sin-bearer shall not perish, but have eternal life (John 3:16).
That message, that we are sinners, that Christ died for sinners, and that we can receive Him as Savior and Lord through faith, is so simple that children and uneducated people can understand it and respond to it. We should be sowing that simple seed with our children, with family members, with friends and acquaintances at work or at school, and with strangers whenever we get the opportunity. If you teach Sunday School, make sure that each of your students understands the gospel clearly and urge each one to put his or her trust in Jesus as Savior. Jesus will triumph through the sowing of the seed of the gospel.
We need to make sure that we are sowing the seed itself. There are many in our day who camouflage it in a way that won’t be offensive to people. The doctrine of self-esteem has flooded into the church, telling us that people don’t like to hear that they are sinners, much less worms! So we change the wording of our hymns and we dress up the gospel in the upbeat clothes of personal success: “Jesus can help you be all you’ve ever wanted to be! He will help you achieve your dreams! Don’t worry about repentance. Just try Jesus and you’ll be happy!” But that’s not the gospel and it won’t save sinners.
Some believers are confusing the gospel with moralism: “We need to call America back to our religious roots. Let’s post the Ten Commandments and get prayer back into our schools. Let’s elect decent people to office and pass laws that uphold our Judeo-Christian values.” While those may be worthy goals and while some Christians should serve as godly politicians and public officials, Christian morals will not save our nation. The gospel is what will save our nation and will result in true moral reformation. Moral reformation without the gospel is like trying to put a tuxedo on a pig. It might make the pig look nice for a while, but it won’t bring lasting change. Jesus will triumph through the sowing of the seed of the gospel. We need to keep our focus there.
The man sowed the seed and it grew and became a tree. At first, that little seed seemed so small and powerless. It was just a speck in the man’s hand. What could it possibly accomplish? But it wasn’t long until it produced a plant large enough for the birds to nest in. Inherent in that tiny seed was the life and power to produce a sturdy tree.
So it is with the gospel. In Jesus’ day, the popular notion was that the kingdom would come in with great fanfare. It would have a dramatic beginning, so that all would marvel. But Jesus is teaching that the kingdom would begin almost invisibly, without much notice, just like this man planting this small seed. But, having been planted, it would powerfully grow until it accomplishes God’s purpose in sowing it.
Have you ever considered the amazing power in a seed? Throw a small seed near the foundation of your house and it may eventually crack that foundation. We’ve all seen concrete sidewalks buckled because a tree seed had been sown nearby. The power in a seed is the power of life. Sequoia trees that stand 300 feet tall and are almost 30 feet in diameter are contained in a small seed that you can easily hold in the palm of your hand. Put that seed into the ground and the life in it will produce that mighty tree.
The seed of the gospel is powerful because God uses it to impart His very life to sinners, transforming them from the inside out. As I mentioned last week, the gospel, as opposed to dead religion, is the life of God in the souls of men. As such, it is powerful to transform not only individuals, but whole cultures. I recommend that you read Don Richardson’s books, Peace Child and Lords of the Earth, if you want some modern, exciting stories of how the gospel powerfully transforms murderers and cannibals into peaceful missionaries who have a concern for others.
In 1981, Chester Bitterman, who was serving with Wycliffe Bible Translators, was murdered by Colombian terrorists. In interviewing Bitterman’s family, a television reporter was probing for any covert connection between the young Bible translator and the CIA. The reporter suddenly blurted out, “But why should they kill someone just for translating the Bible? I mean, isn’t that a pretty harmless thing to do?” Harmless?!! Well, yes, in terms of the final result, it’s harmless, peaceable, and full of many such good qualities! It may be harmless, but it’s certainly not powerless! Wherever it has gone, the Bible has transformed whole cultures through the simple message of the gospel.
There was no glory to the man who sowed the seed. We don’t know his name. He didn’t do anything spectacular or heroic. The power was not in him or in the slick way he put the seed into the ground. He hadn’t taken a course in how to get guaranteed results through proper planting techniques. He just threw out the seed and let it do its thing. Sure, he may have watered it and protected it from the elements and fertilized it. But he had nothing to do with making that seed grow. The seed grew because of the life within it and the man could only marvel at how that big tree came out of that little seed by the mysterious process of life.
It’s the same way with the gospel. While we may benefit from learning how to present the gospel in a clear manner, we have nothing to do with the power of it. The power comes from God imparting His life to dead sinners. When God acts through the gospel, all we can do is marvel at His great power to transform lives. Those who sow the seed can’t take any glory for themselves. God gets all the glory.
In spite of all the advances of modern science, no one can produce anything as simple as a living seed. Assemble the world’s most brilliant scientists and give them a year and as much research money as they need. They can analyze seeds and figure out the DNA structure. But they can’t construct a simple seed that will grow into a living plant, because they can’t design life. Only God can do that and the power of the seed is life.
And no one can come up with a message or a philosophy to rival the gospel, because the best of human wisdom falls far short of the life-giving power of God in the gospel. As Spurgeon points out, no nation has ever been transformed from barbarism to culture through the writings of Plato or Socrates. But the seed of the gospel is powerful to convert the chief of sinners to the most godly of saints. As Paul puts it (1 Cor. 1:21), “For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.”
Think of the powerful results that can come from the single seed planted. Thousands of new seeds are produced, each one capable of producing thousands more life-giving seeds. And the birds found shelter in the tree that resulted from this single seed. Probably this is a reference to the Gentiles who find shelter in the gospel that was first given to the Jewish nation (Ezek. 17:23). All who nest there find the shelter of peace with God, freely provided. And the birds always sing. We have some birds outside our bedroom window that now begin singing at 4:30 in the morning, a bit early for my blood! The Bible shows that the preaching of the gospel in all the world will result in myriads from every nation gathering around God’s throne, singing praises to Him because of His saving grace. God’s means of accomplishing His glorious purpose is through His people sowing the seed of the gospel.
The parable of the mustard seed shows that ultimately, Jesus will triumph over all. But we must briefly consider the parable of the leaven.
The lessons are somewhat overlapping and so do not require much comment. But the repetition may cement them in our minds.
The woman’s three measures of flour were equal to about 39 liters or 50 pounds of flour, a large amount. The point is that just a small amount of leaven was all that was needed to permeate this large mass of dough.
Leaven or yeast is a single-celled fungus that promotes fermentation. When put into bread dough, it produces carbon dioxide bubbles that cause the dough to rise. Since leaven is often used in the Bible as a symbol for sin, some commentators understand this parable to be referring to the spread of false doctrine in the church. But this is to overturn the obvious contextual flow of thought. Sometimes in the Bible, leaven is not a symbol for evil (Lev. 7:13; 23:15-18), and it can be argued that Jesus is using a somewhat different meaning to grab His hearers attention and to give the parable a provocative twist.
So the meaning here is parallel to the meaning of the small mustard seed. The smallness of the pinch of leaven is not a problem even though the lump is large. The smallness of Jesus and His ragtag band of followers is no problem with regard to the worldwide spread of the gospel. The power does not depend on Jesus’ followers, but on the power of God through the gospel.
We’ve already seen the same point with regard to the seed. Here there may be the nuance that once the contact is made, the power works from the inside out. That is how the gospel works as God transforms the hearts of sinners.
You can’t reverse the process. Once you introduce leaven into the dough, it does its thing. Once the gospel penetrates the hearts of those whom God has chosen to save, it is effectual to bring them to salvation and then to progressive sanctification. As Paul explains (Rom. 8:29-30), “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the first-born among many brethren; and whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” Our job is to bring the leaven of the gospel into contact with the mass of humanity. God’s job is to save those whom He has purposed to save. And He will save them because salvation does not depend on the will of man, but on the sovereign will and power of God.
These parables do not teach postmillennialism, that the gospel will spread until all the world is converted, at which point Jesus will return. Many other Scriptures refute this view (e.g., 2 Thess. 2:1-8). But they do teach that the gospel will spread to all peoples and that God’s sovereign purpose through Christ will be accomplished. He will build His church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Dr. Ralph Winter of the U.S. Center for World Mission has shown that in 1430 A.D., the total number of Bible-believing Christians proportionate to the total world population was only one percent. But by 1993, that number had progressively increased to ten percent. He says that the kingdom of Christ is currently expanding at a rate of over three times the rate of world population growth (“Mission Frontiers,” May/June, 1994, p. 5).
If you’re not already on Jesus’ side, these two parables should alarm you because you are opposed to that which inevitably will prevail. You need to cross the line by trusting in Christ as your Savior and Lord. If you are on Jesus’ side, these parables should encourage you to sow the seed of the gospel, because God will powerfully use it for the conversion of sinners and the fulfillment of His purpose of being glorified in all the earth. You want to be on Jesus’ side because ultimately He will triumph over all.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Years ago, before Korea was divided, a theological professor from Yale visited a mission in northern Korea. He wanted to preach in a country church, so the mission sent him with a missionary interpreter to a rural Korean village. The professor began his sermon, “All thought is divided into two categories, the concrete and the abstract.”
The Korean interpreter looked at the tiny congregation sitting with eager attention on the floor of the little church—toothless grandmothers, barefoot schoolboys—and made a quick decision. “Dear friends,” he translated, “I have come all the way from America to tell you about the Lord Jesus Christ.” From that point on, the sermon was firmly in the interpreter’s hands (Samuel Moffet, Christianity Today [11/14/94], p. 55).
I love to sit around and discuss theological issues with anyone who is interested. That was probably one of the best aspects of seminary, to be able to interact with my classmates on a broad range of biblical and theological issues. But while it is fine to discuss theology, there is an inherent danger in doing so, namely, the danger of not applying the truth to one’s own heart.
In our text, Luke again emphasizes Jesus’ teaching ministry: “He was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem” (13:22). If you know the end of the story, the mention of Jerusalem strikes an ominous note, because it meant rejection by the nation and the horror of the cross. Somewhere in some village some unnamed person in the crowd asked Jesus an interesting theological question: “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” I don’t know the man’s motives for asking the question. Perhaps he saw the increasing opposition from the religious leaders and he could sense that the crowds, although superficially interested in Jesus’ message, tended to side with their leaders. But he asked this question, “Are there just a few who are being saved?”
Most of us have wondered about that question as we look at the billions of pagans compared with the few committed Christians. It would have made for an interesting theological discussion. But Jesus did not answer the question directly. Instead, He directed the question away from abstract theological speculation and toward specific application for each person in the crowd. The man had asked, “Will the saved be few?” Jesus turned it around to ask, “Will the saved be you?”
Remember, Jesus was speaking to a crowd made up mostly of religious Jews. Almost to a person they believed in the one true God. They were not agnostics or polytheists. They believed in the Hebrew Scriptures and lived in basic accordance with them. In giving His answer, Jesus was not addressing a pagan audience. He was talking to the “church” crowd, most of whom assumed that they would go to heaven because they were good Jews. And He gives us church folks some important and practical lessons on the subject of salvation:
Salvation requires our earnest effort, our urgent attention, and our careful self-examination.
It requires our earnest effort because the door is narrow. It requires our urgent attention because the door is soon to be closed. It requires our careful self-examination because once it is closed, the door will be eternally-closed.
Our Lord did not say, “Good question! Let’s divide up into groups and discuss what each of you thinks about it.” To pool the group’s thoughts would only increase speculation. Jesus wasn’t interested in speculation about theology. He was concerned about the personal salvation of His hearers. So, rather than opening it up for discussion, Jesus gave a command that applied the question to His hearers’ hearts: “Strive to enter by the narrow door.”
Strive comes from a Greek word used of athletic contests and of war. Obviously, it implies a great deal of effort. You don’t win wars or athletic contests by being passive. You never see an athlete receiving the gold medal, who says, “I had never worked out or run in a race until a few weeks ago. I thought it would be fun, so here I am.” Every athlete who wins strives to win. He invests great energy and effort into winning. It is not an accident if he wins. It is the result of deliberate and sustained effort. Not everyone receives the prize. Only a few are winners.
The fact that the door is narrow implies that it takes some deliberate thought and effort to go through it. There aren’t many doors into the same place, so that you can take your pick. There is one and only one door, which is Jesus Christ. He alone is the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Him (John 14:6). The entrance is narrow and exclusive, not broad and all-inclusive.
There isn’t one great big door that’s easy to find and stroll through without thinking about it. There is one narrow door. You might not like the fact that it is narrow. You may think that it’s too exclusive. You may say, “I believe that God is loving and that He will accept everyone who tries to do his best. I believe that all sincere people will get through the door.” But, the fact is, according to Jesus it is narrow, not wide. He made it narrow without checking with us for our ideas about how wide it should be. Whether you like it or not, Jesus claimed to be the only way to God. You can either enter through the narrow door, which is Christ alone, or you can invent a broad door that includes many ways to God, and thus contradict what Jesus Himself said.
Jesus is asking, “Are you striving to enter the narrow door? Are you making your salvation a matter of deliberate and sustained effort? Are you sure that you’re entering the narrow door as defined by Jesus and not a broad door of your own choosing?” You say, “Whoa! I thought that salvation is a free gift, received simply by grace through faith, not a matter of our effort. How does this harmonize with striving for it?”
Jesus isn’t talking about salvation by works or human effort. But He is talking about our attitude toward it. Those who are only mildly interested about salvation will not obtain it. Those who view salvation as an interesting topic for discussion are missing the point. Those who say, “I believe that all roads lead to God and all good people will go to heaven” are engaging in human speculation, but they are not submitting to Jesus’ divine revelation. They are putting their thoughts about being open-minded and tolerant above Jesus’ words that the door is narrow.
The salvation of your eternal soul should not be a casual subject that is good for an occasional stimulating theological discussion! It ought to consume your attention. It shouldn’t be a matter of mild interest that elicits a halfhearted response. You need to take great pains to make sure that you have entered the narrow door. Jesus doesn’t say, “Stroll through the big door sometime when you’re not doing anything else and check it out.” He says, “Strive to enter by the narrow door.”
Again, picture the Olympic athlete. He makes winning the gold medal the focus of his life. Everything he does is controlled by his goal of winning the gold. He won’t eat anything that is not good for him, because it might hinder his muscles from performing at their maximum on the day of the race. He doesn’t go to parties and stay up late the night before, because he wants to be rested and ready to give everything to the race. He will refrain from engaging in fun activities that his other friends enjoy, such as skiing or playing softball, because he doesn’t want to break his leg or tear his ligaments. He is disciplined to work out for hours, often when his body is screaming, “That’s enough!” because he wants to win.
That’s the kind of attitude that we should have toward our own salvation, according to Jesus. It shouldn’t be a nice thing to think about every once in a while when you don’t have anything better to do. It should be on your mind every day. It should govern everything you do. It should determine how you spend your time, your money, and your leisure hours. You must strive to enter because the door is narrow. It’s not a great big wide door that you can wander into without thinking about it. You must be earnest to make sure that Christ alone is your hope of salvation.
Jesus says that many will seek to enter and will not be able. The following verse indicates that they will not be able to enter because they missed the deadline. It is not that many strive to enter, but only some of those striving succeed. Rather, as the following verses show, some will wake up to the serious issues involved in their own salvation too late. They had assumed that all was well with them because they were decent, religious people. They knew Jesus in a casual way, but they had not taken the gospel to heart. They had never repented of their sins. But they didn’t consider these matters seriously until it was too late.
I’ll say more about missing the deadline in a moment. But for now, I am making the point that if you follow the crowd you will not follow the Savior into eternal life. Jesus says that there are many (and He is talking about the religious crowd) who will not enter through the narrow door. If you follow them, you will be shut out when that door slams shut. And, it always takes effort, both mentally and morally, to go against the majority. You have to think about matters for yourself and decide, “I will not follow conventional wisdom. I will not go along with group pressure. I will follow the Lord Jesus Christ.”
So Jesus’ first point is that salvation requires our earnest effort. If you are only halfhearted about it or go with the crowd, you will miss it! You must strive to enter by the narrow door.
We all tend to procrastinate, but Jesus tells us that salvation is the most dangerous matter in all of life to procrastinate about.
The day is coming when the head of the house (God) will get up and shut the door. Clearly, at that point there will not be another chance to get in. Once the door is shut, it is shut. Those inside are in; those outside are out.
You ask, “When will the door be shut?” That’s for the head of the house to decide. The final closing of the door will be at the judgment, which will take place at the second coming of Christ. John describes the scene: “And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life; and the dead were judged from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds…. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev. 20:12, 15). Since the Lord is coming soon, you don’t want to procrastinate about salvation!
But each person’s eternal destiny is fixed before the day of judgment, at the point of death. Hebrews 9:27 states, “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” Since life hangs by a thread, even for the youngest and healthiest among us, we dare not procrastinate about the matter of salvation.
Maybe you’re thinking, “I’m young and healthy and the second coming is probably not going to happen soon. I’ve got some time before I need to deal with these matters.”
But that’s not wise because the head of the house might slam shut the day of opportunity for you to respond to His offer of salvation. This was true for Jesus’ hearers. Messiah was in their very midst and they were in danger of rejecting Him. They had the unique opportunity of hearing Jesus Himself teaching the Word of God, but that window of opportunity was about to close, because Jesus was heading toward Jerusalem. In a few short years Titus, the Roman general, would destroy Jerusalem and the temple and the Jews would be dispersed for 1,900 years.
As with them, so with us: the opportunity to respond to Jesus is now. Don’t mistakenly think, “I’ve got plenty of time.” You might not have another opportunity like that which you have right now as you hear the Word of God proclaimed. You may leave here and your mind gets caught up with work or duties at home or other things, and the tug of the Spirit on your heart fades. It is said of Esau that after he had sold his birthright, later, “when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears” (Heb. 12:17). He missed his day of opportunity with God.
Once that door is shut, there will be no bargaining or working out a last minute deal. We must enter on God’s terms and in God’s time, or not at all. At the judgment, everyone will know the truth and realize what a horrible mistake they have made. But it will be too late. As J. C. Ryle puts it, “Hell is nothing but truth known too late” (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], 3:134). Salvation is an urgent matter!
Those who are shut out seem surprised. They call out, “Lord, open up to us!” But He says, “I don’t know where you’re from.” They reply, “We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.” They were acquainted with Him. But the problem was, He was not acquainted with them. He tells them, “I do not know where you are from. Depart from Me, all you evildoers.” If you have a genuine personal relationship with Jesus, you will not continue in your evil deeds. Salvation is God’s free gift, apart from works, but those who are truly saved will make progress in holiness, apart from which no man will see the Lord (Heb. 12:14).
Now, not later, is the time to make sure that you have a personal relationship with Jesus, not just a casual acquaintance with Him. One major evidence of such a relationship is that you are growing in holiness, not just outwardly, but in your heart.
Thus salvation requires our earnest effort and our urgent attention. Finally, Jesus teaches us that …
Since many will be surprised and since the stakes are so high and irreversible, we must be careful to examine our own hearts, to make sure that we are inside the narrow door before it is eternally closed. There are three reasons we must examine ourselves:
Weeping and gnashing of teeth doesn’t sound like a fun experience, especially when it continues through all eternity! Think of it as an eternal root canal without anesthesia! These men had assumed that they would be included in the kingdom. They were Jews, not filthy gentiles. They were related to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. But now they find themselves shut out and, of all things, those dirty gentiles from east and west and north and south are inside, dining with the patriarchs and prophets!
Contrary to popular modern views, hell will not be a wild party for all the wicked. And, contrary to most popular thinking, hell will not be just for the worst of the worst—the Hitlers of this world. These men were religious Jews who thought they were deserving of heaven. But they would not submit to Jesus and so they faced the horrible eternal consequence of being in that place of weeping and gnashing of teeth. Because there will be many religious people in hell, all of us who attend church should examine ourselves to make sure that we are not cast into that place of weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The closed door makes a final separation between those inside and those outside. There are none sort of in and sort of out. While there are gradations of rewards for those who are in and gradations of punishment for those who are out, there is a great chasm fixed between the two (Luke 16:26), with nothing in the middle. You won’t be basically in heaven because you’re a basically good person. Either you’re in because you have entered through the narrow door, which is Jesus Christ, or you’re out because you have trusted in your own goodness or in the fact that you’re a church-going American Christian. You need to examine yourself and carefully answer the question, “If I were to stand before God and He said, ‘Why should I let you into My heaven?’ what would I say?” The only correct answer is, “I am trusting completely in Your Son Jesus and His shed blood.”
Jesus says that there will be a great reversal. Many who thought they were first will be last. Many whom the “first crowd” thought were last, will be first. The Jews of Jesus’ day despised the pagan gentiles. They thought that if they ate with gentiles they would be defiled. But Jesus says that many gentiles will be in the kingdom, eating with the patriarchs and prophets, while many self-righteous Jews would be shut out.
These verses demand our careful attention because we who are in the church are in the same place as the Jews of Jesus’ day. We are familiar with the things of God. Perhaps like me, you were raised to know the gospel. But being in the church is not enough. Have you personally entered through the narrow door? Have you come to Jesus as a guilty sinner and laid hold of Him as the only acceptable sacrifice for your sins? Are you seeking to know Him and grow in Him as your Lord and Savior? General acquaintance with Jesus won’t be enough in that terrible day. Don’t assume that just because you know about Jesus, you know Him.
David Brainerd, the great missionary to the American Indians, was once witnessing to a chief who was very close to trusting in Christ. But he held back. Brainerd got up, took a stick, drew a circle in the dirt around the chief, and said, “Decide before you cross that line.” Brainerd knew that if the chief missed that moment he might never be so close again.
My prayer is that the Lord will use this message to draw that line around you if you have never entered through the narrow door, which is Christ alone. Salvation is not just an interesting theological notion to discuss. It is of crucial importance for every person because the door is narrow and it soon will be shut forever. But right now it is still open. Jesus says to you, “Strive to enter by the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able.”
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
If God is sovereign and desires that all people be saved, then why are all people not saved? I hope that you have your thinking caps in place, because our text plunges us into one of the most difficult subjects in God’s Word: the relationship between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. In approaching a difficult subject like this, we must avoid the tendency to keep it on an intellectual level. If you go away and think, “That was an interesting message,” you have missed what I am attempting to accomplish.
My aim is twofold: First, that you would go away glorifying and praising God for the depth of the riches of His wisdom and knowledge (Rom. 11:33). Second, my aim is that if you do not know Jesus Christ personally as Lord and Savior, you would go away knowing that He is your Savior and that He has forgiven your sins. But to deal adequately with our text, I must take you through some deep issues that run through these verses. This will require your mental effort.
Luke 13:31-33 reports the visit of some Pharisees who warned Jesus of Herod’s death threat against Him; and, we have our Lord’s response, which shows His fearless commitment to the will of God. We don’t know the Pharisees’ motives for warning Jesus, but given their hostility toward Him, perhaps they wanted to use Herod’s threat to scare Jesus out of Galilee (Herod’s jurisdiction) and toward Jerusalem, where they could deal with Him.
But whatever their motives, Jesus’ reply shows that He knew where He was going and what He had to accomplish in the sovereign will of God. He was moving steadily toward the cross and He would not be deterred by the threats of Herod or the Pharisees. The words, “reach My goal,” “must,” and “it cannot be” show the divine necessity that propelled Jesus. These verses show us what other Scriptures plainly declare, that the death of Christ was determined by God’s sovereign will, not by man’s evil designs.
Then, in 13:34-35, we have Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem and His prophecy of her future. These verses show us God’s great compassion toward sinners and the responsibility of sinners for their own judgment. We also see that sinners who reject the Lord do not in any way thwart His sovereign purpose. Someday there will be a multitude in Israel who will say in response to Jesus, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.”
In dealing with these admittedly difficult themes, of how God’s sovereignty relates to human responsibility, some have floundered on the rocks of what has been called hyper-Calvinism. They emphasize the sovereignty of God to the extent that they practically deny human responsibility and they deny God’s love for sinners. Others have hit the rocks on the other side by holding to Arminianism. They exalt human responsibility (so-called “free will”) to such an extent that they make God’s sovereign will depend on man’s choices. I want to chart our way through these waters by developing four statements which, I believe, avoid both extremes and are consistent with all of God’s Word.
Scripture clearly states that God has predestined us “according to His purpose, who works all things after the counsel of His will” (Eph. 1:11). This means that nothing happens by chance or apart from God’s will; rather, God ordains everything that happens. As David proclaims, “The Lord has established His throne in the heavens; and His sovereignty rules over all” (Ps. 103:19). “Our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases” (Ps. 115:3). Augustine put it, “The will of God is the necessity of all things” (cited by John Calvin, The Institutes of the Christian Religion [Westminster], 3:23:8).
Some will say that God has ordained everything good, but that He did not ordain evil. But this is contrary both to reason and to Scripture. As Jonathan Edwards reasons, “For all must own, that God sometimes wills not to hinder the breach of his own commands, because he does not in fact hinder it. He wills to permit sin, it is evident, because he does permit it. None will say that God himself does what he does not will to do” (The Works of Jonathan Edwards [Banner of Truth], 2:528). If you argue that God only permits sin, but that He does not decree it, Edwards answers that if God permits it, it cannot be contrary to His will. “For if it were contrary to his will as he permits it, then it would be contrary to his will to permit it; for that is the same thing. But nobody will say that God permits sin, when it is against his will to permit it; for this would be to make him act involuntarily, or against his will (p. 529).
Edwards also argues that the crucifixion of Christ was the greatest of all decreed events, being the main thing in God’s work, namely, the work of redemption. But, as Acts 2:23 declares, Jesus was “delivered up [to be crucified] by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God.” As Acts 4:27-28 states, all of the evil people who killed Jesus were simply doing whatever God’s hand and purpose predestined to occur. Thus although the crucifixion was an evil deed carried out by evil men, God decreed it.
There are many other Scriptures that show that God is sovereign over everything, even over the evil deeds of Satan and of men, and yet God remains pure and untainted by all evil. Satan had to get God’s permission to afflict Job, so that all the evil that he did was under God’s sovereignty. On another occasion, God wills to kill the wicked King Ahab. A demon offers his services to go and be a lying spirit among Ahab’s prophets, so that the king will be lured into a battle where he will be killed. God sends the demon with the command to go and be that lying spirit (1 Kings 22:20-22).
Another time, God states that He will bring calamity on Judah and Jerusalem, to the extent that men will eat the flesh of their sons and daughters (Jer. 19:3, 9). He declares that Absalom’s adultery with his father’s wives in the sight of all Israel will be God’s work (2 Sam. 12:11-12). God states through Isaiah (45:6b-7), “I am the Lord, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness, causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the Lord who does all these.” There are many more such examples in the Bible (see Calvin, Institutes, 1:18).
The point is, neither the evil of Satan nor the rebellion of sinners in any way threatens or thwarts the sovereign plan of God. Herod’s threat to kill Jesus did not deter Jesus for one minute from doing what God had called Him to do. In calling Herod a fox, Jesus meant that he was both a deceiver and that he was insignificant. Herod is the only man whom Jesus treated with contempt. When Jesus says that He casts out demons and performs cures today and tomorrow, and the third day He reaches His goal, He is saying figuratively, “I am methodically going about doing what God has given me to do, right on schedule. In a short time I will complete that work.” Luke may also intend that his readers see the mention of the third day as a hidden reference to the resurrection. But the point is, the evil Herod was not in any way a threat to God’s sovereign purpose through Jesus. As Leon Morris states (Luke [IVP/ Eerdmans], p. 228), “God, not Herod, will determine when He is to die.”
Thus, the first truth that we must affirm is that God is sovereign, even over evil, and yet He is not responsible for evil. The death of Christ did not thwart God’s plan; it fulfilled it.
Sometimes, in affirming God’s sovereignty and His election of some unto salvation, people go off the deep end by denying His compassion and love for all sinners. They say that God loves the elect, but that He does not love those whom He did not choose for salvation.
Scripture teaches that God has a special love for His own people: “Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end” (or, “to the uttermost,” John 13:1). “Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her” (Eph. 5:25). Just as I have a special love for my own children that I do not have for all children, so God has a special love for those who are His children through faith in Christ.
But, Scripture also teaches that God loves and shows compassion toward all people, even for those who ultimately reject His offer of mercy. “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). “‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live’” (Ezek. 33:11). God “Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men” (Luke 6:35b). In our text, we see Jesus’ heart of compassion for the disobedient nation of Israel, which had repeatedly killed the prophets and stoned those whom God had sent to her. Even after Jerusalem’s horrible history of returning evil in response to God’s grace, here again Jesus calls out to her, telling her how much He wanted to gather her children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings.
Scripture is very clear that God did not choose all people for salvation. If you ask me how God could not choose some to salvation and yet love them, I can only say that Scripture declares both to be true. Again, if you ask how God could desire the salvation of all men and yet not choose all for salvation, I cannot answer; except to say that Scripture affirms both to be true. Martin Luther referred to this as God’s inscrutable or secret will and he distinguished it from God’s preached or published will. Concerning God’s secret will, Luther states, “This will is not to be inquired into, but to be reverently adored, as by far the most awesome secret of the Divine Majesty” (The Bondage of the Will, translated by J. I. Packer and O. R. Johnston [Revell], p. 169). In response to Jesus’ lament about gathering Jerusalem’s children together, Luther writes (p. 171),
By why the Majesty does not remove or change this fault of will in every man (for it is not in the power of man to do it), or why He lays this fault to the charge of the will, when man cannot avoid it, it is not lawful to ask; and though you should ask much, you would never find out; as Paul says in Rom. 11 [sic]: “Who art thou that repliest against God?” (Rom. 9:20).
John Calvin also refers to the secret or hidden will of God, into which we are not permitted to probe. He argues that God’s “will is one and simple in him, [but] it appears manifold to us because, on account of our mental incapacity, we do not grasp how in divers [different] ways it will and does not will something to take place” (Institutes, 1:18:3).
The Arminian answer to the problem of how God can love all people and desire their salvation, and yet they are not saved, is to say that God has given free will to every person and that salvation depends on the sinner exercising his will to choose Christ. Thus they make salvation depend on the will of man. Luther spends a whole book, The Bondage of the Will, refuting this error, and I only have time here for a sentence or two! I can do it in two words: Romans 9. There Paul clearly and forcefully slams the door on the view that salvation depends on mans’ so-called “free will.”
After stating that God chose Jacob and rejected Esau before they were born, so that His purpose according to election might stand, he states, “So then it [salvation] does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy” (Rom. 9:16). If you say, “God has mercy on those whom He foreknew would choose Him,” Paul answers, no, “He has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires” (9:18). And then if you object, “If it all depends on God and not at all on man, then how can God hold us accountable?” Paul answers, “Who are you, O man, who answers back to God?” (9:20). In other words, you are arrogant to ask the question, so shut up and bow before God’s awesome majesty! As Calvin rightly argues throughout his discussion of this subject, if you do not understand and submit to the scriptural teaching on God’s sovereign election, you detract from His glory and you “tear humility up by the very roots” (Institutes, 3:21:1).
Thus all of Scripture and our text in particular teach that God is sovereign over everything, even over evil, including the evil of killing Jesus. It also affirms that God’s sovereignty does not negate His great mercy toward sinners.
Spurgeon has a sermon on these verses titled, “Jerusalem the Guilty.” Although God sovereignly ordained the cross, those who killed Jesus were guilty of the worst of crimes. Although Judas was the son of perdition, and the Son of Man would go “as it has been determined, woe to that man by whom He is betrayed” (Luke 22:22). Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem is both an appeal and an indictment. He is appealing to them to repent of their history of rejecting God’s messengers, and yet He is indicting them for what they have done and are about to do. “I wanted to gather your children, … and you would not have it!” Although it was sovereignly ordained, they were responsible for their wicked rebellion.
This means that no sinner can blame God when he comes under God’s judgment. No one can shake his fist at God and say, “I didn’t repent because You didn’t elect me to salvation!” He can only say, “I didn’t repent because of the hardness of my sinful heart and because I rejected your many merciful warnings.”
The clear truth of Scripture is that if you are saved, it is not because of anything you did or ever could do. You were dead in your sins, blinded in your understanding, excluded from the life of God because of your ignorance and hardness of heart (Eph. 2:1; 4:18). “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)” (Eph. 2:4-5). Salvation is totally from God and not at all from you. But if you are lost, it is completely because you deserve to be lost because of your rebellion and persistence in your sins. It is not due to any fault of God that anyone is lost.
“Wait a minute,” you say. “This is a win-win deal for God, but a lose-lose deal for man. God has it both ways: He gets all the credit for saving us, but He doesn’t take any of the blame if we aren’t saved.” Precisely! That is the point. Salvation by God’s unconditional election through His sovereign grace brings all glory to Him while it humbles all of our pride. Damnation by God’s righteous justice because of our stubborn sinfulness brings glory to Him and just condemnation to us. God is glorified for His sovereign mercy in saving His elect. He is glorified for His righteous judgment in condemning unrepentant sinners.
If the Spirit of God opens your eyes to understand this doctrine and humbles your heart to submit to it, you will have the same worshipful experience that the apostle Paul had at the climax of his discussion of these matters (Rom. 11:33-36):
Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor? Or who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to him again? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
I pray that all of us would enter into that same spirit of worshipful submission to our sovereign God! There is one final point:
Jesus declares, “Behold, your house is left to you desolate.” These solemn words were literally fulfilled in A.D. 70, when the Roman general Titus destroyed the city and slaughtered thousands of Jews. The nation was dispersed until 1948. When God’s judgment falls, it is an awful thing! When God abandons a nation or an individual, that nation or person is truly left desolate! To be without God is truly to be without hope in this world.
Jesus not only issues a warning, but also a promise, that the nation would see Him again and this next time they will say, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” (a quote from the messianic Psalm 118:26). As Paul argues in Romans 11:11-32, although God has set Israel aside in judgment during the present time of the Gentiles, when this period is fulfilled, Israel will experience a great turning back to God just before the second coming of Jesus the Messiah. At that time the prophecy of Zechariah 12:10 will be fulfilled, “And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him, like the bitter weeping over a first-born.”
The warning and the promise of Luke 13:35 are not only for the nation Israel. They also apply to every individual. If you continue in rebellion against God and reject the Savior whom He sent, God will leave you desolate, not only in this world, but for all eternity. But if you will repent of your sins and trust in the Savior who willingly went to the cross in obedience to the Father to save His people from their sins, then you will know the joy of saying, “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” You will be reconciled to God for time and eternity. You will reign with Jesus when He comes in His glory with His holy angels.
A pastor once sat in the vestry of his church to meet anyone who might have spiritual difficulties. One man came and the pastor asked, “What is your difficulty?” The man answered, “My difficulty is in Romans 9, where it says, ‘Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.’” “Yes,” said the minister, “there is great difficulty in that verse. But which part of the verse is difficult for you?”
“The latter part, of course,” said the man. “I cannot understand why God should hate Esau.” The minister replied, “The verse is difficult, but my difficulty has always been with the first part of the verse. I never could understand how God could love that wily, deceitful, supplanting scoundrel, Jacob.”
If you understand the sinfulness of your own heart, you will side with that pastor. How could God love a scoundrel like me? Jesus gives us a graphic picture of God’s love: it is like a mother hen, gathering her chicks under her wings. Farmers have told of finding a mother hen after a severe hailstorm, beaten to death by the hail. But after the storm, the chicks crawled out from under their mother, unharmed. She gave her life to protect them from the fury of the storm.
The Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself on the cross to save you from the awful storm of God’s judgment that is going to fall on every sinner. He pleads with you to take refuge under His wings. If you will run to Christ, you will find shelter and mercy because of His great love.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
We live in a day where the doctrine of self-esteem is assumed to be a basic “Christian” belief. Not only Christian psychologists, but also many popular Bible teachers, emphasize that you must learn to love and accept yourself before you can truly love God and love others. Earlier in my ministry, I used to teach that you need “proper” self-esteem.
Then I read John Calvin and Jonathan Edwards, who both denounce self-love and self-esteem as being radically opposed to biblical humility. (See my message, “How John Calvin Led Me to Repent of Christian Psychology.”) They helped me to see that I had drifted from the Bible, which clearly teaches self-denial, not self-esteem. For a number of years now I have taught a course titled, “Self-Confrontation,” using the manual of that title by John Broger (published by the Biblical Counseling Foundation). The very title seems jarring in this day of feel-good-about-myself Christianity. People wonder, “Why would I want to confront myself? Am I not supposed to love myself and feel good about myself?” Self-confrontation seems like about as much fun as a root canal.
But the Word of God and Jesus in particular confront us continually with our sin. It’s safe to say that if you are not using Scripture to confront your life, then you are not growing in Christ. Scripture is given for reproof and correction (2 Tim. 3:16). When Paul exhorted Timothy to preach the word, he went on to say, “Reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (2 Tim. 4:2). If a builder came on a construction site and found that it was littered with the remains of an old building, before he could begin construction he would have to clear away the rubble. Our lives are littered with the rubble of sin, and the Lord continually has to clean out the old life of sin so that He can build in the new life of holiness. So His Word constantly confronts us with areas where we need to judge our sin.
One of the main proponents of self-esteem says that one reason he follows Jesus is that Jesus is such a positive person. He must have cut Luke 14 out of his Bible! Jesus was invited to dinner at the home of a leader of the Pharisees. He accepted the invitation, but He was hardly a polite dinner guest. It was on the Sabbath, and He no sooner had walked in the door than He saw, right in front of Him, a man suffering from dropsy. Dropsy, also called edema, is a swelling of the joints or the whole body, often due to a faulty heart or to diseased kidneys or liver. Jesus could have told the man, “Come back after sundown and I’ll heal you,” thus avoiding a confrontation with the Pharisees. But He didn’t do that; He healed the man and then verbally confronted His critics.
As if that were not enough for one day, the Lord proceeded to rebuke the dinner guests who sought out the places of honor at the table. While everyone’s jaws gaped open at that, He proceeded to rebuke the host for inviting the wrong guests to his dinner party. Then, when one of the guests tried to ease the tension by exclaiming, “Blessed is everyone who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God,” Jesus told a parable to show that many of the Jews would be shut out of the kingdom and many Gentiles would be included (14:15-24). Jesus was very confrontational! If you hang out with Him for very long, you’ll find that He confronts your sin. He does it out of love for a good reason:
Jesus confronts our sin so that we will inherit rewards for all eternity.
Our text reveals three areas where Jesus confronts our sin. Before we look at these, let me point out that Jesus accepted dinner invitations from unbelievers, but He didn’t just go and socialize. He went with a mission. He was always doing His Father’s business. If you socialize with unbelievers, make sure that you go with the same sense of mission, prepared to speak out boldly for the Lord. Otherwise, you will end up compromising your faith or even being drawn back into the worldly behavior you once engaged in.
Luke does not say and so we can’t be sure, but there is some reason to believe that the Pharisees planted this man with dropsy there in front of Jesus to see whether He would violate their rules against healing on the Sabbath. Luke says, “they were watching Him closely.” The verb has the nuance of lurking or lying in wait to catch someone in something. They were out to get Him.
Jesus didn’t disappoint them! He took up the challenge head-on, asking them, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” This put them in a bind. If they said that healing is permitted, they conceded His point and they raised problems about their traditions, which had added to the Law of Moses. If they said that healing is not permitted, they came across as uncaring. Besides, if they had invited this man to be there, it cast questions on their motives for them to say, “No, healing is not permitted.” So they kept silent.
Note the simple manner Luke reports this miracle: Jesus took hold of the man, healed him, and sent him away. Normally, dropsy would take a few days to subside, but this man went from being bloated to instantly being normal. Luke doesn’t say anything about the man’s or the witnesses’ reaction. Then, Jesus followed up the miracle by asking them a rhetorical question to underscore His point: “Which one of you shall have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day?” Some manuscripts read “donkey” instead of “son,” but the evidence is clearly in favor of “son” as the original reading. Jesus is saying, “If your son, or for that matter, even your ox, falls into a well on the Sabbath, you wouldn’t hesitate to pull him (or it) out. Yet you want to let this man go on in his suffering!” In other words, they cared about their animals more than about this man. Jesus was exposing their lack of love and their religious hypocrisy.
There are far more characteristics of hypocrites than those listed here, but note these five from our text:
(1) Hypocrites study the Word for ammunition against others, but they don’t apply it to themselves. These men knew their Bibles. They knew the Law of Moses frontward and backward. They were the guardians of the faith, waiting to catch someone else in an error. Their aim in knowing the Word was not to confront themselves, but to have the ammo to use against others. They were watching Jesus closely, but they weren’t watching themselves closely. They were waiting for Him to violate their rules, so that they could pounce on Him. But they weren’t applying the Law to themselves.
I’ve seen husbands who use the Word like a club against their wives. “She doesn’t submit to me as the head of the home.” I say to them, “Did you know that the Bible never commands you to be the head of your wife?” They sputter, “What do you mean? Of course it does!” But it does not. The Bible instructs wives that their husbands are their head, but when it comes to the husband, the command is, “Love your wives even as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her” (Eph. 5:25). I’ll ask these husbands, “How are you sacrificing your time and selfish interests to serve your wife and children?” These hypocritical husbands want to lord it over their wives and children, abusing the authority that the Lord gives to husbands to bless and protect their families. But they don’t want to lay down their selfish ways in service of their wives and children, as Scripture confronts them. They are using the Word for ammo against others, not to confront their own sinful selfishness.
(2) Hypocrites target and try to bring down anyone who confronts their sin with the Word. Why did this Pharisee invite Jesus to dinner? What was his motive? From the evidence we have, I suggest that it was not to learn from Jesus. It was not to find out if possibly he was wrong and Jesus was right. He invited Jesus to dinner to try to set Him up and bring Him down. He and his cronies were watching Jesus to try to trip Him up.
I have had people in the church who are constantly critical of minor doctrinal differences that they hear in my sermons. They’re always ready to pounce when I don’t exactly agree with them. One matter that seems to be increasingly common is that they use the King James Bible and pounce on anyone who doesn’t, accusing him of being liberal. Invariably, these people have no idea of the scholarly issues involved. They just sit in judgment on any preacher who doesn’t use the original King James Bible. But if you were to ask his wife and children, “Is he a loving and gentle man at home?” you would see some sad expressions on their faces. The man is ignoring the second great commandment, but he’s out to get the preacher on his pet doctrinal issues!
(3) Hypocrites care more about their manmade rules than about people being right before God in their hearts. These Pharisees couldn’t care less about this hurting man. So what if he was suffering? Jesus was breaking their rules! Hypocrites usually care more about external conformity than about inward righteousness. They aren’t concerned about whether they please God in their thought-lives; they just want everyone to follow the rules about how you look and what you do. If Jesus had just observed their Sabbath rules, they would have been content to leave Him alone. But Jesus always dealt with heart issues, like having a pure thought life, being free from anger, and being forgiving from the heart toward those who have wronged you.
(4) Hypocrites bend the rules for their own purposes, but they apply them rigidly to others. These men would do what they had to do, Sabbath or no Sabbath. There were ways to get around the rules when you needed to. A Sabbath-day’s journey could be extended if you knew how to do it, so that you could travel where you wanted to go. They would get their own son or ox out of a pit on the Sabbath. But, no healing allowed on the Sabbath! I wonder what Jesus’ host would have done if Jesus had healed the host’s wife or son on the Sabbath? Probably, that would have been allowed!
(5) Hypocrites often ignore overwhelming evidence in order to persist in their sin. Jesus powerfully and miraculously heals this man, but the Pharisees ignored that evidence. And, this wasn’t the first time this sort of thing had happened! Jesus had cast a demon out of a man in the synagogue on the Sabbath, and the report of that had spread widely (4:31-37). He healed Simon’s mother-in-law on the Sabbath (4:38-39). He healed the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath, but the Pharisees responded with rage (6:6-11). On the Sabbath He healed the woman bent over for 18 years, but the synagogue official was indignant (13:10-17). How much more evidence did they need to wake up and say, “Maybe we’re wrong and Jesus is right?” This shows us how deeply entrenched this sin of religious hypocrisy is and how diligent we must be to root it out of ourselves when Jesus confronts it! If you’re not careful, you can build a case to defend your point-of-view and ignore overwhelming biblical evidence that convicts you of your sin.
God’s Word applies to all of us, especially to those of us who teach and preach. John Calvin said, “It would be better for the preacher to break his neck going into the pulpit than for him not to be the first to follow God” (cited by J. I. Packer in a message given at the Congress on Biblical Exposition). Richard Baxter exhorted his fellow pastors, to “preach to yourselves the sermons which you study, before you preach them to others” (The Reformed Pastor [Banner of Truth], p. 61). John Owen put it, “a man preaches that sermon only well to others, which preaches itself in his own soul…. If the word does not dwell with power in us, it will not pass with power from us” (Works, XVI:76, cited by J. I. Packer, A Quest for Godliness [Crossway Books], p. 286; I modernized Owen’s English). The point is, to avoid hypocrisy, we all must allow the Word to confront our sins and respond with repentance and obedience, not with hardness of heart.
In these verses Jesus turns the tables: instead of the Pharisees observing Jesus, Jesus observes the Pharisees. But His motives were totally different than theirs. He wasn’t watching them in order to trip them up, but to confront them with their sin and hypocrisy so that they could repent and be right before God.
Hypocrisy and pride are related sins. Those who keep up outward appearances to impress others are invariably self-focused and proud. These men did what they did to be noticed by others and to gain honor for themselves (Matt. 23:5-12). Jesus shows them that the way of pride leads to ultimate disgrace. The way of humility leads to ultimate reward. Verse 11 may apply to this life, although not necessarily. But if a proud man makes it through this life without being humbled, he is in for a rude awakening at the final judgment! There the proud, who have trusted in themselves and their own good deeds, will be brought low before God. The humble, who have recognized their own sin and have cried out to Jesus for mercy, will be exalted into His eternal presence.
When Jesus tells the dinner guests that they should seek out the lowest seats, He is not advocating a self-focused scheme as to how you can really end up in the first seat, namely by taking the worst seat. For a man to do that, he would still be operating out of pride, which is the very thing Jesus is confronting! Rather, the point is, “Every one before God ought to feel that the lowest place is the proper place for him” (Alfred Plummer, The Gospel According to St. Luke [Charles Scribner’s Sons], p. 356).
The more we grow in grace, the more we will grow in humility. Biblical humility is the recognition that everything good that we are and have comes as an undeserved gift from God. As Paul put it to the Corinthians, “And what do you have that you did not receive? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?” (1 Cor. 4:7). Biblical humility is a recognition that apart from Christ, I can do nothing (John 15:5), and so I do not trust in myself, but in the Lord. Biblical humility is always accompanied by a growing awareness of the depths of my own sinfulness, along with a growing appreciation for the abundant grace of God shown to me in Christ. The psalmist put it, “If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared” (Ps. 130:3-4). As the pioneer missionary, William Carey, had inscribed on his tombstone, “A wretched, poor and helpless worm, on Thy kind arms I fall.”
Biblical humility runs completely counter to the predominant self-esteem teaching that has flooded the church. We are being told that at the root of our problems is the fact that we do not think highly enough of ourselves. For example, I have a brochure from a well-known Christian treatment program. It has glowing endorsements from several well-known Christian leaders. The brochure explains, “Part of [our] success is found in the unique ability to target and resolve problems of low self-esteem. At the core of all emotional problems and addictive disorders is low self-worth. It is never the only problem; but it is so major an issue that, if not dealt with adequately, one is kept from experiencing lasting, positive results.”
Contrast that with John Calvin, who wrote (The Institutes of the Christian Religion [Westminster], 2:1:2):
Here, then, is what God’s truth requires us to seek in examining ourselves: it requires the kind of knowledge that will strip us of all confidence in our own ability, deprive us of all occasion for boasting, and lead us to submission…. I am quite aware how much more pleasing is that principle which invites us to weigh our good traits rather than to look upon our miserable want and dishonor, which ought to overwhelm us with shame. There is, indeed, nothing that man’s nature seeks more eagerly than to be flattered…. For since blind self-love is innate in all mortals, they are most freely persuaded that nothing inheres in themselves that deserves to be considered hateful. Thus even with no outside support the utterly vain opinion generally obtains credence that man is abundantly sufficient of himself to lead a good and blessed life. But if any take a more modest attitude and concede something to God, so as not to appear to claim everything for themselves, they so divide the credit that the chief basis for boasting and confidence remains in themselves.
Nothing pleases man more than the sort of alluring talk that tickles the pride that itches in his very marrow. Therefore, in nearly every age, when anyone publicly extolled human nature in most favorable terms, he was listened to with applause.
He goes on to say that those who assent to such teaching are deceived and are driven to utter ruin. Throughout The Institutes and his other writings, Calvin extols humility as the chief virtue and pride as the main vice of the human race. It is amazing to me how we could have gotten so far off base in our day (and I used to teach it myself!) when Scripture so thoroughly confronts our pride and continually calls us to humble ourselves before God and others.
Jesus doesn’t stop with rebuking the guests for their sinful pride. He goes on to rebuke the host for his sin of using people rather than loving them. Jesus is not teaching that it is wrong to invite your friends and relatives to a dinner party. Rather, He is making the point that you are not being generous and loving if you only invite people who can return the favor, and especially if you invite the rich with the motive of the status or possible advancements they may be able to provide you in the future. That is just plain old selfishness. True ministry out of Christian love serves and gives without thought of return. It isn’t manipulative, serving for what you can get out of it. As Christians, we should serve others out of love for God and others.
To go Jesus’ way, you have to have your focus on eternity, not on the rewards of this life. You have to believe that God “is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Heb. 11:6). Often there are many blessings that come back on you in this life when you serve the Lord. But, often there are not any visible rewards here and now. You serve and no one notices. You give to help a needy person and you get ripped off, and the person never even says, “Thanks.”
One test of whether your motives are right in your service for Christ is, “Are you hurt when you don’t get the recognition you think you deserve?” Another test is, “What is your attitude toward the poor and the hurting?” If you’re only willing to serve those who can pay you back or who might later be able to advance your cause, you’re using people, not loving them. Jesus confronts our motives for service. Any selfish motives in serving Christ are sin.
We’ve all met people who don’t take a shower often enough. They’re difficult to be close to because of the stench. The same is true of people who don’t use the Word of God daily to cleanse the crud of sin out of their lives. You must develop the habit of taking God’s Word and letting it expose and scrub the dirt out of your heart. Don’t read the Word with the thought, “My wife (or husband) really needs to apply this!” Don’t think, “I wish my kids would take this verse to heart!” Read it and pray, “Lord, confront me with my sin and cleanse it out of my life. Expose my religious hypocrisy. Show me my selfish pride. Reveal how I use people rather than love them. Fill me with your holy love.”
Charles Spurgeon wrote, “My own experience is a daily struggle with the evil within. I wish I could find in myself something friendly to grace, but, hitherto, I have searched my nature through, and have found everything in rebellion against God” (C. H. Spurgeon Autobiography [Banner of Truth], 1:229). If Spurgeon had to confront his sin daily, so do you and I! If we will do it, we will be repaid abundantly at the resurrection of the righteous.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Have you ever had dinner with a famous person? If so, you probably paid dearly for the privilege ($1,000 a plate to have dinner with the President) or you knew someone who got you in the door. Or, perhaps you were privileged to know the famous person yourself. But in any case, dining with a famous person is not something for the masses. Only a few get that privilege.
Today I want to tell you how you all can have dinner with Jesus. You would think that everyone would jump at that opportunity, but as we will see, many turn down the invitation. When I say, “have dinner with Jesus,” I am using a metaphor of the joys and delights of being with Him in His kingdom, dining at the Messianic banquet that He provides throughout all eternity. The Book of Revelation refers to it as the marriage supper of the Lamb (Rev. 19:9) and makes it clear that you will want to be there. Jesus Himself referred to it in Luke 13:28-29, where He said that people from all corners of the earth will dine with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom, but many who assumed that they would be included will be cast out. I want to show you how you can be sure that there will be a place at the table with your name on it.
The unstated question that lies behind our text is, “What sort of person will be in the kingdom of God?” The Jewish leaders assumed, “People just like us will be in the kingdom, of course: good Jews who keep the Law of Moses, who follow the traditions of the elders, who keep themselves from ceremonial defilement.” If you had asked them, “What sort of people will be excluded from the kingdom?” they would have responded, “Gentile dogs, the immoral, the greedy, dishonest tax collectors—those kinds of scum will not be in the kingdom.” But Jesus yanks the rug out from under their self-righteous assumptions by telling a parable.
To catch the full flavor of this parable, you must understand the setting. Jesus was eating in the home of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath. They were watching Jesus carefully to catch Him in some violation of their Sabbath laws (14:1). They believed that to heal someone was work and therefore not permitted on the Sabbath. They probably planted this man with dropsy right in front of Jesus to trap Him. Jesus was not your typical, “polite” dinner guest who went out of His way not to offend anyone. So, He defied the Pharisees by healing the man (14:1-7).
Next, Jesus watched as these proud men picked out the places of honor for themselves at the table. Then He delivered a pointed message about humility, which must have humiliated the guests (14:7-11). Finally, as if the tension were not great enough already, the Lord told the host that he had invited the wrong guests! He said, “You should have invited the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind instead of all these friends, relatives, and rich neighbors who can return the favor” (14:12-14)! At this point you could have sliced the atmosphere with a knife!
At the end of Jesus’ rebuke (14:14), He mentions the resurrection of the righteous. To break the tension and to try to sound spiritual, one of the guests exclaims, “Blessed is everyone who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” (14:15). He probably thought that both Jesus and all the guests could agree with this pious comment. Everyone around the table probably nodded in agreement and said to one another, “Amen! It will be wonderful when we’re all there, won’t it!” Perhaps there was some nervous laughter.
But Jesus wasn’t one to pass up opportunities! He was quick and ready to correct wrong ideas in the spiritual realm. And so He told this parable about the great dinner to correct this man, who wrongly was assuming that he and all of his cronies would be present at that banquet due to the fact that they were Jews, and not just any Jews, but Pharisees. They saw themselves a few notches above the common Jewish people, and not even in the same league with pagan Gentiles. Jesus shows them that many of them would not be in the kingdom because they were refusing the Lord’s invitation. To their great surprise, many whom they assumed would not be there would in fact be there because they responded to the invitation. The last would be first and the first last (13:30). The answer to the question, “Who will be at God’s banquet in the kingdom?” is, those who respond personally to the invitation.
To have dinner with Jesus in His kingdom, you must respond personally to His invitation.
We will look first at the nature of God’s invitation and then at the responses to His invitation.
Verse 16 states, “He invited many.” In the imagery of the parable, the many who first were invited refers to the Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day. These men had the privilege of studying the Scriptures. They had read Moses; they knew what the Prophets predicted concerning the Messiah. As Paul puts it in Rom. 3:2, they had the advantage of being entrusted with the oracles of God. When the dinner hour came, God sent His messenger, John the Baptist, to say, “Everything is ready now.” But the Jewish leaders made excuses and did not come.
So the Lord expanded the invitation to the “outcasts” of Israel. The Pharisees despised these people as “born entirely in sin” (John 9:34). Many of the prostitutes, tax collectors and other notorious sinners responded to God’s invitation and were following Jesus. This proud Pharisee who invited Jesus to dinner would never have thought of extending his invitation to these outcasts (14:13), but Jesus is telling him that God’s invitation includes those whom the proud Pharisees had rejected.
But there was still room at the master’s table (14:22). And so the invitation goes still wider, outside the “city limits” of Judaism, to the Gentiles who are out in the highways and along the hedges (14:23). At His great banquet the Lord will have a great multitude which no one can count from every nation and tribe and people and tongue (Rev. 7:9). God’s invitation is a broad invitation! It includes every person from every race, no matter whether his or her background is very religious or completely pagan.
We commit a great error when we make the church an exclusive club for the religiously inclined. Have you ever looked at someone and thought, “That person would not be interested in the gospel because he lives a very ungodly life”? Or, you see someone who looks like he belongs to a motorcycle gang and you think, “That person doesn’t look like a good candidate for a Christian!” Or perhaps we see a person whose attire identifies her as a Hindu or a Muslim. We think, “She has her own religion and way of life. The gospel is not for her.” Whenever we think like that (and we all have), we’re limiting God’s broad invitation of the gospel. His gospel will transform every sinner from every background who will believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. To every person on this planet the Lord says, “Come, for everything is ready now.”
The servant was not selling tickets for admission. It was not a $1,000 a plate fundraiser for the kingdom. It wasn’t a benefit supper where you kick in whatever you feel led. It wasn’t even a kingdom potluck, where you bring a main dish and salad or dessert. The master says, “Come, for everything is ready now.” All you need to bring is yourself and an appetite. It is totally free for you, because the host picked up the tab. You eat at His expense.
This is one of the most beautiful things about God’s gospel invitation, and yet it is one of the most difficult things for people to accept because it means that they cannot take any credit for themselves. If they can offer something in exchange for the meal, they feel better about it, but to come and eat freely is an affront to their dignity and pride. But there is only one way that God offers His salvation: He pays for it all and all you can do is come and receive it freely. Any other way would bring glory to man. God’s way brings all the glory to Him and His grace.
At Christmas one year a pastor hoped to illustrate God’s free salvation. He pointed to a beautiful Christmas poinsettia setting on the platform, wrapped in red cellophane with a ribbon, and said, “Whoever wants this gorgeous flower may have it. All you have to do is take it.” He waited, but no one came forward to get it. Finally, a mother timidly raised her hand and said, “I’ll take it.”
“Great, it’s yours,” said the pastor. But then the woman nudged her son and said, “Go get it for me.” The pastor said, “No, whoever wants this plant must come and get it personally. You can’t send a substitute.” The woman shook her head, unwilling to risk embarrassment. She wouldn’t go get it for herself.
The pastor waited, pointing to this beautiful plant that would make a fine decoration in any home. It was free for the taking, but no one was coming up to get it. Someone snickered, “What’s the catch?” “No catch,” said the pastor. “It’s totally free.”
A college student asked, “Is it glued to the platform?” Everyone laughed. “No,” the pastor said, “it’s not glued to the platform. It’s just setting there, free for the taking.”
A teenage girl asked, “Can I take it after the service?” The pastor was tempted to give in, but he thought of the verse, “Today is the day of salvation,” and shook his head: “You must come and get it now.”
He was just beginning to wish that he had never started the whole thing when a woman he had never seen before stood up in the back. Quickly, as if she were afraid that she would change her mind, she strode to the front and picked up the plant. “I’ll take it,” she said. After she had gone back to her seat, the pastor launched into his message on Romans 6:23, that the gift of God is eternal life, free to all who will receive it.
After the service, when most of the people had gone home, the woman who had claimed the poinsettia came up to the platform where the pastor was picking up his Bible to leave. “Here!” She held out her hand. “This flower is too pretty to just take home for free. I couldn’t do that with a clear conscience.” The pastor looked down at the crumpled paper the woman had stuffed into his hand. It was a ten dollar bill. (Adapted from “Leadership,” Spring, 1990, p. 125.)
Friends, you can’t stuff the ten dollar bill of your good works into God’s hand to pay for His salvation banquet. He provides it all, totally free to you, but at great expense to Himself. Human nature is so inclined to boast in good works that when you tell people the good news about Jesus, you must take pains to make it clear that God’s invitation is free and only free.
He says, “Come, for everything is ready now.” Everything! All you can eat and more besides! He makes all the necessary provisions beforehand and puts them on the table. When you walk in the door, you see a table loaded with appetizers. Help yourself! There is a full salad bar, along with soup. Go back as often as you wish. There are several selections for the main dish. Would you like prime rib or lobster? And there is pie a la mode to top it all off! It is the most fabulous feast you can imagine, all freely provided by the host for everyone who will come and eat.
What a great picture of the abundant salvation God so freely provides for sinners! When you come to His banquet table in Christ, He doesn’t just give you a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He gives you the works! He is a fountain of living water to wash away all of your sins. He gives you the indwelling Holy Spirit who gives you peace to replace your anxiety, joy to replace your depression, power to overcome your sins and wisdom to make the right decisions. You have fellowship every day with the gracious Savior and the promise of eternity with Him in heaven. The apostle Peter describes it like this: “His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence” (2 Pet. 1:3). Long before we ever thought of God, He thought of us and made ample provision for our salvation. His abundant provision means that you are welcome to come to His table and eat until you are satisfied.
With that kind of offer, you may wonder, “How can anyone refuse?” But Jesus’ parable clearly warns that some do refuse God’s broad, free, and ample invitation.
To ignore or postpone responding is to refuse the invitation, because the table is ready now. At some point soon, every seat will be full and the door will be shut. Those who procrastinate may miss the opportunity. Let’s look first at those who refuse:
Each of those who are first on the invitation list responds with an excuse for why he cannot come. The first man says that he cannot come because he has bought a piece of land and he must go out and look at it. This is a flimsy excuse! Who would buy a piece of land sight unseen? Besides, why does he need to go to look at it at the same time as the dinner? If he wanted to, he could plan to do both. Clearly, he did not want to come to the dinner. He represents the person who is tied up with his possessions or investments so that he has no time for God. He forgets that this very night his soul may be required of him, and then who will own what he has worked so hard to accumulate?
The second man says that he cannot come because he has bought five yoke of oxen and he is going to try them out. Again, it was a flimsy excuse. No one would buy oxen without first trying them out. Like the first man, this man was caught up with his possessions and his work. He can’t even take time off to have dinner with Jesus. He is living for the things of this world, but he is neglecting his soul.
The third man says that he cannot come because he has married a wife. Perhaps he is saying that he couldn’t bear to be apart from his beloved for even a few hours. Maybe his wife didn’t want him to go anywhere without her. At any rate, he was making an idol of his wife, putting her above his need for God. As Jesus goes on to say, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple” (14:26).
The interesting thing is that none of these excuses was sinful, in and of itself. There is nothing wrong with buying land or animals (or machinery) to work the land. The Bible commends enterprise and hard work. There is nothing wrong with marriage and the love of family. The Bible commands us to love our families. But the point is, things that are legitimate in their rightful place can be wrong if they hinder us from getting right with God. It is not just gross, flagrant sins that keep people out of God’s kingdom. Good things wrongly emphasized will do the trick just as well. If a person gets wrongfully caught up with these otherwise good things, he can invent all sorts of excuses for not accepting the Lord’s invitation to His dinner.
There may be someone here who is so caught up with your possessions or your leisure pursuits or your career that you are neglecting your soul. Perhaps you are single and longing for a mate and you would consider marrying even a non-Christian, because you think he or she would bring you fulfillment and happiness. You would put momentary pleasure above the eternal pleasure of dinner with Jesus. You’re saying, “Lord, I can’t come to Your dinner because I have married a wife.”
To allow anything to cause you to refuse or put off accepting God’s offer of salvation is a foolish decision. The host gets angry at the refusal, because it was a rude personal insult to turn down such a bountiful invitation. God offered His own Son as the sacrifice for sinners to be reconciled to Him. As the author of Hebrews asks, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?” (Heb. 2:3). As the host here declares, “For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner” (14:24). The refusal of the first group led the host to send out the invitation to others who accepted his offer.
The striking thing is that everyone who accepted the invitation could have come up with seemingly legitimate excuses for not coming. The poor man could say, “I don’t have anything decent to wear to such a feast.” The crippled man could say, “I can’t get anyone to carry me there.” The blind could say, “I can’t see to find my way.” The lame could say, “It hurts me too much to walk on my bad leg.” Those along the highways and hedges, the street people, could say, “I haven’t had a bath in days and my clothes are dirty and ragged. I can’t come.” But they all accepted the offer because the servant convinced them that they were welcome and they clearly knew their own need; they were hungry. They believed the offer and they responded personally to it in spite of the potential excuses they each could have come up with.
The servant didn’t run a background check on all these people before he invited them to the feast. Their background didn’t matter. He didn’t find out their nationality. He didn’t ask about their religious background or whether they even had one. He didn’t get a promise that they would behave and show proper manners at the dinner table. The invitation was not based on anything in the recipients; it was based totally on the goodness and bounty of the host. All that these people had to do was recognize their hunger, believe that the offer was true, and say, “Yes, I’ll come.” When they came, they found that the feast was far better than they had ever expected or imagined.
One of the main hindrances that will keep you from having dinner with Jesus is that you are so full of your own goodness that you won’t acknowledge your need for His banquet. Your pride will make you say, “I’ll bring the salad and dessert.” But the Lord says, “No, I provide it all. You just come.”
Imagine a multimillionaire who sends his servant out in his limousine to the poorest section of town. The servant tells the chauffeur to stop by a bum in ragged clothes. He gets out and asks, “Would you like to come to a feast at my master’s mansion? We’ll take you. Please, get in.”
The guy on the street eyes the servant warily and asks, “What’s the catch?”
“There’s no catch; my master is a kind and generous man. He has prepared a meal like you wouldn’t believe. Won’t you come?”
“I haven’t had a bath in days. I haven’t washed my clothes in weeks, and these rags are all I own. I would feel out of place at a mansion.”
“There will be many others there just like you. The food is on the table and the dinner is about to begin. Just come as you are.”
It sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it? It is good, but it’s also true, according to Jesus. The main catch is, you have to see and admit that you are that needy bum. Spiritually, you have nothing to commend yourself to God. Salvation is not based on anything in you. In fact, it is offered freely in spite of you. It is all of God’s free grace, not at all of your works, lest anyone should boast.
Jesus is saying to each person, no matter how great your sins, “Come, for I have prepared everything for you to be saved from God’s judgment and to dine with Me for all eternity.” Will you say, “Yes, Lord. I’ll come!”
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Pollster George Gallup contends that fewer than ten percent of evangelical Christians could be called deeply committed. Most of those who profess Christianity don’t know basic teachings and don’t act differently because of their Christian experience. George Barna found that almost half (46%) of evangelicals read their Bible only once a week or not at all.
Our text last week presented God’s free invitation of the gospel. He has provided everything at His expense and He invites sinners to come to His great dinner. You cannot bring anything nor do anything to deserve an invitation. God provides it all by His free grace. Our text this week makes what seems like an abrupt shift and shows us the cost of following Christ. It teaches us that:
To truly follow Jesus Christ, we must consider the cost and put Him above everything else.
Salvation is both absolutely free and yet it costs you your very life. You receive it freely at no expense to you, but once you receive it, you have just committed everything you are and have to Jesus Christ. You may protest, “That’s a contradiction! How can something be both free and costly at the same time?”
Let me illustrate. Suppose I had a desire to climb Mount Everest. (I don’t have such a desire and I think that those who do are lacking in common sense.) But suppose that I did desire to climb Everest. But it costs about $70,000 to do it and I don’t have that kind of money. Suppose a wealthy businessman heard of my desire and offered to pay for the entire expedition. He would buy all the expensive clothing and gear, he would pay for my transportation, the guides, and the training. It’s totally free for me. But if I accept his free offer, I have just committed myself to months of difficult training and arduous effort. It could even cost me my very life, because many good climbers die trying to climb Mount Everest. It is free and yet very costly.
Or, consider a friend who offers me a free ride in his airplane. He invites me to come along at his expense. In accepting his free offer, I’ve just committed my very life to him. If he flies safely, I am safe. If he crashes, I die. The instant I say yes to his free offer, I am totally committed to him. I have entrusted my very life into his hands.
Jesus Christ freely offers the water of life to everyone who thirsts. But, we need to understand that when we receive His free offer, we are no longer our own; we have been bought with a price. Thus, to truly follow Christ, we must consider the cost and not begin to follow Him superficially, only to turn back later when things get tough. That is what Jesus warns against in our text.
Verse 25 is crucial for interpreting what follows. “Great multitudes were going along with Him.” Every pastor would love to have that kind of congregation. Every ministry desires more followers. Pastors with large congregations get their books published and are invited to speak all over the world because they are successful. We measure success by numbers.
But Jesus was different. Large crowds did not fool Him. He knew that many were following Him for selfish or superficial reasons. It was the exciting thing to do. Maybe you or someone you knew would be healed. But Jesus was not a false recruiter. He wanted to weed out those who followed Him for superficial reasons, because when the battle heated up, He knew that they would fall away and cause damage for His cause. So He turned to the great multitude and laid out these demands of discipleship.
At the outset I need to point out that there are many in evangelical circles who draw a sharp distinction between salvation and discipleship. Salvation, they say, is God’s free gift, but discipleship is costly. They would also say that while every believer ought to pursue discipleship, it is not linked to saving faith. In other words, there are some who are truly saved, but who never commit themselves to being disciples. They say that it is possible to receive Jesus as Savior, but not to follow Him as Lord.
I cannot find any basis for such teaching in the New Testament, and I can find many Scriptures to refute such teaching. To believe in Jesus Christ as Savior necessarily entails following Him as Lord. Salvation is not just a decision that a man makes, but it is the mighty power of God in raising a dead soul to eternal life. God, who began that good work in you, will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus (Phil. 1:6). The new life God imparts inevitably results in a new way of life in accord with its nature, namely growth in holiness. The seed of the Word will bear fruit unto eternal life.
While believers must grow as disciples and while we never perfectly arrive in this life (Phil. 3:12), if a person claims to be a believer, but he isn’t seeking to grow in obedience to Christ, he is fooling himself. He is saying, “Lord, Lord,” but on that fearful day, he will hear the awful words, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matt. 7:23). In Paul’s words, “They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient, and worthless for any good deed” (Titus 1:16).
Thus it is possible to follow Christ superficially and it is to such followers that Jesus lays out the cost of discipleship. He knows that the battle will be intense and He doesn’t want to recruit anyone under false pretenses. Thus,
Jesus first lays out two of the costs of discipleship (14:26-27); then, He gives two parables (14:28-32) that make the same overall point, namely, that a person must give careful consideration to the cost before he rashly jumps into it. Then He states a third cost of discipleship (14:33). He then (14:34-35) gives an illustration about salt to illustrate the cost of not truly following Him. He concludes by warning, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Before we look at the costs that Jesus spells out, think with me for a moment about the phrases, “sit down and calculate the cost,” referring to the man building the tower (14:28); and, “sit down and take counsel,” referring to the king considering going to war (14:31). Both refer to careful, detailed, rational thinking in which you consider all aspects of what you’re getting into before you make the commitment. Such careful thinking is opposed to an impulsive decision made in a moment of intense emotion, without much thought about the consequences.
Our evangelistic methods today are big on emotion and little on reason. We get people into a stadium to hear testimonies from famous athletes or movie stars about how Christ changed their lives. Then they hear a rousing speaker promise how Christ can meet the person’s every need. Then the invitation is given and counselors are primed to get out of their seats and walk forward so that people on the verge of a decision think that others are going forward. The choir or band is playing a song of invitation. Going forward feels like the right thing to do. In a swell of emotion, the person gets out of his seat and “decides for Christ.”
But did the person get saved? By God’s grace, some do. But even the well-known evangelists admit that the long-term “stick with it” rate for those who make a decision is only about 10-15 percent. All too often, their decision was based more on emotion than on careful thought about what it means to follow Christ. Here, Jesus says to the crowds who were interested enough to be going along with Him, “Consider the cost of following Me.”
Jesus spells out three costs:
Whoa! Doesn’t the Bible say that we are to love our families? Doesn’t it say that no man ever hated his own flesh? Is Jesus contradicting the Bible? Of course not! But He puts it in these terms for shock value, to get us to stop and think about the stringent demand that He is making. He means that our allegiance and love for Him must be so great that by comparison our love for our families and even for our own lives looks like hatred.
Normally, there is no conflict between loving Christ and our family members also. But sometimes a tug of war develops, where a family member puts pressure on us to back off from or even abandon our love for Christ. In those difficult situations, we do not love either Christ or the family member if we accede to the pressure. We do not love the family member, because if we bow to the pressure, we are saying that Christ is not worthy of being followed above all others, and we keep the family member from seriously considering the claims of Christ. We do not love Christ because we have put a sinful human being, who did not give himself for our sins, in a higher place than the spotless Lamb of God who freely offered Himself as the sacrifice for our sins.
The late theologian/philosopher, Francis Schaeffer, whose life and books have impacted thousands for Christ, was raised in a non-Christian home. After he became a Christian, his father did not want him to go to college and did not want him to become a minister, which young Fran felt called to be. When the moment finally came where he had to make the decision to go with what he thought God wanted or to submit to his father’s wishes, Fran asked in a strained voice, “Pop, give me a few minutes to go down in the cellar and pray.” In fear and uncertainty, he went down there and wept hot tears of sorrow for his father.
Then, in an act of desperate and simple faith, he did something that he would never advise anyone else to do, but what he felt was right for him at the time: he prayed, “Oh, God, please show me.” Then he took out a coin and said, “Heads, I’ll go in spite of dad’s desires.” It was heads. Still weeping, he cried out, “God, be patient with me. If it’s tails this time, I’ll go.” Tails. The third time he pleaded, “Once, more, God. I don’t want to make a mistake with Dad upstairs. Please now, let it be heads again.” It was heads. So he went upstairs and told his dad that he had to go.
His dad looked hard at him, then went out to slam the door. But just before the door hit the frame, his voice came through, “I’ll pay for the first half year.” It was many years later that Fran’s dad became a Christian, but Fran thinks that this moment was the basis of his salvation, when Fran in effect declared, “I must follow the Lord.” (Told by Edith Schaeffer, in The Tapestry [Word], pp. 60-62).
As a Christian young person, you should seek to be obedient to your parents in all things, unless they are asking you to go against what God wants you to do. You should appeal to them in a submissive manner. But if it comes down to a choice to obey your parents and disobey Christ or to obey Christ and disobey your parents, you must follow Christ. As a Christian wife, you may have an unbelieving husband who says, “I don’t want you to go to church.” While you must seek to be the most loving and pleasant wife you can be, you must also explain to your husband that following Jesus Christ is more important to you than your relationship with anyone on this earth. That is the clear application of verse 26.
When Jesus says that we must hate even our own lives, again He means in comparison with our love for Him. Normally, when we follow Christ He lovingly gives us the desires of our hearts (Ps. 37:4). He floods us with joy and true pleasure (Ps. 16:11). But, there are times when it is easy to give in to the immediate gratification of the flesh and it is hard to obey Christ. The disciple has thought this through in advance and is committed to follow Christ.
We have already considered this in our study of Luke 9:23. The cross was not an implement of irritation or inconvenience. The cross was an implement of slow, tortuous death. Jesus here is looking at the process of daily death to selfish desires and of the willingness to bear reproach for His name’s sake. Since our Savior suffered the rejection and agony of the cross, if we follow after Him, we must be prepared for the same treatment. If people revile us for being Christians, we must bless them in return (Rom. 12:14). We should never do anything to provoke persecution, but if we suffer for the sake of righteousness, we must entrust our souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right (1 Pet. 4:19).
Again, this is a process in which we all must grow. If we blow it, we must confess it to the Lord and seek to be obedient the next time we have opportunity to suffer for Him. But if we aren’t involved in the process of carrying our own cross in death to self, we are not on the path of the disciple of Jesus Christ.
After telling the two parables about considering the cost before making a commitment, Jesus concludes, “So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions.” Does Jesus mean this literally, that we must get rid of everything we own and take a vow of poverty in order to be a Christian? What does He mean?
I believe that Jesus is getting at the fact that there are two possible lords that we can serve and the two are exclusive: God or Mammon. Most of us think that we can combine them, with God taking the lead: “I’ll serve God mostly, but I’d also like to serve money.” But Jesus says that won’t work: “You cannot serve God and Mammon” (Luke 16:13, emphasis mine). In other words, you can’t just add Jesus to your already materialistic lifestyle as a way of rounding out your spiritual needs. To be a Christian means that you have been bought with a price and you are not your own (1 Cor. 6:19-20). Nothing you own is your own. You become the slave of Jesus Christ and He owns everything.
I like the way Juan Carlos Ortiz tells the story of the pearl of great price. A man sees this pearl and says to the merchant, “I want this pearl. How much is it?”
The seller says, “It’s very expensive.” “How much?” “A lot!” “Well, do you think I could buy it?” the man asks.
“Oh, yes,” says the merchant, “everyone can buy it.”
“But I thought you said it was very expensive.” “I did.” “Well, how much?” “Everything you have,” says the seller.
“All right, I’ll buy it.” “Okay, what do you have?”
“Well, I have $10,000 in the bank.” “Good, $10,000. What else?” “That’s all I have.” “Nothing more?” “Well, I have a few dollars more in my pocket.” “How much?” “Let’s see … $100.” “That’s mine, too,” says the seller.
“What else do you have?” “That’s all, nothing else.” “Where do you live?” the seller asks. “In my house. Yes, I own a home.” The seller writes down, “house.” “It’s mine.”
“Where do you expect me to sleep—in my camper?” “Oh, you have a camper, do you? That, too. What else” “Am I supposed to sleep in my car?” “Oh, you have a car?” “Yes, I own two of them.” “They’re mine now.”
“Look, you’ve taken my money, my house, my camper, and my cars. Where is my family going to live?” “So, you have a family?” “Yes, I have a wife and three kids.” “They’re mine now.”
Suddenly the seller exclaims, “Oh, I almost forgot! You yourself, too! Everything becomes mine—wife, children, house, money, cars, and you, too.” Then he goes on, “Now, listen, I will allow you to use all these things for the time being. But don’t forget that they’re all mine, just as you are. And whenever I need any of them, you must give them up, because I am now the owner.” (Adapted from The Disciple [Creation House], pp. 34-35.)
That’s what Jesus means when He says that we must give up all our possessions in order to be His disciple. He isn’t just Lord of a tenth; He is Lord of all. We are just managers of it for Him. Of course, in return we gain all the riches of heaven for all eternity. But, still, we need to sit down and determine if we’re willing to follow Jesus as Lord of everything from our families, to our possessions, to our very lives.
If we make a profession of following Christ, but then go back on our commitment, people will ridicule us as they would mock a man who started to build a tower but couldn’t complete it: “He claimed that he became a Christian, but look at him now! Some Christian he is!” Or, we will face the damaging effects of being defeated by the enemy because we did not consider the intensity of the battle we were facing. Satan loves it when a Christian’s testimony is ruined because he did not consider the demands of following Christ in this evil world.
Jesus uses a third illustration to show the cost of not following Him, that of salt that has become tasteless. The salt in Jesus’ day was often corrupted with other substances. If moisture hit the salt, it would evaporate and leave behind these other impure minerals, so that the salt lost its saltiness. It was worthless for any useful purpose and had to be thrown away. Jesus is saying that if a follower of His doesn’t live as he ought to live, he is useless to God. Whether Jesus is referring to a false believer being judged or to a true believer being taken out of this life because of his sin is ambiguous. But either way, I don’t want it to happen to me! The point is, follow Jesus Christ by putting Him above everything else in life so that you are useful to God. That’s the last thing we must briefly consider:
Jesus clearly asserts His absolute supremacy and authority in these verses! What mere man could rightly claim that everyone must hate their closest family members in comparison to their love for him? We would rightly call such a man a cult leader, unless He were God in human flesh! What man could tell his followers to follow him into death? Jim Jones did and he was rightly labeled a lunatic. But Jesus Christ could do it because He is God! What man could tell people to give up all their possessions for His sake? Some modern cults require that of their followers and we rightly label them as false. But Jesus could do so with authority because He is the Lord. He alone deserves to be first above everything else in all of our lives because He is the Lord God who willingly offered Himself on the cross for our sins!
Jesus’ words here are tough and sobering! We all fall short, but we must honestly work at applying them to our hearts. Is there any relationship that comes ahead of Christ in your life? If He is first, then obviously you will be spending consistent time alone with Him in His Word, in prayer, and in devotion. You will be fellowshipping with Him every day. You won’t allow any other relationship to draw you away from obedience to Him. You will confess and forsake every sin that hinders fellowship with Him.
Is He the Lord of your plans, your thoughts, and of all that you do? Or, could you selfishly be clinging to your plans, to your way, instead of seeking to please Him in all things, beginning with every thought that you entertain? If you don’t hate your own life and daily carry your cross, you’re not His disciple.
Is He Lord of your finances and possessions? Are you faithful in managing these things for His purposes? Do you give generously and faithfully to His work? Or, could the love of money be choking out the Word in your life?
Salvation is absolutely free, but once you receive it, it costs you everything. To truly follow Christ, we must consider the cost and put Him above everything else. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Once upon a time there were two families who lived next door to each other. The families were quite different. The first family were Christians. They took good care of their house and lawn. They never used tobacco, alcohol, or drugs. They never cursed or fought loudly with one another. The kids were never in trouble with the law. And they all went to church every Sunday.
The second family had nothing to do with God. Their house and lawn were a mess. They smoked and drank to excess and used marijuana to “mellow out.” They cursed and fought loudly with one another. The kids were always getting in trouble with the law. They never went to church.
One day the teenage daughter from the first family told her father, “You know, Dad, I think there’s trouble next door. Their kids told some of my friends at school that their dad and mom are going to get a divorce.”
“All right!” Dad shouted excitedly, as his favorite team on the game he was watching threw a touchdown pass. After the extra point was kicked he mumbled, “Divorce, huh? Too bad!”
The daughter went into the kitchen where her mother was preparing dinner and repeated the news. Her mother nodded her head knowingly. “That’s what they get for not going to church and for living like they do. Let that be a lesson to you, in case you ever get the notion you don’t want to go to church! I sure hope we get some decent neighbors in there after they’re gone!”
And, behold, the second family split up and moved away. And the new neighbors were decent people who kept up the house and yard, never smoked or drank or used drugs. They never cursed or fought loudly. Their kids were honor students. The new family even went to church occasionally. And the first family lived happily ever after, never bothered by their neighbors again.
It’s just a story, of course. I hope that none of you identify yourselves with that first family because even though they are Christians, they are not much like the Lord Jesus Christ. This family avoided their lost neighbors and rejoiced when they finally moved away. But Jesus socialized with lost sinners and rejoiced when they came to repentance.
Luke 14 ends with Jesus saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Luke 15 begins with the notice that all the tax-gatherers and sinners were coming near Him to listen to Him. They had ears to hear what the Savior was teaching. But the Pharisees and scribes were grumbling, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” What a great word of hope that is for sinners! If the thought of standing before the holy God who knows everything you have ever thought, said, or done frightens you, because you know that your sin is great, don’t run! Rather, do what these sinners in Jesus’ day did: Draw near to Him and listen to Him. He will receive you.
Jesus owns up to the Pharisees’ charge and defends Himself by telling three parables that all make the same point, although with different emphases:
God goes to great effort to seek lost sinners and He greatly rejoices when they come to repentance.
If that is what our God is like, then that is what we, as His people, should be like. Today we will look at the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. Next week we will study the parable of the lost (or prodigal) son.
The biblical description of those who do not know Jesus Christ is not “unsaved,” but lost. It’s an empty, hopeless word when used in reference to things or to animals, but it’s an especially bleak word when it is used in reference to people. We once lost Christa at Disneyland when she was about seven years old. We felt a wave of horror sweep over us, followed by about ten minutes of frantic searching that seemed much longer. When we finally found her, we were so thankful and relieved. We didn’t even mind losing our place in line for the Dumbo ride! When a close family member is lost, you cannot be at rest until he or she is found.
Whether the person knows it or not, the Bible describes every person who does not know Jesus Christ as being lost. In what is perhaps the saddest verse in the Bible, Paul describes the former condition of his Gentile readers: “You were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Eph. 2:12).
Jesus first tells the parable of the lost sheep. A lost sheep in the Judean wilderness was doomed. It had no protection and it would be only a short time before the coyotes or other predators would attack and kill it. A lost dog might eventually find its way home, but a lost sheep is unable to do so. As such, it is a picture of a lost sinner. The sinner may not even know that he is lost and headed for destruction, but that is the truth. Even if he becomes aware of his condition, there is nothing he can do about it. Jesus said that no one can come to Him unless the Father draws him (John 6:44, 65). Paul says that “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4). Unbelievers are lost and helpless, prey for the enemy unless God intervenes. But, thank God, He has intervened! Jesus shows us that …
The shepherd leaves his 99 other sheep and goes after the lost one, searching until He finds it. The woman who lost her coin sets aside all her other work and diligently searches until she finds it. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, who described His mission as “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Note four things:
Both the shepherd and the woman realized the problem and took the initiative to deal with it. They both began searching for the lost item. The lost sheep and the lost coin were passive in the process. The only reason they were found is that the shepherd and the woman initiated a diligent search for them.
Scripture is clear that if we are saved, it is because the Lord took the initiative; we did not. That initiative springs out of His great love and compassion. As the apostle Paul states, “He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world.” “In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will” (Eph. 1:4, 5). “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). If salvation had been left up to us, we would still be in our sins. But, thank God, He lovingly took the initiative. He launched the search. He sent Christ to die for our sins while we were wandering from the fold.
In the case of the shepherd, he had to take whatever time it took to search for his lost sheep. He had to expose himself to the dangers of the wilderness and the weather. The same lions or wolves that were stalking his sheep might stalk him as well. He had to go without sleep because the longer the sheep remained lost, the greater the risk of its being destroyed. I remember a picture my grandmother used to have on her wall of Jesus as the shepherd, reaching over a precipice and rescuing a lamb caught in a bush, ready to fall to its death. It showed the effort and danger that the shepherd went to in order to rescue his lost sheep.
In the case of the woman and her coin, everything was set aside until she found that coin. Her shopping would have to wait. Her meal preparation was postponed. She didn’t go to the well to draw water and chat with her neighbors. She didn’t go to the stream to wash her laundry. Her one consuming focus was on looking for that lost coin, no matter how much effort it took.
I can identify with this woman. Whenever I lose something, even if it’s not of great value, it drives me crazy until I find it. Sometimes in the office, I misplace an illustration or article that I need for reference in a sermon. Sometimes I have spent hours trying to track it down, even after I’ve decided not to use it! I can’t do other things when something is lost! But the point is, the shepherd and the woman did whatever it took, however costly, to find the missing sheep or coin.
But in the case of our salvation, the cost was much greater: God did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all (Rom. 8:32). Jesus did not selfishly cling to the glory and beauty and comfort of heaven, but He laid aside His rights and came to this earth, not as the mighty King to judge sinners, but as the lowly servant to give His life a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). He willingly endured the abuse of arrogant men whom He could have zapped off the face of the earth in order to secure the salvation of His sheep.
The shepherd relentlessly searched until at last he found his sheep. The woman did not give up until she found that missing coin. In the same way, the Good Shepherd goes after every sheep whom His Father has given to Him, that none will be lost (John 17:2, 6, 9), but that all will be brought safely into His fold. As in the poem, “The Hound of Heaven,” He keeps after the straying sinner until He rescues him and brings him home.
If you are saved, you know that it is not because you sought after God, but because God sought after you and kept seeking until He rescued you from your sin. The late Bible teacher, Harry Ironside, told of a new convert who gave his testimony at a church service. With a smile on his face and joy in his heart, the man related how he had been delivered from a life of sin. He gave the Lord all the glory, saying nothing about anything that he had done.
The person in charge of the meeting was a legalistic man who did not understand the fact that salvation is totally by God’s grace, apart from human merit or works. So he responded to the young man’s comments by saying, “You seem to indicate that God did everything when He saved you. Didn’t you do your part before God did His?” The new Christian jumped to his feet and said, “Oh, yes, I did. For more than 30 years I ran away from God as fast as my sins could carry me. That was my part. But God took out after me and ran me down. That was His part.” Ironside commented, “It was well put and tells a story that every redeemed sinner understands.” (In “Our Daily Bread.”)
When the shepherd found the lost sheep, he didn’t get out his whip and drive it back to the fold. He put it securely on his shoulders and carried it home. I am not especially fond of artist’s pictures of Jesus, but I do like the one that shows the smiling shepherd with a lamb on his shoulders. He’s holding it by its legs, so that it will not get lost again. As Jesus said concerning His sheep, “I give eternal life to them, and they shall never perish; and no one shall snatch them out of My hand” (John 10:28).
Spurgeon pokes fun at the view that those whom the Savior has rescued can ever be lost again. He says that those who hold this view need to go up to heaven and set the angels straight on this matter. They need to tell them not to rejoice until the sinner dies and goes to heaven, because they may be rejoicing too soon. What if he repents but later falls away and is lost? The angels shouldn’t be so fast on their joy! (Charles Spurgeon, Twelve Sermons on the Prodigal Son [Baker], pp. 46-47.)
No, the glad fact is, you are not secure in your salvation because of your grip on the Good Shepherd, but rather because of His grip on you. He chose you as His own before time began. He sent His Son to secure your redemption by His blood. He sent the Holy Spirit to pursue you with the good news that Christ died for your sins. He sought after you until He found you and rescued you from your hopeless condition. Do you think that now He will let you go back into your sins and be lost again? Impossible! If the Good Shepherd has saved you, He will keep you from falling.
Before I move on to the final point, I want to apply this point, that God goes to great effort to seek lost sinners. If He so seeks lost sinners, should not we? If our Lord came from heaven to seek and to save the lost, shouldn’t we be praying often, “Lord, use me to be Your instrument in seeking lost people with Your good news”? Rather than avoiding sinners, we should be pursuing them, not to run with them in their sins, but to rescue them from this evil world. Ask God to burden your heart with the lost and to give you opportunities to pursue them with the gospel.
Thus we’ve seen that sinners are lost until God finds them and that He goes to great effort to seek and save them.
There is a marked contrast in this text between the grumbling of the Pharisees and scribes and the great joy in heaven and on earth when the lost are found. Note verse 5, “rejoicing”; verse 6, “rejoice”; verse 7, “joy”; verse 9, “rejoice”; verse 10, “joy.” Heaven is already filled with joy, but when a sinner gets saved, they throw a party, just as the father of the prodigal son did! As he tells his older son, “We had to be merry and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found” (15:32). Note two things:
There are different views on what Jesus means in verse 7, but two are most likely. Spurgeon takes the 99 righteous persons who need no repentance to refer to those who have already been justified by grace through faith (Twelve Sermons, p. 27; Charles Simeon takes the same view, Expository Outlines of the Whole Bible [Zondervan], 12:537). Thus they are not at present in need of repentance. He uses the illustration of a family with seven children, where one is deathly ill, but then recovers. The family rejoices more over the recovery of that one child than over the health of the other six.
I prefer, however, another view. In the three parables, the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son all represent the lost tax gatherers and sinners who were coming to hear Jesus and getting saved. The 99 sheep, the nine coins that were not lost, and the older brother who never strayed all represent the Pharisees and scribes. They are not in the fold or household of faith, but in the household of Israel, made up both of those who are saved and those who are not. It is not that they did not need repentance for themselves, but rather that they thought that they were good enough not to need repentance. Thus Jesus was using irony to show them their self-righteous pride, especially in the case of the older brother who could not bring himself to rejoice at his brother’s repentance. He is a mirror of the Pharisees!
We saw the same thing back in Luke 5:32, when the Pharisees grumbled because Jesus and His disciples ate with the sinners at Levi’s house. Jesus replied, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” The Lord hates pride, and so the Pharisees were just as sinful as the more outwardly notorious sinners whom they despised. But they were blind toward their own hypocrisy and pride. Jesus also confronts them in 16:15, when He says, “You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts.” Jesus hits the same thing in 18:9, with the parable of the Pharisee and the publican going to the temple to pray. He told it because the Pharisees “trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt.” Thus the “righteous” are the self-righteous who need to repent just as much as the tax gatherers and sinners, but who are blind to their need.
Repentance means turning to God from our sins. Such repentance is God’s gift, not a work of man (Acts 11:18), and is inextricably bound up with saving faith. You cannot have one without the other. When a person savingly believes in Christ, he turns from his sins and trusts in God’s mercy. A person who says, “I believe in Jesus,” but who does not repent of his sins, has not truly believed in Jesus unto salvation.
When a sinner turns from his sins to God, all heaven rejoices because God gets the glory. When a self-righteous person continues in his self-righteousness, he gets the glory and God is not pleased.
Peter tells us that the angels long to look into the matters of our salvation (1 Pet. 1:12). The angels revel in the glory of God and God is glorified in His sovereign grace, secured by the death of Christ and revealed to undeserving sinners by the Holy Spirit. The angels also rejoice because they know the terrors of hell that would overtake lost sinners, were it not for God’s redeeming grace. They know the joys of God’s glorious presence in heaven, where those rescued by the Good Shepherd will spend eternity. Not one whom the Father has chosen and given to the Son will be lost, or else Satan and his evil forces would rejoice and the angels in heaven would mourn. But the angels rejoice when a sinner repents because that sinner will now spend eternity glorifying God and His grace in heaven.
Again, let me briefly apply this. If God so rejoices when sinners repent, should not we? The things that make us happy reflect our values or what we consider important. Do we rejoice when our stocks go up and we make a huge profit? Do we rejoice when we get a new car? But when we hear of a sinner getting saved, we say, “That’s nice.” God greatly rejoices when a sinner repents; so should we.
These parables show God’s concern and compassion for sinners, but not for sinners en masse, but for individual sinners. The shepherd goes after one sheep. The woman hunts diligently for a single coin. The Good Shepherd knows His sheep by name (John 10:3). He calls them individually to come to Himself. He cares about every lost sinner who needs repentance. He cares for you.
On a cold night in England many years ago, a group of children slipped into a church to get warm. The preacher was speaking on Luke 15:2, which in the King James Version reads, “This man receiveth sinners and eateth with them.”
Afterwards, one of the children, a girl of 8, went up to the pastor and said, “Pardon me, sir, but I didn’t know that my name was in the Bible.” He asked, “What is your name?” “Edith, sir.” “No,” he said, “Edith is not in the Bible.” “Yes, it is,” she replied. “I heard you say, ‘This man receiveth sinners, and Edith with them.’” (In “Our Daily Bread.”)
Even though that girl misunderstood the text, she had applied the truth personally to her own heart. If you know that there are sins in your heart that need God’s merciful forgiveness, put your name in there. “This man receives sinners, and [Steve] with them.” If you will join the tax gatherers and sinners and draw near to Jesus and listen to Him, you will know the joy of singing, “I once was lost, but now I’m found!”
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Most parents of young children have had the experience of putting their child in front of a mirror. At first the young one does not realize that it is his own reflection he is seeing there. He thinks it is another child. But then he begins to notice that when his hand moves, the hand in the mirror moves. It slowly dawns on him, “That is me!”
The Bible is like that mirror. At first we look into it and think that we are reading stories about others. It’s interesting to see how they are portrayed. We may chuckle at their antics or shake our heads in disbelief at their stupid ways. But the longer we look, the more we begin to notice that those characters in the Bible look more like us! Gradually, we begin to realize (with some embarrassment), “That is me!”
The parable of the prodigal son is like that mirror. At first it just seems like an interesting and touching story. But the more you look, the more you begin to see your own heart either in the prodigal or in his older brother, or in both.
But the Bible not only reveals what we are like, it also reveals what God is like. This is important, because we cannot know what God is like apart from His revealing Himself to us. We can speculate on what we think God is like, but such speculations don’t mean anything, because they are just our opinions, not based in fact. Jesus Christ reveals to us what God the Father is truly like. While it is not a comprehensive picture, the father of the prodigal son gives us an important aspect of God’s character, namely, His abundant mercy toward all who will repent of their sins.
To interpret the parable correctly, you must see it in light of Luke 15:1-2. The tax gatherers and sinners were coming near to Jesus to listen to Him, which caused the Pharisees and scribes to grumble, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” Jesus told the parables of the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost (or prodigal) son to affirm that the charge was correct and to show the proud, self-righteous Pharisees why it was proper for Him to associate with sinners. Also, to interpret this and other parables correctly, you must keep in mind that they are designed to illustrate one central truth, not to give comprehensive doctrinal instruction. For example, just because there is no mention in this parable of the shed blood of Christ as the necessary means of forgiveness does not imply that it is unnecessary. It’s just not the point of this story.
Also, it is a mistake to infer that the sons represent believers, since they are sons of the father. The household is not the household of faith, but of Israel. The prodigal represents the sinners who were repenting and coming to Jesus; the older brother represents the Pharisees and scribes who were grumbling about Jesus receiving the sinners. But both groups needed repentance.
Each of the three parables illustrates God’s abundant mercy toward repentant sinners and His great joy when they are reconciled to Him. But while they all illustrate the same truth, there are different emphases. The first two parables focus on God’s seeking lost sinners and rescuing them and on His great joy in saving them. The emphasis in the parable of the prodigal son is on God’s great love and mercy, but also on the necessary human response to experience His mercy, namely, repentance. Each of the three main characters reflects different lessons. The prodigal shows us the devastating effects of sin and the nature of true repentance. The father shows us God’s great mercy toward repentant sinners. The older brother shows us the ugliness and danger of the self-righteous pride that lurks in every human heart. The entire parable teaches us that …
God welcomes repentant sinners with abundant mercy, but the self-righteous exclude themselves from His mercy.
Jesus does not go into detail about the tension that must have led up to this rupture, but surely it had been there. The younger of this man’s two sons asks his father for his share of the inheritance. There is debate as to the significance of this request in light of the Jewish culture, but some say that it was the equivalent of treating the father as if he were already dead. Certainly, it was not the common practice, and it must have hurt the father. The boy was cutting off his relationship with his dad, rejecting his dad’s way of life, and heading off to go his own way. We don’t know if the father first attempted to reason with the boy and dissuade him from going. Jesus just reports the final action: the father granted the son’s request and divided the inheritance.
A short time later, the boy gathered his things and left for a distant country, where he squandered his estate with loose living. Then a famine hit and the young man began to be in need. The friends who had helped him spend his money were in need themselves, so they couldn’t help him out now. The only job he could find was feeding the pigs for a local farmer, but that didn’t provide enough for his basic needs. He was so hungry that he wished he could eat the pods that he fed to the swine. Since for the Jews pigs were unclean animals, this boy had sunk as low as you could go.
The prodigal’s rebellion and downward course illustrate the terrible toll of sin in human lives. Sin always alienates the sinner from fellowship with the loving and merciful Father. We sin because we stupidly think that it will bring us lasting happiness and fulfillment, and for a short time, it seems to deliver. But rebelling against God and plunging into sin is like buying things on credit when you have no money to pay. At first, it’s fun. You can go to Europe, stay in first class hotels, eat at the finest restaurants, and live like a king. But then the bills start coming due and it isn’t fun anymore. Invariably, a famine hits in the far country. The worldly friends who told you that you were the greatest when you had money start avoiding you when the famine sets in. You’re left alone, down and out, with seemingly no where to go.
But, thankfully, there is a way to go, namely, to repent or turn back to God. Thus, …
The prodigal finally comes to his senses and realizes that even his father’s hired hands have it better than he does. So he determines to go back to his father, confess his sin, acknowledge his own unworthiness to receive anything from his father, and yet appeal to his mercy so that he could become like one of the hired men. He had left demanding his rights; he returned in humility and brokenness. So he got up and went to his father, probably not quite sure how his dad would respond.
The prodigal shows us a number of things about true repentance. It always begins by seeing our true condition for what it is: “He came to himself [or, his senses].” He realized what he had done. It took him a while to come to this awareness. We don’t know how long he was slopping pigs before he realized how low he had sunk, but finally his eyes were opened to his true, awful condition and he thought, “What am I doing here?” He thought about the fact that even the servants in his father’s house were happier than he was. He determined to return to his father.
That is the next thing about repentance, that it is a turning from our sin to God Himself. No one else can help. “I will get up and go to my father.” His friends had abandoned him. He had run out of his own resources. As long as you have anything in yourself that you think will meet your needs, you will avoid going directly to God. If the young man had thought, “I’m going to turn over a new leaf. I’ll get a better job. I’ll save some money. I dug myself into this pit; I’ll pull myself out by my own bootstraps!” he would not have gone back to his father. If he had clung to his own pride, he would have thought, “I’m not going to let him see me in this condition. I have too much dignity for that! I’ll return to my father after I’ve cleaned up and gotten a new suit of clothes.”
The gospel always brings us to the end of ourselves, our resources, our schemes, and everything else that we rely on, until we must come directly to God Himself. All we can plead for is His mercy. We can’t come and show Him how well we’ve done without Him. We can’t splash the cologne of our good works over the stench of the pigsty and hope that He doesn’t notice how badly we smell. We can’t send a friend or a gift to try to patch things up. We can only come directly to the Father in our wretched condition and appeal to His mercy: “I am no longer worthy to be called your son.” Repentance must be directed personally toward the God whom we have sinned against.
True repentance includes an honest confession of our sins, without any excuses. “I have sinned against heaven and in your sight.” He didn’t say, “I wouldn’t have sinned if you hadn’t been such a demanding and insensitive father.” “I wouldn’t have gotten into trouble if you hadn’t given me all that money when you knew that I wasn’t mature enough to handle it properly.” He didn’t blame the fact that he had to live in the shadow of his high-achieving brother. He said, “I have sinned.” True repentance always involves accepting responsibility for what we have done.
Implicit in the prodigal’s repentance is also a measure of faith that the father would show him mercy. If he had thought that his dad would beat him black and blue and order him never to set foot on his property again, he wouldn’t have bothered to go home. He had a hope, however slim, that his father would grant his request that he become like one of the hired men. If you come to God with just an inkling of faith that He will receive you because of His great mercy, He will not disappoint you!
Spurgeon tells of being in his garden when he saw a dog amusing himself among his flowers. He knew that the dog was not pulling weeds and since it wasn’t his dog, he threw a stick at it and yelled at it to chase it away. Well, the dog very quickly made Spurgeon ashamed for treating it so harshly. It fetched the stick and, wagging its tail, dropped it at Spurgeon’s feet. He says, “Do you think I could strike him or drive him away after that? No, I patted him and called him good names. The dog had conquered the man.” Then he applies it: “And if you, poor sinner, dog as you are, can have confidence enough in God to come to him just as you are, it is not in his heart to spurn you” (12 Sermons on the Prodigal Son [Baker], pp. 105-106).
Also, note that the prodigal’s repentance was not just thought, but action. He didn’t just sit there in the pigsty thinking, “I should go back to my father some day.” He didn’t just feel bad about what he had done, although he must have felt terrible. But he didn’t just sit there feeling depressed. He got up and made that long journey back. Some say that repentance is merely a change of mind. It is a change of mind, but not merely a change of mind. It is a change of mind that results in our turning from our sin to God. In going back to his father, the young man was leaving his friends and his loose way of life. He put a great deal of distance between himself and those old temptations. Repentance involved the action of leaving his sin and returning to his father.
This story shows that no matter how low you may have sunk into sin, there is hope if you will turn from your sin to God. If you say, “No, I’m too far gone,” you are only making excuses and you’re not believing the invitation that God extends to every guilty sinner. If you are living a life of sin, Jesus is saying to you, “No matter how awful, defiant, and wretched your sin, if you will come to the Father in true repentance, He will welcome you.”
This is one of the most moving pictures of God in all the Bible. “While he was still a long way off, his father saw him” (15:20). It was not an accidental sighting, since the boy was a long ways off. The dad was up on the roof looking for his wayward son, as he did many times each day! The instant he saw him in the distance, he did something that no dignified father in that culture would have done: His compassion moved him to run to him, to embrace him, and to kiss him over and over again.
Think of how the father could have acted. He could have seen the boy in the distance and said, “It’s about time! Here comes that no good son of mine! I’m going to let him crawl up to me on his hands and knees and beg for mercy. Then I’ll tell him to go clean up and make himself presentable before he sets foot in my house. I’m going to put him on restriction and lay down the rules! He’s going to have to toe the line from now on!”
Even though the boy must have smelled like a pigsty and though he only wore the tattered clothes on his back, the father ran toward his returning son and lavished his affection on him. He didn’t even let his son get out the full speech about becoming one of the hired hands. While the boy was in the midst of making his confession, the dad called his slaves and told them to get the best robe. He stripped off the boy’s rags and put the robe on him. He put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet to show that he was not just a hired hand, but his son, with the full privileges of family membership. He told the slaves to kill the fattened calf, which was reserved for very special occasions. He hired a band and invited everyone he knew. There was food and music and dancing as they celebrated the return of his son who had been dead and had come to life again; who had been lost and now was found.
What a picture of the abundant mercy that God pours out on repentant sinners! He doesn’t just parcel it out a little bit at a time. He dumps the whole load all at once, instantly. The repentant sinner is totally, freely forgiven. All of our sins are blotted out. You don’t have to brace yourself for the big lecture about how stupid you’ve been. There is no finger wagging or “I told you so!” There is only grace and mercy and love poured out on us as we are welcomed into God’s presence as His children. He clothes us with the robe of Christ’s righteousness and gives us the full privileges of sons and daughters, sharing in the best of all that is His. He lets us know that He is not only glad—He is overjoyed—that we have returned to Him. That’s how God responds when you turn from your sins and come to Him!
You would think that the story would end there, on that happy note: “And they all lived happily ever after.” But there is a third character who reveals a necessary lesson:
The older son comes in from the field and hears the music and dancing. He doesn’t go inside, but he calls one of the servants and asks what is happening. When he finds out that his no-good brother has returned and that his dad has thrown a party to celebrate, he explodes. Whenever anyone blows up like that, it is not just a spur of the moment thing. You’re seeing all of the pent-up anger of the years boiling over. He refuses to go in and when his dad comes out to appeal to him, he unloads.
First he attacks his dad and justifies himself. “Look! For so many years I have been serving you, and I have never neglected a command of yours; and yet you have never given me a kid, that I might be merry with my friends.” He is bitter, accusing his dad of being stingy and unfair. He is saying, “Just give me what I deserve for all my hard work!”
Then, he reveals his contempt for his brother, whom he will not call “my brother,” but rather, “this son of yours.” He didn’t know for sure that the brother had devoured his father’s wealth on prostitutes, but he assumed the worst. He despised his brother and resented the fact that while his brother went off to party, he stayed home and got stuck with all the work.
In spite of the older brother’s attack, the father responds with love and gentleness toward this son also. He tenderly calls him, “My child,” and reminds him that he has always been with him and that all that the father owned was his. He explains why they had to be merry and rejoice, because “this brother of yours [not, “my son”] was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found.” The father’s love extended to both sons and he did not want either son alienated from him or from each other.
This part of the parable shows us that the sins of self-righteousness and pride can be just as fatal as sins of the flesh. Jesus is holding the older brother up as a mirror to the Pharisees, who prided themselves in their observance of the law. They looked with contempt on others who were not outwardly as good as they were. But, as Jesus so penetratingly shows, they were not keeping either of the two greatest commandments: They were not loving the Father and serving Him out of joy; and, they were not loving others as they loved themselves. If they had been doing so, they would have rejoiced to see sinners coming to Jesus.
There’s a supreme irony in this story. The brother who was outside comes home and is welcomed inside to a feast. The brother who had never strayed, but who is probably hungry after working all day, remains outside, sulking. Everything that he needed was inside the house, but his anger and self-righteous pride kept him from the bounty and joy of the father’s table. So, the first has become last and the last, first.
Jesus leaves the story hanging, with the older brother outside. We don’t know if he ever came in to join the party, in spite of the father’s gracious and gentle appeal. Jesus leaves the story there to make us consider our own response. If we are like the older brother, if we pride ourselves in being good, church-going people, if we see ourselves as better than prostitutes and drug dealers and thieves and other obvious sinners, then we need to judge our self-righteous pride. We would be greatly wrong to go out and join in the sins of the prodigal, so that grace might abound. But also, we would be greatly wrong to get angry at God for His grace toward such sinners and to demand that He give us what we deserve. Never ask God to give you what you deserve! We’re all sinners, desperately in need of mercy, not justice. Perhaps we started laboring in God’s field at sunrise and someone else comes in at 5 p.m. and gets the same pay as we do. Don’t begrudge him; just be glad that God is a God of great mercy, even toward the proud if they repent.
If you, like the prodigal, have rebelled against God and have come to see your wretched condition, your response should be like his: Get up, leave your sin, go to the Father and appeal for His mercy. You will find it in abundance.
J. C. Ryle (Foundations of Faith [Bridge Publishing], p. 218) tells of a mother whose daughter ran away and lived a life of sin. For a long time no one knew where she was, but finally she came back, turned to Christ in repentance, and believed in Him. Someone asked the mother what she had done to bring her daughter back and she replied, “I prayed for her day and night.” But that was not all. She went on to say how she always left the front door unlocked, even at night. She didn’t want her daughter to come home in the middle of the night and find the door locked. And it just so happened that one night the girl came home, tried the door, found it open, and went in, never to go out and sin again. That open door is a beautiful picture of God’s heart toward sinners. It’s open for you if you will come back to Him!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Last week we looked at the parable of the prodigal son from the perspective of what it teaches us about God’s abundant mercy toward sinners who repent. This was our Lord’s main reason for giving the parable, to teach the self-righteous Pharisees that God is rich in mercy toward every sinner who turns to Him.
While that is the main application of the parable, the father of the prodigal also provides some valuable lessons for parents. So in this message I want to look at the parable from the standpoint of what we can learn as parents, especially focusing on parents whose children have rebelled. There is probably nothing more painful for Christian parents than to have one of our children rebel against the Lord and against us. You could almost cope with your child’s death more easily than with extreme rebellion, since in death at least there is a sense of closure. After you’ve spent years loving your child and hoping the best for him or her, the pain of having that child reject you and your Lord goes deep. It makes you feel like a failure. It makes you question and even doubt God. It fills you with grief that just won’t go away.
So the question is, “How should Christian parents respond toward children who rebel?” The human tendency is either to withdraw emotionally in order to protect yourself or to get angry and lash out. There used to be a sign in a health clinic where we took our children that read, “Avenge yourself: live long enough to become a problem to your children.” That may be tempting, but as Christian parents we must ask, “How would God have me act in this difficult situation?” And, even if our children have not gone off the deep end in rebellion, every parent has to deal with kids who hurt us with wrong behavior. How should we relate to our children as Christian parents?
As I mentioned last week, the father in the parable represents God and His response toward sinners. It is no accident that the Bible repeatedly calls God our Father and us His children. In my thinking, the basic, all-encompassing principle of Christian parenting is, as God relates to me as His child, so I must relate to my children. Thus all of Scripture becomes our manual on how to raise children, because it reveals to us what God is like and how He relates to His children. While this one parable is not comprehensive, it does provide us with an important aspect of parenting, especially for Christian fathers, namely, that …
Hurting parents must demonstrate God’s love and forgiveness to their children.
The parable does not teach us about how to discipline our children, and that is an important matter that we cannot ignore. But in my experience, many Christian parents are heavy on discipline, but they fall short on showing love and grace to their kids. I am not diminishing the need for consistent discipline. It is crucial, especially in the early years, to teach children to obey and to discipline them lovingly if they disobey. But I contend that love must be the foundation and the atmosphere surrounding discipline. If the children feel the parents’ love, they will respond more readily to their discipline. God’s love and grace are the greatest motivation for our obedience. I want my kids to know that God is gracious and loving because they have seen me demonstrate His grace and love toward them. Before we look at the love and forgiveness exemplified in the father of the prodigal, we need to look at his hurt.
Every parent has expectations for his or her children. Every parent desires that his kids would grow up to embrace his values. Every Christian parent wants his children to be a contributing member not only of society, but also of the cause of Christ. And so the pain runs deep when a child rebels. This pain can be broken down into at least three component parts:
*Rejection of his person: We read over verse 12 very quickly without stopping to consider the tremendous pain this son’s action would have caused his father. Can you imagine going to your own father and saying, “I want my share of my inheritance now”? If the father raised the issue, that is one thing. But it is rude and shocking for a son to raise this issue with his father. In effect he is saying, “I don’t care about you; all I want is your money. Give it to me now so I can get out of here and enjoy myself without you around.” Dr. Kenneth Bailey studied this parable for over 20 years and he has lived in the Near East and studied the culture. He says that there is no example in history or in that culture of a son asking for his inheritance before the father’s death. He dug up one modern example in Iran of a similar situation, and he said that the parents were shocked and viewed the son’s action as tantamount to wishing for the father’s death (on “Expositapes”).
*The rejection of his heritage: Dr. Bailey says that the inheritance would have been primarily the family land which was passed down from one generation to another in that agrarian society. Thus the father would have divided up the land, and the prodigal son would have sold off his portion to get the cash he needed for his fling. Such a thing was unheard of in that society. It was a public disgrace. The boy was saying, “I don’t want to be associated with the family any longer. I don’t want to live here or to raise my family here. I want nothing to do with my family heritage.” It would be like one of our children leaving America to follow a guru in India.
*The rejection of his values: The boy did not join the local synagogue in the distant country and model his life after his father. Instead “he squandered his estate with loose living” (15:13). He wasn’t following the Lord. That tears up any godly parent. The father felt the pain of rejection!
These things do not happen in secret, especially in small towns. As soon as the boy tried to sell off the family property, it would have been known all over town. Everyone would be shocked at his brazen attitude toward his father and at his callousness in selling the family property. Some may have criticized the father for permitting it to happen or for not raising his son properly. He would have had to endure whispers and stares in the marketplace. Even to receive the sympathy of those who were more understanding would have been humiliating.
While this father represents God and God has no guilt because He always acts perfectly, on the earthly plane, any parent is going to feel some guilt when his child goes astray. Some of it will be true guilt, because what parent has not made mistakes that he would erase if given the chance? But much of it will be false guilt, based on the nagging feeling that he has failed as a parent.
The church ought to help alleviate the pain of hurting parents. We can’t do much to lessen the pain of rejection (although we can show our acceptance), but we can help diminish the pain of humiliation and of false guilt by not being judgmental. We need to understand that God has wayward children, and yet He is not a failure. While parental training and influence are major factors, kids also are bombarded with the world, the flesh, and the devil. Even the child from a model Christian home is at best an immature believer who can easily fall into terrible sins.
Thus godly parents, who to the best of their ability seek to raise their children in the faith, can still have children who turn away. This will be the exception, not the rule. But it can and does happen. We have wrongly interpreted Proverbs 22:6, ”Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it,” to mean that if you train them properly, then it is guaranteed that they will follow the Lord. Thus if the child goes astray, the parent must be to blame. But the Proverbs are not ironclad promises. Rather, they state general maxims about life. It is generally true that if you train up children properly, they will follow the Lord as adults. But it is not a guaranteed promise, and therefore it is not necessarily a sign of parental failure when a child rebels. If there has been obvious parental failure, then we, as the church, should help a hurting parent to deal biblically with the area of failure. But it is wrong for us to be judgmental.
The father in the parable was also hurt by his older son. The boy refused to come into the celebration for his younger brother. His father had to go out in front of his guests and appeal to his son to come in. The son was rude and disrespectful (15:29). He accused the father of being unfair. He even implicates the father in the actions of the prodigal (15:30): ”this son of yours”; “your wealth.” He is accusing his father of endorsing his brother’s sin.
But in spite of the older son’s impudence, the father acted with grace and love toward him, just as he did toward the prodigal. Though hurting, this father was loving and ready to forgive.
Note seven sides of this jewel:
The father let the prodigal son go, but he did not reject him. In his hurt, he could have said, “I’ll give you your inheritance, but if you take it and leave, I never want to see your face again!” He granted his young adult son the respect of making decisions, even poor decisions, without rejecting him as his son. The younger the child, the more parents must control the child’s choices. As a child nears adulthood, the parent is not acting in love if he refuses to let go and attempts to control every aspect of the young person’s life. From the time children are old enough to know right from wrong, parents need to be instilling in them the fact that they must answer to God for their moral decisions. If you love your child, you will be able to relinquish control as the child matures without rejecting the child for making wrong choices.
This father was constantly scanning the horizon looking for his son’s return (15:20). Even though the boy had wronged his father, the father still cared deeply for his son. He didn’t protect his hurt feelings by hardening his heart. A self-focused parent would have said, “After what he’s done to me, I couldn’t care less what happens to that ungrateful boy!” But this father would have said, “I couldn’t care more.”
When he saw his boy in rags, his bare feet bloodied from his journey, smelling like the pigsty in which he had worked, the father did not say, “How disgusting! It serves you right. I told you so! Go clean up and dress properly and you can come home!” No, he felt compassion. He hurt with his son.
The father ran toward him, “embraced him, and kissed him” (15:20). He doesn’t even know yet whether the boy is repentant. It is enough that he has returned. The father’s love gushes out in this demonstration of physical affection. He could have waited at the house until the boy was all the way there and then have given him an icy stare and said, “So you came back, huh?” But he ran to him and openly showed him his love. Dads, don’t hesitate to show physical affection toward your sons as they grow older!
In that culture, it was disgraceful for an older man to run. To run in a robe, a man had to pull it up, which was thought of as undignified for an older man. But this father was not concerned about public opinion. He girded up his robe and ran to his boy. He valued his son more than he cared about what other people thought about him.
He brought out the best robe, a ring, and sandals. He killed the fatted calf. Did the boy deserve that? He had already wasted his share of the inheritance. This was pure grace! To his other son, even though he was rude and impudent, the father said, “...all that is mine is yours” (
There is a balance, of course, between such undeserved generosity and the need for discipline. We don’t know, but probably the prodigal son had to experience the consequences of squandering his share of the estate. Grace does not abrogate the principle of sowing and reaping. But my guess is that most Christian parents err on the side of being overly stern. Our kids ought to be able to understand God’s grace because we have been gracious toward them. Are you as gracious with your kids as God is with you?
The boy was not put on probation. He was not accepted home on the condition that he meet certain standards. True, he had repented of his wrong as his confession shows. But the most likely reading of verse 21 leaves off the last phrase, “make me as one of your hired men.” The father cuts him off and showers him with blessings to show his undeserved acceptance of his son.
Although he had been hurt very deeply, the father loved his son totally. That’s how God’s love is toward each one of us. That’s how our love must be toward our children. But not only did this father demonstrate God’s love toward his sons. Also we see...
The boy could not receive or experience the father’s forgiveness until he repented. But the blockage was on the boy’s part, not the father’s. The father was ready and eager to forgive at the first sign of repentance from the boy. He wasn’t bitter. He wasn’t going to make the boy pay for what he had done. Note seven aspects of his forgiveness:
Making someone earn forgiveness over time is not forgiveness. Making someone pay is not forgiveness. Who need forgiveness when they have to pay off their debt? To say, “I’ll forgive that boy when I’m good and ready and not before” is not to forgive. Forgiveness must be an immediate, decisive action.
He didn’t leave the boy with the burden of something to live down. He forgave him totally, once and for all, and it was over.
Once forgiven it was put away. The father did not keep part of the boy’s wrongs in reserve to use as ammunition in a later disagreement. Obviously the father could never erase what had happened from his memory. But to forget is a decision that the wrongs will never be dredged up again. That’s what God means when He says that He will not remember our sins against us.
A friend of Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, once reminded her of an especially cruel thing that had been done to her years before. But Miss Barton seemed not to recall it. “Don’t you remember it?” her friend asked. “No,” came the reply, “I distinctly remember forgetting it.” That’s how God’s forgiveness is toward us; that’s how we must forgive our children when they wrong us.
Forgiveness always is! When you forgive, you bear the cost of what the other person did, and that person goes free. If he bears the cost, that is justice. If you bear it, that is forgiveness. The father did not have a martyr complex: “Look at what you have put me through!” He did not demand pity: “Look at how much I hurt!” He simply absorbed the son’s wrongs.
The father restored his son to the full privileges of sonship. He did not have servant status. He was not a hired hand who had to earn his keep and could be fired. He was a son, with all the rights and privileges of a son. Forgiveness means full restoration.
Instead of really forgiving, many people establish a scorecard of guilt and blame. To the extent that the son was guilty, the father feels justified in maintaining blame against him. And the father excuses his own guilt by blaming the son. But this father did not do this. He truly forgave his son.
Passive forgiveness says, “OK, I’ll let bygones be bygones.” But it stops there. The person does not go on to re-establish the relationship. But active forgiveness adds kindness to forgiveness. It brings out the best robe, the ring, and the sandals, and kills the fatted calf. It is anxious not only to forgive the past, but also to restore the relationship.
I have piled up a lot of points this morning in an attempt to get you to see the main point, namely that this father lavished love and forgiveness upon his son. Even though both sons hurt their father, he demonstrated the gracious love of God toward both boys. Even though both sons wronged him, the father was willing to forgive them both quickly and totally. The prodigal received it; we don’t know what the older son did. The word “prodigal” means “extravagant” or “excessive.” What we see here is “prodigal love for the prodigal son,” as Spurgeon titled one of his sermons on this text.
Each person here, but especially those of us who are fathers, must ask ourselves, “Do I demonstrate this kind of love and forgiveness toward my children? Would my kids gain any idea of what our gracious God is like by the way I treat them? Could it be said that I have prodigal, extravagant love for my kids, whether they are prodigals or not?”
The late Joe Bayly was a gentle, godly Christian leader. I once heard him tell how one of his sons rebelled back in the days of the hippie movement. He grew his hair long and moved into a communal flophouse. Late one night, Bayly received a call informing him that his son was being held at one of the Chicago police stations. He got out of bed, got dressed and went down to the station, but they had no record of his son being there. He made the rounds to several police stations before he realized that the call had been a prank.
Even though it was about 2 a.m., before he went home Bayly went to the flophouse where his son was living. He went in (the door was always unlocked), stepped over several sleeping bodies strewn on the floor, and found his son asleep on his bed. He gently bent over and kissed his son on the cheek before he went home to bed.
When Bayly told the story, he said that his son was now a pastor. Years later, the young man told his father, “Dad, do you know what turned me around?” Bayly said, “No, son.” His son said, “It was that night you came into my room and kissed me. You thought that I was asleep, but I wasn’t. I thought, ‘If my dad loves me that much, I had better get my life right with God.’”
Even if your children have hurt you through their rebellion, you are to show them God’s abundant love and mercy. Through your love, your children should be able to see that God “is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness” (Ps. 103:8).
If you have rebelled against God, you need to know that He stands ready to pour out His love and forgiveness on you. Like the father of the prodigal, God is eagerly watching for you to turn in repentance toward Him. When you do He will run toward you and embrace you and kiss you and lavishly welcome you home, forgiving all your past. He is that kind of a gracious, loving Father!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Every once in a while I receive in the mail an ad inviting me to sign up for a book or a course on how I can get rich. It may involve someone’s scheme for buying stocks or trading commodities. The guy who is selling the book or the course is playing off the common desire to get rich, preferably with a minimum of effort.
But what if we spend our lives climbing the ladder of success only to find out that it’s leaning against the wrong wall? What if we get rich only to discover that we’re really poor? In Luke 16, Jesus tells two parables—the unrighteous steward and rich man and Lazarus—to show that God’s perspective on riches and our perspective are often diametrically opposed. If we want to be truly rich, we need God’s perspective on money.
Jesus tells the first parable to the disciples (16:1), but the Pharisees, who were lovers of money, were listening in and scoffing at Him (16:14). So the ensuing instruction and the second parable are aimed primarily at the Pharisees. The entire chapter should make us all stop and think carefully about our attitude toward money. God’s ways are higher than our ways (Isa. 55:9), especially with regard to money. Since we’re all prone to the world’s ways, we need to think carefully about what Jesus is saying so that we follow God’s way to true riches rather than the world’s way to deceptive wealth and ultimate, eternal poverty.
The parable of the unrighteous steward causes commentators a lot of grief. They call it the most difficult parable in Luke. Jesus is seemingly praising a scoundrel. But a careful look reveals that Jesus is not praising the man’s crookedness, but rather his shrewdness in using a present opportunity to provide for his inevitable future needs. Jesus calls the man “unrighteous” (16:8), thereby condemning his wrong ways. But He is saying that we can learn a valuable lesson from this pagan scoundrel, who is wiser than many “sons of light,” in that he saw what was coming and he used what had been entrusted to him while he could to prepare for the future. The lesson for us is:
A faithful steward will use his Master’s money shrewdly to provide true riches for eternity.
Jesus is telling us that there is a way you can take it with you, namely, by wisely investing the resources that God has entrusted to you now in things that matter for eternity. He draws four contrasts that help us not to miss the point.
The first contrast, in verse 10, is between “the one who is faithful” and “the one who is unrighteous.” Jesus is saying, “Do not be unrighteous as the steward in the parable was, but be faithful stewards,” as those who will give an account to the Master. There are two crucial concepts here:
Implicit in Jesus’ teaching, both here and elsewhere, is that God owns everything and we are stewards or managers of what He has entrusted to us. We are stewards of our time, our abilities, and our possessions and money. In the parable, the steward was squandering his master’s possessions (16:1). There is much debate over whether his action of reducing the bills of his master’s debtors was illegal or legal. Some argue that his master had cleverly violated the Jewish laws against charging interest, and that the steward was rectifying the situation and putting the master in the awkward position of going along with the adjusted bills or else openly being guilty of charging interest. Others say that the steward was giving up his own commission on the sales. Others say that the steward was stealing from his master. We can’t know for sure, but it seems to me that the steward was not doing anything illegal or the master would have prosecuted him.
And yet, while staying within the letter of the law and acting within the authority given to him, the steward was not acting in his master’s best interests, but in his own. Even though the master lost a lot of money through the steward’s actions, he grudgingly had to praise him for his shrewdness. But the fact is, although shrewd, the steward was still unrighteous or unfaithful because he was using his master’s money for his own selfish ends, not for the master’s profit.
One of the key concepts of being a steward is that the steward does not own what the master or owner has entrusted to him. He merely manages it for the owner’s purposes. If the steward begins to act as if he owns it, spending the owner’s resources for his personal betterment rather than for the owner’s benefit, he is an unrighteous, not a faithful, steward.
The principle of stewardship is a fundamental concept of Christian living. When you keep it in focus, it radically affects how you live. Paul says, “It is required of stewards that one be found trustworthy,” or faithful (1 Cor. 4:2). To be faithful as a steward, you must keep in mind at all times that you do not own your money; God does. You do not own your car; God does. You do not own your house; God does. You do not own your own life; God does. To forget or ignore God’s purposes and to live as if what we have is ours to use for our purposes is to abuse our stewardship by being unfaithful.
Now I am going to make a radical statement. I believe that the concept of tithing has fostered the erroneous notion that ten percent belongs to God and the rest is ours to use as we please. Many pastors teach tithing because if Christians would give just ten percent of their incomes to the Lord’s work, giving would increase dramatically. I once calculated at my church in California that if our church families were only earning welfare-level incomes and tithing, our church income would increase significantly. Statistics vary slightly, but polls show that American evangelicals give far less than ten percent. Conservative Protestants give about three or four percent, which is about twice as much as members of mainline denominations. But before you congratulate yourself, the Mormons give an average of six percent, with 30-45 percent of Mormons giving ten percent of their pre-tax income!
Also, polls show that the more people make, the less they give as a percentage of their income. The more you earn, the more tempting it is to spend it on yourself, rather than to give to the Lord’s work. But I am arguing that the concept that ten percent belongs to the Lord and the rest is yours to use as you please is not biblical. One hundred percent belongs to the Lord. The New Testament standard for giving is not ten percent, but “as the Lord has prospered you” (1 Cor. 16:2). If under the Law, ten percent was required, then under grace, ten percent should be the bare minimum, unless you are in dire straits. Even then, the Lord’s purposes (He is the owner), not your purposes, should be your focus in managing what He has entrusted to you. While the Lord allows us to enjoy the bounty of His material blessings (1 Tim. 6:17), He also wants us to focus on storing up the treasure of a good foundation for the future by being generous and ready to share (1 Tim. 6:18, 19). To give sporadically on impulse or to give a pittance with no view to eternity is not to be a faithful steward.
Every business manager knows that the owner will be checking the books to see how things are going. If the business has been earning a profit for the owner, then the manager may get a raise. But if the manager has been skimming off the profits to finance his new yacht and his Mercedes, he’s going to be in trouble when the books are examined. The idea of accountability is inherent in the concept of management or stewardship.
Crucial to being a good steward is understanding the owner’s purpose for his business. In the world, the purpose usually is to make all the money you can. But what is our Master’s purpose? Jesus tells us in verse 9: “Make friends for yourselves by means of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when it fails, they may receive you into the eternal dwellings.” Mammon comes from an Aramaic word meaning riches. By “the mammon of unrighteousness,” Jesus means money, which the world uses for unrighteous purposes, but which believers can use for God’s purposes. Jesus means that just as the unrighteous steward used his master’s money to make friends for himself, so that when he got fired they would welcome him into their homes, so we should use our Master’s money to make friends for ourselves in heaven. Some commentators interpret “they” to refer to God and the angels, but I think it refers to the friends who have become Christians because of our faithful stewardship. When earthly riches fail, as they surely will when we die, we will have friends in heaven who are there because we gave to the cause of world evangelization.
Each of us must ask ourselves the sober question, “Am I managing the resources God has entrusted to me with a view to giving an account some day in light of His purpose of being glorified among all the nations through the spreading of the gospel?” God is a generous and gracious Father, who gives to us not only enough for our basic needs, but also for our enjoyment. So, it is not wrong to enjoy many things beyond the bare essentials. But, if we grasp the concept of faithful stewardship and accountability, our focus will not be on our own financial success, but rather on the financial “success” of God’s enterprise, namely, the gospel.
The second contrast consists of three contrasts that all point to the same thing, namely the temporal versus the eternal. Jesus contrasts “a very little thing” with “much” (16:10); “unrighteous mammon” with “true riches” (16:11); and, “that which is another’s” with “that which is your own” (16:12). The “very little thing,” “unrighteous mammon,” and “that which is another’s” all refer to temporal resources, or money. It belongs to another, namely, to God, as we have seen. “Much,” “the true riches,” and “that which is your own” all refer to eternal treasures laid up in heaven, which no man can take from you (thus you truly possess them [Matt. 6:20]). Thus Jesus is saying that the faithful steward will provide true riches for eternity in contrast to this unrighteous steward who provided himself only with temporal provisions.
Isn’t it ironic that to us, money is a big deal, but to God it’s “a very little thing”! If you don’t think that money is a big deal to people, even to God’s people, just ask some dear old saint to part with his or her riches for the sake of God’s work and see what kind of response you get!
In my church in California, a very wealthy man who was in his eighties had set up a fund to help young people who wanted to go into Christian work attend Christian colleges or seminaries. He had moved out of the area and the fund was depleted, so I wrote him a very tactful letter thanking him for his generosity, telling him of some of the young people who had been helped, and informing him that the fund had been depleted. He wrote back an angry letter accusing us of being after his money and telling us that if we ever asked him for money again, he wouldn’t give!
We hadn’t even asked for money; we had just informed him that the fund was depleted. I’m sure that he could have given $100,000 to the fund and he still would have had plenty left for all his years on this earth. Sadly, none of this man’s four grown children were Christians, and they were all financially successful. But rather than willing his large estate to the Lord’s work, he probably willed it all to his unbelieving children. His money was a big deal to him!
But God views our money as a very little thing. It is the litmus test by which God tests us to see if we can handle true riches, namely, souls. If we are faithful in managing the money God gives us for His purposes, He will entrust eternal souls into our care. We will have eternal rewards in heaven, even if we don’t have much in terms of earthly possessions. The ironic thing is, you are 100 percent certain to lose all the money you accumulate on this earth—it will fail (16:9). You are 100 percent certain to keep all the rewards you lay up in heaven—they are your own (16:12), secure where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in to steal (Matt. 6:20). And yet, most of God’s people major on laying up money on earth and minor on laying up treasure in heaven! Puritan Thomas Adams put it, “To part with what we cannot keep, that we may get that we cannot lose, is a good bargain. Wealth can do us no good, unless it help us toward heaven.”
In verse 13, Jesus draws the third contrast, that we either can serve God or mammon (money), but not both. So we must make a basic decision as to our choice of masters. Clearly, the unrighteous steward was living for money, but disciples of Jesus should be serving God. It is a delusion to think that you can own money. That is not one of the choices. Either God owns you, including your money, or your money (mammon) owns you. Those are the only choices.
Most of us would like to think that there is some middle ground, where we can mostly serve God, but also keep one foot in worldly wealth. We’re like the guy who said, “They say it’s better to be poor and happy than rich and miserable. But couldn’t something be worked out, such as being moderately wealthy and just a little moody?” But Jesus draws the line in the sand and makes us ask, “Who is my Master: God or mammon?”
It is sad that the world can point the finger at those who claim to be servants of Christ, but who really are serving mammon. They are the ones who get all the press. But many of God’s servants have been faithful to serve Him, not mammon.
The story is told that one day Cardinal Sadolet, a high-ranking Roman Catholic official who had tried to coax Geneva back to Rome, passed through Geneva incognito. He wanted to have a look at the famous Protestant reformer, John Calvin. He stood in front of the simple house on Canon Street. Did the famous Calvin live in this little place? Even the bishops of Rome in that day lived in mansions surrounded by wealth and servants. Archbishops and cardinals lived in palaces, like kings. Sadolet knocked and was dumbfounded when Calvin himself, dressed in a plain black robe, answered his own door. Where were the servants? Here was the most famous man in the whole Protestant church, living in a simple house, answering his own door! When Calvin died, Pope Pius IV said of him, “The strength of that heretic came from the fact that money was nothing to him.” (Thea Van Halsema, This Was John Calvin [Baker], pp. 164-165). That’s not a bad testimony from an enemy! May it be said of us all!
Thus Jesus draws the contrasts: faithful versus unrighteous; temporal versus eternal; God versus mammon. Finally:
In the fourth contrast, the unrighteous steward got it right and the sons of light tend to get it wrong. Jesus is saying that unbelievers are often more shrewd in figuring out how to secure temporal wealth than believers are in figuring out how to secure eternal riches. By shrewd, Jesus does not mean dishonest, but rather, as Webster defines it, “clever, discerning awareness; practical, hardheaded cleverness and judgment” (Webster’s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary [Merriam-Webster], p. 1091).
How was the unrighteous steward shrewd? In at least two ways. First, he was shrewd in that he seized an opportunity while he still had time to act. He saw the handwriting on the wall: his days were numbered! He was going to get fired. So he quickly went into action, using his authority while he still had time, to get on the good side of his master’s debtors.
The application for us is, if we hear of a window of opportunity for the gospel, we should do all we can to seize it while we can. If we hear of a good investment opportunity that is reasonably certain to earn a decent profit and we have the funds to invest, we would probably jump at the chance. In the same way, if we hear of an opportunity for the gospel and God has given us funds to invest, we should go for it. I was so encouraged at the way the church responded to the recent opportunity in Egypt, raising over $16,000 to provide evangelistic materials for the summer outreach! That’s the idea here! Invest in eternity while you can.
Second, the unrighteous steward was shrewd in that he used his present resources to provide for his inevitable future realities. He knew that he was going to be fired. While many would have despaired, he went into action, using what he had to provide for his future security.
The application for us is, we know that the time is soon coming when the mammon of unrighteousness will fail. We will die or Christ will return, and money won’t do us any good in heaven. But we can use our money now to store up treasures in heaven by making eternal friends through the gospel. Can you imagine the joy someday of meeting someone in heaven who says, “Thank you for giving to the cause of world evangelization! Because you gave, missionaries came to my country and I got saved.”
Years ago, on the TV game show, “Let’s Make a Deal,” the contestants were told to choose between a prize that was visible to them or another prize that was concealed behind a curtain. Often the visible prize was quite nice—perhaps a new stereo or TV set. The audience would always urge the contestant to go for the prize behind the curtain. But sometimes the unseen prize would turn out to be some impractical gag gift, like 10,000 boxes of toothpicks. The contestant would groan as he realized he just traded a beautiful prize for something useless.
At other time, however, the prize behind the curtain would be something of far greater value, such as a new car. If the contestant chose the visible prize of a new stereo and forfeited the unseen new car, you could feel with him the awful sense that he made a very foolish decision.
The difference between that game show and reality is this: God has promised that what is hidden behind the curtain is so much better than what you can see now that there is no comparison. “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the heart of man, all that God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Cor. 2:9). The question is, will you believe God and live by faith in His promises? Will you give up temporal riches that you will lose anyway by investing them in His kingdom, with His promise that you will inherit eternal riches that you will never lose? It’s a sure-fire way to get rich—truly rich!
It’s not that you can give enough to get into heaven. Heaven is God’s gift, freely available through the death of Christ who paid the penalty for the sins of all who will receive Him. If you think that any amount of good works will get you into heaven, you do not understand the gospel. You can get into heaven only by acknowledging that you are a sinner and trusting in Christ as your Savior from sin and judgment.
But if you have received God’s gift of eternal life, you must live with God as your Master, not mammon. You need to ask yourself, “Am I living as a faithful steward, shrewdly using the resources God has entrusted to me to lay up treasures in heaven? Or, have I slipped into squandering God’s resources for my own purposes, losing sight of the fact that eternity is quickly approaching?” I urge you to learn the lesson from this scoundrel: Invest your Master’s money in that which will pay eternal dividends.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
A “Frank and Ernest” cartoon shows the perpetual bumblers standing at the Pearly Gates. St. Peter has a scowl on his face. Ernie is smiling innocently, but he’s wearing a T-shirt that says, “Question Authority.” Frank is whispering to him, “If I were you, I’d change my shirt, Ernie.” (Bob Thaves, 10/4/95, NEA.)
Americans generally aren’t inclined toward submission to authority, even when that authority is God. Like Ernie, we could easily end up at heaven’s gates wearing a “Question Authority” T-shirt! But that’s not an advisable thing to do!
Our text deals with the authority of Jesus, although the flow of thought is difficult to track. At first it seems like a disjointed bunch of verses. Verse 14 mentions the Pharisees’ scoffing at Jesus’ teaching about money, but then the rest of the verses don’t deal with the subject of money at all. The final verse of the section (16:18), on divorce, seems totally foreign to the context. Probably what we are looking at is a condensed version of what originally was a longer discourse. The transitions are missing, which makes it more difficult to pick up the flow of thought.
But the overall theme has to do with the authority of Jesus and God’s Word versus the self-proclaimed authority of the Pharisees, who are rejecting Jesus and God’s Word. They would have protested that they kept the Law, but Jesus brings in the word about divorce to show them an example of how they only keep the Law when it fits with what they want to do. When it doesn’t fit, they invent ways to dodge it. Thus while the outcasts (15:1) are flocking into the kingdom, the Pharisees will be cast out, condemned by the very Law they proclaimed to follow.
To paraphrase and give the flow of thought in 16:14-18, Jesus is saying, “You Pharisees pride yourselves on keeping the Law, but God knows your hypocritical hearts. What you’re missing is that the old dispensation came to a climax in John’s ministry, since he introduced the good news of the coming of God’s king and kingdom. Ironically, while you are scoffing at Me and My kingdom, the very ones you despise—the poor and the notoriously sinful—are stampeding to get in. When I say that there has been a transition from the Law to the Gospel, I don’t mean that the Law is set aside. Rather, it has been fulfilled in Me. For example, I uphold the true intent of God’s Law regarding divorce and remarriage, but you Pharisees neatly set it aside with your liberal interpretations.”
So the issue is Jesus’ authority versus the self-proclaimed authority of the Pharisees, who were scoffing at Him. The message for us is:
Since God’s kingdom comes in the person of Jesus, we must submit to His authority, not scoff at it.
We need to keep in mind that both John the Baptist as the forerunner and Jesus after him were taking on a powerful religious and cultural establishment. The Jewish religious leaders had great influence and power over the common people. They were the educated ones, the sole interpreters of God’s Law. They controlled the activities in the Temple, including the sale of animals for the Jewish sacrifices. The common people feared being put out of the synagogue by the Jewish leaders (John 7:13; 9:22; 12:42; 19:38; 20:19). Even the Roman governor Pilate feared the Jewish leaders enough to deliver up Jesus for crucifixion, although he knew that He was innocent
But Jesus is confronting these religious tyrants head-on. He hits them for their hypocrisy. He hits them for missing the central message of the Law and the Prophets (a term that refers to the entire Old Testament), namely, that it pointed to the good news of the kingdom, announced by John and personified in Jesus Himself. He is pitting His authority, backed by God’s Word, against the authority of the Jewish religious leaders.
Jesus always upheld the sanctity of God’s written Word. When tempted by Satan, Jesus three times answered, “It is written,” quoting Scripture. That silenced the most powerful and dreadful enemy of righteousness. Jesus asserted that God’s Word is truth (John 17:17). He told the Jewish leaders, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is these that bear witness of Me” (John 5:39). He told them, “If you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” (John 5:46-47). Jesus affirmed God’s Word as truth.
In our text, Jesus affirms that a transition has taken place, from the Law and the Prophets to the gospel of the kingdom. Clearly, Jesus represents a new phase in God’s program. What the Law and the Prophets proclaimed and promised found fulfillment in the person of Jesus Christ. John the Baptist was the transitional figure, with a foot in both eras. He was the messenger, prophesied by Malachi, who prepared the way of the Lord. Jesus is that Lord in human flesh, the long-promised Messiah, born of the seed of the woman, who came to crush the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15).
But Jesus makes it clear that even though a transition has taken place, it did not nullify or set aside the Law. It would be easier for all creation to pass away than for one stroke of a letter of the Law to fail. The “stroke” refers to the tiny extension that distinguishes two very similar-looking Hebrew words from each other. His point is that what God spoke through Moses and the prophets will be fulfilled, down to the very minutiae. God’s Word, as Jesus says in John 5:39, bears witness of Him.
The relationship between the Old Testament law and the present age of grace is complicated and difficult. Some, such as Lewis Sperry Chafer (Grace [Dunham]), argue that Paul’s pronouncement that we are not under law, but under grace (Rom. 6:14), means that no part of the Old Testament law applies directly to believers today. Thus he would not view the Ten Commandments as binding on Christians (p. 105). Others (called Theonomists or Reconstructionists) go to the opposite extreme of saying that we are obligated to live under the law, even those laws that pertained directly to the nation Israel. I think that both of these views are out of balance.
I would go along with the general Reformed view (“The Westminster Confession of Faith,” Chapter XIX) that the moral law of God stems from His holy nature and thus is eternally in force. The ceremonial aspects of the Jewish law pointed ahead to Christ, who fulfilled them in His person and work. The civil aspects of the law applied specifically to the theocratic nation, Israel. While there may be principles for secular government that can be derived from those laws, they are not binding on nations today.
No person in any age could ever be right before God by keeping the Law, since we all have violated God’s holy standards in thought and deed. Thus the Law condemns us and should serve as “our tutor to lead us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith” (Gal. 3:24). By His perfect righteousness, Jesus fulfilled the Law, so that He is “the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes” (Rom. 10:4). But even after a person is justified by faith in Christ, the Law continues to show him God’s holy standard for life and conduct. The point is, although the Law came to complete fulfillment in Jesus Christ, it is not set aside. Those who are in Christ should delight in God’s Law as the expression of His holy nature. Jesus’ high view of Scripture should motivate us to be more diligent in searching out the truths God has revealed there.
Outwardly, the Pharisees could compare themselves with others and justify themselves, because they did more and went farther than the average Jew. They were meticulous in keeping all the outward rules, but they were living before men and not before God, who examines our thoughts and motives. They were filled with pride and hypocrisy, which God hates. When they gave alms, they did it to be noticed by men. When they uttered long prayers, it was to impress others with how spiritual they were. Although they may have fooled others, they could never fool God. Jesus rips off their mask of righteousness and exposes them for what they were, detestable in the sight of God.
True religion is a matter of the heart before God. The instant you get a glimpse of God in His absolute holiness, the light of His glory also shows you how vile and filthy your own heart is before Him. Rather than boasting in your good deeds and parading your supposed righteousness before others, you shrink back in fear of being instantly consumed. You despair of ever being righteous enough to present yourself before God, because you know how deceitful and desperately wicked your heart is.
But that is precisely where the gospel breaks in, because you also realize that if you are to stand before God, you need a Savior and Mediator. You need a righteousness other than your own. Jesus is that Savior; He extends a free pardon to every sinner who repents and trusts in Him. He clothes the believing sinner with His perfect righteousness, reconciling us to God. In that new relationship with God, we then learn to live, not as pleasing men, but God, who examines our hearts (1 Thess. 2:4).
Jesus is saying that if you are not living openly before God, judging your sin on the thought level, seeking to please God with your thoughts and attitudes, as well as with your words and deeds, then you are living as a Pharisee, not as His disciple. Christians don’t live to impress others with how spiritual they are. Christians live openly in the sight of God, seeking to please Him.
Thus the first thing our text proclaims is that God’s kingdom comes in the person of Jesus the King. Christianity is not a matter of following a bunch of outward standards. It is a matter of submitting ourselves to His authority, down to the heart level. But, as our text shows, that is not the only possible response.
We tend to think that all who scoff at Jesus are outside the religious establishment, but the gospel accounts show us that there are many who put on a pretense of being religious, but who scoff at the Savior. The word “scoff” literally means, “to turn up one’s nose” at someone. It is a term of utter contempt and disregard.
Why were these religious leaders scoffing at Jesus? There is a simple answer, and it still applies to every individual who scoffs at Him, whether that person claims to be an atheist or a Christian: Jesus convicts him or her of sin, righteousness, and judgment. An evolutionist may protest: “I do not believe in the Genesis account of creation because it is not scientific.” Nonsense! The reason the evolutionist does not believe in the Genesis account of creation is that if God spoke the universe into existence, then there are some serious moral implications for every creature! “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” means, “He is Lord.” I cannot live as I please or I will face His judgment.
The Pharisees scoffed at Jesus because of many sins, but two are specifically mentioned in our text. First, they were lovers of money (16:14). They gave a lot to the Temple, but their giving was done to impress men, but it didn’t impress God who looks on the heart. They were living for greed, not for God.
You don’t have to be rich to fall into the trap of loving money. Many who lack money love it just as much, if not more, than those who possess a lot. As Paul says (1 Tim. 6:9, 10): “But those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.” The phrase “want to get rich” points to a desire or aim in life. If the bent of your life is to get rich, you are exposing yourself to many spiritually destructive temptations.
Greed is often mentioned in the Bible in the same breath as sexual immorality (Eph. 5:5; Col. 3:5), and yet it is far more tolerated in the church than sexual sin is. We tolerate TV preachers who flaunt their wealth and luxurious lifestyles, until they fall into sexual sin. But we should be just as intolerant (how’s that for a politically incorrect word!) of greed as we are of sexual immorality. As Jesus warns (Luke 12:15), “Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life consist of his possessions.”
If you struggle with greed (and most of us do), I’ll tell you a simple way to combat it: Give away everything except what you need to live on. That’s what Jesus told the rich young ruler (Luke 18:22). Giving is the antidote for greed. So any time you’re struggling with a greedy heart, sit down and write out a big check to the Lord’s work. Go through all the junk in your house and give it to the church missions yard sale. Try it and you’ll feel free inside!
The second sin that Jesus confronts the Pharisees with was divorce. God’s Word states that He hates divorce (Mal. 2:16). He declared from the beginning that a man and his wife become one flesh, implying a lifelong union. But because of the hardness of men’s hearts, God permitted (not mandated) divorce (Deut. 24:1-4). Many of the Pharisees, however, had taken God’s permission for divorce in difficult situations and turned it into virtual approval for divorce for almost any reason. There were two main Pharisaic schools. Rabbi Shammai’s school held that divorce was allowable only on the grounds of immorality. Rabbi Hillel’s school allowed divorce for many reasons, including something as trivial as a wife burning the meal. Given the hardness of men’s hearts, it is not surprising that Hillel’s school was quite popular! But Jesus clearly sided with Shammai’s school.
Jesus is not here giving the full biblical teaching on divorce. Rather, He is showing His authority by confronting the Pharisees with an area where they often dodged God’s Law through their loopholes, while proclaiming their faithfulness to it. He is saying that by playing loose with God’s standard for marriage, they were committing adultery. Even though they could justify themselves before men, claiming that they were under the letter of the Mosaic Law, what they were doing was detestable in the eyes of God.
While the biblical teaching on divorce is difficult to synthesize, my understanding is that the Bible allows divorce and remarriage in cases of sexual immorality or the desertion of a believer by an unbeliever. But even in marriages where there has been unfaithfulness, I believe that God is most glorified when there is genuine repentance, forgiveness, and reconciliation. In the context of lifelong commitment, couples can work through their problems before God and grow in self-denying love, learning to esteem their mates more highly than themselves (Phil. 2:3-4). Lifelong commitment in marriage is God’s standard for His people.
Don’t forget the main point, that the reason people scoff at Jesus is not intellectual; it is moral. They want to dodge the high standards of God’s Word regarding sin. But if you justify your sin, even by claiming some biblical loophole, you are scoffing at Jesus, who knows your heart. There is a better alternative:
Jesus refers to these as “forcing” their way into the kingdom. This is a difficult phrase, in that the Greek verb can be either middle or passive voice. If it is passive, it could be translated, “Everyone is urged insistently into it” (Darrell Bock, Luke [Baker], 2:1349-1354, argues for this view). But most commentators argue for the middle voice, which views the subject as participating in the results of the action. Here it means that each person takes the initiative to press his way into the kingdom. I believe that contextually this is the better view. “Everyone” does not refer to every single person in Israel, but rather to the great multitude of sinners who were flocking to hear Jesus and respond to His message of grace (15:1), in contrast to the few Pharisees who were responding. Jesus is saying to the Pharisees, “While you guys sit around scoffing, the very people whom you despise are stampeding into the kingdom!”
The phrase, “forcing his way into it,” implies that salvation requires strong desire, firm resolution, and earnest effort and focus to obtain it (Jonathan Edwards develops these points in his sermon, “Pressing into the Kingdom of God” (The Works of Jonathan Edwards [Banner of Truth], 1:654-656). You must not be indifferent and passive when the salvation of your soul is at stake! If you are not saved, nothing in life should matter to you more than how you can get saved. You won’t accidentally get saved while you devote yourself to everything else under the sun, but never devote any effort to understanding spiritual matters.
While we are not saved by our efforts, but only through faith in the blood of Jesus, the mark of a person who has come to genuine saving faith is a subsequent life of increasing submission to the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who have entered His kingdom have come under His authority as King. They devote their lives to living according to His Word, seeking to bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Cor. 10:4-5).
In 1881, the wild western town of Cranberry Gulch, California needed a teacher for its one-room school. The last three teachers had not been able to deal with the rowdy students. One lay in the graveyard, another lost his eye, and the third left before noon on his first day.
A slender-built man named Harry Floto applied for the job. The person doing the hiring doubted that he would fare much better than the others, but there wasn’t a flood of applicants, so he got the job. Word spread and the students were relishing how they would get rid of this new victim.
The first day he showed up carrying a traveling bag. One 18-year-old tough joked that he came prepared to take off when he found out that they were too much for him. Ignoring them, Floto went inside. The students followed, curious to see what he’d do next. He opened his bag, took out a belt, and buckled it around his waist. Next, he put three Colt revolvers there, and a Bowie knife. While the students watched, Floto tacked a white card to the wall opposite his desk. Crossing the room, he drew a revolver from his belt and fired six bullets into a spot the size of a silver dollar.
While the pop-eyed students stared, the schoolmaster walked half way across the room, Bowie knife in hand, wheeled, and threw it so that it stuck, quivering, in the center of the card. Leaving it there as a reminder, Floto took two more knives from his bag and stuck them in his belt. He then reloaded his smoking revolver.
He then ordered the 18-year-old to ring the bell to signal the start of class; he did so without a word. After the students were all seated, Floto cocked a revolver and announced, “We will arrange the classes.” Then he heard a whisper behind him. Whirling, Floto drew his gun and roared, “No whispering allowed in here!”
“I’ll not do so any more,” the boy said. “See that you don’t,” Floto barked. “I never give a second warning.”
Within a month, Floto put away his weapons and his pupils learned to love as well as to respect him. He stayed for two years. (Reported in The San Francisco Chronicle, 1881.)
Just as those students learned to respect the authority of that teacher, so we need to respect the absolute authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is God’s King, and we dare not scoff at Him or His Word that tells us how we should live. There is an entire movement in the evangelical camp devoted to promoting the nonsense that it is possible to accept Jesus as Savior, and yet not live under His lordship. I hope that you see that to question Jesus’ authority in any way is a most risky thing to do! He is King; we must submit to Him, even on the thought level.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
A man on an ocean liner was leaning over the ship’s rail, tossing something in the air and catching it. An onlooker asked, “What are you tossing?” “A diamond of great value,” the man said. “It is all that I have in this world.”
“Aren’t you afraid of losing it, tossing it over the water like that?” “No, I’ve been doing it for the past half hour, and I’ve caught it every time,” the man casually replied. “But there might come a last time,” remarked the onlooker. The man laughed and tossed it again—but this time he missed. For a moment he stood aghast. Then he cried out, “Lost! Lost! Lost!”
You say, “That story is not true.” But, it is true of many people! The ocean is eternity. They are on the vessel of life. That diamond is their soul. If they do not know Christ as their Savior, they are taking great risk that every day will be their last on this earth. If they should die without Him, they would be eternally lost.
How can people be so careless about their eternal destiny? One answer is that they get so caught up with the good things of this life that they neglect thinking about the life to come. The great deceiver, Satan, gets them focused on the here and now. Every once in a while—when a friend dies or when a major catastrophe claims many lives—they think briefly about death. But they figure, “I’m a basically good person. God is loving; He wouldn’t condemn a decent person like me.” And, they put it out of their minds and get on with pursuing the good life.
Jesus directed the parable of the rich man and Lazarus to the Pharisees, who thought that they would get into heaven because they were good men. They were the religious leaders. They were at the synagogue every time the doors opened. They studied the Law and the Prophets and could quote lengthy sections of it. They participated in all of the annual feasts and holy days of the Jewish faith. They gave ten percent or more of their income to the temple. They called Abraham their father.
But, their religion was outward. They did what they did to impress others. But God was not impressed because their hearts were full of pride and hypocrisy (16:15). They would have protested that they kept the Law, but they were not concerned about inner, heart righteousness before God. Like the rich man in the parable, they were living the good life, assuming that they would go to heaven. But their love of money had blinded them to God’s perspective. They were in for a rude awakening if they did not repent and take heed to the true message of the Law and the Prophets before they died.
As far as we know, the rich man in the parable was not guilty of any gross sin. His fault was in living for himself and for this life only, with no view to eternity. His sin was not in having money; Abraham was a wealthy man. His sin was that he did not use the mammon of unrighteousness to make friends for himself so that when it failed, they would receive him into eternal dwellings (16:9). He failed to lay up treasures in heaven, even though the opportunity to do so literally lay at his doorstep every day. Even having Abraham as his father (16:24, 27, 30) wouldn’t help him on judgment day, because he had neglected the true message of Moses and the Prophets. His faith was mere profession that did not result in obedience. Thus the message for us is:
Since present choices determine eternal destiny, we must repent and believe God’s Word and not be deceived by outward appearances.
There are three lessons to take to heart:
Jesus makes it plain that there are two eternal destinies, heaven and hell. Heaven is pictured in the parable in the common Jewish symbolism as a Messianic banquet (13:28-29). At a banquet in that culture, the guests reclined at the table in such a manner that you could lean back upon the breast of the one near you to engage in intimate conversation. Lazarus is pictured at the banquet next to Abraham, the father of the faith, enjoying rest, comfort, and fellowship, delivered from the trials he had known in this life.
While we won’t be eating perpetually throughout eternity (although that might be heaven for some!), that is the picture here to show us that it will be a place of eternal rest and enjoyment. Whatever heaven is like, you can be sure that it will not be boring! The idea of sitting on a cloud strumming a harp forever and ever doesn’t sound very exciting! But Paul says that we will judge angels (1 Cor. 6:3). While we don’t know all that God has prepared for those who love Him, we do know that He will give us meaningful and fulfilling activity. I believe that God has given us the most enjoyable activities on this earth as a little foretaste of what heaven will be like. We will be free from all sin and the devastating consequences of sin, both our own sins and the sins of others against us. God Himself will dwell among us and there will be no mourning or crying or pain (Rev. 21:3-4). Heaven will be infinitely better than the best life that you can imagine on this fallen earth!
But the Bible (and especially Jesus) makes it plain that there is also a place of eternal torment, called hell. Here Jesus uses the Greek word, Hades. Scholars debate whether Hades (and the Hebrew Sheol) was the abode of all the dead, with separate compartments for the righteous and the wicked, or whether it refers only to the place for the wicked dead. We can’t be dogmatic about such specifics, but we can say with certainty that hell is a real place and that you don’t want to spend eternity there! Sometimes cartoons picture hell as a place where the wicked party throughout eternity, while the righteous sit around bored on a cloud in heaven. Mark Twain said, “I’ll take Heaven for the climate and Hell for society.” But there won’t be any society in hell!
Jesus uses awful word pictures to teach us that it isn’t going to be a fun place. He refers to it as the outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 25:30). He cites Isaiah 66:24, describing hell as a place “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). He says that it would be better to have a millstone hung around your neck and be thrown into the sea than to go into the unquenchable fire (Mark. 9:43). The flames of hell may, like the golden streets of heaven, be symbolic. But if so, they are a most frightening symbol to warn us that hell will be a place of awful torment. The rich man in the parable says, “I am in agony in this flame” (16:24). If it were a fun place, he would want his brothers to join him for the party. But he doesn’t want them to “come to this place of torment” (16:28).
The doctrine of eternal punishment in hell is not pleasant, but you cannot accept Jesus and reject hell, because He taught it so plainly and frequently. R. C. Sproul wrote (“Tabletalk [11/90]),
The fact is, however, that virtually every statement in the Bible concerning hell comes from the lips of Jesus Christ. We cannot take Jesus seriously without also taking seriously what He said regarding eternal punishment.
There is very little about hell in the Old Testament, and very little in the epistles. It is almost as if God decided that a teaching this frightening would not be received from any lesser authority than that of His own Son.
There are three popular views that we must reject. The first is universalism, the view that everyone will eventually be saved. The universalist says, “A good and loving God could not condemn anyone to hell. There is some good in even the worst of people. God will take that into account, so that no one will be condemned.” But the universalist underestimates both the awful sinfulness of the human heart and the absolute holiness of God. The rich man in the parable was not an evil man in human terms. He wasn’t a mass murderer or child molester. He wasn’t deliberately hurting people. He was a just living for himself, oblivious to the poor man at his gate. And yet here he is in the place of eternal torment! Clearly, Jesus did not teach that everyone, let alone everyone who isn’t terribly evil, would be in heaven.
The second popular view we must reject is annihilationism. This is the view that God will destroy the unrepentant sinner, so that he ceases to exist. In other words, the soul is not immortal. Perhaps God will punish the person for a time, proportionate to his sin. But at some point, God will say, “That’s enough,” and the person will not suffer eternally. God will annihilate the person’s soul. Several professing evangelicals, most notably John Stott, have suggested if not embraced this idea. The Seventh Day Adventists teach this doctrine.
Frankly, the idea sounds humane and appealing. But I cannot dodge Matthew 25:46, where Jesus uses the same word “eternal” in the same verse to refer to eternal punishment and eternal life. If life is eternal, then so is punishment. Also, Revelation 20:10 states that the devil, the beast, and the false prophet will be tormented in the lake of fire and brimstone “day and night forever and ever.” Then, just a few verses later (20:15), it states that all of those whose names are not found written in the book of life are also thrown into the lake of fire. “Day and night forever and ever” sure sounds eternal! The best defense of eternal punishment that I’ve read is Jonathan Edwards’ sermon, “The Justice of God in the Damnation of Sinners.” He argues that since any sin is against the infinite God, it is worthy of infinite punishment.
The third popular view that this parable refutes is the doctrine of purgatory. Both the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church teach that when a believer dies, unless he has attained a state of moral perfection on earth, he goes to an intermediate place where he suffers until all sin is purged away. The sufferings vary according to the guilt and impenitence of the sufferer. Gifts and services to the church, prayers on behalf of the deceased, and Masses provided by friends or loved ones, can all shorten the amount of time the person spends in Purgatory.
If anyone was a candidate for Purgatory, this rich man was. As I said, he was not a bad man. He called Abraham his father, showing his devotion to the Jewish faith. He had a concern for his five brothers’ eternal destiny. But he wasn’t in Purgatory, with a chance to get into heaven after he had suffered a while. He was in hell and there was a great chasm fixed so that he could never cross over. The doctrine of Purgatory is not taught in Scripture (it is based on the apocryphal 2 Maccabees 12:39-45). It undermines the doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ alone. It adds human works to His finished work on the cross.
So while it is a hard doctrine to fathom, both intellectually and emotionally, we cannot say that we believe in Jesus and the Bible and at the same time reject the doctrine of eternal hell. There are two and only two eternal destinies.
Abraham says to the rich man in hell that there is a great chasm fixed between those in heaven and those in hell, so that none can cross from one side to the other. Not only does this mean that there is no Purgatory, it also means that there is no second chance after death. Hebrews 9:27 states, “It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment.” As someone has said, there are no unbelievers in hell. They just believed too late!
In the parable, Lazarus died and the angels carried him to heaven. The rich man died, was buried, and was in hell in the flames. Since it was a parable, designed to illustrate a central truth, Jesus pictures the final outcome without spelling out details about future resurrections of the body. Paul says (2 Cor. 5:8) that for believers, to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. There is no such thing as “soul sleep” while we wait for the resurrection of our bodies at His second coming. The souls of unbelievers go immediately at death into a place of conscious torment to await the Great White Throne judgment when their bodies are raised and thrown into the Lake of Fire (Rev. 20:11-15).
Before death, a person can move from spiritual death to eternal life. But once a person dies, his eternal destiny is fixed. He goes either to heaven or to hell and there is no crossing over from one place to the other after that. There is a great chasm fixed.
A superficial reading of the story might lead you to conclude that a person who is rich and comfortable in this life goes to hell, while a person who is poor and miserable goes to heaven, to even things out. But that would contradict other Scriptures, and even in the story itself, the wealthy Abraham is in heaven. The rich man’s problem was not that he was rich, but that he did not repent of his sin of squandering his riches on himself and begin to use them as God would have him to do, to make friends for eternity.
The rich man knew that his brothers needed to do what he had not done, namely, to repent and to be persuaded to believe the message of Moses and the Prophets (= Scripture; 16:30-31). The apostle Paul summarized his preaching as “solemnly testifying both to Jews and Greeks of repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21). Repentance and faith are two sides of the same coin. You cannot have one without the other. Repentance is a change of mind that results in a turning of the whole person from sin to God. Saving faith is to trust the testimony that God has borne concerning His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who offered Himself as the penalty for our sins. A person who has truly believed in Christ as Savior will live a life of repentance and growth in godliness. The fact that this rich man never showed concern for Lazarus, even though he had to walk past him every day, is ample evidence that his faith was an empty profession. He had never repented of his selfishness.
The rich man may have protested: “How was I to know that I should take care of this poor man at my gate?”
When the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his brothers, Abraham replies that they have what they need to repent, namely, Moses and the Prophets. But the rich man protests, saying in effect, “That’s not enough. They need something more spectacular, something miraculous. Send them a man risen from the dead to preach to them and then they will repent.” But Abraham insists that Scripture is a sufficient witness. If they won’t believe Scripture, they won’t believe if someone rises from the dead.
Sometimes when you’re witnessing, the person will say, “If I could just see a miracle, I’d believe.” That is just a smokescreen. The Bible bears witness of many miracles, first and foremost the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. There is sufficient evidence to believe the apostolic witness of the resurrection. If a person won’t read and believe the Bible, then he has a deeper problem, namely, a moral problem.
The rich man had known what God’s Word says about concern for the poor and needy. But he chose to ignore this hurting man on his doorstep. In effect, he is blaming God for not giving him sufficient witness: “If You had just sent someone from the dead to warn me, I wouldn’t be in this place!” But the fact is, he did not want to inconvenience his comfortable lifestyle in order to care about this poor man.
Invariably, when you’re sharing the gospel and a person raises an intellectual problem, it is not the true problem. One way I deal with this is to ask the person, “Are you saying that if I can provide a reasonable answer to that problem, you will repent of your sins and trust in Christ as Savior and Lord?” The answer almost always is, “Well, there are other issues, too.” I’ll say, “Great, make me a list and I’ll see if I can find reasonable answers. Then will you become a Christian?” Repentance isn’t the result of having all your intellectual questions answered. Repentance and faith in Christ hinge on the recognition that you are a sinner and that you need a Savior. We need to make it clear to people that if they die without repenting of their sins and trusting in Christ, they are fixing their eternal destiny in hell, not in heaven.
Thus, there are two and only two eternal destinies. The basis for a person’s eternal destiny is fixed by his choices in this life.
One key to understanding this parable is 16:15b, “that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God.” In the eyes of men, the rich man was successful and Lazarus was a loser. The rich man lived well and enjoyed the finest things in life. Lazarus was a miserable wretch, with the dogs licking his sores. But the irony is, Lazarus was eternally rich and the rich man was eternally bankrupt.
It is interesting that the rich man is left unnamed (sometimes he is called “Dives,” but that is the Latin word for rich man). In this world, he was probably well-known, renowned for his wealth like the Kennedy family or Bill Gates. But nobody would have known the poor man’s name, much less cared about it. But in God’s sight, the rich man is left unnamed and the poor beggar is named. Lazarus means, “God has helped,” and truly God had helped him because he had come to salvation.
The point is, it’s easy to be deceived by present outward appearances into thinking that you or someone else is well-off because of career success. But if you are not rich before God, laying up eternal riches in heaven, you are really bankrupt in the worst sense of the word. Don’t be deceived into pursuing financial success at the expense of your soul! Those who believe God’s Word live in light of eternity as stewards who will give account to God, using the wealth God provides to make friends for eternity.
A Sunday school teacher told his class the story of the rich man and Lazarus and then asked, “Now, which would you rather be, boys—the rich man or Lazarus?” One boy replied, “I’d like to be the rich man while I’m living and Lazarus when I die.”
Wouldn’t we all! But, of course, it doesn’t work that way. You can’t live for selfish pleasure in this life, disobeying God’s Word, and expect to live with God in heaven when you die. But, the good news is, when you repent of your sins and live in obedience to Jesus Christ, you find great pleasure, both for time and eternity, no matter what your earthly circumstances. As Jesus said, “Whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake, he is the one who will save it” (Luke 9:25). Two very different destinies lie before you, with a great chasm fixed between them. I urge you, choose life by choosing to follow Jesus Christ.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
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One of the things that I only half-jokingly tell the new members in our church is, “If we haven’t offended you yet, please be patient. We will!” It is impossible in this fallen world to relate closely to anyone without causing offense at some point. Often it is unintentional, but sometimes, frankly, we mean to be mean!
Relational problems not only occur in the church; they also occur in the home and anywhere else that people have to work closely with one another. Sometimes when I counsel with couples I marvel at how this angry, bitter couple sitting in my office could be the same couple that just a few years before stood at the altar, gazing adoringly into each other’s eyes, promising to love one another forever. What went wrong?
In a word, what went wrong is sin and not dealing properly with that sin. Relationships can be the source either of our deepest joy in life or of our deepest pain, depending on whether we follow God’s directives on how to work through relational problems. The second greatest commandment in the Bible is to love our neighbor. Thus the Bible is filled with counsel on how to love one another. In our text, Jesus is saying,
We should be on guard against relational sins and we should deal with them biblically when they occur.
It is not easy to trace the flow of thought in Luke 17:1-10 and to tie it in with the preceding chapter. Many commentators think that Luke has just strung together here four somewhat disconnected teachings of Jesus on the subjects of stumbling-blocks, relationships, faith, and service. But I think that, although somewhat subtle, there is a flow of thought. Having just dealt with the Pharisees and their religious hypocrisy, Jesus now turns to the disciples with a corrective warning. The false teaching and self-centered, superficial religion of the Pharisees would inevitably cause many of the sinners who had recently turned to Christ (15:1) to stumble in their new faith. Thus Jesus warns about the seriousness of causing one of these new believers to stumble (17:1-2) and gives instructions on how to deal with relational problems (17:3-4). The disciples sense the difficulty of following Jesus’ instruction and thus ask Him to increase their faith. Jesus responds that the amount of faith isn’t really the issue, since a small amount of faith will accomplish great things (17:5-6). The real issue is adopting the proper attitude as a servant and not thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought to think (17:7-10).
Thus the verses we are studying today warn us to be on guard against committing relational sins and show us how to deal with such sins in a biblical manner when they do occur.
The Greek word translated “stumbling-block” originally referred to the bait-stick in a trap. When an animal hit the bait stick, it triggered the trap, ensnaring the animal. It came to refer spiritually to any enticement to sin, especially to a serious sin that led to a defection of faith. This might be behavior that would cause a weaker Christian to fall into sin (Rom. 14:13), or false teaching that subtly turned the unsuspecting away from the truth (Rom. 16:17). To put a stumbling-block in someone’s way is to do or say something that causes another person to trip or get off the path of following the Lord.
When Jesus refers to “these little ones,” He probably means the new believers from among the sinners and tax-gatherers (15:1) who were coming to Him. The phrase, “little ones,” pictures them as God’s little children, showing His tender concern for their well-being. Just as parents want to guard their children from people who would harm them, so God is concerned that His babes not be hurt by those who claim to be Christians, but who set a bad example. While each person, including the new believer, is responsible for his own sin, there is a sense in which those who are more mature in the faith bear responsibility for the babes in the faith. Thus Jesus warns the disciples, “Be on your guard!” (17:3a; this warning seems to fit better with what goes before than with what follows).
Jesus said, “It is inevitable that stumbling-blocks come.” We live as sinners in a sinful world, and so we are prone to sin against others and they are prone to sin against us. But just because we’re all prone to sin, it does not follow that we should just go with the flow. Rather, we should do all that we can to avoid sinning against others and leading them into sin. And, we should do all that we can to avoid taking offense when others sin against us and to avoid being led into sin by the bad example or teaching of others.
The major reason that we are so prone to sin against others and to take offense when others sin against us is that our sinfulness prompts us to justify ourselves and to blame others. As soon as Adam fell into sin, he blamed his wife for leading him into it and he even subtly blamed God for giving him his wife (Gen. 3:12)! Ever since, we all play the blame game. If you don’t think that this tendency is inherent in the human heart, you have not raised children! They do not have to be taught to pin the blame on their brother or sister. It comes naturally!
I read of a family that bought a parrot. For weeks they tried in vain to teach it to say things like, “You’re the greatest!” The husband tried to teach it, “Give this guy a raise.” The mom tried, “Clean your room.” Nothing. Then one night while the family was eating dinner, the bird started talking, repeating what it had heard the most: “He did it. No, he did it!” Then, “Get out of my room!” (Reader’s Digest [8/99], p. 29).
When Jesus warns, “Be on guard,” He means that each of us needs to look first and foremost to our own hearts. Take the log out of your own eye and then you may be able to help your brother with the speck in his eye, but not before then (Matt. 7:3-5). When relational conflicts erupt, the first thing you should do is to ask God to show you what part you are responsible for. If you think that, being generous, you’re responsible for ten percent of the problem, you can safely multiply that number by four or five! We all are prone to justify ourselves and blame others. But healing will not begin in damaged relationships until each person allows the Spirit of God through the Word of God to shine into his or her own heart and reveal the sin that is there. We must be on guard against relational sins because we are so prone towards them.
Jesus says that it would be better to suffer a Mafia-style death, having a heavy millstone hung around your neck and being cast into the sea, than to cause one of these little ones to stumble! He is not saying that the penalty for causing a little one to stumble is to have a millstone hung around your neck and to be cast into the sea. That would be far better than the penalty that God will impose!
This does not mean that Christians who cause someone else to stumble will lose their salvation and incur God’s eternal wrath. If that were so, none could be saved, because we all have sinned in this manner. David sinned in this manner when he committed adultery with Bathsheba and had her husband killed, causing the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme (2 Sam. 12:14). Peter sinned in this manner when he fell into hypocrisy out of fear of the Judaizers, so that other Jewish believers and even Barnabas joined him in hypocrisy (Gal. 2:12-13). But both men repented of their sin and experienced God’s forgiveness. Indeed, the mark of a true believer is that when he sins and leads a weaker believer into sin, he confesses that sin and does everything he can to help restore the fallen brother or sister. If the professing Christian does not repent, there may be good cause for questioning the genuineness of his faith.
Jesus uses this graphic picture to show how serious relational sins are in God’s sight. His warning ought to scare us all into taking our offenses against others seriously. In Matthew 5:23-24 He says, “If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.” In other words, our relational sins hinder our worship!
Jesus’ warning especially ought to scare those of us in positions of church leadership. I once heard Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, say that he often has prayed that God would take his life before he ever would be unfaithful to his wife. That would be a good thing for every Christian leader to pray. We must be on guard because we’re prone to sin and because God takes relational sins so seriously.
Thankfully, the way of repentance and forgiveness is always available. Thus Jesus goes on to instruct us what to do when someone sins against us:
In my experience of helping people work through relational conflicts, this step is often neglected completely out of cowardice or done poorly at best. People would sooner walk away from a strained relationship than to give biblical rebuke to the person who is sinning against them or against others. Or, quite often if someone sins against us, we go and tell others about it, “just so they can pray about it” or “to get their counsel.” Sure! Jesus clearly says, “If your brother sins (against you is implied), rebuke him.”
Let’s face it, it’s not pleasant to have to rebuke someone. If you find it pleasant, you are not in the right frame of mind to do it and you will probably do it in an ungodly manner! But the command to rebuke a sinning brother is the first step in the restoration process. You are not dealing with him biblically until you do it.
This does not mean that we are to go around rebuking others for every minor offense. Often, both in the church and in our families, we should act “with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love (Eph. 4:2). “Love covers a multitude of sins” (1 Pet. 4:8). “We who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves” (Rom. 15:1). Thus much of the time we should simply absorb offences and pray for the offender, that he will grow up in the Lord and learn to be more sensitive to others. God has shown us grace; we should show grace to others.
So, how do we know when to bear with someone’s sin and when to rebuke it? There are several things to consider (see Ken Sande’s excellent book, The Peacemaker [Baker], pp. 135-140):
First, are you aware that the offender has something against you? If so, Jesus commands us to go to him and seek to get the matter cleared up (Matt. 5:23-24). We can’t shrug it off by saying, “That’s his problem!” Scripture repeatedly tells us to pursue peace with others (Rom. 12:18; 14:19; 2 Tim. 2:22; Heb. 12:14). In other words, we are not to be passive about strained relationships. To be apathetic is not to love the other person. We should ardently go after peace.
Second, is the other person’s sin bringing dishonor to God? If someone who professes to be a Christian is acting in a way that brings shame to the name of Christ, and you know the person and are aware of his behavior, you’re it! You need to go and talk to him about his sin in an attempt to bring him to repentance. To let it go is not to care about the Lord’s glory or your brother’s holiness.
Third, is the other person’s sin damaging your relationship with him (or her)? Perhaps the other person habitually gossips about others, so that you find yourself wanting to avoid being around her (or him). You don’t have to become best of friends, but the loving thing to do is not to avoid her, but to attempt to help her face up to her sin and repent. Or, perhaps the person said or did something that hurt you, so that you find yourself dodging him every time you see him. Again, the loving thing to do is to meet privately and confront what he did so that you help him grow as a believer.
Fourth, is the other person’s sin seriously hurting others? Perhaps you see a young mother who verbally or physically abuses her children. Or it maybe a professing Christian is ensnared in drug or alcohol abuse, along with the inevitable deception that accompanies those sins. You are not showing God’s love to let the person go on in this destructive behavior. You must rebuke with the view of leading the person to repentance.
Fifth, is the other person’s sin seriously hurting himself? If you see a Christian engaging in some sin that is going to destroy him and you shrug and say, “That’s his problem,” you are not loving your brother. As James 5:19-20 says, “My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, and one turns him back; let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins.”
Finally, is the person’s sin an often repeated pattern? If a person does the same thing over and over, he is enslaved to that sin and needs help getting out of it. Anger, lust, greed, selfishness, insensitivity to others, laziness or a lack of self-discipline, and many other sins can destroy a person’s faith if he does not get the victory in Christ. If you see these habit patterns, you need to come alongside and offer help in the Lord.
Do not go to rebuke another believer until you first have examined yourself and taken the log out of your own eye. Check your motives before God, to make sure that your desire is to do His will. Pray for the other person’s openness and for the right timing to go. Prepare yourself to act in love even if the other person attacks you. But then, be obedient to God’s Word and go. It is always more difficult at the moment to go than to let it go. But biblical love demands that we put out the effort.
The goal of rebuking another believer is not “to get it off your chest.” It is not “to give him a piece of your mind.” It is not to prove that you’re right and he’s wrong. It is not to win so that next time you have some ammunition to use in the heat of battle. The goal is to bring your brother to repentance, to restore his relationship with the Lord, with you, and with others. Until you have that goal clearly in mind, you are not ready to rebuke your brother.
In Galatians 6:1, Paul instructs, “Brethren, even if a man is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, looking to yourself, lest you too be tempted.” The word “restore” was used of mending torn nets and of putting a bone that is out of joint back into the socket, so that healing could take place. The idea is to restore the person to usefulness to the Lord. The prerequisite is to make sure that you are spiritual (under the Spirit’s control), that you go in gentleness, and that you humbly be on guard so that you don’t fall into sin.
I should add that it may be that your brother did not knowingly sin against you, but rather that there was a misunderstanding. Thus rather than going to him with your gun cocked, you should go with a tentative attitude of trying to discover the facts. Ask a lot of questions before you do any confronting.
A man told how he was supposed to bring some chairs to a home Bible study, but he had a busy day and forgot. When he arrived without the chairs, the host exclaimed, “That figures!” As he went to get the chairs, the man who forgot thought, “What did he mean by saying, ‘That figures’? Does he think I’m stupid or what?” So, he later asked the host what he had meant. The host laughed and said, “Oh, it had nothing to do with you. It’s just that everything had gone wrong for me today, and it was just one more thing.” By asking for clarification, the man cleared up what could have damaged their relationship.
If your brother repents, forgive him. Then Jesus adds, “And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.” Certainly, after seven times in the same day, you might be inclined to question the man’s sincerity! And, Jesus does not mean that the eighth time you need not forgive. He means, forgive as often as your brother repents. While you may need to talk to him about the repetition of the problem and about the sincerity of his repentance, I think that Jesus puts it like this to say, “Go overboard on forgiveness. If there is even a hint that your brother is repentant, don’t question his motives. Just forgive and forgive and forgive again.”
Biblical forgiveness is a decision, not a feeling. It is to dismiss the case from court. The word means to let go or release. When you forgive, you choose to let the matter drop and you promise not to bring it up against the person in the future. Biblical forgiveness does not say, “I forgive you but I never want to see your stinking face again!” Biblical forgiveness opens the way to restore wounded relationships. Reconciliation is the goal of forgiveness.
While biblical forgiveness is a quick decision, the restoration of trust usually takes time proportionate to the seriousness of the offense. If a man molests your children and truly repents, you must forgive him, but you would be foolish to let him babysit your children. Trust is gradually restored as a person demonstrates growth in godliness. Also, granting forgiveness does not necessarily mean removing all of the consequences of the person’s wrongful actions. God forgave David, but He imposed heavy consequences for his sin so that he and others would see the seriousness of what he had done (2 Sam. 12:14). Granting forgiveness may include graciously relieving the offender of some or all the consequences, but not necessarily so. As a boss, you may forgive a dishonest employee, and yet put him on probation or fire him.
Also, many wonder, “Should I forgive the person if he does not repent or if he only repents superficially?” Is forgiveness supposed to be unconditional? We are to forgive others as God in Christ has forgiven us (Eph. 4:32). God does not pardon our sins until we repent, but He made provision to pardon our sins long before we repented and He acted in kindness toward us to lead us to repentance (Rom. 2:4). Thus we must root out all bitterness toward the person who has sinned against us and genuinely seek his welfare by our attitudes, words, and actions. We should pray for his repentance. We should look for opportunities to do kind things for him. The minute he repents and asks our forgiveness, we should freely grant it. That’s how God forgave us in Christ, bearing the penalty for our sin.
Former First Lady, Barbara Bush, spoke these words at a college commencement:
As important as your obligation as a doctor, a lawyer, or a business leader will be, you are a human being first, and those human connections with spouses, with children, with friends are the most important investments you will ever make. At the end of your life, you will never regret not having passed one more test, winning one more verdict, closing one more deal. You will regret time not spent with a husband, a child, a friend or a parent. Our success as a society depends not on what happens in the White House but on what happens inside your house. (Reader’s Digest [1/91], pp. 157-158.)
Relationships are important to us. But even more so, they matter to God! That’s why Jesus warns so strongly about being on guard against relational sins and emphasizes so strongly the need for rebuke, repentance, and forgiveness. If you have a strained relationship with a family member, a fellow Christian, or even with a non-Christian, I urge you, so far as it depends on you, to pursue peace and reconciliation. God will bless you as you seek to obey Him.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
If you read the Bible with a sensitive heart, you will often be overwhelmed with the great difficulty of many of its commands: “You are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28). “So therefore, no one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions” (Luke 14:33). “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks” (1 Thess. 5:16-18). The list could go on and on. How can we possibly obey these seemingly impossible commands of Scripture?
The disciples felt overwhelmed by Jesus’ teaching in Luke 17:1-4. He told them to be on guard so that they would not cause any young believers in Him to stumble. And He said that if their brother sinned, they were to rebuke him and if he repented they were to forgive him, no matter how often the cycle was repeated. The disciples instantly realized that these were tough demands. To walk uprightly so as not to cause a new believer to stumble and to forgive someone who has wronged us are not automatic behaviors! Forgiveness especially is tough because our feelings are involved. So the disciples respond by asking the Lord to increase their faith (17:5). It was an honest request stemming from the right motives. They saw that if they wanted to fulfill these demands, they would have to have God’s strength and enabling to do it.
But Jesus’ answer (17:6) indicates that more faith is not really the issue. Faith is not measured by its quantity, but simply by its presence. A mustard seed sized faith will accomplish impossible things. The real need, Jesus says (17:7-10), is for more obedience and humility. We should view ourselves as God’s slaves who owe Him simple and unquestioning obedience. And, when we have done what He requires, we should not get puffed up with pride in our great obedience, but should simply say, “We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.” Thus …
When we encounter the difficult commands of Scripture, we should not focus on more faith, but on more obedience and humility.
In taking this approach to the text, I am differing with three men of God whom I greatly respect, Charles Simeon, Charles Spurgeon and J. C. Ryle. These men treat the apostles’ request to the Lord, “Increase our faith,” as a positive model that we should follow. There is no question that the Bible encourages us to be strong in faith, growing in our faith to the point that we implicitly trust in God and His promises. I hope that nothing I say discourages anyone from growing in faith, without which it is impossible to please God. Everything we do must stem from faith or it is sin (Rom. 14:23). I would agree with these men that the prayer for more faith is one that we should often bring before God.
But in this context, it seems to me that Jesus is offering a gentle correction to the disciples’ request, not a commendation of it. He is saying, “Don’t wait around for increased faith. Just a small amount of genuine faith can accomplish what is humanly impossible. Rather, focus on your duty to obey God and, when you have obeyed, don’t start thinking that you’re really something. Keep in mind at all times that you are just an unworthy slave who has done what was required of him.”
At first, this sounds like heresy! Aren’t Christians supposed to be people of faith? Shouldn’t we be growing in faith? From cover to cover, the Bible rebukes unbelief and encourages faith. So why did Jesus answer as He did?
Doesn’t it? Stop and think about it. Have you ever had someone say to you, “I wish I could believe in Christ as you do, but I just don’t have as much faith as you have”? And you clear your throat and modestly say, “Aw, shucks, it’s nothing, really!” Who gets the glory there? You do! You’re the one with such great faith; the focus is on you.
Or, have you ever heard of a great Christian leader referred to as a man of great faith? Who gets the glory? The man of great faith gets the glory! And all the rest of us sigh and think, “I wish I could have such faith!” But that’s the wrong emphasis.
There is a sense in which there is no such thing as great faith; there is only faith or no faith. I realize that on two occasions Jesus commended people for their great faith (Matt. 8:10, the centurion; Matt. 15:28, the Syrophoenician woman). And, He often chastised the disciples because of their little faith (Matt. 6:30; 8:26; 14:31; 16:8). But in each case, He was commending a person who simply took God at His word and He was chastising men who did not believe God concerning the matter at hand. So the matter is not so much great faith in God, but rather faith in a great God. The smallest amount of faith links us to Christ, who is mighty.
For example, suppose that I tell you that I demonstrated great faith by driving my car over the Golden Gate Bridge. You would say to me, “That didn’t take great faith because it is a solid bridge that has carried the weight of millions of cars and trucks over the years.” To be sure, it takes faith to drive over the bridge, because you are committing your life to the ability of that bridge to bear the weight of your car. But it doesn’t require great faith, because that bridge has been proven to be trustworthy.
There may be someone who has a fear of heights and a phobia about bridges, and he edges his car out onto the Golden Gate at five miles per hour, fearing greatly that the bridge will collapse. But that’s all the faith it takes to get him across, although his journey may not be too pleasant. On the other hand, you may have a daring person who comes to a rickety old bridge that looks like it’s about to fall down. With great bravado, he guns his engine and drives his car across. You could say that he has great faith, but I would say that he is greatly stupid to commit his life to such an untrustworthy object. Maybe he can boast in his great faith. But no one can boast in great faith when the object is proven to be trustworthy.
There is no more trustworthy being in the universe than the living God! He has a track record of never failing anyone who trusted in Him throughout human history. Either we take Him at His word or we don’t. If we do trust Him, it is no credit to us. All it takes is a little grain of faith in Him, because the issue is not our great faith but our great God. Thus, I argue that the concept of “great faith” exalts man.
Jesus’ point is that it is not a matter of how much faith you have, but rather, do you have faith in the living God? If so, it can accomplish great things, not because of the size of your faith, but because of the power and ability of your God. He will do mighty things through the person who trusts in Him, even if their faith is seemingly small and weak. Then the glory goes to God.
Two weeks ago, Bob and Arlene Powers and I were seated on a 747 waiting to take off from Minneapolis to Amsterdam when the pilot came on the intercom and informed us that our take off would be delayed because of an electrical problem. He assured us that they would not take off until everything was in proper working condition. So we sat there and watched as a team of mechanics searched the cabin for the source of the problem.
Well, this was too much for one young woman on board. With obvious anxiety, she told the stewardess near me that she could not fly on this plane, and she asked to be escorted off. The stewardess suggested that she talk to the pilot, and took her forward, along with her boyfriend or husband. But to my knowledge, they never came back to their seats. She simply lacked the faith to fly on that plane. But the mechanics found the problem, fixed it, and, an hour late, we took off and landed safely in Amsterdam.
I’ll be the first to grant that airplanes are made, maintained, and flown by fallible humans, and so there is the risk that they will crash. But, generally they have a safe track record and thus are worthy of our trust. If that anxious woman had just been able to have enough faith to stay on board, she would have safely reached her destination. She could have reviewed in her mind the safety record of the major airlines. She could have reminded herself of the fact that the pilot himself and the flight attendants were committing their own lives to the safety of that aircraft. Just a small amount of faith and she would have been able later to say, “My doubts were unfounded. That plane and that pilot were trustworthy.” But her lack of faith really was saying, “I don’t trust the competency of these mechanics or of the pilot.” It detracted from the “glory” or commendation that they deserved.
Even so, a lack of faith detracts from God’s glory, whereas just a small amount of faith—enough to get on board—exalts God as the faithful and powerful God that He is. How much more trustworthy is the living God than a fallible airplane and human pilot! Even when Jerusalem had been destroyed by the Babylonians and the temple was in ruins, Jeremiah could rightly say, “This I recall to my mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lam. 3:21-23).
How does this apply to the matter at hand, that of trusting God when we’re faced with the difficult commands of Scripture? To use the example of verse 4, suppose that someone has wronged you and has asked for your forgiveness, but you are deeply hurt and you’re struggling with obeying God by granting forgiveness. Maybe the root of bitterness is as entrenched as the roots of this mulberry tree.
How much faith do you need to forgive the other person? Isn’t the answer, “As much faith as it takes to believe that God has forgiven you”? So you can pray, “Lord, I’m having difficulty obeying You by forgiving my brother. But I know that I have trusted in You to forgive my sins. I know that You did it, not because of me or my great faith, but because You are the faithful God who keeps His promises. I glorify You for Your great mercy towards me. I ask You now to be glorified through me by enabling me to forgive this person who has wronged me. Uproot this bitterness from my heart and plant it in the sea.” By getting your eyes off of you and your faith and onto God and His great mercy and faithfulness, you glorify Him. Even if your faith is as small as a mustard seed, God can uproot your bitterness and bury it forever, and He then gets the glory.
When Jesus uses the analogy of commanding a mulberry tree to be uprooted and planted in the sea, He is not suggesting that we should go around doing such things literally. Rather, He is using such a graphic illustration to say that even small faith can do what is humanly impossible because it is none other than Almighty God who works through our faith. Everyone who has truly believed in Christ for salvation has enough faith to obey the most difficult commands of Scripture, because the issue isn’t our great faith. The issue is our great God. Look to Him and He will be glorified as He works His mighty power through your weakness and small faith.
But Jesus goes on (17:7-10) to tell a parable that shifts the focus from faith to obedience and humility.
The Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, put his finger on the issue when he wrote, “It is hard to believe, not because it is hard to understand, but because it is hard to obey.” If we focus on increasing our faith, we will get inflated notions of our role. Even if we focus on obedience, we can easily get puffed up with how noble we are to be so obedient. So the Lord instructs us to view ourselves as God’s slaves who owe Him obedience in all things and who are unworthy of any of His blessings.
Jesus is using humor here to make a point. In that culture, slaves had a very simple job description: Do everything your master commands. Period! Slaves did not give orders; they took orders. They did not negotiate with the owner what their privileges and perks would be. They didn’t join slave unions to get better working conditions or wages. They were not free to say, “I don’t like that order, so I’m not going to do it.” Slaves had to obey.
Thus when they came in after a hard day in the fields, they did not expect their owners to have dinner ready for them. They couldn’t tell the owner, “I’ve had a rough day. Get your own dinner!” They expected to come in and serve their master. And they didn’t expect him to be profuse in thanking them for all their trouble. It was their duty to serve him. Only after that could they eat their own dinner.
Duty is not the only picture. In Luke 12:37, Jesus showed us how He as the Master would graciously reverse roles and wait upon His faithful servants. The focus there was on His grace. But here He is emphasizing our responsibility to do what He commands us to do. Our focus cannot be on our feelings, but rather we must focus on our duty. I can’t picture the tired and dirty slave coming in off the field feeling like getting his master’s dinner. He felt like taking a bath and being served a nice dinner. But he had to focus on his duty as a slave.
We live in a day that encourages us to focus on our feelings. We’re even encouraged to rage against God when we feel angry because of how He has treated us! I realize that the psalmist sometimes poured out his complaint before the Lord, and I’m not suggesting that we deny or suppress our feelings. But there is a right and a wrong way to let the Sovereign of the universe know how we feel! We need to remember at all times our lowly position before Him. We are but dust and ashes in His presence. He owes us nothing; we owe Him everything. He does not owe us; He owns us as His slaves. As such, we owe Him obedience, even when His commands seem difficult.
There is no praise or glory in doing your duty. Duty is that which is expected of a person. I would venture to say that if you show up at work on time, your boss does not say, “Thank you so much for being here on time! It’s just wonderful how you do that day after day!” You’re expected to be at work on time. It’s your duty. You don’t crow about paying your bills, do you? You owe that money; you are expected to pay. The point is, we don’t earn brownie points with God for doing what He has commanded us to do. It’s expected for slaves to do what the master commands.
But, because of the human propensity toward pride, we’re all prone to get puffed up when we do our duty, especially if we start thinking how difficult it was. We think, “I’m so spiritual! I forgave my brother seven times yesterday!” Thus Jesus shows us that …
Jesus concludes (17:10), “So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’” Spurgeon says that the Lord here is pouring cold water down our backs, but it is therapeutic. We need that dousing to remember our place before Him. Sometimes we get so puffed up about our years of sacrificial service or our forgiving spirit that we almost think that God owes us something. But we have no claim on God. All that we have, we have received by grace. We were lost and on the fast lane to hell when God’s mercy rescued us. He graciously gave us the privilege of serving Him. Are we then to congratulate ourselves when we obey His commands?
The Bible no where tells us that we need to grow in self-esteem, but many times it exhorts us to grow in humility. Even when we obey the most difficult commands in the Bible, we are to say of ourselves, “I am just an unworthy slave who only did that which I ought to have done.” If you struggle with pride (and who doesn’t?), I commend to you Andrew Murray’s little booklet, Humility (Christian Literature Crusade, available on our book table). You can read it in a couple of hours, but there is a lifetime of application there!
The Navigators are well known for their stress on having a servant attitude. A businessman once asked Lorne Sanny, the president of the Navigators, how he could know when he had a servant attitude. Sanny replied, “By how you act when your are treated like one.” When someone treats you like a servant, do you get offended and say, “I deserve better treatment than this?” Or, do you say, “I just got treated better than I should, because I’m not just a servant; I’m an unworthy servant”?
God’s way of motivating us toward obedience and humility is to keep us focused on the cross of Jesus Christ. As Paul said, “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20). “May it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14). Or, as Isaac Watts put it,
When I survey the wondrous cross
On which the Prince of glory died,
My richest gain I count but loss,
And pour contempt on all my pride.
If you’re struggling with some difficult command that you know God wants you to obey, look to the cross, where Jesus gave Himself for you. That is one reason our Lord ordained that we come often to His Table, to remember Him and His sacrificial death for us. In light of that, is any demand He makes of us too difficult? As we come to His Table, let’s exercise the simple faith that His faithfulness calls forth. And let’s focus on greater obedience and humility as His unworthy slaves.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
A story is told of a man who was lost in the woods. Later, in describing the experience, he told how frightened he was and how he had even finally knelt and prayed. Someone asked, “Did God answer your prayer?” “Oh, no,” the man replied. “Before God had a chance, a guide came along and showed me the way out.”
Like that man, many people are blind to the many blessings that God daily showers upon them. They awake to see the sun shining, and do not give thanks to God. They hear the birds chirping and see beautiful flowers and trees, but they don’t give it a moment’s thought that God has given those blessings and given them the senses to enjoy them. They grumble about having to eat the same old cereal, forgetting that many would gladly exchange places with them and eat anything for breakfast. They complain about their jobs, forgetting that many would be grateful just to have a job or even to have the bodily strength to go to work. They complain about their lack of money, forgetting that they spend more on entertainment each month than many around the world earn as their total income.
Whether you are a believer in Jesus Christ or a person who does not even believe in God, the fact is, God has blessed you far more than you realize and far more than you deserve. It is important to understand how to respond properly to God’s abundant blessings. To be oblivious to the fact that God is blessing you or, even worse, to take credit for His blessings as if you earned them by your own efforts, would be to slight God. The only proper response is to glorify Him from a thankful heart. These two responses, the proper and improper, are illustrated for us in this story of Jesus cleansing the ten lepers. Only one of the ten responded properly. He teaches us that …
We should respond to God’s blessings by glorifying Him at Jesus’ feet from thankful hearts.
Luke again picks up the journey motif, of Jesus proceeding toward Jerusalem where He will meet with His appointed destiny. He is traveling somewhere along the border between Samaria and Galilee, where He enters a village and encounters ten leprous men. According to the Law, they keep their distance but they recognize Jesus and cry out to Him for mercy. Rather than drawing near and touching them, as He did with the leper in Luke 5:13, Jesus simply instructs them to go and show themselves to the priests. There would be no point in such action unless they were cleansed of their leprosy, and yet at this point they were not cleansed. They had to act with obedient faith. As they were going, they were cleansed.
But only one of the ten, a Samaritan, turns back to glorify God and give thanks to Jesus for His great mercy and power. The strong implication is that the other nine were Jews. Luke seems to put this here to show the increasing rejection of Jesus by the nation Israel, whereas this foreigner receives not only healing, but also salvation. Thus he is showing that the way of salvation is open to all who call upon the Lord, but that many who have received temporal benefits from the Lord are in danger of missing that which they most need, namely, salvation of their souls. I point out four lessons from this story:
Let me review some things from our lesson in Luke 5:12-16 concerning leprosy. In the Bible, leprosy is a dreaded disease that is a picture of sin. This is alluded to in our text by the fact that the lepers are cleansed (17:14, 17). Leprosy rendered a man ceremonially defiled, so that if he was healed, he still had to go to the priest and carry out an extensive ritual of cleansing before he could be accepted back into the religious community and worship (Lev. 14).
In the Bible “leprosy” can refer to a number of skin diseases, but in its worst form, it was what we know as Hansen’s disease (R. K. Harrison, The New Testament Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. by Colin Brown {Zondervan], 2:463-466). This awful disease takes two forms (according to R. H. Pousma, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible, ed. by Merrill Tenney [Zondervan], 2:138-139). Both start with either a white or pink discoloration of a patch of skin. The more benign form is limited to this skin discoloration in a number of places, and even untreated cases heal in from one to three years.
William Barclay (The Daily Study Bible: Matthew [Westminster Press], 1:295) describes the hideous progression of the worse form of this disease:
It might begin with little nodules which go on to ulcerate. The ulcers develop a foul discharge; the eyebrows fall out; the eyes become staring; the vocal chords become ulcerated, and the voice becomes hoarse, and the breath wheezes. The hands and feet always ulcerate. Slowly the sufferer becomes a mass of ulcerated growths. The average course of that kind of leprosy is nine years, and it ends in mental decay, coma and ultimately death.
Leprosy might begin with the loss of all sensation in some part of the body; the nerve trunks are affected; the muscles waste away; the tendons contract until the hands are like claws. There follows ulceration of the hands and feet. Then comes the progressive loss of fingers and toes, until in the end a whole hand or a whole foot may drop off. The duration of that kind of leprosy is anything from twenty to thirty years. It is a kind of terrible progressive death in which a man dies by inches.
While the physical disease was horrible, the terrible social consequences in ancient Israel only added to the misery. According to Josephus, lepers were treated “as if they were, in effect, dead men” (cited by Barclay). The Mosaic Law prescribed that the person be cut off from society, including his family. He had to wear torn clothing, have his head uncovered, cover his lips and shout “Unclean! Unclean!” wherever he went to warn others to keep their distance (Lev. 13:45).
Jesus encounters ten such wretched men who had banded together. If the nine were Jews, their common tragedy had broken down the traditional separation between the Jews and the half-breed Samaritans, who were considered as Gentiles. They were all outcasts, separated from the common worship and separated from their own people, seemingly under God’s curse.
Now, here’s the kicker: The Bible wants all of us to see ourselves in our natural state before Christ as spiritual lepers in His sight. God wants us all to see that our hearts are deceitful and desperately sick (Jer. 17:9), sick with sin, unclean before the holy God. Furthermore, just as this awful disease of leprosy separated the leper from the community, so sin causes distance and rupture in human relationships, often among family members. Just as only God could heal this dreaded disease, so only God can heal and cleanse the human heart from the awful disease of sin.
The proud refusal to acknowledge our true condition as spiritual lepers is one of the main reasons people do not receive God’s salvation in Jesus Christ. We all are prone to say, “I may have my faults—after all, I’m only human—but I’m not a terrible sinner. I’m a basically good person.” That’s what the Pharisees said about themselves, and they missed God’s Savior. Indeed, who needs a Savior, if you’re a basically good person? That’s what the lukewarm church at Laodicea thought about themselves: “We are rich and have become wealthy and have need of nothing” (Rev. 3:17). To think that you are basically okay in God’s sight is a sure-fire way to receive nothing from Him. If these lepers had thought, “We may be sick, but we’re not all that bad,” they wouldn’t have cried out to Jesus for mercy. They knew that they were goners unless God in His power had mercy on them. The first step to receiving God’s blessings is to acknowledge your desperate condition before Him. That sense of need leads to the second step:
Among other things, leprosy attacked the vocal chords so that these men probably could only make a raspy sound. But that didn’t stop them from raising their voices and crying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” The gracious Lord Jesus will never turn a deaf ear to a cry like that!
These men knew Jesus by name, but they also called Him Master, acknowledging His authority. Luke is the only gospel to use this word in addressing Jesus, and every other time it is used by the disciples. In uttering this cry, these lepers take their proper place under the Lord Jesus’ sovereign authority. We must put Him in His proper place as Lord and Master when we come to Him.
The lepers pleaded, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” Mercy, like grace, is God’s undeserved favor. Grace is getting what we do not deserve; mercy is not getting what we do deserve. Mercy also contains the thought of compassion in view of the sufferer’s pitiable condition. By crying out for mercy, these men were acknowledging that they did not deserve healing. They weren’t claiming, “We’re lepers, but we’re pretty good lepers. We think we’re worthy of being healed.” They knew that there was nothing in themselves to earn healing or to commend them above others. This is the only way that we can come to God for deliverance from the leprosy of sin, to acknowledge that we deserve God’s wrath, but to appeal to His great mercy.
The good news is that God delights to show mercy to those who cry out for it! He is “abounding in riches for all who call upon Him; for whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:12-13). When Moses asked to see God’s glory, the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations” (Exod. 34:6-7). His holiness demands that He judge sin, but His mercy is the predominant and leading attribute. Whatever your need, call out to the Lord. He is full of mercy.
When Jesus healed the leper in Luke 5:13, He first healed him and then instructed him to go and show himself to the priest. But here, without any evidence of healing, Jesus commands these ten lepers to go and show themselves to the priests. In this, their situation was similar to that of Naaman the Syrian, whom Elisha told to go and bathe in the Jordan River (2 Kings 5:10-15). It was a test of faith for them to go without any evidence of healing.
We are not told whether the ten lepers had a debate about whether or not to go. I can well imagine one of them arguing, “We’ll look like fools if we show up before the priest in our present condition!” Another countered, “Yes, but we’ve got nothing to lose; this is our only hope.” “But it hurts to walk on these leprous feet!” “I know, but if we do what He says, maybe we’ll be healed.” “But this isn’t the way He healed the other lepers. Why doesn’t He heal us in the same way?” “I don’t know, but we must obey.”
Maybe they didn’t have any such debate, since the text doesn’t record any, but at any rate, it says, “as they were going, they were cleansed.” I don’t know if it happened to all of them at the same instant, or if first one and then another got healed. But, suddenly by the Lord’s power, they all were restored to perfect health. If they had lost fingers and toes, they were restored. All of the devastating effects of this terrible disease were erased. It must have been a marvelous experience!
As I’ll argue in a moment, I believe that only the man who returned to give thanks to Jesus was saved spiritually. But, in spite of that, the cleansing of these lepers pictures what God does to the souls of those who call out to Him for salvation. He instantly cleanses us from all our sins. He clothes us with the perfect righteousness of Jesus. He restores and heals our souls.
The only condition to receive God’s healing for our leprous souls is that we take Him at His word, that whoever believes in His Son Jesus will not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Just as these lepers did not first try to clean up and make themselves presentable, so we are to come to Jesus just as we are. Just as these lepers did not just believe intellectually, but had a faith that obeyed Jesus’ word, so we must exercise personal obedient faith in Him with regard to His promise to save us from our sins.
But even though in one sense all ten lepers illustrate saving faith, in that they took Jesus at His word and acted upon it personally, in another sense the nine fell short of saving faith. The nine got what they wanted from God in terms of healed bodies, but they went no farther. They never returned to Jesus to receive salvation of their souls. They received the temporal benefit of healed bodies, but it is only to the one thankful leper who returned that our Lord proclaimed, “Your faith has saved you” [literal, 17:19]. In the same way, it is possible to receive special blessings from God in answer to prayer, such as a healing from a serious illness, and yet to fall short of the best blessing of all. Thus when we realize that God has blessed us with some temporal blessing, we must not become satisfied with that and stop there.
The thankful leper represents the full fruit of saving faith, namely, lips that give joyful thanks to His name. The fact that this man was a Samaritan shows that the way of salvation is open to all who will call upon the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, Jesus calls him a foreigner (only occurrence of this word in the NT), a word that was on the signs prohibiting foreigners from passing the inner barrier of the temple (Josephus, Antiquities 15.11.5, §417; Jewish War 5.5.2. §194; 6.2.4 §§124-126). Paul tells us that Christ broke down that barrier of the dividing wall, so that we who formerly were excluded from the commonwealth of Israel now “have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” (Eph. 2:11-14).
Note that this leper’s praise was heartfelt: he glorified God “with a loud voice” (17:15). If before his voice had been hampered by leprosy, it was freed up now and he exercised it with full force! Others may have been embarrassed by his exuberance, but he didn’t care! Jesus had healed him and he was going to make it known! This leper’s glad praise should be that of every person whose heart has been healed by Jesus’ mighty power.
*Glorify God—Twice it is mentioned that the man glorified God (17:15, 18). To glorify God is to extol His attributes and His actions. It is to exalt Him, to let others know how great He is. As the Puritans rightly stated, the chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever on account of His blessings of salvation toward us who deserved His judgment.
Spurgeon points out that while ten men prayed, only one praised. He says that even so, there are far more who are prone to pray in a time of need than to praise God when He meets that need. Oswald Chambers observed, “The great difficulty spiritually is to concentrate on God, and it is His blessings that make it difficult. Troubles nearly always make us look to God; His blessings are apt to make us look elsewhere” (My Utmost for His Highest, Jan. 22nd). If the Lord has delivered our souls from judgment, we ought to let others know about it.
I have to remind myself that “Praise the Lord” is not just a slogan or something nice to do; it is a command. If my life is not marked by frequent praise to God for His many blessings, I am not being obedient. While prayer will last for this life only, praise will continue throughout eternity. Those who have experienced Jesus’ cleansing power should glorify Him.
*At Jesus’ feet—Whereas before the man had to keep his distance from Jesus because of his disease, now he comes up near to Him and falls on his face at Jesus’ feet. I doubt if he understood the deity of Jesus, but nonetheless, he took the proper place of worship at Jesus’ feet. Jesus said, “He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him” (John 5:23). We cannot properly glorify God if we do not fall in adoration at Jesus’ feet. He is the eternal God who willingly left the glory of heaven to come to this sinful earth and suffer and die for us. We must spend much time at His feet.
The man’s position on his face at Jesus’ feet also shows the proper attitude of humility that should characterize those who have been healed by His mercy. We owe everything to Him and can claim nothing as coming from ourselves. This leper wasn’t maintaining his dignity and self-esteem. He wasn’t claiming, “Jesus did His part, but I did my part.” He knew that he had been healed totally because of Jesus’ mercy, and so he readily fell on his face at Jesus’ feet. That’s where every saved person should camp out!
*With thankful hearts—The leper was “giving thanks to Him” (17:16). The Masai tribe in West Africa has an unusual way of saying thank you: They bow, put their forehead on the ground, and say, “My head is in the dirt.” Another African tribe expresses gratitude by sitting for a long time in front of the hut of the person who did the favor and saying, literally, “I sit on the ground before you.” (In Leadership Journal [Winter, 1993], p. 48.) These Africans understand what thanksgiving is and why it’s difficult for us: at its core, thanksgiving is an act of humility. It acknowledges our debt to the other person.
Clearly, Jesus was pleased with his expression of thanks and grieved at the absence of the other nine (17:17-18). Hebrews 13:15-16 states, “Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name. And do not neglect doing good and sharing; for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Every day we should be filled with gratitude for all that the Savior did for us when we were spiritual lepers before Him.
Thirteen years before his conversion, John Wesley had a conversation late one night with the porter of his college that deeply impressed him and convinced him that there was more to Christianity than as yet he had found. Wesley discovered that the man had only one coat and that nothing had passed his lips that day, except a drink of water, and yet his heart was full of gratitude to God. Wesley said, “You thank God when you have nothing to wear, nothing to eat, and no bed to lie upon. What else do you thank him for?” “I thank him,” answered the porter, “that He has given me my life and being, and a heart to love Him, and a desire to serve Him” (in A. Skevington Wood, The Inextinguishable Blaze [Eerdmans], p. 100).
Even so, if we who have known Jesus’ healing power in our souls will live each day to glorify Him with thankful hearts, others will be drawn to the Savior to find mercy for their souls. Let’s all learn from this exuberant and thankful leper how to respond to God’s blessings, especially to the blessing of salvation. We should join him in glorifying God at the feet of Jesus with thankful hearts.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
There has always been speculation about the Second Coming of Christ, but that is especially true as we come to the close of the millennium. The Y2K computer problem has added fuel to the fire, as many Christians believe that God will bring judgment as computers around the world fail to function on January 1, 2000.
As early as 1991 I read about a group that was predicting the end of the world as the year 2000 draws near, but the unique thing is that this group is completely secular. It is called the Society for Secular Armageddonism, based in California (of course!). They describe themselves as “a non-religious group dedicated to promoting public awareness of the coming end of the world.” They believe that the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, the many environmental concerns, the AIDS epidemic, the population explosion, and numerous other such issues are all proof that the end is near and we don’t need God to do it for us. It will be a strictly do-it-yourself apocalypse.
The Lord Jesus spoke on several occasions about the coming of His kingdom. Our text is one of two major such passages in Luke (the other being in 21:5-36). Our text falls into two sections: in the first (17:20-21), Jesus responds to the Pharisees’ questions as to when the kingdom of God is coming; in the second (17:22-37), He speaks to the disciples on the same topic. He shows us that there is a two-fold nature to the kingdom, both a present and future dimension. Darrel Bock (Luke [IVP], p. 287) sums up Jesus’ reply here: “You do not need to look for the kingdom in signs, because its King (and so its presence) is right before you. But its display in comprehensive power will come visibly to all one day. You will not need to hunt to find it then.” Or, as another commentator puts it, Jesus “teaches that the kingdom of God is already a present reality in Him but that its final consummation lies in the future when He comes in divine majesty” (Norval Geldenhuys, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke [Eerdmans], p. 444).
Bible prophecy is not given so that we can sit around and speculate about what will happen in the future. It is always given so that we can apply it to how we live in the present in light of what God has promised to do in the future. Specifically, it is crucial that we understand personally how to be in God’s kingdom, because Jesus makes it clear that His awful judgment will fall suddenly and certainly on everyone who is not in His kingdom. He shows us here that …
To be in God’s kingdom, we must be personally related to God’s King Jesus and we must faithfully await the kingdom’s consummation when He returns in glory to judge everyone.
We can’t be sure whether the Pharisees were questioning Jesus in a hostile sense or not. Given their track record, they may well have been asking skeptically, “When is the kingdom coming?” The general Jewish belief was that the kingdom of God would begin with a bang, with a powerful Messiah establishing His rule in Israel and delivering the nation from her enemies. But here is this carpenter from nowhere with His ragtag band of fishermen, and there is no sign that He is going to defeat the Romans and usher in the glorious new age. Sure, there were some miracles, but where is the clear evidence that He is establishing His kingdom rule?
So Jesus answers them (17:20b-21), “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst.” It is important to translate the end of verse 21 “in your midst,” not as the NIV and KJV translate, “within you.” That translation is possible grammatically, but it is impossible contextually. Jesus never would have told the skeptical and hypocritical Pharisees that the kingdom of God was within them. Besides, Jesus often talks about a person entering the kingdom, but He does not talk about the kingdom entering the person.
So what He meant is, “The kingdom of God is here in your very midst in the person of the King, and yet you have not recognized it because you wrongly expect it to be ushered in with great flourish.” When Jesus says that the kingdom is not coming with signs to be observed, He is referring to the initial coming of the kingdom, not to His Second Coming, because He quickly adds (to His disciples) that that coming will be like a flash of lightning in the sky, which is pretty dramatic and obvious. Thus the initial coming of God’s kingdom begins relatively unnoticed, like the mustard seed planted in the ground. As people yield their lives to the lordship of Jesus Christ, He begins to reign in their hearts. In that sense His kingdom is presently being established in and through His church, as the gospel is proclaimed and believed. But, this is not the final form of His kingdom. He will return personally in power and glory to judge His enemies and to rule over the whole earth, as He goes on to teach (17:22-37).
As I said, prophecy is never given so that we can sit around and speculate on the future. It is given so that we can submit our lives to God’s purpose for history. Thus, the application of verses 20 & 21 is: If you have not personally believed in Jesus Christ as your Savior and thus are not living daily under His lordship, then you are not in the kingdom of God. You are in serious danger of coming under His awful judgment when He returns as suddenly as a flash of lightning, and then it will be too late! To be in God’s present kingdom, we must be personally related to God’s King Jesus by trusting in Him as our Savior from sin and submitting to Him as the Lord of our thoughts, words, and deeds.
If you are truly in God’s present kingdom, then you will be in His future kingdom when He returns in power and glory. But Jesus gives His followers some warnings to take to heart so that they will be sure to endure until He comes.
These verses are addressed to Jesus’ disciples, not to the Pharisees. The disciples had believed in Jesus, but there was the danger that as time passed and Jesus did not return, they would lose heart. So He gives them not only the warnings of this section, but also the parable of the unjust judge (18:1-8) to encourage them to endure (see 18:1). There are three lessons here:
Jesus refers to Himself as the Son of Man, a reference to His authority when He comes in judgment (see Daniel 7:13-14). “One of the days” refers to the time of His return, when He will reign. Jesus is warning the disciples that they will face times when they will inwardly long to see Jesus return in power and glory, but they will have to wait, because it is not yet God’s time. This verse is a clear refutation of the notion that Jesus would return shortly after His crucifixion and resurrection.
What believer hasn’t longed for the Lord to return and straighten out this messed up world? We look at world problems—war, violence, greed, crime, corruption, immorality, the pollution of God’s beautiful creation, and the many other problems—and cry out, “How long, O Lord?” Listen to this description of the times:
It is a gloomy moment in the history of our country. Not in the lifetime of most men has there been so much grave and deep apprehension; never has the future seemed so incalculable as at this time. The domestic economic situation is in chaos. Our dollar is weak throughout the world. Prices are so high as to be utterly impossible. The political cauldron seethes and bubbles with uncertainty. Russia hangs, as usual, like a cloud, dark and silent, upon the horizon. It is a solemn moment. Of our troubles no man can see the end.
That quote is from Harper’s Magazine, October 10, 1847! I guess that times have always seemed tough! Christians have always known that only Jesus can deliver us from this mess.
We look at the personal problems and trials that we all struggle with—family problems, health problems, financial problems, and other worries and concerns—and cry out, “How long, O Lord?” How wonderful it will be when Jesus delivers us once and for all from all these difficult problems!
But until then, we must patiently endure as we wait with hope for His coming. Peter warns us that while we wait, mockers will come, “following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation.’” But as the apostle goes on to show, their mocking does not negate the reality of Jesus’ coming to judge the earth (2 Pet. 3:3-10).
As we wait and yet do not see His coming, false Christs will arise and people will tempt us to turn to those who seem to have the answers we need right now: “Look there! Look here!” Jesus says, “Do not go away, and do not run after them.”
We’re always vulnerable to the temptation of turning to quick fix answers rather than patiently waiting on the Lord. This is especially true of us Americans, because we’re all pragmatists at heart. If something works, it must be true! If something doesn’t work (on our timetable!), it must be false! So if Jesus Christ isn’t fixing my problem as quickly as I think He should, and someone says, “Try this approach; it works!” I’m in danger of being led astray from the truth as it is in Jesus. In Luke 21:8, Jesus warns, “See to it that you be not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is at hand’; do not go after them.” Satan doesn’t try to lead us astray by something or someone who is blatantly false, but by those who come in Jesus’ name. Be careful!
Jesus goes on to emphasize the suddenness of His coming, but He is careful to state that first He must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation (17:25). But, after that, when His kingdom does come in its final phase, it will not be hidden and obscure (as is the initial, inner, spiritual phase of His kingdom). Rather, it will be like a lightning flash in the sky, sudden and observable to everyone. But at that point, it will be too late to change sides. Thus, the time to get into Jesus’ kingdom is now, not later.
Jesus uses two examples from history, Noah and Lot, to illustrate the same point, namely, the need to be ready for the certain and coming day of judgment when Jesus returns. Contrary to the recent TV drama on Noah’s ark, Noah and Lot were not contemporaries! Note also that Jesus assumes the historicity of these two events, the flood and the judgment on Sodom. They were given to us as two graphic warnings of the coming judgment on the whole earth at the Second Coming.
Both the people of Noah’s time and the people in Sodom in Lot’s day were notoriously wicked, but Jesus does not focus here on their flagrant evil. Rather, He shows that they just went on about the normal affairs of life, oblivious to God and the coming judgment. There is nothing wrong with eating and drinking or with getting married (17:27). The problem was that the people of Noah’s day lived without regard to God and the warnings of the impending flood. They laughed at Noah as a crazy man, but they stopped laughing when the waters of the flood started rising and Noah was secure inside the ark. But by then it was too late.
The same was true in Lot’s day. There is nothing wrong with eating, drinking, buying, selling, planting, and building (17:28). The problem was, they were living in total disregard of God. As you know from the story in Genesis 19, the people of Sodom were grossly immoral, but that is not the Lord’s focus here. If He had focused on that, decent, moral folks, like the Pharisees, would have thought, “We’re in no danger, because we don’t live like the people of Sodom did.” But, as Jesus states it, the warning is for people who just go on with life as if judgment never will come. They have no regard for the things of God and eternity. But one day, the Son of Man will suddenly be revealed in power and glory, and these foolish people will be destroyed by God’s judgment.
Jesus goes on (17:31-35) to give a graphic, specific description of what it will be like when He returns. Someone will be on his housetop, the equivalent of the modern day patio. He is lounging there when the lightning flash of Christ’s return suddenly hits. He is not even to take the time to go into his house and collect his personal belongings. Rather, he must flee the judgment that will swiftly follow. If a man is working in the fields, he must not go back to his house, but must head for safety. Then, Jesus pointedly warns, “Remember Lot’s wife.” She started to flee out of Sodom, but her heart was still there. Disobeying the angel’s command, she looked back and was encrusted with the brimstone that rained down from heaven. She perished in that awful judgment.
Then Jesus states the principle: “Whoever seeks to keep his life shall lose it, and whoever loses his life shall preserve it” (17:33). In other words, to be so attached to the things of this earth that we want to hang on to them more than we want heaven is to jeopardize our eternal souls. But to let go of all the things that the world values and to live in light of Jesus’ coming will result in ultimate and final salvation. It may mean hardship and suffering now, in comparison with those who are living for this life only. Like the rich man in contrast with Lazarus (16:19-31), they may have it good now and you may be worse off because you are not striving for those things. But when Jesus comes and God’s final judgment falls, you will be the one to preserve your life and they will lose theirs. Remember Lot’s wife!
Jesus continues His graphic description with two more examples (17:34, 35; the third example [v. 36] has very weak manuscript support and was probably added by a later scribe from Matthew 24:40). First, two will be in the same bed (the Greek can refer either to two men or to a man and a woman). One will be taken, and the other will be left. Second, two women will be grinding flour at the same place. One will be taken, and the other will be left. It is not clear whether the one taken is taken away to judgment, while the other is left to enter the kingdom, or vice versa. In light of the context, where Noah, Lot, the one on the housetop, and the one in the field all escape judgment by fleeing, whereas those left behind die and are prey for vultures (17:37), probably those taken go to safety whereas those left are overtaken by God’s judgment.
But don’t get hung up debating the details and miss the crucial point. When Jesus suddenly returns, all humanity will be divided into two groups. Those who have lived for themselves with no regard for God and without submitting themselves to His kingdom will fall under His judgment and be left as carcasses for the vultures. The other group are those who have submitted their lives to King Jesus before He comes. They are not seeking to live for this life only, accumulating all the junk that the world lives for. They have willingly given up their lives for the sake of Jesus’ kingdom. Their focus is on their Lord and His soon coming. They will escape His judgment. Note that being close to someone who escapes is not good enough. You must escape God’s wrath personally!
Verse 37 is a difficult verse to understand. The disciples’ question, “Where, Lord?” is ambiguous. Are they asking where He will return or where the judgment will take place or where will those taken be taken? In light of Jesus’ answer, they probably were asking where the judgment would take place.
Jesus’ answer is also hard to understand and there are a variety of interpretations. It could mean that just as vultures gather on dead bodies, so, “Where the spiritually dead are found, there inevitably will there be judgment” (Leon Morris, Luke [IVP/Eerdmans], p. 262). Or, the sense could be that when judgment comes, it will be obvious, just as the location of a corpse is obvious by the presence of vultures. Or, it could mean more, that judgment not only will be obvious, but also universal and permanent (Darrell Bock, Luke [Baker], 2:1440 lists these last two views, along with five others; he leans to the last view). Once judgment comes, it will be final. Thus Jesus is saying, “Don’t worry about where the judgment will occur, because once it comes, it will be too late and all will see it in its horrific finality” (adapted from Bock, ibid.).
The overall point that Jesus is making in verses 24-37 is that His coming will be sudden and therefore we must be prepared in advance. To go on about life, oblivious to God’s present kingdom and with no concern for His future kingdom is to expose yourself to great danger. Each person must submit to Jesus as King now and live in light of His soon and certain coming. Only then will it not take you by surprise.
As you may know, there are three major views regarding Christ’s kingdom. The amillennial view teaches that His kingdom is His spiritual reign over His people in this age. The promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob regarding their possessing the land of Canaan and their descendants ruling over the nations are all spiritually fulfilled now in Christ. While I greatly respect many men who hold this view, I reject it. It seems to me that Christ’s present rule over His people in this wicked and corrupt world is a far cry from the glorious kingdom promised in the Scriptures. I agree that Christ’s present reign over His people is the initial phase of His kingdom, but I believe that Jesus will literally reign over the nations on the throne of David, in power and great glory.
The postmillennial view teaches that Christ’s kingdom will come gradually but certainly as the gospel spreads and triumphs over evil. They often cite Habakkuk 2:14, “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.” While I, too, believe that verse, I do not believe that it will be fulfilled before Jesus returns. Our text makes it clear that the world will not be converted when Jesus returns. Rather, it will be going on with self-centered business as usual.
The premillennial view holds that Jesus will return in power and glory to judge this wicked world and establish His kingdom on earth for 1,000 years. This is the view that makes the most sense of the most Scriptures to me. But don’t let the variety of views make you throw up your hands and not believe anything! Note that all three views share some things in common: Jesus is coming again bodily, in power and glory. When He comes, He will judge every person. We need to be ready for His coming by trusting Him as Savior and submitting to Him as Lord now. To deny these things that all of the views share in common would be to deny the core of what Jesus Himself taught.
Dr. Joseph Stowell, the President of Moody Bible Institute, once visited a home for retarded children that was operated by a Christian friend. Noticing the children’s handprints on the windows, Dr. Stowell remarked about them to his friend. “Oh, those,” he replied. “The children here love Jesus and they’re so eager for Him to return that they lean against the windows as they look up at the sky.” That’s not a retarded way to live! May we all imitate those simple children by making sure that we are in Christ’s present kingdom and by faithfully awaiting His soon coming future kingdom!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
One of the most difficult aspects of prayer is persevering when it seems that God is not answering. Jesus instructed us to pray that the Father’s kingdom would come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven. And yet here we are, almost 2,000 years later, and that prayer, prayed millions of times by millions of Christians down through the centuries, is still not answered.
In spite of years of prayer and missionary efforts, some of the Muslim, Buddhist, and Hindu sections of the world seem as resistant to the gospel as ever and so it is easy to become discouraged about praying for world missions. On a personal level, all of us have requests that we have brought before God for years—requests that would be to His glory to answer—and yet it seems like God isn’t answering His phone and He doesn’t even have an answer machine! In light of these problems, it is easy to lose hope and even to give up praying.
The Lord Jesus knew the weakness of our flesh and that we all are prone to lose heart. In light of that, He graciously gave His disciples and us this parable “to show that at all times they [and we] ought to pray and not lose heart.” This instruction fits in with the preceding context where the Lord told the disciples that the days would come when they would long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but they would not see it (17:22). During the time between His ascension and His Second Coming, the world would go on in its disregard of God, much as it had in the days of Noah and of Lot. The church would be much like this widow, left without her heavenly Bridegroom, much maligned and persecuted by the ungodly. During this time of waiting and struggle, how can the saints persevere? Jesus shows that we will persevere as we continue in believing prayer. And, to persevere in prayer,
To pray always and not lose heart, we must properly understand both God and ourselves.
God has promised that His Messiah, the Son of Man, will return one day in power and glory. He will judge the earth and vindicate His people. But in the interim, as we wait for His promises to be fulfilled, if we want not to lose heart, we must pray always.
As the apostle Paul instructs us, we should “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). Right away—be honest—most of us think, “That’s impossible! I’ve got to go to work for at least eight hours every day. I’ve got to pay bills, to eat my meals, to talk with my spouse and others, to take care of my house and lawn and car, and a hundred other things to do each week. How can I possibly pray without ceasing? What am I supposed to do, join a monastery or something?”
Jesus modeled for us the kind of life that we are to live in dependence on the Father. As we look at His life, He did not live in the desert as a hermit so that He could pray around the clock. Rather, prayer was something that Jesus frequently engaged in, even though in one sense of all people who ever lived on this earth, Jesus had the least need to pray! He did not have to wrestle with the inner lusts of the flesh as we do, since He was born without sin. And, yet He often prayed.
He prayed as the Holy Spirit descended on Him at His baptism (Luke 3:21). He often would slip away from the crowds into the wilderness where He would pray (5:16). He spent the whole night in prayer before He called the twelve (6:12). It was while He was praying that Peter gave his well-known confession that Jesus is the Christ (9:18). It was while He was on the mountain praying that He was transfigured before Peter, James, and John (9:28, 29). And, on the night before the cross, Jesus not only prayed for Peter, that his faith would not fail, but He also agonized fervently in prayer, sweating great drops of blood, as He wrestled with becoming our sin-bearer (22:32, 40-46).
When the apostle Paul tells us to pray without ceasing, the word he used was also used of repeated military assaults. The army would attack and then withdraw and regroup. Then they would attack again and again until they achieved victory. That is how we are to pray. The word was also used of a hacking cough. A person with a hacking cough doesn’t usually cough without coming up for a breath. Rather, they cough frequently and repeatedly. That is how we should pray. While we should be in a spirit of communion with God at all times, there should be a number of times every day when we stop and bring our specific requests or burdens or praises to God in prayer. Sometimes, especially in times of great need, we ought to set aside longer times to devote ourselves to prayer. But whatever else we do, at all times we ought to pray.
The word ought has the idea of necessity. Prayer is not an optional activity for the more committed. It is a necessity for every believer because it acknowledges our total dependence on God. Not to pray is arrogance, because I am really saying, “Thanks, God, but I can handle this by myself.” But the truth is, I can’t handle anything by myself apart from God’s grace and power! And so, at all times we ought to pray. But, …
Jesus knew that and that’s why He told this parable (18:1). This parable and the one that follows are the only ones where the purpose of the parable is given up front. Jesus knew that we are weak and that in the face of His delayed return, when we may be laughed at by the world because of our faith, we would be prone to lose heart and quit praying.
There are a number of reasons that we are prone to lose heart and quit praying. Sometimes we assume that we are competent to handle things in our own strength. This is especially a danger when it is a task that we do repeatedly. We hop in the car and head off on a trip without a thought of prayer, because we’ve driven safely for many years. We forget that we depend on the Lord for protection. We go to work every day and do our jobs without prayer because we know how to do our jobs. We forget that we are dependent on God to do our jobs competently. This can even be true of spiritual tasks, such as preaching or leading in worship or anything else that you do so often that it becomes routine.
Or, if God has given you a strong natural ability, it is easy to do it without prayer because you know how to do it and you do it well. I’m thankful that I have always felt incompetent when it comes to preaching, because I cannot do it without consciously depending on God. And, thank God, almost every week as I prepare sermons, I hit a wall where I feel overwhelmed and I despair as to how I’m going to get the message together. Of course that’s right where the Lord wants me, because then I have to trust in Him for the message. But, there is another major reason that we are prone to lose heart and quit praying:
In the context, this is the source of discouragement that Jesus is addressing. He knew that His coming would be delayed to the point that the disciples would long to see Him come, but He would not come (17:22). During His absence, they would be mocked and rejected just as Noah and Lot were (17:26-30). Some would be persecuted to the point of death. Others would go through awful hardships. And, He knew that from our limited human perspective, it often seems that God is not answering or even listening when we pray because we do not see things from His eternal perspective. And so He told this parable to show that at all times we ought to pray and not lose heart.
There are two characters in the parable. The first is a wicked, judge who cares about no one but himself. He even knows that he is a scoundrel, because when he thinks about this pesky woman, he admits in his own mind that he does not fear God nor respect man, but he just wants to get rid of her to gain some relief. She was annoying him to the point that he says (literally in the Greek), “she is going to give me a black eye.” He didn’t mean that she was literally hitting him, but rather that he felt emotionally beat up by her non-stop nagging.
The second character is this needy widow. In that society, widows were especially vulnerable, in that there were not many vocational opportunities for women. Life insurance was non-existent. She was dependent on whatever her husband had left her. But now some scoundrel had cheated her out of what little she had to live on. So she comes to the judge and asks for justice. He takes one look at her and figures, she’s not going to give me much of a bribe, and I’ve got many others who can reward me handsomely if I take their cases. So he refuses to give her any help. He tells his bailiff to escort her out of the courtroom and he thinks, “That’s the last I’ll see of her.”
Wrong! He no sooner leaves the courtroom to go home for lunch, than this woman dogs his steps all the way to his house. When he comes out to go back to work, there she is. When he goes home at night, she’s there again. Every morning she is parked at the door of the courthouse, waiting for him to show up. Every day he tells her to get lost, but she keeps coming back. He can’t get rid of her! She’s beginning to dominate his life. He begins to hate going to work, because he’s going to be confronted by this nagging woman!
Finally, after weeks of going on like this, he says to himself, “Even though I don’t fear God and I don’t care about his woman, I’m going to grant her request just to get her off my back!” Jesus says, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said.” There’s a lesson to be learned from this situation about persevering in prayer when God seems to delay the answer.
We would be greatly mistaken if we thought that Jesus was teaching that God is like this self-centered, callous judge. That would run counter to the entire biblical revelation of the character of God as a loving and tender Father in relation to His children. Jesus uses this humorous example as an argument from the lesser to the greater, taken to absurd lengths. If this widow could get justice from this hardened, crusty, uncaring old judge, doesn’t it follow that the loving, tender, gracious Heavenly Father will hear and answer His own children whom He has chosen when they cry out to Him for relief? There are four things here that we need to know about God:
“Just as a Father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him” (Ps. 103:13). “Zion has said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, and the Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a woman forget her nursing child, and have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands; …” (Isa. 49:14-16). To a persecuted church, some of whose members Nero had covered with pitch and used to light up his garden parties, Peter wrote, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you” (1 Pet. 5:6-7).
Even when you are suffering terribly, keep in mind that God is totally unlike this uncaring judge! God cares for you!
Although even in this lifetime we may not understand the reasons why God delays to answer our cries of agony, we can know for certain that He never delays to answer because He does not care for us or because He is unable to do what we need. He is able to do far more than we can ask or even think, even if it seems impossible to us. Because He is omniscient, God knows even the needs that we do not bring to Him in prayer. Because He is omnipresent, He can deal with your needs in Flagstaff at the same moment that He is dealing with some needy saint in Bangladesh. Because He is omnipotent, He has plenty of power to go around. Meeting your need won’t drain His supply!
The reason for the delay with the widow was that the unjust judge was unwilling (18:4), but that is never the reason with our loving Father in heaven. The unjust judge was acting out of selfish motives all the way, even when he finally granted her request. But God always acts out of self-sacrificing love, as seen supremely in the cross of Christ. This judge was only concerned for his own relief, but God acts out of wise concern for the well-being of His people.
Four-year-old Caitlin was impatient for a sibling. One morning she told her mother, “Maybe if we both prayed out loud, God would hear us.” So they prayed together. As soon as they finished, Caitlin asked, “What did he say?” Her mother explained that it doesn’t work that way; sometimes it takes a long time to get an answer. Caitlin was indignant: “Do you mean we were praying to an answering machine?” (Reader’s Digest [12/94], p. 154.)
Sometimes it seems like it, doesn’t it! God doesn’t usually explain in advance why He is delaying the answers to our requests. But we need to cling to the fact that His delays are always for our good, even if we don’t understand the reasons why.
Jesus asks, “Will He delay long over them?” and then answers emphatically, “I tell you that He will bring about justice for them speedily” (18:7b-8a). The first question is difficult to interpret. It can mean, as translated, that God will not delay in bringing justice. Or, it can mean that He will be patient in the sense of not becoming irritated with His children’s frequent requests (as the judge did), and He will honor their requests by vindicating them in due time.
But what does Jesus mean when He says that justice will come speedily? Here we are almost 2,000 years later, and Jesus has not returned to rescue His needy people. We all know stories of faithful saints who have prayed for something all their lives, but their prayers went unanswered. What does speedily mean?
We must understand it from God’s timetable, not ours. With the Lord, a thousand years are like a day or as a watch in the night (2 Pet. 3:8; Ps. 90:4). He told Noah that there would be a flood, but 100 years went by without a drop of rain while Noah endured his mocking neighbors. He promised Abraham a son, but he watched Sarah go through menopause and 25 years elapsed before Isaac was born. He promised Joseph in his teenage years through his dreams that his father and brothers would bow down to him, but he spent his twenties in an Egyptian dungeon. He promised to deliver His people from bondage in Egypt, but 400 long years went by before He raised up Moses, and that only after Moses spent 40 years in the desert after his failure. He promised to send His Messiah, but His people had to wait 400 years after the last prophet before, in the fulness of time, God sent His Son (Gal. 4:4). Speedily by God’s calendar is not speedily by ours! One answer to the problem of delayed answers to our prayers is to get a proper view of God.
I can only give a sketchy outline here for sake of time. Note these four things about ourselves:
The church is like this widow, who not only lost her husband, but then she had to contend with someone who was taking unfair advantage of her. Somewhere we have gotten the silly notion that if we follow the Lord, everything in life will work out neatly with a storybook ending. But the Bible shows us plenty of saints who were tortured, mocked, scourged, put in chains and imprisonment, stoned, sawn in two, and put to death with the sword. They went about in animal skins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. “And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised (Heb. 11:35-39).
Like this widow, we should cry out day and night to our Father in heaven. She had no attorney, no advocate to plead her case, but we have the Holy Spirit to help us pray as we ought and the Lord Jesus Himself interceding at the right hand of the Father on our behalf. She had no guarantee of getting what she desired, but we have the Lord’s promise that whatever we ask in His name, He will do it. What made this widow persist is that she knew her great need. Sometimes the Lord delays to answer us because we do not see how needy we really are until He keeps us waiting for a while. It is only when we sense our own insufficiency that we begin to pray, as Calvin puts it, with “an earnest—nay, burning—desire to attain it” (Institutes of the Christian Religion [Westminster], 3:20:6).
Sometimes He is waiting, like a patient farmer, until the fruits of godliness, faith, and humility in our hearts is ripe before He grants the answers (Andrew Murray, With Christ in the School of Prayer [Spire Books], pp. 88-89). Jesus says that when He returns, He will be looking for faith on the earth, but the implication is that it will be a scarce commodity (the Greek expects a negative answer). While the world may scoff because God seemingly neglects His saints, surely we ought to cling to Him in faith!
Jesus refers to His people here as His elect (18:7). This means that you do not follow Jesus because you first chose Him, but rather because He first chose you. He chose you totally apart from anything that He saw in you. He did not choose you because He saw a spark of goodness in you. He did not choose you because He saw that you would choose Him. He chose you unconditionally while you were a rebellious sinner, so that His unmerited favor would shine forth through you. If you do not believe in the doctrine of God’s sovereign, unconditional election, you don’t believe what Jesus believed and you rob yourself of a source of great comfort. Even when God’s answers to your prayers are delayed, you can trust Him knowing that you are one of His elect.
I have not had time to deal with the problem of when to stop praying for something that God isn’t granting. It’s not an easy question. Sometimes the Holy Spirit may say, “Stop asking; My grace is sufficient for you.” Sometimes He gives us an inner assurance that the request will be granted, and so we can shift from praying to praising Him for the answer. Sometimes He removes the burden from our hearts and we move on to other requests. The Lord told Jeremiah to stop praying for disobedient Israel, because He had determined judgment for them (Jer. 11:14).
But often, He wants us, like this nagging widow, to keep on asking until we receive what we need. God isn’t like this reluctant judge. He cares for us and is more than ready to grant our requests when He knows that we are ready to receive the answer. So keep on praying and don’t lose heart. He will bring about justice for you speedily, according to His timetable, not yours!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Some years ago, a researcher surveyed 7,000 Protestant youths from many denominations, asking whether they agreed with the following statements:
“The way to be accepted by God is to try sincerely to live a good life.” More than 60 percent agreed.
“God is satisfied if a person lives the best life he can.” Almost 70 percent agreed.
“The main emphasis of the gospel is on God’s rules for right living.” More than half agreed. (Morton Strommen, Five Cries of Youth [Harper and Row], 1974, p. 76.)
My own experience in talking with people about how to be right with God bears out these findings. When I have asked, “If you were to die and stand before God and He asked, ‘Why should I let you into heaven?’ what would you say?” the most frequent answer I hear is, “I am a basically good person.” Or, “I’ve always tried to do the best that I can.” Or, “I’ve never intentionally hurt anyone.” Most people, including those who would call themselves “Christian,” think that the right way to approach God is to present their good works at the gate of heaven.
All of the world’s religions (except biblical Christianity) teach that we approach God through our good works. This was the main issue that split the Reformers from the Roman Catholic Church. Rome taught (and still teaches) that a person is saved by grace through faith in Christ, but not by grace through faith alone. Rather, in addition to believing in Christ, a person must add his own good works both to preserve and increase his right standing before God.
The Roman Catholic Church spells out these official doctrines in the Canons and Decrees of Trent, which The Second Vatican Council in the 1960’s declared to be “irreformable.” Here are some statements from the Canons and Decrees of Trent:
If any one saith, that by faith alone the impious is justified, in such wise as to mean, that nothing else is required to cooperate in order to the obtaining the grace of Justification, ... let him be anathema. (Session 6, Canon 9, in Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom [Baker], 2:112.)
If any one saith, that justifying faith is nothing else but confidence in the divine mercy which remits sins for Christ’s sake; or, that this confidence alone is that whereby we are justified: let him be anathema. (Session 6, Canon 12, in Schaff, 2:113.)
If any one saith, that the justice received is not preserved and also increased before God through good works; but that the said works are merely the fruits and signs of Justification obtained, but not a cause of the increase thereof: let him be anathema. (Session 6, Canon 24, in Schaff, 2:115.)
In our day, influential men, such as Charles Colson and Max Lucado, along with the Promise Keepers movement, are saying that we should set aside the differences between Protestants and Catholics, since we all believe in Jesus. But as long as Rome affirms these Canons and Decrees of Trent, to say that we are all of the same faith is to deny the gospel (as Paul argues in Galatians). Since the salvation of a person’s soul depends on believing the gospel as revealed in God’s Word, it is of vital importance that we all understand what Scripture teaches. It is important to you personally, so that you are clear about the basis of your own salvation. And it is important so that you can explain it to others who mistakenly think that we are saved by our good works. If you witness to a Roman Catholic, this is the issue you must endeavor to make clear, so that he can be saved.
Note that Luke 18:9 tells us why Jesus told this parable: He spoke it “to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt.” He may have been targeting the Pharisees, but undoubtedly there were many others who trusted in their own righteousness as the basis of their standing before God. The Jews tended to think that being Abraham’s descendants and following the Law of Moses separated them from the Gentile “dogs.” They were a notch above others and would be accepted into heaven because of their Jewish heritage and their moral lives. But Jesus upended that view with this parable. He shows that …
The wrong way to approach God is by your own good works; the right way to approach God is as an unworthy sinner, pleading for mercy.
The scene is set in verse 10: Two men go to the temple to pray. One is a regular “church-goer,” in fact, a religious leader who has devoted himself to the things of God. The other is a selfish, dishonest, greedy man who has no qualms about ripping off his fellow countrymen for his own advantage. Which of these two would you expect to get through to God in prayer? Guess again!
The Pharisee represents all who try to come to God on the basis of their own good deeds. Keep in mind that in our day, the word Pharisee has a negative connotation, but in the Jewish culture of Jesus’ day, the Pharisees were those who had devoted themselves to God. They were diligent to keep the Law of Moses. They were the religious leaders of the day. But Jesus uses this Pharisee as an example of those who try to come to God through their good works. He shows four problems with this approach to God.
Luke states this plainly in verse 9. To trust in ourselves is to distrust in God; the two are mutually exclusive. A person may protest, “I am trusting in both God and myself,” but the truth is, he is trusting in himself, not in God. John Calvin draws the line this way: “Every man that is puffed up with self-confidence carries on open war with God, to whom we cannot be reconciled in any other way than by denial of ourselves; that is, by laying aside all confidence in our own virtue and righteousness, and relying on his mercy alone” (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], “A Harmony of the Evangelists,” 2:202).
Let me illustrate it this way. Suppose that we both had bad cases of arthritis and I had been healed. You asked me, “What healed you?” and I said, “I drank a bottle of Pepto Bismol every day for a month.” But just as you’re running out the door to buy your supply of Pepto Bismol, I shout after you, “And I also took ten Excedrin tablets every day that month.” Suddenly, you’re not so sure about the Pepto Bismol. Did it cause the cure or did the Excedrin cause it, or some combination of the two? Adding anything to the Pepto Bismol detracts from its testimony, that it alone cured me. The makers of Excedrin could boast that their product had a part in the cure as well.
Scripture declares that we are saved by grace through faith apart from works (Eph. 2:8-9), because if we add just a small amount of human works to what God has done, we will boast in our works and detract from the finished work of Christ. To try to come to God by our good works is to trust in ourselves, even if those works are mingled with faith.
Note the Pharisee’s prayer. Jesus says that he “was praying thus to himself,” meaning that he was praying so as to be heard only by himself. But, in fact, he was praying to himself, not to God! His prayer mentions God once, but “I” five times! Godet (A Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke [I. K. Funk & Co.], p. 409) says, “It was less a prayer in which he gave thanks to God, than a congratulation which he addressed to himself.”
But, if his prayer was truthful, he was a moral man. He was honest in business, not a swindler. He treated people fairly, not unjustly. He was faithful to his marriage vows, not an adulterer. He was a decent man, not a greedy, selfish, unscrupulous person, like this tax collector. If you had to choose between a society made up of men like the Pharisee or the publican, you would pick the Pharisee any day.
Not only was the Pharisee a moral man, he was also pious even beyond the requirement of the Law. He fasted twice a week, whereas the Jewish Law only required once a year, on the Day of Atonement. He tithed from everything he got, including his herbs and table spices (Matt. 23:23), which went beyond the requirement of the Law. He had gone beyond the call of duty. But even though he was an exemplary man in many ways, he was heading down the wrong road. It wouldn’t get him into heaven, because he was trusting in his own goodness, which cannot save anyone.
Luke also states this plainly in verse 9. Invariably, the person who trusts in his own righteousness looks down on others who have not achieved his level of holiness. He may phrase his pride in religious language, as this man does: “I thank You that I am not like other people.” He is giving a tip of the hat to God, but he is still boasting in himself as being fundamentally different than these sinners that he mentions. And pride is a damnable sin, being the original sin of Satan and of the human race, who thought that they knew better than God. It is safe to say that every sin we commit is rooted in self-exaltation, or pride.
I was raised in a Christian home and outwardly I have lived a moral life. I have never been close to being drunk. I have never used drugs. I have been faithful to my wife. I seek to be honest, even in little matters. I have gone to church almost every Sunday since I was born. But, God had to show me that my heart is just as corrupt as that of the worst criminal on earth. If I had been born to a drug addict mother in the ghetto, instead of to Christian parents who loved me and brought me up to know God, I would be exactly where most of the ghetto kids are: doing drugs, stealing, and killing each other. If you think that you are somehow better than others, you are probably trusting in your own good works, not in the grace of God.
The reason this Pharisee thought that he was so good was that he was comparing himself with swindlers, immoral people, and greedy rip-off artists. We all can find those who outwardly are more wicked than we are, and congratulate ourselves on our own holiness. But, if we looked the other way, we also could find many people who are far better than we are, people who have given their very lives for others. But those who try to come to God by their good works rarely, if ever, compare themselves to those who are better than they are. And they never compare themselves to God in the splendor of His perfect holiness!
I read of a guy who said that his greatest fear is that he would be standing in line at the Pearly Gates behind Mother Teresa, and hear Saint Peter say to her, “Well, you didn’t quite make it.” But the fact is, if Mother Teresa is in heaven, it isn’t because of her good deeds. Line up the very best humans who have ever lived and they all have sinned and fall hopelessly short of the glory of God. He cannot and will not tolerate any sin in heaven. So it is useless to compare ourselves with one another. God’s perfect righteousness is the only standard.
The Pharisee was thinking of all of his good deeds, the fasting and the giving, plus probably a whole lot more things he had done. But he wasn’t looking at his heart, which was filled with pride. God looks on the heart. Outwardly, we can smile and be friendly toward someone, while our heart hates him and is plotting revenge. Outwardly, we can give a million dollars, if we had that much, and people would say, “What a generous man!” But God is looking on our motives before Him. Did we give it to please God or to receive the applause of men? Outwardly, I can be faithful to my wife all my life, but in my thought life, I may be committing adultery with other women every day. God looks on my heart.
No one who honestly examines his heart before God can hope to come before God on the basis of his good works. We may clean up our outward behavior, but we cannot clean up our hearts. Only God can do that through the power of the new birth. That leads to the second lesson here, exemplified in the tax gatherer:
If you exalt yourself by presenting your good works to God, you will be humbled on judgment day; but if you humble yourself now before God and plead for His mercy, you will be exalted into His presence on that day.
The publican wouldn’t even come as far into the temple as the proud Pharisee did. He stood at some distance, and was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven. He beat his breast, showing his true sorrow for what he had done. But he didn’t plead with God on the basis of his contrition. He didn’t plead that he had now reformed his life by turning a new corner. He didn’t promise that things would be different in the future. He simply came to God as he was, an unworthy sinner, with no basis or merit in himself for laying hold of God. He asked God for mercy.
That is the only way any of us can come to God, because that is what we all are—unworthy sinners who deserve His judgment. Come honestly and say, “God, I am a sinner who deserves nothing but Your judgment.” The more you grow as a Christian, the more God will show you the utter sinfulness of your own heart. Charles Simeon observes, “Never are you higher in God’s esteem than when you are lowest in your own” (Expository Outlines on the Whole Bible [Zondervan], 13:34).
“God, be merciful to me, the sinner!” Note that the man approached God Himself, not a priest. That is how we all must come. God is the one you have sinned against; go directly to Him with your confession.
Note also that the man approached God personally. “Be merciful to me.” He doesn’t lump himself with others: “We all have done wrong.” He didn’t assume that he would get into heaven on the group plan, because he was a Jew or because his parents had been faithful synagogue members. He was dealing with God on a personal basis. That’s the only way into heaven. You must come to God personally, just you and Him.
Also, note that the publican approached God asking for mercy, not for rewards based on his merits. He did not say, “Be merciful to me because I was humble enough to come and confess my sins.” He didn’t say, “Be merciful to me and I’ll work hard to pay You back.” He just said, “Be merciful to me, the sinner.”
The Greek word translated “be merciful” has in it the idea of propitiation, which refers to God’s wrath being appeased because the proper penalty has been paid. Although this man, living under the Jewish sacrificial system, probably didn’t understand that Jesus would offer Himself as the perfect and final Lamb of God for the sins of the world, he did know that without the shedding of blood, there was no forgiveness for sins. And yet it was not the blood of bulls or goats or sheep that atoned for sin. They merely pointed ahead to what God’s Savior would do in offering Himself in the place of sinners. They illustrated the principle of substitution, that God would accept the death of an acceptable substitute in place of the sinner’s own death.
God cannot just shrug off our sins or He would not be just and righteous. The penalty for sin must be paid. Either we pay it or we trust in God to pay it for us through the acceptable sacrifice of His Son. To cry out to God for mercy is to trust in the only provision God has made for the penalty of our sins, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ (see Rom. 3:21-26). The good news is,
Jesus emphatically states, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other” (18:14). To justify means that God bangs the gavel at His judgment bench and declares, “Not guilty!” Not only does He remove the guilt of our sins, He also credits to our account the perfect righteousness of Jesus Christ, the substitute who suffered the penalty of God’s wrath. This man walked into the temple as a guilty, despicable tax collector, who ripped off people because of his own greed. He walked out of the temple righteous before God. How could this be? The answer is, he received a righteousness not his own, imputed to him.
Was that perfect righteousness imputed to him because of his works or his promise to be different? No, it was imputed to him by God’s grace through faith. Did it take years of personal reformation and penance in this life and more years in Purgatory to secure this righteous standing for this man? No, he went down to his house justified. God graciously, instantly granted it. The word “justified” in Greek is a perfect passive participle. The passive voice means that he was acted upon by God; he had nothing to do with his own justification. The perfect tense shows that the act was accomplished with continuing results, so that he is now in a permanent state of justification. The great news is that when a sinner comes to God as a sinner asking for mercy, God graciously, instantly justifies him.
Years ago, a man was about to make a purchase in a drug store when a detective laid his hand on the man’s shoulder and said, “You’re under arrest. Come with me.” Stunned, the man said, “What did I do?” The detective calmly replied, “You know what you did. You escaped from the Albany penitentiary several years ago. You went west, got married, and then came back here to live. We’ve been watching you since you returned.” Quietly, the man admitted, “That’s true, but I was sure you’d never find me. Before you take me in, could we stop by my house so I can talk to my family?” The officer agreed.
When they got to his home, the man looked at his wife and asked, “Haven’t I been a kind husband and a good father? Haven’t I worked hard to make a living?” His wife answered, “Of course you have, but why are you asking me these questions?” He then proceeded to explain what had happened and that he was now under arrest. He apparently had hoped that his record as an exemplary husband and father would impress the officer. But the fact was, he was an escaped criminal and he had to return to prison.
You may be a good person, a faithful churchgoer, and a decent citizen of this community. But God knows the many sins of your heart. All the good deeds in the world cannot pay for the many times you have broken His holy law. If you come into God’s court on judgment day and present your good works, you will be condemned. But if you come as an unworthy sinner who has pleaded for mercy on the basis of Jesus Christ who shed His blood to pay the penalty you deserve, God will declare, “Not guilty!” Make sure first that you understand and apply this personally; then, share with others the wrong and the right way to come to God. Nothing less than yours and their eternal destiny is at stake!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
In It Was on Fire When I Lay Down on It (condensed in Reader’s Digest [10/89], pp. 67-69), Robert Fulghum writes:
The cardboard box is marked “The Good Stuff.” As I write I can see where it is stored on a high shelf in my studio. I like being able to see it when I look up. The box contains those odds and ends of personal treasures that have survived many bouts of “clean-it-out-and-throw-it-away.” A thief looking into the box would not take anything—he couldn’t get a quarter for any of it. But if the house ever catches on fire, the box goes with me when I run.
One of the keepsakes in the box is a small paper bag. Lunch size. Though the top is sealed with staples and several paper clips, there is a ragged rip in one side through which the contents may be seen.
This particular lunch sack has been in my care for 14 years. But it really belongs to my daughter, Molly. Soon after she came of school age, she became an enthusiastic participant in the morning packing of lunches for herself, her brothers and me. Each bag got a share of sandwiches, apples, milk money and sometimes a note or a treat.
One morning Molly handed me two paper bags. A regular lunch sack. And another with the staples and paper clips. “Why two bags?” I asked.
“The other one is something else.”
“What’s in it?”
“Just some stuff--take it with you.” I crammed both sacks into my briefcase, kissed her and rushed off.
At midday, while hurriedly scarfing down my lunch, I tore open Molly’s second bag and shook out the contents. Two hair ribbons, three small stones, a plastic dinosaur, a pencil stub, a tiny seashell, two animal crackers, a marble, a used lipstick, a small doll, two Hershey’s Kisses and 13 pennies.
I smiled. How charming. Rising to hustle off to the important business of the afternoon, I swept the desk clean. Into the wastebasket went my leftover lunch and Molly’s junk. There wasn’t anything there I needed.
That evening Molly stood beside me while I was reading the paper. “Where’s my bag?” she asked.
“I left it at the office. Why?”
“I forgot to put this note in it.” She handed me a piece of paper. “Besides, I want it back.”
“Why?”
“Those are my things in the sack, Daddy, the ones I really like. I thought you might like to play with them, but now I want them again. You didn’t lose the bag, did you, Daddy?” Tears puddled in her eyes.
“Oh, no,” I lied, “I just forgot to bring it home.”
“Bring it tomorrow, okay?”
“Sure thing—don’t worry.” As she hugged my neck with relief, I unfolded the note she had given me: “I love you Daddy.”
I looked long at the face of my child. Molly had given me her treasures. All that a seven-year-old held dear. Love in a paper sack. And not only had I missed it, I had thrown it in the wastebasket. Dear God. I felt my Daddy Permit was about to run out.
Fulghum went back to the office and managed to retrieve the stuff before the janitor got to it. He returned it to his daughter, who carefully explained the significance of each item. He writes,
To my surprise, Molly gave the bag to me once again several days later. Same ratty bag. Same stuff inside. I felt forgiven. And trusted. And loved. And a little more comfortable wearing the title of Father. Over several months the bag went with me from time to time, though it was never clear why I did or did not get it on a particular day. I began to think of it as the Daddy Prize and tried to be good the night before so I might be given it the next morning.
In time Molly turned her attention to other things, found other treasures, grew up. Me? I was left holding the bag. She gave it to me one morning and never asked for its return. I have it still.
Sometimes I think of all the times in this sweet life when I must have missed the affection I was being given. A friend calls this “standing knee-deep in the river and dying of thirst.”
So the worn paper sack is there in the box. Left over from a time when a child said, “This is the best I’ve got. Take it—it’s yours.”
I missed it the first time. But it’s my bag now.
Sometimes children can teach us some of the most profound lessons we need to learn as adults, if we’re listening and observant. That is true in this encounter between Jesus and the children. Luke puts it after the story of the Pharisee and the publican to show us, in contrast to the pompous Pharisee, the simple, humble trust that is necessary to enter the kingdom of God. There are five lessons we learn from this heart-warming exchange.
D. L. Moody once returned from a meeting and reported two and a half conversions. “Two adults and a child, I suppose?” asked his host. “No,” said Moody, “two children and an adult. The children gave their whole lives. The adult had only half of his left to give.” (In Kent Hughes, Mark [Crossway Books], 2:9.)
We all know that adults need to be brought to Jesus, but with children we tend to think, “They’re just kids. They’ve got plenty of time. Besides, how much can they understand? You can easily convince a child to say yes to the gospel, but how can you know if their conversion is real? Let’s concentrate on the adults.” But Jesus didn’t agree with that kind of thinking. He told the disciples, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.”
Studies show that the vast majority (90% or more) who trust Christ as Savior do so before age 20. That shouldn’t make us stop trying to win adults to Christ, but it should encourage us to reach children. In Sunday School, youth club programs, and in “Five-Day Clubs,” one of our main aims should be to see children come into a genuine saving relationship with Jesus Christ. They can understand the basic concepts of the gospel: sin, Christ’s death in their place, and the need to trust in Him for salvation. Spurgeon says that we should be less inclined to doubt a child’s profession of faith than an adult’s, because the child is less prone to hypocrisy and he is less likely to have borrowed his words and phrases (Spurgeon’s Expository Encyclopedia [Baker], 2:472).
When Jesus speaks here about receiving the kingdom as a child, He is not referring to the innocence of children. Children were not born in innocence and they are not without sin, even in their early years. Besides, innocence is not the qualification for entering God’s kingdom. If it were, none of us could qualify. Children are born in sin and they need Christ as their Savior as much as any adult does.
I do not know at what age children become accountable before God. But I do know that they can genuinely respond to God’s offer of forgiveness at an early age. I was three when I first invited Christ into my life. Whether I was truly saved then or not, I do not know. But I do know that God will work in the life of any child who realizes that he is a sinner and opens his heart to Jesus as his Savior.
How can we be involved in bringing children to Jesus? There are many ways, but let me mention two.
These parents had to believe in Jesus personally in order to bring their children to Him. They would have had to buck the local chapter of Pharisees, who would have hindered them. But these fathers and mothers had enough personal faith to bring their children to receive this blessing from Jesus.
Someone once asked Albert Schweitzer how children learn. He replied, “Three ways. By example, by example, and by example.” Children read our lives, not our lectures. That is not to disparage verbal instruction in the things of God. The Bible clearly puts the responsibility for spiritual training in the home on fathers. We must teach our children how to know Christ and walk daily with Him. We should read the Bible and pray with our families often. This requires turning off the tube long enough to get the family together for a few minutes of spiritual instruction!
But, in addition to verbal teaching, our lives must back up our words. Nothing will drive a child away from the faith faster than hypocrisy. I’m not talking about perfection, but reality with Christ. When we sin against our families, we should ask forgiveness. Our daily lives should manifest the fruit of the Spirit in our homes.
Let me be blunt: If you’re not serving the Lord in some capacity, you are too self-focused. God did not save you so that you could pursue a selfishly happy life. He saved you to serve in His kingdom. Although it is not always easy, and you don’t always see instant results, there is no more gratifying way to serve than to be involved with children. We usually do not have a waiting list for Sunday School, Children’s Church, and nursery workers! We also have Boy’s Brigade and Pioneer Girls on Sunday evenings. Our kids need men, not just women, as teachers and role models. Even with our toddlers, kids need to have men who will show them the gentle love of Jesus by playing with them and teaching them Bible stories. Many kids do not have their natural fathers living with them. You have the opportunity of showing these kids that “real men love Jesus,” as the bumper sticker says.
Before I leave this first point, I must disagree with Calvin (and many other usually fine expositors) who use this text to argue for infant baptism. There is not a drop of water in the passage. As Spurgeon puts it, “I might as well prove vaccination from the text” as infant baptism (“Children Brought to Christ, Not to the Font,” Spurgeon’s Sermons [Baker], 8:40-41).
According to the New Testament, baptism follows saving faith in Christ as a public testimony of that faith. I believe that infant baptism is potentially damaging, because it gives a false sense of assurance to people who need to repent and believe in Christ. They think that since they were baptized, they will go to heaven, which is patently false. Personal faith in Jesus Christ is the only thing that saves.
The text does provide warrant for publicly dedicating children to Christ and for leading them to personal faith in Christ when they’re old enough to understand. The word “babies” (18:15) generally refers to infants, but it can also refer to those old enough to understand teaching from the Bible (2 Tim. 3:15). The fact that Jesus here calls for the children shows that some were old enough to walk on their own. The parallel in Mark 10:16 shows that the purpose of bringing the children to Jesus was that He might lay His hands on them and bless them, not to baptize them.
The disciples were good men. They meant well. They probably thought that Jesus was too busy to deal with these children and that He had more important things to focus on. But they were wrong. If we’re not careful, like the disciples, we can hinder children from coming to Jesus. I’ve already mentioned hypocrisy as a way that we hinder our children. Let me add two more:
This was no doubt behind the disciples’ actions. I’m sure that they liked kids, but they didn’t think of them as being important. Jesus did. He saw them as important enough to stop whatever He was doing and to welcome them into His arms.
Evangelist Luis Palau tells of an incident during a crusade in Bolivia years ago when his day started with a breakfast where he shared Christ with a number of top government officials. He was looking forward to a luncheon with the Bolivian President. At mid-morning, he was in the middle of a press conference in his hotel room when there was a knock on the door. A team member walked in with a small Bolivian girl, about eleven, who had seen Palau on TV and was anxious to talk to him.
Palau felt a bit irritated with the team member for bringing her into his room at a time like that, but he greeted the girl, picked up a book, signed it, and gave it to her. “Lord bless you, sweetheart,” he said, as he began leading her to the door. She took two steps, looked back, and said confidently, “But Mr. Palau, I really wanted to receive Christ into my heart.” Luis was caught up short. He dismissed the newsmen, sat down, and led that little girl to Jesus. Later that day he led the president of Bolivia to Christ. Both appointments were significant.
This point does not come from our text and I wish I didn’t have to mention it. But the sad fact is, even many professing Christians abuse their children. The Bible clearly forbids abusive speech (Col. 3:8) and commands us to use words that build up and encourage (Eph. 4:29). To scream in anger at a child, to call him names, or to use sarcasm and put-downs, is to sin. If you do such things, you need to repent and seek your child’s forgiveness.
The Bible teaches that there is a proper place for spanking, but it is always sin to hit a child when you are not in control of your anger. We should never beat a child or to hit him in the face. A spanking should bring correction of rebellious behavior, not be a vent for a parent’s anger. And, of course, there is never, ever a reason for sexual abuse! Christian fathers must never touch their daughters in inappropriate ways. Remember what Jesus said, that it’s better to have a millstone tied around your neck and be thrown into the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble (17:2)!
These parents brought their children to Jesus so that He could touch them. Mark 10:16 says that Jesus took them into His arms and blessed them. The children felt comfortable with Jesus and Jesus felt comfortable with the children. Kids read your attitude, whether you like them or whether you think that they’re a bother. By the warmth of our smile, the kindness in our eyes, and by appropriate touch, we open children’s hearts toward the things of God that we need to teach them.
As you know, I put a premium on sound doctrine. But if you teach sound doctrine to children with a stern or gruff manner, you might as well be teaching false doctrine, because the children probably will not accept it. If you teach Sunday School, by all means teach sound doctrine, but do it in such a way that the children feel good about God and about being in church. I realize that sometimes you must correct a disruptive child. But even then, the child needs to know that you are correcting him because you love him and want God’s best for him.
The same thing applies in our homes. If we emphasize the rules and enforce strict discipline for any infraction, but our kids don’t feel as if we love them and like them, they will be prone to rebel. The love of God in Christ is the biggest motivation to obey Him (Gal. 2:20). If our children feel our love, they will be motivated to obey us. If all they feel is our anger and that they are a bother, they will not receive our instruction.
Whenever Jesus says, “Truly I say to you,” He means, “Listen up, this is important!” By receiving the kingdom, Jesus means welcoming the kingdom by receiving the King. As we’ve seen, there is both a present and a future sense to God’s kingdom. In the present, we enter the kingdom when we trust in Christ as Savior and Lord. In the future, we will live in His kingdom when He returns to reign on the throne of David over all the earth.
The disciples thought, “Children cannot come into the kingdom until they are grown ups.” Jesus says, “Grown ups cannot come into the kingdom until they become like children.” He is mainly referring to the fact that children are marked by receptive, simple trust, especially of their parents. Your kids will receive a gift that you offer them. If you offer your child an ice cream cone, he doesn’t say, “I don’t believe in ice cream.” He doesn’t say, “What’s the catch?” He doesn’t wonder if you might be poisoning him. He doesn’t worry about the lack of nutrition or the fact that it may cause cavities. He doesn’t feel like he has to pay you back. Your child trusts you and he instantly receives your gift and enjoys it.
Adults aren’t that way. We’re too proud or too skeptical to accept gifts. If someone gives us a gift, we feel uncomfortable unless we can even the score. Or, we wonder, “What’s the catch? Nothing is absolutely free!”
The gospel is! God provides everything, all we can do is receive it in simple faith, just as children trustingly receive a gift from their parents. You can’t offer to pay God back. You can only trust Him as a loving Father and receive the gift of eternal life that He provides through Jesus Christ. Learn from children how to come to Christ.
Just as Jesus called these children to Himself, He calls sinners to come unto Him. You may think, “Unlike these cute little kids, my life isn’t so cute. I’ve really messed up! I’ve sinned terribly against God.” But as we’ve seen throughout Luke, Jesus welcomed sinners who would repent and trust in Him. He called Levi, the greedy, despicable tax collector to follow Him (5:27). He told the immoral woman who anointed Him, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (7:50). Isaiah (42:3) prophesied of Messiah, “A bruised reed He will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not extinguish.” Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls” (Matt. 11:28-29). Come to Jesus as a little child, trusting in Him to forgive your sins. He will welcome you as He did these children.
Luke wants us to see that …
We must come to Jesus in childlike faith and we must help our children to do the same.
I read about a missionary to Africa back in the 1950’s who was appalled when she saw the native children at recess not run and play, but rather hunt mice and grasshoppers. They would impale them on a stick and roast and eat them. When she inquired as to why the children were so hungry, she found out that in that culture, the men ate their fill first, followed by the women. If anything was left, the children could eat. The children were considered the least important in that society.
How unlike Jesus! He considered children important enough to give them His time and individual blessing. He wants us to learn from children what it means to believe in Him. He wants us to lead children to faith in Him. I pray that if you have never done so, you will come in simple faith to Jesus as your Savior. I pray that many of you will commit yourselves to the important task of leading children to Christ. You will be doing a work that our Savior Himself counted important.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
If Jesus had taken an evangelism training course, He would have dealt differently with the rich young ruler. From an evangelist’s point of view, this guy was a piece of cake. His eagerness is evident from the fact that (Mark 10:17 reports) he ran, not walked, up to Jesus. He even knelt down before Jesus, right in front of others, and asked, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus didn’t even have to figure out how to turn the conversation to spiritual things! What an opportunity! Shouldn’t be too hard to get a decision!
And the man was a choice prospect. Matthew tells us that he was young. He still had most of his adult life ahead of him. He was a ruler (Luke 18:18). The term is not specific, but it points to someone in a position of authority, either in the religious or civil community. He was in a place of influence in spite of his youthfulness. And, he was extremely rich (Luke 18:23). With just a tithe, he could have bankrolled Jesus’ mission for years to come. What a key person! But Jesus let him walk away unconverted.
Not only that, but the man was from a good background. He didn’t have any serious problems to overcome—no drugs or alcohol, no history of trouble with the law. From his youth, he had tried to keep the Ten Commandments, and he had done a pretty good job of it. He was a fine young man, the kind that any church would lift up as an example. It shouldn’t take much to lead this man to Christ. But Jesus seemed to take the wrong approach!
Anyone with a little bit of training knows that when a person asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” the right answer is, “You don’t have to do anything. Eternal life is completely free! Just believe in Jesus and receive God’s free gift!” Then you lead him in prayer to receive Christ, give him assurance of salvation, and rejoice that another name has been added to the Book of Life!
The one thing you would never do with such an evangelistic prospect is to tell him to keep the Ten Commandments as the way to gain eternal life. We all know that obeying the commandments won’t get anyone into heaven. And yet that is precisely what Jesus did! When the guy replies that he has done that, Jesus then brings up the subject of money and tells him to give away everything—not a tenth, but the whole works—and then he will have eternal life. We won’t even bring up the subject of money in the first ten follow-up appointments, but here Jesus brings it up with an evangelistic contact and tells him that if he gave it all away, he would go to heaven! Jesus really could have used some training in how to share His faith!
There’s another possibility, of course. If it seems to us that Jesus blew a choice opportunity and that He did not share the gospel clearly with this eager young man (if it had been anyone other than Jesus who had taken this approach, we all would say that he blew it), then perhaps Jesus has something to teach us about the gospel message and how to share it. In particular, He teaches us how to share the gospel with good people—those who believe in God and have lived decent lives. There are three main lessons:
This man believed in God and was zealous for spiritual things. He was a sincere, moral young man who was trying his best to please God. But he was lacking eternal life. He was good, but he was lost.
I encounter people like this all the time—decent, moral people. Often they have been raised in the church. Their parents have taught them right from wrong. They hold responsible jobs, pay their taxes, obey the law, are faithful to their marriages, attend church, and even give to the church. They give their time to service clubs and to wholesome youth activities, like Scouts and coaching sports teams. They’re good people, the kind that you would want for neighbors.
But even though they are good, they do not have eternal life. They lack treasure in heaven (18:22). They have not entered the kingdom of God (18:24, 25). They are not saved (18:26). All of these terms in the text point to the same thing, namely, being rightly related to God in the present so as to spend eternity with Him in heaven after death. As this story makes evident, it is not enough to be a very good person. Even good people need salvation because they are not good enough. It raises the important question, “What must a good person do to be saved?”
When I say “good person,” I am referring not only to those whom others would label as good, but also to those who view themselves as good. Most people flatter themselves by thinking that they are on the upward side of the goodness curve. Satan has blinded us to the enormity of our sin in God’s sight. And, we all compare ourselves with those who are worse sinners than we are, not with those who are better. I read about a portly fellow who put his beer, wine, cigars, and an “adult” magazine on the counter. As the checker rang up the total, the man suddenly dropped a candy bar in front of her. “I almost forgot,” he said guiltily. “My one vice.” (Reader’s Digest [7/88], p. 36).
So if you are inclined to think of yourself as a basically good person, this message is for you. The first thing it shows you is that you need the salvation that the Bible talks about because you are not good enough for heaven. No one is. God’s Word states, “There is none righteous, not even one” (Rom. 3:10). Even the best people need salvation. So, how are good people saved?
Jesus shocked the disciples (Mark 10:24, 26) by saying as this young man walked away (Luke 18:24), “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” The disciples and most Jews thought that wealth was a sign of God’s blessing. But Jesus says that it is a definite spiritual hindrance or danger. He continues, “For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Contrary to popular belief, He was not referring to a low gate in the wall of Jerusalem where a camel had to get down on its knees to enter. He was referring to a camel going through the eye of a needle. In other words, He is saying that salvation for a rich man is not just difficult; it’s impossible. The stunned disciples ask, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus confirms what they’re thinking: “It is impossible with men.” No one can be good enough to be saved.
The story brings out three reasons why salvation by human goodness is impossible:
The young man addressed Jesus as “Good Teacher.” This was an unusual way to address a Jewish teacher and it bordered on flattery. Jesus challenged him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone” (18:19). Cultists and critics jump on this statement to say that Jesus was denying His own deity. But they miss the point. If Jesus were not God in human flesh, to tell this man to sell everything and follow Him would be on the par of a Jim Jones type of cult leader! But Jesus’ point was not to make a statement about Himself, but rather to challenge the young man’s superficial use of the word “good.” He was using “good” like we use the word “love.” We say, “I love pizza” or “I love my dog” in the same breath as “I love my wife,” and then “I love Jesus.” In so doing, we cheapen the meaning of the word, especially when applied to Jesus. That’s why Jesus took him to task.
The man would have agreed that God is good, in fact, better than any human being. He also called Jesus good, and he probably would have said that Jesus was an exceptionally good man. But if you had asked, he also would have called himself a good man. He kept the commandments. He wasn’t a sinner, like the publicans and prostitutes. He was a good man seeking to learn from another good man what else he could do to inherit eternal life.
Many commentators say that Jesus was telling the young man that he ought not call Jesus good unless he was prepared to affirm that He is God. But that is probably too subtle a refinement. Rather, Jesus was pointing out the fact that God and His absolute goodness were much higher than he realized. As B. B. Warfield sums it up, “Jesus’ concern here is not to glorify Himself, but God: it is not to give any instruction concerning His own person whatever, but to indicate the published will of God as the sole and the perfect prescription for the pleasing of God” (The Person and Work of Christ [Presbyterian and Reformed}, p. 185).
Thus the man needed to see that God in His awesome holiness and absolute perfection is the minimum level of goodness necessary to inherit eternal life. As Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt. 5:48). Or, as Isaiah pointed out (64:6, NIV), “all our righteous acts are like filthy rags” in God’s sight. The young man’s flippant use of the word “good” showed that he did not grasp the absolute goodness of God that is necessary to be in His presence in heaven for all eternity. Salvation by human goodness is impossible because it can never compare to God’s goodness.
The difference between this point and the previous one is that there the focus was on God’s nature as holy, whereas here the focus is on God’s Law as the expression of His holiness toward the human race. The young man asks what he can do to gain eternal life and so Jesus responds, “Keep the Ten Commandments.” Jesus mentions the second table, which contains commandments that focus on our duty to our fellow man, because these commands are somewhat outward and observable. If a person could keep all of God’s commandments for all of his life, not only outwardly but on the thought level (as Jesus explains in the Sermon on the Mount), then he would merit eternal life (Lev. 18:5).
The man claims to have done all these things from his youth up. Jesus easily could have challenged him on this answer. As J. C. Ryle exclaims, “An answer more full of darkness and self-ignorance it is impossible to conceive! He who made it could have known nothing rightly, either about himself, or God, or God’s law” (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], 3:271). But Jesus let his answer go by and pressed on to the man’s chief problem: “One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess, and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me” (18:22).
Why did Jesus lay this requirement on this man? If it were a universal requirement for salvation, Jesus would have put the same demand on Zaccheus, but He did not (19:1-10). There are several views, but I believe that Jesus was using the Law as a tutor to convict the man of his sin (Gal. 3:24). The man claimed to keep all of the commandments, but Jesus is saying, in effect, “You don’t keep the first half of the commandments, to love God with all your heart, because your money is your god. You’re an idolater. And, you don’t keep the second half, to love your neighbor as yourself, because you are unwilling to give generously to the poor.” If he had looked beneath the surface of his good deeds, the man would have been terrified of the requirement of God’s holy Law, in that he was violating it all! Leon Morris observes, “When a man takes seriously the requirements of the law he is on the way to coming to Christ” (Luke [IVP/Eerdmans], p. 267).
In our attempts to share the gospel, we are often too quick to share the good news before people feel the awful weight of the bad news. When we are talking with a person who trusts in his own goodness to get him into heaven, we need to emphasize the holy Law of God which the person has violated, even though he is blind to that fact. The Bible says that to keep the whole law, but to violate it in one point, is to be guilty of it all (James 2:10). You can live a perfect life, but if you sin just once, you are disqualified from heaven, because God will not allow any unpardoned sinner into heaven. He must punish all sin in order to be just.
If you were driving too fast and got a ticket, you could tell the judge, “But I’ve never murdered anyone,” and it would not get you off. You could say, “I’ve never robbed a bank. I’ve always paid my taxes. I go to church.” It wouldn’t matter. You broke the law and the judge will impose the penalty.
Or, suppose that you went to buy a new mirror and the clerk tried to sell you one with a crack in it. He says, “It’s just a small crack. The rest of the mirror is just fine.” Sorry! One crack makes a broken mirror. One sin makes a sinner and law-breaker. And we all have sinned, not just once, but repeatedly all of our lives.
People who think that they’re good enough to qualify for heaven need to hold their behavior, including their thoughts, up to the standard of God’s holy Law. They need to feel, as Spurgeon put it, the rope around their necks, that they stand guilty and condemned before God. One reason that we see so many superficial professions of faith in our day is that we do not use the Law as Jesus did, to convict people of how far short they have fallen from God’s perfect standard.
Thus salvation by human goodness is impossible because it can never compare with God’s goodness and it always falls short of God’s holy Law.
This man was sincere in thinking that he had kept the commandments, but he was sincerely wrong! He was deceiving himself because he was not looking at things on the heart level as God does. You can sincerely believe that you are well, but if you have some internal disease that is killing you, your sincerity does not matter. You must deal with your true condition or you will die. Sincerity is not enough; we must believe God’s diagnosis about the wickedness of the human heart.
This man thought that he had it pretty well together. He just needed to do another thing or two to nail down eternal life. But Jesus sought to show him that in his heart, he was an idolater. He worshipped his money more than God.
The Bible repeatedly warns us about the danger of money. In the parable of the sower, the thorns that choked out the word represent “worries and riches and the pleasures of this life” (Luke 8:14). In the parable of the rich fool, Jesus described a man who had plenty of goods stored up, but he had neglected his soul (12:16-21). Paul warned that “those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction” (1 Tim. 6:9). Money is like a loaded gun. It can be a useful thing if you’re careful with it. But, at all times it is a dangerous thing that you must treat with caution. Like guns, money can only be handled by sinners. It can lull us into thinking that all is well because we live comfortably, but we forget that eternity is a heartbeat away. If you protest that money is no problem for you, I would say that you do not see your heart as God sees it. Even those who are generous with their money may deceive themselves into thinking that because they give away so much, God will overlook their sin.
But no one can get into heaven by his own goodness. Good people must abandon trusting in their own goodness if they want to get right with God. Salvation by human goodness is impossible.
This man lacked one thing (18:22), but in lacking that one thing, he lacked everything. What was that one thing? He needed to sell everything, give the money away, and come follow Jesus. What? Did Jesus mean that he could earn salvation by doing this one thing? If so, this would be the first and only man in history of whom that was true. Scripture is uniformly clear that salvation is by grace through faith apart from works (Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5).
So why did Jesus lay this heavy requirement on this man? He did it because a man cannot cling to his idols and genuinely trust in Christ for salvation at the same time. Saving faith is inseparable from repentance, which means, turning from our sins. Mark 1:15 sums up Jesus’ message: “Repent and believe in the gospel.” Repentance loosens our grasp on our sin; faith lays hold of God for deliverance. Repentance and saving faith always go together.
Jesus was telling this rich young ruler what He taught elsewhere, that if your hand or foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. If you don’t, you will go to hell (see Matt. 5:29-30; Mark 9:43-50). In other words, sin condemns us. We must repent of it or it will drag us down to hell. You can’t cling to your sin with one hand and to the cross of Christ with the other.
Picture a man in an upper story of a burning high-rise apartment. This has been his home and he loves it. But the building is on fire and if he wants to save his life, he must give it up. If he clings to his things, he will die in the smoke and flames. Repentance is his turning from those things to the open window. Faith is his jumping out the window into the safety net which the firemen have spread below. Both are necessary for him to be saved.
As Jesus makes plain here, no man can save himself; but, “the things impossible with men are possible with God” (18:27). This means that we dare not trust in our repentance to save us. We dare not trust in our trust to save us. We can only trust in God to save us. Salvation is totally God’s doing, not at all our doing. We must cast ourselves totally on Him, not trusting at all in ourselves. Thus,
Good people are saved by abandoning trust in their own goodness, by turning from their sin and trusting in God alone to save them.
In 1882, C. H. Spurgeon wrote something that precisely fits our times as well (exact source unknown):
A very great portion of modern revivalism has been more a curse than a blessing, because it has led thousands to a kind of peace before they have known their misery; restoring the prodigal to the Father’s house, and never making him say, ‘Father, I have sinned.’ How can he be healed who is not sick, or he be satisfied with the bread of life who is not hungry? The old-fashioned sense of sin is despised…. Everything in this age is shallow…. The consequence is that men leap into religion, and then leap out again. Unhumbled they came to the church, unhumbled they remained in it, and unhumbled they go from it.
Perhaps I am speaking to some good people today. You’ve assumed that your good deeds will get you into heaven. But you must see that your own goodness can never save you. You must further see the awful sins of your heart as God sees them. Perhaps there is one sin that you refuse to let go. The Lord is saying, “Let it go! Sell all that you possess, and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” Turn from your sin and trust in Christ alone who can save. Even though this rich young ruler went away sorrowful and unsaved, Jesus knew what He was doing as an evangelist. I pray your response will not be like that of this young man.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Have you ever asked yourself, “Is it really worth it to follow Christ?” Have you ever compared what you get with what those in the world get? You look around and see people devoting their lives to the pleasures of this world. Often they seem to be having a pretty good time. They live well. They have plenty of money. They take nice vacations. They drive new cars. They have all sorts of expensive toys. You look at them and think, “If I were not a Christian, I could have some of those things. I wouldn’t have to give a large portion of my income to the Lord’s work. I would have my weekends free to pursue whatever I wanted to do. Is it really worth it to follow Christ?”
If you’ve not asked that question, it may say something of your Christian commitment, namely, that you are not sacrificing much to follow Christ. I read recently that George Barna did a survey of 152 separate items comparing the lost world and the churches, and he said that there is virtually no difference between the two as to how we live.
Christ calls His followers to turn from sin and the pursuit of the things of this world. He said, “No one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions” (Luke 14:33). We cannot love the things of the world and God at the same time (1 John 2:15). These verses (and others like them) are not written as options for the super-committed. They are requirements for all who follow Christ. But even those of us who seek to follow Him fully will face times when we wonder, “Am I making a mistake to give up all this to follow Christ?”
Our text records a time when Peter was looking for some reassurance concerning his commitment to Christ. The disciples had just heard Jesus tell the rich young ruler to sell everything, give the money to the poor, and follow Him, and he would have treasures in heaven (18:22). After watching the man walk away sorrowful and hearing Jesus comment on how hard it is for the rich to be saved, Peter chimed in, “Behold, we [emphatic in Greek, meaning we in contrast to him] have left our own homes, and followed You.” Matthew 19:26 records that he also asked, “What then will there be for us?” He was wondering, “What do we get for following Christ? Is it really worth it to make the sacrifices we’re making? Or, are we fools to give up everything to follow Christ?”
Our gracious Lord did not rebuke Peter. He knew that Peter needed some assurance. And, no doubt He knew that all of us who have given up the pursuit of worldly things to follow Him need frequent assurance. Just as the devil tempted Jesus with all the kingdoms of this world, so he repeatedly sets in front of us those who are enjoying this world’s pleasures and says, “Follow me and you can have all this, too!” We need to be reminded that …
To follow Christ, you must forsake all for Him, but you get blessings for time and eternity, along with trials in this life.
Jesus plainly lays out the cost of following Him, the blessings that follow, and the difficulties we will inevitably encounter in the process. First, the cost:
Peter’s words, “Behold, we have left our own things [lit.] and followed You” refer back to Jesus’ words to the rich young ruler (18:22), “Sell all that you possess, and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” The twelve had done what the young man refused to do. They had given up their jobs and even had left their families for a time in order to follow Christ.
This raises a thorny problem, namely, does Jesus require this literally for everyone? Must everyone give up all his possessions? Must everyone leave family to seek first God’s kingdom? If so, there are few who follow Jesus. But if not, then what does He mean? If we say that Jesus’ words only mean that we must be willing to forsake all, everyone thinks, “Whew, I’m willing, but I really don’t have to do it!” And, we go on living just as we had before. But, clearly, there must be some drastic changes in how we live when we follow Jesus. So, what does it mean to forsake all to follow Christ? It means at least three things:
For the rich young ruler, his gold had become his god. It was his idol, and he had to let it go in order to trust in Christ for eternal life. The love of the things of this world is an idol for many who profess to know Christ. We like those things. We spend our lives collecting things. We accumulate so much stuff that we have to build bigger barns (we call them garages) to store it in. But in light of eternity, no earthly possession will really matter.
Others cling to other sins: sensuality, immorality, selfish quarrels, bitterness, anger, self-centeredness. Paul lists the deeds of the flesh and then warns, “Those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal. 5:21). We cannot cling to known sin and claim to be following Christ at the same time. He demands our exclusive commitment.
It means giving God a blank check with my life and letting Him fill in the amount. It means enthroning Christ as the rightful Lord of everything I am and have. I first did this when I was in college, but I’ve had to renew the commitment at various points along the way. In college, I reasoned, “If God really loves me and knows what is best for me, then the only smart thing for me to do is to yield myself completely to Him and His will.” I really didn’t want to go to the jungles as a missionary, but I figured that if God wanted me to live in the jungles, I would be miserable living in the city. So I handed God the blank check.
When I got out of seminary and was seeking God’s will, I wasn’t so sure about being a pastor. But I couldn’t shake off the verse, “I will build My church.” I realized that Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her. So I said, “Okay, Lord, I’m willing to be a pastor if that’s what You want for me.”
The next thing I heard about was a church in Churubusco, Indiana that needed a pastor. If you love northeastern Indiana, please don’t take offense, but it isn’t high on my list of desirable places to live! But I told Marla, “If that’s where God wants us, then we wouldn’t be happy to be in California,” where we wanted to be. So I told the church there to send me the information. It never came in the mail, and meanwhile, some opportunities in California came along, including the church where I eventually served for 15 years. The Lord just wanted me to be willing to go wherever He wanted me. That has happened several other times since then.
Seeking first His kingdom means committing yourself to whatever God wants you to do with your life. Have you given Him the blank check? Remember, if you delight yourself in the Lord, He will give you the desires of your heart (Ps. 37:4). Sometimes He grants your desires; at other times, He changes your desires to match His desires. But, you can trust the loving Father to do what is best when you give yourself fully to His cause.
Before I leave this point, I want to comment on forsaking family relationships to follow Christ. Some, such as missionary greats C. T. Studd and David Livingstone in the past century, and Bob Pierce, the founder of World Vision in this century, have literally left their wives and children for the sake of the gospel. Pierce used to say that he had an agreement with God, that he would take care of God’s helpless lambs overseas if God would take care of his back home. But, tragically, his oldest daughter committed suicide and his wife and other children had severe emotional problems stemming from his neglect. On the other side, some have refused to go to the mission field because of potential damage to their children. We have to ask, “Where is the biblical balance?”
Each person has to wrestle with this honestly before the Lord, and the answer may vary between families. For me, it would be wrong to take on the responsibilities of marriage and family and then take on a ministry that requires me to be gone from my family for large blocks of time. I question whether it is necessary to the success of God’s kingdom to trot around the globe while my children are young. Many pastors in the U.S. are out every night “doing the Lord’s work,” but their children feel neglected and unloved because their dad is never home. But if I do not manage my own household well, which includes loving and training my children, then I am not qualified to be a church leader (1 Tim. 3:4).
If I were called to serve overseas, I would insist on my children living with me during their younger years, and not being sent off to mission boarding school. If my wife had to cut back on mission work to home school the children, so be it. God has given the task of rearing children to parents, not to mission boarding schools. I think that to abandon our family responsibilities to serve the Lord is a tragic misapplication of Jesus’ words here.
But we can go too far in the other direction, making an idol out of our families. If we push our children to succeed financially as the main thing in life or if we don’t want them to go into missions because they will move far away from us, then we’re being selfish and worldly. We emphasized missions with our children from the time that they were toddlers. We realized then that the result might be that someday they would move to another continent to serve Christ. We must be willing to be separated from our children and grandchildren for Christ’s sake. That’s the cost of forsaking all and committing myself to do what God wants with my life and of encouraging my children to do the same. But if we cling selfishly to our children, we will ultimately lose far more than if we release them into Christ’s service.
Here I’m focusing on the positive, of what it means to follow Christ. To follow Christ means to walk daily in fellowship with the gracious Savior who loved me and gave Himself for me. It means to know the living God and to have the joy of using my life for His kingdom. In other words, focus on the joy of knowing Christ and serving Him, not on the so-called sacrifices that you must make.
When I got married, I gave up my independence. I also incurred a lot of bills that I never had when I was single. When we had kids, I lost even more of my free time and I got hit with even more bills! But I rarely ever think of those sacrifices. In fact, I wouldn’t even call them sacrifices. I wouldn’t dream of trading being married and having children for the freedom from bills and the free time it would gain me. Why not? Because I enjoy the relationships with my wife and children far above any so-called sacrifices that those relationships cost me.
That’s how it should be with the Lord. Walk in daily fellowship with Him, and you hardly think of what you have given up. The pleasures of this world pale in comparison with the pleasure of knowing the Savior. The sacrifices of time, money, and hardship that you encounter in serving Christ are nothing compared with the joy of knowing Him. That leads us to the blessings:
The motivation for following Christ should not be just to get the benefits. We follow Him because He is who He claimed to be, the Savior and Messiah. But He graciously reassures us by telling us of the promised benefits.
If you give up anything for Christ, He promises that you will receive many times (Mark 10:30 says 100 times) as much at this time. If I could offer you an investment that is guaranteed to make you 100 percent, you would jump at it! But Jesus offers you an investment that pays 10,000 percent in this life, backed by the bank of heaven! Everyone who forsakes all to follow Christ is grossly overpaid! How can you refuse such an offer?
If you give up your house to follow Jesus, He gives you hundreds of homes, all around the world. You may give up your family ties, but He puts you into His worldwide family, with brothers and sisters all over the globe. Next month, Marla and I are going to the Czech Republic to minister. A man whom we have never met has already emailed me and told me that he will meet us at the airport and that we can stay with him and his wife in Prague. We’ve got family in the Czech Republic, and I’m sure that we’ll meet more family members once we’re there!
When you give sacrificially to the Lord’s work, He promises to add to your account all the things that the Gentiles seek (Matt. 6:33). Why don’t we do it? Sometimes, it is because we’re sloppy managers of God’s resources. But often, we’re afraid to give generously because we fear that God won’t take care of us.
A pastor challenged a young man to start giving regularly and generously to the Lord’s work. The young man hesitated, afraid that he couldn’t pay his bills if he did. The pastor finally said, “Listen, could you give in the way I’ve described if I promised to make up the difference each month out of my pocket if you fell short?” The young man thought a moment and then said, “Yes, I guess I could do it if you’d promise to make up the difference.”
The pastor replied, “How about that! You’d trust me, a poor pastor with not much in the bank, to meet your bills, but you can’t trust the Lord who owns the universe to meet your bills if you obey Him by giving generously!” If we forsake everything and go all out for the Lord, He promises to meet our needs. Alexander Maclaren observed, “The present world yields its full riches only to the man who surrenders all to Jesus” (Expositions of Holy Scripture [Baker], 9:144). As Paul said, we have nothing, yet we possess all things (2 Cor. 6:10).
Jesus says that in the age to come, we get eternal life. That is far more than living forever. It means living in the presence of God in His glory and with His angels and His saints, with no sin or suffering to mar the experience. I don’t know exactly what heaven will be like, but I believe that God gives us the descriptions of golden streets and the jeweled city and the river of life running through it to say, “Trust Me, it’s far better than you can ever imagine.”
But there’s the rub: We have to trust Him! We have to believe that His promises are true. We have to let go of treasures on earth and put all our eggs in the heaven basket. Jesus’ promise to the rich young ruler is His promise to you: you will have treasure in heaven if you forsake all to follow Him. But, that’s not all.
In Mark’s account, Jesus casually throws in persecutions in the same sentence with all of the blessings. But I’m deriving this point in Luke’s account from Jesus’ announcement of His death and the disciples’ resulting confusion (18:31-34).
This is Jesus’ sixth mention of His impending death in Luke (9:22; 9:44-45; 12:49-50; 13:32-33; 17:25; seventh if you count the veiled reference in 5:35; see also 2:35; 9:31). This is the first reference to the Gentiles’ role in the crucifixion. Jesus specifically mentions how they will mock Him, mistreat Him, and spit upon Him. Then they will scourge and kill Him, but He will rise again on the third day. If they so despised and persecuted the Lord, we can expect similar treatment (John 15:20). Matthew Henry points out that we get into trouble because we read our Bibles by halves, looking for the glories of Christ and the Christian life, but not for the sufferings. But we must expect hardship and suffering, because our Lord Himself went through the same and He warned us of what we will encounter. Paul says, “All who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Tim. 3:12).
Not only would the disciples face the sorrow of watching Christ die and then face persecution themselves, they also wrestled with confusion in response to Jesus’ announcement. They did not comprehend what He was saying. I’m sure that they understood the words, but they must have figured that He was speaking spiritually, not literally. From one perspective, it was hidden from them. God closed their minds so that they could not comprehend what Jesus was saying. Why would He do that? In His sovereign wisdom, He knows what we can handle and when we can handle it. As it turned out, the disciples’ dullness regarding Christ’s death and resurrection furnished additional proof of it to the church. As Alfred Plummer observes, “The theory that they believed, because they expected that He would rise again, is against all the evidence” (The Gospel According to St. Luke [Charles Scribner’s Sons], p. 429).
From the disciples’ side, the reason they could not comprehend Jesus’ words was their own expectations. They so strongly expected that the Messiah would be a political Savior who would set up His earthly kingdom that they could not conceive of a suffering Savior. Often our own spiritual preconceptions prevent us from seeing the truth as revealed in God’s Word. But the point is, when we follow Christ, we will go through times of confusion and disappointment, when things just don’t seem to make sense. We will stake everything on one of God’s promises, but then our plan seems to get crucified and we don’t get it. That’s when we have to go back to the basics and trust God even though we do not understand Him.
If you’ve been tracking with me, you have figured out that although there are many blessings in this life when we forsake all to follow Jesus, the real payoff is in eternity. “If we have hoped in Christ in this life only, we are of all men most to be pitied” (1 Cor. 15:19). So how can we know for sure that the eternal rewards will really be there and that they are worth the sacrifices of following Christ now?
Three ways: First, you can trust the truthfulness of Jesus’ promises because of His authority. He says, “Truly I say to you” (18:29). When Jesus says anything, it’s true; but when He says, “Truly I say to you,” you know for sure that it’s true! Either you have to call Jesus deceived or a deceiver, or what He promised about the blessings for those who follow Him is true.
Second, you can trust the truthfulness of Jesus’ promises because of the prophetic Word. Although evil men put Him to death and they are responsible for their great sin, they were only fulfilling “all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man” (18:31; see Acts 2:23; 4:27-28). God’s Word predicted Jesus’ death in detail centuries before it happened (see Psalm 22; Isaiah 53). Jesus’ own predictions of His death were exactly fulfilled. The certainty of God’s prophetic Word assures us that history will culminate exactly as He predicts and that heaven will be all that He has promised.
Third, you can trust the truthfulness of Jesus’ promises because of His resurrection. He arose on the third day, just as He predicted He would. As a result, the confused and fearful disciples were transformed into confident, bold witnesses, willing to give their very lives for the gospel.
Darrell Bock (Luke [Baker], 2:1492) observes, “The passage asks readers to reflect on their choices. Do they rely on themselves and their possessions or do they trust God?” I would add, do we have one foot in the world, just in case, or are we willing to forsake everything to follow Jesus? When we do, we get both blessings and trials in this life, but we will have the joy of eternal life with Him in the age to come. You’ll never regret forsaking everything else to follow Jesus!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
God often uses the most simple and unlikely people to teach us the most profound spiritual lessons. Years ago, when I lived in Seal Beach, California, there was a young man whom everyone called “Seal Beach James.” James was mentally impaired, but he knew Christ as his Savior. He couldn’t drive, but he would often ride his bike to the beach and talk to people about Christ. He had a basket on his bike that he would fill with gospel tracts. He had no fear. He would walk up to the tanned, muscular beach bums playing volleyball and ask, “Do you know the Lord Jesus Christ?” Surprisingly, they would often stop and listen.
James’ mother did not know Christ. If you were at a gathering with James, he would call his mother and if you walked by he would say to her, “Here is Steve Cole and he is going to tell you about the Lord Jesus Christ.” He’d hand you the phone and you were on! Sad to say, his mother, who had normal intelligence, never learned from her mentally impaired son. She died without trusting in the Savior.
In our text, a blind beggar teaches us some important lessons about faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Mark tells us that his name was Bartimaeus. Matthew tells us that actually there were two blind beggars healed that day, but Mark and Luke only mention one. They do not say that there was only one. They merely focus on the man who was the more vocal and memorable of the two.
There is another harmonistic problem. Matthew and Mark both report that the incident took place as Jesus was going out of Jericho, but Luke states that it happened as Jesus was approaching Jericho. There have been numerous solutions proposed, but before I mention some of them, let me point out that the variance indicates that Luke was not relying on either Matthew or Mark as his source, or the accounts would line up. Also, we are dealing with eyewitness accounts of what happened. Matthew was there personally; Mark got his story from Peter, who was there; and Luke carefully researched his account from eyewitnesses (Luke 1:1-4). Sometimes, eyewitness accounts of the same event can vary greatly and yet all be true. We may lack sufficient information to piece it all together, but it would be arrogant for us, from our limited perspective, to pronounce that one of the authors was in error.
Here, then, are several proposed solutions. Some say that Jesus was leaving old Jericho and about to enter the rebuilt Jericho when this incident occurred. This view is possible, but the problem is that old Jericho was not inhabited in Jesus’ day, and thus it would be unusual to speak of Jesus leaving the ruins as if He were leaving the city itself.
Others propose that a two-part event was condensed into one account. Bartimaeus cried out as Jesus entered the city, tagged along with the crowd, and eventually was heard by Jesus and healed along with the other beggar as Jesus left the city. Another variation is that Jesus entered and passed through the city when He encountered Zaccheus (19:1). When Zaccheus responded, Jesus turned to go back into the city, at which point He met Bartimaeus. Thus, depending on how you view it, Jesus had left the city or was entering it. Luke merely separates the accounts for his purposes.
However you resolve it, both this story (which is Luke’s last miracle) and the next (about Zaccheus) are examples of how the nation should have responded to her Messiah. Bartimaeus and Zaccheus line up with the publican in Jesus’ parable (18:9-17), who cried out to God for mercy. They stand in contrast to the Pharisee in the parable and the rich young ruler (18:18-27), who both tried to approach God based on their own merit. The Pharisee and the rich young ruler were likely candidates for salvation who missed it because they trusted in themselves and refused to acknowledge their sin. Bartimaeus and Zaccheus were unlikely candidates for salvation who obtained it through faith in God’s mercy, apart from anything in themselves. Thus Luke uses this unlikely blind beggar to teach us that…
When Jesus passes by, we should cry out to Him in faith and He will be merciful to us.
There are three main lessons:
Every day was the same in Bartimaeus’ darkened world. He would get up, grope around for a crust of bread, then take his staff and tap-tap his way from his shack out to his normal spot. When he heard people passing by, he would cry out, “Alms for the blind! Alms for the blind!” Somehow, he eked out enough to survive.
But today was different. A larger than usual crowd was making its way past Bartimaeus. When he asked what was happening, he was told, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” Bartimaeus instantly thought, “Jesus of Nazareth? He’s not just Jesus of Nazareth, a great prophet! He is the Son of David, the Messiah! I’ve heard about His marvelous teaching and how He has healed the sick and raised the dead. And, I’ve heard that He has opened the eyes of the blind!”
Bartimaeus instantly knew that this was his window of opportunity. Jesus was passing by. Soon He would be gone, never to pass that way again. Like a halfback who sees a brief opening in the line, Bartimaeus plunged through. He began to shout at the top of his voice, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those near him said, “Shut up, old man! We can’t hear what Jesus is saying!” He shouted even louder, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” The ones leading the way yelled, “Tell that beggar to be quiet! The Master has more important things to attend to.” But Bartimaeus wouldn’t be silenced. This was his only chance and he wasn’t going to miss it.
Just as Bartimaeus had his opportune moment to cry out to Jesus, and then it would be gone, so it is with you. Today is the day of salvation; you may not have tomorrow! Today you are hearing the Word of God, about a Savior who invites you to come to Him for mercy. Jesus is passing by, and He may never pass so close to you again! He is the only one with the power to open eyes that have been blinded by sin. Call out to Him while He is near!
Bartimaeus knew the business of begging; he wasn’t shy! He cried out for all he was worth, and when people told him to shut up, he yelled all the louder! He kept shouting until he heard that Jesus was calling for him. His bold, persistent faith obtained what he was after. This blind beggar teaches us seven lessons in faith:
The multitude said, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by,” but Bartimaeus didn’t cry out, “Jesus of Nazareth, have mercy on me.” He cried, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” This beggar was blind, but he saw something significant about Jesus: He is the Son of David.
Public opinion about Jesus was sharply divided. Bartimaeus had heard some argue that Jesus was an imposter: “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” they sneered. “Everyone knows that the Christ must be from the offspring of David, born in Bethlehem” (John 7:40-43). But others countered, “Surely, no one could do the miracles that this man does unless he were from God! The deaf hear, the dumb speak, the lame walk, the dead are raised, and the eyes of the blind are opened.”
When he heard this last item, Bartimaeus asked, “Did you say that Jesus opens the eyes of the blind?” “Yes,” they reported, “just recently in Jerusalem He opened the eyes of a man born blind” (John 9). Bartimaeus’ heart leaped with hope as he thought, “This Jesus then really is the Messiah, the Son of David! If only He would come to Jericho and could give me my sight.”
There are two strands of support here that show us that Jesus is the promised Anointed One, the Messiah. First, He was descended from David, in fulfillment of God’s promise to David to set one of his descendants on the throne forever (2 Sam. 7:12-13). Luke has traced this Davidic connection: In 1:27 we learn that Mary was a descendant of David. In 2:4, we learn that Joseph, also, was a descendant of David, and thus the couple went to Bethlehem, the city of David, to pay their taxes, and were there when Jesus was born. In 3:23-38 we see specifically that Jesus’ lineage goes back through David. In 20:41-44, Jesus spars with the religious leaders, asking them how Messiah can be both David’s son and his Lord as well.
The second strand that shows Jesus to be the promised Messiah is that He opens the eyes of the blind. Isaiah 35:5 prophesied that Messiah would do such, and Jesus had cited that reference when he told the messengers of John the Baptist, “Go and report to John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have the gospel preached to them” (7:22-23). In the Bible, only Jesus opened the eyes of the blind, and there are more of His recorded miracles in this category than any other. It shows Him to be the promised Messiah.
The point is, it is important that our faith rest in Jesus as revealed in Scripture, not in a Jesus of our own imagination. The cults have invented false Christs, who do not match up to the Jesus of the Bible. Others subjectively make up a Jesus of their own liking. But we must believe in Jesus as revealed in Scripture.
Bartimaeus didn’t stand before Jesus after straightening up his appearance and say, “I’ve lived a pretty good life. I’ve always gone to synagogue. I’ve never hurt anyone. I’ve tried to do the best I can. Based on all that I’ve done, would You open my eyes?” No, Bartimaeus knew that he was a blind beggar with no claim for healing. He had nothing in himself to commend himself to Christ. Like the publican in Jesus’ parable, he just cried out for mercy.
Luke wants us to see that we all are blind beggars before God. Satan has “blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ” (2 Cor. 4:4). Before God we are “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” (Rev. 3:17). This is perhaps the major stumbling block that keeps people from coming to Christ: they want to commend themselves and their good deeds. God has to open our eyes to our true condition before Him. We have nothing in ourselves to merit His salvation. We are spiritually blind sinners, and the only way we can come to Him is to ask for mercy, not for merit.
Bartimaeus didn’t cry, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on us.” According to Matthew, there were two of them. It might have been more polite to ask for healing for both. But each man had to come on his own. Bartimaeus could have thought, “I’m a Jew, a son of Abraham.” He could have tried to get this blessing on the group plan. But he didn’t. Generic faith won’t do. The only way anyone can come to Christ is to cry out, “Jesus, have mercy on me. I’m the sinner. I’m the spiritually blind one. Lord, please be gracious to me!”
Whenever you trust in God, you will encounter hindrances. Bartimaeus cried out to Jesus in faith, and the crowd sternly told him to shut up (18:39). But the more they told him to be quiet, the louder he shouted. This was his one opportunity to be healed, and he wasn’t about to sit there passively. He persisted until Jesus heard him. He was like the widow in Jesus’ parable at the start of this chapter (18:1-8). She kept hounding the judge until he granted her request.
Probably those who told Bartimaeus to be quiet were embarrassed by his bold outcry. It wasn’t polite. It didn’t follow social protocol. It interrupted the things that Jesus was saying as the group walked along. But Bartimaeus didn’t care what people thought about him. He cared about one thing: he wanted to see!
As you know, Marla and I are going to the Czech Republic over Y2K. I was asked to give ten messages on faith. As soon as the man who invited me mentioned the date, I thought, and even said out loud, “Over Y2K?” But as I came home and thought about it, prayed, and sought counsel on what to do, it seemed like the only negative factor was the potential problems associated with Y2K. I thought, “How can I tell them that I don’t have the faith to come and speak about faith because I’m scared of what might happen at Y2K?” So I committed Marla and I to go.
The next morning, we woke up to a cold house. No lights. No heat. The power had gone off in the night. I thought, “Good joke, Lord. I go out on a limb in faith and You start shaking the tree!” Then, Marla talked to a college girl here at church who knew a man at NAU who had studied Y2K extensively. He is the tornado-chaser type. He wants to be in the worst possible place he can be on New Year’s Eve. After researching every country, guess where he picked? Yep: Czech!
Meanwhile, I’m getting frequent emails warning of how Y2K will be bad in the U.S. and an absolute disaster in other countries. Then my mother telephoned and told Daniel (I was gone) that she had heard that the U.S. State Department was ordering Americans to get out of Eastern Europe before January 1st. Shortly after that, another email arrived in which the author said that his former predictions of Y2K disaster (which had been bad) were “soft core.” The real truth is that it may not be “The End Of The World As We Know It,” but it will be “much closer than any of us care to get.”
My point is, whether you trust in Christ as your Savior or whether you step out in faith as a Christian, your faith will have to overcome hindrances. Learn from Bartimaeus to persist in faith in spite of the hindrances.
At first, Bartimaeus cried out, “Have mercy on me!” But then Jesus asked him pointedly, “What do you want Me to do for you?” That’s an interesting question to ask a blind man! But Jesus never asked a dumb question. His question was designed to get Bartimaeus to be specific in stating his need in front of the crowd. “Lord, I want to receive my sight.” This response also confessed that he believed that Jesus had the power to give him sight.
Jesus doesn’t always grant our requests, even when they are specific. Matthew and Mark both report that just prior to this incident, James and John had come to Jesus and asked Him to do whatever they would request. Jesus responded, “What do you want Me to do for you?” They answered, “Grant that we may sit in Your glory, one on Your right, and one on Your left” (Mark 10:37). But Jesus didn’t grant that request. It wasn’t for His glory to grant it. But it is for His glory to grant salvation by His free grace to blind beggars who cry out, “Lord, I want to receive my sight!” Be specific: tell the Lord that you have sinned and that you want His forgiveness. He will say, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.”
What a bold thing to ask, to receive sight! It reminds me of the story of Naaman, the Aramean army captain who was a leper. He had a servant girl from Israel who told him of the prophet Elisha who could heal his leprosy. So Naaman took a generous gift along with a letter from his king to the king of Israel that said, “Please cure my servant of his leprosy.” The king of Israel tore his clothes and said, “Am I God, to kill and to make alive, that this man is sending word to me to cure a man of his leprosy?” (2 Kings 5:7). What a bold request! No one but God could do such a thing!
Precisely! God is in the business of answering impossible requests that bring glory to His name. As we saw (Luke 18:27), salvation is impossible with men, but not with God. Like Bartimaeus, come to God as a blind, begging sinner and cry out, “Lord, I want to receive my sight.” What men cannot do, God can and will do. He will say, “Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.”
One reason Bartimaeus’ faith was so bold was that he felt so keenly his deep need. He lived each day in total darkness. Those who could see did not feel the desperation that Bartimaeus felt. He could walk out into the bright sunshine and it was pitch black for him. I once heard Bill Cosby tell how he was staying in the same hotel as the blind singer, Ray Charles. He decided to stop by Ray’s room and say hello. He knocked on the door and Ray yelled, “Come in.” Cosby walked in and heard Ray’s electric razor going in the bathroom, but the lights were off and entire place was pitch black. Before thinking, Cosby blurted out, “Hey, Ray, why are you shaving in the dark?” Then it hit him and he thought, “Dumb! Dumb! Dumb!” Ray good-naturedly called back, “I do everything in the dark, brother.”
It is when we realize our true spiritual condition that we will sense our desperate need for Jesus Christ. Deliverance by man is in vain. We need deliverance by God, and so we must cast ourselves totally on Him.
As soon as Bartimaeus gained his sight he said, “Thanks, I feel much better now.” And he took off to enjoy life and have all the fun that he had been missing. Not exactly! Immediately he began following Jesus, glorifying God. And all the people who saw what had happened gave praise to God. The mark of true faith in Jesus Christ is that the person who got saved gives glory to God and begins a new life of following Jesus in which others are led to give praise to God.
Bartimaeus didn’t go around telling everyone about his great faith. Yes, Jesus says that his faith saved him, but clearly He means that Bartimaeus’ faith was the means through which salvation came to him. It was God’s power through Jesus that gave him his sight. The power and will to heal rested completely with the Lord. Faith is just the hand that receives God’s gift of eternal life, and even faith is a gift from God. No one can boast in his great faith. We can only glory in God who opened our eyes and showed us His great mercy.
We have seen that there are opportune spiritual moments when Jesus passes by. At such times, we should cry out to Him in faith. Finally,
As soon as Jesus heard Bartimaeus’ cry, He stopped or stood still. He was walking with a crowd of people, heading to Jerusalem where He knew He would suffer and die. He could have thought, “I don’t have time for this man! Besides, can’t he see that I’m teaching this multitude?” But Jesus stopped. He will always stop for any needy sinner who cries out to Him for mercy. He didn’t tell Bartimaeus to go clean up first. He didn’t prescribe a plan of penance for him to work off his sins. Instantly, by His great mercy, He granted Bartimaeus’ request.
Jesus’ words, “Your faith has saved you,” have a double meaning. On one level, he was “saved” physically, so that he could now see. But on a deeper level, his faith had saved him spiritually. That is the greater miracle. Instantly God forgave his sins and imparted new life to him, making him a child of God. As Jesus said, “He who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24). God promises that “whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom. 10:13).
David Brainerd, the 18th century missionary to the American Indians, was once witnessing to a chief who was close to trusting in Christ. But he held back. Brainerd got up, took a stick, drew a circle in the dirt around the chief, and said, “Decide before you cross that line.” Why was Brainerd so urgent? Because he recognized that Jesus was passing by that chief at that moment. He might never be so close again.
I pray that you will see Jesus passing by here today and that this poor, blind beggar will teach you to cry out in faith, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” If you do, He will!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Sohan Singh has banned customers from his grocery store in England. He told a London newspaper that he was forced to take such drastic action because of people’s bad manners. First, he banned smoking, then crude language, baby strollers, pets and finally customers themselves. Shoppers now must look through the window to spot items they want and then ring a bell to be served through a small hatch in the door. “I have lost business, but I cannot say how much,” Singh said. “I am a man of principles, and I stand by my decision.” (In Flagstaff Live, June 4-10, 1998.)
It seems to me that a grocer who bans customers from his store has lost sight of his purpose! If your aim is to sell groceries, then you must put up with some people whom you may dislike in order to achieve your purpose.
Just like that grocer, many churches have forgotten their Savior’s purpose: to seek and to save those who are lost. We don’t like the sinful habits and worldly ways of outsiders. If they want to come to the door of the church and tell us what they want, we will serve them. Otherwise, let them shop elsewhere! We must maintain our principles!
The Lord Jesus always kept in view the purpose of His coming to earth. He states it in Luke 19:10, the theme verse of the Gospel of Luke: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” Jesus is stating this purpose in response to the crowd, which grumbled that He had gone to be the guest of a man who was a sinner, the chief tax collector, Zaccheus. Jesus is saying, “Precisely! I am going to be the guest of a great sinner because that is the express reason I came to this earth as the Son of Man: to seek and to save those who are lost in sin.”
If you had taken a poll in Israel in Jesus’ day, you would have found that tax collectors were not popular fellows! They were the scum of the earth. For personal gain they served Rome, taking unfair advantage of their own countrymen. Zaccheus was not just a tax collector, but a chief tax collector, which made people despise the man all the more. The average tax-paying citizen would have said, “If I could get that little runt alone in a dark alley, if he lived through it, he would go into another occupation!”
In light of the public hatred of tax collectors, it is significant that every time they are mentioned in Luke, it is in a favorable light (3:12; 5:27; 7:29; 15:1; 18:10; 19:2). In fact, Jesus picked one (Levi, or Matthew) as one of His twelve apostles! This shows Jesus’ heart for sinners and the transforming power of His saving grace. Luke tells the story of Zaccheus’ conversion shortly after the story of the rich young ruler. After that young man walked away from salvation because of clinging to his riches, Jesus said, “How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!” In fact, it is impossible, just as a camel cannot go through the eye of a needle. But, before we despair, He added, “The things impossible with men are possible with God” (18:24, 27). Zaccheus’ story shows us the salvation of a rich man by God’s grace and power.
If you follow Jesus, then His purpose must be your purpose. If you do not yet follow Jesus, then Zaccheus’ response to Jesus should be your response. This story shows us that …
Since Jesus came to seek and to save the lost, sinners should respond to His call quickly with joyful repentance.
We will look first at why Jesus came to this earth; and, then at how sinners should respond to the Savior.
Jesus refers to Himself here as the Son of Man, His favorite way to refer to Himself. Although it took great condescension for Jesus Christ to lay aside the glory of heaven and to take on human nature, He always delighted in being a man. In Jesus we see perfect humanity, apart from sin, living in total dependence on the Father. Son of Man emphasizes that Jesus was in every way human, except for our sin. He used it with increasing frequency as He anticipated the cross. Thus, “Its meaning for Him was inextricably bound up with His work of redemption” (D. Guthrie, Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible [Zondervan], 3:568).
But the title also affirms the full deity of our Lord. Jesus used it when referring to the fact that He existed in heaven before descending to earth and that He would again ascend into heaven (John 3:13; 6:62). He used it to assert that the Father had given Him all authority to execute judgment (John 5:27). He said that as the Son of Man He had authority on earth to forgive sins (Luke 5:20-24). He used it often in reference to His second coming in power and glory (Luke 17:22-30; 18:8; 21:36; Matt. 24:30; 25:31).
In fact, at His trial the high priest adjured Him by the living God to tell them whether He was the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus replied, “You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of glory.” He was quoting from Daniel 7:13, 14 and applying it to Himself. At this the priest accused Him of blasphemy. If Jesus did not mean that as the Son of Man, He is God, surely He would have corrected the priest’s mistaken impression and absolved Himself of the charge. By letting it stand, Jesus affirmed that they were correct: the Son of Man is the Son of God, one with the Father.
When Jesus says in our text that “the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost,” He was thus referring to the fact that as the second person of the Trinity, He had taken on human flesh and had come to this earth to offer Himself in the place of sinners. He took our penalty on Himself, so that we could be saved from the penalty we deserve. God would not have taken such extreme measures as the incarnation and death of His Son if lost people were able to save themselves. They are lost and so they must be sought and found. Christ came to seek the lost.
Zaccheus was not seeking Christ; Christ was seeking Zaccheus. We are not told what motivated this despised little man to fight the crowds in order to see Jesus on that day. Most commentators agree that he was probably curious. Perhaps he had heard that this Teacher had chosen a tax collector named Levi, to be one of His disciples. Perhaps he had heard the common complaint of the Pharisees and others, that this Man socialized with notorious sinners. Hearing that news may have given Zaccheus a glimmer of hope. Perhaps his guilty conscience nagged him, and he thought, “Maybe Jesus could forgive my sins.” But whatever tugged at Zaccheus to fight the crowds and finally to climb into that tree so that he could see Jesus, it was not because Zaccheus was first seeking Jesus. It was because Jesus was first seeking Zaccheus.
We know this because the Bible plainly declares, “There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God” (Rom. 3:10-11). Jesus Himself plainly taught, “No one can come to Me, unless the Father who sent Me draws him.” He repeats in the same context, “No one can come to Me, unless it has been granted him from the Father” (John 6:44; 65). If Zaccheus was in that tree to seek Jesus, it was because the Father was drawing him to Jesus.
We don’t know if Zaccheus would have been content just to get a glimpse of Jesus as He passed by under that sycamore tree, because Jesus didn’t give him a chance. Jesus easily could have passed under that tree and never looked up. The crowd was thronging around Him. He was passing through Jericho (19:1), steadfastly moving toward Jerusalem and the cross (18:31-34; 19:28). But when our Lord came to the place, He took the initiative. He looked up and said, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house” (19:5). Zaccheus had wanted to see Jesus, but he had no prior clue that Jesus wanted to see him!
John Calvin notes “the astonishing kindness” of our Lord who took the initiative to seek out this notorious sinner from whom others recoiled before there was any request on Zaccheus’ part (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], “A Harmony of the Evangelists,” 2:434). Charles Spurgeon said, “Christ does not leave it to ourselves to seek him, or else it would be left indeed, for so vile is human nature that although heaven be offered, and though hell thunder in our ears, yet there never was, and there never will be, any man who, unconstrained by sovereign grace, will run in the way of salvation, and so escape from hell and flee to heaven” (Spurgeon’s Sermons [Baker], 6:105). Thus if you are seeking God today, you can know that it is only because of the Savior’s kindness in taking the initiative to seek you first.
We don’t know how Jesus knew Zaccheus’ name, whether by divine omniscience or whether someone told Him. But out of all the people in that great crowd, the Savior zeroed in on this one little man. There were probably some boys up in that tree or in other trees, but Jesus focused on this chief tax collector. On several other occasions, Jesus accepted the hospitality of others, but this is the only recorded instance where He invited Himself to someone’s house. He was going after Zaccheus personally.
Jesus does not call the mass of humanity to Himself, hoping against hope that somehow, somewhere, someone will respond and come to Him. Rather, He calls individuals by name and His call is effectual—it powerfully accomplishes His purpose. He saw Matthew sitting in his tax office and said, “Follow Me.” He left everything behind and began following Jesus (Luke 5:27). He saw Peter and Andrew fishing and said, “Follow Me.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. Shortly after, He saw James and John mending their nets and He called them. They also immediately left the boat and their father and followed Him (Matt. 4:18-22).
Have you had that experience, where the Spirit of God was dealing with your soul? Perhaps you were listening to a sermon and you felt that it was aimed directly at you. Jesus was calling you very personally and individually. Perhaps even now you can hear the Savior calling you by name and saying, “Follow Me.” Jesus Christ seeks the lost individually by name and calls them into a personal relationship with Himself.
Salvation refers to God’s rescuing a perishing soul from His eternal wrath and judgment, which the person deserves due to his sin. Christ does not just seek the lost and then try to persuade them to decide to accept Him as Savior. He seeks and saves the lost. He announced regarding Zaccheus, “Today salvation has come to this house.” This shows us three things about Christ’s saving us:
In other words, He did not come just to make salvation possible for everyone, but rather to make salvation actual for those whom the Father had given to Him. In John 6:37 Jesus declared, “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me.” Then He adds, “And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that of all that He has given Me I lose nothing, but raise it up on the last day.” (6:39). Our salvation does not depend on our weak will, but on the mighty and certain will of God and on the keeping power of the Lord Jesus Christ.
When Jesus told Zaccheus, “Today I must stay at your house,” it was the must of divine necessity. It is the same “must” of John 4:4, where it says that Jesus “had to pass through Samaria.” Why? He easily could have walked around Samaria, as all the Jews did. He had to pass through Samaria because He had a divine appointment there with the woman at the well, and with her whole village. If Christ’s reason for coming into this world was to seek and to save those whom the Father had given to Him before the foundation of the world, then that intention will be accomplished. Salvation is not due to the will of man, but rather to the will of God (John 1:12-13). His purpose in saving the lost is never frustrated by the rebellious will of sinners.
You may be thinking, “How do I know that Christ will save me in particular?” Do you see yourself as lost? Do you know that apart from God’s grace, you would justly spend eternity in hell? Do you recognize that if God left you to yourself, you would never seek Him or believe in Him? If so, then the good news is, “Christ Jesus came … to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15). He died for the ungodly (Rom. 5:6). If the words, “lost,” “sinner,” “ungodly,” fit you, then you can have hope, because Christ came to save such people from their sins.
But if you say, “I may have my faults, but I’m not lost,” then I cannot offer you a Savior. Jesus came to save the lost. If you say, “I’m only human, of course, but I’m not a sinner,” then Christ did not come to save you. He came into this world to save sinners. If you say, “I know that I have done plenty of wrong things, but I wouldn’t call myself ungodly,” then I’m afraid that Christ did not die for you. Scripture says that Christ died for the ungodly.
Jesus proclaims, “Today salvation has come to this house, because he, too, is a son of Abraham” (19:9). He does not mean that every member of Zaccheus’ family automatically got saved because Zaccheus did. A man’s salvation does not extend to his wife and children, unless they personally repent and believe. Salvation is always individual and personal. But, when the head of a household believes, the entire household comes under the influence of the gospel and in that sense is set apart from the unbelieving world (1 Cor. 7:14; Acts 16:31-34).
When Jesus says that Zaccheus is a son of Abraham, he does not mean simply that he is a Jew by birth. He meant it in a spiritual sense, that Zaccheus was now a true son of Abraham, in the sense that Paul put it, “It is those who are of faith that are the sons of Abraham” (Gal. 3:7). Jesus used that phrase because the Pharisees self-righteously thought that they were right with God because they were physical descendants of Abraham and they outwardly kept the law. But Jesus is saying that this sinner whom they despised was a true son of Abraham, possessing salvation, because like Abraham, Zaccheus believed God and it was reckoned to him as righteousness (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:3).
Jesus proclaimed Zaccheus’ salvation before the crowd, in Zaccheus’ presence, to give him assurance of God’s forgiveness. You can be sure that as soon as Jesus left town, Satan would come to Zaccheus and say, “It was just a flash in the pan. You know how wicked your heart is! How can you call yourself a child of God?” The self-righteous crowd would have taunted him, “So you’ve become a follower of Jesus, have you! It won’t last! Just wait! You’ll go back to your old cheating, greedy ways!”
But whom the Lord saves, He keeps. And whom He keeps, He assures repeatedly with His love and kindness that they are His children forever. As Paul put it, “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us” (Rom. 8:33-34). As he goes on to show, nothing can “separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Since salvation then is totally of God, are we to sit back and do nothing? Clearly, not! The same Bible that says that we cannot seek after God commands us to seek Him (Rom. 3:11; Isa. 55:6). We should respond to God’s command as Zaccheus did:
Perhaps you came to church today without much sense of your need for salvation. Like Zaccheus, maybe you were curious. You heard that the music was good and that even the sermons were sometimes interesting, and so you came. But now you realize that you are a sinner and that the Lord Jesus is calling you to come down out of that tree where you’re perched to watch the parade. He wants to come and stay at your house. What should you do?
Jesus said, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down” (19:5). It’s not easy to hurry down out of a tree, but Jesus told him to hurry! And, Zaccheus “hurried and came down” (19:6). I don’t know if he jumped or whether he scratched himself on the branches as he climbed down. But he didn’t waste any time.
Neither should you! The Bible says, “Now is the day of salvation” (2 Cor. 6:2). It says, “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb. 4:7). You may not have tomorrow. If you put off responding to Christ’s call, you may be in hell tomorrow. Even if you get scratched up, hurry down from that tree!
Jesus commanded and Zaccheus responded. He didn’t debate with Jesus, “Who, me? Do you know about my past?” He didn’t protest that he wasn’t the religious type. He didn’t say, “I’ve got some important appointments at my tax office I need to attend to. Could we make it some other time?” He obeyed. If Christ is calling you to Himself, don’t debate with Him. Obey!
Zaccheus received Him gladly (lit., “rejoicing”). Zaccheus was up there in the tree, enjoying the parade, when suddenly Jesus stopped and looked up at him. Uh oh! What would Jesus say? Would He condemn Zaccheus for his cheating, greedy ways? Would He use him as a bad example to the crowd? Would He despise him as the Pharisees did?
Then Zaccheus saw what looked like a smile on Jesus’ face. Instead of a condemning look, Jesus’ eyes twinkled. Then he heard, “Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.” Zaccheus rejoiced! Even so, when the reality of God’s grace floods your soul, great joy will be your response.
Zaccheus’ faith is not mentioned directly, but it is evident by his repentance. We don’t know specifically what Jesus and Zaccheus talked about in his home that day, but the fruit of it is evident. Zaccheus announces, probably in front of the crowd, that he is giving half of his possessions to the poor and he is repaying those whom he has defrauded fourfold. The law only required adding one-fifth to the amount, but Zaccheus is going all out. Everyone who has truly believed in the Lord Jesus for salvation will show it by righting wrongs that he has done and living in a godly manner in his future dealings with others. One of the surest tests of genuine repentance is when God gets a hold of our money!
I hope that you see through Zaccheus’ story that Jesus Christ is a great Savior for great sinners. Spurgeon (Spurgeon’s Expository Encyclopedia [Baker], 3:445) illustrates this truth by saying, suppose that you came and told me of a great doctor in London. I asked, “What does he do?” You said, “He has many patients.” “But, what does he do?” Finally, you reply, “He cures bad fingers.” Well, that’s not too impressive. But suppose, instead, you reply, “There have been many patients whom no one else could cure. They were near death, but he healed them.” That’s the kind of man whose praises we would sing. If we were sick, we would go to Him for the cure.
Jesus Christ came to seek and to save the worst of sinners. If you will respond to His call with joyful repentance, you will hear Him pronounce concerning you, “Today salvation has come to this house!” I pray that those of us who know His great salvation will ask Him to use us in seeking and saving those who are lost.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 1999, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
I have a recurring dream which I’ve read is common among those who have been to college. In this dream it is the end of the semester and I suddenly realize that I have not been attending a class that I’m registered for. The final exam is looming ahead of me and I’m panicked because I haven’t done the work for the class. Thankfully, I usually wake up at this point and realize that I’m off the hook. It was only a dream.
But what if it were true? And what if it was not just a college class, but the end of the age and the examiner was the Lord? You realize too late that you must give an account to Him and you have not been doing what you were supposed to have done. That would be an awful nightmare from which you would not wake up!
Jesus tells this parable to warn us about the upcoming exam. He told the parable because the disciples and others who were journeying with Him to Jerusalem had the wrong notion that He would institute the kingdom of God immediately. They didn’t realize that He would suffer and die, be raised again, ascend into heaven, and that many years would go by before He returned to establish His kingdom. Jesus wanted to let His hearers know what they were supposed to be doing in His absence. They were not supposed to sit around waiting for Him to return. Rather, they were to be actively doing business for Him with what He entrusted to them. The day will certainly come when He will return. At that time, each servant must give an account for what he has done.
Because we all will give an account, we must faithfully do business with what the Master has given us until He returns.
There was a commonly known historical parallel to this story. Both Herod the Great and his son Archelaus had journeyed to Rome to receive the kingdom of Judea from Caesar. In the case of Archelaus, the people of Judea hated him and sent a delegation after him to Rome to tell Caesar that they did not want this man to rule over them. Augustus compromised by allowing Archelaus to rule, but only with the title ethnarch, on the premise that he would have to earn the title king, which he never did. Archelaus had built a beautiful palace for himself in Jericho, where Jesus was speaking. Jericho was about a six-hour walk, 18 miles, from Jerusalem.
In the case of Jesus’ parable, He is the nobleman who goes to a distant country to receive the kingdom. He is referring to His departure into heaven after His death and resurrection, where He would sit at the Father’s right hand until He made His enemies His footstool. During His time away, He entrusts to each servant a mina, which was about four month’s wages. Each servant gets the same amount. This parable should not be confused with the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14-30. In that parable, the owner is a businessman who entrusts five, two, and one talent to three different slaves during his absence. A talent was worth about 60 minas, or twenty year’s wages, so the amount was considerably more. Here, the owner is a nobleman who gives ten servants one mina each. When he returns, he asks for an accounting, but we are only told of the responses of three of the servants. After he has dealt with them, he proceeds to judge the citizens who did not want him to rule over them. What can we learn from this parable?
Jesus is correcting the false view of the disciples (and others) that the kingdom of God would be instituted in its full form when Jesus got to Jerusalem. He is showing them that there is both a present form of the kingdom, while the king is away, and a future full sense of the kingdom when the king returns. Jesus has already spoken of the present sense of the kingdom, that it is in their midst because He, the King, is in their midst (11:20; 17:21).
But the disciples struggled with the idea that the consummation of the kingdom would be delayed. Even after the resurrection, they asked Jesus, “Lord, is it at this time You are restoring the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1:6). The disciples finally came to clarity on this matter (Acts 3:19-21), but at this point they did not yet understand. They fully expected Jesus to establish His reign over Israel in the immediate future. Jesus wanted them to understand that there would be a delay. In the future, the King will return and will rule in power and glory. In the meanwhile, He is still King, although absent. He wants His followers to know what they should be doing during that time. Rather than sitting around waiting for the king to return, they should do business for Him, actively working to bring people under His lordship.
Again, we must distinguish this parable from the parable of the talents, which teaches a different lesson. That parable shows that different servants have been given different abilities, and that the danger is for the person with relatively smaller ability to do nothing. This parable shows that every servant has been given the same gift and that the difference in results is not due to differing gifts, but to differing levels of diligence in using the gift.
The fact that each of ten servants received a mina shows that it was not just the twelve apostles who were in view, but rather, God’s servants in general. Thus the parable is not directed just to those in leadership, but to all of Christ’s subjects. The fact that each was given the same amount shows that it is not referring to differing gifts, but to something that all followers of Christ share in common, namely, the Word of God and in particular, the central message of that Word, the gospel. We all have been given the same gospel and we are told to do business with it for our King during His absence.
If you do not possess the gospel as your own, you are not a Christian, no matter how often you attend church. A Christian has heard the good news that Jesus Christ is the Savior of sinners and has personally believed that good news as his own. In other words, a true Christian does not just believe in a general sense that Jesus is the Savior. He believes it in a personal sense, that Jesus is my Savior. He died for my sins. When I stand before God and He asks, “Why should I let you into heaven?” my only plea will be, “Because I have trusted in Your Son Jesus who shed His blood in my place on the cross.” If you have personally believed that message, then the gospel has been entrusted to you. And it has not been entrusted to you just for you to treasure for yourself. Rather,
The servants are to use the Master’s mina in the face of citizens who angrily protest, “We do not want this man to reign over us.” In the parable, this is a reference to the Jewish nation, which was rejecting Jesus as her King. They protested to Pilate, “We have no King but Caesar” (John 19:15). But beyond that, it also refers to this evil world that is hostile toward God and does not want to submit to Jesus as Lord and King. It is in just such a hostile world that we are to do business with the gospel, multiplying it by investing it in the lives of people.
Clearly, there is always a risk in doing business in a hostile environment. But the greater risk is not to do business at all, but to carefully wrap up the Master’s mina in a handkerchief, not employing it for His purposes. Also, it is implied here what is clearly taught elsewhere, that the power of the gospel is in the message itself, not in the skill of the messenger. The servants do not say, “Master, my great business skill has multiplied your mina.” Rather, they say, “Your mina has made ten minas more.” “Your mina, master, has made five minas.” The power is in the minas, not in the servants. The power of the gospel is not the power of slick salesmanship, but rather God’s power working through His Word.
All of this leads me to ask, “Do you see yourself in business for the Master with His gospel?” He has entrusted the gospel message to every believer and said, “Do business with this until I come back.” Are you doing business with the gospel for the Master? Are you using the good news of Christ as Savior to bring others into His kingdom, under His lordship? That is the question our Lord would have us consider by this parable.
If you do not see yourself as a “gospel entrepreneur,” you will not be thinking about ways to multiply the Master’s resources for His purpose. The apostle Paul saw this as his aim. He states the governing purpose of his life: “I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it” (1 Cor. 9:23). But not just Paul and the apostles, but every believer should be living for the same purpose, to do all things for the sake of the gospel. We should see ourselves in the gospel business, using Jesus’ capital to make a profit for Him in His absence. If we are not thinking that way, we should change our thinking, because …
The delay in the Master’s return does not mean that He will not return. His return is certain, though delayed. The group of disgruntled citizens hoped that he would not return, or at least that he would not return as king. But, clearly, when He returns it will be as King, with full power and authority to reign. He calls His servants to give an account of the business they have conducted in His absence and He orders that His enemies be brought and executed in His presence. Three groups must give an account:
Only three of the ten servants are mentioned, and these three fall into two categories: two who have made various amounts with the king’s money; and, one who has not done anything with it. Here we are looking at the two who traded and invested the money in such a way that they multiplied it. The first got a ten-fold profit, turning the one mina into ten more. We are not to take this in a literal way, as if he has led ten people to Christ. Rather, the meaning is that he has taken what the master entrusted to him and used it well, multiplying it many times over in the master’s business.
The master commends him: “Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, be in authority over ten cities” (19:17). Again, we need not understand this literally, that he will be over ten cities in the millennium, although that is possible. The main idea is that the servant’s responsible use of the master’s mina will be rewarded with increased responsibility in the future kingdom. The servant has shown himself faithful in a little thing; he will thus be faithful in much, and so much is now given to him.
The master does not directly praise the second slave, but he rewards him proportionately to his success in the enterprise. His mina has earned five more, so he is put in charge of five cities. Some take the lack of commendation to be a silent censure. If the servant had worked more diligently, he could have made ten minas instead of five. But the fact that he receives a proportionate reward seems to indicate that he also had done well. Perhaps the difference in results was due to factors beyond his control.
We can learn several things about the doctrine of rewards from the way the master rewards these two servants. While salvation is by grace alone (the master freely gave the mina to each servant, apart from anything they had done), rewards will be proportionate to our service. Matthew Henry explains, “This intimates that there are degrees of glory in heaven; every vessel will be alike full, but not alike large. And the degrees of glory there will be according to the degrees of usefulness here” (Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible [Scripture Truth Book Company], 5:787, italics his).
While in one sense, the rewards are proportionate to the service, in another sense the rewards far exceed the service. Earning a mina is “a very little thing” (19:17), but the reward is to be over an entire city, a fairly large responsibility. Spurgeon comments, “The rewards of the millennium will evidently be all of grace, because they are so incomparably beyond anything which the servants’ earnings could have deserved. Their Lord was not bound to pay them anything: they were his bond-servants; but what he gave them was of his overflowing grace” (Spurgeon’s Expository Encyclopedia [Baker], 4:205).
We also learn that the servants’ service here was a test and a preparation for their future service in the kingdom (Spurgeon, p. 204). The master tested them to see if they would be faithful in a little thing. Their performance of their duties in this little thing was preparing them to graduate from servants to rulers, yet still under the Master. If the thought of sitting on a cloud in heaven, strumming a harp throughout eternity sounds boring, you need not worry! The Lord has prepared meaningful and satisfying activity for us, both in His millennial kingdom and in the eternal state.
We also learn that the Lord notices all of the service of His servants and that all that we do for Him will be richly rewarded. Sometimes when we serve in the church and no one seems to notice what we’ve done, we get angry or depressed. Even more galling, sometimes someone else gets the credit for what we have worked so hard to do! Of course, when we feel that way, we have our focus in the wrong place. We shouldn’t be serving for the recognition of men. But even so, we should not worry. The Lord duly notes the accomplishments of each of His servants and rewards them accordingly. Our labor in the Lord will not be in vain. Each of us should be laboring so that one day we will hear the Lord Jesus say, “Well done, good and faithful slave.” That will be reward enough; everything else is grace upon grace!
The first two slaves had made a profit with the master’s mina, but the third slave had simply wrapped it in a handkerchief and he returns it intact to the master. He offers the excuse that he feared the master, knowing that he was an exacting man who takes up what he did not lay down and reaps where he had not sown. The master chastises the slave for not at least putting the money in the bank, so that it would have earned interest. Then he judges the slave by his own words. He takes the single mina from him and gives it to the man who has earned ten more. When the bystanders express surprise, he explains the principle: “To everyone who has more shall be given, but from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away.” The one who has proven himself faithful will have more opportunities for faithfulness. The one who has been unfaithful will be stripped of his responsibilities.
The question is, does this unfaithful servant represent a true believer who loses his rewards, who is saved, yet so as through fire (1 Cor. 3:15)? Or, is he a person who professes to know God, but by his deeds he denies him, being detestable and disobedient, and worthless for any good deed (Titus 1:16)?
It seems to me that this third servant does not know the king. He wrongly thinks of him as a harsh man, when in reality he is very generous to the faithful slaves. Darrel Bock explains, “The third servant represents people who are related to the king in that they are associated with the community and have responsibility in it. Nevertheless their attitude shows that they do not see God as gracious and that they have not really trusted him…. Such people are left with nothing at the judgment; they are sent to outer darkness, because they never really trusted or knew God” (Luke [Baker], 2:1542). J. C. Ryle observes, “Hard thoughts of God are a common mark of all unconverted people. They first misrepresent Him, and then try to excuse themselves for not loving and serving Him” (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], Luke 11-24, p. 305).
This third servant, then, represents those in the church who know the gospel and should believe it. But they are indifferent and unconcerned about the Master’s purpose and kingdom. As a result, they are not using the opportunities He has given them to further His kingdom. They are living for themselves and making up excuses as to why they are not serving the King.
The king says, “But these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them in my presence” (19:27). They hated the king and actively opposed His reign. But their opposition did not thwart His being installed as king. While in the parable the penalty is execution, that is mild compared to the eternal judgment that will come upon those who have actively opposed the lordship of Christ. They will experience eternal torment, away from the presence of the Lord and the glory of His power (Matt. 25:30, 41, 46; 2 Thess. 1:9). They will get what they sought after, eternal separation from the king.
Note also that the issue is Christ’s lordship. These rebels did not want Him reigning over them. Those who have truly believed in Christ have subjected themselves to His rightful lordship. Those who reject Christ’s lordship will face His fearful and final judgment. There is no category of those who are truly saved, but who opt not to make Jesus their Lord.
There is no neutral position with regard to Christ. Each of us is in one of the three categories. I hope that none here are actively opposing His right to be King. If you are, repent quickly, before He comes and you face His awful wrath. There may be some who profess to know Him, but you’re living for yourself. You’re not doing business for the King. You need to begin using the gospel in the Master’s business. Most of us are faithfully serving Him. If you are, you can expect Him to richly reward you when He returns.
At a pastors’ and wives conference, Bill Mills told about a time when he was speaking to a group of Wycliffe missionaries in South America. On the last evening as he ate dinner with the director and his wife, she told him how years before they had been assigned to translate the Bible into one of the Indian tribal languages. As you probably know, this is a lengthy and tedious process. Before computers, it often took as long as twenty years.
During the process, the translators were teaching the Scriptures and seeing a new church emerging among the tribe. But in this case, as they came toward the end of the translation project, the tribal people were becoming more and more involved in producing drugs and less and less interested in the Scriptures. When they finally finished the translation of the New Testament and scheduled a dedication service, not even one person came!
This missionary was angry and bitter. She had given twenty years of her life so that these people could have the Scriptures, but they didn’t even want it! Then she said this with regard to Bill’s ministry of the Word that week:
It is as though God has been washing His Word over my soul and healing me, and He has opened my eyes to see this all from His perspective. I am just beginning to realize now that we did it for Him! That is the only thing that makes any sense in all of this. We did it for God! (In his book, Finishing Well [Leadership Resources International], p. 190.)
That must be our focus as well. The world may scorn us and reject our message. But we’re doing it for Him. You’ll never lose if you faithfully do business for Jesus! When He comes, He will reward you for everything that you have done for His kingdom.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
You are witnessing to a college student who asks, “Why should I follow Jesus?” You tell him, “Because Jesus said, ‘I have come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly.’ Jesus will give you an abundant life. Not only that, He will give you peace with God. He will give you new purpose and meaning. He will help you overcome the temptations that would destroy your life. Being a Christian is the greatest life in this world!”
You encourage him to come with you to a Christian concert. He enjoys the music, even if he can’t catch all the words. He sees others who look similar to him and figures, “Maybe not all Christians look weird.” When the invitation is given, he sees others going forward and he feels good about the whole evening. When the speaker gives another emotional appeal to come forward and know Jesus, the young man decides to try it. He goes down front and a counselor goes over the basics of the gospel and leads him in the sinner’s prayer. He assures him that he is now one of God’s children and encourages him to read the Bible and go to church.
In subsequent weeks, he’s out late on Saturday nights, so he struggles with getting out of bed early enough to get to church on Sunday mornings. But he hears about the college group and starts attending it. He likes the feeling of the worship time and meets a lot of nice people, including some cute girls. Life seems to be going well for him. He likes being a Christian.
Then, bad news hits. He hears that his mom is dying of cancer. He asks everyone to pray, but she doesn’t get better. He watches as she slowly, painfully sinks lower and lower until she dies. He doesn’t understand why God didn’t answer his prayers. About this time, he runs into an old friend who offers him a joint. He smokes it and feels mellow all over. Soon after, he meets a beautiful girl and she willingly gives herself to him. Being with her is a lot of fun and she makes him forget the pain of his mother’s death. His Christian experience fades into the background as she moves into the center of his life. When you talk to him about his faith, he says, “I tried Jesus and it helped me for a while. If it works for you, that’s great. But right now, it’s just not where I’m at.”
Why did that young man fall away from the faith? What was behind his spiritual defection? At least two faulty assumptions: First, he saw spiritual truth as personal and subjective, not as absolute and objective. If it makes you feel better, if it works for you, then it must be true. But if something else works better, then try it. The test for spiritual truth is how it makes you feel and whether it works. If your thing is “trusting in Jesus,” that’s cool. That seems to work for many people. But if it doesn’t work for me, and if smoking dope and having sex with my girlfriend makes me feel good, then I’ll try that. Spiritual truth is defined in personal and subjective terms.
The second faulty assumption is that personal happiness is the most important thing in life. God, if He is there, exists to make me happy. If Jesus can make me feel good, I’ll give Him a try. If following Jesus doesn’t make me feel good or if it seems too hard, then I’ll try something else. Man and his happiness, not God and His glory, are what matter the most.
Maybe you’re wondering, “What does this have to do with Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday?” A lot! When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a foal of a donkey that day, it meant different things to different people. For Jesus, it signified His official presentation to the nation as King and Messiah, although He knew that He would be rejected and crucified. The twelve and other followers of Jesus saw Him as Messiah and King, but they mistakenly thought that He would set up His rule on the throne of David immediately.
Others in the crowd saw the event in strictly political terms. They were enamored by Jesus’ miracles, especially the recent raising of Lazarus from the dead (John 12:17-18). They hoped that Jesus would lead the revolt against Rome and restore independence to Israel. The Jewish leaders were frustrated by the acclaim Jesus was receiving, because He threatened their power base (John 11:48).
But less than a week later, one of the disciples had betrayed Jesus, another had denied knowing Him, and His followers were scattered and confused. The fickle crowd had changed from shouts of “Hosanna!” to “Crucify Him!” Why? What happened? Why the defection? Why the failure? Why the change?
In part, I believe, it was because these various people had a wrong conception of who Jesus is and they were following Him for what they thought He would do for them. Because they had a faulty notion of spiritual truth regarding the person of Jesus Christ and a man-centered theology, they fell away in a time of difficulty when things didn’t go as they had hoped. If we want a faith that endures hardship and trials, we need to understand that …
We should follow Jesus because He is Lord, not just because of what He can do for us.
I am not denying that Jesus can and will do much for us when we follow Him. But I am affirming that the main reason we must follow Jesus is because of who He is, not because of what He can do for us. We may get tortured and killed for our faith, but we still must follow Jesus if He is the Sovereign Lord of all. Luke’s narrative of the “Triumphal Entry” of Jesus into Jerusalem shows us five aspects of the Lordship of Jesus Christ which give us solid reasons to follow Him, even unto death.
This story that inaugurates the week leading to Jesus’ arrest, trial, and crucifixion, conveys the picture that He was in absolute control of the circumstances. He was not deluded by the cheering crowd. He was not intimidated by the threats of the Pharisees. He lived under the precise timetable of the Heavenly Father, and now Jesus knew that His hour was approaching.
On Palm Sunday Jesus staged a public demonstration to show the people and the rulers that He is the Messiah, but not the kind of Messiah they were expecting. The chief priests and the Sanhedrin were looking for Jesus and had given the command that if anyone knew where He was, they should inform them so that He could be arrested (John 11:57). Jesus’ bold action infuriated them and led to His arrest and crucifixion at the very moment that the Passover lambs were being slaughtered in Jerusalem, as a fulfillment of His offering Himself as the Lamb of God for sinners. Even the day of the triumphal entry was in fulfillment of God’s prophetic timetable. Jesus was in control of every event. Whether He had pre-arranged the details about securing the colt or whether they reflect His supernatural knowledge, we do not know. But the clear point is, Jesus was in command of the whole situation. He is the Lord who had need of the colt.
To have a faith that perseveres, you need to understand that Jesus Christ is the Sovereign Lord of authority. He is sovereign even over all of the evil things happening in the world. He will work all these things together for His glory and for the ultimate good of His saints. Jesus was not a well-meaning reformer who was tragically murdered because He made a mistake in picking a disloyal disciple who betrayed Him. He laid down His life for His sheep on His own initiative (John 10:17-18).
While the crucifixion of Jesus, the Son of God, was the most horrible crime imaginable, and those who did it are responsible for their terrible sin, that sin did not thwart the sovereign plan of God, but rather, fulfilled it. As the apostles prayed (Acts 4:27-28), “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.” Nothing can thwart God’s purpose (Psalms 103:19; 115:3). Either you can submit to Him willingly now and be blessed, or on the day of judgment you will be forced to submit to Him and be condemned. Because He is the Lord of authority, we must follow Him.
That Jesus is Lord over creation is evident in the fact that He rode on an unbroken colt. I’m no horseman, but I know that you don’t climb on an unbroken colt and expect a nice, gentle ride! Jesus’ riding on this colt shows His miraculous power over the creation that He spoke into existence by His word of power. There also was a spiritual significance in the fact that the colt was unbroken. In the Old Testament, when an animal was put to sacred use, it had to be one which had not already been used for common purposes (Num. 19:2; Deut. 21:3). Since this animal was now to be used for the Messiah to ride into the city of David, it had to be an animal which had never been ridden by man. Only the Lord of creation could do what Jesus did.
If Jesus is the Almighty Creator, then certainly we should follow Him. The colt received Jesus on its back without bucking, but He came unto His own people, and they did not receive Him, but cast Him off. As with Balaam’s donkey, this donkey was smarter than people. If you want a faith that perseveres, bow before Jesus as the Lord of creation. Of Jesus, John wrote, “All things came into being through Him; and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:3). We are not here as the result of random chance plus billions of years of evolution. The personal God created us and has a purpose for our lives, both in time and in eternity. We realize that purpose when we follow Him. Jesus is the Lord of authority and the Lord of creation. Also,
On Palm Sunday, Jesus fulfilled several Old Testament prophecies, which I can only touch on here.
(1) Psalm 118:22-27. This psalm, sung by pilgrims going up to Jerusalem for the feasts, refers to Jesus, the cornerstone rejected by the Jewish leaders, and to the day of Messiah which God has made. In Hebrew, “do save” (118:25) is “Hosanna,” which the crowds called out to Jesus (Matt. 21:9). Luke omits that word, but he reports that they quote Psalm 118:26 as Jesus passes by (Luke 19:38).
(2) Zechariah 9:9 (see Matt. 21:5; John 12:14-15). Zechariah proclaims, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; He is just and endowed with salvation, humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal of a donkey.” This prophecy refers especially to Messiah in His humiliation. The word “humble” (Zech. 9:9) points to one who is not only humble, but also oppressed or afflicted by evil men. After the time of Solomon, a donkey was considered a lowly animal ridden only by persons of no rank or position. Kings, warriors, and people of importance after Solomon’s time rode on horses. The donkey was considered a burden-bearer, an animal of peace, not an animal of war. By riding a donkey, Jesus was showing Himself to be Messiah, in fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, but not the exalted political Messiah of war that the people expected. In His first coming, Jesus was the suffering Messiah offering peace and salvation.
(3) Daniel 9:24-27. I do not have time to demonstrate the calculations, but the 19th century British scholar, Sir Robert Anderson, showed that Jesus’ triumphal entry fulfilled to the very day Daniel’s prophecy of 70 weeks concerning the appearance of Messiah the prince (see Alva McClain, Daniel’s Prophecy of the Seventy Weeks [Zondervan], p. 20). Note Jesus’ words in Luke 19:42, “If you had known in this day ....” What day? The precise day that God had fixed in Daniel’s prophecy. Before this time, Jesus would not allow His followers to proclaim Him as Messiah. But now (Luke 19:40) He accepts their acclaim because the day had come for Messiah the prince to be proclaimed.
Realizing that Jesus is the Lord of prophecy will enable us to persevere when we may wonder if history is running amok. The nations may rage and the kings of the earth may take counsel together against the Lord and His anointed, but He who sits in the heavens laughs at their puny attempts to cast off His rule (Psalm 2). Our God is sovereign over history, bringing it along right on schedule according to His prophetic timetable. We can submit to Him and trust Him even when circumstances seem overwhelming.
In Luke 19:41-44, Jesus predicts the terrible judgment that would come on Jerusalem. Note His attitude: He wept. The word is a stronger one than the word in John 11:35, where Jesus quietly wept at the tomb of Lazarus. The word here means loud sobbing or a cry of agony. God does not delight in judgment, but in mercy. He is not willing that any should perish, but that all would come to repentance. He is slow to anger and abounding in love toward every sinner (Exod. 34:6-7). Yet He is also the righteous judge. There is a mystery here, which Wordsworth expressed nicely when he said, “Christ here proves His twofold nature by shedding tears as man, for what He foretold as God” (cited by J. C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], note on Luke 19:41, p. 318).
God is not only a God of love and grace. He also is a righteous God who is settled in His wrath against all sin. His day of grace is not forever. Jerusalem’s day of grace was rapidly ending and a time of terrible judgment was approaching, because they did not recognize the time of their visitation (19:44). In A.D. 70, the armies of the Roman general, Titus, fulfilled the frightening prediction of Luke 19:43-44. Someday soon, the same Messiah who came the first time riding on a humble donkey, proclaiming peace, will come again in power and glory, riding on a white charger of war, to tread the winepress of the fierce wrath of God (Rev. 19:15). Then the day of grace will be over.
What was true of the nation Israel in Jesus’ day can be true of individuals in our day: You can miss the time of God’s gracious visitation. Right now He is calling you to Himself with the promise of grace. But if you refuse to come and bow before His rightful Lordship, you will face the awful day of His judgment on your sins. J. C. Ryle observed that Christ’s perfect knowledge of all these things should “alarm sinners and awaken them to repentance” (ibid., p. 308). The Lord Jesus knows everything about you! Why try to avoid Him when He offers a full pardon if you will trust in Him? Godet, warns, “Jesus does not knock indefinitely at the door of a heart or of a people” (A Commentary on the Gospel of St. Luke [I.K. Funk & Co.], p. 427). The day of judgment is coming! We should follow Jesus because He is the Lord of authority, the Lord of creation, the Lord of prophecy, and the Lord of judgment.
Jesus came the first time offering peace, and the offer stands until He comes again for judgment. He offered Himself as the Passover Lamb. If His blood is applied to your sins, God will pass over you in the day of judgment, and you will be safe. His offer to you is peace with God through the forgiveness of your sins. On the cross Jesus satisfied the wrath of God for every sinner who will trust in Him. The cross of Christ is offensive to our proud, sinful hearts, because we must lay aside any notion that we can save ourselves or that we’re good enough to get into heaven. We must admit that we are sinners who desperately need a Savior.
There are two wrong notions that will keep many people out of heaven, and they usually go together. First, people wrongly believe that God is too loving to send decent, moral people to hell. Most people can accept the fact that God will judge people like Hitler—really evil people. But they view God as being tolerant of the normal sins that good, law-abiding folks like us commit. But the Bible makes it clear that God is absolutely holy, and no sin will be tolerated in the day of judgment. A single sin in thought, word, or deed is enough to condemn a person to hell!
The second wrong notion is that most of us are good enough to qualify for heaven. Sure, we’re only human, we have our faults, but we’re not really bad, like murderers, terrorists, and child molesters. So we figure that the scales will tip our way when we stand before God because we were sincere and we meant well, even though we’re not perfect. But pretty good people do not qualify for God’s perfect heaven. It requires perfect righteousness to get into heaven.
That’s where Christ and the cross come in. On the cross, the perfect Son of God offered Himself as the substitute for sinners. He came “to give His life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). Some day you will stand before God either clothed in your own goodness, which will be inadequate, or clothed in the perfect righteousness of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. That righteousness is credited to your account the instant you renounce all trust in your own righteousness and put your trust in Jesus as your sin-bearer.
I’d like you to ask yourself, “Why do I follow Jesus?” Some of you may have to say, honestly, “I follow Jesus because I am hoping that He can heal my broken marriage and give me a happy home life.” I assure you that He can do that, but that is not a good enough reason to follow Jesus. Others may say, “I follow Jesus because I struggle with many emotional problems, and I’m hoping that He can give me inner peace and joy.” He certainly can give you inner peace and joy, but that is not an adequate reason to follow Jesus. Following Jesus can also give you increased trials and persecutions!
The main reason to follow Jesus is because He is the Lord! He is the Sovereign Lord of authority, who works all things after the counsel of His will. He is the Lord of creation, who spoke the universe into existence, who created you for His purpose. He is the Lord of prophecy, who has revealed in His Word in advance the course of history. He is the fearful Lord of judgment, before whom every knee shall bow. He is the gracious Lord of salvation, who gave His life so that all who believe in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
When the apostle Paul faced hardship and suffering, he wrote to Timothy, “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” (2 Tim. 1:12). His faith was based on the true knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. If you want a faith that perseveres in the trials of this life, trust in Jesus because of who He is, not just because of what He can do for you.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This is Steve Cole, reporting from Jerusalem, Israel. With me is a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, the ruling religious body here in Jerusalem. Sir, can you give us your impressions of the situation here?”
“Yes, I’d be glad to. First, on Sunday the popular, but unofficial, radical rabbi Jesus unexpectedly paraded into town on a donkey. What a scene! People were going crazy, throwing their garments in the street, shouting messianic slogans, like, ‘Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’ We leaders were shocked! It bordered on blasphemy! We told him to tell his zealous followers to be quiet, but he told us that if they were silent, the very stones would cry out. Clearly, the man has delusions of grandeur! Not only that, he is emotionally unstable. Right in the middle of all this acclaim, when he should have been waving happily to the crowd, he broke down weeping and babbling something about us not recognizing the day of our visitation!
“We hoped it would all blow over, as it has in the past. But there seems to be an unusual messianic fervor in town right now. Everyone is talking about the possibility that this Galilean carpenter, who, I might point out, has never even been to a rabbinical school, may be the Messiah! Can you imagine, a Messiah from Nazareth! Everyone knows that he will come from Bethlehem, from the lineage of David. Something has to be done!
“And then, yesterday, he came into the temple on a rampage. He overturned the tables of the legitimate, properly licensed vendors there, and drove them all away. I told you, he’s emotionally unstable—he can’t even control his temper! And then he sets himself up in the temple as a teacher and the crowds are loving it! It has to stop! If he goes unchecked, the man is going to destroy our whole Jewish culture and religion.”
“It’s obvious that a serious confrontation is brewing. What is the Sanhedrin doing about it?”
“We called a caucus and decided that at this point we need to take a cautious approach. These kinds of situations, with a volatile crowd, can blow up in your face if you’re not careful! To us, it’s clear: This man isn’t operating under legitimate authority. The High Priest is our duly appointed authority. He licenses all the vendors; he oversees religious matters in our nation; he makes sure that those who teach in the temple are properly approved. We figured that if we let the crowd know that this man is acting apart from the approval of the proper authority, he would be discredited in their eyes and they wouldn’t listen to him anymore.”
“That sounds like a reasonable approach. What happened?”
“Well, we didn’t count on how quick-witted this guy is! He may not be educated, but I have to admit that he’s sharp! He turned our question about his authority back on us and said, in effect, that the answer to our question rested on our answer to his question. Then he raised the sticky matter about that radical, John the Baptist: Was his ministry from God or from men?
“That put us in a tight spot. If we answered that John’s ministry was from God, Jesus would have retorted, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ If we said, ‘It’s from men,’ well, ... This uneducated crowd wouldn’t have tolerated that for a minute, because they strongly feel that John was a prophet. So what could we do? We played it safe and answered, ‘No comment.’”
“One last question, ‘What’s your next move?’”
“I think our lawyers are working on a question about paying taxes, and I’ve heard some talk about the resurrection issue. But I can’t say anything more at this time.”
“Thank you for your time. That’s the situation here in Jerusalem, Israel. We’ll keep you posted on any more developments.”
The problem that the Jewish leaders faced was that Jesus and His authority confronted their authority. They had had their share of run-ins with Jesus. Three years ago, at the start of His ministry, Jesus had also gone up to Jerusalem and cleansed the temple (John 2:13-22). But then He left town and had pretty much kept to the north, while they had continued to run the religious establishment in Jerusalem. He had come to town a few times and stirred things up, but He always had left and things had gone back to normal. But now things were coming to a head. Something had to be done to rid the nation of this troublesome prophet.
The problem that those Jewish religious leaders faced is the same problem that every person who comes into contact with Jesus faces: His authority confronts my authority. At first, maybe it’s just an irritating sermon that makes you a bit uncomfortable. You don’t like it, but you brush it aside and continue on with your agenda for your life. Then, perhaps you have another encounter with Jesus: a passage in the Bible steps on your toes. Your level of discomfort goes up a notch. You realize that if He takes over your life, there are going to be some radical changes, and you’re not sure that you want to give up control. So you scramble to dodge the implications of who Jesus is. You raise all sorts of intellectual questions so that you don’t have to face the fact that He is Lord. But, He keeps coming to town and confronting your authority to run your own life. Sooner or later, you come to a crisis point where you have to deal with the question that these Jewish religious leaders asked: “By what authority does Jesus say and do these things?” The bottom line for them is the same for us today:
If Jesus is acting by God’s authority, then we had better submit to Him.
This story brings out three things about the important matter of authority that we would do well to consider:
The Jewish leaders’ question is a basic one: “Tell us by what authority You are doing these things, or who is the one who gave You this authority?” Their question was valid, but behind their question was an assumption that they had not carefully thought through. They were assuming that they were God’s rightly appointed religious authorities. After all, Israel was God’s chosen nation. The temple was His designated place of worship. They had the proper training in the Jewish Scriptures. In other words, they assumed that they were right and, therefore, anyone who challenged them was wrong.
By nature, we all make the same assumption. We automatically justify ourselves and resist anyone who challenges our right to govern our own lives. We assume that we know what’s best for our own happiness and well being. Who does this intruder Jesus think that He is, coming into our world and overturning the tables of how we do things? The issue is one of authority to govern.
Jesus doesn’t dodge their question. He says, in effect, that if they will answer His question rightly, they will have the answer to their question. If John was God’s prophet and he pointed to Jesus as Messiah, then Jesus was acting under God’s authority.
There are only two sources of authority (20:4): Heaven (a Jewish way of saying, God); and, men. Of course, sinful men are under Satan’s domain, in rebellion against God. But most people acting under Satan’s domain are not aware of that fact. They simply act on their own authority, out from under God’s authority. Most people aren’t consciously in league with Satan and, perhaps, not even consciously in rebellion against God. But if they aren’t knowingly obedient to God and His Word, then they’re not under His authority. All authority comes either from God or from some illegitimate source.
The Jewish leaders had some political authority, but they were not under God’s authority or they would have followed John the Baptist and the One to whom John pointed, Jesus. Like many politicians, their authority was not very secure. They didn’t like what John had taught, but they knew that their constituency liked John, so they had to tread carefully. But when you play politics, carefully wording your answers so as to please people, you are not living under God’s authority.
Even so, their question, turned back against them, is a basic question in life that we all must answer: Who or what is the final authority in life? Who determines what is right or wrong? Who said that you could act as you do? Mark 11:30 records that Jesus pressed them: “Answer Me.” Even so, He demands that we answer this basic question.
Have you answered it for your life? Who is your final authority? You say, “I let my conscience be my guide.” What informs your conscience? You say, “I just feel inside what is right.” Really? I’ve read of hired killers who could shoot a man in the face without a twinge of conscience! Perhaps you say, “I obey the laws of the land.” What about when those laws say that it’s okay to kill babies or gas the Jews? Does that make it right? Do you obey the state when you don’t like its laws or just when they agree with you? Maybe you obey reason? Whose reason? There are proponents on both sides of most moral questions. By what authority do you live your life?
Our society generally used to agree that the Judeo-Christian standards of the Bible were moral absolutes. But now that we have rejected that moral base, our judicial system is in crisis. You often hear, “You can’t legislate morality.” Really? Aren’t rape, murder, molesting children, and racial discrimination moral issues? The crucial question is, how do we determine whose morals we are going to legislate and uphold in our courts? If we throw out God’s moral standards in the Bible, we have no basis for determining right and wrong, other than majority opinion.
“By what authority” is a fundamental question of life each of us must answer. Will you live your life under God’s authority or under some human authority, be it yourself or someone else?
These religious leaders liked their place of authority. Matthew 23, which records some of Jesus’ teaching in the temple during His final week, shows why these men opposed Jesus and wanted to retain their own authority. Jesus says that they had assumed their own position of authority (they had “seated themselves in the chair of Moses,” Matt. 23:1). But it wasn’t to serve God and their fellow men. It was to gain status, to receive honor (23:5-7), to make money off their position (23:14, 25 [“robbery”]), to live as their own authority (23:25, “self-indulgence”), out from under God’s true authority (23:28, “lawlessness”).
But God’s authority as manifested in Jesus confronted their self-appointed place of authority. He upended their neat little temple operation and showed them that their hearts were far from the Lord. If they had been following the Lord, they would have submitted to John’s baptism of repentance. That would have prepared them to submit to Jesus as their rightful Lord and Savior. But they resented Him confronting their selfishness. Note two things about God’s authority:
When Jesus overturned the tables in the temple, He backed up His actions by saying, “It is written” (19:46). He quoted from Isaiah 56:7, that God’s house should be a house of prayer, and from Jeremiah 7:11, which charged the Jews with turning God’s house into a den of robbers. Note also Luke 19:47 and 20:1, which emphasize again Jesus’ teaching ministry. In the course of His teaching, He was preaching the gospel to the crowd. Jesus didn’t assume that just because they were Jews in the Temple, they knew God and walked with Him. He preached the gospel to the religious crowd, and so should we.
All true spiritual revival involves a return to and a renewed emphasis on God’s Word. Luther and Calvin built the Reformation on a renewed emphasis on biblical preaching. T. H. L. Parker begins his wonderful book, Calvin’s Preaching ([Westminster/John Knox Press], p. 1), “Sunday after Sunday, day after day Calvin climbed up the steps into the pulpit. There he patiently led his congregation verse by verse through book after book of the Bible.” He goes on to show that the reason Calvin did this was that he believed in the total trustworthiness and authority of the Bible as God’s Word. I have read many of Calvin’s sermons as they were written down by those who heard them. They are as relevant today, 450 years later, as they were then, because they simply explain and apply God’s authoritative Word.
Many Christians in our day want to go to a church where the sermons make them feel good about themselves. But when the apostle Paul wrote to Timothy about the inspiration of Scripture, he said that it is “profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). He went on to exhort Timothy in the strongest possible language to preach that Word, especially in light of the fact that the time would come when people want their ears tickled and would pile up teachers in accordance with their own sinful desires.
So that Timothy would have no question, Paul spelled out how he should preach the Word: “reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (4:2). Preaching that does not reprove, rebuke, and exhort people regarding sin is not biblical preaching! Preaching that avoids confronting sin and that just makes people feel good is not pleasing to God! As Calvin pointed out when preaching on 2 Timothy 3:16, preaching that picks the verses that meets people’s fancy and neglects the verses that confront how they live is not biblical preaching (Parker, p. 9).
Calvin argued that the faithful pastor needs to use enough vehemence that people realize that this is not a game (p. 12). He pointed out to his church that some would complain about such direct, confrontational preaching: “Ho! We want to be won by sweetness.” “You do? Then go and teach God his lessons!” “Ho! We want to be taught in another style.” “Well then, go to the devil’s school! He will flatter you enough—and destroy you.” “But believers [will] humble themselves and are willing to be treated severely so that they may profit in God’s school” (p. 14).
I hope that you’ve read the story of Joni Eareckson Tada, a happy 17 year-old who dived into water that was not as deep as she thought and broke her neck, paralyzing her from the neck down. In the months that followed that accident, she struggled with hard questions for the Lord like few of us have had to do: “By what authority can You do this to me?” But as you read of her struggle, she makes it clear that if the accident had never happened, she probably would have gone on being a nice, church-going girl who professed to believe in God, but who ran her own life according to her own selfish goals and desires. But God forcefully confronted her with His right to be the Sovereign Lord of her life. As a result, she has had a worldwide impact for Jesus Christ.
Has the Lord Jesus upended any tables in your selfish life? Has He stopped you in your tracks in a way that shocked and upset you? Maybe, like those moneychangers, you weren’t doing anything illegal. You were just going about your business, making a living, providing for your family. You attended church regularly. You weren’t doing anything immoral or flagrantly sinful. Then one day Jesus stepped up to your life, took hold of it, and with a sudden jerk, everything was upended. His authority suddenly confronted the self-oriented direction of your life. Perhaps, like these religious men, your immediate reaction was, “Who do You think You are, to upset my life like this? By what authority do You do this to me?”
If the Lord Jesus has not confronted you with His sovereign authority to rule every aspect of your life, then you haven’t met Him, no matter how long you’ve gone to church and no matter how many times you’ve sung hymns about how much you love Jesus. When Jesus Christ enters your life, He comes in as the absolute Lord. He confronts our selfish lives and says, “I am the Lord of this temple! This has to go!” How do you respond? At first, most of us respond like these Jewish leaders: We challenge His right to do it. But we shouldn’t stay there.
If Jesus Christ is God in human flesh, who gave His life for you on the cross, then He is the absolute sovereign who has the supreme right to govern your life. With these chief priests, scribes, and elders, Jesus pointed to His forerunner, John the Baptist. If they had accepted John’s ministry as being from God, then they would have submitted to it and they would have accepted Jesus as being from God. John pointed away from himself to Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). He said of Jesus, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). If they had believed John, they would not have any problem believing Jesus.
Of course, by “believing John” (Luke 20:5) these men weren’t talking about just intellectual belief. They knew that it meant believing so as to repent and submit their lives to what John taught. In Luke 3, John spelled out what believing his message meant: “Bring forth fruits in keeping with repentance.” Don’t count on your religious background to save you (3:7-8). They needed to believe in such a way that they lived differently: Generosity toward the poor; honesty in business; and contentment with their wages (3:11-14). That always has been and always will be the meaning of saving faith in the Bible: Submitting your life to the lordship of Jesus Christ, whose authority confronts your selfishness.
But these men wouldn’t deal honestly with Jesus’ question. Confronted with the truth, they didn’t want to face it. They decided to reject Jesus’ authority. “We do not know,” they lied. They did know, but they wouldn’t honestly face their sin of rebellion against God. So Jesus refused to cast His pearls before these swine. He wouldn’t directly disclose the source of His authority. They could figure it out if they were really interested in knowing.
J. C. Ryle perceptively observes, “The ruin of thousands is simply this, that they deal dishonestly with their own souls. They allege pretended difficulties as the cause of their not serving Christ, while in reality they ‘love darkness rather than light,’ and have no honest desire to change” (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], on Mark 11:27-33, p. 246).
The late Bill Klem was one of major league baseball’s best-known and powerful umpires. When he was behind the plate, he made it clear that he was completely in charge of everything that mattered. In one important game, it was the ninth inning. The batter hit the ball to left field. The runner on third ran for home with the potential winning run. The catcher crouched to make the tag. The runner, the catcher, and the umpire all collided and were laid out in the dirt.
From one dugout, the players were screaming, “He’s safe! He’s safe!” In the other dugout, they were shouting, “He’s out! He’s out!” The fans in the stands were going wild. In the midst of all the confusion and noise, Bill Klem stood up, looked directly into the stands, raised his fist and exclaimed, “He ain’t nothin’ till I’ve called it!” Bill Klem made it clear that everyone had to submit to his authority.
Jesus Christ could go into the temple, turn over the tables of the moneychangers, drive out those who were selling, and confront the religious leaders because He was acting under the authority of the sovereign God. That same authority gives Him the right to confront you and me with the way we are living for ourselves, even if we cover it over with religiosity.
The question is, how do we respond when He suddenly upends our comfortable way of life? Do we challenge His right to confront us? Or, do we honestly face our own sinful selfishness, our insistence on running our lives on our terms? Do we yield to His rightful lordship? Since Jesus Christ is acting by God’s authority, we had better submit to Him!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
A few years ago, a family living in a beautiful home in West Palm Beach, Florida, told a film crew that it was okay to use the front lawn as a set for filming an episode of a TV show. They knew that cars would be crashing violently in front of the house. While the front yard was being destroyed, the owner of the home was tipped off and called from New York, demanding to know what was happening to his house. It seems that the people living in the house were only tenants who had no right to allow the property to be destroyed while the cameras rolled.
Some awful mistakes can happen when those who are tenants begin acting as if they were owners. The more valuable the property they occupy, the more responsibility they have to treat it carefully. Can you imagine tenants in a beautiful mansion who refuse to pay rent and who threaten or beat up those whom the owner sends to collect rent? They argue, “We live here; it’s our house now.” No one making that claim would stand a chance in a court of law. The owner has the right to receive rent and to have his property treated rightly.
To follow up the challenge of the Jewish leaders to Jesus about the source of His authority, He tells a parable about some wicked tenants of a vineyard, who had wrongfully assumed ownership of that which was not their own. It is one of only three parables that occur in all three synoptic gospels (the sower and the mustard seed are the other two). The parable answers the question that the leaders had just asked Jesus: “By what authority are you doing these things?” If God owns the vineyard and Jesus is the Son and rightful heir to it, then He is acting under God’s authority. The Jewish leaders have wrongfully usurped the authority of God, the rightful owner.
Thus the fundamental question that not only these Jewish leaders, but also all who hear the parable, need to answer is, “Who owns the vineyard?” Keeping in mind the answer to that question will determine how we live.
Since God owns the vineyard, we must live accountably to Him.
To understand this parable, we must identify the characters:
Owner of the vineyard ….. God
The vineyard ……………. Israel
The tenant farmers ……… Religious leaders of Israel
Servants of the owner …… The prophets
Son/Heir of the owner ….. Jesus Christ
When they heard this parable, Jesus’ audience would immediately have thought about Isaiah 5:1-7, where the prophet calls Israel God’s vineyard and warns that He would lay it waste because it produced only worthless grapes. Jesus shows that God expects fruit from His vineyard, but He emphasizes God’s great patience and love in sending many messengers and finally, His beloved Son. If His people produce no fruit and kill His Son, they will face His terrible judgment. But even though they kill His Son, He will triumph by becoming the chief cornerstone.
These things apply not only to ancient Israel, but also to us, whom God has graciously grafted into His vine (see Rom. 11:17-24). The parable reveals five things about God and those who profess to be His people:
Why go to the bother of planting a vineyard if you don’t expect fruit? It was a common arrangement for an owner to rent out his vineyard to tenant farmers who would pay him a percentage of the crop each year. So, at the proper time, the owner rightfully sent a servant to collect what the farmers owed him.
We would misunderstand the parable if we thought of these tenant farmers as poor sharecroppers who were being abused by a demanding owner. Rather, they were greatly privileged to be able to work in the owner’s vineyard. They did not have to plant it; the owner did that. They simply entered into his vineyard, where they could work and make a sufficient living for themselves and their families. The owner was not a greedy tyrant, who stood over them with a whip, driving them mercilessly. He freely entrusted the vineyard to them and let them work it as they saw fit. But for these privileges, they owed him a certain amount of fruit.
Even so, God had done everything to provide for Israel, His vineyard. He drove out the wicked nations and gave Palestine to His chosen people. He protected them from fierce nations around them. He entrusted His people to leaders who, if they had been faithful, would have harvested a bumper crop. Israel should have been a light to the nations, pointing them to God, who so richly supplied their needs. God, who provided so abundantly for His vineyard, had every right to expect fruit.
So with us: We are greatly privileged in that God has given us His Word and has supplied us with everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Pet. 1:3). He wants us to bear the fruit of Christ-like lives so that the hungry people who do not know Him will taste and see that the Lord is good.
We who live in America are perhaps the most spiritually privileged people in all of history. We have God’s Word in our language. We have an almost endless supply of helpful, readily available spiritual resources. We have more leisure time than any other nation in history to pursue spiritual things. We are blessed with adequate financial resources to support God’s work here and around the world. With these great privileges comes the responsibility of bearing fruit for the owner of the vineyard.
All of us are either living for ourselves and our own gratification or we are living to bear fruit for the Lord Jesus Christ. We’re either laboring for what we can get out of the vineyard or for what we can produce for the owner. Clearly, these wicked tenant farmers in the parable were not working for the owner, but for themselves. The irony is, we always find the most pleasure when we live to bear fruit for Christ, not when we live for ourselves.
I read of a young man who always found excuses to turn down his pastor’s request that he teach a class of teenage boys. Finally, he admitted that he was afraid that it would cut into his time on the golf course. He realized how self-centered that was and agreed to take the class.
He worked hard at it and within a few months, he had led six young men to Christ. On the Sunday that the sixth boy professed his faith in Christ, the pastor asked the teacher, “Has giving up golf on Sunday been worth it?” With tears in his eyes, the young man said, “My only regret is that I’ve waited so long to put others ahead of myself.” The joy that he found in teaching that class of 13 boys, six of whom he had personally led to Christ, far exceeded any pleasure that he had experienced on the golf course (in “Our Daily Bread,” Nov., 1983).
God, the owner of the vineyard, expects fruit from His people. But, how can we be motivated to live accountably to Him?
At this point, the parable is not at all like real life. These wicked tenant farmers rough up and send away empty-handed the first servant that the owner sends. Any human owner would not have tolerated that. Any sensible businessman immediately would have thrown these bums out, prosecuted them legally for their negligence and abuse, and replaced them with tenants who would be more faithful in managing his vineyard.
But I’m glad to say that this owner, who represents God, was not a good businessman. He sent a second slave, who also was mistreated. After two times, anyone else would say, “That’s it! These guys have had more than a fair chance!” But this owner sends yet another, whom they wounded and cast out.
Jesus is showing us the unreasonable, illogical, supra-human patience of our gracious God. He sent His prophets to Israel over and over again, looking for fruit. But the disobedient nation ignored, mistreated, and even killed some of these faithful servants. Yet in spite of this, God kept sending them, over and over again, as a demonstration of His abundant patience and grace.
The history of Israel reveals the tragic wickedness of the human heart. No people were as privileged by God as that covenant nation, and yet repeatedly they turned away from God. While Moses was on the mountain receiving the Ten Commandments, Israel was in the valley below carousing in front of the golden calf. Time and again they grumbled against God in the wilderness. When they moved into the promised land, instead of living separately from the pagan nations around them, they imitated their idolatry and immorality.
Yet where sin abounded, God’s grace super-abounded (Rom. 5:20). Far beyond any human expectations, God patiently sent prophet after prophet to warn His people to turn from their sins. I say it reverently, but as a businessman, the owner of the vineyard failed. He should have thrown out these lousy tenant farmers after the first evidence of their rebellion. Ah, but thank God, He is not a hard-nosed businessman! He is far more patient than we can imagine. He sends repeated messengers giving repeated warnings as a demonstration of His abundant patience and grace.
If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you should be able to look back at God’s extravagant patience and grace in His dealings with you and it ought to motivate you to serve Him more zealously. How many times I have been self-centered, living for my own aims, not to bear fruit for the Lord! And yet He always keeps sending His messengers to get me back on track!
God sends us preachers who proclaim the truth of His Word. He gives us the Bible, which we can read for ourselves. We see many other messengers in His church—friends and others who warn us by their lives and words of the need to live fruitful lives. God graciously sends us health problems to show us that we are frail and dependent on Him; signs of aging—gray hair, loss of hair, loss of youthful strength, and the death of loved ones and friends, to remind us that the eternal is what matters.
All of these gracious messengers, given over and over again, remind us that eternity is near and we must give an account. God’s great patience in His dealings with us should motivate us to live accountably to Him, bearing fruit with our lives. But the greatest motivation to fruitful, accountable living is not the many prophets God sent. It is His final messenger:
The owner had one more to send, his beloved son. He said, “What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; perhaps they will respect him” (20:13). Again, at this point the parable is not true to reality. In reality, God doesn’t wonder about what to do or about what will happen if He does it. Both the Father and, as the next verse shows, Jesus the Son, knew that He would be rejected and killed. It was no surprise. But in telling the story, Jesus brings out the vineyard owner’s “quandary” to show both the depth of God’s amazing love and the intractable wickedness of the human heart. The Father’s love is so great that He was willing to send His beloved Son after His servants had been so abused. The depravity of the human heart is seen in those who would not only disregard the son, but kill him for their own selfish ends.
Note also Jesus’ implicit claim here, that He stands apart from the other servants whom God had sent. They were servants, but He is the beloved Son. He is uniquely God’s Son, of the same substance with the Father, one with Him and intimately related to Him in a way that no one else is. Jesus is God in human flesh.
When the son showed up the tenant farmers assumed that the owner was dead. Under Jewish law, property not claimed by an heir within a specified time could be claimed by the first party to do so. Thus they greedily assume that if they get rid of the son, the property will be theirs. They didn’t kill the son because of mistaken identity, but precisely because they recognized who he was and they wanted his inheritance for themselves. The issue was, “Who owns the vineyard?” They did not want to submit themselves to God’s rightful ownership. They wanted to rule the vineyard.
If we only could grasp the infinite love of God who sent His Son to a world as corrupt as ours! Have you ever thought about all the crud that God sees in this evil world every day? Law enforcement officers see more of the seamy side of life than most of us. They deal with rape, assault, murder, child abuse, and every other kind of crime. But God sees it all, not just in one location at one time, but all over the world all the time. He sees not only the sins committed outwardly, but those in the hearts of every person. Martin Luther once exclaimed, “If I were God and the world had treated me as it treated Him, I would kick the wretched thing to pieces!” We can all identify with his feelings!
But how did God treat this evil world? “God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Knowing that He would bear the penalty for every sin that we would commit, Jesus still was willing to take on human flesh and come to this wicked world! As Charles Wesley put it in his great hymn, “Amazing love! How can it be, that Thou, my God, shouldst die for me!”
But the parable shows not only God’s great patience and love, but also His righteous judgment on those who reject His Son.
This parable illustrates what Paul exclaims in Romans 11:22, “Behold then the kindness and severity of God.” God’s kindness is seen in His sending far more servants to rebellious Israel than she deserved. His severity is seen when these wicked tenant farmers killed the son. Jesus is God’s final messenger, the sum of His revelation to sinful man. If we reject Him, there is no further remedy. Only judgment lies ahead.
Jesus pronounces the judgment that the owner of the vineyard “will come and destroy these vine-growers and will give the vineyard to others” (20:16). That thought prompts the people to exclaim, “May it never be!” It shocked them to think of such a terrible thing! That judgment took place in A.D. 70, when the Roman general Titus destroyed the city and the Jews were scattered. They lost their place of privilege as God’s covenant nation. God grafted in the Gentiles to accomplish His purpose “until the fulness of the Gentiles has come in” (Rom. 11:25). As Paul points out, we should not boast, but fear, or God could remove us and use some other group to fulfill His purpose (Rom. 11:17-22). The point is, if we who profess to be God’s people live selfishly and do not bear fruit in His vineyard, He will set us aside and raise up others.
We need to apply this not just to the church “out there,” but also to ourselves. We miss the point if we think that this parable was given to pagans. It was given to men who professed to know God, to national religious leaders. But they wrongly thought that they owned the vineyard. They thought that it was their ministry. They were using it for their own selfish purposes. As a result, they rejected Jesus’ rightful place as the owner of the vineyard.
This church is not my church. It is not the elders’ church. It is not your church. It is the Lord’s church. He’s the owner of the vineyard. If He allows us to work in His vineyard, we are blessed. Any work that we do in the vineyard is not for us; it is for the owner.
We need to be careful, because it’s easy to start enjoying the grapes in the vineyard. It’s personally gratifying to serve the Lord. You like the nice things people say to you. You enjoy being used by God. All of this is fine as long as you remember that it’s His vineyard and that all that you do is for Him. But if you start serving for what you get out of it and drift into thinking that it’s your ministry, you’ve just usurped the rightful place of the owner. If you keep going in that direction, He may come and remove you from your place of service in the vineyard.
God expects fruit from His people. His great patience and grace, seen in the many messengers He sends to us when we get off track should motivate us to bear fruit. His great love, seen in His sending His beloved Son, should motivate us to live accountably before Him. His righteous judgment on those who reject His Son and usurp ownership of the vineyard should motivate us to live accountably to Him. Finally,
Our sin can never thwart the sovereign purposes of God. Jesus cites Psalm 118, from which the “Hosannas” of the multitude on Palm Sunday were taken, to show these wicked Jewish leaders that even if they kill the Messiah, God would reverse their sinful choice and make Him the chief cornerstone. (The word can also mean “capstone.” It’s difficult to determine which is intended.) These men thought they could get rid of the owner’s son once and for all by killing him. Little did they know—although they should have, since it was predicted in this psalm over 1,000 years before— that God would raise up His Son and install Him in the chief place of honor that He deserves.
It’s a great comfort to know that human sin can never thwart the sovereignty of God. We are responsible for our sin, yet God sovereignly ordains everything that comes to pass and rightfully judges those who do not submit to His purposes. Proud men take their stand against the Lord and His Christ, but God scoffs at them (Ps. 2:1-4). These wicked tenant farmers could kill the son, but God would raise him up to be the chief cornerstone, just as His Word prophesied.
Verse 18 means that if you pit yourself against the chief cornerstone, you will lose and He will win every time. A Jewish proverb put it, “If the stone falls on the pot, alas for the pot; if the pot falls on the stone, alas for the pot!” (Midrash Esther 3:6). Either way, the pot loses and the stone wins!
God determined before the foundation of the world that Christ would die, yet those who wickedly condemned and crucified Jesus in accord with God’s sovereign plan are responsible (Acts 2:23; 4:27-28). God always triumphs; those who oppose Him always lose. That fact should motivate us to keep on bearing fruit in His vineyard, no matter how difficult it may be or how much opposition we face. God’s side will win in the end.
The sad thing is, we can understand the truth and yet reject it. These men who heard this parable understood that Jesus spoke it against them (20:19). They knew that He was predicting God’s judgment if they continued their course of action. Yet they persisted in seeking a way to seize Him. They feared the multitude; they should have feared God.
Jesus told this parable for two main reasons. He wanted to encourage His faithful servants who get beat up and thrown out of the vineyard to keep on being faithful. He owns the vineyard and the main thing is for His servants to bear fruit for Him. Second, He told it to warn those who wrongly think that they own the vineyard that they do not. A day of reckoning is coming!
Every first time visitor to the town of Twin Lakes, Colorado hits the brakes when he first drives into town. The reason for that automatic behavior is that there is a police car with a mannequin sitting behind the wheel just as you come over a hill heading into town. Before you realize that it is just a dummy, you hit your brakes because you think that you are accountable.
We need to keep in mind that God is not a dummy—He’s real! Jesus Christ is the rightful heir and owner of the vineyard. Either we submit to Him and serve Him or we will face His certain judgment. If we wrongly start thinking that we own the vineyard, the stone will fall on us and scatter us like dust.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
With both tax and election seasons being upon us, it is an appropriate time to talk about guile, government, and God. There is nothing like taxes to tempt us to fudge the truth! A cartoon showed a man sitting in front of an IRS agent who said, “Let’s begin with where you claim depreciation on your wife.” Don’t get any ideas, men!
When you throw in religion on top of taxes and government, you’ve got a built-in formula for hypocrisy. Those three elements—taxes, government, and religion—all play a part in this exchange between the Jewish religious authorities and Jesus over the subject of paying taxes to Caesar. Sometimes a common enemy will bring together strange bedfellows, and that was the case here. Although Luke does not mention it, both Matthew and Mark report that the Herodians and the Pharisees joined forces in this attempt to bring Jesus down. The Herodians backed Herod’s rule over Israel; the Pharisees hated Herod and those who backed him. But in order to get rid of Jesus, they teamed up and sent some spies to trap Jesus with a question designed to impale Him on the horns of a dilemma.
After some flattery, they asked Jesus, “Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” If Jesus answered, “Yes,” the Pharisees would accuse Him of being soft towards Rome and certainly not being the Messiah who could deliver the nation from Rome’s hated sovereignty. If He answered, “No,” the Herodians would report Him to Pilate as being opposed to Caesar’s rule, thus guilty of sedition. They thought that they had Him this time.
But Jesus’ answer stunned them. In one succinct sentence, He showed that God and Caesar each have legitimate realms of authority with corresponding responsibilities. But if there is a conflict between realms, God is supreme over Caesar. By asking His critics to produce the Roman coin, Jesus underscored the fact that they were enjoying the benefits of Caesar’s government. They used his coinage; they enjoyed many civil improvements and benefits that he provided. Thus they were obligated to give him his due.
And yet, by His final statement, “to God the things that are God’s,” Jesus affirmed that it would be wrong to go along with Caesar’s blasphemous claim to deity, which was stamped on each coin. One side read, “Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus”; the other read, “Pontifex Maximus” (“Chief Priest”). Jesus meant that above Caesar is God. We must never go so far in rendering unto Caesar that we violate our obligation to God, the supreme sovereign who rules over all. Luke wants us to learn:
We must avoid religious hypocrisy, submit to proper government authority, and submit to God above all.
Luke weaves together three themes: the danger of religious hypocrisy; the duty of submission to government authority; and, the higher duty of obedience to God, especially when He confronts our sin of acting as our own authority.
Luke states that these religious leaders sent spies who pretended to be righteous or sincere, but their secret motive was to catch Jesus in some statement so that they could deliver Him up to the rule and authority of the governor. That way, they could look good to the people (“We didn’t do it!”) and let the governor dispose of this troublesome teacher. Their flattery (20:21) is ironic, because even though they did not believe what they were saying, it was totally true: Jesus did “speak and teach correctly.” He was not “partial to any.” He did “teach the way of God in truth.” If these hypocrites had believed what they were saying, they would have submitted themselves to Jesus!
It’s easy to scoff at the inconsistency of these religious leaders, but we need to look within and admit that we’re all prone toward hypocrisy. It lurks in all of our hearts because we’re all disposed to want to look good to others, while we forget about what God sees. We’re like the little boy who was bragging to his brother about how he had killed a mouse that he caught. He told him how he clobbered it with a broom and then it grabbed it by the tail and smashed it against a rock. Just then, the boy looked up and saw that the preacher was visiting the family and was within earshot. Without missing a beat, the boy added, “And then the good Lord called it home.”
During the first few weeks that I was a pastor, Marla and I went to look at a house that was for sale. The owner, a rough looking old man, stood out on the porch talking with us. Eventually he asked what I did for a living. As soon as I said that I was the pastor of a church, he grabbed the cigarette that he had just lit, threw it on the porch, and ground it out with his foot while he exclaimed over and over, “Just look at me! Smoking in front of a preacher!” I said to him, “You always smoke in front of God.”
But preachers are prone to hypocrisy also. It’s easy to want to look more righteous in front of people than you really are. If you’re not careful, you can give the impression in sermons that you have it all together spiritually, when you really don’t. Sometimes someone will make a comment about my level of piety that goes beyond the truth: “You must spend hours in prayer each week!” No, as a matter of fact, I struggle with prayer just like you do! But if I let the comment go uncorrected, thinking, “What will it hurt?” I fall into hypocrisy.
I am not suggesting that we should share all our inner struggles with every person we meet. That is neither wise nor necessary. But to avoid hypocrisy, we must not convey false impressions to make ourselves look better to others than we know we really are.
Jesus saw right through their trickery (the word is used of Satan’s craftiness in deceiving Eve, 2 Cor. 11:3). Jesus always sees through hypocrisy! As Hebrews 4:13 says, “And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.” Paul said that he lived, “not as pleasing men but God, who examines our hearts” (1 Thess. 2:4). Let us learn from the pretense of these religious men that we sometimes can fool others, but we can never fool God. Be on guard against the sin of religious hypocrisy.
By His statement, “render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s,” Jesus acknowledged that God has ordained civil government and given it a proper sphere of authority.
Paul explains this in Romans 13:1-7, where he commands, “Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God” (13:1). He goes on to state that the government “is a minister of God to you for good” (13:4). When Paul wrote this, the godless Nero was emperor. Thus we must conclude that we are not free to disobey or rebel against wicked rulers, unless they command us to violate God’s higher law. There are two ways that government ought to promote our good:
The government “bears the sword” to “bring wrath upon the one who practices evil” (Rom. 13:4). By upholding just laws and by punishing wrongdoers, the government should protect the innocent, especially those who are weak and defenseless, from those who would selfishly take advantage of them. When governments become corrupt and fail to enforce laws with sufficient punishments to deter crime, law-abiding citizens suffer and the government comes under God’s judgment.
Proper government authority should enable its citizens to “lead a tranquil and quiet life” (1 Tim. 2:2). The government should protect its citizens from bandits and con men. Its laws should uphold honest business practices and property rights. It should ensure religious liberty within the bounds of human safety and dignity. Between nations, governments should maintain adequate national defense and treaties so that totalitarian regimes do not overpower weaker nations. It follows that …
I can only touch on these for sake of time:
Romans 13:1 is pretty clear: “Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities.” To a persecuted church, Peter wrote, “Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right” (1 Pet. 2:13-14). When the government oversteps its jurisdiction and commands or tries to force its citizens to disobey God, then we must obey God and disobey the government (Daniel 3 & 6; Acts 5:29). Although some Christians, such as John Knox in Scotland and our own American forefathers, led armed rebellion against tyrannical governments, I find that hard to support biblically. Neither Jesus nor the apostles advocated overthrowing the corrupt governments of their day.
First Peter 2:17 tells us to “honor the king.” The reason I add, “if possible,” is that there are times when a government leader deserves censure, not honor. Jesus called Herod a fox (Luke 13:32) and John the Baptist denounced him publicly for his immorality. But usually we should grant honor to those in authority, even if we disagree strongly with their views or behavior.
Jesus’ words here refer specifically to paying a poll tax that Caesar imposed on his subjects. In Romans 13:7, Paul states that we must pay “tax to whom tax is due; custom to whom custom.” It is not good stewardship to pay more tax than you owe, and so it is right to take advantage of legitimate tax deductions, such as charitable contributions. But it is wrong to knowingly cheat on our taxes, just because “everyone else does.” And we should not withhold a portion of our taxes because we disagree with how the government spends it (such as abortion funding, war, etc.).
Paul urged Timothy to direct the churches to pray “for kings and all who are in authority” (1 Tim. 2:1, 2). The aim of such prayers is “that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” We also should pray for the conversion and moral courage of our leaders.
Whenever Paul stood before government authorities, he used the opportunity to preach the gospel. He bore witness to Felix, Festus, and Agrippa, with their wives (Acts 24:10-23, 26; 25:23; 26:1-29). He led many in Caesar’s household to faith in Christ (Phil. 1:13; 4:22). Christians who hold public office and discharge their duties with integrity can have widespread influence for Christ.
Daniel appealed to Nebuchadnezzar to turn from his sins and to do rightly (Dan. 4:27). He strongly confronted Belshazzar for his spiritual and moral negligence (5:18-28). Many Old Testament prophets confronted sinful kings for their wrongs. John the Baptist exposed Herod’s sin of taking his brother’s wife (Luke 3:19). Paul spoke with Felix and his wife about “righteousness, self-control, and the judgment to come” (Acts 24:25). Except for the Old Testament kings, none of the rulers just cited were believers or a part of the covenant nation. Yet in each case, God’s spokesmen reminded these leaders that they would one day give an account to God for their evil deeds unless they repented.
Those who want to silence the church from speaking out on moral issues have carried the argument for the separation of church and state to ridiculous extremes. While I agree that the government should not establish any religion, that does not mean that Christian citizens should not speak out on moral issues that threaten the well-being of our society. We are called to be salt and light (Matt. 5:13-16) and to bear witness in this evil world. Sometimes that witness involves confronting sin before we share the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.
Each believer has different gifts and callings from God. Each of us must seek His wisdom and direction as to how and where He wants us to serve Him. We have biblical examples of men like Joseph, Nehemiah, and Daniel who served high positions in pagan governments. In our democratic form of government, it seems to me that our minimum responsibility as Christian citizens is that we vote for candidates and issues that will best further Christian values in our land. In the 1998 general election, more than 126 million people who were eligible to vote did not, and many of them were Christians (cited by James Dobson, Feb., 2000 newsletter). Some may be called to greater involvement, but to do nothing when God has given us the right to vote seems to me to be irresponsible.
There is currently a hot debate in evangelical circles about how much we as Christians should be involved in the political process and how far we can push Christian morality in a secular state. Leaders such as James Dobson, James Kennedy, Bill Bright, Gary Bauer, and Tim and Beverly LaHaye urge Christians to heavy involvement in the political process. Jerry Falwell has drawn back from his earlier involvement when he led the Moral Majority. One of his former top leaders, Ed Dobson, now a pastor in Grand Rapids, and newspaper columnist Cal Thomas have written a book criticizing the efforts of the Religious Right. Dave Hunt argues that Christians have no business “getting Caesar, though he cannot be converted, to support God’s side” (“The Berean Call,” 6/99). So I want to deal briefly with the question:
I offer four thoughts:
If we forget this, we fall into the trap of the social gospel. The major problems in this evil world stem from sin in the human heart. The only lasting remedy for sin is the gospel that changes people from rebellion against God to submission to God. While it is fine to elect Christians to public office and to pass legislation that upholds Christian moral values, we need to keep in mind the limits of those objectives. Such things will not turn our nation from its current evil course. Only the gospel can do that. Thus we need to focus on proclaiming the gospel from our pulpits and individually.
But, for Christians to withdraw completely from the political process seems to me to deny that God uses Christians and the institution of secular government to restrain evil. Thus I urge involvement according to one’s gifts and calling as long as the person keeps the priority of the gospel at the heart of matters and remembers the limited value of political action.
Abortion is clearly a major issue, since it involves killing human life for personal convenience, which is clearly against God’s Word. I think that prayer in the public schools is more of a gray area, especially since we cannot stipulate Christian prayers. I would not want Buddhist or Muslim prayers offered alongside Christian prayers. Laws that mandate teaching in our public schools that homosexuality is a valid lifestyle are a far more serious threat and Christians are right to mount opposition to such laws or to pull their children out of the schools if they are passed. We need God’s wisdom in picking our battles.
Our secular society does not accept the Bible as God’s standard for morality, and if we argue, “the Bible says,” we will not be heard. But if we argue on the broader basis of wide social merit and commonly held values, then we can pass laws that protect the family and that promote overall well-being. You can argue against convenience abortion simply on the basis of protecting human life and having compassion for babies. You can argue against pornography because it degrades women. You can urge stiffer penalties on drunk drivers out of concern for public safety. As Christians, we have biblical reasons for each of these issues, but if we haul out the Bible to promote our view, we will be ignored.
I am not saying that we should compromise our moral position as Christians. I am saying that in a fallen world, we may have to settle for less than the Christian ideal. For example, in the area of abortion, while it is wrong to kill any child in the womb, unless the mother’s life is at stake, if we hold out for a measure that bans all abortions, we will never stop abortions. But if there is a chance of passing a law that bans abortion except in cases of rape, incest, severe deformity, or a threat to the mother’s life, we should go for it, even though we disagree with the exceptions. We would instantly stop over 95 percent of all abortions! By holding out for all or nothing, we often end up with nothing.
Jesus’ confrontation with these Jewish leaders teaches us that we must avoid religious hypocrisy and we must submit to proper government authority. But there is a third theme:
“Render … to God the things that are God’s.” Jesus’ statement implies that just as the Roman coin had Caesar’s image stamped on it and thus rightfully fell under his jurisdiction, so every person has God’s image stamped on him or her and thus rightfully belongs to God. Just as Caesar had sole authority to issue coins stamped with his image, so God is the only one who creates human beings stamped with His image. We owe God our very existence. He rightfully owns us, our possessions, our money, and our time. If we are not yielding ourselves completely to His sovereign lordship, we are disobeying the supreme authority of the universe!
By challenging Jesus, these Pharisees and Herodians were guilty of not rendering to God the things that are God’s. They came to Jesus, not to obey Him, but to trap Him. They acted as if they were sincerely interested in His opinion about a moral issue, but they had no intention of obeying what He said. But the only way you can come to Christ is to come honestly, confessing your sins, being willing to obey Him. If you come to contend with Him in order to get your own way, beware! He knows the secret motives of every heart! One day every knee will bow before Him.
So the overarching principle is that we must submit all of our lives to the absolute sovereignty of God, the supreme ruler of the universe. He sets up rulers and takes them down according to His will. As Daniel 4 repeats three times, “The Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whom He wishes” (vss. 17, 25, 32). When God’s authority confronts our authority to rule our lives, we must submit to Him or face His judgment.
We’ve all got to do business with God who examines our hearts. Don’t risk playing games with Him! It always causes great damage to the cause of Christ when a man who has crusaded against pornography gets caught with a prostitute. We need to judge our hypocrisy and live with integrity before God.
A few years ago, the late Senate Chaplain Richard Halverson told about a senator who was speaking at a church men’s dinner. The senator asked how many men believed in prayer in the public schools. Almost every hand went up. He then asked, “How many of you pray daily with your children in your home?” Only a few hands were raised. Ouch!
Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. But above all, render to God the things that are God’s.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
We live in a day when doctrine has become an unpleasant word, even among evangelical Christians. Admit it: When you hear the word “doctrine,” does it evoke positive or negative feelings in you? A person who holds strongly to doctrine is viewed as difficult and divisive. Often such people are arrogant, thinking that they are right and everyone else is wrong. They are not usually regarded as kind and loving.
The popular cry of our day is, “They will know that we are Christians by our love, not by our doctrinal agreement.” Thus we are encouraged to set aside all doctrines that divide us and come together on the basis of our common love for Jesus. Tolerance and unity are the most important thing. Look where doctrinal debates have led us, into centuries of shameful division among those who believe in Jesus Christ. Life, experience, and feelings are what matter. Theology is stuffy, dry, and dead.
The main problem with such thinking is that it brings us into direct conflict with Jesus Christ! Luke 20:27-40 shows Jesus in conflict with some of the religious leaders in Israel, the Sadducees, who denied the doctrine of the resurrection and the existence of angels and spirits (Acts 23:8). When they proposed their doctrinal question to Jesus, He did not respond, “The important thing, guys, is that we all love God and one another. We’re all Jews; we all believe in the Scriptures. You hold that there is no resurrection, while some of us believe that there is a resurrection. But none of us can know for certain. So let’s just get together on matters where we agree and sing songs that make us all feel good. After all, love, not doctrine, is the main thing.”
Rather, Jesus forcefully refuted their doctrinal error. Mark records that Jesus told them at the outset that they were mistaken, and He repeated at the close of His comments, “You are greatly mistaken” (Mark 12:24, 27). Apparently, sound doctrine mattered a great deal to Jesus! It mattered because He knew that a person cannot hold to serious doctrinal error and be rightly related to the God of truth. It mattered because He knew that it is impossible truly to love a person who holds to serious doctrinal error if you do not warn him of his error and teach him the truth as revealed in God’s Word. Since sound doctrine mattered greatly to Jesus, it should matter greatly to us.
You should care about doctrine because Jesus did and because your life both here and hereafter depends on holding in faith to sound doctrine.
Our knowledge of the Sadducees is a bit scanty and uncertain. We don’t know for sure the origin of the group or its name. They were mostly upper class, educated, rationalistic, religious conservatives who held to the supreme authority of the Torah (the first five books of Moses). They rejected the oral traditions of the Jewish rabbis. The high priest and many of his associates were Sadducees (Acts 5:17). In their denial of the resurrection and the existence of angels and spirits, they disagreed sharply with the Pharisees (Acts 23:6-9). Jesus’ encounter with them reveals three reasons why you should care about doctrine:
This should be reason enough. Note two things:
He didn’t say, “Hey, it really doesn’t matter what you guys believe, just as long as you’re sincere.” He didn’t say, “I love you guys! You’re my brothers, even if we disagree over this little matter of the resurrection!” He didn’t say, “I respect your views. Everyone is entitled to his own opinion.” He told them authoritatively that they were greatly mistaken and He set forth the reasons why.
As Allan Bloom pointed out a few years ago in his best seller, The Closing of the American Mind ([Simon and Schuster], p. 28), the intellectual community has relegated religion to the realm of opinion as opposed to knowledge. It is simply a matter of one subjective and uncertain opinion versus another. Undergirding this is the view that all truth is relative and that tolerance the chief virtue (pp. 25-27). He said, “The point is not to correct the mistakes and really be right; rather it is not to think you are right at all” (p. 26). The result of this is that you can have two people holding to opposite views in the spiritual realm and they both can be right, since religious “truth” is simply one’s subjective ideas or experience of it.
This thinking permeated this church eight years ago when I came here. One elder (no longer here) told me that the title of a sermon booklet that I had written, “What the Bible Says About Abortion,” was arrogant. I asked him why and he said, “Because we can’t say what the Bible says about anything.” I was a bit stunned, but I countered, “Really? Can’t I say that the Bible says that adultery is wrong?” He responded, “No, you can only say, ‘I think that it’s wrong.’” I tried to clarify by saying that we have to express biblical truth in love, showing compassion to the woman with a problem pregnancy or to the person who has fallen into adultery. But, I told him, the bottom line must be firm: Abortion and adultery are wrong. No, he insisted, we must keep our options open and not be dogmatic about such matters.
I have encountered this in others since then. People have left the church because they don’t like it when I point out the doctrinal errors that are infiltrating the church. They’ve said, “Why can’t you just be positive?” The answer is that Paul stated that the job of an elder is not only to exhort in sound doctrine, but also to refute those who contradict (Titus 1:9).
I am not saying that we are to be cutting or unkind in blasting those who disagree with us. Paul said that “the Lord’s bond-servant must not be quarrelsome, but be kind to all, able to teach, patient when wronged, with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition” (2 Tim. 2:24-25). Also, we need to be careful to distinguish core, central doctrines from those that are more peripheral. Clearly, holding to the deity of Jesus is far more important than whether one holds to a pretribulational rapture!
Some doctrines are so important that to deny them is to deny the Christian faith. These would include: the inspiration and authority of Scripture; the Trinity; the deity of Jesus Christ; His substitutionary atonement; His bodily resurrection from the dead; His bodily return; that we are justified by grace through faith apart from works; and the future judgment.
Other doctrines are important because they have a strong effect on how one lives the Christian life, but they are not on the level of heresy. I would put Calvinism versus Arminianism in this category. Holding to the Calvinistic view of God’s sovereignty in our salvation dramatically affects a person’s view of God and of human nature. It affects how we deal with suffering, how we evangelize the lost, our doctrine of prayer, and many other practical issues. But those who hold to the Arminian view are still, for the most part, men who have been born again by God’s sovereign grace, even though they think it was by their free will! We must treat them as brothers in Christ, not as heretics.
Some doctrines are not worth wrangling over at all. We’ve all met Christians who want to debate minor issues that have no practical significance. They want to prove that they are right and everyone else is wrong. While it’s fine to discuss such issues in a spirit of love, to get angry or divide from other believers over minor doctrinal differences is sin.
Jesus viewed the doctrine of the resurrection as a core issue. To deny that God raises the dead is to deny the doctrine of future rewards for the righteous and punishment for the wicked, which removes the major incentive for holy living. It is to deny the faithfulness of the covenant-keeping God, whose promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob clearly were not fulfilled in their lifetimes. Thus we make God out to be a liar. It is to deny hope for those who have lost loved ones or for those who suffer terribly in this life. As Paul argues in 1 Corinthians 15, if we deny the resurrection of the dead, then Jesus is not raised and our faith is utterly worthless. We are still in our sins. Thus Jesus taught that there is such a thing as doctrinal truth and error.
Both the Sadducees and Jesus held to the authority of Scripture. They begin by quoting Moses and Jesus answers them by quoting Moses. But these men gave undue emphasis to human reason, which led them to disregard certain Scriptures; and they underestimated the power of God to raise the dead and give them a whole different existence in heaven. Mark 12:24 quotes Jesus, “Is this not the reason you are mistaken, that you do not understand the Scriptures, or the power of God?” In Luke 20, Jesus deals with their not understanding God’s power in verses 34-36 and with their not understanding the Scriptures in verses 37-38.
The Sadducees’ error was based on some wrong assumptions. They wrongly assumed that life after death would necessarily be just like life now. Thus they took the Mosaic allowance for a brother marrying his deceased brother’s widow to raise up offspring for him, and wrongly applied it to life in the resurrected state. They wrongly assumed that people will marry monogamously in heaven, just as they do now. Based on their assumptions, the idea of a woman having seven husbands in heaven was logically absurd. But their assumptions were wrong.
These men underestimated God’s power to raise us from the dead and to give us new bodies that will not be subject to sin and death. Jesus says that in the resurrection, we will be like the angels in two aspects, that we will not marry and that we will not die. Also, like the holy angels, we will not be able to sin. Thus we will come into the full sense of being “sons of God, being sons of the resurrection” (20:36). We are already children of God through the new birth, but we can’t grasp the full import of that until we receive our new resurrection bodies in heaven.
I must be honest in saying that the thought of being celibate, like the angels, never used to get me excited about heaven. I’ve often said to Marla, “How can heaven be heaven if I can’t be married to you?” Being married to her is the best thing that’s ever happened to me, except for my salvation. I was thinking about this in the context of thinking about Paul’s words about marriage. He says with reference to the one flesh aspect of marriage, that he isn’t talking about marriage, but rather about Christ and the church (Eph. 5:32). It dawned on me that he is saying that the marriage relationship, and especially the one flesh aspect of marriage, is the closest earthly picture that we have to our union with Christ, which will be consummated in heaven. I don’t mean to be crude, but rather reverent, when I say that if you think that marriage, and particularly sex in marriage is wonderful, it’s just an earthly picture of how much more wonderful it will be to be intimately joined to our heavenly Bridegroom, Jesus Christ. You may have to take that by faith, but that’s what God’s Word promises!
The Sadducees erred because they were rationalists. If something went beyond human reason, such as God’s power to raise the dead and give them a whole new existence, they didn’t accept it. Rationalism limits knowledge to man and the power of reason. Believing in God and His supernatural power is not irrational, but it is supra-rational. It transcends human reason. The way we know the truth of Scripture is first by being born from above by God’s power so that we come to know Him and then by submitting our reason and our will to God’s revelation in Scripture. We must hold to all that God’s Word reveals, even if it doesn’t fit with our finite reasoning, or we will fall into serious doctrinal error. Rationalism undermines God’s power; faith in His Word affirms it.
In verses 37-38, Jesus shows how the Sadducees did not understand the Scriptures. He takes the incident of Moses at the burning bush, where God reveals Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. These men had all been dead for centuries when God said that to Moses. It would be ridiculous for God to say that He is the God of men who ceased to exist at death! If the patriarchs had died and ceased to exist, then God’s promises to them would be null and void. But, as Jesus explains, God “is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” Those who have died in faith are actually living with God, awaiting the day when they will receive their resurrection bodies. They “all live to Him” (20:38), which means, as Calvin explains, “that believers, after … they have died in this world, lead a heavenly life with God” (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], “Harmony of the Gospels,” 3:53).
Again, the point is not to set aside human reason, but rather to subject our reason to God’s revelation in Scripture. We must know the Bible as Jesus did. This means thinking carefully about Scripture, as Jesus did to infer the doctrine of the resurrection from that portion of Scripture. But we must not exalt our reason above Scripture nor try to force Scripture into our logic. You should care strongly about sound doctrine because Jesus did.
You should care about doctrine because your life here depends on holding in faith to sound doctrine.
I can only touch on several aspects of this:
The Sadducees were in opposition to Jesus, not in submission to Him. They are challenging His authority, trying to humiliate Him in front of the people. But Jesus clearly asserts His authority and lordship in His confrontation here, as well as in the next section, where He takes up the offense and challenges them with a question. The Sadducees were the supposedly educated ones, but Jesus, the untaught carpenter from Nazareth, boldly refutes their error in a way that makes even some of the scribes (Pharisees, no doubt) remark, “Teacher, You have spoken well” (20:39).
Invariably, the person who knowingly holds to doctrinal error on core issues is hiding behind a smokescreen of some supposed difficulty in the Bible so that he does not have to submit to the lordship of Christ. I say “knowingly” because there is a difference between the babe in Christ who may be in error or confused by some difficult doctrine because he is untaught and the false teacher, who actively promotes error even though he knows that he is deviating from orthodox doctrine. With the former we must be gentle and patient; with the latter, we should be much stronger, since the man knows better. But invariably, the false teacher is not in submission to Christ as Lord. It follows that …
Jesus goes on (20:46-47) to confront the sin of the scribes, which included both the Pharisees and Sadducees. They were proud, they loved receiving adulation and honor, and they posed as religious men, but they were greedy, selfish hypocrites who would face God’s severe judgment. Was their false doctrine of the resurrection a cause of their sin or a result of it? Probably both, since false doctrine and sin always get entangled together. But doctrine always affects life. Just a few days after this encounter with Jesus, these Sadducees sided with the Pharisees in condemning Jesus to death. Their sin of refusing to submit to Jesus’ teaching on the resurrection in part led to their sin of killing their Messiah! Sound doctrine produces spiritually healthy Christians. False doctrine is both a cause of and a covering for all manner of ungodliness.
These men did not come to Jesus with a sincere doctrinal question which they wanted to get cleared up. They just wanted to make Jesus look bad to the crowd, and so they contrived this unlikely story about the woman and her seven husbands. Even the Pharisees who commended Jesus for answering well were not submitting themselves to His lordship. Rather, they were commending Him because He happened to agree with them on this point! Their motives were not right.
The only valid motive for wanting to know sound doctrine is so that we can know and glorify God better. Sound doctrine should lead us into a deeper love for Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us on the cross. We should never want to know doctrine so that we can proudly prove that we’re right or display our great knowledge. In fact, the more we truly know sound doctrine, the more humble we will become, because we will realize how great God is and how little we are! We should care about doctrine because Jesus did and because sound doctrine affects our life on this earth. Finally,
Jesus is not speaking here about the resurrection of the wicked, but only of the righteous. He says that some are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead (20:35), implying what elsewhere is taught explicitly, that some do not attain to it. The wicked will also be raised, but for judgment and eternal punishment (John 5:29; Acts 24:15; Rev. 20).
In our text, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all men who knew God personally because of His grace. God counted them righteous on the basis of their faith, not their works (Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4). Scripture never teaches that these men or any others were worthy in themselves of heaven. They were worthy only in the sense that God imputed His righteousness to them by faith.
The point is, our very hope of eternal life hinges on holding to sound doctrine about salvation and about the promises of God regarding the life to come. If we mistakenly think, as many professing Christians do, that we attain eternal life by our good works, we cannot have hope, because we can never be sure that we have done enough. But if we believe in Him who justifies the ungodly, our faith is reckoned as righteousness (Rom. 4:5). That is the only basis for solid hope about the life to come.
I offer three concluding applications:
(1) Don’t buy into the current trend to sacrifice core biblical truth on the altar of love and unity. We must be kind and gracious in our manner and we must not quarrel over minor issues. But we do not truly love others if we compromise the core truths of the gospel for the sake of unity. Biblical love cares enough to warn about false and damnable doctrine.
(2) Work at deepening your theological understanding. The word “theology” scares the average church member today, but it should not. Remember, Paul didn’t write Romans, the high water mark of New Testament theology, for seminary students. He wrote it to strengthen a congregation of normal believers. If they could wrestle with Paul’s theology, so can you! Other than the Bible, the best book that I’ve read is Calvin’s Institutes of the Christian Religion. Sure, it takes some mental effort, but it’s rewarding and quite practical.
(3) If you do not understand the basic truths of the gospel, don’t pretend that you do. Talk to someone who can help you today! Your eternal destiny is at stake. If you believe false doctrine about how to get to heaven, being sincere won’t help you on judgment day. Many in false cults are sincere, but dead wrong. Everyone on board the airliner that recently crashed into the Pacific believed in the soundness of that plane, but they perished because it was faulty. If you believe in a faulty way to heaven, you won’t make it. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved” (Acts 16:31). You should care about doctrine because Jesus did and your life here and hereafter depends on holding in faith to sound doctrine.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
“At the appointed hour of 9:47 a.m., hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of Britons suddenly leaped in the air. They had been convinced by astronomer Patrick Moore on BBC radio that the planet Pluto would pass directly behind Jupiter at that moment, producing a gravitational pull on Earth that would make people feel lighter.
“Minutes after 9:47, the switchboards at BBC lighted up. One woman said that she and 11 guests had floated around the room. A man called in to say he had hit his head on the ceiling.
“The scientist’s report was sheer levity, however. Had any of the bounding multitudes looked at a calendar before they leaped, they would have realized it was the first day of April…” (Reader’s Digest [4/85], p. 42).
That was a harmless and humorous deception. But one area where deception is neither harmless nor humorous is that of religion. Satan is a master deceiver. If he can fool you into thinking that all is right between you and God, when really it is not, the consequences are eternal. Thus it is crucial that you understand what true Christianity is and not be deceived by false religion.
One of the most common complaints that you hear from those who avoid church is that the church is full of hypocrites. Of course, so is the world; but it is true: the church is full of hypocrites. Satan makes sure of that. He deceives many into thinking that they are right with God when really, they are not. He uses these hypocrites to keep others away from true Christianity. And so we need to make sure that we understand what true religion is and that we steer clear of false religion.
Up to this point, Jesus has mostly been on the defense against His critics in Jerusalem. They challenged Him with the source of His authority for cleansing the temple. He responded with the question about the baptism of John and the parable of the wicked tenant farmers. They tried to trick Him with the questions about paying tribute to Caesar and the woman with seven husbands in the resurrection. Each time Jesus deftly answered the skeptics in a way that left them speechless. They no longer had the courage to question Him (20:40).
So now Jesus questions them. He takes up the offense. His intent was to show His audience in the temple courtyard that neither they nor their teachers of the Law understood their own Scriptures. They rightly thought that Messiah would be the physical descendant of David, but they wrongly thought that he would be just a great man, a political Savior, who would bring in an age of peace and prosperity. Jesus wanted them to see that the Messiah (or Christ) would not only be David’s son, but also David’s Lord, God in human flesh. They needed a right view of Messiah so that they would not be deceived by false religion.
That false religion was embodied in the scribes and Pharisees, the religious leaders in Israel. The common people easily could be deceived into thinking that true spirituality was to be like these leaders. Outwardly, they impressed everyone with their spirituality. They dressed differently in “holy” garb. Everyone gave them respectful greetings in public. They sat at the front of the synagogues and in the seats of honor at public banquets. They could offer long prayers. They seemed far more spiritual than everyone else. And yet their hearts were far from God. They were full of pride, greed, and selfishness. Jesus exposes them and warns of the greater judgment that they would receive.
Thus with His question, Jesus directs us to true religion, which is to know Him as Lord. With His condemnation, He exposes false religion, so that we don’t fall into that deceptive trap.
True religion is to know Christ as Lord; false religion is to be religious to impress people.
At its essence, true Christianity is not a system of thought or morals, although Christians have a system of thought and morals. Nor is true Christianity an organization of people into churches, although every Christian should belong to a church. Neither is true Christianity having some sort of spiritual experience, although it must be experiential. The essence of true Christianity is to have a personal relationship with the living God through His Son Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ words, “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3). True Christianity is knowing Christ as Savior and Lord in daily life. This involves two essentials:
In asking this question, Jesus wasn’t playing theological games with these men. He wasn’t bringing up an interesting verse to stimulate a good debate. He wasn’t trying to win points with the audience as they watched this theological tennis match between Him and the scribes. Rather, Jesus was doing evangelism. He was going after souls. Even though He knew that these religious leaders would shortly condemn Him to death, He was reaching out to them and to the greater audience, pressing them to consider the all-important question, “Who do you say that I am?” In quoting from Psalm 110:1, He is saying, “This is most essential! You need to recognize that Messiah is not only David’s son, his descendant, but also David’s Lord. The Father has promised to make all of His enemies a footstool for His feet. You will either submit to Him willingly now or against your will in that day, but every knee shall bow before Him. If even the great King David calls Messiah his Lord, then don’t you think that you must do so also?”
Psalm 110 is quoted or alluded to in the New Testament more than any other Old Testament Scripture. The Holy Spirit, who inspired the writers of the Bible, considered this Psalm to be that significant. Jesus here affirms David as the author of the Psalm, showing that the titles of the Psalm are a part of inspired Scripture. The Psalm proclaims Messiah not only as the supreme ruler over all, but also as God’s appointed eternal priest according to the order of Melchizedek and the future judge of all the nations.
In verse 1, there is a conversation between two members of the Godhead. God is one in essence, and yet three in subsistence. The Lord (Yahweh) speaks to David’s Lord (Adonai), the Messiah, revealing the divine plan of bringing all things into subjection to the Messiah. The paradox which Jesus put to the crowd was, “How can Messiah be both David’s son and David’s Lord at the same time?” Sons are normally subject to their fathers. But David calls this son “Lord.” The paradox cannot be resolved unless Messiah is both human (David’s son) and divine (David’s Lord) in the same person. The Jewish scribes acknowledged Messiah as David’s descendant, a great man. They did not understand that He must also be David’s Lord, God in human flesh.
Psalm 110:1 is a reference to the position of Christ after His resurrection and ascension into heaven. At His trial before the Sanhedrin, when they asked Him if He was the Christ, Jesus responded, “But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God” (Luke 22:69). He was referring to Psalm 110:1. Forty days after His resurrection, Jesus did ascend into heaven and took His place at the Father’s right hand, far above all rule and authority, as the head of His church (Eph. 1:20-22). As proof to Israel of His exaltation, God sent the Holy Spirit to the disciples on the Day of Pentecost. As Peter explained in his sermon that day, Jesus’ ascension into heaven and the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit was proof that God had made “this Jesus whom [they] crucified both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:32-36).
And yet the verse also shows that Messiah’s enemies are not yet all subject to Him. He did not come the first time “to smite the nations and rule with a rod of iron,” or to tread “the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty” (Rev. 19:15), as He will do when He comes the second time.
Steve Yulish recently passed on to me an article by a Jewish rabbi explaining why Jews do not believe in Jesus. The first point was that Jesus did not fulfill the messianic prophecies. Ironically, the rabbi refers to prophecies that Messiah will fulfill in His second coming, when it will be too late for the rabbi to repent and believe in Jesus! And he misses what Scripture proclaims, that it was necessary for the Christ first to suffer these things and then to enter into His glory (Luke 24:26, 46). And Scripture plainly pronounces woe on those who are not subject to Jesus when He comes again! They will call out to the mountains and rocks to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb (Rev. 6:16)!
The point is, to know Jesus Christ in the proper sense, you must have the right understanding of His person. Scripture plainly reveals Him to be the risen and exalted Lord, seated on the throne of glory at the right hand of the Father. He is coming again soon, not as the suffering Servant to die for His people (Isaiah 53), but as the conquering King to suppress all opposition. As I noted last week, wrong theology is always mixed up with wrong living. These Jewish leaders were not only mixed up about the resurrection, but also about the person of Christ. Entangled with their wrong theology was the fact that they liked being lords of their own lives. They liked the honor and respect of the people. They needed to de-throne self and to enthrone Jesus Christ as Lord.
If you’ve never done so, I encourage you to read the Gospels and ask, “Who is Jesus Christ? What claims does He make about Himself? Could such a man as this merely be David’s son, or must He also be David’s Lord? And, if He is David’s Lord, should He not also be my Lord?”
To know who Christ is—that He is both David’s son, a man born of the flesh; and, David’s Lord, the eternal God—is one thing. But each person must respond to this truth by trusting Christ as Savior and yielding to Him as Lord, even as David did. On this occasion, Jesus did not answer the question He posed nor did He call for a response. He just left His audience to ponder the implications of the question for themselves. But the clear implication is: If Jesus is the Messiah and Messiah is Lord over such a great man as King David, then should not I submit to Him as my Lord?
True Christianity is not just believing intellectually that Jesus is the Messiah or that He is your Savior. True Christianity means believing in Jesus in the sense that you follow Him as Lord, so that in thought, word, and deed you are growing to be more and more like Him. Scripture contains warning after warning that if we claim to know Christ, but continue to live in sin, we are deceived (Matt. 7:21-23; 1 Cor. 6:9-10; Gal. 6:7-8; Eph. 5:5-6; 1 John 2:4; 3:7-10). As James 2:14-26 argues, faith that does not result in righteous living is not saving faith.
This is not to say that Christians never sin. The Bible explicitly states that believers do sin (Gal. 6:1; 1 John 1:8-10). David himself, the man after God’s heart, sinned terribly in the incident with Bathsheba. As long as we’re in this body, we will fall short of God’s holy standards. But sin is not the course of life for those who truly know Christ. Believers struggle against sin. They have a growing hatred of it, not just in others, but in their own hearts. They confess their sin when God’s Spirit convicts them of it. They don’t excuse their sin by saying, “We’re under grace.” Christians seek to be pleasing to Jesus as Lord in thought, word, and deed.
The question which this first section should leave us with is, “Do I truly know Christ as my Savior and Lord?” Mark’s account (12:37b) says that the crowd “enjoyed listening to Him.” But it’s not enough to enjoy sermons or a good theological debate. The same crowd just a few days later was shouting, “Crucify Him!” True religion means submitting personally to Jesus Christ as Lord.
Jesus addresses the disciples, but so that the crowd could hear. He warns them of the danger of false religion, as practiced by the religious leaders. As noted last week, Jesus wasn’t just positive. He both exhorted in sound doctrine and refuted those who contradict, as pastors must do (Titus 1:9). Here He forcefully confronts the hypocrisy of the scribes and Pharisees in order to warn people not to be enamored with their ways. These two verses are a condensed form of the longer sermon, reported in Matthew 23:1-36. A shepherd is not a good shepherd if he does not strongly warn the sheep about the wolves that prey on the flock.
John Calvin vigorously spoke against the false teachings of the Catholic Church in his day. Some in his congregation didn’t like Calvin’s strong warnings against these false teachers. They were like those in our day who just want church to be a nice, positive, uplifting place. Calvin comments, “How cruel is the mildness of those who dislike our vehemence.” In other words, those who don’t like Calvin’s strong warnings are the cruel ones, not Calvin. He goes on to say that if a pastor doesn’t drive away the wolves, the sheep will be devoured. He concludes that pastors must follow Christ’s example by giving “severe threatenings” against such false teachers, so that the flock will be protected (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], “Harmony of the Gospels,” 3:83).
Note three things about false, hypocritical religion:
Jesus says (20:46) that these hypocrites liked to walk around in long robes. They loved respectful greetings in the market places, the chief seats in the synagogues, and places of honor at banquets. They devoured widow’s houses for their own gain. The words, liked, loved, and devoured point to unrestrained desires of the flesh, rooted in pride and self-love. Because these men were not in submission to Christ, they were living for themselves, even though they covered it with a veneer of religion. Everyone not in submission to Christ is living for self, seeking to fulfill the desires of the flesh.
Contrary to the popular teaching that has flooded evangelical churches, the problem with the human race is not low self-esteem. Our problem is that we all love ourselves more than we love God or others. Most Christian psychologists operate on the premise that low self-esteem is at the root of all our emotional problems. Thus their approach is to build self-esteem in counselees. But to encourage an already self-focused person to work on improving his self-esteem is to pour gasoline on a fire already raging. Jesus says that the starting point of coming after Him is, “let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). If we are not daily confronting the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, we are loving the world and the love of the Father is not in us (1 John 2:15-17). Psychology mixed with Christianity is a false religion because it promotes the desires of the flesh rather than confronting them.
These scribes were trying to impress people with how spiritual they were. The common people wore colored clothing, but these scribes wore white linen robes, lined with fringe. They stood out in a crowd because of their religious garb. They were treated with a respect bordering on veneration, even higher than the respect shown to the aged or to one’s parents. When they walked through the marketplace, everyone except a tradesman at work was expected to rise and greet them with the proper title: Rabbi, Father, or Master (Alfred Edersheim, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah [Eerdmans], 2:409).
They loved the chief seats in the synagogue, up front, facing the congregation, so that everyone could see who they were. When the important men of Jerusalem gave a banquet, they thought it prestigious to have a distinguished scribe and his pupils there. But they were practicing their religion to impress men, not to please God, who sees the heart.
Jesus exposed their hypocrisy as a strong warning to others. He said that they devoured widow’s houses and for appearance’s sake offered long prayers. When your prayers are sinful, you’re in real trouble! There are several views of what this means. Calvin thought that they were praying for hire, promising these needy widows that for a fee, they would pray for them. To promise hurting people that if they will give money to the church, you will pray for them or their dead relatives, is to practice false religion.
Others say that in their role as scribes, they would give financial counsel to widows and take a healthy profit for themselves. They persuaded the woman to will them her property for religious purposes and then spent it on themselves. But then they would stand in public and offer lengthy prayers so that everyone thought that they were so spiritual.
The problem was, they were living with a manward focus and disregarding God who knows our hearts. We can fool one another and we sometimes even fool ourselves. But we can never fool God. We all face the danger of manward religion. Like these scribes, we can pray to impress men rather than to talk with God. We want others to hear us pray and think, “My, how deep he is!” Because we’re all prone to this, we need to join David, who after considering the omniscience and omnipresence of God, prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way” (Ps. 139:23-24).
J. C. Ryle observed, “No sin seems to be regarded by Christ as more sinful than hypocrisy. None certainly drew forth from His lips such frequent, strong, and withering condemnation, during the whole course of His ministry” (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], Luke 11-24, p. 346). He goes on to say that Jesus was always full of mercy and compassion for the chief of sinners, but His righteous soul was full of indignation for those who pretended to be outwardly holy, but whose hearts were full of wickedness. To use religion for personal privilege or financial gain is to misuse it in the worst possible way.
“Greater condemnation” shows that there are degrees of punishment in hell. Jesus’ words remind us that the day is coming when we all will stand before God. These hypocrites got rid of Jesus. They thought that He would never confront them again, but they weren’t thinking about eternity! The same is true for any person who shuts Jesus out of his life. You may get rid of Him for the present, but you will face Him on that terrible day of judgment! Far better to receive His correction now than His condemnation then. On that day, either we will hear the awful words, “I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness” (Matt. 7:23); or, “Well done, good and faithful slave” (Matt. 25:21).
John MacArthur tells of visiting a seminary president, who drove him around the city. They happened to go by a liquor store and John commented on how large it was. The seminary president replied that the man who owned the whole chain of those liquor stores was in his Sunday School class.
John said, “Really? Has he been there long?” “Yeah, several years.” John asked, “Is he a Christian?” “Yeah.” “Has anybody confronted him about owning all those liquor stores?” “He feels that people are going to buy liquor anyway, so why not buy it from him?” John asked, “Has it ever entered your mind that he might not be a Christian?” The president replied, “I remember when he walked the aisle.” Then, rather pensively, he added, “There’s one thing about him that bothers me. He’s been living with a girl who is not his wife for about two years. Sometimes it’s hard for me to know how a Christian can live like that.” (From a message, also in The Gospel According to Jesus [Zondervan], p. 59.)
MacArthur correctly concludes, “Any message that fails to define and confront the severity of personal sin is a deficient gospel. And any ‘salvation’ that does not alter a life-style of sin and transform the heart of the sinner is not a genuine salvation” (p. 60). True religion is knowing Christ as Lord; false religion is being religious outwardly, to impress people, but not inwardly, before God. Flee hypocrisy like the plague! Walk daily under the lordship of Jesus Christ on the heart level!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Back in the 1980’s, Lee Iacocca chaired the fund-raising effort to refurbish the Statue of Liberty. He told about some of the unusual gifts and givers (Newsweek [7/7/86], pp. 18-19). One woman in her eighties sent a letter and check for $10,000. She added a P.S. asking for a free copy of Iacocca’s book because there was a two-month wait at the library. Iacocca said, “Now there’s a woman after my own heart. She’ll give 10 grand for the statue, but she isn’t about to go to the bookstore and spend $19.95 just to read about some Italian kid’s ups and downs in the car business. Talk about having your priorities straight!”
Another 87-year-old lady sent $1,000. They sent her a nice thank-you note. She must have appreciated the note; she sent another check for $50,000. After that, Iacocca called her to say thanks again, and he invited her to visit Liberty Island with him. But she said she had to clean her house. On two other occasions when he was in New York, Iacocca called her, but she was always too busy. But the last time she refused his date, she said she was sending another “little envelope.” When it came, there were three checks—one for $25,000, one for $50,000 and one for $75,000. All he did was try to say thanks for $1,000 and he ended up with $201,000! He said, “There’s no telling where we’d be if we’d also sent flowers!”
Perhaps the most touching gift came from 78 homeless Vietnamese refugees, living in a camp in Thailand. They passed the hat and came up with $114.19. These were people who had lost everything but hope. They were willing to give what little they had for that symbol of liberty.
Their gift was probably most like that of this anonymous widow whom Jesus commended. Among the throngs of worshipers in Jerusalem that Passover week, Jesus singled her out as the outstanding example. Haddon Robinson put it, “The gold-medal giver in the New Testament turns out to be a woman who contributed less than a nickel” (Leadership [Fall, 1989], p. 93). The small copper coins (“mites”) she dropped into the treasury box were each worth one sixty-fourth of a denarius, a working man’s daily wage. They were called “lepta,” which literally means “peeled,” because they were such thin coins. But they were “all that she had to live on” (21:4). Her sacrificial giving pleased the Lord and is held up to us as an example for our giving.
I doubt that any of us, myself included, has ever come close to giving what this poor widow gave. People sometimes say, “I’ll give my mite,” but they completely miss the point. We have not given our “mite” until we are down to our last dollar, and we give it. So in looking at this incident, most of us are standing near sea level looking up at this woman on Mount Everest. While we may never get there ourselves, we can learn much from her that will help us please God with our giving. Three lessons:
Jesus “looked up and saw” the rich and their gifts. He saw this poor widow and her gift. He still sees every giver and gift!
There were 13 boxes with brass trumpet-shaped openings, narrow at the top, wider at the bottom, where worshipers could give. Since there was no paper money, you could hear the sound of the coins clinking into those boxes.
There was the sound of the average giver: “Clink, clink, clink, clink.” Every once in a while, a well-dressed scribe would walk up, look around to make sure he was being watched, and dump in a whole bag full of coins: “CLINK, CLINK, CLINK, CLINK, CLINK, CLINK.” And then this poor widow came up. No one noticed her, except the Lord. You had to strain to hear the faint, “Plink, plink.”
The Greek word that Mark 12:41 uses for Jesus’ observing means to gaze or look intently. We get our word “theater” from it. There were many Passover worshipers coming into the Temple that day, dropping their donations into the boxes. Probably none of them noticed Jesus sitting there. But He noticed each one of them, including this anonymous widow. She didn’t know Jesus was watching her until she got to heaven, where she was richly rewarded. He not only knew how much she gave, but in His omniscience, He even knew that it was all she had to live on.
The same is true today, each time we give to the Lord: He is watching. He doesn’t miss a single gift, small or large. He knows every giver, rich and poor. People may give anonymously, not noticed by men. I purposely do not know what anyone in this church gives. But the Lord Jesus knows each one.
We’re all guarded about sharing our personal finances with anyone. To ask someone, “How much do you make?” or “How much do you give?” is kind of like asking, “How’s your sex life?” It’s a very confidential matter. But Jesus knows every dime you make and where you spend it. “The eyes of the Lord are in every place, watching the evil and the good” (Prov. 15:3).
Years ago, the well-known preacher, John Broadus wanted to impress on his congregation the fact that Jesus knows what we give. So one Sunday he came down off the platform and walked beside an usher as the offering was taken. The pastor went up every aisle and watched as each person either gave or passed the plate by. Some were angry; others were confused or ashamed. All were surprised. He went back to the pulpit and began his sermon on this story. He concluded, “My people, if you take it to heart that I have seen your offerings this day and know just what sacrifice you have made—and what sacrifice you have not made—remember that your Savior goes up the aisles with every usher and sees every cent contributed by His people” (“Our Daily Bread,” 5/77).
So the first thing to remember is that Jesus sees those who give. You cannot please Him with your giving if you forget that He is always watching.
Mark 12:41 notes that many rich people were putting in large sums. This widow put in two small copper coins. Jesus saw how much each one gave.
What difference did her two coins make toward meeting the temple budget? None! Perhaps the treasurer muttered under his breath as he counted it, “Why do people throw such small coins into the treasury? They’re more a nuisance to count than they’re worth!”
But whatever amount we give, we need to consider three things:
Focus: Whatever we give should be out of love for the Lord, not for self-gratification.
I don’t know for sure why this widow gave those two coins that day; the text does not say. But I think that Luke wants us to see a contrast between her and the scribes whom Jesus has just denounced. They were doing their religion to impress others with how spiritual they were. She was quiet, unknown, and not trying to impress anyone. They were giving out of pride, for selfish recognition. She was giving in worship, out of love for God. Whatever amount we give, we should give out of a heart of love for God, not for personal recognition or other selfish reasons.
Many years ago, the Billy Graham organization was celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Los Angeles crusade that launched Graham’s ministry into worldwide recognition. A friend of mine who worked for Decision Magazine got me a free ticket to a breakfast where Graham was supposed to speak. As it turned out, he couldn’t come, but his wife Ruth was there.
The breakfast was sponsored by a group called the Tennessee Train Committee. They had chartered a train and brought a trainload of people to every Billy Graham Crusade in the lower 48 states for the past 25 years. The program consisted of these men getting up and congratulating one another for all that they had done for the Graham organization over the years. Then with great fanfare they presented Ruth Graham with a check. There must have been at least 200 men, plus their wives. They had spent hundreds of dollars each on the trip to Los Angeles. So I was shocked when they announced that the check was for $2,000! I thought, “These old geezers should have been able to give that much each! They should have stayed home and sent a check for the amount they spent on their trip!”
God only knows their motives, but it seemed to me that they were giving more for self-gratification and recognition than out of love for God and for lost souls.
Faith: Whatever we give should be given looking to God to supply all our needs.
Not many of us are as poor as this woman was. Giving away what she had to live on forced her to trust God to meet her needs. But even when we have plenty in the bank for future needs, we should give in faith, looking to God to meet all our needs. Have you ever had the experience of giving to the Lord’s work money that you had set aside for some personal need or nicety? Then you prayed, “Lord, would you please provide this item for us?” When He does, it brings great joy to know that you gave in faith and God provided in a way that you never could have imagined.
Faithfulness: We should give faithfully, no matter what our circumstances.
I don’t get the impression that this widow was giving because the chief priest got on his TV show and pled, “If you don’t send in your checks, the temple will go under.” She wasn’t giving because of pressure or impulse. Rather, she gave out of routine faithfulness. When she went to worship at the temple, she gave as a matter of “holy habit.”
The widow’s gift dislodges the excuse, “We’ll give when we get enough money.” No, you won’t! Giving is a mind-set. If you don’t figure out ways to give faithfully when you’re poor, you won’t give when you’ve got more. You can always find some way to give something if you have a mind to be faithful to God.
Let’s be honest: the reason most of us don’t give faithfully is not because we don’t have the money. It’s because we squandered the money the Lord provided on frivolous stuff that we could easily live without. We run up our credit cards to support a lifestyle we can’t afford and then say, “I can’t afford to give.” But the truth is, we don’t give and we’re in debt because we aren’t managing God’s resources carefully in line with His priorities.
I’m going to be blunt and specific: If you are not current on your bills, you cannot afford to go out to dinner, to go to the movies, or to pay for cable TV. You need to cut all nonessentials until you get out of debt, with a savings buffer for emergencies. And the reason is not so that you can then start spending more on yourself. It should be so that you can begin giving as the Lord wants you to do. Pretty radical, huh? The Bible is clear that if you can’t give as you should, you’re not managing your money as the Lord wants you to do.
So the first lesson is that Jesus observes our giving. He knows how much we make, how much we spend, and how much we give. Keeping that fact in mind would greatly affect our giving and how we manage all that the Lord entrusts to us.
When the Lord exclaimed, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all of them,” He was evaluating their gifts. Pile up all the gifts of the rich combined on one side and hers on the other. Hers weighs more in God’s sight.
Charles Simeon (Expository Outlines of the Whole Bible [Zondervan], XII:165) points out that if Jesus had not commended this woman’s gift, most of us would have condemned it. He says that it was unnecessary, because surely God wouldn’t require a gift from one so poor. It also was useless, since the temple didn’t need this pittance. And, it was presumptuous, because to give away everything was to tempt God by giving away what He had already supplied for her basic needs. Why would Jesus speak so highly of her gift? Two reasons:
He explains (21:4) that they all gave out of their surplus, “but she out of her poverty put in all that she had to live on.” The gifts of the rich didn’t cost them anything. They didn’t have to go without anything or adjust their lifestyles to give large amounts. But this widow may have gone hungry that night because she gave.
I fear that most of us give God the leftovers. If we have anything left after we’ve spent the rest not just for our needs, but also for many nice extras, then we drop a bit in the plate. Or, if it’s something old that we don’t need, we’ll donate it to the church or to missions. Paul Harvey told about a woman who called the Butterball Turkey Company and asked whether she could cook a turkey that had been in her freezer for 23 years. The customer service representative explained that it might be okay if the freezer had maintained a below-zero temperature the whole time, but that the flavor would have deteriorated so much that it wouldn’t be very tasty. The woman said, “Oh, that’s what we thought. We’ll just donate it to the church.”
Even if you tithe, if you make an average wage, it doesn’t cost that much. You still have 90 percent to spend on yourself. Ten percent is more like a tip. It’s a nice gesture, to show God that you appreciate His services after you’ve gorged yourself on the gourmet meal He gave you. But it doesn’t really cost you. You didn’t give up the meal.
The Lord evaluates our giving not by how much we give, but by how much we have left after we give. The more we make, the more percentage-wise we ought to give. Ignoring taxes, a person making $50,000 who tithes has $40,000 left to live on. But a person making $10,000 who tithes has only $9,000 left. Yet, studies consistently show that lower income people give more proportionately than those who earn more. A 1989 Gallup poll showed that people earning under $10,000 gave 5.5 percent of their income. Those with $50,000 to $60,000 gave 1.7 percent. Those earning between $75,000 to $100,000 gave 3.2 percent. That should not be. We all ought to feel the pinch because we’ve given to the Lord’s work. We should not offer to the Lord sacrifices that cost us nothing (2 Sam. 24:24).
I’ve already touched on this. I’m inferring it from the context of this story. The Lord knew the selfish motives of the religious leaders who gave large amounts to the temple, but they did it to be honored by men (Matt. 6:1-4). Jesus condemned them for their hypocrisy. But He commended this poor widow, who didn’t even know that He saw her give. Jesus knew her motives. She gave to express her devotion to God. It was an act of worship.
God isn’t after our money. He’s after our hearts. He wants us to love Him first of all. He knows that our hearts are inseparably bound up with our money. As Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21). Your heart follows your treasure. If you invest your treasure in stocks, your heart follows the Dow Jones Industrial average. If you invest in God’s kingdom, your heart will be drawn to God.
Since the Lord Jesus observes and evaluates our giving, the bottom line is,
Motive means everything in giving. God loves a cheerful giver who gives out of love and gratitude to Him. We shouldn’t give out of pressure to meet needs. I would not be honest if I said that the church does not have needs. We’re trying to remodel part of the building to serve us better. We’d like to do that debt-free. We hope to hire a college pastor this year, which means more money. We know of some pressing missionary needs and opportunities. But we only make such needs known so that you can know where to direct your giving. We don’t want you to give because you feel pressured. We want you to give to the Lord because you have received His indescribable gift.
One day a little girl shopping with her mother saw the most beautiful doll. She wanted it so badly, but they just couldn’t afford it. Her daddy had been sick and out of work for several months. Trying not to sound too disappointed, she said, “I know, Mama, I know ... but isn’t she beautiful?” Every time they went into that store, the girl would gaze fondly at that doll.
Some months passed. Things got better for the family. The little girl had almost forgotten her dream wish when, to her utter surprise, she got that doll as a birthday gift. From then on, she and the doll were inseparable. It became her “favoritest treasure,” as she put it.
One day, while sitting with her parents in church, she listened as the pastor spoke of how much Jesus loves us—how He left His beautiful home in heaven and came down here to die for our sins. All week long the little girl thought about how much Jesus loved her and she wished she could do something to show Him that she loved Him, too. But she only had one penny.
The next Sunday her father and mother couldn’t believe it when they saw her take her treasured doll and put it in the offering plate. Some stared and some chuckled as they saw the doll in the offering plate, not realizing the costly sacrifice it represented. Every day the little girl missed her doll, but especially at bedtime. She would get tears in her eyes, but then she would think about Jesus and it would be all right again.
One evening the pastor dropped by, just for a social call, he said, with the doll tucked under his arm. He smiled warmly and said, “I brought your doll back to you.” The little girl seemed transfixed at the sight of that doll. She didn’t move. “Go ahead, take her,” the pastor said. “I’m giving her back to you.”
Only the look in her eyes betrayed how much she wanted to take that doll back in her arms. But, brushing away a tear, she said, “I can’t ... I can’t take her.” “But, why?” asked the startled pastor. “B-b-b-because ... I didn’t give her to you.” She had given her doll to the Lord.
That’s the lesson this poor widow teaches us:
Since the Lord observes and evaluates our giving, we must give as unto Him.
This widow’s giving pictures two things. It shows us how we should respond to the great love of Christ. We must give Him our very hearts, which certainly includes our money. If you’re not giving faithfully and generously to the Lord’s work, it shows that you don’t love Jesus as much as you should.
But it also points us to Christ’s total self-giving for us on the cross. As Paul put it, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9). He took our sins on Himself so that God could be both loving and just in offering us a complete pardon. To please God with your monetary giving, you must first receive His indescribable gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ. Then, out of love, give Him your heart. And show it by giving costly gifts to please Him. As J. C. Ryle observed, “A giving Savior ought to have giving disciples” (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], Luke 11-24, p. 354).
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
One of the biggest lies that Satan has promoted is that believing in Christ as Savior will bring a trouble-free life. The pitch goes, “Do you have problems? If you trust in Jesus, He will get you out of them.” So the person trusts in Christ and his problems get worse, not better. The enemy comes to him and says, “See where trusting in Christ got you? You were better off before you became a Christian!”
The Bible does promise believers peace and joy, but it does not promise the absence of trials, freedom from persecution, or even protection from violent death. It promises peace and joy in the midst of such trials as we rely on the Lord and His promises.
Jesus and His disciples were going out of the temple when one of them commented about how impressive that building was. By all accounts, it was a magnificent structure. At that time, it had been under construction for about 50 years. According to the Jewish historian, Josephus, some of the stones measured over 35 feet long, 12 feet high, and 18 feet wide. The current Wailing Wall is a part of the foundation left from that building. Its white marble walls rose about 200 feet above the Kidron Valley. The brilliance of the white walls and the gold trim in the morning sun was dazzling. The courtyard was about 400 by 500 yards square, so that thousands of worshippers could gather there. The rabbis said, “He who has not seen the Temple in its full construction has never seen a glorious building in his life” (cited by William Lane, Mark [Eerdmans], p. 451).
It was just an offhand comment by one of the disciples. The other disciples were nodding in agreement when Jesus shocked them by saying, “The days will come in which there will not be left one stone upon another which will not be torn down” (21:6). That was unthinkable! To their credit, the disciples did not doubt Jesus’ words, but they did ask when these things would take place and what signs would precede this momentous event. Jesus responded with this lengthy discourse on future things, known as the Olivet Discourse, although Luke does not mention that it took place on the Mount of Olives.
As with most prophetic sections of Scripture, there are some difficult interpretive problems (especially when you compare Luke 21 with Matthew 24 and Mark 13). Luke 21:5-24 focuses on the fall of Jerusalem as a preview of the more intense judgment that will happen at Christ’s return (21:25-28). Thus there are multiple fulfillments of these prophecies, leading up to the final fulfillment at the second coming of Christ. Since Jesus emphasizes that many of these cataclysmic events will take place well before the end (21:9, 12), His words apply to believers in trying situations down through the centuries, as well as to those living at the time of the destruction of Jerusalem or just before His second coming.
Jesus is showing His followers how to hold on not only to their sanity, but also to their faith, when the world around them is chaotic and seemingly out of control.
When the whole world goes crazy, God’s people can remain sane by knowing that all things are under God’s righteous, sovereign control.
Jesus’ purpose was not to satisfy curiosity about the end times. Rather, He was trying to instill assurance and faith in His disciples so that they would not fall away under intense persecution or world chaos. We will consider five points:
We have seen numerous occasions where Jesus predicted His impending death (9:22, 44; 13:33; 18:31-33; 19:14-18). It did not surprise Him. As He explained in John 10:18, no one took His life from Him. Rather, He laid it down on His own initiative. Nothing surprises God.
Jesus here speaks of both big and little matters that God knows in advance. He knows about the total destruction of the temple in Jerusalem (21:6), about deceivers who will come (21:8), and about wars, earthquakes, plagues, famines, and signs in the heavens (21:9-11). He knows future persecutions that will take place before kings and governors (21:12) and those that will arise from family betrayals (21:16). He knows in advance the preservation of the hairs of the heads of all who follow Him (21:18). He knows the future of Israel and the course of the nations (21:24).
You may think that everyone who believes in Christ believes that God knows in advance all things that will take place. But that is not so. In 1994, Clark Pinnock and several other theologians published a book titled, The Openness of God [IVP]. Their view, called “free-will theism,” a radical form of Arminianism, argues that “the God of the Bible is with us in time and does not know the future in absolute detail” (Christianity Today [1/9/95], p. 30, italics theirs).
World Magazine (7/17/99, p. 23) reported that Greg Boyd, a theology professor at Bethel College and Seminary in St. Paul, and the popular preaching pastor of one of the largest churches in the Baptist General Conference, holds a similar view. He has written three books and many articles proclaiming that “God can’t foreknow the good or bad decisions of the people He creates until He creates these people and they in turn create their decisions.”
Sadly, a committee at Bethel concluded that Mr. Boyd’s “view of God is a biblically oriented, contemporary form of Arminianism … within the bounds of evangelical Christian orthodoxy and compatible with the theological commitments expected of faculty members at Bethel.” Pastor John Piper led a movement to propose an amendment to the BCG’s Affirmation of Faith stating, “We believe ‘that He foreknows infallibly all that shall come to pass.’” But it failed by a vote of 270-251. Apparently, unity was more important for the delegates than theological truth.
I hope that you all agree that God knows in advance all things that will happen. But we must go a step further:
Jesus says that all of the wars and disturbances must take place, indicating God’s settled purpose (21:9). He says concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, that it will happen “in order that all things which are written may be fulfilled” (21:22). God sovereignly chose Israel from all other nations to be His people and to bring forth the Savior of the world. He predetermined by His plan that Israel would crucify her Savior (Acts 2:23; 4:27-28). And He sovereignly determined to judge Israel for her sin of killing her Savior.
Through Isaiah (46:9-11) God declares to His disobedient people, “For I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established, and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’; … Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.” Paul affirms in Ephesians 1:11, God “predestined [us] according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will.” (See also Prov. 16:4.)
You may not like the thought that God ordains evil as well as good. Many Christians blame everything bad that happens on the devil as if he did it apart from God, without considering where that line of thinking leads. If the devil is able to do anything outside of God’s sovereign plan, then he is a force at least equal in strength, if not greater, than God. That would mean that there is a chance that the devil could thwart the sovereign plan of God and achieve his evil purpose over and against God’s holy purpose, a most frightening prospect! The Bible clearly shows, in the story of Job, that the devil can only go as far as God permits. God is sovereign even over the devil and the evil things that the devil does.
Calvin observes that none of these predicted disasters (21:9-12) happen accidentally. They are all under God’s sovereign hand. He then applies it to believers: “for nothing has a more powerful efficacy to bring us into subjection, than when we acknowledge that those things which appear to be confused are regulated by the good pleasure of God” (Calvin’s Commentaries [A Harmony of the Gospels], 3:121-122).
You’re probably thinking, “If God not only knows everything in advance, but also ordains everything, then He is responsible for evil.” Not so!
If God were responsible for evil, He would have no right to judge the wicked. They could claim, “I only did what You ordained!” But Jesus is teaching that Jerusalem would be destroyed and trampled under foot by the Gentiles, and Israel would be led captive into all the nations, as a judgment for not recognizing the day of her visitation (21:24; 19:44). As Peter stated on the Day of Pentecost, although God predetermined the death of Jesus, those in Peter’s audience who nailed Him to the cross were guilty for what they did (Acts 2:23).
Scripture affirms that “God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). “The Lord is righteous in all His ways” (Ps. 145:17). He is good and He does good (Ps. 119:68). His eyes are too pure to look upon evil (Hab. 1:13). “Righteous are You, O Lord, and upright are Your judgments” (Ps. 119:137). “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God, the Almighty” (Rev. 4:8; see Isa. 6:3).
While our finite minds cannot reconcile God’s absolute sovereignty over all things and His absolute holiness, Scripture plainly affirms both. We must submit to its testimony. As already stated,
Jesus refers to Jerusalem’s destruction as “days of vengeance” (21:22). It will bring “great distress upon the land, and wrath to this people” (21:23). In A.D. 70, the Roman General Titus laid siege to the city and completely destroyed it. Although he may have exaggerated, Josephus says that 1.1 million Jews were slaughtered. The Roman soldiers tore apart the temple stone by stone in an attempt to get all the gold that melted and ran between the stones when they burned it. Jesus’ words were literally fulfilled.
God’s judgments come in two forms: temporal and eternal. His temporal judgments fall upon nations and individuals according to His inscrutable wisdom. God explained to Abraham that his descendants would be captive in a foreign land for 400 years because the iniquity of the Amorites was not yet complete (Gen. 15:16). When their sin was full to the brim, God commanded Joshua to kill the entire population. It was His temporal judgment on a morally corrupt people in response to hundreds of years of sin. In His mercy in allowing the Canaanites to exist that long, God let His chosen people remain in slavery four long centuries, before using them to execute His righteous judgment.
When God’s temporal judgment falls on a people, everyone suffers. Jesus proclaims woe especially on the women who are with child or who are nursing babies in the day of Jerusalem’s judgment (21:22). If God’s temporal judgment falls on America, we all will suffer. I cannot tell you why God judged Rwanda with the terrible bloodbath a few years ago, but allows America to continue in open rebellion. But when civil war broke out in that country, thousands of Christians died along with the wicked.
God’s temporal judgments are only a warning of the far worse eternal judgment that is coming on the whole earth. John describes “a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them” (Rev. 20:11). All whose names are not found written in the book of life will be thrown into the lake of fire (20:15). Israel came under God’s temporal judgment because she rejected her Savior. Even so, every person who rejects Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord will face the eternal wrath of God.
If the Jewish leaders had heard Jesus’ prediction concerning the temple, they would have scoffed. They killed Him, beat and killed His crazy followers who proclaimed His resurrection, and life in Jerusalem went on as usual for over 35 years. Some of the Jewish leaders grew old and died before Jesus’ predictions came true. If you had interviewed them on their deathbeds, they would have said, “Jesus was mistaken. The temple still stands in all its glory.”
How wrong they were! Just because God’s judgment is delayed does not mean that it will not happen. Many make the same fatal mistake concerning God’s eternal judgment. Just because for almost 2,000 years Christ has not yet returned to judge the earth does not mean that He will not do so in the future. His warning is clear: He will return in power and great glory and then it will be too late for those who have rejected Him to repent.
How are we who believe in Christ to live in these difficult times until He comes?
Jesus spoke these prophetic words to encourage His disciples to persevere, if need be, unto death. He did not want hardship or persecution to surprise them. He gives three areas where we need to be on guard:
“See to it that you be not misled; for many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am He,’ and, ‘The time is at hand’; do not go after them” (21:8). By saying that they will come in His name, Jesus does not necessarily mean that they will blatantly claim to be the Christ. Some, such as Reverend Moon, are so bold, but true Christians are not likely to be deceived by such obvious error. The more deceptive errors come from within the church, couched in biblical terms.
Nine years ago I was preaching on the parallel passage in Mark’s Gospel. At the time, I had an associate pastor who wanted to bring a “Christian” Twelve Step program into our church. At first I was open to the idea. The programs seemed to help people with serious problems. I knew of many large evangelical churches that used them. A burgeoning “Christian Recovery” conference had recently attracted hundreds to Biola University. They used a workbook called “The Twelve Steps for Christians,” that was laced with Bible verses. So I thought that it must be okay.
But as I read the workbook and as I studied Jesus’ warning in Mark, the Lord opened my eyes to the spiritual deception. The workbook said things like, “The Twelve Steps work miracles. Trust the Steps.” Jesus said that false Christs would arise working miracles in order, if possible, to lead the elect astray (Mark 13:22). The Christian Twelve Step programs also are openly self-focused. They talk about the need to love yourself because you have loved others too much. They say that Jesus is the “Higher Power,” but they also admit that the Steps work no matter who your Higher Power may be. It dawned on me that if the Steps work no matter whom you fit into the Higher Power slot, then the real power is not the Higher Power, but the Steps. It purports to be Christian, but it encourages people to trust the Steps, not God alone.
So I preached a sermon that became known as my “famous sermon,” where I warned about the danger of these programs and told the church that I could not endorse them. Even though I said it kindly and just urged people to consider what I was saying, many angry people began calling for my resignation. But the years since have only confirmed what I then began to see, that the evangelical church is being deceived by psychology and self-help programs that have only a veneer of Christianity.
Another major area of deception is the Christian unity movement. We are being urged to drop all doctrinal differences and come together on the basis of our common love for Jesus. In the process, core truths are being sacrificed on the altar of “love.” But if we give up the importance of truths like justification by faith alone for the sake of unity, we have denied true Christianity. And we are most unloving if we compromise such doctrines, because a person’s eternal destiny depends on believing such truths. Satan’s most effective deception always comes from within. Beware!
Jesus says that wars, disturbances, earthquakes, plagues, famines, and terrors and great signs from heaven will all take place before the end comes. Many of these things happened prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, and they have continued throughout history. We now hear warnings of global warming and of the possibility of asteroids hitting the earth and causing major disaster. We have been spared war on our home soil, but terrorists with atomic and biological weapons could easily wreak havoc in our land.
Jesus commands us not to be terrified at such things. His command to the disciples to flee Jerusalem when they see the armies beginning to surround her shows that we may need to take precautions to protect our lives. There is nothing godly about courting danger and death. But if we take due precaution and yet face death, we can face it calmly with trust that the God of Jacob is our stronghold and that He will guide us until death (Ps. 46; 48:14).
We American Christians have faced very little persecution, but we should steel ourselves for it, making up our minds in advance that we will be faithful witnesses even if it costs us our lives. Jesus explains that persecution will give us opportunity for testimony (21:13; the Greek word for testimony is “martyr”). He promises that we don’t need to worry about what to say, because He will give us the mouth to speak and the wisdom to confound our opponents. This is nothing less than a claim to deity on Jesus’ part, since He could not possibly do this unless He was omnipresent.
But He warns us that even family and close friends will betray us and that we will be hated by all (i.e., many unbelievers) on account of His name. J. C. Ryle observes, “The Christian of whom everybody speaks well, can hardly be a faithful man” (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], Luke 11-24, p. 367). We need to make sure that the offense is the cross and not our abrasive personalities! But if we hold to Jesus Christ as the only way to God, to the utter sinfulness of the human heart, and to faith and not works as the only way of salvation, we will be branded as intolerant, narrow-minded, and unloving. Just recently the Southern Baptists were accused of “hate crimes” because they stated that people of other major religions need salvation. Persecution could easily be just around the corner! Be ready!
When Jesus says (21:18) that “not a hair of your head will perish,” He is not promising immunity from death, which He just said will happen to some (21:16). He means that if we are faithful witnesses, even if they kill the body they cannot touch the soul. By endurance in bearing witness to the truth we prove ourselves to be true followers of Christ and gain our souls (21:19).
So when the whole world goes crazy around us, we can remain calm and sane by knowing that all things are under God’s righteous, sovereign control. Even if we die for our faith, we will live forever with Him.
During the second century, the aged bishop Polycarp was arrested and brought to the Roman arena to die in front of the cheering crowd. The proconsul pressed him hard to renounce Christ and thus spare his own life. Polycarp replied, “For 86 years I have been his servant, and he has never done me wrong. How can I blaspheme my king who saved me?” The proconsul warned that he had wild beasts. “Call them,” said Polycarp. “I can burn you with fire,” the proconsul warned. Polycarp replied, “The fire you threaten burns for a time and is soon extinguished. There is a fire you know nothing about—the fire of the judgment to come and of eternal punishment, the fire reserved for the ungodly. But why do you hesitate? Do what you want.”
The proconsul shouted to the crowd that Polycarp had confessed that he is a Christian. The crowd shouted that he must be burned alive. They quickly collected the wood. Just before it was lit, Polycarp prayed, thanking God that he had been counted worthy of this day, to partake in Christ’s cup of suffering. The fire was lit and Polycarp stepped into the presence of his Lord.
I realize that God gives special grace at such times. But we all need to ask, “Do I have that kind of confidence in the righteous, sovereign God?” If I do, I can stand firm even when the whole world goes crazy, because my trust is in the faithful God.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
According to a survey published by U.S. News and World Report in late 1997, two-thirds of American adults believe that Jesus someday will return to Earth. However, most who believe in Christ’s return placed it well beyond their lifetime, with 33 percent saying it will happen more than a few hundred years from now.
Among us, I would guess that belief in Christ’s return is near 100 percent. Yet I wonder how much the awareness of His return affected your life this past week? Did it figure in how you spent your time? Did it fill you with hope as you faced a trial or crisis? Did it enable you to resist temptation, as you thought about what it will be like to stand before Him on that great day? Did it determine how you spent your money as a steward who will give an account? Or did you even think at all about Christ’s soon coming as you went about your week?
If the second coming of Jesus Christ is not a major factor in your normal Christian life, you are missing one of the most powerful biblical motivations to godly living. As Jesus continues His discourse to His disciples on future things, He makes the point:
Since Christ is certainly returning, we need to be alert and ready, not dull and surprised by His coming.
The first part of this discourse (21:5-24, [last week]) focuses on the impending judgment of Jerusalem because of rejecting her Messiah. But the terrible events that happened in A.D. 70 were just a portent of the events that will lead up to the second coming of Christ and the final judgment. As I said last week, many of the events that Christ predicted have double or multiple fulfillments, culminating in the grand finale at His return.
At the end of verse 24, Jesus refers to Jerusalem being trampled under foot by the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled. The “times of the Gentiles” refers to the current age, when God’s grace is not dispensed through Israel, but through the church made up of both Jew and Gentile. In our text (21:25-36), Jesus jumps ahead to the end of that epoch that culminates in His return in power and glory to establish God’s kingdom on earth.
Among evangelical Christians, there are three major views regarding future things. I hold to Premillennialism, which means that Jesus will return and establish the kingdom of God on earth in fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel in the Old Testament. Jesus has already referred to a present sense of the kingdom (17:21), but here He states that when we see the signs of His second coming, “the kingdom of God is near” (21:31), implying that it will come in its fullness after He returns.
Amillennialists do not believe in a literal 1,000-year reign of Christ on earth. Rather, they think that He will return, judge the earth, and usher in the eternal state. They think that the kingdom of God consists of Christ’s present reign from heaven over His people. The millennium is spiritual, not literal or physical. One of the main reasons I hold to the Premillennial view is that I do not believe that Jesus’ present spiritual reign over His people comes close to fulfilling the glorious promises given to Israel in the Old Testament.
The other main view, Postmillennialism, teaches that the church will usher in God’s kingdom through the worldwide spread of the gospel, culminating in Jesus’ return. Thus they view the millennium as the glorious time of worldwide revival just prior to Christ’s return, not as a literal 1,000 years. I think it is the least likely view, in that many scriptures (including our text) indicate that things will get worse, not better prior to Christ’s return.
Among premillennialists there are a number of views about if and when there is a secret rapture of the church separate from the second coming. Most premillennial dispensationalists hold to a secret pretribulational return of Christ for His church, followed by seven years of the tribulation, culminating in Jesus’ second coming. This is the view I have been taught all my life, but I must confess that the longer I study Bible prophecy, the less certain I am about that view. It depends on drawing a sharp distinction between God’s programs for Israel and the church, and on interpreting prophetic passages literally. Some dispensationalists hold to a mid-tribulation rapture or a pre-wrath rapture. Non-dispensational premillennialists do not draw a sharp distinction between Israel and the church. They hold that God’s people will go through the tribulation, followed by Christ’s return and the millennial kingdom.
Our text does not deal with the question of whether there is a separate rapture of the church, but rather focuses on the second coming of Christ. If you believe that the church will be raptured some time before the second coming, then this text does not directly apply to you. But if you believe that there is only one second coming of Christ for His people (as I am increasingly inclined to believe), then it is quite applicable. We will look at four points:
Either Jesus Christ is returning visibly and bodily with power and great glory (21:27) or He is a liar who cannot be trusted at all. Those are the only options. The language of verse 27 is taken from Daniel 7:13-14, where Daniel saw in his vision one “like a Son of Man.” This person came up to the Ancient of Days, where He was given eternal “dominion, glory, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations, and men of every language might serve Him.” Such eternal dominion could belong to none other than the Lord God. In the Old Testament, it is the Lord who comes on the clouds (Ps. 18:10-12; 104:3; Isa. 19:1). Thus Jesus’ language in Luke 21:27 is the language of deity.
The second coming of Jesus Christ in a cloud with power and great glory is in stark contrast with His first coming. True, there were manifestations of power and glory in that first coming: the angel announced the miraculous conception to Mary. The heavenly chorus sang and announced His birth to the shepherds. The miraculous star guided the wise men to the house where He was. Anna and Simeon gave prophecies about the future of this child.
But there were also many commonplace events that masked His divine glory. He was born to a common, working class couple, not to royalty. They were excluded from the inn so that Mary had to give birth in a stable. Common shepherds, not scribes, scholars, or kings, witnessed His birthplace. Contrary to all the pictures on Christmas cards, the baby Jesus did not have a halo. He grew up in relative obscurity, working as a carpenter. There wasn’t much divine power and glory manifested in His first coming.
But when He comes again, every eye will see Him. In Matthew 24:31 Jesus states that He will send forth His angels (they belong to Him and obey His command) with a great trumpet to gather “His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.” Revelation 19:11-16 describes Him as riding on a white charger of war, His eyes flaming fire, His robe dipped in blood, and a sharp sword coming out of His mouth to smite the nations. “He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (19:15). His exalted second coming will be a total contrast from His lowly first coming!
In case we missed it, Jesus underscores the certainty of His second coming by adding, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away” (19:33). More than you can trust the ground beneath your feet or that there will be a moon and stars in the sky tonight or that the sun will rise tomorrow, you can trust the words of Jesus Christ! Only God in human flesh could make such a claim. Jesus’ second coming is not a matter of prophetic speculation. It is a certain fact. If it is not, you cannot trust in Jesus at all.
In the parallel accounts (Matthew 24, Mark 13) Jesus mentions several other signs that immediately precede His coming. The abomination of desolation prophesied by Daniel will be set up in the holy place of the temple. False Christs and false prophets will arise and deceive many. The hearts of many will grow cold. But, even so, the gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations (Matt. 24:14). And there will be signs in the heavens. But Luke only mentions the signs in the heavens and on earth.
These words about cataclysmic changes in the heavens reflect a number of Old Testament prophecies that connect such events with the coming judgment day of the Lord (Isa. 13:10-13; Joel 2:10, 30-31; 3:15). Matthew 24:29 (reflecting Isa. 13:10) states that the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky. Luke adds that the sea and its waves will roar. Some take the words symbolically, but I see no reason not to take them in a literal sense. Either they refer to changes which God will impose on His creation to show men that He is the Lord of the universe, or they could refer to the effects of nuclear winter caused by the final war at the end of the tribulation period.
These cosmic signs will be so great that the world’s population will cower in fear to the point of passing out. The Greek word translated “perplexity” normally refers to being chained; it means that men will be gripped or bound by anxiety. But believers will stand apart from the unbelieving world at this point. Rather than being in distress, believers will be saying, “All right! Jesus is coming soon! Our redemption draws near!”
Whether we go through the great tribulation or not, there is an application here for God’s people: Because we trust in our Sovereign Redeemer, the creator of the universe, we do not have to live in fear and anxiety, even in the face of global catastrophe. Even if wars or plagues or natural catastrophes engulf us and take our lives, we can lift up our heads, because our redemption draws near! Death only brings to completion the salvation that our Lord accomplished for us on the cross. Thus we are to be people of hope and joy even when the world is engulfed in anxiety and fear.
Jesus warns His hearers, including the disciples, “Be on guard, that your hearts may not be weighted down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of life, and that day come on you suddenly like a trap, for it will come on all those who dwell on the face of all the earth” (19:34, 35). Dissipation refers to the dizziness or carousing associated with drunkenness. I would not think that the Lord would have to warn His people about drunkenness, but when you remember that even the godly Noah got drunk, you must realize that you are not exempt from the temptation. If you take a drink or use drugs to relax, then you are especially in danger of the sin that Jesus here warns against. Christ Himself is to be the source of our peace in this troubled world, not alcohol or drugs.
Jesus not only mentions the dangers of dissipation and drunkenness, but also the danger of being weighted with the worries of the world. Worry is a sin because it is opposed to faith in the living God. The absence of worry does not mean shrugging our shoulders and doing nothing about problems. There is a proper sense of concern that should move us to responsible action. But when we get stressed out, we need to take the time to get alone with the Lord, to claim the promises of His Word, and to pour out our troubles to Him in prayer. Then He may direct us as to a course of action. Then we proceed with His joy and peace filling our hearts, not in fearful anxiety. If we live daily in dependence on Him, the frightening events of the end times will not snap shut on us like a trap. We will be ready and rejoicing because we have the habit of daily trust in God, in contrast to the stressful ways of the world.
Thus Jesus emphasizes the certainty of His second coming. He tells us the cataclysmic signs that precede it. He warns us about the danger of being fearful and dealing with that fear in the world’s way, through drunkenness and worry. Finally, He shows us:
As I understand Jesus’ words, all of these final events will take place rather quickly. He states, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all things take place” (19:32). This verse has caused much controversy and even some heretical conclusions. Some say that Jesus was claiming that those hearing Him speak would see His return to usher in His kingdom. If so, Jesus was obviously mistaken. It would be likely that the early church would not have reported this remark or would have abandoned hope in His coming if this were what Jesus meant.
Others have gone to the extreme of saying that Jesus returned in A.D. 70 when Jerusalem was destroyed. One man from Flagstaff has written a booklet promoting this view. He claims that Jesus has already returned and will not be coming back again. Although he is sincerely trying to explain this difficult verse so that Jesus’ prediction came true, he has fallen into serious heresy. To deny that Jesus will return in the future is to rob believers of the hope of His coming. Besides, the destruction of Jerusalem cannot be described as Jesus’ coming on the clouds with power and great glory to establish His kingdom on earth and to judge the nations.
Others explain the word “generation” to mean “race,” so that Jesus is saying, “The Jewish race will not cease to be until all these things take place.” The problem with this view is that the word “generation” almost always means those living at a given time, not a race of people. So it would be a highly unusual use of the word. Also, Jesus was probably speaking Aramaic, and the Aramaic term for generation cannot carry the sense of race (Darrell Bock, Luke [Baker], 2:1690).
Another view is that the verse refers to the judgment on Jerusalem in A.D. 70, but not to the second coming. But Jesus’ words about the kingdom of God being near when all these signs take place does not fit this view. The judgment on Jerusalem had nothing to do with the kingdom’s soon coming. Also, this view must interpret the drastic signs in the heavens in a symbolic or greatly diminished sense. Some argue that several comets that appeared just prior to A.D. 70 fulfill the “signs in the heavens” prophecy (Keith Mathison, Dispensationalism: Rightly Dividing the People of God? [P & R Publishing], p.140). The prophecy about the sun and moon being darkened is explained as symbolic Old Testament language for terrible judgments on the nations (ibid., p. 142). But to say that the judgment on Jerusalem totally fulfilled these verses seems to me to be stretching it beyond credulity. The nations were not perplexed and gripped with terror because of these signs in the heavens just prior to Jerusalem’s destruction.
A variation on this view is a double fulfillment approach that argues that the judgment on Jerusalem is linked with the final judgment as the beginning or type of that final judgment on all the earth. Thus “Jesus is saying that this group of disciples will experience the catastrophe of A.D. 70 within their lifetime, an event that itself pictures the beginning of end-time events” (Bock, 2:1691). This view is a good possibility, especially when you study the parallels in Matthew and Mark. The problem with it in Luke is that you have to shift back in focus to the judgment of A.D. 70, which seemingly was left at verse 24. And, you have to interpret the signs in the heavens in connection with A.D. 70 in a much lesser degree than the final signs that will grip the whole world with fear.
Perhaps the best solution is to say that “this generation” refers to the generation that is living when all of these end time signs begin to occur. Jesus then is saying that “the generation that sees the beginning of the end, also sees its end. When the signs come, they will proceed quickly; they will not drag on for many generations” (Bock, 2:1691-1692). The main objection to this view is that “this generation” usually refers to the present generation, not to a later one. But in this context, Jesus is referring to these cataclysmic signs. Thus the phrase “this generation” could refer to the generation that sees these unusual events unfold. Since there is so much controversy over the verse, we should not be dogmatic.
But to return to the point, the references to this generation not passing away until these things take place, and the warning that these final events will come on us suddenly like a trap, underscore the element of surprise or quickness. Jesus tells us, “Keep on the alert at all times, praying in order that you may have strength to escape all these things that are about to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man” (21:36). The way to be ready so that the day does not surprise us like a trap is to be in daily prayer for strength to endure (“escape” has the sense of enduring) persecution and these world-shaking events; and to be obedient so that we can stand before the Lord without fear.
Luke’s mention (21:37-38) of the people getting up early to come and listen to Jesus may simply be a factual notice. But it also may be a subtle warning. These people listened in the sense of enjoying Christ’s teaching. He was an interesting and engaging speaker. They were curious about these prophetic matters. But many of these same people would shortly be crying, “Crucify Him!” There is a big difference between being curious about Bible prophecy and living daily by faith, prayer, and obedience to God’s Word. If studying prophecy does not make us more godly people, we are not studying it rightly.
When I was in the Coast Guard, the chief on our boat was a profane and worldly man. One time he came up on the bridge where I was on radio watch to get something and he noticed that I was reading the Bible. He said, “Whatcha reading?” Then seeing that I was reading First Peter, he said, “Oh, Peters, huh? You ought to read Revelations. It’s really ___.” He used a mild swear word to mean, “It’s really cool.” He thought that prophecy was interesting. If he had really taken it to heart, he would have realized that Christ is coming back to judge the earth. He would have repented and lived much differently. Bible prophecy is not given to satisfy our curiosity. It is given so that we will live in prayerful obedience, ready for that fearful day of judgment.
I once worked at the swanky Drake Hotel in Chicago. Years before I was there, in July of 1959, Queen Elizabeth was scheduled to visit Chicago. Elaborate preparations were made for her visit. The waterfront was readied for docking her ship. Litter baskets were painted and a red carpet was ready to be rolled out for her to walk on. Many hotels were alerted to be ready. But when they contacted the Drake, the manager said, “We are making no plans for the Queen. Our rooms are always ready for royalty.”
That’s how our lives should be in light of Christ’s return. We shouldn’t have to make any special or unusual preparations. We should live each day alert and ready, dependent on Him in prayer, and obedient to His Word. When the world is gripped with fear because of frightening events, we should look up, filled with hope because our redemption draws near.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Religion is one of the greatest forces for evil in this world. Satan has probably done more to damage genuine Christianity through religion than through blatant wickedness or any other evil. In fact, the greatest crime in history came about when Satan used a very religious man to betray the Son of God into the hands of other religious men who murdered Him.
Our text introduces the events that directly led to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Judas Iscariot went to the Jewish religious leaders and struck a bargain to betray Jesus into their hands. The religious leaders’ problem was that Jesus was popular with the crowds. If they arrested Him publicly, it could start a riot that would backfire on them. They were considering waiting until the crowds dispersed after the festival (Mark 14:2). But when Judas came to them, it suddenly opened up new possibilities. If he could hand Jesus over to them in a private setting, they could achieve their goal and yet avoid a riot. If the people raised any objections, the leaders could blame Judas. It seemed like the opportunity they had been waiting for.
Little did those leaders know that their sinister plot, including the change of timing, perfectly fulfilled the eternal counsel of God, who had ordained that His Passover Lamb would be slain precisely at the time of the Jewish Passover celebration. They were responsible for their terrible sin, and yet they inadvertently carried out God’s plan for the salvation of the world! John Calvin commented,
And it is of great importance for us to hold, that Christ was not unexpectedly dragged to death by the violence of his enemies, but was led to it by the providence of God; for our confidence in the propitiation is founded on the conviction that he was offered to God as that sacrifice which God had appointed from the beginning. And therefore he determined that his Son should be sacrificed on the very day of the passover, that the ancient figure might give place to the only sacrifice of eternal redemption (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], “Harmony of the Gospels,” 3:186, italics his).
The spiritual lesson for us from these verses is:
Since it is possible to be religious and yet to be in league with Satan, we must guard against evil religion.
“Satan entered into Judas” (22:3). Behind the scenes of world and personal events lurks an evil spirit, the devil, who is working for his own ends in opposition to God. If he can pawn off counterfeit religions that keep people from knowing the true God, he can hold them in spiritual darkness. They think that they are right with God, but in reality, they are not.
All of the world’s major religions (except biblical Christianity) invariably promote the idea that man can save himself through some form of good works or human effort. Inherent in such an approach to salvation are several fatally flawed notions. God’s absolute holiness must be pulled down to a level where we can approach Him by our own good deeds. Thus the character of God is blasphemed. Man’s sinfulness must be played down and his goodness built up to the point that we can do something to save ourselves. If we aren’t dead in our sins, alienated from God to the degree that we can do nothing to remedy the situation, then we don’t need a perfect substitute to atone for our sins. We don’t need Christ to save us; we just need to try the best we can. So you can see why Satan loves religion. It makes the cross unnecessary and it feeds the pride of sinful man. But we must go a step further:
The chief priests and scribes believed in the true God of the Bible, who revealed Himself to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Judas was not just a follower of Jesus, but also one of the twelve. And yet they all were in league with Satan in plotting for Jesus’ death.
Even so, there are many who profess to be Christians, but they are in harmony with Satan, not with Jesus Christ. The Crusades were ostensibly under the banner of Christianity, but there was nothing Christian about them. Satan still uses them to malign true Christianity. The Inquisition and the persecution carried on under the reign of Bloody Mary in England were done in the name of Christ, and yet these events and the people responsible for them were hideously evil. The Protestant-Catholic terrorism in Northern Ireland is not Christian in any sense of the word, and yet the world perceives of it as Christian versus Christian.
Looking at the Jewish religious leaders and Judas, we can see a number of dangers for all who hold to belief in the one true God:
Religious profession is not enough.
The chief priests and scribes professed to know and fear the one true God. They professed to believe in the Scriptures. Judas professed to be a follower of Christ. And yet they killed the sinless Savior. Anyone can make a profession of faith, but in and of itself, such a profession is not enough to guard us from evil religion.
Religious knowledge is not enough.
The chief priests and scribes knew the Hebrew Bible better than any of us do. They studied it for years in the original language. They could cite lengthy passages by memory. But in spite of their impressive learning, they missed Christ. Their knowledge filled them with pride, when it should have humbled them before God. Spiritual knowledge is good if it brings us to the true knowledge of God and of ourselves, which always results in humility. But if it puffs us up with all that we know, it will bring us to ruin.
Religious position is not enough.
These men were the religious leaders of the nation. They had spiritual oversight of more than a million Jews. But they crucified the Savior. Judas was one of the twelve apostles, hand-picked by Jesus Christ. Yet he betrayed the Savior of the world for a small bag of silver. You can be the pastor of a large church or the head of a large denomination and yet be in league with Satan.
Religious ritual is not enough.
These men were about to celebrate the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. But at the same time, they were going to murder an innocent man, their Messiah, no less! The Passover pictured God’s salvation as seen in the Exodus. The Feast of Unleavened Bread that immediately followed pictured removing sin from our lives. If they had taken to heart the message of Passover, how could they have been plotting murder at the same time? It is easy to go through religious rituals and miss the message behind the ritual. Mafia members can go to the Mass and go home and arrange the murder of a rival. Church members can partake of communion and go home and verbally abuse their mates or children. Ritual is not enough.
Religious service is not enough.
The chief priests and scribes had devoted their lives to religious duties. Judas had served Christ for three years in as close a capacity as possible. He had gone out with the other disciples, preaching and healing the sick in Jesus’ name. But all the religious service in the world is worthless if we betray Jesus.
Religious affiliation is not enough.
The chief priests and scribes were affiliated with the cream of religious leaders in Judaism. Judas was a member of the twelve. He was personally acquainted with Peter, James, and John, not to mention, Jesus. He could tell you inside stories about these great men. You would think that some of it would have rubbed off on him. But you can know godly men and run in godly circles and yet not be godly yourself.
Religious experience is not enough.
Judas witnessed the many miracles Christ performed. He had seen Jesus heal the sick and raise the dead. He had watched Jesus feed the 5,000 and walk on the water. He had seen Jesus hold large crowds spellbound with His teaching. But all of his spiritual experiences did not keep Judas from betraying Jesus. Even so, people today report all sorts of interesting and amazing spiritual experiences. They speak in tongues, laugh uncontrollably, bark like dogs, roar like lions, get slain in the Spirit, and lay prostrate on the floor. They go forward at evangelistic crusades and feel a warm glow come over them. But ask Judas. He will tell you that you can have amazing religious experiences and still betray the Savior. Religious experience is inadequate by itself.
If it is possible to profess to be a Christian and to do all of these other things, and yet to be in league with Satan, how can we guard against such evil religion in ourselves?
Many different theories have been suggested as to why Judas would do such a thing as betray Jesus. But at the root of whatever motivated Judas was this key factor: He was not a converted man. This is the key difference between Judas and Peter. Peter failed miserably, denying Jesus at His moment of greatest need, humanly speaking. Both men felt badly after their failures. But the difference was, Peter was truly converted; Judas was not.
We need to understand that true conversion is not a matter of making a decision to follow Christ. A decision cannot save anyone. True conversion has nothing to do with anything that we can do. Rather, conversion is a matter of God imparting spiritual life to a person who is dead in his trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1-5; John 1:12-13). Without God imparting life to our dead hearts, we cannot and will not believe in Christ or make a commitment to follow Him (John 6:44, 65; Luke 10:22; Rom. 8:7-8). As James 1:18 puts it, “In the exercise of His will He brought us forth by the word of truth, so that we might be, as it were, the first fruits among His creatures.”
True conversion, then, is not something that people can will or believe into existence. True conversion is the mighty power of God through the gospel and it necessarily changes our hearts. Whereas before we were self-willed, now we submit to God. Before we were proud of our goodness; now we are humbled by our sin. Before we shrugged off or justified our sin; now we confess and mourn over our sin. Before we didn’t really care about knowing God; now it is our one desire and quest. When God saves you, He changes your heart. False religion lacks true conversion.
By distinguishing this point from the previous one, I am not suggesting that we first get saved and then add lordship sometime later, as a second step. A truly converted person bows before the lordship of Jesus Christ and seeks to bring every aspect of his life under Christ’s lordship. But I separate this point to emphasize something that many who profess Christ as Savior do not realize, namely, that they have never dethroned self and enthroned Christ as Lord. They came to Christ in hopes that He could do something for them. Maybe they hoped He would fix their marriage or straighten out a rebellious child. Perhaps they hoped that He would make them happy. But their problems have only grown worse. They are disappointed with Christ. He hasn’t given them what they had hoped for. They are in danger of turning to false gods for help.
Such people may not be converted at all, because they are only using Christ to fulfill self, not denying self to follow Christ (Luke 9:23). Self is still in control. If Jesus will cooperate and give what self wants, they will follow Jesus. If not, they will turn to whatever makes self happy. This is merely evil religion, using religion to get what you want out of life.
I am speculating a bit, but I think I’m not far off the mark in suggesting that Judas was following Jesus for what he thought Jesus could provide for him, but he had not submitted to Christ as Lord. If Jesus is the Messiah and can set up His kingdom and get rid of Rome, Judas was on board. Besides, as one of the twelve, he should get a top assignment in the new kingdom. But when Judas saw Jesus heading toward the cross, he was horrified. This wasn’t the kind of Messiah he had envisioned. He hadn’t signed on to face persecution and perhaps martyrdom. He wanted prestige, power, and material comfort. He was using Jesus for his own ends. When Jesus didn’t “work,” he was willing to betray Him for 30 pieces of silver.
Each of us needs to ask ourselves, “Am I following Christ for what I can get out of Him?” That’s the religion of Judas. Or, have I submitted to Jesus as Lord, no matter what the cost? That is true Christianity.
The Jewish leaders and Judas were religious men, but their religion was a thin veneer over selfish desires and a means to fulfilling those desires. There were three areas of selfish desires these men shared in common:
The desire for money and material things.
We have already seen that the Pharisees were lovers of money (16:14). The fact that Judas received money for betraying Jesus confirms what John 12:6 states, that Judas was a thief who pilfered out of the disciples’ money box. Evil religion does not kill greed. But God always confronts our greed. Covetousness is one of the Ten Commandments. Greed is often linked with idolatry and sexual immorality (Eph. 5:3, 5; Col. 3:5). If you are not consistently confronting your greed, you need to re-examine your faith.
To betray the Son of God for money seems despicable beyond imagination. And yet, isn’t that what millions do? They profess to be Christians, but their lives are consumed with the pursuit of material things. They cling to their things and are deeply offended if anyone suggests that they give away their things for the cause of Christ. They will even cheat or lie or compromise their morals and their testimony so that they can get ahead. They are betraying Jesus for money, just as Judas did.
The desire for prestige and recognition.
The Jewish leaders wanted the prestige that came from being a religious leader in Israel. They loved the respectful greetings and the chief seats in the synagogue (20:46). They were overly concerned about what people thought of them (22:2, 6). They feared the multitude, but they did not fear God.
I am inferring this, since Scripture does not directly say, but I think that Judas also may have liked the prestige that came from being in the inner circle with Jesus during the time of His popularity. Many in the crowd would whisper, “He’s one of the twelve.” It made Judas feel good to be so important. But now that Jesus’ popularity was in question, Judas wanted to get on the good side of the religious leaders. By leading them to Jesus, he could assure himself of recognition with the rulers after Jesus was out of the way.
We all need to judge our own hearts. We can serve in the church for the recognition and prestige that it brings, rather than out of love for Jesus Christ.
The desire for power and influence.
Evil religion involves men a contest for power. If you can work your way to the top, you’ll gain power and influence. So you play religious politics. You network with those who have influence. You cater to the rich and famous. You use guile and manipulation to get ahead in the religious world. The Jewish religious leaders played such political games. Jesus threatened their power base. He challenged their greed and corruption. He exposed their selfish motives. But rather than yielding to Him, they decided to get rid of Him. And, Judas was using his inside information for his own ends. He should have judged his evil desire for power and influence.
When I first came to this church, I went out to lunch with the man who was then the regional director for the Southwest Conservative Baptist Association. During our conversation, he said, “You’ve got to build your power base in the church.” I didn’t reply, but I thought, “I’m sorry, but I’m not into building power bases or playing church politics.” We should walk in integrity before God and not be using people to build our power base.
We’ve seen that Satan uses evil religion to keep people in his domain of darkness. They can even profess true religion, yet be in league with Satan. At the core of evil religion are a lack of genuine conversion, the rejection of Christ as Lord, and the promotion of selfish desires under the guise of religious commitment.
Verse 5 sends a chill down my spine: “And they were glad, and agreed to give him money.” How can anyone be glad about the prospect of killing the Son of God? How could Judas be glad about striking such a deal? I can see the chief priest going home that night, and his wife said, “You seem unusually happy. What’s going on?” And he said, “It looks like we’re finally going to get rid of that troublemaker, Jesus! What a relief!” And Judas walked away with that bag of silver under his coat, smiling as he thought of the things he could buy. But their happiness was short-lived. Their doom is eternal!
The things that make you glad reveal your heart. If hearing that you just won the Reader’s Digest Sweepstakes makes you leap for joy, but hearing that the gospel has just penetrated a previously unreached people group makes you say, “Ho hum,” your heart is not right before God. The things that make God rejoice should make us rejoice. The things that make God grieve, namely sin, should make us grieve.
In light of how Satan uses religion for his evil purposes, it is shocking when evangelical Christian leaders, such as Billy Graham, endorse religious men who clearly deny the gospel. For example, Graham spoke well of the late Norman Vincent Peale, who said on a 1984 Phil Donahue show, “It’s not necessary to be born again. You have your way to God; I have mine. I found eternal peace in a Shinto shrine… I’ve been to Shinto shrines, and God is everywhere.” Even Donahue was shocked. He responded, “But you’re a Christian minister; you’re supposed to tell me that Christ is the way and the truth and the life, aren’t you?” Peale replied, “Christ is one of the ways. God is everywhere” (“The Berean Call,” 10/97, citing The Christian News, 5/12/97, p. 11).
Graham has also endorsed Robert Schuller who denies the gospel. He endorses Pope John Paul II as “the greatest religious leader of the modern world, and one of the greatest moral and spiritual leaders of this century” (on David Frost, 5/30/97). He even said, “I think Islam is misunderstood, too, because Mohammed has a great respect for Jesus, and he called Jesus the greatest of the prophets except himself. And I think that we’re closer to Islam than we really think we are” (ibid.).
My purpose is not to slam Billy Graham, although he needs someone to confront him. My purpose is to illustrate my main point, that since it is possible to be religious and yet be in league with Satan, we must guard ourselves against evil religion. At best Graham is extremely undiscerning. At worst, people who hear him say things like that will be kept from true salvation.
I hope that none of you are deceived. Avoid evil religion. Do not endorse it. Do not join with it. Make sure that your heart is right before God. Are you trusting in Christ alone for salvation? Are you judging your sin on the heart level? Are you seeking to please God and walk before Him? If you are, you will avoid the danger of betraying the Son of God for a bag of silver.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
In my office I have a number of photographs of my family. If you were to ask me, “Are those pictures there because you can’t remember what they look like?” I would answer, “No, those pictures are not there to inform my intellect. They are there to touch my heart.” When I look at those pictures during the day, they remind me of my loved ones from whom I am temporarily separated. I think about what each of them means to me. My heart is touched as I recall fond times we’ve had together. I’m moved to thank God for giving them to me and to pray for His ongoing protection and grace in their lives at that moment. I long to be reunited with them, to feel their hugs and kisses, and to enjoy their company. The value of a picture is emotional. It touches our hearts.
The Lord Jesus left us a snapshot of Himself for us to remember Him by. We should pause and look at it often. When we do, it should remind us of His great love for us as shown supremely on the cross. It should fill our hearts with the desire to see Him when He comes again. It should make us look to ourselves to ask, “Am I ready to meet Him? Is there anything in my life that needs to be dealt with before I meet my Bridegroom face to face?” It should touch our hearts and make us say, “Thank God for what He has given us in Christ!” That snapshot is the Lord’s Supper. Our text is Luke’s account of this most important meal in history. I want us to see from it how we should come to the Lord’s Table.
As you know, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper often. If we didn’t have two services, with the time crunch of getting the first one over by a certain time, I would urge us to have the Lord’s Supper each week. Some feel that a weekly observance is too frequent and runs the risk of making the Lord’s Supper into a meaningless ritual. But many Christians from many different backgrounds—John Calvin in the Reformed tradition, Charles Spurgeon the Baptist, the Anglican church, Plymouth Brethren churches, and others—have observed the Lord’s Supper weekly. The church in Acts seemed to gather weekly “to break bread” (Acts 20:7). Of course anything you do repeatedly runs the risk of becoming a meaningless ritual—singing familiar songs, prayer, Bible reading, or whatever. But the solution isn’t to do those things less frequently, but to deal with the problems that cause our hearts to grow cold. If you neglect coming to the Lord’s Supper, I believe you’re missing one of the keys to spiritual health.
So I want to show you how to come to this important ordinance or sacrament ordained by our Lord. Webster defines a sacrament as “a formal religious act that is sacred as a sign or symbol of a spiritual reality.” Augustine said that it is an “outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace” (Evangelical Dictionary of Theology, ed. by Walter Elwell, [Baker], p. 965).
When we come to the Lord’s Supper, we should first look to ourselves and then look to Christ.
As the Lord and the disciples met for this final evening together before the crucifixion, He dropped a bombshell in the middle of the supper which stunned the disciples: “But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Me on the table” (22:21). It was unthinkable! They knew that the Jewish leaders were opposed to Jesus. But one of the twelve? One sitting there that moment, eating the Passover with Jesus? How could this be?
Luke records how this news led them into a silly dispute about which of them was the greatest (Luke 22:21-24). But before that controversy broke out, Mark 14:19 records that the disciples did something a bit uncharacteristic, but right: Each one questioned his own allegiance to Christ by asking, “Surely, not I?” Matthew informs us that even Judas asked the question (Matt. 26:25). In the case of the eleven, it was a sincere question that reflected their lack of confidence in their own spiritual strength. In Judas’ case, it was a hypocritical attempt to cover his deceit. But it’s significant that nobody said, “It must be Judas!” Instead, each one looked soberly within and asked, “Lord, is it I?”
In 1 Corinthians 11:28-32, the apostle Paul tells us that each person should examine himself before he partakes of the elements of the Supper. He warns that if we do not do this, we eat and drink judgment unto ourselves, by which he means discipline from the Lord that can include physical illness and even death. There are several areas where we should examine ourselves:
Jesus began the Supper by giving thanks (22:17). The Greek word is transliterated Eucharist. Jesus gave thanks for the cup and then passed it among the disciples. Some versions, based on a manuscript variant, omit the last half of verse 19 and all of verse 20, so that Luke simply has the cup and then the bread (reversed from the order in Matthew, Mark, and 1 Corinthians). But the best reading is to include these verses, so that there was the cup, the bread, and then the cup.
In the Jewish Passover, there were four cups (some say three) during the meal. Luke records probably the first and third cups. The first cup was accompanied by the prayer, “Blessed are You, Yahweh our God, who has created the fruit of the vine.” It was a prayer of thanksgiving for God’s provision and salvation, as pictured in all that followed. Jesus introduced it by saying, for the second time, that this would be the last time He would partake of this celebration until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God. The second cup followed the explanation for why the day was celebrated and the singing of Hallel Psalms. Then came the meal itself. Jesus gave thanks again for the bread, and here He reinterpreted the elements of the Passover by showing that they pointed toward His impending death. He instructed them that in the future, they should do this in remembrance of Him.
The third cup, the cup of blessing, followed the main course. “In the same way” means that He also gave thanks for the cup. Here Jesus explained that this cup symbolized the new covenant in His blood, poured out for you. The final cup, not recorded in the New Testament accounts, was drunk in connection with the singing of the final Hallel Psalms.
To come back to the point, this commemorative meal that Jesus here transformed was marked by thanksgiving (repeatedly offered) and joy (symbolized by the fruit of the vine). The Passover was a time to give thanks to God for His great deliverance in the Exodus. The Lord’s Supper is a time for us to thank God for His great salvation provided for us in the death of Christ and to rejoice in His grace so freely given. It should also be a time of hope, since Jesus twice mentions His coming kingdom, which could not have come unless He was resurrected from the dead.
Thus when we come to the Lord’s Table, we need to examine our attitudes. Are we people of thankfulness, joy, and hope, or are we grumblers marked by gloom and despair? John Piper is right in saying, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.” Thus one of the main ways that we glorify God with our lives is by enjoying Him and the blessings of His salvation. If your life is marked by grumbling, depression, and despair, you need to judge your attitudes and focus on God’s gracious salvation.
Jesus shocked the disciples by announcing that the hand of the one betraying Him was on the table. To share a meal with someone in that culture was an act of friendship and loyalty. To betray one with whom you had eaten was a terrible thing, let alone to betray the Lord Jesus. Not just Judas, but also the rest of the twelve would shortly abandon Jesus in their confusion and fear.
I hope that none of us are in danger of betraying the Savior, although it is possible. None of us can say that we are immune from such a terrible sin. But like the apostles, we all are prone to selfish, sinful behavior. Like them, we are prone to the pride that led them into an argument about which of them was the greatest. The Lord’s Supper is a time for us to pause and examine our actions over the past week. Is there any selfish or prideful thing we have done that we have not yet confessed? Did we dishonor the Savior by any of our actions?
If your answer is “yes,” you are not to abstain from participation in the Lord’s Supper. Rather, Paul instructs us to examine ourselves and then to partake (1 Cor. 11:28). In other words, if the Spirit convicts you of some sin that you have not confessed, bring it to Him and obtain His forgiveness and mercy. Then partake. There is forgiveness available for every sin in the blood of Christ. Come to Him in repentance and He will pardon you and make you clean. Examine your actions.
Jesus told the twelve, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (22:15). He used a Hebrew expression that is literally, “I have desired with desire.” It refers to a strong inner desire on Jesus’ part to share with these men whom He loved to the uttermost (John 13:1). His great love would shortly lead the spotless Son of God to the worst possible suffering He could endure, to be made sin on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:21). There is no greater love in the universe than the love that led the Savior to offer Himself as the penalty for our sins!
The Lord’s Supper is a time to examine our affections. Has my heart been right before God? Have I lived each day “by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20)? Did His great love motivate me to turn away from sin, to deny myself in service for Him, and to be filled with praise and gratitude for His great salvation? Did His sacrificial love prompt me to ask forgiveness of each member of my family and of the family of God whom I may have offended?
In a sermon on the Lord’s Supper, Spurgeon mentions a Mrs. Toogood, who is described in Rowland Hill’s Village Dialogues. She made a mistake about the week that communion was to be observed, so she did not play cards during that week, and kept herself wonderfully pure. On Sunday when she found that she had made a blunder as to the time, she said she had wasted the whole week in getting ready! That should not be our attitude about forsaking sin! Rather, out of love for the Savior who gave Himself for me on the cross and who earnestly desires to fellowship with me, I should gladly forsake all sin so as to be ready to come to His table. When I come to that table, I should first look to myself. Examine my attitude; examine my actions; examine my affections.
If we look to ourselves for too long, we would despair. Someone has wisely said, “For every look at yourself, take two looks at Christ.” In fact, the point of looking to ourselves is to make us despair so that we don’t trust in our own righteousness to commend us to God. But then, as we see the sinfulness of our own hearts, we should be driven to cling to Christ and His death on the cross for us. He alone is our hope and salvation. Note four things about our Savior:
The theme of 22:7-13 is Christ’s control over the circumstances of His impending death. We don’t know for sure whether Jesus had prearranged these preparations for the room for the supper or whether He knew these things supernaturally. I think that He prearranged the details in this secretive way so that Judas would not learn the location of the supper and thus thwart what the Lord wanted to accomplish that evening. Both the Lord’s Supper and the “Upper Room Discourse” (John 13-17), which contains so much important teaching, took place that night. Thus Jesus arranged for a male servant to carry a water jug (something only women normally did) as a sign to direct Peter and John to this unnamed man who allowed them to use the upper room.
Also, Jesus was in control over His betrayal, as verse 22 emphasizes: “the Son of Man is going as it has been determined.” Judas surprised the eleven, but he didn’t surprise Jesus. In fact, as early as the feeding of the 5,000, Jesus announced that one of the twelve would betray Him (John 6:70-71). Scripture goes out of its way to show that Christ was not foiled in His attempt to set up His kingdom by Judas’ betrayal and by the plots of the Jewish leaders. They were responsible for their horrible sin, and yet they fulfilled God’s predetermined plan (Acts 2:23; 4:27, 28).
Jesus testified, “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again” (John 10:17-18). His death on the cross was no accident. Evil men didn’t temporarily get the upper hand on God. Christ’s death was a part of God’s decree before the foundation of the world. We can take comfort that it was because He loved us as His sheep that He voluntarily laid down His life for us (John 10:11). The Lord’s Supper should cause us to marvel at God’s sovereign grace!
Jesus knew what was in Judas’ heart. As we’ll see in 22:31-34, He knew Peter’s heart. Nothing is hidden from His sight. We’re fools if, like Judas, we try to cover our sin from Him by hypocritically saying, “Is it I?” When we come to His table, knowing that He knows everything in our hearts, we should readily confess it all to Him. He is more than ready to forgive and restore us.
The central event of the Old Testament was the exodus, when God miraculously delivered His people from bondage to Egypt. The Passover celebrated and rehearsed that event for each generation. The exodus was a type of what Christ would do in delivering His people from bondage to sin through His death on the cross. The Lord’s Supper replaces the Passover in celebrating and rehearsing the central event of all history, the cross, so that it remains at the center of our faith and thinking.
When Jesus gave bread to His disciples and said, “This is My body,” none of them understood Him to mean that it literally became His body, as the Catholic Church teaches. He was still there bodily in the room. They understood that He meant that the bread represents His body. It reminds us that the eternal Son of God took on a human body, lived a sinless life in that body (unleavened bread pictures His sinlessness), and that He bore our sins in that body when He died on the cross.
The cup containing the wine points to the shed blood of Christ, the true Passover Lamb. Just as the angel of death passed over every Israeli home where the blood had been applied to the doorposts, so now everyone who has by faith applied the blood of Christ to his or her guilty conscience will be safe from the wrath to come. Matthew 26:27 records Jesus as saying, “Drink from it, all of you” (see also Mark 14:23). The Bible no where tells us that only a special class of believers called priests are to drink from the cup. Every believer should partake of the bread and the cup.
Furthermore, Christ says, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood” (22:20). Just as the old covenant was instituted by a blood sacrifice, so the new. The word “covenant” does not refer to an agreement between two equals, but to an arrangement established by one party (God). The other party (man) cannot alter it; he can only accept or reject it. As the writer of Hebrews makes clear, a primary meaning of the new covenant is that God has once and for all forgiven our sins through the death of Jesus. The Lord’s Supper is not a sacrifice of the body and blood of Christ, as in the Roman Catholic Mass. Hebrews 10:12 states that Christ “offered one sacrifice for sins for all time.” The Lord’s Supper is a remembrance of Christ’s one sacrifice that inaugurated the new covenant as the basis of our forgiveness and relationship with God. The covenant aspect reminds us that God will keep His promise. It’s a done deal!
The death of Jesus Christ on our behalf should be the focus of our daily walk with God. Christ and Him crucified is the center of the Christian faith. If we meditate properly on the cross, we will grow in humility; we will be filled with joy and gratitude; we will be bound to our Savior in love; and we will turn from the sin which so easily entangles us. Look daily to Christ and Him crucified!
Jesus solemnly assures the disciples that He will not eat the Passover meal or drink of the fruit of the vine again until it is fulfilled in the kingdom (22:16, 18). There is debate about whether or not the Passover will again be celebrated in the millennial kingdom. It could refer to the future celebration of Lord’s Supper as the fulfillment of the Passover. But whatever He meant, Jesus here predicted His resurrection and His coming again in power and glory to establish His kingdom. I cannot see how Jesus’ present reign in the hearts of believers could be the final fulfillment of His kingdom. He pointed ahead to the day when His kingdom will be established on earth. Because He was raised from the dead and because we know that He is coming again, we can know that His death accomplished all that He promised. As Paul put it, “As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1 Cor. 11:26).
If your heart is a bit cold toward the Savior, maybe you have not been looking at His picture as frequently or as carefully as you should. Come to His table. Look to yourself—your attitudes, actions, and affections. Confess any apathy that has made the Lord’s Supper a routine ritual. Turn from any sins that keep you from close fellowship with the Savior. Then look to Christ who freely gave Himself for you and let your heart be moved by His great love as seen in the cross.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000 All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Former world heavyweight boxing champ, Muhammad Ali, was known for often bragging, “I’m the greatest.” Just before take-off on an airline flight, the stewardess reminded Ali to fasten his seatbelt. “Superman don’t need no seatbelt,” Ali told her. The stewardess retorted, “Superman don’t need no airplane, either.” Ali fastened his seatbelt. (The Little, Brown Book of Anecdotes, ed. by Clifton Fadimon [Little, Brown] p. 14.)
No one would mistake Muhammad Ali’s braggadocio as a Christian virtue. Humility and selflessness are to mark the believer in Jesus Christ. Since we all know this, it seems incredible that the apostles would get into this silly debate over which of them was the greatest, especially when you consider the setting: the Last Supper, the night before Jesus would go to the cross. The Lord had just announced that one of the twelve would betray Him. The disciples had responded by discussing who would do such a thing, and with each one asking, “Surely, not I?” (Mark 14:19). Perhaps this led someone to say, “I know that I’m not a likely candidate.” Someone else said, “Me, neither!” Another said, “Well, it couldn’t be me?” “Why not? Do you think you’re better than the rest of us?” From there, things heated up quickly.
This wasn’t the first time that the twelve had gotten into this sort of silly debate. They had argued about the same matter while they walked at some distance from Jesus, thinking that He couldn’t hear what they were discussing (Mark 9:33-37). But He knew what they were discussing and used the occasion to teach them about childlike humility. On another occasion, the mother of James and John had come to Jesus to ask that her sons could sit on His right and left in the kingdom. The other disciples were indignant (Mark 10:35-45). What right had these two brothers to claim the top spots in the kingdom? Jesus taught them that the greatest should become the servant and the one who wished to be first should be the slave of all, adding, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
But in spite of these repeated lessons, here they were again, right on the eve of the Lord’s death, arguing over which of them was the greatest! This shows us that although we can have this lesson in our heads, it takes a while to put it into practice. We just think that we’ve learned it once and for all when someone does something to bug us and we think, “I’m a better servant of Christ than he is!” Although we may not get into a verbal debate, the thought of our heart is, “I’m greater than he is!” So we all have to keep coming back to this fundamental lesson:
The greatest in God’s sight are those who humbly serve.
This is a lesson that all who are actively serving Christ must continually apply. But it also applies to Christians who are sitting on the bench, not engaged in serving the Lord. The Bible clearly teaches that every believer has been given at least one spiritual gift and is to employ it in serving one another (1 Pet. 4:10). Being a servant of Christ is more than just signing up to teach Sunday School or to do some other job at the church. Being a servant is a mindset, where each day you make yourself available to Christ and ask Him to use you in His service in whatever ways He chooses. It may be to speak a word about the Savior to someone who needs Him. It may be to offer cheerful help to someone in need. It may be to listen to a person who needs sympathy or understanding. But whatever the job, your daily attitude is, “Lord, here I am. Use me as Your servant.” If you’re not living in that way, then you are living for self, not for Christ.
Our text brings out four important lessons in servanthood:
Although Luke presumably did not know about and thus did not record the event, John 13:1-11 reports that at sometime during the Supper, Jesus got up, girded Himself with a towel, took a basin of water, and washed the disciples’ feet. I don’t know for sure where in the chronology that great object lesson took place, but I would think that it happened after the dispute among the disciples and just before Jesus’ verbal lesson recorded here (i.e., between verses 24 and 25). Or, it could have followed verse 27, where Jesus states, “I am among you as the one who serves.” But at any rate, Jesus is the great example of servanthood. Note four things:
Have you ever gone out at night and looked into the sky and thought about the fact that your eye cannot even begin to see the billions of galaxies and stars that are in the universe? With my binoculars, I have at times been able to locate Andromeda galaxy, which is 200 million light years from the earth. It is composed of 200 million suns brighter than our sun. But it is just one of millions of other galaxies. Even the powerful Hubble telescope cannot get to the end of the universe. And Jesus spoke the entire works into existence by the word of His power!
Peter, James, and John got a brief glimpse of Jesus’ glory on the Mount of Transfiguration and they were awestruck (Luke 9:28-36). Later, on the Isle of Patmos, John, who had laid his head on Jesus’ breast at the Last Supper, got a further revelation of Christ in His heavenly glory. His response was not to say, “Oh, hi, Lord, good to see you again!” Rather, he fell on his face at Christ’s feet as a dead man (Rev. 1:12-17).
This Lord of glory left the splendor of heaven and took on human flesh so that He could accomplish our salvation. He rightly could have come in all His splendor, demanding our instant allegiance on penalty of death. But instead He took on the form of a servant and humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross (Phil. 2:5-8).
Christ’s willingness to serve did not in any way rob Him of the ultimate authority that will be His. He states here, “My Father has granted Me a kingdom” (22:29). He is coming again and He will conquer all His enemies and reign over all the earth. But in God’s sovereign plan, although He deserves and one day will have ultimate supremacy, the first time He came to earth as a humble servant to show us how we should serve Him and one another. If Jesus, who deserved supremacy as the Almighty Creator, willingly served, then should not we, who deserve nothing except judgment, offer ourselves in faithful service to God?
Jesus tells the disciples, “And you are those who have stood by Me in My trials” (22:28). At first glance, this verse does not seem unusual. We all know that Jesus was tried when the devil tempted Him in the wilderness (Luke 4:1-13). We know that He went through the awful trial of Gethsemane, followed by His trial and crucifixion. But we tend to think that between those two terrible events, everything was smooth sailing for Jesus. But, the disciples were not standing with Jesus during these two events. He had not yet chosen them when He was tempted by Satan. And, they all fled and deserted Him at His final hour of trial. So Jesus is referring to trials or temptations that took place in the time in between these two recorded times of trial.
After Jesus had successfully resisted the devil in the wilderness, we read that the devil “departed from Him until an opportune time” (4:13). Although Jesus did not have a sin nature tempting Him from within, as we do, He was perpetually bombarded from without by the great enemy of our souls. If Satan could bring Jesus down, God’s plan of salvation would be thwarted. Although it was impossible for the Son of God to sin, it was no mock battle that He fought. Satan continually dangled before Jesus ways to escape the cross. He tempted Him to exert His power and assert His authority apart from God’s plan. But in spite of all these temptations, Jesus faithfully humbled Himself and served the Father’s purpose, even to the point of death.
There are many Christians who will serve God as long as there is no opposition and things are going relatively smoothly. But what about when criticism or opposition comes? What about when we are treated unfairly? What about when we are misunderstood or when people question our motivation? Do we keep serving then or do we quit with the protest, “If that’s the kind of treatment I get for serving, I’m out of here! Let someone else serve!” Jesus is our great example of serving faithfully through many trials.
Although the disciples had stood with Jesus up to this point, even through some intense opposition, Jesus knew that in a short while they would all forsake Him and flee for their lives. Even now, not even Peter, James, or John could enter into the anguish that Jesus would face in the garden. They just didn’t get it. Jesus had to face His final trial alone. But, as He told them in that Upper Room, “Behold, an hour is coming, and has already come, for you to be scattered, each to his own home, and to leave Me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me” (John 16:32).
Commenting on what he calls Jesus’ profound loneliness, Alexander Maclaren states, “The more pure and lofty a nature, the more keen its sensitiveness, the more exquisite its delights, and the sharper its pains. The more loving and unselfish a heart, the more its longing for companionship: and the more its aching in loneliness” (Exposition of Holy Scripture [Baker], Luke 13-24, p. 237). As the psalmist wrote prophetically of Christ, “Reproach has broken my heart, and I am so sick. And I looked for sympathy, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none” (Ps. 69:20).
Yet in spite of loneliness and being misunderstood, Jesus faithfully served the Father’s purpose. His fellowship with the Father was the sustaining factor when no one else understood. In this, too, Jesus is our great example. We are called to serve Him even when we feel lonely and misunderstood.
Christ’s amazing love is the only explanation for why He would leave the glory of heaven and submit Himself to all of the abuse and hardship He went through to secure our salvation. Just before Jesus girded Himself with that towel and began the lowly servant’s task of washing the disciples’ feet, John 13:1 states that Jesus loved His own who were in the world and that He loved them to the uttermost.
The apostle Paul was driven by this same love of Christ. He said that the life he now lived in the flesh, he lived by faith in the Son of God, and then he adds, “who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20). In that great eighth chapter of Romans, Paul reaches a crescendo when he reflects on God’s great love in Christ. He states that even if we are put to death for Christ’s sake, “we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” Nothing, he states, absolutely nothing “shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 8:35-39).
Just as Christ served because of His great love for us and Paul served because he was captivated by Christ’s love, so we should serve because of Christ’s love for us and our love for Him. God’s love as seen in Christ, and especially in His sacrificial death, is the great motive for anything and everything we do in service for Him. Jesus Christ is our great example of servanthood.
The disciples’ squabble came from one source: self! James 4:1 asks, “What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you?” He answers, “Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members?” Selfish desire leads us into conflict with one another. That is why Jesus spells out the beginning requirement if we wish to follow Him: “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). But denying self isn’t a once and for all decision that we make and then get on with life. Self keeps rearing its ugly head, even in those who have tried to kill the monster for years! So even the most mature saints constantly have to do battle with self.
You would think that right after the Lord’s Supper, this sort of dispute among these men would not have happened, but it did. Pride and selfishness (which are related) are the most common and troubling problems we face. In the next section, Peter’s pride comes through as he protests that he is ready to die with Jesus. Peter believed in his own commitment more than he believed Jesus’ word! If these men who had walked in close relationship with Christ could fall into the pride of proclaiming their own greatness right after the Lord’s Supper, then we are not immune!
One of the most remarkable deceptions that the enemy has pulled off is to infect the evangelical church with the notion that we are supposed to build up our self-esteem! It has swept into the church in the past 30 years. I have not been able to find any evangelical writers much before 1970 (when James Dobson’s Hide or Seek hit the market) who proclaim this false doctrine. J. C. Ryle, for example, who wrote in the 19th century, viewed self-esteem as a deep-rooted evil. He comments, “Ambition, self-esteem, and self-conceit lie deep at the bottom of all men’s hearts, and often in the hearts where they are least suspected” (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], Luke 11-24, p. 403).
John Calvin, who tipped me off to my own errors on this matter, frequently warns against the evil of self-love. He says, “There is, indeed, nothing that man’s nature seeks more eagerly than to be flattered. Accordingly, when his nature becomes aware that its gifts are highly esteemed, it tends to be unduly credulous about them.” He goes on to say that “blind self-love is innate in all mortals,” and because of this, “when anyone publicly extolled human nature in most favorable terms, he was listened to with applause.” He warns that if we listen to “the sort of alluring talk that tickles the pride that itches in [our] very marrow,” we will not advance in true self-knowledge, “but will be plunged into the worst ignorance” (The Institutes of the Christian Religion, ed. by John McNeill [Westminster], 2:1:2).
So, rather than pouring the gasoline of self-esteem on our propensity toward pride, we must, in the words of Isaac Watts, “pour contempt on all our pride” if we want to be servants of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“I’m the greatest apostle!” “You are not! I am!” “You guys are both wrong. I’m the greatest!” The apostles were doing what men by nature are prone to do, competing for first place. Our American culture is especially competitive. That’s how you get scholarships, get into college, and get good grades, by doing better than other students. That’s how you get ahead in business, by competing with others for customers. That’s how sports teams win championships, by competing and conquering the opposing teams. We live in a climate of competition!
I noticed this last fall when I was traveling in Poland. The main roads there are two lane roads and you frequently encounter horse-drawn carts and slow cars or trucks. Sometimes our driver would pull out to pass and I could see that we weren’t going to make it. There just wasn’t enough time to pass before the oncoming vehicle would hit us head on! In America, you wouldn’t dare to try such a thing. I’ve even had drivers that I was trying to pass speed up, forcing me to drop back behind them. But in Poland, everyone just sort of moves to the side and you pass three abreast. They cooperate rather than compete! A couple of times since then, I’ve been tempted to try that here, but I instantly realize that it would be suicide!
In the church, I think we need to work at cooperation and to be careful not to compete. Is another church doing better than ours? If they preach the gospel, praise God! It means that our team is doing well!
Jesus describes worldly leadership, where the top man lords it over others but then demands the title of “Benefactor”! But then He states, “But not so with you” (22:26). Worldly leadership is not a model for biblical leadership. Biblical leadership does not lord it over people, even though at times it must exercise authority (1 Pet. 5:3; Titus 2:15). Biblical leadership does not demand recognition and status. It does not pay attention to titles. It does not use its position for personal advantage at others’ expense. In all these areas, worldly leadership models selfish men seeking selfish advantage. Biblical leadership models servanthood, even at personal sacrifice or inconvenience.
Thus our great example of servanthood is Jesus Himself. Our great enemy of servanthood is self.
Even though Jesus must have been grieved over this repeated petty quarreling among the apostles, and even though He knew that they all would soon forsake Him and flee, He gives them this gracious word of commendation, that they have stood with Him in His trials. And He goes on to encourage them by promising great rewards for them in His coming kingdom. Truly, as John 1:16 puts it, we have all received “grace upon grace”!
If you have failed the Lord in your attempts to serve Him, He wants you to hear His word of grace. He wants you to turn from your sin and failure and to serve Him again with a glad heart. He’s like a father who is trying to teach his young child to do some new task. The child may fail or not do it perfectly, but the dad sees one little thing the child does right and says, “That’s the way! Keep it up! You’re getting the idea!” As I think of my own ministry, I am overwhelmed that God allowed me to begin shepherding His flock when He did. I am appalled at some of the things I taught and at some of the stupid mistakes I made. Even now, I often wonder how He can use me. But God’s grace encourages me to go on.
Christ here promises the disciples (the Greek word implies a covenant) that they will eat and drink at His table in His kingdom and they will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. In light of their recent dispute and in light of their impending failures, that is sheer grace! The fact is, the Lord will reward every one of His servants far beyond what we deserve! No one will get to heaven and think, “You mean I sacrificed and worked so hard for this measly reward?” Rather, we all will think, “God has been far more gracious and generous with me than I could ever deserve!”
I don’t know for sure what the Lord means in terms of the apostles’ future rewards. Paul says that the saints will judge both the world and the angels (1 Cor. 6:2-3). Apparently the apostles will have a leading role in that task. Eating and drinking at Jesus’ table is a picture of the joyous fellowship that awaits all of us in His presence. If we could see now what He has prepared for us then, we all would be “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that [our] toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58). Any inconvenience or hardship you endure now in serving Christ will reap blessing upon blessing in that great day when His kingdom comes.
I read about a church in Santa Fe, New Mexico, that has a hand-lettered sign over the only door into the sanctuary: Servants’ Entrance. There isn’t any way in or out of that church except through the service door (Christianity Today [9/16/91], p. 42). That’s how every church should be! It’s a place for servants only. Who’s the greatest in God’s kingdom? Those who humbly serve as Jesus did.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Have you ever thanked God that you weren’t around when the Bible was being written, so that your failures were not recorded for all people of all time to read about? Poor Peter was there and everyone knows about his colossal failure. Like Peter, we all have failed the Lord, even if our failures are not as widely known. When you fail the Lord, whether it is a colossal fall like Peter’s or even if it’s a lesser failure, you feel guilty, embarrassed, and depressed. If it’s a bad fall, you often wonder if God will ever use you again in His service.
Thank God that the Bible offers hope for those who have failed God. It does not leave us without a way out. Also, thank God that the Bible paints its heroes warts and all. It does not airbrush their blemishes from the record. It lets us see them as men and women like us, who struggled against the same weaknesses and temptations, but who recovered from their sins and failures by God’s abundant grace.
I don’t know how to rank failures, but Peter’s has to be one of the worst. To be the leader among the apostles, to boast that he would go to prison and death with Christ, and then to deny that he even knew Christ, was not just an average, everyday sort of failure! The fact that the Lord would restore Peter and use him on the Day of Pentecost and thereafter shows us His amazing grace and gives us hope when we fail.
When we fail the Lord, His grace points the way back and gives us hope.
Like Peter, …
Let’s analyze what was behind Peter’s failure.
Jesus tells Peter that Satan has demanded permission (the verb means to obtain by asking) to sift him like wheat. This reveals Christ’s supernatural knowledge of events before God’s throne. It reminds us of the story of Job, where Satan asked God’s permission to afflict Job. He wanted to prove that Job followed God for the benefits, but that he would deny God if the benefits were removed. “To sift like wheat” pictures grain running through a sieve, where the head of grain is taken apart. Satan wanted to tear Peter apart and leave him in pieces. Somewhat surprisingly, God granted Satan’s request! In His inscrutable purposes, God uses Satan, who thinks that he will achieve his evil purpose, but God overrules him and turns it for His greater purpose of good. Satan is on a leash and can go no further than God allows.
Note that Satan especially goes after those who are in spiritual leadership. The pronoun “you” in verse 31 is plural, pointing to Satan’s sifting all the apostles, but Peter as the leader among the apostles is especially singled out. He would fail in the most dramatic way, but God would use his failure after he had recovered to strengthen the others, who also had failed.
The point is, behind the scenes there is an evil spiritual enemy, Satan, who is bent on our destruction. Often we forget or fail to see him. He brought sin into the world by tempting Eve in the garden. He is prowling about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour the faith of God’s people (1 Pet. 5:8). Jesus calls him “the ruler of this world” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11), a murderer, and a liar, the father of lies (John 8:44). He said that this wicked being snatches the seed of the gospel from hearts so that they may not believe and be saved (Luke 8:12). Paul calls him the god of this world who has “blinded the minds of the unbelieving” (2 Cor. 4:4). He is a powerful, cunning enemy!
J. C. Ryle states, “The world is a snare to the believer. The flesh is a burden and a clog. But there is no enemy so dangerous as that restless, invisible, experienced enemy, the devil” (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], Luke 11-24, p. 410). That is why the apostle Paul instructs us to put on the full armor of God, so that we can stand against the subtle but powerful schemes of this wicked enemy (Eph. 6:10-20). We are foolish and in danger of failing if we forget about our enemy.
Peter was foolishly confident in his own commitment to the Lord, so much so that he contradicted Jesus’ own words! We often flatter ourselves into thinking, “Others may fall, but I’m strong!” It’s interesting that verse 34 is the only time in the gospels that Jesus calls Peter by this name which He gave him. It means “rock.” The Lord is gently saying, “Peter, you are a rock only when you rely on Me, not on yourself. You think that you’re a rock in yourself, but Peter, you are about to fall.”
I believe that the disciples’ blindness to their own weakness and to the spiritual danger that lurked just ahead is the point of the difficult verses 35-38. Jesus is telling them that there is a new direction just ahead in light of His impending death and departure. He reminds them of the time when He had sent them out without any provisions, but they did not lack anything. He had provided everything for them, they saw great spiritual victories, and they came back rejoicing that even the demons were subject to them in Jesus’ name (10:17). The Lord had smoothed this first experience to give them confidence in their beginning attempts at ministry.
But now Jesus is warning them that the battle is about to heat up in ways that they had never experienced before. They will encounter situations where God would not miraculously provide, and so they needed to make adequate provisions in advance. Jesus’ being numbered with the transgressors meant a new level of spiritual conflict. This hour and the power of darkness belonged to the enemy (22:53). The disciples needed to be ready.
So Jesus told the disciples to sell their robe and buy a sword. And, when they produced two swords, He said, “It is enough.” What did He mean? In light of Jesus’ command to Peter in the garden to put away his sword, and Christ’s non-resistance to the Jewish guards (22:53), it is obvious that Jesus was speaking symbolically, not literally, when He told them to buy swords. He was referring to the swords as a symbol of preparation for the intense spiritual conflict just ahead. When the disciples took Jesus literally and produced two swords and He replied, “It is enough,” He was dismissing the subject in light of their continuing spiritual dullness. They just didn’t get it.
There is one more factor in our text that shows that the disciples were spiritually blind and dull: They did not understand that Isaiah 53:12 applied to Jesus: “And He was numbered with the transgressors.” Jesus tells them that it referred to Him and now would be fulfilled. Most Jews understood that Scripture as applying to the nation, not to Messiah. They did not have a concept of a suffering Servant Messiah. They thought that an exalted, powerful Messiah would deliver a suffering nation (Darrel Bock, Luke [Baker], 2:1748). As the risen Lord later tells the two men from Emmaus, and repeats to the apostles, the Christ first had to suffer these things and then enter into His glory (24:26, 46).
The application for us is that often behind our spiritual failure is our blindness to our own weakness and to the warnings of God’s Word. We just don’t see the situation from God’s perspective. And, like the disciples, we often read Scripture with our own bias, missing what God intended for us to see. For example, I have seen Christians who read in Hebrews 11 of all the glorious deliverances that God accomplished through those who trusted Him, but they block out the end of the chapter, where it describes how believers were mocked, scourged, imprisoned, and sawed in two. So when they experience suffering rather than deliverance, they think that God has failed them. They simply did not understand Scripture.
Thus, behind spiritual failure is a spiritual enemy; and, there is blindness to our own weakness and danger.
The disciples didn’t realize that they were on the brink of the greatest spiritual conflict in history, when the Son of God would be delivered into the hands of sinners. If they had known what Jesus was telling them, that this hour and the power of darkness belonged to the enemy, they would have stayed awake and prayed with Jesus in the garden. Peter wouldn’t have foolishly drawn his sword and lopped off the servant’s ear. They were thinking in physical and human terms when they needed to be thinking in spiritual and supernatural terms.
When we fail the Lord, we usually are operating on the human plane only. We fail to see the cosmic battle in the heavenlies. We forget that we are supposed to glorify God before the principalities and powers. We’re just thinking about our needs and our perspective. We forget that God has a bigger plan and that He wants to use this temptation as a victory for His cause. We miss the spiritual significance of events until it is too late.
The Lord tells Peter that He has prayed for him so that his faith may not fail. He means, so that it would not fail utterly, beyond recovery. His faith failed, but it did not fail completely because of the Lord’s intercession. But when Satan attacks, he always attacks faith, because faith links us with Christ and all the benefits of our salvation. If the enemy can sever our faith, he has cut the connection by which we lay hold of God’s grace and power. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). So the enemy invariably goes after the jugular vein of our faith.
That is why Paul tells us, in spiritual conflict, “in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil one” (Eph. 6:16). That is why Peter later instructs us to resist the devil, firm in our faith (1 Pet. 5:9). If our faith is in the living Lord, we will not fail. Invariably, behind spiritual failure is a failure of our faith.
That’s enough analysis of the problem. We fail because we do not reckon with this powerful spiritual enemy, the devil. We are often blind to our weakness and danger, so we ignore the Lord’s warnings. We fail to grasp the spiritual significance of events that we face. And, we falter in our faith, which is our link with God’s abundant resources. Now let’s focus on the hope that the Lord gives us through His grace.
Just as a diamond sparkles more brilliantly when set on a background of black velvet, so God’s grace shines more brilliantly when set against the blackness of our sin. His grace shines through in our text in several ways:
It’s obvious that Peter didn’t have a clue about what was going on concerning him in the spiritual realm. He didn’t know that Satan had demanded permission to sift him like wheat or that Christ had already prayed for him so that his faith would not finally fail. He erroneously thought that he could stand against this powerful enemy in his own resolve. But it’s also obvious that the reason that Peter would recover and persevere in his service for the Lord was because of Christ’s prayers for Peter, not because of Peter’s resolve to follow the Lord.
In Romans 8:34, Paul proclaims, “Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us.” Hebrews 7:25 tells us that since Christ abides forever as our great High Priest, “He is able to save forever [or, “completely”] those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” What a great assurance, that we are not only saved by Christ’s death on our behalf, but that we also shall be saved by His present ministry of intercession for us! As Paul also assures us, “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). Even if you have failed the Lord big time, if you know that He saved you by His grace, then you can know that He will restore and keep you by that same grace. But if we have failed, we should not be passive:
The Lord tells Peter that he will “turn again” (22:32). Turning away from our sin and back to God is the main idea of repentance. In Acts 3:19, Peter preaches, “Repent therefore and return, that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” In Acts 26:18, Paul describes his commission from God to go to the Gentiles, “to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, in order that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.”
Sometimes when we have sinned, we feel that we cannot go back to God again. But when Christ died on the cross for our sins, He didn’t just die for the little ones. He died for them all, big and little alike! While we should never abuse God’s grace by sinning, when we do sin, Scripture assures us that we have Christ as our advocate with the Father (1 John 2:1).
I do not know why the Lord did not pray that Peter would be kept from sin. Rather, He prayed that having sinned, his faith would not permanently fail. But I do know that God often uses failure to teach us some lessons that we cannot learn in any other way. By nature, we are all too confident in our flesh, and it is only when we fall that we begin to realize how weak we really are, which drives us to trust more fully in the Lord’s strength.
The Lord here assigns Peter a ministry after he is restored, to strengthen his brothers. He could do that ministry much more tenderly and without pride after his fall than he would have done before it. Before we fail we often look down on others who fail, proudly thinking that we are somehow more “together” than they are. God uses our failures make us more sympathetic and compassionate. As Paul instructs us when we seek to restore others, we must look to ourselves lest we too be tempted (Gal. 6:1). It is when we proudly think that we won’t fall that we’re most in danger of falling (1 Cor. 10:12).
The Lord chose Peter knowing full well how Peter would deny Him. Here Christ reveals in detail that before the cock crowed, Peter would deny three times that he knew Jesus. But, He still chose him! What was true of Peter is true of every believer: the Lord chose you knowing every sin that you would commit. His amazing grace should move us to repent and turn back to Him when we fail.
Jesus made a special point to single out Peter after the resurrection and to restore him to service. On that first Resurrection Sunday, when the men from Emmaus returned to Jerusalem to tell of their encounter with the risen Lord, the eleven said to them, “The Lord has really risen, and has appeared to Simon” (Luke 24:34). At the tomb, the angel told the surprised women, “He has risen; He is not here; behold, here is the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He said to you’” (Mark 16:6-7). Those wonderful extra and yet not extra words, “and Peter,” show us the unusual grace of the Lord in restoring the repentant Peter. “Go and tell the disciples” was enough, since that included Peter. But knowing Peter’s colossal failure, the Lord instructed the angel to add, “and Peter”! When we fail the Lord and then repent, He just keeps piling on His grace to reassure us of His forgiveness.
Jesus cites Isaiah 53:12 as finding fulfillment in Himself, that “He was numbered with transgressors.” Of course this prophecy refers to His crucifixion between the two thieves, but it points to more. As John Calvin explains, “… Christ was subjected to the condemnation which we deserved, and was reckoned among transgressors, that we, who are transgressors, and loaded with crimes, might be presented by him to the Father as righteous. For we are reckoned pure and free from sins before God, because the Lamb, who was pure and free from every blemish, was placed in our room …” (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], “Harmony of the Gospels” 3:224). On the cross, Jesus Christ became our substitute, bearing the penalty we deserved. Isaiah 53:6 states, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.”
But you must personally apply Christ’s shed blood to your sins by faith. If you have not trusted in Christ, even if you think that you’re a pretty good person, the Bible says that you are in Satan’s domain of darkness (Col. 1:13). But God offers His free and abundant grace to every sinner. If you will trust in Jesus Christ to save you from God’s judgment, you will experience His abundant grace and forgiveness for all your sins.
I believe that one of the main things that keeps us from receiving God’s grace in Christ is our pride. We think, “Yes, I’ve failed God, but it wasn’t all that bad. Besides, I’m basically a good person.” The Bible says that God opposes the proud, but He gives grace to the humble (1 Pet. 5:5). If you want God’s grace, you must humble yourself and come as a needy sinner.
In the highlands of Scotland, sheep occasionally wander off among the rocky crags and get themselves trapped on dangerous ledges. They leap down to get the sweet grass on a ledge, but they can’t get back up. A shepherd will allow the helpless animal to remain there for days, until it becomes so weak that it’s unable to stand up. Finally, he ties a rope around himself and goes over the ledge to rescue the straying sheep.
You may ask, “Why doesn’t the shepherd go down right away?” The answer is that the sheep are so foolish that they would dash right over the precipice and be killed if the shepherd didn’t wait until their strength was nearly gone. (“Our Daily Bread,” Winter, 1980.)
You may be like that straying sheep. You have allowed sin to entice you into a situation where you are trapped and unable to find your way out. Maybe you’ve even called out to God, but He doesn’t seem to be answering. The reason is, He knows that you’re still too strong in yourself. But when you come to the end of yourself and recognize that you cannot do anything to save yourself, if you will call out to Jesus Christ, He will save you. He is the Good Shepherd, who laid down His life for His sheep. Confess your sin and failure to Him. Cry out to Him to save you from your sins. You will experience His abundant grace.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
I have told you before of the recurring dreams that I have had about being in a college class, late in the semester, and I suddenly realize that I have not been attending the class. A big exam looms ahead and I am not prepared and it is too late to get prepared. Another version of that dream that I have as a pastor is that it is Sunday morning and I suddenly realize that I’m supposed to preach, but I haven’t prepared. Panic sets in. Usually I wake up about then, relieved that it was only a bad dream.
Nobody likes tests or difficult situations; but the one thing worse than a test is not being prepared for it. Whether you are in school or not, tests are an inevitable part of life. In real life, unlike school, tests often hit without warning. You go in for a routine checkup, but the doctor looks concerned. He says, “We need to run some tests.” The report comes back: cancer. Or, you go to work as usual, and the boss calls you in and explains that the company has to lay off a certain number of workers. You are suddenly without a job. The phone rings and you learn that a loved one was killed in an accident. We could multiply examples.
The question is, how do we prepare for these unannounced tests so that we pass the test, not fail? How can we be ready so that we endure and even triumph, not get wiped out by life’s trials? In our text, Jesus and the disciples are on the brink of the supreme test of their lives. Before the night was over, Jesus would be betrayed and arrested, and nailed to the cross by the next morning. The disciples would be scattered, fearful, and confused, with Peter openly denying the Lord. Jesus was prepared and passed the test; the disciples were unprepared and failed.
To an outside observer, it would seem that the disciples were prepared for the test of that awful evening, but that Jesus was not. The disciples boasted of their strong commitment to follow Jesus, even to prison and death (22:33). They were not anxious or distressed, but were calm enough to sleep. But Jesus (and I’m speaking here from the perspective of an outside observer, not from God’s perspective) looked like an emotional wreck. He was extremely distressed and troubled, even to the point of death (Mark 14:33-34). He was in so much agony that His sweat became like drops of blood (Luke 22:44). He cried loudly with tears (Heb. 5:7). You would think, looking on, that the disciples were prepared and that Jesus was falling apart. And yet the disciples were about to fail terribly and Jesus was about to endure victoriously the greatest trial that anyone has ever had to endure. What made the difference?
If we do not pray as Jesus prayed, we will fall into temptation as the disciples fell.
Jesus told the disciples, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation” (22:40, 46). Those are the options: pray or enter into temptation. The human race originally fell into temptation and sin in a garden. Jesus, the last Adam, resisted temptation and overcame the enemy in the garden of Gethsemane. If we want to overcome the trials and temptations that hit us, we must learn from our Lord how to pray as He prayed. First, a word about trials:
Every trial that we face is either a test of our faith or a temptation that can cause our faith to fail, depending on how we handle it. James 1:13-14 tells us that God does not tempt anyone to evil, but rather, we are tempted when we are carried away and enticed by our own sinful desires. We can never blame God for our own disobedience and sin. But Scripture also tells us that God tests His servants (Gen. 22:1; Deut. 8:2, 16; 13:3; 2 Chron. 32:31; Job 1:8-12; Ps. 11:4-5; 66:10-12). He uses tests to refine us, to strengthen our faith, to deepen our love for Him, and to teach us to obey Him no matter what the cost (Heb. 5:8; James 1:2-4; 1 Pet. 4:12; 5:8-10). The same trial can be either a temptation to sin if we yield to the flesh or a test to strengthen us if we walk in the Spirit.
Satan tries to use the trials we encounter to bring us down. God wants to use them to strengthen and establish us. It’s like the difference between Ralph Nader testing a car and the manufacturer testing the same car. Nader’s purpose is to prove that there is a flaw in the car that renders it unfit for the market. The manufacturer’s purpose is to prove that the car can endure the most severe road conditions without failure. It has stood the test. But until the car is tested, you don’t know for sure how it will perform under difficult conditions.
To use another example, if I say to you that my children are obedient, you may say, “Prove it.” So I say, “Kids, eat your ice cream!” They obey me with great delight. But you would rightly say, “That is no test of their obedience. It didn’t prove anything.” The real test would be if I said, “Eat your spinach,” or, “Clean your room.” If they obeyed that test cheerfully, you could rightly say, “I have obedient children.”
At all times we are subject to various tests and temptations, due to the world, the flesh, and the devil. But some times are more intense in terms of temptation. When the world, the flesh, and the devil all press in on us in the same situation, we are in serious spiritual danger. This hour that Jesus and the disciples faced especially was under the power of darkness (22:53). Satan wanted to destroy God’s plan of salvation by tempting Jesus to avoid the cross. The Jewish leaders, representing the world, wanted to get rid of Jesus so that they could continue in their place of power and prestige. There were internal temptations that Jesus faced that made the cross reprehensible to Him. The disciples wrestled with fear and confusion. So this was an extremely intense trial. Jesus is our example on how to endure; the disciples are our negative example of what to avoid.
There is a great mystery here, as to how the Son of God could be so distressed and troubled, to the degree that He even needed the ministry of an angel. Probably it was the theological difficulty of this that led some early copyists of the Greek New Testament to leave out verses 43 and 44. The early church was battling the Arian heresy, that denied the deity of Christ, and perhaps a copyist wrongly thought that he would protect the deity of our Lord by leaving out these verses. Some scholars argue that they were not a part of the original text of Luke, but they admit that they come from a very early tradition. Probably they should be included.
Whether Jesus literally sweat blood (medical cases have been documented of people being so distressed that their capillaries break down, mixing blood with sweat) or whether Luke is speaking metaphorically, I do not know. But Jesus endured a severe emotional, physical, and spiritual trial in the garden. The mystery here is that Jesus is both undiminished deity and perfect, full humanity in one person. His two natures are neither mixed nor diminished. In our text, Jesus’ deity comes through by showing Him to be in command of everything, even in the details of His arrest. Judas did not take Jesus by surprise. He knew what was coming. His divine power is seen in His merely touching the servant’s ear and healing it. He could have struck dead all of His enemies if He had so chosen. But His humanity comes through in the agony He endured in the garden as His holy soul contemplated bearing our sins.
Jesus’ prayer life stems from His perfect humanity. He is our example of how we, as weak human beings, should be totally dependent on God. Prayer is the language of dependence. When we fail to pray, we fail to depend on God. We should apply five things about Jesus’ prayer in the garden to our prayer life:
Jesus was weak and He knew He was weak; so He prayed fervently. If you think that it sounds like heresy to say that Jesus was weak, I would say that it is heresy to deny that Jesus was weak, because to deny it is to deny His humanity. Perhaps because most of the major cults deny Jesus’ deity, we have swung so much to the side of defending it that we are afraid to affirm His full humanity. But as Hebrews 2:17 states, “He had to be made like His brethren in all things, that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God.” Although Jesus did not have a sin nature as we do, and thus was not tempted by His own sinful lusts, He was “tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15).
Of course this was not the only time that Jesus was weak and needy. He came into this world as a newborn baby. Last week I had the joy of holding my first grandchild, a sweet seven-week-old granddaughter. I remarked to my daughter how amazing it is that we all enter this world so weak, helpless, and vulnerable, totally dependent on the care and protection of our parents. Jesus came into this world just like that, weak and defenseless.
Even as a full-grown man, Jesus was often weary, hungry, and thirsty. He was so tired that He fell asleep in the back of a boat in a storm. He was thirsty enough to ask the Samaritan woman at the well to give Him a drink. He was hungry enough in the wilderness that the devil could tempt Him to turn the stones into bread. On more than one occasion, Jesus was moved to tears, showing us that He had normal human emotions. He suffered the pain of rejection, both from the nation and from Judas. And, of course, Jesus suffered physical pain and death itself on the cross.
What was it that led Jesus to be in such agony in the garden? We cannot fully enter into what Jesus faced, and we tread here on holy ground. The thought of death itself must have caused Jesus agony. Death is God’s curse on this fallen world. It is an ugly reminder of the fact that we are subject to sin and judgment. Jesus must have recoiled as He thought about dying.
But I believe that the main source of Jesus’ agony was the looming realization of what it would mean for Him, the sinless Son of God, one with the Father from eternity, to bear the sins of His people on the cross. Isaiah 53:6 states, “But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” Paul expressed it, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21).
The extent to which we are holy is the extent to which we recoil in hatred from sin. If you can watch sin on TV or in a movie without being affected by it, you are not far along in holiness. To hear the Lord’s name taken in vain, to view sexual immorality or violence, should make us draw back in horror. Being perfectly holy, Jesus would have been utterly horrified at the thought of being defiled by sin. He was about to be forsaken by God the Father and to endure God’s awful wrath against sinners as He was made sin on our behalf.
Jesus knew that the full fury of Satan’s domain of darkness would be unleashed on Him as He went through His trial and as He hung on that cross. Knowing that Satan is such a hideous and powerful enemy, Jesus was aware of the intense battle that He would shortly face. Thus it was out of His great sense of need that Jesus prayed. Even so, our awareness of our own great needs should drive us to prayer in every situation.
He addressed God as “Father” (22:42). Matthew 26:39, 42 reports Him as repeatedly calling God “My Father.” Mark 14:36 says that He cried, “Abba, Father.” Abba was the Aramaic word of closeness and intimacy that children used in addressing their fathers. Jesus instructed us to pray to God as our Heavenly Father (Matt. 6:9).
A Roman emperor was once parading through the streets of the imperial city, enjoying a victory celebration. Roman legionnaires lined the parade route to keep back the cheering people. At one place along the way was a small platform where the royal family sat. As the conqueror approached, his youngest son, who was just a little boy, jumped down, burrowed through the crowd, and tried to run out to meet him.
“You can’t do that,” said one of the guards as he caught the boy in his strong arms. “Don’t you know who is in that chariot? That’s the emperor!” The boy quickly responded, “He may be your emperor, but he’s my father!” (“Our Daily Bread,” 1977). That boy had the privilege of access to the supreme ruler of the Roman Empire because he was related to him as son to father.
Even so, we have access to the Sovereign of the universe as His children through faith in Christ. We can draw near knowing that He will welcome us as a father welcomes his children.
Even though intellectually Jesus knew God’s eternal decree, which included His dying on the cross for our sins, His humanity recoiled in horror from the thought of bearing the Father’s wrath. So He prayed, “If You are willing, remove this cup from Me” (22:42). Luke greatly condenses the narrative; the other synoptic Gospels report that He prayed it repeatedly (Mark 14:36, 39). The fact that He first fell to His knees (Luke 22:41) and then on His face (Matt. 26:39) shows the intensity of feeling that Jesus was expressing in His prayers. In other words, Jesus was not covering up the intensity of His emotions, trying to look “spiritual” by being calm and unaffected. He poured out His soul honestly to the Father, even to the extent of asking that somehow, if possible God’s eternal decree be altered!
John Calvin asks and answers the question of how Christ could ask for something impossible, that God would alter His decree by sparing Jesus from the cross. He says that Jesus, like other godly believers in a time of strong emotion, was not contemplating the secrets of God or deliberately inquiring as to what is possible to be done, but was carried away by the earnestness of His wishes. He compares it to Moses and Paul, when they both asked God to blot them out of His book of life (Exod. 32:33; Rom. 9:3). He says, “This, therefore, was not a premeditated prayer of Christ; but the strength and violence of grief suddenly drew this word from his mouth, to which he immediately added a correction” (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], “Harmony of the Gospels,” 3:230-231). The point for us is to pour out our souls honestly before God, knowing that He cares about how we feel.
After asking that the cup of suffering could be removed, Jesus quickly added, “Yet not My will, but Yours be done” (22:42). Even though Jesus honestly prayed His feelings, He quickly restrained Himself and brought Himself into submission before the Father’s perfect will. God’s will is often the most difficult path for us in the short run, but it always results in great blessing in the long run if we obey. For the joy set before Him, Jesus endured by submitting to the cross (Heb. 12:2).
Calvin here asks and answers the question, how could Christ’s will be free from all vice, while it did not agree with the will of God? In other words, if God’s will is the only rule of what is right and good, then all feelings at variance with it are wrong. Calvin answers that although we should regulate all our feelings by God’s good will, there is a certain kind of indirect disagreement which is not faulty or sinful. He cites as examples the desire to see the church in a calm and flourishing condition; or to wish that God’s children were delivered from afflictions; or that all superstitions were removed from the world; or that the rage of wicked men be restrained so as to do no injury (3:231). Although these things are right in themselves, so that we may desire them, it may please God to order a different state of affairs. And so we must submit to His perfect will. We may express our desires to the Lord as long as we always bow before His will, which we may not fully understand.
The Father sent an angel to strengthen Him (22:43). Spurgeon remarks on how extraordinary it seems that the Lord of life and glory, “God of very God,” was so weak that He needed the ministry of one of His creatures, an angel, to strengthen Him (The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit [Logos CD], vol. 48, # 2769)! I do not know if the angel came with a special message from the Father, if just his presence reassured Jesus of the Father’s care, or if he mopped His brow or gave Him a drink of cool water to refresh Him after His bloody sweat. But somehow the angel strengthened Jesus in response to His prayers.
The fact of Jesus’ strengthening is seen in the story of the arrest. Here the disciples fall apart, while Jesus remains composed and in control of the situation. He is not surprised in the least by Judas, but rather confronts him one last time with his terrible sin. While Peter swings the sword, missing his target (the center of the servant’s head) and lopping off an ear, Jesus calmly stops this violent response and heals the severed ear (His last miracle). While the armed mob surrounds Him, Jesus calmly confronts the hypocrisy of the Jewish leaders, who easily could have arrested Him in the temple, had they not been afraid of the people. Then He went peaceably with them to His final destiny.
The point is, Jesus’ prayer beforehand strengthened Him to endure victoriously the trials and temptations afterward. Usually, I’m afraid, we don’t pray until after the trial hits. Of course we should pray then; but we would be much stronger if we had been praying beforehand.
Let’s look briefly at the negative example, the disciples’ failure to pray:
In contrast to Jesus, who was aware of His great need …
Jesus warned them twice to pray so that they may not enter into temptation. But they were blind to the real danger that was quickly approaching, and so they failed to pray.
If we could only see ourselves as the Lord sees us, we would pray about everything because we would see how truly needy we are about everything. We cannot even draw our next breath without the Lord’s mercy. We will not have food on the table at our next meal if God does not provide. We cannot serve Him unless we rely on His strength. As Jesus said, “Apart from Me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5).
They were allowing the flesh to dominate the spirit. They were tired and depressed, and so they slept rather than prayed. When Jesus was about to be arrested, Peter started swinging his sword. When Jesus was led away, although Luke does not record it, the disciples left Jesus and fled for their own safety (Mark 14:50). They were operating on the human plane. If they had been in prayer with Jesus, they could have responded in the Spirit.
So the options are: prayer or temptation. Cyprian said, “If He prayed who was without sin, how much more it becometh a sinner to pray.” Years ago in Central Africa, the gospel reached a number of tribes and there were many new believers. Just as a newborn baby cries, so these babes in Christ began to cry out to the Lord in prayer. Since they had no church building, they cleared a central spot in the jungle where they could gather for prayer. Soon there were trails from many different huts that converged on that spot. Whenever a convert seemed to be losing his first love and enthusiasm, other believers would admonish him saying, “Brother, the grass is growing on your path.”
Is the grass growing on your path to God? If it is, you will fall into temptation. Prayer or temptation—those are the options. “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.”
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
John Newton was a wild-living sailor and slave-trader who got saved and became a godly pastor and the author of many hymns, including the beloved, “Amazing Grace.” He said late in his life: “My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things: that I am a great sinner, and that Christ is a great Savior.”
Even if your past is not as wicked as John Newton’s, you should be growing in your awareness of those two great facts. The longer I am a Christian, the more acutely I am aware of the exceeding wickedness of my own heart. I can identify with the hymn writer, Robert Robinson, who wrote, “Prone to wander, Lord I feel it; prone to leave the God I love.” But, thank God, the more I see my own sinfulness, the more brightly God’s grace shines. As Robinson also wrote, “O to grace how great a debtor daily I’m constrained to be!”
The story of Peter’s denials is recorded in Scripture to underscore these two great facts: the weakness and sinfulness of even the most prominent saints; and, the greatness and abundance of God’s love and grace toward those who fail. For those who are walking with the Lord, this story warns us to take heed lest we fall. For any who have fallen, the story holds out the hope of pardon through God’s abundant grace if you will turn back to Him.
Even when we fail the Lord badly, if we will repent God will restore us and use us again in His service.
Luke draws a stark contrast between Peter’s failure to confess Christ under pressure and Jesus’ faithful confession under pressure. Jesus confessed that He is the Messiah and Son of God before the powerful Jewish Sanhedrin, but Peter failed to confess Christ before a lowly servant girl. When you place Peter’s earlier confession, “You are the Christ of God” (9:20) next to “I do not know Him,” you wonder how the same words could have come out of the same mouth within the space of a few months.
Some might question whether a true Christian could ever do what Peter did on this occasion. But we would be in error to say that Peter was not saved when he committed this terrible sin. He had recognized his own sinfulness in that first great catch of fish, when he fell at Jesus’ feet and implored, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” (5:8). Later, when other disciples had turned away because of Jesus’ hard teaching, Jesus asked the twelve if they, too, would turn away. Peter proclaimed, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God” (John 6:68, 69). Peter definitely knew Jesus as Savior and Lord.
Becoming a Christian is a matter of repentance and faith (Acts 20:21), which are flip sides of the same coin. Repentance means turning to God from sin (1 Thes. 1:9). Faith is trusting what Christ has done to pay for our sins on the cross, rather than trusting our own efforts or good works to save us (Eph. 2:8-10). Just as we cannot turn north without turning our backs on the south, so we cannot turn to a holy God for salvation without turning our backs on any known sin in our lives. We cannot trust in Christ to save us without repudiating trust in our own efforts to save ourselves.
But the repentance and faith which save us do not put us in a protective bubble so that we are free from all sin until we get to heaven. The Christian life begins with repentance and faith, but it also continues with repentance and faith on a daily basis whenever we sin or when God’s Word opens our eyes to sin that we previously were not aware of. If a person is not walking in repentance and faith, there is reason to doubt whether he truly knows Christ.
Still, we need to ask, “How can a believer who enjoyed the privileges Peter enjoyed—who walked as closely with Jesus as Peter did, who saw the miracles Peter saw, who heard the teaching Peter heard, who professed his commitment as strongly as Peter did—how can a believer like that fall into such terrible sin?” The answer—please note—is, gradually, not suddenly.
We all have had the shocking experience of seeing someone we looked up to spiritually fall into a great sin. At first glance, it looks like he was just cruising along at 75 miles per hour when, BAM! he had a blowout. We think, “Wow, that’s scary! I hope it never happens to me.” But the fact is, there is no such thing as a spiritual blowout; there are only slow leaks. When you examine any spiritual failure, you always discover that there has been a slow spiritual decline. It was probably in secret. He kept up the outer appearances. He continued to look the part of a godly man. But in his heart, he was not judging sin. He was not evaluating himself in light of Scripture. Slowly the air was leaking out of his spiritual tires, but we didn’t see it until they were flat.
No man is walking closely with Jesus on Monday and on Tuesday gets seduced by a beautiful woman. Adultery (or any other sin) always starts in the mind (Mark 7:20-23). A man begins tolerating lustful thoughts. He secretly looks at pornography. He discretely checks out the sexy women he sees. On the surface, he may be a pastor or church leader. He may be preaching or teaching God’s Word every week. But his Bible study and prayer life are superficial. He isn’t judging his sin and walking in fellowship with Christ. He justifies it, thinking, “I’m just a normal guy. It’s not hurting anyone. Besides, I’d never be unfaithful to my wife.” But, he likes it when women flirt with him. He enjoys hugging them, as sisters in Christ, of course! Satan bides his time until the opportune moment. Then he drops the bait, the man falls, and everyone is shocked.
The precise course of spiritual failure will vary from person to person and from incident to incident. But we may learn how to avoid the slow leaks in our own lives by tracing Peter’s decline.
There are more, but let’s look at six:
We refuse to submit to the hard teachings of Scripture.
Just after Peter’s famous confession, Jesus began to teach the disciples that He must suffer many things, be rejected by the Jewish leaders, and be killed. But Peter couldn’t accept that. He actually took Jesus aside and began to rebuke Him. Jesus in turn rebuked Peter by saying, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s” (Mark 8:31-32). We have also seen that, just hours before, when Jesus predicted that Peter would be sifted by Satan, Peter protested that he would follow Jesus to prison and to death (Luke 22:33). He directly contradicted Jesus’ word because it was a hard thing to submit to.
We’re all inclined to do exactly what Peter did. There are many difficult things in Scripture, things that run counter to our liking. If we’re not careful, we focus on the Scriptures we like and skip the ones we don’t care for.
We like the idea that man is free to choose his own destiny, but we don’t care for a God who has mercy on some and who hardens others according to His will (Rom. 9:18). So we clip Romans 9 and many other Scriptures from our Bibles. We like a loving and tolerant God, but we don’t care for a holy God who lets us reap what we sow and who visits the iniquity of fathers on children to the third and fourth generation. We like a God who heals us and makes us happy, but we don’t like a God who refines us through trials and hardship.
The first step to a spiritual fall is when you start picking and choosing the Scriptures that tell you about the kind of God you like and ignoring the Scriptures that tell you what God is really like. A woman in my church in California had earned her degree in counseling from a Christian university. She wrote a letter to our elders complaining about my preaching in which she said, “I’m tired of hearing all the time that I’m a sinner. I want more sermons that tell me that I am a person of worth, made in God’s image.” The elders said to me, “When the Bible says that we’re made in God’s image, you preach it. When it says that we’re sinners, you preach that. It just so happens that the Bible says that we’re sinners far more often than it says that we are made in God’s image!”
I advise you to read all of God’s Word. Read it consecutively, not skipping the hard parts. And, submit yourself to the whole thing, not just to the parts you like.
We do not face up to our pride.
Peter believed in his own commitment more than he believed the word of the Lord (22:31-33). The other gospels reveal that Peter also believed that he was more committed than the other disciples: “Even though all may fall away, yet I will not” (Mark 14:29). But Peter was blind to his own pride and self-confidence. Alexander Maclaren observes, “Over-reliance on self leads us to put ourselves in the way of temptations which it were wiser to avoid” (Expositions of Holy Scripture [Baker], Luke 13-24, p. 267).
Pride is the most common and troublesome sin that we face. Satan fell when he boasted, “I will make myself like the Most High” (Isa. 14:14). He tempted Eve by appealing to her pride, telling her that she could be like God. Ever since, the human race has been plagued with the sin of thinking too highly of ourselves. This is being fed in our day with the false teaching that we need to build our self-esteem. Scripture no where teaches such a thing. In many places it tells us to clothe ourselves with humility and to regard others as more important than ourselves (1 Pet. 5:5; Phil. 2:3). One clue that we are blind to our pride is when we hear of someone who has sinned and we think, “I could never do such a thing!” “Even though others fall away, I will not!” “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor. 10:12)! “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before stumbling” (Prov. 16:18).
We come under satanic attack.
Satan had demanded permission to sift Peter like wheat, but Peter was oblivious to the danger, even though Jesus warned him (22:31-33). Later Peter wrote, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” (1 Pet. 5:8). If a real lion were loose on the streets of Flagstaff, we would walk much more carefully than normal! We would be always on the lookout, and probably be armed with a weapon to defend ourselves. And yet we often ignore the adversary of our souls, living as if he did not exist.
We grow spiritually dull and distant.
Peter was not only dull with regard to the enemy without, he was dull with regard to the enemy within. Jesus had warned the disciples, “Keep watching and praying, that you may not come into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Mark 14:38). But not sensing their spiritual danger, they fell asleep when they should have been praying. As a result, when Jesus was arrested, Peter reacted in the flesh, whacking off the servant’s ear, then fled in fear. Now, he came back, following at a distance, and sat down among Christ’s enemies to warm himself by the fire.
Whenever I deal with someone who is having serious problems, I ask about his devotional life. Invariably, it has either turned into an occasional routine, or it has ceased altogether. The person has allowed his first love for Jesus to cool. Your private devotional times with the Lord are the roots that sustain the tree. If a tree lacks deep roots, it may look pretty for a while, but invariably, a storm will hit that topples the tree. If you lack deep roots with the Lord, frequent times where you meet alone with Him to read and meditate on His Word and to commune with Him in prayer, you will fall when the storms of temptation hit.
We respond to crises in the flesh, not in the Spirit.
When the mob came to arrest Jesus, Peter started swinging his sword, but his response was not what the Lord wanted. I suppose that Peter meant well, but his zeal did more damage than good. He was fighting when he should have been submitting. Then, sitting by the fire, he was submitting to group pressure when he should have fought in the Spirit.
Even so, when we have been dodging the hard truths of Scripture, we have not judged our pride, we’re under satanic attack, and we’re spiritually dull and distant, we will respond to crises in the flesh, not in God’s Spirit. Something will happen that demands a godly, spiritual response, but we start swinging the sword or we say and do things to deny our faith in Christ. That’s the last bit of air leaking out of our spiritual tires:
We compromise our witness by our words and behavior.
You wouldn’t think that the bold, brash Peter would be toppled by a servant girl, but he was! He was like a mighty tree that has been eaten inside by bugs. Outwardly, it looks tall and strong. Inwardly, it is rotten and weak. One day a small breeze blows on it and it comes crashing down.
Although Luke is kind to Peter, the other gospels hint that his three denials began small and grew to horrible proportions. He first said to the girl, “I don’t know what you are talking about” (see Mark 14:68). Perhaps as she kept insisting that he had been with Jesus, he gave the response Luke records, “Woman, I do not know Him.” He changed locations, hoping to avoid any other confrontations. But the girl came again and repeated her charge, and was joined by some of the men. Now Peter had to stick with his story, so again he denied that he was one of the disciples: “Man, I am not!” (Luke 22:58). For about an hour he tried to block out his failure by making small talk around the fire. Then the bystanders began to accuse him of being a disciple because of his Galilean accent. At this point, Peter began to curse and swear, insisting that he did not know “this man” (he wouldn’t even utter Jesus’ name; Mark 14:71). At this point, we can’t believe what we see: Peter, the bold apostle, openly denying that he knew his Savior and Lord!
That’s the awful process, how the air leaks out of our tires until we are running on the rims. We would have thought it inconceivable at first, but that’s where we end up when we don’t fix the leaks. Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there. In Peter’s restoration, we see God’s abundant grace:
The turning point for Peter involved two things: the crowing of the rooster, which reminded him of Jesus’ prediction; and, the Lord’s turning and looking directly at Peter (which only Luke records). What a look that must have been! I don’t know whether they were moving Jesus from one place to another, and He caught Peter’s eye as He was being pushed along; or, whether He was inside, but within visual range. Normally a guilty person won’t look you in the eye. But the Lord turned, which probably caught Peter’s attention. Then He looked at Peter and Peter looked at the Lord (Luke twice refers to Jesus as “the Lord” to emphasize His deity, v. 61). Peter instantly fell apart in repentance and godly sorrow over what he had done. He went out and wept bitterly.
I can only briefly comment on several aspects of repentance:
Remembrance of God’s Word.
“Peter remembered the word of the Lord” (22:61). All repentance begins when we remember the word of the Lord. What does the Lord say about what I have done? That is the issue. Men may minimize my sin: “Don’t worry about it! Everyone slips up occasionally. Don’t be too hard on yourself.” But God’s Word is the final authority. It tells me that I have sinned.
Conviction of our sin.
The Lord’s look penetrated down to Peter’s conscience. Jesus didn’t have to say anything. Peter was deeply convicted in his heart. He didn’t try to paper over it or make excuses or rationalize it away. Conviction acknowledges that God is right and I’m wrong.
Godly sorrow over sin.
This will vary with the seriousness of the sin and the personality of the sinner, but when our consciences realize that we have sinned against a Savior who loved us enough to die for us, we will mourn over our sin. We won’t be flippant or shrug it off.
Appropriation of Christ’s sacrifice for our sin.
Jesus had already begun to suffer for Peter’s sins as He endured abuse at the hands of sinners. That sacrifice would be completed on the cross, where Jesus cried out, “It is finished” (John 19:30). We cannot atone for our sins by our sorrow or penance. Christ fully paid the penalty that we owe. We can only appropriate Christ’s sacrifice to cover our sins.
Appreciation of God’s abundant grace.
Christ’s look not only conveyed the pain He felt at Peter’s failure. It also communicated His great love and grace. Peter remembered the word of the Lord, which included the fact that he would be restored because of Jesus’ prayers for him (22:32). What amazing grace, that Christ chose Peter and us, knowing full well how we would fail Him! His grace saved us and it keeps us unto the day when we shall be with Him forever. If you say, “I’ve sinned too badly; I just can’t accept God’s forgiveness and grace,” you’re not trusting in Him alone. You’re proudly trusting in your own method of atonement. Christians believe in and thank God for His grace as the only basis for forgiveness. If you need to be restored, you must repent of your sin and trust again in God’s grace and mercy.
As you know, the Lord personally restored Peter and did not kick him off the apostolic team. When the Day of Pentecost came, it was Peter who stood in Jerusalem, before some of the same people who had heard him deny Christ, and boldly proclaimed Him as Savior and Lord, risen from the dead. If Peter had clung to his pride, he would have said, “I’m never going to show my face in Jerusalem again. Someone else can preach, but I’m going back to fishing.” But thankfully, Peter recovered from the fear of what people thought and was restored to care about what pleases Christ. So he preached and God was pleased to save 3,000 souls.
The hymn writer I mentioned earlier, Robert Robinson, was a wild young man who lived a debauched life as a teenager. At age 17, he went with some friends to scoff at the famous evangelist, George Whitefield. But Robinson was so impressed by Whitefield’s preaching that he got saved. At 23 he wrote the hymn, “Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” For many years he served as a Baptist pastor, but later in life he got involved with the doctrines of Unitarianism and strayed from the Lord.
One day he was riding in a stagecoach when he struck up a conversation with a woman. When she realized that he was well informed on spiritual matters, she asked him what he thought of a hymn she had just been reading. To his astonishment, he found that it was the hymn, “Come Thou Fount,” which he had written as a young man. He burst into tears and told her, “I’m the poor, unhappy man who wrote that hymn many years ago. I would give anything to have back the joy I knew then.” The woman assured him that the “streams of mercy” referred to in the song still flowed. Robinson was deeply touched, turned his wandering heart again to the Lord, and experienced His grace and forgiveness.
That same grace is available to all who have failed the Lord. If you will turn back to Him, He will abundantly pardon and restore you to fellowship with Him and to service in His cause. You may be a great sinner, but Jesus is a greater Savior!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Probably the most famous sermon ever preached on American soil was Jonathan Edwards’ “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” preached at Enfield, Connecticut, on July 8, 1741. God used that sermon in remarkable ways, bringing many to faith in Christ at the time it was preached, and probably many more in the years since, as it has been read. If you have never read it, you should. Edwards graphically portrays God’s wrath and judgment on sinners, using as his primary text Deuteronomy 32:35, “Their foot shall slide in due time.”
Today I’m taking the liberty of turning Edwards’ title on its head as we look at God in the hands of angry sinners. God actually allowed Himself, in the person of His Son, to be taken in custody, to be mocked, beaten, and falsely judged by angry sinners who finally succeeded in executing Him. I hope that we all will avoid the mistake of these evil men, who foolishly sat in judgment on Jesus and that we will bow before Him before that awful day when He comes to sit in judgment on sinners. And I hope that by considering His willing but terrible mistreatment at the hands of sinners, we will be moved by His great love and sacrifice on our behalf to follow Him with more devotion.
To understand this portion of Scripture, it is helpful to piece together information from the other gospels to construct the probable chronology of Jesus’ trials (I am following Darrell Bock, Luke [Baker], 2:1793). John 18:13 reports that first Jesus was taken to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas, the high priest. This was probably followed by a nighttime meeting with Caiaphas presiding (Matt. 26:59-66; Mark 14:55-64; Luke omits these meetings). Since it was illegal under Jewish regulations to try a prisoner at night, Caiaphas hastily convened an early morning meeting of the Sanhedrin to rubber stamp the verdict of the night’s proceedings (Luke 22:66-71; Matt. 27:1; Mark 15:1). Then Jesus was taken for an initial meeting with Pilate (Matt. 27:2, 11-14; Mark 15:1-5; Luke 23:1-5; John 18:29-38), who sent Him to Herod (Luke 23:6-12). This was followed by a second, more public meeting before Pilate and the people (Luke 23:13-16; the consequences of which are found in Matt. 27:15-23; Mark 15:6-14; Luke 23:17-23; John 18:39-40).
Our text shows two sets of characters in this epic drama: the sinners who sat in judgment on Jesus; and, Jesus who sat in judgment on the sinners then, by His majesty and power, but who will sit in terrifying judgment on them in the future when He returns. We learn that …
Although sinners presently sit in judgment on Jesus, the day is coming when Jesus will sit in judgment on sinners.
Just as Jesus then allowed Himself to be bound, mocked, spit upon, beaten, and rejected by these evil men, even though He could have struck them all dead on the spot, so now He tolerates the ragings of evil men against Himself. He could wipe them off the planet in an instant if He willed to do so, but He patiently endures their abuse. Some, through His mercy, will come to repentance and faith; others are storing up wrath for the day of judgment. But in His great patience, God allows sinners in the present age of grace to sit in judgment on Jesus in the sense of allowing them to hold and express their own views of Jesus, even to the point of blasphemy. Luke, for our instruction so that we will avoid their example, shows us two broad types of sinners:
Perhaps after the interview with Annas, while the Jewish leaders were waiting for a quorum of their comrades to come together, the Jewish temple guards who held Jesus in custody decided to have some fun with their prisoner. Many of them mocked Jesus, perhaps imitating His teaching style, mimicking Him by repeating some of His claims, perhaps with a Galilean accent, or making fun of some of the things He had said, which undoubtedly they misconstrued. The other gospels relate that they spit in His face, perhaps having a spitting contest to see who could hit the closest to His lips. Then they made up a game of blind man’s bluff, blindfolding Jesus and hitting Him in the face, mockingly asking Him to prophesy about who hit Him. If only they knew that He did know! Luke adds that “they were saying many other things against Him, blaspheming” (22:65). Their mad pursuit of fun and pleasure caused them to do terrible things to the spotless Son of God.
Picturing this scene makes me feel nauseated. My first reaction is to draw back in horror and to think, “How could anyone treat any other human being, let alone the Lord Jesus, like that?” But, as Spurgeon points out (Spurgeon’s Expository Encyclopedia [Baker], 4:258), we need to lay aside our indignation and bring forth penitence, because we all have hit our dear Savior in the face with our sin. It was because of our sin that He endured the abuse of these sinners and went willingly to the cross.
Hopefully we are not as cruel as these wicked men were, but we all have put personal pleasure ahead of the things of God. Perhaps some of them made sport of Jesus ignorantly, not having heard His claims or witnessed His miracles. But we have heard and yet we’ve made sport of our blessed Savior. We’ve all laughed at entertainment that mocks God and is evil in His sight. We’ve all indulged in pleasure that the Bible calls sin. In so doing, we have done what these wicked men did to our Savior.
The great Dutch artist, Rembrandt, has a famous painting of the crucifixion in which your attention is first drawn to the dying Savior. Then you notice the crowd gathered around that scene, with their various attitudes and actions. Finally, you notice at the edge of the picture a lone figure almost hidden in the shadows. That man is Rembrandt himself. The great artist realized that his sins had helped nail Jesus to the cross, and so he painted himself into the picture. And so should we!
On the surface, the Jewish leaders who sat in judgment on Jesus were less cruel and more civilized than the guards who made sport of Jesus. They went through the formality of a trial, under the guise of justice. They asked Him questions about His claims. But they were not seeking the truth so that they could conform their lives to it. They were not inquiring about Jesus so that they could be His followers. Their minds were already made up, that they wanted to get rid of Him. They wanted to hang onto the power that they enjoyed. They wanted to keep living as they were living, being lords of their own lives. Their mad pursuit of power caused them to prejudge Jesus and disregard His claims.
The way that these powerful men conducted Jesus’ trial violated a number of Jewish laws (the following list collated from Bock, 2:1792; and, John MacArthur, Jr., The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Matthew 24-28 [Moody Press], pp. 199-204):
No criminal trial could be started at night. The Jewish council could not initiate charges, but could only consider charges brought by an outside party. The initial proceedings took place at the high priest’s home and not in the temple as prescribed. Jesus was tried without a defense counsel. The defendant was supposed to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. He could not be convicted on the basis of testimony against himself. Conviction required the testimony of at least two reliable witnesses, whose testimony had to agree. They had to affirm that their testimony was true on the basis of direct experience, not hearsay or presumption. They had to identify the precise time and location of the event about which they testified. False witnesses were subject to the same penalty that the accused would suffer if convicted (a strong motivation to speak only the truth, especially in capital cases!).
In capital cases, the death sentence could not be carried out until the third day after it was given, and in the intervening time, the members of the council were to fast. This meant that the trial could not be convened during a feast, such as Passover. A pronouncement of guilt by the high priest was contrary to the normal order, which should have started with the least senior members. If a council voted unanimously for conviction in a capital case, the accused was set free, because the necessary element of mercy was presumed to be lacking.
Thus from start to finish, the Jewish council’s trial of Jesus was a mockery of justice, in violation of their own laws. The questions that they asked Jesus were not sincere, seeking to get at the truth. They were devised to trap Him by His own words, so that they could accuse Him before Pilate. If He claimed to be Christ, a King, then He stood in opposition to Rome (23:2). Since Rome denied the Jews the right to carry out capital punishment and since the Jewish leaders did not want to draw fire from those in the multitudes that liked Jesus, they wanted grounds to accuse Him before Pilate, and let him do the dirty work of crucifying Jesus.
Note carefully that these were religious men who instigated and carried out this mockery of justice against Jesus. Later they would get the Romans involved, but at this point, both the guards who mocked and beat Jesus and the leaders who led this unfair trial were religious men. They were about to participate in the Jewish Feast of the Passover. They were at the temple each week for religious services. They professed to follow the Law of Moses. And yet their hearts were far from God. We should learn from this that just going to church or participating in religious rituals is not enough. True Christianity is a matter of the heart before God. To use religion as a covering for our own seeking of pleasure or power is to live as if there is no living God who knows our every thought and motive. It is to deceive ourselves in the worst possible way.
We should also learn from these religious men that we are all subject to the danger of making up our minds based on our personal preferences or desires and then coming up with “evidence” to support our case. These men liked their position of power and influence. It was financially lucrative for many of them to have the monopoly on the temple business. When Jesus upset their tables and disrupted their profitable schemes, they knew that they had to get rid of Him. Ignoring all of the evidence that backed His claims to be both Lord and Christ, they went looking for contrary evidence to support their claims that He was an impostor.
We all act just like they did, if we’re not careful. I have seen Christian leaders who speak out on divorce until they go through a divorce. Suddenly they find new evidence that their former position was in error! I know of a prominent Bible prophecy teacher who used to speak against the charismatic movement. But when he divorced his wife and married the woman he had been having an affair with, the charismatic branch of the church took him under wing. Suddenly, his criticisms of charismatic teachings stopped! We need to get self out of the way, judge our pride and sinful desires, and seek to obey God’s Word as it plainly is written. If we go looking for verses to support our sinful desires, we will find them but end up under God’s judgment.
These Jewish leaders needed to examine their own hearts and honestly ask the question, “Who is Jesus? Are His claims about Himself true or false?” The truth is, …
Jesus’ calm demeanor in spite of His wrongful treatment was already a judgment against these wicked men. A sinner would have been yelling about his rights being violated. He would have been threatening to get even. But Jesus bore all of this abuse silently before God, as a lamb led to the slaughter. When to be silent would be to deny the truth, He spoke straightforwardly, giving testimony concerning who He is. Clearly there was a great chasm between the views of the Sanhedrin and Jesus’ claims. Both cannot be true. As Darrell Bock puts it, “Either Jesus is right or the Jewish court is right. Jesus’ claim is either blasphemy or deadly serious truth” (Luke [IVP], p. 364). Although they asked with the wrong motives, the two questions the Sanhedrin asked Jesus are the two supreme questions that all must consider: “If you are the Christ, tell us”; and, “Are You the Son of God, then?” (22:67, 70).
The first request, “If you are the Christ, tell us,” was insincere on the part of the Jewish leaders. Jesus knew that and replies, in effect, “What good will it do to tell you, since your minds are made up?” They were not asking the question out of a heart that wanted to know the truth. They were trying to bait Jesus, to set Him up so that they could report to Pilate that Jesus was claiming political leadership of the Jews in opposition to Rome (23:2). Jesus’ response shows us that when we’re dealing with scoffers who are not interested in knowing the truth, but who simply want ammunition to shoot back at us, don’t waste your breath.
In spite of their evil motives, the fact of the matter is that Jesus is the Christ or Messiah. In Luke 2:11, the angel told the shepherds, “For today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” In 2:26, Luke tells us that the Holy Spirit had revealed to the aged Simeon that he would not die “before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” In 3:15, Luke says that the people were in a state of expectation, wondering whether John the Baptist could be the Christ. John clearly denied that he was and pointed people to Jesus. In 4:41 we learn that the demons were proclaiming Jesus to be the Son of God, but “He would not allow them to speak because they knew Him to be the Christ.” In 9:20, Peter made his famous confession, that he believed Jesus to be “the Christ of God.” In 20:41, Jesus asked the scribes how the Christ could be David’s son, since David calls Him “Lord.” (See also 23:2, 35, 39; 24:26, 46). Jesus is clearly God’s anointed one (= Christ, Messiah), whom He has installed as King over the nations, who sits at His right hand of power (Pss. 2; 110).
To confess Jesus as the Christ is to confess His right to rule, not only over the nations, but also over your life. It means that God has vested Jesus with His own authority to rule. To resist Jesus’ lordship is to resist Almighty God and be in rebellion against the one who will judge all the earth!
Jesus goes on to tell the Jewish leaders that “from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God” (22:69). This brings together several Old Testament prophecies: Psalm 2, which predicts the sovereign rule of Jesus who is installed as God’s King and is called God’s Son; Psalm 110, where the Lord tells David’s Lord to sit at His right hand until He makes His enemies a footstool for His feet; and, Daniel 7:13-14, where Daniel sees one like a Son of Man who comes up to the Ancient of Days and is given dominion, glory, and an everlasting kingdom over all peoples, nations, and tongues. Again, Jesus is asserting that He is both Lord and Christ, the ruler of God’s eternal kingdom, who will judge the nations.
Jesus uses the phrase “Son of Man” in reference to Himself, but the Jewish leaders respond by asking, “Are You the Son of God, then?” They got the connection because they knew the Psalms and Daniel. They knew that the Son of Man, Messiah, is God’s Son in a unique way that no one else is. So Jesus is turning the tables on them. They thought that they were sitting in judgment on Him. He lets them know that really, He is sitting in judgment on them! As Peter proclaimed on the Day of Pentecost, this Jesus whom they had crucified, God had raised up to His right hand, where He was installed on David’s throne as both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:30-36).
Jesus answers their question about being the Son of God by saying, literally, “You say that I am.” Why didn’t He just say, “Yes”? I think the reason goes back to Jesus’ explanation for why He spoke in parables, “in order that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand” (8:10). Parables revealed truth to the seekers, but it concealed truth from the scoffers, who continued in their spiritual blindness. Even so here, Jesus is saying “yes, I am,” but He is not saying it straightforwardly because He does not want to respond to men who are asking from the wrong motives. There is also a touch of irony, in that He is saying, “So, is that what you are saying, that I am the Son of God?” Clearly, the Jewish leaders knew that He meant yes, because they concluded, “What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.”
Yes, they had heard it, but sadly, they had not submitted to Jesus as Lord. That is always the issue: How do we respond to the testimony that we have heard concerning Jesus? God allowed Himself, in the person of His eternal Son Jesus, to be put into the hands of angry sinners. Jesus willingly went to the cross, despising the shame, but now He has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God (Heb. 12:2). If you are running your own life, then you are not in submission to Jesus as Lord. If you do not repent and yield to His lordship before you die or before He returns, you will no longer sit in judgment on Him. He will sit in judgment on you, and it will be eternal judgment! He is today the Lamb of God who suffered as the penalty due to sinners (Isa. 53). But soon rebellious sinners will cry out to the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb; for the great day of their wrath has come; and who is able to stand?” (Rev. 6:16-17).
There is a story about an Archbishop of Paris who was preaching to a great congregation. He told them about three worldly, godless young men who wandered into a cathedral. Two of them bet the third that he would not make a phony confession to the priest. The priest realized what was happening, and so when the pretending penitent had finished, he said, “To every confession there is a penance. You see that crucifix over there? Go to it, kneel down, and repeat three times as you look into the face of the crucified, ‘You did all this for me, and I couldn’t care less!’”
The young man emerged from the confessional box to collect on his bet. But when he told his friends what the priest had said, they said, “Oh, no, first complete the penance; then we’ll pay you.”
He walked slowly toward the crucifix, kneeled down, looked up into the statue and began, “You did all this for me, and I …” He could get no further. Tears flooded his eyes. His heart was broken with his sin. There his old life ended and his new life began. The priest concluded his sermon, “I was that young man.”
While I disagree with confessions to priests, penance, and crucifix statues (which amount to idolatry), there is an application for us in that story. The account of Christ’s suffering is told in the gospels. Read it, then come often to His table, which is the picture He gave us to remember Him by, and say to Him in your heart, “You did all this for me, and I …” Fill in the blank. If He gave His Son into the hands of angry sinners on your behalf, shouldn’t you give your all for Him?
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Many of you have had the experience, as I have, of sitting on a jury. You probably didn’t volunteer for the job, but you couldn’t get out of it and so you fulfilled your civic duty. The case that I sat through was a drunk driving charge against a young woman. Since her blood alcohol level was .2 and the legal limit in California at that time was .1, I thought that it would just take a few minutes to convict her. A slam dunk! Boy, was I wrong!
We got into the jury room and one man, ignoring the law and the careful instructions of the judge, said, “I can drink that much booze and drive safely. I think she’s innocent.” Others chimed in the same sentiments. It took another man and I three hours to get across the simple point: The law is .1; she was at .2; she is guilty of breaking the law. But, still, there was one woman who would not vote to convict because she said that we should not judge anyone, lest we, too, be judged! Finally, as 5 p.m. drew near, I said, “Look, the woman is guilty. We are going to vote guilty so that we can all go home and not have to come back tomorrow!”
Sometimes we are forced to make a verdict on someone when we would rather not. But to make no verdict is to make a verdict. To be neutral is to take sides. Maybe, like jury duty, we didn’t ask to be involved. It was thrust upon us. And now we are faced with a decision that we’d rather not make.
That was the situation that Pilate found himself in on that April morning, probably in A.D. 33. He hadn’t even eaten breakfast when there was a clamor outside of his accommodations in Jerusalem. He didn’t even want to be in Jerusalem, but he had to be there. He much preferred his seaside quarters in Caesarea, away from the center of Jewish religious life. He hated these stubborn, difficult-to-govern Jews. He didn’t appreciate their religion. Why couldn’t they be more tolerant and open-minded, like the Romans? But here he was, governor of Judea. He couldn’t afford to stay away from Jerusalem over the Passover, when thousands of Jews flocked to the city. He had to maintain law and order. Grumbling to his wife, he got out of bed and went to see what these pesky Jews wanted of him at this hour.
He found out that they had a prisoner whom they wanted him to judge right then. Pilate didn’t want to be bothered and told them to judge Him according to their own law (John 18:31). But they wanted to put Him to death, and Roman law would not allow them to inflict capital punishment. And so without warning that morning, Pilate had thrust upon him the task of making a verdict on Jesus Christ.
Whenever a person comes in contact with Jesus Christ, no matter how inadvertent that contact is, whether he realizes it or not at the time, he is faced with the most important decision of his life. If he decides to investigate further and eventually to open his life to Jesus Christ, his life and eternal destiny head in one direction. If he ignores what he has heard, or ridicules or rejects it, his life and eternal destiny go in another opposite direction. To do nothing or to put off a decision is to decide. Neutrality is impossible. Thus,
Our verdict regarding Jesus Christ is the most important decision we will ever make.
That decision, for good or for ill, turns around and makes us. In Matthew’s account of this trial, Pilate asks the Jews, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” (27:22). That crucial question is the most important question in life for each of us: What will you and I do with Jesus Christ? Our text portrays three main characters or sets of characters who made the fatal decision to reject Jesus Christ. Let’s learn from their negative example.
These men had seen repeated evidence that Jesus was their Messiah. He had taught as no man had ever taught. He had done powerful, undeniable miracles to back up His claims. He fulfilled numerous prophecies in their Scriptures. But they willingly, knowingly rejected Him because He was a threat to their power and position. John 19:11 reports that Jesus told Pilate that the one who delivered Him up to Pilate had greater guilt. Pilate was guilty for what he did, but the Jewish leaders, and Caiaphas in particular, had greater guilt. The worst decision possible is to hear about Christ, to know what He did, and yet to reject Him.
Among themselves, the Jewish leaders accused Jesus of blasphemy, because He claimed to be the Son of God. But they knew that this charge would not get anywhere before the Roman governor, and they needed his approval to put Jesus to death. So they trumped up some charges that would be of concern to Pilate: that “this man” (a term of contempt) was misleading the nation, forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, and calling Himself Christ, a King (Luke 23:2). The first two charges were patently false. The third was true, but not in the sense of which they were accusing Him. He was decidedly not leading a political revolution. In fact, that was one reason they had rejected Him as Messiah! They wanted a political Messiah, but Jesus had refused to take on that role. But now the accusation in this twisted form was useful and so they flung it at Pilate. In so doing, they were breaking the ninth commandment against bearing false witness.
Note that these men who were acting so wickedly against Jesus were not only religious men, but religious leaders. But religious involvement is not enough. Outward religion that does not touch the heart is no preventative against rejecting Christ. Not only were they religious leaders, but they were unanimous that Jesus had to go (23:1, “the whole body”). These were the Pharisees and Sadducees, who normally were at each other’s throats. But they could come together in their opposition toward Jesus. The majority, even a unanimous majority of religious leaders, can be dead wrong.
Not only were they agreed, but they agreed passionately. They accused Jesus to Pilate (23:2) and when he said that he found no guilt in Him, they kept on insisting that Jesus was guilty (23:5). When Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, they followed and vehemently accused Him before Herod (23:10). But even though they felt so passionately against Jesus, they were passionately wrong. In their fury, they could take a strand of evidence here and a strand there and twist them into outright falsehoods against Jesus. But their strong feelings had clouded clear thinking. They were bound determined on one thing, to get rid of Jesus Christ.
Why were these men so strongly opposed to Christ? It was not that they had suddenly become patriotic toward Rome and felt that Jesus was a threat to Roman sovereignty. Pilate could see that! Mark 15:10 tells us that he knew that the chief priests had delivered up Jesus because of envy. The Greek word refers to being jealous of another’s success with the evil intent of bringing him down. The fact is, Jesus was a threat to the Jewish leaders’ power and prestige. He confronted their sin. He upset their tables in the temple and threatened the profitable religious business they had going. He convicted them of their selfishness and rebellion against God.
The main reason that people knowingly, willingly reject Jesus Christ is that they do not want to give up their sin. They resent Jesus confronting their comfortable way of life. They like running their own lives and they do not want to yield to Jesus as Lord. And so, like these religious leaders, they are vehement in their hatred toward Jesus as Lord and Christ. They will do anything to get Him out of their lives. They will even invent and believe in lies.
Pilate governed Judea for Rome from A.D. 26-36. He was a politician in the worst sense of the word. His aim in life was to promote himself. He was always concerned with acting in ways that would be advantageous to his own position and image.
He did not like the Jews and they did not like him. Early in his rule, he had angered them by sending his soldiers into Jerusalem with military standards bearing emblems that the Jews regarded as idolatrous. When they resisted, he threatened to kill them. But they lay down and bared their necks for the sword. Pilate finally had to yield or risk open rebellion, which he could not afford. He lost face in the deal. He also outraged the Jews by taking some of their money from the temple treasury to finance an aqueduct. They rioted and many were killed, resulting in Pilate’s receiving a scathing rebuke from Rome. Jesus referred to another incident in Luke 13:1-2, where Pilate had mingled the Galileans’ blood with their sacrifices. So Pilate and the Jews had clashed frequently. He could not afford word of another incident getting back to Rome. Although he hated the Jews and knew that they were accusing Jesus out of envy, he had to placate them to save his own neck, even if it meant the death of an innocent man.
Luke abbreviates the exchange between Pilate and Jesus (see John 18:33-38). He simply reports Pilate asking, “Are You the King of the Jews?” (23:3). In Greek, “you” is emphatic, and so the sense may be an incredulous, somewhat sarcastic question. Jesus had already been beaten in the face and spit upon. He hardly looked the part of a King! So Pilate may have been saying, “So this is what the King of the Jews looks like, is it?” After examining Jesus, Pilate went out to the Jewish leaders and gave his verdict: “I find no guilt in this man” (23:4). Pilate did not see Jesus as a political threat to Rome’s rule.
At this point, he should have dismissed the Jews, given Jesus military protection to get out of town, and the case would have been over. But the Jews kept insisting that Jesus stirred “up the people, teaching all over Judea, starting from Galilee, even as far as this place” (23:5). When Pilate heard the word “Galilee,” he got a bright idea. If Jesus was a Galilean, then He fell into Herod’s jurisdiction. Since Herod was also in town for the Passover, Pilate could send Jesus to Herod and get rid of the case (an old political maneuver called “passing the buck”!). At the very least, sending Jesus to Herod might serve to patch up a quarrel that the two men had been having over jurisdiction. It was a win-win situation.
But Herod did not relieve Pilate of the case. He made fun of Jesus, but he implicitly did not see Jesus as guilty of the charges or he would not have sent Him back to Pilate (23:15). When they brought Jesus back from Herod, Pilate was forced to deal with the angry demand of the Jews. You know the outcome; we will study Pilate further next week.
But for now, note that he was a man who was willing to compromise what he knew to be right when he was under pressure to save his own skin, even if it meant the death of an innocent man. Three times he told the Jews, “I find no guilt in this man” (23:4, 14-15, 22). But in spite of this, he finally caved in to pressure and granted the Jews’ demand to crucify Jesus because he wanted to save his own career and position. In so doing, he incurred the guilt of crucifying the Son of God. Simply put, Pilate put himself ahead of Jesus. That mistake had eternally horrible consequences. It always does!
There are many who make the same fatal mistake. They come into contact with Jesus. They sense that He is right, that He speaks the truth. But they know that if they follow Him, it will cost them. If they always tell the truth and are honest about financial matters they might not get that promotion. If they take a bold stand for Christ others might think that they are weird and not like them. Let’s face it, you just can’t make it in the business world if you don’t cut some corners. So they yield to pressure and compromise what they know inwardly to be right and true.
Only Luke includes the story of Jesus being shunted off to Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great who had slaughtered the infants of Bethlehem. Antipas ruled over Galilee and Perea from 4 B.C. to A.D. 39. This is the Herod whom John the Baptist had reproved because he had dumped his first wife and married his brother’s wife, Herodias. She hated John and to keep her at bay, Herod put John in prison. But he also feared John, knowing him to be a righteous man. He often listened to John talk about spiritual matters (Mark 6:20). Then came the fateful day when Herod got drunk at his birthday party and rashly promised the daughter of Herodias up to half of his kingdom because he enjoyed her sensual dancing. She asked for John’s head on a platter and Herod reluctantly complied so as not to lose face before his dinner guests.
After this, when Herod heard of Jesus’ preaching and miracles, he was haunted by his guilt, thinking that perhaps John had risen from the dead. Jesus called Herod a fox (Luke 13:32), referring to his crafty cowardice. Herod had wanted to see Jesus for a long time because he was hoping to see some sign performed by Him (23:8). Now, finally, he got that chance. From his conversations with John, Herod knew all the right questions to ask. He found theology fascinating, and he wanted to hear what this famous teacher would say to his intelligent questions. But it was if He were deaf! The longer Jesus refused to respond, the more foolish Herod looked in front of his men. His anger began to build. But rather than explode, the cunning Herod began to mock Jesus. “Did You run out of miracle power today, Jesus? If You’re a King, where are Your men? What happened to all those fishermen followers of Yours?” Someone came up with a kingly robe, which they draped on Jesus, adding to the laughter and scorn.
Herod pictures for us a person who likes to dabble in spiritual matters, but has no intention of applying it personally so as to repent. He had sinned in committing adultery and wrongful divorce. When John confronted him, he should have repented and sought God’s forgiveness. Instead, he yielded to his wife and put John in prison. But he still liked those theological discussions with John. Then he got drunk, lusted, and boasted in front of his dinner guests. It would have been too embarrassing to repent at that point. Off came John’s head and Herod’s conscience was seared.
But he still found spiritual matters fascinating. He was like people who find Bible prophecy interesting, but they never seem to make the connection that Bible prophecy is predicting their own doom if they do not repent. So Herod wanted to see Jesus. Think of the interesting dinner stories that Herod could tell if he saw Jesus do a miracle or two! He was curious about Christ, but when Christ’s silence burned into Herod’s conscience, he was not willing to repent. Instead, he diverted his guilt by pouring contempt on the Son of God.
It’s easy to sing, “I want to see Jesus.” But we need to realize that any time a sinner sees Jesus, he is going to be confronted with the need for repentance. It’s interesting to sit around and discuss theology, but all sound doctrine leads to repentance and growth in holiness. While we find Herod’s contempt and mocking of Jesus vulgar and repulsive, do we not treat Jesus with contempt when we make Him less important than the stupid TV shows that we give hours to watching? Do we not treat Jesus with contempt when we put our business ahead of Him? Most of us would jump at the chance that Pilate and Herod had that day, of a personal interview with Jesus Christ. But such an interview only benefits us if we respond with repentance. Pilate and Herod had the chance of a lifetime, to become friends with Jesus. Instead, they rejected Jesus and became friends with each other.
Herod teaches us not to dabble in spiritual matters. Don’t treat Jesus as an interesting subject to discuss or as a sideshow to see Him perform. “Step right up, watch Jesus heal the sick!” If you treat Jesus as anything less than the Son of God who gave Himself for your sins, and you use theology as an interesting topic to dodge the need for repentance, you are treating Him with contempt. That was Herod’s fatal mistake. He, Pilate, and the Jewish leaders all rejected Christ for different reasons. They teach us to beware, lest we fall into the same fatal errors.
As Paul so eloquently put it, “although [Jesus] existed in the form of God, [He] did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:7-8). Note three things:
Three times Pilate proclaimed Jesus’ innocence (23:4, 14-15, 22). Jesus’ mistreatment at the hands of sinners fulfilled prophecies that He Himself had made (Luke 9:22, 44; 18:32). It also fulfilled many Old Testament prophecies about Messiah as the suffering servant. Jesus is that spotless Lamb of God, the only sacrifice for our sins. As Isaiah 53:6 puts it, “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” Yet He did no violence nor was there any deceit in His mouth (Isa. 53:9).
Jesus had the right to speak the word and all of the Jewish leaders would have fallen dead on the spot. When Pilate told Jesus that he had authority to release Him or crucify Him, Jesus told Pilate, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11). If Jesus had selfishly clung to His rights, we would not be saved. His voluntary offering of Himself as the sacrifice for our sins should make us trust Him and turn from all our sins out of love for Him.
When Pilate asked Jesus if He was the King of the Jews, Jesus could not say no and be truthful. But He could not say an unqualified yes, because he was not a King in the way the Jews had accused Him to Pilate. So He replied, “You say that I am.” Luke does not record the further exchange between Jesus and Pilate, but John records how Jesus bore witness of the truth, but Pilate responded, “What is truth?” (John 18:33-38). Jesus did not respond to Herod’s questions because He knew that Herod was not open to repentance. The lesson is, when Jesus is silent towards you, you are in deep trouble! He will respond to every seeking heart, but the Lord scoffs at the scoffers.
Today, whether you were ready or not, you have had an encounter with Jesus Christ. Perhaps, like Pilate, you didn’t even plan on it. You just thought it would be nice to go to church. But Jesus stands before you and confronts you with your need to repent of your sins. It is not enough to pronounce Jesus “not guilty” and get on with your life, as Pilate wanted to do. You must come to grips with who He is, the way, the truth, and the life, the only way to heaven (John 14:6). As the risen Lord, exalted to the right hand of the power of God (22:69), He also is the coming King who will judge all who reject Him. You can’t dodge Him!
What is your verdict on Jesus? Guilty? You’re seriously wrong! Not guilty? You’re right, but that’s not enough. “I trust You as my Savior. I turn from all my sin. I follow You as my Lord.” That is the only correct verdict on Jesus Christ.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Throughout history, people have made some bad decisions. An inventor named Alexander Graham Bell made an appointment with Western Union to sell them on the idea of something called a telephone. Western Union’s president gave his answer: “What use could this company make of an electrical toy?”
A Michigan banker advised Henry Ford’s lawyer not to invest in the new motor car company, assuring him, “The horse is here to stay, but the automobile is only a novelty.”
A more recent inventor named Chester Carlson came up with a new machine that was able to make copies of documents. He approached IBM, but they told him they weren’t interested. Kodak told him the same. Finally, Carlson approached a small company called the Haloid Corporation, which took the idea and renamed itself Xerox.
We look at these bad decisions from the standpoint of history and laugh, but those who made them did not have our vantage point. We all can look back on bad decisions that we have made and say, “If only I had known then what I know now, I would have decided much differently!” The more consequential the decision, the more important it is to make wise decisions.
The most consequential decision that any person can make is one that affects his eternal destiny. To blow it on that decision is to fail utterly, even if a person makes financial or career decisions that succeed fabulously. Thus the Jews’ and Pilate’s decision to condemn Jesus Christ to die was the worst decision in the history of the world. It brought awful judgment on the Jewish nation, which later revolted against Rome and was wiped out. The Jews were scattered among the nations for almost 1900 years. Pilate and every Jew who condemned Jesus and did not repent suffered God’s eternal judgment for their sinful decision regarding Christ. Their mistake is portrayed for us in the gospel accounts so that we will learn from it and avoid this worst of all possible decisions.
But also in this great drama we meet another character who is a type of those who have sinned by rebelling against God, yet in spite of their sin, they go free. That man is Barabbas, who was in prison for insurrection, murder, and robbery. He was set free that day through no merit of his own, but simply because Jesus died in his place. This story teaches us that,
Those who condemn Jesus will be condemned; those who have Jesus as their substitute will be set free.
In this segment of the story, two characters show us how not to decide about Christ:
The Jews were the active force, pushing hard to condemn Jesus. Pilate was more passive, reluctantly getting dragged inch by inch until he yielded to the Jews’ demand.
Both the Jews and Pilate were guilty, but as Jesus told Pilate, the Jews had the greater guilt (John 19:11). We looked last week at how the Jewish leaders willfully, knowingly rejected Jesus as their Messiah. But here, not only the Jewish leaders, but also some from the people (23:13), make this worst of all possible decisions, to crucify the Lord of glory. This is a significant turn of events, because now the leaders have won over at least a sampling of the populace. Perhaps they persuaded them that Jesus would never deliver the nation from Rome’s thumb. Thus the Jewish leaders were playing off the people’s desire to be free from Roman domination so that they could lead a better life, arguing that Jesus wasn’t the leader they needed. But they were also portraying Jesus to Pilate as one who was a threat to Roman sovereignty.
For us who believe in Christ, it is hard to fathom how a person can know anything about Christ and yet willfully reject Him. But it shows us how strong the power of sin is in the fallen human heart! Often, like the Jews, people mistakenly think that following Christ will not get them the happiness and freedom that they desire, and so they go their own way, only to discover too late that their way is the way of destruction.
Aaron Burr was the third Vice President of the United States. He actually tied Thomas Jefferson in the number of electoral votes for President, but he lost in the vote in Congress, largely due to the efforts of his opponent, Alexander Hamilton. Burr later challenged Hamilton to a duel and killed him. This discredited him politically. He was later tried for treason, but acquitted. He lived a long life, but he was an unhappy man. Sadly, Burr was the grandson of the godly pastor, Jonathan Edwards. Although Burr never knew his grandfather, who had died while he was a young boy, he had a godly heritage, but he walked away from it. Late in life he said, “Sixty years ago I told God that if He would let me alone, I would let Him alone, and God has not bothered about me since.” Aaron Burr got what he wanted, but it was a tragic mistake!
The Jews got what they wanted: Jesus was crucified. They later revolted against Rome, but it did not get them what they wanted. They were slaughtered by the hundreds of thousands, and those who survived were scattered. The temple and the city of Jerusalem were totally destroyed. Willful, knowing rejection of Christ always results in awful judgment, if not in this life, certainly in eternity.
Luke shows Pilate as a man who was dragged inch by inch in this tug of war against the Jewish leaders, until finally he gave way and delivered Jesus up to be crucified. He made several attempts to free Jesus, whom he knew to be innocent. After his first meeting with Jesus, he told the Jewish leaders, “I find no guilt in this man” (23:4). That should have settled it, but they kept insisting that Jesus was guilty. Next, Pilate sent Jesus to Herod in an attempt to pass the buck. But Herod mocked Jesus and sent Him back to Pilate, implicitly acknowledging that Jesus was innocent. So for the second time, Pilate told the Jews that he had found Him innocent and, he added, Herod concurred. (23:14-15).
At this point, either because of actual objections which Luke does not record or because he could sense the continued opposition of the crowd, Pilate tried another tactic to spare Jesus’ life: he offered to punish and release Him (23:16). He uses a mild term for punish, probably to salve his own guilty conscience, but he was referring to scourging, a terrible punishment that sometimes resulted in death. A man would be whipped with leather thongs containing pieces of metal, so that his back would be shredded into ribbons of flesh. Pilate was hoping to appease the crowd and spare Jesus’ life, but they would not have it.
So Pilate tried another tactic. There was a custom of him releasing one prisoner to the people at the feast (verse 17 was probably not in Luke’s original, but was added by a later scribe to explain this). Perhaps Pilate suggested what he thought would be a clear choice of extremes: Jesus or Barabbas, a notorious rebel who was guilty of both robbery and murder. But to Pilate’s shock, they called for Jesus’ death and Barabbas’ release (23:18). Pilate still wanted to release Jesus, so he addressed them again, but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify Him!” For the third time Pilate asked, “Why, what evil has this man done? I have found no guilt demanding death; I will therefore punish Him and release Him” (23:22). But they kept loudly insisting that Jesus die. John 19:1 indicates that Pilate actually did scourge Jesus in hopes of placating the mob. When that didn’t work, finally, tragically, Pilate caved in and pronounced sentence that their demand should be granted. Barabbas was released; Jesus was led away to be crucified.
Pilate seems to have meant well, but to have been overwhelmed by forces stronger than himself. But while his sin was not as terrible as that of the Jews (John 19:11), he still was guilty of crucifying Jesus. In Acts 4:27-28, the early church prayed, “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.” The fact that all these various people did what God predestined to occur does not absolve them of guilt. It merely shows that wicked people cannot thwart the sovereign purpose of God. But even though they fulfilled God’s purpose by crucifying Jesus, they were guilty and stand condemned.
There are probably far more people like Pilate than like the Jewish leaders, people who mean well, but they get carried along by forces stronger than they and end up rejecting Christ. What can we learn from his mistakes so that we avoid the same?
As I explained last week, there were several incidents in Pilate’s history with the Jews that hindered him from doing the right thing in this situation. He had been brutal toward them. On their part, they had gone to Rome and brought down a censure on Pilate. At this point, he could scarcely risk the threat of another disgruntled Jewish delegation to Rome. The Jewish writer, Philo, says, “He was afraid that if a Jewish embassy were sent to Rome, they might discuss the many maladministrations of his government, his extortions, his unjust decrees, his inhuman punishments” (cited by James Stalker, The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ [Zondervan], p. 67).
Stalker adds, “There is nothing that so frustrates good resolutions and paralyzes noble efforts as the dead weight of past sins.” If people know things about us, we are afraid to do anything to displease them, for fear that they will use the past against us. Because of his past sins, Pilate did not rule the Jews; they now ruled him. Those sins were sucking him, like a giant whirlpool, toward this fatal decision regarding Jesus Christ.
The only way to break away from the power of past sins is to confess them and resolve to obey God now, no matter what the cost. Yes, you will probably pay a price to break away from the old life, but you will pay a greater price if you do not!
Pilate’s obvious goal in life was to hang onto his power and to promote his political fortune. Jesus taught that our goal should be, “Seek first God’s kingdom and righteousness” (Matt. 6:33). On one level, this was the best day of Pilate’s life. He patched up a quarrel with his political near neighbor, Herod. He placated the difficult Jewish leaders and avoided a riot and the certain reprimand from Rome. He was able to hang onto power for a few more years. But spiritually, it was the absolute worst day of Pilate’s life. Although he didn’t want to do it, he ended up condemning the innocent Son of God and brought down God’s condemnation on his head. What led Pilate down the wrong fork in the road was his worldly goals.
Many who profess Christ as Savior adopt worldly goals. Like Pilate, they approve of Jesus. They go to church; they call themselves Christians. But the thing that determines their direction in life is the goal of worldly success. They are in a mad pursuit to collect more things. If a promotion promises more money, more prestige, a better chance for future advancement, they take it without considering what it will do to their service for the Lord or to their family life. Their goal is success in this world, not success in God’s kingdom. Set godly goals!
Pilate didn’t want to kill Jesus and he didn’t want controversy with the Jews. He just wanted peace. He really wanted to be neutral about Jesus and get on with his life. But, as we saw last week, that is never an option. Pilate’s downfall was that he was concerned about pleasing the Jews and pleasing Caesar, but he did not consider pleasing God.
The Bible is clear that if we take a strong stand for Christ, we will alienate some people at least some of the time. We should never deliberately alienate anyone. As Paul says, “If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men” (Rom. 12:18). But both Paul and Jesus had many enemies because they determined to please God above all else. As Paul told the Galatians, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10).
Concerning political leadership, Winston Churchill said, “People who are not prepared to do unpopular things and defy clamour are not fit to be ministers in times of stress” (James Humes, Churchill: Speaker of the Century [Stein and Day], p. 275). The same is true spiritually. Determine to please God in obedience to His Word, even in your thought life and private decisions. If that is your habit, you won’t be led astray in a time of difficulty.
In some situations, compromise is wise and necessary. But it is never wise, necessary, or right if it involves violating God’s moral law and compromising your conscience. When Pilate declared that Jesus was innocent, he should have stood on principle no matter how loudly the Jews yelled nor what they threatened. Why offer to scourge Jesus if He was innocent? Pilate was compromising his conscience, thinking that it would gain the Jews’ favor and Jesus’ life. But what he thought was a loophole of escape became a noose around his neck (Stalker, p. 55). Pilate thought that he was gaining his political life by this compromise, but he was losing, not only his political life, but his spiritual life as well.
There are men who will compromise even in the ministry because they think that it will gain them success. They make wrong alliances with those who hold to liberal theology because it wins them a bigger platform. They don’t speak out on unpopular issues or confront those in sin, because they’re afraid that people won’t like them. But any success, whether in ministry or business or personal life, that is gained by compromising your conscience is not success with God. If you jettison a clear conscience, you will eventually make shipwreck of your faith (1 Tim. 1:19).
So the Jews warn us against actively rejecting Christ. Pilate teaches us that we must not passively reject Christ by allowing outside pressure to lead us to compromise. If we do, no matter how much worldly happiness or success we gain, we will lose our souls. But there is another character in the story who offers us a valuable spiritual lesson:
Although there has been much speculation, we do not know anything about Barabbas’ personal life after he was released. It would be wonderful to know that he personally trusted in Christ and was reformed from his life of violence and sin, but we don’t know. But even so, Barabbas stands on the biblical page as a type of sinners who do trust in Christ. Note four parallels:
Apparently he had led an insurrection that had resulted in people being murdered. Perhaps he had killed some himself. He supported himself and his cause through robbery (John 18:40). He had violated the law and he deserved to die. Ironically, Barabbas was guilty of the very crime of insurrection of which the Jews accused Jesus. If Barabbas had been executed, no one would have questioned it. He should have been on the cross.
As such, Barabbas represents every person who has violated God’s holy law. We all stand guilty as charged before God’s bar of justice. The Bible declares, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Like Barabbas, we deserve God’s sentence of death.
Perhaps you protest: “I’m no robber or murderer! I live a decent, clean life. I’m a law-abiding person. It’s not fair to compare me with this criminal!” But God’s Word is clear that we have all violated God’s holy standards hundreds of times. The Jews who crucified Jesus would have defended themselves as keepers of God’s law. But, as Jesus pointed out in the Sermon on the Mount, God’s law is not just outward; it’s inward. If we have been wrongly angry, we have murdered. If we have secretly lusted, we have committed adultery (Matt. 5:21-32). Which of us could rightly claim that we have always kept even one of God’s Ten Commandments, let alone all ten? Like Barabbas, we deserve to die.
He didn’t get out for good behavior in prison. He didn’t make any promises to reform after he got out. He didn’t promise to do 100 hours of community service. The factors that resulted in his pardon were totally apart from himself. All that he could do was to accept the pardon. He could never congratulate himself later because he got out of his death sentence. It was totally due to factors apart from him and even in spite of him. It was free grace.
That’s exactly how God’s salvation is offered to every sinner. If you think that you deserve it or if you offer to somehow pay for it, you do not understand. All you can do is recognize that God offers it freely apart from any merit and humbly accept it.
That was literally true for Barabbas. He received a pardon and Jesus died instead of him. In his newfound freedom, if Barabbas followed the crowd to Golgotha that day and watched as they nailed Jesus to the cross, he must have thought, “That should have been me! Those nails were intended for my hands and feet! That man is dying in my place!”
This is the good news that the Bible proclaims: we all deserve to die for our sins, but Jesus, the innocent Lamb of God, took our place on the cross as our substitute. He gave His life as the ransom for many (Mark 10:45). He bore the wrath of God that should have fallen on you and me, satisfying the penalty. “[God] made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor. 5:21). Thus, God “might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). If your faith is in Christ, His death means that you will not face God’s condemnation.
There is a great irony here: Barabbas’ name means “son of the father.” The real Son of the Father, Jesus, suffered and died so that this human son of the father could live and go free. John states that he wrote his gospel “that you may believe the Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:31). If you do not believe in Christ, you are like Barabbas in prison: in bondage to sin, under the sentence of death, and unable to free yourself (Eph. 2:1-3). Only Jesus Christ can free you from sin and impart eternal life to you so that you become a true “son of the Father,” a child of God.
Every year in countries that are predominately Roman Catholic, such as the Philippines and Mexico, you can find pilgrims who torture themselves in an attempt to atone for their sins. They sometimes crawl on their knees on broken glass toward the crucifix. They go so far as to hire men to flog them and to put a crown of thorns on their heads. Some even allow themselves to be nailed to a cross. Others do other deeds of penance. Sadly, these people do not understand the heart of the Christian gospel.
That gospel is that Christ fully paid the penalty we deserved and that we can do nothing except receive His salvation by faith. Human pride wants to say, “At least let me help. Let me do my part.” But the Bible says, “Salvation belongs to the Lord” (Ps. 3:8). If Jesus Christ crucified is your substitute and your hope, you will know the salvation of God.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
I always feel inadequate to preach, but I never feel more inadequate than when I preach on the crucifixion of Jesus. There is simply no way that I can do justice to this most profound event in the history of the world. Meditating on the cross of Christ should evoke many feelings in our hearts: mourning for our sin that put Him there; horror at God’s dreadful judgment that required such a price; gratitude for the great love and mercy of the Savior; and awe at the fact that such as One as He would do such a thing as this for such a sinner as I. Yet I lack the ability to set forth all of these things as they ought to be explained and applied. And so we all must cast ourselves afresh on God and pray that He would use His Word in our hearts beyond my ability to preach and beyond your ability to listen.
Today I am going to present an overview of the crucifixion as described by the Holy Spirit through Luke. In subsequent weeks, I am going to go back and pick out some of the details that call for more meditation than a single message allows. Today I want to set before you four broad themes that the cross displays:
The cross displays the awfulness of human sin, God’s dreadful judgment, His amazing love, and His amazing Savior.
Down through history, wicked men have done some terrible things: slaughtered innocent women and children, tortured people for pleasure, and resorted to cannibalism and other evils too hideous to mention. But never has the human race stooped so low as when they crucified the Lord of glory and mocked Him while He was hanging on the cross. The horror of violence is proportionate to the innocence of the victim. If one mobster shoots another mobster, we tend to say, “That’s too bad, but he had it coming.”
But if a man tortures and murders a little child, we recoil in horror, because the child did nothing to deserve such terrible treatment. But while children are relatively innocent, Jesus alone is truly innocent and undefiled (Heb. 7:26). He was never tainted by sin in thought, word, or deed. He gave up the glory of heaven and came to this earth, not for Himself, but to lay down His life for sinners. He went about doing good to all. His teaching and His miracles proved Him to be God’s anointed one, or Messiah. For men to disregard all of His miracles (which they tacitly admit when they say, “He saved others”), to make sport of torturing such a one, and then to jeer as He hung on the cross with His life slowly ebbing out of Him, was the most heinous crime imaginable!
The Bible says, “Men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their deeds were evil” (John 3:19). The darkness of the human heart was never as dark as when they crucified the Son of God. Thus God sent darkness over the land as a portent of His judgment to come, when men who do not repent will be cast into outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matt. 25:30). This was not an eclipse of the sun, which is impossible during a full moon. Rather, it was a miracle sent from God so that sinful men might tremble at His power and judgment.
The hardness of the human heart is seen in that the Jewish religious leaders did not even cease their mocking, but paid no attention to this miraculous sign in the heavens. John Calvin (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], “Harmony of the Gospels,” 3:317) says that “their amazing madness ought to strike us with horror,” (the French edition says, “Make our hair stand on end”) that they would be so blind as to ignore this warning from God. He then adds, “But this is the spirit of stupidity and of giddiness with which God intoxicates the reprobate, after having long contended with their malice.” He darkens their minds, so that seeing, they do not see (Matt. 13:14).
Those who witnessed this horrific event had different reactions. The religious leaders are the most guilty, since they had seen Christ’s miracles and heard His teaching, but knowingly and willfully rejected Him and even taunted Him as He died (23:35). The Roman soldiers also were guilty of mocking Him (23:36-37), but it was more out of ignorance and stupidity. Many just stood and watched out of curiosity, perhaps not knowing what to think (23:35). The thieves on the cross both mocked at first, although the one soon came to repentance (23:39-43; compare Matt. 27:44; Mark 15:32). The multitudes, after witnessing the whole spectacle, went away beating their breasts, perhaps vaguely recognizing that something terrible had taken place (23:48). Perhaps this was the initial working of God’s Spirit in convicting them of sin in preparation for Peter’s sermon on the Day of Pentecost. Christ’s acquaintances and the women who accompanied Him from Galilee stood at a distance, probably out of fear and confusion (23:49).
Luke paints this whole scene to show us not only the sin of those who crucified the Savior, but to get us to examine our own hearts. While we may not be as guilty as the religious leaders, we all are guilty: “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him” (Isa. 53:6). Allow the spectacle of the cross to overwhelm you with the awfulness of your own sin!
Being sinners by nature, we tend to minimize both our sin and God’s wrath against sin. We think that our sin isn’t all that bad, and we can’t understand why God would get so worked up about it. But as Calvin explains, “It was an astonishing display of the wrath of God that he did not spare even his only begotten Son, and was not appeased in any other way than by that price of expiation” (ibid., pp. 316-317). “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23), and nothing less than the death of God’s own Son could satisfy His holy wrath that is justly due for our sin!
God’s judgment is seen in several ways in this story. I’ve already mentioned the darkened sun as one portent of the wrath to come. It should have made every person there shake with fear and cry out for God’s mercy. Also, Jesus warned the daughters of Jerusalem who wept for Him of the coming judgment on the city. For the Jews, children were God’s blessings; it was a curse to be barren. But Jesus warned that the days were coming when they would say, “Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed” (23:29). So great would be the suffering and slaughter, that it would be better not to have children than to watch them starve and be hacked to pieces by the Roman swords. At that time, men would call to the mountains to fall on them, since that would be a more merciful form of death than what awaited them. If it was unnatural for Jesus, the “green tree,” to be burned, how much worse would it be when God’s judgment was poured out on the guilty, dried up nation, ready for the fire?
But God’s temporal judgments on Jerusalem were nothing in comparison with the eternal judgment that Jesus often warned about. He used the most descriptive language to picture the torments of hell. In addition to describing it as a place of outer darkness, where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth, He called it a place “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched” (Mark 9:48). He pictured the rich man in torment, crying out for a wet finger to cool his tongue, “for I am in agony in this flame” (Luke 16:24).
Sometimes I think we err in focusing on the physical suffering of Jesus on the cross, while we miss the fact that it was just a glimpse of the spiritual agony He endured. It is significant that none of the four gospels use much detail to describe His physical suffering. Luke simply says, “They crucified Him” (23:33). Granted, most of his readers had witnessed crucifixions, so they knew the awful suffering it entailed. It was one of the most horrific, slow, tortuous deaths ever invented. But I think that G. Campbell Morgan is right when he says that he often wished that no one had painted a picture of the crucifixion. He explains,
I am not denying the tragedy of the physical, but I often feel that in connection with our children, we are in danger if we talk too much with them of the nails and the thorns and the spear. These were merely the incidentals, all of them necessary, I grant you, to work out into visibility before these poor human eyes of ours, something of the unfathomable sorrows of God in Christ in the Cross. Yet there is always a danger lest for very pity of heart, we become more occupied with the physical suffering, than with the spiritual agony. (The Gospel According to Luke [Revell], pp. 266-267.)
The point of Christ’s suffering on the cross was that He bore God’s dreadful judgment that we deserved, thus satisfying His wrath for us. If Christ crucified is your Savior, you will escape the day of God’s wrath on sinners. As Paul triumphantly puts it, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1).
I must underscore that you cannot eliminate or skim over this point about the cross revealing God’s wrath against sin and be a true Christian. In my next point I will talk about God’s amazing love as seen in the cross, and it is true. But to skim over God’s wrath and rush on to His love is to miss the offense of the cross. That offense is that we are sinners deserving of God’s judgment. We can do nothing in ourselves to appease that judgment. What we cannot do, God did, not sparing His own Son, so that no one can boast before God.
James Stalker points out how that, just as in Christ’s day there were religious men who said, “Come down from the cross and we will believe you,” so there are still such men. He says, that they “have no sense of their own unworthiness or of the majesty and the rights of a holy God. They do not understand a theology of sin and punishment, of atonement and redemption; and all the deep significance of His death has to be taken out of Christianity before they will believe it” (The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ [Zondervan], pp. 103-104). So we must see in the cross the awfulness of human sin and the dreadfulness of God’s judgment before we move on to the next point.
As Charles Wesley put it in his great hymn, “Amazing love, how can it be, that Thou my God shouldst die for me!” That is the only explanation for why Jesus did what He did. If He had stood on His rights, He would have said, “They deserve what they have coming. Let them all pay for their own sin! Why should I have to suffer in their place?” Thank God that He drank the cup of God’s wrath because of His unfathomable love!
That love is seen in what is called Christ’s first words from the cross, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (23:34). I hope to deal with this verse in more detail in a later message. In passing, I will say that although many weighty early New Testament manuscripts do not contain the verse, there are reasons to believe that it was a part of Luke’s original gospel. Christ’s words here breathe the same spirit that He taught in the Sermon on the Plain, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (6:27-28).
Just as the gardener in Jesus’ parable asked the owner of the fig tree to give it another year (13:6-9), so Jesus here pleads for another chance for this guilty nation (Norval Geldenhuys, Commentary on the Gospel of Luke [Eerdmans], pp. 608-609). And, God, who could have made the ground open and swallow these rebels on the spot, because He is full of love and mercy, answered the prayer by giving Israel 40 more years before judgment fell. He sent them the preaching of Peter on the Day of Pentecost and the ministry of the apostles and other believers, and many thousands came to repentance and faith.
We should learn here what Calvin calls the astonishing (p. 291), inestimable (p. 302) love of God towards us in Christ. He further notes (p. 303) that all the sufferings that Christ endured are here portrayed so that we may see more clearly how much our salvation cost Him. When we reflect that we justly deserved what He endured, we might more and more be moved to repentance. And, Calvin says, God here plainly shows us how wretched our condition would have been if we had not a Redeemer.
Christ’s prayer for those who so badly mistreated Him should give hope to the worst of sinners. Yes, you have abused and mistreated the Savior by your life of sin. Yes, your sin put Jesus on the cross. You need forgiveness. And forgiveness is precisely what Jesus prays on behalf of guilty sinners! He doesn’t offer it based on your deserving it, but simply because of His great love and mercy. It cost Him dearly, but it is free to you if you will receive it. The cross reveals God’s amazing love for sinners.
Luke wants every eye to be on the marvelous person of Jesus Christ. The titles that His enemies mockingly hurled at Him are true, even though they did not believe. He is “the Christ of God, His Chosen One” (23:35). He is “the King of the Jews” (23:37, 38). He is the innocent (or righteous) one (23:47), who had done nothing wrong (23:41). Note these five contrasts about His person:
Jesus is fully human, yet fully divine.
As a man, Jesus was so weak from His night in the garden and His scourging that He could not even bear His own cross. His terrible physical suffering on the cross shows His full humanity. He felt the same physical agony that the two thieves did. His emotions felt the sting of the mockery. He felt the disappointment of His disciples’ fearful defection. His soul agonized for the coming judgment that He predicted for Jerusalem. As a man, Jesus entrusted His soul to God at the point of death, just as He had trusted the Father throughout His earthly life.
And yet the fact that the creation groaned with the power of the sun being darkened shows us that this was no mere man who hung on that cross. He could predict accurately the horrible destruction of Jerusalem. His death fulfilled David’s prophecy in Psalm 22:18, of the soldiers casting lots and dividing His garments among them. He was the Christ of God, God’s Chosen One, the promised King of the Jews. As God, He could promise salvation to the penitent thief on the cross, granting him forgiveness and the assurance that he would be with Him that very day in Paradise. As God in human flesh, He was truly innocent of all wrong. He is, in Paul’s words, “our great God and Savior” (Titus 2:13). Anyone who denies either the full humanity or the full deity of the Lord Jesus Christ has denied the very essence of the Christian faith.
Jesus is innocent and righteous, yet He bore our sins.
Throughout the story of Christ’s trials and crucifixion, Luke repeatedly affirms His innocence. Three times Pilate proclaims it (23:4, 14-15, 22). The thief on the cross repeats it (23:41). The centurion reaffirms it (23:47). Jesus Christ is the righteous one, our Advocate with the Father, who is the propitiation for our sins (1 John 2:1-2). I think that Calvin (p. 327) is right here in saying that this Roman centurion was probably not converted so as to utter this testimony of Christ, but rather “was only for a moment the herald of Christ’s divinity.”
Christ could not have been the Savior of others if He had sins of His own. If He had blemishes on His character, He would not have been an acceptable lamb for the sacrifice for the sins of others. But by His offering of Himself, Jesus abolished that old sacrificial system, symbolized by the tearing of the veil in the temple (23:45). Those sacrifices could not permanently cleanse the worshipers (Heb. 10:1-4), but Jesus, by the one offering of Himself, once for all paid the price of our sins (Heb. 10:11-14)! This is why, by the way, the Roman Catholic celebration of the Mass is such an affront to God. They claim that the wafer actually becomes the body of Christ and that weekly they are sacrificing Him again and again, and that the worshipers must continually take His sacrifice in order to be progressively cleansed. But Scripture plainly proclaims that rather than suffering repeatedly, “now once at the consummation He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Heb. 9:26).
Jesus was rich, yet He became poor that we might be rich in Him.
When the soldiers gambled for the very last possession that Christ had on this earth, His clothing, He was literally stripped of everything. Calvin observes (p. 298,
For the Evangelists exhibit to us the Son of God stripped of his garments, in order to inform us, that by this nakedness we have obtained those riches which make us honorable in the presence of God. God determined that his own Son should be stripped of his raiment, that we, clothed with his righteousness and with abundance of all good things, may appear with boldness in company with the angels, whereas formerly our loathsome and disgraceful aspect, in tattered garments, kept us back from approaching to heaven.
Or, as Paul put it, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Cor. 8:9).
Jesus is full of mercy, love and forgiveness, yet He is the Judge of all.
I’ve already touched on this, so I will only mention it in passing. You see the Lord’s compassion in speaking to the women lamenting along the way to the cross. His thoughts were not on His own suffering, but on what they and their children would suffer. You see His compassion and mercy in His prayer for His persecutors, as well as with the thief on the cross. Yet, His mercy and love do not negate the sober fact of judgment. He was crucified in our place because God does not brush over sin. All sin will be judged. Either you trust in Jesus as the one who bore your judgment, or you will face it yourself.
Jesus is the crucified one with no followers, yet He is King of all.
Jesus was basically alone on the cross. John’s gospel records how that apostle, along with Mary, the mother of Jesus, were there at the cross. But the rest stood off at a distance. The sign over the cross, stating the criminal’s offense, read, “This is the King of the Jews.” It was Pilate’s dig at the Jewish leaders. They had forced him into crucifying Jesus, so he got back at them by saying, “Here is your Jewish King!”
But Luke wants us to see that Jesus is truly not only the King of the Jews, but of all the nations. Though He was crucified in shame, He is risen and coming again to reign in power and majesty. Luke wants each of us to ask, “Is the crucified Jesus my King?”
John Gordon was a respected general for the South in the Civil War. After the war, he was running for the U.S. Senate, but a man who had served under him in the war, angry over some political incident, was determined to see him defeated. During the convention, he angrily stamped down the aisle with his anti-Gordon vote in hand. As he saw Gordon sitting on the platform, he noticed how his once handsome face was disfigured with the scars of battle. Overcome with emotion, he exclaimed, “It’s no use; I can’t do it. Here’s my vote for John Gordon.” Then, turning to the general, he said, “Forgive me, General. I had forgotten the scars.”
If your love for the Lord has grown cold, go back to the cross and remember the scars—not just the physical scars, but the scars of God’s wrath that Jesus bore in your place. Let His amazing love turn your heart from sin and give you more devotion to serve Him.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Hello! My name is Rufus. I’m one of the laborers in the cause of Christ in the church at Rome. I’m a good friend of the Apostle Paul. In fact, we’re like brothers, you might say. He spent some time with my family when we lived in another part of the Empire, and my mother became like a second mother to Paul (Rom. 16:13). So I feel like he’s a part of the family.
But I didn’t come here to talk primarily about myself, but rather about my father. It was his godly life that influenced and motivated me to be faithful to the Lord. He’s with the Lord now, but some of the lessons he learned in the school of faith are the foundation for my life, and I’d like to share them with you.
Dad’s name was Simon (we are Jewish in spite of my Roman name) and he hailed from Cyrene, on the northern coast of Africa in what you know as Libya. He met the Lord Jesus in a most unusual and unexpected manner. Dad was a faithful man, looking and praying for God’s promised Messiah to come and deliver His people from their sins. Before he left home for his pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Passover that year, he told us that he was pleading with God for a time of unusual blessing, a time when his prayers of many years would be answered. How little did he suspect just how God would in fact answer his prayers in a way that he didn’t even recognize at the time!
In fact, Dad thought of it as an irritating, humiliating interruption to his day that messed up the very reason he traveled all that way to Jerusalem—to celebrate the Passover. Dad remembers complaining, “The one time in my life that I’m finally able to come to Jerusalem for the Passover. I spend all the time and money for this one great day—and then this happens!” But I’m getting ahead of my story.
Dad had gone up to Jerusalem for the Passover, along with tens of thousands of other pilgrims. This was in the day before telephones, computers, and advance reservations, you understand. So when Dad arrived, he couldn’t find a room anywhere in the city. He found lodging a short distance out in the countryside. That unforgettable morning he was walking into the city between 8 and 9 a.m. to participate in the day’s activities at the temple. Just as he got to the city gate, he met a surging crowd coming out of the gate, which turned out to be led by a Roman execution squad, leading three condemned prisoners to be crucified.
Crucifixions were a common enough sight in our time, so Dad didn’t pay much attention to what was happening. He just stepped to the side and waited for the crowd to pass, thinking, “Poor wretches, I wonder what they did to deserve this?” and “I’d better hurry and get to the temple or I’ll miss some of the ceremonies I came all this way to see.”
The Roman soldiers in our day got a sadistic kick out of making a condemned man carry his own cross to the site of his execution. It was just another way they rubbed in their superiority and dominance over the peoples they ruled. Just as the group passed by where Dad was, one of the prisoners, who obviously had already been badly beaten and abused, slumped to the ground under the load of his cross. The soldiers kicked him and cursed at him to get up, but it was obvious that this prisoner just didn’t have the strength to go another step under the load of that heavy cross.
Before he knew what was happening, one of the soldiers shouted, “Hey, you!” He roughly grabbed Dad by the arm, dragged him toward the fallen prisoner, and barked, “You carry it for him!” The other soldiers laughed at Dad’s misfortune. Dad was stunned and protested, “But if I touch that cross, I’ll be defiled for the Passover.” That made the soldiers roar even louder! The guy who had grabbed Dad snarled, “It wasn’t a suggestion, buddy! It’s a command!” So Dad picked up the despised implement of death, hoisted it to his back, and fell in line behind the bloodied back of the prisoner who turned out, of course, to be Jesus.
Since he was already involved and his celebration of the Passover was messed up anyway, Dad decided to stick around and witness the brutal proceedings. It was a day that marked him forever. As Dad saw the sky grow dark and felt the earth shake, as he watched the way in which Jesus bore His suffering, how He treated His persecutors, what He said to the penitent thief hanging beside Him, Dad knew that this was no ordinary man. Dad heard Jesus cry out the words of Psalm 22:1, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Just before He died, Dad heard Him proclaim, “It is finished!” As Jesus breathed His last, Dad heard one of the centurions standing nearby exclaim, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” and Dad had the strange sense that he was right.
From that moment, Dad began to wonder if this Jesus could possibly have been the Messiah the prophet Isaiah (53:4-5) wrote about: “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell on Him, and by His scourging we are healed.” Later, Dad learned that the thick veil in the temple had been torn in two from top to bottom at that very moment, symbolizing what Jesus our Messiah had done in opening the way for us into God’s holy presence. Dad’s remaining questions were cleared up fifty days later at the Feast of Pentecost, as he heard Peter and the other apostles proclaiming the resurrection of Jesus. That day Dad, along with 3,000 others, put his faith in the resurrected Lord Jesus as his Messiah and Savior.
Dad’s life and our lives, as his family, would never be the same after that day. Dad led us to put our trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and we have devoted ourselves to serve Him. Later Dad shared with us some valuable lessons about salvation and service from his unusual experience that day, which I’d like to pass on to you. He taught us that …
Salvation is God’s doing and service means self-denial and sharing in Jesus’ suffering.
Dad came to see that nothing—especially not something as crucial as our salvation—ever happens to us by chance, even though it may seem that way to us. Salvation is God’s doing, not our doing, and certainly is not left to coincidence. “Think of it,” Dad used to muse aloud, “if I had slept in for a half-hour longer that morning or if I had gone into the city a half-hour earlier, I would have missed that encounter that forever marked my life! But God was there, behind the scenes, guiding my footsteps toward that life-changing moment. Praise to His Sovereign Name!”
I noticed a book in your pastor’s study (L’Abri [Tyndale House], p.53) in which the writer, Edith Schaeffer, observes,
The thing about real life is that important events don’t announce themselves. Trumpets don’t blow, drums don’t beat to let you know you are going to meet the most important person you’ve ever met, or read the most important thing you are ever going to read, or have the most important conversation you are ever going to have, or spend the most important week you are ever going to spend. Usually something that is going to change your whole life is a memory before you can be impressed about it. You don’t have a chance to get excited about that sort of thing … ahead of time.
Since life is that way, isn’t it great to know that all the days that were ordained for us were written in God’s book before we were ever born (Ps. 139:16)? We didn’t decide to choose Him before He chose us. In fact, He chose us before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). Dad didn’t decide to carry the cross that day. He had no plans or desire to go to Golgotha. He wanted to go to the temple. But he was chosen out of the crowd and conscripted to go to the cross. Later, Dad learned that Jesus had told His disciples, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit ...” (John 15:16). Dad used to reminisce and tell us, “Salvation is God’s doing, not our doing.”
Then he would add, “And God’s salvation is in spite of our sin, not because we deserve it!” Dad knew that if he hadn’t carried that cross that day, someone else would have. The execution was certain to be carried out. And yet Dad said that he always felt kind of responsible as he watched the soldiers drive those spikes through Jesus’ hands into that beam that he had carried.
Later, Dad came to realize in a much deeper sense that his own sin really was responsible for the crucifixion of Christ. He came to this earth to give His life as a ransom for sinners. Each of us is guilty of enough sin to put the spotless Lamb of God on that cross. Salvation is totally because of God’s unmerited favor. Later, because of Dad’s experience, I came to realize that although I was raised in a Christian home, I was a sinner who needed a Savior. I put my trust in Christ as my sin-bearer. But Dad not only learned something about salvation. He also learned something about serving Christ:
After he became a Christian, Dad said that for him one of the most meaningful sayings of Jesus was, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). Dad got an object lesson that day on the meaning of that verse that he never forgot. He passed it on to me.
Many people are confused about that verse. They think that their burdens and problems are their “cross” in life. They drearily sigh, “Well, I guess that’s just the cross I have to bear.” But that’s not what Jesus was talking about.
The cross, you must realize, was not a source of irritation or even trouble; it was an instrument of death. To carry the cross meant that a man was on his way to die. When Jesus talked about denying myself and taking up my cross, He meant that I am to follow Him into death to myself. He wasn’t necessarily talking about martyrdom, although that might be the result in some cases. He was talking about a continual, repeated denial of one’s self on behalf of others as seen in His own example. It means saying no to my old self as the directive force in my life in order to say yes to the Lord Jesus as the new directive force in my life. James Stalker (The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ [Zondervan], pp. 81-82) expresses the idea well:
We tend to speak of trouble of any kind as a cross; and doubtless any kind of trouble may be borne bravely in the name of Christ. But, properly speaking, the cross of Christ is what is borne in the act of confessing Him or for the sake of His work. When anyone makes a stand for principle, because he is a Christian, and takes the consequences in the shape of scorn or loss, this is the cross of Christ. The pain you may feel in speaking to another in Christ’s name, the sacrifice of comfort or time you may make in engaging in Christian work, the self-denial you exercise in giving of your means that the cause of Christ may spread at home or abroad, the reproach you may have to bear by identifying yourself with militant causes or with despised persons, because you believe they are on Christ’s side—in such conduct lies the cross of Christ.
Of course Dad didn’t bear the cross voluntarily that first day. But he later came to learn that what he did that day by conscription he now could do willingly out of love for Jesus. He used to say that his trip to Calvary taught him three things about self-denial in Christian service:
First, Dad pointed out that he went someplace he did not want to go. Dad wanted to go to the temple to worship, but instead he ended up carrying a heavy cross to Golgotha to witness an execution. Instead of a joyful celebration, he was forced to watch a gruesome spectacle. Dad didn’t want to go where they forced him to go. But he went anyway, and the end result was blessing for him and his family.
It’s that way in serving Jesus. Sometimes He may want you to go someplace you really don’t want to go. “Anyplace but there, Lord!” But when you deny yourself and follow Him in obedience, you and your family are tremendously blessed.
Second, Dad did something he did not want to do. The cross is an offensive thing to us Jews. It was a symbol of Roman oppression. Rome reserved crucifixion for its foreign subjects and for the worst of its criminals. Only rarely were Romans subjected to this humiliating, torturous form of death. Besides, Dad had his best clothes on and that cross was dirty and covered with blood from Jesus’ scourged back. To have to carry on his shoulders this barbarous symbol of Roman oppression, and that on the day of the Passover, was repugnant to my father. And, it was extremely embarrassing! People along the way probably thought that Dad was the criminal on his way to execution. Yet carrying this despised cross was the means God used to draw him to salvation and blessing.
In serving Christ there are some things which have to be done at times that are very distasteful—bearing someone’s burdens, washing dirty feet, cleaning up after someone else’s mess, losing our reputation because of being identified with Jesus—that sort of thing. But when we deny ourselves and take up that despised task out of obedience to our Savior, we will be blessed.
Third, Dad followed someone he did not want to follow. Dad wasn’t interested in following that beaten, bloodied, condemned man who claimed to be the King of the Jews. He wanted to go his own way up to the temple where the Passover lamb was to be slain. But God wanted him to go to Golgotha where the true Passover Lamb was to be slain.
Sometimes in serving Jesus, it’s a lot more popular to go with the religious crowd in their way of doing things. There’s a popular “Jesus” out there. He’s not bloody and despised and forsaken. He’s healthy and wealthy. He exists to make you happy. But the Jesus Dad followed was the same one Paul later preached, the one who shames the wisdom of the wise: Christ crucified (1 Cor. 1:23). Even though carrying that cross was a shameful thing for my father that day, it became his glory. Dad knew what Paul meant when he wrote, “But may it never be that I should glory, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world” (Gal. 6:14).
Dad learned that service means self-denial in following Jesus. Also, he learned that ...
In carrying that cross, Dad felt very close to Jesus in His suffering. He had never seen Jesus before that moment. But as he picked up the cross, his eyes met Jesus’ eyes for a brief instant, and Dad saw a look of gratitude and love that burned into his soul. As he trudged behind that Man of Sorrows, Dad later felt like he had a part, however small, in sharing in Christ’s sufferings.
Isn’t that what Paul meant when he said that we are children of God, and “if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him in order that we may also be glorified with Him” (Rom. 8:17)? And isn’t that what Paul meant when he wrote about doing his share to fill up “that which is lacking in Christ’s afflictions” (Col. 1:24)?
It’s not that Christ’s death was insufficient, of course. Rather, it’s as if a great doctor labored and suffered to come up with a cure for cancer. He gave his very life to obtain that cure. But his cure remains useless if kept in the laboratory. It takes others to go out into the world, to toil and sacrifice themselves to take the cure to those who need it. In one sense, those who take the cure to others may be said to be filling up or completing the suffering of the one who made the cure available (adapted from William Barclay, Flesh and Spirit [Baker], pp. 80-81).
Christ’s death is complete and sufficient. But any suffering we endure to take the message to others or to stand against the tide for the sake of the gospel is our sharing in His sufferings. While at the time it is never fun and always difficult, some day we will look back on such suffering for the cause of Christ with great joy. James Stalker (The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ [pp. 83-84]) says it eloquently:
But think of how blessed to Simon would appear years later the cross-bearing which was at the time so bitter! No doubt it became the romance of his life. And to this day who can help envying him for being allowed to give his strength to the fainting Savior and to remove the burden from that bleeding and smarting back? So for all of us there is a day coming when any service we have done to Christ will be the memory of which we will be most proud. It will not be the recollection of the prizes we have won, the pleasures we have enjoyed, the discomforts we have escaped, that will come back to us with delight as we review life from its close; but, if we have denied ourselves and have borne the cross for Christ’s sake, the memory of that will be a pillow soft and satisfying for a dying head. In that day we shall wish that the minutes given to Christ’s service had been years, and the cents dollars; and every cup of cold water and every word of sympathy and every act of self-denial will be so pleasant to remember that we shall wish they had been multiplied a thousand times.
That day at the cross, my Dad, Simon of Cyrene, learned that salvation is God’s doing in spite of our sin. He also that service means self-denial in following Jesus and it means sharing in His suffering. Dad passed those lessons on to me, his son Rufus. I came to know God’s sovereign grace in my life. The Apostle Paul made reference to this when he wrote, “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord” [NIV] (Rom. 16:13). I served the Lord at the church in Rome, as did my mother, whom Paul considered as his own mother (Rom. 16:13).
Dads, if you want your families to know God’s grace personally and experientially, then make sure that you model it by going to the cross and learning the lesson of salvation. Be “diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you” (2 Pet. 1:10). And, go to the cross and learn the lesson of service. Deny yourself in daily service to your family and others. Endure hardship to take the gospel to others. As you model these things, your children will see what I saw, a dad who bore the cross.
There’s an intriguing postscript to the story of Rufus. Polycarp, Bishop of Symrna, a disciple of the Apostle John, wrote to the Philippian church in A.D. 135. He mentions, among others, a man named Rufus who had been martyred. If that is the Rufus of Mark 15:21 and Romans 16:13, then he really did learn the lessons in cross-bearing from his father, Simon of Cyrene.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Several years ago when our family vacationed in the Canadian Rockies, we drove up to the Athabasca Glacier. There are signs warning you not to walk out on the glacier. A ranger told us that one year before to the day, a German man had ignored the signs and walked out there. A snow bridge over a hidden crevasse had collapsed and he fell in. Before they could get him out, he had frozen to death. Yet in spite of the warning signs and the extreme danger, there were dozens of tourists, including families with children, walking out on the glacier as if they were strolling in a park!
There are times that you are in great danger, but you don’t even know it. Since the greatest danger of all is the danger of dying and facing God’s eternal punishment, there are none in greater danger than those who are oblivious to that threat. These people stroll through life a heartbeat away from hell, yet they never even think about God’s wrath. It never occurs to them that they will face His judgment on their sins. Such people need to be awakened to their great need so that they will flee to the only remedy, God’s abundant grace in the cross of Jesus Christ.
Those standing around watching the crucifixion were in grave spiritual danger, but most of them were oblivious to it. The Roman soldiers saw it as just another day’s work. It was a nasty job at times, but someone had to do it and it did pay the bills. Some in the crowd saw it as a gruesome, but interesting spectacle. Many were saddened, thinking that a good man was being treated cruelly and unjustly, but they made no connection between their sin and His death. They saw it as a political vendetta that the Jewish leaders had against Jesus, a prophet who had overstepped the line by confronting their sins. The Jewish leaders were mostly relieved, glad to get rid of this troublesome prophet who was hindering their temple business. So the people were in varying degrees of spiritual danger, but they were oblivious to it.
Into this scene comes a cry from Jesus on the cross that reveals both the sinners’ great need and God’s greater grace, “Father forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” It was the first of seven final sentences recorded for us in all the gospels that Jesus spoke from the cross. Luke only records three of them; we will look at the other two in future messages.
Jesus’ prayer reveals our great need and God’s greater grace.
Before we look at some of the spiritual lessons of this prayer, we need to deal with the fact that it is missing from some early significant manuscripts of the New Testament. We do not possess any original New Testament manuscripts, so when there are variations, we have to compare all of the readings that we have and try to determine which is most likely the original.
Two types of evidence must be weighed. The external evidence evaluates the manuscripts themselves, as to which reading has the earliest and most trustworthy support. In this case, the manuscript evidence seems to lean toward the omission of the verse from Luke’s original gospel (Darrell Bock, Luke [Baker], 2:1868; Bruce Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, second ed., [United Bible Societies], p. 154).
However, we must also consider the internal evidence. This examines different reasons that a variant may have occurred. In the case of this verse, it is probably easier to explain the prayer’s omission than its insertion. In light of the severe judgment on Jerusalem in A.D. 70, a later scribe may have thought that Jesus’ prayer was unanswered and hence left it out. There are some other reasons to argue for its being original to Luke, or at the very least, a genuine cry of Jesus from the cross that was later inserted here (see Bock). It breathes the same spirit of forgiveness toward one’s enemies that Jesus taught in Luke 6:27-36.
But even if we assume that it is original to Luke, we need to think carefully about the verse, since many have concluded things from it that contradict other Scriptures. Note briefly four things that this prayer was not:
This was not a prayer for pardon apart from repentance, since such a thing is foreign to Scripture.
In other words, Jesus was not conferring God’s pardon on those who crucified Him no matter how they continued living. God never forgives sin apart from the genuine repentance and faith of the sinner. Jesus’ prayer that God would forgive was a prayer that His persecutors would repent and believe.
This was not a prayer to cancel God’s temporal judgment on Israel.
In the verses just preceding, Jesus told the women of Jerusalem to weep for themselves and for their children, because God would bring such terrible judgment on the nation that they would wish that they had never had children. He is not negating that here.
This was not a prayer for every person in the crowd that day, but only for some.
If it pertained to everyone, then everyone (including Caiaphas and the other wicked leaders who instigated the crucifixion) would have been saved, but we know that that did not happen. We know that this prayer was answered, because Jesus never prayed an unanswered prayer. While it is true that God spared Jerusalem from judgment for another 40 years, allowing many to come to faith, Jesus’ prayer was not just for sparing the city, but for forgiveness, which means God’s salvation. It is not enough to say that Jesus provided the possibility of salvation for all, since He prays for actual forgiveness for those who were ignorantly killing Him.
So we must understand Jesus’ prayer as applying to those in the crowd whom the Father had chosen to give to the Son, but who had not yet come to faith in Him. In John 6:37-39, Jesus taught that the Father had already given to the Son a particular number of souls, and that Jesus would not lose any of them. Further, in John 17, on the night before His crucifixion, Jesus again mentions in His prayer that the Father has given some to the Son so that the Son may give them eternal life (17:2). He specifically prays for them, not for the whole world (17:9). While God’s forgiveness is available to all who will come to Jesus (John 6:37b), the Bible is clear that the only ones who will come are those whom God draws (John 6:44, 65). Thus we would be mistaken to say that Jesus is here asking God to forgive everyone. Christ laid down His life for His sheep (John 10:14-15, 26). They are the only ones who experience God’s forgiveness.
This was not a prayer granting forgiveness to all who are spiritually ignorant.
Jesus’ reason, “for they do not know what they are doing,” did not apply equally to all in the crowd that day. The Roman soldiers were the most spiritually ignorant, in that they did not know the Hebrew Scriptures that prophesied of Jesus. They had not heard His teaching or seen His miracles. For them, executing this man was just another day’s work. They were the most spiritually ignorant of any in the crowd that day. But, their spiritual ignorance did not absolve them of responsibility and guilt before God. Even though they were carrying out God’s predestined purpose (Acts 4:27-28), they were liable before God for a terrible crime.
Moving up on the guilt scale, the Jewish crowd knew more about Jesus than the Roman soldiers did. They knew that He was a great prophet at the very least. They knew that He lived a blameless life and that He faithfully taught God’s Word. Many of them had seen the evidence of God’s hand on Jesus through His miracles. But, they were somewhat powerless to stop their religious leaders from their evil ways. Like us when our political leaders are wicked, they shook their heads in disgust, but there wasn’t much that they could do. So their guilt was greater than that of the Roman soldiers, in that they knew more about what was happening. But even though they may have been ignorant with regard to Jesus’ true identity and unable to stop the crucifixion, they were nonetheless guilty before God.
The most guilty in the crowd were the religious leaders, since they were rejecting the greatest light. They knew the Scriptures better than the average citizen. They knew that Jesus fulfilled the many Scriptural prophecies about Messiah. They, too, had seen His mighty works, including the recent raising of Lazarus from the dead. They knew that Jesus’ teaching confronted their pride, greed, and lust for power. In John 15:22-25, Jesus said,
“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have both seen and hated Me and My Father as well. But they have done this in order that the word may be fulfilled that is written in their Law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’”
Thus the guilt of the Jewish leaders was the greatest because they sinned against the greatest light.
But, why then does Jesus seem to use spiritual ignorance as an excuse when He prays, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing”? Peter picks up this theme in his sermon in Acts 3:17, where he tells his audience, “I know that you acted in ignorance, just as your rulers did also.” Paul echoes a similar theme in Acts 13:27, where he says that both the residents and rulers in Jerusalem, “recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him.” In 1 Corinthians 2:8, he states that if the rulers of this world had understood God’s wisdom, “they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” Regarding his personal testimony, Paul states that even though he was formerly a blasphemer, persecutor, and violent aggressor, he was shown mercy, because he “acted ignorantly in unbelief” (1 Tim. 1:13).
In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul explains that in the case of those who are perishing, “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” In that sense, every unconverted person is spiritually ignorant. And yet, clearly, God holds every person accountable for his sin and He will judge every person who does not repent and believe in Jesus. No one will be able to stand before God and plead ignorance to escape hell.
In light of these verses, I understand Jesus’ prayer (and Peter’s and Paul’s words) to be reflecting the Hebrew concept of unintentional sins of ignorance as opposed to sins of willful defiance (Num. 15:22-31; Lev. 4:2; 5:18; 22:14). For sins of ignorance, an offering was available to remove guilt (Heb. 9:7). But for willful, brazen defiance, the person was without hope. The author of Hebrews picks up on this when he writes, “For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment” (Heb. 10:26-27a). I understand this to be tantamount to the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, for which there is no forgiveness (Matt. 12:30-32).
Thus I argue that there were some in the crowd who were beyond the scope of Jesus’ prayer. Some of the Jewish leaders had committed the unpardonable sin, attributing Jesus’ works to Satan. They were not ignorant and they could not be forgiven. Other Jewish leaders (and only God knew their hearts), like Paul, were zealous for their Jewish system, but they were ignorant of Jesus’ identity. Many of them, like Paul, found mercy. Others, like the Jewish crowd, were even more ignorant, and many of them came to experience God’s forgiveness. Probably many of the Roman soldiers also found hope in Christ through the witness of the early church. But, while the level of spiritual ignorance may lessen the level of guilt, ignorance is no excuse when it comes to the final judgment. All stand guilty and condemned before God, as Paul argues so forcefully in Romans 1-3.
Now let’s focus on four spiritual applications that we can draw from Jesus’ prayer:
While ignorance lessens guilt, it never removes it. If it did, we should leave the heathen to go on in their spiritual darkness without the gospel. But, as Paul argues in Romans 1:18-20:
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
A. W. Pink (The Seven Sayings of the Savior on the Cross [Baker], p. 14) states,
Sin is always sin in the sight of God whether we are conscious of it or not. Sins of ignorance need atonement just as truly as do conscious sins. God is Holy, and He will not lower His standard of righteousness to the level of our ignorance. Ignorance is not innocence.
One mark of genuine conversion is that God is revealing to you more and more the depths of your own sinfulness. At the point of conversion, your eyes are opened and you see how evil you have been, living for yourself, ignoring the cross of Christ and the holiness of God’s law. As you begin to read God’s Word, your eyes are opened more and more, so that you see with greater clarity how holy God is and how corrupt your heart is. You realize how much you have offended God, even as a believer. This increasing knowledge of your own sinfulness drives you to cling more tightly to the cross of Christ where His mercy is revealed.
John Newton reflects this tension beautifully (cited without reference by F. F. Bruce, The Book of Acts [Eerdmans], p. 91):
Alas! I knew not what I did,
But now my tears are vain;
Where shall my trembling soul be hid?’
For I my Lord have slain.
A second look He gave, which said:
“I freely all forgive;
This blood is for thy ransom shed;
I die, that thou mayest live.”
Thus, while His death my sin displays
In all its blackest hue;
Such is the mystery of grace,
It seals my pardon too.
With pleasing grief and mournful joy
My spirit now is filled,
That I should such a life destroy,
Yet live through Him I killed.
Newton’s words lead to the second lesson of Jesus’ prayer:
Jesus’ prayer fulfilled the words of Isaiah 53:12, “He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.” J. C. Ryle remarks, “As soon as the blood of the Great Sacrifice began to flow, the Great High Priest began to intercede” (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [Baker], Luke 11-24, p. 467). Thankfully, His mercy is not based on our merit or degree of sinlessness, or none could qualify. It is based simply on His sovereign grace, given freely to those who deserve His wrath.
Jesus’ prayer for those who crucified Him should teach us never to put a limit on God’s saving grace. We often do that, don’t we? We see someone who is so evil that we mistakenly think that he is beyond God’s saving grace. It is not so! God delights to save the chief of sinners as a trophy of His abundant mercy (1 Tim. 1:15-16). Terrible sins in your past should never hinder you from coming to the cross of Christ for mercy. In fact, the greater danger is that those of us raised in Christian homes will not lay hold of God’s grace because we mistakenly think that we’re good enough not to need it. We all need it! Thank God, none can exhaust it!
Jesus is our great example. He was free from all bitterness toward those who did this evil deed toward Him. Most people in Jesus’ situation would have uttered curses and threats toward their enemies, but would have had no power to carry them out. Jesus had the power to obliterate His enemies, but He uttered no threats. Peter calls us to follow Jesus’ example, who “while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously” (1 Pet. 2:23).
The fact is, God will be glorified both in His gracious salvation of His elect and in His just judgment on the reprobate. The salvation of His elect glorifies His love, mercy, and grace. The condemnation of the wicked glorifies His justice and righteousness. But, I think that I can defend the view that God is more glorified in His mercy than in His judgment. When He revealed Himself to Moses, He goes on and on emphasizing that He is “compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin.” Only then does He mention, with less emphasis, that “He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished” (Exod. 34:6-7).
This means that as God’s people, we must go overboard on showing mercy to those who have wronged us. We can leave the matter of judgment to God. If sinners do not repent, then one day we will rejoice and wash our feet in the blood of the wicked (Ps. 58:10) when God judges them in righteousness. But we must follow the clear command and example of our Savior, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you” (Luke 6:27-28). We have been forgiven a debt of sin that we could never repay. We must show forgiveness to those who have wronged us (Matt. 18:21-35).
When your friends have wronged you and forsaken you, when those who hate God have persecuted you even to the point of imprisonment and impending death, you will be tempted to think that God has forsaken you, too. But here, at the time above all other times in history when it would seem that God was not at the helm of the universe, when evil seemed to be winning, Jesus addresses God in the most intimate way, “Father.” He always addressed God in that way, except in the one instance of His cry from the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” In that moment, He was bearing our sin so that we would never have to be forsaken by God. Thus when we face extreme trials, we need to draw near to our Heavenly Father, not drift away from Him.
But, to know and trust God as your loving Father in a time of trial, you must know Him as such before the trial hits. If you are not walking in intimacy with God before the trial hits, it is not likely that you will know how to flee to Him when it hits. Jesus knew God intimately as His loving and sovereign Father. He knew that nothing happens apart from His purpose of good for His children. Thus Jesus, for the joy set before Him, could endure the cross, despising the shame.
John Bunyan, author of Pilgrim’s Progress, was in Bedford jail, imprisoned for preaching the gospel. He wrote (cited by F. B. Meyer, Tried By Fire [CLC], p. 113)
This prison very sweet to me
Hath been since I came here;
And so would also hanging be,
If Thou didst then appear.
Have you ever applied Jesus’ prayer to your life? Do you know God’s forgiveness because you have put your trust in Jesus Christ? Has He rescued you from the imminent danger of God’s judgment on your sin? Perhaps someone here is harboring bitterness toward those who have wronged you. If you don’t root it out, it will short circuit God’s grace in your life and defile many others (Heb. 12:15). You must entreat God for the grace to forgive, so that His mercy might flow through you to others. Even if it seems that He has abandoned you, you must draw near to Him as your faithful Father, pouring out your needs to Him in prayer. Then, even if the world hangs you on a cross, as it did His Son, it will be sweet to you because you will know His presence.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
By his own admission, old Joe was not a religious man. He had never gone to church. He lived a pretty wild life. He drank too much, gambled a lot, swore without even thinking about it, and was not above lying and cheating when it was to his advantage. He thought that Christians were missing out on all the fun in life. He never thought much about God. Not until recently, that is.
Joe had retired and was looking forward to doing a lot of fishing. He had been having some stomach troubles. Probably too much beer, he thought. But then the doctor’s report came back: cancer. It had spread to several organs. There wasn’t much they could do. Joe might have six months to live, maybe less.
Joe had a nephew who was a Christian. One day his nephew’s pastor dropped by the hospital and began to talk to Joe about spiritual things. For the first time in his life, Joe listened with interest. What the pastor was saying seemed to make sense. It dawned on Joe that he had lived his whole life in a selfish, sinful manner. He knew that if he died, he would face God’s judgment. But the pastor said that Jesus Christ had died on the cross to pay the penalty that he deserved. He offered forgiveness of sins and eternal life as a free gift if Joe would receive it. Joe prayed to receive Christ. He died in peace shortly after, a deathbed conversion.
Whenever we hear stories like that, hand we’re glad and hopeful. But we always have the nagging question, “Was Joe’s conversion real?” Was he truly saved? Can a person live his entire life in sin, but get saved at the very last moment? Are deathbed conversions possible?
Of course we never can know another person’s heart. We can look for evidence of conversion, but the troublesome thing about deathbed conversions is that the person often does not live long enough to give much evidence of true conversion. So we might be inclined to doubt the possibility of deathbed conversions and give up sharing the gospel with those like Joe.
To calm our doubts and to encourage us to share the gospel with those on the brink of death, the Bible includes a story of a genuine deathbed conversion. The dying thief on the cross asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom, and Christ assured him that he would be with Him that very day in Paradise. The story has much to teach us not only about deathbed conversions, but about any conversion.
By God’s grace, deathbed conversions are possible for any sinner who will repent and trust in Jesus Christ.
As John Calvin remarks, “There is … no room to doubt that [Christ] is prepared to admit into his kingdom all, without exception, who shall apply to him” (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], “A Harmony of the Gospels,” 3:313).
One reason we struggle with deathbed conversions is that we erroneously cling to the notion that salvation is linked to human works. Let’s say that old Joe had a wife named Mary, a sweet, kind lady who went to church almost every week of her life. She was nice to everyone. She thought that all good people would go to heaven, no matter what they believe. If you asked Mary why God should let her into heaven when she died, she would tell you that she had tried her best to live a good life. She had never intentionally hurt anyone. She believed in God and went to church.
According to the Bible, Mary, who had lived a good, religious life, would die and go to hell. Her husband Joe, who had lived a wicked, irreligious life, but who repented and believed in Christ on his deathbed, would die and go to heaven. We’re inclined to say, “Wait a minute! That’s not fair!” The second we think that, we reveal that we do not understand God’s grace. We are still clinging to salvation by human works. But the Bible repeatedly proclaims that we are saved by God’s grace alone, not by any works or merit of our own (Eph. 2:8-9; Rom. 4:4-5; Titus 3:5). Those who try to add their works actually deny the gospel and come under God’s condemnation (see Gal. 1:6-9 in context).
Jesus illustrated this truth in a parable (Matt. 20:1-16). A landowner went out early in the morning and hired workers for his vineyard. He agreed to pay them a fair day’s wage. Later in the morning, he saw some other men standing idle in the marketplace, so he hired them and told them that he would pay them a fair wage. At noon and in mid-afternoon, he did the same thing. Finally, about five o’clock in the afternoon, he hired some others. When evening came, he paid all the workers the same, a full day’s wage. But the men who had worked all day grumbled because these men who had only worked one hour got the same wage that they received after working hard all day. But the landowner said, “I paid you what we agreed on. If I wish to be generous to this last man, that’s my privilege. I can do what I want with that which is my own.”
Jesus was teaching that salvation is by God’s free grace, not based on man’s merit or works. If God wants to dispense it to someone that we think unworthy, that is His business. In God’s sight we are all unworthy. No one has a valid claim against God. If, before they are born, He chooses to love the conniving Jacob but to hate the nice guy Esau, so that His “purpose according to election might stand, not because of works, but because of Him who calls” (Rom. 9:11-13), that is God’s prerogative. If He chooses to be gracious to a thief just before he dies and to leave a religious Pharisee to die and face judgment for his pride and self-righteousness, that is God’s prerogative. We have to get rid of the proud notion that salvation depends on even the least amount of human merit, effort, or good works.
How much could this thief do to merit eternal life? He could not clean up his life! He couldn’t promise to do better in the future. He had no future! He had made a complete mess of his life. He did not say, “If I had it to do over, I would be a better person.” He had nothing to argue, nothing to promise, nothing to bring to Christ as collateral for salvation. He simply asked for something he did not deserve, “Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!” And, Jesus granted his request without strings attached!
If you have lived a good life, you are not an inch closer to heaven than the thief who has lived a wicked life. In fact, you may have more trouble trusting in Christ alone, because your good works fill you with pride and self-righteousness. God’s salvation is always given in one way and one way only: by His free grace, totally apart from any human merit. That way, no one can boast.
You may not have noticed, but both criminals asked Jesus to save them. He ignored the request of the first, but granted the request of the second. Why the difference? The first thief did not ask in repentance and faith; the second thief did. The first thief was angry, bitter, and railing against Jesus. He did not face up to his own sin. Jesus didn’t even try to witness to him. He let him die in his hardness of heart. The second thief was repentant, subdued, and trusting. Jesus graciously granted his request and assured him that he would be with Him in Paradise that day.
The two radically different responses show us that not all that come into contact with Christ respond favorably. Some are hardened by the very same message that softens others. The difference does not originate in the human heart, but in God’s grace. Sinful people are not capable of exercising repentance and faith by their own “free will.” The fallen human will is “fast bound in sin and nature’s night,” as Charles Wesley put it (“And Can It Be?”). The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God, unable to subject itself to God’s law, and unable to please God (Rom. 8:7-8). The natural man cannot understand the things of God (1 Cor. 2:14), because Satan has blinded his mind to the gospel (2 Cor. 4:4). Thus God must graciously grant both repentance (Acts 11:18) and faith (Phil. 1:29).
Both Matthew 27:44 and Mark 15:32 state that both robbers were casting insults at Jesus. Luke alone mentions the conversion of the one robber. It is inconceivable that a careful historian like Luke would have concocted this story to make a point, as liberals assert. Among those who hold to its veracity, some say that Matthew and Mark attribute to both robbers what was done only by one. I prefer the view that at first both robbers railed against Jesus. Perhaps the second robber was wrongly led along by the first, even as he had been in his earlier life of crime. But as he watched Jesus’ demeanor on the cross, as he heard no curses or threats come out of Jesus’ mouth, as he heard Jesus pray for forgiveness for His persecutors, he began to be convicted of his sin. He saw his own sin in contrast to Jesus’ clear innocence. He stopped joining the other thief in mocking Jesus. The more he heard the other thief continue his blasphemous taunts, the more it bothered him. He finally spoke out in defense of Jesus, admitting his own guilt (23:40-41). He turned from his sin. That’s repentance.
A repentant person stops blaming God and others for his problems and admits his own guilt and sin. The repentant thief wasn’t blaming the system, his parents, or his environment. He admitted that he was getting what he deserved for his wrongdoing. Before, he could steal and shrug it off. He probably excused it by saying that he just couldn’t help it. Whereas before he did not fear God or even think about God’s judgment, now he did (23:40). That is repentance: owning up to your sin and turning from it because you now fear God.
One of the most difficult sins to repent of is the sin of trusting in your own good works. But to bring your own merit or good deeds is an affront to God, who gave His own Son as the necessary satisfaction for His wrath against sin. It detracts from His free grace to add your works to it, as if the death of Christ was not sufficient. You have to come to the same place that this robber was, admitting that you justly deserve God’s judgment for your sins.
Perhaps you’re thinking, “Now wait a minute! I may not be perfect. I have my share of faults. But I’m not in the same league as this robber! But A. W. Pink (The Seven Sayings of the Saviour on the Cross [Baker], p. 32, italics his) points out that we all are robbers of the worst sort, because we have robbed God. He explains,
Suppose that a firm in the East appointed an agent to represent them in the West, and that every month they forwarded to him his salary. But suppose also at the end of the year his employers discovered that though the agent had been cashing the checks they sent him, nevertheless, he had served another firm all that time. Would not that agent be a thief? Yet this is precisely the situation and state of every sinner. He has been sent into this world by God, and God has endowed him with talents and the capacity to use and improve them. God has blessed him with health and strength; He has supplied his every need, and provided innumerable opportunities to serve and glorify Him. But with what result? The very things God has given him have been mis-appropriated. The sinner has served another master, even Satan. He dissipates his strength and wastes his time in the pleasures of sin. He has robbed God.
So every person, whether outwardly good or evil, must repent. But repentance is never alone. It is always the flip side of the coin with faith. True repentance is always bound up with saving faith. The words are often used interchangeably or in close connection in the Bible (Mark 1:15; Acts 11:18, 21; 17:30, 34; 20:21).
This thief’s only hope was Jesus Christ. If Jesus were not coming into any kingdom, if Jesus did not have the ability or power to do anything for this dying thief, his hopes would be shattered. The other thief probably scoffed in disgust at the “stupidity” of his partner in crime. Jesus hardly looked the part of a king. He was a badly wounded, dying man, in obvious physical pain. His persecutors were taunting Him and He did not seem to be able to do anything about it. He certainly didn’t look the part of the Jewish Messiah. But the second thief looked at Jesus with eyes of faith. He placed all his hopes for eternity on Jesus. That is saving faith.
John Calvin (3:311-312) remarks that since the creation of the world, there has not been a more remarkable and striking example of faith than this thief. He adored “Christ as a King while on the gallows.” He celebrated His kingdom “in the midst of shocking and worse than revolting abasement.” He declared Him, “when dying, to be the Author of life.” He “beheld life in death, exaltation in ruin, glory in shame, victory in destruction, a kingdom in bondage.” In short, the thief “relied on the grace of Christ alone.”
We do not know whether this man had heard anything about Jesus before this day. We are not told whether these few words were the only conversation between them on the cross, or whether this is a condensed version of a more extensive exchange. Certainly this thief could not have expounded on the two natures of Jesus. He may not have understood that He is God. But he could see that Jesus was no ordinary man. He knew enough about Jesus to hope that He would be merciful to him in the life to come.
A sinner does not have to be a knowledgeable theologian to have saving faith in Jesus Christ, but he must know something about the person and work of Christ. This thief knew that Jesus was an innocent man (23:41). A sinner cannot bear the sins of others because he must bear his own sins. Jesus was our sinless substitute. The thief knew that Jesus was truly a king, even though rejected by His people. Thus he submitted to Jesus’ rightful sovereignty. He knew that Jesus would triumph over the grave, and come again in His kingdom, no matter how hopeless the present situation seemed. He knew that Jesus was ready and able to save any that called upon Him, or else he would not have asked Jesus to remember him when He came in His kingdom.
The point is, faith is not just a general belief in God. It is not closing your eyes and taking a leap in the dark. It is not, “I believe for every drop of rain that falls, a flower grows.” It is not believing in God, however you conceive Him to be. Faith must be in the Jesus revealed in Scripture, not in the Jesus of a person’s imagination. Faith must be in the Lord Jesus Christ who offered Himself in the place of sinners. Thus people need some knowledge of what Scripture says before they can believe unto salvation. Encourage people to whom you are witnessing to read the Bible. When a sinner’s eyes are opened and he sees something of who Jesus is and trusts in Him, God pours out His mercy on him.
This thief received instantly and without condition far more than he had hoped for. He asked to be remembered in the future; Jesus promised him Paradise that day. He asked merely to be remembered in the sense of just getting in the gate of the kingdom; Jesus promised that he would be with Him personally. He asked, not knowing what kind of response he would get; Jesus assured him, “Truly I say to you.”
Please note that Jesus did not prescribe a course of penance for this guilty man. Penance is based on human works, not God’s free grace. Jesus promised the robber eternal life apart from anything the man did or promised to do. Jesus did not say, “You will be with me in Paradise in 100 years, after the fires of purgatory burn off some of your sins.” To hold to the doctrine of purgatory is to deny the gospel of God’s grace as revealed in Scripture. James Stalker (The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ [Zondervan], p. 117) writes, “We may be sure that our gospel is not the gospel of Him who comforted the penitent thief, unless we are able to offer even to a dying sinner a salvation immediate, joyful, and complete.”
Calvin (p. 314) wisely observes that what Christ promised the robber did not alleviate his present sufferings. The soldiers didn’t come and take him down from the cross and nurse his wounds. Jesus didn’t heal him or shield him from ongoing pain. Even so, when a sinner comes to salvation, God does not remove all his afflictions in this life. But he does promise us something better, namely, Paradise with Him throughout eternity!
We’ve seen that salvation is freely offered to any sinner who will repent and trust in Jesus Christ. But is it ever too late?
After death, there is no chance of salvation (Heb. 9:27). But before then, God can save him, even if he has a history of notorious sin. So the question arises, “Why not plan a deathbed conversion?” Why not enjoy the pleasures of sin now, but turn to God at the last moment? There are several reasons that this is not a wise plan:
*If you reject the light that you have now, your heart will be hardened toward the gospel later. Esau could not find a place for repentance, even though he sought for it with tears (Heb. 12:17). Your heart does not remain neutral throughout life. If you hear the gospel but reject it, your heart grows more callous toward the things of God. Besides, it has been pointed out that this thief did not hear the gospel all of his life, and finally open his heart to it just before he died. This was his first encounter with Jesus and he grabbed it!
*A life of selfish, sinful living does not bring joy, either presently or in eternity. While sin offers certain pleasures at the moment, it always takes a devastating toll on the person. Numerous sexual encounters with different partners may hold a certain thrill, but it cannot offer the lasting joy of faithfulness and intimacy within lifelong covenant marriage. Such a life will leave you empty and perhaps infected with venereal disease. Drugs and alcohol may give a momentary high or a cushion against life’s problems, but they devastate those enslaved by them. Only a life lived in submission to God brings solid joys and lasting pleasure.
*Not all dying people have an opportunity to repent. Not everyone has adequate warning that death is just ahead. There are young people here today that will step into eternity sooner than some of those advanced in years. Some here in good health will die before others who are in poor health. The fact is, we all are dying people, and unless we repent now, we may easily perish (Luke 13:3, 5).
Conclusion
A wise Puritan wrote, “We have one account of a deathbed repentance in order that no man need despair; we have only one, in order that no man may presume.” By all means, share Christ with those on their deathbeds, in hopes that God in His grace will save them. But also, by all means, make sure that you do not presume on God’s grace by putting off repentance and faith in Christ for another time. You may not have that opportunity!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Dying words, especially when spoken in the throes of persecution or great suffering, are significant. They often reveal a man’s true values. Some of my favorite last words came from the English martyr Hugh Latimer. He was tied back to back with Nicolas Ridley as the two were burned at the stake. He called out as the flames were lit, “Be of good comfort, brother Ridley, and play the man; we shall this day light such a candle, by God’s grace, in England, as I trust never shall be put out.” As the fire was kindled, Ridley cried out, “Lord, into Thy hands I commend my spirit: Lord, receive my spirit!” He repeated the latter phrase often. Latimer cried out, “Father of heaven, receive my soul!” (J. C. Ryle, Light from Old Times [Evangelical Press], p. 163.)
Another English martyr, John Bradford, turned to a young man who suffered with him and said, “Be of good comfort, brother; for we shall have a merry supper with the Lord this night.” His final words as the flames licked around him were, “Strait is the way, and narrow is the gate, that leadeth to eternal salvation, and few there be that find it” (Ryle, p. 197).
Shortly before he died, John Calvin dictated a letter to his friend, William Farel, in which he said, “I have great difficulty in breathing and expect at any time to breathe my last. It is enough for me to live and to die in Christ, who is gain to those who belong to him, whether in life or in death.” Calvin’s friend and successor, Theodore Beza, who was with him at his death, wrote, “We can truly say that in this one man God has been pleased to demonstrate to us in our day the way to live well and to die well” (Theodore Beza, The Life of John Calvin [Evangelical Press], pp. 116, 118).
As Christians, we all desire, in Paul’s words, that “Christ shall even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death” (Phil. 1:20). We want not only to live to His glory, but also to die to His glory. We want to die well.
Our greatest example of dying well is the Lord Jesus Christ. From the cross, as His life was ebbing out of Him, Jesus uttered seven recorded cries. The first was the cry of forgiveness, “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). It shows us His forgiving spirit and teaches us how we should forgive those who have wronged us.
His second utterance was the word of salvation, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:43). It shows us His great mercy toward sinners, and that the salvation He is both able and willing to confer on every repentant sinner is by grace alone, apart from human works.
Jesus’ third cry was the word of love towards His mother, “Woman, behold your son,” and then to the apostle John, “Behold, your mother!” (John 19:26-27), showing us the importance of loving and caring for our parents.
His fourth cry, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matt. 27:46; Mark 15:34) shows us His agony in bearing our sins. We learn of His great love in being willing to be cursed of God on our behalf.
His fifth cry, “I am thirsty” (John 19:28), shows us His physical suffering, that He who died in our place was fully human. John records that Jesus uttered it “in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled,” thus teaching us that whether in the throes of suffering or death, our lives should be in accord with God’s Word.
Jesus’ sixth cry, “It is finished” (John 19:30) proclaims the great fact that Jesus accomplished the work for which the Father sent Him into this world. His death secured our redemption, so that we cannot add anything to it. Rather than trusting in our own good works, we must trust in Christ alone and Him crucified.
Jesus’ final cry is the one we come to in our study of Luke, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit.” With these words, Jesus breathed His last. With many dying men, you must bend down near them and listen carefully as they are barely able to whisper their final words. But Jesus cried out His final words with a loud voice. His enemies had accused Him of calling God His Father, thus equating Himself with God (John 5:18). They mocked Him on the cross, saying that God no longer delighted in Him or else He would rescue Him. But Jesus here shows that God was even in this moment still His Father and that He trusted the Father to receive His spirit. We see Jesus dying even as He lived, in total dependence upon the Father, submissive to His will. With these final words, Jesus shows us how to die well:
To die well, you must live and die by trusting in God.
The words are a quotation from Psalm 31:5, where David expresses his trust in God. But Jesus makes two changes: He adds the word “Father”; and, He omits the phrase, “You have ransomed me, O Lord, God of truth.” Jesus knew God intimately as Father in a way that even David could not. And, unlike David, Jesus did not need to be ransomed or redeemed, since He had no sin. But even though Jesus prayed this Psalm uniquely as the Son of God, we can learn from His example how to trust in God each day so that we are prepared, when the time comes, to die well. I’ll focus on four lessons:
In the first recorded words of Jesus, He called God His Father: “Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49). Three of Jesus’ final seven cries from the cross were prayers. In the first and the last, Jesus addressed God as Father. Only in the second, as He was bearing our sin, did He cry out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” During that horrible time, the greatest mystery in all of history took place as God the Father turned His back on God the Son as He bore our sins. God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf (2 Cor. 5:21). The fact that just before He died, Jesus again comes back to the more intimate address, “Father,” shows that the worst agony of the cross, the bearing of our sins, was over. Jesus had drunk the cup of God’s wrath against sin. God was appeased and now fellowship was eternally restored, never to be broken again.
The only agony yet to be endured was to go through physical death, God’s curse on the fallen human race. As Jesus faced this final trial, suffering the horrible torture of the cross, He calls out, “Father,” and He entrusts Himself again to the Father’s keeping. In so doing, Jesus gives us an example of how we are to trust in God as our loving Father, even when we face the most difficult and horrible trials imaginable.
J. I. Packer, in his classic, Knowing God ([IVP], p. 182) writes,
If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. ‘Father’ is the Christian name for God.
Packer goes on to show that God has not left us to guess what the term “father” means by our drawing analogies from human fatherhood. Rather, in His Word He revealed the meaning of the word through Jesus’ relationship with His Heavenly Father. Packer (pp. 185-186) draws out four implications of this:
First, it implied authority. The Father commands and the Son obeys. Jesus came to do the will of the Father. Second, it implied affection. The Father loves the Son and the Son abides in the Father’s love. Third, it implied fellowship. Jesus was not alone, because the Father was with Him. Fourth, it implied honor. The Father willed to honor the Son. All of this applies to us as God’s adopted children. We must obey God as His children. God loves us as His children. We walk in fellowship with Him. Jesus’ prayer is that we may someday share the glory which Jesus enjoys (John 12:32; 17:24). Packer argues that this father-child relationship is the highest privilege that the gospel offers, even higher than justification, because of the richer relationship with God that it involves.
We are not looking here at the universal Fatherhood of God. There is a limited sense in which He is the Father of all by virtue of His being their Creator (Acts 17:28). But here we are looking at the fact that we are “sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:26). We have been adopted into God’s family, and we share in all the blessings that God has prepared for His children. Indeed, as Packer asserts, “the entire Christian life has to be understood in terms of it [adoption]” (p. 190, italics his).
Ask yourself: Do I know God in that way, intimately as my Father, even when He puts me in a severe trial? C. H. Spurgeon pointed out that “we only trust what we know” (Christ’s Words from the Cross [Zondervan], p. 109). He also wrote, “in this fact lies our chief comfort. In our hour of trouble, in our time of warfare, let us say, ‘Father.’ … To help you in sore suffering and death, cry, ‘Father.’ Your main strength lies in your being truly a child of God” (The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 39, “Our Lord’s Last Cry From the Cross,” [Ages Software], 1998). If you cultivate that intimate relationship with God as your Father every day, when the ultimate crisis of death comes, you can call out to Him as Jesus did.
As we have seen throughout Luke, Jesus was a man of prayer. If there were ever a man who did not need to pray, you would think that Jesus would be that man. And yet as a man who showed us what it means to walk in perfect dependence on God, He was our example in prayer. Prayer is the language of dependence. It is safe to say that if we have not prayed, we are not trusting God as we should. In prayer, we submit our will to God. We make our needs known, casting ourselves on His fatherly kindness.
You might say, “Everyone is going to pray when death is staring them in the face.” But that is not so. The unrepentant thief on the cross did not pray as his life ebbed away. He railed at Jesus. He blamed everyone else for his troubles. He was filled with anger and frustration, but he didn’t pray. Some may be too terrified of God to pray on their deathbeds, although this seems to be rare in our day of irreverence and flippant pride. Others may be oblivious to the impending danger of judgment that they will shortly face. They die with outward peace, but not in dependent prayer because they do not sense their peril.
But Christians should die with their thoughts and words God-ward. If prayer has been our immediate response to every need or crisis throughout life, then when the final crisis comes, we will pray. Are you cultivating the habit of making prayer your first resort, not your last resort? Vance Havner told a story about an elderly lady who was greatly disturbed by her many trials—both real and imaginary. Finally, someone in her family tactfully told her, “Grandma, we’ve done all we can for you. You’ll just have to trust God for the rest.” A look of absolute despair spread over her face as she replied, “Oh, dear, has it come to that?” Havner commented, “It always comes to that, so we might as well begin with that! God’s Word tells us to bring every concern once and for all to the Lord. Since He offers to handle our problems, why not let Him?”
Jesus’ prayer was a quotation from Psalm 31:5, where David expresses his trust in God as his refuge and deliverer in a time of great peril. From His battle with Satan in the wilderness at the beginning of His ministry to His final breath on the cross, Jesus lived in dependence on and in obedience to Scripture. Three times with Satan, Jesus replied, “It is written,” and cited Scripture (Luke 4:4, 8, 12). On the cross, His second prayer was a quotation of Psalm 22:1. He didn’t say, “I know that there is a verse somewhere that relates to my current situation, but I just can’t remember what it says!” He didn’t say, “Someone bring me a concordance and I’ll find that verse!” He had saturated His mind so thoroughly with Scripture that it oozed out of Him. It controlled His every thought.
The fact that Jesus prayed Scripture back to God is a good model for us. We cannot pray better than when we pray the words of Scripture. When we read the Psalms, we should let the psalmist’s expression of praise be ours. His cries for help in his crisis should be our cry. When you read the prayers of Paul, make them your prayer for those on your prayer list. When he prays (Eph. 1:17-19) that “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,” and that you might know “the hope of His calling and the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and the surpassing greatness of His power toward us,” make that your prayer for yourself and others.
Prayer is the way that we bring God’s promises down into shoe leather so that we can lean upon them and obey them. But you can’t lean on and obey God’s promises if you don’t even know them! So you must begin by saturating your mind with Scripture, reading it over and over so that it begins to shape your very thought processes. Write down and commit to memory certain verses that relate to problems that you are facing. Are you struggling with temptation? Memorize 1 Corinthians 10:12-13: “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.”
Do you struggle with anger? James 1:19-20 says, “This you know, my beloved brethren. But let everyone be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger; for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.”
Is your problem a sharp tongue? Ephesians 4:29 says, “Let no unwholesome [lit., rotten] word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification, according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear.”
The story is told of Crowfoot, the chief of the Blackfoot confederacy in southern Alberta, that when he granted permission to the Canadian Pacific Railway to cross Blackfoot land, the railway gave him a lifetime pass to ride the train. Crowfoot put it in a leather case and wore it around his neck for the rest of his life. But he never used it to ride the train!
Many Christians are like that with God’s promises. They put them on plaques on the wall. They sing songs about them on Sunday. But they never actually use them. A major reason they don’t use them is that they don’t even know them. I have never had God miraculously put into my mind a verse that I haven’t read or worked at memorizing. But He often brings to my mind, right at the moment of temptation or crisis, a verse that I have worked at memorizing. Jesus could pray and lean on God’s promises at the moment of death because He had saturated His mind with God’s Word. Let us do likewise!
Jesus commits His spirit to the Father, meaning the part of Him that exists beyond physical death. The Bible teaches that people are made up of the material body and of the immaterial soul and spirit. Sometimes the New Testament seems to use the terms soul and spirit somewhat synonymously (Luke 1:46-47). At other times, it seems to distinguish them (1 Thess. 5:23; Heb. 4:12). When a distinction is made, soul refers to the whole inner life of the person, whereas spirit refers to the inner life that is most sensitive to God and where we relate to God (New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology [Zondervan], ed. by Colin Brown, 3:682-687, 693-694). At death, the spirit, which is eternal, is separated from the physical body, which ceases to live. For example, when Jesus raised Jairus’ daughter, it says that her spirit returned (Luke 8:55). When Christ returns, believers will receive new spiritual bodies, similar to Jesus’ resurrection body, not subject to disease and death.
By entrusting His spirit to the Father, Jesus was entrusting His life beyond physical death to God. He was trusting God to raise Him from the dead and give Him a new, resurrection body. Stephen did the same thing toward Jesus when he prayed at the point of death, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit” (Acts 7:59). Paul used a related Greek word for “commit” when he said, “for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day” (2 Tim. 1:12). Paul had entrusted his eternal destiny to Christ and he knew that it was safe because it was in Christ’s mighty hands.
Becoming a Christian means that rather than trusting in yourself or your good works for eternal life with God, you trust in what Jesus did in dying on the cross as the just penalty for your sins. If God holds our eternity, it is secure, not because of anything in us, but because it rests in God’s hands, and He has promised to guard it (John 10:28-30). John Calvin writes, “Every one who, when he comes to die, following [Stephen’s] example, shall believe in Christ, will not breathe his soul at random into the air, but will resort to a faithful guardian, who keeps in safety whatever has been delivered to him by the Father” (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], “Harmony of the Gospels,” 3:322).
I read of a young woman who was about to be operated on for throat cancer. Her chance of survival was not great. At best, she would probably lose the ability to speak for the rest of her life. The surgeon said, “We’re about to begin, so if you have anything you’d like to say …” After a moment of reflection, she finally said in a calm, clear voice, “Blessed be the name of Jesus.” I don’t know the outcome of her surgery, but if those were the last words she ever voiced in this world, they were the best.
Spurgeon told his students that his brother, who worked with him at the church, had said to him what Charles Wesley had said to his brother, John, “Brother, our people die well.” Spurgeon replied, “Assuredly, they do!” He said that he had never been to the deathbed of any of his people without feeling strengthened in faith. He had just seen a woman with cancer under her eye. “Was she lamenting her hard fate? By no means; she was happy, calm, joyful, in bright expectation of seeing the face of the King in His beauty.” He spoke with another, a dying tradesman, who had no fear of death. He said that he knew whom he had believed. Spurgeon said, “I had a heavenly time with him. I cannot use a lower word. He exhibited a holy mirth in the expectation of a speedy removal to the better world” (An All Round Ministry [Banner of Truth], pp. 361-362).
To die well, you must live and die trusting in God through Jesus Christ. All who die will fall into God’s hands. Some will find it a terrifying experience, because they trusted in themselves. But those who know Him as Father and Jesus as Savior will find comfort and a welcome rest. Commit your spirit to the Father now and every day. When the time comes, you will die well.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
The evangelist Billy Sunday used to tell of a professing Christian who got a job in a lumber camp that had the reputation of being very ungodly. A friend, hearing that the man had been hired, said to him, “If those lumberjacks ever find out you’re a Christian, you’re going to be in for a hard time!” The man responded, “I know, but I need the job!”
The next morning he left for camp. A year later, he came home for a visit. While in town, he met his friend who asked, “Well, how did it go? Did they give you a hard time because you’re a Christian?”
“Oh no, not at all,” the man replied. “They didn’t give me a bit of trouble—they never even found out!” (“Our Daily Bread,” 11/83.)
While we may chuckle at that story, many of us may wince. It hits too close to home! Living in a world that is hostile to Christianity, it’s easy just to blend in, to laugh at the dirty jokes, never to confront the gossip, and never to speak a word that would identify yourself as a Christian. Besides, it might cost your reputation or even your job! Sometimes even among Christian friends it’s hard to hold to your convictions for fear of what they will think.
That’s why you should be interested in the story of Joseph of Arimathea, the man who buried Jesus. No one knows where Arimathea was located, but the designation helps distinguish him from other Josephs. He was a member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, the body of 70 men who governed the religious and many of the civic matters in Israel. It was the Sanhedrin that had condemned Jesus to death, although Joseph had not consented to their plan and action. But probably he had not spoken out as vigorously as he should have. John 19:38 tells us that he was a secret disciple of Jesus, for fear of the Jews. His fear had caused Joseph not to take a bold stand for Christ, even though in his heart he knew that he should have done so.
But now, after Jesus was dead, when His followers had gone into hiding, Joseph gathered up his courage (Mark 15:43), went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus so that he could give Him a proper burial. If he had not done so, Jesus’ body probably would have been thrown on a garbage heap and burned, robbing us of some of the major proofs of the resurrection, as we’ll see. So we can thank Joseph for honoring Jesus with a proper burial and for giving us many evidences for our faith.
Joseph seemingly had nothing to gain and everything to lose by identifying himself with Jesus at this point in time. Jesus was dead and no one was expecting His resurrection. It would have been much easier for Joseph to have thought, “Oh, well! Jesus was a good man and a prophet of God. It’s too bad that these things happen. But, life must go on. I’ll have more influence if I don’t rock the boat and keep my seat on the Sanhedrin. I’d better not do anything to upset anyone and jeopardize my position of influence.” But in spite of the risks, Joseph came out of hiding and took a strong stand for Jesus by providing Him a proper burial. He gives us an example of what other Scriptures teach by precept:
The Lord wants us all to take a stand for Him in this hostile world.
Great! How do we do it? More could be said, but our text reveals at least three factors that will help:
I can’t say for certain what made Joseph come out of hiding. Perhaps it was the result of a long process. He had heard Jesus’ teaching, especially that final week in the temple. He had heard reports of His miracles, especially raising Lazarus from the dead. Knowing the Scriptures, he realized that Jesus uniquely fulfilled the many messianic prophecies. He also could see the jealousy and selfishness of his fellow members of the council. Unlike the majority of them, Luke tells us that Joseph was “a good and righteous man,” “who was waiting for the kingdom of God” (23:50, 51; see 2:25). As Joseph’s convictions about Jesus grew, he also grew more uncomfortable with the views of his fellow members on the Sanhedrin. Finally, he could no longer keep it in.
But I think that the deciding factor that pushed Joseph over the line was standing at the cross and watching Jesus die. Luke hints at this: In 23:47, he states that when the centurion saw the events at the cross, especially Jesus’ final cry, he broke forth in praise. In the next verse, he reports that when the multitudes observed what had happened, they went home beating their breasts. He also reports that Jesus’ acquaintances and the women who followed Him, “were standing at a distance, seeing these things” (23:48). Immediately Luke adds, “And, behold” to grab our attention. Not only were His followers observing these things, but of all people, a member of the Council was seeing these things! Seeing the sky darken, watching Jesus on the cross, hearing His final words, hearing the centurion’s praise, watching the multitude depart in mourning—all of this mounted up until Joseph said, “That’s enough! I can’t hide my convictions any longer. I don’t care what it costs me, I’m going to Pilate so that I can give this Man the decent burial He deserves!”
The cross is the center of the Christian faith. While we cannot stand and take in the events first hand, as Joseph and the others did that day, we should come often to the foot of the cross and think about its implications. Paul summed up the core of the gospel, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3, 4). The cross is central (see also Gal. 2:20; 6:14). If you go there often, you will not be the same. It will strengthen you to take a stand for Christ. Note these particulars about going to the cross:
That may sound obvious, but it is an important fact to establish. If Jesus did not actually die, then He did not die for our sins. If He did not die, then He was not bodily resurrected, in which case, “your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17). Jesus didn’t just “swoon” or go into a semi-comatose state, to be revived later, as some liberals have asserted.
The gospels all make it clear that Jesus died physically. The soldiers regarded Jesus as dead so that they did not break His legs to hasten death, as they did with the other two men on the cross. Rather, one of the soldiers thrust his spear into Jesus’ side, so that blood and water gushed out (John 19:31-34). If He hadn’t been dead before, that would have killed Him. Also, Mark 15:44-45 reports that Pilate ascertained from the Roman centurion (who certainly knew a live prisoner from a dead one) that Jesus was dead before he released the body to Joseph. If we accept the eyewitness testimony of the gospel writers, there is no question that Jesus died physically.
These seemingly incidental facts of Jesus’ death fulfilled specific Old Testament prophecies. The fact that they were fulfilled in such an obviously unintentional manner underscores God’s sovereignty and the careful accuracy of biblical prophecy. For example, the fact that the soldiers broke the legs of the two men on either side of Jesus, but did not break His legs, in spite of orders to do so, fulfilled the Scripture that none of the Passover lamb’s bones should be broken (Exod. 12:46; Ps. 34:20). The soldier’s piercing Jesus’ side was probably a whim on his part, but he fulfilled Zechariah 12:10, that Israel “will look on Me whom they have pierced.”
Jesus did not just die a common death, like that of the two thieves. He offered Himself as the Lamb of God, the substitutionary sacrifice for our sins. The darkness at noon pictured the judgment that God poured out on Jesus. His cry, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” reveals His agony as He was made sin on our behalf. The torn veil in the temple shows that through His death, Jesus opened the way into the holy of holies. The cross satisfied God’s holy wrath against our sin, so that He is free to be both “just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). As we think often of what Christ did for us there, it will strengthen us to take a bold stand for Him who endured all of that out of love for us.
Why does Paul mention Jesus’ burial in his summary of the gospel? Jesus’ burial is further evidence of His death. If there had been a glimmer of life left in Him, surely Joseph and those who helped him take down the body and prepare it for the tomb would have noticed. As mentioned, the fact of His burial in the tomb, as opposed to being tossed on the dump in the valley of Gehenna, provides us with several proofs of His resurrection. We have the empty tomb. The disciples saw the grave clothes lying in the tomb. The heavy stone rolled against the entrance, sealed with the Roman seal and guarded by the Roman guard, give us evidence that the tomb was secure from grave robbers.
Also, Jesus’ burial is further proof of His real humanity. In the early days of the church, a heresy called “Docetism” (from the Greek verb, “to seem”) arose that denied that Jesus was a real man. Rather, He only seemed to be so. At the root of this heresy was the view that matter is essentially evil, whereas spirit is good. This in turn led to all sorts of wrong ideas and behavior. It undermined the incarnation, the atonement, and the resurrection. If Jesus was not a real man who died for our sins and was bodily raised, then we have no salvation. Thus it is important to affirm Jesus’ burial.
While Docetism may no longer be a problem, there are false teachers in every age that come along speaking of Jesus Christ. But the key question always must be, “Which Christ?” Are they talking about the Christ of the Bible or one of their own making? As James Stalker puts it, “only the Christ of the Scriptures could have brought us the salvation of the Scriptures” (The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ [Zondervan], p. 165).
Also, the fact that Joseph buried Jesus in his own tomb, where no one had ever lain, is significant. Matthew 27:57 tells us that Joseph was a rich man. Isaiah 53:9 predicted that Messiah’s “grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death.” Joseph’s burial specifically fulfilled this prophecy. The fact that it was a new tomb gives further evidence that Jesus’ body could not have been mixed up with another body from that tomb. His was the only body there and it was gone!
All of these facts about Jesus’ death and burial should strengthen our resolve to take a bold stand for Him because they give us solid evidence that He is who He claimed to be.
Paul states, “Christ died for our sins…, that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:3, 4). We will examine the resurrection in our studies of Luke 24, and so I only mention it here in passing. As you know, the resurrection is the foundation of the entire Christian faith. It is God’s proof to all men that He will someday judge the world in righteousness through Jesus (Acts 17:31). If you struggle with taking a bold stand for Christ, go often to the foot of the cross and remember that Christ not only died for your sins, but also that He was raised from the dead and that He is coming again soon to judge the living and the dead.
But, still it’s not easy to take a definite stand for Christ. It is costly, and we can only do it if we prepare ourselves for the cost:
We are not told what happened to Joseph of Arimathea after the day that he buried Jesus, but it is not being speculative to say that he paid a heavy price. We may face the same costs.
When the Sanhedrin heard that one of their own had buried this despised Galilean, they would have been shocked. The religious leaders had thrown out of the synagogue the man born blind, whom Jesus healed (John 9:22, 34). It is not hard to imagine that they voted Joseph out of the Council, excluded him from any position of religious or social influence, and did everything they could to ruin his reputation in Jerusalem. His wife and children may have been ostracized. His stand for Christ cut him off from all of his former associates.
Often it is not only your reputation in the world, but also your reputation in the religious world that takes a beating when you take a bold stand for Christ. The evangelical church in America has grown tolerant of just about anyone except the man who stands for biblical truth on unpopular issues. I’ve had people in Christian ministry call me a legalist because I preach that we must obey God and I preach against sin. I’ve been called divisive because I won’t join in the unity movement with denominations that deny the gospel. I’ve been called unloving because I changed my formerly tolerant view of psychology and began saying that it is soft on sin. But the crucial matter is not what people think or say about you. The crucial matter is what does God think? If you live to please Him, then you can let Him take care of your reputation.
In order to bury Jesus, Joseph had to defile himself ceremonially by touching a dead body, right on the eve of the Jewish Passover (Num. 9:6; 19:11-22). But both Joseph and Nicodemus (another member of the Council who joined him, John 19:39) both felt that it was more important to give Jesus a proper burial than it was to remain ceremonially pure for Passover. Christ now was their true Passover lamb who had been slain. They let go of their rituals and laid hold of Jesus Christ.
To be a committed follower of Jesus, you have to let go of your religion, even if it goes under the label of “Christian.” By religion, I mean any attempt to be righteous before God or others by keeping certain rules or by outward behavior. Religious people take pride in what they do or don’t do, but they don’t judge sins of the heart. They put on a good front at church, but at home they are angry and difficult to live with.
But genuine Christianity is a matter of the heart. True Christians have been to the cross, where they not only trust in Christ as their righteousness; they are crucified with Him. They daily put to death the deeds of the flesh. They judge sins of thought, as well as word and deed. They live in daily repentance, humbling themselves before God and others, so that the life of Christ may shine through them.
Joseph gave up his personal tomb, an expensive thing to do. Remember, he was not expecting it to be vacated in three days! He could have bought a cheaper tomb for Jesus, out in the countryside somewhere, but he gave Jesus the best. He also bought linen wrappings and spices. He may have had to pay Pilate for the body. But he was willing to give generously because he believed in Jesus as his Lord and Messiah.
Jesus said, “No one of you can be My disciple who does not give up all his own possessions” (14:33). You say, “He doesn’t mean that literally, does He?” No, He didn’t mean it any more literally than when He said that we must hate our families in order to follow Him (14:26). But before you say, “Whew!” and go on living just as you were, you need to do some hard thinking about His words.
You can’t buy off God by giving Him a tenth of your income. In fact, for most of you, if you do not give more than a tenth, you’re robbing God. Most of us could easily give far more than a tenth to the Lord’s work if we really believed the Great Commission and if we were more careful stewards. We could live much more simply and give far more generously if, like Joseph, we were really “waiting for the kingdom of God.” If you give your money to God’s kingdom, your heart will follow (Matt. 6:21). You’ll find yourself being much more committed to Christ if you give radically. If you give what is safe and convenient, you’ll be safe and convenient when it comes to taking a bold stand for Christ.
To take a bold stand for Christ, go often to the cross; be prepared to pay the price. Finally,
Here I’m focusing also on the women who followed Jesus out of Galilee and now follow to see where and how His body was laid. They went back to prepare more spices and perfumes, intending to return after the Sabbath and further anoint His body. Matthew Henry points out that their actions sprang more from love than from faith, since they didn’t yet understand or believe that He would be raised from the dead. But at least they showed up. Why weren’t the eleven there with them, helping with the burial? They had gone into hiding out of fear of the Jews (John 20:19). But because the women were there and because they went back on that resurrection morning, they had the privilege of being the first witnesses of the risen Savior.
Norval Geldenhuys observes, “In the hours of crisis, it is often the Peters who have sworn loyalty to Jesus with big gestures and fullness of self-confidence, that disappoint, and it is the secret and quiet followers of the Master (like Joseph, Nicodemus and the women) that do not hesitate to serve Him in love—at whatever cost (Commentary on the Gospel of Luke [Eerdmans], pp. 619-620).
Maybe you can’t be an articulate verbal witness for Christ in front of a group. But you can still take a stand by your behavior, your attitude, and your quiet resolve not to compromise. Just “show up” in the sense of siding with Jesus, even if you aren’t clear about how to defend the faith. Show your commitment and love for the Savior, and He will use you as He used Joseph and these faithful women.
Martin Luther, who certainly modeled taking a stand for Christ, wrote, “If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest exposition every portion of the word of God except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that point attacking, I am not confessing Christ however boldly I may be professing Christ. Where the battle rages, there the loyalty of the soldier is tested and to be steady in all the battlefields besides is mere flight and disgrace if the soldier flinches at that one point” (source unknown).
If there is a point where you know you are compromising your stand for Christ, where you are blending in with the world but you know that you need to take a stand, learn from Joseph. Go to the foot of the cross and think about the Savior’s death on your behalf. Be prepared to count the cost. And, the next opportunity you get, show up and do whatever you can to let others know that you are on Jesus’ side. Even if you formerly were a secret disciple, God will use you as He used Joseph of Arimathea, to be a bold witness and to render valuable service for the Savior.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
I spent the summer of 1969 with some other seminary students at the “Jesus Christ Light and Power House,” a study center near the UCLA campus founded by Hal Lindsey and Bill Counts. That summer the streets of Westwood were swarming with vibrant, happy young people who would invite us to meetings where we could learn how chanting a Buddhist mantra had changed their lives. They testified of dramatic results from practicing this chant. Some had received new cars. Others had been reconciled to parents from whom they had been seriously alienated. Although I never attended their meetings, those who did told me that it was like going to a Campus Crusade evangelistic meeting where everyone was sharing testimonies. The difference was, instead of Jesus Christ being the significant reason for their newfound happiness, it was that they had taken up chanting.
Perhaps you have tried to witness to someone who said, “Christianity is fine for you, but I’m not into that. I’ve found great happiness in my own way of believing. But, if it works for you, that’s great!”
That kind of thinking is pervasive in our day. But how do you counter it? At its root is the notion that spiritual “truth” is relative and subjective. As such, the only verification is, “Does it work? Does it help you?” If it does, then it must be valid or true.
Perhaps you have wrestled with serious doubts about your Christian faith. How can science and the Bible be reconciled? Isn’t Christianity just based on legends that evolved among Jesus’ followers? If the Bible is true, then what about all of the people who have never heard about Jesus? How can God condemn them to hell when they never had a chance to believe? How can a good and loving God allow all the evil and suffering in this world? These and many similar questions can plague you with doubt.
While I cannot deal with these questions individually in this message, our text provides the necessary foundation that will dissipate our doubts and enable us to stand firm in our faith. Luke’s account of the resurrection of Jesus Christ teaches us that …
We must trust in the risen Lord Jesus Christ, who is the foundation of the Christian faith.
The Christian faith is unique to all of the world’s major religions in that it is founded on the living person of Jesus Christ, who was raised bodily from the dead. It is not primarily a system of moral or doctrinal beliefs, although it has definite moral standards and doctrinal truths. Christianity is founded on the living Lord Jesus Christ, crucified for our sins, risen from the dead, ascended into heaven, and returning soon in power and glory.
If Jesus Christ is not risen from the dead, then He Himself was a liar, since He predicted His own death and resurrection on numerous occasions. Why believe in and follow a liar? If Christ is not risen from the dead, then His death on the cross did not secure the forgiveness of our sins. The resurrection was God’s seal of approval on the sacrifice that Christ offered for His people, so that Paul could rightly say, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17). The resurrection declared Jesus to be “the Son of God with power” (Rom. 1:4). It substantiated that Jesus is the son of David, the Messiah, of whom David prophesied when he wrote, “You will not abandon my soul to Hades, nor allow Your Holy One to undergo decay” (Acts 2:27; cf. Ps. 16:10). The resurrection guarantees us that Jesus conquered sin, death, and hell, and that He will make good on His promise to come again and take us to be with Him eternally in heaven. A dead man could not do that, but the risen Savior can! A dead Savior is no Savior at all. So everything in Christianity rests on the historical fact that Jesus Christ is risen from the dead.
Darrell Bock writes, “Without resurrection, Christianity is just another human approach to reach God; it is emptied of transforming power and hope; it is a mere shell, not worth the energy one devotes to it.… To believe in Christ is to believe not merely in his example, but in the power of his resurrection to grant new life” (Luke [Baker], 2:1881). Thus we must affirm that …
What evidence is there for Jesus’ resurrection? If we included the entire chapter, we could add more. But in these 12 verses, we find a number of evidences for the resurrection.
The gospels emphasize that the resurrection occurred on the first day of the week, namely, Sunday. The fact that the early church changed the day of worship from the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday) to Sunday can only be explained by the fact that Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday morning. The apostles were all steeped in Judaism with its strict observance of Saturday as the day of rest and worship. Why would they change the sacred day from Saturday to Sunday? Clearly, it was not a strategic planning decision that was made to distinguish Christianity from Judaism! Rather, they did it to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. Sunday became “the Lord’s Day” (Rev. 1:10), when the church gathered for worship and instruction (Acts 20:7).
While I realize that in Jewish, Muslim and Hindu cultures, Sunday is a normal workday that makes it difficult for Christians to gather, I do believe that we must attach a special significance to gathering on Sunday, to worship Him. Many progressive American churches offer Friday or Saturday night worship services as an alternative to Sundays. While you can perhaps justify Saturday night, since the Jewish day began at sundown, I am not ready to jettison the concept of worshiping on the first day of the week. It is a testimony to the fact that our Lord arose on that day. And, while it is permissible (although there is no biblical precedent for it) to celebrate one Sunday a year as resurrection (or Easter) Sunday, every Sunday ought to be resurrection Sunday with the Lord’s people. We worship on Sunday to celebrate and proclaim that our Savior is risen from the dead!
Mark 16:3 records the women discussing on the way to the tomb, “Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the tomb?” Luke merely records the fact that when they arrived, they found the stone rolled away. This would have been a large, round stone placed in a groove in front of the tomb. It would have taken several strong men to roll that stone out of the groove. The Roman soldiers guarding the tomb would not have moved the stone nor allowed anyone else to do so. Matthew 28:2 states that an angel of the Lord moved the stone. He did not do this so that Jesus could get out, but so that the witnesses to the resurrection could get in to verify that the tomb was empty!
Years ago, an attorney named Frank Morison set out to refute the evidence for the resurrection. While he appreciated the life of Jesus, he thought that early followers had attached the myth of the resurrection onto the story of Jesus. But as he examined the facts with his legal background and training, he eventually wrote a best-selling book, Who Moved the Stone? in which he set forth the evidence for Christ’s resurrection (in Josh McDowell, More Than a Carpenter [Living Books], pp. 97-98).
While critics have pointed out a number of harmonistic problems between the various gospel accounts of the resurrection, none can deny the fact that the tomb was empty. If the tomb had not been empty, when the apostles began preaching the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, the Jewish leaders would have marched to the tomb, produced the body, and the disciples would have been laughed out of town.
Those who deny the fact of the resurrection have several ways to explain the empty tomb, but none of them are plausible. Jesus’ enemies could have stolen the body. But they had no motive for doing so, and they would have produced it to quench the disciples’ preaching. Besides, the tomb was guarded to prevent any theft of the body.
The Roman guards stole the body. But they had no motive to do so. They didn’t care about this Jewish religious trial. If they had stolen the body, they could have sold it to the Jewish leaders for a lot of money, but that did not happen.
The disciples stole the body. The Jewish leaders tried to promote this theory (Matt. 27:63-66; 28:11-15). But, the Roman guards would have prevented this. They would not have risked their lives (the penalty for not properly standing their watch) for a bribe. The disciples could not have moved the heavy stone and stolen the body without the guards’ knowledge or permission. Besides, the disciples were too depressed, confused, and fearful to pull off a daring grave robbery. And if they had done so, it is inconceivable that they would have boldly preached the resurrection in the face of persecution. The initial thought of the women was that someone had stolen Jesus’ body. If that had been confirmed, the apostles would not have preached the resurrection as they later did.
Luke records that the women encountered two men in dazzling apparel who gently rebuked them for seeking the living One among the dead. They then said, “He is not here, but He has risen” and went on to remind them of Jesus’ prediction that He would be crucified by sinful men and rise again on the third day (24:5-7). If there is any doubt as to the identity of these “men,” verse 23 affirms that they were angels. While Matthew and Mark only mention one angel, they are not in contradiction with Luke and John, who mention two, since they do not affirm that there was only one angel. Rather, they simply refer to the angel who spoke to the women. While critics may doubt the existence of angels, they do so because of a naturalistic bias. But they must deny the testimony of several credible witnesses to the event.
On several occasions, Jesus predicted that He would be crucified and that He would rise from the dead (9:22, 43-45; 17:25; 18:31-33; 22:22). The disciples’ minds were closed and could not comprehend what He was saying (18:34) until after the fact. But, Jesus would have been a liar or greatly mistaken if He had repeatedly predicted this, but it had not come true.
Under Jewish law, women were not considered qualified as witnesses (William Lane, Commentary on the Gospel of Mark [Eerdmans], p. 589). Thus, it is significant that the gospels uniformly agree that the women who followed Jesus were the first to see the risen Savior. They were obviously not expecting to find an empty tomb and risen Lord, or they would not have brought the spices to anoint His body. The early church never would have invented this story if it were not true. The apostles did not at first believe the women, but thought that they were speaking nonsense (the Greek word was used to refer to the delirious stories told by the very sick or to tales told by those who fail to perceive reality (Darrell Bock, Luke [IVP], p. 381). That leads to the next evidence:
This is a powerful evidence, the fact that the men who should have believed were at first skeptics of these women who testified of Jesus’ resurrection! If someone had invented this story, they would not have made the apostles to look so skeptical and unbelieving. If the apostles had been hoping for the resurrection, perhaps they could be accused of being gullible and ready to believe anything. But they ridiculed these women as being out of touch with reality! Peter wanted to check it out for himself, so he ran to the tomb and saw the linen wrappings. But at this point, he marveled but did not yet fully believe. What could have changed these men into bold witnesses, willing to suffer persecution and even death, if not the fact that they saw the risen Lord Jesus?
Peter and John (John 20:1-10) saw the linen wrappings lying there, but Jesus’ body was not inside of them! If someone had stolen Jesus’ body, they would not have waited to unwrap the linen and leave it there. Jesus’ body passed through the grave clothes and left them lying there intact. Jesus’ resurrection body could be felt, He could eat and drink, and yet He also could pass through closed doors and instantly appear or vanish from sight (John 20:19-29; Luke 24:31, 36-43). But the fact that both Peter and John, who were not expecting a resurrection, saw these linen wrappings in the tomb is an evidence for Jesus’ resurrection.
Our text does not mention what the rest of the chapter and the Book of Acts proclaim as further evidence, namely, the numerous appearances of the risen Savior to the apostles and their dramatically changed lives. There is no way to explain how they were transformed from fearful, depressed, confused men into bold witnesses ready to die for their message, except for the fact of the resurrection. The evidence piles up to a powerful mountain that cannot be ignored. Jesus was bodily raised from the dead!
The British New Testament scholar, B. F. Westcott, said, “Taking all the evidence together, it is not too much to say that there is no historic incident better or more variously supported than the resurrection of Christ. Nothing but the antecedent assumption that it must be false could have suggested the idea of deficiency in the proof of it” (in McDowell, pp. 96-97).
Thus the Christian faith is not based on subjective feelings or a personal experience. It is rooted in the objective, historically verifiable fact of Jesus’ bodily resurrection. While most of the well-known hymn, “He Lives,” is good, I have often cringed at the final line: “You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart.” I believe that the risen Lord Jesus does live spiritually within my heart. But that is not the bottom line for how I know that He lives, because that is subjective. What if I don’t feel that Jesus lives in my heart? Does that mean that He is not risen? What if an immoral person or someone on drugs says that Jesus lives in his heart? Is it true just because he feels it’s true? No, it’s true that Jesus lives because there is solid evidence for it. It’s true whether people believe it or disbelieve it. It’s true because it happened in history and it is verified by numerous lines of solid evidence.
You may be thinking, “If the evidence is so convincing, why don’t more people believe it?” The answer is, people refuse to believe in the resurrection because it has moral implications that they do not want to face. If Jesus is risen, then He is the rightful Lord of all. It means that He is the coming judge of all the earth. It means that I must turn from my sin and live under His lordship. Because people do not want to turn from their sin, they refuse to believe in Jesus in spite of the evidence. But Scripture is clear:
After writing of the miracles that Jesus performed, as well as the events of the resurrection, John concluded, “Many other signs therefore Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name” (John 20:30-31). It is through faith that our sins are forgiven and we enter into a personal relationship with the living Lord Jesus Christ. There are several things to note about such saving faith:
As I mentioned, it is always moral. We all have sinned against the holy God. Our sins put Christ on the cross. Thus faith in Christ is not just a matter of weighing evidence and making a calm intellectual decision. Saving faith always involves being convicted of our sin and of our need for the Savior. The evidence corroborates that Jesus is God’s anointed Savior. His death was not an accident, but rather in the sovereign purpose of God (“must,” Luke 23:7), and yet those who did it were sinfully responsible (“sinful men,” 23:7; see Acts 2:23; 4:27-28). Thus while faith rests on the facts of history, it also must include repentance for our sins.
I did not say, “Take a leap of faith,” but rather, a step of faith. There are some questions that will not be fully resolved until we are in heaven. But God has given us sufficient evidence to trust in Christ. As John says, “If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater,” and God’s witness centers on His Son (1 John 5:9). We all believe and act on the witness of men every day. You didn’t run a chemical analysis on your breakfast food to prove that it wasn’t poisoned. You didn’t do structural calculations on this building to make sure that it wouldn’t collapse on your head if you walked inside. On your way to church, you trusted other drivers to stay on their side of the road and observe traffic laws. Thus believing the uncertain and fickle ways of men, we have no excuse for not believing the God who cannot lie. Jesus Himself said that if you believe in Him, you will have eternal life, but if you do not, you will perish (John 3:16, 36).
These women and the disciples had all believed in Jesus, but they were at various stages. The women obviously loved Jesus, but they did not yet believe His word that He would rise from the dead or they would not have brought the spices to anoint Him. Yet when the angel rebuked them and reminded them of Jesus’ prediction, they seemed to believe, even though the apostles ridiculed them. The apostles had given up everything to follow Jesus, and yet at the moment, their faith was pretty shaky. They openly scoffed at the testimony of these women. Peter, though, seemed to be willing to check it out for himself, but he was at this point marveling, though not yet fully believing. In the next incident, we see the men on the Emmaus Road who believed and yet were “slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken” (24:25). The point is, they were all at various stages in their faith.
Thankfully this story shows us that our merciful Lord is gracious to save us with just a little mustard seed of faith and He is patient not to cast us off when our faith wavers. Yet we are responsible to grow in our faith, learning to believe in all that the Bible affirms.
But always remember that our faith must be in the living Lord Jesus Christ, not just in doctrines or moral standards. Christianity certainly requires believing in sound doctrine and living according to God’s moral standards, but it is also much more. It is a personal relationship with the living Savior. As Paul said, his goal was “that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection” (Phil. 3:10).
If your faith is shaky, first check and see if you are clinging to some sin that you don’t want to give up. You must repent of it or you will never have strong faith in Jesus. Next, study for yourself the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection. Go back to that evidence as the certain foundation, even if you can’t resolve some issue that is causing you to doubt. Finally, cultivate close personal fellowship with the living Lord Jesus, who gave Himself for your sins. Again to quote Paul, “The life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me” (Gal. 2:20). The risen Savior is the foundation of the Christian faith. Make sure that your faith is in Him!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
A five-year-old boy from Texas was told that the family would visit the Grand Canyon. They described it as much bigger than downtown Dallas. He could hardly wait to see it. When they finally got there, they asked him how it measured up to his expectations. With a little frown, he said, “I thought you said that it was a big cannon.” He was probably hoping to see them shoot it! When you’re hoping for the Grand Cannon, you can be let down even by something as spectacular as the Grand Canyon! (Told by Robert Pyne, Kindred Spirit, Winter, 1997).
If your expectations are wrong, you can even be disappointed by God. It’s not that God was somehow lacking. He is far more glorious and perfect than we could ever conceive. But often, because of our limited perspective, we feel as if He let us down. We thought that He would do something, but He didn’t do it. We thought that we were trusting in the promises of His Word, but they didn’t come true. We thought that we were praying in line with His will, but He didn’t answer. God didn’t come through as we had hoped.
That’s where two weary travelers were at as they walked the seven miles from Jerusalem to Emmaus one Sunday. They had been hoping that Jesus was the promised Messiah who would redeem Israel (24:21). But their hopes had been dashed when the Jewish religious leaders suddenly succeeded in crucifying Jesus. They were going home, dejected and disappointed. They were still in shock. They didn’t understand why God had let them down.
They were talking about these things as they walked when a stranger caught up to them. He was really not a stranger; He was the risen Lord Jesus Christ. But “their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him” (24:16). The passive voice of the verb suggests that God had closed their eyes from recognizing Jesus. Why would God do that? As we’ll see, He had some important lessons to teach them (and us) about trusting in His written Word before He allowed them to see the living Word who was there with them. The story begins with these two men (or, it could have been a man, Cleopas, and his wife) dejected and sad. It ends with them rejoicing in hope. The overall lesson is that …
God will turn our disappointment to hope if with His people we will seek the risen Savior through faith in His Word.
The first thing we must acknowledge, although we may not want to admit it, is that, like these men, …
Every good doctor first diagnoses the problem before he treats it. The Lord asks some questions to draw out the source of their spiritual disappointment. There are probably more sources, but we all probably struggle with these:
Twice in our chapter it is emphasized that God decreed the death of Jesus Christ. The risen Savior tells these two men that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer these things (24:26). Earlier (24:7), the angel reminds the women at the tomb of Jesus’ earlier prediction, “that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men and be crucified.” The Greek word translated must and necessary is a favorite term for Luke (18 times in his Gospel) that points to God’s sovereign purpose. Luke wants us to know that God is in charge of history, moving it along according to His sovereign purpose. This is especially true of the greatest tragedy in history, the crucifixion of the sinless Savior. Although it was the worst crime that could ever be committed, and the men who did it were responsible for their wicked deed, God sovereignly ordained it (24:7; Acts 2:23; 4:27-28). It did not thwart His plan; it fulfilled it.
The Bible makes it clear that sin is part of God’s sovereign plan or decree, but at the same time, God is apart from all sin and not responsible for it. To delve any deeper into this subject is beyond my intellectual ability. If you wish to do so, I refer you to Jonathan Edwards’ treatise, “Concerning the Divine Decrees” (The Works of Jonathan Edwards [Banner of Truth], 2:525-543). But here is how this works out practically: If the worst sin ever, the death of Christ, was a part of God’s sovereign plan, then no sin can thwart His sovereign purpose. And this truth brings great comfort in a time of tragedy if we will cling to it.
I have heard pastors try to comfort grieving people by saying that some terrible tragedy, such as the Columbine High School murders, was not God’s plan. While they mean well, those who say such things actually rob God’s people of comfort. If anything can happen outside of God’s plan, then He is not absolutely sovereign. If He is not absolutely sovereign, then Satan is in some sense sovereign, at least sometimes, which is a most scary thought! If this were so, we would have no guarantee that God’s ultimate purpose will triumph! I find it much more comforting to affirm what the Bible teaches, that God works all things after the counsel of His will (Eph. 1:11). Even the blasphemies of the wicked antichrist fit in to God’s sovereign purpose!
But still, it is hard when we have prayed and hoped for something that we thought was God’s will, but then it does not happen. These men had prayed and hoped that Jesus was God’s Messiah who would redeem Israel. No doubt they were thinking about political redemption from Israel’s enemies. But that was not God’s will for His Son at that time. When our expectations do not match God’s sovereign purpose, we will have to wrestle with disappointment with God.
Again, this seems unlike God! Isn’t it His kind will that His people have assurance, comfort and hope? Why then would He shut their eyes from seeing the risen Savior? The answer is, because He had a better reason and a better time. God also closed the disciples’ minds so that they could not understand Jesus’ frequent references to the cross (9:45; 18:34). God knew that it was best for them to go through the despair and confusion of the cross before they came out into the full light of the resurrection, and so He closed their minds from grasping the plain statements about Jesus’ death.
Even so, God knows what is best for us, and so He sometimes closes our minds to the plain teaching of Scripture for a time, so that we will learn lessons that we never would have learned if we had understood and embraced it from the start. Spurgeon pointed out that we all are born by nature as Arminians and that God must open our eyes to the glorious truth of His sovereign grace. He tells of his own experience, as a young believer, of sitting in church and not paying much attention to the sermon. Suddenly the thought struck him, How did you come to be a Christian? He said, “I sought the Lord.” But how did you come to seek the Lord? The truth flashed across his mind, “I should not have sought Him unless there had been some previous influence in my mind to make me seek Him.” He realized in a moment that God was at the bottom of it all, that He was the Author of his faith. From that day Spurgeon ascribed his conversion wholly to God (C. H. Spurgeon Autobiography [Banner of Truth], 1:164-165; italics his).
I have believed and taught wrong things, such as using psychology along with the Bible. At the time, I defended myself, saying that I only used that which was in line with biblical truth. When God opened my eyes, He used it to help me grow in repentance, humility, and grace toward others who are in error. But sometimes we can experience disappointment with God because He has closed our eyes to the truth because He has a deeper lesson to teach us later.
The disciples were all quick to focus on the glories of Christ’s kingdom, but they were slow to grasp the sufferings that had to precede that glory (24:26). They often thought, “Won’t it be great when we’re all there, reigning in glory with Jesus!” But somehow they overlooked the Scriptures that predicted the suffering and death of Messiah as the sacrifice for the sins of His people. They thought rightly that Jesus would redeem Israel, but they didn’t understand that redemption required the offering of Himself as the Lamb of God!
Notice the emphasis on “all” in 24:25, 27: They were foolish not “to believe in all that the prophets have spoken.” “Beginning with Moses and all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures.” Their fault was in focusing on parts of God’s Word, but ignoring other parts.
We often are disappointed with God for the same reason. We like all the promises about the good stuff that God will do for His children! But what about the promise of 2 Timothy 3:12: “And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”? Do you have that one in your “Promise Box”? What about Hebrews 12, which promises discipline for all of God’s true children? What about the many references to the struggle and warfare of the Christian’s walk? If we only focus on part of God’s Word, we will be disappointed when trials hit, as surely they will.
It is with the heart that we believe in Christ unto salvation (Rom. 10:9, 10). I think that these men had believed in Christ unto salvation. They are described as “two of them” (13:13), that is, two followers of Christ. But Jesus rebukes them for being “slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken” (13:25). Believers may be slow of heart to believe all of God’s Word, especially the difficult doctrines, such as the doctrine of election, which confronts our pride. But we will be prone to disappointment with God if we do not believe all that is written in His Word.
If these, then, are some of the causes of disappointment with God, what is the cure? Our text shows us that …
There are at least seven parts to this cure:
These two men were not walking to Emmaus alone, but together, talking about the things that had transpired. As soon as they realized that their unidentified guest was the Lord, even though it was late and a two hour walk in the dark back to Jerusalem, they went immediately to share what had happened with the disciples there (24:33). And, to their great delight and astonishment, the Lord appeared again, to the whole group, and they were privileged to witness it! Thomas was not there that first night, and he missed out until the next Sunday when he was there and Jesus graciously appeared again (John 20:19-29). The point is, it was when they were together, talking about the things of the Lord, that the Lord Himself appeared to them. While the Lord appeared to Peter when he was alone (24:34), to restore him, He did not appear to Thomas when he was alone, but only when he joined with the other disciples.
As American Christians, we are far too individualistic. We come to church for years and sit next to people that we don’t even know. We like our anonymity! We make major life decisions, such as changing churches or moving to another part of the country, but we never think to submit our decision to other believers for their counsel or prayer. I have met many Christians who have been hurt by other believers, and so they drop out of church altogether, but insist that they are still following the Lord.
But you cannot follow the Lord as He intended unless you do it in fellowship with other believers. The church is His body, and body parts can only function in close connection with other body parts. If your hand gets hurt and decides that it’s because your stupid arm thrust the hand in front of the saw, it would be rather foolish to say, “I’m just going to cut myself off completely from that arm!” And yet, that’s exactly what many hurt Christians do! When you’re disappointed with God or with His people, don’t yield to the temptation to isolate yourself from other Christians! Get with them and talk about what’s troubling you.
While these men and the other disciples were at fault for not believing the report of the women concerning the resurrection, at least they were right in not being satisfied only with the empty tomb. They say, with disappointment, “Him they did not see” (24:24). (Him is emphatic in the Greek here.) They wanted to see the risen Savior. It was seeing Him that turned these disciples’ disappointment into great joy and hope.
I’m not suggesting that you seek some vision or dramatic experience with Jesus. I believe that most who claim to have had such visions are deceived. Peter commends those who loved and believed in Jesus, even though they had never seen Him (1 Pet. 1:8). We who know Christ as Savior should seek to know Him personally more and more (Phil. 3:10). He has promised to disclose Himself to those who keep His commandments (John 14:21). Where do we seek Him?
Jesus took these men to the Old Testament to show them Himself. “Moses and the prophets” (24:27) is a phrase that means, from all of the Old Testament. I would gladly trade my seminary education for the privilege of being there and hearing Jesus walk them through the Scriptures (by memory), bringing all of it into focus on Himself! The whole Bible centers on Jesus Christ and His substitutionary death on the cross for our sins.
I’m sure that Jesus would have taken these men to Genesis, where God shed the blood of animals so that He could clothe Adam and Eve after their sin. That pointed to Christ, whose shed blood covers our sin. He told them that He was the seed of the woman who would crush the serpent’s head (Gen. 3:15). He explained how the ram caught in the thicket that God provided so that Isaac would be spared pictured Jesus’ death in the place of sinners. He took them through the Passover and the sacrificial system instituted under the Law. He walked them through Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. While He spoke, their hearts were burning within them as He opened up passage after passage to them.
Many Christians neglect the Old Testament. I believe that there is great profit in reading consecutively through the whole Bible. Don’t skip the hard parts and camp on your favorite sections. Read it all, over and over again. As you read, ask God to open your eyes to see Christ in all the Scriptures.
Academic learning without faith is not enough. We must believe the Word and act upon it as true. The writer of Hebrews tells about Israel under Moses. They had seen God’s mighty works, but they grumbled and did not believe God, and so He did not allow them to enter into His rest. Then he warns, “Take care, brethren, lest there should be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart, in falling away from the living God” (Heb. 3:12). We sometimes shrug off unbelief as if it were no big deal. But God connects the words evil and unbelieving. To disbelieve God is to malign Him as not being good. We must confess our unbelief and seek to believe God’s unfailing Word of Truth.
Jesus rebukes these two men, and yet they shortly invited Him into their home to hear more! That’s the right way to respond to the rebukes of God’s Word. “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching”—what’s next?—“for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16). When Paul exhorted Timothy to preach the Word, he told him that the way to do it is to “reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction” (2 Tim. 4:2). So many in our day want to have their ears tickled by teachers in accordance with their own desires. But if you want to grow closer to the Lord who is holy, you must have a teachable heart when His Word says to you, “O foolish one and slow of heart to believe!”
After this wonderful discussion on the road, Jesus acted as if He would keep going beyond their village, but they prevailed on Him to stay there with them that night (24:28-29). Just as the Lord’s earlier questions (24:17, 19) were for the purpose of drawing these men out in order to teach them, so His acting as if He would go further was to elicit this invitation from them. They invited Him in and He accepted their offer. He always comes into the heart and home where He is invited.
But notice that although He entered their home as a guest, He quickly took on the role of host and owner. Normally the owner of the home would break the bread and bless it, but Jesus took that role here. If you entreat the Lord to stay in your heart, be prepared: He isn’t a polite dinner guest! He takes over!
No sooner did these men recognize the Lord than He vanished from their sight. They didn’t even have time to ask any questions. Jesus wanted them to know that He is alive, but also to know that they would not experience His physical presence as they formerly had. He would now go to the Father and send the Spirit to be with them permanently. As soon as Jesus vanished, these men could have become dejected and disappointed. They could have tried to conjure up another great spiritual experience. Instead, they went to gather with other like-minded believers to share what the Lord had done. After that, they went on in faith, in the Word, and in fellowship.
Spiritual highs are wonderful, but you can’t live on them. You must learn to walk by faith, to be consistent in the Word, and to gather regularly with other believers to build one another in the things of God.
These discouraged, disappointed men thought that Jesus was dead and gone, when in fact He was the one walking and talking with them as they trudged along that dusty road. He was near to them even though they did not recognize Him at first. When you are disappointed and discouraged, you may think that the Lord is a million miles away. But if you are one of His flock, even though you are being faithless and do not see Him, He is there with you. He has promised, “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you” (Heb. 13:5).
Remember, it was to a church that had grown lukewarm that He said, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me” (Rev. 3:20). He wants you to open His Word and invite Him to make its words burn in your heart. He wants you to gather with His people and share together in how He is working in your lives. He will turn your disappointment into hope if you will entreat Him to come in and stay with you.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
The phone rings. “Another telemarketer,” I grumble to myself. “Hello, Mr. Cole?” “Yes.” “This is Robert Jones with the Reader’s Digest. I’m calling to tell you that you have just won our $5 million sweepstakes!” “Yeah, sure!” Click!
I’ve never had a call telling me that I won a lot of money, but if I did, I wouldn’t believe it. Even if they rang my doorbell and handed me the check, I would be skeptical. I probably wouldn’t believe it until the check had cleared my bank, and even then I would often have to pinch myself and say, “It really is true! I really did win all that money!”
Some news seems too good to be true and, usually, it is not true. Whether to protect ourselves from disappointment or because it happens so rarely, we are prone to disbelieve really good news.
Even so, the disciples were all prone to doubt the reports that Jesus was risen from the dead. First, the women came telling them that the tomb was empty and that they had seen the risen Lord Jesus. “Nonsense,” they said (Luke 24:11). Then, Peter and John went and looked into the empty tomb. Peter went away marveling, but not yet believing. Then the Lord appeared to the two men on the road to Emmaus. Late on that first Sunday, they burst into the room where the disciples were gathered and excitedly told about their encounter with the Lord. But the apostles did not at first believe these men (Mark 16:12). Maybe they were thinking, “Why would the Lord appear to them? They aren’t even apostles! They must have just seen a vision!” Sometime during that day, the Lord had appeared to Peter, forgiving and restoring him, but the others still had not seen the Lord firsthand, and they still doubted.
Then, while they were still discussing all of these strange happenings, the Lord Himself stood in their midst. He hadn’t opened the door. Can you imagine the chill of horror that would run down your spine if suddenly someone appeared in a closed room where you were standing? They thought that they were seeing a ghost. But it was no ghost. It was the risen Lord Jesus. He greeted them with words of comfort, He gently rebuked their doubts, and He offered them assurances to strengthen their faith. But even so, “they still could not believe it for joy” (24:41). It just seemed too good to be true. But it was true, and they needed to believe it. This first resurrection appearance of Christ to the whole group of disciples (Thomas was absent; John 20:19-24) teaches us:
Though we are prone to unbelief and though Christ’s death and resurrection on our behalf seems too good to be true, it is true and we must believe it.
One of the strongest proofs of the resurrection is the fact that the disciples were so prone not to believe it at first. If they had immediately jumped to the conclusion that Jesus was risen, we could think that their testimony to the resurrection was just wish fulfillment. They wanted it so badly that they convinced themselves that it was true, apart from solid evidence. But the gospel narratives show clearly how slow all of the disciples were to believe that Jesus really was risen. They were not gullible men, prone to superstitious ideas, who were easily persuaded to believe. Even though, just before Jesus appeared, they were saying, “The Lord has really risen” (24:34), when they see Him in their midst they immediately conclude, not that He is risen, but that they are seeing a ghost. And when the Lord confronts them regarding their doubts, “they still could not believe it for joy” (24:41). They were not prone to believe.
Neither are we! Some may be more gullible by nature than others, but gullibility is not saving faith. A gullible person easily believes something without much factual data. A person with saving faith believes on the basis of credible evidence. But no one is prone to saving faith. Saving faith does not originate in the fallen human heart; it comes from God as His gift (Eph. 2:8-9; Phil. 1:30; Acts 11:18; Rom. 12:3). But even as believers (the eleven apostles had all believed unto salvation), two things can get us into trouble with regard to faith:
Jesus asks the disciples, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?” (24:38). I can understand why they were troubled. It would be startling to have someone instantly appear in a room without walking in through the door! Jesus, however, is trying to calm their hearts so that they can think more clearly. But they weren’t just troubled; they also were doubting. The Greek word for “doubts” refers to inward reasoning and disputing. Because of our fallen human nature, we all are prone to doubt the things of God, revealed to us in His Word.
God does not expect us blindly to believe without thinking matters through. He gave us the capacity to reason and He expects us to use our minds. But we need to be careful, because of our sinfulness, not to go to excess and to demand unreasonable proof for that which God has plainly revealed. To continue raising objections and disputing about matters that God has made reasonably clear is to yield to our fallen nature, not to rise above it by faith.
John Calvin gives the right balance: “We have a right, indeed, when any appearance of absurdity presents itself, to inquire by weighing the arguments on both sides; and, indeed, so long as matters are doubtful, our minds must inevitably be driven about in every direction: but we must observe sobriety and moderation, lest the flesh exalt itself more highly than it ought, and throw out its thoughts far and wide against heaven” (Calvin’s Commentaries [Baker], “Harmony of the Gospels,” [3:369-370]).
As a college student, I used to wrestle with doubts over the doctrine of predestination, especially as Paul presents it in Romans 9. I would think, “It’s not fair that God predetermines who will believe and yet He holds us responsible for unbelief.” That is precisely where Paul takes the argument: “You will say to me then, ‘Why does He still find fault? For who resists His will?’” (Rom. 9:19). I used to think, “Yeah, Paul, answer that question for me!” But then, I thought, he cops out: “On the contrary, who are you, O man, who answers back to God?” (Rom. 9:20). I would go around and around with my doubts, like a cat chasing its tail.
Then one day as I was in this cycle of doubt, Paul’s point hit me: The questions I was asking reflected my arrogance and impudence toward Almighty God! At that point, I laid aside my reasonings and submitted to God’s plain revelation, that He sovereignly has mercy on whom He desires, and He hardens whom He desires (Rom. 9:18), and I am not permitted to question His right to do as He pleases! Whenever doubts try to creep back in, I must control my thoughts by believing and submitting to the clear revelation of God’s Word.
You are responsible to control your thought life! God knows your every thought, and you must seek to glorify Him in your thoughts, just as you should glorify Him with your words and deeds. If you allow your thought life to run rampant, you will be troubled and battered about by all sorts of doubts. Sound, biblical thoughts will result in biblical behavior and in biblical emotions. Unbiblical thoughts in line with your fallen nature that questions God (“Indeed, has God said …?” Gen. 3:1) will result in sinful behavior and troubled emotions.
The disciples were emotionally all over the chart at this point. Just before Jesus appeared, they were excitedly saying, “The Lord really has risen, and has appeared to Simon.” But then Jesus appeared and they were frightened, troubled, and doubting. When they saw Jesus’ hands and feet, they were joyous, and yet their joy hindered their faith! They were on an emotional roller coaster!
Many Christians live that way! When they come to talk with me about their troubles, I listen for feeling words. “I used to feel so good. I felt like Jesus was near. But I don’t feel that way any more!” They are living by their feelings, not by faith.
Good feelings are wonderful and God wants us to have them. But the foundation for our faith is not in our feelings, but in the facts of God’s Word concerning His Son. Our feelings will invariably fluctuate. Who knows all the reasons we feel up one day and down the next? But you can’t allow yourself to live by your feelings. Christians must live by faith in the facts of God’s unchanging Word. Joy is normally good, but if it hinders our faith, it is not good. No matter how we feel, we must trust in God.
Thus we have to be careful, because our fallen nature makes us, like the disciples, prone to unbelief regarding the things of God.
The disciples could not believe that Jesus was really risen because it seemed too good to be true. Not just the resurrection, but the entire gospel may hit us the same way. Christ died for all my sins and I can’t do anything to merit it? All I can do is receive it by faith? What’s the catch? It just sounds too good to be true. But it is true! We must believe it!
Every religion invented by man teaches that the way of salvation depends upon human effort and good works. If you work hard enough and do enough good deeds, you will earn salvation or eternal happiness. But the true way of salvation, revealed in God’s Word, is that God sent His Son to die to pay the price for the sins of the ungodly. Paul puts it, “For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly” (Rom. 5:6). He does not grant salvation to those who merit it, but to those who realize that they do not and cannot merit it: “Now to the one who works, his wage is not reckoned as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is reckoned as righteousness” (Rom. 4:4, 5). As we saw with the thief on the cross, Jesus granted him salvation instantly and totally, apart from anything he could do and in spite of all of the terrible things he had done, simply because the thief asked Jesus to remember him when He came into His kingdom (23:39-43).
That runs counter to our human way of thinking! Surely, we have to pay a little bit for our sins? No, Jesus paid it all. He picked up the whole tab. You can’t even leave the tip! Surely, we have to make promises to do better in the future? No, God’s salvation is not based on your promises, but rather, on His promises. Surely, there’s a catch in it somewhere? The fine print probably says that I must volunteer to go to the mission field or join a monastery. No, God offers total, instant, and eternal pardon to every sinner who will repent and trust in Jesus as his sin-bearer.
Many times I have explained the gospel to someone and asked, “What do you think?” The person has said, “That’s too simple!” They are prone not to believe it because everything in life seems to have a catch. The news that Christ died for their sin, that He was raised from the dead, and that He offers eternal life as a free gift, just sounds too good to believe. But,
All of the men in that room had believed in Jesus as Savior, and yet they were still struggling with unbelief regarding the resurrection. This shows us that believers must fight against unbelief and seek to come to a full assurance of faith. Our Lord’s dealing with them shows us how gently He works with us to lead us to the place of full assurance. Here He did three things:
Although some Greek manuscripts omit it, I believe that Jesus’ opening greeting, “Peace to you,” was part of Luke’s original gospel. While it was the common Jewish greeting, in these circumstances it surely meant more than just, “Hello.” Jesus easily could have been angry with these men for deserting Him in His hour of need. He could have laid into them because of their doubts. While He rebukes them for their doubts, His tone is gentle and gracious. He extends to them His peace in order to lead them to a full assurance of faith.
The Lord knew the disciples’ pasts. He knew how little faith they had. He knew how they had slept in the garden when they should have been praying and how they deserted Him and fled. He knew how they had doubted the testimony of the women. Of course He had chosen them knowing fully their pasts. They were all sinners and they all had sinned repeatedly even after the Lord called them to Himself. Yet here He comes and offers them peace.
The Lord knows all about our pasts as well, and yet He extends us His peace and forgiveness. Listen to David extol God’s mercies:
The Lord is gracious and merciful; slow to anger and great in lovingkindness. The Lord is good to all, and His mercies are over all His works… The Lord sustains all who fall, and raises up all who are bowed down… The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and kind in all His deeds. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him; He will also hear their cry and will save them (Ps. 145:8-9, 14, 17-19).
The risen Jesus not only could pass through closed doors and vanish again at will. He also could read the disciples’ thoughts. He knew that they were troubled and doubting. But in spite of this, He gently extended His peace to them and led them to faith.
You may have a terrible past, even after you professed faith in Christ. You may be struggling right now with doubts and fears, in spite of the Lord’s many mercies to you. Jesus knows your every thought, and yet He extends His peace and forgiveness to you. Right after telling us that all things are open and laid bare before the Lord’s eyes, the writer of Hebrews encourages us to “draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:13, 16). Let the abundant grace of our Lord lead your doubting heart to repentance and to a full assurance of faith.
The Lord catered to their weakness and doubts by showing them His hands and His feet. He invited them to touch Him and verify that He was not a ghost, since He had flesh and bones. Then, to further verify that it was He, bodily risen from the dead, He took a piece of broiled fish and ate it in their presence (the words about the honeycomb were probably not original to Luke). Jesus helped their shaky faith by giving them solid evidence that His is who He claimed to be. If we are struggling with doubts and fears, we need a clearer view of who Jesus really is.
Jesus’ resurrection body is the only body that will be in heaven with scars on it. If you are scarred or disfigured, your resurrection body will be recognizable as you, but the imperfections will be removed. But Jesus will still be the “Lamb standing, as if slain” (Rev. 5:6). When He comes, Israel will look on Him whom they pierced and mourn (Zech. 12:10). Jesus’ perpetual scars on His hands, His feet, and His side assure us that He who died is the same as He who was raised from the dead for our salvation. His wounds assure us of His great love, that He, the eternal Son of God, would endure such abuse for us. His wounds also remind us of the fact that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins. He bore our sins in His body on the cross! His wounds assure us that He is our high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses, since He too was tempted (the above thoughts are developed more fully by Charles Spurgeon, “The Wounds of Jesus,” The New Park Street Pulpit [Baker], 5:233-240).
Although His resurrection body was different than our mortal bodies, in that it could pass through walls and appear and disappear at will, it still was a body. He was not a ghost or spirit. Jesus took great pains here to prove to the disciples that He was raised bodily. They could see and touch Him, and He could eat.
Some have taught that Jesus’ words, “flesh and bones,” are significant, since Paul says (1 Cor. 15:50) that flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom. They have argued that Jesus’ resurrection body did not have blood. But that is to misunderstand Paul’s words and to attach a wrong significance to Jesus’ words here. Paul simply meant that our present mortal bodies must be changed to be fit for heaven. Jesus here says “flesh and bones” because that is what is visible and tangible.
The point is, He was raised bodily, and when He returns, He will raise up all who have died in Him and give us new, resurrection bodies (1 Cor. 15:20-54). The evidence that Jesus gave His disciples that He was bodily raised from the dead should assure us to believe fully in Him.
I can only touch on this in passing today (24:44-47). Note the confidence that Jesus put in the written Word of God! Just as He did with the men on the Emmaus Road, so here with all the disciples, Jesus took them to the Old Testament to teach them how all of it pointed to Him and how it had to be fulfilled. If you are struggling with doubts, read your Bible and ask the Lord to open your mind to understand it, especially to see how the Old Testament predicted the person and work of Jesus Christ.
It really is true that Jesus Christ died for our sins, that He was raised bodily from the dead, and that He offers forgiveness and eternal life to every sinner as a free gift. And, it really is important for you to believe the testimony that He gave to His disciples. It will flood your soul with eternal peace, knowing that He has forgiven your sins and accepted you because of Christ’s righteousness. It will give you joy and hope, even in the most difficult trials, knowing that His resurrection guarantees your resurrection when He returns. It will make you “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58). Even though at times you will be tempted to doubt it, thinking, “This is too good to be true, that Christ died for my sins,” the Lord wants you to know, “It is true!” It’s far better than the news that you have won the Reader’s Digest Sweepstakes! Believe God’s Word about Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, and rejoice!
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
A young boy asked his mother and grandmother to play with him in his new sandbox in the front yard. He equipped each of them with a shovel and pail, which they promptly put to use at his request. As the two women became involved in conversation, they began to notice that people passing by seemed very interested in what they were doing. It was then they realized that they had become so busy in talking, they had not noticed that the little boy had gone into the back yard to play—leaving them alone in the sandbox. (In Reader’s Digest, 9/86, p. 25).
It’s easy, as time goes by, to lose your focus on what you’re doing and why you’re doing it. But if you forget what your purpose is, you can look awfully silly. It’s not uncommon for churches to forget what their mission is and to get involved in all sorts of activities and programs that do not serve that mission. Thus we must be clear about our mission as a church and how we are to fulfill it.
The risen Lord Jesus spells this out in our text. These words may have been spoken on the first Resurrection Sunday or they may represent a summary of what Jesus taught the disciples over the 40 days between His resurrection and His ascension. It was this teaching that transformed these men from being confused, discouraged, and fearful into bold, courageous witnesses who were willing to die for their faith and mission. Our Lord’s teaching here is not just for the apostles or for those in full-time ministry. Every member of Christ’s church is to be involved in seeking first the kingdom of God. We all must make Christ’s purpose our purpose. Here He spells out what our mission is and how we are to fulfill it.
We must proclaim repentance for forgiveness of sins in Christ’s name to all the nations, in the power of the Spirit.
In spelling out this mission, Jesus first mentions the source of it, namely, God’s Word (24:44-45); He then gives the subject of the mission, the work He had accomplished on the cross and the necessary response to it (24:46-47a); and He gives the scope of the mission, the world, or all the nations, beginning at Jerusalem (24:47b).
Just as Jesus had explained to the men on the Emmaus Road the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures (24:27), so here He explains concerning His death and resurrection that “all things which are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled” (24:44). The word “must” is the same Greek word that we found in 24:7 and 26, pointing to the necessity of God’s sovereign plan being fulfilled. Luke wants us to know that the death of Jesus was not an accident, nor ultimately the result of sinful men getting the upper hand. It was God’s sovereign purpose, in fulfillment of many Old Testament Scriptures.
This is the only biblical reference to the three divisions of the Old Testament. Usually it is referred to as Moses and the prophets (as in 24:27). This more thorough division emphasizes that every part of God’s revelation points to Jesus Christ, suffering for our sins and rising triumphantly from the dead to reign in power and glory. Darrel Bock explains, “Luke’s point is that Jesus is showing how the whole of Old Testament teaching fits together as promise and how it was always intended to be seen in this way” (Luke [Baker], 2:1937).
We need to understand how important the written Word of God was to the Lord Jesus Christ. His life fulfilled what God had written through His servants in that book. He was not a maverick, doing His own thing. He lived in obedience to God’s Word. Everything He did was in relation to the phrase, “It is written.” With regard to our mission, this implies two things:
The message is fixed in God’s Word. The disciples were not a bunch of clever religious geniuses who came up with some new ideas. They were not profound philosophers who speculated about what God is like and how we can get in contact with Him. They were witnesses of these things (24:48). Faithful witnesses don’t make up a story; they tell what they have seen and heard. And what they saw and heard in Jesus Christ was completely in line with what God had revealed in His written Word.
Even so, our message is contained in the Bible. It is God’s revelation to us about Himself, about our sin and need for a Savior, and about the Savior whom He sent, Jesus Christ. We are not free to modify the message if it isn’t to our liking. We are not free to take part of it that appeals to us and skip the parts that step on our toes. Yet many popular preachers do just that. One of them tells us that if Jesus could speak to us today, He would not tell us that we are miserable sinners. Rather, He would tell us to be proud of who we are, to stop putting ourselves down, and to start enjoying the dignity that is our God-intended destiny. He says that God wants all of us to feel good about ourselves and that to be born again is to be changed from a negative to a positive self-image (Robert Schuller, Self Esteem, the New Reformation [Word] pp. 47, 58, 68). This man sells millions of books in Christian bookstores, and yet he is making up his own message, not proclaiming the message of the Bible. God’s Word is the source of our mission and message.
Jesus “opened their minds to understand the Scriptures” (24:45). This shows us the deity of Christ, that He had the power to open the minds of men to understand what before had been hidden or confusing to them. The Bible reveals to us things that are spiritually discerned, which the natural man cannot understand (1 Cor. 2:11-16). Even though the disciples had been born again, their minds were not able to grasp what Jesus had predicted about His death and resurrection until this point (9:45; 18:34). Jesus had to open their minds and He had the power to do it. Any message or teaching that diminishes the full deity of Jesus Christ is not in line with Scripture.
This also shows us our total dependence on the Lord if we want to fulfill the mission He has given us. Those who do not know Christ are spiritually blind, unable to see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Cor. 4:4). No amount of clever salesmanship or persuasive arguments on our part can lift that spiritual blindness. We may be able to talk a person into making a decision, but only Christ can impart sight to spiritually blind eyes. So as we share the gospel, we must pray that God would open the person’s mind to the truth of His Word. In addition, we must pray that He would open our minds as we read and study His Word, so that we can understand it more clearly. The source of our mission is God’s Word. We need to be clear about its core message.
Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead so that repentance for forgiveness of sins could be proclaimed in His name (24:46-47). The main subject of the Bible is how sinners can be reconciled to a holy God. The Bible is abundantly clear that we cannot be reconciled to the holy God by our good works. If anyone could make it to God by good works, then there was no need for Christ to die on the cross. By His death, He paid the penalty that we deserved, satisfying God’s perfect justice, so that He is free to offer a pardon to anyone who trusts in what Christ did on his behalf. This is why Christ’s death was necessary. Without it there can be no forgiveness of sins. We need to be clear and to make clear three things about the work of Christ on the cross:
Christ calls us to proclaim repentance. Spurgeon has an excellent sermon called, “Christ’s First and Last Subject” (The New Park Street Pulpit [Baker], 6:341) in which he points out that Jesus began His ministry preaching, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matt. 4:17) and He ends it by telling the disciples to proclaim repentance. Thus repentance is the keynote of His ministry. Some argue that to preach repentance to sinners is to add works to faith alone. They say that all that is necessary for salvation is to believe in Christ; repentance may come later, but we cannot demand it before faith. Others define repentance as simply changing one’s mind about Christ. Before the person did not think that Jesus was God; when he repents, he changes his mind to thinking that He is God. Both of these views are inadequate.
Repentance means to turn to God from our sin. It is not separate from saving faith, but it is the flip side of saving faith, so that it is often used interchangeably for it (here; Acts 2:38; 3:19; 5:31; 11:18; 20:21; 26:18, 20). Spurgeon (in the sermon mentioned) draws out four aspects of true repentance: illumination, where God opens our eyes to the horrible enormity of our sin; humiliation, where we lay aside our pride in our own merit and plead with God for mercy; detestation, where we begin to hate our sin; and, transformation, where we leave the sin we formerly loved, not just outwardly, but in our hearts. While God imparts repentance and saving faith at the point of salvation, we do not leave it there. It is a lifelong process for the believer. As J. C. Ryle puts it,
Repentance and remission are not mere elementary truths, and milk for babes. The highest standard of sanctity is nothing more than a continual growth in practical knowledge of these two points. The brightest saint is the man who has the most heart-searching sense of his own sinfulness, and the liveliest sense of his own complete acceptance in Christ (Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, Luke 11-24, pp. 518-519).
How can a person who has a hard heart toward God, a person who is blinded by pride in his own goodness, a person who is dead in transgressions and sins, repent? Is he supposed to turn inward and work it up somehow? That would be impossible! The Bible clearly states that while it is our duty to repent (Acts 17:30), God must grant repentance (Acts 5:31; 11:18). If you lack a repentant heart, ask God to give you one. Keep asking until He grants it. When He does, you will not boast in your repentance, but only in God’s free grace.
Forgiveness of sins is the first and foremost need of every person who has sinned against God. Sinners do not first need to know how to patch up their broken marriages. They don’t first need to know how to succeed in life. They certainly do not first need to know how to improve their self-esteem! Sinners need to know how they can obtain forgiveness from God. God’s answer is, sinners will be forgiven when they repent of their sins and trust in Christ’s blood that was shed on the cross.
Such forgiveness is not partial; it is total. The blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7; Heb. 10:10-18). The forgiven sinner who has trusted in Christ’s shed blood need never fear that God will bring up some hidden sin at the judgment. As Paul proclaims, “Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us” (Rom. 8:33-34). Thus nothing can separate us from God’s great love in Christ (Rom. 8:35-39)!
God’s forgiveness in Christ is granted instantly at the moment the sinner repents and turns to Jesus Christ for pardon. It is not based on our earning it by our penance or merit over time. It is granted by His free and abundant grace. Because God grants it by His grace and because He has promised never to take back His gift, it will never be rescinded. You don’t have to worry about a recall!
Further, God’s forgiveness is offered to the worst of sinners. Jesus told the disciples to proclaim this message of forgiveness “beginning from Jerusalem” (24:47). What had just happened in Jerusalem? They had killed their Messiah! In spite of repeated warnings and the evidence of repeated miracles, the religious leaders in Jerusalem had wickedly murdered the Lord of glory! Surely the disciples weren’t hearing the Lord correctly? “Jerusalem? You want us to proclaim forgiveness of sins in this sinful city?” Yes, thank God, His judgment on that city was delayed! The Lord’s words, “beginning at Jerusalem,” tell us that there is no sinner that God cannot save. Our mission is to offer forgiveness of sins to the worst of sinners if they will repent.
If this message came from men, we could not believe it. If the disciples had concocted the plan that if the worst of sinners would repent and believe in Jesus, he would be instantly, totally, and permanently forgiven, we would have said, “That can’t be!” But the risen Lord Jesus Christ commands them to proclaim this message in His name, that is, by His authority and by virtue of everything that He is and everything that He did in His death and resurrection in fulfillment of the Scriptures.
If you are sharing Christ and someone tries to argue with you, don’t join the argument as if it is your word against his word. Rather, point them to God’s Word. You cannot raise a dead sinner to life, but the name of Jesus can! “There is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). We are to go in Jesus’ authority, proclaiming who He is and what He has done. The subject of our mission is the person and work of Jesus Christ, who offers forgiveness of sins to every repentant sinner in His name.
Thus the source of our mission is the Word of God. The subject of our mission is the work of Christ.
We are to proclaim this message “to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem.” The word “nations” is the Greek ethne, from which we get our word “ethnic.” As you probably know, in the past 25 years there has been a radical new focus in missions, the “people-group” approach. Ralph Winter, who pioneered this concept, defines a people group as “the largest group within which the Gospel can spread as a church planting movement without encountering barriers of understanding or acceptance” (Mission Frontiers, June, 2000, p. 25). In 1974, approximately one-half of the world’s population lived in unreached people groups. Today, just one-third are in that category. So progress is being made, but there is much work left to be done. One-third equals two billion people!
How this concept works, for example, is that rather than viewing the nation of Mexico as one nation, it is viewed as consisting of many different people groups who have different primary languages, customs, and cultural characteristics. To evangelize Mexico, we must see churches planted in each of these people groups. To that end, our church has adopted one group, the Durango Nahuatl, as an unreached group that we are committed to reach through prayer, finances, and other means.
To be obedient to Christ’s command, we need to send missionaries to these many unreached groups around the world. Even if we saw thousands come to Christ in Flagstaff, unless we cross linguistic and cultural barriers with the gospel, there will still be two billion unreached people who have no opportunity to hear about Jesus Christ. So we must have our focus on the lost people groups of the world. Pray for them to be reached. For years, our family has used the “Global Prayer Digest” (available from the U.S. Center for World Mission), a monthly prayer guide for the unreached peoples of the world. Support missionaries committed to reaching these unreached groups. Instill a vision for missions in your children. Be open to God’s leading you to go. We should begin in our Jerusalem, but our eyes should be on the whole world. By the way, we have a unique opportunity in Flagstaff, with over 400 international students in our town. If we neglect reaching out to them, we are not obeying our Lord’s command here.
Admittedly, it is an overwhelming task! How can we possibly do it? The Lord tells us in verse 49:
Again, note the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ and the implicit reference to the Trinity here. Jesus has the authority to send forth the promise of His Father, by which He means the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17, 26; 16:7-14; Acts 1:8; 2:33). To be clothed with the Spirit is a word picture that describes being surrounded and marked by the Spirit, just as your clothes cover your body and identify you to others. On the Day of Pentecost, ten days after Jesus’ ascension, He sent the Holy Spirit on His followers in fulfillment of this promise. Since that day, all who repent and trust in Christ receive the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:13). But we must learn to walk in the Spirit, depending on His strength, doing nothing to grieve or quench His fullness and power in our lives (Gal. 5:16-23; Eph. 4:30; 5:18; 1 Thess. 5:19).
Here we are looking primarily at the power of the Holy Spirit that we need to bear witness of Christ. It is significant that the apostle Paul asked the Ephesian church to pray for him, so that he could proclaim the gospel boldly (Eph. 6:19-20). I wouldn’t have guessed that Paul was lacking in boldness, but he knew his own weakness and asked for prayer in that area! He asked the Colossians to pray that he could make the gospel clear (Col. 4:4). Again, I would have thought that Paul of all people could make the gospel clear! Yet he knew that he must depend on the Holy Spirit when he proclaimed the gospel. He also asked for prayer that God would open doors for the word.
If Paul needed prayer for these things, how much more should we be praying for the Holy Spirit to empower us and provide openings so that we can proclaim the gospel to those who are lost! You have probably seen things on TV where they said, “Do not try this at home!” They mean, you could get hurt since this is a dangerous activity. The warning regarding witnessing is, “Do not try this in your own strength!” You need the Holy Spirit’s power!
Three concluding applications: (1) Make sure that you can present by memory the basic plan of salvation, with appropriate Scripture references. If you do not have in mind a basic outline of the gospel, along with the Bible verses to support it, you cannot be an effective witness. If you’d like training, sign up for the Evangelism Explosion class. Get a copy of the tape by Bill Fay.
(2) Ask God to keep you focused on your mission. Don’t get sidetracked into the sandbox of secondary things while souls around you need to hear about the Savior. Ask God for opportunities to bear witness. Pray for world missions. Give to missionaries. Pray about being involved yourself in missions. All the junk we work so hard to collect is going up in smoke someday. The souls that we reach for Christ will be with us in heaven for eternity.
(3) Remember, your mission is to be a witness. Jesus didn’t call us to be champion debaters or brilliant orators or astute philosophers. He called us to be witnesses. The job of a witness is simple: he tells what he has seen and heard. Like the man born blind whom Jesus healed, you may not be able to debate theology, but you can say, “One thing I do know, that, whereas I was blind, now I see” (John 9:25). You can tell people, “I know that if you will repent of your sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, He will forgive all your sins. He did that for me. He will do that for you.”
Our mission: To proclaim repentance for forgiveness of sins in Christ’s name to all the nations. How we fulfill it: In the power of the Holy Spirit.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation
Usually good-byes are sad times. Thankfully, modern technology has lessened the impact of being separated from loved ones. A hundred years ago, if your loved one went to Africa, he would get on a boat and you would not see him again for months, if not years. But today, even if he goes half way around the world, he is still just a day’s flight from home. A hundred years ago, a letter would take months to go by boat to another continent, whereas now by email you can have daily interaction with someone almost anywhere in the world.
The most difficult good-byes, however, are those that are final in this life. When you know that you will not be seeing your loved one again this side of heaven, you are filled with sorrow at the parting. For this reason, it seems strange that the disciples’ response to Jesus’ final parting from them as He ascended into heaven was not grief and sorrow, but great joy. Luke began his gospel with the angels announcing to the shepherds concerning Jesus’ birth, “I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people” (Luke 2:10). Now Luke leaves his readers to ponder the thought, “Why did the disciples have great joy when Jesus ascended?” He wants us to ask ourselves, “Is my life filled with great joy because Jesus is ascended? Am I continually blessing God because Jesus ascended on high?”
Seeing Jesus ascended on high should cause us to worship Him and rejoice.
Before we look at the implications of Jesus’ ascension, we should be clear that it did not occur on the same day as the resurrection, as some critics allege. If we only had Luke 24, we might think so. But in Acts 1:3-11, Luke makes it plain that this event took place 40 days after His resurrection. It is inconceivable that Luke there contradicted himself here. The two accounts are not at odds with each other.
There are at least three reasons that Jesus’ ascension should cause us to worship Him and rejoice:
Jesus did not leave this earth because He had been rejected and crucified by sinful men. He did not say, “If that’s the way you’re going to treat Me, then I’m out of here!” He didn’t leave in defeat or frustration. He left because He had accomplished the work that the Father had sent Him to do (John 17:4). On the night before His death, Jesus told His disciples, “I came forth from the Father and have come into the world; I am leaving the world again and going to the Father” (John 16:28).
What was the work that Jesus came into this world to accomplish? We don’t have to speculate. The angel told Joseph plainly, “He will save His people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21). The problem of the human race is that our rebellion from God separated us from Him. Through Adam’s sin, the entire human race was plunged into sin and its penalty, death (Rom. 5:12). No amount of good works or penance can take away our sins and reconcile us to the holy God. Thus we are lost and in need of a Savior. We cannot save ourselves. The mission of Jesus, as He states in Luke 19:10, was “to seek and to save that which was lost.”
As Luke 1:26-38 makes plain, Jesus’ birth was no ordinary human birth. Rather, a woman who had not had relations with a man conceived Jesus through the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit coming upon her, so that Jesus is uniquely the Son of God, God in human flesh. By His holy life, lived in dependence upon the Father, Jesus showed us how men and women should live. By His sacrificial death on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sins. His bodily resurrection from the dead is proof that God accepted His sacrifice and that God’s full approval is upon Jesus, His anointed one. Thus now the risen Christ commissions His disciples to proclaim repentance for forgiveness of sins in His name to all the nations, beginning in Jerusalem (24:47).
Jesus’ ascension into heaven was the fulfillment of the prophecy that He made to the Jewish leaders during His trial, “But from now on the son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God” (22:69). There, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, He awaits the time that the Father has ordained to make His enemies a footstool for His feet (Ps. 110:1; 1 Cor. 15:25; Heb. 10:12-13). As the writer of Hebrews (1:13) states, God never told any of the angels that they should sit at His right hand until He made their enemies a footstool for their feet. But of Jesus, the Son of God, He says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the righteous scepter is the scepter of Your kingdom” (1:8).
Jesus, the eternal God, took on human flesh for our salvation. The fact that He is now ascended on high, seated at the right hand of the Father, shows us that He accomplished His mission on earth. And that should fill our hearts with worship for Him and great joy. This is the first time that Luke has stated specifically that the disciples worshiped Jesus. And if Jesus is truly risen and ascended into heaven, as they witnessed, then we can join them in adoration and great joy. It means that our sins are forgiven in His name. We now enjoy reconciliation with God through Jesus’ blood. We now have hope both in this life and beyond the grave, because Jesus is at the right hand of the Father on our behalf, waiting that day when He will come again in power and glory to receive us unto Himself. We can worship Him and rejoice because His earthly ministry is completed.
Jesus had told the disciples in the upper room, concerning His going away from them and their initial sadness, “If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I go to the Father, for the Father is greater than I” (John 14:28). He was not denying His own deity, but rather was referring to the limitations of His humanity. During the time of His earthly ministry, Jesus voluntarily limited Himself in dependence upon the Father. His glory was veiled. He submitted to the Father’s will, including the cross. But in returning to the Father, He would be restored to the place of glory and power that was His before the foundation of the world. And, as He promised, He would send the promise of the Father, the Holy Spirit, on the disciples to empower them for life and ministry.
There are many aspects of Jesus’ heavenly ministry, but consider these five:
In John 17:5, just prior to the crucifixion, Jesus prayed, “Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” Jesus thereby claimed to be pre-existent with God and one in glory with God, thus possessing the very essence of God Himself. Jesus’ prayer was fulfilled by His death, resurrection, and ascension. Peter, James, and John had gotten a brief glimpse of Jesus’ glory on the Mount of Transfiguration. But now Jesus is through the time of His humiliation, restored to the unapproachable glory that belongs to God alone.
The apostle John got another glimpse of Jesus in glory in Revelation 1:12-16. His response was not to say, “Hi, Jesus! Good to see you, again!” Rather, he fell at His feet like a dead man. The saints in heaven are gathered around God’s throne where they say, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever” (Rev. 5:13). Jesus is ascended on high where He shares the glory of the Father.
The fact that Jesus is now ascended to the right hand of the Father, and that He has resumed His preincarnate glory, but now in a human body, gives us hope that He will take us to be with Him. In our resurrected bodies, one day we will share His glory. Jesus is the first man in glory, and thus we have the assurance that He will transform our bodies and take us to heaven to be with Him.
Jesus is now at the right hand of God where He intercedes for us (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25). This intercession involves not only presenting our petitions and needs before the Father. Also, He presents His blood in the very presence of the Father as the propitiation for our sins (Heb. 9:24; 1 John 2:1, 2). Therefore we have continual access to God through Jesus our Advocate.
Have you ever needed to get something done through a high government official? If so, you know that having a connection can greatly speed the process. If you know someone who has access to the top official you need to see, you can gain a hearing. The ascended Lord Jesus Christ is our connection in the very presence of God! Through Him we have access in the Spirit to the Father (Eph. 2:18). Jesus’ ascension to the Father should cause us to worship Him and rejoice because He is there interceding for us.
He told His disciples that He went to prepare a place for them and that He would come again and receive them unto Himself, that where He is, there they may be also (John 14:1-3). I don’t know why the Lord of creation, who spoke the universe into existence, needs to prepare a place for us. Couldn’t He just speak the word and it is done? Probably, Jesus was using figurative language so that the disciples could understand. Like a carpenter working on a house, so the Lord is carefully preparing a place in heaven for us to be there with Him throughout eternity. The language pictures the Lord’s individual care for us.
The Lord not only said that He would go, a reference to His ascension, but also that He would come again for us. So Jesus’ ascension should fill us with great joy, because our future with Him in glory is as secure as His word. He would be a liar if it were not true that He is coming again and that we will be with Him in heaven.
Peter tells us that Jesus is now “at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him” (1 Pet. 3:22). Paul says that Jesus is seated at God’s “right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in the one to come. And He put all things in subjection under His feet” (Eph. 1:20b-22a). And, yet there is a sense in which all things are not yet subject to Him (1 Cor. 15:27-28; Ps. 110:1; Heb. 10:13). His kingdom is both present and yet future. Presently His enemies are not all yet subject to Him. But when He comes again in power and glory, He will conquer every foe and reign forever and ever.
He told the disciples, “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper shall not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7). Through the Holy Spirit, the disciples were empowered to carry on the work of Jesus, extending the good news of salvation to the ends of the earth. As Paul also teaches in Ephesians 4:8, “When He ascended on high, He led captive a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.” Thus the Holy Spirit gives spiritual gifts to the church for the building up of the body of Christ (Eph. 4:11-16). The disciples could rejoice at Jesus’ ascension because of His present heavenly ministry, which included the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on His people.
Thus Jesus’ ascension should cause us to worship Him and rejoice because it signified the completion of His earthly ministry and the commencement of His heavenly ministry.
Why didn’t Jesus take His followers with Him into heaven when He ascended? He left them here because He still had work for them to do in His name. As we saw in our last study, their mission (and ours) is to proclaim repentance for forgiveness of sins to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem (24:47). As we also saw, it is essential that we are clothed with the power of the Holy Spirit if we want to succeed in that mission. Our text reveals four other things that we need to be effective representatives for Jesus Christ in this evil world:
Jesus led the disciples out to the Mount of Olives (Acts 1:12), on the way to the village of Bethany. There “He lifted up His hands and blessed them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried up into heaven” (Luke 24:50b-51). The picture is that of the Old Testament priest blessing the people after offering the sacrifice for them (Lev. 9:22).
We tend to think of a blessing as a nice gesture that doesn’t mean much in terms of actual consequences. But Jesus wasn’t just wishing the disciples well when He blessed them. His blessing was absolutely essential for them and for us, if we are to carry on His work. Without Jesus’ blessing, we can have large and successful ministries that will come to nothing in the end. We can build huge buildings and have thousands of people flocking to our church, but if we lack Jesus’ blessing, it’s all just wood, hay, and stubble that will be consumed by the fire of His judgment. “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it” (Ps. 127:1).
Do you covet God’s blessing on your life and ministry? Like Jacob wrestling with the angel of God, we should lay hold of Him and say, “I will not let you go unless you bless me” (Gen. 32:26). God’s blessing means that the results of our labors are not in proportion to our abilities or efforts. The results have lasting spiritual impact that we never could have achieved in our own strength. In God’s work, His blessing means everything. Wrestle with Him until you have it!
As I said, this is the first reference in Luke to the disciples worshiping Jesus. Worship should always precede work. Any work we do for the Lord should be the overflow of our hearts being full of adoration and love for Him. We hear a lot about burnout in ministry. One major cause of burnout is when our work gets ahead of our worship. When we feel that we’re just cranking out whatever we do to serve the Lord, we need to stop and get our hearts right before Him. The hands that Jesus lifted up in blessing were pierced hands. As the disciples gazed upward at Jesus, lifting up His hands, they would have been reminded that He gave Himself for them on the cross. That is the motivation for all that we do for the Lord (Gal. 2:20).
I’ll never forget the only time I heard the late Alan Redpath speak. He told us of a time when his ministry seemed to be prospering. He had speaking opportunities pouring in from around the world. It seemed that all that he dreamed about in ministry was coming true. Right in the middle of this time, he was laid up in the hospital with a stroke. His ministry came screeching to a halt. He couldn’t accept any speaking engagements. He couldn’t write any books. All he could do was lie there in bed. He cried out, “Lord, why this? Why now?” He said that the Lord impressed on him, “Alan, you’ve gotten your work ahead of your worship.” I thought, “This man’s work was the Lord’s work! He isn’t some slick TV preacher, with a shallow, self-serving ministry. He is a godly man.” But he said that he realized that he needed to put his worship of the Lord back in priority over his work.
In a similar vein, Dr. John G. Mitchell wrote, “Just as much as we really worship, just that far will we bear testimony for Him. We cannot divorce real testimony from real worship” (Moody Monthly [12/79], p. 41).
As I said, Luke begins with great joy at the announcement of Jesus’ birth and he ends with the disciples filled with great joy after seeing Jesus ascend into heaven. Joy is a theme throughout Luke, but no where it is emphasized more than in Luke 15, where there is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents (15:7, 10), and where the father of the prodigal says, “But we had to celebrate and rejoice, for this brother of yours was dead and has begun to live, and was lost and has been found” (15:32).
As believers, we should be filled with great joy as we think often on the fact that Jesus Christ has forgiven us all our sins. Our joy is multiplied every time we hear of another sinner coming to repentance. As we saw last week, our mission is to proclaim among the nations the good news that if people will repent of their sins, they will experience God’s complete forgiveness. Our joy in knowing the Lord Jesus is the basis of our witness for Him.
If you lack joy, I encourage you to read the Psalms every day and write down on 3 by 5 cards all of the verses about joy, gladness, and praise. Set your mind on the things above, where Christ is at God’s right hand (Col. 3:1-4). He is there, having made forgiveness for all your sins, interceding for you, with all power and authority in the universe. Don’t rest until He gives you His joy. When He does, that joy will draw others to the Savior through you.
In verse 50, Jesus blessed the disciples; in verse 53, the disciples are in the temple, continually blessing God. Luke wants to show that the church, although it is to reach out to the nations, had its roots in the temple in Jerusalem. It was not a radical breakaway from Judaism, but rather the fulfillment of its many prophecies.
When the shepherds went and saw the baby Jesus, they went away glorifying and praising God (2:20). So here at the end, when the disciples see the risen and ascended Savior, they go away praising (lit., “blessing”) God. God has blessed us with all the promises of His Word; we in turn bless God. It’s like when my children used to give me a Christmas or birthday present. Where did they get the money to do that? They got it from dad! I gave them the money and they used it to buy me a present and I was delighted to receive back from them part of what I had given them. God gives us every blessing. When we return it to Him with our gifts or with our praise, we are blessing the God who has blessed us.
The disciples went away from these 40 days of fellowship with the risen Lord, culminating in His ascension, with a new vision of the glory of Christ. John Owen, the Puritan theologian, makes the point that in some measure, all true believers have the eyes of their understanding opened to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ as declared in the gospel. He says, “Our apprehension of this glory is the spring of all our obedience, consolation, and hope in this world” (The Person of Christ [Sovereign Grace Publishers], p. 243, italics his).
To the extent that we see the glory of the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ, we will be filled with worship, great joy, and thanksgiving toward God for His abundant mercies to us. If you lack these things, ask God to reveal Christ to your soul. Seek Him in His Word and don’t rest until you find yourself continually gathering with God’s people, blessing God.
Copyright, Steven J. Cole, 2000, All Rights Reserved.
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture Quotations are from the New American Standard Bible, Updated Edition © The Lockman Foundation