Sunday, September 30, 2012

Matthew 25:14-30 "Using What God Has Given You"

This week, we begin our study of biblical stewardship. Last week, we looked at the account of the feeding of the 5,000 in John’s Gospel. We saw the all-sufficiency of Christ. We saw that Jesus is enough; in fact He is more than enough for all of us. We saw that when we cling to Christ, then our fears about giving should be eliminated just like those of the young boy who gave of his basket of food. There will never be a time when we are without. This week, we turn to the teachings of Jesus during his earthly ministry, his parables; in particular, the parable of the talents found in Matthew’s Gospel.

First off, I need to say that there is more taught and referenced in this parable spoken by Jesus than we could hope to cover fully this morning. There are teachings about judgment, criticisms of Scribes and Pharisees, as well as the teaching that we are going to focus on this morning about investing what God gives us. Now, we will briefly touch on all of these other concepts, but what we are going to primarily pay attention to this morning is the responsibility that we have to use the gifts and the blessings that God gives us in order to glorify His name. To do so, we are going to look at the actions of the three servants and how their master responds to each of them upon hearing of how they have invested his money.

To put this parable in a much shorter manner; it is a story of a master who is going away on a vacation or to study abroad for quite some time. Now, this was a common practice of this time, and instead of letting his estate sit and dwindle and eventually die, he entrusts it to his servants in proportion with their abilities. He divides it up in portions of talents, and a talent is equal to about 20 years worth of daily wages for the average laborer. To one servant he gives 5 talents, one 2 talents, and to a third he gives 1 talent. Two of the servants double the money given to them and are praised accordingly. The third man invests nothing and finds condemnation.

Now I briefly mentioned that there was a trace of Jesus criticizing the Scribes and Pharisees in this parable. You see, they didn’t want things to change. They fought this man named Jesus who taught new things about God and claimed to be the second person of the Trinity. Christ was calling all to grow in the faith and to dig deeper into the things of God. The Scribes and Pharisees wanted to keep the status quo so-to-speak. They didn’t want any change to the way that religion was practiced in that day. Think about that for a second. These groups of religious leaders were not only not encouraging people to grow and dig deeper, but they were actually discouraging and condemning it. What if other areas of life refused to change? How far has medicine come because of a desire to be better? How far has technology come because of the desire to grow? Think about if we stopped in our Christian growth. What if what we learned as a child was as far as it went?

Let’s take this theme of growth and relate it to our current season of stewardship. This past week, I sent out a letter to all of you in preparation for our stewardship campaign, hopefully you all received it in the mail. As you read this letter, I hope that you saw that the focus our season of stewardship wasn’t that of “we have this amount of money that we need and our success is based on if we meet that need.” Instead, this church is choosing to base a successful stewardship campaign on whether or not there is growth, and not just growth in numbers, but real Christian growth and dedication.

In our parable, each of the three servants was given a sum of money by their master. Let’s just assume that the servants who were given 5 and 2 talents had shown their master that they had better financial sense than that of servant who was only given one talent. Honestly, this is just the way that it is sometimes. Amy is much more gifted than I am when it comes to financial matters. During a majority of our seven years of marriage, I have barely laid eyes on our bank account. For all I know she has been storing all of our money in an account with only her name on it. Her gifts are greater than mine in this area. I have no problem not spending money, but when it comes to savings accounts, IRA’s, investments, etc. I am terrible. If someone was going to put us in charge of their estate for a period of time, she would be a much better choice to handle a bulk of the estate to ensure that the money is being used effectively. So let’s don’t make a big deal out of the fact that the servants were given differing amounts of money because that isn’t what the focus of Jesus’ teaching is all about. What Jesus is trying to focus in on is not the amount that they were given, or really even the amount that was made, but what the servants did with what their master gave to them. We are all given different gifts and different amounts of talents. The fact that the number of someone’s gifts is less than the next person matters none. What matters is whether or not we invest those gifts to God.

Notice that the servants who invested their master’s money and made something out of it were praised, and praised equally. Regardless of the fact that one servant made 5 talents and the other only 2 talents the master’s response is the same. “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” Jesus is reminding us of something. He’s reminding us that He has furnished all of his people with personal resources for the sake of building up His kingdom. The Lord Jesus is reminding us that all of us have things in trust from God which He expects us to use for the building up of His kingdom and by which He will take an account at the end. We’re all given different amounts of money, talent, time, etc., but it isn’t about what we are given. The question is what are you doing with what you are given? Anything whereby we may glorify God is our talent. Our gifts, our influence, our money, our knowledge, our health, our strength, our time, our senses, our reason, our intellect, our memory, our affections, our privileges as members of Christ’s Church, our advantages as possessors of the Bible—all, all are talents. So you see, there is no shortage of things that we can give to God and use for the purposes of glorifying His name.

I can remember when I was a kid that my grandmother was always at the church working on something that was called the Chancel Committee. Now for those of you who don’t know, the chancel committee was entrusted with the responsibility of decorating the church, and the sanctuary in particular, for Sunday services. They also decorated the church for events in the life of the church like Easter, Christmas, funerals, weddings, etc. Now my grandmother didn’t have all the money in the world, she had what she needed to live, but it wasn’t as if money was there to just give it all to the church. And my grandmother loved her church, we always used to joke that she would have donated until she was completely broke if my grandfather hadn’t set money aside that she couldn’t give away. Instead of money, she had time. She was retired; she was still healthy enough to work, so she donated her time to the church. I point to this to show that there are so many things that we can give to God and do for our congregation in this coming year. Stewardship is so much more than money and figuring out the budget for the coming year.

So we see that we ought to follow the example of the two servants who invested what their master gave them. We ought to invest the blessings and gifts that our Master has given to us. Just like the servants in this parable, our investments into the Gospel will always offer a complete return. But what of the servant who did not invest the money that he was entrusted with. This parable condemns the man who will not try. It is very likely that the unworthy servant felt that it was not worth trying. After all, he only had one talent. Was it really worth the trouble to invest this mere 1 talent? I think that William Barclay answers this best by saying, “The world is not composed of geniuses. For the most part it is composed of ordinary people doing ordinary jobs, but these ordinary jobs must be done if the world is to go on and God’s plans worked out. It has been said with great wisdom, ‘God does not want extraordinary people who do extraordinary things nearly as much as He wants ordinary people to do ordinary things extraordinarily well.’” Furthermore, Abraham Lincoln once joked, “God must love the common people because He made so many of them.” The world depends on the man with the one talent.

My mom used to love to listen to Jeff Foxworthy’s tapes when I was younger. She especially liked the “redneck dictionary” segments that he did. One of her favorites was the word “usta-could”. You know, like I used to could do that when I was younger. How many things could we say that about in our lives? Think of the things that you have learned to do over the years and now you probably could not do even if your life depended on it. I have a college degree that required me to do complete high level courses in chemistry, physics, calculus, and other math-based subjects. I had trouble helping a Pre-Algebra class at a middle school when I substitute taught before coming to Houma. How could this be? Simple, I haven’t practiced. I have neglected something that I was given the ability to do. I have not used a skill that I learned. If we honestly examine our lives we will see that there is some talent which God has given us. It is death to hide that talent; it is life to use it in the service of men and of God.

Notice the reaction of the master and the unworthy servant once it is discovered that this servant has done nothing with the master’s money. Now it goes without saying that just like the master, our God is not happy when we don’t use what He has entrusted to us. But I want to pay attention for a brief moment to the reaction of the unworthy servant. You see, the servant doesn’t just own up to what he did; he doesn’t just say, “Master, I was lazy.” Instead, he pretty much turns around and blames anyone but himself. He primarily places blame on the master. I must admit that more times than I care to admit, that I have found myself in the role of the unworthy servant. I have made excuse after excuse for not using what God has given to me. I have blamed all kinds of things: the economy, my busy schedule, my family, my friends, my job, the uncertainty of the future, but I have rarely, if ever, just admitted to God, “Master, I am lazy.”

As we move forward during the season of stewardship how does this parable of the talents affect our thinking? As we gather together with our families and we try and figure out what we want to commit to God and to this church in the coming year, as we pray over what God is calling us to do, let’s keep in mind this fact: God wants us to invest what He has given to us. All that we have are gifts and blessings from God. God gives to each of us differently. Just because money is tight doesn’t mean that you have nothing to offer to God during this stewardship season. Remember, this stewardship campaign is focused on Christian growth. We all have ways that we can grow in our faith. And I promise you, investing in God and investing in the Gospel with a loving and joyful heart will bring you more delight than any other investment you could ever imagine. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

John 6:1-15 "THE FEEDING"

Our text this week is the beginning of a very important section of John’s gospel. There are some very important and famous texts that we will see in this particular chapter, and those coming soon after it. Our specific text for today, the first 15 verses of chapter 6, are the account of Jesus’ feeding of the 5,000. This particular sign or miracle is the only one performed by Jesus that is recorded in all four of the gospel accounts. Now, we’ve all heard this story numerous times and could give the quick overview in a matter of seconds, but I want us to dig a little deeper than just a surface reading today. I want us to truly see what a miraculous event this was, and I think that a good place to start on such a journey is to understand all of the conditions as they were at this point.

So, Jesus and his disciples come to the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee, which is called a multitude of other names, but most notably the Sea of Tiberius. They are thought to be in the town of Bethsaida or just outside of it; a distance of somewhere between 70 to 90 miles from Jerusalem, where the events of our last several Sunday’s occurred. And we know from the text that a large crowd is following Jesus to this place. They are following him we’re told, “because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.” Now, we’ve only seen a couple of accounts of Jesus healing thus far in John’s gospel, but it is very likely that there have been others healings that simply have not been recorded for us.

Jesus and his disciples go up a mountain there along the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee and they sit down and survey the crowd. They can see that there are many people gathering and waiting to hear Jesus say something or see him perform some type of sign. It’s at this point where Jesus chooses to put his disciples to the test. First, he turns to Philip and asks him where they are going to get food to feed all of these people. Now, before we look at Philip’s response, we need to pay attention to the words of John when he says that Jesus “himself knew what he would do.” Jesus knew well in advance what he was going to do, but he wanted to see the faith of his disciples before taking action himself. Philip, seeing the magnitude of the crowd says, “Two hundred denarii would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” Now, a denarii is the equivalent of one day’s pay for an average worker. So, Philip is saying that even 8 months’ worth of an average man’s salary wouldn’t be enough for everyone there to get even just a little bit of food, much less enough to satisfy their hunger. So that tells you a little bit right there as to the size of this crowd. Then, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, chimes in. He says, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish.” Now, had Andrew stopped there it would have been a true sign of faith. Had these been his only words, then he would have sounded as if he believed completely that Jesus could supply such a vast amount of people with such little resources, but his statement continues on. He says, “but what are they for so many?” He too doesn’t see how the contents of the boy’s basket can help the situation.

Now, I want all of you to understand exactly what amount of food we’re talking about here. We’re not talking about 5 big loaves of French bread and 2 great big redfish in this boy’s basket. We’re told that he has 5 barley loaves, and a barley loaf was the bread of the poor. It was the lowest quality bread that was available at the time, and they weren’t really loaves as much as they were small cakes. They were probably similar to the size of a Twinkie or some other little snack cake; hardly enough to feed this crowd that continued to gather at the foot of this mountain. And the fish, as we said earlier, weren’t anything to speak of either. They were primarily just used to give the flavorless barley cakes some taste. These 2 fish were probably each about the size of a sardine. So, what we read on the surface might allow us to think of a basket that is somewhat overflowing with food for one person, is indeed containing 5 dry Twinkies and couple of sardines. This amount of food would have been barely enough to feed just this one boy, much less anyone else who is hungry and in need of food.

Jesus instructs his disciples to have the crowd sit down, and as they are doing so they see that there are around 5,000 men. Notice that it doesn’t say 5,000 people, but 5,000 men. This number didn’t include the women and children that were present; a common way of conducting a count or census at this time. When we add the women and children to the number of men, we get a much larger crowd. Throughout the years, biblical scholar have tried to determine the total attendance at this gathering, and the numbers that they have somehow come up with range between 10,000 and 15,000 people in all. To give you some perspective on that amount, this would be somewhere around the number of folks that the Maravich Center in Baton Rouge could hold with its capacity of around 13,000 people. So, as this crowd is gathered at the foot of this mountain, Jesus is looking down knowing exactly what is about to transpire. He sees the loaves and fish that he has, and he knows that he is about to feed this multitude with such a minuscule amount of food.

“And Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted.” Now this would be a miracle in-and-of itself, and it is, but there’s even more. You see, God, through Jesus Christ, supplied for the needs of these people, but He supplied them with even more than they needed. “And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, ‘Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.’ So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from five barley loaves left by those who had eaten.” Not only had God provided them with what they needed to survive, but gave them more than they could possibly use. All of the 10,000 to 15,000 people in attendance had eaten until they were stuffed and yet there was more left over. There was more food in the twelve baskets of leftovers than there was in the initial basket given by the young boy. I don’t know what your history of food preparation is, but I can tell you a little about mine. You see, I’ve cooked for what I consider to be a substantial crowd before. I’ve cooked for upwards of 200 to 250 people before. I’ve cooked everything from burgers and hotdogs to chicken to pork tenderloin to boiling crawfish, and I’ve even smoked a few pork shoulders for making some pulled pork sandwiches. And if these experiences have taught me one thing, it’s that people can eat when someone else is providing the food. What may look like a large amount of food to you won’t go as far as you think when feeding other people, and here is our Savior, providing for the needs of everyone in attendance this day with a few scraps of food.

Now, I want to quickly talk for second about what didn’t happen here. You see, we read this passage and we see the all-sufficiency of Christ and we see the providence of God and we understand that this sign was done in order to let God’s people know that Christ was the Messiah and also to teach us that God will and does provide for our every need. However, there are those who don’t exactly see it this way. Some folks who read the Bible try and put it in terms that they can understand. They say that there must have been those in the crowd who packed lunches to share with other folks around them or that there must have been food stored away by the disciples because there’s no way that Jesus could take this small amount of food, feed 10,000 to 15,000 people, and then have even more left over after everything is said and done. They say that there must be something else to the story that we don’t have for us in our text because it doesn’t make sense to them, it isn’t rational. I mentioned last Sunday that God is speaking to all of us, but many of us don’t hear Him because we aren’t quiet long enough to do so. I also said that it doesn’t take us understanding something for it to be true. We, as fallen and broken creatures, have to get out of the way. We have to remove ourselves from the equation so that we don’t get in the way of God. God doesn’t need us to believe in Him, but we are the ones who need to believe and submit to God the Father Almighty.

After seeing this series of events takes place and seeing that there is so much food left over, the people are amazed. In fact, we’re told that they proclaim Jesus as “the Prophet who is to come into the world!” This isn’t a mistake on their behalf; after all Jesus’ three offices that he fills are that of Prophet, Priest, and King, but it’s what comes next that causes a problem. Much in the sense that had Andrew stopped his statement he would have been correct, so the people would have been right in leaving it at that. However, we’re told that “perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” They wanted to crown him right there on the spot. The problem is the type of crown and kingship that they had in mind. You see they were thinking of an earthy king and kingdom, and not the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom that Jesus taught about wasn’t an earthly one, but one that was inaugurated by his coming; the kingdom of God.

It’s quite simple: God is more than enough. God is greater than anything that we could imagine or ask for. The kingdom of heaven is beyond compare. Just as those in attendance experienced that day, God will supply for our every need. No matter what we perceive to be the situation, there is no limiting the power of God. Christ has come and his work is completed for us this day. Let us all rest in the promises and provisions of God the Father Almighty; thanking Him for all that He has done on our behalf. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sunday, September 16, 2012

John 5:30-47 "Can I Get A Witness?"

When Amy and I came and visited Houma for the first time a little less than a year ago, one thing caught my eye on the way into town. No, it wasn’t the marshland, the architecture, or anything like that. In fact, it was really quite odd that I noticed this particular thing at all. It’s something that you probably don’t even notice, because I don’t notice it anymore. What caught my eye was the number of places advertising that they were notaries. I know that’s odd, but the reason I noticed this is because in MS, where we had both spent most of our lives, a notary doesn’t advertise like that. Why, you can just walk into your bank in MS and there will be a notary there ready to take care of what you need free of charge. The purpose of a notary is to verify or witness that the signature(s) on a document are indeed from those who they are supposed to be. While it might be a headache to track down a notary at times, it is an important and valuable requirement of legal documents. What if I were to sign a legal document on the appropriate line, and then sign my name on the witness line also since I had seen me sign my own name? That wouldn’t be a very effective witness that I was indeed who signed the document.

In the court of law in biblical times, spanning back to the days in the wilderness through Jesus’ day and extending even further, a crime required proof, just as it does today. And there couldn’t just be one witness to a crime, but there had to be at least two witnesses to a crime for the testimony any witness to be considered valid. There was never a he-said-she-said, but a he-said-they-said. This is the reason why Jesus tells the Jews who are accusing him of the crime that we have looked at over the last two weeks, the one about breaking Sabbath laws, the words of verse 31, “If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not deemed true.” In other words, Jesus is saying, “Don’t just take my word that I am who I say I am. There have been numerous others who have testified about my identity.” And what Jesus goes on to do over the next 15 verses, is to give us no less than four different witnesses other than himself about his identity and his claim to be the Son of God.

The first witness that Jesus gives is that of John the Baptist, a figure that we looked at in great detail during the beginning of our study of John’s gospel. And this would have been a great place to start seeing as how John would have at the very least been a familiar figure to many at this time. In fact, there would have still been areas where John was even more popular than Jesus. Every Jew in Israel had heard of John the Baptist, because of his restoration of the Old Testament office of a prophet. For you see, before John, there had been an almost 400 year absence of prophets of God. In keeping with the language already used of John in this gospel, Jesus refers to him as a “burning and shining lamp.” John was a spotlight whose ministry it was to shine and direct attention to the coming Messiah Jesus Christ. Jesus is telling these men here, these men who many of whom very much believed the words of John the Baptist, that Jesus himself is the fulfillment of John’s own witness. He’s saying to them, “Look, you believed John to be a prophet. You believed John to be pointing the way to a coming Messiah. Well, I am that Messiah. Yet, you do not accept my claim and authority?”

So, Jesus chooses to move on from John and now focus their attention on his miracles. We have seen several accounts of Jesus performing miracles already in our look at the first 5 chapters of John’s gospel. Keep in mind that these were not mere tricks in order for those around Christ to accept that he had some supernatural ability. These miracles were signs that Jesus was sent by God. The signs that we have seen so far involve making something out of nothing or bringing life out of death. You see, Jesus isn’t saying that just because he has done these works that he must be who he says he is. He is saying that these signs and miracles that have been done by God through him show that God Himself has authenticated Jesus’ identity and not just Jesus himself.

This brings us to the third witness of Christ in Jesus’ defense: The Father. “And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me. His voice you have never heard, his form you have never seen, and you do not have his word abiding in you, for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.” R.C. Sproul, in his commentary on this section, points out the fact that obviously none of these men were present during Jesus’ baptism. Do you remember that account? No, we haven’t looked at it in our study of John’s gospel because it isn’t recorded for us in this account. We’re told in Matthew’s gospel account, however, that the heavens opened and the Spirit of God was seen descending like a dove and coming to rest of Jesus. We’re told that a voice from heaven, the voice of God, said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” You see, had these men been there for this event, then there would have been no doubt in their minds as to who Jesus is, but Jesus was there. Jesus knows exactly who he is and he is telling them as much. The problem is that they are still resisting believing him. There is a popular saying that goes, “God said it; I believe it; that settles it.” Now, that’s a catchy phrase, but it’s wrong. You see it should read even shorter, “God said it’ that settles it.” There’s no need for us to believe just for it to be true. Just as we said last Sunday when discussing the Trinity, our understanding and our belief isn’t really necessary for something to be truthful. The Father has said that this is His Son.

The fourth witness that Jesus appeals to is the very Scriptures themselves. “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.” It is important here to note that these Jews that Jesus has been speaking to all this time are true biblical scholars. These men do much more than a 10 minute devotional each day; they spent vast amounts of their day studying and dissecting Scripture. They had devoted their lives to learning and knowing Scripture because they thought that it had some saving power in-and-of-itself. Now, it’s true that Scripture reading does lead to eternal life, but it’s not as if our salvation is based upon our knowledge of the Bible. I have known many a person who loved God with all they had, but they couldn’t tell you who Isaac’s father was or how many miracles Jesus performed or which letters were written by the Apostle Paul. I have known people who can hardly read, much less understand the history and words contained in Scripture, but they understand Jesus. Salvation comes from Christ alone, Scripture leads us to Christ and tells of the power of his sacrificial death and resurrection, but Christ alone has the power to save us.

These Jews were willing to study Scripture and prepare for the coming Messiah, but they weren’t willing to accept Jesus as that promised Messiah. Let’s put it in terms of politics since it’s an election year. Now I’m not going to tell you how to vote or try and influence your vote in any way because I don’t think that that is how this pulpit should be used, but would it even matter? For many in today’s world, we don’t even need to know who a candidate is or what they think, we just need to know what party he or she is aligned with. For many of us, if we hear a candidate from the party opposite the one we support speaking about a particular issue, we disagree with them simply because of who they are, or more importantly who they aren’t. So we can completely understand how these Jews would have read about Jesus, but because he wasn’t what they expected or really wanted, then they didn’t believe him to be the promised Messiah.

Friends, the Bible is much more than the life of Christ. It is much more than the gospels and the rest of the New Testament. It is comprised of the Old and New Testaments, spanning all of time from creation to about 95 A.D., and every single word of it is about Jesus, and not just his earthly life. For those of us raised in the church, we are exposed to the New Testament at an early age. I can remember that aside from a few key stories and figures from the Old Testament, that most of my time spent learning about the Bible as a little child at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Meridian, MS was spent in the New Testament. The entirety of God’s word tells us about the story of redemption. It tells us of the wondrous creation, immediately followed by the disastrous fall. From that point, Scripture is the unfolding of how God saves his people and calls them to Himself; an account of redemption.

Perhaps the most chilling and condemning statement for us today is found in the final verse of this chapter, “But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?” Jesus is asking this group of Jews, “But if you don’t believe all that I have told you, then why would you believe me know?” For us today, we more likely could ask the question in a different why, “What else do you have to see to believe?” I acknowledge, just as I did Wednesday morning at our Men’s Bible Study, that I am probably asking the wrong group this question, but what more do you need to know beyond the shadow of a doubt that Jesus is the Messiah? What more do you need to know that God is real? Every breath of air, every blade of grass, everything in this world reflects the handiwork of God; what more can we see? What more could we hope to see? For those who want to say that what they need is for God to speak directly to them, and maybe you’re there, my answer is that He is, and He has, you just haven’t been quiet long enough to hear Him. Even in the midst of chaos, anxiety, destruction, poverty, oppression, or any other circumstance, God is all around us. Every single part of this world testifies that He is real and that He has blessed us beyond measure. What more could we ask for before submitting and giving all that we have and all that we are to Him? Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

John 5:18-29 "He Gave Him Authority"

Before we dive into our text for today, I want to briefly remind you of where we ended last week. You may recall that we looked at the account of Jesus healing the man in Bathesda after his suffering from paralysis for nearly 40 years. After being healed by Jesus, this man was found to be guilty of breaking a Sabbath law prohibiting work by a group of Jews nearby, and the man quickly shifted the blame from himself to Jesus for his breaking of such law. When Jesus was questioned about it by the Jews, his answer was anything less than satisfactory from their standpoint. After hearing his response, they not only viewed Jesus as violating the Sabbath, but they viewed him as speaking heresy when he claimed himself to be the Son of God and subsequently placing himself on the same level as God Almighty. A great crime in the eyes of the Jews, who since the time of their exodus from Egypt had been taught verses like Deuteronomy 6:4, “Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” Hence the reason why statements such as Jesus’, which placed him on the same level as God, would be so shocking to the Jews. This is where we find ourselves today; Jesus is teaching this Jewish group what authority he has to make such claims.

Now, these Jews were most likely expecting Jesus to recant and somewhat repent of his words about God being his Father. However, much to their surprise, Jesus not only fails to retract his statement, but goes on to further explain why he made such a claim in the first place; he validates his previous words. During the first half of Jesus’ validation and clarification to the Jews we find the terms Father and Son used when referring to God and Jesus respectively. It is here that we are speaking of one of, if not, the most complex and difficult subject matters in all of Scripture. Here, we are talking about the Trinity. You have all heard this word before and if I were to ask you what it means then you would give me some answer that has within it the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. That’s exactly right; these are the three persons in the Godhead, all of them equal in power, substance, and existence. What makes this so difficult is that they are all separate, but one. Yes, I know that sounds difficult, but it is very much the way things are. It doesn’t make sense to us, and please don’t ask me to explain it to you so that you understand completely because then you will discover my own confusions that exist within this area. This is one of those great mysteries that we are told about in Scripture, but that we do not possess the necessary mental ability to fully understand. I know it to be real, and just because I don’t completely understand it doesn’t make it any less real. There are many things in this world that I don’t understand, but that doesn’t make them any less real. I don’t understand exactly how a cell phone works, but I know it does. I know that when I’m sitting in my office, that folks from all around the world can contact me through this little device that is the size of a stack of playing cards. Some of you may say, “Well, I call tell you exactly how a cell phone works.” Good for you; I’m glad that you understand that, but I just don’t have the necessary capabilities to understand it. I’m not wired that way. The issue with the Trinity, when it comes to our understanding of it, is that there has never been anyone other than Jesus Christ that has existed who had the capacity to understand fully the three-in-one nature of the Godhead. So the fact that there is confusion shouldn’t be what deters us, because the confusion is because of our sin. Believe me, the Trinity is real, all-be-it confusing and mysterious, it is very much real.

Jesus is telling this Jewish delegation that he isn’t doing anything just because he wants to, but because the Father has told him to do so. He is doing what the Father sent him to do. He really isn’t worried about some laws a group of men made up; he is only concerned with the fulfillment of the will of God the Father. If there is a violation of an earthly law for doing such work, then it is a problem with the law and not with Jesus himself. To assume that just because these were Godly men who had devoted their lives to God that they were somehow immune from making mistakes is preposterous. It would be like assuming that I am not capable of making a mistake in my understanding and thinking. As my sweet wife can attest to, I can’t even make it a whole day without making some type of mistake, much less a lifetime.

Adding to their confusion, Jesus goes on to describe for this group of Jews how works that they had traditionally seen as only done by God, will be done by the Son; i.e. Jesus himself. “For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will…the Father has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Father who sent him.” He’s speaking about resurrection and judgment, two things that would have been thought of as exclusive roles reserved for God, that Jesus is saying that he has been entrusted to do. While judgment might have been entrusted to some men to a certain extent, the power to raise someone from the dead was known to come only from God. And while these Jews are standing there with their jaws dropped, Jesus hits them with another statement, “Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him.” I love this statement. I know that sounds weird, but I cannot say enough about how much I love a statement just like this one made here by Jesus. In a world that teaches that all religions are pretty much the same and that we all worship the same God just in different ways, we couldn’t ask for any clearer of a statement than this one right here. You cannot honor (worship) the Father without honoring (worshiping) the Son. All of these other religions out there that many “knowledgeable” people try and compare to Christianity don’t do this. None of them, not one, worships Jesus Christ as the Son of God and as God himself. There are those that view him as a noble, honorable man. There are even those that put him on the level of a prophet. However, there is only one set of beliefs out there that claims Jesus Christ as the Lord and Savior, the second person of the Trinity, and that is the Christian faith.

Then, as they reach the point of probably not being able to handle any more truths about God the Father, the Son, and the authority of the Son, Jesus hits them with the final part of our text. He tells them that there is coming a time when everyone, even the dead, will hear the voice of the Son. He tells them that the Son, Jesus Christ himself, is the one who will judge all mankind. This is somewhat ironic, seeing as how they are the ones who are to a certain extent judging him at this very moment. Here, Jesus tells them three very simple truths. The first, is that there is life after death. The second, is that there are two “options” or paths for this life after death. There is the life eternal and there is judgment, or as the KJV puts it “damnation.” The third thing that Jesus tells this group of Jews, is that the path that they follow depends on whether or not they believe in Jesus Christ as their Savior, the second person of the Trinity, the Son of God. This takes us back to that statement that I professed my love for just a moment ago; the one about honoring the Son just as the Father is honored. The only way to enter into this life eternal and not into condemnation and damnation is to fully believe in Jesus Christ as Lord. There is no way around it. I don’t care how many options you present me with or how many choices you think there are, you are wrong. The only way to enter into heaven’s gates is the salvation that we have by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Don’t tell me that it’s about good works, being nice to people, following this rule or that rule, don’t give me any of that because I don’t want to hear it. It’s all about Jesus Christ.

Friends, there is only one work that comes into play that has anything to do with our salvation, and that is the very work that is represented by this table that we have before us today; the ultimate work and sacrifice of the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ; the shedding of the blood and the breaking of the body of the only man to ever live a life that was in complete obedience to the will of God. The perfection of Christ and the power of his death paid the price that was due for the imperfect lives of all mankind. These men questioning Jesus this day had no clue about what he had come to do, nor could we really have even expect them to. After all, even those closest to Jesus, his disciples, really didn’t understand fully what his ultimate work was to be. However, we know. We have the full account of events; we have all the information. There is absolutely no reason for us to no surrender and believe. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth, taking the form of a servant, and humbled himself to the point of death on a cross, in order that he might pay the price that was owed to God for all the sins of the world. Such a price, such a blessing, freely given to you and to me. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sunday, September 2, 2012

John 5:1-18 "Workin' on the Sabbath"

Whether it’s that first sip of coffee in the morning, or that sense of serenity that comes when you step into the bathtub, or even the feeling of relief that comes immediately after taking medicine, certain things just make us feel better. Even though science tells us that it takes 30 minutes for caffeine to enter our bloodstream, up to a minute for bathwater to regulate our body temperature and relax our muscles, and at least several minutes for medicine to begin its work (at least to the point where we can feel it), just knowing that something is being done helps our minds jumpstart the process. In our text today, there is a pool that has some healing effects on the people in this area of the city of Jerusalem called Bethesda. In fact, there are two pools with five columns and some covered areas around them where people waited to get into the water. It was thought that these two pools had some sort of healing powers. Those who waited by the pools would jump in at certain times in hopes that they would be healed of their various infirmities almost immediately. We don’t know whether or not these pool actually worked or if they had any healing powers at all, but the people there believed they did. Some of your Bibles might even say something about an angel coming down and swirling the water, giving the pools their healing power for a time. Without going into much detail, it’s most likely that there was just some type of event that happened that caused a change in the water. It would be similar to something like an artesian well, which works seemingly against the law of gravity, being combined with the healing of something like a hot spring. So it’s highly doubtful that this water was truly healing, but it did have some type of therapeutic element to it, even if it was only a mental one.

If these pools truly healed people, then we might not have been introduced to the man that we find in verse 5; a man who had been an invalid for 38 years. I mean, here was a man who had been almost totally physically disabled for nearly 40 years; if the waters healed, then he would have possibly at the very least, been in a little better condition. However, it is possible that because of this man’s near paralysis, that this was the first time that he was able to make it to these healing pools. It’s also possible that he had been in the pools, but it wasn’t during the times when the healing powers were active. You see, the pools were thought to have these healing powers for only a short time after whatever change it was took place within the water. This man was thinking that if only he could be in the water during the time in which the healing powers were active, that he would be cured of this dreadful disease that limited him physically for so long.

Jesus sees this man lying there. He can tell that this man has been in such a poor physical condition for quite some time. Judging by his age, he guesses that this is probably not this man’s first attempt at entering these pools and thus being healed of his affliction. This man most likely is thinking that Jesus is asking him whether or not he wants Jesus to push him into the pools so that he may receive their healing effects. We can gather that from his initial response to Jesus, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up.” It seems to be that there are always people jumping in front of this man so that they may be healed of their afflictions; a fact that no doubt had to continuously frustrate this particular man. His freedom from this condition was seemingly so close, but he has never been able to make that final push to be healed. Little does he know it, his greatest hope for healing is standing right in front of him.

Jesus says to this man, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.” Now, our text tells us that at once the man was healed and got up and walked off with his bed. While I do not doubt for one second that the man was instantly healed, I can’t help but think that there had to be a delay in the man getting up, even if it was only for a second or two. Here is a man who has been for the most part bed ridden for the last 38 years, and this man who he just met is telling him to stand up and walk. The man has to be thinking, “Fellow, don’t you think I would if I could. That’s the whole reason why I was asking if you would put me into the pool.” However, this man does indeed get up and walk off, taking his mattress with him.

Now, if this were the end of the story, it would be an amazing account, but it is only half of the story. The other half of the story comes when this newly-healed man runs into a group of Jews after leaving Jesus and the healing pools. They see this man up and walking around carrying his mattress, but what catches their attention is not that this man who was an invalid is now walking. You see, they most likely had known this man and had seen him numerous times before in his previous condition. No, that’s not what catches their attention; what catches their attention is that he is carrying his mattress. It catches their attention because this particular day is the Sabbath, the day of rest. To quote biblical scholar R.C. Sproul, “Where in the Word of God does it say it is unlawful for a person who has been healed of paralysis to carry his bed? You know the answer to that question: nowhere.” Obviously, Dr. Sproul is right about such prohibition being found nowhere in Scripture, but these Jews weren’t really going by God’s Word. You see, the rabbis had created a list of 39 specific types of work that were illegal on the Sabbath day according to their interpretation of God’s law. If I had that list for all of you to see, then you would find way down on the bottom of the page, at number 39, a prohibition against carrying something from one place to another. These men are more concerned with this man’s observance of rabbinical law than rejoicing in his being cured of a 38 year disease.

Since this man who has now been healed is breaking this rule, he is questioned by this group of Jews, “It is the Sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to take up your bed.” The man, quickly wanting to get himself out of trouble, comes back with, “The man who healed me, that man said to me, ‘Take up you bed, and walk.’” In other words, “it’s not my fault, this other guy made me do it.” Sound familiar? I can imagine that many of you, especially those of you with siblings have heard this before. And depending on whether you were the younger or older sibling, you probably have a very vivid memory of which side of such accusations you fell on, but I’m not talking about a personal shifting of blame, I’m talking about a biblical one. Way back in the beginning, in Genesis 3:12, when Adam is found by God to be eating the fruit from the tree and Adam says that it wasn’t his fault, Eve made him do it, the woman made him eat the fruit. This was sin shortly after creation, and it is still sin during the time of Jesus’ life. In fact this is sin for us today. When we make excuses and say that schedules are too busy or life is too hectic or I need rest, then we are shifting the blame off of ourselves.

This particular Sabbath, after all of the events of this past week, are proof of that. It is true that things could have been much worse, and I am thankful that they were not, but there is a laundry list of reasons why we could neglect the worship of our Lord this day: our yards are in need of cleaning, the pantry has to be restocked, I’m behind on my work, and the list goes on-and-on. Luke 12:8-9 says, “Whoever confesses Me before men, him the Son of Man also will confess before the angels of God. But he who denies Me before men will be denied before the angels of God.” Friends, when we choose to take care of those “other matters” instead of worshipping God, we are denying Him before men. We are saying to the outside world that what we have to do and what we have to take care of is more important that worshipping the Creator and Sustainer of all the things of this earth.

Our story for today, however, doesn’t quite end there. Later on, Jesus happened upon this man once again. Luckily for this man, this is exactly what he wanted. When the Jews had asked him who had healed him, the man didn’t have a name to give them because he didn’t know it. This second meeting gave the man a chance to learn Jesus’ identity so that he could report it back to the Jews. It’s worth noting, that many times when someone is healed by Jesus, their reaction is one of gratitude. This man, however, has no sense of gratitude and only wants to serve himself. After learning his identity, the Jews question Jesus about his working on the Sabbath and thus breaking of rabbinical law. Jesus answers them with, “My Father is working until now, and I am working;” a startling statement to the Jews. We need only look to the next verse to see why it was so heretical to them. Not only was this man named Jesus working on the Sabbath, but he now he is calling God his Father; in essence making himself equal with God.

Now we will take up much of this notion of Jesus proclaiming God as his Father next Sunday, when we look closely at God authority and the authority that the Father has given to the Son. However, what I want us to understand from this text is that Jesus is not simply working on the Sabbath, but He is the Sabbath. He is our rest and our refuge. This isn’t a discussion about whether or not we should or shouldn’t work on the Lord’s Day, nor should it be. This is an opportunity for us to see just how much we need Christ, but not only do we need him, we need to worship him. As I mentioned earlier, there are numerous reasons that we can think of to not get out of bed on Sunday and gather together with God’s people. In fact, we can probably come up with many more reasons for not worshipping than we can for worshipping. However, there is only one reason needed for worshipping. It is a trump card so-to-speak for all of you spade players. That one reason is to praise God for all that He has done and all that He is doing for you, for me, and for all of mankind. How could our response to such wonderful blessings ever anything but complete adoration, obedience, and praise? Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.