Whose Vineyard?

Matthew 21:33-46

The whole city of Jerusalem was in an uproar.  (Matthew 21:10, NLT)[i]  A crowd of people surrounded Jesus.  The crowd was shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!  Hosanna in the highest!”  (Matthew 21:9, ESV)  With the crowd trailing Him, Jesus entered the Temple and began driving out all the people buying and selling.  (Matthew 21:12)  He knocked over tables and chairs and caused quite an uproar.  Blind and lame people came to Him in the Temple and He healed them.  This caused even more shouting and uproar.  Even the children were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”  (Matthew 21:15, ESV)[ii]  This was not the normal way of coming into Jerusalem for Passover week, and it upset the chief priests and scribes.  They confronted Jesus about what the children were shouting.  The next day when Jesus came back to the temple, the chief priests and scribes confronted Jesus again.  This time they wanted to know who gave Him authority to do all these things.

Conflict between these leaders and Jesus had been brewing for some time.  They had discussed and plotted various ways to kill or eliminate Jesus.  In John 11:48, John says they were saying, “If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”  ESV

The conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders grew out of the leaders’ concern for their place and nation.  Jesus used a couple of illustrations to point out the reasons for the conflict.

Matthew 21:33-46 is one of these illustrations.  Jesus calls on them to listen to a story in order to bring to their attention the source of the conflict.

This story applies to us today, because the source of the conflict between God and man, between God and humanity, between God and me, between God and you has never changed.  The source of our conflict remains the same.

The story starts out:

A certain landowner planted a vineyard, built a wall around it, dug a pit for pressing out the grape juice, and built a lookout tower.  Then he leased the vineyard to tenant farmers and moved to another country.  (Matthew 21:33, NLT)

Who is the landowner?  God.

The landowner is God.

Notice that the landowner takes lots of care in building his vineyard.  He builds a wall around it.  He makes a winepress, and even builds a watchtower.  All of these represent an investment of time and resources.  They also represent care, thought, planning and energy.

The vineyard represents Israel.  God chose Abraham and called him out of Ur of the Chaldeans.  He carefully nurtured Abraham and his family, and when the time was right, He miraculously rescued them from slavery in Egypt.  He led them across the desert, feeding them with His own hand.  Israel was and is God’s vineyard.  He has nurtured and kept it for thousands of years.

The world is also God’s vineyard.  The Bible begins with the account of creation.  The first verse of the Bible is:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

God has nurtured and cared for this earth for thousands of years.  All of nature around us represents His care, thought, planning and energy.

The Church is also God’s vineyard.  The Bible says, “For God so loved the world…”  With this phrase, we begin to understand the care, thought, planning and energy God put in to calling out the Church for Himself.

You are also God’s vineyard.  What did you do to be born?  Why were you born?  How did you come to be here today and by what means did you learn to understand these words?  It all goes back to the first verse of the Bible – “in the beginning God…”

As we continue with our story, we see that the landowner leased the vineyard to tenant farmers.

Israel had some good tenant farmers.  Abraham, Moses and David stand out as good tenant farmers.  They took care of God’s vineyard, and helped it to grow and prosper.  They led it in the ways of the Lord, and nurtured it in a relationship with God.

Israel also had some bad tenant farmers.  Sadly, the bad were far more numerous.  Ahab and Manasseh stand out as being two of the worst.  Ahab killed all the prophets he could get his hands on, and Manasseh was worse.  According to tradition, Manasseh had the prophet Isaiah cut in two.

Jesus’s illustration speaks of the history of Israel when it says:

 ³⁴At the time of the grape harvest, he sent his servants to collect his share of the crop.  ³⁵But the farmers grabbed his servants, beat one, killed one, and stoned another.  ³⁶So the landowner sent a larger group of his servants to collect for him, but the results were the same.

³⁷“Finally, the owner sent his son, thinking, ‘Surely they will respect my son.’

³⁸“But when the tenant farmers saw his son coming, they said to one another, ‘Here comes the heir to this estate.  Come on, let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!’  ³⁹So they grabbed him, dragged him out of the vineyard, and murdered him.”

The landowner’s servants represent the prophets and judges the Lord raised up to lead, warn, instruct and help His people.

Hebrews says this about these servants of the landowner:

But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free.  They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection.  ³⁶Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips.  Others were chained in prisons.  ³⁷Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword.  Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated.  ³⁸They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground.  (Hebrews 11:35-38, NLT)

In His illustration, Jesus foretells His own death.  The nation of Israel was in the process of rejecting their Messiah, the Son of the Landowner.

Lest we are too harsh on Israel, remember the world is also the Lord’s vineyard.  How has the world treated the Landowner’s Son?  How has the world treated the Landowner’s servants? 

With over half of the world’s nations making it illegal to be a Christian, I would say the world is no better than Israel.

What about the Church?  It is also the Lord’s vineyard.

According to Gallup statistics released in May of 2017, only 24% of American Christians believe the Bible is the literal word of God.[iii]  In addition, at least half of those in the world who go by the name “Christian” have set aside the Word of God for the traditions of men.

Now to get down to you and me personally.  What about us?  You and I are each separately and individually God’s vineyard.  We belong to God and are stewards.  Is there anything that we have that we did not receive from Him?

In His illustration, Jesus points out what the issue is with the tenant farmers. 

He says the landowner sent his servants to collect his share.  The first issue arises because the tenants did not want to give the landowner his share.  In other words, they were in it only for themselves.

In another place, Jesus uses the example of shepherds and sheep.  He says:

¹²A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming.  He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd.  And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock.  ¹³The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.  (John 10:12-13, NLT)

The problem with the chief priests and scribes is that they were not looking out for the people that were entrusted to them.  They were looking out only for their own interests.  They were to be shepherds to guide, teach, protect and nurture God’s people, but instead of guiding, teaching, protecting and nurturing, they manipulated, controlled, schemed, stole and cheated.

This problem of being in it for their own interests was closely linked to another issue that Jesus’s illustration pointed out.  That is, they did not recognize the landowner’s property rights.  They thought it could be their own. 

In the story, when they decided to kill the son they said, “…let’s kill him and get the estate for ourselves!”  (Matthew 21:38, NLT)  Would anybody in his or her right mind even entertain such a thought?  As if, the landowner is going to say, “Oh, now that I don’t have a son, I am going to give you my vineyard since you are such wonderful tenants.”

Remember John 11:48 that I quoted earlier?

“If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation.”  ESV

These chief priests and scribes thought it was their nation.  They did not see themselves as tenants.  They saw themselves as landowners.

What about the world?

God created it and then told man to have dominion.  We are tenants.  We do not own it.  But, how do we treat it?  We first look out only for our own interests and then we think we are the landowners.  We think it is ours.  We do not recognize the landowner’s property rights.  God made it.  It is His.  He asked us to take care of it, nurture it and protect it.  How are we doing?

What about the Church?

God built it.  He gave His Son to redeem it, and then commissioned us to carry on the work.  But, we think it is ours.  We do not recognize His property rights.  We think we know better how to do His work than He, because we replace His word with our traditions.  What is more, we often fight and claw to get our own way, looking out for our own interests rather than caring for those God has entrusted to us.

What about you and me on an individual basis?

God gave us life and entrusted us with its use.  How are we doing?  Are we looking out for our own interests or are we nurturing what God has entrusted to us?

Two spiritual principles that we must take away from Jesus’s illustration are:

1.    It is all God’s.  Your body is not your own.  Stop treating it as if it is.  Your eyes are not your own.  Stop using them as if they are.  Your money is not your own.  God gave it to you.  Use it like it is His, because it is.  You do not have a house.  God has provided one for you to live in.  Take care of it as if it is His, because it is.  And, thank Him for it.  I am sure He wants you to enjoy it.  That is why He put you in it.

2.    Second principle, “Consider others as more important than yourself.” Taken directly from Philippians 2, this is what Jesus did.  He sacrificed Himself for us, and He is our example.  Stop looking out for only your own interests.  My goodness, how many of the world’s problems could be fixed if we just did this one thing?!

Review quickly:

1.    It is all God’s.

2.    Consider others as more important than yourself.

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[i] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[ii] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[iii] http://www.gallup.com/poll/210704/record-few-americans-believe-bible-literal-word-god.aspx. Accessed July 7, 2017.

Humility

Luke 18:9-14

What is the Gospel?

Gospel means “good news.”

We, the Church, have “good news” for the world.  This good news is summed up in the verse from Scripture that says:

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.  (John 3:16, NLT)[i]

Jesus spoke these words when He was explaining why He had come.  As He explained, He continued with:

God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.  (John 3:17, NLT)

A central part of this message is the fact that the world needs saving.  The truth that accompanies the good news that believing saves one from perishing is that those who do not believe are condemned.

The good news is good partly because there is also some really bad news.  The bad news is found in places like Romans 3:23 that says:

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.  (NLT)

With the fact that the central message of the Church’s message starts out with us all being sinners, it is astonishing how much today’s message applies to me and to all of us.

Today’s passage starts out with the following statement:

Then Jesus told this story to some who had great confidence in their own righteousness and scorned everyone else:  (Luke 18:9, NLT)

Jesus is addressing a human problem.  We all tend to have this problem.  Jesus lays out the problem in two parts.  First, His story is addressed to those who had great confidence in their own righteousness.  The second part of the problem flows from the first and it is that they scorned everyone else.

The human tendency is to despise those that are different from ourselves. For example, Christians are divided along almost every conceivable line.  Some worship without instruments and tend to condemn those who use instruments.  Of course, many who believe we should worship without instruments are full of grace and do not condemn those of us who believe differently.  However, the human tendency is to condemn or judge those who are different.  We who use instruments are tempted to judge as legalistic those who do not use instruments, and those who do not use instruments are tempted to judge as unscriptural those of us who do use instruments.  This is why Jesus says:

¹“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged.  ²For you will be treated as you treat others.  The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.  (Matthew 7:1-2, NLT)

This is also the problem addressed by the Apostle Paul in Romans 14 when he says:

¹Accept other believers who are weak in faith, and don’t argue with them about what they think is right or wrong.  ²For instance, one person believes it’s all right to eat anything.  But another believer with a sensitive conscience will eat only vegetables.  ³Those who feel free to eat anything must not look down on those who don’t.  And those who don’t eat certain foods must not condemn those who do, for God has accepted them.  ⁴Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants?  Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall.  And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval.  (Romans 14:1-4, NLT)

We all tend to justify ourselves, and will have varying degrees of confidence in our own righteousness.  To help us understand, Jesus uses a story. 

His story starts out with two men going to the Temple to pray.  Immediately, “two men” suggests a contrast, and what a contrast.  A Pharisee would have been the most righteous of the righteous.  They had more rules and kept more rules than anyone else.  Contrasted with this, the tax collector was the most despised class of sinner Jesus could have chosen for His comparison.

However, you will notice that both of these men were going to the temple to pray.  Thus, they were both going to meet with God.  At least, on the surface, it appeared that they were going to meet with God.  However, some go to the Temple, or the church, for appearances sake.  Although the Temple, or the church, is the house of God, for many it is just a place to go in order to be respectable and seen as good.  Everybody knows this, and so some use it as an excuse to avoid going to church.  Obviously, they must not want people to think they are good.  Or, by not going, they are professing that they could not go without pretending themselves.  (Avoiding church attendance because of hypocrites is itself hypocritical.)

This is where the contrast of the two men in Jesus’s story begins.  While they were both going to the place set aside for meeting with God, they both came with different heart attitudes.

As we look at the Pharisee, we will see him begin to pray.  It is said of the Pharisee that he “stood by himself to pray,” while it is said of the tax collector that he “stood at a distance.”  Since the story is a contrast, the understanding of their stance is best understood as a contrast.  The Pharisee is independent and confident, while the tax collector is more shameful or reticent.  Of course, since Jesus means to address those who were confident in their own righteousness, it only makes sense that the very stance of these individuals would point out the difference.

It is necessary for us to be independent.  Taking responsibility for one’s self and carrying those responsibilities is both necessary and good.  Confidence is also necessary for this.  However, Jesus is addressing the arrogance that considers one’s self to be better than others or scorns others.

The problem with the Pharisee is seen in his stance in that it is a self-righteous independence.  The house of God is a place for corporate worship.  The place to be by one’s self is in a private prayer closet.

The difference here with the tax collector who stood a distance away is that the tax collector shows a desire to approach but does not consider himself worthy to approach.

This difference in stance or attitude is very important to our understanding of our relationship with God.  None of us, not a single one, approaches God by any merit of our own.  In other words, not one of us is worthy to approach God.  Isaiah tells us that all our righteous works and goodness is as filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6), and the language used for filthy rags is extreme.  Let’s just say we might as well try to approach God with an offering of dirty diapers.

The Pharisee is self-righteously independent because he is better.  We have to be careful when we see somebody standing apart from the group because we can tend to think that they think they are better than everybody else.  Often, this is not the case, but for this Pharisee, it is the case that he thinks he is better.  In addition, he shows he thinks he is better by the content of his prayer.

Of course, his thanks to God is transparently just for show.  This is obvious because the entire prayer is one of comparison.  He is comparing himself to others.

We all compare ourselves to others, and some of it is unavoidable.  However, there is just one person that you will answer to God for and that is you.  I will answer to God for one person: me.  However, we must never forget that one of the main things we will answer to God for is how we treated other people.  We will not answer for how we compared to other people, but God’s second greatest commandment is to love our neighbor as ourselves.

In the illustration, Jesus makes the arrogance of the Pharisee as obvious as possible.  Most of us would blush to hear such a prayer in public.  However, most of us have harbored such thoughts in our hearts.  And, this is what this illustration is meant to point out in us.

Compared to this, the tax collector’s prayer is more clearly addressed to God, deals only with what the tax collector is responsible for and addresses a real concern. 

All of us are faced with the dilemma of how do we as sinful individuals approach a holy and righteous God.  If all our righteousness is as filthy rags, how can we be right with God?

Before God, we are all much more like the tax collector, but in our hearts, we all have enough pride to be more like the Pharisee.  This is why Jesus gives this example.  He says:

 “I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God.”  (Luke 18:14, NLT)

Jesus concludes by clearly stating the spiritual principle He wishes to convey.  He says:

“For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”  (Luke 18:14, NLT)

This is something taught consistently throughout Scripture. 

When the nation of Israel grew too proud of their temple and all their national accomplishments, God said:

“Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool.  Could you build me a temple as good as that?  Could you build me such a resting place?  My hands have made both heaven and earth; they and everything in them are mine.  I, the LORD, have spoken!”  (Isaiah 66:1-2, NLT)

He then says one of the most remarkable things.  I will use a more literal translation for the last part of Isaiah 66:2.  The ESV translates it like this:

“But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word.”

Do you see this?  God has regard for the humble and contrite.  The word translated contrite means crippled or broken, like crippled or broken legs.  The tax collector is a picture of a crippled spirit.  Listen to what God says in Isaiah 57:15:

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite.  (ESV)[ii]

God dwells not just in heaven but also with the contrite and lowly.

The Scripture warns us not to think more highly of ourselves than we ought (Romans 12:3), Philippians 2 lays out some clear teaching for us Christians.

³Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.  ⁴Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  ⁵Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, ⁶who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.  ⁸And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Are we willing to sacrifice ourselves for the sake of our neighbor?  Let’s remember the spiritual principle that Jesus taught:

“For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”  (Luke 18:14, NLT)

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[i] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[ii] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

Our Confidence

Paul says, “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”  (Philippians 1:6, NLT)[i]

Let me ask you a question.  What are you certain of?

I am fairly certain that the sun will rise tomorrow morning.  A lifetime of experience gave me this certainty.  In my lifetime, the sun has risen every morning.  I have missed a couple mornings, but the sun has not missed a single morning.  Historically, all indications are that this has always been the case.

Certainty comes in varying degrees.  I believe that it will be warm tomorrow.  It is warm today.  It is near the end of June in Kansas, which is usually warm.  However, I have experienced unexpected weather in Kansas, and, consequently, the degree of certainty is not as high as for the sun rising.

Experience and history are two things that help to increase our degree of certainty.  Both experience and history give me my confidence in the sun rising and the weather being warm tomorrow.

While experience and history are not infallible proofs of anything, they are reliable enough that we operate on confidence developed by experience and history.

Paul’s confidence is based on experience and history.  In addition, the Word of God also figures into his confidence.

Paul has made a simple statement of his certainty that God will continue His work in us, and before we examine what that work might be, I want to examine what his confidence is based on.  Can we trust it?

Certainty or confidence implies that we can trust or rely on that which we place our confidence in.

We put our confidence in all kinds of things every day.  Have you ever had your brakes fail while you were driving?  I have and it is terrifying.  Our lives depend upon the reliability of the things we put our confidence in.  We put our confidence in the cars and drivers we ride with, despite the worldwide study that revealed that over two out of every 100 of us will die in automobile accidents.

What we put our confidence in has consequences.

Let’s examine Paul’s confidence.

His statement, once again, is:

And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.  (Philippians 1:6, NLT)

As we look at this passage, it is clear that his confidence is in God.  God began the work.  God will continue the work.

Historically, we have examples of those who have put their confidence in God.

We have the testimony of family members, fathers, mothers and grandparents.  Not everyone has this testimony, but many do.  My grandmother loved the Lord, and I literally cannot think of a day when she did not talk about Him.  The Lord Jesus was faithful to her.  She relied on Him, and from her I saw that I too could put my confidence in Him.

Historically, we also have the examples of the heroes of the faith:  Billy Graham, D.L. Moody, Hudson Taylor, John and Charles Wesley, David Livingston, Jonathan Edwards, and the list of people goes on and on.  I literally have hundreds of biographies on my shelf and there are many thousands available.  All of these tell us and show us that we can safely put our confidence in God.

In addition, we have the examples of those recorded in Scripture -  Noah, Abraham, Moses, David along with many others including Paul himself – all showing us that it is safe to put our confidence in God.

We all put our confidence in cars and drivers, accepting the risk.  I do not think two out of 100 deaths are great odds, and the odds of injury are much higher.  However, no one has ever lost by taking God at His word.  I must put a caution or a qualifier on this statement though.  Many have been deceived.  Our enemy, the devil, is a liar and he deceives many.  God warns us:

Look to God's instructions and teachings!  People who contradict his word are completely in the dark.  (Isaiah 8:20, NLT)

And also:

Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.  (Colossians 2:8, NLT)

All teaching must be measured by the Word of God.  If we are not measuring everything by the Word of God, then our confidence is not in God.  You can have confidence in me only as far as I am faithful to the Word of God and my confidence in God.

Paul, whose statement we are looking at, was a violent persecutor of those who believed in Jesus Christ.  His own testimony is that he did it out of zeal for God.  He says:

…I used to blaspheme the name of Christ.  In my insolence, I persecuted his people.  But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief.  (1 Timothy 1:13, NLT) 

In speaking of our confidence, I must also speak of the danger of misplaced confidence.  Let me again borrow from the Apostle Paul who said:

¹⁷Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example.  ¹⁸For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.  ¹⁹They are headed for destruction.  Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.  (Philippians 3:17-19, NLT)

History is full of the examples of these enemies of the cross of Christ, and many are turned away because of this.  Many see the fruit of such lives and think that God is not reliable.  However, as Paul says, the conduct of these people shows that they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.  Do not judge God by the conduct of His enemies.

I have gone far afield in pursuit of the idea that our confidence is in God.  Experience and history teach us that we can rely on Him.  It is also experience and history that teach us that His Word is absolutely reliable.  His Word is so reliable that Jesus said, “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”  (Matthew 24:35, NLT)  God’s Word is more sure than the sunrise.

Paul brings up his confidence in the context of expressing his gratitude for the Philippian believers.  He says, “Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God.”  (Philippians 1:3, NLT)  

Paul labored hard for the benefit of the churches.  In Philippians 2:17, he likens his labor to pouring out his life as a sacrifice. He invested everything in these people and therefore he needed to know his labor was not meaningless or wasted.  Because of his confidence in God, Paul overflowed with gratitude.

His confidence in God in relation to the Philippians was that God would continue the work He had begun in them.

I want you to know how much joy and confidence this gives me.  I want you to share in my joy and confidence.

My heart breaks when I see a person in pain and in my role as pastor, I get to see people in pain.

However, I know the answer.

Our problems all exist because of sin.  Jesus died for our sins and rose again to give us life.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior, we have eternal life and our sins are forgiven.  However, we are not yet free from the presence of sin.  We still sin, and we still suffer the consequences of sin in our bodies.  For example, we all still grow old and die.  Our sins are forgiven, but the physical death of the body is still there because of sin.  We also are still subject to disease.  Sickness and disease came into the world because of sin.  Jesus died and defeated sin and paid the price for our sins and one day all sickness and disease will be done away with because of what Jesus did – just not yet.  We are waiting. 

Salvation is God beginning a good work in us.  Paul’s statement assumes that the work is not yet completed.  His confidence, our confidence, is that God will continue what He started.  This is exactly why James 1:2-4 says:

²Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.  ³For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  ⁴So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.  (NLT)

Peter says it this way:

⁶In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, ⁷so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.  (1 Peter 1:6-7, ESV)[ii]

We can rejoice in trials because we are confident that God is working.  We can rejoice in difficulties because we are confident that God is working.  We can rejoice in suffering because we are confident God is working.

Do you have a habit you have not been able to shake?

Do you believe that it is beyond God’s ability to deliver you?

Are you facing a particularly hard work situation?  You know of course that God is good and works all things for the good of those that love Him.  How confident does this make you?

Are you facing a particularly hard family situation?  You know of course that God is there in the middle of it all with you, and you can ask Him to have His will and His way.

You can trust God completely.

Talk with Him now about the trial in your life that is challenging your faith.

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[i] Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

[ii] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

Seeking the Lost

Luke 19:1-10

Jesus was passing through Jericho.  He had set His face toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:51).  The redemption of all humanity was His purpose.  According to Luke 19:11, the people were expecting the kingdom of God to be established immediately.  This was obviously a climax.  The people expected great things. 

Today we are looking at Luke 19:1-10.  This passage leads into the story of the triumphal entry of Jesus told in Luke 19:28-40.  The crowd that was following Him and the excitement that surrounded Him continued, climaxing in the Hosannas of His entry into Jerusalem.

This was also the end of Jesus’s ministry.  He traveled about Judea, Samaria and Galilee preaching, teaching, healing and baptizing for three years.  The time had come for Him to complete the work His Father had given Him.

He was on His way to Jerusalem in order to complete His work.  On the way, He warned His disciples what was to come.  He told them He would be killed but that He would rise again on the third day. 

His route to Jerusalem lay through Jericho.  Luke 19:1 tells us He was “passing through.”  

A crowd was following Him.  Apparently, this crowd was not quiet and somber.  (We can assume this crowd started the Hosannas of the Triumphal Entry.)  Just before He entered Jericho, a blind man noticed the noise of the crowd passing by and asked what was going on.  He was told, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.”  (Luke 18:37, ESV[i])  When he heard this, the blind man called out saying, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!”  (Luke 18:38, ESV)  This term “Son of David” refers to the promise of God to David that one of David’s descendants would sit on the throne of David forever.  Ezekiel 44:3 refers to Him as “the Prince.”

As far as the crowd was concerned, Jesus was on important business.  When the blind man called out to Jesus it says, “And those who were in front rebuked him [the blind man], telling him to be silent.”  (Luke 18:39, ESV)  The crowd thought Jesus was too important and His business was too important for Him to be bothered by a beggar.  However, Jesus “commanded him to be brought to him.”  (Luke 18:40, ESV)  The blind beggar received Jesus’s full attention, was healed and became an important part of the story.

Luke 19:11 tells us of the crowd saying, “…they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.”  The blind man was just a little delay.  Now, they could get on with the journey to the important place, Jerusalem.  But, it was necessary to pass through Jericho.

Luke 19 tells us there was a rich tax collector named Zacchaeus in Jericho.  Zacchaeus was small in stature and the crowd surrounded Jesus.  Zacchaeus, wanting to see Jesus, climbed a tree.  As Jesus passed, He stopped and invited Himself to Zacchaeus’s house, and spent the rest of the day in Jericho.

To the crowd, this was another interruption.  Jesus was on important business.  Jerusalem was where it was all happening.  They were just “passing through” Jericho on the way to the important place.  Now there had been two interruptions in a very short distance.  Some in the crowd probably thought, “At this rate, we are never going to get to Jerusalem.”

They did not complain about the interruption with the blind beggar.  They could understand.  Besides, it did not take long to heal the blind man and it was an incredible miracle, resulting in praise.  However, Zacchaeus was a tax collector, not just any tax collector; he was a chief tax collector.  When the crowd saw that Jesus was stopping and not only stopping but also going to Zacchaeus’s home, the text says, “they all grumbled.”  The text emphasizes the universality of the complaint, everybody objected, everybody grumbled.  The crowd was unified in their disapproval. 

Their complaint was “He has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.”  (Luke 19:7, ESV) 

As a tax collector, Zacchaeus was despised by the Jews, and being “chief” made him particularly odious.  Ironically, the name “Zacchaeus” means “pure.”  Can you imagine the slurs people would have made?  “Yeah, pure evil!” 

Zacchaeus apparently heard their complaints because he stood up and said, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor.  And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”  (Luke 19:8, ESV)

As an explanation for all the delay and the visit to the house of this sinner, Jesus says, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  (Luke 19:10, ESV)

There are two parts to Jesus’s statement, to seek and to save.

You may not feel that you are important enough.  Jesus is just “passing through” on His way to more important places for more important business.

Or, you may feel that you are a sinner and not worthy to have Jesus in your house.

These feelings or objections correspond to the two parts of Jesus’s statement, the seeking and the saving. 

Jesus spoke a lot about seeking.

He told a number of parables to explain His seeking. 

He told of a lady who lost a coin and stopped everything, swept the floor and cleaned house until she found it.  (Luke 15:8-9)  He also used the following example:

⁴“What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?  ⁵And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing.  (Luke 15:4-5, ESV)

The blind beggar was the one.  Zacchaeus was the one.  You are the one, the one that Jesus is willing to leave the ninety-nine in the open field and go searching for, the one that takes precedence over His overarching purpose to save the world.  Sure, He has the universe to rule and the world to save, but He is willing to drop everything and stop by your house for the day.  We see this in the story of Zacchaeus, the story of the blind beggar and in the example Jesus used of the sheep.

In case you still do not believe me, I want to use an example from the Old Testament.  2 Chronicles 16:9 says, “The eyes of the LORD search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.”  Can you imagine, the eyes of the LORD searching the entire earth?  Now, I know you may not have a heart fully committed to the LORD, but we will get to that.  For now, realize with me that God is seeking.  He is seeking the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost treasure.

According to Jesus, this is why He came.  He came to seek the lost.

He also came to save the lost.

The blind beggar had a problem.  He was blind.

Zacchaeus had a problem.  He was a sinner.

If you have no problems, Jesus is not looking for you.  He said, “I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.”  (Luke 5:32, ESV)  He also said, "Healthy people don't need a doctor--sick people do.”  (Luke 5:31, NLT[ii])

There was a group of religious people in Jesus’s day who kept all the rules and never did anything wrong.  At least on the surface, they never did anything wrong.  These people were the first to complain that Jesus ate and spoke with sinners.  These good people had tremendous influence.  You will notice that when Jesus went to Zacchaeus’s house “all the people” grumbled, not just some of the people, not just the super religious, all the people grumbled.  Earlier in His ministry Jesus told these people “…you refuse to come to me to receive this life.”  (John 5:40, NLT) 

The blind beggar was not the only beggar present when Jesus passed by.  Zacchaeus was not the only tax collector in Jericho.  Why did Jesus single out these two out of all the blind men and tax collectors in Israel?

The answer is simple.

They sought Jesus.

The blind man called out to Jesus.  When he was told to be quiet, he called out all the more.  Zacchaeus climbed a tree.  Seriously, they wore robes in those days, not pants, robes.  Personally, I would not have been under that tree for anything.  (As a side note, God forbade the use of steps approaching His altars for this very reason.  Exodus 20:26)  Zacchaeus was serious about seeing Jesus.

There are two aspects to their seeking Jesus that stand out.  One is their acknowledgement of their need, and the second is their faith.

First, they had to acknowledge their need. 

Many people have died early because they did not think the lump they discovered was important enough to go see a doctor.  Or, they were too afraid of what the doctor would tell them.

                                                                     

Many people are dying because they do not think they are bad enough to need a Savior.  Or, they are too afraid to admit they have a problem.

Many of us who have acknowledged we are sinners and have come to Jesus for salvation still live in bondage to one sin or another because we refuse to admit we have a problem.  Have others told you of your problem with anger but you refuse to listen?  Have others told you of your problem with lying, but you refuse to listen?

Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.  We need to recognize that we are lost.  In addition, we must also respond to Him.

I mentioned that the second aspect of Zacchaeus and the blind man’s seeking Jesus was their faith.

God responds to faith.

This is why Romans 10:13 says:

“Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”  (NLT)

Salvation is by faith not by works.  (Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 1:17)  This is why the promise of salvation is to all who believe.  (John 1:12, 3:16)

God rewards those who diligently seek Him.  (Hebrews 11:6)

In order to seek Him, in order to be motivated to call on Him, we must believe that He can help.  We must believe that He can save us.

The blind man had to believe that Jesus could heal his blindness. Otherwise, why cause a commotion?  Zacchaeus had to believe that Jesus could cure him.  Otherwise, why give up all his wealth?

You and I will have to believe Jesus can heal us.  Otherwise, why give up our favorite sins?

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[i] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[ii] Scripture quotations marked NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation.  Copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam, Illinois 60188.  All rights reserved.

People of Prayer

James 5:7-18

We are living in the last days.

Each generation has had its preachers and prophets who have said this.  However, I want to point out some well-known prophesies.

Look with me at Isaiah 11:11-12

¹¹In that day the Lord will extend his hand yet a second time to recover the remnant that remains of his people, from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the coastlands of the sea.

¹²He will raise a signal for the nations and will assemble the banished of Israel, and gather the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.  (ESV)[i]

Isaiah chapter 11 starts out with clear references to the Lord Jesus Christ.  Isaiah 11:1-2 says:

¹There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit.  ²And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.  (ESV)

From this reference of a “shoot from the stump of Jesse,” Isaiah 11 goes on to talk about the wolf dwelling with the lamb and the lion eating straw like an ox.  Isaiah 11:9 says:

⁹They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.  (ESV)

Jesus is unquestionably the “shoot from the stump of Jesse.”  However, the wolf and lamb thing is not yet a reality.  The wolf and lamb and the references to animals may be symbolic, but I do not think they are.  Whatever the case with these references to animals, the reference to no violence in the Lord’s holy mountain are not symbolic, nor is the reference to bringing back the “banished of Israel.”  Verse 11 says that the Lord will recover the remnant “yet a second time.”

The first time the remnant was brought back was at the end of the Babylonian captivity, which includes the story of Ezra and Nehemiah.  This “second time” referred to in this passage began in earnest on May 14, 1948.[ii]  This is the day set as the birthday of the modern nation of Israel.  Of course much happened before this, and the immigration of the Jewish people back to their land from the four corners of the earth continues to this day.

This one historical fact, interpreted in the light of Scripture, is enough to convince me that Jesus will return soon.

Scripture says much more about the consummation of the ages.  Much has been given for our encouragement as we approach the end.  

James and Peter wrote letters for the encouragement of the Church.  And, James and Peter both begin their letters by addressing these letters to those in the “Dispersion.”  The Dispersion refers to those of Jewish descent, who were scattered throughout the world by persecution.

These letters are addressed to the whole Church, because we Gentiles, as Romans 11:11-31 explains, have been grafted into all the promises of God in order to partake of Salvation.

As the Church, comprised of both Jews and Gentiles, we eagerly await Christ’s return. 

1 Corinthians 15:51-53 says:

⁵¹Behold!  I tell you a mystery.  We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, ⁵²in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.  For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.  ⁵³For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.  (ESV)

Until the time of Christ’s return, we are to be patient. 

We are to be “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord…”  (1 Corinthians 15:58, ESV)

James 5:7-11 talks to us about patience in the face of suffering.  The Lord Jesus promised us that in this world we will have trouble.  (John 16:33)  In Matthew 24:12-13 Jesus says:

¹²And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.  ¹³But the one who endures to the end will be saved.  (ESV)

James 5:7-11 says:

⁷Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord.  See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains.  ⁸You also, be patient.  Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.  ⁹Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you may not be judged; behold, the Judge is standing at the door.  ¹⁰ As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord.  ¹¹Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast.  You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful.  (ESV)

We have seen how, in the purpose of the Lord, His children sometimes suffer, and we have seen how in this suffering the Lord is compassionate and merciful.  In chapter 1, James told us to consider it pure joy when we suffer; now he is telling us to be patient and “establish your hearts.” 

One cannot help but notice the theme of patience, endurance and steadfastness in the New Testament.  As we eagerly look forward to Christ’s return, we are to stand firm in the Lord.  (Ephesians 6:10)  Jesus left us with the job of making disciples, and while we expect opposition and trials, we are not cast down or discouraged by these.

While we eagerly await Jesus’s return, enduring with patience, we are to be people of prayer.  James 5:13-18 says:

¹³Is anyone among you suffering?  Let him pray.  Is anyone cheerful?  Let him sing praise.  ¹⁴Is anyone among you sick?  Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.  ¹⁵And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up.  And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.  ¹⁶Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.  ¹⁷Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth.  ¹⁸Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.  (ESV)

This passage is a call to prayer. 

Just before He went to the cross, Jesus said:

Until now you have asked nothing in my name.  Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.  (John 16:24, ESV)

In addition, prior to this He also said:

¹³Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  ¹⁴If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.  (John 14:13-14, ESV)

In James 5:13-18, I see three types of praying.[iii]

First, I see people praying for themselves.  “Let him pray” is the instruction for anyone who is suffering.  In 1 Thessalonians 5:16, we are instructed to pray without ceasing, and Ephesians 6:18 says, “Pray in the Spirit at all times.”  The New Testament is consistent in urging us to pray.

Second, I see people going to the elders of the Church for prayer.  James 5:14 calls for anyone who is sick to call for the elders of the Church.  The word sick in this verse is a word meaning “weak or feeble,” and its primary meaning is physical weakness.  However, it also has connotations for weakness morally as well.  (ESV)

Third, I see people praying for each other.  James 5:16 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed.”

Jesus taught that the man born blind was not blind because of some sin that he or his parents had committed.  He was blind so that God’s works could be displayed in him.  (John 9:1-3)  Sickness, disease and weakness are in the world because of sin, but this does not mean that your particular sickness is there because of a particular sin.  We will all be sick at one point or another.  We will all die if Jesus does not return before that time.  And, we will probably die of one sickness or another.  For those of us living in the United States, heart disease will probably be the highest cause of death among us with cancer being the second highest cause of death.  For those living in China or Japan, the main cause of death will probably be cancer.  In other words, unless Jesus returns and does away with sickness and disease, we will all be sick at some point in our lives.

We all go to the doctor, and do not feel it necessary to defend ourselves for doing so.  As a church, we pray for each other, and I assume you pray for yourself.  However, we hesitate to call on the elders for prayer.  Pastors and elders are called upon to serve the Body of Christ, and part of that calling is the privilege of being there for you when illness comes.  The anointing with oil is used as a symbolic representation of the anointing of the Holy Spirit.  The phrase “in the name of the Lord” serves as a reminder that it is the Lord who heals, not the oil.  However, this is more than a ritual.

Remember when the disciples encountered a demon they could not cast out? (Mark 9:18)  When they asked Jesus why they could not cast it out, He said, “This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer and fasting.” (ESV marginal reading)  Calling on the elders for the anointing with oil and prayer would be similar to this in taking prayer to the next level.  The elders as the leaders of the church represent the whole body.  Therefore, this action represents the unified prayers of the Body for the needs of this one particular member.

The ESV has the following note on James 5:15 with which I fully agree:

RE: the prayer of faith.  Not the faith of the sick person but the faith of those praying.  In this instance, James mentions no requirement for the sick person to exercise faith, only that he call for the elders.  Christians who are ill often find personal prayer difficult.  Will save perhaps carries a double meaning here: (1) the sick person will be physically healed (one meaning of Gk. sōzō), and/or (2) the sick person may also experience spiritual salvation (another meaning of Gk. sōzō), or growth in the blessings of salvation (sins … forgiven).  As seen throughout the Gospels, Jesus healed both physically and spiritually, and the same double connotation may be present here as well.  James is not teaching that all illnesses will be healed if people would simply call on the elders, or try to make themselves have enough faith, or pray with enough conviction.  Healing, when it does come, is always a gift from God, who is sovereign over all circumstances, including sickness and health.  It does not follow, therefore, that lack of faith on the part of the sick person is the reason that the sick person may not be healed. (On the gifts of faith and of healing, see note on 1 Cor. 12:9.)  Some interpreters suggest that James is referring to the promise of the resurrection rather than physical healing.  If, in the phrase “if he has committed sins,” implies that not all sickness is connected to specific sins, though James seems to expect that some sickness is.[iv]

James uses the example of Elijah in encouraging us to pray, and he says specifically, “Elijah was a man with a nature like ours…”  Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, has given access to the Father to each of us.  Consider the effects of Elijah’s prayers…no rain for three years.  Now consider God is calling us to exercise this kind of influence through prayer.

The return of Jesus is going to be soon.  In the meantime, God has not left us without help, comfort and power to act.  He has left us with the task of making disciples, the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the power of prayer.

Are you continually praying for whatever concerns you?

Are you taking the time to pray together with other believers?

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[i] Scripture quotations marked ESV are from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version) copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

[ii] https://www.google.com/search?q=when+did+Israel+became+a+nation&oq=when+did+&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j69i57j0l4.3848j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8  Accessed May 18, 2016

[iii] The idea of 3 types of praying is taken from John Piper, www.desiringgod.org.  However, the explanation is my own.

[iv] https://www.esv.org/James+5/.  ESV Global Study Bible.  Accessed May 18, 2017.