1/15/23 1/15/23

THE MAN NAMED JOHN

#501 THE MAN NAMED JOHN

Luke 1:5-15a NIV Orig. 12/14/1990

In the time of Herod, king of Judea, there was a priest name Zechariah, who belonged to the priestly of Abijah; his wife Elizabeth was also a descendant of Aaron. Both of them were upright in the sight of God, observing all the Lord’s commandments and regulations blamelessly. But they had no children, because Elizabeth was barren; and they were both well along in years. Once when Zechariah’s division was on duty and he was serving as priest before God, he was chosen by lot, according to the custom of the priesthood, to go into the temple of the Lord and burn incense. And when the time for the burning of incense came, all the assembled worshipers were praying outside. Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to give him the name John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great in the sight of the Lord.

Purpose: Continuing a series for Sunday evenings on New Testament characters, here presenting John the Baptist as a man striving to please God.

Keywords: Biography John the Baptist’s History

Timeline/Series: Sequential/New Testament Characters

Introduction

As noted last week, we are indebted to Luke for much that we know about John’s roots. All of chapter one, remember, is unique. In that lengthy chapter, VV 5-25 and 57-80 tell us about the birth of John, and the near-miraculous nature of his conception.

Zechariah was a priest, married to Elizabeth who was also of the priestly line. They were godly people, of advanced age, who had struggled somewhat with the barrenness of Elizabeth.

The estimates for the time suggest that there may have been as many as 18,000 priests divided into the 24 courses. All would be in Jerusalem for the major festivals (Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles). Otherwise, each course would serve one 8 day stint every six months in Jerusalem, from Sabbath to Sabbath (BI F88 p49).

One day Zechariah was chosen by lot to burn incense in the temple. (Exodus 30/I Kings 11). This happened morning and evening each day, however in the morning four were involved, in the evening only one. It is likely that this honor would fall to a man only once in his lifetime.

He entered the Holy Place, took incense from a bowl, and put it on burning coals atop the altar of incense, and then prostrated himself for a short period of prayer.

I. In This Setting, Then, the Angel Gabriel Made His Appearance, Gave His Message of the Birth of a Special Son. (Luke 1:14-16). Because of his disbelief, Zechariah would become mute, which, with recovery of speech at John’s birth, would be an enabler of many people recognizing this birth as a step, or a fore-work of the coming of the Messiah (V 76-79) “And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace.”

Conclusions that we can reach about this man named John are drawn from v 13 “Thy wife Elizabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.” Repeating what is already established, the parents were elderly, childless; they were both of priestly lineage (of the division of Abijah: I Chron 24). There is a familial link between John/Jesus. Mary and Elizabeth were kin (v 1:36 “Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.”) Their babies enjoyed unusual, even miraculous, births. Both would bear names given them by the angel Gabriel: John—Yahweh gives grace, and Jesus—Yahweh is salvation.

Of the boyhood of John, we can only surmise. He was to be reared a Nazirite V 1:15. The Nazirite vow is described in Numbers 6, and Samson and Samuel are examples. Who takes over to rear a child born in the twilight of life? No family is left to assume responsibility. One thing is known: v 80 “And the child was in the wilderness till the day of his manifestation to Israel.” One strong tradition suggests that John was reared by the Essenes, who were known to take orphaned boys and to live by strict rules of abstinence. What this does not address is the fact of John’s priestly lineage. It would be expected of him. One writer (BI W82 p36) suggests he kept this covenant, but broke with them discovering what many had become. We might well divide them today between liberal and conservative.

Matthew’s description of John lead us to close the door on the Essenes. His raiment was camel’s hair; he wore a leather girdle; his diet was of locusts and honey; and he had a message as austere as his dress. His message was as austere as his dress. V 3:8 “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”

II. Our Next Concern, Therefore, Must be Message. Luke 3:3 “he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sins.” The gospel writers all affirm a prophet. Luke (1:15) brings in the Holy Spirit, the Source of the divine message.

The message proclaimed is repentance. For us: a change of mind as consequence of sin. New Testament Greek: a change of mind from evil to good, worse to better. The Old Testament word for repentance: shuv is more often translated “return again.” Remorse, regret, humiliation, grief because of sins against God mean much more than tears. I Kings 21:27: “When Ahab heard these words, he tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and fasted. He lay in sackcloth and went around meekly. Hebrews 12:17: Esau “found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.”

That repentance was to show in their lives. Their deeds were to give evidence. “Fruits meet worthy”—from the Greek axiom. Our “axiom” means self-evident truth.

Additionally, John was to be the one who would introduce the Messiah. It was a call to preparation. “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” Matthew 3:3/Luke 3:4. There is no need even to comment on his expectation of a particular person. How well did he and Jesus know each other? The link of their mothers does not guarantee any relationship. John recognized Jesus as the appointed one. Did he, however, recognize Jesus as the son of his mother’s kinswoman?

III. Finally, What Stands Out of John’s Example? V16 “And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.”

His ministry began as a prophetic ministry of preaching and baptism. Luke 3:3 “preaching the baptism of repentance for the remission of sin.” Some say the unnamed disciple of John the Baptist (1:35f) was the other John. John the Baptist offered the example of prayer. Luke 1:11 “Lord, teach us to pray as John also taught his disciples.” Certain aspects can be taught. We know it more caught than taught.

He taught them to fast (abstain from food). Matthew 9:14 “Then came to him the disciples of John saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?” Pharisees: practiced legalism which Jesus rebuked. Religious disciples from his Spartan days with the Essenes. Jesus’ answer to them (Matthew 9:15) was that “the days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast.”

Conclusion

We still have much to learn from John in the exercise of commitment. What they learned from him they practiced. They were jealous for him. In John 3:25 they argue with the Jews, and question John about Jesus’ early success. John’s disciples are still at work long after his death. In Ephesus (Acts 19:1f, c. 65A.D.) “disciples” of John the Baptist are ministered unto by Paul, subsequently baptized “in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Though, as this indicates, some were slow to follow, John the Baptist pointed people to Jesus. His whole ministry was predicated on forecasting the Messiah. Four Gospels: “Prepare ye the way of the Lord.” The “way” is the very word used by Jesus of Himself. John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” He exercises a humility in relation to Jesus that most of us have yet to learn. John 1:27, 30: “He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie….This is the one I meant when I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me.’” John 3:30: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”

1/13/23 1/13/23

ON THE EDGE OF LIFE

#807 ON THE EDGE OF LIFE

Luke 7:11-17 NIV Orig. 11-23-80

Rewr. 10-25-90

Passage: Soon afterward, Jesus went to a town called Nain, and his disciples and a large crowd went along with him. As he approached the town gate, a dead person was being carried out—the only son of his mother, and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the town was with her. When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, “Don’t cry.” Then he went up and touched the coffin, and those carrying it stood still. He said, “Young man, I say to you, get up.” The dead man sat up and began to talk, and Jesus gave him back to his mother. They were all filled with awe and praised God. “A great prophet has appeared among us,” they said. “God has come to help his people.” This news about Jesus spread throughout Judea and the surrounding country.

Purpose: Continuing a Sunday night study in the lives of people around Jesus, here discovering Jesus’ reaction to a funeral

Keywords: Compassion Hope

Timeline/Series: Biography

Introduction

In my file are obituaries of all of the funerals that I have preached. I am not quite sure why this material has been saved. I don’t ever look through the list, I don’t even know how many there have been. I suppose there have been a hundred or more. Old men and women, but some not so old. A few have been youths, several infants. They always have merited special attention, but never has there been some passing thought of restoring life. We have gone about the intended business of depositing the corpse in the grave, and encouraging the mourners to get back to the business of living.

I suppose that Jesus went to other funerals. What His demeanor was there, I do not know. Surely, He was at Joseph’s funeral. And John the Baptist! When He went to this event, however, He went of purpose.

Billy Graham can go to London for a crusade, and 50 to 60 thousand people may come out to hear him. Millions more may watch a playback of the crusade a few weeks later. The impact of such a crusade is enormous.

Jesus had no such luxury. He had a commission from God (Luke 4:43): “I must preach the Kingdom of God to other cities also; for therefore am I sent.” The village of Nain is one of them, and one with a reputation. One of the roads out of town, perhaps this very one, led Shumen, where Elisha restored life to the son of the Shumanite (II Kings 4:18). They will be talking about this for a long time to come. I’ll just keep filing obituaries.

I. First of All, We Watch Jesus Seeing. V12 “. . . behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow.” The funeral procession was coming out from the town as Jesus’ procession entered. Do you see coincidence, or providence at work? Two crowds meet. One gives ground to the other. The women are at the front (A61.1 p. 180): “They who brought death into the world must lead it out.”

What Jesus sees however, is a grieving mother. Perhaps He thinks of His own, of the day when she will walk thus. He sees a widow about to lay to rest her almost grown son.

There are three such occasions recorded: A child raised immediately (Matthew/Mark/Luke); a youth from cemetery road (Luke); Lazarus after four days (John). The first, sought; the second, unbidden; the third, discouraged. In every case, the death angel admonished with few words: “Young man, arise.” / “Maid, arise.” / “Lazarus, come forth.”

Jesus saw the grip of death on mere mortals and He addressed it boldly. Shelly’s Adonais (lament for Keats). “As long as skies are blue, and fields are green, Evening must usher night, night urge the morrow. / Month follow month with woe, and year wake year to sorrow.” Wordsworth—She Dwelt Among the Untrodden Ways: “She lived unknown, and few could know when Lucy ceased to be: But she is in her grave, and, oh, the difference to me.” John Donne—Devotions: “Any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in Mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”

Do I choose to leave my death to Jesus? Or another?

A long day in Oakdale haunts me still. Only relative a brother. When the time came, his remark to me was, “This won’t take long will it?” It’s the only time in my life I’ve wanted to hit a man.

II. Secondly, We Watch Jesus Feeling. V13 “When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.” The feeling He feels for her is empathy. There is a place for sympathy. The distress felt by those who can’t, or won’t, do anything. The commiseration absolved by gifts. What Jesus offers is feeling for: Not the word for pity, sympathy;actually the word for bowel (spleen).

Have you felt such yearning to help that you actually hurt? Clearly, He works in the young man’s behalf, but He is not the object. All of us know the story of Hezekiah in II Kings 20: Hezekiah was spared from death and 15 years were added to his life; at Hezekiah’s death his son Manasseh became king at 12 years old. One of my questions centers around what became of the widow’s son. Did he follow?

We must not overlook His feeling for the people who saw, and who heard. There was a grieving company of family, friends, paid mourners, as well as many others who were in the group with Jesus. V11 “many disciples . . . much people.” V12 “much people of the city.” What happened there that day will be told far and wide. V17 “This rumor of him went forth.” As far as I know, only the KJV uses the word rumor; others use “It is logos, ‘word.’”

But see to it, this is not a public relations spectacle. Jesus’ heart hurts for this woman. It is within His power to do something. Compare the story with that of Elisha. Notice Luke’s special designation. V13 “And when the Lord saw her, His heart went out to her and He said, “Don’t cry.”

III. Only in This Last Regard Do We Watch Jesus Coping. V14 “He came and touched the bier: . . . and he said, ‘Young man I say unto thee, arise.’” There are certain things that we can bring to funerals. We can bring memories: how important they are, recalling things forgotten, other things not even known. What catharsis there can be. We can bring kindness and friendship. When a loss has occurred, the need is for stability; we saw that picture of a grieving Bossier City grandmother, upon learning of the deaths of two daughters and four grandchildren in a fire. We can even bring nourishment.

But what we cannot bring to the funeral is hope: We cannot clip the death angel’s wings. We cannot disengage unbelief’s power. This is exactly what Jesus brings to the funeral. Whether bidden or not, He brings hope. Whether in the milling crowd, or in the lonely vigil, He represents hope. In life’s confrontation with death, Jesus is hope. Martha: “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.” John 11:21.

Conclusion

A children’s book tells the story of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Alexander awoke to find gum in his hair; he tripped on his skateboard trying to get to the bathroom; got his clothes wet while brushing his teeth; had a particularly bad day at school; and a dental appointment awaited after school. He had lima beans for supper, bath and bedtime were a disaster, his pillow was gone, and the Mickey Mouse light wouldn’t work. His cat chose to sleep in his sister’s room.

If Jesus hasn’t been bidden to the funeral, nothing else will take His place.

1/13/23 1/13/23

THE MAN NAMED JOHN

#501 THE MAN NAMED JOHN

Luke 1:5-15a NIV Orig. 12/14/1990

Purpose: Continuing a series for Sunday evenings on New Testament characters, here presenting John the Baptist as a man striving to please God.

Keywords: Biography John the Baptist’s History

Timeline/Series: Sequential/New Testament Characters

Introduction

Zechariah was a priest, married to Elizabeth who was also of the priestly line. They were godly people, of advanced age, who had struggled somewhat with the barrenness of Elizabeth.

He entered the Holy Place, took incense from a bowl, and put it on burning coals atop the altar of incense, and then prostrated himself for a short period of prayer.

That repentance was to show in their lives. Their deeds were to give evidence. “Fruits meet worthy”—from the Greek axiom. Our “axiom” means self-evident truth.

III. Finally, What Stands Out of John’s Example? V16 “And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.”

Conclusion

1/10/23 1/10/23

COMPLACENT CROWD OR COMMISSIONED CHURCH

#498 COMPLACENT CROWD OR COMMISSIONED CHURCH

Scripture Luke 14:16-24, NIV Orig. 5-26-68

Rewr. 7-18-91

Passage: ¹⁶Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. ¹⁷At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ ²¹“The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ ²²“‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ ²³“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. ²⁴I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

Purpose: Addressing my people on the need for the followers of Christ to confirm in daily living all things vital in showing ourselves committed followers of Jesus.

Keywords: Christ Lord Commitment Complacency

Timeline/Series: Luke

Introduction

The article stared back at me from the daily paper (Town Talk, 5-24-67). The dateline, San Francisco, should have given it away at once. Weirdness seems to regularly first test its mettle there.

I read on anyway. “A well-proportioned brunette tiptoed through a hushed room decorated with a stuffed rat, two crows, and a skull. She took off her clothes and lay down on a leopard skin covering a mantle. All was ready for the baptism of a child.

“Anton Szandor Lavey,” continued the article, “who calls himself a sorcerer and the high priest of the First Church of Satan, baptized his gum-chewing three year old daughter Tuesday night as a hooded organist played ‘The Hymn to Satan.’”

We read such things with measured disgust, and tense up trying to pat ourselves on the back: “I thank God that I am not as other men.”

Do you suppose there is a difference in the mind of God? Think you that He sees this Satanism ploy any differently than He sees people in a Baptist, Methodist, etc., church, whose only telling influence is that they are gathered around an altar?

Here we are in our Sunday best. Some of us. Seated here in our comfortable, contemporary, even conservative pews. Add to that our disdain for what Lavey and his crowd conjure up. Is that enough to earn for us the favor of God? Or does it take personal response, commitment even, to be a follower of Christ?

I. The Signs of Complacency are Clearly About. V18 “And they all with one consent began to make excuse.” Actually, the three major concerns of life figure into this parable. One addresses his occupation, another his fascination, the last his adoration. So we examine one’s vocational life, the avocational life, the invocational life. See it as job, as fun, as church.

Remember, this is a parable, and therefore, contains teaching meant for our ears, too. Jesus was out touching lives: down-and-outers. He was at a feast in the home of a prominent Pharisee. It all started with a pontification. One of the guests said, V15 “Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the Kingdom of God.” He was inspired, perhaps convicted. Now he would inspire others. Jesus’ response was to direct his teaching to their complacency. Excuse, job-related: this piece of land has to be put to proper use. Excuse, avocation: pull-off involving five yoke of oxen, a tractor-pull. Excuse, religious devotion: “I have married a wife.”

Deuteronomy 24:5 tells us, “When a man hath taken a new wife he shall not go out to war, neither shall he be charged with any business, but he shall be free at home . . . to cheer up his wife.”

So, in the parable, these guys have been honored by one more honorable than they. It was to be a festive occasion. They wanted, expected, to be invited, and would be insulted not to. The corollary, I would remind you, is our invitation to the faith feast honoring God’s Son. “I want, expect, to be invited,” you say, “but it must be convenient.”

We could spend a lot of time here talking about excuses. We could lose our jobs. We have let pleasure take us where it would; in the tractor/taffy pull, “Go for the gold!” We even use our religion as an excuse.

II. The Expectation Here is Commission. V16 “A certain man made a great supper and bade many.” V21 “Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither.” The oriental feast had a special dimension. The invitation was for an appointed day. It was understood that the hour awaited preparation. They were to stay ready. They were to come when called. As they had accepted the invitation, they were to keep themselves available.

The wealth of talent in the contemporary church is extraordinary: People capable of turning the wheels of industry; professionals, teachers, gifted laborers. Imagine, all those talents dedicated.

Hey, I have an idea. Let’s dedicate our avocations to the Lord also. Did you see that delightful piece about Darryl Strawberry? He became a Christian, and he doesn’t play out of anger anymore. But how many athletes, musicians, entertainers, entrepreneurs, have a new mountain to climb? Christ is the Lord of what they are doing.

Very little of what it takes to be a Christian takes place here from 11 to 1. Does it bring you back at 7pm? What is your prayer life like? The worst excuse of all is blaming the pulpit.

Friendliness is an avocation: earnestness, enthusiasm. When you are out of your place, you have left a void that cannot be filled.

Leave some room for commitment invocationally, also. The chairs at the feast are going to be filled, not by the most worthy citizen, but by the most enthusiastic, the most responsive.

III. Finally, Do Not Overlook Intent. V24 “None of those men that were bidden shall taste of my supper.” Make no mistake, we are dealing with the purview of God here. The invitation went out clear to all in nature. Romans 1:20 “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, . . . so that they are without excuse." Jeremiah 31:31 “Behold days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.”

But God’s invitation came yet again. Romans 8:1 “There is now therefore no condemnation to them which are in Christ.” Here the meaning came clearly. The second invitation came, the clearest of directives. The feast is prepared, you must decide. Romans 8:31 “What shall we then say to these things, if God be for us, who can be against us?”

To ignore the summons, to be complacent about the invitation is to court disaster. V24 as above—“none that were bidden shall taste of my supper.” Romans 10:1f “My heart’s desire . . . for Israel is, that they might be saved. . . For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness. . . , and going about to establish their own righteousness. . . , have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.”

The message then of the parable is fourfold. It tells of the provision of the feast. It tells us of the people invited to the feast who think themselves worthy, who know themselves unworthy. It tells us of the prospect of complacency. It tells us of punishment awaiting negligence. So it is a promise of provision through faith.

Conclusion

A young man is said to have approached a holy man of India standing by the Ganges River. “How may I find God?” he speculated. The holy man seized him and thrust him violently under the water. “Why did you do that?” he sputtered. “When you long for God as you longed for air, you will find.”

1/9/23 1/9/23

BIBLE STUDY

#477 BIBLE STUDY

Scripture Luke 14:1-24 NIV Orig. 3/13/68

Rewr. 3/1971, 12/1974

Passage: One Sabbath, when Jesus went to eat in the house of a prominent Pharisee, he was being carefully watched. ²There in front of him was a man suffering from abnormal swelling of his body. ³Jesus asked the Pharisees and experts in the law, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?” ⁴But they remained silent. So taking hold of the man, he healed him and sent him on his way. ⁵Then he asked them, “If one of you has a child^[^a^] or an ox that falls into a well on the Sabbath day, will you not immediately pull it out?” ⁶And they had nothing to say. ⁷When he noticed how the guests picked the places of honor at the table, he told them this parable: ⁸“When someone invites you to a wedding feast, do not take the place of honor, for a person more distinguished than you may have been invited. ⁹If so, the host who invited both of you will come and say to you, ‘Give this person your seat.’ Then, humiliated, you will have to take the least important place. ¹⁰But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ‘Friend, move up to a better place.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all the other guests. ¹¹For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” ¹²Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. ¹³But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, ¹⁴and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” ¹⁵When one of those at the table with him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is the one who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.” ¹⁶Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. ¹⁷At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ ¹⁸“But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ ¹⁹“Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ ²⁰“Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’ ²¹“The servant came back and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and ordered his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ ²²“‘Sir,’ the servant said, ‘what you ordered has been done, but there is still room.’ ²³“Then the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. ²⁴I tell you, not one of those who were invited will get a taste of my banquet.’”

Keywords: Banquet Disenfranchised

Timeline/Series: Bible study

Introduction

Luke records four of the seven occasions of Jesus’ healing on the Sabbath. (1) In Chapter 4, the healing of Simon’s mother-in-law; (2) in Chapter 6, the man with the withered hand; (3) in Chapter 13, the woman with an 18-year infirmity; and (4) here, a man with dropsy—an excess of body fluids, known today as edema.

It would seem that anyone so intent on upgrading man’s physical and spiritual condition would have drawn the immediate acceptance of the people. Jesus, however, was hated by many.

Jesus’ Attitude at the Supper. 14:1 Jesus never refused any man’s invitation to hospitality. He went into the house of one of the Chief Pharisees on the Sabbath day to eat bread. They watched Him: Jesus never lost patience with men even in times of stress.

Jesus’ Action at the Supper. 14:2-6 His first responsibility is the alleviation of human suffering. V4 And He took him and healed him and let him go. Attention is called to the Pharisees’ lack of value judgment. “Which of you will not remove your beast from a pit on the Sabbath day?”

Jesus’ Analogy About a Supper. 14:7-11 His teaching is always relevant. V7 He marked how they chose out the chief rooms. His teaching here is in regard to humility. V9 When you are bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room. Humility is retained by examination and by comparison.

Jesus’ Advice to His Host at the Supper. 14:12-14 His advice is to examine our motives. V12 Do not invite your friends, your brethren, your kinsmen, thy rich neighbours, lest perhaps they also invite you. Their motives would be, perhaps, a sense of duty, self-interest, vanity, or an effort to befriend. The result will be blessing from God rather than men. V14 And thou shalt be blessed, for they cannot recompense thee.

Apposition: Jesus Was Rebuffed By a Guest at the Supper. 14:15 The guest who said “Blessed is the man who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God,” was perhaps incensed at Jesus’ word to the host. What right had He, through healing, to contradict the Law? What right to instruct the spiritual leaders? What right to advise the Chief Pharisee? The guest might have said, “What do you know about blessing? He is blessed who is of the spiritual heritage of Israel.”

Application: Jesus Rebuked False Claims of the Jews at the Supper. 14:16-24 Even a word spoken to a cynic is spoken in kindness.

But those to whom the kingdom was offered, rejected it: Because of vocation, and so immersed in work that there is no time for fellowship—“I have bought a piece of ground”; because of avocation, so taken with some novelty—“I have bought five yoke of oxen” (Did you know that 80,000 people a week see the Saints play football?!); because of invocation, in that the Mosaic Law says a man with a new wife will not go to war or be charged with business for one year—“I have married a wife.”

Closing

There are those to whom the Christian life is a melancholy and a dread. Swinburne, the poet, wrote, “Thou hast conquered, O pale Galilean, The world has grown gray from thy breath.” John Ruskin, an English author, told of a jumping jack given to him as a child, taken away by a pious aunt with the remark that toys were not things for a Christian child. It’s little wonder that his brilliant mind turned to socialism and nature. Wesley founded a school where the rule was no play, “because he who plays as a child plays as a man.”

Jesus, however, pictured His Kingdom in terms of a feast.

***THE REMAINDER OF THIS BIBLE STUDY HAS BEEN LOST***

1/6/23 1/6/23

NO MORE CHANCES

#463 NO MORE CHANCES

Scripture Luke 13:6-9 NIV Orig. 2-16-68

Rewr. 10-26-81

Passage: Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’”

Purpose: Continuing the series on the parables to remind my people of the teaching of Jesus relative to our responsibility to use our opportunities.

Keywords: Grace Judgment Providence Revival Uselessness

Series: Parables

Introduction

As Jesus continued his teaching, one of his Judean listeners raised a question. There was no great love lost between the Judeans and the Galileans, and a report had been recently circulated that Pilate had stormed out against their rebellious character by having his guards strike some of them down even while they were offering sacrifices. The one who raised the question was implying that they probably got what they deserved. If there is any place that a right-thinking person ought to be safe it is at the appointment of sacrifice. If, therefore, harm fell to them there, it simply means that they are guilty as charged and got their just deserts.

Jesus then answers directly. Do you think that those Galileans were the chief sinners among Galileans because that happened to them?” Jesus then laid the burden of sin right at their feet. “No!” he said, “They were not necessarily the chiefest of sinners just because they were killed.” Then, addressing their own disdain of God’s purpose for them, he continued. “Unless you repent, you will also perish.”

Then he brought up the case of a recent natural disaster. The tower of Siloam in Jerusalem had fallen causing the death of 18 people. He implies that if such as this can happen in Jerusalem, then the people must think that these victims were somehow deserving what happened to them. Again Jesus addresses their own sin problem. “That is not the case.” He says, but unless you repent of your sin, then you will ultimately perish just as violently as they did.

He does not deny that these Galileans and these workmen in Jerusalem were sinners. There is just not anything that he can do for dead sinners. His concern is for the living and for their errant rationale that allowed them self-justification. They were not safe from judgment simply because they were Jews. They were not to be excused from the necessity of repentance simply because of the chance of their birth to a Hebrew mother. Thus he shared with them the parable of the barren fig tree.

I. The Parable Addresses Opportunity: The fig tree owned a special providence. V6 “He came seeking fruit thereon.” Perhaps the significance of a parable needs to be restated. It is a story with a hidden meaning. The significance of such a story is never in what is obvious. It is not about a fig tree, but what the tree represents. It must somehow relate to productivity.

If this is just about trees, then there are many factors to be considered: size, fertility, climate, etc. If about trees, it can produce only what it is. But if its meaning is about people then we startlingly discover that a person can do much more than just produce another being like unto himself. Not only can he improve upon what nature has given, he can do more. He can produce a thought, an idea, a word, and a deed which, by the way, may be good or evil.

It is a consuming thought to come to realize that the master of the orchard is conscious of every plant. He expects no more that the plant, or that which it symbolizes, is capable to produce. Of a fig tree, he would expect a fig. But of one created to produce more and better things, he would expect that also. The master of the orchard knows the opportunity of each of us and expects that of which we are capable.

II. The Parable Addresses Obstructions to Opportunity. The fig tree reminds us that uselessness invites disaster. V7 “Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none.” Some would like to apply the parable to Jesus’ hearers, thus the Jewish nation. It is true that Isaiah foresaw such an eventuality. He describes the beloved’s vineyard “on a fruitful hill” and marks its destruction. Isaiah 5:1-7 “I will sing for the one I love a song about his vineyard. My loved one had a vineyard on a fertile hillside. He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes, but it yielded only bad fruit. Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard. That more could have been done for my vineyard than I have done for it? When I looked for good grapes, why did it yield only bad? Now I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard: I will take away its hedge and it will be destroyed; I will break down its wall, and it will be trampled. I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and briers and thorns will grow there. I will command the clouds not to rain on it. The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the nation of Israel, and the people of Judah are the vines he delighted in. And he looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness but heard cries of distress.”

We dare see not see it, however, as relating to other than ourselves. Judging a tree we examine its leaves—right size and of good texture; its roots deep and strong; its fiber soft, pliable, moist; but if it bears no fruit, cut it down.

III. The Parable Asserts Offensiveness. The fig tree will understand that nothing which only takes and does not give can survive. V7 “Cut it down, why doth it cumber the ground?” The literal meaning is why does this plant allow the ground to be reduced to inactivity? Not only is the tree useless, the soil beneath it is rendered useless. An interesting parallel exists with other parables: Prodigal—“Lost,” loss of wellbeing; Strait Gate—“Destruction,” loss of wellbeing; Fig tree—“cumber,” loss of wellbeing; Fig tree—“cut it down,” loss of wellbeing.

The message is a twofold one, for empires and for individuals. We must never passively keep someone else from achieving their spiritual best, and we must anchor our lives to a bold, assertive spiritual activity.

IV. The Parable Speaks of Obligation. By the grace of the keeper of the orchard, a second chance is extended. V8f “Let it alone for one year more. I shall dig about it, and if it bear fruit, well.”

We are not directed to do something about our past, for we cannot; Thomas Hardy wrote in The Ghost of the Past, “We two kept house, the past and I.” We are not to be dazzled by the future, for we cannot grasp what it may hold; Longfellow wrote in A Psalm of Life, “Trust no future howe’er pleasant! Let the dead past bury its dead! Act, act in the living Present! Heart within, and God o’erhead.”

Be sure only of this, that God in Christ gives to each of us, to all, a second chance. Christ, on the cross, prayed “Father, forgive.” The foundling church offered to Israel a second chance to believe. Acts 13:46, First to Israel, “But seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.” The nation, the denomination, the individual church, the believer, likewise understand that our very being (wellbeing) is “second chance.” The mind of the Father and the Son is the same that repentance spurned. The soil must be cleared for one who will repent.

V. Finally, the Parable Acknowledges Oblivion. The fig tree testifies that there is coming a last chance. V9 “If it does not bear fruit after this year, then, cut it down.” The judgment made by the gardener is based on its fruitlessness. It is not the fault of the gardener. It is not the fault of the soil. The fault rests only upon the agency judged. Understand this, please, of the judgment of God: It will always be upon spiritual potential denied. He will not judge any person for something they were incapable of doing. What one is capable of, and what one “wills” to do with that capability is, sadly, too often, two different things.

We, who have been favored to live in a part of the world graced by the finer things of life must accept a responsibility to do with these things to the glory of God. Who then must face a more severe judgment? The Russian who grew up being taught that God was a capitalist plot? The remote tribesman whose only notion of God is the predictability or unpredictability of nature? The third world refugee who knows nothing so completely as he knows hunger? Or the polished citizen of a western culture who has the best of all things, but who ignores the clear warnings of sin, and judgment, and last chances?

Make no mistake, we are accountable. The divine gardener pleads “spare.” It is he who finally declares “cut it down!” Recall please the message of John the Baptist, the forerunner. He admonished Israel to repent, and then warned, “and even now is the axe laid unto the root of the trees: Every tree therefore that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire.”

Conclusion

We are called therefore to believe. That belief requires repentance, for we have sinned, and in spite of our sin the second chance has been given. Finally, acknowledging that second chance means that we choose to live in such a way that others understanding our commitment to life in our Lord Jesus Christ will begin to reckon their own lives in relation to Him.

1/6/23 1/6/23

THE PARABLE OF THE LOVING FATHER

#379 THE PARABLE OF THE LOVING FATHER

Scripture Luke 15:11-32 NIV Orig. 6/30/63 (10/81)

Rewr. 8/6/87

Passage: ¹¹Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. ¹²The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. ¹³“Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything. ¹⁷“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. ²¹“The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ ²²“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate. ²⁵“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. ²⁶So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ²⁷‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’ ²⁸“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. ²⁹But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. ³⁰But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ ³¹“‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. ³²But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

Purpose: In a series on the New Testament parables, here sharing with my people on the theme of human intemperance beset by God’s great love.

Keywords: Disobedience Forgiveness Revival Self-righteousness Sin

Timeline/Series: Parable

Introduction

Once upon a time there were two young children who went to spend the summer with their grandparents. Their names were Billy and Sally. They lived most of the year in the city, and a few weeks on their grandparents’ farm in the summer was a wonderful experience for them.

Billy, like many little boys, was exceedingly curious. He enjoyed all the different things, and animals that he encountered. One day Grandfather had some work to do in the hayloft and it was too hot for Billy to help. He was free to roam. He picked up his slingshot and went out to play hunter. Out beyond the barn, almost out of sight of the house, Billy had armed his weapon and had it ready. Suddenly, Grandmother’s pet duck waddled around the corner of the barn. Without so much as a flinch, Billy let fly his artillery. His aim usually wasn’t very good, but this time he was right on the mark. The duck lay dead. He looked to see if anyone was in sight. Then, scared though he was, he quickly buried the duck back of the barn. That night at supper he couldn’t eat. His grandmother asked if he was sick. After supper he and Sally went to wash dishes. She said she wasn’t going to help, and if he complained she’d tell about the duck.

You can imagine what the next week was like. Billy was miserable. Finally, one afternoon Billy went to his grandmother’s sewing room. He stood around, picked up trinkets in which he had no interest. Shuffled from one foot to the other. “Billy, if you need to know it, I love you.” Then came the flood of guilt and confession. “Billy, I was sitting here by the window and saw the whole thing. I wondered how long you would endure this bondage to Sally before you came to me.”

I. First, Parables are Often Unique in Their Setting. We can back up a couple of chapters. Luke 13:22. “. . . Jesus went through the towns and villages . . . as he made his way to Jerusalem.” Jesus is clearly conscious of the precious commodity of his dwindling days. Luke 17:11 “Now on his way to Jerusalem”—his last.

More directly, the scribes and Pharisees were murmuring about his friendship with sinners. Luke 15:2 “[They] muttered, ‘This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’” Aren’t you glad Jesus is like this? You know where we would be otherwise.

Thus Jesus shares 3 parables of lost possessions. There is a lost sheep (15:3). It doesn’t will to be lost. It just wanders away. The shepherd seeks it until it is found. It is lost! It is sought! It is found! The finder rejoices.

There is a lost coin (15:8). It has no capacity to lose itself, or to understand its lostness. The one discovering it lost, holds other things incidental until it is found. It is lost! It is sought! It is found! The finder rejoices.

There is a lost son. He is lost, not because he wandered off, or was impassively misplaced, but because he chose to leave, to separate himself. He was just as lost! He was sought! He was restored! His return causes joy for his father.

The elder brother does not joy in return. Nor does he find joy in his father’s joy.

II. Next, We View the Lost Son As a Principal Character in Our Story. V11: “A certain man had two sons, and the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.” It is noted that Jesus does not call this young man a prodigal. Keep in mind the religious bigots listening. They are vindictive of Jesus’ openness to sinners. We can measure both sons and their sin. The younger was callous and rebellious; the older was censorious, retaliatory.

We can learn that there are good things about this young man. He is his own person. He is ready to strike out on his own. But he handles it poorly. His immaturity shows he gives his father no chance to counsel him. He is seeking only what is rightfully his. Deuteronomy 21:17 The right of the firstborn is a double portion. He seems to be a man of simplicity and responsibility. He discovers his mistakes, and blames himself. He knows his best chance is starting over. At home? Enslaved?

The Bible describes three kinds of enslavement: Bondsmen—respected family extensions; servant—subordinate but with status; hired servants—temporarily indentured. The younger son is a man to whom repentance is not an unreasonable alternative. V.17 “And when he came to himself, he said . . . I will go . . . and say . . . Father, I have sinned.”

Don’t make the mistake of accusing him as an unthankful delinquent. There is a mind sustained by childhood teachings. There is a heart with gratitude for a loving father.

There are interesting interpretations. Augustine: the “far country” represents the forgetfulness of God. “Came to himself” suggests restoration from madness. Paul’s description in Ephesians 4:18, “They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance . . . in them due to the hardening of their hearts.”

III. Then, We Must Consider the Older Brother Just as Lost in His Condescending Attitude. V28 “The older brother became angry and refused to go in.” The elder brother stands in the parable for the hardhearted Pharisees who necessitated its message. They did not share Christ’s concern for sinners. We must consider our own attitudes. As the younger was riddled by an uneasy conscience, this one purported to be without fault. V29: “I never disobeyed your command.” He was unforgiving. One-third of the estate has been lost. His ledger-book mentality demands censure. Even brotherhood is too high a price for acquittal. Add to his other wrongs that of betraying his father’s joy. Father: “this thy brother.” Son: “This thy son.”

The theologian George Buttrick wrote: “The far country is measured in motives rather than miles.”

Finally, the parable shows no evidence of repentance for the elder brother. Some suggest that it is a true story.

IV. The Parable Remains Forever that of Loving Father. V22 “But the Father said to his servants, bring forth the best robe and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand and shoes on his feet, and bring hither the fatted calf and kill it; and let us eat and be merry: for this my son was dead, and is alive again; was lost, and is found.”

There were some things that the father could do. The robe, best or first, showed honor and restoration. The ring established the relationship and oneness (Wedding Ring, Class Ring, Super Bowl Ring). The shoes, not worn by the lowest servants, were provisioned to sons.

There were other things, however, that the father could not do. He could not erase the wrong done: Billy could not revive the pet duck. He could not promise a second part of the estate.

He depicts all the characteristics of the heavenly Father. He waits patiently and lovingly. He recognizes the repentant pilgrim. He goes out to meet the weary son. He interrupts the confession. God is no stickler for law for law’s sake.

A totally new picture of God emerges. We saw the shepherd search for the lost sheep. We watched as the homemaker searched for the lost coin. We sense that the father is brooding for his lost son. God’s concern for the lost is the brooding concern for what is of eminent worth.

Conclusion

I have had recent occasion to reconsider the different attitudes allowed my Dad and myself in regard to God as Father. When he was a lad, his dad deserted them. He tried to run the tiny farm, but in failure, lost the only holding they had. He has lived out his life without owning property: fearful of loss. But the greatest disparity is that he knew no human counterpart to depict for him the true picture of God as one of zealous good will.

1/1/23 1/1/23

ON TO JERUSALEM

#121 ON TO JERUSALEM

Scripture Luke 9:51-62 NIV Orig. October 12, 1985

Passage: ⁵¹As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. ⁵²And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; ⁵³but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. ⁵⁴When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them^[^a^]?” ⁵⁵But Jesus turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶Then he and his disciples went to another village.

⁵⁷As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

⁶²Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

Purpose: Continuing a series from Luke, declaring the way of discipleship

Keywords: Bible Study Discipleship

Timeline/Series: Luke

Introduction

As Luke opens the door for Jesus to begin His journey to Jerusalem, he opens a whole new segment of the story that he intends to tell. Not only that, he begins accounting what is not otherwise told of the life of Jesus.

Through Luke 9:50, Luke’s account is a parallel account with Matthew and Mark. From here on to chapter 19 he will tell vignettes of the life of Jesus which are told only by Luke. Perhaps as much as 90% of these ten chapters do not otherwise appear.

This phase of Jesus’ life is called the Perean Ministry of Jesus. Up to now, it has been the Galilean ministry. Perea was across the Jordan River from Samaria. Its name comes from the Greek word for “across,” peran. It was the ancient name for what is now called Transjordan

As Jesus started for Jerusalem, He determined to take the shortest route which would have been straight through Samaria. He sent messengers on ahead to arrange lodging for them. However, when the Samaritans with whom they talked discovered that they were Jews on their way to Jerusalem, they refused to accommodate Jesus and His disciples. We have heard much of this bad blood between Jews and Samaritans. Jesus intends a kindness, which they quietly rebuff.

We talked of John recently and his change from “son of thunder” to “disciple whom Jesus loved.” We see evidence here of what he was originally. He and James wanted to call down “fire” from heaven on these wretched Samaritans for daring such a discourtesy.

This detour is not the way convention dictates but the way conscience demands.

I. A Brief Look at Old Prejudice and New Anger. V 53 “But they did not receive Him because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.” We should not read into this any sentiment against Christ. They probably knew little. They opposed these Jews expecting lodging. All of us need to learn to be careful in what we shut out of our lives.

Jesus used the opportunity to teach. First note that the believers were as misguided as the unbelievers. The Samaritans concluded that Jesus was a typical Jew. The disciples concluded that Jesus shared their anger at such intemperance. Perhaps they were recalling II Kings 1:10-12, when Elijah called down fire from heaven to consume messengers of King Ahaziah.

Jesus’ advice to them is to examine their spirit. V55 “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.” This is not contained in the Greek. Could it express their strongly negative approach to the Samaritans? He rebuked their discipleship. Lincoln said, “Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?”

II. Here Jesus Begins a Segment of Teaching About the “Way.” These are Three Tests of Discipleship.

First is the test of consecration. V57 Lord, I will follow you wherever you go.” He has already addressed this in 9:23 “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.” The word “follow” is the verb form of “attendant.” Now one spontaneously responds. Wherever you go, I will go. Have you ever thought about your response to Jesus? Jesus reminds him of the variables. He has observed popularity. He has seen the crowds, hoopla. What happens when the fun is gone? John 19:30, “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, ‘It is finished,’ and he bowed his head and gave up the ghost.”

Second is the test of obedience. V 59 “Follow me.” “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” We need to examine the picture that forms. Is it of a man whose father is in a coffin, a man who wants to attend the funeral? Look again! The oldest son had the responsibility of funeral arrangements. He wanted to postpone Jesus’ invitation until a more convenient time.

William Barclay tells of a brilliant young Arab who was offered a scholarship at Oxford/Cambridge, whose response was “I will take it after I have buried my father.” His father was forty, and in excellent health. The heart of the question to all of us is “What are we doing that is more important than the Kingdom?” Discipleship demands obedience. Soldiers are called to make sacrifices.

Third is the test of authenticity. V62 “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the Kingdom of God.” Following Jesus is for “keeps,” as someone says. It calls for sincerity of purpose. But one must give up his family? No, but his priority must be the Kingdom. The ancient Oriental “farewell” might last for weeks. In Genesis 24:55, after Abraham’s servant identified Rebekah as God’s chosen for Isaac, her mother and brother asked for her to stay 10 days. But the servant said, “do not delay me, since the Lord has prospered my way.” And Rebekah went with him.

Too many people say “I will follow…

…but…”

…when…”

…if…”

Too many Southern Baptists say “You can’t be my friend unless…

…you believe in inerrancy.” The inerrancy card is inflammatory.

…you deny ordination of women.”

…you went to an unconventional seminary.”

Conclusion

Jesus advised His disciples to understand of what spirit they were. When the sermon is five minutes over; or the special message didn’t gel; or someone you don’t care for shares your pew; or you are reminded of some little deed done, or big deed not done. “What spirit are you of?”

When the Scottish Presbyterians first came to Northern Ireland, their faith was unacceptable. Their ministers were considered dissenters and were not allowed. These people of faith chose to row the miles back to Scotland on each Lord’s Day to take Communion and to worship. What spirit are we of?

12/28/22 12/28/22

SALUTING THE LIBERATED WOMAN

#108 SALUTING THE LIBERATED WOMAN

Scripture Luke 1:46-55; 2:4-7, 33-35, 40 NIV Orig. 5/10/64

Rewr. 5-9-86 (5/77)

Passage: Luke 1

⁴⁶And Mary said: “My soul glorifies the Lord
⁴⁷    and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior,
⁴⁸for he has been mindful
    of the humble state of his servant.
From now on all generations will call me blessed,
⁴⁹    for the Mighty One has done great things for me—
    holy is his name.
⁵⁰His mercy extends to those who fear him,
    from generation to generation.
⁵¹He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
    he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
⁵²He has brought down rulers from their thrones
    but has lifted up the humble.
⁵³He has filled the hungry with good things
    but has sent the rich away empty.
⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel,
    remembering to be merciful
⁵⁵to Abraham and his descendants forever,
    just as he promised our ancestors.”

Luke 2

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

³³The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

⁴⁰And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.

Purpose: On the occasion of Mother’s Day, to share with my people a particular understanding of the meaning of Women’s Liberation

Keywords: Dedication Duty Liberation Marriage Motherhood Special Day

Introduction

Before allowing Mary to testify to us of a truly liberated woman, may I call your attention to her Old Testament counterpart, named Esther. History paints a rather dim picture of woman’s place during her day. There were no feminine aspirations to equality, and the men were intent on keeping it that way. Esther and others like her lived in the crucible of inequality.

Just before Esther makes her timely appearance, the beautiful Vashti was queen. But now she has been deposed. She embarrassed her husband and benefactor, the powerful King Ahasuerus, of Media/Persia and “125 other provinces from India to Ethiopia.” Vashti had been summoned to come and parade her beauty before the lustful eyes of the lesser princes of the realm. She refused. Now there is liberation. However, the menfolks decided that unless the king acted swiftly, this kind of uppitiness was sure to catch on with their wives. We are not told that she was punished, only that she was deposed, stripped of her royal estate. My knowledge of the period is limited, but Vashti would have been better off dead.

Herein steps Esther. That’s like following Nixon in the White House, or Edwards in the State House. Esther, did you learn anything? Esther, did you learn anything? Do you know to come when you are called? Otherwise, enjoy yourself in the lap of luxury.

Esther had an older kinsman who saw her in this new role as a standard bearer for Hebrew liberation. Perhaps a dark-skinned Joan of Arc. She just wanted her skin left intact. Don’t forget that it was Mordecai, the kinsman, who was at fault in this mess. The Jews were in the hotbox they were in because Mordecai would not bow before and reverence one of the king’s princes. So, Mordecai challenges Esther, “Who knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?” It is to the truly liberated women who have functioned with queenly honor in a man’s world that this salute is addressed.

I. The Liberated Woman’s Devotion of Faith. Luke 1:46 “And Mary said, ‘My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Saviour.” It is the devotion to achieve what she can, while she can, where she can, to the glory of God. You have the privilege of living in the world’s finest hour for women’s rights. Don’t forget the achievements of your sisters: Sarah, Deborah, Ruth, Esther, Mary, Joan of Arc, Florence Nightingale. Do those at the forefront today deserve the credit? It was an idea whose time had come. Many think equality discounts God because He is male.

The New Orleans Times Picayune printed an article written by a nun about God the Mother. Did she believe it, or was it cleverness? We have some right to get away from terms of God’s sexuality. God the Father still says something that God the Person never will. He is wholly Other.

So, we are making peace with old and often outmoded concepts. There are men who want to keep their women subservient.

Genesis 2:18, King James Version: “I will make him an helpmeet for him.”

Me: “I will make him his counterpart to complement and complete him.”

Society is not dependent on “family as we have known it,” but on family. In the dimension of faith, if woman chooses equality, she loses uniqueness.

Statistics show greater equality, also, lung cancer, sclerosis, heart disease. Statistic: Less than 100 of 1000 women between 15-44 are married; babies are having babies; abortion on demand; etc.

Women’s truest liberator and liberation is in the dimension of faith. Some go for headlines: “Six Woman Basketball Illegal,” “All Boys’ Choir Falls Victim to Women’s Lib.” But the real discovery is that of Faith: “My soul magnifies the Lord, My spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.” Therein she becomes the enabler—the Christian mother.

II. The Liberated Woman’s Detachment for Her Husband. Luke 2:4, “And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, . . . unto Bethlehem, to be registered with Mary, his betrothed wife, who was with child.” The consensus of concern remains that the husband be the provider of sustenance. It becomes more difficult for one income to suffice. In either case, the wife becomes the principal enabler. She is more often the one called upon to make sacrifices to complement her life to that of her husband. The Biblical record sustains this.

But the place of authority figure is not the intent. The first compulsion of God on female or male is faith. I like what a sainted seminary professor used to say, “The wife submits, not because she has found her master, but because her heart has found its rest.”

III. The Liberated Woman’s Duty in Motherhood. Luke 2:7, “She brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.” She was called upon, as mothers often are, to make fullest use of circumstances. A cattle stall became a castle under a loving mother’s hand.

She was called upon, as mothers often are, to begin as early as possible to complement and supplement spiritual instruction. Knowing what they are learning that is potentially harmful is half the battle. Tipper Gore fought for moral responsibility in popular music.

She was called upon, as mothers often are, to pray unendingly for God’s sustenance, encouraging them outside the nest while knowing the dangers and counteracting. Ecclesiastes 11:9, “Rejoice, . . . in your youth and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth; walk in the ways of your heart, and in the sight of your eyes; but know that from all these, God will bring you into judgment.” But, you see, this is a happy eventuality when the child has learned that the judgment of God is to be trusted.

She was called upon, as mothers often are, to challenge to seek and follow God’s will as He reveals it. Liberation for its own right is a basket of summer fruit, rotten and contaminated. One can make peace with God’s will.

Driving from Alexandria to Baton Rouge, I met a young man on his way west about twenty miles out of Baton Rouge. He was a rover. Across his chest was a guitar. On his back he carried his backpack, complete with a map of his itinerary. All of this while he pedaled a monocycle. He claimed liberation. Some might claim that he was being victimized by this roving spirit.

Conclusion

Devotion to Christ! Detachment for husband and family! Duty! These are the clarion calls of true liberation. Someone has said, “When a woman is possessed by Jesus Christ, something more significant happens to her than could ever happen to a man.”

Khalil Gibran, in his book, “Jesus, the Son of Man,” includes what he interprets to be the feeling that Mary Magdalene had for Jesus. “Then Jesus looked at her and said, ‘You have many lovers, yet I alone love you. Other men love themselves in your nearness, I love you in yourself. Other men see beauty in you that shall fade away sooner than their own years. I see a beauty in you that shall not fade away, and in the autumn of your days that beauty shall not be afraid to gaze at itself in the mirror, and it shall not be offended.’”

12/19/22 12/19/22

THE PREACHING OF JESUS

#008 THE PREACHING OF JESUS

Scripture Luke 6:39-49 NIV Orig. July 4, 1985

Passage: ³⁹He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. ⁴¹“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴²How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. ⁴³“No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. ⁴⁵A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. ⁴⁶“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ⁴⁷As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. ⁴⁸They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

Purpose: Continuing a Wednesday night series from Luke emphasizing the preaching of Jesus

Keywords: Luke, Christ, Preaching

Timeline/Series: Luke

Introduction

From the preaching of Jesus we have an example of preaching in the mold of Hebrew preaching in that day. It not only helps us to understand the context of preaching in the way that He experienced it, but it also shows the variances that He added to for others to follow.

Our text contains eleven verses. There are at least six distinct ideas contained therein. The themes are: Following those who don’t know where they are going; relationship of teacher and pupil; reality therapy; a tree and its fruit; good and evil persons; and building a house.

Herein is the essence of Hebrew preaching. The Jews had a word for it: charaz, meaning “stringing beads.” The preacher, in order to maintain interest, was taught to hurry from topic to topic. The Book of Proverbs is a fairly good example of such preaching.

Here, we have an example of using this kind of contemporary communication. But He was not limited to this. We find Him broadening the base of preaching by using it to convey specific truth through teaching. He controlled the manner of His preaching as surely as He did the message.

Rule #1—We can Share Effectively Only What We have Come to Grasp Sufficiently. V39 “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into the ditch?” The blind person is totally helpless with anything he has not experienced. The blind person is helpless. It is remarkable what some have achieved within their limitations. There are golf tournaments for the blind. A blind woman named Vera painted her house in New Orleans. To try to take another where we have not been is a risk. There are compensations for sighted persons, such as maps, aids.

There is room for consideration of both literal and metaphorical blindness. The Greek word tuphlos refers to either kind of blindness. Its use here seems to suggest a literal blindness (physical).

There are variances of blindness. Some don’t see; some won’t see; some can’t see. Helen Kellen spoke at Southern Seminary and said, “The worst thing is to have eyes and not be able to see.” V40 “A disciple is not above his, but everyone who is perfectly trained will be like his teacher. Perfect/perfected—katertismenos in the Greek—suggests mending torn or broken nets. In Matthew 4:21, “He saw James and John, . . . mending their nets.” Galatians 6:1 “Brethren, if a man is overtaken in a trespass (fault), you who are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness.”

There are compensations for blindness whether literal or otherwise. If literal, there is a cane, guide dog, surgery, miracle; if none of these work, there is always the arm of a friend. It is so for metaphorical blindness, but the helper must first be able to see.

The Golden Rules of Teaching

A teacher is a hinge on which one’s future swings.

We teach more by our walk than by our talk.

Sometimes, an ounce of Christian living before a pupil is worth a ton of talk.

It is not what the pupils remember that constitutes knowledge, but what they cannot forget.

Rule #2—Misshapen Attitudes Affect Us both as Teachers and Learners. V41 “And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not perceive the plank in your own eye?” There is another consideration of “don’t, won’t, can’t.” What these two have in common: Both have been rendered incapable of sight; both have seemingly correctible conditions. Now, a look at the ways they differ: a speck v. a plank or sawdust v. a saw log; accident v. carelessness; knowledge v. ignorance; beyond control v. self-control.

Dr. Criswell told about preaching in an Oklahoma revival. Members came, but a wife and husband went to sleep. When the power suddenly failed, the husband woke up in the dark. “Dr. Criswell,” he shouted, “Stop preaching and pray for me! I’ve gone stark blind!”

Don’t work to change others until you’ve made room for change in your own life. A psychiatrist is an M.D. who goes through psychoanalysis himself. As Edward Wallis Hoch wrote, “There is so much bad in the best of us, and so much good in the worst of us, that it hardly behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us.”

Rule #3—Good and Evil are Alike Products of Human Personality. V 45 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of the heart brings forth evil.” Obedience to the highest good we know is the final test. Matthew 7:21, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of my Father in heaven.” Psalm 1:2 “His delight is in the law of the Lord.”

The tree is known by what it produces. I have two plums in my yard. One is surrounded by little plums from last year’s fallen plums. The other I race the birds to them. My tomato plants are not producing. In the same way, the human heart produces what it is. Does God see the maliciously evil differently from the ignorantly evil? The evil done in the name of religion? The hostages! [1979-81]

Rule #4—What is in the Human Heart is Given Expression with What We Say. V45 “Out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” What does one say under pressure? What does one habitually say? What do we say when no one hears?

Rule #5—They Are Happy Who do not Exchange Future Advantage for Present Pleasure. V48 “He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.” The house builder is a useful illustration. He built his house during the dry season in the river bed. When the rains came it was more difficult and more expensive.

We often have a choice between immediate convenience and long-term good. Many people have trouble choosing what can’t be seen, such as the essence of spiritual decision. Let us rebuke carelessness of spirit, as the University President whose goal was to raise a Christian family. Let us require steadfastness; 1 Timothy 6:19, “Storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.” Let us restore hope. Storms do come.

***THE REMAINDER OF THIS SERMON HAS BEEN LOST***