ANSWERS

#836                                                                            ANSWERS

Scripture  Acts 2:1-13                                                                                                                                          Orig. 10-4-79

                                                                                                                                                                                Rewr. 10-20-86 

Passage:  When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. ² Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. ³ They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. ⁴ All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues^[a] as the Spirit enabled them. ⁵ Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. ⁶ When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard their own language being spoken. ⁷ Utterly amazed, they asked: “Aren’t all these who are speaking Galileans? ⁸ Then how is it that each of us hears them in our native language? ⁹ Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,^[b] 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome ¹¹ (both Jews and converts to Judaism); Cretans and Arabs—we hear them declaring the wonders of God in our own tongues!” ¹² Amazed and perplexed, they asked one another, “What does this mean?” ¹³ Some, however, made fun of them and said, “They have had too much wine.”

Purpose:  To lead Church Training in a study of the Book of Acts

Keywords:           Bible Study         Holy Spirit         

Timeline/Series:               Acts

Introduction

                Acts, chapter one, introduced the church. It identified the meager beginning and the handful of Jesus’ followers who took great comfort in meeting together in a small, second story room in Jerusalem.  Chapter two introduces the Holy Spirit who will infuse power into their lives and turn them into living dynamos of personal witness.

                We have already discussed the fact of the relationship of the Holy Spirit to this book.

                                Acts of the Apostles

                                Acts of the Holy Spirit

                                Acts of the Ascended Christ

                It is interesting that in the combined 68 chapters of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, there are thirty-four references to the Holy Spirit.  In the combined chapters of the writing of John, there are twenty-one references.  In Romans and 1 Corinthians, there are thirty-two.  But in Acts alone there are fifty-six occasions of the work of the Holy Spirit.

                The Holy Spirit is to be the means to the end of communicating the gospel.  The disciples are instructed to wait, and they are content to wait, in the “upper room” until they are infused with this power of gospel enablement.  The church, if it be the church at all, must have the capability of communicating the message.

                Some time ago I watched a special TV program, “I Heard the Owl Call My Name.”  It was about an Anglican vicar with a terminal disease.  He had been sent to the village of Kingcome in British Columbia.  The bishop had reasoned that if the young vicar was to learn, he must learn rapidly, and he needed a hard place to serve, and Kingcome was that.  One incident, in this true story, was of an elderly lady named Marta Stephens who had been there longer than anyone else.  She had seen the procession of vicars who had come and gone, who had done their best, and who asked to be relieved.  After worship one day, the vicar, whose name was Mark Brian, said to her, “Mrs. Stephens, tell me something.  Do you remember the first man who came here for the church?”  She replied, “Yes, he had a long, white beard.  He had to learn our language so he could teach us his.”  It is through the Holy Spirit that we are able to learn the language of “others” so that we can teach them our language and His.

I.             First, We Must See the Introduction of the Holy Spirit.  V1 It was Pentecost and an undeniable spiritual presence surprised and surrounded them.  We must first measure the significance of Pentecost.  Judaic roots spring from Leviticus 23:15 where it is referred to as the Feast of Weeks and counts the passing of seven Sabbaths.  It is called Pentecost because it begins 50 days after Passover.  Spiritual harvest lay waiting. 

Farmers must employ harvest equipment.  Farmers, tractors, and combines were the only ones who could get in the fields.  With the river rising, 23 pickers in one field was an awesome sight to see. 

At one of the great festivals, every male Jew within 20 miles was legally bound.  Others were expected to try. Travel conditions were ideal.  Keep in mind these travelers to Jerusalem.

II.            Now, the Significance of Unity Among the Disciples.  They waited for they-knew-not-what.  They knew a galvanizing “joy” when they were together.  Acts 1:13 told of the return to Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, to an “upper” room.  Perhaps the room where Christ had graced their fellowship.  So, 11 or 120, coming and going, but always back to this place. 

The contemporary church must recover this sense of togetherness.  It begins with an unbridled love for Jesus.  It understands the need for the Holy Spirit’s leadership.  Notice there is total equality: “they were all together,” “it filled all the house,” “resting on each of them,” “all were filled with the Holy Spirit.” 

III.           Now, an Attempt to Sort Out what Happened to Them There. The elements of this event included (1) tongues of fire (a symbol of God’s presence—see Exodus 3:2 and Deuteronomy 5:4); and (2) the “sound” of wind--not wind but sound, or pneuma (spirit or wind). This is a consequential, spiritual event. (We try to describe it concretely.)

R.L. Maddox wrote, “God in the form of the Holy Spirit came upon the people.  Did the Christians sigh under the weight of the first breath of wind?  Did the lamps flicker?  Did strands of their hair rustle like angels’ wings? Who knows? But they would talk about that day for the rest of their lives.”

There is no evidence that they would ever try to re-capture or repeat the experience, but similar events happened among the “aliens” in Samaria (Acts 8:14) and the gentiles in Caesarea (10:44-45).   Frank Stagg (B104p52) surprises us. “The great release of power on the day of Pentecost is not in the least to be minimized, but it evidently did not stand out so uniquely for first century Christians as for some of us.  It is not mentioned in extant first century Christian writings outside the second chapter of Acts.”  There were enduring problems. Some were afraid they would not so encounter; others were afraid they would.

Let’s back up and spend a little more time on “cloven tongues of fire.”  “Cloven” means parted, divided.  What was there, we will never know.  What they saw, they described.  And what it symbolizes, we can depict.  We can only go back in time, “down into Egypt to see Moses leading God’s people.”  A thing is done that was never done before.  Exodus 13:21 “And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud; . . . and by night in a pillar of fire.” Cloud and wind by day, fire by night.

IV.          Then there is the significance of the “filling” and the “speaking” that followed.  V4 “They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak in other tongues.”  Thus is magnified the reality of Christ’s presence.  Thus is amplified the need of yieldedness on their part to His will.  Thus is qualified that function of proclamation of the gospel.  Remember the Holy Spirit is not “It.”

Pentecost was necessary to get Christianity out of the Aramaic language.  The big question has to do with the meaning of the “tongues” experience for the future of the church.  The Holy Spirit did not have his inception at Pentecost. 

Psalms 51:11 “Take not thy Holy Spirit”

Isaiah 63:10 “Vexed his Holy Spirit”

John 20:19-23 “Receive the Holy Spirit” 

Genesis 1:2 “The Spirit of God moved”

Nor was glossolalia the matter.  What is really at issue?  Upholding our position to the rebuke of any other?  My Holy Spirit encounter is normative, therefore you seek?  Trying to tie the hands of the Holy Spirit?

What happened at Pentecost?  People heard the gospel.  They came to understand and believe.  He magnifies the proclaimed word.  Do we seek for Him to do so? Do we wait upon media blitzes?  When believers are “filled” with the Holy Spirit, when they speak in “tongues,” do others become targets of Holy Spirit ministry?

What is not the Holy Spirit?  Wind is not the Holy Spirit.  Fire is not the Holy Spirit. Language is not the Holy Spirit.  They were evidences of His presence.

Why the Spirit came—To empower Jesus’ teaching.  To convict of sin. To comfort. To consecrate for service.  To guide the Christian life.

THE DEATH OF THE BAPTIST

#820                                                          THE DEATH OF THE BAPTIST                                                                                 

Scripture Mark 6:17-29 NIV                                                                                                                              Orig. 1-29-84

Passage:  For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested and put in prison.  He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married.  For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”  So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him.  But she was not able to because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man.  When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled; yet he liked to listen to him.  Finally the opportune time came.  On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.  When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests.  The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.”  And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”  She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”  “The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.  At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”  The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.  So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head.  The man went, beheaded John in the prison, and brought back his head on a platter.  He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.  On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

Purpose:  In continuing the study from Mark, to relate the death of the Baptist to Jesus’ ministry to His disciples.

Keywords:          Biography            John the Baptist               Repentance

Series:  Mark

Introduction

                The first things that come to mind when we consider John the Baptist are that he was a solitary man, a little strange actually, living in the wilderness, wearing clothes made of animal hair.  Additionally, we are told that he was the son of a priest named Zechariah, and his wife Elizabeth, who was also of a priestly family. (Luke 1:5).  In fact, his mother, Elizabeth, was a kinswoman of Mary, the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:36), a cousin perhaps.

                Because of his parents’ advanced age at the time of John’s birth, it is likely that neither of them survived to see him grow up.  Tradition has it that he was taken in by one of the Essene groups, who are known to have taken in boys like John to bring them up in the strict legalism of their communities and the privations of the desert.

                A look at John’s life:  Luke 1:80 “So the child grew and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.”  So, as an orphan he was taken in by one of these Essene groups that inhabited the waste places of Judea, west of the Dead Sea.  They were deeply religious Jews concerned about Messianic fulfillment.  The movement was very strong about the time of Jesus.  Into that kind of electric atmosphere, he was born.  No variance from this belief was tolerated.

                John was taught this legalistic expectation of the Messiah, that Elijah would precede him.  Malachi 4:5 “Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord.  And he will turn the hearts of the fathers to their sons, and the hearts of the sons to their fathers, or else he will smite the earth with a curse.”

                Would John, from such a background, be able to perceive of himself as Elijah?  John 3:28 “You, yourselves, bear me witness (John 1:20f) that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’”

                It is thus, then, that we encounter John preaching in the wilderness.  He was preaching of the coming kingdom. He was declaring the need for repentance.  Isaiah 40:3 “The voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the way of the Lord.  Make his paths straight in the desert, a highway for our God.”  It was to be a repentance, then, that resulted in a change of life: Make his paths straight, turn the hearts of the fathers.  Baptism was never seen as the catalyst in such a conversion, it was seen as a symbol.  John had learned this from the Essenes. John did not wish to baptize Jesus simply because it symbolized what he knew in Jesus not to be the case. 

                The link of Christ’s Ministry with that of John: Mark 1:7, 8 “And [John] preached saying, “There comes One after me who is mightier than I, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to stoop down and loose.  I indeed baptize you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”  Jesus came from Nazareth to Bethany to give personal credence to John’s ministry. And to establish the Messianic link to his own ministry.  But the Jews did not then or now understand that his anointing of God (Christ) was not as political leader for Israel.  His purpose was that of Saviour.

                John then acknowledges Jesus’ presence. John 1:29 “Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world.” (Isaiah 53:7)  Jesus began his ministry in Judea.  John 4:1f seems to indicate that for a time Jesus and John had parallel ministries.  At about the time that John was imprisoned, Jesus went to Galilee.

                Finally, Jesus, acknowledging that His death is eminent, prepares His disciples.  Mark 1:14-15 “Now after that John was delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the gospel of God, and saying, the time is full, the Kingdom of God is at hand; repent ye, and believe.”

                Thus, everywhere Jesus goes in Galilee, He goes preaching and healing, first for the sake of the people, then for the disciples to learn.  Then, one disturbing day, He learns that John is dead.  Not long before, John had sent his disciples to Jesus. “Are you the One?” Matthew 11. And the word was sent back, even to John, saying, “You have to act on what you see”:  Faith was the key.

                His death was caused as we have read it here.  Herod Antipas had taken his brother Philip’s wife, Herodias, who, by the way, was a niece to both.  Philip was tetrarch of Ituraea, to which place Jesus often resorted.  John rebuked Herod for his illegitimate marriage.  Herodias arranged his death.

                Jesus has taught His disciples that the same way John had preached repentance and the Kingdom of God, and as He likewise did, they were to do.

Closing

                The church today is Jesus’ ministry to the world. First, it is the declaration of repentance and the Kingdom of God.  Secondly, we are to administer that message.

A MAN UNDER AUTHORITY

#807                                                           A MAN UNDER AUTHORITY                                                                                  

Luke 7:1-10 NIV                                                                                                                                                     Orig. 11-9-83

                                                                                                                                                                                Rewr. 10-17-90 

Passage:  When Jesus had finished saying all this in the hearing of the people, he entered Capernaum.  There a centurion’s servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die.  The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant.  When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, “This man deserves to have you do this, because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue.”  So Jesus went with them.  He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.  That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you.  But say the word, and my servant will be healed.  For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me.  I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one ‘Come,’ and he comes.  I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.  When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, “I tell you, I have not found such great faith even Israel.”  Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well.

Purpose: Continuing a Sunday evening series on New Testament characters, here explaining significant characteristics of this unusual man.

Keywords:          Centurion            Man                      Worth                  Christ                    Healer

Timeline/Series:               Sequential/New Testament characters

Introduction

                Public generosity is not a new twist.  It has been around as long as man has tried to live in community.  And, through all of those years, there have been some who gave to get.  Their expression, taken by some to be community concern, was, in fact, nothing more than an advanced payment on expected gratuities.

                It happens every day.  A Louisiana pastor had a wealthy church member come to him.  He needed the pastor to intercede in the church financial records and give a business associate credit for money he claimed on tax records to have given to the church, but in fact, had not done so.

                It happens in small towns and large. It involves payoffs, scams, double-dealing, fraud, etc.  It happens at the university level, and to him who is not smart enough to know that he is being had.

                But the centurion who cared about the religious welfare of the people around him, and built them a synagogue, also had a heart of compassion.  He could certainly stop traffic with his benevolence.  He could also show deep personal feeling for an individual, and go all out to help him.  It is wonderful, indeed, to see public generosity sustained by domestic kindness.

                The centurion, A Man under Authority, also described in Matthew 8:5f, is the object of our search this evening.  We will look at his compassion, complaisance, compromise, composure, and complexity.

I.             First We Look at Compassion.  V2 “And a certain centurion’s servant, who was dear to him, was sick and ready to die.”  Before anything else, we are shown his caring concern for his servant.  Remember, he was Roman.  He was also a high-ranking military officer. Barclay p. 82 calls him “backbone of the Roman army.”  Such men were held in contempt.  Interestingly, those mentioned in the New Testament are spoken of well.

                Lk 23:47. “The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, ‘Surely this was a righteous man.’”

                Acts 10:22.  “The men replied, ‘We have come from Cornelius the centurion.  He is a righteous and God-fearing man, who is respected by all the Jewish people.’ A holy angel told him to have you [Peter] come to his house so that he could hear what you have to say.”

                Acts 22:26.  “When the centurion heard this, he went to the commander and reported it. ‘What are you going to do?’ he asked. ‘This man [Paul] is a Roman citizen.’”

                Acts 23:17, 24.  “Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, ‘Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him. . . .[The commander said] provide mounts for Paul so that he may be taken safely to Governor Felix.’”

                The man for whom he shows such concern was a slave (doulos)—a thing possessed.  Usually, they were treated thusly.  Little can be known about the servant.  Was he a Jew?  We do not know.  Was the servant a man of faith? It is not described.  He is said to be “ready to die,” meaning he is at the point of death.  What takes place can be perceived only as physical healing.  The miracle takes place apart from the actual presence of Jesus.

II.            We Come Next to His Complaisance.  V4f The centurion “was worthy . . . for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue.”  The Roman presence expected such complaisance within certain limits.  They were to work with the people as much as possible.  Though they were a military, security presence, they could work in behalf of such local authority.  The Herodians were a party of Rome; the Sadducees were wealthy, intent on salvaging their wealth.  Gibbon, in The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire, wrote: “The various modes of religion which prevailed in the Roman world were all considered by the people as equally true; by the philosophers as equally false; by the magistrates as equally useful.” 

                This man gives evidence of a contrite heart toward the religion of his subordinates.  He was probably a much-traveled man. He knew Greek history and the language, and may have served in Egypt and elsewhere.  He likewise shows deep humility in relation to Jesus.  The controversy was not unknown to him. Five times in the last quarter of Acts, it is a centurion who is at the forefront of the controversy around the faith.  It takes a man of real substance to humble himself around subordinates. Augustine said that while [the centurion] counted himself unworthy that Christ should enter his doors, he was counted worthy that Christ should enter his heart  (Lockyer p. 178.)

III.           Then Note a Man Compromised.  V7: “Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: . . .  I also am a man set under authority.”  He knows what it is to command, and to be commanded.  He knows the limits of command, and how often he would have commanded this illness, but it would not.  Being a Roman, it is his right to command these Jews to heed his request.  The word for “sent” is apostelien—to send on mission (willingness).  Jesus to many was only a Jew.  He sends to Jesus “beseeching.”  Different words make such requests: aiteo—a petition from a subordinate; erotao—a petition from/to equals; parakaleo—in Matthew 8:5, to ‘beseech,’ to ask for help. Erotao is the word always used by Jesus in expressions to the Father.

                Not only does he see Jesus as his equal, but of even greater worth than he.

IV.          From the Man Compromised We See a Man Composed.  V9 “I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel.”  His constraint of Jesus is a last hope.  Does he expect Jesus to comply?  An observer reports the transaction to him: I think so.  Remembering the Jewish aversion to entering gentile homes, he sends word. “Say in a word, and my servant will be healed.”  He does not withdraw the request, only the need to come in person. 

In humbling himself, we see the true heart of an upright man.  He asks for no sign. He attributes all power to an absent Christ.  Matthew 8:13 adds “as thou hast believed, so be it done unto thee.”  Both record his return to wholeness.

V.            A Final View is Gained When We See Him as the Cumulative Man.  V9 “I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”  That statement may sound familiar.  Luke 4/Matthew 15 tell us of the Syrophoenician woman. Like this man, also a gentile.  Like him, petitioning for another.  As he does, he believes unerringly that Jesus can meet this need.  It is shown to be a great faith (Laidlaw/Lockyer, p 179): Great coming from a man outside the covenant; great ascribing all/total power to Christ; great making no superfluous request; great in its self-forgetting benevolence.  One other thought is brought to mind:  Here is a non-Jew treated as an equal.  Here is the first opportunity for the gospel to touch gentiles.  Remembering the struggle in the early church, this is an example.  Recognizing that we still have problems with this, he opens the door.

Conclusion

                A medical journal quoted by the Nashville Banner on June 5, 1986, tells of a year old baby falling in a swimming pool.  The mother got her out, not breathing, and dialed emergency. Informed of a strike, she started screaming. A neighbor, who lost both legs in Viet Nam, rolled 80 yards in a wheelchair, crawled up 60 feet and five steps to the pool, and administered CPR.  The baby revived.  “It was God’s hand that saved the baby, not me.”  How long has it been since we were instruments working for the good of someone else?

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.”

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.

THE PARABLE OF TREES

#784 (use with #33)                                 THE PARABLE OF TREES                                                                                      

Scripture  Judges 9:7-15 NIV                                                                                                                  Orig. Date 8-26-51

                                                                                                                                                                      Rewr. Dates 9-26-90 

Passage:  ⁷ When Jotham was told about this, he climbed up on the top of Mount Gerizim and shouted to them, “Listen to me, citizens of Shechem, so that God may listen to you. ⁸ One day the trees went out to anoint a king for themselves. They said to the olive tree, ‘Be our king.’

⁹ “But the olive tree answered, ‘Should I give up my oil, by which both gods and humans are honored, to hold sway over the trees?’

¹⁰ “Next, the trees said to the fig tree, ‘Come and be our king.’

¹¹ “But the fig tree replied, ‘Should I give up my fruit, so good and sweet, to hold sway over the trees?’

¹² “Then the trees said to the vine, ‘Come and be our king.’

¹³ “But the vine answered, ‘Should I give up my wine, which cheers both gods and humans, to hold sway over the trees?’

¹⁴ “Finally all the trees said to the thornbush, ‘Come and be our king.’

¹⁵ “The thornbush said to the trees, ‘If you really want to anoint me king over you, come and take refuge in my shade; but if not, then let fire come out of the thornbush and consume the cedars of Lebanon!’”

Keywords:          Parable

Timeline/Series:               Old Testament Parables

Introduction

                Our story begins with Gideon.  He was chosen as judge of the people.  He sought confirmation.  Judges 6:36f “If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand.” So, both Gideon and the people knew that he was their leader.  They responded to him accordingly.

                In later years, they had come to depend on him so completely that they offered him rule over them.  Judges 8:22 “Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also: for thou hast delivered us from the  hand of Midian.”

                The word for rule implies sovereignty.  It may or may not have the effect of royalty.  It is nonetheless clear that they were satisfied with all that had happened and were willing for the descendants of Gideon to come to the office and role of rule if not to the place of monarchy.

                Gideon rejected these advances.  He made it clear “I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the Lord shall rule over you” (Judges 8:23).

                Besides king-like rule, Gideon left behind seventy sons “of his body begotten” (8:30), and a son, by a concubine, whom he called Abimelech.  At Gideon’s death, Abimelech struck quickly.  He went to Shechem, his mother’s home, claimed to be one of them, and the royal son.  Together, they went after his  half-brothers, killing all of them but Jotham, the youngest, who was delivered from this attempted assassination.

                The message here, a parable or fable, is Jotham’s message to the men of Shechem who have followed Abimelech’s wiles.

I.             It is First of All About Trees. Judges 9:8, “The trees went forth on a time to anoint a king over them.”  It has the quality of a fable, but it is meant to stand out as a moral lesson.  The meaning is hidden, but barely.  These Shechemites are to see themselves. Jotham means for them to not like what they see.

                There are some things we need to remember about trees.  They derive their sustenance from soil.  They take from the soil what they are fitted to take to meet their own needs.  The trees are not  valued equally in the codes of human economy.  They are different in terms of size, and sight, and fruit.

                Jotham then begins to identify certain of these trees and plants.  The olive tree was asked to reign over the forest.  One tree can yield a half ton of fruit per year, and there were numerous orchards.  It offers food and building supplies. The olive branch is a symbol for peace.

                The fig tree was called forth to reign.  The fig tree provides food;  in I Samuel 25:18, Abigail, an Israelite woman, made 200 cakes of pressed figs.  Adam and Eve used its leaves to cover themselves.  It is the first fruit mentioned in the Bible.

                The vine was singled out.  It produced fruit for nourishment and for medicinal purposes. In Numbers 13:23, the spies sent out by Moses cut a branch with a cluster of grapes, and also brought pomegranates and figs.  Micah 4:4, “But they shall sit every man under his vine,  and under his fig tree; and none shall make them afraid.”

                Finally, the great cedar was pictured.  It was the greatest of Bible trees.  Herbert Lockyer wrote that a cedar could be as much as 120 feet tall, with a girth of 40 feet (A36p334).  Both Solomon’s temple and palace included cedars.  In Judges 9:15 fire devours the Cedars of Lebanon.

                A bramble is offered the role.  It is a plant with no fruit of worth.  Some use it as fuel.  It could be used as a hedge, 12-15 feet high.  The parable does not effect repentance.

II.            The Prophetic Message of the Parable/Fable.  Judges 9:15, “If in truth ye anoint me king over you, then come and put your trust in my shadow.” 

                The  olive tree has to do with covenant privilege.  Romans 11:17-21: ¹⁷ ‘And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert grafted in among them, [2] and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree; ¹⁸ Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. ¹⁹ Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be grafted in. ²⁰ Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: ²¹ For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.’ 

                It is evergreen, suggesting eternality.  In Exodus 27:20 the Hebrews were to bring “pure” olive oil for use in the tabernacle.

                The fig tree seems more to stand for the national privilege.  I Kings 4:25 “Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree.”  That is similar to Micah 4:4; Micah was a contemporary of Isaiah.    Zechariah 10:12 forecast the messianic time.  Think of the intended sweetness of the fig.  But the Christless Zion is the bane of most non-western nations.  Also, the great parable of Christ in Matthew 24:32, “Now learn a parable of the fig tree: when his branch is yet tender and putteth forth leaves, ye know that Summer is nigh.”

                The vine seems to speak of spiritual privilege.  Isaiah 5:4, “What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it?  Wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?”  The vine is God’s chosen symbol for joy.  The vine brought forth alien fruit.  Psalm 80:14, “Look down from heaven and visit this vine; and the vineyard which thy right hand hath planted; . . . turn us again, O Lord of hosts, cause Thy face to shine; and we shall be saved.”

                The bramble speaks of liberty, responsibility, privilege being sacrificed.  The bramble is willing to reign.  The cedars are willing to allow it.  The demand of the bramble is for the cedar to “put your trust in my shadow.”  It is said that when the Messiah comes, He will build the new temple, again of cedars, but instead, His head was anointed with bramble.

THE CHRISTIAN ENTERPRISE OF LOVE

#757                                                 THE CHRISTIAN ENTERPRISE OF LOVE                                                                        

Scripture  I Corinthians 13:1-13 NIV                                                                                                            Orig. 12-10-61

                                                                                                                                                              Rewr. 10-17-65, 10-3-79 

Passage:  If I speak in the tongues^[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,^[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing. ⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

Purpose: To speak to my people on the most worthy of subjects and call them to the goal of evidencing a likeness to Jesus in love for others.

INTRODUCTION

                Perhaps one of the finest examples of love in action in our time was that which was lived out in the life of Elisabeth Elliot.  Even after the primitive Auca Indians had slain her husband and other missionaries, she still was able to infiltrate those people and their culture and represent Christ in their midst.  It should not be surprising then, that many of them came to know Christ as their Lord and Saviour.

                A marvelous straightforwardness assails us in Mrs. Elliot’s book The Liberty of Obedience.  She tells of the difficulties of her early months in this beginning work with the Aucas.  When it became apparent that these people were responding to them, and that they could begin a larger work without fear, they had to decide how much of their own cultural deprivations that they would lay upon these people.  She knew that Satan used certain human intemperances.  Should she tell them what she had learned in her own walk in the faith?  She wanted to tell them: “You must not tango. You must despise Cinerama.  You must not wear make-up.  You must not smoke.”  But it became clear to her that these satanic influences as she had known them, did not exist here.  The nearest movie was hundreds of miles away in Quito.  They knew nothing of betting parlors and dance halls.  Not wearing make-up could hardly be considered a problem in a culture where the people wore little or nothing at all.  Mrs. Elliot declares that she came to the startling discovery for herself, and then for the Aucas, that Christianity is Christ.  It is only indirectly related to one’s culture and its negative values.  It certainly does not depend upon those negative values for its existence.  What they must be taught is that Christianity is the inner presence of Christ . . . .  The joy of obedience in liberty.

                Perhaps no better definition of love will be brought forward.  It is the joy of obedience in liberty.  The enterprise that should occupy the time and the meditation of every Christian is how to love.  It is learning freely to obey, not the Christ of a self-limiting culture, but the Christ within.

I.             The New Testament Greek Has a Marvelous Facility: To Define Love..  We stumble with one four letter word with which we are to express the most important feeling in our language.  If you want  people to know how fond you are of ice cream, you love it.  If you are of the mind to jockey for position with thousands of other drivers, park 10 blocks from the stadium, sit on hard seats in a smoke-filled arena for three hours, and often don’t even have the satisfaction of being on the winning side, then you love football.  It has somewhat cheapened the word to use it thus when we contemplate its meaning when related to another person.

                The Greek language has four magnificent words with which LOVE is defined.

                The noun ερος (eros) and its verb form are used principally for love between the sexes, or perhaps even ambition or even intense patriotism.  But even by the time of the writing of the New Testament the meaning of these words had degenerated to the place that they are not one time found in the New Testament.  They had come to stand for a lower form of love.  Our contemporary word “erotic” is a case in point.  As a Christian, I may still be free to participate in an “erotic” film, or book, or TV program.  I am not free to enjoy what is clearly not in my best interests.  Joy, which comes from the Holy Spirit, will be absent in every such occasion.   

                The noun στοργε and its verb have to do with family affection.  I can find no derivative in our language, although we pronounce the Greek word as “storgé.” Paul helps us here by using the word at least once.  Romans 12:10: “Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another.”  Not “brotherly love” as you might suspect, but “kindly affectioned.”  Here the word is φιλοστοργοι, or philostorgos.

                The most used word in Classical Greek is the noun φιλος “filos” and its companion verb φιλια “filίa.”  It defines a close, affectionate relationship: husband and wife, parent and child, friendship.

                By far the most common New Testament word is αγαπα “agapa” and the companion αγαπαν “agapan.” It appears 250 times.  In classical usage it was more as a benefactor.  The word became the epitome of Christian love.

II.            This Word of Limited Use and Meaning Would Become the Vehicle for the Fullest Expression of Love.

I Corinthians 13:1f: Though I have the silver tongue of an orator and the voice of an angel; even if I had the gift of prophecy, understanding all knowledge; though I had all possible faith; though I give liberally to the poor; even if I were to give all of my vital organs to be used by others: and do these things for reasons other than love, it does me no good at all. 

                These prior words were self-limiting in their meaning.  Erotic love would ever be that and nothing more—sensual pleasure.  Biblically, sex is not a dirty word or an evil concept.  It was an integral part of the marital relationship.  Outside of marriage, it is more the biological function of the brute beast, than it is expression of human love.

                The second word was limited to the feeling of warmth and affection between family members.  While that is very close to Christian love, it may be that because this word was often used as an expression of devotion for the household gods. 

                Philia-love was undoubtedly a lovely word with deep meaning, but could properly be used only with that which was near and dear.

                Christian love must reach a higher dimension.  It must include the nearest and dearest, our friends and all who love us.  1 John 2:10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is no occasion of stumbling.  It extends to all who are of the Christian fellowship.  John 13:35: By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if you have love one to another.  The expression “one another” is found often.  Hallelujah in Hebrew means “praise to God.” Hallelujah in Greek means “one another.”  Luke 10:27 Thou shalt love the Lord with God with all thy heart. . , soul . . , strength. . , mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. 

                Agapa, then, takes us beyond the family of faith to our neighbor, to our enemy, to the world.  James 2:8: If ye fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, ye do well.  Which must always raise the question “Who is my neighbor?” To which we have but one answer, which is that of Christ.  The parable of the Good Samaritan tells us clearly who is our neighbor.                

CONCLUSION

                Dr. James Sullivan, former Executive Secretary of the Baptist Sunday School Board, tells of a proofreader’s consternation that came about as a result of one of the many manuscripts that passed through the editing office.  The author had used a phrase which is very familiar to all of us, “tabasco sauce,” but which was totally unfamiliar to the proofreader.  She paused over this word, but finally decided that the author meant “tobacco” and changed the manuscript.  Shortly after, a second proofreader was going over this paper, and came upon the expression, “tobacco sauce.”  This proofreader decided that this had to be wrong, and changed it accordingly.  You can imagine the consternation on the part of the author and publisher when the publication appeared using instead of “tabasco sauce,” “tobacco juice.”

                It is just as easy to confuse people around us about “love.”  Live the life so that friends, loved ones, even strangers will know the kind of person you really are.

***Daniel Hutto, of Wake Forest, NC, was of immense help in reproducing the Greek here***

A TIME FOR CONFESSION

#734                                                                    A TIME FOR CONFESSION                                                                             

Matthew 16:13-16, NIV                                                                                                                                      Orig. 1-19-79

                                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. (10-85) 11-7-89 

Passage:  When Jesus can to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”  They replied, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”  “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”  Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”                                                                                                                                                           

Purpose: To use the occasion of the Lord’s Supper to challenge my people of the need to lift up life and voice in confession of Christ as Lord.

Keywords:          Christ                    Lordship              Lord’s Supper                   Ordinance          Communion,                                                     Confession

Timeline:             None

Introduction

Not many of us are generally familiar with the writings of George Buttrick.  His ministry to God’s people ended [long ago].  His books are still in circulation, but may not be known except to an occasional pastor or Bible teacher.

Mr. Buttrick’s is a name often quoted in seminary classrooms.  He left insightful material relating to the work of pastors.  Speaking to the Senior Class of Princeton University a number of years ago, he issued a pastoral challenge.  His ableness of speech came out of the fact that he then served as pastor of Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York City.  Several in his audience were themselves going into the pastorate.  He urged these graduates to “be with their people.”  They were to be listeners in the marketplace to understand where their people are in life, and what they are thinking.  He advised what some might find contradictory.  I quote, “When you are at Coney Island, don’t tell the people of the concessions on the Boardwalk, about which they already know; tell them of the mystery of the sea, about which they do not know.”

It is a late hour in the saga of the evolution of life.  We gain wonderful knowledge about our world every day.  But the more informed we become about the world, the less concerned we seem to be for the mysteries of Christ.  The question was asked of the disciples, for which we must have an answer:  “Who do you say that I am?”  I must know the answer.  So must you!

I.             It is Firstly a Question of Determination.  V.13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say that I am?”  Examining the context we know that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem.  Luke 9:51: “He steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.”  (He fully/finally determined.) It is with knowledge of His death. He knows it will be violent. 

Caesarea Philippi arcs His course southward.  It identifies the time when Jesus’ public popularity is on the wane. Matt 13:1 “The same day…great multitudes were gathered unto him.” 12:46 “So many sought him (His mother and brothers)…could not get close.”  9:8 (after healing a paralytic) “when the multitudes saw it they marveled and glorified God who had given such power to men.”

We will not again see this public acclaim until Matthew 17:1-6: After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John the brother of James and led them up a high  mountain by themselves.  There He was transfigured before them…The disciples fell on their faces. Matthew 17:24 “Does your Teacher not pay temple taxes?” Mt 19:1-3: “Some Pharisees came to him to test him.”  Mt 21:15: And when the chief priests and the scribes saw the wonderful things that he did…they were indignant.”

It is as if some line of demarcation has been passed.  Jesus had always faced opposition. But He had lived in the sunshine of a ministry marked by blessings/benefits to people around Him.  He perceives the sun slipping behind the clouds, darkness invading the land.  As He faces down Mt. Hermon’s flank, He knows another mount, called Golgotha, must soon be scaled.

“Up Calvary’s mountain, one dreadful morn, walked Christ my Saviour, weary and worn;

Facing for sinners death on the Cross, that he might save them (us) from endless loss.

Father, forgive them, thus did he pray, E’en while his lifeblood flowed fast away.

Praying for sinners while in such woe; no one but Jesus ever loved so.”

II.            Secondly, it is a Question of Decision.  V 15: “But who do you say that I am?”  There was no debate about a right answer to this question. It was answerable in different ways: Saviour, Son of God, Anointed, Messiah.  But all are answers that allude to God’s forgiving grace in Christ: that man has a sin problem; that only God’s answer suffices. Matthew 3:15 John hesitated when Jesus presented Himself for baptism. (Not because he didn’t know who Jesus was, but because he did. “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

Too many today are uncertain as John was, but their confusion is from the speculation of doubt.  There was speculation even back then.  Healed people were instructed not to tell. (Matthew 8:4/9:30.). Evil spirits guessed His identity and were commanded to silence.  Even John the Baptist later sent for confirmation. Luke 7:19 “Are you the Coming One (anointed) or do we look for another?”  Jesus accepted this reticence. Luke 7:23 (His answer to John): “Blessed is he who shall not be offended because of me.”

Deal with your decision on the basis of being offended because of Jesus.  Are there times when it embarrasses you for people to know you are a believer?  During social upheaval do you tend to remain non-committal? Does the Swygart/Gorman controversy offend you? What about the SBC leadership stand-off?  Are moral crises requiring polarization?  There were reasons for reticence then.  Jesus was not what the people expected in Messiah. He clearly was interested in more than mainline Judaism.

The militant sought to use Him to address their purposes.  John 6:15 “When Jesus perceived that they would come and take Him by force to make Him a king, He departed again into a mountain alone.”  There are even good reasons for reticence today: We faced the burden of our sin.  The age grows the more complex, and the void grows wider.  The lateness of the hour suggests the gravity of unbelief.  The message is so unlike the means for making it known.

How do you describe a mountain panorama? The Grand Canyon? A beautiful sunset? A matchless symphony? A 50th anniversary of a devoted couple? But we do try, don’t we? And as well, we must share with those around us our faith in Christ.

“Who do you say the Son of man is?”

Conclusion

                Do you recall the story from Uncle Tom’s Cabin?  Tom was on the barge being taken with other enslaved people to the riverside plantation of Simon Legree.  The name still makes us draw up in dread.  Tom was trying to console another who had been sold away from wife and children.  “Come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”  “Them’s good words,” said the other, “but who says ‘em?”

                In a dark hour in Thomas Carlyle’s life, someone read to him from John 14:1.  “Let not your heart be troubled…in my father’s house are many mansions.”  The essayist replied, “Aye, if you were God, you had a right to say that; but if you are only a man, what do you know more than the rest of us?”

                It is thus the Christ who calls us to answer: “Who do you say that I the Son of man am?”

THE POTTER’S HOUSE (with Deuteronomy)

#614bb                                      THE POTTER’S HOUSE (with Deuteronomy)

Scripture   Deuteronomy 20:1-4; Jeremiah 18:1-6, NIV                                                  Orig. Date  May 10, 1981

Passage: 

Deuteronomy 20:1-4

When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you. ² When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army. ³ He shall say: “Hear, Israel: Today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not panic or be terrified by them. ⁴ For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

Jeremiah 18:1-6

This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” ³ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. ⁴ But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.  ⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me. ⁶ He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.”

Purpose:  To share a message at a special gathering of high school students.

Keywords:          Discipline             Banquet               Revelation                          Relationship                       Youth

Introduction

                It was one of those intolerably hot August days.  A hiker had come out of the high regions and was beginning to see signs of civilization.  Occasionally, in the distance, a house.  Here and there, cultivated land with crops laid by.  The hiker was now thinking only of finding a place to get a cool drink of water.

                Down the way, he saw an old mountain house.  As he drew nearer, he saw a man seated in a rickety chair on the run-down porch.  As he approached he determined to be neighborly to the man, hoping that he would be so in return.  He spoke, then called attention to the disagreeable weather. Still no invitation to rest came.  He went on, “How is your cotton doing in this hot, dry weather?”

                “Ain’t got  none!” replied the mountain man.

                “Didn’t you plant any cotton?” asked the surprised traveler.

                “Nope,” he replied, “’fraid the boll weevils’d get it.”

                “Well,” said the passer-by, “How is your corn?”

                “Ain’t got none of that either,” said the old farmer, “And if you gotta know, I figured there weren’t gonna be no rain.”

                Still hoping for an invitation to rest, and a drink of water, the hiker plunged in again.  “Really, well what did you plant?” he asked.

                “Didn’t plant nothing,” said the farmer, getting up to enter the old house.  “I just played it safe.”

                There are lots of good reasons why we do what we do.  Some of them even good ones, and our excuses become the determinants of the way our lives are lived.  To be a farmer and not to plant is ludicrous. To live in God’s world and make excuses for discounting Him is also.

                There’s a shorter story of an avid golfer who was checking with his spiritual adviser about golfing in heaven.  The adviser said, “There’s good and bad news. The good news is that the golf courses in heaven are many and lavish.” “That’s great!” the golfer happily exclaimed.  “What’s the bad news?” The adviser said: “Tee off time is tomorrow at 10a.m.”

                At first glance, Cervantes’ novel, Don Quixote, has little to offer young people.  It is the story of a thought-to-be senile old man, and his fat and 50ish servant.  They launch a quest to do something about the evil in the world, the don on a sway back horse and Panza on a mule.  They stop for the night at a less than becoming inn, and his strange ways continue.  He addresses the slovenly inn-keeper, “Behold, you are the Lord of this great manor.”  The abused kitchen servant was seen as a beautiful maiden, and he requests a token to carry with him into  his battles with evil.  But what happens is that people who have never been trusted before respond to Quixote’s kindness, and it changes their lives, and does affect the evil in the world by affecting the lives of evil people.

                You are at the place to decide your quest:  A part of the evil, or an attempt to do something about it.  Why you?

                The New Orleans TV market had an unusually fine TV program a few years ago that ended with the sudden and unexpected death of the host, Jim Metcalf.  He chose for a portion of one program to see life through a child’s eyes.  “I now recall only how to look.  I do not recall how to see.”

                You must decide quickly, before you join a great host of others who recall only how to look at the world, not how to see it.  How to experience the world, not how you feel about that experience.

                Jeremiah is a case in point.  It is here that I invite you to venture with Jeremiah to the potter’s house.

I.             With All of His Experience, there was a Lesson that He had Missed.  It was not an obvious lesson: not wasted clay, though we Americans have something to learn about waste—our loss of credibility.  The lesson was in the symbol of wasted clay.  It was a revelation.  Not new, but very old.  The symbol declared that it was God’s purpose to take what seemed to be useless and give it meaning and opportunity.  It is a lesson that must not be pushed too far.  The clay does not have free will with which it can resist the potter.  Jeremiah did, and we do.

II.            You See, Even as God’s Prophet, He had Compromised an Ideal.  The world out there waiting for you is beset with bargains. 

                Soren Kierkegaard told a story about wild geese who chose to stay behind in a farmer’s field because it was safe.  A wild goose, with broken wing, entered a farmer’s flock.  After winter, with healed wing, he heard another flock flying north.  He extolled the other geese to fly with him, but they would not, for the farmer’s corn was good, and the barnyard secure.

                Alexander Solzhenitsyn wrote: “When was it that I completely scattered the good seeds, one and all? For, after all, I spent my boyhood in the bright singing of Thy temples.

                “Bookish subtleties sparked brightly, piercing my arrogant brain, the secrets of the world . . . in my grasp, life’s destiny . . . as pliable as wax.

                “Blood seethed . . . and every swirl gleamed iridescently before me.  Without a rumble the building of my faith quietly crumbled within my own heart.

                “But passing here between being and nothingness, stumbling and clutching at the edge, I looked behind me with a grateful tremor upon the life that I have lived.  Not with good judgment nor with desire are its twists and turns illumined, but with the even glow of the higher meaning which became apparent to me only later on.

                “And now, with measuring cup returned to me, scooping up the living water, God of the universe!  I believe again!  Though I renounced you, you were with me!”

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Gulag II (Harper and Row—1968)

III.           It was Now Time to Certify the Word from God.  What God had to say was to be revealed in the work of the potter. 

                It speaks of confidence.  There is something to believe in.  There is a dependable world.

                It speaks of obedience.  James Michener’s book, The Source, is a fictional account of Moses.  El Shaddai said to Zadok-the-Righteous, “As long as you live old man, you will be free to ignore my commands.  But in time, I will grow impatient and will speak to others.” Zadok: “My home is the desert.  I was afraid to leave.”  El Shaddai: ‘I waited because I knew that if you did not love your home, you would not love me either.  I am glad that you are now ready.”

                It speaks of faith. I watched with more than a smile as a little girl, 4 or 5 years old, waited at the baggage belt in the air terminal in New Orleans.  Just the three of us waiting for luggage at Moisant.  She asked about putting her stuffed bear on the belt.  Her daddy assured her it would come back.  You cannot imagine the look of concern on that father’s face as he waited with her for his word to be trustworthy.

IV.          The Lesson had to do with Discovering a Destiny.  “Cannot I do with you as this potter? . . .  As clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand.”

                Let me remind you of your dependence.  This is not what your contemporaries want you to consider.  It is threatening to them.

                Let me remind you of design.  The will of God is not a trite “preacherism.”  It is ultimate truth. A little boy in a small town heard a “circus” was coming.  He did not know what it was but posters and talk convinced him.  For weeks he saved pennies till he had 25 cents.  On the day, he got to town and was told where to go for the beginning of the parade.  He saw lions, tigers, bears, elephants with people riding on them, beautiful horses, acrobats, jugglers, clowns, the circus band.  As the last person appeared, the little boy stepped into the street, put five nickels into the man’s hand, and ran home to tell what he had seen.  He had not been to a circus but to a parade.

                Let me remind you of discipline: the calloused feet; the tools—wheel, rasp, chisel, fire.  The light then came on in the prophet’s brain.  Life’s meaning is found on the shaping wheel of grace, tempered in the fires of God’s providence.

Conclusion

                Herman Hegedorn wrote after the initial atom bomb blast in New Mexico: “I went to call on the Lord in His high house on the hill, my head full of 150 million people having to grow up overnight.  If ever a people needed a miracle!  The Lord!! He looked at me as a mountain might look at a molehill.” ‘So you want a miracle. My! My! You want a miracle. You want me to come sliding down a sunbeam and make 150 million self-willed egotists into 150 million cooperating angels. 

                ‘Brother,’ said the Lord in a voice that shook the windows, ‘that isn’t the sort of universe you are living in.  That isn’t the sort of God I am. . . . 

                ‘Give me your life, and I will make it a spade to dig the foundation of a new world.’”

THE POTTER’S HOUSE

#614b                                                              THE POTTER’S HOUSE                                                                                       

Scripture  Jeremiah 18:1-6, NIV                                                                                                Orig. Date  2-4-75 (5-78)

                                                                                                                                                                      Rewr. Dates 9-24-87 

Passage:  This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: ² “Go down to the potter’s house, and there I will give you my message.” ³ So I went down to the potter’s house, and I saw him working at the wheel. ⁴ But the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.

⁵ Then the word of the Lord came to me. ⁶ He said, “Can I not do with you, Israel, as this potter does?” declares the Lord. “Like clay in the hand of the potter, so are you in my hand, Israel.”

Purpose:  To share a message at a special gathering of high school students.

Keywords:          Discipline             Banquet               Revelation                          Relationship                       Youth

Introduction

                It was one of those intolerably hot August days.  A hiker had come out of the high regions and was beginning to see signs of civilization.  Occasionally, in the distance, a house.  Here and there, cultivated land with crops laid by.  The hiker was now thinking only of finding a place to get a cool drink of water.

                Down the way, he saw an old mountain house.  As he drew nearer, he saw a man seated in a rickety chair on the run-down porch.  As he approached he determined to be neighborly to the man, hoping that he would be so in return.  He spoke, then called attention to the disagreeable weather. Still no invitation to rest came.  He went on, “How is your cotton doing in this hot, dry weather?”

                “Ain’t got  none!” replied the mountain man.

                “Didn’t you plant any cotton?” asked the surprised traveler.

                “Nope,” he replied, “’fraid the boll weevils’d get it.”

                “Well,” said the passer-by, “How is your corn?”

                “Ain’t got none of that either,” said the old farmer, “And if you gotta know, I figured there weren’t gonna be no rain.”

                Still hoping for an invitation to rest, and a drink of water, the hiker plunged in again.  “Really, well what did you plant?” he asked.

                “Didn’t plant nothing,” said the farmer, getting up to enter the old house.  “I just played it safe.”

                There are lots of good reasons why we do what we do.  Some of them even good ones, and our excuses become the determinants of the way our lives are lived.  To be a farmer and not to plant is ludicrous. To live in God’s world and make excuses for discounting Him is also.

I.             Jeremiah Reminds Us of Something that He has Overlooked.  V2. “Arise, and go down to the potter’s house, and there I will cause thee to hear my words.”  The message is not a new one. We are reminded rather than informed. It is not something never said before, not some new thing making its appearance.  There all the time but Jeremiah was elsewhere.

                And, it was becoming increasingly important for Jeremiah to know the heart of God.  I wonder what good thing occupied the prophet.  I wonder why he failed to seek the “best” thing.  Were you ever guilty of that? I have been.

                Even here, we can occupy ourselves with secondary matters.  Why, here is a wonderful lesson about wasted clay.  The potter needs to be more careful.  We can extend this to a world where waste abounds and examine others’ guilt. 

                Contemporary ecology warns us about waste.  We are losing trees, forests, woodlands. Water quality is a problem everywhere.  Oil has been wasted to the point of world revolution.

                The major economic concern in America today is that we are creating debt on unborn populations.

                But, that’s not the lesson.  The lesson is in the message delivered through the potter.  It is a lesson that shows God to be the redeemer, the user of what has been cast aside.  It didn’t just involve clay. It involved people, flesh and blood. Folks with free will, who could resist their potter.

II.            So, Jeremiah Has to Deal with a Relationship That Has Been Bargained.  V4 “And the vessel that he (the potter) made of clay was marred.”  It did not achieve what was intended.  It was bargained.  It was cheapened.  Now, wait a minute, do those words mean the same?  The world out there, young people, is teaching you to get by as cheaply as you can.  That’s okay if you’re buying books, or jeans, even a car if you are careful.  But what about things that matter: Home, family, community, peace, dignity, integrity.  God. 

                Soren Kierkegaard, a philosopher you’ll study about in college, wrote a fantasy about geese.  A wild goose, with broken wing, entered a farmer’s flock.  After winter, with healed wing, he heard another flock flying north.  He extolled the other geese to fly with him, but they would not, for the farmer’s corn was good, and the barnyard secure.

                We are too ready, you and I, to bargain the true lessons of God’s spirit for material, worldly reasons.  James Michener’s book, The Source, is a fictional account of Moses.  El Shaddai said to Zadok-the-Righteous, “As long as you live old man, you will be free to ignore my commands.  But in time, I will grow impatient and will speak to others.” Zadok: “My home is the desert.  I was afraid to leave.”  El Shaddai: ‘I waited because I knew that if you did not love your home, you would not love me either.  I am glad that you are now ready.”

                We are neither too young nor too old to discount, to bargain the word of God to us.

III.           Jeremiah Begins at Last to Look into the Very Heart of God.  V4b “He made it again, another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make it.”  V6 “. . .As the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in my hand.”

                The prophet had to learn that God was involving Himself redemptively in their lives.  Exodus 19 (Moses): “Ye have seen how I bear you on eagle’s wings to myself.”  Psalm 37 (David): “I was young, and now old.  Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken.”

                How intuitively Jesus knew this to be the case. Matthew 5:45 “He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and the good.”  Matthew 10:29 “The sparrow shall not fall without the Father.”  Luke 12:27 “Consider the lilies of the field, they toil not, neither do they spin.”

                The prophet had but to remember this Godly quality and act in obedient faith.  The life of Jesus proves how unlike God we are.  His doing is my undoing.  Without His mercy I have no choice left.  Faith is believing, and living on the basis of that belief.

                I watched a little girl, 4 or 5 years old, at the baggage belt in the air terminal in New Orleans.  Just the three of us waiting for luggage.  She asked about putting her stuffed bear on the belt.  Her daddy assured her it would come back.  You cannot imagine the look of concern on that father’s face as he waited with her for his word to be trustworthy.

IV.          The Prophet Reminds Us that there Is an Undeniable Discipline in Responding to the Trustworthiness of God.  V6 “. . . Cannot I do with you as this potter [does with the clay]?” saith the Lord.  “As clay is in the potter’s hand, so are ye in my hand.”

                So, we are dependent. Give God the first segment of every day.  Give God the first day of every week.  Give God the first return on material earned.  Give God the first consideration in every decision.  Give God first place in your heart.

                For a brave to become a chief, he had to pluck the fur from the sacred bobcat, bring down the white buffalo alone, wrestle the brown bear. Then came the trial of fire and water. “Whatever happened to wholesome good looks and a nice personality?”

                Look on the potter’s wheel and see design.  It was the design that was flawed.  Even so, God’s people were less than he had planned, thus the renovation.

                Nor must we overlook discipline.  The potter’s feet were calloused and misshapen from all the years at the wheel.  The tools were those of wheel, rasp, chisel, fire.

                And it was thus that the light suddenly came on in the prophet’s brain.  This God would have me to see.  His work is never to destroy but to design.  His grace is not to reduce but to redeem.  The smartest thing that one can do is to let Him have His way in our lives, and the sooner the better.

Conclusion

                Herman Hegedorn wrote after the initial atom bomb blast in New Mexico: “I went to call on the Lord in His high house on the hill, my head full of 150 million people having to grow up overnight.  If ever a people needed a miracle!  The Lord!! He looked at me as a mountain might look at a molehill.” ‘So you want a miracle. My! My! You want a miracle. You want me to come sliding down a sunbeam and make 150 million self-willed egotists into 150 million cooperating angels. 

                ‘Brother,’ said the Lord in a voice that shook the windows, ‘that isn’t the sort of universe you are living in.  That isn’t the sort of God I am. . . . 

                ‘Give me your life, and I will make it a spade to dig the foundation of a new world.’”

Alternate Conclusion     

                “When was it that I completely scattered the good seeds, one and all? For, after all, I spent my boyhood in the bright singing of Thy temples.

                “Bookish subtleties sparked brightly, piercing my arrogant brain, the secrets of the world . . . in my grasp, life’s destiny . . . as pliable as wax.

                “Blood seethed . . . and every swirl gleamed iridescently before me.  Without a rumble the building of my faith quietly crumbled within my own heart.

                “But passing here between being and nothingness, stumbling and clutching at the edge, I looked behind me with a grateful tremor upon the life that I have lived.  Not with good judgment nor with desire are its twists and turns illumined, but with the even glow of the higher meaning which became apparent to me only later on.

                “And now, with measuring cup returned to me, scooping up the living water, God of the universe!  I believe again!  Though I renounced you, you were with me!”

Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Gulag II (Harper and Row—1968)