THE TRUE G.O.A.T IS THE LAMB

Luke 11:29-32

            Introduction: Americans seems to have an addiction to superlatives. We have a president who uses superlatives all the time. I cringe every time I hear him say one superlative. I wonder why we are so fascinated by superlatives? I think this might be because we tend to be very competitive. We like having the best, biggest, fastest etc. Outdoing the last guy, or team or organization is really a thing with us.

            As recently as after winning the sixth super bowl championship title, the fans, the media, all most everybody began to call Tom Brady, “The G.O.A.T” (The Greatest of All Time) Really?  Tom Brady in his own words, "I don't even like that. I don't even like it. It makes me cringe, it makes me cringe. " No doubt, Tom Brady may be the greatest football player of all times, he is not certainly the greatest of all times.  Then who in the world truly deserves to be called, “The Greatest of All Time.”

            For the past few weeks, we have been studying through the Gospel of Luke. Last week we looked at the theme, “Am I being a good neighbor? Today for our study we will look at a crowd that was obsessed with signs of greatness, and were looking for a miraculous sign from heaven. We will also look into how Jesus cleverly turns their focus from human greatness to true greatness.

            Background:  After the powerful teaching on Prayer in Chapter 11, Jesus casts out a mute demon from a man. When the demon left the man, he began to speak. The crowds were amazed at this awesome miracle. But some took objection to it and began to accuse that Jesus was casting out demons with the help of the “prince of demons” Yet others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. 

            To such crowds, Jesus turned and addresses them, “This evil generation keeps asking me to show them a miraculous sign.”  In the earlier chapters 7:31, 9:41 Jesus used similar references mainly addressing the rebellious, stubborn nation of Israel. But the warning goes beyond Israel and applies to everyone who is just as stubborn and rebellious towards God, in spite of seeing all the miracles. On several occasions, Jews asked for miraculous signs but Jesus rejected their requests because they had wrong motives. Evidence was not the means by which he appealed to unbelievers.

            He wanted them to believe in Him for who he says he is rather than the miracle he could perform. Similarly, even today Jesus wants us to acknowledge Him as God, rather than a moral teacher or a miracle worker.  Instead of giving them a sign from heaven, he gave them a history lesson. He reminded them of two prominent Old Testament characters to expose what is going on in their hearts and establish who he was and for what purpose he was sent into this hostile world. The two characters were the reluctant prophet Jonah and the earnest seeker of the truth, the Queen of Sheeba. What do we know about them?

I  THE RELUCTANT PROPHET

            Jonah lived in 7^th century BC. Contrary to the word of the Lord for Jonah to go to Nineveh, he ran away to Tarshish thinking that He could hide away from God’s presence. God had to teach this reluctant and angry prophet a lesson by shutting him up in the belly of a whale for three days and three nights. Finally, while in the belly he learned his lesson and repented.

            God ordered the whale to throw him unto the shore. Can you imagine what that sight of a BIG whale throwing up Jonah unto the shore might have looked like? Jonah proclaimed the impending judgment of God and the soon coming destruction. The entire city of Nineveh, men, women, children, the cattle and the King repented, by putting on sackcloth and ashes, coupled with fasting. God our of his mercy and compassion turned His wrath away from Nineveh.

            Jesus said to the crowds seeking for a sign, Vs 29b-30, “But the only sign I will give them is the sign of Jonah. What happened to him was a sign to the people of Nineveh that God had sent him. What happens to the Son of Man will be a sign to these people that he was sent by God.”  What happened to Jonah and his preaching was a sign to the Ninevites. Similarly, what will happen to the Son of Man ( a title Jesus used for himself), will be a sign not only to the people presented in the story but for all the future generations as well.

            Jesus explains further what will happen to him In Matthew 12:40, “For as Jonah was in the belly of the great fish for three days and three nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.” Jesus was referring to his death and resurrection.

 Vs 32, “The people of Nineveh will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for they repented of their sins at the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent.”

            Jesus cleverly uses the repentance of the Ninevites as an object lesson to rebuke the Pharisees, of their hardened hearts and their unwillingness to repent.  The heathen city of Nineveh repented at the preaching of a reluctant prophet, but the Pharisees would not repent at the preaching of the greatest of all prophets, in spite of overwhelming evidence that he was actually their Lord and Messiah. This brings us to another witness that Jesus called out.

II  THE ERNEST SEEKER OF THE TRUTH (I Kings 10:1-13)

            It was a crucial time in the history of Israel. The fame and splendor of Solomon spread far and wide as far as the land of Sheba, which was 1500 miles away from Jerusalem. When the queen of Sheba heard about the fame of Solomon and his relationship to the LORD, she came to test Solomon with hard (difficult) questions. She had to cross the desert sands of Arabia, and travel along the coast of the Red Sea, up into Moab, and over the Jordan River to Jerusalem.         Such a journey required at least six months time, since camels could rarely travel more than 20 miles per day.”  Why did she take all that trouble to come to Jerusalem? Because she was an earnest seeker of the truth. When she finally arrived in Jerusalem and met King Solomon face to face, she poured out everything in her heart and asked Solomon difficult questions. Was she disappointed? Absolutely not! Solomon answered all her questions; nothing was too hard for the king to explain to her” Did Queen of Sheba get what she has bargained for?

             She got more than that, she had a life-changing experience in the presence of the wise King Solomon. In Vs 5, “She said to the King, it’s all true! Your reputation for accomplishment and wisdom that reached all the way to my country is confirmed. I wouldn’t have believed it if I hadn’t seen it for myself; they didn’t exaggerate! Such wisdom and elegance—far more than I could ever have imagined.” (The Message). How earnest are we, to seek the truth?

             In our passage, we read about Jesus invoking the “Queen of the South to rebuke people of his time who did not recognize that one greater than Solomon was in their midst.  By using these two OT characters that were familiar to his audience,  Jesus laid out an argument.  He argued from the lesser to the greater. If the queen of Sheba responded positively to the wisdom of Solomon, and the people of Nineveh to the preaching of Jonah, how much more should the people of Jesus’ day have responded to the ministry of Jesus, who is infinitely greater than Solomon or Jonah! What makes Jesus truly greater than Jonah and Solomon?

III. THE TRUE G.O.A.T IS THE LAMB

            The desire in people to be the greatest goes way back even before the creation of the world. It first originated in the mind of Satan who coveted God’s position and wanted to be like Him. Since he couldn’t get what he wanted, he incited people to go down on that slippery path of greatness. It was the motivation of the people who attempted to build the tower of Babel.  

            The desire to be the greatest did not even spare the disciples. One day Jesus was explaining to his disciples, how he was going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. Instead of showing concern, the disciples showed their true heart of covetousness. In Luke 9: 46, “Then his disciples began arguing about which of them was the greatest.” Knowing their thoughts Jesus laid out a simple pathway to true greatness in the eyes of God.

            Vs 47-48, “He brought a little child to his side. Then he said to them, “Anyone who welcomes a little child like this on my behalf welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me also welcomes my Father who sent me. Whoever is the least among you is the greatest.”

            Children in Jesus’ culture were normally powerless, expected to be obedient, and dependent.  Jesus brought a child to teach his disciples to be like a when it comes to following God. He showed how people become great in God’s sight as they sincerely and unpretentiously look away from self to revere him. If you want to be great, follow the way of Jesus.

            Jesus lived and died a life of humility, not one of pomp and false pretense. He did not seek to be recognized by people but always did what was pleasing to His father. He modeled not an authoritarian leadership style but a servant leadership style. He did not abuse his power and authority to meet his selfish needs instead he healed the sick, fed the hungry raised the dead and fought for the poor and the marginalized. He did not bully people. He loved all people.

            Jesus avoided all publicity and often spent time praying in lonely places to the Father. Finally, at the cross, he showed his love towards his friends by laying down his very life for them. In Philippians 2:6-9, “Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.

            When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross. Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” One day everyone, including the so-called great people will bow their knees and confess with their tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

            What made Jesus the greatest of all time is not so much what he did but the path of humility he chose. I want the whole world to know that Jesus Christ truly is “THE GREATEST OF ALL TIME.”  The true G.O.A.T is actually the Lamb. John the Baptist pointed to Jesus and said, “Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” John 2:1:30.

            In the book of Revelation, in his heavenly vision John the evangelist sees a Lamb that looked like as if it had been slaughtered. When he took the scroll from the ancient one, the four living beings and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb and began to sing:

            “Worthy is the Lamb who was slaughtered to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and blessing.” Then all creatures in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea joined in singing: “Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.” Rev 5: 1-14.

            The True G.O.A.T is the lamb of God. The Lamb of God is no other than our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, who is the beginning and the end, the Alpha and the Omega. He is here today, by the power of his Holy Spirit. He is putting the same challenge before us that he put before the Pharisees and the unbelieving crowd two thousand years ago.  

            How would you respond to Him? Would you, like the Pharisees, though they had seen all the miracles but did not accept him as their Messiah? Or like the Ninevites who repented of their sins upon hearing the message of Jonah? Jesus, the greatest of all time is beckoning you to open up your heart and accept Him as your Lord and Savior. Let’s repent. Let’s bow our knees. And with our tongues worship Him, for he alone deserves our worship. Amen!

AM I A (GOOD) NEIGHBOR?

AM I A (GOOD) NEIGHBOR?

Luke 10:25-37

Introduction: Last Summer in our Inter Faith clergy meeting we were encouraged to read the book, “The Good Neighbor.” And watch the movie “Won’t you be my Neighbor?” by Fred Rogers. I read the book and watched the movie and it was educational for me. For the millions of adults who grew up watching him on public television in the 60’s, Fred Rogers represents the most important human values: respect, compassion, kindness, integrity, humility.

            In Mr. Roger’s own words, “We live in a world in which we need to share responsibility. It’s easy to say “It’s not my child, not my community, not my world, not my problem.” Then there are those who see the need and respond. I consider those people my heroes.”

            The main theme of that show is to convince us that while kindness and empathy are in short supply today, it need not be that way.” Many would wish to live in Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, and have him as their neighbor. The truth of the matter is then and even more so now there are people who are apathetic, and don’t want to get involved in the lives of others.

            In the passage for our reflection from Luke 10:25-37 we see a community that was averse to people who were different, and had a different set of values and worship practices. Jesus walks right into to that setting, and challenges the status quo of people and lays out certain universal principles that would be applicable to all generations everywhere.

            That was all triggered by a question by an expert in the law who perhaps thought he was smarter than Jesus. He asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor? But the question should have been, Am I a (good) neighbor? In other words, the burden of proof does not lie with another as to whether or not he is a neighbor in order to qualify for my love. The question is, Am I a (good) neighbor to any and all, especially to those who are needy?" Let’s journey into this to story.

I JESUS’ NEIGHBORHOOD

            The neighborhood in Galilee where Jesus grew up and spent most of his adult life was somewhat similar to the neighborhoods of America.  There was income inequality There were strong religious practices, racial and gender prejudices and diversity of people from many parts of the then known world. Jesus seemed to have transcended everything by preaching a counter cultural kingdom message, and exhorted his followers to do the same.

            At this point the Lord appointed 72 other disciples and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town he was about to go. They were given instructions to heal the sick and preach the good news of the gospel. After a while the disciples returned with joy and said, “even the demons submit to us in your name.” Jesu’s private moments with his disciples was abruptly interrupted by a lawyer who asked him this question what must I do to inherit eternal life.

            The question was in the right place, but the motivation was in the wrong place. Jesus answered by asking, “what is written in the law and how do you read it? The lawyer replied, “Love your God with all your heart and with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your strength. And Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” Jesus said, you answered it rightly, do this and you will live.

            Though there were about 613 laws given by God both the positive and negative ones, if people could follow these two greatest and the most important commandments of loving God and loving their neighbor as themselves, they would be fulfilling the entire law. It looks like the lawyer knew these two commandments intellectually, but was not applying what he knew.

            Similarly, we may know and understand the scripture from cover to cover, but when it comes to its practical application, are we any different? The lawyer wanted to justify himself so he asked Jesus a trick question, who is my neighbor? That led Jesus to tell this familiar story.

II.  TRAGEDY ON THE JERICHO ROAD: (Vs30)

            Vs 30, “A Jewish man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.” Jerusalem is located about 2,500 feet above the sea level, Jericho in the Jordan rift valley about 800 feet below sea level. Jericho was a wealthy community making fertile ground for robbers.

             In our world, we find a lot of good people, but there are some simply evil people who are bent on doing evil things, including killing others inorder to get what they want. In our story, the robbers badly beat up this traveler, stealing everything including stripping his clothes, “leaving him half dead.” Ancient sources employ “half dead,” for one who was, to all appearances, dead.

            Luke doesn’t give a name of this victim, perhaps inorder to maintain his anonymity. So, let’s simply call him a human being, a stranger or a neighbor who is in need of help. At that moment a priest happened to be going down the same road. Let’s see what happens.

III. TRAIDITION CONTROLS A PRINCIPLE (Vs 31-32)

            31-32, “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant (a Levite) walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.”

            This priest and Levite may have finished their duties at the temple and returning to their homes Jericho. In those days many wealthy priests and Levites lived in Jericho. They both happened to pass on the same way and noticed a half dead man on the road. Instead of helping him they pass by on the other side of the road. According to Leviticus 19:18, they were to love their neighbor’s as themselves. But unfortunately, their tradition took precedence over the spirit of the law. Traditionally priests and Levites became impure either by them or even their shadow touching a dead body. So, they avoided dead bodies conveniently altogether.

IV. HELP COMES FROM UNLIKELY SOURCES: (33-35)

            Vs 33-35, “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.”

            A Jewish priest and a Levite saw the plight of one of their own community members, yet did not stretch out a hand to help this man who was at the verge of dying. But ironically, help came from an unlikely source, a despised and hated Samaritan by the Jewish community. During Jesus’ time Jews and Samaritans generally hated each other. Most Samaritans would not travel on a road largely traveled by Jews, let alone helping someone who was half dead on the road with the possibility of robbers still around. Yet this Samaritan’s actions are noteworthy.

            The Samaritan saw the man in need and felt compassion. Risking his very own life he came over to the man on the ground. He soothed his wounds by pouring oil and wine. He bandaged him up and put him on his own donkey and took him into an inn. Interestingly, he took care of him whole night. The next day he gave the inn keeper two silver coins and said, take good care of him. If it costs anymore, put it on my bill, and I will pay you on my way back.

V. AM I A (GOOD) NEIGHBOR?

            36-37 “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbor to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.” At the end, Jesus puts the smart lawyer in place by asking him a question. Which of the three would you say was a neighbor to the stranger?  The lawyer, perhaps in an embarrassing manner said, “The one who showed him mercy.

            Then Jesus instantly said, yes, now go and do the same. In the beginning I said, the lawyer’s question should have been, Am I a good (neighbor)? Here in this story, it is significant that the person Jesus commended as a neighbor was neither the religious leader nor the lay associate but a hated foreigner, the Samaritan. Jews viewed Samaritans as half-breeds, both physically and spiritually. Samaritans and Jews practiced open hostility but by commending the Samaritan Jesus asserted that love knows no national boundaries.

            This story begs us a question, “Am I a (good) Neighbor? How can we seek to be a good neighbor in a culture where there is open hostility towards immigrants and foreigners? We can draw a few principles from this story. Firstly, there is no bad neighborhood to live in, if we seek to be good neighbors. Secondly, let’s reach out and help those who are in need, even if it means risking our lives. Thirdly, love knows no boundaries, overcomes prejudices, and calls us to act and not to retreat. Fourthly, being a good neighbor is a command from Jesus and not a suggestion. Fifthly, knowing scripture is not enough, by practicing it we live.

            May I suggest a few ways we can be a good neighbor as Christ wanted us to be in this world? Let’s be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit to show us somebody who is in need and step out and help that person, regardless of who that may be. But in the meanwhile, we can use all our God given talents, and skills and serve the people that God might send on our way.

            Let’s be good to the strangers and immigrants remembering that we too once were immigrants. Ironically, this country is blessed by many health care workers, aids, low paying federal workers who come from some of the countries that are despised and hated. Let’s reach out and minister to the poor, the needy and hurting. Remember what Jesus said, “when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me” Matthew 25:40, Therefore, let’s go out and try our best to be a Good Neighbor. Amen!

A HARLOT CRASHES THE PARTY

A HARLOT CRASHES THE PARTY

Luke 7:36-50

Introduction: Philip Yancey tells the story of a prodigal daughter who grows up in Traverse City, Michigan. Disgusted with her old-fashioned parents who overreact to her nose ring, the music she listens to, the length of her skirts, she runs away. She ends up in Detroit where she meets a man who drives the biggest car she’s ever seen. The man with the big car – she calls him “Boss” – recognizes that since she’s underage, men would pay premium for her. So, she goes to work for him. Things are good for a while. Life is good. But she gets sick for a few days, and it amazes her how quickly the boss turns mean. Before she knows it, she’s out on the street without a penny to her name. She still turns a couple of tricks a night, and all the money goes to support her drug habit.

            One night while sleeping on the metal grates of the city, she began to feel less like a woman of the world and more like a little girl. She begins to whimper. “God, why did I leave? My dog back home eats better than I do now.” She knows that more than anything in the world, she wants to go home. Three straight calls home get three straight connections with the answering machine. Finally, she leaves a message. “Mom, dad, it’s me. I was wondering about maybe coming home. I’m catching a bus up your way, and it’ll get there about midnight tomorrow. If you’re not there, I‘ll understand.” During the seven-hour bus ride, she’s preparing a speech for her father. And when the bus comes to a stop in the Traverse City station, the driver announces the fifteen-minute stop. Fifteen minutes to decide her life.

            She walks into the terminal not knowing what to expect. But not one of the thousand scenes that have played out in her mind prepares her for what she sees. There in the bus terminal in Traverse City, Michigan, stands a group of forty brothers and sisters and great-aunts and uncles and cousins and a grandmother and a great-grandmother to boot. They’re all wearing goofy party hats and blowing noise-makers, and taped across the entire wall of the terminal is a computer-generated banner that reads – Welcome Home! Out of the crowd of well-wishers breaks her dad. She stares out through the tears quivering in her eyes and begins her memorized speech. He interrupts her. “Hush, child. We’ve got no time for that. No time for apologies. We’ll be late. A big party is waiting for you at home.”[1]

            What a powerful story of a father’s love and forgiveness towards his undeserving prodigal daughter.  In the passage for today’s reflection we will meet a Harlot who crashes the party of a pharisee. How did the pharisee react towards this uninvited guest? How did Jesus respond to a prodigal daughter, who wanted to come back home and belong to the family? How did the woman respond to the response of Jesus?  Luke 7:36-50   

            Background: In our Journey through the six earlier chapters we discovered the following: Chapter 4 :18 Jesus’ announces the nature of his ministry as the prophetic fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free.”

            In Chapter 6 we read about the formation of his new community, and the principles and the guidelines that are to be followed by all those who would participate in that community. Chapter 7 opens the window into Jesus’ compassionate ministry by a series of healings, deliverance including raising the dead. We see Jesus’ compassion reaching out to the poor and sinners, earning him a nickname, in Vs 34 “a friend of tax collectors and other sinners.” We see three principle characters in our story: Jesus, a Pharisee and a Harlot. (Vs 36-50)

I PARTY AT A PHARISEE’S HOME Vs 36

            Vs 36, “One of the Pharisees asked Jesus to have dinner with him, so Jesus went to his home and sat down to eat.” Though Jesus goes into the home of the pharisee, they are still in the town of Nain. We know this man’s name is Simon, but don’t know the reason for this dinner party. In those days inviting a traveling teacher for dinner would be viewed as virtuous. However, Simon does not appear to have been sympathetic to Jesus. His motive was similar to that off the other Pharisees, either to entrap Jesus, or to find some reason to accuse Him.  

II. A HARLOT CRASHES THE PARTY:

            Vs 37-38, “When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.” What do we know about this uninvited guest?

            She seems to have quietly slipped into the gathering. We don’t know her name, all we know her as a “certain woman with an immoral reputation and background.” She is a sinner in the city. She must have been a professional prostitute. She must have heard Jesus’ preaching, how he healed the slave of the centurion, and how he rose the widow’s son from death to life.

            She was moved to believe that she too was loved by him and by the heavenly father of whom he spoke. In repentance she determined to lead a new life. She came to express her love and gratitude, in the understanding that she would not be rejected by Jesus and could be forgiven. She came behind Jesus with an alabaster Jar filled with expensive perfume, and did certain outrageous things that no sane and reputed Jewish woman would do in public.

III. EXUBERANT LOVE

            Vs 38, “Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them.” Let’s break this verse. “She knelt behind him at his feet.” Jesus reclined on a couch with his feet extended away from the table that would make it easy for her to touch his feet.

             Her tears fell on his feet: It was customary to give water to the guests to wash their feet before entering the house. She washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and since there was not towel, she wiped them off with her hair.  Then she kept kissing Jesus’ feet, anointing them with the expensive perfume. The anointing, perhaps originally intended for Jesus’ head, was instead applied to his feet A similar act was performed by Mary of Bethany before the crucifixion

            The nice man Simon looked at those exuberant acts of love with contempt. Vs 39, “When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him. She’s a sinner!”

            In other words, Simon thought, “if this fellow really were a prophet, he would know what this woman does, for she is filthy.” He was convinced that if Jesus knew her character, he would send her away. He quickly drew conclusions and judged this woman in his heart by merely seeing her outward behavior. We are just as capable of making the same mistake.

            We often either misjudge or wrongly judge people by looking at their outward appearance and actions we either misjudge or wrongly judge them. Earlier we learned in Luke 6:37, “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.” Jesus wanted to make this a teachable moment to Simon and all the other listeners, so he told them a story.

IV. THE STORY OF TWO DEBTORS

            Jesus turned to Simon and said, I have something to say to you. Simon said, “Go ahead teacher.” There was a man who lent money to two people: $ 50,000 to one and to another $5. Neither of them could repay the master. So out of mercy the master forgave both of their debts. Now Simon, Jesus asked, which one will love the man most?

            Simon replied that it would be the one who owed most. That gave Jesus an opportunity to compare the hearts of the so called “nice” man Simon and the harlot who crashed the party. Vs 43-48, “That’s right,” said Jesus. Then turning to the woman, but speaking to Simon, he said, “Do you see this woman? I came to your home; you provided no water for my feet, but she rained tears on my feet and dried them with her hair.

            You gave me no greeting, but from the time I arrived she hasn’t quit kissing my feet. You provided nothing for freshening up, but she has soothed my feet with perfume. Impressive, isn’t it? She was forgiven many, many sins, and so she is very, very grateful. If the forgiveness is minimal, the gratitude is minimal.” Then he spoke to her: “I forgive your sins.” (The Message)

            There is a connection here between faith and love. The woman saw Jesus and recognized who he was and who dwelt in Him. By faith she knew that Jesus was loving and forgiving and accepting her before he ever said, “I forgive your sins.” What she saw in Jesus broke her heart, nothing and no one could hold her back from expressing her love and gratitude.

            On the other hand, Simon, a Pharisee who was strictly following the ritual purities of the law missed an opportunity to see Jesus as the Messiah and show his acts of love and gratitude. When we see Jesus for who he really is, we must turn away or else shamelessly adore and worship Him. This woman, unlike nice Simon, was not going to turn away.

            There are several principles I would like us to notice in this story: When a prodigal daughter or son comes back home in repentance, God is always there to welcome them home. The debt of our sin is far too great, none of us can repay what we owed, therefore Jesus in his love and mercy will say to you today, my son and my daughter, “I forgive your sins.”

            What should be our appropriate response to God’s unconditional love and forgiveness? Will we turn away, and be standoffish like Simon, or will we be like the woman and go “nuts” all over Jesus in our adoration and worship of Him?  This morning I would like to call out those who perhaps are ridden with guilt, and carrying a heavy burden of sin. Stop running away from your heavenly father. Come back home; you are loved; accepted; and belong to the family.

            I also would like to give a challenge to all those whose sins have already been forgiven, how are you expressing your love and gratitude to what Jesus has done for you? God is looking for those who would worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. Let’s not remain a passive spectator when we come to worship Him. Instead let us love Jesus, shamelessly through our praise and worship and through our acts of love, compassion and hospitality towards one another. Amen!

             

           

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[1] https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/30910/on-stories-by-andrew-drummond?ref=TextIllustrationSerps

Jesus' New Community

JESUS’ NEW COMMUNITY!

Luke 6:27-36

Introduction: In his sermon "Loving Your Enemies," Martin Luther King, Jr., said: When Abraham Lincoln was running for president of the United States, there was a man who ran all around the country talking about Lincoln. He said a lot of unkind things. And sometimes he would get to the point that he would even talk about his looks, saying, "You don’t want a tall, lanky, ignorant man like this as the president of the United States." …

            Finally, one day Abraham Lincoln was elected president of the United States.… Then came the time for him to choose a secretary of war. He looked across the nation, and decided to choose a man by the name of Mr. Stanton. And when Abraham Lincoln stood around his advisors and mentioned this fact, they said to him: "Mr. Lincoln, are you a fool? Do you know what Mr. Stanton has been saying about you? Do you know what he has done, tried to do to you? Do you know that he has tried to defeat you on every hand? Do you know that, Mr. Lincoln? Did you read all of those derogatory statements that he made about you?"

            Abraham Lincoln stood before the advisors around him and said: "Oh yeah. I know about it; I read about it; I’ve heard him myself. But after looking over the country, I find that he is the best man for the job."

            Mr. Stanton did become secretary of war; and…later, Abraham Lincoln was assassinated. And if you go to Washington, you will discover that one of the greatest words or statements ever made about Abraham Lincoln was by this man Stanton. As Abraham Lincoln came to the end of his life, Stanton stood up and sobbingly said: "Now he belongs to the ages." And he made a beautiful statement concerning the character and the stature of this man.”[1]

            If Abraham Lincoln had hated Stanton, if Abraham Lincoln had answered everything Stanton said, Abraham Lincoln would not have transformed and redeemed Stanton. Stanton would have gone to his grave hating Lincoln, and Lincoln would have gone to his grave hating Stanton. But through love and forgiveness Abraham Lincoln was able to redeem Stanton.

            In an era of “hate speech politics,” increased mistrust and hatred of one another, we need good examples to follow. Abraham Lincoln modeled what it is not to be consumed by vengeance and unforgiveness instead how to love our enemies. Where are the Abraham Lincolns and Martin Luther King Jr’s of today? In our study from the Gospel of Luke we are going to deal with a difficult subject, which in my opinion many evangelical Christians, including some of my clergy friends try to brush aside. All believers who belong to Jesus’ New Community, must wrestle with, and understand His at times uncomfortable teachings and emulate them in our society.

            After successfully withstanding the temptations of Satan in the wilderness, Jesus began His public ministry. The first thing he did was to form a community of followers who would be different than the rest of the world, who would live by a heavenly set of values and principles. Jesus spent a whole night on the mountain in prayer. When the day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom He also named as “Apostles.”

            He came down from the mountain along with his newly appointed apostles and other disciples. Crowds were eagerly waiting at the bottom of the mountain. They came from all over Judea and from Jerusalem and from as far north as the seacoasts of Tyre and Sidon. They came to hear Jesus and be healed of their diseases. Jesus healed everyone.

            Then he turns to his disciples, and the crowds and delivers a speech on the nature of the Kingdom of God how are its citizens should behave on the earth. We read about it from Vs 20-26, which is popularly called, “The beatitudes.” From Vs 27, we see Jesus laying down certain specific instructions to all those who now are part of his New Community. Vs 27“But to you who are willing to listen, I say, love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.”

I. LOVE YOUR ENEMIES?

            Whenever Jesus wanted people to pay close attention to what he was saying he would use phrases such as: “who are willing to listen.” “Who has ears let him hear,” “Truly, truly I say unto you” etc. The concept of “loving your enemies and do good to those who hate you,” was not one of the considerations for the law-abiding Jewish community. According to the law of retaliation, it was “life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand foot for foot” and so on (Ex 21:23) Can you imagine what the world would look like if that law of retaliation is strictly followed? As Mahatma Gandhi noted, “An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind.” Unfortunately, in Iran and other Islamic countries they still follow this law.

            In Jesus’ New Community he repudiates that notion. Matthew (5:38-42). “You have heard the law that says the punishment must match the injury: ‘An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.’ But I say, do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.” In Luke 6:27 Jesus introduced a better way of handling conflicts and dealing with our enemies by saying, “Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.”

            When last time did, we hear our politicians using this revolutionary concept? Instead they incite more violence with their hate speech and bigotry. They encourage people to fight back. Martin Luther King Jr noted, “Love is the only thing that can turn an enemy into a friend.”

            The following scriptures teach us the kind of attitude we should have towards our enemies:  Job 31:29-30 “Have I ever rejoiced when disaster struck my enemies, or become excited when harm came their way? No, I have never sinned by cursing anyone or by asking for revenge.” Proverbs 24:17-18, “Don’t rejoice when your enemies fall; don’t be happy when they stumble. For the Lord will be displeased with you and will turn his anger away from them.”

            In Matthew 5:43-44 we read Jesus’ words, “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.” For a true child of God when it comes to dealing with his or her enemies the only option is to love them in return.

            Jesus further explains what loving our enemies would look like. Vs 28-30, “Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. If someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also. If someone demands your coat, offer your shirt also. Give to anyone who asks; and when things are taken away from you, don’t try to get them back.” It is tough teaching isn’t it?

These verses tell us some of the ways we can show love to our enemies is by doing good to them, blessing them, praying for them and being generous towards them.

            In a recent Superbowl opening night interview Tom Brady was asked a question by an eight-year-old young fan. Question: How do you focus despite negative fans — a.k.a. the haters?

Brady: “We love ‘em. We love ‘em back. Because we don’t hate back... We appreciate them and wish them all the best.” What a great advice we can give to our young children!

            How do we understand, “if someone slaps you on one cheek, offer the other cheek also?” Our natural tendency would be to punch them back on their face. But in Jesus’ New Community we are taught to respond differently. We could take slapping on the cheek very literally, and when that actually happens by God’s grace, we may be able to respond like Christ.

            On one occasion Jesus answered a question of a high priest, the temple guard did not like the way he answered so he slaps Jesus across the face. “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” he demanded. Jesus did not hit him back instead replied, “If I said anything wrong, you must prove it. But if I’m speaking the truth, why are you beating me?”

            Finally, at the cross he offered up a prayer of forgiveness saying, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.” Luke 23:34. Luke captures this prayer of Jesus for his enemies, to show us what Jesus preached; he also practiced and expects all those who belong to his New Community to do the same.

            Someone actually slapping on our face can be a very rare experience. But we all may have encountered, “Slap in the face situations.”  Slap in the face means:  an unexpected rejection or affront. Rebuff, snub, insult, put-down, humiliation, a blow to one's pride.”  In the biblical context, a “literal slap” on the face is actually an insult and humiliation.

            Jesus tells the believers in his new community how to respond to such insults. Luke 6:22-23 “What blessings await you when people hate you and exclude you and mock you and curse you as evil because you follow the Son of Man.

            When that happens, be happy! Yes, leap for joy! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, their ancestors treated the ancient prophets that same way.” The essence of Jesus’ New Community is love. This love is manifested by responding to personal insult and injustice, not with retaliation or even passive endurance, but with positive and aggressive acts of goodness designed to redeem the offenders. That brings us to another important aspect of Christ’s community which is affectionately called, “The Golden Rule.”

II. THE GOLDEN RULE.

            Vs,31 “Do to others as you would like them to do to you.”  In Mathew 7:12, it reads, “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.” Some earlier Jewish teachers offered this principle of wisdom, and it is recognized in many cultures and religions in one form or another as, The Golden Rule.

            The implied meaning was often in the negative form. In simple terms: If you don’t want others do bad things to you, you don’t do bad things to them. But whereas Jesus stated it in positive form which sums up his teaching up to this point. When we are kind, loving, gentle, generous, and accepting of strangers and all people including our enemies, because we wanted to be treated that way, we are following what is taught in the law and by the prophets.

            In closing: Jesus formed a New Community, a community of love and acceptance of all people everywhere. All those who received, Christ’s mercy and forgiveness through repentance of their sins now belong to that community. For some reason if you feel like you are outside of this Jesus’ New Community, today you can belong to it by accepting Jesus’ offer of forgiveness of your sins. When you do that, together we can live lives that are not retaliatory but full of love, humility and forgiveness. Let’s go out and become the agents of God’s love and mercy just as our heavenly father who has been compassionate and merciful towards us.” Amen!

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[1] https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon-illustrations/14747/forgiveness-for-others-by-a-todd-coget?ref=TextIllustrationSerps