Tawa Baptist

God’s Law – by Ewan Stewart

Scriptures: Luke 10:25-37, Genesis 12:1-3, Micah 6:6-8, Jer 31:31-34, Mark 12:28-33

Sermon Outline:

The coming of law

Abraham’s call – whole world to be blessed

The laws of Moses – focused on the Nation of Israel, yet often broken

Jesus and the greatest commandment

Jesus’ call on other commandments

Who is my neighbour?

The significance of the Samaritan

Who is YOUR neighbour?

Introduction:

At the time of Jesus, Jewish religious authorities were pre-occupied with enforcing “the law” as written in their scriptures.  As far as they were concerned, these laws were God’s law and any who failed to obey their interpretation of those laws were sinners.  They were not particularly concerned about those who were not Jews as long as they did not interfere with Jewish religious customs.  The nation was inward focused. 

Jesus had quite a bit to say about their ideas and attitudes to the law.  Are their interpretations and the underlying laws important to us?  Should we seek to obey those laws, as Christians?  What is important about the law anyway?

The coming of the law:

We are all familiar today with the idea of a legal code, the law.  However, prior to about 2000BC we don’t know of any written legal code in the world.  The law then was anything the powerful said and could change at any time. 

How then should we regard the law today? 

What is God’s law for us?

The oldest detailed legal code we know of was that of Hammurabi who ruled Babylon from about 1792 to 1750 BC, which is believed to have been shortly after the time of Abraham. Hammurabi’s law was inscribed on a stela in Babylon’s temple of Marduk and can be read today. Hammurabi’s Code was once considered the oldest written law in human history, though older, shorter law collections have since been found.

Those man-made laws were important steps for humankind and allowed people to know what the authorities expected of them.  However, God wants us to apply His law to our everyday lives.  We need to recognise the difference between God’s law and human law.

Mankind has always found it difficult to be obedient to any law, and the idea of God’s law makes it no easier.  Our bible tells the story of how God gave his law to humankind and made it possible for Him to forgive us when his law is broken.  This story begins with Abraham.

Abraham’s call – whole world to be blessed:

When God chose Abraham, when he was still named Abram, he told him (Genesis 12:1-3):

12 The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.

2     “I will make you into a great nation

and I will bless you;

I will make your name great,

and you will be a blessing.

3     I will bless those who bless you,

and whoever curses you I will curse;

and all peoples on earth

will be blessed through you.”

This promise was made on the condition that Abram left his native country and followed God’s advice.  Through it, God intended Abram would be renamed Abraham and be the source of blessing to all peoples on earth.  When the descendants of Abraham, the nation of Israel, later came into being, it was not to be an exclusive privileged nation.  It was to bring blessings to all peoples on earth. 

The laws of Moses – focused on the Nation of Israel, yet often broken:

In Egypt, those descendants of Abraham became the nation of Israel, and were led out of Egypt by Moses.  God gave the nation a detailed legal code through Moses, and this became the base for Jewish law at the time of Jesus.  A part of that legal code is directly attributed to God, through what we know as the ten commandments. 

The laws established by Moses were to:

1.        Establish God as the leader, guide and ruler of the nation of Israel

2.        Make them a separate nation from the rest of the world

3.        Make them an example the world could look up to as promised when God called Abraham

4.        Organise Israel as a nation

5.        Define codes of behaviour that would help Israel live in harmony

Israel gave only patchy obedience to their law over the centuries, and God punished the nation many times for its lapses.  They rarely ever considered that they were God’s example for the world or that through them, God would bless all peoples of the earth. 

By Jesus’ day, Israel had been reduced to Judah, and we know them as Jews.

God used the prophets to try and get Israel to obey the law.  Long before Jesus, the prophet Micah (around 700BC) gave one of the clearest expressions of God’s feelings about Israel’s failings.  This is what he said:

Micah 6:6-8

6     With what shall I come before the Lord

and bow down before the exalted God?

Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,

with calves a year old?

7     Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,

with ten thousand rivers of oil?

Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,

the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?

8     He has showed you, O man, what is good.

And what does the Lord require of you?

To act justly and to love mercy

and to walk humbly with your God.

Then, about 100 years after Micah, Jeremiah gave God’s solution to Israel’s weaknesses, which we have seen fulfilled in the coming of Jesus.

Jeremiah 31:31-34

31         “The time is coming,” declares the Lord,

“when I will make a new covenant

with the house of Israel

and with the house of Judah.

32   It will not be like the covenant

I made with their forefathers

when I took them by the hand

to lead them out of Egypt,

because they broke my covenant,

though I was a husband to them,”

declares the Lord.

33   “This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel

after that time,” declares the Lord.

“I will put my law in their minds

and write it on their hearts.

I will be their God,

and they will be my people.

34   No longer will a man teach his neighbor,

or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’

because they will all know me,

from the least of them to the greatest,”

declares the Lord.

“For I will forgive their wickedness

and will remember their sins no more.”

Jesus and the greatest commandment (Jesus’ call on other commandments)

We understand that Jesus was the source of this new covenant, and that this covenant was for all who believe, not just Israel.  With the coming of Jesus, the need for an inflexible written form of God’s law as expressed by Jewish legal experts was over.  Laws intended to distinguish Israel from the rest of mankind would cease to be relevant when God sought to bring all humankind to himself. 

God’s law would be written on the hearts of His followers, and the promise made to Abraham could be fulfilled.  All peoples on earth would then be blessed through Abraham.  God’s law written on the hearts of His followers would keep their spirit in harmony with Him.  The time of a physical nation of God was past, and his law had a new focus:

1.        Establish God as the leader, guide and ruler of God’s people

2.        Define codes of behaviour that would help God’s people live in harmony

Clearly this meant the old written Jewish law was superseded through this new covenant. 

In his teaching, Jesus made a number of comments that gave examples of where the old written code was no longer relevant.  Mark 7 records Jesus saying that all food is spiritually clean, and in Mark 2, he commented that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.  This implied that laws that were over interpreted could defeat their own purpose.

More specifically, Jesus took an opportunity to summarise God’s law.  In Mark 12, we find the following incident:

28 One of the teachers of the law came and heard them debating. Noticing that Jesus had given them a good answer, he asked him, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

32 “Well said, teacher,” the man replied. “You are right in saying that God is one and there is no other but him. 33 To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and with all your strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself is more important than all burnt offerings and sacrifices.”

The response to these two commandments was interesting because although the command to “love God” was clearly the foundation of Israel’s relationship with God, “love your neighbour” is only found once in the law given through Moses (Leviticus 19:18).  Yet another Jewish teacher has agreed with Jesus about its significance.  God’s law can be seen as the law of love.

Who is my neighbour? (The significance of the Samaritan)

A very similar incident was described by Luke (in Luke 10), that took this a step further, where its significance is made more obvious.  This is the familiar story of the “good Samaritan”.

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

In this version of the story, we have one of the most important questions in the New Testament – “who is my neighbour?”.  We under-estimate the impact of this story today, yet it is pivotal to our relationship to God. 

In Jesus’ day, the Samaritans were the most extreme of all groups possible for Jesus to use for his illustration.  They claimed descent from Abraham and practiced a form of religion that in some regards was closer to the Jewish ideal than the Jews practiced themselves.  The Jews hated the Samaritans more than any other group.  Yet the story had a Samaritan hero.  This must have been hard to swallow.  In Jesus’ day, Jews would only have looked to other Jews as neighbours.

If we wish to consider “who is my neighbour” in modern terms, we tend to under-estimate the significance of Jesus’ illustration.  Today, here in New Zealand, we do not have any group that society could look on as the equivalent of the Samaritans.  Perhaps we might consider bikie gangs, or Islamists, but fortunately we do not have any group that is so universally hated as the Jews hated the Samaritans in Jesus’ day.  Elsewhere in the world we see groups who do not consider themselves neighbours.  The classic illustration, particularly today, is Israel and the Palestinians.

Even the church has demonstrated an inability to recognise neighbours over the centuries, ranging from the crusades to modern day sects that refuse to associate with other groups.

Jesus however was being consistent, and other Jewish teachers of his day agreed with him, at least in theory.  Their only problem was the question of “who is my neighbour”. 

In the sermon on the mount recorded by Matthew, Jesus took the idea even further, when he taught that we should “love our enemies” (Matt 5:43).  Even your enemy could be a neighbour.

Then, if we were to look at the laws of Moses in our bible again, we can see that “love God” and “love your neighbour as yourself” covers all of them.  When we accept Jesus into our heart, God writes his law of love in our heart.  With those commandments to love written on our hearts, we do not need the detailed list of things we should not do.

In our modern world, even our traffic laws can be recognised as helping us show love to our neighbour.  After all, driving on the wrong side of the road hardly shows love for our neighbour!

Who is YOUR neighbour?

With Jesus’ teaching in mind, I ask myself: Who is my neighbour?  Jesus tells me that anyone who is in need is my neighbour, even someone I hate, even my enemy.  Can I love my neighbour that much?  Do I follow the law written on my heart?  Even with God’s law written on our hearts, we still find it hard to obey it.

It is comforting to read Paul’s comment on the law.  He looked at how we should deal with the results of failing to keep the law.  He expressed the difficulty of obeying the law very clearly, in his letter to the Romans (Rom 3:23) when he said, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. 

This highlights the impossibility of full compliance with God’s law.  However, our failings do not exempt us from a requirement to try, even if we sometimes fail to keep God’s law.  Paul went on to say that we are justified by the grace of God through the redemption that came by Jesus, so we do have a path to God beyond failure to keep his law. 

Jesus is God’s answer to the limitation of human nature.  Through Jesus, God’s spirit can be in our heart and teach us the law of love.  If we fail to obey that law, God is gracious and loving, and is able to forgive our failures because Jesus, his son, died that we might be forgiven.

Loving your neighbour is not easy, but through Jesus, with God’s spirit in our hearts, we have God’s help and God’s forgiveness for when we are weak. 

Who is YOUR neighbour?  Is there someone you could help but find it hard to be a neighbour to?

Let us pray:

Our Father, you have written your law of love on our hearts.  We know you require us to love you and love our neighbour.  We find it hard to obey your law, and we want to limit our understanding of neighbour to people we are comfortable with.  Please help us to recognise that our neighbour is anyone we encounter who is in need.  Thank you for the love that sent your Son to us so that you are able to forgive us when we cannot keep your law. Amen.

Tawa Baptist

Self Care – by Murray Lucas

Scripture: Mark 12:30-31

Sermon by Murray Lucas on Self Care

When asked, what is the greatest life commandment, Jesus said in the Gospel of Mark…

‘So love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy’. And ‘Love others as well as you love yourself’. There is no other commandment that ranks with these.

There are three requests Jesus made that are contained in this commandment.  The first is Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. The second is love others and the third is love yourself.  These three injunctions cannot be separated but each must be viewed in the light of the other two requests. For example, you cannot love God and others effectively if you do not love yourself.

In this message I will be focusing on the third request to love yourself. It is about self-care and this means to value myself as my heavenly Father values me. Self-care honours God through nurturing the body, mind and spirit with their limits and desires. As Will mentioned a fortnight ago it means being honest with yourself.

For some of us, myself included, loving ourselves seemed unbiblical. There is an acronym , JOY that went like this: Jesus first, others second and yourself last. There is some truth in this saying but it can easily be changed into a twisted theology about human worthlessness. 

Human beings are never worthless. To quote Adele Calhoun, God gave his dearest and only Son to love human beings, beings he treasures and adores. One of the greatest treasures we have next to Jesus is our own selves. We are gifts of God. His Spirit lives in us.  We are invited to receive the divine love that takes residence in our bodies. We are to take it in and let it form us into a place of prayer.

The Psalmist wrote “Thank-you High God – you’re breathtaking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship in adoration – What a creation!” The apostle Paul wrote to the people of Corinth “You realize don’t you, that you are the temple of God, and God himself is present in you”.

God’s love within us gives birth to more love: love of God, love of others and love of ourselves. Love is a quality of God that grows within us, enlarging our hearts and increasing our capacity. Self-love is not about self-centeredness. It is about caring for the body the Holy Spirit inhabits.

Paul reminds us in Romans 12 to present our bodies as an act of spiritual worship.

A Quaker writer Parker Palmer writes “Self-care is never a selfish act – it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others.

The products of self-care are that we value ourselves as Jesus values us. We have a proper view of ourselves and are comfortable in our own skin. We live within limits without burnout and we practice self-awareness rather than self-absorption. We should have a deepening awareness of God’s love for us and ultimately have freedom from addictions that can destroy our health and relationships.

Having defined self-care and outlined some of the fruit of self-care I want to examine how we practice self-care.

There are some obvious practical practices such as exercising and eating sensibly. This responsible attention to health in living will be examined more fully in an inspiring example I will share later.

Another practice is encouraging rather than neglecting yourself. If we are to encourage ourselves it is important we understand the value of realistic, positive self-talk. Sadly, I have met a number of good people who unfairly judge themselves more harshly than others, talk negatively to themselves and set up a spiral of gloom that is difficult to escape from. As humans we all make mistakes but it is very helpful for yourself to recall at such times some of the ways you have brought joy to yourself, your family, God, and to others. This should be spoken or written in a spirit of gratitude. This could be scaffolded as a playlist that you can recall when you go through a season of self-doubt and disappointment. Also, when you come down hard on yourself, remember that you can begin again.

Listening is another important practice. Again as Will shared a fortnight ago from this pulpit we should listen to the Spirit, Listen to the other person and listen to ourselves . Prayer is listening God and if we keep working at it prayer can be positively transformational.

A prayer by Joyce Rupp sums it up well…

Prayer is not only about entering into a relationship with God.

It is also about being changed. Healthy prayer strengthens our bond

With the creator and also transforms us.

Each encounter with God provides the opportunity to grow spiritually.

Prayer makes a difference in our life because it nudges and persuades us

To develop Christlike qualities in our attitude and actions.

Through prayer we become more loving, compassionate and justice oriented human beings.

When this happens, we are altered in a positive way and the world we touch is also changed for the better.

To practice self-care we need to observe appropriate boundaries. This can be particularly challenging if you are a perfectionist. For me, a propensity to try and improve everything can keep me working far past safe and healthy limits. In my job I came to realise that I cannot do everything to my very best. I have to pick and choose what gets done best and what just gets done so I can rest. At times I have to say “Good enough is good enough”. There is nothing wrong with aspiring for excellence and doing my best.  But when the quest for excellence drives my body beyond its limits, I have left the realm of appropriate self-care and I am trying to prove something to someone even if it is me.

Another key practice for appropriate self-care is to be able to give and receive love. It is perhaps easier for people to give love but many of us often struggle to receive love.

I love the allegory of the two seas in Palestine. One is the Dead Sea and the other is the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee gives, receives, lives and flourishes. The Dead Sea however has no outlet. It keeps everything, shares nothing, it neither gives nor receives and it is dead. A question to reflect on: what sea best represents you and your life?

Discernment is another practice that allows us to respect and care for ourselves. Discernment opens us up to listen and recognize the voice and protection in our lives. The Message translation of Philippians 1:9-10 captures the relationship between love and discernment. “So this is my prayer that your love will flourish and that you will not only love much but well. Learn to love appropriately. You need to use your head and test your feelings so that your love is sincere and intelligent, not sentimental gush. It is important to engage both your mind and heart to use reason and attend to your hearts when arriving at a decision.

To conclude I would like to share with you a story of a young man who showed self-care in an incredibly challenging situation. Since lock-down in 2020, I was made aware of a church minister who demonstrated self-care, love of others and love of God.

His name was the Reverend William Mompesson. In 1664 he was appointed Minister of the Anglican Church of Eyam a town in the Peak District of England close to Sheffield and Manchester.

One year later the Great Plague arrived at his village. Late in 1665 a flea-infested bundle of cloth arrived from London for the local tailor, Alexander Hadfield. Within a week the assistant, George Viccars, noticed the bundle was damp and opened it up and heated it by the fire. This activated the fleas and not long after he was dead and more began dying in his household soon after.

As the disease spread the villagers turned for their leadership to their rector, the Reverend Mompesson. In response Mompesson showed that, “Self-care is never a selfish act – it is simply good stewardship of the only gift he had, the gift he was put on earth to offer others”.

He did three things. He realized he could not lead alone so he turned to an ejected Puritan minister, Thomas Stanley, who still had solid support in the town and in a show of unity these two men persuaded the entire town to adopt a number of self-care health precautions to slow the spread of the illness from May 1666.

In this aspect Mompesson showed real discernment as he realized that Stanley’s gifts and talents were complementary to his. They also took the brave step of isolating themselves from neighbouring towns and cities to stop the spread of the Plague.

These measures included the arrangement that families were to bury their own dead and relocating Church services outside to a natural amphitheatre allowing villagers to separate themselves, social distancing 17th century style, and so reducing the risk of infection.

Perhaps the best known decision was to quarantine the entire village to prevent further spread of the disease (love of others). Merchants from surrounding villages sent supplies that they would leave on marked rocks; the villagers then made holes there which they would fill with vinegar to disinfect the money left as payment. There were many, many further practical examples of self-care.

The plague ran its course over 14 months and one account states that it killed at least 260 villagers with about 480 surviving out of a population of 800.

What was remarkable was that the villager’s actions prevented the disease from moving into surrounding areas. Major neighbouring towns such as Sheffield were spared as a result of the self-care but selfless actions of the township of Eyam superbly led by Reverends Mompesson and Stanley. This is a great example of loving others as you love yourselves. If the villagers had neglected these self-care measures the disease would surely have spread to Sheffield and other neighbouring towns.

Let us all love God with our heart, strength, mind and soul. Let us all love others but also let us have a healthy respect for our self and love ourselves by having appropriate self-care. When you do come down hard on yourself remember that you can begin again. Confess your harsh self-treatment and ask God for grace to receive who you are. The Christian message is about new beginnings.

Tawa Baptist

Salt & Pepper

Scripture: Mark 9:38-50

Video Link: https://youtu.be/UozKwTQBBWY

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The exorcist
  • Crime and punishment
  • Salty sayings
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Most dining tables have salt and pepper shakers on them. Salt and pepper add flavour and spice to the meal. The purpose of salt and pepper is to make the food taste better, but if you try eating salt and pepper on their own, you are in for a nasty surprise. 

Today we continue our series in the gospel of Mark, based on the lectionary readings. Last week we heard how Jesus defines greatness. The way up is down.

This week’s lectionary reading is a salt and pepper passage. By itself it tastes bitter and unpleasant. But mix a little salt and pepper in with Jesus’ goodness and grace, and it improves the quality of your relationships. From Mark 9, verse 38 we read…

38 “Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” 39 “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward. 42 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea. 43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out. 45 And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. 47 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48 where “‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 Everyone will be salted with fire. 50 “Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves and be at peace with each other.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

There’s an advert on TV which shows two toasters making toast. Each of the toasters is powered by electricity from different power companies. One of the power companies charges more for their electricity than the other company but, despite the difference in price, the toast comes out exactly the same.

There are any number of power companies, but electricity is electricity. It cooks toast the same, regardless of what power company you use. No power company has a monopoly on electricity.

In verse 38 of Mark 9, the disciple John reports how they saw someone driving out demons in the name of Jesus and told him to stop.

This is interesting. Earlier, in Mark chapter 9, the disciples had been unable to cast out a demon. Now we find someone who is not one of the twelve, but who believes in Jesus and is successful at performing exorcisms.

Why do the disciples think they have the right to instruct someone more competent than them? That’s like any one of us trying to tell Lydia Ko how to play golf.

Well, John told the unknown exorcist to stop because he was not one of them, he wasn’t in their club. The disciples think they are better than this unknown exorcist, even though the exorcist is more effective than they are.

Jesus had just been teaching his disciples about humility and service.

The unknown exorcist is serving the least and he is serving Jesus, but the disciples can’t see it. Jesus’ words haven’t sunk in yet. They don’t understand.  

You get the feeling John thinks he has done something good. Maybe he hopes to be commended by Jesus? Maybe he is wanting to climb the honour ladder and advance himself? But Jesus is not impressed.

In verse 39 Jesus corrects his disciples saying, ‘Do not stop him. For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, 40 for whoever is not against us is for us.’  

To do something in Jesus’ name means to be a bona-fide representative of Jesus. And to be a bona-fide representative, you need to stand in right relationship with Jesus, you need to trust him. It’s more than simply adding Jesus’ name to the end of your prayer, as important as that is.

The unknown exorcist wasn’t using Jesus’ name like a magic spell.

The unknown exorcist stood in right relationship with Jesus. He trusted in Jesus and was able to cast out demons by the power of the Holy Spirit.  

There are any number of power companies, but electricity is electricity.

It cooks toast the same, regardless of what power company you use.

No power company has a monopoly on electricity.

There are any number of Christians, but the Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit is free to work through any believer who stands in right relationship with Jesus. No disciple, no church, no denomination has a monopoly on overcoming evil by the power of the Spirit.  

If another Christian is doing good at school or at work, or if another church is doing good in the hood, then don’t knock them. Encourage them. We are on the same side.

In verse 41 Jesus goes on to say: Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.

Don’t you love how Jesus keeps it real. Not many of us are going to perform miracles in this life. But any Christian believer can give a cup of water in Jesus’ name.

Any representative of Christ can show kindness. It’s like Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.”     

The greatest power is love.

Crime and punishment:

I started this sermon talking about salt and pepper. Verses 42-50 contain the salt and pepper of the gospel in concentrated form. Taken by themselves these verses taste bitter and unpleasant. They were never meant to be read in isolation from the rest of the Bible. So, as you hear them, remember God’s love for you. Remember too, the grace of Jesus. From verse 42 we read…

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea…”

Jesus is talking about crime and punishment here.

Who are these little ones, that Jesus mentions?

In verse 37 Jesus took a small child in his arms and said, ‘whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name, welcomes me…’ So, these little ones might be young children generally. Don’t do anything to harm children or lead them into sin because God is just. He will hold you to account.  

However, these little ones might also be adults, like the unknown exorcist in verse 38, who believe in Jesus. Don’t do anything to cause a fellow believer to fall or lose faith because God is just. He will hold you to account.

The point here is that we have a responsibility to set a good example for others in the faith, especially those who are looking up to us. To trip up one who enjoys a close relationship with Jesus is a terrible crime and merits a terrible punishment.

I don’t often tell jokes in my sermons, partly because I’m not a funny person but also because many of you don’t share my sense of humour. That said, I’m going to take a risk and tell you a joke now…

A little girl was talking to a man on the train about whales. The man said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human being because even though whales are very large, their throats are very small.

The little girl said that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. The man became visibly irritated saying again, in a stern voice, ‘It is physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human person’.

The little girl said, ‘When I get to heaven, I will ask Jonah’. 

The man retorted, ‘What if Jonah goes to hell?’ 

To which the girl replied, ‘Then you ask him’.

In verses 43-48, Jesus talks about hell and how to avoid going there.

43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.

Ditto that for your feet and your eyes.

In the first century, people were punished by having limbs lopped off.

The punishment for stealing was having your left hand cut off.

The punishment for a runaway slave was having one foot chopped off.

And sometimes people had an eye put out for various other crimes.

These sorts of punishments marked the offender for life, so everyone knew what they had done. And it made practical tasks a lot more difficult for the culprit themselves. 

That said, Jesus is not talking literally here. Jesus is not advocating self-harm. Jesus is speaking metaphorically. He is taking an image his listeners would be familiar with and using it to warn people not to go down the wrong path.

The hand is a metaphor for the sorts of things one might do that could lead them into sin. The foot is a metaphor for the sorts of places one might go that could lead them into sin. And the eye is a metaphor for the sorts of things one might look at that could lead them into sin.   

For example. If alcohol is a problem for you, then you need to be ruthless in cutting yourself off from alcohol. That doesn’t mean cutting off your hand so you can’t pick up a bottle.

That means not having any alcohol in the house. It means not going to the pub and not hanging out with friends who like to drink. And if there are lots of bottle stores between where you work and where you live, then it might mean taking an alternative route home to avoid temptation.

Now, I’m not picking on alcoholics here. You could substitute alcohol abuse for any other harmful behaviour, like gossip or sexual immorality or greed or pride or power or gambling or self-centredness or whatever. The point is to cut ourselves off from sin. Nip it in the bud.

That means we need to be thinking a few steps ahead. Where is this decision taking me? Where is this night out or this drink or this text message or this website or this friendship or this swipe right going to lead?  

Of course, we don’t always know where our first steps might take us. The thing about your hands and your feet and your eyes is that they are not inherently bad, they are useful and good in fact. Sometimes what seems innocent enough at first can be misleading. We need to be totally honest with ourselves.

Three times in three verses we come across the word hell. No one in the Bible talks about hell more than Jesus. The actual word translated as ‘hell’ is Gehenna, also known (in the Old Testament) as the Valley of Hinnom, that is, the Valley of Wailing. Gehenna is located on the south side of old Jerusalem.

Centuries before Mark wrote his gospel, the Israelites had sacrificed their children to pagan gods in the Valley of Hinnom. God hated this evil practice. After that, Gehenna became a rubbish dump, where maggots fed off animal carcasses and rubbish was always smouldering.

Given the stench and the filth and the continual burning, Gehenna became a metaphor for hell. Jesus was using an image his listeners were familiar with to describe what happens to the enemies of God in the afterlife. Jesus uses the term hell to describe the way God’s justice will deal with evil.

Those who are committed to doing evil are destroyed and thrown out like rubbish, 48 where “‘the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ Hell, therefore, is God’s righteous judgement on evil.

Verse 48 is a reference to the last verse in the book of Isaiah. It contains a message of judgment and hope. In Isaiah 66 we read…

23 From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all humankind will come and bow down before me,” says the Lord. 

24 “And they will go out and look on the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; the worms that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all humankind.”  

All this talk about hell is scary. It’s horrifying. Questions rise in our minds about what hell is like. What’s the temperature? Who will be there? Is it a place of conscious suffering? Or is it a place of annihilation? We simply don’t know the answers to those sorts of questions and we shouldn’t speculate.

What we can say is that God is good. He is just and merciful, gracious and true. God is love. The Lord of love is our judge and he will do what is right by each one.

The present reality is that this world is a war zone, spiritually speaking.

For the kingdom of God to be realised on earth, the kingdom of evil must be destroyed. Hell is the destruction of the kingdom of evil and that, ultimately, is good news for humanity.

In the same breath that Jesus talks about hell, he also talks about entering life and the kingdom of God. The point seems to be, participation in the kingdom of God is worth any sacrifice. It is better to be limited in what you do in this world, if that means enjoying eternal life.

Salty sayings:

Some of you may have played the word association game. With this game, you start with a word and then someone else says another word that is related in some way and you keep going like that until a word gets repeated or you can’t make an association.

For example, you might start with the word cow, then milk, cereal, breakfast, dinner, steak, salt, fire and so on. Now some of you may be thinking, I can see the connection between most of those words, but what’s the connection between salt and fire? Well, the thing that salt and fire have in common is they both purify things.  

In verses 49-50 of Mark 9, Jesus gives us three salty sayings. We don’t know whether Jesus said these sayings all on the same occasion or whether the gospel writer, Mark, simply collected the salty sayings of Jesus in one place to make them easier to recall.

What we do see here is a certain word association. Verse 48 talks about the fire that is not quenched and in verse 49 we get the saying, ‘everyone will be salted with fire’.

In the ancient world, salt was associated with purity because it came from the two most pure things known at the time. The sea and the sun. Likewise, fire was associated with purification because precious metals (like silver) were refined by fire.

Therefore, the phrase, everyone will be salted with fire, probably means everyone will be purified. This is not saying everyone will go through hell or purgatory. Being salted with fire is a metaphor for the process of purification we go through in this life.

Jesus’ second salty saying reads: Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again?

Salt is a preservative. Salt fights corruption. Unless the Christian resists corruption and evil, bad things will flourish unchecked in the world.

Followers of Jesus are to live a pure life, a life of moral integrity.  

But wait, there’s more. In the Law of Moses, grain offerings needed to be seasoned with salt before being burned. In Leviticus chapter 2, we read…

13 Season all your grain offerings with salt. Do not leave the salt of the covenant of your God out of your grain offerings; add salt to all your offerings.

As well as being a preservative and a purifying agent, salt is also a symbol of a covenant commitment with God. To lose one’s saltiness is to lose one’s commitment to God. Mark 9, verse 50, is a warning against apostacy. Jesus is saying, don’t turn back on your commitment to God. Keep the faith.

Jesus’ third salty saying goes like this: Have salt among yourselves and be at peace with each other.

Salt brings out the best in food. Salt makes things taste more like themselves.

For example, if you put salt on an egg, it makes the egg taste more like an egg. Without salt, the egg tastes a bit like rubber.

To have salt among yourselves, therefore, is to bring out the best in each other. To help those around us to be the best version of themselves. Having salt among yourselves is the opposite of tripping others up or causing them to fall.

William Barclay explains Jesus’ meaning well. Have within yourselves the purifying influence of the Spirit of Christ. Be purified from selfishness and self-seeking, from bitterness and anger and grudge-bearing. Then you will be able to live in peace with those around you.[1]

Last week, we heard how the disciples had been arguing about who was the greatest. This kind of thinking does not bring out the best in people. It brings out the worst. Jesus wants his disciples to preserve their relationships together and to bring out the best in each other. This requires a covenant of salt, a commitment to serving one another’s wellbeing. 

Conclusion:

Each of us (if we are honest with ourselves) is a mixture of good and evil.

We are not pure and we cannot purify ourselves. So where does that leave us?

Well, God does not want to send you to hell. The Lord does not want anyone to perish, he wants everyone to come to repentance and be saved. Your soul is precious to God. So precious in fact, that God sent his own dear Son, Jesus, to redeem your life.

We are made right with God through faith in Jesus. Learning to trust and obey Jesus is our purification process. Sometimes it hurts. We are made salty again as we submit to the work of God’s Spirit in our lives.

May the Lord guide us in the way of purity and peace. Amen.    

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. How do Jesus’ words in Mark 9:38-50 make you feel? Why do you feel this way?
  3. Why does John tell the unknown exorcist to stop driving out demons? Why does Jesus correct John?
  4. What does it mean to do something in the name of Jesus?
  5. Discuss / reflect on Mark 9:42-48. How are we to interpret these verses? Who are “these little ones”? What is hell? What notes of hope do you see?
  6. Is there anything in your life that you need to cut off? (E.g. a habit, a pattern of thought, a relationship, etc.) How might you do this? 
  7. Discuss / reflect on the three salty sayings of Jesus in Mark 9:49-50. What is the connection between salt and fire? What does it mean to lose one’s saltiness? How might we bring out the best in one another and be at peace?      

[1] William Barclay, Commentary on Mark’s gospel, page 244. (My paraphrase of WB’s words.)

Tawa Baptist

The Way Up Is Down

Scripture: Mark 9:30-37

Video Link: https://youtu.be/nnSSPJcgP10

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The way up is down
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

If you watch Country Calendar then you will know how important soil is for farming. Soil filters the water we drink, it grows the food we eat and it captures carbon dioxide which would otherwise impact climate change.

We might not think dirt is worth much but taking care of the soil under our feet is an essential part of taking care of ourselves and the environment. When it comes to growing great crops, the way up is down, down in the dirt.

Today we continue our series in the gospel of Mark, based on the lectionary readings. Last week, in Mark 8, we heard how Jesus predicted his death and resurrection.

This week, we skip forward to the end of chapter 9, where Jesus talks about greatness. When it comes to greatness, the way up is down. From Mark chapter 9, verse 30, we read…   

30 They left that place and passed through Galilee. Jesus did not want anyone to know where they were, 31 because he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.”  32 But they did not understand what he meant and were afraid to ask him about it. 33 They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” 34 But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. 35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.” 36 He took a little child whom he placed among them. Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

The way up is down:

Tomato plants grow a lot of branches and leaves. At least once a week you need to go through your tomato plants and break off all the laterals. This thins the foliage out, so more energy goes into producing the fruit. If you let the tomato plant grow wild, without pruning, you’ll get smaller fruit.

When it comes to growing tomatoes, the way up is down. You get bigger fruit and more of it, when you thin the foliage.

In verse 30, we read how Jesus didn’t want anyone to know he was passing through Galilee because he was teaching his disciples. Jesus was popular with the crowds, but that popularity was like excess lateral growth. It took away from the fruit.

When it comes to growing the kingdom of God, the way up is down. To grow a kingdom that would last, Jesus needed to bypass the crowds and give priority to teaching his disciples. He needed to go deep with a few committed souls.

R.A. Cole observes that Jesus had a ‘quiet purposeful selectiveness’ in the way he went about his work.[1] Jesus didn’t try to do everything. Jesus embraced the limitations of his humanity, carefully focusing on what God would have him do.

Sometimes our lives are characterized by a fevered rush to pack as much as possible into the day. While a certain amount of busy-ness and stress is unavoidable, we need to ask ourselves, what are God’s priorities for my time and energy? As Jesus said to Martha, ‘you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed’.

Verse 31 tells us Jesus wanted to talk with his disciples about his betrayal, death and resurrection. This is the second or third time Jesus has mentioned his passion. The way up is down. For Jesus, the way to resurrection and eternal life is by being betrayed and crucified.

Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man. Jesus is probably drawing a connection with the Son of Man figure in Daniel 7 who endures great trial and suffering, but who emerges victorious in the end. This concept of suffering first, then glory later, is the picture Jesus wants his disciples to see.

But the disciples did not understand what Jesus meant and were afraid to ask him about it. The disciples are in denial; too afraid to face the truth.

They have hopes and plans for Jesus and for themselves too. They imagine Jesus to be a warrior king like David. The thought of Jesus being killed makes no sense to the disciples. How can you win by losing? How can you save us from our enemies and give us a place of power and prestige if you are dead?

And what’s this about Jesus being betrayed? If the disciples had found the courage to think it through, they would have realised Jesus was talking about them being disloyal to him. No one wants to believe they are capable of betrayal, even though we all are.

If you cut your hand while working in the garden or on a building site, you don’t just carry on as if nothing happened. You seek medical attention. You find someone who knows what they are doing to clean the wound, stitch it up and dress it so the cut doesn’t become infected.

It’s similar with our relationships. If you have a bad argument with someone and end up saying things that cut each other, then you need to clean and dress the wound, so your relationship doesn’t turn septic.

When they reach Capernaum and are in the house, away from the public, Jesus asks the disciples what they were arguing about on the road.

We see the grace and wisdom of Jesus here. It’s not that Jesus doesn’t know what they were arguing about. He knows alright. Jesus is asking because he wants to bring healing and reconciliation. If Jesus doesn’t clean and dress the wound properly, the argument will turn their relationships septic.

Notice the way Jesus does not confront the disciples while they are on the road having the argument. The way up is down. If you want to raise understanding in a relationship, then best to wait until tempers go down. Jesus waits until the heat has gone out of the argument and the disciples are calmer.

There is wisdom and grace too in the setting Jesus chooses for this restorative process. Jesus has the conversation in private, away from the crowds. Jesus only includes those who were involved in the argument. He doesn’t complain about the disciples’ behaviour to some third party.

Only after the disciples have calmed down and are all together in a relatively private setting, does Jesus seek to cleanse and dress the wound. Jesus does this by giving the disciples an opportunity to talk about what was troubling them.

But the disciples are silent, too embarrassed to admit they were arguing about who was the greatest. The disciples think the way up is up. They don’t yet understand the way up is down. In order to improve the quality of their relationships they need to humble themselves and confess the truth.

We shouldn’t look down on the disciples here. Better for us to stand alongside them, in solidarity.

At the beginning of Mark chapter 9, Jesus took three disciples up a mountain with him, where he was transfigured. Peter, James and John saw Jesus in his glory, talking with Moses and Elijah and they heard a voice from heaven saying of Jesus, ‘This is my Son, whom I love. Listen to him’.

The other nine missed out on this experience. Given how insecure and self-centred we human beings are, this was bound to make the disciples wonder what the pecking order was.

Probably also the disciples were thinking about how Jesus could benefit them. They believed Jesus was a great king and as king he might want them in his cabinet. The disciples’ argument probably came about from their illusions of grandeur.

They were right about Jesus being a great king. They just didn’t understand the path to greatness went through the valley of humble service. The way up is down.     

In verse 35 we read that Jesus sat down. In our culture, teachers normally stand up the front when they are teaching. But in first century Palestine, Rabbis sat down when they had something important to say. 

It soon becomes apparent that Jesus knew all along what the disciples had been arguing about. No one had the courage or humility to admit it, so Jesus shines his light on the situation saying: ‘Anyone who wants to be first must be the very last, and the servant of all.’ The way up is down.

The society in which Jesus’ disciples lived was an honour shame culture.

There was an honour ladder and most people tried their best to climb it.

The disciples wanted to climb the ladder. They wanted to piggy-back off Jesus’ power to gain prestige for themselves.

Jesus knew this and sought to correct their thinking. Greatness is not found by climbing the honour ladder or the social ladder or the career ladder or any other ladder. The path to greatness is humble service. The one who holds the ladder for others is greater than the one who climbs the ladder.

New Zealand society (generally speaking) is not an honour shame culture. We suffer from tall poppy syndrome. If someone rises above the rest or does well, we don’t normally honour them, at least not for long. More often, they become a target for criticism and getting mowed down.

Tall poppy syndrome is not a good thing. It comes from a spirit of insecurity and individualism. Tall poppy syndrome is the product of a false humility.

True greatness does not tear others down. A great person is not threatened by someone else’s success. A great person is a secure person. Great people are happy when others do well. True greatness lifts others up. And to lift others up you must have your feet on the ground, you must be humble.

By the same token, true greatness does not mean putting yourself down.

When we say the way up is down, we are not talking about being falsely self-deprecating or hiding your light under a bushel.

Do you remember the fable of the hare and the tortoise? The tortoise knew she wasn’t as fast as the hare, but she also knew she had stamina to go the distance. The tortoise did not diminish her own strengths. The tortoise was honest with herself in relation to others.

True greatness means being honest with yourself. Not entertaining illusions of grandeur. Not thinking it’s all about me or that it all depends on me. At the same time, a great person does not deny their strengths. Truly great people believe God, in his grace, has given them something to offer.

True greatness asks, how can I best serve this person? Not how can I use this person to advance myself?

For example, when your spouse or flatmate gets home after a long hard day, you think about what they need? Maybe a listening ear. Maybe for you to cook the dinner while they have a hot bath.  

Or when someone criticises you or your faith, you think about how best to embody the grace and truth of Jesus for them. That usually involves seeking to understand where they are coming from, without letting go of what you believe. It’s not easy.       

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus teaches us to do our good deeds on the quiet and not for show. That’s my paraphrase. If you help someone to make yourself look good, then you will probably end up humiliating them. That’s ugly in the sight of God.

Our church offering system is confidential. I don’t know what people give.

I don’t know who is generous and who is stingy. And I don’t want to know.

A confidential offering system sets us free from honour and shame. It allows us to worship God with a pure heart.

Now, in talking about motive, we need to acknowledge that sometimes serving others makes us feel good and sometimes it doesn’t. On those occasions when serving others does fill you with a warm glow, that’s okay, so long as you don’t make feeling good your primary reason for serving people. Our service needs to be motivated by what is best for the other person’s wellbeing.

Jesus aligns greatness with humility and unselfish service to others.

A few words of common sense here. Before you rush in to serve, stop and listen. Listen to what the Spirit might be saying in this situation. Listen to what the other person needs. And listen to what your own body and soul are telling you. Greatness does not mean making yourself a doormat for others. It is okay to say ‘no’ sometimes.

It’s okay to say ‘no’ if you are being asked to do something that you sense God does not want you to do. As I mentioned earlier, there were times in Jesus’ ministry when he intentionally avoided the crowds in order to spend time teaching his disciples or to be alone with God in prayer.

It’s okay to say ‘no’ if the person doesn’t really need your help. If someone is able to do something for themselves, let them. Allowing someone to discover they can do this or that for themselves might be the greatest service you can offer. A wise person empowers others.   

It’s also okay to say ‘no’ if it is not in our power to help someone in need.

I’m not a doctor so I can’t offer medical advice. It’s not in my power to do that. If someone looks like they need a doctor urgently, then I call an ambulance.

In a similar vein, it’s okay to say ‘no’ if saying ‘yes’ would put yourself or others in harm’s way. For example, if you are not a strong swimmer, then it’s not in your power to dive into the ocean to save someone who is drowning.

If you are not the right person to help, then try to find the right person.

We should remember too that not everyone wants our help. We need to listen to what the other person is telling us and not just assume. If someone refuses our service, then we need to respect that. Much of Jesus’ service was rejected. Offering yourself is a vulnerable thing to do.

To make his point about service and greatness Jesus took a little child in his arms, and said to the disciples, 37 “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me…”

In the culture of first century Palestine, children were somewhere near the bottom of the social ladder. It is significant then that Jesus stands in solidarity with those at the bottom. The way up is down. But there’s more going on here.

There are several places in the gospel where Jesus uses children to illustrate his point. Sometimes Jesus says, you need to be like little children. But this is not one of those times. Jesus is not saying here that children are great. Rather, those who serve people unselfishly are great.  

You see, a child cannot do much to help you to get ahead in this life.

If anything, it’s the other way around. Children need our help.

Children are a labour of love. Children cost money, they rob you of sleep, they cause you worry, they need to be clothed and washed and fed and transported everywhere. Taking care of children is hard work, physically and emotionally.

Sometimes children make you feel good about yourself, but they can also make you feel stink. Children have a way of showing you your character flaws.

Kids are like sandpaper to your vanity.

Small children are, for the most part, ego centric. They think the world revolves around them. If they don’t get what they want, there’s a good chance they will throw a tantrum. That doesn’t make you a bad parent. They are simply being a child. They can’t help it. It’s hard wired into them. Hopefully, by God’s grace and your example, they will grow out of it one day, but it takes time.

If you become a parent, you are committed to a lifetime of humble service.

If you become a parent, you will often have to put what you want on hold, while you support your children in what they need. They will come first, and you will go last. On the bright side, you will grow closer to Christ. 

Jesus is saying, when you welcome people who (like little children) cannot do anything to advance you in this life, you are welcoming me.

When you serve people who (like little children) cannot repay you, you are serving me.

When you love people who (like little children) do not always make you feel good about yourself, you are loving me.

As Jesus says elsewhere in the gospels …whatever you do for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you do for me.’

And whatever you do for me, you do for the one who sent me, that is God the Father.

Conclusion:

The way up is down. The path to greatness is humble service.     

In some ways I’m preaching to the choir. I believe many of you are living a life of humble service. May you feel affirmed and encouraged to continue serving till that day when you hear the words, well done good and faithful servant.   

But perhaps there are some here who feel guilty. Deep down you know your attitude has been wrong. Perhaps you are mainly interested in how others can serve your interests. Is the sting in your conscience a prompt to be less self-serving and more outward looking, more thoughtful of others?

Whatever you are feeling, remember this. It is only by God’s grace that we can serve. Grace must come first. Humble service is the product of grace.

Before we can give to others, we must receive from God. The way up is down.

May God bless you with a deeper awareness of his love. Amen. 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Why did Jesus not want anyone to know he was passing through Galilee? How busy and stressed are you? Is your life over full? What are God’s priorities for you at this time?
  3. Why do the disciples avoid Jesus’ comments about his betrayal, death and resurrection? What parts of the gospel message do you tend to avoid and why?
  4. How does Jesus handle the disciples’ argument about who was the greatest? What can we learn from Jesus’ restorative approach?
  5. Discuss / reflect on what makes a person truly great.
  6. Why is it important to stop and listen before rushing in to serve? When is it okay to say ‘no’? When is it right to say ‘yes’?
  7. What does Jesus mean when he takes a little child in his arms and says, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me…”?  How does this make you feel?      

[1] R.A. Cole, Tyndale Commentary on Mark, page 149.

Tawa Baptist

Hinge

Scripture: Mark 8:27-38

Video Link: https://youtu.be/D8Rd-gYujQI

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Identity
  • Paradox
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Today we start with a crossword. The word we are looking for has five letters. And to make it easy for you, I have provided several clues: elbow, depend, joint, pivot, axis and connect. Any guesses? [Wait]

Yes, that’s right. The answer is hinge.

A hinge is a pivot point. Movement and change hangs on the hinge. Hinges allow doors to open. From time to time, we face hinge moments in our lives. Times of decision when it feels like we are about to break through some barrier or turn a corner. Hinge moments are often accompanied by an epiphany, an ‘aha’ moment, when the penny drops and a connection is made in our minds.

This Sunday’s lectionary reading focuses on Mark 8, verses 27-38. Chapter 8 is a hinge passage in Mark’s gospel. It comes in the centre of the book of Mark and describes a significant turning point in Jesus’ ministry.

It is also a hinge moment for Peter and the other disciples as they become aware of who Jesus is, what he came to do and what it means for them.

From Mark 8, verse 27 we read…

27 Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?” 28 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.” 29 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” 30 Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. 31 He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again. 32 He spoke plainly about this, and Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 33 But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. “Get behind me, Satan!” he said. “You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” 34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 35 For whoever wants to save their lifewill lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 38 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Identity:

Time for another crossword. This word has 8 letters. Here’s a few other words to serve as clues: name, signature, self, family, whakapapa and fingerprint. What do you reckon? [Wait] That’s right, identity.

At the core of Mark’s gospel, we read about Jesus’ true identity. The revelation of Jesus’ identity is a hinge moment for the disciples. Understandably, it proves too much for them to take in all at once.

In verse 27 of Mark 8 we read that Jesus and his disciples went to the villages near the city of Caesarea Philippi. This was north of the Sea of Galilee, near the source of the Jordan River.

At the time of Jesus, Caesarea Philippi was a centre of emperor worship.

Before that the city had been a centre of worship for Pan, the Greek god of nature. And before that it had been a site of Baal worship. [1]

Now you would think this was a most unlikely location for Jesus to reveal his true identity, like hearing God speak to you at a Metallica concert, or in a shopping mall. Totally unexpected. But that is why Jesus came. To topple the idols in our hearts.

Whales communicate by a technique called echo-location. They can’t see all that well under water, so they make high pitched sounds measuring how long it takes for the sound to bounce back to them. The longer it takes for the sound to come back the further away the object.  

Jesus uses a bit of echo-location with the disciples on this occasion. Jesus doesn’t come straight out with it saying, “Guess what guys – I’m the Messiah”. No, he gently questions the disciples to sound out how far they are from understanding who he really is.

In an area which is renowned for its worship of false gods Jesus says to his followers, “Who do people say I am?” And they reply, “Some say you are John the Baptist, others say that you are Elijah, while others say that you are one of the prophets.”

This tells us most people didn’t yet perceive who Jesus really was. Yes, they had a vague idea that Jesus was a messenger from God but their vision of Jesus was still blurry. Most people thought of Jesus as a forerunner to the Messiah.

So Jesus asks his disciples another echo-location question. “What about you? Who do you say I am? This is more specific, more personal. Peter replies, “You are the Messiah”

The word ‘Messiah’ is a Hebrew word which literally means ‘anointed one’.

The Greek equivalent is ‘Christ’. Messiah and Christ mean the same thing.

In Old Testament times, when God wanted to identify someone to be king he would have one of his prophets anoint the chosen one by pouring oil on his head.

The words ‘Messiah’ and ‘Christ’ are not surnames for Jesus; they are titles.

To call Jesus, ‘Messiah’, was like calling him King, a rival to Caesar. This title was politically explosive, a treasonable offence.  

Verse 30 tells us that Jesus ordered his disciples not to tell anyone about him. The Jews thought the Messiah would be a military leader (like king David) who would destroy Israel’s enemies. If word got out that Jesus was a king like David, violence might follow. So Jesus orders his disciples to remain silent about his true identity. Jesus didn’t come to take life; he came to give life.  

In the verses just before today’s reading, Jesus heals a man who was blind. First Jesus takes the man outside the village, away from the crowd. Then he put spit on the man’s eyes, laid his hands on him and asked, ‘Do you see anything?’

The man looked up and said, ‘I see people; they look like trees walking around’. The man had some sight, but the healing wasn’t complete. So Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes once more and this time his sight was fully restored so he could see everything clearly.

This miracle of sight came in stages. It serves as an acted-out parable for the disciples and for us. Jesus wants to open the eyes of his disciples so they will see who he is and what he came to do. But, like the blind man, they don’t see fully or clearly at first. Their vision of Jesus comes into focus in stages.

Peter had correctly confessed that Jesus is the Messiah. That was true but there was more to it than Peter imagined. Peter could only see the crescent.

He couldn’t see the whole of the moon.

The disciples (for whom Peter was the spokesman) were under the common misconception that the Messiah would spill their enemies’ blood. But Jesus’ blood was the only blood to be spilled.

From verse 31 we read how Jesus began to teach his disciples that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and after three days rise again.

There’s quite a bit going on here. Firstly, Jesus refers to himself as the Son of Man. This is Jesus’ preferred title. Son of Man can simply mean, an ordinary human being. But, in this context, it more likely refers to a vision the prophet Daniel had centuries before, during the Babylonian exile.

In Daniel chapter 7 we read…

13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.

The Son of Man figure in Daniel 7 is one who endures great trial and suffering, but who emerges victorious in the end. This concept of suffering first, then glory later, is the picture Jesus wants his disciples to see.

The thought of a dead Messiah is anathema to Peter and the other disciples. They cannot imagine such a thing. How can you win by losing? How can you save us from our enemies if you are killed? How can you be from God if the religious leaders reject you? It doesn’t make sense.

But Jesus insists it must happen this way. This is part of God’s plan. There is no plan B. With the benefit of hindsight, we can see how passages from the Old Testament, like Isaiah 53, were plainly talking about the suffering and vindication of God’s servant, the Messiah.

But the disciples (in Mark 8) didn’t have the benefit of hindsight. They only saw the crescent. Jesus saw the whole of the moon. Jesus’ picture of a suffering Messiah destroys Israel’s hopes. And without hope, what do they have? Well, false hope is no hope at all. It is kinder in the long run for Jesus to be truthful.

And yet there is hope in these verses. For beyond suffering and death there is resurrection. Did the disciples catch that part? Maybe not. 

When Peter takes Jesus aside to rebuke him, Jesus rebukes Peter saying…

“Get behind me Satan. You do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Ouch! That must have stung. What’s happening here? Well, the devil is using Peter to create a moment of temptation for Jesus. But this is not Jesus’ first rodeo. He sees through it.   

Mark’s gospel highlights three times when Jesus was sorely tempted. The first is at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry. Immediately after his baptism the Spirit sends Jesus into the wilderness where he is tempted by Satan.

The second is in today’s reading when Satan tempts Jesus through a friend.

And the third instance comes near the end, when Jesus wrestles in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Father, not my will, but your will be done.

The temptation to avoid the cross was very real for Jesus, which is why he rebukes Peter as strongly as he does. Jesus cannot afford to allow his disciples (or anyone else) to define Messiahship. It is for God to define the identity of the Messiah. Jesus must stick to the straight and narrow way God has chosen. 

Although Peter wears the brunt of the rebuke, he was only saying what everyone else was thinking. Jesus may have been talking to Peter, but he was looking at the other disciples as he spoke. They (and we) have all had our thinking distorted by the devil.

We must not miss Jesus’ grace though. Jesus is not telling Peter to get lost. Jesus is not rejecting Peter outright. Rather, Jesus is telling Peter, ‘Follow me’. Stop trying to lead me. Stop trying to manage me. Stop trying to set the agenda for me. Get behind me as my disciple. I need your support not your opposition.

Paradox:

One more crossword. You might find this a bit harder. This word has seven letters and the clues are: contradiction, puzzle, mystery, catch-22 and conflict. What do you think? [Wait] That’s right: paradox.

A paradox is a contradictory statement that proves to be true. For example, you have to leave home to find home. When I am weak, then I am strong. Less is more. Go slow and you’ll finish sooner. There’s no success like failure. And infinite possibility leaves you with no choice.

Perhaps the greatest paradox is life itself. As Jesus says in John 12…

Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

In verse 34 of Mark 8, near the centre of the gospel, Jesus says… 

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me…”

Again, we don’t really appreciate how shocking this would have been for people in Jesus’ day. For Jesus’ first century audience, carrying your cross wasn’t a metaphor for putting up with a difficult person or living with a chronic illness. Carrying your cross meant being treated like an outlaw, a criminal of the worst kind.

Carrying your cross was like digging your own grave. To carry your cross was to go to your own execution in the most humiliating and painful way imaginable.

It involves looking like the bad guy in the eyes of others, even though you have done the right thing.

To deny yourself does not mean pretending to be something you are not.

Self-denial, in this context, means putting aside what you want in order to do what Jesus asks of you. Denial of self involves the obedience of faith.

Being a disciple of Jesus means following Jesus’ example. We see Jesus’ integrity here. Jesus does not ask us to do anything he has not already done himself.  

In verse 35, Jesus gives us the paradox of salvation in a nutshell…

For whoever wants to save their lifewill lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.

The word translated as life, in verse 35, is psyche in the original Greek, from which we get the word psychology. Psyche is the Greek word for soul.

Your soul is your life force but it’s also your mind and personality. Your soul is the essence of who you are, deep down. It’s your true identity. 

Perhaps, among other things, Jesus is saying: you can only find your true self in me. You won’t find your self by pursuing a high-flying career or becoming the world’s best at something. You won’t find your self through fame or fortune or pleasure or good deeds or anything else this world might offer. We are defined by God and so we find our soul (our true self) in and through Christ.

With these words of Jesus, we find ourselves on the cusp of mystery.

The meaning is elusive. The paradox of life (and salvation) is like a rainbow.

A rainbow is meant to be enjoyed from a distance. If you try to understand a rainbow by getting close, it will keep evading you.

The full meaning of Jesus’ words cannot be grasped this side of eternity.

What we do know is there is no rainbow without the rain. There is no glory without suffering. There is no hope without waiting.    

We see the paradox of salvation worked out in the events of Easter. Jesus died on the cross in obedience to God’s will and God raised Jesus to eternal life on the third day. Through Jesus’ death and resurrection millions are saved and find eternal life. This is a wonder, beyond our comprehension.

In verses 36 and 37, Jesus says:  36 What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 37 Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?

The word translated as soul is psyche in the original Greek, the same word translated as life in verse 35. You are not just a collection of chemicals. By God’s grace you are a living soul. There is a value to your life and soul which cannot be measured. You are priceless.

Today’s lectionary reading finishes with Jesus saying: “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

Jesus is calling for loyalty here. Mark’s gospel was written for the early church and the early church was a persecuted church. Christians were being brought before the authorities and faced with a brutal choice. Renounce Jesus or die.

Jesus is saying it is better in the long run to remain loyal to him, even if that means being killed. If we share in Jesus’ suffering, we will also share in his glory. Some Christians around the world today still suffer violence for their faith. I imagine these words of Jesus carry real weight for them.

Although the church in New Zealand is not persecuted like the church of the first century, Christianity generally has fallen out of favour in this country.

We have witnessed a gradual erosion of trust between church and society.

Also an erosion of basic Biblical knowledge. Wisdom is called for.

We want to live in respectful relationship with others in our society, without compromising our loyalty to Christ. We need to conduct ourselves in a way that honours the name of Jesus.

We must face the reality that some people will respect our faith and others will view us with contempt, irrespective of what we do. We cannot control what other people think or feel. But, with the Spirit’s help, we can follow Jesus’ example of being gracious and true.

Conclusion:

Jesus’ words in our reading today are incredibly challenging. The spiritual equivalent of trying to climb K2. We cannot follow Jesus in our own strength. Peter tried and ended up denying Jesus three times. But the Lord restored Peter and Peter went on to remain loyal to Jesus, even unto death.

How you finish matters more than how you start, but you still need to start.

If you are feeling inadequate to accept the call of Christ, then you are not alone. Take courage. God has a way of giving you what you need when you need it. We walk by faith, not by sight. If you fall or fail, do not give up.

Take a breath, seek forgiveness and carry on. Your soul is more valuable than you think. God’s grace is sufficient for you.

May goodness and mercy follow you all the days of your life and may you dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen. 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Can you think of a hinge moment in your life and faith? What happened? How did you feel?
  3. Why did Jesus prefer the title ‘Son of Man’, rather than ‘Messiah’? What is the difference?
  4. Why does Jesus rebuke Peter saying, ‘Get behind me Satan’?
  5. Discuss / reflect on verses 34-38 of Mark 8. How would people in the first century have understood Jesus’ words? How do you understand these verses? What are the implications for us today?
  6. Who do you say Jesus is?

[1] Ben Witherington, ‘The Gospel of Mark’, page 240.

Tawa Baptist

Streets

Scripture: Mark 7:24-37

Video Link: https://youtu.be/CPGMpA-D7v0

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Leaving home
  • Finding faith
  • Sighing deeply
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Some of you may remember a TV show from the 60’s called The Addams Family, more recently made into a movie. One of the members of the Addams Family was a hand that walked around like a spider, separate from a body.

The hand was simply called ‘Thing’.

A hand by itself looks weird and a bit creepy. For a hand to make sense it really needs to be connected to the rest of the body. The Bible is like a body, it has different parts to it. But none of those parts makes sense or looks right if read in isolation from the other parts.

If you read Bible verses out of context you often end up with an interpretation that is weird and creepy. Scripture interprets Scripture.  

Last week we started a new series following the lectionary readings.

This morning’s lectionary reading focuses on the gospel of Mark, chapter 7, verses 24-37. This passage doesn’t make a lot of sense if taken in isolation from the verses around it. In fact, if you read Mark 7:24-37 by itself, Jesus appears like ‘Thing’ from the Addams Family.

As you listen to these verses then, keep in mind last week’s reading where Jesus talked about what makes a person clean (or right) before God. And if you can’t remember last week’s message, don’t worry. I will remind you as we work through the passage. From verse 24 of Mark 7 we read…      

24 Jesus left that place and went to the vicinity of Tyre. He entered a house and did not want anyone to know it; yet he could not keep his presence secret.

25 In fact, as soon as she heard about him, a woman whose little daughter was possessed by an impure spirit came and fell at his feet. 26 The woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia. She begged Jesus to drive the demon out of her daughter. 27 “First let the children eat all they want,” he told her, “for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.” 28 “Lord,” she replied, “even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” 29 Then he told her, “For such a reply, you may go; the demon has left your daughter.” 30 She went home and found her child lying on the bed, and the demon gone. 31 Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. 32 There some people brought to him a man who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged Jesus to place his hand on him. 33 After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man’s ears. Then he spit and touched the man’s tongue. 34 He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him, “Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). 35 At this, the man’s ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. 36 Jesus commanded them not to tell anyone. But the more he did so, the more they kept talking about it. 37 People were overwhelmed with amazement. “He has done everything well,” they said. “He even makes the deaf hear and the mute speak.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Leaving home:

In 1987, the rock band U2 released an album called The Joshua Tree.

The opening track on that album is called Where the Streets Have No Name. Some of the lyrics read like this…

I want to run, I want to hide,
I wanna tear down the walls that hold me inside…
I wanna take shelter from the poison rain
Where the streets have no name…

Bono wrote these words in response to the idea that, in Belfast, you can identify a person’s religion and income based on the street they live on.

In other words, the name of your street determines other people’s perception of you. There is a wall between people on Old Kent Rd and people on Mayfair. 

Bono wrote the lyrics while in Ethiopia, which is a long way Belfast, Ireland. When you go to a foreign place, the street names don’t carry the same baggage of being rich or poor, protestant or catholic or whatever. 

Bono said: “The guy in the song… thinks about a world where there aren’t such divisions, a place where the streets have no name. …Maybe that’s the dream of all art: to break down the barriers and the divisions between people and touch upon the things that matter the most to us all.”

Perhaps you can identify with the feeling Bono is sketching here. It’s the feeling you get when you leave home for a place you don’t know, a place where the streets have no name (no reputation, no prejudice, no barriers). A place where no one really knows you, so you can transcend the baggage of the past.

Where the streets have no name feels like freedom. It feels like a fresh start.

Last week (in verses 1-23 of Mark 7) Jesus talked about what makes a person unclean before God. The Pharisees were convinced the problem was with those dirty Gentiles and the solution was ceremonial washing, to avoid spiritual contamination and maintain holiness.

Jesus was also concerned about holiness, but he made it clear that the Pharisees had the wrong end of the stick. The problem is not external.

The problem is internal.

What you eat and who you come in contact with does not defile you or make you unholy before God. Rather, it is what comes out of a person’s heart that defiles them: evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, and so on.

It is with this conversation fresh in our minds that Jesus (and his disciples) walk 80 kilometres north into the region of Tyre. In doing this they leave the land of Israel behind and cross over into the land of the Gentiles.  

In the Old Testament, Tyre and Sidon were renowned as places of evil. Places the Jewish people expected God to destroy, like Sodom and Gomorrah. Tyre and Sidon were the historical enemies of Israel and considered by most Jews to be unholy places. The streets of Tyre and Sidon had a bad name.

For Jesus though, Tyre and Sidon were no more unclean than Galilee or Jerusalem. Because it’s not a person’s race or postal code that makes them unclean. It is what comes out of their heart. 

Verse 24 shows us a different side to Jesus. We are used to reading about an extroverted Jesus. A Jesus who is out in the world mixing with people, speaking truth to power, healing the sick and going to parties. Rock on. 

But what we see here is a more introverted Jesus. A Jesus who wants to remain anonymous. A Jesus who wants to keep his presence on the down low. This is not a short-term mission trip. This is more like a retreat.  

Jesus wants to run and hide. He wants to take shelter from the poison rain. He wants to go where the streets have no name. A place where he could be anonymous and transcend all the politics and divisions of his homeland.

Who could blame him. The religious leaders were actively opposing him.

The crowds wanted to use him for the all the wrong reasons. His own family doubted him and his disciples didn’t really understand him. No wonder Jesus wanted to get away from it all. But he is out of luck.

Finding faith:

As soon as Jesus arrived in town, a mother came to him asking for a favour. Unfortunately, she had three strikes against her. She was a woman. She was a Gentile. And her daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit. You cannot get much worse than that, if you are a Jewish man.

The woman knows what the Jews think of her. She understands full well the prejudice she is up against. I imagine at that moment she wishes she could go where the streets have no name. But she can’t escape the fact that the street she comes from has the worst name, the worst reputation.

It says something about her courage and character that she is willing to approach one of her enemies for help. Or maybe it is an indication of her desperation. ‘A mother is only as happy as her unhappiest child.’

The daughter is described as little. This might mean she was young but (in the original Greek) little can also mean beloved. This mother loves her daughter very much. 

The mother falls at Jesus’ feet. Again, there is a double meaning here. To fall at someone’s feet in this context can mean to humble oneself and show respect. But it can also be a sign of overwhelming grief and distress. Falling at Jesus’ feet is both an act of lament and petition.  

The daughter has an impure spirit, a demon in other words. Jesus had said previously (in verse 21) that evil comes out of the human heart. If you think of the heart as the well spring of the soul, that place deep within you where life and vitality spring from, then a demon poisons the well so that every thought, motivation and desire is contaminated, making your spirit sick.

The fact that the daughter has an impure spirit shows us that the human heart is not the only source of evil. There are other malicious non-human forces at work in the world which cause all sorts of harm and chaos.    

In verse 26 we read that the woman was a Greek, born in Syrian Phoenicia, roughly where Lebanon is today. This tells us the woman was not a worshipper of Yahweh. She was a pagan. She worshipped idols.

When the woman begged Jesus to deliver her daughter from the demon, Jesus does something a 21st Century audience find offensive. He says to her, “First let the children eat all they want, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

The children, in Jesus’ parable here, are the people of Israel. And their food is the healing and life that Jesus brings. Jesus is the bread of life. Dogs is a reference to Gentiles generally. In ancient Jewish culture a dog was considered unclean. Dogs were despised.

So, what is going on here? Because it sounds like a racial slur, an insult, against this mother and her daughter. Well, Jesus is not being racist.

Jesus’ main point is that his mission is first and foremost to the people of Israel. Jesus cannot afford to take on the Gentile world just yet. Jesus’ outreach to the Gentiles will happen in due course (as we see in the book of Acts). But for now, Jesus must focus on Israel and going to the cross.

Jesus’ second point (by implication) is that the Gentile woman before him is unclean. This is not a racial slur. Jesus is making a theological statement.[1]

Drawing on what Jesus had said earlier in Mark 7, verse 21, (that we are defiled by what comes out of our heart) the woman is not unclean because she is a Gentile. She is unclean because she has worshipped idols and done the immoral things that go with that.  

You see, Jesus wants to cleanse the daughter from the demon and the mother from her idolatry. That meant getting the mother to face the truth about herself. Two for the price of one.

At this point the mother has a choice. She can take offence and walk away, insisting on the illusion of her own innocence. Or she can accept the truth that she is not right before God. 

To her credit, the mother responds with humility and insight saying, “Lord, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”  

The mother accepts Jesus’ point that she is like a dog, unclean, unholy, not right before God. No argument there. But what she won’t accept is that God does not have enough mercy and grace for her.

She is not asking Jesus to deviate from his mission to Israel. She just wants a few crumbs for her daughter. This woman has the faith to believe that God’s goodness and grace is greater than anything she has done wrong.

And for that response of faith, Jesus grants her request, healing her daughter from a distance. The woman returns home to find her daughter on the bed and the demon gone.   

Before we move on, let’s pause for a moment and make some observations.

Although this woman came from a pagan background, she was not all bad.

In fact, Jesus found considerable goodness in her heart.

The woman was genuinely humble, she was honest with herself. She was tenacious, she wouldn’t give up. She was motivated by love for her daughter, and she had great faith, she trusted Jesus.

The essence of her faith was this: she believed God was generous enough to extend grace to pagans. She believed God’s mercy was greater than her sin.

Her spiritual dirt was no match for Jesus’ soap. She put no limits on God.

Last week we heard how evil comes from the human heart. This week we see that goodness also comes from the heart. We are complex creatures, fearfully and wonderfully made.

We may think Jesus was a bit rough or rude in the way he spoke to this woman, but Jesus’ approach brought the best out of her.

The woman rose to a place where the streets have no name. She transcended the prejudice, politics and divisions that get in the way of right relationship. She was in touch with the things that matter most to us all.

Sighing deeply:

After this Jesus went further north to Sidon before heading back down the eastern side of the sea of Galilee into the region of the Decapolis. This journey would have taken weeks, if not months. What happened during that time? We are not told.

The Decapolis was mainly occupied by Gentiles. So, it was similar in some ways to Tyre and Sidon, despised by the Jewish establishment.

While in the region of the Decapolis some people brought a man to Jesus who was deaf and could hardly talk. They begged Jesus to place his hand on the man (to heal him).

The laying on of hands was a Jewish thing, so these people are most likely Jewish. They were interceding for the man, similar to the way the mother interceded for her daughter. Neither the man who was deaf nor the daughter who was possessed were able to ask for help themselves.

Is there someone you know who can’t pray for themselves? Who needs you to intercede for them? 

As we imagine this man, who was deaf and could hardly talk, standing in the presence of Jesus, we are reminded of some verses in Isaiah 35, which read…

Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy…

Isaiah 35 is a message of hope to the Jews in exile. It’s about God redeeming and restoring his people.

Mark is showing us that Jesus is more than a wandering miracle worker. Jesus is not a creepy hand walking around in isolation from the rest of the body. Jesus’ ministry is connected to God’s bigger plan of salvation. Jesus is the Messiah who fulfils the prophecy of Isaiah 35. 

Being deaf in a hearing world is isolating. If you can’t communicate well, you tend to be misunderstood more than usual. Life can be very lonely. Jesus’ experience was similar in some ways to this man’s experience. Much of what Jesus said was misunderstood. Jesus knew what it was to be alone in a crowd.

In verses 33-35 we read how Jesus heals the man. There is something quite winsome and personal in Jesus’ approach here. Jesus heals the man in private, away from the crowds. He doesn’t make a spectacle of the man or the miracle.

Jesus communicates with the man using sign language. By putting his fingers into the man’s ears and touching his tongue with spit, Jesus was showing the man what he was about to do. By looking up to heaven Jesus was indicating that the power to perform this healing comes from God.

And with a deep sigh [Jesus]said to him, Ephphatha!” (which means “Be opened!”). And the man was healed.

What is the sigh about?

A sigh is when we exhale loudly. A sigh is an emotional response to something we feel deep inside. When we sigh it’s like we are releasing a feeling. Usually, it is a feeling of frustration or sadness. A feeling that things are not right. We sigh when no words will do justice to the feeling. Deep calls to deep.

I am reminded of Paul’s words in Romans 8, where he writes…

Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.      

It’s not that Jesus didn’t know how to pray in this situation. Rather, he was praying in the Spirit. He was interceding with sighs too deep for words.

The sigh indicates the level of Jesus’ emotional engagement. This healing (like every healing) cost Jesus something.

What is it that makes you sigh?

There is more than one way to be deaf. When Jesus commanded the people not to tell anyone, they kept talking about it. Apparently, the people did not hear Jesus or weren’t listening. Did they see the connection with Isaiah 35?

Or was this just entertainment for them?

It wasn’t entertainment for the man who was healed, it was freedom and a fresh start.

Conclusion:

Today we have heard how Jesus performed two miracles. Although Jesus’ approach in each case was quite different, both signs show us a God of creative power and love. Both signs show us what God intends for his creation. They give us a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven.

Can you imagine a place where the streets have no name? Jesus wants to lift us above the parochial concerns and prejudices that divide us. Will we go there with him?

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. What does it mean to go where the streets have no name? What is this song describing?
  3. Why did Jesus refer to the woman and her daughter as dogs? What made them unclean?
  4. What does the woman’s response, in verse 28, show us? What can we learn from her?
  5. Is there someone you know who can’t pray for themselves? Who needs you to intercede for them? 
  6. Discuss / reflect on the way Jesus heals the man in verses 33-34. How is Jesus’ approach similar / different from the miracle in vv. 24-30? What does this show us about Jesus?
  7. What is it that makes you sigh?  

[1] Refer Tim Keller’s comment in a sermon he preached, December 1996.

Tawa Baptist

The Real Problem

Scripture: Mark 7:1-23

Video Link:  https://youtu.be/IF2_X66dpKo

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Defeating the purpose
  • The real problem
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

What is more important, the contents of a can or the label? Well, both have value. Without the label you wouldn’t know what was inside the can. But you cannot eat the label. The label merely points to the purpose of the can. The contents fulfil the purpose, which is to feed you, so the contents are more important. 

What is more important, having a shiny new paint job for your car or a reliable engine? Well, both have value. Without the paint job your car would be more vulnerable to rust. But the paint job isn’t what moves the car. The engine fulfills the purpose of the car, which is getting you from A to B, so a reliable engine is more important.

During the month of August, we looked at four passages from the book of Acts in support of Arotahi, our overseas mission organisation. Today we start a new series following the lectionary readings.

This morning’s lectionary reading focuses on the gospel of Mark, chapter 7.

In this reading, Jesus shows us what matters to God. The inner state of your heart is more important than the performance of external rituals. From verse 1 of Mark 7 we read…       

The Pharisees and some of the teachers of the law who had come from Jerusalem gathered around Jesus 2 and saw some of his disciples eating food with hands that were defiled, that is, unwashed. 3 (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they give their hands a ceremonial washing, holding to the tradition of the elders. 4 When they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they wash. And they observe many other traditions, such as the washing of cups, pitchers and kettles.) 5 So the Pharisees and teachers of the law asked Jesus, “Why don’t your disciples live according to the tradition of the elders instead of eating their food with defiled hands?” 6 He replied, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites; as it is written: “‘These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. 7 They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.’ 8 You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions.” 9 And he continued, “You have a fine way of setting aside the commands of God in order to observeyour own traditions! 10 For Moses said, ‘Honour your father and mother,’and, ‘Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.’ 11 But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is Corban (that is, devoted to God)— 12 then you no longer let them do anything for their father or mother. 13 Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Defeating the purpose:

You have all heard of the phrase defeating the purpose. Defeating the purpose is when you do something that undermines what you are trying to achieve.

For example, cleaning your kitchen bench with a dirty cloth defeats the purpose.

Or take another example: the purpose of a holiday is to have a break from work, relax, unwind and spend time with family and friends. But if you keep checking your work emails all the time, that defeats the purpose of the holiday.

Or perhaps you want to provide counselling services for problem gamblers.

It would defeat the purpose somewhat if you funded the counselling services from pokey machines.           

Owning an electric car makes sense in a country like New Zealand, where much of our electricity supply comes from renewable sources, like hydro and wind. But if you live in a country where electricity comes mainly from coal, then the purpose of driving an electric car is defeated.

The purpose of the Law of Moses is to love God and love your neighbour.

Sadly, the Pharisees and teachers of the law, in Mark 7, were defeating the purpose of the law. 

A delegation of religious experts came from Jerusalem and gathered around Jesus. When they saw Jesus’ disciples eating food without first washing their hands, they questioned Jesus about it.

There was Jesus healing the sick, casting out demons, preaching amazing sermons, setting people free, basically making life better, and the Pharisees overlook all that, focusing instead on the hand washing habits of the disciples. 

It’s like reading a great novel only to take issue with a single word that was misspelt, even though the meaning was clear. Or it’s like eating the best meal of your life and then complaining about the colour of the waiter’s tie, as if that made a difference. Talk about missing the point.

Of course, the Pharisees cannot see they are missing the point. They think handwashing is the point and, if we had been immersed in their religion and culture from a young age, we might too.

Now, having recently come through the Covid pandemic, I need to be clear, the Pharisees’ obsession with hand washing was not for hygiene reasons. It was for religious reasons.

For centuries the Jews had been living under the thumb of their enemies.

Therefore, it was important for them not to be assimilated by the surrounding culture. They were very careful to maintain their Hebrew identity.

For the Pharisees, loyalty to God equated to staying separate from the pagan Gentiles around them. Observing ritual washing traditions was one of the ways the Jews stayed separate and pure. To break the purity rules was akin to treason, in their mind.

You also need to know that the Pharisees’ rules about hand washing were part of an oral tradition passed down by the Jewish elders. The law of Moses did not require this level of washing. Jewish priests were required to wash their hands as part of the ceremony of sacrifice, but regular people did not need to do this.

The Pharisees added to the law by expecting everyone to perform a little hand washing ceremony before eating.  

Jesus doesn’t beat around the bush. He tells the Pharisees very clearly, they are wrong. And he does this using Scripture and logic. Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah, an authority they accepted.

Basically, the Pharisees’ worship of God was in vain. Their worship was like an empty can. The label was misleading. Their worship was like a car with a shiny new paint job, but no engine. It looked good but it lacked power.  

In verses 9-14, Jesus gives an example of the way the Pharisees defeat the purpose of God’s law. God commands people to honour their parents. Among other things, this means helping to support your parents financially when they become unable to do this for themselves. (Remember, there was no government superannuation 2000 years ago. Your kids were your superannuation plan.)

Sadly, the manmade tradition of the elders gave people a loophole for getting out of taking care of dependent parents. If you declared your money or anything else you owned as dedicated to God, then (according to the Pharisees) you could avoid using it to look after your parents.

Thus, the Pharisees’ tradition defeated the purpose of God’s command.

Now, it’s important to remember that Jesus is not saying that all tradition is bad. We still need tradition. Tradition has a valuable role to play, particularly when it comes to teaching those who come after us.

Traditions can serve as a pathway to faith in Jesus. We just need to be careful that our traditions don’t defeat God’s purpose. If our traditions get in the way of obeying God in faith, then we change our traditions.   

From our vantage point it is tempting to look down on the Pharisees. We might wonder, how could they not see they had missed the point. How could they be so obtuse and not realise they were undermining God’s law?

Well, we all have our blind spots. We all have a little bit of Pharisee in us.

Better to ask ourselves…

What substance is there to our worship?

Are we living a life of justice, mercy and humility?

Is the label of our can a true representation of what the can contains?

Does the way we practice our religion look shiny and new but lack power? 

What minors do we major on?

Have we let go of God’s commands?

What traditions do we hold to that no longer serve God’s purpose?

The real problem:

Jesus gets the last word. The Pharisees have no answer for him. Seeing a teachable moment, Jesus called the crowd to him and said, “Listen to me, everyone, and understand this. 15 Nothing outside a person can defile them by going into them. Rather, it is what comes out of a person that defiles them.” 17 After he had left the crowd and entered the house, his disciples asked him about this parable. 18 “Are you so dull?” he asked. “Don’t you see that nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them? 19 For it doesn’t go into their heart but into their stomach, and then out of the body.” (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.) 20 He went on: “What comes out of a person is what defiles them. 21 For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”

You may have seen an ad on TV about what to do if you have a heart attack. The ad shows a man (Jamie) feeling the symptoms of a heart attack. Blocked arteries, shortness of breath, chest discomfort, and a sore shoulder.

Unfortunately, Jamie is not aware of the real problem. He makes the call to take a hot shower, and the voice over says, ‘Unfortunately water won’t fix a heart attack. If you or someone else experience the symptoms of a heart attack, make the right call. Call 111 immediately.’

If you have problems with your heart, you need a doctor, not a shower.

The doctor might prescribe medication, or you may need an operation.

Whatever remedy the doctor prescribes though, it will work on the inside of you, not the outside.     

The Pharisees taught that ceremonial washing made people clean or spiritually right before God. Unfortunately, the Pharisees were wrong.

Washing your hands and kitchen ware to make yourself right with God is like trying to fix a heart attack by taking a hot shower. It doesn’t work. A heart problem is internal and washing is external. You can’t fix internal problems in an external way. 

When Jesus pointed this out saying, nothing that enters a person from the outside can defile them, the disciples were in shock. Jesus was basically telling them, ‘Most of what you know is wrong’. Understandably, the disciples struggle to accept Jesus’ words.

Jesus’ meaning is basically this: Food is not dirty. Excrement (what goes down the toilet) is dirty. In fact, what you eat makes no difference to your relationship with God. (In saying this, Jesus declared all foods clean.)

That probably doesn’t seem like a big deal to us, but it was earth shattering news for the disciples. There were certain foods, like pork and shellfish, that Jews never ate because they were not kosher (not clean). To eat any forbidden food was to break Israel’s covenant with God.

Now, the ban on certain foods wasn’t just a man-made tradition. It came from the law of Moses. So, by declaring all foods clean, Jesus was essentially declaring parts of the law of Moses to be no longer necessary. That was massive. To do that Jesus would have to be greater than Moses.

Why then did Jesus do this?

When you build a house, you often have scaffolding up around the outside.

But once the house is complete, the builders take the scaffolding down. 

It’s similar when you are pouring concrete. While the cement is still wet, you keep the boxing in place. But once the cement has set, you can remove the boxing.

Or think about when you make muffins. While the muffin mixture is runny and baking in the oven, you leave it in the muffin casing. But once the muffins are cooked and ready to eat, you no longer need the casing.

The kosher food laws were a bit like scaffolding or boxing or muffin casings. They were necessary for a time, but with the coming of Jesus, the Messiah, a new era had arrived and prohibitions on what you could eat got in the way.

God’s plan of salvation included the gentiles, which meant Jews and Gentiles needed to be able to fellowship together without worrying about what they ate or who they came in contact with.

(It doesn’t work to put new wine into old wine skins. It doesn’t work to patch an old garment with new cloth.) 

In verses 20-23, Jesus goes on to explain it is what comes out of the heart that makes a person unclean before God. Moral vices like theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, and so on, these are the things that defile a person.

There are some hard truths in Jesus’ words here that we must face…

Firstly, the moral aspects of the law (summarised by the ten commandments for example) are still very relevant. The kosher food laws may have served their purpose, but the moral law still stands. Jesus does not set us free to do whatever we want. Jesus sets us free to love God and love our neighbour.  

The second (equally important) truth is that what really matters to God is the state of your heart. Now, in this context, the heart is not the physical blood pump in your chest. Rather the heart refers to the core of your soul. Your mind, emotions and will. That part deep within you, where desire and motivation come from. Most of the time we are not aware of what is going on in our heart.

This was a complete paradigm shift for the disciples. They thought the problem came from the outside. Avoid contact with the Gentiles, don’t eat certain foods and God will accept you.

But Jesus is saying, no, the problem is not external. The problem is not with the Gentiles or with pork. The real problem is with you, with your heart. External rituals, like ceremonial hand washing, can’t cleanse the human heart any more than a hot shower can unblock clogged arteries.

So, what is the remedy? Well, Jesus does not offer a remedy in today’s reading. Jesus diagnoses the problem (which is the human heart) and leaves this truth with his disciples. He lets it sinks in.

You need to understand that the words Jesus spoke (about evil coming from within) were not just meant for the Pharisees or for people 2000 years ago. Jesus’ words apply to us today, as well. The problem is in you and it’s in me.

You may not have committed adultery or murder. You may not steal or bear false witness in court, but that is only by the grace of God and a lack of opportunity.

The potential to do great harm is within each one of us. Evil may lie dormant, so we are not aware of it. But, by a series of unfortunate events, it could be woken, and all hell would break loose. Pray that does not happen.

Save us from the time of trial and deliver us from evil, (especially the evil within).

The problem, Jesus said, is with the human heart. And the remedy is a new heart. The prophets talked about this remedy centuries before Jesus came.

In Ezekiel 36 the Lord says…

25 …I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. 

A heart of stone is a hard heart, a dead heart, a mind and a will that is callous and obtuse to the ways of God. A heart of flesh is a soft heart, a living heart,

a mind and a will that is compassionate and responsive to God.

The thing we notice here is that none of us can give ourselves a new heart.

If you have a problem with your physical heart, you can’t do surgery on yourself to rectify the problem. Somebody else, with the right knowledge and skill, needs to operate on you.

It’s the same with your spiritual heart. You can’t do surgery on your own soul. God is the only one with the knowledge and skill to heal your heart, which is where Jesus comes in. It is through Jesus’ death and resurrection and the gift of the Holy Spirit that God cleanses us and gives us a new heart.

When you become a Christian, you hand the keys of your heart to Jesus.

Your heart comes under new management with Jesus in charge and Jesus sends his Spirit to begin renovating your heart.

With any renovation there is a demolition stage. A stage when your heart feels like it is in a mess, in turmoil. During the renovation process you will become more aware of the evil within you. You may wonder, ‘Am I really a Christian?

I thought I was meant to get better, not worse’.

Don’t give up. Hang in there. You are justified by Christ, not by anything you do. A greater awareness of your own sin leads to a greater awareness of God’s grace for you personally.  

The renovation of your heart carries on throughout this life. It can feel long and painful at times. But, when Jesus returns in glory and the dead are raised to life eternal, the renovation is over, and those who are in Christ will receive the new heart God promised. Exactly how God does this, is a mystery. It is beyond our comprehension.

Conclusion:

Shortly, we will share communion together. Communion is not an empty ritual. Communion is pregnant with meaning. Communion was something Jesus asked his followers to do, to remember him, especially his death and resurrection.

Communion honours what Jesus did on the cross to cleanse us from our sin. More than that, communion is an act of hope, affirming God’s power to raise the dead and give us a new heart, a new mind, a new motivation to love and obey him.

May the Spirit of Jesus renew us from within. Amen.

———————————————

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Why were the Pharisees obsessed with hand washing? Why did Jesus criticise their traditions?
  3. What is the purpose of God’s law? In what way(s) did the Pharisees’ traditions defeat the purpose of God’s law?
  4. What traditions and rituals do you observe? How do these support you to obey God in faith? Are any of your traditions or rituals getting in the way of obeying God in faith? What needs to change?
  5. Discuss / reflect on the implications of Jesus’ words in Mark 7:15 & 18-19.
  6. What is the real problem (according to Jesus)? What makes a person unclean before God?
  7. What is God’s remedy for the problem? What has been your experience of the Spirit’s work in renovating your heart so far?  
Tawa Baptist

The Spirit & Lydia

Scripture: Acts 16:6-15

Video Link:  https://youtu.be/Yuu1LtQLwQk

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • An open window
  • A small beginning
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

The expression God never closes a door without opening a window has become a bit of a cliché. But that does not make it any less true. To say that God never closes a door without opening a window implies that God is exercising a guiding hand over our lives for good.

A door represents the usual means of entry. While climbing through a window is not the usual (or expected) way of getting in. Gaining access through a window requires us to think differently, to look for alternatives and to be prepared to make ourselves a bit uncomfortable.

During the month of August, we have been focusing on a series of passages from the book of Acts in support of Arotahi, our New Zealand Baptist mission organization.

The book of Acts tells how the Holy Spirit worked through men and women to spread the message about Jesus. Last week we heard how the Spirit involved Stephen, Ananias and Barnabas in the call and conversion of Saul.

This week we jump ahead in time around 15 or 16 years. By this stage, Saul is now the apostle Paul, about to embark on his second missionary journey.

But, as we shall see, this journey takes an unexpected turn when the Holy Spirit closes a door and opens a window. From Acts 16, verse 6, we read…   

6 Paul and his companions travelled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. 7 When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. 8 So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. 9 During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. 11 From Troas we put out to sea and sailed straight for Samothrace, and the next day we went on to Neapolis. 12 From there we travelled to Philippi, a Roman colony and the leading city of that districtof Macedonia. And we stayed there several days.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

An open window:

Can you think of a time when God closed a door and opened a window in your life? Such that your life took a whole different path.

Perhaps you thought you would be an accountant or an artist, but you became a social worker or a teacher instead. Or maybe you thought you would live somewhere sunny and warm, but you ended up in Tawa.

Sometimes we think we are headed in a certain direction, only to encounter a roadblock before reaching our destination. Then, when we least expect it, another way is opened to us; a window to a world of possibility quite different from what we first imagined.

The Holy Spirit closes doors and opens windows quite a bit in the Bible.

David thought he was going to be a shepherd of sheep, playing his harp in the field. But God made him the shepherd and king of all Israel and the author of many psalms.

Peter thought he was going to be a fisherman following in his father’s footsteps, but God made Peter a fisher of men following in Jesus’ footsteps.

Paul thought he was going to be a Jewish religious leader, a guardian of the law. But Jesus made Paul an apostle, a guardian of the gospel of Christ.   

What doors has God closed in your life. What windows has he opened?

In the verses we just read from Acts 16, the Holy Spirit shut the door to Asia and opened a window to Europe.

We don’t know why or how the Spirit prevented Paul and his mates from entering Asia, but we don’t need to know. The point is, the Spirit of Jesus was directing the Christian mission with a bigger picture in mind.

The book of Acts isn’t primarily about the acts of the apostles. It’s more about the acts of the Holy Spirit, working through the apostles. 

Verse 6 of Acts 16 says that Paul travelled with his companions. This tells us Paul was not a one-man band. Paul worked as part of a team. Not a large team, just 3 or 4 highly committed people.

When it comes to Christian mission it is best not to go it alone. We need the encouragement, support and accountability of other believers. Paul’s team on this occasion included Silas, Timothy and Luke.

Silas was a respected leader in the early church and recognised as a good speaker, someone who would assist Paul in preaching the gospel.

Timothy was an emerging leader, Paul’s apprentice. The missionary journey was good experience for Timothy. Paul had an eye to the future, hoping that Timothy would carry on the work after he was gone, which Timothy did.

Luke was a physician and historian. Having a doctor travelling with them was a good health & safety measure. But Luke did more than take care of blisters. Luke took notes. He documented Paul’s work and wrote one of the gospels about Jesus, as well as the book of Acts. We (today) owe a great deal to Luke.    

Verse 9 says, Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” When Paul shared his vision with his companions, they all concluded Macedonia must be where God wanted them to go.

This shows us at least two things. Firstly, discerning God’s will is best done in community with other believers. Paul had the vision, but Silas, Timothy and Luke helped him to interpret it.

Secondly, Paul and his team held their plans loosely. They were open to God. God’s ways are not our ways. God has his own plan and we need to be flexible enough to adjust our sails to the wind of his Spirit. If we push a door and it doesn’t open, we don’t force our way in. We look for a window.

Verses 11 & 12 of Acts 16 tell us how Paul and his team obeyed the prompting of the Holy Spirit, travelling from Troas to Philippi, a leading city in Macedonia. The open window from Troas to Phillipi involved sailing across the sea and walking inland for a bit.

Macedonia is one of the largest regions of Greece. It is the place Alexander the Great came from. When the Romans took over from the Greeks, Philippi was populated with Roman army veterans. Consequently, Philippi was a city that was very loyal to Rome, quite different from Jerusalem.

Verse 12 says that once they had arrived in Phillipi, Paul and his friends stayed there several days. This is interesting. Paul doesn’t dive into preaching the gospel straight away. He simply observes for a while. He walks around, taking in the culture and getting a feel for the place. 

The first job of a missionary is to listen. Before we can communicate effectively, we must get to know the people and their culture.

A small beginning:

So what happened next? From verse 13 of Acts 16 we read about Philippi’s first Christian convert…    

13 On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there. 14 One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth. She was a worshiper of God.

The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

15 When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.

Life starts small. Biological life doesn’t come much smaller than a cell.

Cell size is measured in microns. A micron is a millionth of a meter, which is tiny. Your average human cell is about 25 microns in diameter, so you can’t see a human cell with the naked eye. You need a microscope.

As small as they are, cells are the basic building blocks of all living things.

The human body is composed of trillions of cells. Cells are essential to our physical functioning.

Life starts small but it grows. Last week we saw a video about the work in India. In 1938 Malcolm and Catherine Eade went to Tripura. Gwen told me the Eades worked as missionaries for ten years before seeing their first convert. Now, more than 85 years later, there are thousands of Christians and hundreds of churches in Tripura.  

In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 13, Jesus says, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches.”

The kingdom of heaven starts small, but it grows big enough to fill the whole earth.

Paul’s standard mission strategy, when going to a new city, was to begin by preaching in the local synagogue, because this is where the common ground was. As a Jew, Paul was usually welcome in the synagogue, at least at first.

Also, the Jews were more likely to understand what Paul was saying about Jesus being the Messiah of God. They already believed in the one true God and they had a concept of the Messiah through the Hebrew Scriptures.

However, there weren’t enough Jews in Philippi to warrant having a synagogue so that door wasn’t just closed, it did not exist.

Undeterred, Paul and his friends looked for a window. They went down to the river on a Sabbath where they expected to find people at prayer. The idea was to start sharing the message about Jesus with those who were most likely to receive it.

When Paul and his companions arrived at the river, they found a group of women gathered there. Before coming to Phillipi, Paul had seen a vision of a man from Macedonia. But on arriving they were faced with women. 

Now I imagine Paul and Silas probably felt a bit uncomfortable because, in their culture, it just wasn’t done for Jewish men to talk with women they didn’t know, especially Gentile women.

But that’s the thing about Jesus. He is for everybody, including those who are different from us. In Acts 8, the Spirit sent Philip to help an Ethiopian eunuch, who then came to faith in Jesus. And in Acts 10, the Spirit sent Peter to Cornelius, a Roman Centurion.  

Verse 14 says, one of those listening was a woman named Lydia.   

We don’t know Lydia’s origin story, only that she was a dealer in purple cloth, which in today’s terms equates to a business woman in the fashion industry.

The most likely scenario is that Lydia was a widow who took over running the business and the household after her husband died. She appears to be very capable, a woman of means.

Verse 14 notes that Lydia was a worshiper of God. In other words, she was a Gentile who converted to the Jewish faith at some point in the past. Therefore, she believed in Yahweh and was familiar with the Hebrew Bible (our Old Testament) but she did not yet know that Jesus is the Messiah.

Who is the Lydia in your life? Who do you know who is open to hearing about Jesus? Pray for them. Speak with them. Be friends with them.

Verse 14 goes on to say, The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

The heart, in Scripture, generally refers to a person’s inner life. The heart is more than one’s feelings. The heart is the core of your being, including the mind, emotions and will. The heart is where desire and longing and decision making come from.   

I imagine that Paul gave Lydia some wonderful rationale for believing in Jesus, but I don’t expect it was solely logic that convinced Lydia. I believe the door to Lydia’s heart was opened by the love of Jesus. As she heard about Jesus’ sacrifice, Lydia was moved from within to respond to God’s love

In Romans 5, Paul writes, “And hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.”

The Holy Spirit is a Spirit of love and truth. The Holy Spirit is the key which unlocks genuine heart understanding. We can’t really put our trust in Jesus without the help of the Holy Spirit. So how does Lydia respond?

Well, she and her household are baptized with water. Baptism is an outward sign of an inward reality. By being baptized, Lydia is sealing her commitment to Jesus and bearing witness to the work of the Spirit within her.

After Lydia and her household have been baptized, she opens her home to Paul and his friends, saying: “If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my house.” And the apostle Paul and his friends show their acceptance of her as a true believer in the Lord (like them) by staying in her home.

We are not told if anyone else listening to Paul that day became a Christian.

Unlike the church in Jerusalem, which started with 3000 converts on the day of Pentecost, it appears the church in Europe started small, with just one household.

But life often starts small, with only a single cell. Lydia’s home became the first house church for believers in Phillipi. Since that humble start, 2000 years ago, literally millions of people have become followers of Jesus throughout Europe.

Conclusion:

The thing I like about today’s reading is that there is nothing spectacular or dramatic about it. The opening verses of Acts 16 are like a jam sandwich, sweet but ordinary.

So often in the book of Acts we encounter miracle after miracle. The apostles speak in foreign languages, they heal people and cast out demons, they confound their critics with wisdom from heaven, the doors of prisons fly open for them, they see the Spirit manifest God’s power in supernatural ways, they are bitten by scorpions and live. The miraculous is common place in Acts.

And while that is all wonderful and true (and irritating), it seems a long way from our own experience.

I like that Paul and his companions stumbled their way into Europe. They had intended to go to Asia but the way was blocked. For a few days there they didn’t know where the Spirit was leading them. That’s how it is for us most of the time. More often than not we only see God’s guidance with the benefit of hindsight.

I like the way Lydia and her household came to faith in Jesus. There was no walking on water, no healing of the blind or deaf. No tongues of fire or any other drama. The Spirit did something within Lydia, something deeply personal, which unlocked her understanding and communicated the love of Christ.

This is a work of God for introverts. How precious is that inner change, that almost goes unnoticed.

And I like way Lydia responded with a simple obedience of faith, no grand gestures. She was baptised in water and offered the apostles hospitality.      

Miracles are great but they are not the destination. They are merely sign posts along the way pointing to an even greater reality. The reality of God’s love for us in Christ.

So, this is my prayer today…

May Jesus be real for you in the ordinary things of life.

May Jesus be real for you whether you are vacuuming or making the dinner.

May Jesus be real for you whether you at the supermarket or at work.

May Jesus be real for you whether you are reading your Bible or watching TV.

May Jesus be real for you whether you are feeling happy or sad, angry or calm.

May Jesus be real for you whether the door is open or closed.

May Jesus be real for you whether the beginning is small or large.

May Jesus be real for you in all of life. Amen.   

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Can you think of a time in your life when God changed the direction of your life, when he closed a door and opened a window? What happened?
  3. Who does Paul take with him on his second missionary journey in Acts 16? Why does Paul take these companions? Who are your companions on the journey of faith and mission?
  4. What is the first thing Paul does when he arrives in Phillipi? Why does he do this?
  5. Why did Lydia respond to Paul’s message as she did?
  6. Do you know anyone like Lydia? Who are the people in your life who are most open to hearing about Jesus?
  7. What small (Spirit inspired) beginnings are you aware of?
Tawa Baptist

The Spirit & Saul

Scripture: Acts 9

Video Link: https://youtu.be/v9xfsj7_kas

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Stephen
  • Ananias
  • Barnabas
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Over the past two or three weeks we have watched Olympic athletes from all over the world competing at the highest level. These men and women are extraordinary in their ability, their commitment and their work ethic.

But, as capable as they are, most (if not all) of them did not get there alone. Each of them had people in the background of their lives supporting them. Coaches, parents, fundraisers, physios, friends and so on.

During the month of August, we are focusing on four messages from the book of Acts in support of Arotahi, the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society. The book of Acts tells how the Holy Spirit used men and women to share the message about Jesus.

Today our sermon focuses on the conversion of Saul, also known as the apostle Paul. Paul accomplished great things for God. He changed the world.

If Christian mission was an Olympic sport, then Paul would be one of the GOAT’s, one of the greatest of all time.

We do well to remember though, that Saul would not have become the apostle Paul without the help of some key individuals supporting him in the background. From Acts chapter 9, verse 1, we read…

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” 5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.” 7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind and did not eat or drink anything.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

I said before that Saul would not have become the apostle Paul without the help of some key individuals. The Holy Spirit used three people in particular in the process of Saul’s call and conversion: Stephen, Ananias and Barnabas. Let’s begin by considering how the Spirit used Stephen. 

Stephen:

If you have a blocked sewer pipe, it does no good to keep flushing the toilet. The paper and the poo will back up until it finds a way out. The way out might be a vent somewhere onto your back lawn or (if you are unlucky) it might be the actual toilet bowl itself. Either way you end up with a smelly mess.

If your sewer line blocks, you really have to call a plumber who will put a camera down to see what the problem is. Sometimes the blockage can be cleared with an auger or a high-pressure hose. But if the pipe is damaged, you may need to replace it.

The psychologist, Carl Jung, said: “Fanaticism is always a sign of repressed doubt”.

Or, to put this another way, if repressed doubt is like a blocked sewer line, then the fanatic refuses to admit there is a problem and continues to flush the toilet more and more, even as the paper and poo of his fanaticism and anger spew out where it is not wanted.   

A fanatic is a person filled with excessive zeal, often for an extreme religious or political cause. Fanatics tend to be one eyed. They struggle to see things from another perspective. Before Saul met the risen Jesus, he was a religious fanatic.  

As we heard last week, Saul was present when Stephen gave his speech to the Jewish leadership and he approved of the crowd stoning Stephen. In fact, the killing of Stephen became the catalyst for Saul to go from house to house, dragging Christian men and women off to prison.

Stephen’s message was basically this: Jesus is the Messiah of God and the religious leaders (whom Saul aligned himself with) killed Jesus. But God has vindicated Jesus by raising him from the dead.

Stephen was so convinced that God had raised Jesus from the dead that he was willing to die for it. Stephen brought the religious leaders’ hate to the surface, only to forgive it.

This caused Saul to doubt his own belief system. If Stephen was right, then the religious leaders and Saul were on the wrong side of God. If Stephen was right, then much of what Saul believed in was a lie.

Of course, Saul does not want to face the possibility he is wrong. And so, he represses his doubt. He pushes his doubt deeper down into his unconscious. Saul thought he could get rid of his nagging doubt by flushing the Christians away. But the blockage caused by repressed doubt won’t be shifted like that.  

The more Saul persecuted the church, the more the paper and poo of his fanaticism and hate overflowed where it was not wanted.  

Having done as much damage as he could in Jerusalem, Saul moves on to Damascus to round up more Christians there. Damascus is about 140 miles north of Jerusalem. It would have taken about a week to get there on foot.

Saul was probably travelling with temple guards.

As Saul drew near to Damascus, the risen Lord Jesus appeared to him and said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?” When Saul asks who is speaking to him, the Lord replies, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting”.

It is characteristic of Jesus to say much with few words. In just two short sentences Jesus removes all doubt and frees Saul from his fanaticism.

Saul now sees first hand, for himself, that God has raised Jesus from the dead and he understands clearly that Stephen was right. He (Saul) is on the wrong side of God’s purpose. By persecuting Christians Saul was in fact fighting against God, without being aware of it.

We must not miss the inference in Jesus’ words here. The risen and ascended Jesus is intimately connected, by his Spirit, to his church on earth. When Saul persecuted Christians, Jesus felt it. ‘What you do to least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you do to me’, is what the Lord says in Matthew’s gospel.     

The point I’m making here is that the Holy Spirit used Stephen to sow the irritating seed of gospel truth in Saul’s heart. Without someone like Stephen to sow the seed, Saul may never have become a Christian. Stephen’s message and death had a profound effect on Saul.

Now most people are not as fanatical as Saul was. But pretty much everyone holds some kind of false belief at some point in their life. And, whether you become a Christian or not, the Holy Spirit is likely to use a person (like Stephen) to challenge your false beliefs.

When that happens, you have a choice. You can either offer your doubts up to God and say, ‘Lord, show me the truth about Jesus and the truth about myself’.

Or you can double down and repress your doubt. But if you do that, your doubt will surface somewhere else in your life as fanaticism. Either way, the truth will come out in the end. You cannot avoid it.   

Who is your Stephen? Who sowed the irritating seed of gospel truth in your life? Whose Christian witness got under your skin? Who caused you to doubt your false beliefs? Who brought your fanaticism and hate to the surface, only to forgive it?

Jesus wants to remove the blockages to faith in him caused by the lies we believe. Be open to the truth. Accept Jesus by faith.

We are talking today about the people the Spirit of God used to bring Saul to faith in Jesus. We have heard how Stephen planted the irritating seed of gospel truth. Now let’s consider how the Holy Spirit used Ananias to heal Saul. From verse 10 of Acts 9, we continue the account of Saul’s conversion…

10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!” “Yes, Lord,” he answered. 11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.” 13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.” 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.” 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Helen Keller once wrote, ‘Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light’.

She knew this from experience. Helen Keller was both deaf and blind. She was also intelligent and courageous, a woman of faith. She wrote a dozen books and became an inspiration to millions. But Helen Keller did not accomplish these things on her own. There were people in the background of her life who supported her and helped her reach her potential.

In particular, Anne Sullivan. Anne became Helen Keller’s lifelong teacher and mentor. Anne used touch to teach Helen the alphabet and to make words by spelling them with her finger on Helen’s palm. Helen soon caught on.

Eventually Helen learned to read Braille and write with a specially designed typewriter. With Anne Sullivan’s tutoring, Helen Keller was admitted to College and graduated with distinction. And, when Anne Sullivan married John Macy in 1905, Helen Keller went to live with them and the support continued. [1]

Without Anne Sullivan, the world may not have been blessed with the insight and inspiration of Helen Keller. 

After his encounter with the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, Saul was struck blind. He could hear well enough; he just couldn’t see. Saul’s blindness was quite different from Helen Keller’s blindness. Helen was only physically blind, whereas Saul was both physically and spiritually blind. 

Ananias, a Christian believer, received a vision in which Jesus told him to go and lay hands on Saul to heal Saul of his blindness. Ananias wasn’t too sure at first, but Jesus insisted so Ananias found his courage and obeyed Jesus in faith.

Christian faith isn’t just thinking the right things about God in our head. Real faith always finds expression in obedience to Christ.

The healing wasn’t just for Saul’s benefit. It was also for the benefit of the other Christian believers. The Holy Spirit’s healing of Saul, through Ananias, demonstrated to the church that Jesus had forgiven Saul and accepted him, therefore they could too.

When Ananias entered the house where Saul was staying, he said, ‘Brother Saul…’ Brother. There is no recrimination. No judgement. No accusation. Simply an offer of grace. Jesus had accepted Saul and that made Saul family. 

Saul accepts God’s grace through Ananias and his sight is restored, both his physical sight and his spiritual sight. Then, as a sign of his conversion and commitment to follow Jesus, Saul was baptised with water.

We don’t really hear much else about Ananias after that. His time in the spotlight is brief but significant. For without Ananias’ faithful obedience to Jesus, Saul may not have become an apostle of Christ. The Holy Spirit used Ananias to help Saul at an important crossroads in his life.

Usually, when someone becomes a Christian, the Holy Spirit involves a number of different people in the process. But, at some point in that process, we each need to make a decision for Christ. At some point we reach a crossroads, when we must make a commitment and say, ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me. I surrender my life to you’.  

Are you at the crossroads? Are you ready to commit to Jesus?

Who is your Ananias? Who has the Spirit provided to minister God’s grace?

Who has Jesus sent to hold you through the waters of baptism?

Accept the Lord’s help. Be in Christ. Be right with God.

And for those who have already given their lives to Jesus, are you ready to be an Ananias for someone else?

The Holy Spirit used a number of different people in the process of Saul’s conversion. Stephen diagnosed Saul’s sickness, and Ananias ministered God’s cure. But there is one other person who played a vital role in supporting Saul and that is Barnabas.

Barnabas:

For many days after his baptism Saul stayed in Damascus and began preaching that Jesus is the Son of God. Eventually though he had to leave because there was a conspiracy to kill him. From verse 26 of Acts 9 we continue Saul’s story…

26 When Saul came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. 27 But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. Barnabas told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. 28 So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. 

Some trees, in nature, require other buddy trees of the same species planted close by to help promote pollination. For example, apple trees, pear trees and plum trees may need up to three other trees of the same variety around them in order to fruit well.

Christians are a bit like that too. To be fruitful we need other believers around us.

Saul had a problem. People were afraid of him. They wouldn’t let him get close. Saul was like a lone apple tree. He couldn’t be as fruitful or effective in his witness for Jesus by himself. Saul needed an advocate, someone trustworthy who could vouch for him.

Barnabas was just that person. Barnabas believed in Saul and trusted the work of the Holy Spirit in Saul’s life.

Barnabas reassured the believers in Jerusalem that Saul was the real deal and could be trusted. This enabled Saul to stay connected to the church and continue the work Jesus had called him to.

There is much more we could say about Barnabas and Saul’s partnership in the gospel, but we don’t have time today. Suffice to say, that without Barnabas, Saul’s career as an apostle may have been far less fruitful. 

Who is your Barnabas? Who believes in you when no one else does? Who sees you and trusts the work of the Spirit in your life. Who comes alongside you and keeps you connected with God’s people? Who makes you more fruitful for Christ? Take care of that relationship. Your life may depend on it.

Consider also who you can be a Barnabas for.

Conclusion:

Let us pray…

Father God, thank you for including us in your plan of salvation.

Holy Spirit, give us eyes to see your hand at work in the world around us.

Lord Jesus, help us to live in a way that glorifies you. Amen. 

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Who do you identify with most in Acts 9? Saul, Stephen, Ananias or Barnabas? Why? 
  3. How does doubt affect human behaviour? How did Saul deal with his doubts? How do you deal with your doubts?
  4. Discuss / reflect on Jesus’ words to Saul on the road to Damascus. What does this tell us about Jesus and his relationship with the church?  
  5. How did Stephen help Saul? Who is your Stephen? Who sowed the seed of gospel truth in your life? Whose Christian witness gets under your skin? Who caused you to doubt your false beliefs?
  6. How did Ananias help Saul? If you haven’t yet committed your life to Jesus, what are the next steps for you? If you are committed to Jesus, are you ready to be an Ananias for someone else?
  7. How did Barnabas help Saul? Who is your Barnabas? Who believes in you when no one else does? Who makes you more fruitful for Christ? What can you do to take care of that relationship? Who can you be a Barnabas for?

[1] From womenshistory.org

Tawa Baptist

The Spirit & Stephen

Scripture: Acts 6-7

Video Link: https://youtu.be/-NhR2-BJGTY

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Grace and power
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning, everyone.

A light bulb works when it is connected to electricity. Without electricity, all you have is a glass globe and darkness.

A river works when water flows through a channel along the ground. Without water, there is no river, just a scar on the landscape.

Your mouth and your tongue speak when your mind provides a thought. Without a mind, the mouth and the tongue having nothing to say.

During the month of August, we are focusing on four messages from the book of Acts in support of Arotahi, the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society. Then, at the end of August, we will take up a special Renew Together offering for our Baptist missionaries.

The book of Acts tells how the Holy Spirit used ordinary men and women to share the message about Jesus. The Spirit is essential to the spread of the gospel.

The Spirit is to mission what electricity is to a light bulb.

The Spirit is to mission what water is to a river.

The Spirit is to mission what the mind is to speech

The church simply cannot function without the Spirit of Jesus.    

Last week we heard how the Holy Spirit worked through Peter and the other apostles, in Acts 2. This week we hear how the Holy Spirit worked through Stephen. From Acts chapter 6, verse 8, we pick up the story of the Spirit and Stephen…

8 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. 9 Opposition arose, however, from members of the Synagogue of the Freedmen… who began to argue with Stephen. 10 But they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him as he spoke. 11 Then they secretly persuaded some men to say, “We have heard Stephen speak blasphemous words against Moses and against God.” 12 So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. They seized Stephen and brought him before the Sanhedrin. 13 They produced false witnesses, who testified, “This fellow never stops speaking against this holy place and against the law. 14 For we have heard him say that this Jesus of Nazareth will destroy this place and change the customs Moses handed down to us.” 15 All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Grace and Power:

Some things are powerful but not graceful. Storms are like that. Lots of power, but little or no grace. Storms can do a lot of damage. Guns are also powerful, but once the trigger has been pulled, there’s no grace. The bullet is unforgiving.

Other things are graceful, but not powerful. Take butterflies for example. Butterflies are graceful, they are beautiful to watch, but they lack power. You have nothing to fear from a butterfly.

Flowers are also graceful, but not powerful, at least not in the same way that storms and guns are powerful. In fact, flowers are quite fragile. Sometimes flowers can have a powerful affect though, if arranged in a certain way or given with great love.  

Then there are those things which are both powerful and graceful.

Medicine is powerful and graceful on a chemical level. It has the power to heal you, in a relatively gentle way.  

Dancers possess both power and grace. They have exceptional strength for their body weight. At the same time, their movement is beautiful to look at. A ballerina glides with a grace and power that defies gravity and touches the heart.

And then there is the power and grace of the moon. The moon is beautiful to look at. Reflected light gracing the night sky, but with the power to move whole oceans.

The Holy Spirit combines divine grace with divine power. The Holy Spirit possesses a power unmatched in the universe and a grace far beyond human comprehension. The Holy Spirit gives life to all creation.

In verse 8 we read that Stephen was a man full of God’s grace and power.

This is another way of saying that Stephen was full of the Holy Spirit.

If Stephen was the lightbulb, then the Holy Spirit provided the electricity.

If Stephen was the channel, the Holy Spirit was like water flowing through him.

If Stephen was the mouthpiece, then the Holy Spirit was the mind providing the thought for Stephen to speak.  

The grace and power of the Spirit of God enabled Stephen to perform great wonders and signs among the people. We are not told exactly what these signs and wonders were, but it may have included miraculous healings. To heal someone is an action that is both gracious and powerful.

Verse 9 says opposition arose from one of the Jewish synagogues. A synagogue was a bit like a local church congregation, except for people of the Jewish faith. These Jews began to argue with Stephen, but they could not stand up against the wisdom the Spirit gave him.

Here we see the God given power and grace of reason and logic. The Holy Spirit empowered Stephen to overcome his opponents with words of reason, as opposed to acts of violence.

Christian faith has intellectual integrity. Becoming a Christian does not mean throwing away critical thinking. Although we cannot grasp all the mysteries of Christian faith, we still seek to understand what we can. Jesus taught us to love God with our mind as well as our heart and everything else we possess.  

Stephen’s Spirit inspired rationale and wisdom should have been enough to convince the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah, but they refused to believe. Worse than that, they framed Stephen. They falsely accused Stephen of blasphemy. They stirred up the anger of the people and brought Stephen before the Sanhedrin.

The Sanhedrin was the name for the ruling council of Jewish leaders. Jesus stood before the Sanhedrin, falsely accused of blasphemy, just a few years before Stephen. Stephen was quite literally following in the footsteps of Christ.

The accusers said Stephen spoke against the holy place (that is, the Jerusalem temple) saying Jesus will destroy the temple and change the customs Moses handed down.

Jesus had predicted (with tears) that the temple would be destroyed. This happened in AD 70, nearly 40 years after Jesus. But it wasn’t Jesus who destroyed Jerusalem. The Romans destroyed the holy city because the Jews rebelled against Rome. Jesus tried to warn the people, telling them not to revolt against Rome, but the people would not listen.

As for the charge that Jesus had come to change the customs Moses handed down, this wasn’t right either. In fact, Jesus came to fulfil the law of Moses.

Stephen could see that Jesus’ once for all sacrifice on the cross made the ceremonial and ritual aspects of the Jewish Law unnecessary.

The moral aspects of the Law, which can be summarised as loving God and loving your neighbour, still stand. But we don’t need to keep sacrificing animals for the atonement of sin because Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross is sufficient. Our forgiveness is through faith in what Jesus has done for us.

We can see why the Jewish religious authorities felt so threatened. If they accepted what Stephen was saying, their whole organisation would need to be restructured. They would lose a lot of power and control and status.

What’s more, they would have to humble themselves and admit they were wrong about Jesus. No wonder they wanted to silence Stephen.

Verse 15 says, ‘All who were sitting in the Sanhedrin looked intently at Stephen, and they saw that his face was like the face of an angel.’

Angels have knowledge from heaven. Stephen had knowledge from heaven and the Sanhedrin could plainly see that, it was written all over his face. Yet they would not concede that Stephen was right about Jesus.

As far as the Sanhedrin were concerned, this was a legal proceeding (Stephen was on trial), so the high priest gave Stephen an opportunity to respond to the charges brought against him. Stephen addresses his accusers with grace and respect, calling them brothers and fathers.

Stephen starts by finding common ground with his enemies. He talks about their shared history (their whakapapa or ancestry). After highlighting God’s call of Abraham, Stephen goes on to feature Joseph and Moses.

The thing Joseph and Moses have in common, is they were both used by God to save the people, and they were both rejected by the people they came to save. Stephen is drawing a connection here with Jesus. Like Joseph and Moses, Jesus was rejected by the people he came to save.

In verses 37-39 of Acts 7, Stephen says…

37 “This is the Moses who told the Israelites, ‘God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your own people.’ 38 He was in the assembly in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors; and he received living words to pass on to us. 39 “But our ancestors refused to obey him. Instead, they rejected him and, in their hearts, turned back to Egypt.

Stephen is saying that Jesus is the prophet Moses talked about, and they (the Jewish leadership) have rejected Jesus, just like their ancestors rejected Moses.

Stephen goes on to talk about the idolatry of the Israelites in the wilderness and how, later when they settled in Canaan, the first Jewish temple came to be built. But the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. Heaven is God’s throne, and the earth is his footstool.

It’s like the Jewish religious leaders have (ironically) made an idol out of the temple. They are worshipping something made by human hands. They have made the temple and sacrificial system more important than God Almighty.

From verse 51, Stephen makes his point clear, saying…

51 “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! 52 Was there ever a prophet your ancestors did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One [Jesus]. And now you have betrayed and murdered him— 53 you who have received the law that was given through angels but have not obeyed it.”

This is powerful stuff from Stephen. Stephen is borrowing words from Moses. In Deuteronomy 10, Moses had said to the Israelites in the wilderness, 16 Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and do not be stiff-necked any longer.

Circumcision was the sign of God’s covenant with Abraham. In ancient Israel you were not considered part of the people of God if you were not circumcised. You don’t need to be circumcised to become a Christian.

Baptism and communion are the signs of the new covenant for Christians. 

Whether it is circumcision or baptism though, outward rituals mean nothing without a corresponding inward loyalty of the heart and mind.   

Circumcision of the heart refers to keeping the covenant with God in the core of your being. Stephen was saying that many of the Israelites of his time were like the Israelites of Moses’ time, not truly committed to God and his covenant.

The Sanhedrin thought they were putting Stephen on trial, but Stephen (by the grace and power God’s Spirit) demonstrates that it is the religious leaders themselves who are on trial before God. They are the guilty ones, not him.

54 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.

In Acts 2, when Peter confronted the crowd with the fact they had crucified the Messiah of God, the people were cut to the heart and repented. But Stephen is facing a different audience. These are not the same God-fearing Jews of Acts 2.

Stephen’s audience are more like corrupt politicians. These are men who only know the power of brute force and coercion by fear. Theirs is a power without grace. The power Stephen knows is different from political power. Stephen’s power is the power of the Spirit, power woven together with grace.

From verse 55 we read how, Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

Stephen, the man with a face like an angel, who possesses knowledge from heaven, is witnessing to the fact that God has vindicated Jesus by raising him from the dead and giving him the place of highest honour in heaven.  

From verse 57, we continue…

57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him.  Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

At this point all justice has broken down. This is not a lawful proceeding. This is a lynching. The crowd is out of control. They are about to murder Stephen.  

Stephen has clearly hit a raw nerve. On some level the crowd know that Stephen is right, but they don’t want to admit they are wrong, so they double down.

59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

Stephen responds just like Jesus, with the power and grace of forgiveness.

Verse 60 says that Stephen fell asleep. Actually he died, but for those who die believing in Jesus, death is like a restful sleep. Death is not something to fear if we are forgiven in Christ and forgiving of others. For just as Jesus was raised from the dead to eternal life, so too those who hope in Jesus will be raised.

In verse 1 of Acts chapter 8, we read how, on that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

While persecution is not pleasant, we can see God’s power and grace at work in it. It’s not that God wanted the followers of Jesus to be harmed. But, like Joseph who was sold into slavery by his brothers, God used it for good.

As Christian believers fled for their lives, they took the message about Jesus with them, and so the Christian faith spread like seeds on the wind. 

Conclusion:

Stephen was the first Christian martyr. When we hear the word martyr, we think of someone who was killed for their beliefs. And while that is true, the word martyr originally meant witness. A martyr is a witness. Stephen bore witness to the power and grace of Jesus and died as a consequence. 

As Christians we don’t want to be persecuted for our faith. We pray that God delivers us from trial and persecution. But if we do suffer because of our allegiance to Christ, at least we know our witness is being taken seriously.

Jesus said, 11 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Sharing our faith with others is a brave thing to do. It makes us vulnerable to rejection and abuse. But that is the pattern Jesus set. No one was more vulnerable than Christ on the cross.

Sometimes our witness for Jesus is well received, like when Peter spoke to the crowds at Pentecost and 3000 responded in faith to his message.

Other times though, our witness for Jesus is misunderstood, or it is understood all too well, and we are rejected like Stephen.

Peter’s message (in Acts 2) was in the goldilocks zone, but tradition says Peter was eventually crucified (upside down) for his testimony about Jesus.

We are not likely to be killed for our witness, like Stephen or Peter. But the reality remains, sometimes we make ourselves a target when we speak the truth about Jesus and align ourselves with him.

The promise of Scripture is that those who share in Christ’s suffering will also share in his glory. May the Spirit of God, fill us with the power and grace to stand for Jesus. Amen.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. How did the Spirit’s grace and power find expression through Stephen? Can you think of examples of the Spirit’s grace and power at work today?  
  3. How does reason support Christian faith? What role does reason and logic play in your faith?
  4. In what ways does Stephen’s experience correspond with Jesus’ experience?
  5. What are some of the key points of Stephen’s message to the Sanhedrin?
  6. Why did the crowd murder Stephen?
  7. How did God use Stephen’s death and the subsequent persecution of the church for good?