Tawa Baptist

The Faithful Servant

Scripture: Luke 17:1-10

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

Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 22 Mar 2026 – The Faithful Servant by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Watch yourselves
  • Restore others
  • Obey Christ
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

At first glance the words lima, coffee, dwarf and black seem unrelated, but there is a connection. What is the connection? [Wait]

That’s right, they are all different types of beans.

Today we continue our series on the parables of Jesus. Last week he heard about the parable of the shrewd manager. This week’s parable features the faithful servant in Luke 17, verses 7-10. The faithful servant is a very different character to the shrewd manager.

In the six verses leading up to the parable of the faithful servant, Jesus gives some instructions to his disciples. At first glance these words of wisdom seem unrelated from each other and from the parable, sort of like a random selection of proverbs.

And you could preach on each word of instruction separately without doing violence to the text. But, as you dwell on these words of Jesus, it becomes apparent they are not random or separate. Verses 1-10 of Luke 17 are connected. They describe what faithfulness to Jesus looks like.

From Luke 17, verse 1 we read…

Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. 2 It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3 So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sistersins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” 5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. 7 “Suppose one of you has a servant ploughing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? 9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

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

These verses give us a picture of what faithfulness to Jesus looks like.

In short, faithful discipleship means watching yourselves, restoring others and obeying Christ. Let us begin with watching yourselves.

Watch yourselves:

Part of my training for church ministry, involved doing CPE. CPE stands for Clinical Pastoral Education. CPE uses an action / reflection model of learning. Rather than sitting and listening to a lecture or writing essays, you reflect on your own real-life experiences of providing pastoral care for people.

For me, this meant visiting people in hospital, then later writing up a verbatim of the conversation and discussing it in a small group with others doing CPE. The purpose was to reflect on our practice with a view to providing better spiritual care.  

Basically, they were teaching us to watch ourselves. That is, to watch how we listened and what we said, so we did not cause anyone to stumble, so we did no harm and maybe even did some good.

Most of the time, when people are facing their own mortality, they don’t want to be tripped up by cheap advice or clever theological arguments. They just want to be understood. When life is uncertain, you need to know you are not alone. Knowing you are not alone nurtures faith and hope.

In verse 2 of Luke 17, Jesus warns against tripping others up spiritually or morally. The consequence for those who do this is dire. The Lord says: It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble.

The message here is, do no harm.

These little ones probably includes young children but could also refer to those younger in the faith or in a more vulnerable position. That said, we don’t want to cause anyone to stumble, regardless of their station in life.

Causing others to stumble may indicate a certain malicious intention, like laying a trap on purpose. Some people are predators. They go out of their way to do harm. Hopefully no one here sells crack to school children or tries to catfish minors on the internet. If you do, you’ve been warned.

But we can also cause others to stumble through carelessness or neglect.

If someone cuts their foot on a piece of broken glass, the harm caused is the same whether the glass was left there on purpose or by accident.  

How careful are we with the example we set? Is the way we live our lives providing an even path for others to follow? Or are we leaving a trail of broken glass and trip hazards?   

Jesus was warning his disciples not to be like the Pharisees. The Pharisees did not set the right example. The Pharisees were not faithful. Their hypocrisy was a stumbling block to those who wanted to draw closer to God.

The phrase, better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck, is chilling. It’s one of the many disturbing things Jesus said. The human imagination runs wild with anxiety wondering what could be worse than death by drowning in the depths of the sea.

However, the alternative would be far worse. (The alternative being that there is no consequence for people who cause harm.) If you have suffered abuse at the hands of others, you don’t want them to go on harming you or anyone else. Jesus was always reminding people of God’s justice and mercy. It is a good thing that God cares enough to permanently stop those who are doing harm.     

The punchline comes in verse 3 where Jesus says: So watch yourselves.

Being faithful includes not causing others to stumble morally or spiritually.

And, if we are to avoid causing others to stumble, then we need to watch ourselves.

Make sure your own backyard is in order. Don’t trip others up by your words or example. Be careful how you listen and what you say. Examine your motives. Reflect on your actions. Correct yourself when you stray off course. Make it right when you get it wrong. That’s what it means to watch yourself.

A word of caution on watching yourself. Don’t overdo this. Don’t spend too long in self-reflection. There’s a fine line between healthy self-awareness and unhealthy self-obsession.

Beware of the narcissism or vanity that imagines your influence is greater than it really is. By God’s grace, most people are not thinking about you as much as you are thinking about yourself, and this limits the extent to which you can cause others to stumble.  

Okay, so if we are to be faithful servants of Jesus, then watching ourselves is the first thing we need to do. The next thing is restoring others.

Restoring others:

In the sixth form (year 12) at school, I studied chemistry. My lab partner was a bit of an all-star. Intelligent, good at sports, a lifeguard at the beach, socially popular and a genuinely nice guy. But, like all of us, he had a shadow side.

He drank too much.

After coming back from holidays one time he announced he was taking a break from alcohol. Someone who cared about him noticed his drinking and had a quiet word with him. They knew his potential and didn’t want him going down a path that would ruin his life.

This person (it might have been an older brother) didn’t scold him or yell at him or berate him. They challenged him to go dry for three months, just to see if he could do it. And he did. Giving up alcohol for a while provided the circuit breaker he needed. It restored him and put him on a better path once more.

In verse 3 of Luke 17 Jesus goes on to say: “If your brother or sistersins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them.”

This is essentially about restoring others. It fits hand in glove with what Jesus has just been saying about not causing others to stumble. If someone does stumble, then our first instinct is to look for a way to restore them. Because that’s what Jesus did, he came to seek and save the lost.  

Jesus notes three steps in the restoration process: rebuke, repent and forgive.

Rebuking sounds quite harsh, like you are giving someone a loud and angry telling off. But rebuking doesn’t need to be harsh. The person who challenged my sixth form lab partner to stop drinking for three months was rebuking him for his behaviour in a wise and gentle way. This sort of rebuke led to my friend’s repentance and restoration.    

When the prophet Nathan rebuked king David for committing adultery with Bathsheba, he didn’t go in with both barrels blazing. He wisely told David a parable which cut David to the core, causing him to repent and be forgiven.

The point is, when it comes to giving a rebuke, a careful surgical approach is usually more effective than a butcher’s mallet.

The purpose of rebuking is to restore. Often people are not aware of how their actions affect others. My sixth form lab partner didn’t realise the negative impact his drinking was having on those around him. He was being unfair to others without realising it.

If someone is not aware there is a problem, then they don’t have the opportunity to change. Rebuking is about making someone aware of how their behaviour is affecting others. It’s about being honest and fair with them. The purpose of rebuking is not to punish or humiliate. The purpose is to restore.

Now I don’t think Jesus means us to be rebuking each other over every little offence. Don’t sweat the small stuff. Don’t be petty. Exercise some grace.

If you need to rebuke someone it should be for their wellbeing and the wellbeing of the community.     

Jesus talks about rebuking others in the same breath as telling us to watch ourselves. Before we start reading the riot act, we need to pause and take the plank out of our own eye first. We need to ask ourselves, is the thing that’s aggravating me about this other person something I’m guilty of myself?   

Rebuking is just the first step in the restoration process. Repentance and forgiveness complete the process. Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change in behaviour. And forgiveness simply means letting go of the hurt, not holding a grudge against the person who offended you.

Jesus’ instruction to forgive someone seven times in a day, if they repent, is to be interpreted generously. It’s not that seven times is the upper limit and an eighth offence does not need to be forgiven. As Martin Luther King said, ‘Forgiveness is an attitude, not an occasional act.’       

The restoration process (of rebuking, repenting and forgiving) can be time consuming and emotionally demanding, but it is far less taxing than the alternative, which is resentment.

Obey Christ:

At this point the disciples ask Jesus to increase their faith. Perhaps the disciples are thinking, what Jesus is asking us to do is really hard. We need extra faith if we are going to meet the demands of watching ourselves and restoring others.

Jesus replies with a short parable saying: “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.”

Mulberry trees, of the variety Jesus is talking about here, are a deeply rooted tree. Indeed, their roots have been known to remain in the ground for hundreds of years. Getting a mulberry tree (or any tree for that matter) to obey your verbal commands, and uproot itself, is an impossible thing to do.

Our selfish, sinful nature is much like the roots of a mulberry tree; stubborn and intractable. Trying to make ourselves (or anyone else) obey the teachings of Jesus is as difficult as telling a mulberry tree to plant itself in the sea.

We cannot make ourselves obey Jesus simply by telling ourselves to do it.

Even when we want to do the right thing, we still find ourselves doing the wrong thing. Our self-centredness, as human beings, is too deeply embedded.

However, God has the power to do the impossible, and faith is the key to unlocking God’s power. You don’t need much faith to access God’s power.

Faith as small as a mustard seed will do.  

It doesn’t take much to access the national power grid. All you need to do is flick a switch. Likewise, it doesn’t take much to access the power to do God’s will. All you need is a little faith. Faith is like flicking a light switch.

Who provides the power to uproot the mulberry tree of our sinful habits?

We don’t. God does. But we still need to flick the switch by asking in faith.

Who provides the power to uproot systemic corruption and injustice?

We don’t. God does. But we still need to flick the switch by asking in faith.

Please understand, Jesus is not saying faith gives us license to tap God for whatever we want. It doesn’t. Believing God for a Ferrari won’t get you a Ferrari, no matter how much faith you have. If you flick the switch of faith and the light doesn’t come on, it is because God (in his wisdom) has chosen to withhold his power in that situation.

Jesus is not talking here about the power to get what we want. He is talking about the power to do God’s will; to repent and forgive, for example.

The power to obey Jesus comes from the Holy Spirit. Or to say it another way, we are able to remain faithful to Christ by trusting in God’s power and grace, not our own resources. 

In keeping with the theme of faithfulness, Jesus goes on to tell the parable of the obedient servant. From verse 7 we read…

7 “Suppose one of you has a servant ploughing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’?

This parable is largely lost in translation for us. Here, in New Zealand, we don’t have servants. We are a ‘do it yourself’ society. The idea of keeping servants goes against the grain.

Also, we place a high value on individual freedom. We tend to resist authority. Indeed, we are often unfairly critical of those in authority.     

But in first Century Israel, having a servant was a normal part of life. In fact, you didn’t need to be rich to have a servant. The authority of the master over the servant was accepted and honoured in that society.

The servant was given security and dignity by working for their master.

If their master was someone of standing in the community, this enhanced the servant’s sense of self-worth. Faithful service to one’s master and to the betterment of the wider community was more important to people in the first century than individual freedom.

Today’s parable is not only at odds with the cultural values of contemporary New Zealand, it also seems at odds with Jesus’ parable in Luke 12.

If you were here three weeks ago, you would have heard the parable of the master who, upon returning from a wedding banquet, girded up his loins to wait on his servants. Something unthinkable in that culture. The master in that parable reminds us of Jesus who did not come to be served, but to serve. 

In Luke 17 it’s a different scenario. The servant comes home after working in the field and the master expects his servant to make his dinner right away.

So what’s going on in Luke 17? Why is the master not waiting on his servant? Well, the parable in Luke 17 offers a counterbalance to the parable in Luke 12.

While it is true that Jesus came to serve us by dying on the cross and uprooting our sin, we must not forget our place. Jesus is still our master and we are still his servants. We are not equal with Jesus. We are expected to obey him.

We must not make the fatal mistake of presuming upon God’s grace. We must guard against any sense of entitlement.

Jesus’ parable, in Luke 17, is an argument from the lesser to the greater.

If servants are expected to obey ordinary human masters, how much more are we expected to obey Christ, the Son of God.

Like the servant in the parable, we are expected to obey Christ in the field: which might include, for example, the community, your workplace or school.  

And we are expected to obey Christ in the home: which might include your own family and the church.

This begs the question: are we being obedient to Jesus in every area of our life? If not, what needs to change?

Jesus concludes his parable in verses 9 and 10, saying: 9 Will he [the master] thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”

These verses are about having the right attitude in obeying Christ.

The term, ‘unworthy servants’ does not mean useless or without value.

It means, ‘servants to whom no favour is due’. Jesus is asking a rhetorical question here: Is the master indebted to his servant when orders are carried out? No, of course not. The master does not owe the servant anything.  

Is God indebted to us when we carry out his commands? No, of course not. God does not owe us anything. Obedience is what we owe God. Our obedience does not entitle us to special treatment. We cannot put God in our debt.

Once again, Jesus is warning his disciples against Pharisaic self-righteousness. The Pharisees got the cart before the horse. They thought, we have been extra scrupulous in obeying God’s law, therefore we are entitled to a reward.

But that is not how God operates. With God, grace comes first. Faithfulness is the right response to the grace God has already shown us. We are in debt to God. We can never repay that debt, much less put God in our debt. The most we can do is trust and obey.       

Conclusion:

Let us pray. Lord Jesus, your grace is manifold. We are not aware of half of what you do for us. Thank you. Help us, by the power of your Spirit, to be faithful; to watch ourselves, to restore others and to obey 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. What do Jesus’ instructions in Luke 17:1-10 share in common?
  3. What did Jesus mean when he said, ‘watch yourself’? How might we do this? Why is it important to watch ourselves?
  4. How careful are we with the example we set? Is the way we live our lives providing a straight path for others to follow? If not, what needs to change?
  5. Discuss / reflect on the three aspects of the restoration process. What does it mean to rebuke, to repent and to forgive? Why do we seek to restore brothers and sisters in the faith?  
  6. Why does Jesus tell the parable of the mustard seed and mulberry tree in Luke 17, verse 6? What is the meaning of this parable? Where / how do we find the resources to remain faithful to Christ?
  7. Discuss / reflect on Jesus’ parable in Luke 17:7-10. Who did Jesus tell this parable for? Why did Jesus tell this parable? How is this parable at odds with the values of our society?
  8. Are you being obedient to Jesus in every area of your life? If not, what needs to change? 

Bibliography:

  • William Barclay, ‘The Gospel of Matthew’, 1967.
  • R.V.G. Tasker, ‘Tyndale Commentaries: St Matthew’, 1963.
  • Kenneth Bailey, ‘Through Peasant Eyes’, 1983.
  • Michael Green, ‘BST: The Message of Matthew’, 2000.
  • R.T. France, ‘New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Matthew’, 2007.
  • Craig S. Keener, ‘The Gospel of Matthew’, 2009.
Tawa Baptist

The Master and Servants

Scripture: Luke 12:35-38

Video Link: https://youtu.be/buo39MSYm6M

Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 1 Mar 2026 – The Master and Servants by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The servants prepare
  • The master serves
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Complete this phrase: Ready… Set… What comes next? [Wait]  Yes, that’s right Go. Ready, set, go. Or at least that’s what we would normally expect. 

Today we continue our series on the parables of Jesus. Last week we heard about the gracious employer, a parable of how God’s kingdom operates by grace. This week our focus is the parable of the master and servants, in Luke 12. This parable is short, but it takes us by surprise. We are expecting “ready, set, go”. But our expectations are reversed. From Luke 12, verse 35 we read…

35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet, so that when he comes and knocks they can immediately open the door for him. 37 Blessed are those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 38 Blessed are those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak.

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

What we expect with this parable is: ready, set, go to work. But what we get is: ready, set, recline and receive.

There are two main characters in today’s reading: the servants and the master. The servants are those who follow Jesus, his disciples throughout history. That includes us if we call Jesus, ‘Lord’. The master is Jesus himself.

Let’s start with the servants. We, the servants, need to be prepared for when Jesus, our master, comes.

The servants prepare:

Apparently, Wellington has between 50 to 80 earthquakes each day. Thankfully, only 100 to 150 are strong enough to be felt each year.    

The last significant earthquake in Wellington, of 6 or more on the ricker scale, was back in October 2023.

Wellington has dodged a few earthquake bullets in recent times. No one thought Christchurch would be hit as badly as it was. That’s the thing about earthquakes; we can’t predict when they will happen. We know they will happen, that is certain. We just can’t say when, so we need to be ready all the time.

Being ready all the time does not mean living in a constant state of anxiety, always on edge. That would not be helpful. Being prepared means having stores of canned food and water. Keeping a grab bag and first aid kit handy. We don’t know when a really damaging earthquake might hit, but we prepare by having emergency supplies ready to go.

In the parable we just read, from Luke 12, Jesus tells his disciples to…

35 “Be dressed ready for service and keep your lamps burning, 36 like servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding banquet…

Jesus sometimes used the image of a wedding banquet to paint a picture of our future hope, when God’s kingdom is realised in its fullness. Centuries before Christ, the prophet Isaiah also used the image of a banquet to illustrate our future hope. From Isaiah 25, verse 6, we read…

6 On this mountain the Lord Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines.
7 On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; 8 he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.

This prophecy came to be known as the Messianic banquet, for it pictures the salvation created by the Messiah. Christians believe Jesus fulfils this prophecy. After his death and resurrection, Jesus (the Messiah) ascended to heaven.

One day he will return in glory and when he returns the picture of Isaiah 25 will be realised. That’s our future hope.

Like an earthquake, we don’t know when Jesus will return but his second coming is certain, and so we (his disciples) need to be prepared. Unlike an earthquake though, which causes death and destruction, the Lord will swallow up death forever and wipe away the tears from all faces.

Although most Bible commentators agree Jesus’ parable in Luke 12:35-38 is referring to the Lord’s second coming, we need not limit the Lord’s activity to some unknown future date. The risen Jesus is active by his Spirit now. Jesus may come to us personally at any time before the conclusion of human history. We, the servants of Jesus, need to be ready to obey Jesus at every moment.     

So how do we prepare for Jesus’ return? Well, being ready for Jesus does not mean having supplies of water and baked beans handy. We make ourselves ready by being faithful. Being faithful means living our lives now (today) in a way that anticipates Jesus’ return in the future.

Imagine someone lets you stay in their house rent free while they are away. It’s a really nice house with a pool and a garden and plenty of rooms. You are thankful for the accommodation because you don’t have a place of your own. They are doing you a favour.

You don’t know how long the owner will be gone for. Maybe a few days, maybe a few years. In the meantime, you take care of the house. You don’t throw wild parties or trash the place. You mow the lawns regularly. You feed the pets, take the rubbish out and respect the neighbours.

Looking after the place is how you look after your relationship with the owner. That’s what it means to be faithful. In verse 35 Jesus uses two images to help us see what it looks like to be prepared for the master’s return.

First, he says, be dressed and ready for service. This is a bit of a paraphrase. The original text literally says, ‘gird up your loins’. The phrase, ‘gird up your loins’ comes from the Old Testament. Men and women at that time and in that culture usually wore long robes. It was cooler in a hot climate.

However, when you needed to get somewhere in a hurry or do any sort of physical labour, the robe got in the way. ‘To gird up your loins’ meant tying a belt around your waist and tucking the robe up into the belt, allowing you to move more freely and get the job done. Basically, to gird up your loins is to be work ready. It’s like saying, ‘roll up your sleeves’. 

Most famously, the Lord God told the people of Israel to gird up their loins on the night of the first Passover. The people needed to be ready to leave Egypt quickly. When Jesus comes knocking on the door of your life, it is like an exodus from the slavery of sin and death. You need to be ready to move.

Okay, so that’s what gird up your lions meant 2000 years ago. What does it mean for us today? Well, if you work on a building site, then girding up your loins means having your work boots on and wearing your hi-viz gear.

Or if you are a teacher, then the equivalent of girding up your loins is having your lesson plan ready for when the bell rings and the students turn up.

Or if you are a cricketer waiting to bat, then girding up your loins means having your pads and box on.

Or if you are a surgeon, then girding up your loins is like scrubbing your hands and putting on gloves and a surgical gown.

But what if you are Christian? What does it mean to ‘gird up your loins’ then?

Robyn and I have lived in the same house for over 20 years. During that time, we have accumulated a lot of stuff. After Christmas last year, we had a clear out. We decluttered the garage and our cupboards. Quite a bit of stuff went to the tip or was given away. It didn’t hurt as much as I thought it would. In fact, it felt quite good and now our house is that much easier to keep tidy.

Girding up your loins is not about adding anything. Girding up your loins is about decluttering your life. To gird up your lions is to free yourself from those things which hinder your obedience to Christ.

The things that hinder our obedience to Christ may include unhelpful excesses, like spending too much time on the internet or drinking too much or taking on too much debt or whatever.

But the things that hinder our obedience to Christ can also include good things. Things that may benefit others but don’t really fulfil God’s call on our life.

Jesus called his disciples to bear witness to his death and resurrection and then to proclaim the gospel. That’s what Jesus wanted them to do.

But what if Peter, James and John went back to fishing fulltime, after Jesus ascended to heaven? What if they decided not to be apostles? I mean fishing is a good occupation. It feeds people, right?

Yes, fishing can be a good thing, but to spend your life fishing when Jesus wants you to preach the gospel, is to disobey the Lord. For Peter, James and John, girding up their loins meant leaving the family fishing business behind so they could make sharing the gospel their fulltime gig.  

What is getting in the way of you obeying Jesus? What is it (good or bad) that makes you too busy to pay attention to Christ? Girding up your loins is about decluttering your life, freeing yourself to be more responsive to Jesus.   

As well as being dressed and ready for service, Jesus also says (in verse 35) to keep your lamps burning. They didn’t have electricity in the first century. Lamps, at that time, were fuelled by oil. To keep your lamp burning meant keeping the oil topped up and the wick trimmed.  

Lamps of course provide light. Without a lamp the servants would not be able to see. They would be walking around in the dark, blind. To keep your lamp burning is to ensure you can see clearly, to keep your perspective. But lamps also enable you to be seen by others. Lamps help to identify you.  

When I was younger and fitter and lived in Hamilton, where the roads are wider, I used to ride a bike everywhere. When riding at night I always had my lights on, back and front. My bike lights helped me see where I was going but more importantly, they helped me to be seen by other traffic. My lights identified me as a cyclist so cars could avoid hitting me. I always kept a spare set of batteries handy, for my bike lights.         

As I understand it, the lamp in Jesus’ parable symbolises our faith as servants of Jesus. It is the light of our faith that enables us to see in the darkness of this world, so we can do the work Jesus has for us to do. More than this, it is the light of our faith that identifies us as followers of Jesus.    

To ‘keep your lamp burning’ is to keep the light of your faith going. We do this by maintaining regular rhythms of prayer, Bible reading, rest, gathered worship and fellowship with other believers. As we keep these sacred rhythms, we make room for the oil of God’s Spirit to fill us.   

We must not miss the fact that Jesus compares his followers to servants.

The Greek word, doulos, can mean servant or slave. The servants in view here are men and women of low status.

Humility is required to be a follower of Jesus. The work of a Christian disciple is not glamorous. It is often menial and tiring. Our time is not our own. Nevertheless, there is a certain dignity in being a servant (or slave) of Jesus, for we are serving the King of heaven and earth. We are serving God’s good purpose. We belong to Jesus.

The master serves:

Okay, so we have heard how the servants prepare. What about the master?

In verse 36 we read that, when the master returns, he comes and knocks on the door.  What a curious thing. Why does the master knock on the door of his own house? I mean, when I come home, I don’t knock on the front door of my own house. No. I just let myself in.

But as I thought about this, I remembered that when the kids still lived at home, I would knock on their bedroom doors before entering. It’s respectful, it’s good manners. You knock on internal doors because you don’t want to scare people or barge in on them.  

The master of the house in Jesus’ parable is probably not knocking on his front door. He is more likely knocking on an internal door, to the servants’ quarters perhaps.

The point is: Jesus, our master, is respectful. He does not force his way into our lives. In his grace Jesus allows us to invite him in. The question is, will we open the door and let Jesus in immediately? Or will we make him wait?

In verse 37, Jesus says: Blessed are those servants whose master finds them watching when he comes. He says it again in verse 38: Blessed are those servants whose master finds them ready, even if he comes in the middle of the night or toward daybreak. 

The servants here do not put their pyjamas on, turn out the light and go to bed. No, they keep their work clothes on and leave their lamp burning, ready to receive their master at a moment’s notice. They are not passively waiting. They are eagerly expecting their boss. The slaves don’t have their own agenda. The only agenda they serve is their master’s agenda.

The Greek word for blessed here is Makarios. It’s the same word Jesus uses for the beatitudes in Matthew 5. You know, ‘blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are those who mourn, blessed are the pure in heart’, and so on.

Makarios is a state of spiritual wellbeing. To be Makarios is to be fortunate, happy, well off, in a relationship of favour with God. It’s not just that the servants will be blessed in the future. They are blessed now. They are in a fortunate position now.           

Jesus reverses our understanding of what it means to be blessed or well off. We think we are fortunate or blessed if we win Lotto or if we enjoy good health and live in a nice neighbourhood. But that is not how Jesus sees it.  

By the values of this world, a lowly slave who is always walking around with their loins girded ready to work, is not considered well off. Indeed, staying up all night losing sleep is not considered a blessed or fortunate state of being.

Just like being poor in spirit or grieving is not considered a fortunate state.

But, according to Jesus, those who strip off all that hinders them from obeying him, are blessed, they are fortunate. Those who set aside their own agenda and eagerly await Jesus’ return are blessed now. They are not doing this to earn a blessing or to curry favour. They love their master and long for his presence. Their reward is intrinsic; the joy of seeing their master again.  

The real surprise (both for us the listener and for the servants in the parable) comes in the second part of verse 37 where Jesus says: Truly I tell you, he will dress himself to serve, will have them recline at the table and will come and wait on them. 

We were expecting; ready, set, go to work. But what we get is; ready, set, recline and receive. The idea of the master of the house girding up his loins to serve his servants was unthinkable for a first century middle eastern audience. That would never happen.

These servants were near the bottom of the heap and the master was at the top. What master would humiliate himself by serving his slaves like this?

It is a complete role reversal.

By the master’s actions the slaves cease being slaves and become beloved friends and guests. Because that’s what you do for your friends, you serve them. They are changed by the self-emptying love (the undeserved grace) of their boss.

The master in this parable reminds us of Jesus. Because that’s what Jesus did in going to the cross. He humiliated himself. He served us. He fed us with his very body.

In his letter to the Philippians the apostle Paul gives this picture of Christ, saying…

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mind-set as Christ Jesus: 6 who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death – even death on a cross!

Even though Jesus is the supreme master (the master of all masters) he comes to those who faithfully wait in expectation for him and he serves them.

He serves us, turning us from slaves into beloved friends.

Conclusion:

On the night before his crucifixion and death, Jesus acted out this parable as a foretaste of the Messianic banquet to come. During the last supper, Jesus girded up his loins and served his disciples by washing their feet.

Peter didn’t want a bar of it at first. But Jesus told Peter he must let him do this or Peter would have no part in him. As much as it goes against the grain, we must allow Jesus (our master) to serve us – we must receive his grace – for only then will we be transformed from slaves to beloved friends.  

The right response to the Lord’s grace is faithfulness. Being faithful means serving Jesus’ agenda, not cluttering our lives with of our own agenda.

What then is Jesus’ agenda? The night before he died Jesus impressed upon his disciples three things:

The importance of loving one another. The importance of service over position. And the importance of unity in the body. Love, service and unity, they go together and they are what we do in preparation for the return of Jesus, our master. 

Let us pray…

Lord Jesus, you are our master, we belong to you. Thank you for serving us by going to the cross in obedience to God the Father. May you go on filling us with the oil of your Spirit that the lamp of our faith would not go out. 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. Discuss / reflect on Jesus’ parable in Luke 12:35-38. Why did Jesus tell this parable? How might Jesus’ original audience have been surprised by this parable? In what ways is Jesus like the master? 
  3. How can we prepare for Jesus’ return? What does it mean to gird up your loins? What is getting in the way of you obeying Jesus? What takes your attention away from Christ?
  4. What does it mean to ‘keep your lamp burning’? How do you (personally) do this? What (or who) fills your lamp with oil?
  5. Why does the master knock on a door in his own house? What might this suggest about the master? What does it look like to open the door of our lives to let Jesus in?
  6. What does it mean to be blessed (Makarios)? Why are the servants in the parable blessed?
  7. What change occurs for the servants as a consequence of the master serving them? Have you received Jesus’ grace / service for yourself? 

Bibliography:

  • William Barclay, ‘The Gospel of Matthew’, 1967.
  • R.V.G. Tasker, ‘Tyndale Commentaries: St Matthew’, 1963.
  • Michael Green, ‘BST: The Message of Matthew’, 2000.
  • Craig S. Keener, ‘The Gospel of Matthew’, 2009.
  • R.T. France, ‘New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Matthew’, 2007.
  • Kenneth Bailey, ‘Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes’, 2008. 
Tawa Baptist

The Gracious Employer

Scripture: Matthew 20:1-16

Video Link: https://youtu.be/ArWz2FkYrds

Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 22 Feb 2026 – The Gracious Employer by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • God’s kingdom is personal
  • God’s kingdom is gracious
  • God’s kingdom is fair
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

During a British conference on comparative religions, experts from around the world debated what belief was unique to the Christian faith. They began eliminating possibilities. Incarnation? Other religions had different versions of gods appearing in human form. Resurrection? Again, other religions had accounts of return from death.

The debate went on for some time until C.S. Lewis wandered into the room. “What’s the commotion about?” he asked. “We were discussing Christianity’s unique contribution among world religions. Lewis responded, “Oh, that’s easy. It’s grace”. [1]

Today we continue our series on the parables of Jesus. Last week we heard about the parable of the lost sheep. This week we focus on the parable of the gracious employer, in Matthew 20. The main point of this parable is that God’s kingdom operates by grace. From verse 1 of Matthew 20 we read…

“For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. 2 He agreed to pay them a denariusfor the day and sent them into his vineyard. 3 “About nine in the morning he went out and saw others standing in the marketplace doing nothing. 4 He told them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.’ 5 So they went. “He went out again about noon and about three in the afternoon and did the same thing. 6 About five in the afternoon he went out and found still others standing around. He asked them, ‘Why have you been standing here all day long doing nothing?’ 7 “‘Because no one has hired us,’ they answered. “He said to them, ‘You also go and work in my vineyard.’ 8 “When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, ‘Call the workers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last ones hired and going on to the first.’ 9 “The workers who were hired about five in the afternoon came and each received a denarius. 10 So when those came who were hired first, they expected to receive more. But each one of them also received a denarius. 11 When they received it, they began to grumble against the landowner. 12 ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’ 13 “But he answered one of them, ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go. I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’ 16 “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.”

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

This parable is about the kingdom of heaven, also known as the kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are interchangeable terms. They are different ways of saying the same thing.

Some people, when they hear this parable, think Jesus is promoting socialism. No. This parable is not about socialism. God’s kingdom is not like any earthly political system we may be familiar with. Nor can it be equated to a geographic location.

On a basic level the kingdom of heaven is God’s government or God’s reign.

Said another way, the kingdom of heaven is life with God in charge. Life when God’s will is done. The kingdom of heaven is God’s way of operating.

Three things this parable tells us about God’s kingdom: It is personal, it is gracious and it is fair. What then do we mean when we say God’s kingdom is personal? Brian McLaren tells a story which helps to illustrate this idea that’s God’s kingdom is personal.

God’s kingdom is personal:

Once upon a time, there was a good and kind king who had a great kingdom with many cities. In one distant city, some people took advantage of the freedom the king gave them and started doing evil.

They profited by their injustice and began to hate the king. They convinced everyone the city would be better off without the king and declared their independence from the kingdom. Soon, with everyone doing whatever they wanted, violence, corruption and fear reigned.

The king thought about what he should do. ‘If I take my army and conquer the city by force, the people will fight against me. I will have to kill so many of them and the rest will only submit through fear, which will make them hate me even more. But if I leave them alone, they will destroy each other. It breaks my heart to think of the pain they are causing one another.’

So the king considered a third way. He took off his robes and dressed in regular clothes. Incognito, he entered the city and began living in an abandoned building. He took up a trade fixing broken furniture.

Whenever people came to him, his kindness and respect were so striking they would linger a little longer, just to be in his presence. They told him their problems and asked his advice. He told them the rebels had fooled them and the true king had a better way to live, which he exemplified and taught.     

One by one people began to put their confidence in him and live his way. Eventually, the city regretted its rebellion and wanted to submit to the king’s reign again. But they were afraid to approach the king. What if he took revenge for their rebellion?

It was then the king-in-disguise revealed his true identity: he, the furniture fixer, was their king and he forgave them. The city was restored to the kingdom once more. All those who loved the king remained in the city, while those who still refused to accept the king’s authority were sent away.

By his gracious presence and personal touch, the king saved the city and most of its citizens, something that could never have been accomplished through brute force. [2]   

God’s kingdom is personal. It operates at the level of the human heart and inter-personal relationships.

In Matthew 20, Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a human person, more specifically a vineyard owner.  Verse 1 reads: “For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard…”

Employing casual day labourers was a common practice in the Palestine of Jesus’ day. Workers would go out early in the morning (around 6am) to the marketplace and wait for someone to come and offer them work.

Day labourers tended to be quite poor. If they didn’t get work, they (and their families) didn’t eat. These workers were near the bottom of the heap.

Somewhat surprisingly the wealthy landowner goes out of his way to do the hiring himself, personally. The landowner has a foreman. It is normally the foreman’s job to hire and manage the workers. Why doesn’t the landowner send his foreman to do this job? Because he prefers a personal approach.

The kingdom of heaven is like the landowner. God’s kingdom, his way of operating, is personal. God’s kingdom is not a hard to navigate bureaucratic system. God’s kingdom does not function by AI or recorded message. In God’s kingdom we don’t deal with a machine or even a manager. We deal personally with the Spirit of Jesus.

God’s kingdom is personal and God’s kingdom is gracious. What then is grace?

God’s kingdom is gracious:

The classic definition of grace is unmerited favour. Being treated better than you deserve. Receiving something good without doing anything to earn it and without being entitled to it. God’s grace is what sets Christianity apart from every other religion.

Under New Zealand law, employees are entitled to ten days sick leave per year, payable after six months employment. This can accumulate up to a maximum of 20 days. That’s the letter of the law.

Let’s say you have accumulated 20 days sick leave but, for reasons outside of your control, you need to take 30 days. Your employer then has a choice. They can either abide by the letter of the law and pay you only the 20 days owing, or they can go beyond the letter of the law and pay you the 30 days you need.

Paying you the first 20 days is just and fair. The employer is meeting their obligation to you. But paying the extra 10 days, well that is grace. It is unmerited favour. The employer is under no obligation to pay the extra.

Returning to Matthew 20. The kingdom of heaven is like the landowner in Jesus’ parable. The landowner is gracious and the kingdom of God is gracious. We see this grace operating in a number of ways.

In verses 3-6 we read how the owner comes back to the marketplace in three-hour intervals throughout the day to hire more workers. Normally an employer would get all the workers they needed at the beginning of the day.

But the owner of this vineyard returns personally at 9am, 12 noon, 3pm and then again at the 11th hour, which is 5pm. And each time he goes back he offers the job seekers work.

Interestingly, the landowner does not stipulate the rate of pay with these later workers, like he did with those he hired at the beginning of the day. To those hired at 9, 12 and 3 he simply says, ‘I will pay you whatever is right’.

And the day labourers trust the gracious employer. They don’t attempt to haggle with him or make him sign a contract. They are keen to work and have faith the landowner will do right by them.  

The workers who are employed towards the end of the day are (presumably) less desirable, having been passed over by other employers. By 5pm (one hour before knock off time) this gracious landowner is employing people that no one else will hire.

Those who are last to be offered a job may appear less employable, but you have to admire their tenacity. Most people would have given up and gone home by lunchtime if they hadn’t been offered work. Those who are last are still holding out hope, even when it seems hope-less.

What’s more they agree to work for the landowner, without any promise of payment. The landowner does not say he will pay them anything. He simply tells them to work in his vineyard. The last have shown the greatest faith.    

But the real star here is the landowner, who shows us what the kingdom of God is like. The landowner takes a personal interest in making sure everyone gets the opportunity to earn money to feed their family.

This employer wants to give the poor work in a gracious way, so their mana is preserved. The employer doesn’t rob the last of their dignity by offering them a handout. He could have simply given them one denarius and told them to go home. But he doesn’t do that. The employer upholds their self-respect by giving them the opportunity to do meaningful work for pay.  

The biggest surprise and the most obvious display of grace, comes in the middle of this parable, when the owner instructs his foreman to pay the workers. Each person gets one denarius, regardless of how long they worked. One denarius is the equivalent of a full day’s living wage.

The owner of the vineyard knows this world is not an even playing field.

He understands that half a day’s pay is not enough to feed a hungry family.

So he pays people based on what they need, not what they have achieved. That is grace.

To show grace we must have the capacity to put ourselves in someone else’s shoes. Grace understands. The landowner is like the kingdom of God.

The landowner shows the grace of understanding. Likewise, in God’s kingdom our need is understood and provided for.

God’s kingdom is fair:

Not everyone understands God’s grace though. When those who were hired first saw the late comers receiving a full day’s wage, they presumed they would be paid more.

The first have a sense of entitlement and a sense of entitlement gets in the way of grace. Those who were hired last know their need for God’s grace and they accept it without question. But those who were hired first are blind to their need. They forget it was by the landowner’s grace they were given the opportunity to work all day in the first place.

When the first receive the same as the last, they don’t think it’s fair and complain saying: ‘These who were hired last worked only one hour and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the heat of the day.’

Now, the vineyard owner could have avoided this confrontation with the grumbling workers. If he had paid them first, they would have gone home happy, none the wiser about what the others were paid. So why does the owner reverse the order? Well, there is no grace without truth.

Perhaps the owner intentionally makes the first wait till last because he wants to show the first what grace really looks like. He wants them to understand the truth, that being on the highest level is not the most important thing. What really matters is not leaving others behind, even if it means you come last.

The vineyard owner is gracious, but he is no fool. He won’t be manipulated or controlled by others. The owner speaks to one of the grumblers saying…

13 ‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius? 14 Take your pay and go…

The main thing to note here is the landowner is being fair and generous.

Yes, he has overpaid some of the workers, but he has not shortchanged anyone. One denarius for a day’s work represents a living wage. It is fair pay and those who were hired first agreed to it.

The landowner is honouring his contract. Now those who worked all day are wanting to break the contract, to change it after the fact. Those who were hired first are the ones who are being unfair, not the landowner.

Another thing to note, in verse 13, is the way the landowner addresses one of the complainers as ‘friend’. New Testament Greek has more than one word for friend. There is the positive word, philos, which refers to someone dearly loved and trusted. However, the landowner does not use philos here.

No, the landowner addresses the complainer as hetairos, which was a general form of address to someone whose name one does not know. It is a polite title for a stranger. [3] In Matthew’s gospel, the word hetairos is applied to those who presume upon grace. [4] You don’t want Jesus to address you as hetairos.

That’s like hearing Jesus say, ‘I don’t know you’.

The landowner (who is like the kingdom of God) has the last word. He says to those who had complained: I want to give the one who was hired last the same as I gave you. 15 Don’t I have the right to do what I want with my own money? Or are you envious because I am generous?’

The owner of the vineyard is being fair with the grumblers. He is being honest with them. Indeed, he is showing them the truth about themselves. They don’t care about justice. They are simply greedy and envious.  

Kenneth Bailey paraphrases the landowner’s meaning like this: “You want to take more for yourselves. I have chosen to give more of myself. You want to be richer at the end of the day. I have chosen to be poorer at the end of the day. Don’t try to control me. Take your just wage and get out.” [5]   

The landowner’s response is personal, gracious and fair. Just as God’s kingdom is personal, gracious and fair.   

Conclusion:

The parable concludes with the saying: “So the last will be first, and the first will be last.” In other words, the kingdom of God reverses human expectations. God’s kingdom operates by divine grace, not human achievement. [6] It is not for us to try and control God’s grace. It is not for us to say who can and can’t be saved. We need to let God be God.

Let us pray…

Heavenly Father, we thank you for your grace and compassion in reaching out to us personally. Thank you too for your fairness and generosity in meeting our need for salvation. Forgive us for the times we have tried to control you. Grant us humility to embrace the work and reward you offer. Through Jesus we pray. 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. What is grace? Can you think of a time when you experienced grace? What happened? How did you feel? What was your response?
  3. What is the kingdom of heaven / kingdom of God? How is God’s kingdom different from the kingdoms / governments of this world?
  4. Discuss / reflect on the parable of the gracious employer. Why did Jesus tell this parable? What is the main point? How does this parable make you feel?
  5. What does the landowner teach us about the kingdom of God?
  6. Why does the landowner go looking for workers to employ himself? Why does he not send his foreman?
  7. Why does the landowner pay all the workers the same? Why does the landowner have the foreman pay the last first and the first last? Why do those who worked all day complain against the landowner?
  8. Who do you identify with most in this parable? Why?

Bibliography:

  • William Barclay, ‘The Gospel of Matthew’, 1967.
  • R.V.G. Tasker, ‘Tyndale Commentaries: St Matthew’, 1963.
  • Michael Green, ‘BST: The Message of Matthew’, 2000.
  • Craig S. Keener, ‘The Gospel of Matthew’, 2009.
  • R.T. France, ‘New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Matthew’, 2007.
  • Kenneth Bailey, ‘Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes’, 2008. 

[1] From Mark Stibbe’s book, ‘A Basket of Gems’, page 67.

[2] Adapted from a story by Brian McLaren found in Mark Stibbe’s book, ‘A Basket of Gems’, page 80.

[3] Refer Bailey, page 361.

[4] Refer Keener, page 482.

[5] Refer Kenneth Bailey, page 361.

[6] Refer R. France, page 746.

Tawa Baptist

Lost & Found

Scripture: Luke 15:1-10

Video Link: https://youtu.be/jqYP-goOQk8

Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 15 Feb 2026 – Lost & Found by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The lost leaders
  • The lost sheep
  • The lost coin
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Over the years the metal flashing above our ranch slider has deteriorated.

The purpose of the flashing is to keep the rain out, which makes the flashing fairly important. Rust was showing through the paint. Not only did it look rude, but if I let it go too long, the rust might make holes in the metal.  

So, I decided to restore it. This involved grinding away the rust with a wire brush, then applying a special rust converter to the metal, followed by a rust kill primer and two topcoats of rust kill paint.

Although I’m not ready to quit my day job, just yet, I did enjoy the work. There is a certain pleasure in restoring things. Hopefully my restoration efforts last.

Today we continue our series on the parables of Jesus. Last week we heard about the ten minas and this week our focus is Jesus’ twin parables of the lost sheep and lost coin in Luke 15. These parables are primarily about heaven’s joy in seeing the restoration of people. From verse 1 of Luke 15 we read…

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.” 3 Then Jesus told them this parable: 4 “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? 5 And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders 6 and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’ 7 I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent. 8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coinsand loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? 9 And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ 10 In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

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

The lost leaders:

Having purpose in life is like carrying a compass. Purpose helps us to remember the direction we are headed so we don’t lose our way. Jesus’ parables, in Luke 15, are like a compass, they remind us of our true north. They point to our true purpose and direction.

The 13th Century Sufi poet, Rumi, once wrote: “Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone’s soul heal. Walk out of your house like a shepherd.”

This quote speaks to a person’s purpose in life. It helps us to remember the direction we are headed so we don’t lose our way. Rumi was not a Christian, he was a Muslim, and yet his words in this instance are in line with the true north of Jesus’ teachings.

To be a lamp is to help someone find their way in the darkness.

To be a lifeboat is to save someone from drowning.

To be a ladder is to lift someone out of a hole.

And to walk out of your house like a shepherd is go into the world with the purpose of caring for others.    

Luke introduces the parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin by pointing to Israel’s lost leadership. From verse 1 we read…

Now the tax collectors and sinners were all gathering around to hear Jesus. 2 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Tax collectors were part of the machinery which oppressed the Jewish people. They were often suspected of theft, taking more than they should to line their own pockets. Not surprisingly, tax collectors were hated and ostracised.  

The term ‘sinners’ included two groups of people. Those who broke the moral law and those who broke the ceremonial law. The ten commandments are an example of the moral law. Rules about what you can and cannot eat or touch are an example of the ceremonial law.

Those who broke the ceremonial law were not necessarily immoral or unethical. They might be honest hard-working individuals who kept the ten commandments. It was simply their misfortune to work in a trade that made them ceremonially unclean, therefore prohibiting them from gathered worship.     

The Pharisees and teachers of the law were among Israel’s leadership.

They were a religious sect, known for their strict observance of the Jewish law. Not just the written law of Moses, but also the oral tradition that had evolved around the law of Moses. The Pharisees had added a lot of their own rules to God’s law and anyone who did not keep their rules they labelled a sinner.

The Pharisees believed God’s purpose was to destroy those they considered to be sinners. They thought nothing gave God greater joy than annihilating people who sinned. And so, they separated themselves from large sections of society. Sadly, the Pharisees had lost their way.  

Jesus was very different from the Pharisees. There was something attractive about Jesus and his teaching. Tax collectors and sinners were drawn to Jesus and Jesus welcomed them. More than simply welcoming them, Jesus ate with them. And to eat with someone in that culture was to basically make friends with them, to accept them.

In the minds of the Pharisees, Jesus tarred himself with the same brush when he ate with these people who broke their rules. That’s why they muttered against Jesus.     

Jesus spoke these parables (in Luke 15) to show the Pharisees were wrong about God’s purpose. God does not derive joy from destroying people. Quite the opposite in fact. God does not want anyone to perish. God’s purpose is to restore creation, especially his human creatures. Heaven rejoices when the lost are found and people are restored to right relationship with God.

If the Pharisees really wanted to please God, they would not separate themselves from the world. They would join God in his redemptive purpose in the world. They would be a lamp or a lifeboat or a ladder to help others heal. They would walk out of the house (of their manmade rules) like a shepherd.

The lost sheep:

Jesus addresses the lost Pharisees by saying in verse 4, “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them…”

Now, when we read this, we think nothing of it. But to the ears of a Pharisee this would grate. It might even sound offensive.

Abraham was a shepherd. Moses was a shepherd. David was a shepherd.

The Old Testament prophets sometimes referred to Israel’s leaders as shepherds. But despite this, the Pharisees despised shepherds. A shepherd’s work often prevented them from participating in ceremonial worship and, when a sheep went missing, the shepherd was suspected of theft.

Jesus asks the Pharisees to imagine being a shepherd who loses one of their sheep. A shepherd who loses sheep is failing in their job. Jesus seems be implying here that the Pharisees (who are among Israel’s leadership) are like shepherds who lose sheep. In which case the Pharisees have forgotten God’s restorative purpose and are failing in their responsibility to the people.  

Jesus continues his parable saying: Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?

Now when I first read this, I thought, that doesn’t make sense, leaving the 99 to fend for themselves in the wilderness, while you go searching for the one lost sheep. The shepherd would probably return to find more sheep missing.

Reading the experts on this passage though, I learned that with a flock of 100 sheep in the middle east there would likely be at least two or three shepherds, so the 99 would not be left on their own. They would still be protected.

Even so you might wonder why the shepherd would go to the trouble of searching for one sheep. I mean, is it worth it? The wilderness is not a safe place. Not only was the shepherd risking his own life, but he could spend many hours searching only to find the sheep dead, killed by a wild animal or something.

Well, shepherds in the first century needed to find the lost sheep, whether dead or alive, in order to exonerate themselves. If you could bring the sheep back alive, all well and good. But even if you brought the sheep back dead, at least then you could prove you had not stolen it and so preserve your honour.      

Before I took to the metal flashing on our house with a grinder, I didn’t know what I might find. Was it just surface rust or was the flashing rusted right through? If it was rusted through, then I had a bigger problem. Still, I needed to find out, so I proceeded in hope and my hope was rewarded with joy.     

The shepherd in Jesus’ parable has an attitude of hope. He is prepared for the worst but hopes for the best. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Jesus’ attitude toward people is one of hope. He doesn’t write a person off as irredeemable. Jesus holds out hope for people.

Everyone, I believe, has at least a little bit of Pharisee in them. Jesus is inviting the Pharisee in each of us to live in hope. Hope for ourselves and hope for others. Do you know someone who is lost? A friend or family member or perhaps someone you don’t like that much. Hold out hope for them.

Pray for them. Who knows what God might do.      

The shepherd’s hope is rewarded when he finds the lost sheep alive. Of course, finding the sheep is one thing, restoring it is another. After finding the sheep, the shepherd then puts it on his shoulders and carries it home.

Carrying a sheep is heavy, dirty work but the shepherd does this joyfully.

He is happy to find the sheep alive, yes, but he also enjoys the work of restoring the sheep, as messy and difficult as that work is.

Restoring the metal flashing on our house was dirty work. I got proper grubby. But there was a certain satisfaction in the process as well. Restoring people is not as straight forward as removing rust or carrying sheep. People are more complicated. We have set backs but, by God’s grace, we also make headway sometimes. We need to be kind to ourselves and celebrate the little wins along the way.    

The shepherd’s joy does not end there. When he gets home, the shepherd calls his friends and neighbours together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.’

Jesus is saying to the Pharisees here, you should be happy that I am welcoming sinners and eating with them. I know it appears dirty to you, but this is what the work of restoration looks like. You shouldn’t be muttering behind my back. You should be celebrating with me.

I’m fulfilling God’s purpose. I’m being a lamp to those in darkness. I’m being a lifeboat to those who are drowning. I’m being a ladder for others to climb out of a hole and heal. I’m walking into the world with the mindset of a shepherd.

In verse 7 Jesus explains the main point of the parable, saying: I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.

Jesus is letting the Pharisees know that their values and priorities are very different from heaven’s values and priorities. The Pharisees have lost the compass of God’s purpose and in so doing have become lost themselves.   

Given that heaven rejoices when a sinner repents, so too should we. Perhaps for those in heaven, seeing a person repent is like watching someone on your favourite team score a goal or a try or hit a six. The crowd goes wild.

What then does it mean to repent? The word repent literally means to turn around and go in the other direction. Do a U turn basically. Repentance is a change of mind that leads to a change in how one lives.

For a gossip, repentance means learning to be discreet. For someone having an affair, repentance means stopping the affair and remaining faithful to your spouse. For someone prone to arrogance, repentance means being honest with yourself. For the Pharisee in each of us, repentance means trusting Jesus and not relying on our own rules or righteousness.

Repentance happens in a moment but it’s also the work of a lifetime. What is the focus of your repentance right now? What needs to change in your life?    

The interesting thing about the lost sheep is that it does absolutely nothing to be found. The sheep does not know which way to turn. It is powerless to save itself. The sheep’s restoration relies on the shepherd.

Does that mean we don’t need to do anything to be saved? Well, no, our salvation is not automatic. We still need to repent. The point is we cannot repent without God’s grace. God’s grace comes first, before we repent. It’s like Paul says in Romans 8…

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Luke 15 is heavily pregnant with God’s love for us personally. God’s grace in reaching out to save us, before we even knew we were lost and needed saving, speaks to his deep love for humanity. God loves people.

I know it’s difficult to comprehend, but God does not restore us because we repent. No. God restores us because he loves us and delights in restoring people. However, we still need to repent. Faith in Christ and repentance from sin is the right and proper response to God’s prevenient grace and love.

In verse 7 of Luke 15, Jesus says a curious thing. He talks about the 99 being righteous persons who do not need to repent. Hmm? Jesus is probably being ironic here. The wider testimony of Scripture teaches that no one is righteous. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

Most people do think they are righteous though, or at least not as bad as others. The truth is most of the time we don’t realise when we are lost. The Pharisees thought they had a monopoly on being right. Little did they know they were more lost than the sinners they despised. We call that dramatic irony.

At the end of the parable the one lost sheep is returned home, while the other 99 are still in the wilderness oblivious to their true condition.     

The lost coin:

We’ve heard about the lost leaders of Israel and the lost sheep. Now let’s consider the lost coin. The parable of the lost coin reinforces the message of the parable of the lost sheep. Heaven rejoices when the lost are found and sinners repent.

If the Pharisees did not like shepherds, they despised women even more.

So Jesus makes a woman the hero of his second parable. Jesus means to challenge the prejudices and misconceptions of the religious leaders. He wants to get under their skin. How else will they realise they are lost?

Anyway, this woman has 10 silver coins and loses one. It could be she was poor and could not afford to lose any money. Or it might be the coin was part of a necklace and losing it would ruin the whole piece of jewelry, like losing a diamond out of an engagement ring.

Whatever the case, the coin is precious to the woman and she searches the house carefully until she finds it. We note the woman is hopeful in her search. It’s not a long shot. The chances of finding a lost coin in a small house are far greater than the chances of finding a lost sheep in the open country.

We also note that finding the lost coin is dirty work. It requires time and effort, not to mention patience and lighting a lamp.

As with the lost sheep, the lost coin does nothing to save itself. The coin cannot move by itself. It is completely powerless and reliant on the woman for its restoration. The woman searches for the coin because she values the coin and cannot bear to lose it.

We are like the coin, powerless to save ourselves. God searches for us because he loves us and doesn’t want heaven without us. 

The search is successful and (like the shepherd) the woman celebrates with her community.

Once again Jesus is saying to the Pharisees, you should be happy that I am welcoming sinners and eating with them. I know it appears dirty to you, but this is what the work of restoration looks like. You should not be muttering behind my back. You should be celebrating with me.

I’m fulfilling God’s purpose. I’m being a lamp to those in darkness. I’m being a lifeboat to those who are drowning. I’m being a ladder for others to climb out of a hole. I am cleaning house. I am helping people to heal.

Jesus concludes this second parable in a similar way to the first, saying:

I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.  

God’s grace comes first but we still need to repent. Repentance, turning away from sin, is the right response to God’s love and grace. The angels of God rejoice over our repentance because they know the obedience of faith pleases the Lord.    

Conclusion:

Jesus practiced what he preached. Later in Luke’s gospel, in chapter 19, we read how Jesus searched for Zacchaeus, the tax collector, and invited himself over for dinner.

Zacchaeus was thrilled by the Lord’s prevenient grace for him and responded with repentance saying: ‘Look, I give half my possessions to the poor and if I have cheated anybody, I will pay back four times the amount.’   

Jesus declared: ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man too is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save what was lost.’

And heaven rejoiced.

Let us pray…  

Loving God, we thank you for sending Jesus to die for us while we were still sinners and powerless to save ourselves. Grant us a growing awareness of your love and grace. Move us to respond with faith and repentance. May our lives bring you joy. Through Jesus we pray. 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. Have you ever restored something? What did you restore and how did you go about it? How did you feel throughout the process of restoration? 
  3. Discuss / reflect on the twin parables of the lost sheep and the lost coin. Why did Jesus tell these parables? Compare and contrast the two parables? In what ways are they similar? In what ways are they different?
  4. Why does the shepherd search for the sheep? Why does the woman search for the coin? Why does God go out of his way to restore us?
  5. Do you know someone who is lost? Who? Pray for them. What does it mean to live in hope for ourselves and others?
  6. What does it mean to repent? Why do we need to repent? What is the focus of your repentance right now? What needs to change in your life?   
  7. What examples can you think of (in the gospels or in your own life) where God’s grace comes before repentance?
  8. Who do you identify with most in these parables? Why

Bibliography:

  • William Barclay, ‘The Gospel of Luke’, 1965.
  • Leon Morris, ‘Tyndale Commentaries: Luke’, 1976.
  • Kenneth Bailey, ‘Poet & Peasant’, 1976. 
  • Fred Craddock, ‘Interpretation Commentaries: Luke’, 1990.
  • Darrell Bock, ‘NIV Application Commentary: Luke’, 1996.
  • Joel Green, ‘New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Luke’, 1997.
Tawa Baptist

The Ten Minas

Scripture: Luke 19:11-27

Video Link: https://youtu.be/IzbzrX5dtkY

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

There is usually more than one way to look at something. For example, take the sentence: A woman without her man is nothing.

Many people will read that and immediately take offense because, depending on your attitude to women, it could sound like you are saying, women are nothing without men, which is not true of course.

But there is another way to read this. If you change the emphasis and say:

A woman, without her man is nothing, then it sounds like you mean men are nothing without women, which is equally untrue.

Personally, I don’t like this sentence. Whichever way you punctuate this phrase, it creates a false dichotomy. Our value as human beings does not depend on gender politics. Our value comes from God. 

The point is, there is more than one way to interpret things. In fact, the way we interpret something often reveals our underlying attitudes and prejudice.

Today we continue our series on the parables of Jesus. The parables of Jesus can be interpreted in more than way. And the way we interpret them reveals our underlying attitudes about God and others. Put simply, Jesus’ parables interpret us. They hold a mirror to our soul, showing what we really believe.

Jesus’ parables are not just saying, ‘This is what God and his kingdom are like.’ They are also uncovering and challenging our underlying assumptions and prejudices about God.

The Ten Minas:

This week’s parable, in Luke 19, is sometimes called the parable of the ten minas. Just to be clear, Jesus is not talking about ten men digging for coal underground, nor is he talking about ten children. A ‘mina’ here is a sum of money roughly equivalent to 100 days wages.

Whether you have heard this parable before or not, it will hold a mirror to your soul. How you choose to interpret it reveals something of what you really believe about God and yourself. From Luke 19, verse 11, we read…   

11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’ 14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ 15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. 16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ 17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’  18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’ 19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’ 20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’ 24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ 25 “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’ 26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”

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

The first world war began in July 1914. The allied soldiers could often be heard saying, “We’ll be home by Christmas”. Expectations of victory were running high. People imagined a quick war. Why? Because their underlying assumption was, the enemy is weak and we are strong. Perhaps they also thought, God is on our side.

Tragically, they were not home by Christmas. Millions never came home at all. The enemy was stronger than they had assumed and the war lasted over four years. Many became disillusioned and lost their faith in God because of the false expectations they started with.

Expectations live in the human imagination and that makes them dangerous, because the human imagination knows no limits. The greater the expectation, the greater the risk of disillusionment when those expectations are not met.

At the time Jesus told the parable of the ten minas, the expectations of the people were running high, too high. The people thought Jesus was about to quickly overthrow the Romans and restore Israel’s political power. We’ll be home by Hannukah. Israel assumed God was on their side, politically. They thought they knew what God wanted and, like many of us at times, they overestimated their own strength, their own importance.

That’s why Jesus told this parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.

No. Things were not going to unfold as quickly as people thought.

Jesus needed to put the brakes on people’s expectations. He needed to challenge people’s assumptions about themselves and about God. Jesus was not going to Jerusalem to start a revolution or overthrow the Romans. Jesus’ kingdom is not of this world.    

Jesus begins his parable by saying, “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return…” Who is Jesus talking about here? Who is the man of noble birth? Well, Jesus does not say.

However, we do notice some striking parallels between the man of noble birth and Jesus himself. After his death and resurrection, Jesus would ascend to heaven where God would appoint him as King. Then one day, at some unspecified time, Jesus will return in glory. This reading fits with the larger gospel narrative.

The point not to be missed here is that the man of noble birth goes to a distant country, which indicates the nobleman would be gone for some time, thus reinforcing the idea that God’s kingdom was not going to appear at once.    

Before he goes away, though, the nobleman calls ten of his servants together and gives each one a mina. As already mentioned, a mina is a measure of money roughly equivalent to 100 days wages. He tells his servants to put the money to work. Trade with it. See what you can do.

If Jesus is the nobleman, then the servants are those who know Jesus and confess him as Lord. Those who are part of Jesus’ household and are obliged to obey him. Jesus’ disciples in other words.   

Jesus does not define what the minas represent, we are left to interpret that for ourselves. Logically, we could say a mina is whatever resource Jesus has entrusted to us.

Some people think of the minas in literal material terms, like actual money or possessions. Others think one’s mina could be a special ability or God given talent, like being good with children or good with words or music or whatever.

We do well to include a spiritual meaning for the minas. For example, the minas may represent the faith, hope and love we have in Christ, or perhaps the word of God, the gospel we received, or maybe the gift of the Holy Spirit Himself. At its heart, I think of the mina as symbolic of God’s grace for us personally. Grace always comes first. Without God’s grace we can do nothing.  

How do you understand Jesus’ gift to you? And, what are you doing with that gift? How are you using your gift for Jesus’ benefit?

The plot of the parable thickens in verse 14 where we read: “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’

This twist in the story finds another parallel with Jesus’ own experience. At the time Jesus told this parable, he was popular with the people. But in little over a week the crowds (egged on by the religious leaders) would reject Jesus, calling on Pilate to have him crucified. They did not want Jesus to be their king.

Kenneth Bailey points out what would have been obvious to Jesus’ Middle Eastern audience but is less obvious to us. The parable imagines a time of political transition and instability. It is by no means certain at this point whether the nobleman will be made king. People don’t like him.    

This puts the nobleman’s servants in a difficult position. Given their master has many enemies, who will support their business ventures which are funded by the nobleman? Some of those enemies may even sabotage their efforts. Trading in an uncertain environment like that is risky.

Worse than that, what if their master is not made king? They will probably suffer repercussions from their master’s enemies. The smart thing would be to keep your head down and hide your association with the master.

Now it becomes clear why the nobleman gave his servants money and told them to trade with it. He wants to know if his servants are willing to take the risk and openly declare themselves as loyal to him, during his absence, in a world where many oppose his rule.

In Latvia, the Lutheran church asks those who want to become pastors an important question: When were you baptised? If the candidate for ministry was baptised during the period of Soviet rule, when the church was persecuted, then they had risked their lives. They had openly declared themselves to be loyal to Jesus in a world that opposes Jesus’ rule. They had put the mina of their faith to work in the marketplace.

But if the candidate for ministry says they were baptised after the period of Soviet rule, well the seminary asks a lot more questions.

As Kenneth Bailey notes, “In the parable the master challenges his servants to live boldly and publicly as his servants using his resources, unafraid of his enemies, confident in the future as his future.” [1]

The church is not persecuted in New Zealand, but we are often misrepresented and misunderstood. Do we have the courage to risk publicly owning our faith in Jesus? Ultimately, and perhaps inconveniently, that is what it means to put our mina to work in the world.   

Verse 15 confirms the nobleman was in fact made king. Again, this parallels what happened to Jesus. Jesus’ resurrection and ascension to heaven bears witness to his legitimacy as God’s appointed King.

The first thing the master does on returning home is call for his servants.

He wants to know what they did with the money he had given them, not because he is interested in making money, but because what they did with the money will show where their true loyalty lies.    

The first two servants report to their master how they have turned a profit. One servant earned ten minas (a 1000% return) and the other, five minas (a 500% return). Given the difficulty of trading in that politically unstable environment, those sorts of returns suggest the master was gone for a very long time. You don’t make a 1000% return in just 12 months.

But notice how the servants speak to their master. They say: ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’  ‘Your mina has earned five more.’ The servants are humble, giving credit for their success to the master. They understand that without the master’s gift they would have nothing to offer. It is all by God’s grace.

Notice too the master’s response. He commends these servants for their trustworthiness or their faithfulness. They were not afraid to hide their loyalty to the master. They traded openly in the marketplace in confidence their master would return as King.

A British journalist once asked Mother Teresa how she kept going, knowing that she could never meet the needs of all the dying in the streets of Calcutta.

She replied, “I am not called to be successful; I’m called to be faithful.”      

Although two of the servants in the parable were successful, the master commends them for being trustworthy or faithful. The master is clearly very wealthy. He doesn’t need more money. He needs to know who he can trust.

This offers us some encouragement. We may not be successful in a numbers sense. We may have little control over the outcome of our witness for Christ. Our part is to remain faithful and leave the outcome with God who is able to work all things for good.   

The reward for proving trustworthy is being given even greater trust.

The servant who earned ten minas is put in charge of ten cities and the servant who earned five minas is entrusted with five cities.

Sadly, not all the servants proved faithful. Another servant appears before his master with an excuse. He says: ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’  

Now, if you have failed your boss and are having to give account for your actions, you don’t start by insulting him. You pay him a compliment to try and soften him up. Why then does this servant basically accuse his master of being a hard man and a thief? Because that sounds like an insult.

Well, the servant probably thought he was complimenting his boss by calling him a hard man. Some people like to think of themselves as a bit gangster, a bit tough, not prone to suffering fools. Some people get off on thinking that other people are scared of them. Not this boss though. The third servant has completely misread his master’s character.

The master does not admit to being a hard man and a thief, but nor does he correct the servant’s prejudice. He judges the servant by his own words.

Jesus is just and fair. He judges us by our own standards. The measure we use for others is the measure the Lord will use for us.

The servant’s words provide a mirror to his soul, reflecting his deceit.

The master knows the servant is lying and points out the inconsistency in what he says. If the servant really was afraid of the master, he could have at least put the mina on term deposit with the bank. In other words, he could have gone with a low-risk investment and still had something to show for it.

The truth is the servant here was too afraid to publicly identify himself with his master when it was risky to do so. But the servant’s problem runs deeper than that. The wicked servant never properly accepted the master’s grace in the first place and so he did not know the master’s true character.  

The wicked servant might represent anyone who is offered the mina of God’s grace but lays it aside, not accepting it personally. Without a deep experience of God’s grace, we won’t develop the loyalty to put our faith out there.

Have you accepted God’s grace for yourself personally?

The master in the parable takes away the wicked servant’s mina and gives it to the servant who has ten minas. The first thing we notice here is the master’s generosity. Even though the capital and the profits are rightfully his, the master let’s his faithful servants keep the money. This shows the wicked servant’s estimate of the master, as a hard man and a thief, was very wrong.

Not everyone can see the master’s generosity though. Some protest saying… ‘Sir he already has ten!’ To which the master replies: ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’

I understand this to mean, ‘use it or lose it’. Faith is like a muscle. Just as our muscles become weak and waste away if we don’t use them, so too our faith becomes weak and wastes away if we don’t exercise it. Exercising your faith means more than just reading your Bible and praying, although that is a good place to start. True faith calls for obedience, actually doing what Jesus asks.  

Jesus does not say what happens to the wicked servant after that. I guess three scenarios are possible: Either he kept his job, or he was fired or he resigned.

After he publicly denied Jesus, Peter did not resign, nor did Jesus fire him. In fact, Jesus restored the repentant Peter, trusting him with more responsibility.

It was a different story with Judas though. After betraying Jesus, Judas quit. The Lord did not fire him. We must not lose faith in the grace of God. If you fail, do not condemn yourself and do not quit your faith. Repent. Jesus rewards faith.

After the master has dealt with his own household, he then turns his attention to his enemies, those who do not want him to be king, saying: bring them here and kill them in front of me.

This ending is problematic for some. If the king represents Jesus, then how do we reconcile the killing of enemies with the Jesus we read about in the gospels? Other earthly kings do this, but Jesus is not like other kings.

Jesus taught us to love our enemies. From the cross he said, ‘Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.’ 

Some say the parallels between the nobleman and Jesus should not be pressed too far. So Jesus is like the nobleman in some respects but not in every way and not in this last respect.

Others say Jesus has every right to execute his enemies when he returns. Indeed, justice requires it. You could say a quick death is a relatively merciful outcome for those who oppose God’s rule. They are getting off lightly.

Whatever the case, the point seems to be that in the end (at the judgement) there is a negative consequence for those who continue opposing Jesus and a reward for those who are faithful to Christ.    

Conclusion:

Jesus leaves his parable with some loose ends. He does not quench the thirst of our unanswered questions. He lets the parable interpret us.

What we can say with confidence is that Jesus, the King, will return in glory one day. It may be a long wait, but he will return. In the meantime, we are to receive his grace and put our faith to work, remaining loyal to him in a world that is sometimes hostile.

Let us pray…       

Jesus, we thank you for your grace. Give us wisdom and courage to put our mina to work and remain faithful to you. And when we fail, restore us we pray, to the praise of your glory. 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 you initially interpret the sentence: ‘A woman without her man is nothing.’ (Be honest) Why do you think you interpreted it this way?
  3. Discuss / reflect on the parable of the ten minas. What was Jesus’ purpose in telling this parable? Why did Jesus give his servants minas to trade with, in his absence? What parallels do you observe between Jesus and the nobleman? Where do the parallels stop (or do they)?  
  4. How do you understand Jesus’ gift (of a mina) to you? What are you doing with that gift? How are you using your gift for Jesus’ benefit?
  5. How do you understand the phrase: ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away.’?
  6. What do you think happened to the wicked servant? Why do you think this?
  7. What does it mean to accept God’s grace for yourself personally? Have you done this?

Bibliography:

  • William Barclay, ‘The Gospel of Luke’, 1965.
  • Leon Morris, ‘Tyndale Commentaries: Luke’, 1976.
  • Fred Craddock, ‘Interpretation Commentaries: Luke’, 1990.
  • Darrell Bock, ‘NIV Application Commentary: Luke’, 1996.
  • Joel Green, ‘New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Luke’, 1997.
  • Kenneth Bailey, ‘Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes’, 2008.  

[1] Kenneth Bailey, ‘Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes’, page 401.  

Tawa Baptist

The Friend at Midnight

Scripture: Luke 11:5-13

Video Link: https://youtu.be/IeEMc95XpDs

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Knowing God’s character
  • Encourages prayer
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

How would you describe the colour red to someone who was born blind? Those who can see don’t need the colour red described to them, they know from experience what red looks like.

But those who have never seen the colour red need a comparison they can relate with. You might, for example, take something hot, like a cup of coffee, and place it in their hands. The feeling of heat may enable them to imagine the colour red. And, as the cup cools, red lightens to pink.

Alternatively, you might describe the colour red as a loud angry noise or as a spicy curry. In order to describe the colour red, which is an unknown concept to a person born blind, you need to start with what the person knows.

Today we begin a new sermon series on some of the parables of Jesus.

The word parable literally means ‘laying alongside’. A parable is a story which compares one thing alongside another (in parallel) to teach a truth and bridge a gap in understanding.

Jesus often used parables to teach people about God. Jesus would take something that was familiar to his audience and use it to help people understand something unfamiliar to them, namely God and the kingdom of heaven.  

When it comes to understanding God and his kingdom, we are like people born blind. We can no more see the spiritual realm than a blind person can see colours. Jesus’ parables help to bridge the gap in our spiritual understanding.

This week’s parable, sometimes called ‘the friend at midnight’, comes from the gospel of Luke chapter 11. In the context the disciples have just asked Jesus to teach them how to pray. Jesus gives them the words of the Lord’s Prayer and then goes on to say…

5 …“Suppose you have a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread; 6 a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have no food to offer him.’ 7 And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children and I are in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ 8 I tell you, even if he will not get up and give you the bread because of friendship, yet in order to avoid dishonour  he will surely get up and give you whatever you need. [1]9 “So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks fora fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

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

Jesus’ purpose in these verses is to encourage people to pray. To this end Jesus is not so concerned with teaching his disciples the right technique for praying. Rather, Jesus wants us to understand who it is we are praying to.

Sometimes we may lack the motivation to pray. We might think, what difference will it make? But when we understand the character of God, his goodness and willingness to care for us, we find the energy to pray. Indeed, knowing God’s character encourages prayer.

God’s character:

Dr. Gary Inrig tells a story of the famous missionary David Livingston.

After Livingston had been in Africa about 12 years, he had a desire to travel from where he was, on the east of the continent, over to the west coast through a part of that continent that no other European had ever been before.

It was impossible for him to do this on his own, so he went to a local chief and asked for 27 men of the tribe to go with him. The trip was dangerous and the chief knew that white men were not entirely trustworthy.

Sensing this, Livingston made the chief a promise. “If you give me your sons, I promise to return with them, and to deliver them to their homes and their families. My life will be a pledge.” The chief agreed on that basis, and Livingston set out.

The journey was not easy. Difficult terrain, hostile tribes, dangerous animals and illness. But finally, they made it to the west coast. As they stumbled into the port of Luanda, they were amazed to find a British warship there.

The warship had been sent from England for the specific purpose of finding Livingston and bringing him back. The captain said to Livingston, “Sir, Queen Victoria has sent me to urge you to return. All England is waiting to honour you.”

The thought of going home to a hero’s welcome was very tempting, but Livingston had a problem. He had made a promise to return to the chief. “Well,” they assured him, “the promise of a white man to an African doesn’t matter. The Queen is more important than a chief.”

But David Livingston knew he carried the honour of the British Empire with him. If he did not make good on his promise, it would reflect very badly on Queen Victoria and his fellow countrymen.   

Despite all the urgings of the naval officers, Livingston turned around and headed back into the jungle. The trip finally ended 2½ years after he started, with the British explorer delivering the 27 Africans back to their homes and families.

David Livingston had the character to honour his promise. He did the right thing by the African people and this fostered trust. The people were willing to listen to him because his word was something they could rely on.

Honour is about doing the right thing by others, even if the right thing is inconvenient to us. In the parable of the friend at midnight, Jesus makes a case for God’s willingness to answer our prayers based on God’s honour, his good character.

Jesus’ original audience was far more sensitive to matters of shame and honour than many of us are. For them providing hospitality for travellers was a matter of honour, just like keeping his promise was a matter of honour to Livingston. 

So when Jesus asked his listeners to imagine a friend refusing to get out of bed to help his neighbour with the sacred duty of hospitality, they would have been shocked.

Now, if you are anything like me, your sympathy is probably with the bloke who got woken up in the middle of the night. But for Jesus’ eastern audience, the sympathy is with the host who came calling for bread.

If the host did not provide adequately for the traveller, then this brought shame on the whole village. The host who came calling at midnight was not being an annoying neighbour. He was doing the honourable thing both for the traveller and for his whole town.

Besides, he wasn’t asking for much. People in Jesus’ time did not eat with a knife and fork like we do. They broke off pieces of bread and dipped it in the main dish. (Like when we use a piece of Naan bread to mop up our curry). When the host comes asking for three loaves of bread he is simply asking for the cutlery. 

And as for the man’s excuse, that the door is locked and the kids are in bed, this is laughable. While it is true that getting up would probably disturb the family, this was nothing compared with the shame of refusing hospitality in that culture. [2]

The neighbour’s excuse is as ludicrous as not installing a smoke alarm for fear it will wake the whole house. In the same way that it’s better to be woken up than die in a fire, in Middle Eastern culture it’s better to be woken up than publicly shamed.

So the host, who is a friend and neighbour, is not asking for something big for himself. He is asking for something small for someone else, in order to uphold the honour of the village. Which means, even if the man in bed won’t get up and help for the sake of friendship, he will get up and help to avoid the shame of letting the whole village down.  

Verse 8 is a bit difficult to translate into English…

The Good News Bible says the host gets everything he needs because he is not ashamed to keep on asking.

The New Revised Standard Version says the host gets whatever he needs because of his persistence in asking.

While the New International Version says the host gets as much as he needs because of his boldness in asking.

The ideas expressed by these different translations are not wrong or bad. They find support in other parts of Scripture. The problem is they move away from the original meaning of this particular text.

They also put the focus on the host, who is asking for bread, when it should be on the friend who is being asked.

As a consequence, these translations lead us down the path of thinking that receiving an answer to our prayers is dependent on our own ability, which misses the point of the parable.

The parable is not primarily about us (the pray-ers). The parable is primarily about God. The point of this particular parable is not that we will get what we ask for if we are bold enough or persistent enough or shameless enough in our praying.

The point is that we will get all that we need because God’s character is honourable. God is good. He always does the right thing by people, no matter how inconvenient.  

Jesus is arguing from the lesser to the greater. The neighbour who is woken at midnight is poor, but God is rich. The neighbour is asleep, but God is always awake. The neighbour is reluctant, but God is willing.  

Jesus is saying, if your neighbour (who possibly doesn’t like you very much) will help you for the sake of his own honour, how much more will God (your heavenly Father) help you.  

Having faith in the character of God is more important than having the right prayer technique. When we pray to God, we are praying to someone who is honourable. Someone who knows all that we need and is willing and able to do the right thing by us.   

You will notice, in verse 8, that the friend who calls at midnight gets not just the bread he asked for but whatever he needs. In other words, more than just the bread to mop up the meal.

The other thing we note here is that Jesus is not saying God is like a genie who grants our every wish. God gives us the good things we need, not necessarily all the things we want. Some of the things we want may not be good for us or others.

Encourages prayer:

Jesus wants people to know God’s good character so they will be encouraged to pray. In verse 9 the Lord says…

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Given the character of God, we can expect to receive the right answer when we ask. We can expect to find something good when we seek the Lord. And we can expect the door of life to be opened when we knock.

Of course, what we receive may not be what we originally asked for or expected but we can rest assured it will be good for us because we are praying to a God who is honourable. God always does what is right and good because he is righteous and good.   

Another observation from verse 9 is that some effort is required on our part when praying. Asking, seeking and knocking are all verbs (doing words) in the present continuous tense. In other words, go on asking, seeking and knocking until you get an answer.   

The point is: what we bring to prayer is important. Although God knows what we need, we must still ask. To not put our requests before God in prayer is to take God for granted. More than that, asking and receiving grows our faith. The more we sense God responding to our prayers, the stronger our trust in him becomes.

Interestingly, Jesus does not limit prayer to mere asking. It seems that for Jesus, prayer also involved seeking and knocking. Asking engages our mind and our mouth, while seeking and knocking engages our whole self. Prayer is not just sitting in a room speaking to God. Prayer can also involve walking around trying things and looking for openings.    

For example, if you need work, you start by asking God for a job. But you don’t stop there. You put together a CV, you do a search on the internet, you knock on doors, you visit those people and businesses you might want to work for. Prayer means both depending on God as well as doing the leg work and using your initiative.  

In verse 10 Jesus says something truly shocking. The Lord says: For everyone who asks receives; Everyone. Prayer is not just for Christians. Nor is it just for relatively good people. Prayer is for everyone, whether you go to church or not. God responds to everyone’s prayers. It may or may not be the response we are hoping for, but God always listens and answers.

We are talking about the character of God. Knowing God’s character encourages prayer. Prayer is worth the effort because God is honourable. When we pray, we can be confident the Lord will respond with something good.   

Greg Norman was one of the most ice-cold golfers on the pro circuit. Apparently, he learned this from his father. He once said, “I used to see my father getting off a plane or something and I’d want to hug him, but he’d only shake my hand.”

Norman was at the 1996 Masters, the most prestigious golf tournament in the world. He let a six-shot lead go during the last round and lost to his great rival Nick Faldo. Faldo hit a 15 foot birdie for the winning shot. Norman tried to smile as he waited for the customary handshake, but instead he found himself in a bear hug embrace from Faldo. As they held each other Greg Norman began to weep.

Later Norman said, I wasn’t crying because I lost. I’ve lost a lot of golf tournaments and I’ll lose a lot more. I cried because I’d never felt that from another man before. I’ve never had a hug like that in my life.”

In verses 11-13, of Luke 11, Jesus continues to encourage people to pray based on God’s character. From verse 11 we read…

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks fora fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Again, Jesus is reasoning from the lesser to the greater. If earthly fathers (who are far from perfect) are willing to give good gifts to their children, how much more willing is God (who is perfect).  

It’s interesting that Luke’s version of this teaching of Jesus specifically mentions God’s gift of the Holy Spirit, while Matthew’s version uses the more general expression good things.  

For some people receiving the Holy Spirit is accompanied by a warm feeling inside, like receiving a hug. The kind of hug Greg Norman longed for from his father and finally received from his friend Nick Faldo.

Shaking your child’s hand is not a bad thing. Parents could do worse. But a hug that conveys warmth and love is better. The Holy Spirit sometimes gives the sort of hug which reassures us (without words) that God loves us and accepts us as his son or daughter. It’s the kind of hug that gives us the strength and faith to love others.      

By giving us his Holy Spirit, God is giving us the gift of himself, he is pouring something of his love and truth into our heart. There is no greater gift.  

Each person’s experience of the Spirit is different. Not everyone gets a warm fuzzy feeling. But, whatever your experience of God’s Spirit, it will be what you need personally.

Do you need wisdom in making a difficult decision? Ask God the Father and he will give you his Spirit. Do you need grace to forgive or strength to endure? Ask God the Father and he will give you his Spirit.     

Conclusion:

Whether we are praying for ourselves or others, we are not wringing gifts from the hands of an unwilling God. We are going to one who knows what we need better than we do and whose heart toward us is the heart of generous love.

If we do not receive what we pray for it is not because God grudgingly refuses to give it but because he has something better for us. That something better will inevitably require us to change. You see, we don’t just pray in order to get stuff from God. Yes, prayer changes things but it also changes us.

I like what Richard Foster says: “The primary purpose of prayer is to bring us into such a life of communion with the Father that, by the power of the Spirit, we are increasingly conformed to the image of the Son.”

Foster goes on to explain what he means: “When we begin to walk with God, he is gracious and marvellously answers our feeble, egocentric prayers. We think, ‘This is wonderful. God is real after all!’ In time, however, when we try to push this button again, God says to us, “I would like to be more than your Provider. I also want to be your Teacher and your Friend. Let me lead you into a more excellent way. I want to free you of the greed and avarice, the fear and hostility that make your life one great sorrow.’ [3]   

Ultimately God wants to give us the gift of His Spirit so we may enjoy communion with him. Let us pray…

Father God, you are honourable, generous and near. Thank you for knowing our needs and providing for us. Prepare us to receive your Spirit. Set us free to love you and love others. Through Jesus we pray. Amen.   

Outtakes

One final observation from today’s Scripture reading and that is, God is near.

The neighbour who was called on in the middle of the night was near, just next door. And the father who knows how to give good gifts, is even closer, right in the same house as you in fact. God is as near to you as your skin.

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 would you describe the colour red to someone born blind?
  3. What is a parable? What is the purpose of Jesus’ parables generally?
  4. Discuss / reflect on the parable of the friend at midnight in verses 5-8. What was Jesus’ purpose in telling this parable? What is the main point? 
  5. Why can we expect good things when we pray to God?
  6. Have you ever not received what you asked for in prayer? How was God’s response different from what you requested? Why do you think God said ‘no’ to you? How did you feel then? How do you feel about that now?
  7. What would you like to ask God for? Make some time this week to ask, seek and knock. You may like to keep a journal of what you asked for and how God responded.  

[1] The translation of verse 8 follows Joel Green and Kenneth Bailey’s reading of the original text.

[2] Refer to Kenneth Bailey’s book ‘Poet & Peasant, pages 119-141.  

[3] Refer Richard Foster’s book on ‘Prayer’, page 59

Tawa Baptist

Jonah, not just a fishy tale

Written by: Pat Hutchison

Scripture: Jonah

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Disobedience
  • Deliverance
  • Disappointment
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

If I say Jonah, most of you will think Whale/Fish.  I began with a children’s book “The Man Caught by a Fish”.  The fish tends to grab our attention, it’s a fascinating thought a fish swallowing a whole man.  It lights up imagination and is a gripping story.  Unfortunately these memories cloud our perception of Jonah and our memory tends to stop once he is dumped on the shore. 

The fish is a minor player in the story – it’s only mentioned three times in the book of Jonah.  I have just reinforced the connection of Jonah and memory, “He is the guy who got swallowed by the fish”. But the story continues – Jonah does get to Nineveh.

Today I want us to put aside the fish and focus on Jonah and God. This book teaches us a lot about God.  Salvation comes from God and Salvation is for all.  I want to focus on 3 themes:

  • Disobedience
  • Deliverance
  • Disappointment

But first let us look at Jonah – the Man.  Who is he? He was a real person. 

2nd Kings 14:15 names him as Jonah, son of Amittai, the prophet from Gath Hepher.  Jonah 1:1 also names him as Jonah, son of Amittai. We also find he is mentioned in the New Testament by Jesus.  He lived around the 8th Century BC at the time of the Reign of Jeroboam II.

He was a Prophet – a person chosen by God to be God’s messenger to deliver God’s word to the people.  He would have been a man with status and importance.  The Book of Jonah is found in the Old Testament in the Minor Prophets – as distinct from the Major Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. 

It’s not our modern interpretation of Minor as inferior but Minor in length. It is unique in that Jonah is told to take a message to Nineveh (People who

did not worship God) – not to deliver a message to the Hebrew people, God’s Chosen People. 

It opens like the other Minor Prophets with a command from God “To Go!”  Jonah is told to go to Nineveh, and why, because of their wickedness.  Nineveh was the Capital of Assyria, they were not nice people – they were a warring nation and had a reputation for how badly they treated people they captured. 

Jonah is not told to take an Army or anyone else, he is on his own. There is a sense of urgency in the command ‘To Go’, Jonah is expected to go now – not to delay this task from God. So Jonah acts and it’s an act of rebellion \ disobedience.

Disobedience:

Jonah doesn’t reply but disobeys God and runs away.  He is not having anything to do with Nineveh, he is going as far away as possible and he is going by ship.  Why should he go to these people, they are not God’s Chosen, they are Pagans and worship many gods. They don’t believe in the True God. 

Jonah makes no effort to respond to God’s command – silence is also part of his disobedience alongside his action – to escape, to deliberately go the other way.  Psalm 139:7 makes it clear there is no escaping God, “Where can I go from your Spirit?  Where can I flee from your presence?”  Wherever we go God will be there.  Jonah is not very smart – ignoring God’s command and running away. 

And then things began to happen when he is on board the ship! Nobody was expecting a storm, certainly not an enormous storm, the storm is God’s intervention.  The sailors would not have sailed if they knew they would be caught in a storm.  They knew the oceans and weather patterns.  The storm comes and it is violent – it has been sent by God because of Jonah’s disobedience. 

We see that God is in control, God is Sovereign.  The ship is breaking up, the sailors are terrified, throwing cargo overboard.  Some scholars suggest that the act of throwing cargo overboard is an act of sacrifice to their gods.  There is a lot of fear among the sailors. But God is the one in control.

Meanwhile our man Jonah is oblivious to all this – he has gone below the deck and he is fast asleep.  The Captain of the ship goes to him and wakes him up – “How can you sleep?” In desperation he tells Jonah to call on his God.  The Captain knows they are in a desperate situation.  He is using strong language – God told Jonah “To Go”, and now the Captain is telling Jonah, “To Call”.  

There is irony here, after all Jonah is fleeing from God –To Call on God is the last thing he wants to do.  However, the Captain can see he will lose everything – his boat, his cargo, his sailors, and Jonah was sleeping.

The thought of blaming God for the storm may seem like superstition to us but we have been told that the Lord has sent the storm. The sailors know that the severity of this storm was someone’s responsibility so they are drawing straws to find the person and it is no surprise that it is Jonah who has the short straw – the sailors bombard him with questions – they are fearful they will die. 

Jonah responds and his response does nothing to calm the situation.  He is a Hebrew (God’s Chosen Race) and his God is the God of Heaven who made the sea and dry land.  This does nothing to pacify the sailors and the Seas are getting worse.   Jonah’s disobedience has caused great fear and chaos, his disobedience is having an impact of other people – not just himself.

The sailors are even more terrified but now they have identified the source of their trouble – Jonah.  They need a solution to their plight.  Jonah admits it is his fault and his solution is to throw him into the sea.   They don’t do this because they don’t want to be seen as the people who caused God’s Prophet to die – they show compassion towards Jonah.  They make another attempt to ride out the storm and they start to row but the storm is increasing in its intensity.

This time in their fear they call out to the Lord, they have turned to God. Their fear has escalated, to great fear, to fear of the Lord.  Have they come to accept that this storm has been sent by God?

Finally they hurl Jonah into the sea and the seas calm for the sailors and they recognise that God is in control and they pray to God.  But things are happening to Jonah. 

Deliverance:

This brings us to Deliverance.  God’s work of deliverance has already begun, He has delivered the Sailors from death –“and the raging sea became calm.”  The storm was God’s doing because of Jonah’s disobedience. 

In the situation Jonah now finds himself he calls out to God and God provides a fish as the vessel for saving/delivering Jonah from death.  The function of the fish is to save Jonah from death by drowning.  God intervenes and Jonah acknowledges God as his Deliverer and knows he has been saved by God.  This is a very different Jonah to the Jonah who was fleeing God.

Jonah prays to God, he calls out to God after his silence and attempt to flee from God.  What follows is an amazing prayer. Let us just read and appreciate it for what we learn about the relationship between Jonah and God.  Jonah is crying out to God from the depths of his soul knowing full well the situation he is in is the result of his disobedience. He can go no deeper…

“In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.  From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help and you listened to my cry.  You hurled me into the depths, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me.  I said, “I have been banished from your sight:  yet I will look again toward your holy temple”.  The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head.  To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you, my God brought my life up from the pit.  When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, Lord and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.  But I, with shouts of grateful praise, will sacrifice to you.  What I have vowed I will make good.  I will say Salvation comes from the LORD.” 

Jonah 2: 2-9.

Jonah cries for help and God answers him.  We find other examples of God answering cries for help in Psalms.  In fact Jonah uses the words of Psalm 120:1, “I call on the LORD in my distress, and He answers me”.  Jonah realises it is only God who can intervene and save him from the situation he is in or he will face certain death.

We get graphic details of his experience. He acknowledges that he is headed for death and destined for isolation from God.  Despite all this Jonah is optimistic that he will again worship God at His Temple in Jerusalem (a long way from where he is right now!).  The situation is grim, he can descend no deeper.  He remembers God and calls on Him.  He knows it is only God who can deliver him. Initially Jonah is focused on himself and then there is a dramatic turn around and Jonah’s attention turns to God.

We still see his dislike for Nineveh “Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them”.  He shows no compassion for the very people God commands him to go to, but he has vowed to make good and God’s response to Jonah is Deliverance– The LORD commanded the fish and it vomited Jonah onto dry land. 

Deliverance can mean escape, redemption, rescue and salvation.  All of these are apt for Jonah.  God has not given up on Jonah – far from it. God again commands Jonah to go to Nineveh and to proclaim the message God gave him.  This time Jonah is obedient, there is no attempt to escape, we see willing compliance.  After all he has done and experienced Jonah has a change of heart towards God but not towards Nineveh. 

Nineveh was a great city, it was Assyrian and considered to be difficult to overthrow, their reputation of brutality would have been well known to Jonah and God is sending him there with a strong message that they will probably not like.

Jonah’s task is to deliver God’s message, it is a long journey and one would expect him to be suffering some effects of his recent experiences.  Jonah knows he is not alone – God is with him even though he still is not accepting of the Ninevites.

He arrives and proclaims the end of Nineveh in 40 days and 40 nights because of their wickedness.  The city was not overthrown, the Ninevites believed in God and they repented from the King down.  Putting on sackcloth was a common way of expressing grief, humility and penitence – the hallmarks of true repentance. 

The whole of Nineveh repented.  “When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he arose from his throne, took of his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust.  This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: “By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink.  But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth.  Let everyone call urgently on God.  Let them give up their evil ways and their violence.  Who knows?  God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.”

God saw their repentance and He relented and did not bring on them the destruction He had threatened.  He delivered Nineveh and all its people from destruction. 

Disappointment:

Meanwhile Jonah is angry and disappointed with God. He prays and reveals the real reason he tried to flee from going to Nineveh – He didn’t want God to save the Ninevites, he wanted them to perish.   Jonah acknowledges that “God is a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity.”  God has saved Nineveh.  Jonah’s response to what God has done is to want to die.

Disappointed Jonah has gone away from the city to wait for God to destroy the city.  Nothing happens, he builds a shelter, he sulks, he still wants to die. His disappointment increases when the plant God had provided dies and he has no shade.

Disappointment is a very much a human condition.  We need to look at why people become disappointed with God.  Philip Yancey wrote a book on Disappointment with God and it seems to me that people become disappointed with God when God does not do what they want Him to do.

It’s a spiritual disappointment.  For Jonah God did not let him flee from going to Nineveh.  God let the plant wither and die, God spared him his life.  That is a whole lot of disappointment.  Jonah responds in a very human way, he wants to die.  What happened to his declaration that “Salvation comes from the Lord?”

But God shows his love and mercy to Jonah and the people of Nineveh.  He saved Jonah from the storm, He delivered Jonah from drowning by providing the fish at the right time.  He saved the city of Nineveh when they repented.

God is free to do as He wants, to save those outside of His Chosen People.  God is sovereign and Lord over all.

Despite all of Jonah’s faults, God never gave up on Jonah – his attempt to flee from God and his disobedience.  God had his hand on him.  God had a task for Jonah to do and even though Jonah was not keen to fulfil the task, God never left him.  Jonah was saved from death in a miraculous way.  Jonah was given a second chance.  God used Jonah to save a city.

Conclusion:

God never gives up on us.  In Hebrews we read God “will never leave us or forsake us.” God requires “us to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with God” (Micah 6:8). In Proverbs (3) we are told to “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding: in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

Let us pray:  Our God we thank you for what we can learn from your word.  Thank you that you are a God of mercy and love. Thank you that you never give up on us.  Your hand is on our lives to deliver us from situations we get ourselves into.  Thank you we are not alone.  Help us to keep our faith and to walk in your chosen path for each of us.    Amen

Tawa Baptist

All creation gives you praise

Written by: Geraldine Canham-Harvey

Scripture: Psalm 150, Psalm 148, Genesis 1 & 2

Kia ora koutou

I’m going to begin today by reading verses 1, 2 and 6 of Psalm 150.[1]

Psalm 150 concludes the Book of Psalms with a real hiss and a roar. It’s a joyful rallying call to join together to praise God.

Imagine yourself in the picture, in the middle of a crowd as the call goes out:

1Praise the LORD!

Praise God in his Temple

Praise his strength in heaven!

2Praise him for the mighty things he has done.

Praise his supreme greatness. …

6Praise the LORD, all living creatures!

Praise the LORD!

‘Praise the Lord’ is the translation of the Hebrew word ‘Hallelujah!”.

And who does the Psalm writer say should lift those Hallelujahs? All living creatures. Other translations of the Bible have the phrase ‘everything that has breath’ instead.

So, quick question, if you think about what has breath, what comes to your mind? What about an aardvark, a cacti, a flax bush, or a pūkeko?

In Genesis 1 and 2, at the very start of the Bible, we read that all creation came from God … including the cosmos, the day and night, the land and water …

…­ as well all the animals, the plants, the fungi and other creatures that are usually very small, like an amoeba or a bacterium. And of course, human life.

In Genesis 1 & 2, the Bible explains that all living things share the breath of life, as a gift given from God. In Genesis 2:17, God breathes life into Adam.

While in verse 19, the same Hebrew phrase is used for when God breathes life into the ‘living creatures’ (that’s everything alive other than humans).[2],[3]

All breath, all life, came and comes from God. Nothing could exist without Him.

The poet Gerard Manley Hopkins said the world is charged with the grandeur of God.

As well as the breath of life, many, many verses throughout the Bible inform us how both human and non-human living creatures rely on God to provide for their needs and continued existence. [4] All living creatures have much to thank and praise God for.

Throughout the Bible there’s many indications that all of creation, not just humans, are intended to give God glory and praise.  The Psalms are a great example of this. I don’t have time to read or list them all, so I’ll put them in the notes that will be posted online.

But for now, here’s a section of Psalm 148[5], where not only living creatures with breath, but also the cosmos, the land and the weather, praise and glorify God:

7 Praise the Lord from the earth,
    you sea monsters and all deeps,
8 fire and hail, snow and frost,
    stormy wind fulfilling his command!

9 Mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars!
10 Wild animals and all cattle,
    creeping things and flying birds!

11 Kings of the earth and all peoples,
    princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and women alike,
    old and young together!

13 Let them praise the name of the Lord,
    for his name alone is exalted;
    his glory is above earth and heaven.

Just like Psalm 150, verse 13 of Psalm 148 signals to us that all of creation should, does and will praise God… but also, that we will do it together.

In his book, Creation Care Discipleship, writer Steven Bouma-Prediger reflects on these verses and proposes that “Creation is one grand symphony”, in which every living thing “…in their creaturely way, praise God their Creator and Sustainer”.[6]

These images raise some questions for me; maybe they do for you too?

First, how do animals, plants, fungi and other living creatures praise God? What is their ‘creaturely way?

  • Do seaweed sing?
  • Can a glowworm move to the beat?
  • A penguin play a riff on the guitar?
  • Or a kōwhai tree clap?

Singing and making music in those ways are obviously human forms of worship.

As humans we can only really know how it is to live and worship as a human.

This is our Umwelt – that’s a German term that literally translates to mean ‘environment’.

But Umwelt also has another meaning, of the way that a living creature perceives and experiences the world through its senses and perception.

In other words, how a creature is intelligent about the world around it.

Within the human population, there are different Umwelt. For example,people who are blind or deaf, or neurodiverse, can perceive the world in some way differently to other people.

Taking humanity as a whole, our Umwelt is different to other living creatures.

I think it’s fair to say that humans often think that intelligence is kind of what we have in spades, and other animals and living things, eh, they don’t have it so much.

Some might make exceptions for some animals such as dogs, apes, dolphins and parrots and crows. Increasingly though, research is showing that non-human living creatures have varied and remarkable forms of intelligence and perception, way outside of our human comprehension. For example:

  • Trees have been found to be linked underground by a network of fungi that allow them to send nutrients to other trees, as well as chemical signals if one of them gets a disease or are eaten by parasites…this network has been termed the Wood Wide Web.[7]
  • Plants played recordings of caterpillars munching on leaves, were found to flood their leaves with nasty tasting chemicals that caterpillars wouldn’t eat. It’s as if the plants could hear they might be about to be eaten and plan how to avoid this.[8]
  • Kea have shown they understand how to use probability to solve problems …including that if you secretly rearrange road cones when no humans are looking, you can make traffic move in all sorts of ways (the kea didn’t realise that NZTA had CCTV at the roadworks)[9]
  • Whales communicate with sounds so low, called infrasounds, they can travel over huge ocean distances (like across the Atlantic) – but also elephants use these sounds standing alongside each other.[10]

There are so many examples of these studies and research there’s no way to list them all. I hope this signals the potential of other living creatures having the wherewithal and intelligence to praise God and the idea isn’t something fanciful or impossible.

Exactly ‘how’ they will or do praise seems beyond us for now – it’s just mysterious – but as the Bible says, who knows the mind of God?

To me, it’s awe-inspiring there’s no limits to God’s creativity including the different types of intelligence that are out there and we just don’t know.

So if the first question is how do other creatures praise God, the second question that pops into my mind, is how we as humans can sing in harmony with animals like lions or sharks, who might otherwise be eyeing us up for dinner?

The Bible reveals a coming time of peace that all creation can look forward to, when God’s kingdom is fully restored and completed. It’ll be a time when all living things will live together in positive and mutually beneficial relationships. Isaiah 11 verse 6 gives a series of images, such as:

Wolves and sheep will live together in peace,
    and leopards will lie down with young goats.
Calves and lion cubs will feed together,
    and little children will take care of them.

But it’s not just in the future; in Isaiah 65 verse 17 states: “Behold, I will create a new heaven and a new earth. The phrase ‘will create’ is a form of grammar that also implies ‘I am in the process of creating’. So, it’s not just about God’s future intentions, but also an action He seeks to make happen now.[11]

Humans were given a specific role in helping creation thrive and praise God.

God gave humans a special character – God created humans in his image, Genesis Chapters 1 and 2 tells us.[12]

We are, as Paul said, to be ‘imitators of God’, with Christ as our model.[13]

You can think of this as ‘our job description’.[14] In having God’s likeness, God declares that humans will be responsible to have dominion over all living creatures.[15]

In fact, the first words God speaks to humans in Genesis 1 is a commandment:

“Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.”[16]

Only humans are given this role, a unique set of privileges with responsibilities.

It’s a delegated authority, like if your manager leaves you in charge of the business, or your parents ask you to look after your younger sisters and brothers.

The responsibility then is like a caretaker.[17] But your manager or parents are still in charge at the end of the day.

Likewise, all creation remains God’s. It is His.[18] He wants it to thrive and live well, abundantly. Humanity is called to reflect and do God’s wishes for all creation.

So how can we understand what is commanded of us in Genesis?

Firstly, writers I have read suggest that the word ‘subdue’ more likely meant ‘tend and care for’.[19]

Secondly, the term ‘dominion’ does not have the same meaning as domination.  

Kings in the Old Testament, who had ‘dominion’, were expected to imitate God – to be generous and benevolent, serving their people, and protecting those who were at risk of oppression, exploitation and destruction.

Jesus, is the King above all kings. He is superior to all created things, as it says in Colossians 1.[20] But Jesus, our King, came to serve, not to be served.

Of his upside-down kingdom, Jesus said ‘the first shall be last, and the last shall be first’.

Personally, I’m still grappling with what this might mean in terms of human’s relationship with other living creatures. Especially creatures such as fleas.

In Genesis 3 however, we learn that humans messed up this calling to be like God and instead tried to become God.

These actions had consequences, and impacted the rest of creation, its intended order and its response to God. In Romans Chapter 8, Paul expresses that all creation now groans for release and redemption from these consequences.[21]

We know some of the impacts to be the loss of biodiversity, pollution, deforestation, degrading of the land, climate change, and so forth. These outcomes weren’t God’s intention! How can creation praise Him if it cannot thrive?

Paul says through Jesus, God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.[22]

Ultimately God seeks a relationship with the creation in which He delights.

And God wants the different parts of creation to be in positive relationship with each other, to support each other to thrive.

So, what might this all mean for us, if the Bible purports that “all that has breath, praise the Lord?” (Psalm 150) Or, as Bouma-Prediger asks, “How can we strengthen the symphony so that all God’s creatures are enabled to sing praise to God?”[23]

Well, Jesus gave His followers no exemption to the commandment to protect God’s creation and to help it flourish and thrive.

A writer on Christian practices for creation care, Jonathan Moo, has framed humanity’s role in caring for creation as: “…a sign of participation in the life of God’s kingdom…”

And he says we can do this as a “…grateful response to the work God has already accomplished and is bringing to completion in Chris through the Holy Spirit.”[24]

You might be expecting me to finish up with some kind of to do list of what you and we can all do to care and protect other living beings and the environments in which they and we live. But that’s outside the time of this talk, plus there’s so much information out there.

One group and their website I will recommend from a Christian perspective is A’Rocha – an international organization, which has an Aotearoa New Zealand branch, and also local groups throughout the country.[25]

The writer, the Rev Dave Bookless, whom I referred to earlier, is A’Rocha’s Director of Theology. To conclude, I’d like to give a few of the principles that he lists in that article, for you to ponder on:

  • The world and all its creatures (human and non-human) belong to God and exist to bring glory to God.
  • Humanity has a divine vocation in reflecting God’s character towards living creatures.
  • Christianity offers hope for all creation through the redeeming work of Christ.

Thank you.[26]

[1] Bible verses are from the New Revised Standard Version (Updated Edition)

[2]  David Bookless, ‘Let everything that has breath praise the Lord’, in Cambridge Papers, September 2014 (volume 23 number 3). Available online at: https://www.cambridgepapers.org/the-bible-and-biodiversity/

[3] See Psalm 104:30

[4]  For example, see Psalms 24:1, 65:9-11, 104:10-18, 145:15-19

[5] Psalm 148:7-13

[6] Steven Bouma-Prediger, Creation Care Discipleship: Why Earthkeeping is an Essential Christian Practice, Baker Academic, 2023.

[7] There’s been a few books and documentaries on this, but for a quick overview see the article in New Zealand Geographic here: https://www.nzgeo.com/stories/the-wood-wide-web/

[8] This example came from Hope Jahren’s book, Lab Girl, Penguin Random House, 2016

[9] Caught on NZTA’s CCTV – watch a clip here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FuA5tO_c7s4

[10]  Ed Yong, An Immense World: How Animals Sense Earth’s Amazing Secrets, Penguin Books, 2023

[11] For examples, see Psalm 104:30, Isaiah 65:9, ,  Revelation 21:1

[12] Genesis 1:26-27, 2:7.

[13] Ephesians 5:1

[14] David Bookless, ibid.

[15] Genesis 1:26

[16] Genesis 1:28

[17] Or kaitiaki, in Te Reo Māori. Te Ao Māori, the Māori worldview, is imbued with the concept of stewardship.

[18] See Psalms 24:1 and 50:10-12; 1 Cor. 10:25-26; Col. 1:15-20.

[19] Those who first heard Genesis came from farming communities, and very attuned to the needs of the animals, crops and the soil, and how they thrived. See the chapter ‘People Who Care for Creation”, in Christopher Wright’s book The Mission of God’s People: A Biblical Theology of the Church’s Mission, Zondevan, 2010. I have a copy if you’re interested to read it.

[20] Col. 1:15-19.

[21] Romans 8:18:23; see also Hosea 4:3.

[22] Col. 1:20

[23] Bouma-Prediger, 2023, ibid.

[24] Jonathan Moo, ‘When Good Christians Destroy the Earth’. In Ecoflourishing and Virtue, (editors Steven Bouma-Prediger, Nathan Carson), Routledge 2023.

[25] The Aotearoa New Zealand website URL is: https://arocha.org.nz/

[26] For an overview of some of the themes in this message, see also Christopher Wright’s book.

Tawa Baptist

Christmas: The Story Continues…

So, here we are at the start of a new year. Christmas is just about over. Well, in a sense that’s true, but the birth of Jesus is not really something we leave behind us; we carry its consequences with us.

I sometimes think of the Christmas story as being like an episode in a long-running TV series. Each episode may be viewed as a separate story, but it only really makes sense if you have seen what happened earlier. And at the end of each episode, you sit there wondering what’s going to happen next.

In a way, the Bible is like a series of episodes that takes place over a very long period of time. Many episodes can be read on their own, but they also need to be considered as part of a continuous narrative. Fortunately, we don’t have to wait for each episode to come along – they are all in the Bible for us to read now, from the very beginning. Having said that, we will have to wait for the last episode – the release date has not been announced yet!

We often (but not always, of course) start the Christmas story with an angel appearing to Mary, and end with the wise men heading back to their homes somewhere in the east. It is an important episode, but it only makes sense when we consider what happened earlier. The period of Advent, which led us up to Christmas, helped us do that. It can be hard for us to understand the joy of the first Christmas if we don’t realise the longing that God’s people felt.

The Christmas story is about the birth of Jesus of course, but it’s also about some normal people made special by God. I mentioned that for any episode in a TV series, we love to know what happens next. Today, I’m going to look briefly at ‘what happened next’ to some of the ordinary people in the Christmas story. I hope you already know what happened to Jesus!

The Bible tells us that an angel visited some shepherds in the fields, and told them where to find the new-born Jesus. After they had seen the baby and his parents, Luke’s Gospel tells us that “The shepherds went back, singing praises to God for all they had heard and seen; it had been just as the angel had told them.”

And that’s it; we aren’t told how many shepherds there were, or what their names were. “The shepherds returned”; after all, they still had sheep to look after. But I doubt that they returned to just ‘business as usual’ – their lives would never be the same again. Can you imagine anyone meeting Jesus in such a way and not telling others about it?

There were the wise men from the east too, who followed a star to the child Jesus. They worshipped him and gave him gifts. In Matthew’s Gospel we hear that “Then they returned to their country by another road, since God had warned them in a dream not to go back to Herod.” Again, we aren’t told how many wise men there were, exactly where they came from or what their names were. Like the shepherds, it’s hard to imagine that the wise men arrived home the same as when they left.

There are many times in the Bible when we are not told the names of people involved. Just a few examples: the Samaritan woman at the well is not named; the two criminals on either side of Jesus when he was crucified are not named, nor is the boy who donated his lunch to feed a large crowd. The recipients of many miracles are not named. For the host of unnamed people, including the Christmas shepherds and wise men, they only appear once – so knowing their names is not needed for later identification.

God knows everyone’s name, but it’s what people did that mattered, not what their names were. The shepherds were obedient to God and they spread the word of Jesus’ birth – their names didn’t matter. The wise men showed that Jesus would welcome non-Jews from a different culture – their names didn’t matter.  

There are times when it seems God does want us to know the names of people he used in his plan for us all. In the Christmas story, Mary and Joseph come to mind. They both played an important part in what came next.

Mary and Joseph were changed by the Christmas story. On top of staying obedient to God, they now had the responsibility of bringing up Jesus. The Bible doesn’t tell us much about the early life of Jesus, just enough episodes to create (together with a bit of guesswork) a picture of the roles Mary and Joseph played. They raised him up in the Jewish religion, making sure he kept the traditions and learned the writings and teachings. They protected the infant Jesus by taking him to Egypt to escape the murderous King Herod, returning to be part of a supportive community in Nazareth when God told them it was safe. They fed him, spent time with him, encouraged him, dealt with his childhood problems, taught him a trade, worried about him when he went off without telling them. And at the same time, Joseph worked for a living and Mary organised a household that included numerous brothers and sisters.

You know, they did all those things parents do. Despite having the Son of God in their family, Mary and Joseph were normal parents, juggling work and family life. If you ask someone today what they like best about Christmas, they’ll often say “family”. I think Mary and Joseph were an example of why we might agree with that. Of course, some of us aren’t parents, or we aren’t able to enjoy being with family at Christmas. We can still look to Mary and Joseph as examples of faithfulness and obedience to God.

Joseph is not mentioned in the Bible after Jesus reached the age of 12, and it’s normally assumed that Joseph died. But Mary kept on without him, supporting Jesus and witnessing some of his ministry, along with the rest of her children. She was present when Jesus performed his first miracle, turning water into wine at a wedding. She also saw Jesus die on the cross. The last time we hear of Mary was after Jesus had risen and been taken up to Heaven – Mary and some of her family met with the disciples to pray.

Mary and Joseph didn’t know God’s plan, but their faithfulness, sacrifice and trust are examples to us all. For Mary and Joseph, the first Christmas was not something they could just put behind them; it was the start of a huge new episode in their lives. We can be encouraged to stay faithful in our own journey, even when we don’t see where God is leading us.

And let’s not forget the shepherds and the wise men; they got to see Jesus, and their lives would never be the same. For most of us, our lives also changed when we first met Jesus.

Christmas is over. Will you carry on with life as normal?

Or perhaps you’ll be like Mary and Joseph, and take the opportunity to deepen your faith and obedience.

Perhaps you’ll be like the shepherds, and pass on the good news of Jesus to others.

We could all be like Mary right after the visit of the shepherds. They had told her of the angel’s message, that Jesus would be a saviour, good news to all people. Luke 2:19 tells us that:

“Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.”

What will the next episode in the Christmas story look like for you this year?

Tawa Baptist

The Portrait

Scripture: Matthew 5:3-10

In his book The Tender Commandments, Ron Mehl tells the story of a father and a son…

Once there was a wealthy man who, along with his son, shared a passion for collecting art. They would travel the world together adding only the finest pieces to their collection. Priceless works by Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet and many others hung on the walls of their family estate.

The father, who had lost his wife many years earlier, looked on with satisfaction as his only son became an experienced and skillful art collector in his own right. The bond between father and son was strong, their relationship close.

One year war engulfed the nation and the son enlisted to serve his country.

After training he shipped out to the front with his company. He had only been there a few short weeks when his father received a telegram to say his son was missing in action.

The father waited, fearing the worst. Within days his fears were realized.

It was confirmed that his son had died while rescuing a wounded mate.

The father was beside himself with grief. Christmas was coming but what was there left to celebrate. His wife and only son were gone so there did not seem much point.

Early on Christmas morning the old man heard a knock at the door and slowly lifted himself from his chair to see who it might be. As he walked down the long wide corridor of his mansion, the masterpieces hanging on the walls seemed to mock him. Beauty and riches are meaningless if you don’t have someone to share them with.

Opening his front door the old man was surprised to see a young man dressed in uniform with a large package in his hand. The soldier introduced himself saying…

“I was a friend of your son. As a matter of fact, I was the one he was rescuing when he died. May I come in for a few moments. I have something I would like to show you.”

As the two began to talk the soldier told how the man’s son had spoken so much about art and the joy of collecting masterpieces alongside his father.

“I’m something of an artist myself”, the soldier said a bit shyly, “And well, I want you to have this.”

As the old man unwrapped the package, the brown paper gave way to reveal a portrait of the man’s son, who had been killed. No one would consider the painting a masterpiece, but it did capture the young man’s expression.

Tears welled in the old man’s eyes. The soldier painter sat still, not saying a word. He simply made room for the old man’s grief.

After a few moments the father managed to compose himself long enough to say, “Thank you, I will hang the picture above the mantlepiece.”

Later that same day, when the soldier had left, the old man removed a Monet to make room for the portrait of his hero son in pride of place over the mantlepiece. Then he spent the rest of the day just looking at it, remembering his boy as he was.

During the days and weeks that followed, the man realized that even though his son was no longer with him, the boy’s life would live on because of those he had saved. His son had rescued dozens of fellow soldiers before being cut down himself.

The portrait of his son became the old man’s most prized possession. He told his neighbours it was the greatest gift he had ever received.

A few years past before the old man became ill and died. With the famous collector’s passing, the art world eagerly anticipated a great auction. According to the collector’s will, all of the works would be auctioned on Christmas day, the day he had received his greatest gift.

Christmas soon arrived and art dealers from around the world gathered to bid on some of the world’s most spectacular paintings. The excitement was palpable. What would be put up for sale first? A Picasso perhaps or maybe a Van Gogh…

But the auction did not begin how people expected. The auction began with a painting that was not on any museum’s list. It was the simple portrait of a young soldier, the collector’s son.

The auctioneer began, “Who will open with a bid of a hundred dollars?”

The room was uncomfortably silent. Finally, after what seemed like an age, a gruff voice could be heard from the back of the room, “Who cares about that painting? It’s just a portrait of the old codger’s son”. Other voices could be heard grunting their agreement. “Let’s forget about it and move on to the good stuff.”

“No” the auctioneer replied, “we have to sell this one first. Now, who will receive the son?”

Eventually, a neighbour of the old man spoke up. “Will you take fifty dollars for it. I knew the boy, so I’d like to have it.”

“I have fifty dollars”, called the auctioneer, “Will anyone go higher?”

After more silence, the auctioneer said, “Going once, going twice, sold for $50!”

The gavel fell and cheers filled the room. Someone called out, “Finally, now we can get on with it”

But at that moment, the auctioneer looked up at the audience and announced the auction was over. Stunned disbelief blanketed the room.

Someone spoke up, “What do you mean it’s over?” I didn’t fly halfway round the world for a picture of the old guy’s son. What about all these other paintings? There’s millions of dollars’ worth of art here. I demand an explanation!”

In a quiet, clearvoice the auctioneer replied, “It’s very simple… according to the will of the father, whoever receives the son, gets it all.”

In some ways, Jesus is like the son in this story. Jesus is loved by God the Father, so much so that whoever receives Jesus by faith, inherits the kingdom of heaven.

Of course, Jesus does not go to the highest bidder. Jesus freely offers himself to everyone who will make room to receive him.

However, the gift of God’s son is not usually offered in the way we might expect. Jesus was born into poverty and laid in a feeding trough. I don’t think anyone anticipated that. Even more shockingly, Jesus suffered and died on a cross, giving his life to save ours. No one expected a crucified Messiah.

We do not receive Jesus in strength or by our own resources. We receive Jesus in weakness, on our knees, with nothing to offer but an honest confession of our need.

Those who receive Jesus, will (eventually) inherit it all, for Jesus embodies the kingdom of God.

In Matthew 5, Jesus talks about what it looks like to receive him…

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Will we make room to receive Jesus, even when he comes to us in ways we are not expecting?

Let us pray…

Father God, we thank you for your love and generosity. Help us to recognize the opportunities you give for receiving Jesus. May we be open to accept your grace, your truth, your mercy, your Spirit. Amen.