Tawa Baptist

The weeds among the wheat

 Scripture: Matthew 13:24-30 & 36-43

Video Link: https://youtu.be/_0WKCa2_7so

Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 3 May 2026 – The weeds among the wheat by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Heaven on earth
  • Evil tolerated
  • Creative judgement
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

You may have heard of the Glycemic Index. The Glycemic Index (or GI for short) is a scale from 1 to 100 that ranks food based on how quickly it raises blood sugar levels after being eaten.

Food with a low GI is generally better for you because it is digested slower, providing a more gradual, sustained release of energy. Examples of low GI foods include things like quinoa, lentils and non-starchy vegetables.

By contrast, high GI foods like white bread, potatoes and lollies tend to spike blood sugar levels, giving you a quick energy hit before dumping you again.

For the last three months we have been exploring some of Jesus’ parables in the gospels. In many ways, the parables of Jesus are like low GI spiritual food. The meaning doesn’t come quickly. The parables digest slowly, providing a sustained nourishment for our faith.        

Today we conclude our series by focusing on the parable of the weeds among the wheat, in Matthew 13. In verses 24-30 Jesus tells this parable to the crowds then later, in private, the disciples ask Jesus to explain the meaning, which he does in verses 36-43. From Matthew 13, verse 24 we read…

24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. 27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’ 28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

(Jumping ahead to verse 36…)

36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 He answered, 

“The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

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

Heaven on earth:

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.

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.

In Matthew 13, Jesus compares God’s kingdom to a field of wheat. Jesus begins his parable by saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.”

We know from the interpretation Jesus gives later, that the man in this parable is the Son of Man, which is code for the Messiah; Jesus’ himself. The seed that Jesus plants represents those people who belong to God’s kingdom. While the field represents the world in which we live. Ponder that for a moment.

Often times people think of the kingdom of heaven as some place in the sky or somewhere else not on this earth. A place we hope to go to in the future after we die. And while there is a heaven separate from this earth, Jesus’ purpose is to bring God’s reign, his way of operating to this world.

We sometimes sing a worship song by Brooke Fraser, ‘What a beautiful name’. There’s a line in that song which reads: ‘You didn’t want heaven without us, so Jesus you brought heaven down’. That line captures something of Jesus’ meaning in this parable. Jesus came to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth.    

But notice the way Jesus establishes God’s reign on earth. God’s kingdom does not come by military force, nor by political manoeuvring. God’s kingdom comes organically, gently, gradually, invisibly at first, like seed sown in the ground.

The wheat Jesus sows is low GI.

In the same mysterious way a seed grows by itself, so too the kingdom of heaven grows by itself (no one knows how). Indeed, the growth of God’s kingdom is inevitable. It cannot be stopped.

When the world seems in chaos and our hope is threatened, we need not despair. God’s kingdom will be realised in its fullness one day. The establishment of God’s reign on earth does not depend on us.

In all of this we are to see the obvious; that this world rightfully belongs to God. And God is redeeming it in his own way through Jesus.

Evil tolerated:

Now at this point you might be thinking, what about all the wars, all the suffering, all the injustice and every other bad thing we observe and experience in this world? If Jesus came to establish the kingdom of heaven on earth, 2000 years ago, then heaven falls a long way short of the paradise we might have expected.

Well, Jesus addresses this question in verse 25 saying: But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.

Jesus later explains to his disciples that the enemy here is the devil, and the weeds are those people who belong to the evil one.

In the 1995 film, The Usual Suspects, the main character, Roger Kint famously says: “The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.”

This line goes back to 1864, with the French writer Charles Baudelaire who coined a similar phrase. The quote suggests the devil’s most effective strategy is making people doubt his existence, thus making it easier for evil to go unnoticed.

Charles Baudelaire may have got his inspiration from Jesus, for the weeds sown by the devil do go unnoticed at first. Verse 26 tells us, it was only when the wheat sprouted and formed heads, that the weeds also appeared.

The word translated as weeds is not weeds in a generic sense but refers to a specific kind of plant commonly known as darnel. The fruit of the darnel plant will make you sick if you eat it.

Darnel looks a lot like wheat when it is young. It is only as the wheat and the darnel reach maturity that you can tell them apart. By that stage it is too late to pull the darnel out because the roots have become entwined with the wheat.

This is why, when the servants ask the owner of the field if he wants them to pull out the weeds, the owner says, ‘No, because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest.’  

This is the most challenging part of the parable, I think. Remember the weeds (the darnel) represent those people who belong to the evil one. In practical terms, pulling out the weeds would mean first identifying and then killing certain bad people with the aim of trying to make the world a better place.

William Shakespeare, the famous playwright, explored this theme in his tragedy, Hamlet.  Hamlet was the prince of Denmark. When his father died, Hamlet returned home to discover his uncle, Claudius, was married to his mother, Gertrude, and Claudius had taken the throne.  

It turns out Hamlet’s father, the king of Denmark, had been murdered by his brother Claudius. Claudius was having an affair with Gertrude and he wanted the throne for himself.

In thinking of Jesus’ parable, Claudius was what we might call a weed.

He looked like wheat, but really he was poisonous darnel. ‘There was something rotten in Denmark.’ Hamlet took it upon himself to avenge his father’s death and weed out Claudius by killing him.  

Tragically, it all went wrong. In the process of trying to kill Claudius, Hamlet accidently killed the wrong man, Polinius. As the play goes on the body count mounts. By the end Ophilia, Claudius, Gertrude and Hamlet himself are all dead. That’s what happens when you try to weed out the darnel.

Hamlet is a work of fiction but tragedies like this play out in real life all the time. History is littered with assassination attempts and plots of revenge. Human beings playing God, trying to make the world a better place by weeding out certain individuals or groups.  

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the famous Christian theologian, wrestled with this very question (about whether or not to pull out the weeds) and he became embroiled in a plot to kill Hitler. He failed and was imprisoned for a while before being executed.

Most people these days view Bonhoeffer as a hero of the faith. Was Bonhoeffer right to try and weed out Hitler or would he have been better to leave well alone? I don’t know. That is for God to judge. I pray we never have to face a decision like that.

The point is, in God’s kingdom on earth, evil is tolerated for a while. Evil is allowed to grow alongside the good, until the harvest. The implication here is that God permits suffering in this life. Which means we are called to practice the unpopular virtues of patient faith, forgiveness and perseverance.

In God’s kingdom, judgement about who belongs to Jesus and who belongs to the evil one is left to God. We are not to judge. We don’t have all the facts and we are a bit biased anyway.   

Letting the weeds be, fits with Jesus’ teaching about how to treat our enemies. In verse 39 of Matthew 5, Jesus says: Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

Then in verse 44 the Lord goes on to say: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

In other words, God waters the weeds as well as the wheat. This is challenging stuff. We cannot love our enemies in our own strength. We need special grace from the Lord to do this. May God deliver us from the time of trial.       

Creative judgement:  

God will not permit evil and the suffering it causes to remain in the world indefinitely. At the end of the age there will be a final judgement, a day of reckoning, when all evil will be weeded out, not by us, but by the angels of God.

Just as weeds (in ancient times) were burned in the fire, so too everything that causes sin and all who do evil will be destroyed. Scary stuff if you are on the side of evil. But it’s good news if you are in Christ. Those who hunger and thirst for righteousness will be satisfied.

When we think of judgement our focus is often drawn toward the pyrotechnics, the blazing furnace, the weeping and gnashing of teeth and such like. We can go down all sorts of rabbit holes exploring theories about the conditions of hell. And while the prospect of judgement is understandably concerning, we must not overlook the creative aspect of God’s judgement.

What we notice in this parable, is that God separates the weeds from the wheat at the end of the age. In another judgement day parable, God separates the sheep from the goats. Basically, at the judgement God separates good from evil.

By doing this God is restoring order to his creation, much like he did in Genesis 1 and 2 where we read how the Lord brought order to the chaos by separating things that were mixed together.

For example, the Lord separated the light from the darkness. He separated the dry land from the sea, and he separated the water below from the water above, making the expanse we call ‘sky’. In doing this the Lord made the world functional for human life.  

What I’m saying here is that judgement day is also creation day. It’s not all hellfire and brimstone. God’s judgement makes this world new, functional, beautiful again.

Nevertheless, we may still feel some fear and trepidation in listening to Jesus’ parable in Matthew 13. How do we know if we are weeds or wheat? The human heart is deceitful, who can know it? Even when we want to do the right thing, we often end up doing the wrong thing anyway. Are we not all sinners?

Well yes, the Bible tells us all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That is true. However, God in his grace has atoned for our sin through Jesus’ death on the cross. What separates the wheat from the weeds is a personal relationship with Jesus. We relate with Christ by faith.

Changing metaphors for a moment, Jesus is the good shepherd who goes out of his way to find the lost sheep, but salvation is not automatic. Repentance and faith in Jesus are how we accept God’s salvation.

Two criminals were crucified with Jesus. One on his right and the other on his left. We might think both criminals were weeds, poisonous darnel destined for the furnace. Certainly, one of the criminals hurled insults at Jesus, but the other criminal showed his support for Jesus saying…

“Don’t you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our sins deserve. But this man [Jesus] has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” And Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise”.

Faith and repentance you see. As human beings we are able to make choices and the choices we make do matter. We cannot be sure who will prove to be wheat until the final judgement; therefore, we cannot judge others.  

Conclusion:

Jesus concludes the interpretation of his own parable, in verse 43, by saying… Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

You might think the wheat gets ground into flour and eaten after the harvest. No. That would be to take Jesus’ parable in a direction he never intended.

The righteous are more than mere wheat. If we trust and obey Jesus, we are children of God the Father. We may seem pretty ordinary, pretty beige, in this life. But in the age to come we will be golden.

Let us pray…  

Lord Jesus Christ, you are God with us. Grant us the grace and strength to persevere in faith, bearing good fruit 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. What proportion of your physical diet is low GI food? What proportion of your spiritual diet is low GI?
  3. What does the parable in Matthew 13:24-30 show us about the way Jesus establishes heaven on earth?
  4. Why does God tolerate evil on earth, at least for a while? What are the implications for us? 
  5. Discuss / reflect on what this parable reveals about God’s judgement. In what way is the day of judgement a creative act of God? What notes of hope do we find in this parable?
  6. How do we know if we are weeds or wheat? What separates the weeds from the wheat?
  7. How does Jesus’ parable of the weeds among the wheat make you feel? Why do you feel this way?

Bibliography:

  • R.V.G. Tasker, ‘TNTC: The Gospel According to St Matthew’, 1963.
  • William Barclay, ‘Gospel of Matthew Vol. 2’, 1967.
  • Robert Farrar Capon, ‘The Parables of the Kingdom’, 1985.
  • Michael Green, ‘BST: The Message of Matthew’, 2000.
  • Leonard Mann, ‘Green Eyed Monsters and Good Samaritans’, 2006.
  • R.T. France, ‘NICNT: The Gospel of Matthew’, 2007.
  • Craig Keener, ‘The Gospel of Matthew – A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, 2009.
Tawa Baptist

The rich man and Lazarus

Scripture: Luke 16:19-31

Video Link: https://youtu.be/yi8J-TveAQc

Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 26 Apr 2026 – The rich man and Lazarus by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Jesus’ purpose
  • The rich man and Lazarus
  • The afterlife
  • The rich man and Abraham
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

GPS stands for Global Positioning System. The GPS in your car or phone receives signals from satellites orbiting the earth which allow it to determine the latitude, longitude and altitude of your location within inches.

If your GPS only gave the latitude coordinates, then it wouldn’t be very helpful. You need all three reference points to be able to pin-point your position with accuracy.

Accurately interpreting Scripture is like finding the right GPS location. You need more than one coordinate. A single verse or passage won’t do. Scripture interprets Scripture.

Today we continue our sermon series on the parables of Jesus, this week focusing on the parable of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16. Also known as the parable of Dives and Lazarus. ‘Dives’ being the Latin word for ‘rich man’.

Fair warning, the content of this parable may disturb some listeners. It has the quality of a Stephen King movie. It plays on our worst fears about the afterlife.

We need to remember; the parable of the rich man and Lazarus is just one of many stories Jesus told in the gospels. We cannot expect to get an accurate picture of salvation and judgement based on this one parable alone.

That said, from Luke 16, verse 19 we read…

19 “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. 20 At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores 21 and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. But the dogs came and licked his sores. 22 “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. 23 In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. 24 So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’ 25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. 26 And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’ 27 “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’ 29 “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’ 30 “‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’ 31 “He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

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

Jesus’ purpose:

The first question we need to ask ourselves is, why did Jesus tell this parable? What was his purpose? Understanding Jesus’ purpose prevents us from going down the wrong path with our interpretation. We discover Jesus’ purpose by looking at the context. The context gives us another coordinate.

In verse 13 of Luke 16, Jesus says: 13 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” 14 The Pharisees, who loved money, heard all this and were sneering at Jesus. 15 He said to them, “You are the ones who justify yourselves in the eyes of others, but God knows your hearts. What people value highly is detestable in God’s sight.

Jesus then goes on to talk about the value and permanence of the law and prophets before telling the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

The immediate context shows us Jesus’ purpose. Jesus told this parable for the Pharisees, who were sneering at him because of his teaching about money.

This parable, therefore, is not about the temperature of hell. It’s about the Pharisees’ attitude to money and their interpretation of what we know as the Old Testament.

The rich man in the parable is a cartoon portrait representing what the Pharisees themselves believed. As you know, cartoon portraits tend to exaggerate certain features of the person being drawn. It appears Jesus is using hyperbole here to make his point.

Jesus is saying to the Pharisees, your interpretation of the law and prophets is wrong and therefore your attitude to money and people is wrong. You don’t value what God values. If you don’t repent, you will end up in a bad place, like the rich man. Let me give you two examples of how the Pharisees misread the Bible.

Firstly, they assumed they were automatically accepted by God because they were Jewish, descended from Abraham. Tough luck if you are not Jewish.

All those filthy gentiles are going to hell. That is severe prejudice, that’s racism, right? But, as we see in Jesus’ parable, being a descendant of Abraham does not help the rich man.

The Pharisees’ reading of the law and prophets also led them to believe (wrongly) that health and wealth are God’s reward for being righteous, therefore the rich and healthy must be righteous in God’s sight. Conversely, those who are sick or poor are being punished by God for their sin.

This belief is still around today. It’s sometimes called ‘cargo cult’ or ‘prosperity doctrine’. Jesus’ parable turns the Pharisees’ beliefs about money upside down.      

The confidence the Pharisees put in their ancestry and their wealth was misplaced.

Okay, so we can see (from the context) that Jesus’ purpose in telling the parable of the rich man and Lazarus is to correct the Pharisees’ misguided interpretation of the law and prophets. Now let’s look more closely at the parable itself.

The rich man and Lazarus:

Of all the parables Jesus told, this is the only one in which a character is named. The rich man is not named. When someone is not named in the Bible, it is often because they don’t deserve to be remembered.

The poor man, Lazarus, is named though. By giving the poor man a name, Jesus is signalling to his audience that Lazarus (even though he is poor and sick) is the hero of the story. Lazarus gets the honour of being remembered.

Lazarus is a Hebrew word which means ‘the one whom God helps’.

At first glance Lazarus’ name may seem ironic, because it does not appear that God is helping Lazarus, at least not in this life.

Lazarus does not enjoy good health. He is covered in sores and apparently cannot walk by himself. Verse 20 says Lazarus is laid at the gate of the rich man, which implies he must be carried. All of this means he cannot work or participate in gathered worship. He is an outcast, obliged to beg for survival.

By contrast, the rich man wears expensive clothes and lives in luxury, fine dining every day. The rich man is well connected.

In many ways Lazarus reminds us of righteous Job who lost everything, through no fault of his own, and ended up sitting by the rubbish heap scraping his sores with a piece of broken pottery. Lazarus does not scrap his sores with pottery, but he does (apparently) make friends with the local dogs who lick his sores.  

Unlike Job though, Lazarus does not complain to the Lord or to anyone else. Lazarus sits in silence. He does not call out for help from the people who pass by him every day on their way to the rich man’s banquets. He says nothing, all the time quietly longing to eat the scraps that fell from the rich man’s table.

But no food comes his way.

According to the internet, 1% of the population in New Zealand own 16% of the wealth. And according to the 2023 census, over 112,000 people (or 2.3% of the population) are severely housing deprived. 14.3% of children live in poverty.  

Growing up in the 1970’s, I don’t recall seeing anyone begging or sleeping rough in New Zealand. Now we see it all the time and we live in a welfare state. How did this happen? How do we turn it around?

There was no state funded welfare system for Lazarus. He was literally on the bones of his bum, dependent on the kindness of others.

The afterlife:

In time Lazarus dies and the angels carry him to Abraham’s side where he is comforted. The rich man also dies but he doesn’t go to the same place as Lazarus. The rich man finds himself in torment.

By the Pharisees’ reckoning the rich man should have been with Abraham, but Jesus turns their belief on its head.

Now, if all we had to go on was this one parable we might think the poor go to paradise when they die and the rich go to hell. Fortunately, the Bible offers other points of reference, other coordinates, that give us a more accurate picture of judgement and salvation.

We know from a wider reading of the Scriptures that the rich man did not go to hades because he was rich. He ended up in hades because he did not love God or his neighbour.

When asked, what is the most important command in the law, Jesus replied:     

30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’There is no commandment greater than these.”

The rich man loved luxury and fine dining more than he loved God or his neighbour. If he had loved God and his neighbour, he would have trusted God’s word and helped Lazarus in some way. He had the resources and he could see the need. Lazarus was right on his doorstep. But the rich man didn’t seem to care.

By the same token, we know being poor does not give you a free pass to paradise. Abraham was accepted by God because of his faith. In Romans 4, Paul writes: 3 What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”

That Lazarus found himself by Abraham’s side in the afterlife shows that Lazarus was justified by his faith in God, just as Abraham was justified by faith. God, who looks at the heart, could see Lazarus’ patient faith, even though Lazarus looked to everyone else like he was rejected by God.

Suffering and poverty, in this life, are not proof of God’s displeasure. Nor is health and wealth proof of righteousness. This life is not always fair.  

Returning to Luke 16, in verse 23 Jesus says the rich man was in torment in hades. Some English translations use the word ‘hell’, but the original Greek says ‘hades’, which is not exactly the same as hell.

What then is hades? According to Greek mythology (which is not supported by the Bible) the souls of the dead went to hades, a place characterised by darkness and gloom (sort of like Wellington on a bad weather day).

The Greeks imagined different zones within hades. For example, a neutral zone, where ordinary souls are kept, neither a place of reward nor punishment. There was also a paradise zone, where heroes and righteous people are rewarded. As well as a zone of torment where evil doers are punished.

Lazarus, it seems, was in the paradise zone with Abraham, while the rich man was in the place or torment.

There is a Greek myth about hades which shares some similarities with Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus. In this myth, a man by the name of Tantalus did a few things to anger the gods, so they sent him to the torment zone in hades where he was forced to stand in water with a fruit tree above his head.

Whenever Tantalus tried to bend down to drink, the water receded. And whenever he tried to reach up and pluck some fruit from the tree, the branch would spring away. This meant Tantalus was always thirsty in the presence of water and always starving in the presence of food. It is from this myth, about Tantalus, that we get the English word tantalise.   

The rich man’s punishment, in Jesus’ parable, was similar to that of Tantalus. The rich man could see Lazarus in paradise with Abraham and longed for a splash of water to cool his tongue. He was being tantalised.  

Now, just because Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus bears some similarities with aspects of Greek mythology, it does not automatically follow that Jesus endorsed Greek mythology. We know the Greek gods are not real because the Bible tells us there is only one true God, the Lord, Yahweh.

Likewise, we cannot base our understanding of hell on this one parable.

The New Testament employs a variety of different images and metaphors to describe exclusion from the kingdom of heaven.

Sometimes we come across the phrase outer darkness, and other times we are given the picture of a fiery furnace. Jesus also used the image of Gehenna, which was the rubbish dump outside of Jerusalem.

Where does that leave us? Well, if we take the Bible seriously, then we know there is a final judgement and there is a hell. We know hell is a place to avoid, but we cannot say with any certainty what hell is like. Is it a place of eternal conscious suffering? Or is it a place of total annihilation? Or is it a bit of both, some punishment before a second death? There are many theories but honestly, we don’t know.

What we do know, from the Bible and from our own experience, is that God is good. He sees the whole picture and he looks at the human heart. He is just and merciful, slow to anger, full of compassion and rich in love. He won’t treat anyone unfairly. God has provided for our atonement through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross. Forgiveness is available for all who repent and believe in Jesus.

The rich man and Abraham:

We see God’s fairness worked out in the rest of Jesus’ parable. In verse 24 of Luke 16, the rich man calls out: ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’  

What we notice here is the rich man’s attitude toward Lazarus has not changed. He still thinks of Lazarus as beneath him, someone to be used like a slave or a servant. He doesn’t seem to understand that the social status he enjoyed while he was alive has no currency in the afterlife.

The rich man is willing to put Lazarus in harm’s way just so he can cool his tongue momentarily. The rich man’s sense of entitlement is incredible.

What the rich man should have said was, ‘Lazarus, please forgive me. I’m so sorry’. But he doesn’t. The rich man remains unrepentant.

25 “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.

The thought here is not that people who receive good things in this life are automatically destined to receive bad things in the next life. No. That’s hardly fair. Besides, the reality is we each receive a mixture of good and bad things in this life. The point is, the rich man is being judged by his own standards.

In Matthew 7, Jesus says the measure you use for others is the measure God will use for you. The rich man neglected to care for Lazarus and now he himself is being neglected.

From verse 27 the rich man says to Abraham, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, 28 for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

This is the only glimmer of virtue we see from the rich man. Sadly though, he still fails to see Lazarus as one of his brothers. Yet again, the rich man thinks he can boss Lazarus around like a slave.

Through all of this, Lazarus remains silent. There is no angry outburst from Lazarus. No resentment. Lazarus does not tell Abraham what to do. Lazarus has forgiven the rich man, harbouring no bitterness toward him.

Abraham refuses to send Lazarus back from the dead saying, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

There it is. The law of Moses and the teachings of the prophets make it clear what God wants; for people to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly. The rich man and his brothers have no excuse.

Jesus is telling the Pharisees here that his teaching about how to use money (and everything else for that matter) is in accordance with the law and the prophets. So when the Pharisees sneer at Jesus’ teaching, they are putting themselves at odds with Moses and the prophets.  

Like the Pharisees who keep arguing with Jesus, the rich man continues arguing with Abraham, insisting that if his five brothers see someone rise from the dead, they will repent and be saved. But Abraham is not having a bar of it.

‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”.

How true that turned out to be. When Jesus raised his actual friend, Lazarus, from the dead (in John 11), the Pharisees and other religious leaders did not repent. They became more determined to kill Jesus and Lazarus. That’s how badly they misread the Scriptures.

Conclusion:

So what can we take from Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus?

Here’s three things:

Firstly, what we do in this life has eternal consequences. Our choices matter. When we love God and love your neighbour, money becomes our servant, something we can use to help others. If we don’t love God and our neighbour, money will inevitably become a cruel master that oppresses us and others.

Secondly, when we fail to love God and our neighbour (and we will fail at this), we need to repent and put our faith in Jesus. Salvation is not an entitlement. Getting into the kingdom of heaven is not automatic. God is looking for ways to get us into his kingdom, but we still need to repent and believe in Jesus.

Thirdly, we need to be very careful how we interpret and apply the Bible. Remember, we need more than one coordinate. Scripture interprets Scripture. If we read the Bible in a self-serving way, we risk ending up in a very bad place.

Let us pray…

Jesus, you are our righteousness and our hope. Empower us by your Spirit to love God and love our neighbour as we love ourselves. We ask you to deliver us from evil that we may enjoy fellowship with you forever. Amen.  

Questions for discussion or reflection:

  1. What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?
  2. Why is our interpretation of Scripture important? How can we check that our interpretation (and application) of Scripture is accurate?
  3. How does Jesus’ parable of the rich man and Lazarus make you feel? Why do you think it makes you feel this way?
  4. Why did Jesus tell the parable of the rich man and Lazarus?
  5. Why did the rich man end up in a place of torment after he died? Why did Lazarus end up being comforted by Abraham?
  6. What does the rich man’s dialogue with Abraham reveal about the rich man? What does Lazarus’ silence throughout reveal about Lazarus? What does the parable reveal about Jesus and God?
  7. What is your key takeaway from this message? What might you do differently? How might you think differently?  

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. 
Tawa Baptist

Baptism (by Peter Barnett)

Audio Link: Sermon – 19 Apr 2026 – Baptism by Peter Barnett by tawabaptist

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • A brief history of baptism
  • The reformation and the birth of Baptists
  • Biblical roots of baptism
  • John the Baptist and Jesus
  • What baptism means
  • Why immersion?
  • Conclusion

Introduction

Did you know there are around 12 churches in the Tawa–Linden area?

I was surprised when I first heard that. I used to think the churches along the main road were all there was—but of course there are many more including those meeting in the Linden Community Centre.

And if you look closely, you’ll notice something else: they’re not all the same.

In fact, if you asked all 12 churches what they believed about baptism, you’d probably get about 15 different answers!

The sign outside our church says we are a Baptist Church.
Now what does that actually mean?

Most churches practice baptism in some form. We’re not unique in that.
But what is distinctive is how we practice it—we baptise by full immersion.

Some churches sprinkle water. Others pour it.
We fully immerse.

So the question is:
Why does that matter?

Let me start personally.

I was born into a nominally Anglican family, and as a baby I was baptised by sprinkling. In my teen years I became a Christian. Later, when I was about 21, I made the decision to be baptised by immersion.

That raises an important question:
What changed? And why do Baptists do things this way?

You know, one of the things I remember most about that day wasn’t just the water.

It was the moment before going under.

Standing there, knowing that this wasn’t just a private belief anymore—it was public.

There’s something about stepping into that water where you realise:
this is real… and people are watching.

And I think that’s part of the point. Faith was never meant to be hidden.

A Brief History of Baptism

Baptists today practice full immersion because we believe it best reflects what baptism means: dying and rising with Christ.

But throughout history, baptism has been understood in many different ways.

In the early church, there was a strong belief that baptism washed away sin—once and for all. Because of that, some people delayed baptism until very late in life.

A well-known example of this is the Roman Emperor Constantine.
He legalised Christianity in AD 313 and was baptised only shortly before his death in 337.

So why wait?
It was thought baptism resulted in all your sins being forgiven. Because people feared committing serious sin after baptism, they didn’t know how their sins would be dealt with. So they delayed it.

That shows how seriously baptism was taken—but also how it could be misunderstood.

And while we might look at that and think, “That seems strange,” it actually raises a question for us:

Do we sometimes misunderstand what baptism really does?

Back then, people almost treated it like a final cleansing.

Today, we can sometimes go the other way—treating it as just a symbol with no weight at all.

But the truth sits somewhere in between.

Baptism doesn’t save us—but it’s also not meaningless.

It matters because of what it points to.

As Christianity spread, baptism became more formal.

Between the 4th and 6th centuries, churches built special buildings next to major basilicas called baptistries—often large, octagonal structures used specifically for baptisms.

Last year my wife and I visited one of these baptistries in northern Italy. It was separate from the church building itself and was ornately decorated.

The thinking at that time was that a person who had not yet been baptised should not enter the main church building.

Over time, however, something changed.

Infant baptism became more common.
And instead of immersion, many churches began practicing pouring or sprinkling—or what is called affusion.

By the medieval period, baptism was considered essential for salvation and became one of the seven sacraments of the Western church.

The Reformation and the Birth of Baptists

Fast forward to the 1500s and the Reformation.

The reformation of course generated intense debate about many issues—including baptism.

Some groups began to ask: Should baptism be something chosen, rather than something done to infants?

Out of that question came what we now call believer’s baptism.

The Baptist movement itself began in the early 1600s.

Two Englishmen, John Smyth and Thomas Helwys, left the Church of England and left England and went to Holland around 1609.

They believed baptism should follow personal faith—not precede it.

Helwys later returned to England and helped establish one of the first Baptist churches there in 1612.

From those beginnings, Baptists grew into a global movement with millions of believers.

There are even Baptist Churches in China and Russia.

Biblical Roots of Baptism

But baptism didn’t start with Baptists—or even with the early church.

Its roots go much further back—into Jewish practice.

Jewish people practiced ritual washing called “tevilah”—full immersion in water for purification.

These immersions took place in pools called a “mikveh”.

This wasn’t unusual—it was part of everyday religious life.
Even many homes had facilities for ritual washing.

Throughout the Old Testament water carries deep symbolic meaning: There was –

  • Noah and the flood
  • The crossing of the Red Sea by Moses and the people of Israel in their escape from Egypt
  • The crossing of the Jordan River by the people of Israel into the promised land
  • The story of Naaman washing and being healed
  • The Levitical washing and purification ceremonies

Again and again, water represents cleansing, judgment, and new beginnings.

In fact, many early Christian baptisms were also done by immersion.

Some of those ancient baptistries I mentioned earlier were large enough for a person to walk down into the water.

That tells us something important.

While practices have changed over time, immersion wasn’t something Baptists invented—it’s something we have returned to.

John the Baptist and Jesus

By the time we reach New Testament times, John the Baptist is calling people to repentance—and baptising them.

People came in response to his message, confessing their sins.

Then something remarkable happens.

Jesus comes to be baptised.

But Jesus had no sin.

So why was He baptised?

In Matthew 3, Jesus says it is “to fulfil all righteousness.”

This moment marks the beginning of His public ministry.

It shows several important things:

  • There is obedience – Jesus submits to the Father’s will
  • There is identification – He stands with sinners
  • There is approval – The Father speaks, and the Holy Spirit descends
  • Jesus models what His followers should do

It is also a kind of preview—a symbol pointing forward to Jesus’ death and resurrection.

Jesus’ baptism was the moment when heaven publicly declared who He was.

The Father said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

And in a smaller way, our baptism is also a public declaration.
It says: “I belong to Him.”

What Baptism Means

So what does baptism mean for us today?

Here’s the key point:

Baptism does not save us.

The Bible is clear on this.
Romans 3:20 says that no one is justified by works of the law.

No amount of water can wash away sin.

Only Jesus can do that.

So what does baptism do?

Baptism is an outward sign of an inward change.

It is a picture.

When someone goes under the water, it represents:

  • dying to sin
  • being buried with Christ

And when they come up:

  • rising to new life
  • living for God

Think about what actually happens in immersion.

You go all the way under the water.

For a brief moment, you can’t breathe.
You are completely covered.

It is a powerful image.

It is not just washing—it’s burial.

And then you are brought back up again—breathing, alive, renewed

That is why the Apostle Paul says in Romans 6:

“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

That is the picture.

Not just improved people—but people made new.

Baptism is like a living sermon.

No words needed—just action.

Illustrations

Let me give you a simple illustration.

A wedding ring doesn’t make you married.
But it shows that you are.

In the same way, baptism doesn’t make you a Christian.
But it shows that you belong to Christ.

Or think about it this way.

If someone asked you, “Are you a Christian?”
you could say yes—and that would be true.

But baptism is the moment where you show it.

It is stepping out of the crowd and saying:
“I’m not just thinking about this—I’m identifying with Christ.”

And that takes a bit of courage.

Imagine someone enlisting in the army.

They do not become committed just by thinking about it.
There is a moment where they step forward publicly and say,
“I’m in.”

Baptism is like that.

It is a public declaration:
“I belong to Jesus.”

Why Immersion?

So why do Baptists emphasize full immersion?

Because it most clearly reflects the picture:

  • Death
  • Burial
  • Resurrection

You can sprinkle water—but it doesn’t quite capture that same image.

Immersion tells the whole story.

Conclusion

So where does this leave us?

For some, this is a reminder of something you have already done.
And it is a chance to reflect:

  • Am I still living out what my baptism represents?
  • Am I walking in new life?

For others, maybe you have never been baptised as a believer.

You believe—but you have never taken that step.

If that is you, then this is worth thinking about seriously.

Not because baptism saves you.
But because Jesus calls His followers to it.

Sometimes we move past these things too quickly.

But baptism is one of those moments in life where we stop and say:

Something has changed.
I am not who I was.

Baptism is simple.

It is water.
It is a moment.

But it points to something far greater:

  • A changed life
  • A new identity
  • A Saviour who died and rose again

And the question is not just,
“What do Baptists believe about baptism?”

The real question is:

What does your life say about your relationship with Christ?

If you wish to consider baptism, I’m sure Will or Daryl would be happy to talk with you.

Tawa Baptist

Fishers of Men (by Pat Hutchison)

Scriptures: John 1:35-42, Luke 5:1-11, Acts 1 & 2

Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 12 Apr 2026 – Fishers of Men (by Pat Hutchison) by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The Call
  • The Journey
  • The Fulfilment
  • Conclusion:

Introduction:

Some of us consider we have done Easter, we have had our share of Hot Cross Buns, Easter Eggs and we came to Church twice, so let’s move on,  But wait a minute are we missing something if we end Easter on Easter Sunday?  We celebrate the Resurrection with some amazing songs and there is so much hope.  Something wonderful has happened that changed our world forever, prophecy came true and we have a Risen Saviour who is in the world today.

I want us to pause and take a look at some events before and after the Resurrection. 

What was it really like for the disciples, in particular Simon Peter. 

We will look at: The Call

                              The Journey

                              The Fulfilment

The Call:

It began for Simon Peter with “The Call” We read in John 1:35-42.

The next day John was there with two of his disciples.  When he saw Jesus passing by he said, “Look the Lamb of God!” When the two disciples heard him say this, they followed Jesus.  Turning around, Jesus saw them following and asked, “What do you want?” They said, “Rabbi” (which means “Teacher”). “Where are you staying?” “Come” he replied, “and you will see.” So they went and saw where he was staying and they spent that day with him.  It was about four in the afternoon.  Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, was one of the two who heard what John had said and who had followed Jesus.  The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, “We have found the Messiah” (that is the Christ). And he brought him to Jesus.  Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon son of John.  You will be called Cephas” (which when translated, is Peter).

John had his disciples, it was not uncommon for a Rabbi to have followers – “Come and you will see” was an invitation to follow Jesus, but Jesus was more than a “Rabbi”.   The two disciples left John and followed Jesus. 

Andrew is named as one of the disciples with John and one of the first things he did was to find his brother and tell him “We have found the Messiah (that is the Christ) Andrew brought Simon to Jesus who named him Peter.

Jesus wanted them to be more than followers, they were to become “Fishers of Men”.  In Luke 5:1-11 we read:

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret (Galilee). The people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.  He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.  He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from the shore.  Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.  When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down the nets for a catch.”  Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything.  But because you say so I will let down the nets.”  When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break, so they signalled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.  When Simon Peter saw this he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord, I am a sinful man!”. . .   Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on You will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed Jesus.

Simon respectfully addresses Jesus as Master but is clearly not happy with the command to go a little deeper and cast his nets.  He tells Jesus that they had worked all night and caught nothing so what was the point of casting their nets again – inferring they were fishermen who knew night was the best time for fishing.  This is one of the first glimpses we get into Peter’s personality – blunt. To the point.  Peter disagreed with the request but nevertheless obeyed. 

The catch was amazing – way more than they could cope with. Peter recognised this as being a miracle, Peter experienced the grace of God and was aware of his sinfulness.  Peter was awestruck.  He is aware that his life is changed and henceforth they will be “Fishers of Men”.

So we are beginning to get a picture of Simon Peter:

  • He is a fisherman
  • He has heard about Jesus
  • He is Andrew’s brother
  • Andrew brings him to Jesus
  • Jesus gave him the name of Peter.
  • He is obedient
  • He speaks his mind
  • He becomes a disciple of Jesus.

The Journey:

This brings us to “The Journey”.  What did the disciples see and learn.  They witnessed the teaching of Jesus, the miracles, the parables, the healings.  How the religious leaders treated Jesus, how the Pharisees were looking for ways to show Jesus was not following the laws of God.  They were there at the feeding of the 5000.  They participated in the sending out of the 12 in pairs.  That was a lot to absorb and process.   Most of the references are “the disciples” but as events are drawing closer to the end of Jesus ministry, we find Peter mentioned by name.

These events give us glimpses of Peter’s personality as well as his belief and understanding of who Jesus was. It is not possible for us to look at everything so I will just focus on a few key events.

Peter experienced a very personal and close experience of the healing power of Jesus.  In Matthew, Mark and Luke Jesus went to Peter’s house with his disciples. When the disciples were in that area they often used Peter’s house as a meeting place, so they were familiar with the house and all who lived there. On this occasion Peter’s Mother in Law was sick with a fever and Jesus touched her.  Immediately she was healed and able to get up and serve her guests. The healing was complete and was a healing of someone close to them. 

There was the time after the Feeding of the 5000 when Jesus sent the disciples ahead of him by boat so he could pray by himself.  The water became rough and in the early morning Jesus came to them – he was walking on the water and the disciples saw him.  They were terrified and said – It’s a ghost. 

Jesus calmed them and assured them it was himself.  Peter replied asking Jesus to tell him to come to him.  Jesus did this and Peter got out of the boat and walked towards him.  Peter was distracted by the wind and began to sink, he cried out to Jesus and Jesus rescued him rebuking him for having little faith.  When they climbed back into the boat the wind died down and the disciples worshiped him saying, You truly are the Son of God.

At the Transfiguration, Jesus takes a small group of the disciples – Peter, James and John up a mountain. They witnessed a vision of Jesus, Jesus was praying and his appearance changed, his clothes became as bright as a flash of lightning. Two men – Elijah and Moses were with him and spoke of Jesus forthcoming death. Peter and the other disciples were sleepy but became fully aware at the vision in front of them. 

Peter immediately responds by wanting to build booths to house the three figures.  Is this Peter’s impetuousness or does he misunderstand the vision?  God speaks and Peter and the other disciples are awestruck and Elijah and Moses disappear.  Jesus reassures them not to be afraid and when they are coming down the mountain Jesus tells the disciples not to tell anyone what they had seen.

The Transfiguration marks a turning point in Jesus Ministry as from here on everything points towards the Cross. Jesus foretold his death.  Peter responds to this by taking Jesus to one side declaring this will not happen.  We see Peter’s impetuousness come to the fore and Jesus rebukes him. The idea of Jesus dying is difficult for Peter and the disciples to grasp.  Peter has not grasped the full meaning of Jesus as the Messiah and what this means for Jesus. 

Jesus and the disciples are in Jerusalem, it is just before the Passover and Jesus is escalating his preparation of the disciples for what is coming and Peter is continuing to act impulsively.

We have the Washing of the disciple’s feet, Jesus tells of his betrayal by one of them.  Jesus gets up from the meal, takes of his outer garments and begins to wash the disciples’ feet, something expected of a servant, not a leader.  Peter does not want Jesus to wash his feet and Jesus explains the necessity of this.  Peter over reacts and wants Jesus to wash all of him.  Jesus replies and in his explanation tells them there is one present who is not clean and teaches them about servanthood.  This is bewildering to the disciples who could not possibly grasp what is to happen.  It is in this situation that Jesus predicts his betrayal and Judas leaves the group.

Jesus prepares his disciples by telling them he will be with them only a little while longer and giving them the command to Love one another.  By this everyone will know that they are His disciples by their love.  Peter asks, “Where are you going?” Jesus tells Peter that where he is going no one can follow but they will follow later.  Peter vows to lay down his life for Jesus and Jesus answered and predicts that before the rooster crows Peter will disown Jesus three times.

Jesus and his disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus took Peter and two other disciples further into the Garden and told them to wait and watch while he went to pray.  Jesus began to be sorrowful and troubled – he knew what was coming.  Three times they fell asleep while waiting and Jesus tells them his hour has come and the Son of Man is delivered into the hands of sinners, Rise:! Let us go! Here comes my Betrayer.

Judas betrays Jesus and Peter reacts with his sword, cutting off the ear of one of the men in the group coming to arrest Jesus.  Jesus rebukes Peter and heals the severed ear.  Jesus is lead away.  Peter and another disciple follow Jesus trying to keep as close as possible to him as they could.  Peter is recognised as being close to Jesus, first by a servant girl and another two times and a rooster crows.

How devastating for Peter who is immediately aware of Jesus prediction and we are told that Peter wept.

We don’t hear much about Peter until after the Resurrection when he sees Jesus along with the other disciples.  Peter and another disciples were told by the women that Jesus was not in the tomb when they came to anoint him, and they saw the empty tomb. Peter was also in the locked room because they were fearful about the rumours circulated by the guards at the grave that the disciples had taken the body from the grave. Jesus appeared to the disciples. 

Peter was fishing and again they caught nothing.  Jesus appeared to them and Peter is again told by Jesus to put down his net and the catch was amazing.  Jesus had breakfast with the disciples and Jesus reinstates Peter, and declares his love for Jesus and Jesus tells Peter to feed his sheep.

From the journey we learn:

  • Peter stayed with Jesus from the time of his call
  • Peter declared Jesus was the Messiah
  • Peter often acted impulsively
  • Peter often misunderstood Jesus
  • Peter was rebuked by Jesus
  • Peter didn’t want Jesus to die and said he would do everything to stop it
  • Peter witnessed the  transfiguration of Jesus
  • Peter denied knowledge of Jesus three times
  • Peter was with the disciples when Jesus appeared to them
  • Peter recognises Jesus when they were fishing after the Resurrection
  • Peter is reinstated by Jesus and given responsibility for the followers of Jesus.

The Fulfilment:

This leads us to the Fulfilment of Jesus bestowing on Peter he was to become a “Fisher of Men”.

The story of Peter continues in the Book of Acts.  He is indeed a Leader and is empowered by the Holy Spirit from being a follower to bringing many into faith and belief in Jesus.  We cannot look at all the accounts of Peter in Acts.

In Acts we read, before Jesus was taken up to heaven, He appeared to the disciples over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.  On one occasion he gave them this command “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.  For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.   You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”.

The Day of Pentecost occurred at the same time as Jews gathered to celebrate The Feast of Harvest, so that explains why there were crowds from many places.  The origins of Pentecost is 50 – it was celebrated 50 days after the Passover and on the eve of 50 days after the Resurrection.

The Holy Spirit came with a great wind and tongues of fire.  They could understand the different languages and people were amazed – some people used the opportunity to say the people were drunk.  We read of Peter addressing the crowd calling on them to Repent and be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins.  And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call. We are told about 3000 came to faith that day.  This was indeed the beginning of the Christian Church.

We also learn about Peter healing a lame beggar asking for money by saying “Silver or Gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you.  In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Many who knew this lame beggar were amazed and Peter took advantage of this and preached to the gathered crowd.  Shortly after Peter and John who was with him were arrested and imprisoned after being brought before the Sanhedrin.  This resulted in them speaking the truth despite being threatened into silence.

Healings continued along with persecution but nothing could stop them. The Sanhedrin wanted Peter and John put to death but a Pharisee named Gamaliel spoke to the Sanhedrin telling them to leave them alone saying if their activity is of human origin it will fail.  But if it is God they will not stop these men. They were released after a flogging.  They never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.  And many believed.

Peter was summoned to go to Cornelius a Roman Centurion who is described as devout and God fearing.   Peter had a vision and the result of this is that Gentiles (non-Jews) became Christians and were welcomed into the Community of Believers.  

The story does not end with Acts.  Towards the end of the New Testament we have the Letters of Peter, these are attributed to Peter.

From the Fulfilment we learn

  • Peter was empowered by the Holy Spirit
  • Peter was bold
  • Peter healed a lame man
  • Peter was put into prison for his preaching and teaching
  • Peter was persecuted
  • Peter had a vision
  • Peter took the gospel to the Gentiles
  • Peter left us with the Letters of Peter

Conclusion:

Our faith journey begins with a call and our faith journey has ups and downs with difficult times.  We may not be imprisoned or persecuted but there is suffering involved.  We learn from Peter that when you answer God’s call you don’t become perfect.  You don’t have to strive for perfection.  Faith is always growing – we learn and grow. 

Like Peter we need to keep looking to Jesus – if we take our eyes off Jesus we will sink like Peter. 

We too can become Fishers of Men.  Peter’s brother bought him to Jesus we too can bring our brothers and sisters to Jesus.  We can speak to individuals, we can pray and we can increase God’s Kingdom and so become Fishers of Men.

Let us pray…

Almighty God we have heard about Peter, his call his journey and his fulfilment of being a Fisher of Men.  Help us to be bold like Peter and to become Fishers of Men to bring others into your Kingdom. Amen.

Tawa Baptist

True Religion

Scripture: Matthew 21:10-19

Video Link: https://youtu.be/PqlzG3Y8V8w

Audio Link: Stream Sermon – 29 Mar 2026 – True Religion by tawabaptist | Listen online for free on SoundCloud

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • The merchants
  • The priests
  • The fig tree
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

At a wedding recently I met a man from Russia. He was telling me how quite often, in Russian wedding ceremonies, the bride and groom seal the deal by stepping on a glass. This might stem from a Jewish custom, I think.

There are generally lots of words in wedding ceremonies, but the act of stepping on a glass is symbolic. It signifies the finality of the marriage commitment. What has been done cannot be undone. Breaking a glass also reminds the couple that the journey of life involves sorrow as well as joy.

This acted-out parable communicates the meaning of the marriage commitment with a power and clarity that goes beyond words.

This morning, we continue our series on the parables of Jesus. Many of Jesus’ parables come to us in the form of the spoken word; stories which, in their own mysterious way, infiltrate the human imagination.

Not all of Jesus’ parables are stories though. Sometimes Jesus demonstrated his parables with symbolic actions that communicated God’s message with a power and clarity that goes beyond words.

With today being Palm Sunday (the beginning of holy week) our message focuses on Matthew 21, verses 12-19. This passage describes at least two acted-out parables of Jesus; symbolic actions performed on the first Palm Sunday, twenty centuries ago. From Matthew 21, verse 12 we read…            

12 Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. 13 “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” 14 The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant. 16 “Do you hear what these children are saying?” they asked him. “Yes,” replied Jesus, “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?” 17 And he left them and went out of the city to Bethany, where he spent the night. 18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

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

In Luke 17 (last week’s message), Jesus talked about not causing others to stumble and rebuking those who sin against you. In the reading we just heard, from Matthew 21, Jesus rebukes those merchants and priests who are causing others to stumble, and he rebukes a fig tree for being fruitless.

You have probably heard the phrase, ‘throwing down the gauntlet’. A gauntlet is an armoured glove worn by knights in medieval Europe. A gauntlet protects your hands in battle.

If a knight wanted to challenge another knight to a duel, he would throw his gauntlet at the feet of his opponent. This symbolic act called into question the opponent’s honour and bravery. By picking up the gauntlet the opponent showed he accepted the challenge. If he refused, his honour was degraded.

Over time, ‘throwing down the gauntlet’, has come to mean any sort of action that demonstrates a desire to confront another person.

In Matthew 21, Jesus throws down the gauntlet to the religious leadership in Jerusalem. He is not so much questioning their bravery as he is their integrity. Jesus throws down the gauntlet in a number of ways.

In verses 1-11, Jesus rides into Jerusalem on a donkey, surrounded by pilgrims who are shouting, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’. This is an acted-out parable; it is Jesus’ way of announcing himself as Israel’s Messiah. It is also a challenge to those in authority in Jerusalem. Will they submit to Jesus as King or will they resist?

The merchants:   

Jesus’ first act, after arriving in the holy city, is to drive out the merchants and money changers from the temple courts. This is another way of throwing down the gauntlet.   

Jesus is demonstrating (through an acted-out parable) how God feels about business being carried out in the temple. Clearly, the Lord is not happy. 

Jesus is not flying off the handle in a fit of rage. His actions are considered, intentional, surgically precise and fair. Jesus is motivated by love for God and love for his neighbour.

Now the merchants were carrying out a necessary service to facilitate worship. They were selling doves and livestock for pilgrims to sacrifice to God in the Jerusalem temple. Likewise, the money changers were exchanging foreign currency for the right kind of currency. So why does Jesus drive them out of the temple courts?

In verse 13 the Lord provides Scriptural warrant for his behaviour by quoting from the Old Testament prophets. First Isaiah, then Jeremiah. When Jesus says: “It is written, ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’”he is quoting from Isaiah 56, where we read…

3 Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.” …4 For this is what the Lord says:foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant—7 these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

The prophet Isaiah gives us a vision of inclusion here. Jesus came to fulfil this vision. God’s purpose was for Israel to be a light to the other nations of the world. God wanted the nation of Israel to be a picture of what his kingdom is like. The other nations of the world were to learn about God from Israel.

With this in view, the temple was designed with an area for Gentiles (non-Jews) to come and seek the God of Israel. However, Gentiles could not go past their designated area in the temple courts. It was a case of, ‘you may come this far and no further’.

The merchants and money changers were plying their trade in the court of the Gentiles, which essentially made it impossible for people of other nations to draw near to God, in prayer.

By clearing the merchants out of the temple courts, Jesus was welcoming people of all nations. He was making room for prayer and reminding Israel of God’s purpose.

In Matthew 27, when Jesus gave up his spirit on the cross, we read how the curtain hanging in the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. This is a sign of what Jesus’ death accomplished. We now have direct access to God through Jesus, whatever our ethnicity. We no longer need a temple building.

Jesus’ rebuke, of the merchants, that they were making the temple a den of robbers, comes from the prophet Jeremiah. In Jeremiah chapter 7 we read…

9 “‘Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, “We are safe”—safe to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.

In Jeremiah’s day (centuries before Jesus) many people hid their evil deeds behind the cloak of respectable religion. They gathered for worship on Saturday and carried out the prescribed rituals, but the rest of the week they disobeyed the ten commandments.    

Their religion was false and God was not having it. After centuries of warning, the Lord allowed the Babylonians to attack Jerusalem and destroy the temple built by Solomon, killing thousands and forcing the rest into exile.     

By quoting Jeremiah and referring to the merchants as ‘robbers’, Jesus is implying they were ripping the people off, exploiting them financially.

More than this, Jesus was throwing down the gauntlet; he was challenging the integrity of those who ran the temple system. They were no better than the people of Jeremiah’s day. God had allowed Israel’s enemies to destroy the temple once and he would do it again if necessary.

How then does Jesus’ clearing of the temple apply to us today? Let me offer two applications…

Firstly, our faith (our religion) needs to have integrity. It needs to be true.

We live with integrity by practicing what we believe. Coming to church on Sunday won’t cut it if we are not obeying Christ the rest of the week as well. We need to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God.

In order to live with integrity, we need to clear time and space in our cluttered lives to pray and nurture our relationship with God. The goal is to be fruitful for God’s glory and we can only be fruitful when we abide in Christ.

In some African cultures, so I’m told, there’s a tradition of sitting outside someone’s house to say thank you. No words are spoken; the person simply sits. The longer you sit, the greater the thanks.

If you were to do that in kiwi culture it would seem weird, like you were stalking the person. But in some African cultures, this gesture expresses gratitude with a power and clarity that goes beyond words.  

How do you carve out time to be with Jesus? Prayer isn’t just asking God for stuff. Sometimes prayer is like sitting outside God’s house, offering our time in silent contemplation and gratitude for who he is and what he has done.

The priests:

Jesus’ rebuke of the merchants in the temple courts is really a rebuke of the religious leaders who allowed them to be there in the first place. It is to the priests we turn now. 

After clearing the temple, the blind and lame came to Jesus and he healed them. 15 But when the chief priests and the teachers of the law saw the wonderful things he did and the children shouting in the temple courts, “Hosanna to the Son of David,” they were indignant.

Jesus’ healing of the blind and lame within the temple is its own kind of acted-out parable. Jesus’ symbolic actions show us what a temple is for. A temple is place of prayer. A place where people are reconciled to God and made whole.

A place where vision and perspective are restored and people find the means to walk without a crutch. It is also a place where God is praised.

Jesus replaces the temple building. We find salvation and hope in Christ.

Jesus is our temple, our holy place where we are reconciled to God.   

Ironically, the chief priests and scribes show themselves to be spiritually lame and blind. Jesus would have healed them too, but they didn’t want this.

They were too busy being indignant. Indignant just means angry.   

Hosanna literally means ‘save us now’ and Son of David is code for the Messiah, God’s anointed King. The children can see that Jesus is the Messiah come to save them, but the religious leaders cannot see what is staring them in the face, even with all the miracles Jesus is performing.

What was it Jesus said in Matthew 5? Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. The children are pure in heart; they can see God at work in and through Jesus. The religious leaders are not pure in heart. They are blind.   

The priests question Jesus saying, “Do you hear what these children are saying?” They think Jesus should be silencing the children’s praise. But Jesus does not silence the children. Again, Jesus quotes Scripture to his opponents (much like he did with Satan in the wilderness).

The Lord says, “Yes,” [I do hear what they are saying] “have you never read, “‘From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise’?”    

Of course they have read it. This comes from Psalm 8. Far from silencing the children’s praise, Jesus is holding up the children as an example for the religious leaders to follow. Talk about throwing down the gauntlet. But the religious leaders don’t pick up the challenge. They have no response for Jesus.

So the Lord retires to Bethany for the night. Bethany is about two miles outside of Jerusalem on the side of the Mount of Olives. Jesus is making time and space to be alone with God. I imagine Jesus was sitting outside God’s house in silent contemplation and gratitude for what God has done in revealing his glory to little children.       

The fig tree:

Okay, so given the corruption and dodgy dealings in the Jerusalem temple we can understand why Jesus rebuked the merchants and the priests. But what was his beef with the fig tree?

From verse 18 of Matthew 21 we read: 18 Early in the morning, as Jesus was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

Fig trees, in the Middle East, bear fruit twice a year. Usually in June and then again in September. We know for a fact that Jesus came across this fig tree in early April, because it was a week before the Jewish Passover festival.

The tree was not supposed to bear fruit for another three months and yet Jesus speaks to it in such a way that it withers. That doesn’t seem fair. We are not used to that sort of carry-on from Jesus. Was the Lord just a bit hangry? (Someone get Jesus a Snickers.) Well, no. Jesus’ encounter with the fig tree was an acted-out parable.

According to Joel Green[1] (and other Bible experts) fig trees bear an early crop of bitter and immature male figs called ‘taksh’ which drop off before the proper fruit comes in June. Taksh is sometimes eaten by the poor, but it doesn’t taste very nice.

If a fig tree doesn’t bear the immature taksh, then it won’t bear proper fruit in June or September. Jesus could tell the fig tree was barren because it had no taksh on it. The leaves were also misleading. Normally, a fig tree with leaves promises fruit. The leaves of this fig tree though were like false advertising.   

Jesus was not condemning a perfectly good tree that would have fruited in due course. The tree had already condemned itself by being fruitless.

The fig tree (like the grape vine) was symbolic of the nation of Israel. (Sort of like the maple leaf is symbolic of Canada and the silver fern is symbolic of New Zealand.)

With this imagery of the fig tree in mind, the Old Testament prophets[2] used the withering of fig trees as a symbol of God’s judgement on Israel.

Jesus’ encounter with the fig tree, therefore, was an acted-out parable of God’s judgement on Israel for practising empty (fruitless) religion. It was a symbolic action that communicated God’s message with a power and clarity that goes beyond words.

To the casual observer the Jerusalem temple system looked good, but it lacked substance. The fruit that God wanted (of justice, mercy and humility) was not there. Indeed, the religious leaders were plotting to murder Jesus, the Messiah of God.

The withered fig tree was a prophetic sign of what was going to happen to the Jerusalem temple. In AD 70, some decades after Jesus’ death and resurrection, Jewish nationalism provoked the Romans to lay siege to Jerusalem and destroy the temple building and many lives with it. Jesus’ prediction came true.

It’s important to understand that in giving this prophecy, Jesus held no malice in his heart. Grief, yes, but not hatred. Just a day before, when he entered Jerusalem, Jesus wept over the city as Jeremiah did before him.  

We come across another parable featuring a fig tree, in Luke 13. In the context, Jesus was telling people they needed to repent or perish. From verse 6 we read

6 Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. 7 So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’ 8 “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. 9 If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

In this spoken parable, Jesus highlights God’s grace in giving people more time to repent. God does not want to destroy. He would rather redeem. But we must not presume upon God’s grace. If we don’t bear the fruit of repentance, God will bring us to a just end.

The religious leaders had plenty of opportunity to repent. John the Baptist came before Jesus saying: the axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

Then Jesus came preaching a gospel of repentance and performing miracles, for three years. After Jesus’ death and resurrection, the nation of Israel would be given another 40 years of Christian witness before the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the temple. Sadly, many missed their opportunity.

Conclusion:

Jesus’ acted-out parables of clearing the temple and declaring the fig tree fruitless, are a call to God’s people down through the ages, to practice true religion. The kind which bears the fruit of justice, mercy and humility. We can only do this by God’s grace and the power of Jesus’ Spirit.

Let us pray…

Loving God, we have sinned in thought, word and deed. We have sinned in ignorance and by our own deliberate fault. We have been unfair to you and unfair to others. Forgive us we pray. Help us, by your Spirit, to walk in freedom and righteousness. Through Jesus we ask. 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 acted-out parables (or symbolic actions) have you participated in? What meaning do these convey?
  3. Why did Jesus drive out the merchants from the temple courts? What was he communicating through this acted-out parable? How does Jesus’ clearing of the temple apply to us today? How might it apply to you personally?
  4. Discuss / reflect on Jesus’ references to Isaiah 56 and Jeremiah 7. How did these prophecies relate to the people/temple of Jesus’ day? How might they relate to our situation today?
  5. What is the purpose of a temple? Why is a temple building no longer necessary? Who fulfils the purpose of the temple for us?
  6. How do you carve out time to be with Jesus? What does your prayer life look like? Do you make room to sit and consider God’s goodness and grace?
  7. Why does Jesus say to the fig tree, “May you never bear fruit again!”? What does the withering of the fig tree signify?
  8. What does it look like to bear the fruit of repentance? Is there anything you sense God wants you to repent of? Take time this week to make things right with the Lord.

Bibliography:

  • R.V.G. Tasker, ‘TNTC: The Gospel According to St Matthew’, 1963.
  • William Barclay, ‘Gospel of Matthew Vol. 2’, 1967.
  • Michael Green, ‘BST: The Message of Matthew’, 2000.
  • Craig Keener, ‘The Gospel of Matthew – A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary, 2009.
  • R.T. France, ‘NICNT: The Gospel of Matthew’, 2007.

[1] Refer Green, page 223

[2] C.f. Isaiah 34:4 and Jeremiah 8:13.

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 Good Samaritan (by Sam Barris)

Scripture: Luke 10:25-37

Good morning everyone. Today I’ll be carrying on Will’s current theme of Parables. We’re going to be looking at the Good Samaritan today – a parable that stems from a question asked of Jesus from an expert in religious law.

We’re going to look at the questions he asked, how Jesus responds, what that meant for the people at the time, and what that means for us now. Let’s begin with reading the parable in Luke chapter 10 v 25 – 37.

One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?”

Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”

The man answered, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And, ‘Love your neighbour as yourself.’”

“Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!”

The man wanted to justify his actions, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbour?”

Jesus replied with a story: “A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side.

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

“Now which of these three would you say was a neighbour to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked.

The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.”

Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

When I was being toilet trained, my parents struck up a deal with me. Every time I went to the toilet and undertook the necessary actions, I would receive one M&M. I agreed, so we wrote up the contract, and the M&M deal was on.

After reviewing the contract however, I noticed a loophole. Fantastic. The deal had specified exactly what I said, “Every time I went to the toilet and undertook the necessary actions, I would receive one M&M.”. It didn’t say anything about undertaking the necessary actions to completion.

I would go to the toilet a little bit, if you understand what I mean, retrieve my agreed upon reward, and then go back to the toilet to do a little bit more, expecting to retrieve the same reward straight away again. From what I’ve been told, it worked at first but my parents were not pleased with me exploiting this loophole so it did not last.

Of course, my main objective here was to obtain as many M&Ms as possible. I was also really asking the question “What’s the least I can get away with here and still obtain my reward?”.

We see the same thinking from the lawyer in this section. The first question he asks of Jesus is, “What should I do to inherit eternal life?”. This gives us a good understanding of how he views Jesus’ teachings to this point. He sees the way to eternal life as a tickbox exercise “If I just do this handy list of things, I’m in – job done.”.

It makes sense, he’s a lawyer – all you’ve gotta do is follow these rules and you’re good to go. This isn’t quite how inheritance works however – an inheritance is received, it’s not earned.

Jesus replies with a question, directing him to the laws he knows this man is already aware of. “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?”. How do you read it is an interesting question. He doesn’t just ask him to quote it word for word, Jesus is asking him how he understands and interprets it, maybe as far as how do you choose to live this out?

The lawyer then answers by quoting parts of Deuteronomy and Leviticus.

“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind” And “Love your neighbour as yourself”.

He’s nailed it, what a great answer! He describes loving God in all ways – not just a nice feeling but how you live out your life – day to day. As he quotes, loving God goes hand in hand with loving your neighbour as well.

Jesus agrees, a great answer! He says “Right! Do this and you will live!”.

The lawyer then follows up with a question that shows – while he may have fantastic theological knowledge, his desire to live it out fully might not quite be there. There’s a big gap between his knowledge and understanding of the law and how he chooses to act on that.

“Who is my neighbour?” he asks. Luke says that he asks this to justify his actions, not in hoping that he’ll be given the opportunity to show love to more and more people around him, but rather the opposite. He wants to cut down his list of requirements to the bare minimum. He wants to prove he already meets this requirement, job done. He’s asking how can I narrow my obligations and still receive the same reward? Eternal life sounds pretty great, I’m up for that. Let me just check it’s not going to be too much of an inconvenience though.

Some people close to me are so easy to love, I’m completely fine with them being my neighbour. Some others though…. They don’t quite agree with me on everything, maybe they even don’t like me. Surely, I don’t need to show them the same love as those in my inner circle, for example.

Often when I’m reading the Bible and I’m reading passages about religious leaders testing Jesus, trying to cut him and his teachings down, or attacking him for breaking their laws, I read them as the villains of the story. Here’s Jesus who we love, sharing the Good News, and these religious experts come in and just don’t get it – they’re on the bad side, trying to shut down Jesus, the hero of the story.

When I read about this religious lawyer, he’s quite relatable to be honest. I don’t want him to be relatable, but I find myself asking the same question regularly. Whether it’s toilet training or something a bit more recent – reaching out to a friend, giving up my time, energy, and resources to provide for others, putting in my best efforts at work, being a loving friend, brother, flatmate, leader. What’s the minimum I can do to pass? Do I have to put in this level of effort for everyone?

Let’s read again how Jesus responds. Jesus replied with a story:

“A Jewish man was traveling from Jerusalem down to Jericho, and he was attacked by bandits. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him up, and left him half dead beside the road. “By chance a priest came along. But when he saw the man lying there, he crossed to the other side of the road and passed him by. A Temple assistant walked over and looked at him lying there, but he also passed by on the other side. “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’ “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbour to the man who was attacked by bandits?” Jesus asked. The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy.” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Hearing this parable in 2026 has quite a different meaning to it than how the Jewish audience were hearing this story when Jesus told it for the first time.

A lot of the depth is lost on us at first – it becomes a nice story of how we should show acts of kindness and not walk past those in need. That in itself is great and important but the cultural impact of this story at the time ran a lot deeper.

Firstly, Jesus introduces us to a Jewish man who is travelling from Jerusalem to Jericho. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was an infamously dangerous road. It was isolated, steep and rocky – descending 4000 feet through narrow, winding canyons that provided great hiding spots for bandits. It had a bad and unsafe reputation but from all we’ve been told, this man is travelling it by himself. Living up to the reputation of the road, the man is attacked, robbed, beaten, and left to die on the side of the road.

We then see a Priest and a temple assistant come across this man in need and walk right past him. There’s an expectation here, that the Jewish audience would have had as well, that these are the exact people who would help out this man in need. It’s even possible that the priest was very wealthy, travelling with a group, plenty of resources available to help here.

I spent some time trying to work out the reasoning or justification these people would have to ignore this man especially given their titles and roles in the temple. Some commentaries said that the priest would have been thinking about becoming ceremonially unclean if they touched this person (if he was dead) or that they only had an obligation to help Jewish people and there was no way of knowing this beaten man’s cultural or ethnic origin so why risk it?

There were all these ideas flying around as to their motivation to just walking past but after looking at it for a bit, I realised it probably doesn’t actually matter. Jesus doesn’t focus at all on their motivation or justification behind this. The sole focus is on their actions and what they chose to do when faced with this opportunity to help – they walked right past.

When we’re faced with situations where we have an opportunity to help those in need, do we focus on the action we need to take or our reasons for not helping? We might be quite tired, we don’t think we’re the best person to support, we might have enough going on to deal with ourselves. Those can all be true but whether our inaction is justified someway or it isn’t – it is still inaction. Our rationalisation of this does nothing more to support the person who is in need.

What Jesus was doing in introducing these two characters in the Priest and the temple assistant was setting the Jewish audience up for the big plot twist. This is where some of the cultural context may not pack the same punch for us as it did for them at the time. Jesus has established a narrative direction here – we’ve started with a priest, next we’ve got a temple assistant, who’s next? The audience here are probably anticipating an Israelite/a regular Jewish person.

That would have been an obvious and clear next person, based on the structure of their society at the time. There would have been genuine shock when a despised Samaritan became the hero of this story.

When you hear the word Samaritan, what do you think? I would be very surprised if you didn’t automatically think of this story we’re talking about today. In fact, the term “Good Samaritan” is a common term today for someone who selflessly helps someone in need. Being called a Good Samaritan today is a great compliment. We even have a charity here called Samaritans Aotearoa. They are a charity that provides a 24/7 crisis help line where volunteers pick up the phone and support people who call through whether they’re lonely, suicidal, depressed, distress or just going through a bad time. The impact of this story over time has moulded the meaning of the word Samaritan into something incredibly positive.

This was really not what the word represented when Jesus told this parable. There was a huge cultural divide between Jewish people and Samaritan people. Jews despised Samaritans largely because of historical, ethnic and religious divisions. When Israel fell to Assyria, foreign people settled in the region and intermarried with the remaining Israelites, creating a group Jews later saw as religiously compromised – or Samaritans which you can read about in 2 Kings 17.

By Jesus’ time, the hostility was so strong that Jews and Samaritans typically avoided each other. We see examples of this in the book of John. Firstly, on a separate occasion to this, Jesus and Jewish religious leaders are debating and, in an attempt to discredit him, they say to him in John 8:48: “You Samaritan devil! Didn’t we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?”. Calling him a Samaritan here is meant as a derogatory term, implying he is religiously corrupt or outside true Jewish faith, and they pair it with accusing him of being demon-possessed to completely undermine his authority.

Secondly, the divide is made clear when Jesus was speaking to a Samaritan woman at a well. When Jesus asks her for a drink, she is shocked because Jewish men normally would not speak with a Samaritan woman at all saying “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”.

This gives an idea of how the Jewish audience would be reacting to this new character introduction – a Samaritan man? This can’t be good. What happens next though? “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’

There are a lot of justifiable reasons for the Samaritan man to walk past, just like the priest and the temple assistant did. In fact, he probably has a lot more reasons to simply carry on his journey. Firstly, this Jewish man was travelling by himself on a dangerous road. He put himself into this situation, right? He clearly wasn’t well prepared or made some bad decisions that got him to this point.

Secondly, this man is Jewish remember. We have a pretty good idea of what he might think of a Samaritan man coming to his aid.

Thirdly, what if this was a trap? An ambush? The same bandits who attacked and robbed this man could be hiding around the corner waiting for him too.

Fourthly, helping this man is going to be expensive and ruin his plans. There are many reasons to walk by here, but he does not. The Samaritan simply acted out of compassion.

Jesus then asks the religious expert: “Now which of these three would you say was a neighbour to the man who was attacked by the bandits?” The man replied, “The one who showed him mercy” Then Jesus said, “Yes, now go and do the same.”

Jesus flips the question on its head. It’s no longer about asking “Who is my neighbour?”. We’re called to be a neighbour to those around us. Jesus makes it very clear that any form of social, cultural, religious, political barriers should not be getting in the way of being a neighbour and showing love to those in need.

What does that look like for us then? If there’s anything that is plentiful in the world today, it’s opportunities to help people in need. It’s clear that Jesus is saying that loving your neighbour is not just an emotion, it’s a physical response as well.

James 2 tells us: Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing, and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? It’s a very simple message but do we find it as simple to live out every day on an individual level?

Sometimes it’s small: noticing someone struggling, offering a listening ear, lending a hand with a practical task. Sometimes it’s bigger: volunteering your time, giving resources, or supporting someone who feels isolated. And sometimes it means crossing barriers – social, cultural, or personal – to show care where others wouldn’t. In all cases, it’s about seeing the need and responding with action.

It needs to be a part of a church’s identity as well. When people are in crisis, do they feel they can rely on their local church for support? Can we say that now about our church? Here’s a great example of a church showing love to their community: How good is it to see God’s love being broadcast in local media?

[Audio clip plays of a church providing refuge for people after a crisis]

May they be an example to all of us. Beyond practical help, we can also provide spiritual help to those in need – again, there is a lot of need for this too. Whether that’s praying for those around us, sharing the hope we’ve found in Jesus, providing encouragement, inviting people to church.

The opportunity to lead people to Jesus and the hope he brings is ever present. This comes with the same limitless boundary as to who our neighbour is that Jesus describes in the parable as well. That can be scarier or harder though, right? This is where the cultural, religious, political, personal and a range of other differences can feel like a bigger blocker. If someone is rude to me for whatever reason, that doesn’t make it easier to pray for them. I certainly don’t want to be responding with an invite to church.

This always makes me think of the story of Jonah which we heard here a month or two ago. Jonah, after delivering a message from God to the Ninevites, anticipates and even hopes for God to destroy Nineveh as his message had warned. When God showed compassion to the Ninevites and chose to not carry out the destruction He had threatened, Jonah was very angry. Jonah doesn’t believe the Ninevites deserved the same love God had shown him. To which the Lord responds: “…Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn’t I feel sorry for such a great city?

Who are the Ninevites in your life? If there’s someone in your life that you’re praying God deals with instead of saves, you’re missing an opportunity to show them the same love you’ve experienced.

To live like the Samaritan in this story, we have to understand that we’ve also been the Jewish man beaten at the side of the road before as well – or maybe we still are. Jesus is our good Samaritan. He’s compelled by compassion to act and show us love. He gave everything, even His life, because he sees the great need we have and acts on His compassion. Through Jesus, we accept the gift, or the inheritance, of eternal life. When we experience Jesus’ compassion, it should change how we live. The love he has shown us isn’t meant to stop with ourselves. When we respond with love to our neighbour, it is an outpouring of the love we have been shown.

Galatians 5 reminds us what that looks like in action. But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things! Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.

Living like the good Samaritan is a lifestyle shaped by the Holy Spirit, showing God’s love in practical ways. To be clear, this message isn’t coming from someone who has this perfected either. Living this out fully is a journey that we go on when we accept Jesus into our lives and seek to follow Him and grow more like Him every day.

My prayer today is that for myself and for everyone here, may this message lead us to take action when we feel compassion. To show love to those who need it – not because of where they come from or what they believe, but because of the love we have been shown.

1st John 4:9-12 tells us: God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

If this isn’t a love that you have experienced yourself, you’re in the right place. Chat to those around you, we also have a regular prayer ministry team. May you come to know and understand what it means to be loved by God as well.

Let’s pray: Dear Lord, thank you for this parable and what it teaches us. May we come to love those around us as you have loved us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Tawa Baptist

The Master and Servants

Scripture: Luke 12:35-38

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

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

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

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.