Matthew 13 - Part 2

 

Read Matthew 13

Have you seen the two-part meme where the refrigerator is open and the ketchup bottle is front and center and the man says, “I can’t find the ketchup.”  In the second part, the view is of a wooded ridge in the distance that seems to just be a beautiful landscape and the man says, “You see that buck next to the edge of the shade?”

We see the same things but we don’t see the same things.  Sometimes we have eyes to see where others don’t.

You call your dog for twenty minutes and have no sign of him.  You sit down in your recliner and open a bag of chips and sure enough, that’s your dog parked in front of you with its best beggar’s look staring you in the eye.

We hear what we hear, sometimes it’s exactly what we were hoping to hear.  We have ears to hear.

Sandwiched between the Parable of the Sower and its explanation is a simple question.  Why do you speak to the people in parables?

Why parables?

Because some have eyes to see and ears to hear what the Lord has to say.  Others hear the world first and maybe catch a little of what the Lord is telling us.  If you want to hear the Lord, it’s an all-in deal.  If you want to see the ways of the Lord, it’s an all-in deal.

This is why I speak to them in parables:

Though seeing, they do not see;

    though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

    you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

For this people’s heart has become calloused;

    they hardly hear with their ears,

    and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

    hear with their ears,

    understand with their hearts

and turn, and I would heal them.

 

Jesus then told his disciples that they were blessed.  They sought the ways of the Lord and God had given them eyes to see.  This was a gift from God to those who sought to do his will.

They had been given freely what so many prophets had desired.

Those not seeking the Lord can’t make sense of what he said or did.  They have neither eyes to see nor ears to hear.  To them, a parable is just a story.  To us, it offers counsel, guidance, direction, and challenges to learn more.

We are blessed to have eyes to see and ears to hear.

Amen.

 

 

Matthew 13 - Part 1

Read Matthew 13

The chapter breaks but the events are contiguous.  Jesus had told the Pharisees that the only sign they would get would be the sign of Jonah, he had told the crowd that those who do the will of the Father are his mother, brother, and sisters even as his biological family waited to see him.

We don’t know if Jesus squeezed in a quick visit or not.  We are told that he headed out to the shore of a lake, got in a boat and sat down as the people stood on the shore, and he started teaching in parables.

The first was the parable of the sower, which Jesus later explained to his disciples.

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:  When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.  The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.  The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.  But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

What can we add to this explanation by our Master and Teacher?

When we share the word of God with someone, we must understand there is urgency.  We pray that the soil of their heart is good soil, ready to receive the word of God and produce good fruit.

When we testify among other believers, understand that there may be worrisome weeds and carnal temptations working against the abundant life of some believers.  We must be encouragers, true friends, and speak the truth in love to

these souls without rest.

When we share the word of God, we should be like Paul, desiring to reach everyone with words of salvation, so much so that we become everything to everyone just to deliver our assigned message, but knowing that only some are likely to receive the word and be saved.

When we share the word of God, we must understand that this is not a greater burden than we can bear.  The receptiveness and response of the one who hears is not dependent upon how well-rehearsed our witness is.  We do our part. We are genuine. We are commissioned to deliver the good news to the world and do the very best that we can to bring glory to God.

The response of the one who hears is between the condition of their soil—their heart—and the Holy Spirit who stands ready to enter in to the one who professes Jesus is Lord!

That does not mean that our job is done.  Once a person responds and is a believer we are to be a part of their discipleship and learning, as well as leading them to baptism; but as to their response, we do not carry that burden.

Amen.

 

Parable: The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

 Read Luke 18:9-14

I am so, so glad that I am not like so many Christians.  They look good on Sundays but by Tuesday you can’t tell them from the pagans.  They say the love Jesus but never break out their check books to tithe or make special offerings.

I am so glad that I am not like those people who use God as a vending machine, talking to him only when they need something.  I give thanks to God that I am not like those people.

I am so glad, that God has chosen me to be with him for all eternity.  So long suckers.

I am so glad that I do the things that I am supposed to do.  I can’t wait to see the reception committee that God has waiting on me in heaven.

And I am so very glad, that most everyone who knows me, knows that I sometimes get a little tongue-in-cheek in my messages, hopefully getting your attention in the process.  I am actually glad that I get to work out my salvation as the most important thing that I do and there is a little truth in these statements.

I don’t want to be a Sunday only Christian.  I am thankful that I tithe.  I do spend a lot of time listening to God.  I do try to do the things that should do.  And I do very much look forward to the age to come, but only in jest will I speak these things as if they were because of my own righteousness.

I will boast in Christ but not in myself.   Jesus paid it all.  All to him I owe.  Those words keep me humble.

If I feel a good case of hubris coming on, then Micah’s words keep me humble.  Seek Justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God.

Jesus told a parable of a religious man, a Pharisee, whose prayer was more boast than prayer. 

Thank you, God, that I’ve got it all together, unlike the rest of the world.

Thank you, Lord, that you needed an All-Star Team and I was available.

The Pharisees were sticklers for the rules.  They frequently checked the boxes of compliance without fail.  They often scored high, higher than most of the common people on living by the rules.  Most of these rules came from the Law of Moses, some were additions that the Pharisees had penned themselves.

But they were good at following the rules, and some thought that everyone needed to know about it. 

Jesus could have just said a religious man offered a prayer, but he used a Pharisee for his parable.  The Pharisees were the epitome of following all the rules while missing the heart of God altogether.  They checked their boxes and had a keen eye for whether others checked their compliance boxes as well; but they missed the boat on mercy.

Confession was surely something reserved for sinners.

Jesus also included a man in his story who was often being lumped in with sinners, a tax collector.  Collecting taxes was not a sin but using the authority to collect taxes to feather one’s own nest was surely missing the honest scales standard.  Tax collectors were despised by the people.  Being despised for what he did likely registered more than whether this was an honest tax collector or not.  He was a tax collector.  He was despised.  Enough said.

If you wanted to be scorned among the Jews and you were not born a Samaritan, being a tax collector was the next best thing.  If you wanted to receive a little scorn from Jesus, just show up all self-righteous and your phylactery would promptly get put in its place.

A man whom was despised by about just about everyone he knew for he was a tax collector came to pray.  He had nothing to boast to God about.  He had no reason to show off before the people who might have been present.  He came in simple, humble, confession.

He would not even look up.  He beat his chest—not in a Tarzan fashion but in absolute repentance.  He was humble before God.  He cried out to God:  Be merciful for I am a sinner.

Jesus uses this comparison and tells those listening that this tax collector—this very despised man—went home made right with God.  There was no grain offering or blood dispersed upon the altar, but there was humility and confession.

Jesus said this man and not the other who had enumerated all of his righteousness was the one that pleased God.

Next, Jesus makes the parable applicable to all.  Whoever humbles himself before God will be exalted.  Those who exalt themselves will be humbled.  

We have looked at the last will be first model before, sometimes in service and other times with regard to stature and humility, but this parable puts us in the context of prayer and identity.

I am a Pharisee.  I am right because I do the right things.  I tithe.  I fast twice a week.  I set the standard for good.  You are lucky to have me on your team.

I am a sinner.  Have mercy on me.

Jesus liked to teach using extremes.  He would not be straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel nor would his teachings send us down that path.  He wanted some stuff to hit people squarely between the eyes and stick.

Humility is essential to every believer.  We approach the throne of grace with confidence but not hubris.

We rejoice that God has called us friend but never at the expense of reverence.

We are thrilled to be brothers and sisters with Christ but we do not forget the price that was paid.

We love being a child of God, we know we are loved beyond imagination, and we rejoice in the plans that God has for us, but we never harbor the thoughts and attitudes that we have been blessed with what we have because of our own righteousness. 

God has made us right with him.  For all the joy that we know, we must have humility in our hearts for this is all of God’s making.

We have been down this road before, but I ask again:  Am I a sinner saved by grace?

No.  I am a child of God loved more than I can explain in anything short of a lifetime; but my history that let me realize who I truly am is that I was a sinner and I was and I am saved by grace.

To identify myself as a sinner saved by grace makes the work on the cross transactional—tit for tat.  It surely took away my sin but this divine sacrifice goes beyond transactional to transformational.  My sin is not just paid for; I am now a child of God who can stand holy and blameless before the Lord.

I am not just a sinner whose debt is paid.  I am put in right standing with holy God as his very own son or daughter.

We must never forget our history as we enjoy being who we are, a child of God.  Remembering our history as a sinner, as the old man, as the Adam-natured creation is what keeps us humble. 

Compare this with God identifying himself with his Chosen People as the God who brought them out of slavery in Egypt.  They were no longer slaves, but were wise to consider their history in relationship with God.

We could not make ourselves right with God.  We could not and were not getting right with God as the human race or even in our personal lives in this modern time.  None of us can boast.  So while we were not loving God, he loved us and made us right with him through the blood of Christ Jesus.

What God did for us is cause for joy—eternal joy.  Remembering our history helps us remain humble as we live out our salvation.  Remembering that Christ Jesus stepped out of heaven to live a human life and give that life for us gives us a model of humility.

I think most of us understand parable and this model of humility.  I think that we want our lives to please God so we wrestle with boldly putting our gifts and talents to work—game on if you will—and being ever so humble.

Do we look to the heavens when we pray or do we bow our heads?  Yes.

Do we run a race of faith giving it all that we have or do we kneel before almighty God?  Yes.

Do we boldly proclaim the good news of life in Jesus Christ or humbly live lives of light and love?  Yes.

The world likes to put things into dichotomies—either/or choices.  God has not restricted us so.  We have a much simpler model.

God, his kingdom, and his righteousness are first in all we do.  If that is our starting point and our direction, our choices are clear.

We live in humility; yet our lives are abundant.

God is first in all things; yet we are blessed in great measure.

We humble ourselves before almighty God and God almighty exalts us before all creation.

I am not going to live out my life hanging my head because I was a sinner.  I rejoice in what the blood of Jesus has done for me; however, I will not forget who I was and that God rescued me.

I will lift my face to the heavens and I will bow and kneel before holy God and I will pray all day long in the middle of so many other things.  I can do this because my heart is humble, yet full of joy.  God made room for both.

Now that old person that I used to be keeps trying to get his old job back and sometimes gets the better of me.  God made this wonderful sort of prayer that we call confession. 

But the good news for us is that we don’t confess wondering if God will forgive.  We confess with the assurance of his pardon.

If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

He is faithful and just to forgive, and James reminds us that the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.  We are not right because of what we have done but because of what God has done for us.

Living in the right standing that God has granted to us through the blood of Jesus, we can go beyond confession and petition God for what we need.  We do so exercising great humility which translates to thanksgiving in the prayer of the redeemed.

Jesus puts two extremes in his parable.  He follows with a clear explanation of his Father’s heart.  He humbles those who exalt themselves and exalts those who come humbly before him.

Humility does not restrict our abundance. It very much enables it as we are liberated from the world’s metrics.

Humility does not preclude using our gifts and talents.  It beckons us to exalt holy God before men with what he has equipped us to do.  Jesus said that would bring glory to this Father.

Humility does not slow us down, but gives pause to consider the plans that God has for us thus eliminating rash decisions.  In modern vernacular, if you don’t have time to do things right, make time to do them twice.  

Humility says I don’t have to live at the world’s pace.  I will live by God’s pace.

Humility does not leave us orphaned in wisdom but leads us to trusting God with all of our hearts and away from being anchored in our own understanding.

Humility always puts God first and above any selfish desire.  In turn, God grants us so much including many of the things that the self-exalting world desires as their gods.

I am thinking that I would like to get really good and being humble.  In my humility, God does for me things that I could never do for myself.

Remember our history.  We were sinners.  We are saved by grace.  We are loved by holy God beyond any measure that we can comprehend.  We rejoice in being his children and brothers and sisters in Christ, but we will remain humble before almighty God.

Amen.