Gospel Prism

Proverbs 4:18-19 says:

Let your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
19 a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated always in her love.

And though one could certainly take this too far by placing his wife on such a high pedastal that he worships her rather than loves her, I don’t think that is an error that is too commonplace in our day.  The fact is, very few men are intoxicated (drunk, in a stupor, mesmerized) with their wives.  What is more typical is the husband who finds his wife as nothing more than a companion, a friend, a roommate.

Now I know this isn’t only the husband’s fault.  At times, wives too assume that a husband enjoys them and by such assumption, lose any desire to lead her husband towards such intoxication.  I know a woman who when married, rarely cared for herself personally, and thus cared nothing about her physical appearance.  But once she and her husband divorced, she did all she could to look attractive again.  How tragic that it took divorce to create a desire for the woman to be attractive for a man. (This certainly applies to men too who also fall into the category of apathetic husband when it comes to physical appearance and dress).

However, husbands still have no excuse, regardless of the woman’s efforts.  Notice in this Proverb, the father tells the son that he is to ‘rejoice in the wife of your youth,’ and the father does not qualify when he is to rejoice.  In other words, even when they are both old and gray, the husband should still be intoxicated by her love.  Thus, it’s not the physical beauty that intoxicates (though I don’t think that’s a reason for women to simply be indifferent about their appearance towards their husbands), but the love they shared while they were young.  This love should grow and should be so dynamic as the years pass, that the husband simply can’t help but feel punch drunk with such love.  And this love is based on each other’s pursuit of Christ and their desire to love one another in view of His love for us (cf. Eph 5:21f.).

I can honestly say that this is how I feel towards my wife, Shua.  Today, my in-laws took my kids to camp, and I just couldn’t help but be mesmerized by my wife.  She looks more beautiful today than the day we were married (I have told her that numerous times and I really mean it).  I’ve never been drunk with alcohol (I think) in my life, but I really do believe that I have been and am drunk in my wife’s love.  I hope you feel intoxicated by your wife.  It beats any buzz that alcohol, drugs, work, money, or any other woman could ever give you.

Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” 13 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God. 14 But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” 15 Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” 17 As he said these things, all his adversaries were put to shame, and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.

Luke 13:10-17

Introduction

One time I was driving and saw an old woman completely hunched over. I couldn’t help but feel sad for her. She seemed haggard and helpless and her contorted body was a picture of what I imagined her life to be. In reflecting on this message, I meditated on Romans 8:20 which says: “For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope.” Paul reminds us that life wasn’t supposed to have bent over women walking down the street. Before sin had entered the world, there were no crooked bones, no disease, no murder, no death. But sin has ushered in a world continually subjected to futility, where there are broken people not only spiritually and emotionally, but physically as well.

But it won’t always be this way. Paul declares in Romans 8:20-24: “For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved.” Thus, there will be a day when bodies are made whole and all that can ravage our bodies from disease to disabilities to deformities to death will forever be vanquished because death has lost its sting through Christ’s broken body. And Luke 13:10-17 is a story that reveals a hint of what heaven will be like, when disability is no more. But it’s also a story that reveals not just the physical maladies of living in a sinful world, but an even far greater disability, the tragedy of the heart’s hardness to Christ and the gospel. And so, I’d like to examine the three characters of this story to highlight the story of the enabling Savior: first, the woman and her disabled body, second, the hypocrites and their disabled spirits, and third, Jesus as the enabling Savior.

The Woman: The Disabled Body (vv. 10-11, 16)

So first, let’s look at the woman and her disabled body in verses 10-11: “Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath. 11 And there was a woman who had had a disabling spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not fully straighten herself… And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” This was a woman who had obviously been suffering for a long time, 18 years. Scholars have hypothesized the disease to be spondylitis anklyopoietica, which is a form of rheumatoid arthritis affecting the joints often times in the spinal column. This leads to a calcification of the spinal column with the effect of such a condition leading to a doubling over, often with much pain. This condition is also more commonly found in young people.

Whether it was this disease or something different, we know life for this woman would have been terribly difficult. Unmarried women in Jesus’ day would have had an incredibly difficult time in making a living. Add to her marital status, her physical condition, and we can safely surmise that this woman was probably poor and ostracized. Her appearance would have made her ‘stand out’ to everyone who met her. Try bending over the rest of your life, and you’ll begin to realize the life she lived. Bathing would have been difficult, which would have made her an object of avoidance and ridicule. Think of how arduous sleep would have been. Getting dressed, feeding herself, let alone working to make money and getting around in a world where there wasn’t even the idea of ‘physically impaired access,’ would have been grueling and despairing. And then there is the emotional and psychological component of living a life of constant suffering and rejection. Very few people could understand her pain and sorrow. But it would be the only life she would ever know.

In verse 16, we find out one more thing about this woman’s condition. Jesus says Satan bound her for the past 18 years. The question this obviously raises is this, “Are diseases caused by Satan?” Verse 16 seems to point out that sometimes this can be the case. You see, the Bible tells us that so long as Satan still exists, this world is in his control as the ‘god of this world’ (2 Cor 4:4). And John 8:44 tells us that Satan is a murderer, delighting in the suffering and death of people. But he is not in ultimate control, even over sickness and suffering which is one of the main points of the book of Job. In fact, God says in Exodus 4:11: “Who has made man’s mouth? Who makes him mute, or deaf, or seeing, or blind? Is it not I, the Lord?” In other words, nothing can happen, not even suffering and death, that is beyond God’s power and strength. Satan might be a secondary cause of suffering, sin might be a secondary cause of suffering, but we must never believe that our trials are so terrible that God cannot do anything and that He merely bows to the will of sin and suffering. No my friends, this is exactly why we have stories like this in Luke 13. Whereas Satan might have bound this woman in her misery for so many years, Jesus’ healing of this disabled, hunched over woman is an example of the very fact that Satan and sin have been defeated through the power of God through His Son Jesus Christ. This woman, a hunched over, emotionally broken outcast of society, is a visual reminder to all the world that Jesus Christ has conquered death and its power once and for all.

The Hypocrites: The Disabled Spirit (v. 14)

The second character in the story is the synagogue ruler. Imagine the scene. Jesus had just healed this woman from this debilitating disease. She’s probably shouting with joy. Tears have filled her eyes because for the past 18 years she has only had one perspective in life, a life hunched over in severe pain. Some in the congregation are bewildered by what has happened. And then out of the commotion, the synagogue rule (the religious leader) says: “There are six days in which work ought to be done. Come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.” Can you imagine that? How unfeeling and cold. This man was so concerned about the law being broken, that he forgot what the law was created for. And also, as if coming on that Sunday or Monday when it wasn’t the Sabbath would have healed her. He had no such power.

Notice also that the ruler does not confront Jesus discreetly, but rather stands before all of the people and criticizes Him without directly speaking to Him. He is the epitome of the self-righteous man, expressing red-faced anger because he believes he has been wronged, and does all he can to shame anyone who would break his rules, his laws, and his sense of control over the situation. So what was his problem? Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. But Jesus was the perfect law-keeper and He’s not advocating a rejection of the Sabbath. But if you look at the two texts in the Bible that refer to the Sabbath commandment (Deut 5:12-15 and Ex 20:8-11), you’ll find that God never tells His people that they cannot show mercy on the Sabbath. But sadly, further interpretation of these texts by Jewish religious authorities placed all sorts of rules and regulations on the people and it made the Sabbath a day of dread for people, than a day of delight.

When the ruler looked at what Jesus did, the healing of this woman, he didn’t see the wretchedness of this woman. That’s the reality of self-righteousness. You can’t see the world apart from anything you believe to be right and true. And so, he was blind to her suffering, to her life of rejection and agony, to her need for healing not just from her pain, but from her spiritual suffering. The ruler was the arbiter of truth and morality, and no one could disrupt that universe regardless of the reason. This is why he was blind to the reality that the Sabbath was intended as a day for God’s mercy. And thus, he stood there believing that Jesus did not honor God because God can only be honored in the way he deemed righteous. Tim Keller comments: “If…you seek to control God through your obedience, then all your morality is just a way to use God to make him give you the things in life you really want.”(Tim Keller, The Prodigal God)

And this is exactly why Jesus calls this man and all who were listening to him and believing what he said, hypocrites. Notice, the word is plural. Jesus knew the hearts of every person there. There were people sitting in those seats in full agreement with the ruler. They believed that they were righteous because they weren’t sinners, unlike the uncouth, lower class people of the world. And they become the masters of their own lives, arbiters of what’s right and wrong. They become their own gods. But when suffering enters the lives of such people, and suffering and trials will come, they are predictably unable to handle it. Because in their lives, they have believed themselves to be righteous and good and moral. They believed that something that have done (donating money to the poor, adopting a child, serving the church, door-to-door evangelism, homeschooling, raising a good family, being a faithful husband, etc.) has made them worthy enough of a life without trial. But once the trials come, also come anger at God, anxiety that floods the heart, and a sudden questioning of one’s faith. Why? Because there is always the assumption that my good works makes me right before God.

You see my friends, we are no different than this ruler. When he stands up to say, “Come on those days and be healed,” he ultimately cares nothing about the other person. He is concerned about his reputation (how dare this man usurp my authority by healing on this day and making me look like a fool by upstaging me), about the control he has over his world, and about his own righteousness (the healing was a clear sign that nothing he did would ever make him able to understand and know the power of God). I know I have done this, but how concerned are we about our reputation (what we look like before others), about control over our world (does knowing Christ affect my comforts), and about our own righteousness (surely what I have done for God keeps is enough to make me free from trial and suffering)? Perhaps we too have told others, ‘Come on other days,’ to those in need when I’m ready to follow Jesus, when I’ve made my career to the place it needs to be, when I’m comfortable and so long as it does not take away such comfort from me.

And the result of such a heart, the heart that is full of such self-righteousness, is to be critical, vengeful, judgmental, merciless, hateful, envious, joyless, despising, and jealous of others. Theologian Richard Lovelace insightfully writes:

[People] who are no longer sure that God loves and accepts them in Jesus, apart from their present spiritual achievements, are subconsciously radically insecure persons…Their insecurity shows itself in pride, a fierce, defensive assertion of their own righteousness, and defensive criticism of others. They come naturally to hate other cultural styles and other races in order to bolster their own security and discharge their suppressed anger. (Quoted from Tim Keller, The Prodigal God, 54)

The synagogue ruler’s root sin was the firm belief that his way is the best way and that his way was the only way to rightly honor God. It kept him from seeing that when God looked at him, God saw that he was spiritually every bit as hunched over as this woman was physically. He needed help. He need God’s healing power over his life. But he was like all who are addicted to something (alcoholics, drug addicts, gambling addicts, workaholics, self-esteem, etc.), he was so addicted to himself that he was unable to see just how hunched over he really was and how desperately he needed the gospel of Christ.

Jesus: The Enabling Savior (vv. 12-13, 15-16)

Of course, this leads us to the last main character of the story, Jesus, who is the enabling Savior able to heal those who are disabled physically and spiritually. Luke records for us in verses 12-13: “When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your disability.” 13 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and she glorified God.” And then he adds Jesus’ response to the ruler in verses 15-16: “Then the Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the manger and lead it away to water it? 16 And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?” Notice Jesus saw her. He took notice of her among all of the moral, religious people. He realized she actually needed Him, actually realized that she was broken and in pain. She didn’t cry out to Him for help. Jesus simply decided to heal her out of sheer grace. She didn’t respond in faith. She didn’t do any good works where she deserved healing. As only God can do, Jesus simply acted out of mercy.

And then Jesus lays hands on her. Perhaps it was the first time that anyone had touched her in a long time. Just like the leper who would certainly have been avoided at all costs, this poor bedraggled woman was probably shunned. And here was Jesus, who sees her as He’s teaching about God and His character and His mission to save the lost, goes towards the woman whom society would reject. And He touches her and heals her and again notice that ‘immediately’ she was made straight. God’s power over sin and suffering was evident. Jesus had come into the world to undo that which was corrupted by sin and Satan and nothing could stop His power.

And yet, the ruler and the people reject Jesus’ offer of grace out of hand. John describes their hearts in John 1:10-11: “He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.” The ruler and the people couldn’t see that they were as needy of the Lord’s grace as this woman. They felt they were morally righteous. And so they were willing to show more mercy to their ox or donkey than to the poor and the lost. They were so full of themselves that they were blinded by their arrogance and pride.

Matt Chandler, pastor of Village Church speaking at the Desiring God National Conference, gave this illustration that demonstrates the difference between the reaction of the ruler and the people and the heart that Jesus has for the lost:

During my freshman year of college, I sat next to a 26-year-old single mother trying to get her degree. We began a dialogue about the grace and mercy of Christ in the cross. Some other guys and I would go over and babysit her child and try to talk with her. A friend of mine was in a band playing in the area and we invited her to hear him. She agreed. She thought it would be a concert. I knew better. It was shady and she agreed to come.

The minister got up and said, “Today I want to talk to you about sex.” And I immediately thought, Uh oh. He took a red rose, smelled it, showed how pretty it was. Then, threw it out in the crowd and told them to smell the rose. “I want you to smell it and touch it and feel the texture in it.” (There were about 1000 people there.) He then began one of the worst, most horrific handlings of what sex is and isn’t that I ever sat through. It was fear-mongering at its best.

I’m thinking, with Kim beside me, What are you doing? As he wrapped up, he asked, “Where’s my rose?”

Some kid brought the rose back and it was broken. The petals were broken. And he lifts it up. And his big crescendo is to lift up that broken rose and say, “Now who would want this?”
Anger welled up within me and I wanted to say, “JESUS WANTS THE ROSE! That’s the point of the gospel! That Jesus wants the rose. That he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

My friends, the synagogue ruler and those who agreed with his law-keeping would look at that 26 year old mother single and would say, “Who would want this?” Who would want to be associated with such an ‘immoral, broken person’? Who would want to be associated with a hunched over, poor, broken, uncouth, dirty woman? Who would want to be associated with this person who does not meet your standard of morality and rightness and comfort and goodness? Jesus would. Jesus wants you regardless of your state and condition and morality. Jesus didn’t heal the synagogue ruler. The ruler wanted her to come back when it was proper for her, when she kept his laws rightly. But Jesus healed her as she was. And He wants to heal you as you are, not when you are all cleaned up, but hunched over, not when you are sinless, but as a sinner. If you’ve turned from Him or have never trusted in Him, and you feel as though you’re not good enough for Him or ready for Him, my friend, if you wait for that, you’ll never be good enough. He is the healer of hunched over people, not of straight people. And so come and turn to Him and trust Him and He will heal you.

And for Wellspring, may we be a church that welcomes people as they are. We can’t be a church that welcomes people when they’re cleaned up, standing straight, living life as we are in our sense of what is proper or right. The church can’t be a place solely for a certain type of people. We must never say, “They aren’t my type/kind of people.” We can’t be so comfortable that we have no room for those even vastly different from us. Jesus has a name for such people, hypocrites. Because every person was once an alien, a stranger, and enemy of God, hunched over and disabled before Him, and yet, He still welcomes us into His family. He has enabled every one of us to join Him, even though we were once disabled.

Jesus, Thank You from Sovereign Grace Ministries on Vimeo.

Bob leading ‘Jesus, Thank You,’ at Next 2009. This song never gets old!

Jonathan Rourke as CJ Mahaney from Resolved on Vimeo.

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
Ephesians 2:13-14

Introduction

I have often wondered what it would be like without the church. I think it would be a lonely world, a place where friendships are rooted on circumstances (work, common interests, social status, ‘what’s-in-it for me’ utilitarianism, etc.) rather than the depths of an inexhaustible God. And it would be very lonely, especially during times of trial and pain, where there is ultimately no hope at all.

And so I am so thankful for the church, and this church in particular. Thank you all for serving Sammy and Jane this past week and the weeks to come. Your hearts for them reminded me about how great God is to bring people of all ilk and of different experiences and backgrounds together, for the sake of the Gospel, so that we might care for one another.

And this is what Paul had in mind in Ephesians 2:13-14. He envisioned a place where what defines us is not the culture we bring to the church, but the new culture we create as a result of our transformation in view of the Gospel. Christ has ‘broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility,” and by doing so, He has created not only a new way of thinking, but also a new social identity that transcends culture, socio-economic class, political affiliation, intellectual prowess, wellness.

And so how does this happen? How does a group of people come together who for all intents and purposes should not get along, who have different perspectives on life, different worldviews, different cultures, and yet, not only simply get along, but also are willing to give their lives for one another, who are closer with one another than even their own flesh-and-blood families? The answer is found in verses 13-14. First, they realize their new identity as the church and second, they realize that this new identity is only possible through Christ.

New Identity as the Church

So first, we are able to come together and overcome all sorts of barriers only when we realize our new identity as a church. Paul writes in verse 13: “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.” In other words, we cannot truly understand this new identity until we begin to wrestle with the fact that we were once ‘far off’ from God. Earlier in verse 12, Paul describes it this way, that we were once ‘alienated’ and had ‘no hope and without God in the world.’ Remember, Paul is writing this letter to the Ephesian church, a church of Gentiles (non-Jews) who were culturally different than Jews. Not only were they different, they were outsiders who didn’t belong to the people of God. Thus, some Jews in these churches looked down on Gentiles. In fact, the prejudice was so great that the early church neglected to care for Gentile widows, simply because they were culturally different (Acts 6:1).

The Jews were wrong in their legalistic demands on Gentiles. But the Gentiles also had to understand that they were nothing themselves, that they were once outside of God’s promises, and therefore, it was God’s sheer grace that allowed them to enter into His family. Thus, the church was defined by distinctive social markers based on ethnicity, family history, and social status. How did this happen to a church that was founded on the gospel?
They had forgotten how far off they really were from God and what it took for them to be brought near. If we are defined by the reputation we claim outside the church and bring that into the church, we will rob the church of its power. What defines the people in the church is not where you went to college or whether you even went to college. We should not be more impressed by a person’s job than we are by a person’s faith and trust in Christ. We should not be fawning more over a person’s nice car than over a person kindness and gentle spirit because of her trust in Christ. We tend to think the world infiltrates the church if people smoke, go to clubs, play cards, and listen to secular music. But my friends, those are mere symptoms. We don’t have to do any of those things and we can still more worldly by the way we think of others, and the way we worship ourselves.

If you go to a gym, you’ll notice wherever there are weights, there are mirrors. Because there is no better time to look at yourself than when you have just lifted and see how temporarily inflated you are. And just like our own egos, we come crashing back to earth about 5 minutes later when the muscles return back to original form(less). But boy do people take advantage of that mirror. One person tells the story of a late night talk show host who had a bodybuilder as a guest. The host asked the weightlifter to show off his muscles to the audience. As the man flexed his muscles with a huge grin, the host asked, “What do you use those muscles for?” the bodybuilder didn’t give an answer but remained silent. The host asked again, and still no response. He just continued to show off with a grin. But the answer was clear. Those muscles sole purpose was to glorify himself. And my friends, the more we live in this world, the more we are taught to glorify ourselves, to make ourselves look even better than we really are. And when we forget we were once far off, we not only live for our own glory, but we bring that into the church.

So it should not surprise us when the church disintegrates in fights and petty rivalries. When a church is cluttered with gossip and backbiting and bickering, it should make sense. That’s what happens when people bring the world into the church, when self-glory and personal reputation are at the forefront of one’s heart and when external circumstances (how many friends I have, ‘Is this person mad at me?’ ‘I don’t feel like I’m appreciated’) take over the Body.

So if the problem is that we forgot we were once far off, then the solution is obvious, we must remember the cost of what it took to bring us near. And according to verse 13, that cost was ‘the blood of Christ.’ What can overcome every sin of every sinner? Surely, it cannot be our good works. But how we rely upon them to save us. We do this when we are quick to judge the ‘real sinners’ versus our itty, bitty sins. No, it took God sending His Son to die on the cross on our behalf. I received a card from Jane this week and she said in that card that through Luther’s death, she and Sammy were able to have an inkling of what God the Father felt when He watched His own Son die. What an insight in the midst of turmoil and grieving! Very few can even get a glimpse of the same pain as our Father had on that day 2000 years ago. To bring us near, cost His Son’s blood because good works are too paltry and can never overcome sin. And so, we must see the cross and the shedding of our Savior’s blood as the only means by which we can truly have new life and a new identity in Christ. Only the cross can make that which was once dirty, now clean.

Dr. Lloyd Jones is absolutely right when he says:

I do not care what your sins are. They can be very respectable or they can be heinous, vile, foul, filthy. It does not matter, thank God…Though you be the vilest man or woman ever known, and though you may until this moment have lived your life in the gutters and the brothels of sin in every shape and form,…if you believe that this is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and he died there on the cross, for your sins and to bear your punishment. If you believe that, and thank him for it, and rely utterly only upon him and what he has done,…all your sins are blotted out completely, as if you had never sinned in your life, and his righteousness is put on you and God sees you perfect in His Son. That is the message of the cross. (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The Cross, 36)

Christians, it is at the cross that we must begin to see ourselves. Would Wellspring be a church that would welcome a former murderer like Paul, a promiscuous woman like Mary Magdalene, a cheating, traitor crook like Matthew, a brutal prison guard like the Phillippian jailer, a hated oppressor like the centurion Cornelius? Or do we think that their sins are far too great compared to our respectable sins? Such thinking not only destroys unity, but it fails to see that we ourselves nailed Jesus to that cross. Without realizing that we were brought nearby this cost, we won’t know then how to unite the church under the banner of Christ who is our peace.
Oh, but when we remember that cost, our lives are never the same both here and eternally. We will live as the church, as a transformed people. One person who never forgot who he was and saw such transformation was former NBA star and Washington center Manute Bol. He died this past week at the age of 47. What most people know about Manute was the fact that he was the tallest NBA player ever at 7’7”. What most people didn’t know was that he was a Sudanese Christian who was fervent about his faith in Christ. In an SI article, he said, “God guided me to America and gave me a good job. But he also gave me a heart so I would look back.” And he never did forget God or where God had brought him. He gave most of his money that he earned in the NBA, nearly $6 million to aid Sudanese refugees. One person commented on his heart as an NBA player: “Most NBA cats go broke on cars, jewelry & groupies. Manute Bol went broke building hospitals.” In Jon Shields’ article for the Wall Street Journal on Manute Bol, he writes:

When his fortune dried up, Bol raised more money for charity by doing what most athletes would find humiliating: He turned himself into a humorous spectacle. Bol was hired, for example, as a horse jockey, hockey player and celebrity boxer. Some Americans simply found amusement in the absurdity of him on a horse or skates. And who could deny the comic potential of Bol boxing William “the Refrigerator” Perry, the 335-pound former defensive linemen of the Chicago Bears? Bol agreed to be a clown.

But he was not willing to be mocked for his own personal gain as so many reality-television stars are. Bol let himself be ridiculed on behalf of suffering strangers in the Sudan; he was a fool for Christ. During his final years, Bol suffered more than mere mockery in the service of others. While he was doing relief work in the Sudan, he contracted a painful skin disease that ultimately contributed to his death. Manute Bol could not do such things unless he remembered that he was brought near. And like Manute, the church stands out in this world, makes a difference, only when we also remember that Christ paid such a cost for us, of course, we will even be willing be fools for Christ, let alone serve the Body of Christ and love it with such joy.

New Identity as a Church Through Christ

Verse 14 then, gives us a glorious picture of the church: “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.” The church was filled with strife and division based on not only cultural divisions, but religious ones as well. The Jews simply believed they were more righteous than their Gentile brothers because of the law. The Gentiles perhaps believed they were more righteous than the Jews because of their freedom apart from the law. But again, when Jesus Christ’s blood is considered, and when we remember that we are adopted as sons and daughters simply out of God’s grace, only then can there be truly peace. Only then is the dividing wall broken down.

You see, when we sinned against God and when we lost sight of the cross and what it had accomplished for us, again, we become like the bodybuilder. We can’t help keep our eyes of ourselves to our own detriment. We become easily irritated. People bother our sense of personal space and comforts. We become self-pitying. People just don’t understand, and God doesn’t understand, what I’m going through. We become selfish with our time, our energy. We’re so consumed with consumerism and prosperity that makes me look good that we fail to consider how we can bless others with resources God has given us to glorify Him. We begin to see friendships as self-serving. And so when they fail us and disappoint us, which they will do if they’re human and when we’re human, rather than seeking forgiveness or quickly forgiving others lest we be hypocrites, we cast them off in search of ‘real friends.’ We become so fixated with ourselves that we become asphyxiated by ourselves.

Oh but when we know the peace that comes only through Christ and His work on the cross, we are changed forever. And look at the result of this peace according to verse 14, he has ‘made us both one’ and the dividing wall is broken down. In other words, those who live like they are saved, who actually are gracious to others because they’ve been shown immeasurable grace, who are hospitable even at a cost, who refuse to speak ill of someone before others regardless of what she has done, who will accept a person into his fellowship regardless of his past, his physical appearance, his status in life, even her past mistakes and wrongs, is the picture of a broken dividing wall. The biblical church is the church that is so enraptured by the goodness and glory of Christ, that we simply don’t care about anything but Christ. He defines us and He defines our relationships. And this my friends, destroys that dividing wall.

At this past Together for the Gospel, Thabiti Anyabwile made this important statement: “The church should be multi-ethnic, but not multi-cultural.” In other words, all of us bring different cultural backgrounds to the church. I don’t just mean our ethnic culture, but everything that shapes us to be us. We bring Western, American culture. We bring the culture of how we dress, how we speak, what we’re interested in. We determine what is normal and what is abnormal for personality. But the church is not composed of a bunch of different cultures trying to meld together. Thabiti goes on to make this analogy. Think of the Pro Bowl in football (the All-Star game). In the Pro Bowl, the AFC wears the red jerseys and the NFC wears the blue jerseys. It shows they are on the same team and yet, they were the helmets of their real team. They don’t play hard for their pro bowl team though because they don’t want to get injured. But for their real team, they’ll sacrifice their bodies for the team. Sadly, too often Christians are like these football players. We are more committed and willing to sacrifice even our lives for our cultures, than we are committed to give our lives for Christ and His people. And so we bring this mentality into the church. The church is not about multiculturalism. No, we lay down all of our cultures to form a new culture, the culture of Christ and His Gospel. Everything is secondary to that end. But yes, we are multi-ethnic. I am Korean. I still like Korean food. I can understand Korean (barely). And I appreciate my background. I am also 40 years old, married, a pastor, love the Yankees, enjoy soccer, cycling, playing games. But all of these, while they are part of my life, they are not my core identity. I am first a child of God bought by the blood of the Lamb. And thus, I am a new creation with a new culture, the Gospel culture and a wonderful place called the church. I need you in my life. And when I meet you, the people of God, you and I create a new culture, the culture of heaven where God is glorified and I am most satisfied in Him.

Conclusion

My friends, this must be the church. We are one because of the blood of Christ. Our divisions must melt away. If they do not, it is because we have forgotten what it was like to be far off. We should be the most welcoming people possible, not because we’re on some ‘greeting team’ or ‘newcomers team,’ but because we are saved. We should be quick to fend off gossip and dissension because we love Christ. This week was a trying week for Sammy and Jane and for others. We should be overflowing with care and sympathy not because we feel pity for them, but because we were once far off but now brought near. We should reach out to those whose life experiences and ethnicity and culture and moral values are different from us not because we have to do our Christian duty, but because we too were once aliens and strangers, welcomed home by a loving Father. May today be the day the dividing wall comes down forever. If you have never trusted in Christ, but want to experience this new culture, please come and talk to me or one of the Leadership Team, and they would love to talk to you about the One who makes this new identity an eternally joyous reality.

The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1 Corinthians 15:56-57

Introduction

Sammy and Jane, very few can truly understand exactly what you are going through today and the days to come. All parents know that the loss of a child is simply devastating.

And yet, as terrible as this loss is, as Christians, we are as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4:8, “afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair.” Peter tells us in 1 Peter 1:3-4 that “according to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.” This is not some religious pipe dream. This is truly our living hope.

So what makes this living hope real for us? 1 Corinthians 15 has one dramatic answer for us: “Christ has defeated death forever through His resurrection,” and verses 56-57 summarize this answer well.

Sin: The Sting of Death

First, the sting of death is sin. Before sin entered the world, there was no suffering and no death. There was no such thing as tragic accidents and deadly diseases. But since the advent of sin, the rebellion of all people to choose their own way rather than trust in God’s provisions, death and everything that leads to death came into being.

So death and all of the grieving and the mourning and the sorrow and the loss and the painful goodbyes and the suffering that is a consequence of death has since inhabited our world. There is no sting, no pain, like the pain of death. And the reality is that all of us will eventually face this very sting.

The Law: The Power of Sin

Second, not only is there the sting of death, but there is also the power of sin as brought to bear by the law. The law is not evil itself. After all, God gave the law. But the law reveals to us that sin is ultimately against God and deserves full judgment and condemnation. The law also is deadly in that we can believe we can keep the law, and therefore be overrun by pride. In other words, not only does sin result in death, but the law also condemns us rightly before God. And the more we try to keep the law as our means of salvation, the more we will become self-righteous, believing our good works save us, and the more we will fail to see ourselves in need of salvation. And so the law has the power to condemn sinners to judgment and the power to keep sinners from even recognizing their own sin and their need for a Savior.

Thanks: In Christ

There is no hope in this condition because there is literally nothing we can do about this situation. But this is where Paul resounds with his living hope in verse 57: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” In a condition where we are literally helpless to save ourselves, where even our best efforts are so often riddled with self-righteousness, and where eternal life with the Father is impossible because of the crushing weight of sin and its separation before us and a perfectly Holy God, we needed a Savior. We needed salvation because we would never be good enough, or intelligent enough, or innocent enough, or moral enough before a holy and righteous God. God did not save us because we were good enough for Him. In fact, it’s while we were still sinners, Christ did for us. God saved us simply because it was His pleasure and delight to do so and it was for His own glory.

And this is exactly why Paul gives such joyous thanks to Jesus Christ. Jesus’ finished work on the cross makes eternal life with joy a possibility. And so, today is not Luther’s last day of existence. We are not here mourning as those who have no hope. Though we are perplexed, we are not driven to despair. Luther is truly being welcomed home into the arms of Jesus and we have to give thanks to our Lord Jesus Christ in making this possible. And so, in view of this text, may I share what Luther has taught me…

What Luther Taught Me About God and the Gospel

1. Luther Taught Me About the Sting of Death

As I visited Luther in the hospital these past weeks, I can say that he taught me much about our Savior and he exposited this verse for me through his life. Luther’s life taught me that the sting of death is sin. Obviously, there was no overt sin that Luther committed that would lead to his death. And yet, Luther reminded me that we live in a broken world, a sinful world that still bears the marks of suffering and death. The doctors did all that they could. But their best efforts could not keep suffering and death away. And to watch Luther, that little precious baby boy, whose head and hands and feet and body were as cute as any baby, with all of the tubes connected to machines, was simply not how it should be for a baby. Looking at Luther was a picture of the terrible sting of death and the power of sin in a broken world.

2. Luther Taught Me About the Power of the Law

Luther also taught me about the power of the law. The law was given to reveal sin. But here was a baby. He did not follow the law, and he did not break the law. He was not self-righteous as we are, trying to prove ourselves before others. He didn’t try to maintain his reputation. But the Bible teaches us that even babies are sinful because Ephesians 2:3 tells us that we were all by nature children deserving of God’s wrath, and that includes babies. That’s how expansive and corrosive sin is, and even an innocent baby does not escape the power of sin.

3. Luther Taught Me About Jesus Christ

But Luther taught me much about our Savior Jesus Christ. Luther is not home with Jesus because he is innocent of sin, and undeserving of condemnation. No, Luther is safe because like those who trust in Christ, he too has been washed clean by the blood of the Lamb and his 5 weeks of life are not a waste because His life was bought with a costly price, the price of God’s own Son. Paul tells us in Romans 1:18-21 that those who are able to experience life have no excuse because they have God’s common grace. But babies who die in infancy actually have an excuse and it God’s grace through His Son covers such children.

4. Luther Taught Me About Eternity

Again, we might consider that Luther only lived for five weeks. We might wonder, “God, why did he die so young?” But if we have our hearts truly set on eternity, then we know that not only will he be with the Lord forever, but one day when we also will join Luther in heaven, the length of our lives lived in the context of eternity will be virtually be indistinguishable. This is why Luther teaches me to live with all my might for the glory of God while I live. We must not waste our time in this world because it truly is a vanishing mist.

5. Luther Taught Me About Joy in the Midst of Mourning

It is right to grieve and mourn. In fact, we must do so because we suffer alongside Sammy and Jane as the church. But Paul makes it clear in 1 Thess 4:13-14 that we do ‘not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again.” While I grieve for the pain that Sammy and Jane feel, I do not grieve for Luther. Jesus died to defeat not only death, but all of its consequences. There are truly no more tears or pain for Luther, never again. There are no doctors and funeral homes and cemeteries and life insurance policies where Luther is. Paul says in Phil 1:23 that it is better to be with Christ than to be here. And for Luther, as John Piper describes in death of an infant that he ‘is happier today than the happiest person on earth has ever been.’

God watched His Son suffer and died so that Luther Yang would be adopted as God’s son. And he truly is happier than the happiest person who ever lived. Sammy and Jane, today you are grieving his loss in your hearts. But one day, you will be standing alongside your son worshipping God’s Son in an unmatchable, eternal joy. And so, may we give thanks to our God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” 6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

Luke 13:1-9

Introduction

Many of you know stories where people were miraculously healed from all sorts of conditions and diseases, but what about when that doesn’t happen? Does that mean that those who did not receive healing do not have true faith or enough faith? That is some of the worst theology out there, often called the prosperity gospel, and it has no grounding in the Bible. There are many reasons why this theology is completely wrong. But Jesus makes clear for us one basic reason here in Luke 13:1-9, tragedy and suffering can happen to anyone despite their faith or lack of faith in Him. As tragic as physical death can be, there is something far more tragic, eternal suffering. And unless we realize this, we will be not only be unable to process and deal with suffering and death when we face it here on earth (and we will face it here), but we will also face suffering and death eternally. That is a double misery.

The Lord offers us a far better future for believers of Christ, and yes, sometimes suffering and even death is a part of that future. Sometimes the means by which we suffer could be as a result of the sins of others like the 9/11 terrorist strike against the World Trade Center, or sometimes it could be a tragic accident like the Haiti earthquake. But our God understands suffering because He Himself suffered so that our suffering, when we believe in Jesus, will be merely a light and momentary affliction. That is the good news of grace. So to understand grace through suffering, we must examine tragedy today and life eternal.

Tragedy Today

What does tragedy today look like? Luke records for us an incident in Luke 13:1-5 that describes such tragedy: “There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Jesus had just given His warnings to those who were listening to prepare for the day when He returns, when judgment will come. Some of the crowd relayed stories to him that was probably in the public conscience of the day, stories that had a feel of judgment, but also led to some theological confusion that had practical ramifications. The first story is a tragedy caused by the sins of others, in this case Pilate. We all know who Pilate was, the man who condemned Jesus to death. Pilate was also often known as a cruel governor and this one instance describes an incident where Pilate massacred some Jews from the north, probably during the Passover since that was the only time animals were sacrificed in Jesus’ day. He had not only murdered these people, but he intentionally profaned the Jewish feast day by mingling their blood with the animal’s blood, thereby blaspheming the God they worshipped. This was just one more scenario of the evil Roman Empire that the Jews detested. And since Jesus was possibly the Messiah who was preaching on judgment and vindication, surely this would be an instance where the Messiah would rise up and incite rebellion against this evil villian. Thus, in this instance, tragedy is a direct result of the sin of others, in this case Pilate.

The second story is about the tower of Siloam. The tower was on the southeast walls of Jerusalem and its collapse was obviously shocking news since 18 people died. Again, this a genuine tragedy. Families were broken because of this incident. But unlike the previous story, this tragedy was a result of an accident and not a result of both sins.

You see, the people had probably assumed that those who suffered and died had probably committed some sin that led to their tragic circumstances. He knew their hearts. That’s why He didn’t even consider the political circumstances. He was not trying to change the world through regime change. Instead, He asked a question in verse 2: “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way?” and in verse 3, “Do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem?” Do you see what He’s saying by asking these questions? He’s addressing their presupposition that tragedy only happens to sinners, to those who are ‘more disobedient’ before God. The flip side of this theology is also probably their presupposition, people of faith prosper in this world. And so Jesus challenges his hearers, did these people suffer in this way because they were worse sinners and offenders than you? He simply wouldn’t have asked these questions if they didn’t believe them. They believe the abominable idea that suffering people have less faith and wealthy and successful people have greater faith. And this has plagued the church not only in Jesus’ day, but it continues today and sadly, it will continue till Christ returns.

For example, the prosperity gospel is growing at breakneck pace in the poorest of places, especially in the continent of Africa. Christianity Today reported on this growth. The story is told of Rev. Felix Omobude in Lagos, Nigeria, one of the poorest areas in the world, who is preaching before 4000 people. He promises women will find husbands, audience members will buy new cars, and the barren will birth twins. He also encourages the crowd to give about $200 in offering. The article reports: “Local schoolteachers earn only $150 per month, so the amount is significant. Yet more than 300 people swarm Omobude, who rubs oil from a bowl on their palms. Within minutes, the church nets a tax-free $60,000.” I’ve seen this firsthand when we were in South Africa. I had an opportunity to preach on a Sunday and I preached about the Gospel of Christ that gave greater grace to the suffering and the need of our humility before a gracious God. One brother in Christ came up to me and told me that they had not heard the gospel preached in that church ever. It was always that if people wanted to be successful and wealthy, they needed to give more offering. And so, it makes sense that HIV-AIDS is just as prevalent in the church as it is outside the church. Sin is hidden, not only for the shame, but also to hide the idea of a sin that is unforgivable and can only lead to ‘bad spiritual luck.’ After all, one’s sins might rub off and make everyone guilty of that sin, and it might also keep one from being prosperous by even caring for such a person. This type of thinking is no different than those Jesus was confronting in Luke 13.

And my friends, lest we think that these Africans and the Jim Bakers of the world are the only ones who follow this false faith, we need to examine our own hearts. It’s easy to trust in Jesus when everything is going well. But faith only during times of plenty and comfort and health is simply not faith at all. Heb 11:1 reminds us: “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Things hoped for and things not seen are usually states of being that are quite difficult for us. Faith is when we don’t see the fruit of our labor, work not recognized, service given to others that is unseen, health taken away and we are still trusting and joyous regardless. It can even be when promises are yet to be fulfilled. It’s praying for healing for a loved one and seeing no healing and still we trust God’s wisdom and goodness and love Him despite any response. The conviction of the unseen is believing God in His character and nature is ultimately sufficient that despite our inability to see fruits, we trust that ALL things work for the good of those who love Him (Rom 8:28). Or as the prophet Habakkuk so beautifully puts it: “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” (Hab 3:17-19) These biblical texts emphasize a common message: Any faith that trusts in God only when circumstances are prosperous is not true biblical, Christ-glorifying faith. Oh but when there is trust and joy and hope when one understands that even death is near, is faith. Most of you know Rachel Barkely, the mother of two who went to be with the Lord after her battle with cancer. I keep going to her website when I think of living hope, joy and faith in the midst of suffering. May I quote to you something she wrote? She writes about her cancer:

I want it to be over. It’s a long long journey and I’m tired. Tired of feeling lousy, tired of needing help, tired of not being able to see the end. I suppose that’s why I’ve been so long to write because I am tired – physically and emotionally – and I don’t want anyone else to see. I know this is the toughest part right now. Slugging through treatment. Waiting. Watching the days tick by. Too slowly and, in some ways – when I think of when the next chemo is – too quickly. These days, the best way I can describe myself is to say I feel “dry.” A strange thing to say but it is the closest to how I feel. But I know this is God’s plan for me. He is sovereign. He is good. And he loves me more than I know. I trust that. Living without knowing that would be so much worse than having to walk through this desert without hope.
I’m reading this book about saints who suffered and one man, William Cowper, wrote a hymn that says it well:

Judge not the Lord by feeble sense,
But trust him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence
He hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast,
Unfolding every hour;
The bud may have a bitter taste,
But sweet will be the flower.

I love the picture of God smiling. I can’t help but smile back.

Believing that the Christian only prospers materially, that everything works out perfectly when we pray so that people are physically healed, and debts are erased, and money is placed into our bank accounts, is utterly short-sighted and completely bankrupt of what God really promises, eternal joy with Him, our Savior God. We simply won’t know faith, we won’t know our God, and we won’t know joy and grace if all we faced was prosperity. It’s not that we should look for suffering, but since I know that at some point in our lives, because death is a reality, we will all face suffering. So when suffering comes, will you have faith that exhibits joy in the midst of tears, or will you walk as Rachel Barkley so aptly describes, ‘through this desert without hope’?

Do you believe God is very good to you regardless of the circumstances of your life? If you are overlooked at work, even treated poorly and unjustly, is God still gracious to you? Is He good? Do you still love Him? How do you respond when people sin against you? Do you sin back? Do you grow embittered, unforgiving? Are you easily irritated by others, even those closest to you? Do you love your kids only when they’re lovable? Do you respond to your spouse with mercy only when they are showing you kindness and treating you well? When you’re in the middle of an argument, do you pronounce judgment from on high on those you disagree with, or are you able to love and show mercy even when they’ve sinned against you? What about when you’re tired, worn, ill, depressed, irritated, do you fight to see God’s grace and mercy to you a sinner, or do you cave in to your flesh? Oh how difficult it is to love others, to care for others when things have gone wrong. But my friends, that is true biblical, Christ-glorifying faith. Who needs faith when everything is going well? And what about when we’ve been laid off from work, or we believe that we’ll never be married, or we are going through serious physical trials, will we question God’s goodness, live in a huff, be constantly depressed and angered, or will we live in faith? We are all like the African prosperity evangelists, like the Jim Bakers and Jimmy Swaggerts of the world if we live in such a way during trials. We like to believe in Jesus when its comfortable for us and when things are well. And this is exactly what Jesus tackles here in Luke 13, the heart of faithless self-righteousness.

What’s the answer? The answer to this faithlessness is not to pray for more faith. It’s not to give money to the church to prove your faith. It’s not to go on missions and die for Christ. Jesus tells us the answer twice in verse 3 and 5, “Repent!” And really, what he’s telling them to do is to repent of their righteousness. These were probably Jews who tried to live by the law. They looked at the Galileans and those who were crushed by that wall and thought that they were terrible sinners, hence their tragic faith. But they were not worse sinners. In fact, Jesus’ audience was guilty of the sin of faithless self-righteousness. They were used to lists of do’s and don’ts that determined their faith. Their faith was based on these type of questions: “Can I drive a particular car?” “Can I listen to secular music?” “Can I wear certain clothing?” Or these type of affirmations: “I don’t drink, smoke, play cards, watch TV. I went to Bible Study, had my quiet time today, taught at VBS, went on the missions trip, and tithed faithfully, therefore, God will bless me and keep me prosperous and free of trial.” Thus, when faith is based on what we do or don’t do, we become quick to judge others for their lack of ‘faith’ AND we equate our trials to what we did or failed to do. I know of people who quickly equate their illness to not reading enough of the Bible or a car accident as a result of a missed prayer.

We must regularly repent of our desire to live by our own faith and self-righteousness and our lack of mercy and grace who fall to sin just like we do. Bob Kauflin tells about a time where he felt hopeless and so he went through a time of depression. When he confessed this hopelessness to a pastor, to his great surprise, the pastor responded, “I don’t think you’re hopeless enough.” He thought the pastor was joking, but he explained, “If you were completely hopeless, you’d stop trusting in what you think you can do to change the situation and start trusting in what Jesus Christ has already done on the cross for you.” Bob noted, “A light went on,” and every time he felt tempted to feel hopeless and faithless, he would say to himself, “I am a hopeless person, but Jesus Christ died for hopeless people.” (Quoted from Tim Chester, You Can Change, 46) Repentance is regularly seeing your own sin placed on the broad shoulders of Jesus on the cross. And its recognizing that you put Him there and that only by seeing this reality will you come to be free from the power of that sin over you. Only then will you have the faith to actually live beyond what you can either do for God or how you have failed God. Only then will you love God, find Him good, and find Him wise, despite any circumstances in your life. Repentance is God’s kindness. It allows you to live in freedom eternally. But repentance and forgiveness and mercy is not an offer that will last forever. There will be a day when there will be no more time to repent and a failure to repent will have devastating consequences as Paul warns in Romans 2:4-5: “Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God’s kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.”

Life Eternal

So to understand grace through suffering, we must not only understand tragedy today, but the life we have eternally. And to help us understand life eternal and make sure people realize that God’s offer of repentance is not endless, Jesus tells a story in Luke 13:6-9: “And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”

Biblical Commentator Darrell Bock entitled this parable, “It Is Almost Too Late,” (Darrell Bock, Luke Vol. 2, 1208) because of the urgency that this story conveys. Fig trees produce fruit annually, and are often quite strong. But in the story, the man finds the fig tree he planted produced no fruit. I don’t grow fruit trees but my uncle does and he’s quite proficient at it. One time I visited his house and he was growing all sorts of fruit. But there were some that seemed unfruitful. When I asked him about them, he told me that he was planning on replacing them. After all, who wants a fruit tree that bears no fruit. It’s simply a waste of space and is an eyesore. Also, fruit trees that produced no fruit required resources (water, nutrients) that were precious and should be used on the healthy trees. So, the man’s desire to cut down the tree after three years of growing opportunity is quite understandable. When the man consults with the vinedresser, the vinedresser asks for a second chance for the tree. Perhaps after fertilization and care, the tree will produce fruit. But this second chance will not be indefinite.

So what does the story mean? God is the man who planted and owned the fig tree. The tree represents Israel. And His care over that tree is quite evident. He has given them His Word through the Law and the Prophets. He led them through leaders like the Davidic kings. He has given them the covenant. And now He has sent His only Son to demonstrate through signs, wonders, and teachings that they should and must repent and turn to Christ alone. So, there is no excuse for unbelief. The Israelites should have believed in Christ, but they didn’t.

My friends, Christians, we are no different than the Israelites. We have the Bible. We have the gospel that is revealed to us through Scripture. We have the empowering Holy Spirit who leads us to follow Christ. There should be no reason why we bear no fruit unless we were never saved to begin with. So we should and must bear the fruit of salvation. We must see that because we are saved, we are being renewed and transformed into the likeness of Jesus. We should exhibit the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We should have softened hearts that are regularly self-examining. We should be growing with a view of eternity, remembering that this world is not our eternal home. There should be a desire for to obey Christ and to trust His Word in all circumstances of life.

And the parable is also a reminder to us, that God is an incredibly patient God who recognizes that many of us are in the process of transformation and sanctification. We are not perfect, but we are growing in Christlikeness. Peter tells the church: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). And the parable tells us that we have a vinedresser who intercedes on our behalf. Hebrews describes Him as “a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people” (Heb 2:17). Jesus’ whole life was a life of intercession and sin-bearing and judgment-bearing and wrath aversion. And so, you must respond today while you still have time. The Lord is patient and has no desire for people to perish, but as the parable makes clear, this time does have an end. Peter adds in the immediate next verse in verse 10: “But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

As you now know, Sammy and Jane Yang had to say goodbye to their son Luther this past week. We have been interceding for them and for Luther for a month now, and to say goodbye to a precious child is perhaps the most painful experience a person can know. And truly, we should mourn with them. But Luther taught me much about God. Looking at that precious child take his last breaths here on earth was another reminder to me that God knows the pain of suffering and death because He Himself also had a son suffer and die. And so, I couldn’t help but think not only of the pain that Sammy and Jane and Luther were going through in those last hours, but also the agony that our God went through to bring Luther home eternally. Luther, you and me, we will all die. The time will come. But it is because of God’s own suffering with His Son that allows all of us to have this living hope. The vinedresser pleads and God hears. But the time for repenting is short. We must not assume that we have more time. I praise God that Sammy and Jane trust in Jesus. If they didn’t, what hope would they have? What hope would you and I have at all when death comes, and it will come. You have a choice, repent and live eternally with the Father or as Jesus says in verse 5: “…unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” Please do not delay. Trust in Jesus as your Savior and Lord today!

Conclusion

I’d like to close with the story of Stephen Saint, Nate Saint’s son. Nate was one of the missionaries alongside Jim Elliot who was killed by the Waodani Indians. One of the men who killed Stephen’s father Nate was Mincaye, who would later come to trust in Jesus when the whole tribe was saved. As an incredible picture of God’s grace, Stephen took Mincaye into his home and his children now call him ‘Grandfather’ because he has become a member of the family.

But that’s not even the story I wanted to share. He and his wife Ginny, after having three boys had a daughter named Stephanie. She eventually grew up (to her father’s disfavor because he wanted her to stay a little girl for the rest of his life), and began to travel around the world for a year to share the gospel with different groups. When the year was over, they met her at the airport to welcome her home, the whole family including Mincaye. They went home to have a welcome home party for her.

A while later, Ginny said, “Steve, Stephanie’s back in her room. Let’s go back and be with her.” So they ditched everyone at the party. Stephanie was in her room because she had a headache and she asked her dad to pray for her. While he was praying, Stephanie had a massive cerebral hemorrhage and so they had to rush her to the hospital.

As they waited for her in the hospital, Mincaye asked Steve, “Who did this to her?” Steve said: “And I saw a look on his face that I’d seen before, and I knew that he’d be willing to kill again to save this granddaughter whom he loved.” I didn’t know what to say, ‘I don’t know, Mincaye. Nobody is doing this.’ And just like that, this savage from the jungles grabbed me again, and said, ‘Babae, don’t you see?’ No I didn’t see. My heart was absolutely tearing apart; I didn’t know what was going on. He said, ‘Babae, Babae, now I see it well. Don’t you see? God himself is doing this. And I thought, what are you saying? Mincaye started reaching out to all the people in the emergency room, saying, ‘People, people, don’t you see? God, loving Star, he’s taking her to live with him. And he said, ‘Look at me, I’m an old man; pretty soon I’m going to die soon too, and I’m going there.’ Then he said, with a pleading look on his face, ‘Please, please won’t you follow God’s trail, too? Coming to God’s place, Star and I will be waiting there to welcome you.’” (John Piper and Justin Taylor, eds., Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, 114-121)

Mincaye’s plea is really Jesus’ plea for the world. Repent and turn from your sins and trust in Him today and you will be welcomed home. And it is not avoidance of suffering and death that leads us to see God’s grace and power. No, it is exactly in our suffering that we begin to realize just how gracious God truly is and why Jesus Himself had to suffer and die. Please do not delay. Turn and trust in Jesus today!

“I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” 54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time? 57 “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.”

Luke 12:49-59

Introduction

Early this year, Travis Copeland fled from a Lake County courtroom where he was being sentenced for violating a bond condition. He ran down a hallway only to find police coming down the other side. So he decided to run the other way, but found that path blocked by police as well. The hallway had windows and as he saw police coming from both sides, he attempted to shoulder-slam his way through the glass, only to find that he bounced right off. It seems the glass was bullet-proof and there was no way he would have been able to break through. He was re-arrested and brought back to the courtroom to face new charges.

When Jesus makes the statement in Luke 12:49 that he has come to cast fire on the earth, and then lists in verses 50-59 what that fire will look like, He is speaking of a certain oncoming judgment that will be inescapable. But like Mr. Copeland, people tend to think there is an escape from such judgment whether it’s through active attempts to thwart God or through simple apathy towards such judgment. But again, Jesus makes it quite clear in this text that the day will come when there will be no escape at all. So when Jesus casts His fire on the earth, this leads to 1) a divided house (vv. 52-53), 2) a rebuke regarding their hard-heartedness (vv. 54-56), and 3) a warning about the oncoming judgment (vv. 57-59).

A Divided House (vv. 49-53)

So first, when Jesus casts His fire on the earth, the direct consequence of such fire is a divided house. Let’s read verses 49-53: “I came to cast fire on the earth, and would that it were already kindled! 50 I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” When Jesus uses words like fire, and baptism to describe His coming, you have to understand it in the context of all of the Bible. Luke uses the word ‘fire’ 7 times, and 6 of those usages have to do with judgment. In fact, when John the Baptist is preaching to the crowds regarding judgment and describing the Messiah who was to come, He uses these words: “He [Jesus] will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.” (Luke 3:16)

So in verse 50, Jesus is fulfilling exactly what John prophesied, that Jesus would bring fire through baptism. For Christians, we see baptism as a sign of our faith in Christ, which it is. But baptism also was a symbol of God’s judgment. The flood of waters were used throughout the Old Testament as metaphor for God’s full judgment (from Noah’s flood to Jonah’s time in the belly of a fish to the Psalmists continual reference to waters and judgment (Psalm 18; 42:7; 69:1-2)). Since humanity has existed, they have had no response to the power of fire and water. If a tsunami comes, no human structure can withstand the power of water. Living in California, we have seen just how devastating and powerful fire can be. And so when Jesus refers to fire and baptism, He is speaking of the raw authority and power that God has and will use against sin and sinners. Jesus’ coming to the world was a sign for all the world to see that God had come to enact His judgment.

But what the world cannot understand is the latter part of verse 51: “…and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!” This seems strange at first. If judgment is against sinners and Jesus was the only One who had no sin, then why would He be distressed at all. Only sinners should need to feel distressed unless Jesus Himself was somehow going to be punished and judged as well. And that is exactly what happens. Jesus was punished for sinners on our behalf. Listen to how Paul describes it in Galatians 3:13: “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.” Isaiah predicted this suffering generations before Jesus ever came: “But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa 53:5-6) And so, Jesus’ great distress in verse 51 is a future look at how burdensome this sin-bearing would be, so much so that it would even lead Him to plead with the Father to remove this cup of wrath and judgment away from Him as He asked in the garden of Gethsemane: “My Father, if this cannot pass unless I drink it, your will be done.” (Matt 26:42) But God’s will will be done and Jesus will accomplish this despite the anguish, and distress, and forsakenness.

Thus, to understand the divided house, you must understand the judgment that is coming for all sinners. If you know and trust in Christ, then He has borne that judgment in your place. If you have not trusted in Christ, then my dear friend, you will bear that judgment upon yourself, a dreadful and horrible thought. This judgment divides families because there will be some who will refuse to believe there is a judgment and some who decide that Jesus is the not the true or only Rescuer from such judgment. And since this judgment is very real for the Christian and Jesus is the only True Rescuer from this judgment, there can be no neutrality or apathy. Christians must choose. James 4:4 describes it this way: “Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” And sadly, this enmity can even be found in one’s own family.

Is there any closer human bond than a father and a child, a mother and a child? You’ve heard the expression, ‘Blood is thicker than water.’ And I have found Christians believe this ultimately to be true as well. Some will say that when all else fails, you can ultimately only count on your family, because they’ll always take you back. Well, whether you believe this to be true or not, you can understand the sentiment. The family relationship is a sacred bond that must never be broken. But Jesus is telling us here that sometimes, to believe in Christ means that we must break this bond. Now in no way does Jesus mean that Christians should actively dishonor their parents or neglect parental responsibilities or forgo their marital covenant. But there will be times that regardless of one’s gracious, humble, respectful attitudes toward one’s family, there will still be strong opposition to Christ. And if/when this time should come, the Christian must choose Christ.

Some of you have a divided house, where there is three against two, or perhaps you’re all alone. Some of you, when you came to know Christ, maybe that meant you were ostracized even from your own family. For so many people, faith is not only a belief system, it’s a culture. For some families and culture, to believe in Christ as Lord and Savior means a rejection not only of a family religion, it’s also taken as a repudiation of one’s family. For some of you, perhaps you’ve come from Buddhist or Roman Catholic backgrounds. Maybe when you came to know Christ, you faced strong opposition or even outright rejection and disownment from your parents. You know what Jesus’ words mean for you in this text because the reality of the Kingdom of Christ has brought division into your family.

And there is no better illustration of this division than when a Muslim turns to Christ. For example, Ahmer Khokhar was a Muslim born and raised into a very devout Muslim family and now living in England. On Easter of 1988, he was watching Jesus of Nazareth on TV when he was flipping channels by himself. That night, he was in tears knowing that Jesus Christ had died for him on the cross. Eventually he came to know Christ through the faithfulness of other Christians he knew at school. Once his father realized what Ahmer had done, he describes that his father “began to abuse me in the most vicious way. He said I had brought shame on the family and that he would rather I was dead. They were only verbal threats and I have forgiven him since, but the scars will never leave me. My mother cried herself to sleep that night.” He observes as well: “My Muslim friends accept me, but if I was living in an Islamic country I would be killed for converting to Christianity.”

For much of the world, the division that Jesus brings is very real because it can and often does cost Christians their lives when they trust in Christ. But we don’t even need to face this sort of vehement persecution from our family to still see the division that Christ can bring to us. Sometimes following Christ can mean that instead of your desire to follow your parents’ choices for your life, you have decided to follow the choice the Lord has laid out for you. Perhaps this means being a missionary or choosing vocational ministry even though that might mean your parents fervent disapproval or even rejection. Or perhaps this means that parents are so invested into the lives and success of their children (making sure their kids have everything they need even to the detriment of their children’s spiritual well-being, that they have idolized their children. In other words, we must honor our parents, but we must not worship them. And we must nurture and care for our children, but we must not worship their success. That is called idolatry. Tim Keller describes idolatry well: “When you look to some created thing to give you what only God can give you that is idolatry. An idol is anything in your life that is so central to your life that you can’t have a meaningful life if you lose it.” Is your family so central to you that you can’t see meaning and purpose without them? If they were gone, would you believe or feel or act as though life wouldn’t be worth living? Jesus has come to cast fire into your heart, to remind you that He alone deserves worship, and that ultimately, He alone has paid the price for you to have an eternal family with a heavenly Father who will love you in ways that your earthly family could never love you.

A Rebuke Regarding Their Hard-Heartedness (vv. 54-56)

Second, when Jesus casts His fire on the earth, He rebukes their hard-heartedness inverses 54-56: “54 He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you say at once, ‘A shower is coming.’ And so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, ‘There will be scorching heat,’ and it happens. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky, but why do you not know how to interpret the present time?” Jesus knew that in Palestine, people were fairly accurate about predicting the weather based on the clouds coming in from the Mediterranean. But while they were very intuitive about the weather, they had no clue as to how to recognize what the Lord was doing amongst them.

Luke had recorded the many signs and wonders that Jesus has done to declare His identity as the Messiah. He had healed many people of all sorts of diseases and conditions. He had cast out demons. He had calmed a raging sea. He had healed paralytics. He raised a boy from the dead. He fed close to twenty thousand people with measly rations. And He had taught like One who has authority. He left no doubt for people to see Him as God Himself. And yet, due to their stubborn will and their hard-hearted hearts, they refused to see Him as He was.

My friends, Jesus’ rebuke is for us as well. We have even more than the disciples and the people Jesus lived amongst. I used to think, “If I could have only been there to see with my own eyes, then I’d really believe.” It’s the same logic Thomas used: “Unless I see in his hands the mark of the nails, and place my finger into the mark of the nails, and place my hand into his side, I will never believe.” (John 20:25) But that is not believing at all. We have much more than anyone who lived with Jesus had to believe. We have the Gospels, and Paul’s letters, and Peter’s letters, and Hebrews. We also have the Holy Spirit (if you’re a believer of Christ) indwelling in each of you. Jesus was ‘limited’ by His physical body. But when He ascended to heaven and the Holy Spirit came to indwell in believers, the very presence of God dwells in each Christian. We have everything we need to have a faith that the disciples and the prophets of old longed for. Do you have such a faith, one that says that you will believe fully only when you see with your own eyes? Or do you have the faith that your life has been bought by the blood of the Lamb? That Christ has freed you from the power of sin forever, that you belong to the Father’s family as an adopted son or daughter, and therefore, today your life is transformed? Jesus paid this price so that you would not only believe, but that you would enjoy Him forever.

A Warning About the Repayment of All Debts (Vv. 57-59)

Third, when Jesus casts His fire on the earth, He warns us about the necessity to repay all debts in verses 57-59: “And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you go with your accuser before the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer put you in prison. 59 I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.” Jesus’ words don’t seem too profound. A man either cheated or owes money to another, and the accuser seems to have some proof that the accused is guilty. Jesus advises settling with the accuser before facing a judge, or else the consequences could be dire. Because once the accused is thrown into prison, he will not be released until he repays every last penny. So what’s Jesus’ point?

It actually follows closely with Jesus’ previous point about understanding what God has already done, and the people’s hard-heartedness towards the signs. Jesus warns that every person owes an unimaginable debt to God, essentially what amounts to an unpayable debt. And there will be a time when we must settle our accounts with Him. We can either deny that we have a debt, hoping that it will go away, or we can admit that we have failed in our responsibilities (sin) and decide to ask for mercy. I’ve shared this before, but when Shua and I first got married we had the bad combination of very little money and very poor financial management skills. As the bills kept coming and as our bank account had very little money to pay those bills, it became easy to fall into the trap of ignoring late payment warning letters. Somehow when you’re in that state, you tend to think that by disregarding those letters, the debts will go away. Well guess what? They didn’t go away. In fact, they became worse. It was only when I acknowledged that there was a problem, that I had failed not only to pay the debts, but also to lead my wife, that I began to see hope because that what when I decided to actually respond to the problem.

And my friends, there is a far greater debt that we owe than money before a holy God. Now is the time to settle the case against you. By stating that you don’t have a problem, or that you’re not as bad as the Bible says you are, is no better than my ignoring those late payment warnings. And if you think you can repay this debt once your ask to settle accounts, you will be sorely mistaken. Jesus says in verse 59: “I tell you, you will never get out until you have paid the very last penny.” The stark reality of this verse is the consequences of debt defaults in Jesus’ day. In His day, if a person failed to repay debts, he was thrown into debtors prison until that debt was paid. And unless that person had some benefactor who would pay those debts, it would essentially be a life imprisonment. After all, how could he ever find hope to repay those debts while still in prison? The same is true for sinners as well. There is a debt that must be paid when judgment comes. And if we fail to pay back that debt, that is, the insurmountable debt of sin against a holy God, we will be thrown into the eternal prison of hell forever.

So what hope is there when this debt is unpayable? The answer is not to ignore the debt. And the answer is not to attempt to repay the debt through our good works. That would be similar to my kids breaking their piggy banks open to pay back the federal debt (which is now $13, 050,555,398,774.98 as of June 11 ). And to give you some perspective, I’ve provided these series of graphics for you to show the debt. And as great a debt that was, it pales in comparison to the debt of sin we owe God. Obviously then, what a foolish task it is to attempt to repay the debt we owe God by our good works. No, the answer is to ‘make an effort to settle,’ to simply plead for God’s mercy and grace. We have nothing at all to pay back our God. So what hope is there, unless a benefactor comes and pays our debt for us. And we have such a benefactor in Jesus Christ. Paul tells Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:5-6: “For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave himself as a ransom for all.” Jesus paid our ransom price, our debts, on the cross so that we are now free forever from the power of sin and the debt of sin. Charles Wesley, in the hymn, “And Can It Be,” wrote these powerful words that describes this freedom:

Long my imprisoned spirit lay
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quick’ning ray;
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free;
I rose, went forth, and followed thee.

Oh to be free! And all that our Savior asks is that you come humbly before Him, that you acknowledge today that you are massively in debt without any hope apart from His grace. And so, you come for Him asking for mercy. And John reminds us of God’s response: “And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” He sets us free by this indescribable grace.

Tullian Tchividjian, pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, tells the story of a northerner from the Civil War era prior to the emancipation of slaves, who went to a slave auction and purchased a young slave girl. As they walked from the auction, the man turned to the girl and said, “You’re free.” Shocked from hearing this news, she responded, “You mean, I’m free to do whatever I want?” “Yes,” he said. “And to say whatever I want to say?” “Yes, anything.” “And to be whatever I want to be?” “Yep.” “And even go wherever I want to go?” “Yes,” he answered with a smile. “You’re free to go wherever you’d like.” She looked at him intently and replied, “Then I’d like to go with you.” (Tullian Tchividjian, Surprised By Grace, 182.)

And like Charles Wesley noted, when we are set free, we want to follow Thee. The freed girl knows that there is no safer place, no more joyous place, then to go wherever the emancipator goes. Jesus has come to the slave market to redeem us, to buy us back, to pay the insurmountable debt. The price was His blood. But He endured the cross with joy so that we could be free to live in joy with Him forever. Will you trust Him today?

Conclusion

Pastor Bill Whittaker tells this story: “A car accident occurred in the small town where I was a pastor. A mother and three children from out-of-town were injured and taken to the emergency room. I was called to the hospital and asked to wait with the nine-year-old daughter. I tried to calm her and give assurance. She asked me several times, “Are we going to live?” Her question has often come to mind over the intervening years; as far as life is concerned I could have answered her question with a no. That is the truth from Hebrews 9: 27 — It is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment.”

The fire is coming. Jesus brought it when He came to the earth. And the fire of judgment will be fully realized either when He comes again or when we die. His fire divides homes. It rebukes the hard-hearted. The little girl in the story asks the question you must ask yourself: Are you going to live? Will your debts be repaid either by Christ Himself on the cross, or by the judgment of hell? Won’t you trust in Him? Won’t you see that only Christ can repay your insurmountable debt of sin owed to the Holy Creator God? Won’t you come and taste and see the Lord is good?

If you plan on watching the World Cup, you’ll notice the bee swarm sound. Well, it’s the vuvuzela, the South Africa horn that makes such a noise that FIFA wanted to ban it. Considering you might have at least 50,000 people blowing that horn, you can understand why they tried to ban it. Oh well…

So here it is:

Have you ever read such trash-talking (RE: USA vs England soccer for the World Cup)?