Beware of the Beautiful Monster.
The Missio Dei in Ordinary Time • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations 2361 The Two-Faced Butler
2361 The Two-Faced Butler
A very odd bit of sculpture adorns the wall on the grounds of Ribston Hall, Yorkshire, England. It is what is commonly called “The Two-faced Butler.” On one side there is a face that is all smiles and politeness; on the other side is one that depicts nothing but insolence and impoliteness.
It is told that this represents just such a butler who once served the household. One day after having received orders from the mistress of the household, all smiles and obsequiousness, he was seen a moment later when he thought she was not looking, sticking out his tongue at her and making other impolite gestures. So this statue was ordered made and erected in a very prominent spot to both shame him and warn any other servants who might have a tendency to imitate the behavior of the two-faced butler.
—Evangelistic Illustration
Almighty God, You have called Your Church to witness that in Christ You have reconciled us to Yourself. Grant that by Your Holy Spirit we may proclaim the Good News of Your salvation so that all who hear it may receive the gift of salvation, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever, Amen.
There are three more Sundays left in the Church Year, and we will complete our engagement with the Gospel according to Matthew. Today, we look at the first portion of Matthew 23, verses 1-12. We will not engage with the remaining verses 13-39 this year. Perhaps this would be an opportune time to consider taking up a Bible Study on the Gospel in its entirety, if not next year, in the near future.
Starting next week, we begin a deep dive into Matthew 25, in which we will look at the parables describing the Kingdom of Heaven in the context of Christ’s return in glory. As you might surmise, we will not be looking at Matthew 24 at all, where Jesus talks about His “coming and of the end of the age.” I imagine that some of you were looking forward to that passage, particularly in the light of current events in the Middle East, but the Lectionary Gospel Readings shall not quench your thirst for things eschatological this year.
What we will do today, as we approach the end of this Church Calendar and prepare to celebrate our Lord’s first Advent and prepare for for His second, is look at our lives as disciples, and do a little housekeeping. You see, Jesus commands us in what we call, “the Great Commission,” to “make disciples of all nations,” through the sacrament of baptism and the ministry of teaching, so that those who follow Him would know how to “observe all that I have commanded you,” as Matthew records our Lord’s instructions in Matt 28:20.
Paul’s revelation of the grace of God, as expressed in his epistles to the Church, do not give us license to ignore the will of Christ as proof that we are “Standing in the liberty in which Christ has made us free,” while actually sinking deeper and deeper in to spiritual bondage by our indulgence of the flesh. Sadly, it is true that we have as much of an ability to act as enemies of Christ while claiming to cherish and reverence the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, just as the scribes and Pharisees who resisted His ministry did in that time.
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
Hypocrisy is a dangerous sin. It is dangerous because it can cause others to stumble, and can dull your spiritual sensitivity to the point that you won’t notice that you have gotten turned aside from looking unto Jesus, and have begun to follow your own shadow, chasing your tails while thinking that the energy you expend will speak for you at the Judgment seat of Christ.
As we have listened over the past weeks, we have seen how eagerly Jesus’ adversaries worked to try to trip Him up, how determined they were to find a weakness to exploit, and how thoroughly Jesus defeated them at every turn. Thus, Jesus warning here is not for His own sake, but for ours, especially for those who identify as His disciples, but even for those who stand nearby enough to hear the words of the Lord, but refuse to get close enough to the fire that they might actually be warmed by Him.
They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger.
The first warning concerns how we handle the Word of God. Are we maintaining the proper distinction of Law and Gospel as we speak to others in Jesus name, sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ and warning everyone of the need to respond to God’s call for repentance from sin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? Do we make the Bread of Life a desirable and soul- satisfying repast, or do we make Him seem to be a dry, choking morsel, that those who would taste and see the goodness of the Lord are repelled by our bitterness and carnality? Jesus said, “My burden is light.” Do we make them look heavy to others who are languishing in the death-grip of sin? Are you keeping people from seeing Jesus because you are all in the way?
They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.
Jesus is talking about the scribes and Pharisees, but I remind you that He is talking to the disciples. We already know what awaits those who set themselves against the Lord, but He takes this time to warn those who are supposed to be on His side. He’s saying that you need to check yourselves, you who name the name of Christ, so that you don’t fall into those habits, those patterns of living, that He identifies as being contrary to His Will and Word.
Above all, Jesus warns us to be wary of Spiritual Pride. When you look at those around you, whether in church or not, and think that your name on the church rolls entitles you to the honor and praise that belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ, and that God should put you first in line for the good things of the earth, to the point that you begin to “demand God” to do this or that - oh yes, I’ve even heard Christian preachers your that turn of phrase - demand God! Turn to somebody near you and say, Watch out now!
Instead, keeping the 1st and 2nd of the great commandments should direct our steps to humility, as we remember that it is Christ who, as the Lamb of God, took away our sins, not we ourselves. He is the source of our wisdom, not we ourselves:
But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. The greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
You neighbor can’t help but see Jesus when we are walking humbly with Him, because He is the light that shines in the darkness of this present evil age.He is the Holy and righteous One, He is the God of all grace; He is the Savior of the World.
We are His witnesses, and that is enough, yes, more than enough. That is all that we can handle, being His witnesses. I don’t need to preach like Peter, I don’t need to pray like Paul, as an old saying goes. I just need to bear witness to Him, the only wise God, our Savior. I’m your pastor because He made it so, not me. You’re my brother and my sister because He caused you to be born again, not me. We are witnesses of His exceeding great and precious promises. We are witnesses of His amazing grace. We are witnesses of His incredible victory over the world, the flesh and the devil. That’s what He asks of us, and that’s more than enough to occupy us until He comes back. Even so, come Lord Jesus!
And the peace of God, that passes understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.