Division by Decision
Notes
Transcript
When you picture Jesus in your mind, who do you see?
Do you see a nice guy, someone that you would want to be friends with? Someone who is kind and respectful? Someone who is going to help old lady’s (no offense intended to those more senior than me) across the street?
Or do you see Jesus as a guy who is a little rough around the edges? Some guy who speaks his mind and does not care who he offends? Someone who doesn’t say things that are politically correct?
Darlene is addicted to Little House on the Prairie. There is one episode where teen age Laura meets Almonzo Wilder, the man who will become her husband. At one point she says goodbye to him and instead of calling him Almonzo, she calls him Manly. She is so enamored with him and his manliness that she calls him Manly and that nick name sticks.
Some picture Jesus like that, a man’s man.
Charles Wesley, the great Hymn writer and pastor and the brother of John Wesley wrote a hymn with these words in it:
Gentle Jesus, meek and mild,
Look upon a little child,
Pity my simplicity,
Suffer me to come to thee.
It really is a beautiful hymn with six to ten verses depending on which book you look at. This hymn pictures Jesus from a childlike faith and perspective.
Several of the hymns that we sing at Christmas time offer a similar perspective on Jesus. Away in a Manger is one that comes to mind where the cattle wake up baby Jesus and he just lays there smiling.
Are either of those pictures of Jesus correct? Do either of them represent who Jesus really is?
In this passage of Scripture this morning we pick up where we left off last week. Jesus had commissioned the 12 Disciples. He had given them authority over demons, sickness, disease and death. He was preparing to send them out into the world.
This passage for me brings out the idea of division by decision. Jesus is going to talk about the relationship that disciples have with their teacher. He is going to talk about the Father’s care of his children. He is going to talk about confessing Christ to others. He is going to talk about divisions that will happen in families because of a persons faith in Christ.
All of these things paint a picture that is different from the meek and mild Jesus or even the manly man Jesus.
Let’s take these few verses apart and see what God wants to say to us.
Like Father, like son
Like Father, like son
I think everyone has heard that phrase. You often see little boys imitate their father. They pick up their mannerisms. My dad when he would be concentrating on a project would often have his tongue stuck out of the corner of his mouth. I noticed after I was an adult that I did the same thing. Our Matthew pickup that same mannerism and even my grandson Carter has picked up on that.
What that shows is that we often imitate those that we esteem.
When it comes to Christianity, our teacher is Jesus Christ. We are his disciples and he is our teacher.
Look at what Jesus says there in verses 24-25
24 “Disciples aren’t greater than their teacher, and slaves aren’t greater than their master. 25 It’s enough for disciples to be like their teacher and slaves like their master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, it’s certain that they will call the members of his household by even worse names.
Jesus is pointing out the natural order of our relationship to him. We aren’t greater than him, never have and never will be. We are still in process. The Holy Spirit is still doing that transforming work within us.
We are to be like Jesus. This road we travel as Christians is the road of discipleship. We are constantly learning what it means to be a Christian, we are constantly being transformed by the Holy Spirit.
We will experience hardships and problems in this journey
Didn’t Jesus experience those things in his life? Are we above Jesus to think that we won’t go through tough times?
Jesus says there in the first part of verse 25 that “it’s enough for disciples to be like their teacher.”
Isn’t that the goal, to be like Christ? It’s enough for us to be like Him.
It’s enough to love as Christ loved.
It’s enough to share a cup of cold water in his name.
It’s enough to visit the prisoner.
It’s enough to clothe the naked.
It’s enough to feed the hungry.
It’s enough to be like Jesus.
You see, Jesus isn’t just passing on knowledge, but he is modeling what he is teaching
Jesus uses an interesting phrase in the latter portion of verse 25.
Common English Bible Chapter 10
If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, it’s certain that they will call the members of his household by even worse names.
Beelzebul, that’s kind of a fun name. The name may reference back to Baal-Zebub, the Canaanite god. It means “lord of flies” or lord of dung or lord of demons. I Jewish writings Beelzubul became synonymous with Satan.
Back in chapter 9 of Matthew, the Pharisees accused Jesus of being the lord of demons
34 But the Pharisees said, “He throws out demons with the authority of the ruler of demons.”
Jesus takes that and runs with it here in this verse to remind the disciples that if they call him vile names and accuse him of vile things that they will face the same stuff.
Becoming like Jesus is not always an easy journey, but the results are worth the hardship we face.
It’s scary at times
It’s scary at times
Jesus understands that in life there are uncertainties. There are times that we do not understand what is going on but he says there in verse 26
Common English Bible Chapter 10
don’t be afraid of those people
Who are those people?
It is those that will oppose us. It is those people who will call us worse names than what they called Jesus.
Jesus uses that phrase “be afraid” four times in verses 26-30.
When you step out in faith and make Jesus the Lord of your life, it can be scary at times. We must remember that Jesus is enthroned far above all principalities and powers. There is none greater.
Jesus says that hidden things will be revealed, secrets will be brought out into the open.
It is common sadly that people will often talk behind our backs. They will gossip about you. A couple of things that I have learned about people who gossip about me or talk about me behind my back is that it is easier to talk about someone else rather than dealing with their own problems.
When you are talking about someone else, you are avoiding your own problems.
Another think that I have learned about gossipers and people who talk about me behind my back is that they are often jealous.
They are jealous of the peace and joy that I have in my life and that they are missing in their own lives. That is actually a good thing because it opens the door so that I can share with them why I have this hope and peace and joy.
That junk that is said in secret will eventually come out.
I’m learning when working with addicts that there are lots of secrets that are kept. I am noticing however that those secrets do not remain secrets for very long. There is always someone willing to snitch on someone if there is a benefit derived.
I am learning that some of these addicts refer to themselves as functioning alcoholics or addicts. They falsely believe that just because they can still work and interact with others that their secret addiction is just that, a secret.
I say they falsely believe that because the secret is often known by many around them, it is just never talked about.
Roger Hahn put it this way:
Matthew: A Bible Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition Courage in the Face of Persecution 10:26–31
God does not let evil and injustice go on indefinitely, but eventually brings it to light and to judgment. Then those who have been persecuted will be vindicated before God and before the world.
There will come a day when all those secrets will be exposed.
Look at what Jesus says there in verse 38
28 Don’t be afraid of those who kill the body but can’t kill the soul. Instead, be afraid of the one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.
If someone where to kill me, they are simply ushering me into the very presence of God. They cannot kill my soul or somehow prevent me from going to heaven.
That is what Jesus is talking about, don’t be afraid of them.
Jesus was the ultimate example. They thought they were rid of Jesus when they crucified him. Jesus has the ultimate final word when the power of God raised him from the dead.
The thought was that when you were dead, you’re dead. Jesus said, not so. He conquered sin and death.
In the second part of that verse he does say to be afraid of the “one who can destroy both body and soul in hell.”
In Revelation we find this passage
11 Then I saw a great white throne and the one who is seated on it. Before his face both earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them. 12 I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened. Another scroll was opened too; this is the scroll of life. And the dead were judged on the basis of what was written in the scrolls about what they had done. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and the Grave gave up the dead that were in them, and people were judged by what they had done. 14 Then Death and the Grave were thrown into the fiery lake. This, the fiery lake, is the second death. 15 Then anyone whose name wasn’t found written in the scroll of life was thrown into the fiery lake.
Verse 15 shows the finality. If our name is not written in that book of life then we face eternal death.
That is scary to think about, but if we are Christians, if our name has been written in that book then there is nothing for us to fear. The reason is found in verses 29 and 31.
29 Aren’t two sparrows sold for a small coin? But not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father knowing about it already. 30 Even the hairs of your head are all counted. 31 Don’t be afraid. You are worth more than many sparrows.
This shows God’s care for us. You are loved, you are cared for by our Heavenly Father. That hymn, His Eye is on the sparrow is taken from this verse. The chorus has the words:
I sing because I'm happy
I sing because I'm free
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me
In spite of the circumstances, in spite of the problems we face, we can have joy. That joy is something that the world can not take from us.
So what do we do with this? What do we do with living like Christ? What do we do with living through scary times?
Jesus tells us and it is this:
Confess Jesus
Confess Jesus
Jesus uses that deep theological word, Therefore.
Therefore, because we are to be like Jesus. Therefore, because we may go through some scary times. Therefore, we are to confess Jesus.
32 “Therefore, everyone who acknowledges me before people, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven. 33 But everyone who denies me before people, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
There is a MEME that goes around Facebook with this passage. The implication is that if you do not share it then you are denying Jesus.
Posting or not posting a MEME on Facebook is not about denying or not denying Jesus.
We deny Jesus when we say that we are a follower of Jesus and then do not obey what he said.
We deny Jesus when we treat others unfairly. We are to love God and love others as we want them to love us.
We deny Jesus when we do not live a life that is pleasing to him.
We confess Jesus when we live a life of obedience to him.
We confess Jesus when we love others and treat others as we want to be treated.
We confess Jesus by how we live our lives.
That is not what I think. That is what I believe based on the words of Jesus himself who said:
21 “Not everybody who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will get into the kingdom of heaven. Only those who do the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter.
Confessing Jesus is as much what say and what we do.
I think I told you about a lady in a prior church. I read her obituary and it said she was a member of my church. I called one of the women in the church who knew everybody. I asked her about this lady and she said she was her husbands aunt. She said she hadn’t attended church in over 30 years. I asked her if she had been ill or something that prevented her from coming to church. She told me that she just quit coming because she got upset over something.
She was no more a member of the church than was the groundhog that lived out back of the church. Well, now that I think about it, the groundhog was a better member than most, he at least showed up everyday!
Saying that we are a Christian does not make it so. We demonstrate that we are a Christian by how we live our lives each day.
We are confronted daily with a decision. The decision is whether we take up our cross and follow Jesus.
This decision brings us to the issue of division.
Division in this world
Division in this world
We often talk about Jesus coming to bring peace and to resolve all divisions in the world. There are all sorts of different factions in our world. We are divided over religion. We are divided over politics. We are divided by race. We are divided by wealth and poverty. All sorts of things divide us.
We speak about Jesus being the Prince of Peace. I think that when we use that phrase Prince of Peace that it about peace between humanity.
The peace that Jesus came to bring was between God and humanity.
One author wrote:
The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 24: Matthew The Confession of the Master
Jesus Christ is the most divisive Person in the world. When we know about Him we are either for Him or against Him. While He sent His disciples on a mission with which they were to use the Semitic greeting Shalom, “peace to you,” Jesus told them that He came not with peace for the earth but with a sword.
Why does he say that? Look at verses 34-39
34 “Don’t think that I’ve come to bring peace to the earth. I haven’t come to bring peace but a sword. 35 I’ve come to turn a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 People’s enemies are members of their own households. 37 “Those who love father or mother more than me aren’t worthy of me. Those who love son or daughter more than me aren’t worthy of me. 38 Those who don’t pick up their crosses and follow me aren’t worthy of me. 39 Those who find their lives will lose them, and those who lose their lives because of me will find them.
Jesus is talking about divisions in our relationships with others. I think the Message paraphrase captures the idea very well.
34 “Don’t think I’ve come to make life cozy. I’ve come to cut—35 make a sharp knife-cut between son and father, daughter and mother, bride and mother-in-law—cut through these cozy domestic arrangements and free you for God. 36 Well-meaning family members can be your worst enemies. 37 If you prefer father or mother over me, you don’t deserve me. If you prefer son or daughter over me, you don’t deserve me. 38 “If you don’t go all the way with me, through thick and thin, you don’t deserve me. 39 If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.
I like what it says there at the tail end of verse 35 from this paraphrase:
I’ve come to cut…through these cozy domestic arrangements and free you for God.
That’s the point, we are set free for God when these relationships are in their proper place.
When God confronts us, it is not with some religion, philosophy or law because we can pick and choose what we like or don’t like.
When God confronts us, we are confronted by the person of Jesus Christ.
When confronted with the Person of Jesus we must either accept or reject Him.
The author I quoted previously went on to write:
The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Volume 24: Matthew The Confession of the Master
When we are confronted by Christ, life’s basic issues are at stake. We are “playing for keeps.” People shove God out of their lives because they have other gods, because He interferes with what they want, yet ultimately it is because the way of Christ is too demanding. He divides between religion and relationship, transforming the former by the latter; between the secular and the sacred, sanctifying the former by the latter; and between the temporal and the eternal, enlarging the former by the latter. We are called to live for two worlds, for the eternal overlaps the world of time. If we should gain this world alone we would have only this world!
The call of Jesus in this passage is the call to discipleship. The focus of our lives must be on Jesus Himself.
Jesus says there in verse 38
38 Those who don’t pick up their crosses and follow me aren’t worthy of me.
How are you doing? Are you picking up your cross and following Jesus?
39 If your first concern is to look after yourself, you’ll never find yourself. But if you forget about yourself and look to me, you’ll find both yourself and me.
What is your first concern? Is it God or is it you?
Learn to forget about yourself and focus on Jesus. If you do that you will truly live and you will find your life in Christ.