The Sermon on the Mount IV

Subtitle: Fulfilling the Torah and the Prophets of God II

Matthew 5:21-26.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on December 31, 2023.

We will continue looking at the Sermon on the Mount today.

We looked at the Introduction that Jesus gives to the Kingdom in Matthew 5:3-16.  There he challenged his audience to quit looking at what they don’t have and to start seeing what they do have.  God was opening the door to the Kingdom for them in Jesus, in fact, he is The Door to The Kingdom (John 10:1-9).

Jesus then gave them three metaphors to help them see what God was wanting to do through those who entered the Kingdom.  He wanted them to be the salt of the earth, the light of the world, and a city on a hill.  Each of these speak to the spiritual impact believers in Jesus would have on the world around them.

Just like a door is a transitional spot between two different places, so the presence of Jesus brought Israel into a transitional spot between being the nation through whom God was primarily working to choosing to follow Messiah into a new reality.

In verse 17, Jesus begins to develop his first major point by stating his purpose to fulfill the Law of Moses, rather than destroying it.  In verse 21, he then points to six places in the Law of Moses in order to show how Israel’s leaders were missing the mark and how they could hit it.  Let’s look at our passage.

Six case studies in fulfilling the Torah and Prophets of God (v. 21-48)

Verses 21-26 are the first look at the Law, which focuses on the Sixth Commandment of The Ten Commandments in Exodus 20.  “You shall not murder.”

Before we get into looking at what Jesus says about murder, there are some structural issues to take note of in each of these six case studies.

Jesus will always start out with what they have heard from their teachers in expounding the Law.  He will then contrast that with what he teaches them now.  Lastly, Jesus then moves to give some “therefore” statements, which highlight the fact that he intends us to think about the implications of what he teaches.  The therefore sections flesh out what it would look like to heed his teaching.

In each of these, if we treat Jesus like another rabbi, and if we approach his words like the Pharisees approached the Law of Moses, then we will only be focused  on the letter.  Jesus would simply be adding more laws to the 613 that they already had.  Yet, this is not what Jesus intends.  The words that he speak are a representation of him and what is in his heart.  They draw us into relationship with The One who spoke them so that we can be led by His Holy Spirit to “flesh out” his intention for us.

Another issue is this.  Any honest look at the Law of Moses will see that they are not all of the same kind.  There are different types of laws.  The most obvious are the moral laws, which say things like, “You shall not murder.”  Murdering is inherently wrong, evil.  It will always be wrong because we do not have the authority to murder people, any more than to rape them or take all of their things.

A second category are the ritual laws, sometimes called ceremonial laws.  These have to do with how the tabernacle, the temple, would work.  You will notice in these laws about sacrifices, etc., that there is nothing inherently good about killing a bull in a special way, and in a special place, every time you sin.  They were symbolically pointing to greater spiritual truths.  This is part of the tutor, or schoolmaster, purpose of the Law.  They are only a moral obligation because Israel covenanted with God to do them.  Like a parent telling a child what they should do, the moral issue is not something like what time you go to bed, but rather about whether or not you will listen to your parents, even greater, God.

Lastly, there are civil laws that described how Israeli society would operate and the things they would do to set themselves apart from the world around them, whether in diet or dress, etc.  Some of these categories have overlaps.

In the first century, Jesus had to qualify his teaching by stating that he is not trying to abolish the Law of Moses.  It is interesting to me that most would accuse me of trying to bring people back under the law.  This is not what I am doing.  To be clear, Christians are not under the covenant of the Law that began at Sinai.  Yet, we need to hear the heart of our master here.

The Law of Murder

There were laws that also talked about manslaughter and what to do in those cases, but let us stick to what Jesus is doing here.

Jesus begins with the phrase, “You have heard that it was said to those of old…”  As I said earlier, this points to the teachers that they are hearing in their day.  Jesus refers to their teaching in order to set up a contrast with his own teaching. 

More than contrasting, he is demonstrating that there is something that these teachers are doing that is in error.  On one hand, Jesus will show us how God intended the Law to be followed, and yet on the other hand, Jesus is preparing to cut a new covenant that would require his death and resurrection.  This gives us a dual point of how the law should be heard, but also moving on to the new thing that God is doing.

The shepherd of their day are not good shepherds.  So, what was their error?

Their teachers have been focusing on the letter of the Law, which over time had accreted a large number of precedents and rabbinical “case-law.”  They emphasized the outward conformity to the Law, but ignore that these are the instructions of a loving Father who is more concerned about the moral character that would drive their actions, than simply wanting outward conformity.

Have you ever listened to lawyers twisting every word that is said by someone in order to get their client off, or if you are the prosecutor, to nail the defendant to the wall?  To a lawyer, the law is merely a challenge.  It simply becomes something to be manipulated to your favor.  Surely, God could never be pleased by people twisting His words.

In the case of murder, they simply taught that you would be liable to the judgment if you murdered someone.  Of course, it is not bad to teach this.  The error is in what is missing, the heart of the One who gave the Law, and the heart of those who were receiving it.
It is interesting that the Bible begins with two chapters about the work of God in making all things “very good.”  However, the next two chapters are very bad.  Genesis chapter four is often seen as the first murder.  Cain murders his brother, Abel.  Notice that God sees that Cain’s heart is wrong (i.e., Cain hasn’t murdered anyone yet).  Like a good father, God speaks to Cain about what happened and what was going on in his heart.  He warns Cain to control himself because sin sought to have mastery over him.  Any true father is not content to merely have sons who don’t murder one another.  You want sons who have his heart for their brother.  He wants us to honor how He feels towards our brother, our neighbor, even our enemy.

By the way, Genesis four is actually a story about two murders.  Lamech kills a young man who had injured him, and we see him justifying himself.  The chapter ends with violence filling the earth.

Yet, don’t miss that Genesis three is also a story about two murders (or potentially, the murder of the human race).  The serpent, the devil, seduces Adam and Even into an action that brings death into their lives.  The pre-flood civilizations did not go deep enough.  They abused the mercy of God to Cain (not capital punishment) and refused to go deeper into their hearts.  In the end, the world was filled with murder because the hearts of men were full of murder.  All of this begs the Genesis :26 question, just who were they imaging?  It wasn’t their Creator, it was their own murderer, Satan.

After laying out what they were being taught, Jesus turns on the phrase, “but I say to you…”  Jesus does not have the kind of credentials that their teachers had.  Just who does he think he is?  Well, he is the One sent from God, and thus, he has credentials that none of them had.

Jesus gives three statements.  The first is about being angry with your brother.  The version that I have been using adds the phrase, “without a cause.”  This phrase is debated because there are some early manuscripts that do not have it.  The question then becomes, was it added or was it taken out?  There doesn’t seem to be a good reason to take it out.  But, if it wasn’t there, putting it in would soften a harsher statement.  I would simply say that the apostles would later teach us to be angry and sin not (Ephesians 4:26 quoting Psalm 4:4).  Anger isn’t so much the problem, as it is the source of our problem.  Anger has a lot of power and our flesh tends to use the force of anger in order to push us into sinful actions.  James 1:20 tells us that “the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

So, even if my brother did something that I am rightly angry over, I am still in danger of sinning.  I will come back to deal with the warning Jesus gives.

This first one had to do with internal thoughts and feelings of anger.  Jesus then moves to two outward actions that show contempt for our brother who has angered us.  Calling someone “Raca” was essentially calling them an empty-headed person, a numbskull, a dunderhead, an idiot, and I could go on.  It is contempt for them intellectually.  Calling someone “You fool! (the Gk is from the word where we get moron) also had a sense of poor intellect.  However, for Hebrews this word also had spiritual connotations (it generally doesn’t for us).  The fool is a person who willfully ignores the teaching and ways of God in order to make their own way.  Yes, it is foolish, but it is also a rejection of God.  There is a immoral component to it.  Thus, this is to have contempt for your brother intellectually and spiritually.

Notice that as Jesus moves through these three things that he starts with them being liable to the judgment, and then to the Council (the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem), and finally to the “Gehenna of fire” (my version says hellfire).  No human can put you in the Gehenna of fire, which was a phrase used to speak of God’s judgment.  This then begs the question of what judgment and what council he was speaking about before?  Regardless, something as small as calling your brother a name is coming from a dark place that God will not put up with.  They were definitely not thinking that they were in danger of God throwing them into Gehenna for calling their brother a moron. 

They should have gone deeper, but under the New Covenant that Jesus would cut with God at the cross and give to his followers, we do not serve as if following more stringent laws.  We follow and serve the purposes of Jesus by the help of the Spirit of God in order to do the spirit of the law.  We see this in Romans 7:6; 8:2,4; 9:29; and 1 Corinthians 5:7-8.

In verse 23, Jesus moves to his first therefore statement.  Notice that he has repeated the word “brother.”  It is reminding us of that first actual slaying of a human being, which was done between brothers.  Like Cain, our contempt and anger can push us to do heinous things against our brother, whom God loves.

This very same God desires us to reconcile and make things right.  Cain needed to see that he wasn’t imaging God and turn back from anger.  Even if there had been cause to be angry (in Cain’s situation, there wasn’t), Matthew 18 would later deal with what to do if you had cause to be angry.  You will notice there that Jesus is promoting the same thing that he does here, reconciliation.  We cannot come before God and pretend we are worshipping him while we know we have done our brother wrong.  Jesus actually puts the onus on the brother who did the offending.

We can’t force reconciliation, but we can do what Romans 12:18 says.  “If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men…”  Then verse 21 says, “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

This is why Jesus boils the whole law and the prophets down to having a heart of love for God and our neighbor.  Such a heart of love will express itself in actions of love.  Yes, that is a hard task, but Jesus has done two huge things to help us.  He has removed our sins and their judgment from over our heads, and he has given us his Holy Spirit to help us battle sin in our life.  We first die to our own righteousness and then we die to our flesh.  We try to make things right with all who would have ought against us before approaching God in worship.

Jesus ends this section with a second practical therefore statement, even though he does not repeat the word. People who are angry do not always think well.  They are not as innocent as they may deem.  In such a case, you can end up getting yourself in a pickle.  Jesus envisions two angry men going to a judge and one of them is going to be shocked.  Jesus thus brings up the idea of settling out of court.  Would I push the issue if I was brought into court every time I became angry and ran the risk of a penalty?  Imagine how many times we become angry with people and don’t give it a second thought.  Yet, this is the turn of this small parable in verse 25.  Just who is your adversary?  Ultimately, your adversary is the devil.  He seeks to prosecute you before God.  You are even now on your way to the Judge of all men, the Lord Jesus.  Jesus is no respecter of persons.  You may win some judgments regarding your anger, but will you win them all?  Wouldn’t it be wiser to make your peace with your brother in this life while you can, before you end up at the judgment seat?  If something is settled out of court, then it seems that Jesus will not judge it.

Just as the fires of Gehenna were the danger earlier, here the danger is to be thrown into the prison.  The prison, the holding place of wicked spirits, is not a good place to go.  Some will point to the phrase, “you will by no means get out of there till you have paid the last penny,” as hope that Gehenna is not without end.  Be careful of that.  It doesn’t say that you can pay it off.  Rather, it emphasizes that you won’t get out until you have.  This begs the question.  How does a person pay off a debt when they are in prison?  If the price for removing my sin was the perfect Son of God dying on a cross on my behalf, then it seems very unlikely that I will ever “pay it off.”  This is intended to scare the anger out of you, or at least, wake you up to the true dangers you face.

None of us would survive such a judgment.  Our only hope is to try and reconcile with our brother and throw ourselves on the mercy of the court, which is merciful to those who have shown mercy.

Instead of using the lack of a murderous action as a cloak, through Jesus, God is calling us to overcome evil by dying to our righteousness, and coming alive to his righteousness.  This is that righteousness which laid itself down that we might live.

May God fill us with repentance, and then with His Holy Spirit, so that we can live out the righteousness of God.

Fulfill II audio

Jesus: The Lord of the Sabbath

Mark 2:23-28.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on April 7, 2019.

Historically, many Christians have developed an odd theology concerning what the Bible calls the Sabbath day.  The word Sabbath is a Hebrew word that means rest.  Under the Law of Moses, Israel was commanded not to work on the last day of the week, which for them was sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday.

Living in Israel, the first Christians found themselves continuing the Sabbath observance, mostly because it was their culture, yet also celebrating the first day of the week on which Jesus was resurrected.  They called it the Lord’s Day.  By A.D. 70, most Christians had been scattered out of Israel and many Gentiles in other countries had been converted.  They understood from the beginning that they were not under the Law and the necessity to cease work on the Sabbath.  Yet, in some ways Sunday came to replace the Sabbath of the Old Testament, even to the point of being called the Sabbath by many. 

This creates a theologically murky disconnect between what the New Testament is saying and what became the practice of many in the Church.  If we say Sunday has replaced Saturday as the New Sabbath, and true believers will not work on that day, then we are testifying that we are under a law that is similar to that of Israel.  Of course, it is impossible to find a verse in the New Testament that puts believers under such a charge.  In fact, we find quite the opposite.  We find verses which state that the day on which we worship and hold holy is not what is important.

In our passage today, we will see another complaint that the Pharisees had with the disciples of Jesus and how the answer that Jesus gives, teaches us the true meaning the Sabbath was intended to have under both covenants.

Another complaint against the disciples

Our passage opens by telling us that it is the Sabbath, which was a day that Israel would not be working.  Instead, they would go to the Synagogue and then stay at home while focusing upon the worship of God.  It seems most likely that Jesus and his disciples are on their way to the Synagogue, which explains why the Pharisees are there to see what the disciples are doing.

Before we get into the complaint of the Pharisees, we should recognize a pattern that can be seen in Mark 2 and many other places throughout Scripture.  We see the Pharisees complaining to the disciples about Jesus on one hand, and then we see them complaining to Jesus about his disciples on the other.  This is a ploy that the devil loves to employ.  It is really about trying to drive a wedge between Christ and his disciples.  It is safe to say that the weak link in this relationship is us.  This happens all the time in our society today.  May God help us to remain faithful to Christ in the midst of such manipulative questions, which surface in our culture and therefore in our own minds.  We can be assured that Christ will remain faithful to us and not refuse to stand with us, if we will not refuse to stand with him.

The Pharisees see the disciples breaking heads of grain off and eating them as they walk through a field.  They ask Jesus why his disciples are breaking the Sabbath law.  So, are the disciples actually breaking the Sabbath laws?  According to Scripture, we know that they were not stealing.  In their culture it was not considered stealing if a person walking through a field only used their hand to take some food.  It was a command from God that they take care of the poor in this way.  They would have needed to be reaping the field with scythes and packing off bundles for it to be theft.  The issue involves the meaning of the word “work.”  Israel was commanded not to work on the Sabbath.  Over the years, the rabbis had built up a whole tradition around this issue.  What constitutes work had developed a long, intricate, and even head-scratching list of rules.

Jesus knew that his disciples were not working and therefore breaking the Sabbath.  They were only guilty of breaking the rules that the rabbis had built up over the years.  By the way, this does not represent a great meal.  They clearly hadn’t had breakfast and were merely staving off hunger.  They went from feasting in the house of Levi to eating a pittance of small grains in a field.  Sometimes following Jesus doesn’t put a lot of food on the table, but always he will take care of you.

Jesus gives them an answer

Jesus defends his disciples and yet he does it in a way that teaches everyone involved the truth as to why the Pharisees are in error.  He is going to use an example from Scripture that conflicts with their view, and then give the logic behind the Sabbath.

Jesus reminds them of a passage in 1 Samuel 21.  David is one of King Saul’s generals at the time and realizes that Saul is wanting to kill him.  David and some of his men flee town and hide for three days until the dust settles.  He then goes to the tabernacle, which was in the town of Nob at the time.  It had been set up at Shiloh for over 300 years, but the Philistines had recently captured the Ark of the Covenant and destroyed the town where the tabernacle had been.  It is believed that the news of the defeat of Israel’s army had arrived soon enough for the priests to dismantle the tabernacle and remove it before the troops arrived at Shiloh.

In the story David asks the priest to give some bread to him and his men.  However, the priest explains that they only have the holy showbread, and only the priestly families could eat it.  By the way, the showbread refers to the 12 loaves that were made each week.  They would be placed on a table in the tabernacle and remain there until they were replaced a week later.  Once replaced this bread was considered still holy and not to be eaten by a non-priestly family.  It appears that the High Priest then enquires of the Lord and gets permission to let David and his men eat the bread as long as they are ceremonially clean, and they were.  Now, the thing that is amazing about this example is that it qualifies as a real breaking of the commands of the Law of Moses.  Second of all, it seems clear from the passage that God gave His permission for it.

Notice how Jesus sets up the story by saying, “Have you never read…?  Clearly these Pharisees had read the passage, but they hadn’t really taken to heart the ramifications of it.  In fact, their traditions that had been built up over the centuries stood in condemnation of David and this event.  Yet, God did not, who was the one who gave the Law in the first place.  If we are to develop opinions and traditions through our contemplations of the Bible, we must make sure that they account for all of the biblical data and not just some of it.  No matter how satisfying our ideas about Scripture are, they shouldn’t run into logical problems like this one.  If my teaching ends up condemning God Himself then there is something wrong with my teaching, not God.  I am the one who has not understood something critical in the issue.  Now, this doesn’t tell us why it was okay for David to eat the bread, but it does show us that there is something wrong with the way the Pharisees interpret the Law.

The Christian Church today has many different groups that hold to varying teachings that often are at odds with each other.  Sometimes none of the interpretations of a particular issue perfectly fit all of the biblical data.  In such cases, we should hold our interpretations lightly and not use them as a whip against our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

After using the example from Scripture to show the Pharisees that they didn’t completely understand the Law, Jesus gives them the logic behind why David could eat the bread and why his disciples were not even close to breaking the law.  He explains that the Sabbath day, or the day of rest, was given for the benefit of God’s people.  In fact, rest is a large part of the human condition.  If we do not rest 8 hours, plus or minus depending on our age, our bodies quickly begin to fail and shut down.  Yet, we also need rest on longer cycles.  Humans typically worked every day of the week during the days when Israel was coming out of Egypt.  God was promising Israel that if they would refrain from working on the 7^th day and worship Him, then He would bless them so that they didn’t lack for doing it.  In fact, He often blessed them to the point they had more than if they worked all the time.  They were not born to honor a particular day for its sake.  The day was created for them so that they could have rest and enjoy their labor with God.  Yes, it was made into a command, due to our human nature.

For example, if I were to tell you that God was now promising to bless everyone who took a one-week staycation each year, would you do it?  Of course, He hasn’t told me this, but you can take my point.  It is easy to say God will bless you, but then as you approach the week, you look at your bank account and start to waffle in your faith.  There is nothing inherently sinful about working on Saturday.  However, once God makes it a command it becomes a moral issue of loyalty to Him. 

God wanted something better for Israel than working seven days a week.  The Sabbath taught them that they didn’t have to rely solely upon their own work.  They could trust God to bless their work to the point that they didn’t have to drive themselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually into the dirt in order to get ahead.

Now, Christians are not under the Law of Moses and the command not to work on Saturday.  However, we still need rest, and we still need to learn the lessons of the Sabbath from the Old Testament.  The answer is not to create a new, Christian Law which changes the day to Sunday, but to hear God’s heart for us.  He wants you to be blessed, but He doesn’t want you to kill yourself trying to be blessed.  He doesn’t want you deceiving yourself about the true source of your blessing.  That is a life that is anything but peaceful and filled with rest.  You can work hard, and yet take breaks at appropriate intervals because God is not a slave driver, but our flesh is.

The Pharisees had lost sight of the whole purpose of the Sabbath day.  Just like the purpose of the showbread and the prohibitions upon who could eat it, the prohibitions of the Sabbath were not intended to make things harder and worse for Israel.  These men were hungry and had nothing to eat in both cases.  God is not an uncaring legislator.  These laws were symbolic of spiritual truth and not inherently about a moral issue.  Thus, in times of difficulty, the symbol could be put aside for the sake of God’s people.  Yet, all of this misses the further point, that the disciples were merely picking heads of grain.  The Pharisees have lost the heart of God who was behind the law.

So how should Christians view the Sabbath Day?  The New Testament equivalent to the Old Testament Sabbath is not that it has now been moved to Sunday.  I know that historically this is what it seems like.  Christians should not take Sunday off and worship the Lord because they are commanded to do so.  We could meet on any day of the week that we want.  We could meet on multiple days.  It is just that over the years, Sunday became that day, and for many good reasons.  It is now a part of our culture and the easiest day to have Church gatherings.  We need rest and should take a day off, gather with other believers, and worship the Lord.  However, we should do it because it is good and healthy for us in every way, not because we believe we are staving off the anger of God.

Yet, the Old Testament Sabbath law was pointing to something greater than just a change of the day upon which we rest.  It was about believing in Jesus and resting from the work of trying to save ourselves, trying to measure up through our excellent law-keeping.  Technically, everyday for the Christian is the supposed to be the Sabbath Day because in Christ we have entered into that peaceful place, that rest, which God intends for us in Jesus.  Sure, we continue to work for God, but not in order to be saved and measure up.  We work for Him out of joy, not drudgery and fear of breaking a law.  God wants us to have a spiritual peace in our hearts.  Yet, He doesn’t want us to cast off all restraint and walk away from His Holy Spirit.

Are you resting in Jesus today, and every day?  Has He become your peace and joy?  This is what the Father desires for you.  He wants to bless you as you trust Him each day!

Lord of Sabbath Audio

Threats of Deception II

Colossians 2:11-19.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on June 10, 2018.

Today we will continue talking about deception, to which we are all vulnerable.  Christians are not supposed to be gullible, easily tricked people, at least in the area of doctrinal truth.  We of all people have been given a sure record of truth and warned to be on guard against the devil’s schemes.  It is sad that so many people get caught up in many different kinds of deception.  Let’s look at the next verses in Colossians 2.

Remember what you have in Jesus Christ

In verses 11-15, Paul reminds of what they had in Jesus.  Some of the deceptions that the Colossians were facing had to do with ritual observance of things in the Law of Moses.  We know that the Acts 15 council had settled the issue regarding ritual observance of the Law.  No Jew or Gentile could be saved by ritual observations.  Still, it was common for certain teachers to travel around attempting to draw Gentiles into the belief that they had to obey certain things in the Law of Moses.  It is possible that the deception was not about what was needed for salvation, but instead what would make you more spiritual.  Regardless, Paul point Christians back to Jesus and reminds us of the great spiritual advantages that we have in Him.

First of all, he brings up the issue of circumcision.  This was a powerful symbol of rejecting the world and our own sinful flesh.  It represented complete obedience to God and a change in identification.  It marked people as belonging to Him.  The people of Israel took great pride in this difference.  However, Paul reminds these mostly Gentile believers that they have a circumcision that was not made with hands (human hands).  In other words, it parallels the idea in the Bible that believers have a work that is done internally and with the help of the Holy Spirit.  This is much greater than a work done on the external by another human being. 

This is similar to how we are born into God’s Family, which is not by the will of man, but by the will of God.  Those who were born into God’s people of Israel because their parents decided to have a kid had a lesser status than those who were born into God’s people by the Holy Spirit.  Gentile believers (even Jewish believers) had a greater or higher circumcision in Christ.  They didn’t need to add a lesser circumcision.

Also notice that it is called a circumcision of Christ.  In Joshua 5 we find that the children of Israel who were being led into the Promised Land by Joshua had not been circumcising their children for 40 years.  Thus after they had crossed the Jericho river in miraculous style and were several miles from the walls of a formidable walled city-state, they stopped and Joshua had all the uncircumcised males circumcised.  This was a crazy move militarily.  But it was important for them to deal with their disobedience before moving forward.  Joshua is a type of Christ who is our great leader.  Jesus is leading us into the Promised inheritance that God has for us.  But first we must wait and be circumcised in our hearts with a spiritual circumcision.  Jesus teaches us the greater circumcision, that of the heart done by the help of the Holy Spirit.  Paul refers to it as a putting off of the body of the sins of our flesh.  Interestingly enough Paul even connects this to water baptism.

It is clear that water baptism symbolizes a spiritual death and a spiritual resurrection.  But notice that we are “dying” to our flesh and its desires.  We join Christ in putting aside the hopes of this flesh and its desires.  Instead our hopes and desires are in God alone.  Thus we are spiritually raised up to a new life by the Spirit of God.  This is a partnership of us and God.  In verse 13 Paul points out that though they used to be spiritually dead in an uncircumcised state, now through Christ they are spiritually alive and forgiven of every trespass.  Therefore those in Christ have received the higher spiritual reality that was symbolized by those lower, physical commands in the Law of Moses.  As a young Jewish boy would join the people of Israel by circumcision, so a young Christian joins the people of God by a spiritual circumcision which is symbolized by the act of water baptism.  In this ritual there is no distinction made between male or female.

Paul also reminds us in verse 14 that our record of debt has been cancelled.  He clearly envisions some kind of list of our sins or trespasses against God.  This list or record of our offenses would condemn us if it is allowed to stand.  We would be dead men.  Yet, Paul points out that Christ has moved this list from standing against us through two methods.  First he wipes out the charges (some versions say blot out).  Regardless, if Paul had written this in the 21^st century, he would have probably said deleted.  Secondly, he takes this list of now blotted out or wiped out charges and nails them to the cross.  To Paul, Christ was not just dying for our sins on the cross.  In Him our sins are being nailed to the cross, where they will be left forever.  The charges themselves are dead and cannot stand against us.

This leads to a powerful statement in verse 15.  At the cross Jesus disarmed our spiritual enemy and triumphed over them.  Though Satan is still dangerous, he can no longer use our sin as a guaranteed way of slaying us.  Through Christ, the work of Satan and his minions is nullified and abolished.  The only way that Satan can destroy us now is by convincing us to not take Christ at His Word.  If he can con us into remaining in our rebellious, disobedient path then he wins by convincing us to do for him what he cannot do to us.

Reject the threats of legalism

In verses 16-19, Paul walks forward the threat of those who rely upon the observance of the Law.  Up to now he has only mentioned circumcision.  But verse 16 brings up the areas of what food and drink you consume, and what days you observe as holy.  Notice that it is introduced with the word “so.”  This point of rejecting legalism is strongly linked to the triumph that Jesus has obtained over our spiritual enemies.  The practical implication of His victory is that we cannot be judged on these ritual matters of the Law of Moses.  Neither can your past be held against you.

Now food and drink is mentioned because the Mosaic Law had much to say about foods.  There was a long list of prohibited foods that no Israelite was supposed to eat.  However, foods cannot make one more spiritual or more sinful.  In fact that was not the point of those Old Testament laws.  Similarly celebrating particular days as holy cannot make you more holy or the lack thereof make you unholy.  Just as our circumcision in Christ is spiritual, so the food that we eat is spiritual as well.  Jesus and His teachings are our spiritual food.  Instead of going back to the lesser symbol, Christians are called to press in to the thing that the lesser commands pointed towards.  Also, through Christ we have entered into the Sabbath of God (Sabbath means rest).  For the believer everyday is a day of rest because we are in Christ every day.  This does not mean that we have no decisions to make in these matters, but that the dietary and ritual commands of the Law are not binding on Christians.

Though Paul says “let no one judge you,” the point is not trying to stop their mental reasoning.  Rather, it is about not being influenced and deceived by the judgments that they do make.  In other words, let them think what they want, but don’t let it influence how you think and act.

In verse 17 Paul gives the spiritual truth that we are to use as our guide in these matters.  Christ is the substance and the Law of Moses is the shadow.  Clearly Paul is talking about the non-moral laws (dietary, ceremonial, and holy observances).  These things are not the substance of what God was concerned about, when He gave those laws.  They were a shadow that gave evidence to or pointed towards something of greater substance, which is Jesus himself.  Circumcision, feast days, Sabbaths, and food are not what are important.  It is what they are trying to tell us about Jesus that is important.  This is what we should follow.  The reality of Christ’s first and second coming is a substantial thing that caused a shadow to be cast back in time.  Because he was coming, God gave Israel commands that would prepare them and the world to receive Jesus.  Many of the laws were not moral laws inherently.  Of course once God commanded them, disobedience would be a moral issue.  But that is not my point.  My point is that the purpose for these laws that involved things that weren’t inherently sinful, was to help Israel see the shape and form of The One who was to come, Messiah.  Now it would be said to remain enamored with the shadow of a person when they have actually come into the room.

Legalism is really a form of stubbornness that refuses to enter into all that the Law was pointing towards.  Legalism honors Moses while dishonoring the God whom Moses obeyed.  Moses himself will stand up in judgment against those who use the Law as a means of righteousness because the Lord whom he followed was greater than all those laws.  However, all of this said, I must emphasize that these arguments cannot be used for the moral laws that are found in the Law of Moses.  Thus, no apostle of Jesus ever said, “Let no one judge you in sexual immorality, or in theft, or in murder…”  These actions are inherently sinful and will never be acceptable in God’s sight no matter how spiritual a person thinks they are.

In verse 18 Paul warns that to give in to this legalism would cause one to be cheated of their reward.  Deception has a cost and is a real threat to our stake in Christ.  Paul lists some of the things that the deceivers took delight in.  First, they love false humility.  The outward shows of devotion can be a cover for pride.  We should follow Christ and His leading and not the false humility of those who glory in their outward ritual observances.  Second, they loved to worship angels.  Though Paul does not go into detail, no being in heaven or on earth should be worshipped but the triune God- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Thus those who develop great systems of heavenly or earthly beings to which they pray for help, may seem spiritual.  But they are not, because they resist the Holy Spirit and the teachings of Christ and His apostles.  Third, they glory in great visions of things they may or may not have seen that puff up their fleshly minds.  This is an area where charismatic Christians are very vulnerable.  We are sometimes so desperate to prove that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are still in operation that we will put up with people who claim to have had visions of heaven, but are motivated by their sinful desires and puffed up pride.  We must be hungrier for Jesus and our relationship with Him, then for a spiritual gift that someone else claims to have.  The gifts of the Spirit are walked out in relationship with Jesus, who sent the Holy Spirit.  So how does this jeopardize our reward?

It does so by separating us from Christ and towards a person or system of fleshly works who cannot save us.  Thus what Paul says in the negative about these fleshly teachers, we should embrace in the positive.  We must hold fast to Jesus through whom we have true spiritual growth.  No matter what manner of persuasion or deceit comes our way, we must let nothing separate us from Jesus.  Of course deceivers often do not present themselves as a means of being separated from Christ.  However, they always promote teachings in such a way that Christ is never quite enough.  You also need this: (insert the current false teacher’s list here).  When we hold fast to Jesus and Him alone then we have the One who is the source of any true spiritual growth and any real spiritual inheritance that we may have.  He is the one who baptizes us in the Holy Spirit ad leads us forth in victory.  Let us reject all threats of deception and walk with Christ, who is the substance of all that the Law of Moses and the Prophets of the Old Testament pointed towards!

Threats of Deception II audio

Invitation to a Supper

Today we will be looking at Luke 14:1-14.

The setting of our passage today is a Sabbath meal to which Jesus has been invited by a high-ranking Pharisee in Israel.  This is going to give rise to several teachings by Jesus that we will look at over the next several weeks.  This supper will give rise to the wonderful truth that God is inviting us to participate in a marriage supper that He is preparing for His Son.  However, in this case, God allows us to participate in our own invitation.  He in a sense invites everyone who will believe upon His Son, what he taught, what he foretold, and what he accomplished.  Thus only those who properly respond to the open invitation are allowed in to the meal.  In fact, we could say that the presence of Jesus within Israel was technically a wedding feast that went horribly awry.

Legalism Binds Us

As we look at the passage we are at the meal where Jesus sits with a ruling Pharisee and all the others he has invited.  Now the problem with the Pharisees was that they were very legalistic.  They focused upon the letter of the law to the exclusion of the spirit of the Law.  When we are focused upon the letter of the law we really want to know what we can get away with and what we can’t.  It is not about wanting to please God, but rather about wanting to please self without getting in trouble.  However, when we ask ourselves why God gave a certain law, we are drawn into His heart and purposes.  Legalism tends to bind us to things that actually run counter to the purposes and the heart of God.  In fact several are on display at this meal.

First, legalism bound them to looking at each other wrongly.  It says in verse one that they watched him closely.  Now it is not wrong to watch our brother if we are doing it in a humble way that serves him.  We would normally call this “watching out” for our brother.  But legalism binds us to watching our brother for the sole purpose of finding fault.  God wants us to watch each other’s back rather than become nit-pickers.  Most legalists have forgotten that they not only were sinners but are still sinners in need of God’s grace.  Yet, there is one caution here.  It is common today to believe that anyone who points out a problem in our life is being mean-spirited and a legalist.  This is not true.  A true brother will not only watch his brother’s back, but also warn him about pitfalls in front of him.  The legalist does this because they take joy in putting you down a peg or too (i.e. raising themselves).  But the true brother does this because they don’t want to see you killed.  Even then, a true brother realizes that they are not their brother’s Lord.  They will remain humble and stand beside you not over you.

Legalism also binds us to misunderstandings about God’s purposes.  It just happens that a man who has dropsy (a condition where the body is swollen with fluid) is sat across from Jesus on the Sabbath.  Now we know why they were watching him like a hawk.  This meal was a set-up in order to find fault with Jesus.   You see, the Pharisees had developed an interpretation of the Sabbath laws that saw healing as a form of work.  I’ve talked about this in greater depth before.  They saw the Sabbath primarily as a restriction upon us.  Thus it was a bleak and difficult day in which we couldn’t enjoy a lot of good things.  However, God did not give the Sabbath to restrict man.  The word Sabbath means rest.  God wanted his people to quit being driven seven days a week as if they had no hope in God.  The Sabbath was supposed to be a day of rest and “smelling the roses.”  It was a day to gather with friends and family, and give glory to God for His great benefits.  It was about declaring God as our ultimate source rather than our own hand.  Thus God’s purpose was not to prevent us or restrict us from helping each other when one was sick or in need.  But, the Pharisees couldn’t see this.

Legalism also binds us to treating one another as less than human (in fact, less than animal).  After Jesus boldly heals the man of his condition and sends him away, he then challenges them.  If they had a donkey or ox fall into a pit on the Sabbath, every one of them would “work” to pull it out.  But they wouldn’t do a similar thing for this man.  Whenever you see people being treated as animals or especially less than animals, you know that the enemy of mankind has been at work twisting the minds of those involved.  Today we have become a people who will obsess over the death of certain animals and yet not blink an eye at the murder of countless unborn babies.  This dehumanizing of groups is the mode of operation of the devil and those who listen to him.

Humble Yourself Before God And Man

They had been watching him like a hawk.  However, Jesus had been watching them and gives a parable to point out a fault with those who were seated with him at the table: pride and self-exaltation.  He warns those who are invited to a meal not to try and sit in the highest place.  No doubt there had been much jockeying going on before the meal.  Self-promotion and ambition are powerful traits that enable us to succeed in many things.  However, they lead us to promote ourselves beyond what God has given to us.  It knows no bounds and will often come in conflict with God.  Clearly our attempts to curry favor with the rulers and those with power in this life can reap benefits.  But in the end this mentality leads us into gross sin.  One more honorable than us may have been invited and we will be asked to move down to a lesser seat.  Now that would be a humiliating moment that most of them would seek to avoid at all cost.  Jesus is “the one more honorable.”  Even though the host of that meal may have not recognized Jesus, God the Father does.  Ultimately he is the one having a great supper.  Jesus is the groom who has come to the wedding feast of his bride.  Yet, the Pharisees and their followers wanted to sit in the seat that belonged to Him.  Now that was fine and all before he came.  Someone had to lead.  Yet, now that he arrived, they should have been stumbling over themselves to give the seat to him.  Even worse they seek to put him to death so that their seat will never be threatened again.  When you walk in pride you ultimately offend those with greater honor than you.  In the end you will receive the fruit of pride, destruction.

There is a day coming when the host, God, is going to manifest to the world that Jesus is the one more honorable- the One to Whom the seat of power belongs.  God will render a decision.  Sometimes He settles things in this life.  But do not be deceived, He will settle it in the Age to come.  Our proper place will be established and woe to the person who has kicked against his proper place.  Instead, be humble in this life and let God promote you, so that at the judgment you will have nothing to fear.

Bless Those Who Cannot Bless You Back

Jesus then turns to rebuke the ruling Pharisee who was hosting the meal.  The previous fault focused on what we shouldn’t do, but this fault is couched in terms that encourage us to what we should do.  When you have a meal don’t invite those who can pay you back in some way (social prestige, invite you over to their place, business contacts, etc.).  It is spiritually smarter to invite people who cannot help you back in any way.  Bless people with a mean who cannot bless you back.  Instead of worrying about our position and using our good to increase that position, we should use those good to bless others, period.  Which raises a question, who do we tend to bless?  Eating with others is a social act which strengthens our bonds together and so we tend to invite friends and family.  Jesus warns us to beware this tendency.  Now we shouldn’t be legalistic with this statement.  Yes, we should obey Jesus.  But it is not his purpose to rebuke a family from eating together.  Rather, this is a special meal the Pharisee is throwing.  Jesus is not making a law that we can never invite friends over.  Rather, he is giving us wisdom about how we should live in light of the judgment that is coming.  Whom are you seeking to be blessed by?  If you seek to be blessed by people then all you do will be corrupted by it.  However, if you seek to be blessed by God, then you will learn to be a blessing to others especially when you get nothing out of it in this world.

Jesus mentions that he should invite the poor, maimed, lame and blind.  There are two levels to this instruction.  Believers are called to help those who are less fortunate in one way or another.  In Galatians 2:9-10 Paul recognizes that the “Pillars” of the church instructed him to remember the poor, “the very thing which [Paul] also was eager to do.”  In doing so, God becomes our reward.  Yet, this also has a spiritual parallel.  Jesus has come to heal those who are spiritually poor, maimed, lame, and blind.  Too often we are trying to reach the rich and famous of the world to join our church at the expense of those who do not appeal to us.  This comes from the spirit of pride and self-ambition.  But when we are humble before God and our fellow man, we serve regardless of the station of another.

Ask yourself the question, “Am I seeking to be blessed by men or God?”  Men can reward you, but they can also make you pay.  But God has a reward for those who live this life in service to Him.  To serve Him is to serve one another in His name.  The humble person knows that the only sure reward and the only sure position is that which God gives.  All else is simply grasping after the wind, here today and gone tomorrow.  Are you able to say with Job, “The Lord gives and the Lord takes away, blessed be the name of the Lord!”? 

Invitation to supper audio