One Thing Is Needed

Serving is a big theme within Christianity.  Jesus himself is the inspiration for this and is often called a “servant-leader.”  Until Jesus this would have been considered two words that do not go together.  Yet, today we see service as an obligation.  So much so that it is hard for us to conceive that we can go overboard in it.  Is it possible to serve too much?  Perhaps better said, it is possible for us to miss the most important thing in our quest to serve more. 

Serving people can take on a whole life of its own that leads to the destruction of the very soul of the server.  Of course, we all need served in one way or another.  However, some are in a far greater position to serve than others.  It is easy to lay such a guilt trip on them that we lose sight that they are a soul loved by the Father in Heaven as well.  Have you ever thought about the truth that God loves the one who is able to give and serve just as much as he loves the one who is in great need?  Have you ever thought that God would rather we served less out of love for him, rather than to serve more and lose your soul?  Is that possible?

Today’s story is about two sisters who had become disciples of Jesus and even his friends.  They are the same two sisters who have a brother named Lazarus that Jesus would later raise from the dead.  It is thought that Martha was the oldest and may have been a widower because it is called her house and they seem to be well off enough to feed and care for Jesus and his 12 disciples on numerous occasions.  Let’s look at Luke 10:38-42.

Service Can Become A Distraction

The “certain village” is Bethany, less than 2 miles east of Jerusalem.  I want us to first see how Martha get’s distracted by her “much serving.”  I am not saying that service in and of itself is a distraction.  But, that distraction is a pitfall that we need to avoid whenever we are serving others.

Martha was clearly giving hospitality to this group of men because of Jesus.  He was the Anointed One and the Lord.  So there is a certain joy that comes from participating in the ministry of one so used of God.  She is also serving in very practical ways: a place to rest, wash your feet, eat food, and have drink.  All of these things are needed in life and great ways to bless others.  However, sometimes in our service to the Lord, we can lose sight of the people we serve on his behalf. 

The Pharisees had made such a mistake.  They had gone to great practical lengths to please God and serve Him.  They would memorize the Law and all of the traditions of interpretation throughout history.  They would tithe not just of their income, but even on the increase of any spices they acquired.  Yet, they were so fixated on serving God that they lost sight of His people.  God in and of himself has little need of our service.  He is not hungry or tired, and neither is he poor or lacking love and honor.  Jesus pointed this out when he said we serve him by how we serve those who belong to him.  The Pharisee’s understanding of service had little room for others.  In their quest to obtain great favor with God, they looked down upon and became a stumbling block to the very ones they should have been serving.  God wanted them to see the needs and serve His people.  He still wants us to be doing that today. 

It is ironic that, in focusing on Jesus so much, Martha actually lost sight of the heart of Jesus.  She wants to please the flesh of Jesus so much that she loses sight of the fact that Jesus was more concerned with spiritual matters than he was with material things.  Her desires and fallen nature were pushing her to try and please the Lord in ways that were not pleasing to him.  Like any good hostess, Martha had some vision of what she wanted to do and yet there were a lot of people.  In the midst of this drive to please Jesus, Martha becomes annoyed with her sister who is not helping her.  Now recognize that although Jesus and the disciples needed to eat and drink, Jesus is not going to be pleased by the amount or quality of the food.  He would appreciate anything that Martha could and would do.  There was no reason for her to be so pressured to do so much other than her desire to impress Jesus.  It is exactly at this point that she loses sight of Jesus and his message.  Meanwhile Martha’s sister, Mary, is sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to his teaching.

Martha basically blows her lid and asks Jesus to command Mary to help her.  Thus her complaint comes from her bitterness that Mary wouldn’t help her.  We are not told if she asked Mary or not.  So we will have to put that aside.  Have you ever had something you were trying to do that you valued highly but others didn’t see it at the same level as you?  Perhaps you thought the project was so amazing that everyone should jump on board and help you.  We can become bitter at people when they do not value things at the same level that we do.  However, our complaints against them may be unwarranted.  Sure Mary could have helped her sister and that would have been good.  Yet, Mary wasn’t choosing to hurt her sister.  Rather, she was choosing to enjoy the presence and teaching of Jesus.  Why should Martha despise that?  She would only despise it because her sinful nature was pressuring her to do so.

Now there is a subtle, second complaint.  Lord, why aren’t you doing anything about this lazy sister of mine.  Martha wants the Lord to line out her sister.  We may not recognize it at first but, those who give themselves to much serving and become resentful to the Lord Himself.  God why don’t you make more people help me?  This is such a great way to serve, why aren’t you blessing it?  Such “foxes” will destroy the vines of our desire to serve.  Our energy to serve will quickly shrivel up and we will become disillusioned to God, people and even ourselves. 

Jesus simply tells Martha, “One thing is needed.”  This word “needed” has the sense of an obligation or duty.  There is only one thing that is necessary, Martha.  Why do you insist on so many unnecessary things?  What a question for our life.  Do I insist on trying to do so many unnecessary things that I have driven any joy from my life?  What a tragedy this can be.

The “One Thing” That We Need

Martha’s complaint leaves something hanging that we need to deal with.  Does Jesus really care for Martha and her service for his sake?  Or simply put, Does Jesus Care?  There is an old hymn titled, “Does Jesus Care?”  The chorus goes like this, “Oh, yes, He cares, I know He cares.  His heart is touched with my grief.  When the days are weary, the long nights dreary, I know my Savior cares.”  Without question Jesus cares for Martha and for us.  All we need to do is look at the cross, as he sheds his life-blood on our behalf, and we cannot but be convinced of His great love for us.  But, Jesus cares about Martha too much to let her destroy herself with unnecessary things.  Martha is troubling herself with so many concerns and desires.  She has created her own emotional, perfect storm.  She is like the disciples were on the Sea of Galilee when the storm came up suddenly and threatened their lives.  She is a woman tossed and driven by many things that the Lord himself does not care about.  But, Jesus does care about her.  Jesus didn’t care that Mary had chose to listen to him instead of help with serving.  Why?  He didn’t care about that because it wasn’t as important.  Have you ever thought that God cares about you too much to let you have your way?  Perhaps that wall you keep running into is God trying to tell you to rest and let those worries and desires go.  “Peace, be still, Martha!”  You can almost hear our Lord saying that too us at times when we have driven ourselves into a panic.

Are you worried and troubled by many things?  Those are the words Jesus used of Martha.  The word “worried” here is the same used in Matthew 6:25.  “Therefore, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on it.  Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”  In Philippians 4:6 we are told, “Be anxious(worried) for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”  Wow!  Even in our service to Him, it is not God’s desire for us to be filled with worry and anxiety.  He wants us to have His peace guarding our hearts and mind from those many desires and temptations that threaten to rob us of our joy.  The word “troubled” here is the idea of disturbed or uproar.  Thus, the picture of the storm in Martha’s heart is exactly what Jesus saw.  There is no end to the things that can cause us to worry.  If you let them they will surround you like the howling winds of Galilee and destroy your very soul.

Yet, Mary had chosen “the good part.”  Jesus challenges Martha’s choices during his stay by saying that Mary had chosen something better.  Why should I take that away from her?  Now the good choice is not between learning and serving.  Martha’s problem is not that she chose to serve when she should have chosen to learn.  Rather, Martha made choices that distracted her from Jesus and what was important to Him.

In Luke 18:22 Jesus told the rich young ruler that he still lacked “one thing.”  Sell all of your riches and follow me.  Again, it is not wrong that he is rich.  However, Jesus saw that his riches were distracting him from being able to truly follow Jesus.  The rich man needed to sell all his possessions.  Martha needed cut back on all the ways she was trying to serve.  To follow Jesus is to learn how to walk the way he walked.  The way of Jesus is a way of dying to those concerns that try to drive us, and learning to simply trust the Lord.  “Pick up your cross and follow me.”  Although some of the disciples were literally put to death on crosses, the words of Jesus are intended to go beyond the material world.  We all have things we need to die to in order to make godly choices.  Mary loved the Lord and it led her to choose to sit at his feet and receive his teaching.  Could Martha have simply served the Lord and his disciples because it was a good thing, rather than trying to impress the Lord with her much serving?  We need to quit trying to impress God with the things we do for Him.  In truth we are secretly trying to deserve his love.  Why would you insist on “deserving” something that is given freely? God loves you without much serving.  This does not mean we shouldn’t serve.  Rather, it means that we can freely serve.  It means that our joy can remain regardless of how much and how great we are able to do.

Jesus is tender with Martha here, even though she was being harsh with her sister.  Jesus wants Martha to experience his peace.  Even Jesus had to deal with this temptation.  Everywhere he went people clamored for the Lord to heal them, cast out demons, teach us, and give us bread and fish.  Although Jesus gladly gave himself to these things, we also see him slipping away to pray; and slipping away to other places.  The people would wake up and become frantic when they realized Jesus was gone.  “Where did he go?  Get in the boat.  Let’s follow him!”  Instead of being driven to heal everyone in the world, Jesus focused on what really was necessary to please His Father in heaven.

Let me just leave us with some things to consider in choosing the good part in our lives.  Of course, off the top, we need to walk away from those things that are definitely sinful.  “Go and sin no more.”  These things are clearly not the good part.  Yet, in choosing good things, we can be tempted to do too many good things.  Are you a parent of a young child and working fulltime?  Then you may have little time to do anything else.  There are some good things that we need to cancel altogether simply because our life is too cluttered.  Is this okay?  God loves you and doesn’t want you to grind all joy out of your life in the pursuit of something that is already yours (i.e. his love).  Also, in those good things that we choose to keep doing we might need to lower our expectations and desires.  As a parent you should not abdicate your responsibility to raise your child.  However, in choosing to raise them, we can put unrealistic expectations upon ourselves and upon our child.  First time obedience, every time, is going to fill you full of bitterness, worry, and fear.  What does God expect from you?  Did His children demonstrate first time obedience all the time?  This is not meant to be a cop-out for responsible parenting.  It is a plea for parents to understand that God wants them to have joy as a parent, even in the midst of trips to the hospital or to the principal’s office.  Are you choosing the good part?  Lastly, the good things that we continue to do and have simplified also need to be focused correctly by the heart of Christ and in thanks for his love.  What I mean is that we have to quit trying to impress Jesus and deserve him.  Rather we need to operate from the present reality of having his love and favor.  We need to do what we do out of joy and because it is the good thing that he has given to us to do.  Whether anyone helps us or not is irrelevant.  What is relevant is that I do all that I do as unto the Lord and know that it is enough.  Do it today.  Go through the list of all that you have to do and cancel some things, do less of others, and make sure you do all that you do out of thanks to the Lord for His great love!  

One Thing Is Needed mp3

The Good Samaritan

Today we are going to look at the parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25-37.  Although many are familiar with this parable, you might not be aware of the context in which Jesus told it.  In verses 25-29 we are told that a lawyer came to Jesus in order to put him to the test.  Now this is common, whether you are dealing with religious or even political differences.  You test your opponent’s ideas through questions and hypothetical scenarios that will give fuller understanding. 

What was the man’s question?  “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?”

The Heart of the Law is Love

Jesus asks the man to first share what he thinks the answer is.  It is important to know where a person is coming from in order to give them an answer.  It is sad to what politicians who ask questions, not because they want an answer, but because they have an ulterior motive.  In this case, the man’s answer reveals that he has a good understanding of the Scriptures.  He boils the law down to 2: love God with all of your being and love your neighbor as yourself.  In fact when you meditate on each law you can see that the emphasis is not on restricting a person, but on teaching us how to love God and our fellow man.  The heart of the Law of Moses was restraining our lack of love towards each other and pointing us in the right direction.

Yet, in the midst of a correct understanding of the Law, this man was not sure that he had eternal life.  This is one of the weaknesses of the Law.  As it shows us the many ways that we fail, it also leaves us desperate to know whether we have done well enough to be acceptable.  This desperation can push us in one of two directions.  We can explain away our sin through self-justification or we can beat ourselves trying to accomplish it.  The first path we actually harden our hearts to what the Law is saying and the second we are wounded by it and cycle in despair.  However, there is a third way.  The third way is to agree that we have failed and yet to then throw ourselves upon the mercy of God.

Jesus gives the answer to the man simply “Do this and you shall live.”  In a way Jesus is telling the man to focus upon the main thing the law is trying to teach and trust God to deal with the many ways he falls short of the law.  Yes, they needed to keep the Law of Moses, but not at the expense of its main purpose.  To love people and trust God requires dying to our wants and desires.  The Law doesn’t give life by its rules.  But it can show us our need for the life of God and point us to Him.

God is our justifier, not us.  Instead of running from the “check-mate” nature of the Law through the mental games of self-justification and word redefinition, we can embrace it and ask God to justify us.  Lord, I want to be like you and yet I find myself having trouble loving my brother.  Help me to change and forgive me of my sins.  These are the kinds of prayer that draw us deeper into intimacy with God.

The monkey wrench in this whole situation is our strong desire to self-justify.  Have you ever noticed that when it comes to temptation we tend to ask how close to the edge we can get without falling off the cliff?  In same way when it comes to doing good we tend to ask how far from perfect can we be and still be acceptable.  Both of these questions will lead to ruin.  We should be far from temptation and close to love and yet our sinful nature pulls us in opposite directions.  All people must see the desperate nature of their own “goodness” before they can truly love God.  Now it says that this lawyer sought to justify himself by asking the question, “Who is my neighbor?”  This is the redefinition game that we can play.  As a lawyer he wants the terms defined.  Thus the parable of the Good Samaritan is given to a lawyer who knew he was falling short in this category.

Who Is My Neighbor?

It is clear that Jesus tells the story in such a way as to shock this man and his hearers.  There are parts of the story that would not shock the hearers but others that would not be what they expected.

Now it is good to point out that of the two things, loving God and loving others, the man feels that loving others is his weakest point.  Yet, we need to recognize that God loves the very one that I am having trouble loving.  When you meditate upon that puzzling point you will come upon the shocking truth: I may not love God as much as I think I do.  We see this in the story of the prodigal son.  The elder son loves is dad and is faithful.  But the younger son chafes at his father’s oversight.  He wants to take his inheritance and leave.  Yet, at the end of the story which son truly comes to love his father?  We see the elder son struggling with what this situation reveals about his father’s heart.  In 1 John 4:20-21 it says, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.  And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”  The greatest revelation of the heart of God was Jesus hanging on the cross for the wicked of this world.  He was willing to die that sinners might be saved.  Do you love this about Him?  Some don’t.  Some see this as a stupid and idiotic answer to evil.

Now the parable intends to shock the lawyer’s heart out of the complacent love that he had practiced to that point.  The hero or godly man of the parable is not just a common Jew.  Rather he is a person who is from a minority group that were considered outcasts and defiled.  To be fair the Samaritans did not like the Jews none too much either.  Now think of the story.  A Jew is beaten, robbed and left for dead beside the road.  A religious priest and a Levite both walk by the man and do not help.  They represent the most religious of Israel’s society.  Yet, a Samaritan, who represents an outcast, stops and not only helps the man, but he goes overboard in helping him.  The Samaritan helps him as if he was helping someone very close and dear to him.  He bandages the man’s wounds.  Takes him to a safe place and pays for him to recuperate there.  He also guarantees to cover any further costs that would develop until the man is healed.  This is a love that goes the extra mile and beyond.

It is interesting that the story is intended to make the lawyer stop asking who is my neighbor and to start asking, to whom am I a neighbor.  If I was robbed and dying which of these men would I want to be my neighbor?  Who around me needs me to be a neighbor to them?  Clearly Jesus is telling the man that anyone he comes in contact with is his neighbor.  Now, of course, all the excuses, that our flesh has readily available, come rising to the surface at this point.  But, let’s hear the words of Jesus for a moment.  “Love your enemies.  Bless those who curse you.  Do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”  Why would I do that?  We do it because it is the heart of God.  God has loved his enemies and blessed them and done them good.

Now at this point some will bring up the issue of judgment.  Notice that love does not save people.  But, it does open the door for their salvation.  Yes, a day of judgment will come.  But, God has given long opportunity for those who hate him, to change and be saved.  He does so because he is not willing that they should go into eternity lost.  We can be so concerned about people paying the price, that we can forget how permanent that judgment will be.  It is coming and it is sure.  We need not fret about it.  Instead God asks us to live our life as an offer of grace and mercy to everyone around us; whether they receive it or not.  In fact, what the Samaritan does is actually easy.  He cares for a man who hadn’t done anything to him.  He is just a man with great need of something that was easy for the Samaritan to give.  But Jesus loved those who hated him enough to crucify him on a cross.  He offers salvation to the very one who wounded him.  In fact his words were, “Father, forgive them.  They don’t know what they are doing.”  To which the Father’s reply is, “Whoever believes on you shall not perish but have eternal life.”  Not all love is reciprocated, but that is not our worry.  Our call is to simply love others and to do so because this is exactly what we love about our Father in Heaven.

This story doesn’t answer how to be saved so much as it answers how the saved should live.  Whom shall I love?  Everyone!  Yet, there is another layer to this story.

Jesus is the good Samaritan (an outcast of this world who still loves the very world that hated him).  He is that rejected one who picks up those left broken, robbed, and bleeding by Satan and this world.  It is he who comes as a healer to bandage up our wounds and bring us into a safe place where we can be healed.  In fact he calls us into his home to become family with the Father and him.  This is our God and this is His heart!

Good Samaritan audio

The True Jesus: Forgiving Sinners

Now that Easter has passed, we will continue our walk through the book of Luke.  We are seeking to remind ourselves who the True Jesus is.  Our passage today is Luke 7:36-50.  If you remember, the passage before this is all about how the religious leaders had rejected John the Baptist because he was too anti-social and yet, they had rejected Jesus because he was too social.  He was a “friend of sinners.”

It seems very appropriate for Luke to share a story that clears up the truth about how much of a friend Jesus was to sinners.  In some ways He is and in others He is not.  If you are a sinner who likes your sin and won’t change for anybody (not even God or Jesus), Jesus won’t be your friend, in the end.  He will be your judge.  However, He will be the kind of friend to you who continues to try and speak the Truth into your life so that you can avoid that judgment.  Yet, Jesus did not have a problem with interacting with sinners and this was in great contrast to the religious leaders of His day.  Let’s look at the passage to clarify this issue.

Jesus Interacted With Sinners

The accusation that Jesus is a friend of sinners is very true because He was not afraid to interact with them in their lives and let them intersect what He was doing.  In this story we are going to see two very different kinds of sinners.

The first sinner is the Pharisee who we find out later is named Simon.  This Pharisee invites Jesus to his house for a meal and Jesus accepts the invitation.  We don’t know Simon’s motives, but more than likely Simon is seeking to deal with this “Jesus-problem” on his own.  If he can poke, prod, test and catch Jesus teaching error in some way then he will be hailed as a great rabbi by his peers.  If he was truly interested in Jesus no doubt he would have approached Jesus much like Nicodemus did; in secret at night.  Now before we leave this let me ask you this question.  Would you accept an invitation from a hypocritical religious leader who only wants to trap you?  The love of Christ does not reject Simon, but rather accepts the opportunity to be Truth in his life.  This man does not think that he is a sinner.  However, his sins were of a religious kind.  He was proud of his ability to do the Law.  Thus he was self-righteous around others.  He would be guilty of nit-picking on the finer points of the Law and yet ignoring the bigger issues to which it pointed.  He will also show that he is quick to judge others and yet lacked proper introspection.  Still Jesus goes to his house.

The second sinner is the woman from the town who is a sinner.  She comes into the home uninvited and imposes herself on their mealtime.  Simon normally would have had her thrown out.  But he waits and watches to see what Jesus will do.  We are not told what the woman’s sins are.  They must be something that is known publically for Simon to know.  Is she an adulterer, prostitute, or thief?  Next we can ask why she is there and crying so badly.  It seems clear that she has either heard of the teachings of Jesus by others, or she has heard Jesus teach.  He may have even spoken directly to her.  We have to be satisfied with not knowing on that account.  It is clear that she is convicted of her sin and yet thankful to Jesus for what He has taught or done for her.  The good news that even though she is a sinner, if she will repent, God still has a place for her, has filled her with tears of regret and yet tears of joy.  Notice that Jesus does not make an issue of her presence.  Instead he allows her to stay.

Their Actions Contrast Greatly

What is interesting is that both the Pharisee and the woman are breaking social custom here.  He did not show the common courtesies one would show in that day and she entered someone’s home uninvited when they were entertaining guests.  Yet, she is doing so out of love and Simon is doing so out of lack of respect.

The woman’s actions are self-effacing and humble.  She weeps and washes the feet of Jesus.  Drying the feet with her hair was something that slaves would do.  She is kissing His feet the whole time.  Then she anoints the feet with a costly, perfumed ointment.

We contrast this with the Pharisee who neglected to have the feet of Jesus washed and then has him lay at his table with dirty, stinky feet.  This is dishonoring to Jesus.  Lastly, he despises the woman and the lack of response from Jesus.  Though the judgment is not spoken outwardly, it is there nonetheless.  Most likely this despising was obvious on his facial expressions.  Either way, Jesus knew exactly what he was thinking.

Why is Jesus interacting with these two sinners?  His whole purpose is redemptive.  He wants to bring them to repentance for their sins so that they can be in fellowship with The Father in Heaven.

The Parable of Debts

Jesus tells a parable to Simon in order to help him see the other side of this situation.  Right now, Simon is invested in the position that the woman is a sinner and should be thrown out.  The parable is parallel to the people at the meal.  God is the creditor and it is the Pharisee who owes a debt of 50 denaria to God.  Likewise, it is the woman who owes a debt of 500 denaria to God.  Jesus accepts the fact that the quantity of this woman’s sin was greater than Simon’s.  However, most likely Simon didn’t believe He had any sin debt to God.  Jesus then asks the question.  If their debts are forgiven which of them will love more?  Notice that Simon is focused on the great quantity of the woman’s sin.  Jesus says that he should be focused on both of their abilities (rather lack of ability) to pay anything.

Forgiveness Yields Love

There is nothing in this world like true forgiveness.  When we know that we have done someone wrong, then come clean with them about it, and they truly forgive us…the feeling is of amazing relief, joy and thankfulness.  It invokes the desire to love that person in a far deeper way.  Yet, if we don’t think we need forgiven of something, we won’t care what the other person thinks or does.  In both cases, it will show up in our actions.  Thus the formula: Forgiveness will lead to loving actions.

Sometimes people confuse what is being said in vs. 47.  Jesus is not saying that the woman will be forgiven her sins because she loved much.  If you carefully read the passage you will see that the forgiveness comes first and the love follows.  Jesus is pointing  to her actions and saying that her great love is proof that she knows she has been forgiven of a great debt.  She does all she can at the expense of her own self-respect to honor Jesus.  Simons actions on the other hand were anything but loving.  Even the loving action of inviting someone to dinner and feeding them is tainted by the disrespect and dishonor in all of his other actions.  Thus his lack of love is proof of what?  This is the unspoken question that Jesus is putting back to Simon.  The unseen always has visible effects.  Sometimes people deceive others and even lie to themselves.  But that truth is incontrovertible.  Thus Jesus gives the woman assurance that her sins have been forgiven her.  Why?  She is forgiven by the grace of God because of her faith in the Word and Person of Jesus.  Such blessed assurance to receive from Jesus himself.  You have been forgiven (perfect tense).

This all begs the question: Was Simon forgiven?  In the parable both are forgiven.  But in reality Simon acts as if he doesn’t even have a debt.

The real question is to us who are reading this today.  What about me?  Do I recognize that I have a debt of sin to God?  Do I also recognize that I have no way to pay for my sin?  It doesn’t matter if we quantified our sin and compared it to others.  The truth is that we are all in the same boat: we don’t have anything of value that will cover our sins.  If we are to be free of that debt, God himself must freely forgive the debt.  Why would He do that?  Scripture is clear that it is by grace (freely given) we are saved through our faith in Christ and even that is not of ourselves.  If you don’t think your sin is bad enough to warrant eternity lost then you need to spend some time meditating on what it means to be a traitor and join rebel forces against the Creator, the Heavenly Father, who alone is Good.  It matters not your rank among sinners.  Only that you are one.  Praise God that He befriends sinners in order to redeem them back to Himself.  Thus Jesus says to the woman who was a sinner: Go in peace.  Go in peace with God, peace within yourself, and peace with even those who still accuse you.  I no longer have to fear the finger pointing of men like Simon when I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that God has forgiven me.!

Forgiving Sinners Audio

Judge Not!

If a non-Christian knows any part of the Bible then it is usually these two words: “Judge Not!”  Of course that is about as far as their understanding on this subject goes when it comes to the Bible.  Sadly this can be true of some who are believers.  No one wants to feel like they are being judged.  However, the biblical teaching on judging goes much deeper than those two words.

If we are truly disciples of Jesus then we will search out what our master is trying to teach us and give ourselves to living it out.  God will not be satisfied with disciples who merely quote his teachings out of context.  Our passage for this sermon is Luke 6:36-42.  However, by way of remembrance let’s look at the last part of verse 35, “For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.”  Here we see that the reason we are to love our enemies is because God wants us to be like Him.  He is being kind to those who will never thank Him and are evil.  The present tense in that verse reminds us that there is still a future judgment coming, but for now, God is being kind.

A Call To Mercy In Judgment

In verse 36 Jesus transitions from the kindness to mercy.  Mercy is a type of kindness that involves our judgments of one another.  Think about this from God’s perspective for a bit.  God knows who will continue into eternity rejecting His kindness and who will eventually turn and give thanks to Him.  He even knows these things before we do them.  We are all evil in the sense of being sinners and needing salvation.  But most do not want to be saved from it.  Yet, even then God is still kind.  He is kind by delaying an inevitable judgment.  But, even more, He acts in love and mercy towards those who will continue to be unthankful and reject His love.  Here we see that His heart is merciful.

Mercy is not a concept to pursue, as if it was mere inspiration to something nobler.  It is more than that.  It is a description of something that God is.  He is the one who will define mercy for us through His actions and words.  Thus mercy is not up for us to define.  We need to become merciful in the way that God is merciful and not as the world or our heart would define it for us.  God delays His judgment and lovingly reaches out to the lost up to the last moment before His judgment is poured out.  Therefore, we need to hold our own judgments and instead, give people the love of God even if they will never embrace the gospel of Jesus.  We need to do this right up to the last moment when they slip into eternity.

It is also important to recognize that mercy is really a facet of love.  If love is seeking the well being of another then mercy speaks to the “Why” of love.  To continue in love with anyone will involve the love of mercy.  The word mercy here literally means to be distressed at the condition of another to the point of pity and compassion.  It is a feeling that leads to a particular action of restraint on one hand and help on the other.  Thus, God is distressed at mankind’s choice to follow Satan’s rebellion, to the point of taking pity on him and having compassion.  God has restrained himself in judgment and given time, instruction, and encouragement for man to turn to him for salvation.  It is too easy for us to think we know who will change and who will not.  We tend to give mercy to those whom we think it is worth giving mercy too.  But this is not God’s mercy.  This is a twisted self-serving mercy.

Any time we talk about judgment we need to recognize that it is a word that covers many different things.  Thus, when Jesus says judge not, we should ask ourselves how he is using that word.  There is a difference between judging an outward action as bad or good and judging the heart of a person as bad or good.  If I punch you in the face, are you being judgmental to say it was wrong?  Yes and no.  Yes you are making a judgment.  But few would say you are being judgmental, but the person throwing the punch.  How about the judgment of what kind of food you like?  Is that what Jesus is talking about?  It is impossible to live life without judging what is good to you and important to you.  Yet, in verse 37 Jesus follows up the word judge with the word condemn.  It is clear that he means to further clarify the word judge.  Thus judgment here is more than an opinion.  It refers to the calling down of punishment or censure upon someone.

This gets even trickier when we take in account whether a person is a Christian or not.  In 1 Corinthians chapter 4 Paul takes the church to task for their judgments about him.  He tells them to not be so hasty to judge the value of his ministry and person until the Lord comes, “who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts.  Then each one’s praise will come from God.”  They had “judged” the quality of Paul’s ministry and motivations as a low value.  He is challenging them not to judge in that way.  However, in 1 Corinthians 5 he deals with a person in the church who is having sexual relations with his step-mother.  Instead of rebuking him, they were proud of their great grace with him.  Paul tells them that, when it comes to outward actions and outward refusal to change, they needed to make a judgment.  Yet, he points out that this is because the guy is a believer within the church.  If he was an unbeliever they wouldn’t be called to make a distinction.  Let’s read some of that passage:  “But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother, who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner—not even to eat with such a person.  For what have I to do with judging those also who are outside?  Do you not judge those who are inside [the Church]?  But those who are outside, God judges.  Therefore put away from yourselves the evil person.”  Notice that God’s Word is that within the Church we shouldn’t judge the value of a person, motivations, or heart.  But, we should judge their actions even to the point that the actions may cause us to separate from them.  Yet, we wouldn’t separate from a person who wasn’t in the church doing the same thing.  Later Paul tells them that the purpose for excommunicating a person from the church is so that they will see the error of their way and, through the destruction of following their flesh, repent.  We need to judge when we shouldn’t and not judge when we should.  We need a teacher!

So in verse 37 when Jesus cautions against judging notice that there is a present vs. future aspect.  Don’t judge and you won’t be judged later.  Don’t condemn and you won’t be condemned later.  Who is the “later judging” referring to?  Jesus is not saying don’t judge people and they won’t judge you.  Have you found that to be true?  Have you tried not judging others and they all quit judging you?  Hardly!  Jesus is warning us of God’s judgment.  What goes around is going to come around when you give account before God.  So be careful what you send around.  Also, judging is modified by the word condemn.  Jesus is not talking about making distinctions of good and bad actions.  We are to leave people’s judgment and condemnation up to God.  But that doesn’t mean we aren’t going to say something when they sin against us.

Not only will it “come around,” but it will come around in “like measure.”  Verse 38 is often quoted in regard to money.  But the context here is mercy.  What standard of judgment do I use?  Is it harsh or careful?  What do I accept as evidence against others?  Whom do I condemn and censure in life?  Be careful you will find God treating you the same way.  In the Old Testament there had to be two witnesses in order to find someone guilty.  Thus one of the 10 commandments was, “You shall not bear false witness.”  A false witness is not just a person who lies.  It is also a person who presents themselves as evidence of another’s guilt and yet we didn’t actually see it.  Even if your best friend told you, you cannot be a witness only the people who saw it.  The difficult thing in life is that we do not always have enough evidence to convict.  Yet, we often do so anyways.  Even then, sometimes the witness and or the evidence is false.  Is this how you want God to judge you, based upon hearsay and the whims of others?  Thus verse 38 is a scary verse if you think about the unmerciful.  God will bring His wrath upon us, “pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing.”

Parables Given To Explain

Now Jesus gives 3 parables to help us understand this.  I will only look at two of them today.  The first is the Blind Teacher.  A student by nature cannot see or understand things around him.  He needs a teacher, “one who can see,” to teach him.  If the teacher is “blind” they will both end up in a ditch.  They will be unable to move forward on the road to Truth.  The intended question for each student is: “Who am I following?”  Am I following my own desires and lusts?  Am I following some wise person I admire and want to be like?  Am I following the spirit of this age?  My destiny can be affected by who I am taught by.  Ultimately, no pastor is your teacher.  Jesus and the Holy Spirit are the ultimate teachers.  God does use humans to point us back to himself.  But, that is the best we can do: point people back to God and His Word to better understand Jesus.  This is exactly what the prophets of old did.

The second parable is the Speck in the Eye.  This famous parable refers to a speck of chaff, or dirt that can get in the eye.  Jesus challenges his disciples to ask the question first, “Am I able to help them currently?”  I might be a great doctor, but if I have been drinking heavily or haven’t slept for 2 days, then I shouldn’t go into surgery.  Likewise, if I am going to deal with a speck in someone’s eye, I had better be sure I can help and not just because I have the correct information.  Even deeper than this is the issue of hypocrisy.  The sins of others are always so obvious to us.  But that also means my sins are just as obvious to them.  Self-inspection must be more than a hypocritical acceptance of a beam in my eye while I point out specks in yours.  Specks easily get in our eyes without us wanting them.  But a beam is not easily moved.  If I have a beam in my eye, It probably took a lot of work and compromise to get it there.  God is not hypocritical and neither should we be.  Notice Jesus doesn’t end by saying, therefore leave the specks in everyone’s eyes.  He says, “then you will see clearly to remove the speck that is in your brother’s eye.”  Listen, it is irritating to have a speck in your eye.  It is also difficult to remove it by yourself.  Wouldn’t it be great if you knew someone who was trustworthy, gentle, and cared enough that they would help you remove it?  Let us hear the challenging words of our Lord and learn to make right and good judgments, so that, when we stand before Him, He will be pleased.

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