Back in the summer of 1994, I worked as a park supervisor through the Indiana County Youth Employment Program. It was the cushiest job in the world. I got paid to play basketball, kickball, softball, and pitch horseshoes with kids all day. My only real responsibilities were to make sure that the equipment was put away and to break up an occasion fight. The one downside to the job was that it required going to school one day a week. I got paid to go, but it was still school. It was a “career preparation” class that met every Monday and we learned how to fill out job applications, write resumes, and develop interview skills.

            During that class, our instructor Mr. Iandorio, gave us a piece of advice that has helped me get a lot of jobs over the years. He told us, “When it comes to getting the job you want, persistence pays off!”

            A few years later when I got to college, I wanted to get a job at the Solhiem Center because I loved sports and knew that this was where all of the Chicago Bulls’ opponents practiced before each game. I figured that I could most likely score some free Bulls tickets if I worked there.

            So, I marched right into the gym and asked for an application. The girl at the desk told me that they weren’t hiring right now. I was undaunted by this and asked to see the manager. The girl rolled her eyes as she phoned the office in the back. A few minutes later, the manger came out and greeted me. I introduced myself and described my athletic background and asked him for a job directly. He said, “Jason, you seem like a fine young man, but we already have a full staff. We’ll keep your application on file and if something comes available, we’ll give you a call.” Politely but boldly, I said, “Sir, I desperately need a job and I really want to work here!” He sighed and said, “I am really sorry, but we just don’t have any jobs right now. You’ll find a good job somewhere else.”

            At that moment, I thought about walking away, but the words of my career instructor entered my mind. So, I tried again saying, “Mr. Demoss, with all due respect, you don’t understand…I don’t want to work anywhere else. I want to work for you right here. Please give me a shot. I’ll do anything; I won’t let you down!” At that moment, he cracked a smile and began shaking his head and said, “Can you start on Monday?” That was the day I learned: persistence pays off!

This is precisely the point that Jesus was making to his disciples about prayer! He had just finished telling them about the consummation of the kingdom of God that would take place at his second coming. But this begged the question of what his disciples should be doing between Jesus’ first coming and his second coming. He wanted them to keep the faith by being persistent in prayer. He wanted them to know that persistence in prayer pays off! So he tells them a parable about an unjust judge and a persistent widow!

The Unjust Judge (2)

First, Jesus introduces the unjust judge. He lists his judicial credentials as neither fearing God nor respecting people, two qualities that are absolutely essential for the proper administration of justice. This guy was corrupt to the core! He had less integrity than Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump combined, and that is really saying something. This judge ignored the plight of the oppressed and turned a blind eye toward those who had been treated unfairly. He was an absolute disgrace to the justice system!

The Persistent Widow (3)

Second, Jesus introduces the persistent widow. We don’t know how old she was or how long she had been a widow, but we do know that as a widow, she was at a serious societal disadvantage. In the ancient world, widows had an extremely low social standing and often did not have means to take care of even their basic necessities. They were often the victims of injustice, which is exactly the case with this particular widow. Again, we don’t know the precise nature of the injustice she experienced, but we do know that she had some adversary who was taking advantage of her. The issue probably centered around money or property. But what this woman lacked in position and prestige, she more than made up for with her persistence. Somewhere along the line, she learned the principle persistence pays off.

The Power of Persistence (4-5)

The persistent widow took her plea before the unjust judge day after day. She relentlessly pursued the judge and repeated the phrase, “Grant me justice against my adversary!” For some time, the judge tried to ignore her; then he tried to overlook her; then he tried to disregard her; then he tried to snub her! But nothing worked! She was complexly undaunted by the judge’s rejections! Eventually, even the judge realized that this widow was never going to give up until she received justice.

The unjust judge was a pragmatic man and he finally reckoned that it would be better for him if he just gave the widow what she wanted. This would actually take less time and energy than withholding justice from her. He figured to himself, “I’ll give her what she wants to get her off my back.” A more precise translation of this Greek phase is “so she doesn’t give me a black eye.” He was literally afraid of being hand-bagged by a wounded widow! (I certainly don’t blame him. I have met some pretty feisty widows with big hand bags in my day too!) Anyway, both the judge and the widow learned the power of persistence—that persistence pays off!

Have you learned that lesson yet? If we keep asking for something long enough, sometimes we can get what we want, even if people do not really want to give it to us. Eventually they realize that it will cost them less to give in than it will to put up with our persistent pleading. Children master this strategy at an early age, because often their stubbornness is the only resource they have.

            Or consider the strange case of the rancher from Powder Bluff, Colorado, who was asked if he wanted to resubscribe to National Geographic. The computer handling the magazine’s mailing list malfunctioned and generated 9,734 separate renewal notices! The rancher couldn’t resist: he traveled ten miles to the nearest post office and sent in a check to renew his subscription, along with a note that read, “I give up! Send me your magazine!” (Ryken 247)

Persistence in Prayer Pays Off (6-8)

Once Jesus finishes his parable and makes the point that persistence pays off, he immediately applies this principle to prayer. He tells his disciples to listen to what the unjust judge says. If an unjust judge grants justice through persistent pleas, how much more will a just and benevolent God bring about justice for his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night? Will he continue to put them off? No, God will indeed grant them justice. But the question remains, when Jesus returns his all of his glory, will he find such faith on earth? Will he find such persistence in prayer?

            I suspect that every single one of us sitting here today has experienced feelings of frustration about prayer. We have either felt like God has not heard our prayer or that he doesn’t have our best interest in mind because he did not answer a prayer the way we wanted him to or expected him to. Some of us have been praying for the same thing for a long time, perhaps even many years. Some of us have been praying for a loved one to put their faith in Jesus, to overcome an addiction, to get out of a bad situation, to get the right job, to be healed from a disease, to be delivered from chronic pain, and nothing seems to have changed!

            But whatever you do, don’t ever give up! Keep on praying! Keep on crying out to God day and night! Be like the persistent widow! Keep going back to God day after day after day. Don’t become daunted or disillusioned! Hang in there! Endure! Be persistent in prayer because persistence in prayer pays off!

            Allow me to share a story with you about how persistence in prayer pays off. It is one of my favorite stories from church history. St. Monica was a great woman of God. Though her husband was a pagan, Monica prayed that her family might eventually all come to Christ. She attempted to bring her children up in the ways of the Lord, and it pained her to see them stray from the truth she had taught them. Her most promising son was given an excellent education, and Monica hoped this might be a means of his more fully reaching God.

            But he ignored his mother’s warnings against youthful lusts and pursued a life of self-gratification and immorality while continuing his education. He lived with a woman not his wife and fathered a child out of wedlock. Monica didn’t have the words to convince her son of the truth of Christianity, but she determined never to stop praying that he would turn to God.

            As her son grew older it seemed like he ran further and further away from God.  He became very successful in his career, experimented with a number of religions, and continued living a life of wild immorality by sleeping with numerous women.  At one point to mock Christianity, he even prayed, “God grant me chastity, but not yet!”  He flat out rejected Christianity!  But God was not confounded by his rejection!

            Just when his mother thought that her son had sunk to the very depths of debauchery, he joined a religious cult and fell even further away from his Christian heritage. Although Monica often found herself on the edge of despair when she thought about her wayward son, she prayed for his soul every single day, typically with tears streaming down her face. She beseeched the Lord to bring her prodigal to his senses and deliver him from the mud and mire.

            During this anguished period of prayer for her son, Monica consulted her pastor, who had himself had lived a life of decadence before he became a Christian. He declined to intervene because he observed that the young man was not open to hearing the truth. She persisted tearfully, but he refused to intervene. Nevertheless, the wise pastor consoled Monica that “the child of those tears shall never perish”, which she took as a sign from God and she constantly prayed for her son over the next nine years.

            Sometime later, Monica’s son moved to a new town where he met the pastor at the local church.  He was impressed by the pastor’s wisdom and compassion and the two of them started meeting together.  And at age 32 the young man finally became a Christian and later one of the world’s most influential pastors and theologians of all time. The boy’s name is Augustine. We know him today as St. Augustine of Hippo who lived 1500 years ago.

            In this case it took nine long years, but persistence in prayer pays off.

            In a large gathering of persons concerned about certain unfair and oppressive conditions in our society, an elderly black minister read this parable and gave a one-sentence interpretation: “Until you have stood for years knocking at a locked door, your knuckles bleeding, you don’t really know what prayer is.”

            Do you know what prayer is?

During the past 2000 years there has been a considerable captivation with the coming of the end of the world, and throughout the centuries, many people have obsessed their souls on predicting when it will come. Here are a few of my favorite false predictions:

• In the year AD 44, a man by the name of Theudas declared himself the Messiah, taking 400 people with him into the desert to greet the end of the world. I guess the world did end in a way, they were all beheaded by Roman soldiers.
• A Roman priest and theologian in the second and third centuries, predicted Christ would return in A.D. 500, based on the dimensions of Noah’s ark. I guess his measurements were off!
• The year 1000 goes down as one of the most pronounced states of excitement over the end of the world. All members of society seemed affected by the prediction that Jesus was coming back on Jan 1, 1000 AD. During December 999, everyone was on their best behavior; worldly goods were sold and given to the poor, swarms of pilgrims headed east to meet the Lord at Jerusalem, buildings went unrepaired, crops were left unplanted, and criminals were set free from jails. But, of course, nothing happened! (And for those of you who are wondering—no—Prince didn’t sing “We’re gonna party like it 999!)
• In 1526, Muntzer, a leader of German peasants, announced that the end of the world was near. After he and his men destroyed the high and mighty, the Lord would return. This belief led to an uneven battle with government troops where he was strategically out-numbered. Muntzer claimed to have a vision from God where the Lord promised that He would catch the cannon balls of the enemy in the sleeves of his cloak. The vision turned out to be false when Muntzer and his followers were mowed down by cannon fire.
• In 1809, Mary Bateman, who specialized in fortune telling, had a magic chicken that laid eggs with end time messages on them. One message said that Christ was coming. The uproar she created ended when she was caught forcing an egg into the hen’s oviduct by an unannounced visitor. Mary later was hanged for poisoning a wealthy client.
• The leaders of Jehovah’s Witnesses have falsely predicted the end of the world in 1914, 1918, 1920, 1925, 1941, 1975, and 1994. At this rate, one of these years they are bound to get it right.
• My all-time favorite false prediction is Edgar Whisenant’s bestselling book 88 Reasons Why the Rapture Could Be in 1988 (over 3 million copies were sold.) The following year he came out with another book called 89 Reasons Why the Rapture Could Be in 1989. He didn’t sell nearly as many of these!
• And don’t forget about the Left Behind hysteria of the late 1990’s, the Y2K frenzy in 2000, the Harold Camping debacle in 2011, and the Mayan Calendar malaise back in 2012!

            You are probably wondering what will be next? Well, I have to tell you, just last evening I was sitting on my back porch watching the rain and listening to Neil Young’s “After the Goldrush” when all of the sudden the wind split the clouds in front of me and a red shooting star darted across the sky and spelled “November 19, 2016” in cursive. (I sure am glad that they still taught cursive when I was in school or I would have missed God’s message.) Now God either gave me this apocalyptic vision to announce the exact day of the end of the world or to tell me that this will be the day when I shoot a 12-point buck in Vermont! The only thing I can say for sure is: “Get ready folks, this is going to be a big November!”

            But seriously, have you ever wondered about the end of the world? I suspect that we have all spent some time contemplating the coming of God’s kingdom! And the people of Jesus’ day we no different!

As Jesus continued his journey toward Jerusalem, the Pharisees asked him when the kingdom of God would come. Jesus responded to their question and then went on to explain one of the great spiritual paradoxes of all time: The kingdom of God has already come and it has not yet come!

Thy Kingdom Has Already Come (20-21)

Jesus answers the Pharisees question with the shocking statement that the kingdom of God is already in their midst. But how can this be? If the kingdom of God was had already come, why was Israel still occupied and oppressed by the Romans? If the kingdom of God was already at hand, why was there still evil and suffering in the world? If the kingdom of God was already in their midst, then why didn’t it seem like it? Maybe you have asked some of these same questions!

The problem was not with the kingdom of God; rather, the problem was with the Pharisees’ expectations about the kingdom of God. Jesus explains that the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom that cannot be seen by the human eye. The Pharisees were anticipating a physical kingdom with political, social, and military initiatives. They wanted God to send them a messiah who would liberate Israel from roman occupation and oppression and establish a new Jewish kingdom. But Jesus is not a political messiah and he did not come to establish a political kingdom. He is a spiritual messiah who came to deliver the human race from sin and its consequences. He came to suffer and die for society’s sins and offer us eternal life! But contrary to popular belief, eternal life doesn’t begin when we die; it begins now!

Since Jesus is the king of kings and God in human flesh, the initial manifestation of the kingdom has come with his ministry. His point is that kingdom hope is present with his presence!

Do you see it? The kingdom of God is not just the future hope of heaven, but it is a present hope for all who put their faith in Jesus. It is a better life on earth right now! Many of the benefits and blessings of the kingdom are available to us right now. When we submit ourselves to the king, we can enjoy forgiveness from all of our sins, freedom from the guilt and shame of our pasts, and a great measure of joy, peace, and hope despite our present circumstances. We have the presence of the Holy Spirit to lead our lives, guide our decisions, and comfort our souls through times of difficulty.

            Now notice what I am not saying: I am not saying that you will never face physical frustrations or bear financial burdens or experience emotional anguish. As long as we live in this world, we are subject to the effects of the fall. But when we put our faith in Jesus Christ, we receive a down payment of the benefits of the kingdom right now! And the degree to which we participate in the life of the kingdom determines the level of benefit we receive!

            Therefore, friends, if you have not yet realized that Jesus is the King of Kings and he is sovereign over the whole earth, do it right now! The kingdom of God already in your midst—it is within your grasp! Come, follow Jesus, and enjoy the benefits of the kingdom right now!

Thy Kingdom Has Not Yet Come (21-37)

Well, after Jesus told the Pharisees that the kingdom of God was already among them, he turned to his disciples and announced that the fullness of the kingdom of God has not yet arrived. Although Jesus inaugurated his kingdom at his first coming, it won’t be consummated until his second coming. After he suffers, is rejected, dies, is resurrected, and goes back to heaven, he will appear a second time. And when he returns, it will be universally obvious that we will not need anyone to tell us where he is. It will strike like a bolt of lightning that flashes across the sky: sudden in appearance, obvious in it brightness, and powerful in its display of the glory of God. (Ryken 235).

But it will also come at an unexpected time, just like in the days of Noah and Lot. Do you remember these stories from the Old Testament? In the days of Noah, people were doing every day activities such as eating, drinking, and marrying, and then the flood came and destroyed them all because they were not prepared.

Likewise, in the days of Lot, people were going through all of the ordinary motions of life: eating, drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. It was business as usual until fire and sulfur fell from heaven and destroyed them all. They were consumed because their souls were not prepared for the judgment of God. They just went about their lives, never stopping to think that judgment was coming.

            The same thing happened on September 11, 2001, when Muslim terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center in New York City. It was just an ordinary September morning, with people doing all of the things that people usually do: dropping off their children at school, riding the subway to work, checking their e-mail, getting a cup of coffee, and heading into a meeting. No one knew what terror was about to strike, or that many of them would lose their lives.

Jesus said that the exact same thing will happen at the second coming. People will be doing business as usual. They will be sitting down for dinner, walking the dog, mowing the lawn, watching television, and putting the children in bed. They will be loving, fighting, serving, and sinning, and doing all of the things that people do? (Ryken 238)

            Have you ever wondered what you will be doing when Jesus returns? Are you prepared for Jesus’ Second Coming? Are you spiritually ready for his return? Most people are so preoccupied with what is happening today that they hardly ever think about the kingdom to come! I hope that we won’t be among them!

So, what does one need to do to make sure he or she is prepared for Christ’s return? Jesus answers that question in verses 30-36. In essence, he is saying that we should follow him with reckless abandon. We should follow him and never look back for anything! He even uses Lot’s wife as an example of this. Do you remember what happened to Lot’s wife when she looked back at Sodom and Gomorrah? She turned into a pillar of salt! She was looking back toward her old ways! She hadn’t fully let go of her former life! And she suffered the consequences!

Jesus reiterates another great kingdom paradox in verse 33 when he says: “Whoever tries to keep his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will preserve it.” If we try to save our lives—in other words, if we hold onto our position in the world, with all of the possessions it has to offer—we will end up losing life itself, as well as everything we have worked so hard to gain. On the other hand, if we give ourselves away—if we commit our whole lives to Jesus Christ, we will keep them forever. If we let go of what earth has to offer, we gain only what heaven has to give!

Have you been holding onto the things of this world? Are you obsessed with getting ahead in this life? Are you trying to preserve your present existence? If so, stop it! Give yourself completely to Jesus before it is too late! A day is coming when two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left! A night is coming when two people will be lying in a bed; one will be taken and the other left. Vultures will gather around the bodies of those who do not survive the final judgment! Don’t be one of them!

               So, when will the world come to an end? Will it be November 2016? I have no idea! But I do know that the kingdom of God has already come and its benefits are available to us right now! And I also know that the kingdom is coming in the future, and some will enter it and some won’t! Where will you be?

When Jennifer and I were college sweethearts in Chicago, we would periodically pack a picnic basket and drive north along the shore of Lake Michigan until we got to the town of Evanston, IL, the home of Northwestern University. The large boulders along the shore provided a romantic setting for us to watch the sun set and listen to the waves crash against the rocks below us. It was a beautiful spot.

            Little did we know at the time, but this was the exact location of a famous shipwreck 140 years earlier. Around 2 A.M. on September 8, 1860, the steamship Lady Elgin collided with the schooner Augusta, and hundreds of people drowned. But there was a young Northwestern ministerial student by the name of Edward Spencer, who waded into the water to rescue passengers from mortal peril. Despite suffering numerous injuries from the floating wreckage, he repeatedly dashed into the raging surf. Seeing his deteriorating condition, others tried to stop him, but on he went. By the time the ships had gone completely under, he had saved 17 people.

            Edward Spencer never sought praise or recognition for his heroism; he believed that he was just doing his duty. But he was so badly injured that he spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair, he never finished his studies, and worst of all, none of 17 people he rescued ever returned to thank him.

            This tragic story is remarkably similar to the one that we just read for us from Luke’s gospel. Both stories exhibit what I like to call the “Two Hands of Gratitude.” On one hand, we should never expect gratitude! On the other hand, we should always express gratitude!

Never Expect Gratitude (7-10)

As Jesus continued to teach his disciples about the kingdom of God and their service to it, he employed an agricultural parable about a slave doing his duty. He poses a hypothetical situation where a slave is either plowing a field or tending sheep, he would not tell the slave to sit down and eat until he first fixed supper for his master. The slave would eat only after his all of his work was completed. The question in verse 9 highlights the point of the parable, “Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do?” The anticipated answer to this question is “No!” The servant should not expect reward, praise, or even gratitude for just doing what he was expected to do!

Then in verse 10, Jesus applies this parable directly to his disciples. He tells them that when they serve in the kingdom of God, they should consider themselves unworthy servants and should not expect to receive gratitude. After all, they have just done their duty!

            This is precisely the attitude that Jesus wants his followers to exhibit today. He wants us to be unworthy servants who labor for our master and do the work that he has called us to do regardless of whether or not we receive gratitude. He wants us to be like Edward Spencer who was so focused on fulfilling his duty that he never thought about what he would get in return. 

Now, in theory, sounds reasonable and doable. That is, until you actually serve or sacrifice for someone and they never thank you. This is a challenge that penetrates the very core of our souls. Over the years, I have heard people say things like, “I’m never going to do anything for that ungrateful SOB again; he never even said thank you when I helped him.” Or “can you believe the nerve of that woman? After everything I did for her, she never even sent a ‘Thank You’ card!”

            Whether it’s in your home, in your workplace, or even in the church, it’s hard to consistently serve with no expectation of gratitude. It takes tremendous humility, but it can be done! Therefore, based on Jesus’ teaching here, I say to you: Stop whining! Serve faithfully! And never expect gratitude!

Always Express Gratitude (11-19)

Well, sometime later when Jesus was heading south toward Jerusalem, he stumbled upon an opportunity to teach the other side of gratitude. While he was walking along the border between Galilee and Samaria, he came upon a colony of lepers standing outside a village. Leprosy was a chronic and highly contagious skin disease which had no cure in the ancient world. Lepers were forced to leave their homes and families and were sentenced to live in leper colonies that were often located in caves. They were forbidden to enter villages or come into contact with healthy people, so they were reduced to positioning themselves along roadways in order to beg for food and charity. Even worse than the physical pain and itching was the social ostracism and religious stigma associated with the disease; leprosy was generally considered a punishment for sin or a curse from God.

When the ten lepers saw Jesus approaching, they maintained their distance but shouted at the top of their lungs, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.”  They had obviously heard about Jesus; they knew his name, something of his divine nature, and his reputation for incredible compassion and miraculous healing. Their cry for mercy is really a plea to be healed from the dreadful disease. It was request for restoration!

Well, Jesus certainly lived up to his reputation! He didn’t prescribe any skin creams, herbal ointments, or essential oils; he simply told them to go and show themselves to the priests. (According to the Law of Moses, priests were the public health inspectors who decided whether someone clean or unclean, and they determined if someone was fit to return to the community.)

So, when Jesus told them to go to the priests, he was announcing that they would be clean.

All ten lepers took Jesus at his word and immediately obeyed his command. As they walked toward the village, their chaffed skin became clear and moist, their contorted fingernails became straight, and their deformed faces became recognizable again. As their sorrow turned into celebration, their walk turned into an all out sprint to the synagogue. And who could blame them? Their hearts were filled with joy at the thought of the priest pronouncing them clean. Then they could return to their loved ones.

As they ran to the priest, verses 15-16 tells us “one of the them, when he saw he was healed, turned back, praising God in a loud voice; and he fell on his face at Jesus’ feet, giving him thanks.” Wow, what an audacious display of gratitude! What a dramatic demonstration of thanksgiving! This Samaritan knew that he would have plenty of time to go to the priest, but he didn’t know if he would have another chance to thank Jesus for restoring his life. He had a true heart of thanksgiving!

As the man worshipped at Jesus’ holy feet, Jesus makes a ridiculously obvious observation: “Were not ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?” Ooh, what a penetrating remark! What a powerful rebuke. The nine lepers were religious enough to ask Jesus for what they wanted! They had enough piety to find the priest when they were cleansed! But they didn’t have enough time to turn around and thank Jesus for their gift of new life. They took Jesus for granted, treating him like a Cosmic Santa Claus instead of the Suffering Messiah.

Every time I read this story I get the same awkward and embarrassed feeling I get at a birthday party when my child opens a gift from someone and says, “Ooo, I didn’t want that!” And all of the other parents look at you. They don’t say anything, but you know what they are thinking, “Hmm, I wonder where his kid gets his ingratitude.” This is a parent’s worst nightmare. What can you even say in that situation? I suppose it is just best to look them in the eye, come clean, and say, “I’m really sorry, he must have picked that up from his mother.”

            Seriously though, this story ought to make us feel a little bit embarrassed. I just want to grab those nine by the collar and say, “You naughty little lepers! Where is your gratitude? Jesus just gave you a new life and you can’t even return to say ‘Thank You!’” I am infuriated by these lepers until I think about all the things people have done for me and I have forgotten to thank them. I am indignant toward these nine until I stop to think about everything Jesus has done for me and the times that I have failed to thank him. The truth is that to some extent, we are all guilty of ingratitude.

            Some people may ask, “Why should I thank Jesus—what has he ever done for me? Why hasn’t he healed my disease? Why did he let my loved one die?” Questions like this are selfish to the core—they all assume that God owes us something. God doesn’t owe us anything! What we should say is: Father, thank you for your grace! Thank you for so many years of good health! Thank you for the time with my loved one! And most of all, Jesus, thank you for loving me so much that you willingly sacrificed your life on the cross so that my sins can be forgiven!

            But the truest test of our gratitude is not giving thanks in times of peace and plenty, but it is in times of anxiety and uncertainty. Can you give thanks when the economy is struggling and you lose your job? Can you give thanks when milk prices are low and you can’t pay your bills? Can you give thanks when there is conflict in your marriage or family? Can you give thanks when you’re diagnosed with cancer or facing some daunting disease?

            Theologian Lewis Smedes once said, “I have never met a grateful person who wasn’t a happy person.” I think that is true!

Columnist Erma Bombeck was a breast cancer survivor. Back in 1992 she wrote: An estimated 1.5 million woman are living today after bouts with breast cancer. Every time I forget to feel grateful to be among them, I hear the voice of an eight-year-old girl named Christina, who had cancer of the nervous system. When asked what she wanted for her birthday, she thought long and hard and finally said, “I don’t know. I have two sticker books and a Cabbage Patch doll. I have everything!” 

            Little Christina had the same heart of thanksgiving as the leper who returned to Jesus! How about the rest of us?

            As we go forth to take the light of Jesus Christ into a dark and broken world, may we go as unworthy servants! Let us fulfill our duty by doing the work God has called us to do. And never expect gratitude, but always give gratitude!

            Allow me to read a poignant poem about the allure of monetary wealth. This was written by the Scottish-Australian poet Angus Young:

Tailored suits, chauffered cars
Fine hotels and big cigars
Up for grabs, up for a price
Where the red hot girls keep on dancing through the night
The claims on you
The sights are on me
So what do you do
That’s guaranteed
Hey little girl, you want it all
The furs, the diamonds, the painting on the wall.

A French maid, foreign chef
A big house with king size bed
You’ve had enough, you ship them out
The dollar’s up-down, you’d better buy the pound
The claim is on you
The sights are on me
So what do you do
That’s guaranteed
Hey little girl, you broke the laws
You hustle, you deal, you steal from us all

Come on come on, love me for the money
Come on, come on, listen to the money talk

            Indeed, money talks! If you don’t believe me, just ask former NBA Basketball star Latrell Sprewell who demanded a bigger contract from the Minnesota Timberwolves back in 2004. He told the media that he was disgusted with his one-year, $14.6 million contract. When a reporter asked him why he didn’t try to help his team win an NBA championship first and then worry about getting a better contract, Mr. Sprewell said, “Why would I want to help them win a title? They’re not doing anything for me. I’m at risk. I have a lot of risk here. I got my family to feed.” Sprewell, who was 34 years old at the time, described the team’s latest offer, reported to be worth between $27 million and $30 million over three years, as ”insulting.” (Ryken 168)

            Whatever you do, please don’t judge Mr. Sprewell for snubbing his nose toward a measly $14.6 million contract! After all, he was at the top of his game and he just wanted to keep food on his family table. He just wanted to assure his family’s financial security and you certainly can’t blame a man for that!

            I wonder just how much it costs to feed a family these days? Furthermore, I wonder how much money a person needs to feel financially secure? Do you ever think about financial security? Most Americans do! As a matter of fact, many people obsess over it!

            Money is a topic that is at the heart of discipleship! And Jesus made his final journey toward Jerusalem, where he would eventually meet his fate on the cross, he took his disciples aside and gave them a little talk about money: a money-talk! In Luke 15, Jesus dealt with wrong attitudes toward people; chapter 16 is about wrong attitudes toward money and material possessions.

A Shrewd Manager (1-8)

Jesus begins his teaching on monetary stewardship b telling a parable about a shrewd manager. This parable is probably the most misunderstood of all of Jesus’ parables. It is difficult to interpret. At first glance it seems like Jesus is advocating selfishness and unethical business practices, but upon closer examination I believe that we will discover what Jesus really meant.

The story starts with a rich man who hired a manager to run his businesses. After a period of time, the manager faced accusations of mismanaging the business. We don’t know if he was guilty of misappropriation of funds, embezzlement, or mishandling the employees, but we do know that somehow he was “wasting” his master’s possessions.

When the master brought the manager into his office and confronted him about the accusations, the manager admitted his guilt. He didn’t even try to deny wrongdoing; he openly confessed to cooking the books. The master glared across his desk and, in Donald Trump style, declared, “Your fired!”

Needless to say, someone who was out of a job in those days wasn’t about to get any absurd severance package or even collect unemployment benefits. There certainly wasn’t going to be any Wall Street “golden parachute” for this immoral executive, and this posed a serious problem for him. He was caught between the proverbial rock and a hard place because he was a white collar guy now trying to live in a blue collar world. He wasn’t strong enough to dig and he was too proud to beg. So, what did he do? He came up with an idea for how he could land on his financial feet.

One by one, he went to all of his master’s debtors and unilaterally reduced their debts. (Four-hundred gallons of olive oil and two-hundred bushels of wheat represented more than a year’s wages for the average earner.) He was hoping to win their gratitude so that they would provide room and board for him when he needed it. His scheme was definitely dishonest, but it sure was shrewd.

The manager’s deception makes the master’s response all the more surprising: “The master commended the dishonest manager for his shrewdness” (Luke 16:8). We would expect the master to be furious, and he probably was, but he admired how resourceful the manager had been in planning for his unemployment. Though he could hardly commend the man for his lack of integrity, when it came to shrewdness, he had to give the man his due. (Ryken 171)

Jesus used this unorthodox parable to teach three principles of monetary stewardship: first, use your temporal/material wealth for eternal/spiritual purposes, second, be faithful with little so you can receive something better, and third, do not let your money be your master.

Eternal Relationships (8b-9)

Jesus concludes the parable with the lesson: “For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.” He recognizes the fact that Christians tend to be less shrewd when it comes to worldly matters; but he wants them to be shrewd with worldly resources for spiritual gain. Specifically, Jesus wants his disciples to use their money to build relationships with people that will last through eternity. This is what we might call “money-for ministry” or “gospel-centered giving!

So, what does this look like in practical terms? The possibilities are endless! A Christian’s faithful financial giving of their local church is a good place to start. The weekly “tithes and offerings” is what supports the gospel ministry in a particular community. Also, faithful giving to other local missions and foreign missionaries builds relationships with non-believers and extends the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life. Other possibilities include giving our money toward disaster relief, feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, and helping the poor. It can also be as simple as using our money to buy lunch for a friend who is going through difficult time. As I said, the possibilities are endless!

            Are you using your worldly resources in such a manner that there will be persons in eternity who will be glad to receive you when we get there? Or will you meet people in heaven who you could have helped on earth but didn’t? Are you using your money to establish eternal relationships?

Faithful with Little (10-12)

Sometimes Christians say they would give more to the poor and spread the gospel if they only had more to give. “I don’t have that much right now,” people say, “but if I had a million dollars, I would give so much to the church and to my favorite ministry.” Such talk can be cheap, but there is an easy way to find out if it is true. The way to see what you would do if you had more money is to look at what you do with what you already have!

In verse 10, Jesus says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.” This is where we find the second principle of monetary stewardship: be faithful with what you have so that you can receive something better.

This principle applies to all of our resources: time, talent, and treasure! If we are not faithful with what God has already given us, why would he trust us with more. Or if we are not faithful with worldly resources, why would God trust us with spiritual resources.

I am always amazed by the people who are constantly asking God for more. They are often the same people who have squandered what God has already given them. Likewise, I am amazed by the person who feels entitled to a raise or a promotion when they are notoriously late and lazy at work. On the flip side, faithfulness in the little things leads toward greater responsibility and rewards.

            I remember learning this principle back in high school and college. My football coach, Mr. Dettorre always preached the proverb: If you do the little things well, the big things will take care of themselves!” He was right! When a team practices well, they play much better in the game!

            I employed this principle in my college job at the Solhiem Center, the athletic facility where all of the visiting NBA teams practiced before they played the Chicago Bulls. I was blessed to get that job and I worked my tail off. Even when my regular work was finished, I tried to find little things to do to improve the facility. My boss noticed this, and promoted me to a head supervisor during my freshmen year. Some upper classmen were angry that I got promoted over them and I remember my boss telling them, “If I can’t trust you in the little things, how can I trust you in a leadership role!

            How about you? Are you faithful in the little things? Are you faithful with the resources God has given you? Are you being faithful with your time, talent, and treasure?

Mastering Money (13)

Well, Jesus builds his third monetary principle to a crescendo with the dramatic declaration: “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” By this, Jesus means that people either master their money or their money masters them. It is impossible to serve God and be a follower of Jesus Christ and still worship money and material possessions.

Do you know anyone who has spent their life chasing the so-called “almighty dollar?” Do you know people who have allowed money to dominate their hearts and material possessions to enslave their souls? The pursuit of wealth has caused many people to ignore God, undervalue family, walk over people, act unethically, and engage in a host of other destructive behaviors! This is why Jesus says a person must know who he or she will serve, for when a choice has to be made, a person cannot serve both. Everything here calls on us to choose God! (Bock 421) Who do you worship? God or money?

The essence of Jesus’ money-talk is this: If you don’t master your money, it will master you! If we don’t master our money by using it for the glory of God, then it will master us, and we will end up bankrupt for eternity! (Ryken 169)

            Yes, it’s true, money talks! What is your money saying?

Back when I was in high school, I spent my summer evenings pitching and playing first-base on a men’s beer league softball team. Our club was young, inexperienced, and flat-out terrible! We lost most of our games, but we sure had a lot of fun. I remember one steaming hot Saturday afternoon when we lost our first two games of a double elimination tournament. Our shirts and ball caps were drenched with sweat and my teammate Jeff said, “Let’s head to my farm and go swimming in the pond.” We immediately took off!

            I jumped out of the car and sprinted through the pasture toward the pond, stripping off my shirt, socks, and shoes as I ran. I flew off the dock and cannonballed into the cool water. The rest of the guys followed right behind me. As I came up out of the water and turned my head, I watched my friend Doc jump in without taking his glasses off. I tried to stop him, but it was too late. And sure enough, when his body came to the surface, his glasses were gone. He was so eager to dive in that he completely forgot about his glasses. He didn’t even realize he did this until I told him.

            He immediately panicked because it was his only pair and he was as blind as a bat without them. To make matters worse, he had recently been kicked out of his parent’s house and he didn’t have any money to replace them. I remember thinking to myself, “There is no way we will ever find his glasses! We’d have a better chance finding a needle in a haystack!” The pond was at least 14 feet deep and it was as black as cup of coffee. Even if we had been courageous enough to open our eyes in that water, we couldn’t see anything. So, we repeatedly dove down to bottom and fished our hands through the mud and manure and hopelessly searched. But to my great amazement, about an hour later, my friend Cory came up holding Doc’s glasses.

            I don’t know if I have ever seen anyone so overjoyed. Doc got out of the water, put his glasses back on, and shouted, screamed, and danced a jig. The rest of us laughed hysterically as we watched his spontaneous spectacle of jubilation. For the next 15 minutes, he was the happiest man on earth.

            Have you ever experienced the joy of finding something that you had lost? Your wallet? Your keys? Your passport? Or perhaps, something even more precious? There is indeed a great sense of relief and joy when we find something that was lost.

In today’s Bible text, Jesus speaks about this joyful phenomenon of finding something that was lost, but he applies it directly to human souls! You see, the scribes and Pharisees were getting on Jesus’ case for welcoming tax collectors and “sinners,” a term that describe a multitude of morally degenerate people on earth. As usual, they were more concerned with maintaining their own purity and pious reputation than they were with helping people.

And it is certainly true that Jesus hung out with sinners; he was not afraid to spend time with people who were monetarily dishonest, ethically corrupt, or sexually promiscuous. How could he share God’s love with sinners or call them to repentance if he wasn’t willing to spend time with them? So, Jesus tells three “lost and found” parables to teach the religious leaders about God’s great love for sinners. We will look at the first two parables today, and save the third one for another day.

A Lost Sheep (3-7)

Jesus begins with the parable of the lost sheep. He paints a hypothetical picture of a shepherd counting his hundred sheep and one comes up one short. Sheep are notoriously dumb animals—they don’t listen well, they frighten easily, and they get lost all the time. (It’s no wonder that the Bible often compares human beings to sheep.) The wellbeing of the sheep is dependent upon the shepherd’s care. If a sheep went missing, a good shepherd would leave the rest of the flock in pasture with a responsible family member or neighbors and go looking for the lost sheep himself, and that is precisely what this shepherd does.

In this case, the shepherd’s search for the lost sheep is successful. He is elated to discover that the sheep had not fallen off a cliff or had been torn to shreds by a wild animal. Then, as shepherds often did with injured or missing sheep, he hoisted it on his shoulders and carried it all the way home. When he returned, his joy compelled him to throw a party in celebration of his recovered sheep, saying to his neighbors and friends, “Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep.”

As he concluded the simple story, he looked directly into the Pharisees eyes and delivered a scathing application, saying, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” This sarcasm-laced line cut right to the heart of the Pharisees problem: they looked down on sinners and put their hope in their own self-righteousness. Jesus wanted them to know that everyone needs to repent, sinners and saints alike. And all of heaven rejoices when a sinner repents and comes into the fold of God.

            This ancient parable speaks to our modern lives in a variety of ways. First, it reminds us that we are all sinners and that we all need to repent. Let us not be like the Pharisees who tried to get to heaven by living a moral life and maintaining a high level of purity. Many people today do not even see the need to repent. They either dismiss sin altogether or they think that their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds and they will go to heaven because they were relatively good people. This is so wrong! We cannot do it on our own, no matter how hard we try! We are all lost sheep and we need Jesus, the Good Shepherd, to get us home! Have you really repented from your sins? Have you given your heart to the Good Shepherd?

            Second, this parable shows us that God pursues us when we wander away. What a comfort it is to know that Jesus loves us and cares about us so much that he actually comes after us when we go astray. He doesn’t just leave us to fall off the cliff of disastrous decisions or to be devoured by the wolves of the worldly desires. Have you wandered away from the fold of God? Have you been busy doing your own thing? Stop running away! Allow yourself to be rescued by the Redeemer!

Third, this parable serves as our ministry model for relating to the lost. Far too many Christians prefer to hide in their little bubbles of righteousness and purity than to risk getting their own hands or souls dirty by spending time with tax collectors and sinners. Too many Christian are concerned about becoming polluted by the world or influenced by non-believers that they don’t even have any friends who aren’t Christians. Sadly, I know some Christians who don’t even know any non-Christians! How will you bear witness to the good news of salvation if you don’t know any sinners? Jesus wants us to be good shepherds and go looking for lost sheep!    

A Lost Coin (8-10)

Well, that is probably enough for a whole sermon right there, but Jesus went on and told a second parable about a lost coin. This time he pictures a woman who has ten silver coins and loses one. He asks the rhetorical question, “Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it.” This may not seem like a big deal at first glance. Why would she go to such an effort to find a simple lost coin?

Well, this was not a simple quarter under a couch cushion or a dime under your car floor mat; the silver coin pictured here was a “drachma” which was the equivalent of a full day’s wages. This would be more like misplacing a $100 bill; you would spend some time looking for it! Just as the shepherd called his friends to rejoice with him over finding his lost sheep, so the woman calls her friends and neighbors to inform them about the recovered coin and to share in her joy.

Can’t you hear just this conversation? She immediately got on the switchboard and shouted, “Ethel, you’ll never believe it! I found my lost coin! Woohoo! Call all the girls and tell them that we’re going to The Abbey for dinner tonight! We’ll even break out a bottle of wine!”

In the same way, Jesus applies this domestic tale to real life. God seeks the lost sinner with the same passion as the woman searches for her lost coin. And when a lost sinner is found and repents, there is great rejoicing in the presence of angels in heaven.

            Friends, this is the way Jesus looks for lost sinners. The reason Jesus came to earth in the first place was to seek and to save what was lost. This is why he became a man, why he performed miracles, why he preached the kingdom of God, and why he died and rose again. Jesus was looking to find.

            Even now he is still conducting his search, looking in every corner of the world for sinners he died to save. Jesus has sent his gospel out into the world—the gospel that says that everyone who trusts in his cross and believes in his empty tomb will be saved. He has sent his church into the world to befriend sinners, to eat with sinners, to share life with sinners, to love sinners, and to share the good news with sinners. Jesus will keep searching and he wants us to keep searching for every last one of the precious coins that belongs in his pocket. If you are lost and waiting to be found, Jesus is looking for you. He is searching and seeking to save you.

            Are you able to sing with the great hymn writer?

                        Amazing grace how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me.

                        I once was lost and now am found, was blind but now I see.

If you haven’t been found yet, I pray that you would before you leave church this morning. And if you have already been found, I pray that your search will now begin!

Ding Cuimei, a peaceful and devout Christian woman, was killed April 14, 2016 (just three weeks ago) when she and her husband Li Jiangong stood in front of a bulldozer poised to destroy their home, where they had been hosting a house church in central China’s Henan Province. A government-backed company had sent the demolition crew to the church after a local developer wished to take the property. One member of the crew allegedly said “Bury them alive for me…I will be responsible for their lives.” The bulldozer pushed them into a ditch and covered their bodies with dirt and debris. Li was able to dig his way out, but Ding was not.

            Local Christians said that the government departments in charge of the area were not present to oversee the demolition. Li said that police took an unusually long time to arrive after the murder was reported. And so, the persecution of Chinese Christians continues into the 21^st century.

            This is just one of the many modern martyr stories from around the world. Rather than standing by and allowing an oppressive government illegally bulldoze her beloved church, Ding Cuimei was willing to sacrifice everything, even her own life, to protest religious persecution and prove her faithfulness to her Lord Jesus Christ.

            When we hear stories like this, it compels us to contemplate what we would do if we were ever placed in a similar situation. It makes us to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, “What am I willing to give up to be a faithful follower of Jesus?” This is the question that Jesus forced his followers to face as he continued his journey toward Jerusalem. Before anyone makes a decision to follow him, they must count the cost of discipleship.

The Allure of Popularity (25)

Luke sets the context for Jesus’ piercing sermon by telling us that “now great crowds accompanied him.” By this time in his ministry, Jesus had become quite popular—I guess this is what happens when you heal people and perform miracles. But Jesus knew that this popularity would be short lived. He knew that many of the same people who followed him today would turn their backs on him tomorrow or as soon as life became difficult. He understood the allure of popularity, but he was not impressed by it.

            How about you? Have you been apprehended by the appeal of popularity? Some people desire popularity so badly that they will do anything to get it. Some teenagers, college students, and even adults become so obsessed with being popular that they are willing to sacrifice their moral character or ethical principles to gain it or keep it. But Jesus never did this! He never sacrificed his integrity for the sake of gaining a large following. He never sugar-coated his speech or compromised his message to build a bigger church. He never caved into the pressures of political correctness to keep the crowds coming.

            Jesus always spoke the truth, even the difficult truths that people did not want to hear. He delivered some difficult words, even when he knew that they might turn the masses away. Such is the case with Jesus’ hard sayings in this passage where he lays out the cost of discipleship!

The Cost of Family (26)

Jesus addresses the crowd with the utterly shocking words, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate their father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be my disciple.” Our immediate reaction to these words is “Woe, wait, what! Did Jesus really say that? How can this be? This contradicts everything Jesus has taught us about loving our neighbor.” This sentence just doesn’t seem to make any sense!

Well, before you get too confused or upset, we must realize that Jesus is employing a classic case of hyperbole. Do you remember what hyperbole is? It’s an extreme exaggeration to make a point. It’s like when people say, “I’m so hungry I can eat a cow!” or my personal favorite “Pastors only work one day a week!” These are obviously ridiculous exaggerations.

The idea is not that we should hate our family, but in comparison to Jesus, if we are forced to choose, the winner of that choice must always be Jesus. It is a matter of prominence and priority. To be a true disciple of Jesus, one must love him more than anyone else!

            In this verse, Jesus is asking us, who we love most? Do you love Jesus more than your parents—your spouse—your kids? If not, then you are not a true Christian yet! Jesus demands complete loyalty, even over one’s family. If you were forced to choose Jesus or your family, who would you choose? This is part of the cost of discipleship!

The Cost of Life (27)

Likewise, Jesus continued his hard teaching when he said, “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” Everyone in the ancient world knew that crucifixion was the Roman’s most common form of execution. Carrying your cross does not mean wearing a pretty gold cross pendant around your neck; it is an ancient metaphor for suffering and death.

Jesus makes it plain that anyone who is not willing to follow him into suffering and death is not a true Christian. People who love their own lives more than Jesus are not real disciples, since trusting in him may require martyrdom. Becoming a disciple requires a willingness to give up your own life

            Now thank God that most Christians throughout the ages have not had to sacrifice their lives for Christ, but we must remember the countless Christians who were slaughtered in the Roman arenas, burned at the stake, beheaded by ISIS, and Ding Cuimei who was buried alive in China. God will most likely not require most of us to die a martyr’s death, but we must be willing if he calls!

As I preached this message at the Franklin Carriage House this past Tuesday afternoon, one of the sweet old ladies looked up and said sincerely, “I think I am a Christian, but I’m not sure if I could give up my life like that. I told her that none of us can ever be totally certain of what we would do in a moment like that, but today is the day to make this decision in our hearts and souls!” Then she said, “Yeah, that’s right! I have some soul-searching to do.”

            Are you really willing to give up your life for Christ? Do you love him enough to make the ultimate sacrifice for him as he made the ultimate sacrifice for you? Are you willing to carry your cross and follow all the way? Have you counted the cost of being his disciple?

Counting the Cost (28-33)

To intensify his point, Jesus uses two hypothetical examples. One is of a man who builds a watchtower over his land or city. Such an undertaking is expensive, and he must be sure he can afford such a project. Thus, it is best to estimate the cost before starting to build. How embarrassing to start construction and then not have enough money to finish it. All of us probably know about building projects that started but never finished because of a lack of funds. Jesus applies this point to discipleship: Don’t follow him until you have counted the cost! Make sure you can follow through before you begin!

Likewise, he pictures a king assessing the strength of his army. It would be disastrous for an army of 10,000 to battle against an army of 20,000 soldiers. The king would be wise to negotiate peace instead of marching to sure defeat. Likewise, people would be wise to consider the cost of following Jesus before they make a hasty decision to follow him.

            This is really the point that Jesus is driving home to us. Being a true Christian is not easy. We don’t just recite a sinner’s prayer and ask Jesus into our hearts when we are 8 years old and then coast through life with some half-hearted commitment. True discipleship is hard! It means counting the cost and following Jesus in every aspect of our lives! It means doing what is right even when everyone around us is doing what is wrong! It means being willing to be ostracized by your family and friends because of your faith. It means being willing to take a bullet or be bulldozed for Jesus, if he calls us to it!

            Have you counted the cost of following Jesus? Are you really willing to sacrifice everything for his sake? Perhaps some of us here today have some serious thinking to do!

Jesus concludes his teaching on discipleship with an analogy about salt. He says, “But if salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again. It is neither fit for the soil nor the manure pile; it is thrown out.” So, a disciple who is not a true disciple is in danger of judgment!

            Let me conclude by telling you one of the most compelling stories I have ever heard about true discipleship:

Perpetua and Felicity were part of a group of five Christians apprehended in Carthage in 203 A.D. for the practice of the faith.  Perpetua was a well-educated twenty-two-year-old married mother with a nursing infant, and Felicity was her servant, herself seven months pregnant.  Together they and their companions were imprisoned and roughly treated by the soldiers as they awaited their martyrdom.

            The group was baptized in those early days of their arrest, but for Perpetua, the joy of the sacrament was clouded by anxiety over her family.  She did not have the support of her father, who visited her often and pleaded with her to denounce her faith for his sake and for her infant son. 

            Perpetua by this time was in great pain from not having nursed her baby for several days, and she was greatly distressed over her son’s lack of nourishment.  She endured these trials until it was arranged that the baby be allowed to stay with her in the prison.  And there, Perpetua writes, “the dungeon became to me as it were a palace, so that I preferred being there to being elsewhere.”

Her father, who was not a Christian, came to her in prison and saw an easy way for her to save herself. He entreated her simply to deny she was a Christian. She said, “Father, do you see this vase here? Could it be called by any other name than what it is?” “No,” he replied. “Well, neither can I be called anything other than what I am, a Christian.”

            He threw himself down before her and kissed her hands. “Do not abandon me to be the reproach of men. Think of your brothers; think of your mother and your aunt; think of your child, who will not be able to live once you are gone? Give up your pride!”

            Perpetua was touched but remained unshaken. She tried to comfort her father—”It will all happen in the prisoner’s dock as God wills, for you may be sure that we are not left to ourselves but are all in his power”—but he walked out of the prison dejected.

            Perpetua and Felicity were dressed in belted tunics. When they entered the stadium, wild beasts and gladiators roamed the arena floor, and in the stands, crowds roared to see blood. They didn’t have to wait long. Immediately a wild bull charged them. Perpetua was tossed into the air and onto her back. She sat up, adjusted her ripped tunic, and walked over to help Felicity. Then a leopard was let loose, and it wasn’t long before the tunics of the Christians were stained with blood. But this was too slow for the impatient crowd, which began calling for death for the Christians. So in the year A.D. 202, Perpetua, Felicity, and friends were lined up, and one by one, were slain by the sword.

            Perpetua and Felicity counted the cost of discipleship! They loved Jesus more than their parents, spouses, and even their nursing babies! They loved Jesus more than their own lives! And they were willing to carry their crosses all the way to the end!

            Have you counted the cost? Will you become a true disciple of Jesus Christ?

The Pharisees never watched Francis Ford Coppola’s film The Godfather Part 2, but they must have been familiar with an early form of Michael Corleone’s famous words “My father taught me to keep my friends close, but my enemies closer” because that is exactly what they did with their archenemy Jesus Christ. Even though they were skeptical of his miracles, perturbed by his teachings, and infuriated by his ever increasing popularity, they kept him close by inviting him into their homes for dinner parties. By engaging him in direct discussion, they hoped to discover some character flaw in him that they might exploit to their advantage. To his face, they acted like friends, but behind his back they were plotted his demise.

This is the third time Luke has depicted Jesus as an invited guest at a Pharisee’s home (7:36-50; 11:37-54), and on each occasion Jesus turned the tables on them and exposed the character flaws of his esteemed hosts. Needless to say, these scenes made for some extremely uncomfortable table talk. Let’s sit down at the table and watch how Jesus teaches the Pharisees about love and humility!

Love over Legalism (1-6)

Again, we find Jesus having dinner with the Pharisees on the Sabbath. This was probably the afternoon meal before they went to the local synagogue to worship God. As they were eating, a man suffering from dropsy is there, a painful condition where the body swells from the retention of fluids. In ancient Israel, this condition was often considered a form of God’s judgment. The Pharisees probably brought this man to dinner as a trap to see if Jesus would heal on the Sabbath, but he saw right through their sanctimonious scheme. Jesus cleverly took the initiative and asked the Pharisees if it was lawful to heal such a person on the Sabbath.

Now we must remember that the Pharisees were legalists—that is, they took the original commandment to ‘Keep the Sabbath day holy’ and heaped a bunch of their own laws on top of it. According to their narrow construal, Jews weren’t supposed to anything that could be considered work on the Sabbath. So, when Jesus posed this question about healing, they remained silent.

As the Pharisees balked, Jesus tenderly took the man’s hand, healed him from his debilitating condition, and sent him on his merry way. Rather than rejoicing when they saw the man’s swelling disappear, the Pharisees huffed and puffed like a child who just got sent to the time out chair. Then Jesus made the obvious point that if one of their children or oxen fell into a well on the Sabbath that they would do whatever they would immediately pull it out. Jesus is once again insisting on the priority of love over legalism!

No reasonable human being would say to their kid, “Hey, Cindy Lou, how did you get down there in that well? Hold your breath for a while and we’ll come back and get you after church!” No one in their right mind would say to a trapped ox, “Sorry Big Boy, we’ll have to wait and pull you out after the sun goes down.” In our neck of the woods in northern Vermont, if your cows get out on a Sunday morning, please round them up instead of coming to church. We’ll give you a day off!”

Now instead of applying this principle of love over legalism to our daily lives again (this is the third time we have seen Jesus heal someone on the Sabbath in the presence of the Pharisees), I want to ask you all why you think Luke continues to tell essentially the same story and apply the same principle? Any guess? Luke is trying to show that, even after all of these miraculous demonstrations, the Pharisees still refuse to believe Jesus’ message. Sin is blinding, and a hard heart is tough to break. Despite numerous opportunities, the Pharisee’s fail to see what God is doing. (Bock 392)

            Isn’t it amazing how the Pharisees repeatedly saw Jesus’ miracles and heard his teachings, and yet they refused to believe in him? But unfortunately, the same phenomenon happens today. There are many people who attend church week after week, sing hymn after hymn, and hear sermon after sermon, and still do not make a commitment to Jesus Christ. They go through all of the outward religious motions, but they resist receiving Jesus’ love and grace into their hearts. Why do people do this?

            First, many people don’t think their sin is a very big deal. They say, “O sure, I’ve committed a few little sins, but surely God would not punish me for that!” Second, people are like the Pharisees and have been deceived that doing good deeds or being a religious person will protect their souls from hell. They say, “Well, as long as my good deeds outnumber my bad deeds, I will be OK.” Third, people resist the grace of Jesus Christ because they simply do not want to submit their lives to anyone other than themselves. They want to call all of their own shots, be the master of their own universe, and the determiner of their own destiny. In short, they don’ want anyone telling them how to live their lives or that they have to repent from their sin.

            How about you? Many of you have been in church for a while! Has the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ penetrated your soul yet? Have you relinquished control of your life? Have you truly repented from your sin and committed your heart to Jesus Christ? Or are you just going through the motions?  

Humility over Arrogance (7-14)

As Jesus engaged in this awkward dinner discussion with the Pharisees, he noticed how the other guests kept jockeying for the best seats at the table. This juvenile display was indicative of their selfish and arrogant hearts. In the ancient world, a dinner table was usually in a horseshoe shape, and the master of the house would sit in the center and the guests would customarily be seated in order of social importance from the center out to the ends. As Jesus often did, he took an imminent occasion and used it as an object lesson. In this case, he used this misguided game of musical chairs to teach the Pharisees and guests about true humility.

In Jesus’ parable, he pictures a table at a wedding feast where many prominent people have gathered. He tells them not to take the place of honor because a more important person might have been invited. This would lead to the awkward and embarrassing situation where the master asks you to give your seat to a more distinguished guest and you will have to take the lowest place at the end of the table. On the other hand, if you willingly take the lowest seat, the host will notice you and move you to a better seat and you will be honored in the presence of all the guests.

In verse 11, Jesus clinches his pertinent parable with the provocative proverb: “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

A truly humble person is hard to find, yet God delights to honor such selfless people. Booker T. Washington, the renowned black educator, was an outstanding example of this truth. Shortly after he took over the presidency of the prestigious Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, he was walking in an exclusive section of town when he was stopped by a wealthy white woman.

            Not knowing the famous Mr. Washington by sight, she asked if he would like to earn a few dollars by chopping wood for her. Because he had no pressing business at the moment, Professor Washington smiled, rolled up his sleeves, and proceeded to do the humble chore she had requested. When he was finished, he carried the logs into the house and stacked them by the fireplace. A little girl recognized him and later revealed his identity to the lady. 

            The next morning the embarrassed woman went to see Mr. Washington in his office at the Institute and apologized profusely. “It’s perfectly all right, Madam,” he replied. “Occasionally, I enjoy a little manual labor. Besides, it’s always a delight to do something for a friend.”

            She shook his hand warmly and assured him that his meek and gracious attitude had endeared him and his work to her heart. Not long afterward she showed her admiration by persuading some wealthy acquaintances to join her in donating thousands of dollars to the Tuskegee Institute.

            This type of humility is so rare these days. We live in a time when people demand their rights, feel entitled to everything, and are offended by anything. We live in a day where bragging, boasting, and self-promoting are the norm. It is a sad day when self-confidence is a chief virtue and self-sacrifice is considered an abnormality. Our politicians, athletes, and celebrities model this type of behavior for us, but Jesus shows us a better way.     If there was ever a man who had the right to brag or self-promote, it was Jesus. But he humbled himself by leaving the splendors of heaven and coming to a sinful earth and sacrificing himself on a wooden cross for sinners like you and me.

            So, how does your humility compare to your arrogance? Do you have a high opinion of yourself? Do you ever feel like you deserve a better seat at the table? Do you ever expect preferential treatment? Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but she who humbles herself will be exalted!

            This proverb doesn’t just apply to practical life situations, but it also refers to the final judgment. This is what Jesus was really trying to impress upon the dinner guests. For people who exalt themselves—who think they are good enough to stand before God on their own merits—the final judgment will be utterly humiliating. People like the Pharisees, who believe that they deserve heaven because of their heritage or good works, will not get what they think they deserve; they will get what God thinks they deserve.

            If we want to be exalted in heaven, we must humble ourselves on earth—we must humble ourselves by repenting from our sins and surrendering our lives to Jesus Christ! Have you humbled yourself yet?

            As Jesus brought this portion of his table talk to a conclusion, he looked at the host and said:

When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (12-14)

Now, by this, Jesus is not prohibiting us from having friends or family members over for dinner, but he is calling us to serve those who cannot repay our kindness—the poor, the disabled, and the disenfranchised! If we only serve people who will repay our hospitality or give us what we want, there is no real sacrifice, which means there is no love or humility. But if we are gracious and generous to people who can never return the favor, then we exhibit true love and humility!

            Even though the Pharisees set this table as a trap for Jesus, he turned the table on the them and used this dinner discussion to confront them with the two chief virtues of his kingdom: love and humility! The Pharisees had nothing to say! What do you say? What will you talk about when you sit down at your table today?

One bright evening as the sun was sinking on a glorious world a wise old Hen flew into a tree to roost. Before she composed herself to rest, she flapped her wings three times and crowed loudly. But just as she was about to put her head under her wing, her beady eyes caught a flash of red and a glimpse of a long pointed nose, and there just below her stood Master Fox. “Have you heard the wonderful news?” cried the Fox in a very joyful and excited manner.

            “What news?” asked the hen very calmly. But she had a queer, fluttery feeling inside her, for, you know, she was very much afraid of the Fox.

            “Your family and mine and all other animals have agreed to forget their differences and live in peace and friendship from now on forever. Just think of it! I simply cannot wait to embrace you! Do come down, dear friend, and let us go into the forest together to celebrate the joyful event.”

            “How grand!” said the Hen. “I certainly am delighted at the news.” But she spoke in an absent way, and stretching up on tiptoes, seemed to be looking at something afar off.

            “What is it you see?” asked the Fox a little anxiously.

            “Why, it looks to me like a couple of Dogs coming this way. They must have heard the good news and—”

            But the Fox did not wait to hear more. Off he started on a run.

            “Wait,” cried the Hen. “Why do you run? The Dogs are friends of yours now!”

            “Yes,” answered the Fox. “But they might not have heard the news. Besides, I have a very important errand that I had almost forgotten about.”

            The Hen smiled as she buried her head in her feathers and went to sleep, for she had succeeded in outfoxing the fox.

            The Fox and the Hen is one of my favorites of Aesop’s Fables! As with all of his fables, this one has a moral. It is this: The trickster is easily tricked, which is a good life lesson to remember for the ages.

            Most of you probably don’t know this, but the Bible has its own fox and hen story, and it is found right here in Luke 13:31-35. Let’s take a look!

The Hen Outfoxes the Fox (31-33)

As Jesus journeyed to Jerusalem during the last weeks of his life, he prepared his disciples for ministry and taught the crowds about the kingdom of God. Just as he was finishing his teaching about heaven’s narrow door, a brood of Pharisees approached him with the warning, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” On the surface, this advice is seemingly compassionate, but remember who the Pharisees were; they were the religious leaders of the day and they hated Jesus because his teachings, miracles, and popularity threatened their authority. Even though their words appear to have Jesus’ best interest in mind, they were really using this as a threat to scare Jesus away. This was really a clever ploy on their part to rid themselves of Jesus and his calls for repentance without doing anything that would place culpability at their feet. In essence, these Pharisees were trying to outfox Jesus!

But the Pharisees did not understand who they were dealing with—they did not know that Jesus is God in human flesh and that he saw right through their pathetic ploy. They didn’t realize that intimidation tactics don’t work on Jesus! They didn’t recognize that it is impossible to trick, manipulate, or outfox the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Jesus exposed their scheme with the command “go and tell that fox ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow and the day following, and the third day I finish my course. Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.”

Nothing could stop him from completing his ministry or mission on earth. No obstacle could delay him, no enemy deter him, no threat defeat him. His mission was more important than life itself. With unwavering courage, he was determined to do the work he was called to do. Like an athlete running a race, a champion completing a course, he would keep going to the end.

            Dick Hoyt is a man who knows what it takes to finish a course. He completed more than 80 marathons and more than 200 triathlons. That in itself is an accomplishment that few people can match. But Dick Hoyt did all of this while carrying his son with him: pushing him down the street while he runs, pulling him through the water on a dinghy while he swims, hauling him on a bicycle as he pedals. Dick Hoyt’s son was born disabled, unable to control his limbs. But ever since he said, “Dad, when we are running it felt like I wasn’t disabled anymore,” Dick Hoyt has worked hard to finish every race.

            This story reminds us of the commitment Jesus had to finish his course, and carry us all the way to salvation. Jesus was telling Herod that he would keep on healing, keep preaching, keep casting out demons, and keep bearing the burden of our sins until his saving work was done. He had to continue along the road to Jerusalem, where he would meet the same fate of the prophets that went before him. (Ryken 55)

            Jesus’ commitment to his mission serves as an inspiration for us to remain committed to his mission in this world. Jesus has called all of us to preach the good news of the kingdom, feed the hungry, care for the poor and needy, and to promote justice and ethics wherever we go. But sometimes the devil tries to deceive us into walking away—we get distracted, intimidated, frustrated, or just weary in our work for the Lord. Sometimes we just feel like running away! But just as Jesus remained focused on his task, so should we remained committed to ours! May we continue to journey together with Jesus and labor for the redemption of souls in this sinful world!

The Hen Cares for Her Chicks (34-35)

Well, Jesus knew what awaited him in Jerusalem. And as he pondered it, sorrow welled up in his soul and he whispered the words, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it.” The emotion and pain of his declaration comes from acknowledging Jerusalem’s reputation for rejecting and murdering prophets. Of all cities, Jerusalem, because of its privileged position in Israelite history, should have recognized God’s messengers, but it was blinded by selfish ambition.

Jesus speaks in the first person for God, as is typical of a prophet, and explained how he longed to care for and protect Jerusalem as a hen cares for her chicks. Is there a more tender image than this? Jesus yearned to gather all of the lost and broken people into his loving arms. However, the chicks did not want to stay in the nest, an image of Israel’s unwillingness to receive God’s salvation. The tragic result of this is isolation from God and his protective care. One of the consequences of rejecting God’s will is that people get what they ask for. In this case, “the house” which represents the city of Jerusalem would be forsaken. This consequence eventually came to pass when Jerusalem was demolished by the Romans in A.D. 70. (Bock 382)

What happened to Jerusalem will happen to any nation, city, church, of individual who refuses to find safety in Christ. If we will not come to him, we will be forsaken by God, and eventually be destroyed. Jesus extends his tender wings and offers us salvation, but many people today, just like the city of Jerusalem, reject him. People reject him for all sorts of reasons. Some believe that they can get to heaven their own way or by being a good person. Others reject him because they are skeptics; they refuse to believe in anything they cannot see with their own eyes. But in my experience, the primary reason why people reject Jesus is because they don’t want to repent and give up their sin.

I recall a conversation that I had with a woman a number of years ago. She was devastated by the death of her husband, and in her grief, she found comfort and peace in Jesus Christ. She started attending church regularly and experienced significant spiritual growth for a few years. But eventually, she stopped coming to church and she wouldn’t return any of my calls. When I finally tracked her down, she told me that she had a new boyfriend and that they started shacking up together. And then she said rather bluntly, “I’m not coming to church anymore because I don’t want to be a hypocrite. I know what the Bible says—I know what I am doing is wrong, but this is what I want to do! Church has been great, but I want to live my life my way!”

            This was precisely Jerusalem’s problem! The people wanted to live their lives their own way, and they didn’t want God or anyone else telling them what they could and could not do. They were simply not willing to repent—they would rather wallow in their sin than take the Savior’s offer of salvation!

            Look at the final words of verse 34 again—“and they were not willing!” So, what about you? Are you willing to repent from your sin and embrace salvation and shelter in the tender wings of the Savior? Are you willing to commit your life to the one who stretched out his hands and hung on the tree for you?

Allow me to conclude this sermon where Jesus concluded his. He said, “You will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” He was speaking here about his second coming at the end of history. On that great day everyone will know that Jesus is the Savior, including everyone who rejected him. Every eye will see him, every knee will bow before him, and every tongue will confess his name as Lord. His second coming will mean salvation for many, but damnation for those who never received Jesus by faith. He invites us to come under his sheltering wing before it is too late? Have you done it? Will you do it? (Ryken 62)

            I pray that Jesus will not have to make the same lament for you that he made for Jerusalem. Rather, I pray that you will say “Blessed be the name of the Lord!”