Sermon and Worship Resources

Mark 2:18-22 · Jesus Questioned About Fasting

18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?"

19 Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? They cannot, so long as they have him with them. 20 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them, and on that day they will fast.

21 "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. If he does, the new piece will pull away from the old, making the tear worse. 22 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins."

Wining and Dining with Jesus

Mark 2:18-22

Sermon
by Donald B. Strobe

Doesn’t it seem sometimes that the people who are NOT religious are a whole lot more fun than the people who are? At times the church suffers more at the hands of its friends than at the hands of its enemies. It suffers more from the rigidly righteous than from the blatantly irreligious. There are those who in their self-righteous zeal appoint themselves as monitors of other people’s morals and delight in pointing their fingers at the failings of everybody but themselves.

Let’s face it: there have been a good many unattractive religious people. In his book “America,” Alistair Cooke tells of a time in the early days of our country when there was a Native American king who would not renounce his traditional religion to embrace the Christianity of the conquistadors, even when they burned him at the stake for his obstinacy. As he felt the first fires lap his body, he was for the last time offered the rite of baptism. He refused, saying he feared that, if he accepted, he might “go to heaven and meet there only Christians.” (Alistair Cooke, AMERICA, New York: Alfred Knopf, 1874 p. 36.) I can sympathize with the king. I have known some pretty unattractive people who call themselves Christians...haven’t you? People whose obnoxious and self-righteous zeal turns you off.

I. JESUS HAD THE SAME PROBLEM. The Gospels give the impression that Jesus felt much more at home with the outcasts of the world: a motley group of tax-collectors, unorthodox religious folk, and women of easy virtue, than He did with the more pious God-fearing folk. His harshest words were usually reserved for the religious people, not the irreligious ones. And not only does Jesus not condemn these people whom the world condemned, He invited them to dinner!

I gather from the Gospels that dinner with Jesus was often a rather rowdy and raucous affair. His meals were constantly interrupted by people coming and going, people trying to show their love for him, or their contempt for him, people asking him questions and trying to pick an argument. It is a wonder the poor man ever got anything to eat, at all!

For one thing, the wrong kinds of people kept showing up for dinner. As William Willimon says: “One of the things which angered Jesus’ critics was his choice of dinner companions. The Gospels tell us that they were a motley crew: tax collectors, Pharisees, harlots, common fishermen, assorted women.” (SUNDAY DINNER, Nashville: The Upper Room, 1981, p.45) This upset the Pharisees no end. Now, let’s be fair to the Pharisees. They are the victims of “bad press” in the New Testament. Actually, they were good people. St. Paul was proud of the fact that he was a Pharisee. Jesus admonished His students to listen to the Pharisees. (Matthew 23:2) He said, in effect, “Don’t do as they do, do as they say.” They had a great idea: the commandments of God must be put into practice in one’s daily life. Nothing wrong with that. The problem is: they thought that they had done it perfectly! And they couldn’t stop criticizing others who, in their opinion, fell short.

Mark’s Gospel tells us that one of the first people to respond to Jesus’ preaching about the Kingdom was a man named Levi. Now, Levi’s job was that of tax collector...not a popular profession in the best of times, and these were not the best of times. Tax collectors were considered treasonous, for they gave their loyalty to a foreign occupying power. They often skimmed their profits off their neighbors. You can see why they were unappreciated! The Pharisees peered in the doorway and saw the kind of people with whom Jesus was eating and they were scandalized! “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners,” they asked. (Mark 2:16b) Now, “sinners” here does not necessarily mean persons guilty of moral turpitude. It also referred to those who did not keep all the ritual laws of the strict Pharisees. The same people who got angry at Jesus for the company He kept, would be the ones we have been reading about in the newspapers recently who are rioting in Jerusalem over the fact that some movie houses choose to stay open in the Holy City on Friday nights, the Eve of the Sabbath. (God save me from fundamentalists of whatever stripe, be they Christian, Jewish, or Muslim!) To eat a meal with someone in Biblical times meant to have communion (fellowship) with that person. Therefore, one could never be too careful with whom one ate. It was a sign of breaking down barriers, offering forgiveness and love.

II. When criticized for His dinner companions, Jesus said, “THOSE WHO ARE WELL HAVE NO NEED OF A PHYSICIAN, BUT THOSE WHO ARE SICK.” (Mark 2:17) I’ve always wondered whether there was not a touch of sarcasm in Jesus’ words. Perhaps the sickest of all are the people who imagine that they are well.

In Jesus’ day in the Holy Land a clear distinction was made between people who were called “the People of the Land” and the “People of the Law.” The people of the land were the common people who did not observe all the rules and regulations prescribed by Pharasaic piety. The super-strict, ultra-orthodox people were forbidden to have anything to do with these common people at all. They could not speak to them, travel with them, be seen in their company or do business with them. William Barclay says, “To marry a daughter to one of them was as bad as giving her over to a wild beast!” (Barclay, DAILY STUDY BIBLE, MARK, Phila: Westminster Press, 1956, p. 50)

In the eyes of the Pharisees, the man who committed adultery and the man who ate pork were in the same category. If we do not realize this, we may not understand the criticism which the hyper-orthodox leveled at Jesus’ students when they complained that they did not wash before their meals.(Mark 7:1-4) That seems to us to be a reasonable request...to wash before meals. How often have we parents sent our children back to wash their hands before eating.But this “washing” had nothing to do with cleanliness. In Jesus day, the person who did not wash his hands the prescribed number of times in a very special and complicated manner before eating was not considered “kosher,” and that neglect was considered as serious as theft or murder. Jesus’ guests at table no doubt included many whose sins were serious. But it also included many whose sins, from our standpoint, seem trivial.

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (v. 2:17) Now, that almost sounds as though Jesus had no use for good people. Not so. A clearer understanding might indicate that in the eyes of Jesus, there are no good people. As Pascal said, there are only two groups of people in the world: the righteous who know that they are sinners and the sinners who believe that they are righteous. The point is not that Jesus had no use for good people. But the point is that the one for whom Jesus can do nothing is the person who thinks himself or herself so good that nothing needs to be done! Theologian Karl Barth once wrote: “Christians who regard themselves as big and strong and rich and even dear children of God, Christians who refuse to sit with their Master at the table of publicans and sinners, are not Christians at all.” (Karl Barth, THE CHRISTIAN LIFE, trans. Geoffrey W. Bromiley (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1981., p. 80) Strong words, but they are echoed by our Lord Himself. “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” Jesus tended to be inclusive, rather than exclusive. That is what got Him into trouble.

Some churches practice “closed communion.” That is, only those who are bona fide members of that particular church may partake. That has always appeared to me as sort of a spiritual snobbery. I am glad that for Father Wesley, the “Holy Communion was not a self-congratulatory meal for saints, but rather a life-changing meal for sinners.” (Willimon, op. cit., p.5.) Wesley spoke of the Lord’s Supper as not only a”confirming ordinance,” (bringing strength to those who are already saved,) but also a “converting ordinance,” conveying God’s grace to those who most need it. As we watch Billy Graham’s crusades on television, and see people streaming forth from their seats in large stadiums to come and accept Jesus Christ as their personal Saviour, we may not realize that such a practice is relatively new: dating from the revivalists of the late 19th century. In the 18th century, when Wesley preached and people responded with a desire to enter into the Christian life, he invited them forward to receive the Eucharist. After all, Wesley reasoned, who ate with Jesus? Was it not the sinners. Some were harlots, some were church leaders; some knew they were sinners, others did not. But they were all sinners, nevertheless, and Jesus invited them to dinner.

Down through the centuries, following the practices of Wesley, Methodists have practiced “open communion.” The only requirement is a willingness to admit one’s need of God’s grace. There is an old story of an old man who went to church every Sunday. At the moment of Communion he always felt acutely embarrassed. There was something about the whole service, especially the prayer of confession, that made him feel very unworthy. As he knelt at the altar to receive the bread, his hands always trembled as he reached out for it. He hesitated, but the minister, knowing his mood and his reservations, smiled at him and whispered, “Take it man, it’s for sinners.” It is! Thank God! John Wesley’s brother Charles put it into a hymn: “Come, Sinners, to the Gospel Feast; let every soul be Jesus’ guest; Ye need not one be left behind, For God hath bidden all mankind.” Number 102. “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners,” said Jesus. “That’s why, wherever you find Me, you will find them.”

III. THEN THERE WAS THAT PROBLEM ABOUT FASTING. The disciples of John the Baptist made a big deal about it; Jesus’ disciples did not. And that, too scandalized the Pharisees. With the stricter Jews of Jesus’ day, fasting was a regular practice. In the Jewish religion there is only one day in the year when there is a compulsory fast: Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. But the stricter Jews fasted on two days of every week. Mondays and Thursdays. Now, fasting is not as serious as it sounds for it lasted only from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and after that normal food could be eaten. (Barclay, op cit., p. 52) To His critics, Jesus said simply: “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is still with them?” Only Mark adds: “As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast.” (v. 19b) The image of Christ as bridegroom, which is used often in the New Testament, (Matt. 25:1-13; John 3:28-30; Eph. 5:21-33; Rev. 19:9) denotes joy in the presence of the Lord, and celebration of the fact that the Kingdom had already come into their midst.

This whole incident of wining and dining with Jesus tells us that the characteristic Christian attitude toward life is supposed to be joy. That comes, I know, as a surprise to many people. It did to me, when I first learned of it. The Presbyterians have a relatively new “Worshipbook” which contains this sentence at the beginning of the service of Holy Communion: “Friends: This is the joyful feast of the people of God!”(Phila: Westminster Press, 1970, p. 34) One Presbyterian pastor wonders at this and says: “Feast! Joyful! What do people do at a feast? The only meals I ever eat which are as quiet as the Lord’s Supper are meals in which everyone is mad at everyone else; or meals I eat all alone!” (Roland P. Perdue, “A Messed Up Table,” Master Sermon Series, Cathedral Publishers, 1979, p. 95)

Sometimes we speak of “celebrating” the Holy Communion. But the atmosphere at most communion services I have attended or presided over is more funereal than celebrative. And, of course, if the good news of the Gospel be true, even our funerals ought to be celebrative! Joy does not depend upon one’s circumstances. What happens to us is not as significant as how we react to what happens to us. I remember seeing a banner in a church which expressed it well: “Alleluia Anyhow!” The Presbyterian pastor to whom I just referred says “I am not suggesting that each celebration of the Lord’s Supper be accompanied with conversation and laughter. I am just suggesting that it is not correct for each celebration of the Lord’s Supper to be accompanied by silence and apparent joyless gloom, either! This is, after all, a victory celebration, a banquet in which we toast the Lord who was knocked down but who got back up and walked into the sunrise of resurrection and, thus, into our dark nights and brighter tomorrows!” (Ibid., p. 96)

Of all the services of Holy Communion over which I have presided or attended, only one or two stand out in my memory. It is not the solemn and serious ones, but the ones that were distinguished by a certain degree of levity. When I was Associate Pastor in Sturgis many years ago, it was Christmas Eve, and the Senior Minister and I were presiding. Near the end of the service, the Senior Pastor whispered to me: “I think we are going to run out of elements. You count the cups, I’ll count the congregation.” I did. He said: “There are 33 people left to commune, how many communion cups do you have? I said “16.” He said, “Get some more grape juice.” I said, “Where?” He said, “That’s your problem.” I tried to excuse myself unobtrusively, and went to the church kitchen where the attendants had carefully prepared the cups and bread cubes. It was closed down tight. What to do? Then I remembered that I had a half-empty bottle of grape juice left from a communion which I had a couple of months previously. What had I done with it? Oh, yes, I put it in (of all places) my filing cabinet. (Probably filed under “J.” for juice, instead of “WS”for wine.) Sure enough, there it was. But the cap was stuck on tight. How to open it? I reached into my pocket and extracted a pair of fingernail clippers. With that device I succeeded in prying off the cap. “Poof!” it popped off, grazing my cheek, leaving a visible scar, and smoke poured out of the neck of the bottle. I then poured the stuff into some little cups (ignoring the instructions in the hymnal which say: “The pure, unfermented juice of the grape shall be used.” In an emergency, you have to go with what you’ve got!) I hurried back into the sanctuary. The pastor looked quizzically at me, as though I had just performed the miracle of the leaves and the fishes. And, as it turned out, the choir got the old juice, and they seem to have survived. On the way up the aisle, the pastor whispered, “Where did you get the juice? “I’ll tell you later,” I said. After the service, when I told him what happened, he doubled up with laughter. I said, a Scripture verse occurs to me. “What is it?” “You have saved the best wine until the last!” (John 2:10) And so it goes. Let us be serious at Communion time. But not TOO serious. Wining and dining with Jesus is supposed to be fun. Alleluia, anyhow!

Dynamic Preaching, Collected Words, by Donald B. Strobe

Overview and Insights · The Bridegroom (2:18–22)

Timing is everything, especially when it comes to fasting or feasting. While the bridegroom is present, the guests should feast rather than fast. Who is the “bridegroom”? In the Old Testament, God is the bridegroom (Isa. 61:10; 62:5…

The Baker Bible Handbook by , Baker Publishing Group, 2016

Mark 2:18-22 · Jesus Questioned About Fasting

18 Now John's disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came and asked Jesus, "How is it that John's disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees are fasting, but yours are not?"

Commentary · Jesus Questioned about Fasting

That Jesus’s disciples do not follow the examples of the disciples of John the Baptizer and the disciples of the Pharisees, both of whom were considered morally and ritually exemplary, is a further cause of offense to his contemporaries (2:18–22). The Pharisees, a lay movement that came into existence during the Maccabean revolt (168–146 BC), staunchly resisted the accommodation of Jewish life to prevailing Greco-Roman ideals. Pharisees, who constituted perhaps only 1 percent of the Jewish population in Jesus’s day, exercised an influence far beyond their numbers because of their uncompromising allegiance to the sovereignty of God, their belief in the resurrection of the dead and in the existence of angels and demons, and their scrupulous adherence to both the written torah and the oral traditions founded on it. Jesus stood in formal agreement with most of the foundational beliefs of Pharisaism, although he emphasized fulfilling the intent rather than simply the letter of the law. It is not surprising, therefore, that the Gospels record more exchanges of Jesus with the Pharisees than with any other school of first-century Judaism.

Although fasting was technically required of Jews only on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29–30; Mishnah Yoma 8:1), Pharisees typically fasted on Mondays and Thursdays of every week (Didache 8:1; Babylonian Talmud Ta’anit 12a). The Pharisees understood true religion to consist of fasting (i.e., what is not done), whereas in this story Jesus understands it as feasting (i.e., what is done). Indeed, Jesus depicts himself as the groom at a wedding feast. This imagery again implies divine Sonship, for in the Old Testament God is often considered the bridegroom and husband of Israel (Isa. 5:1; 54:5–6; 62:4–5; Ezek. 16:6–8; Hos. 2:19). While the bridegroom is present, fasting should be suspended, although it may be resumed when the bridegroom is “taken from them.” The root of Mark’s Greek verb here is used in the Greek version of Isaiah 53:8 to describe the vicarious death of the Suffering Servant.

The significance of Jesus as the bridegroom is conveyed in two crisp metaphors or parables about a new patch that shrinks and tears an old garment (2:21), and new wine that bursts old wineskins (2:22). Jesus is like the new patch and new wine: he cannot be merely integrated or appended to existing structures, including Judaism, torah, and synagogue. Like new wine, Jesus requires new “wineskins” of transformed hearts and transformed communities, such as the church.

The Baker Illustrated Bible Commentary by Gary M. Burge, Baker Publishing Group, 2016

Big Idea: In Jesus the new age has come, and this new reality cannot be immersed into the old ways. Jesus the Son of Man has authority over the Torah and is Lord over the Sabbath.

Understanding the Text

The opposition to Jesus intensifies with each of the episodes in this section. The central story among the five in 2:1–3:6 tells why the conflict is occurring (2:18–22): in Jesus a new era has arrived, one in which he must challenge the old traditions. Those who cling to the old (symbolized by the issue of fasting) have been superseded, and this new kingdom reality cannot be subsumed under the old ways. This then leads to the final two episodes, which are controversies over Sabbath observance (the first two, 2:1–12, 13–17, center on forgiveness of sins and acceptance into the new community).

Interpretive Insights

2:18 John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees were fasting. These two groups of disciples represent the old order, still observing traditional practices. The only required fast was on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:29–34 [most agree that Jesus and his disciples probably observed this but not the weekly fasting]), but there were other times of fasting connected to traumatic experiences in the life of Israel (Zech. 7:5; 8:19, both linked to the exile). The Pharisees fasted twice a week (Luke 18:12), on Monday and Thursday, and John’s disciples likely followed this practice. Fasting generally signified repentance for sin or grief over death or illness.

2:19 How can the guests of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? These persons (literally, “sons of the wedding hall”) could be the groomsmen or the guests, but Jesus likely means it more widely of all the guests attending (his followers). The question is formulated to expect a negative answer: “The guests cannot fast, can they?” Jesus’s analogy is very apt. Fasting expresses mourning and sorrow, while weddings center on intense joy. Weddings lasted seven days, with an abundance of good food and wine.1As Yahweh is the bridegroom of Israel, Jesus is the groom of the new kingdom community, the church.2

2:20 on that day they will fast. The two metaphors centering on the time when the groom is “with them” and when he “will be taken from them” clearly refer to Jesus’s time on earth and to his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. Jesus’s followers experience the joy of the kingdom that he has brought with him, so it is time for celebration. There may be double meaning in “taken”: taken from this world through death and taken up into glory by God. But the former is central, and Jesus certainly is referring to his coming violent death (“on that day” = his crucifixion). The later church took this literally and fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays.

2:21 a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. The two parables of 2:21–22 state the same thing through separate pictures: placing something new in something old. The message is the incompatibility of the new covenant with the old covenant. The old garment has already shrunk and is inflexible. The new patch sewed on will shrink when washed, and the thread will tear both the old cloak and the new cloth. Both will be destroyed. The same is true with Jesus’s new kingdom message.

2:22 new wine into new wineskins. Joel Marcus says it well: “The necessity of preserving, undiluted by compromise with the structures of the old age, the eschatological power that has broken into the world in Jesus’s advent, is summed up by the battle cry that ends the passage: ‘New wine into new wineskins!’”3Leather wineskins were soft and flexible when new, but over time they became dry and brittle. New wine is unfermented, and as the wine expands while fermenting, it produces cracks in the dry skin, so that the wine leaks out and the wineskin is of no more use. Both are lost. The new wine of Jesus’s kingdom teaching must be encased in the new covenant reality, the new community and ways that Jesus is establishing.

2:24 what is unlawful on the Sabbath. The fourth of the Ten Commandments (Exod. 20:8–11; cf. Lev. 23:3) said that the Sabbath (sunset Friday to sunset Saturday) was to be a day of rest, with no work whatsoever done. However, the question of what constitutes work vexed the Pharisees, so they developed the oral Torah to give specific examples of what was prohibited; these included harvesting grain on the Sabbath.4Here the disciples are walking through a field plucking some wheat for a snack (this was allowed as long as one did not use a sickle). But for the Pharisees, Jesus’s disciples broke their law, since it was harvesting on the Sabbath.

2:25–26 David . . . ate the consecrated bread. This occurred in 1 Samuel 21:1–6, as David, future king and messianic forerunner, was fleeing from Saul.5He and his men ate the sacred loaves reserved for the priests (Exod. 25:30; Lev. 24:5–9). The priest freely gave him the bread, and God never judged David, so Jesus uses this as an example of the law being set aside due to the need of David, who as future king and forebear of the Messiah had the authority to demand the holy bread. If this is true, even more may an oral tradition be set aside for the Messiah himself, the Son of God.

2:27 The Sabbath was made for man. God’s rest, the Sabbath, was meant to benefit and strengthen God’s people. The ordaining of the Sabbath was never intended for the purpose of people keeping Sabbath regulations and precepts. It was a gift from God and so was to serve humankind, not to become the master over humankind. For us, it is meant to be a day of rest and worship, not a source of rules.

2:28 the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath. This concludes all the miracle stories thus far. The result (“So [h?ste] the Son of Man . . .”) of Jesus’s actions is absolute proof that as the glorified “Son of Man” (see the sidebar in the unit on 2:1–12; the major theme of Dan. 7:13–14 is universal dominion), he is cosmic Lord of all, specifically here “over the Sabbath” and its regulations. He is the final interpreter of Torah (one of the emphases of the Sermon on the Mount [Matt. 5–7]) and offers a Sabbath-like rest for the soul (Matt. 11:28–30). What Christ has brought is “greater than the temple” (Matt. 12:6 [in the same story as here in Mark]), and if Christ supersedes the temple, he also has authority over the Sabbath observance. This is an apex of Mark’s Christology and shows that, for Mark, there is a divine authority that rests on Jesus.

3:2 looking for a reason to accuse Jesus. They are back in the Capernaum synagogue (indicated by “another time”), and another compelling act of Jesus’s authority is about to take place. There are three sections to this story: setting (vv. 1–2), confrontation (vv. 3–4), and miracle (vv. 5–6). Each begins with an act of Jesus and ends with a negative reaction on the part of the leaders. They obviously rejected Jesus as “Lord over the Sabbath” and so were hoping that he would discredit himself by breaking the regulations about healing (= work) on the Sabbath.

3:4 Which is lawful . . . to save life or to kill? Similar to 2:9 (cf. Deut. 30:15–19), this is a question of halakah, the rabbinic rules for daily life. Their rigid legal demands would leave the man’s “shriveled hand” unhealed rather than restoring his health. Thus it would be an act of “evil” rather than “good.” Jesus thus poses the dilemma of a system that, ironically, stands in the way of God’s good and obviates his true purposes.

But they remained silent. The Pharisees had a ready answer (“This is not life-threatening [their law allowed healing if a life was at stake], so heal the man tomorrow rather than today”), so their silence seems strange. Perhaps they just did not want to be drawn into another debate, and perhaps they realized that however they answered they would be in trouble. But Mark uses silence five times (four total in the other Gospels); here and in 1:25 and 4:39 it is a reference to Jesus’s authority and power. They had no response in light of Jesus’s God-given authority.

3:5 in anger and, deeply distressed at their stubborn hearts. Jesus’s deep emotions come to the surface, reflecting the justice and love of God that here are displayed by Jesus—God’s anger at sin yet grief at the dilemma of fallen humankind. This is, literally, “the hardness of their hearts” and will be descriptive of the disciples as well in 6:52; 8:17. Their callous and stubborn refusal to submit to God’s truths typified the leaders.

3:6 how they might kill Jesus. Clearly the religious (Pharisees) and political (Herodians—Herod’s partisans who are always opposed to Jesus in the Gospels) leaders are convinced that Jesus has become such a threat that only his death will suffice. So they enter a plot to kill him. The anti-Jesus campaign of 2:1–3:6 has reached its apex already.

Theological Insights

Two insights dominate. (1) In Jesus God’s kingdom—God’s reign over this world—has arrived in a new way, and God’s people must embrace this newness and respond properly. A new age with new principles has entered among God’s people, and they are called to emulate this new kingdom reality in their lives and worship. This is illustrated by the new Sabbath principle: rules of ritual have been replaced by its purpose from the beginning—rest and worship. (2) Jesus is Lord of all, and those who reject his authority will answer to God. All characterized by “stubborn hearts” must submit to God in Jesus or face the consequences.

Teaching the Text

1. Fasting is a spiritual discipline for the present age. It is critical to help people understand the meaning and purpose of fasting. Many in Jesus’s time connected it with mourning for sin, sorrow in time of tragedy, but also with gaining favor with God to manipulate him into doing things. In the new era inaugurated by Jesus, fasting is practiced (Acts 13:2–3; 14:23), but it is always part of worship and deep prayer. It must never constitute manipulation of God. When believers fast, they should never do so in an attempt to get God to say yes to their requests. Rather, fasting is the surrender of major needs (food usually, but also sexual relations within marriage in 1 Cor. 7:5) in order to realize that God is our primary need. In other words, its goal is to make God our absolute priority, not to get things from God. Still, fasting is a major aspect of worship and of the spiritual disciplines.

2. A new community and ritual characterize the new wine of Christ. The “new wineskin” that must encase Jesus’s new kingdom reality almost certainly refers to the newness of ritual and community that defined the church in the New Testament. Jesus at his death and resurrection entered “the greater and more perfect tabernacle” (Heb. 9:11) and opened up the heavenly temple for us, giving us a new access to God and a “new covenant” (Jer. 31:31–34 = Heb. 8:8–12). The church is the new temple of God (1 Cor. 3:16; 1 Pet. 2:4–5), and each of us, indwelt by the Spirit, is a temple, a walking holy of holies! In John’s Gospel Jesus speaks often of the new prayer power that we possess (14:13–14, 26; 15:16; 16:23, 24, 26). In Christ the church is bathed in newness.

3. The true purpose of the Sabbath laws is worship and rest. The scribes and Pharisees developed a complex set of rules for keeping the Sabbath,6and this tendency to define the seventh day by strict adherence to regulations has dogged the church ever since. The problem with a legalistic approach to God and worship is the tendency to feel that rule keeping is sufficient in our relationship to God. We too easily forget compassion and good works. We forget the basic principle of Hosea 6:6: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice.” There are only two requirements for the Sabbath: worship and rest. It is a day set apart for God and family. It is not to be just another secular day, but we are not to look down on each other regarding Sabbath observance. As Paul says in Romans 14:1–15:13, we should respect each other’s religious convictions regarding such things as holy days and food laws.

4. Jesus is the Lord of all. All of 1:21–3:6 centers on the authority of Jesus over all creation. This will become even more evident in the miracle stories in 4:54–5:43, where Jesus is presented as Lord over nature, the demonic realm, sickness, and death. Mark’s Gospel has often been characterized as having a “low Christology,” but that is because the disciples never confess Jesus as more than the Messiah. In reality, Mark implicitly affirms John’s emphasis on Jesus as God. He is the Son of God, and as the Son of Man he fulfills the universal dominion set out in Daniel 7:13–14. Worship demands the realization that Jesus is more than our friend and guide; he is our Savior and Lord.

Illustrating the Text

The new community and ritual

Object Lesson: Apply a large, unwashed, wool patch to an old pair of pants (wool will shrink significantly when washed). Wash the pants in hot water and run them through the dryer. The patch may not tear, but it certainly will distort the look of the pants and render the pants, and the patch, unusable.

The problem of legalism

Business: In order to warn consumers of potential dangers, many products may include warning labels. But efforts to avoid potential liability can sometimes result in ridiculous-sounding warnings. Here are a few examples found on actual products or in the related manual:

• Ammoniated window cleaner: Do not spray in eyes.

• Electric woodworking drill: This product not intended for use as a dental drill.

• Hair coloring: Do not use as an ice cream topping.

• Sleeping pills: May cause drowsiness.

• Air conditioner: Avoid dropping air conditioners out of windows.

Though many are humorous, product warning labels reflect the impulse of caution in the face of potential danger. In an effort to ensure that behavior pleased God and avoid potential sanction for wrongdoing, the religious leaders developed an oral tradition of sometimes overly detailed religious laws to ensure that people obeyed God’s commands.

Observing the Sabbath

Human Experience: The point of the Sabbath is to give us time to rest and to focus our hearts on God. Research shows that we desperately need rest. Consider the following data reported by Key Organization Systems:7

• Nearly one-third of American working adults get less than six hours of sleep per night.

• Sleep deprivation is now costing U.S. companies $63.2 billion a year in lost productivity.

• One-third of employees maintain chronic stress.

The command for keeping the Sabbath is not meant to be a burden but rather is to be viewed as a great gift. When we understand the purpose of the Sabbath, we make it a priority for physical, emotional, and spiritual rest, a rest desperately needed by many in our culture.

The place of fasting in the Christian life

Testimony: Fasting is a biblical and historical Christian discipline that is largely ignored by Christians today. Ask someone in your church who has had a positive experience with fasting (not as an attempt to manipulate God but as an opportunity to surrender more fully to him) to share about their experience. Challenge your listeners to make a commitment to fast regularly; this could include fasting from pleasures suchas television, computers, and cell phones.

Teaching the Text by Grant R. Osborne, Baker Publishing Group, 2016

Dictionary

Direct Matches

Fast

Fasting, often linked with prayer, was one avenue of appeal to God in the face of crises, both national and personal. Moses ascended to Mount Sinai and was with God forty days and nights without eating bread or drinking water, both before and after the Israelites’ sin with the golden calf (Exod. 34:28; Deut. 9:8 18). David fasted when his son was dying (2 Sam. 12:15–23). Esther called all the Jews of Susa to fast for three days before she ventured before the king (Esther 4:15–17). Joel called the people to repentance and fasting as the land was devastated by a locust plague (Joel 1:13–14; 2:12). Forty days of fasting, an echo of Moses’ experience, prepared Jesus to face the devil’s temptations (Matt. 4:1–11 pars.).

The OT prophets criticized Israelites who presumed that their religious obligations were met simply by fasting (Isa. 58:1–10; Zech. 7:1–5). When asked why his disciples did not fast and pray, Jesus indicated that sometimes fasting is inappropriate (Matt. 9:14–17 pars.). Luke recorded an addition to Jesus’ statement about new wine in old wineskins: “No one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better’” (Luke 5:39), perhaps suggesting that the accumulation of fasting practices was “new wine” and they ought simply to observe the Day of Atonement.

John

A common name in first-century Judaism. The Greek name Iōannēs comes from the Hebrew name “Yohanan.” (1) The Baptist or Baptizer, he was the son of the priest Zechariah and Elizabeth. (See John the Baptist.) (2) The son of Zebedee, he was an apostle originally belonging to the inner circle of the twelve main disciples of Jesus. (See John the Apostle.) (3) John Mark, a cousin of Barnabas (Col. 4:10) and the son of Mary (Acts 12:12). (See Mark, John.) (4) The elder. Both 2 John and 3 John claim authorship by “the elder” (2 John 1; 3 John 1). Traditionally, all three Johannine Letters, the Gospel of John, and sometimes the Revelation of John have been attributed to John the apostle. However, modern scholarship often attributes 2 John and 3 John, and sometimes 1 John, to “the elder”—John the elder. (5) The seer, the author of the book of Revelation (see 1:1, 4, 9; 22:8). Some scholars ascribe the authorship of Revelation to John the apostle, in line with the view of the church father Irenaeus. Other scholars ascribe the writing of Revelation to a certain John the elder. The book of Revelation does not further identify the author. However, the author is among the prophets, a seer, and his name is “John”—hence, John the seer.

Pharisees

Five of the important parties in ancient Judaism were the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes, the Zealots, and the Herodians. The first three seem to have first emerged in reaction to the rise of the Hasmonean priest-kings in the mid-second and first centuries BC, and the other two in response to the occupation of Palestine by the Romans and their establishment of the Herods as the rulers of Israel.

Pharisees. In the Synoptic Gospels, the Pharisees were one of the groups that opposed Jesus. It seems that the Pharisees most strongly opposed Jesus on issues related to their received tradition, which they considered to be as binding as the OT law. Two such legal issues were ceremonial washings before meals and working on the Sabbath. All three Synoptic Gospels narrate the Pharisees questioning Jesus concerning his and his disciples’ failure to follow the tradition of the elders by eating with “unclean”—that is, “unwashed”—hands (Matt. 15:1 2; Mark 7:1–5; Luke 11:39–41). Concerning breaking the Sabbath, the Pharisees confronted Jesus on various occasions, such as when Jesus healed on the Sabbath (Matt. 12:9–14; Mark 3:1–5; Luke 6:6–11) and when his disciples picked grain while walking through a field (Matt. 12:1–8; Mark 2:23–28; Luke 6:1–5).

In response to accusations concerning breaking the traditions of the elders, Jesus affirmed the priority of mercy in the face of human need that supersedes laws concerning the Sabbath by saying that the Sabbath was made for humans, not humans for the Sabbath (Mark 2:27), or that the Son of Man (Jesus) was Lord of the Sabbath (Matt. 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5). He also said that God desires mercy, not sacrifice (Matt. 12:7).

Jesus’ critique of the Pharisees concentrated on their neglecting mercy toward fellow humans for the sake of their tradition. This is especially clear in Matthew, where Jesus’ critique of the Pharisees includes indictments against them for concentrating on the fine points of the law but neglecting justice and mercy (12:7; 23:23).

In the Gospel of John, the Pharisees are again usually depicted as adversaries of Jesus and also in league with other Jewish authorities in plotting to arrest and kill Jesus (7:32; 11:47–57). One passage suggests that they were divided concerning Jesus (9:16). One Pharisee, Nicodemus, came to Jesus by night (John 3), defended Jesus before his peers (7:50), and brought spices to prepare Jesus’ body for burial after his death (19:39).

The Pharisees were not always antagonistic toward Jesus. From time to time, they were on the same side of an issue, such as Jesus’ confrontation with the Sadducees over the resurrection (Luke 20:27–40). Nicodemus, mentioned above, was quite sympathetic toward Jesus. The apostle Paul identifies himself as a Pharisee in regard to keeping the law in Phil. 3:5; Acts 26:5, and in a confrontation with Jerusalem authorities in Acts 23:6. Also, some early Christians were said to be Pharisees (Acts 15:5).

Sadducees. The Sadducees were an elite group of Jews connected with the priesthood. “Sadducee” probably means “Son of Zadok,” a descendant of the high priest Zadok from the time of David. Some members of the Qumran community used the term “Son of Zadok” as a self-designation as well, suggesting some common ancestry, if not direct identification, of the Sadducees and some members of the Qumran community.

The Sadducees are mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels, but not in John, although the “chief priests” who plotted against Jesus with the Pharisees (e.g., John 11:46) probably were Sadducees. All three Synoptic Gospels relate the narrative in which the Sadducees posed the hypothetical question concerning whose wife a woman would be in the resurrection if she outlived seven husbands. Jesus answered that they understood neither the Scriptures nor the power of God, and that God was the God of the living and not the dead (Matt. 22:23–33; Mark 12:18–27; Luke 20:27–40).

The book of Acts confirms that the Sadducees were closely connected to the priesthood 4:1; 5:17), and that they disputed with the Pharisees over the resurrection (23:6–8).

Essenes. Josephus delineates the beliefs of the Essenes as follows: (1) They ascribed every happening to God. (2) They believed in the immortality of the soul.

Zealots. Scholars tend to use “Zealots” as a general term to refer to three different groups mentioned by Josephus: brigands, Sicarii (Assassins), and Zealots. The three groups have different political ideologies and emerged at different times in the first century. They can all be described as revolutionaries.

Herodians. The Herodians are mentioned three times in the Gospels. They are reported to have plotted, along with the Pharisees, to kill Jesus after he healed a man with a withered hand (Mark 3:6). They are also described, along with the Pharisees, as trying to trap Jesus concerning the lawfulness of paying taxes to Caesar (Matt. 22:16; Mark 12:13).

The Herodians were aristocrats who supported the Herodian dynasty and the Romans, whose support made that dynasty possible. There seems to be some overlap between the Herodians and the Sadducees; Mark 8:15 has Jesus warning his disciples concerning the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod (some ancient witnesses read “Herodians”), whereas the parallel in Matt. 16:6, 11 has Jesus warning his disciples concerning the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Their religious beliefs may have been similar to those of the Sadducees. Too little information about them exists to permit drawing strong conclusions. One can safely say, however, that the Herodians were pro-Roman aristocrats who joined forces with the anti-Roman Pharisees in opposing Jesus.

Wine

An alcoholic beverage made primarily by fermenting grapes, wine was valued as both a pleasurable and a functional drink (Ps. 104:15; 1 Tim. 5:23) and therefore a staple of ceremonial practice and social gatherings (Exod. 29:40; John 2:1 3). For this reason, wine is a symbol of God’s blessing (Gen. 27:28; John 2:11), particularly for his covenant people (Isa. 25:6; 55:1; 1 Cor. 11:25). Yet the Bible also warns against the abuse of alcohol, which can lead to drunkenness and debauchery (Prov. 9:4–5; Eph. 5:18). Such abuse becomes a symbol of God’s curse for disobedience (Hos. 4:11; 9:2; Matt. 27:48–49).

Direct Matches

Bottle

In antiquity, pliable animal skin bottles (for ease of transport) were most commonly used to hold water or wine. Jesus refers to wineskin bottles in the saying about new wine and old wineskins, where fermentation from the wine would have burst the old, dry skins (Matt. 9:17; Mark 2:22; Luke 5:37). Clay or glass bottles were used to hold (often valuable) substances such as oil (Num. 4:9) and perfume (Mark 14:3). Bottles made of harder substances generally consisted of a spherical container with a narrow, elongated, cylindrical opening.

Guest

One who receives hospitality at another’s home or table. Hospitality was a matter of honor in ancient times. It was shameful to mistreat a guest (Judg. 19:23). A guest received special portions at the table (1 Sam. 9:22–24; Esther 1:3), although the guest of a Levitical priest was not allowed to eat the sacred offering (Lev. 22:10). Job’s misfortunes alienated him from his guests (Job 19:15), but the guests of the metaphorical Woman Folly fared worse (Prov. 9:18).

Guests abound in Jesus’ parables about banquets and weddings (Matt. 22:10–11; Mark 2:19; Luke 14:16; 19:7). Jesus himself was often a guest (Luke 7:49; 14:7; 22:11; John 2:10). King Herod’s misguided concern for his dinner guests caused the death of John the Baptist (Matt. 14:9; Mark 6:22, 26).

Weddings

Ceremonies marking entry into marriage. In the Bible, weddings initiate the formation of new households with the blessing of family and community.

Old Testament

In the OT, weddings were important to the patriarchs and to Israel because the new couple was expected to produce children to help fulfill the Abrahamic covenant (Gen. 12:2; 17:6; 22:15–18; Ruth 4:11–13; Isa. 65:23). Heirs were also the assurance that a man’s name remained eternally with Israel, so much so that if a man died childless, his brother was obligated to wed the widow and produce children in his name (Gen. 38:8; Deut. 25:5–10). Moreover, weddings assured that property was kept within families and tribes and also transferred in an orderly way from one generation to the next (Num. 36:1–12; Ruth 4:5; Ps. 25:13).

Multiple wives were allowed in the OT (Gen. 30:26; Deut. 21:15; 1 Sam. 1:2; 2 Sam. 5:13; 1 Kings 11:3), as were multiple concubines, who had official standing in the household, though lower than that of wives. Weddings usually were associated with a man publicly taking a wife; he acquired concubines with less fanfare (Gen. 16:1–3; 30:3–5; Judg. 19:1, 3).

OT weddings included certain distinctive elements. The bridegroom or his father paid a bride-price, or dowry, to the father of the bridegroom’s prospective wife (Gen. 34:12; Exod. 22:16–17; 1 Sam. 18:25). The bridegroom had a more central role than the bride. He emerged from a chamber or tent to claim his wife (Ps. 19:5; Joel 2:16), who, in the case of a royal wedding, may have processed to him (Ps. 45:13–15). Both he and the bride were adorned (Song 3:11; Isa. 49:18; 61:10; Jer. 2:32); the woman was also veiled (Gen. 24:65; 29:23, 25; 38:14, 19; Song 4:1, 3; Isa. 47:1–3). Their wedding was the occasion of much rejoicing and feasting (Gen. 29:22; Jer. 7:34; 16:9; 25:10; 33:11) and lasted seven days (Gen. 29:27; Judg. 14:17). The main event was their sexual union (Isa. 62:5), which occurred on the first night (Gen. 29:23; Ruth 4:13). Unless she had been a widow, the bride was presumed to be a virgin on her wedding night, and evidence of her virginity, a bloodstained cloth, was retained as proof (Deut. 22:13–19). Virginity was essential to a previously unmarried bride; a woman who had been raped or otherwise engaged in premarital sexual relations was deemed defiled and unmarriageable to any but the first man with whom she had intercourse (Deut. 22:21; 2 Sam. 13:1–20). The importance of this underpins the shock value of the book of Hosea (see esp. 1:2), an extended metaphor that presents Israel as a prostitute nevertheless pursued by Yahweh as her husband.

New Testament

The NT continues to testify to many of these wedding traditions, significantly including the gathering of community (Matt. 22:2; John 2:1–2) in joyful celebration (Matt. 9:15; Mark 2:19; Luke 5:34; John 2:9–10). Wedding feasts could be lavish affairs (Matt. 22:4; John 2:6–10), with protocols regarding seating (Luke 14:8–10) and attire (Matt. 22:11–13; Rev. 19:7–9).

In the NT, these and other first-century wedding customs illustrate aspects of the kingdom of heaven. The parable of the wedding feast (Matt. 22:1–14) contrasts the invited guests (corrupt religious leaders in Israel) who ignored the king’s wedding invitation and murdered his servants with those people, good and evil, gathered from the streets (the downtrodden) who took their place. Their willingness to attend is qualified only by their coming properly attired in wedding robes, which by inference were provided by the king himself (Rev. 19:7–8).

The parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1–13) plays on the understanding that weddings occurred not at a specific time but when the bridegroom was ready. His readiness was determined by, among other things, the readiness of a dwelling place for his new bride. In first-century Capernaum, this would have been a room or rooms built onto his father’s insula, a multifamily compound surrounding an interior courtyard; the same image is behind John 14:2–4. The parable, identifying the Son of Man as the bridegroom, illustrates that while his coming in glory is certain, its timing is unknown. Therefore, the bridal party is to be vigilant and prepared.

Elsewhere, Jesus is specifically named as the bridegroom preparing to marry his bride, the church (2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:25–27, 31–32). The wedding feast at Cana (John 2:1–11), which begins Jesus’ public ministry, points proleptically to the marriage supper of the Lamb, which inaugurates the eschatological age (Rev. 19:7–9). The culminating picture of God with his people (Deut. 16:13–16; Matt. 1:23; John 1:14) is a magnificent wedding (Rev. 21:2, 9) between Christ and the new Jerusalem.

Secondary Matches

The following suggestions occured because Mark 2:18-22 is mentioned in the definition.

Goat

A cloven-hoofed ruminant, the domestic goat (Capra hircus) has been vital to the culture of Palestine. The considerable value of this animal is reflected in Jacob’s “gift” of two hundred female goats and twenty male goats, a symbolic restoration of what he stole from Esau (Gen. 32:14; cf. 1 Sam. 25:2–3; 2 Chron. 17:11).

The diverse by-products from goats illustrate their practical significance for life: milk (Prov. 27:27), goatskin bottles for water and wine (Mark 2:22), goat’s hair garments and tents (Exod. 35:26; 1 Sam. 19:13; Heb. 11:37), and the prized meat of the kid (Judg. 6:19; Luke 15:29). Sacrificially, numerous offerings required a goat, including burnt offerings (Lev. 1:10) and peace offerings (Lev. 3:12). Israel’s Day of Atonement required two goats: one for a sin offering and another delivered to Azazel (Lev. 16:6–26).

Goats generally are darker in color, while sheep tend to be white (Gen. 30:32; Song 1:5). The resilience of goats was superior to sheep, adding to their worth. Israel’s leaders are compared to goats who have abused the sheep (Zech. 10:3; cf. Dan. 8:5, 8, 21). NT eschatology replaces the “self-centered” goat with the “helpless” sheep (Matt. 25:31–46).

Labor

God the Worker

A biblical theology of work starts with God as the creator of all things. In the OT, the verb bara’ (“to create”) is used only with God as subject. The first verb in the Bible (Gen. 1:1), it occurs also in many other texts that describe God accomplishing what only God can do. Other terms such as yatsar (“to form, fashion”) and ’asah (“to make, do”) are used numerous times throughout the OT with either God or humans as subjects.

These three terms reinforce the portrayal of God as worker in Gen. 1–2 (cf. Isa. 45:7). God creates light and darkness; sky and earth; sun, moon, and stars; land and sea; plant and animal life; and humankind—in sum, all that is. He forms the “man” (Heb. ’adam) from the dust of the ground, bringing him to life by breathing into him the breath of life.

Elsewhere in the OT God is said to build, build up, or rebuild/restore (Heb. banah [e.g., Pss. 102:16; 147:2; Jer. 24:6; Amos 9:11]). Interestingly, God takes a rib from the man, which he then makes (lit., “builds into” [Heb. banah + le]) a woman (Gen. 2:22). He founds (Heb. kun) the earth (Isa. 45:18) and stretches out (Heb. natah) the heavens (Zech. 12:1). Further, wisdom is God’s “craftsman” (Heb. ’amon), taking part in the world’s creation (Prov. 8:30). The NT reveals Christ as the one through whom God creates all things (John 1:1–3; Col. 1:16). This brief sketch suggests the range of ways in which God’s work is described.

Human Labor

Ideally, work is performed as service to God (Col. 3:17, 22–24). Work is one way we express the divine image. God’s creation mandate to fill, subdue, and rule the earth implies work (Gen. 1:26–28), and God places the man in the garden “to work it and take care of it” (Gen. 2:15). The importance of work for human dignity as well as survival undergirds the laws of gleaning that make provision for the poor to gather their own food (e.g., Deut. 24:19–22). The expansion of human technologies and occupations (mela’kah [see Exod. 12:16]) reflects that dignity and God’s own diverse workmanship. Job 28 celebrates human industry and achievement while subordinating all to the prevailing value of wisdom, rooted in “the fear of the Lord.” Given the indispensable role of work within the limits of human life, diligence is commended (Eccles. 3:9–10), idleness condemned (Prov. 10:4; 12:24; 21:5; 2 Thess. 3:6–10). Work is essentially God’s good gift to us in creation.

But work now has negative aspects. In response to Adam’s sin, God curses the ground, introducing “painful toil” into the work cycle (Gen. 3:17–19; 5:29). We now eke out our living by hardship, finding frustration instead of bounty—a lifelong reminder that we are made of dust and will return to dust. The book of Ecclesiastes echoes this note of futility and raises sharp questions about the lasting value of human labor (1:2–3, 14; 2:4–11, 17–23; 3:9; 4:4–6; 8:16–17). Sin and death haunt the unfolding occupations in Gen. 4, and the episode of the tower of Babel in Gen. 11 signals God’s judgment on human pretension (cf. James 4:13–16). Excessive toil (workaholism) is a pitfall, not a virtue, for it expresses reliance on self rather than on God, who builds, protects, and gives rest (Ps. 127:1–2). Oppressive, unjust working conditions are cause for lament, and they incur God’s judgment (Exod. 5:6–19; Prov. 14:31; James 5:4–6).

Thus, Israel’s labor policy is to reflect God’s covenant faithfulness, generosity, and concern for the vulnerable. Moses’ law places limits on employers/masters to protect employees, slaves, and foreign workers from exploitation. The primary limit is God’s command that Israel keep the Sabbath holy by a complete cessation of labor (Exod. 20:8–11; Deut. 5:12–15). This move prioritizes God’s covenant above human labor and sets a rhythm of work and rest. Exodus grounds the Sabbath in God’s rest from his work of creation on the seventh day. Deuteronomy ties it to Israel’s history of slavery in Egypt and deliverance by God; by keeping the Sabbath, Israel shows gratitude to God and guards against replicating Egypt’s oppressive policies.

Exodus 31–32 portrays work in its best and worst lights. The proper interplay of work and rest is seen in chapter 31, which narrates the divinely empowered work on the tabernacle, followed by a strong reminder to keep the Sabbath as a “sign” between God and Israel. In contrast, chapter 32 portrays artisanship put to the worst use, the making of a golden idol. Aaron fashions gold with a tool and makes the calf image, but later he tells Moses, “I threw [their gold jewelry] into the fire, and out came this calf!” (32:24). This remark anticipates the prophets’ later mockery of idol-makers (e.g., Isa. 44:9–20) and raises the issue of personal responsibility for the outcome of one’s labor: Aaron seeks to avoid being implicated in Israel’s idolatry by concealing his own role in the project.

Public labor issues increase in complexity when Israel adopts human kingship and engages in international trade (e.g., 1 Sam. 8; 1 Kings 9:15–23). Babylon deals a decisive blow to Judah’s statehood by deporting leaders and skilled workers. Many of these establish such viable, productive new lives in Babylon that when Cyrus later allows the exiled Judeans to return, they choose to remain.

The NT assumes the legitimacy of work and adopts the OT’s view that within proper limits work is a good gift of God. Jesus, however, has come to do his Father’s “work” (John 5:16–18), which entails calling some people away from their normal occupations to follow him, as well as a new approach to Sabbath observance (Mark 2:21–27; 3:4). These moves signal the urgency and newness of the kingdom of God. Consequently, the apostles are “co-workers in God’s service” (1 Cor. 3:9), and Christians are “God’s handiwork” (Eph. 2:10). In light of the resurrection, we offer to God work (Gk. ergon) and labor (Gk. kopos), not in futility but in hope (1 Cor. 15:58; cf. Rev. 14:13).

Marriage

An intimate, exclusive, lifelong covenant relationship between a man and a woman wherein a new family is established.

Theology of Marriage

The biblical basis for marriage is recorded in Gen. 2:18–24, which establishes a number of important points relating to marriage.

First, in Gen. 2:18 God highlights the first expressed inadequacy within creation: the man is alone. The solution to the man’s solitude is found not among the animals (a fact demonstrated by the careful search expressed by having the man name each of them) but in a creature specifically created to address the problem of his solitude: woman. She is created from his “rib” (a better translation is “side”), so that she is more like him than any of the animals. In spite of this, she is not a clone, but rather a complement to him. She is described as a “helper suitable for him,” which highlights her fulfillment of the inadequacy God had previously identified.

Second, the role of the wife is not restricted to providing a means by which to fulfill the command to fill the earth (through bearing children), for the problem identified in Gen. 2:18 cannot be reduced to this alone. The OT establishes that human beings are relational and social, and that isolation is not good, quite aside from considerations relating to childbearing. Indeed, when marriage is employed as a metaphor for the relationship between God and his people (see below), it can be conceptualized quite apart from the notion of procreation, suggesting that the latter should not be considered the primary purpose of marriage.

Third, Gen. 2:23 describes the relationship between the man and the woman in terms strongly reminiscent of the traditional kinship formula used with reference to family members elsewhere in the OT: “bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh” (cf., e.g., Gen. 29:14; Judg. 9:2; 2 Sam. 5:1; 19:13–14—similar to the modern English expression “my flesh and blood”; see also Matt. 19:5; Eph. 5:31). Although “be united” (other translations use “cleave”) and “one flesh” are frequently understood to refer to sexual union, this is not the only, or even the primary, implication of the words. Genesis 2:24 expresses the unification of the husband and the wife as the antithesis of the man’s leaving his father and mother. These terms (“leave” or “forsake,” “be united” or “cleave”) are used elsewhere in covenantal contexts. “Cleave” is usually used of people in the sense of clinging to another out of affection and loyalty (Gen. 34:3; Ruth 1:14; 2 Sam. 20:2; 1 Kings 11:2). It is also frequently used of Israel clinging to God (Deut. 10:20; 11:22; 13:5; 30:20; Josh. 22:5; 23:8). “Forsake” is used of breaking covenants (Deut. 12:19; 14:27; 29:25; Jer. 1:16; 2:13, 17, 19; 5:7; 16:11; 17:13; 19:4; 22:9). The verb also appears in the context of marital divorce in Prov. 2:16–17; Isa. 54:6; 62:4.

The implication of Gen. 2:24 is that the man was formerly “united” to his parents in a familial relationship, but when he marries, the covenantal relationship with his parents is superseded by the new relationship with his wife. Thus, in establishing the covenantal relationship of marriage, the man and the woman form a new family unit (they become “one flesh,” which parallels the kinship formula more fully expressed in Gen. 2:23). It is noteworthy that Gen. 2 thus defines a family as husband and wife; a family is formed before any children are born. Furthermore, the emphasis on the priority of the relationship between husband and wife is particularly striking, given both the importance of honoring one’s parents (Exod. 20:12; Deut. 5:16) and the distinctly patrilocal nature of inheritance whereby sons would remain in the parents’ household after marriage and ultimately inherit a share of it, but daughters would leave their parents’ house to be with their husbands.

Fourth, the description of the woman as the man’s “helper” cannot alone be used to demonstrate that the wife’s role was either subordinate or superior to her husband’s. Although the term is elsewhere often used as a description of God, it is also used of subordinate helpers, and other contextual indications determine the relative status of the helper aside from the use of the term itself.

Marriage in the Old Testament

The Bible presents few formal legal, liturgical, or cultic requirements for marriage (whereas there are specific laws dealing with divorce), although it does record some details of specific marriages from which some insight into marriage practices can be gleaned. Marriages often were established through an arrangement between the parents of the husband and those of the wife or between the husband and the parents of his prospective wife (e.g., Gen. 24; 38:6), but there appears to be some diversity, with examples of a man choosing his own wife (e.g., Judah in Gen. 38:2) or instances when the consent of the woman is sought (e.g., Gen. 24:8, 58). The requirement of a formal certificate for divorce (Deut. 24:1, 3), together with examples of marriage contracts from the ancient Near East, are possible evidence that marriage within Israel required certification, although there is no explicit confirmation of this in the OT or in Israel prior to the rabbinic period. The marriages recorded in the OT often involved feasts of varying duration (Gen. 29:22; Judg. 14:12), the bride being accompanied to her home in a festive procession that included music and singing (Ps. 78:63; Jer. 7:34; 16:9), and a blessing pronounced over the bride that she might bear many children (Gen. 24:60; Ruth 4:11). Deuteronomy 22:15 suggests that evidence of the bride’s virginity was retained by the wife’s family to guard against false accusations by a husband seeking divorce.

Another aspect of marriage that appears to have been normative although not legislated was the payment of a mohar, or “bride-price” (Gen. 34:12; Exod. 22:16; 1 Sam. 18:25), as well as the provision of a dowry (1 Kings 9:16). The former was a payment made by the groom’s family to the bride’s family, the latter an amount given by the father to his daughter. Typically, the former appears to have exceeded the latter in value. The bride-price, at least in later times, functioned as insurance should the wife be divorced.

The Bible does not issue any specific age constraints upon those being married, indicating that the OT practice probably did not differ significantly from that of other nations in the ancient Near East, where girls were considered ready for marriage once they had reached puberty or the age of twelve, and boys were generally slightly older. Constraints were placed on the eligibility of marriage partners, and generally marriages were endogamous: marriage partners were chosen from within the clan, tribe, or nation (e.g., Gen. 24:1–9; 27:46–28:5; cf. Deut. 7:3, which prohibits marriage with some, but not all, foreigners, and Deut. 21:10–14, which permits Israelite warriors to take a wife from among female prisoners of war). While there were exceptions to this constraint (e.g., Moses married a Midianite; Bathsheba was married to a Hittite; Boaz married Ruth, a Moabite), in later times the restriction was given legal sanction under Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 9:2, 12; Neh. 13:25; cf. Luke 14:26; 18:29).

In spite of the likelihood that many marriages in the OT and the ancient world in general were arranged, the notion of romantic love as both an ideal for marriage and a basis for choosing one’s spouse clearly was known and even regarded as desirable. This is reflected in the approbation given romantic love in Song of Songs as well as in stories such as that of Jacob (Gen. 29:18; see also Judg. 14:1–3; 1 Sam. 18:20).

Socially, marriage was of particular import for a woman in the ancient world, for her well-being usually depended on her place within the house of either her father or her husband. Because inheritance was passed down the male line, women without connection to the house of a man were in a very tenuous state. Inheritance itself was also an important issue in the ancient world, and so great value was placed not just on marriage but also on bearing children (particularly male [see also Firstborn]). Associated with these social functions of marriage in ancient Israel is the fact that the OT permits and records a number of instances of polygamy (always polygyny, never polyandry). This afforded social security to widows (see also Levirate Law, Levirate Marriage) and helped ensure the line of inheritance. It should be noted, however, that neither the welfare aspect of marriage nor the related acceptance of polygamy is based on the biblical foundation for marriage in Gen. 2, and consequently, polygamy does not reflect the biblical ideal for marriage.

The fundamental importance of the marriage relationship is also highlighted by the severity of the penalties for adultery (e.g., Exod. 20:14; Deut. 5:18; 22:22–24; see also Adultery).

Marriage in the New Testament

Jesus reinforces the importance of marriage, emphasizing its divine origin and lifelong nature (Matt. 19:6; Mark 10:9) as well as its inviolability (Mark 10:2–12). In light of this, Jesus’ assertion that at the resurrection there will be no marriage is surprising (Matt. 22:30). Although Jesus offers no explanation as to why there will be no marriage following the resurrection, it is perhaps likely that the fundamental need identified by God in Gen. 2:18 (the man was alone) will be solved in a different manner in the age to come: the intimate help and companionship ideally found in marriage will be provided in perfected relationship with God and all others.

Paul elaborates somewhat on marriage in the Christian community. Christian marriage ought to be characterized by mutual submission in some respects (1 Cor. 7:4; Eph. 5:21) while reflecting some asymmetrical aspects of the relationship between Christ and the church in others (Eph. 5:22–33). Christians ought to marry within the church (2 Cor. 6:14–18, although this passage is not restricted to marriage); however, those who are married to nonbelievers are not to seek divorce, but are to remain faithful to their spouses for the sake of both the spouse and their children (1 Cor. 7:10–16).

The NT makes reference to some of the marriage customs of the day, including sharing a feast (Matt. 22:2–12; Luke 12:36; John 2:1–11), the expectation that guests be suitably attired (Matt. 22:11–12), and a procession to the groom’s home (Matt. 25:1–13; Luke 12:35–38).

Symbolic Use of Marriage

Marriage is used figuratively in both Testaments. The relationship between God and his people is described with marriage language (Isa. 62:4–5; Jer. 2:2). By using such language, the prophets emphasize the intimacy and unity inherent in the relationship between God and his chosen people, as well as the devastating betrayal when the covenant is broken. The use of the marriage metaphor is thus extended to the use of divorce language to describe God’s treatment of unfaithful Israel (Jer. 3:8), and the notion of adultery and promiscuity is equated with the worship of foreign gods (Ezek. 16; 23). The prophet Hosea’s marriage is itself a graphic representation of God’s relationship with his people and, in particular, their faithlessness; however, it also holds out the anticipation of a new covenant, one wherein God declares, “You will call me ‘my husband’; you will no longer call me ‘my master’ ” (Hos. 2:16). The metaphorical use of marriage to image the relationship between God and his people also reflects the implicit belief in the asymmetrical nature of the relationship between husband and wife in the ancient world.

The NT primarily identifies the church as the bride and Christ as the husband when using marriage language figuratively (e.g., Eph. 5:22–33). In so doing, the NT affirms Christ’s deity by explicitly depicting him in the place occupied by God in the OT’s use of marriage symbolism. Jesus uses marriage in his parabolic teaching about the kingdom of God (Matt. 22:2–14; 25:1–12), as well as in reference to himself as bridegroom when explaining the behavior of his disciples (Mark 2:19–20; Luke 5:34–35). Revelation depicts the return of Christ as the time of the marriage between the bride and the bridegroom (Rev. 19:7; 21:9).

Polygamy

An intimate, exclusive, lifelong covenant relationship between a man and a woman wherein a new family is established.

Theology of Marriage

The biblical basis for marriage is recorded in Gen. 2:18–24, which establishes a number of important points relating to marriage.

Marriage in the Old Testament

The fundamental importance of the marriage relationship is also highlighted by the severity of the penalties for adultery (e.g., Exod. 20:14; Deut. 5:18; 22:22–24; see also Adultery).

Marriage in the New Testament

Symbolic Use of Marriage

Theology of Work

God the Worker

Human Labor

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1. It's A 12 Volt Volt System

Illustration

Philip W. McLarty

In the old days – I'm talking about the 30s, 40s and 50s here – cars came equipped with a six-volt electrical system. That's all they needed. The engines were small – a hundred horsepower, or so – and they had few accessories – a starter (you had to crank the old Model T by hand), windshield wipers, a cigarette lighter and, if you were in tall cotton, an AM radio.

As cars got bigger and more powerful and loaded with all sorts of accessories – including an air conditioner – the old six-volt system couldn't handle the load. So, GM, Ford and Chrysler switched over to a twelve-volt system. The others followed suit. Twelve volts gave – well, twice as much power as six volts, and it proved to be the ticket. Even with the big SUVs today, our cars and trucks run on a twelve-volt system.

So, that's your automotive lesson for today. The reason I mention it is because, years ago, one of my best friends, frustrated with his wife's unwillingness to embrace new technology, railed out at her and said, "Pat, you're just a six-volt battery in a twelve-volt world."

That accusation has stayed with me through the years. When something new is required do I remain in the old world? Am I a six-volt battery in a twelve-volt world? Are you?

2. JOYS OF DISCIPLESHIP

Illustration

John H. Krahn

Coming home late one rainy evening, I was short on patience and a bit uptight. It was the pressures of ministry with too much to do and too little time to do it. That evening, I had planned to write a sermon on the joys of discipleship! As I began, I realized I needed a better frame of mind ... more joy in my own discipleship.

As I reflected on the topic, I was reminded that joy is neither something to be tied into weather, nor tied into a work schedule. There is no such thing as more joy-less work, more work-less joy. Christian joy should not be affected by wages: large raise - great joy, no raise - no joy. Joy in discipleship is something that transcends the ups and downs of living. It must be bigger than the shifting sands of existence.

Turning to the Bible, we see what it has to say about joy and its source. It says that there is fullness of joy in the presence of God. Real joy comes from moving into the presence of God and abiding in the love of Christ. When the spirit of God is alive in us, one of the blessings the spirit brings to us is joy.

A Japanese lady asked the headmistress of a mission school, "Do you take only beautiful girls in your school?"

"Why, no, we welcome all girls," was the reply.

"But I’ve noticed that all your girls are beautiful."

"Well," said the missionary, "we teach them to love our Savior Jesus Christ, and he gives them a look of beauty."

"I am a Buddhist, and I do not desire my daughter to become a Christian, yet I should like her to attend your school to get that look on her face."

Recently a distinguished Britisher said that he visited an American home that seemed to have everything - two cars in the garage, a beautiful living room with expensive furniture, a color TV set, a kitchen filled with the latest gadgets, and a large pool and beautiful patio. However, the lady of the house was reading a book entitled, How to Be Happy.

Happiness is to know the Savior. Joy in discipleship is not attachment to things but is attachment to Jesus. This is why Paul and Silas, after being beaten and thrown into prison, could pray and sing hymns to God and thereby witness to the prisoners who listened to them. Joy is a sign of the presence of God in one’s life. To be a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ is to experience a deeper level of joy.

Christianity is a religion of joy and excitement. There is nothing unhappy about it. It is for people who want the joy that comes from being involved in something worthwhile. Once you taste the joys of discipleship, you’ll notice that your life will have more meaning. You will even want to return for a second helping.

3. God's Banquet Feast

Illustration

Alex Gondola

Martin Copenhaver, Pastor of the Wellesley Congregational Church, offers a vision of what God's Banquet Feast might be like: When God is throwing a party, you never know who will be there or whom you will sit next to. The financier will be seated next to the panhandler he always passed on his way to work. The store owner will be next to the person he just fired, and the doctor will be put next to the woman who just sued him for malpractice. Rush Limbaugh may be beside Barack Obama. A prostitute will sit next to the Pope.

All the "right" people will be there; that is everyone who responds to God's invitation ... and seated next to the host (Jesus) in the places of honor are not the dignitaries, the celebrities, the distinguished people of position and prominence, but rather the poor, the hurting, the outcast people who have distinguished themselves only by their need." (Library of Distinctive Sermons, vol. 2, Multnomah Press, p. 48)

I might add to Copenhaver's vision that at that Banquet Feast, everyone will get along famously. And that at that Banquet Feast, you and I may well find ourselves seated next to, and engaging in conversation with, people we presently can't stand (or who can't stand us). But the old anger, hurt, and grudges will be gone, and reconciliation will come. At God's Table, the barriers that keep people apart rich/poor, upperclass/lowerclass, black/white, Republican/Democrat, gay/straight, friend/foe, the dividing walls of hostility will come smashing down. The crash will be greater than the fall of the Berlin Wall. God's Banquet Feast will be the most remarkable party ever thrown!

4. One’s Proper Service

Illustration

Larry Powell

I read that a member of a United Methodist church in North Carolina was once convicted in court for disrupting church services because of his atrocious singing. It was in 1873 that William Linkhaw was hauled into county court in Lumberton, Robeson County, N.C., by fellow Methodists who charged that Linkhaw’s singing repeatedly created havoc during worship services. Not only was his voice offensive to the ear, but he was given to singing long after the rest of the congregation had stopped. Things had become so disconcerting that even the minister refused to sing. Consequently, Linkhaw was found guilty of a misdemeanor and ordered to remain silent in church. However, the state supreme court overturned the conviction, sympathetic to Linkhaw’s claim that singing was a part of his service to God. I was interested in this particular item because I well remember when an old fellow in my home church was asked to surrender his choir robe on the same grounds. As a boy, it struck me as rather ridiculous that those of us in the choir, many of whom could not carry a tune in a wheelbarrow, should presume to single out Mr. X. After all, he was an affable gentlemen who had been a member of the choir for probably fifty years. He was not a person of means and not physically able to participate in the church’s visitation program or serve on any committee. His days were spent sitting at home with his good wife who had been in poor health for as long as I could remember. He could however, do one thing for his church. He could manage to get away for a couple of hours on Sunday morning and sing in the choir. His service though, as precious as it was to him, was no longer appreciated. I suppose the rationale behind the choir’s decision was the Mr. X’s service was no longer "proper."

What is one’s proper service to God? In Isaiah’s day, the supreme service was considered to be "fasting." Widely practiced as a kind of personal purge and expression of humility, fasting was a common experience among the devout throughout the ancient world. The Israelites incorporated fasting in national religious life more prominently after Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians in 586 B.C. Unfortunately, the Jews mistook this particular gesture as a guarantee of spiritual righteousness; a kind of "automatic purification" which placed them blameless before God. Consequently, it was inconceivable to them that hardships would continue following their dedicated "service." When hardships would continue, they felt an explanation was in order: "Why have we fasted and thou seest it not? Why have we humbled ourselves, and thou takest no knowledge of it" (58:3). Listen to God’s answer: "Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure, and oppress all your workers. Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight and to hit with wicked fist. Fasting like yours this day will not make your voice to be heard on high" (58:3, 4). Their service was unacceptable. In a word, it was mechanical; in another word, it was self-serving. In still yet another word, it was presumptuous. The service which God seeks involves the extension of his love for others and in an attitude of praise. In the words of John Wesley, serving God means, "serving neighbors, whether they be friends or adversaries, doing good to every man and willingly hurting no man." Wesley practiced what he preached. He traveled about 225,000 miles, preached about 50,000 times to crowds small and large, often up to 20,000, occasionally facing hostile mobs and barrages of stone and mud. But he had a plucky, game spirit, going on to the next town, leaving his class and "bands" to multiply. The service of outreach performed by Wesley, even with our precise statistics and access to his faithfully kept journals, is measureless.

Isaiah scored the people of Israel for indulging in perfunctory rituals, mistaking them for "service." Instead, he laid down God’s prescription for service: "to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke ... to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him" (58:6-7).

William Linkhaw believed that a part of his service to God was to sing in the church choir. I am inclined to agree with him. His voice may have been off key, but his comprehension of service to God was not. What is your service to God?

5. Cancel Your Plans

Illustration

James Packer

In Scripture we see several purposes for fasting. It's part of the discipline of self-control; it's a way of sharing that we depend on God alone and draw all our strength and resources from him; it's a way of focusing totally on him when seeking his guidance and help, and of showing that you really are in earnest in your quest; it's also, at times, an expression of sorrow and deep repentance, something that a person or community will do in order to acknowledge failure before God and seek his mercy.

We tend to think of fasting as going without food. But we can fast from anything. If we love music and decide to miss a concert in order to spend time with God, that is fasting. It is helpful to think of the parallel of human friendship. When friends need to be together, they will cancel all other activities in order to make that possible. There's nothing magical about fasting. It's just one way of telling God that your priority at that moment is to be alone with him, sorting out whatever is necessary, and you have cancelled the meal, party, concert, or whatever else you had planned to do in order to fulfill that priority.

6. Lord, Excuse Me

Illustration

Philip W. McLarty

Luke tells the same parable in a simpler, less militant way. (Luke 14:16-24) According to Luke, the host invited three friends, but each was predisposed. One had just bought some land, another five yoke of oxen, and another had just gotten married. Given the particulars, each had a reasonable excuse. Years ago, a friend of mine put this together in a song and sang it to the tune of "The Beverly Hillbillies." It went like this:

"I cannot come to the banquet, excuse me, I pray,
I've just bought a field, I must gather my hay;
I hate to miss the party, and I know this sounds dumb,
Pray, Lord, excuse me, I cannot come.

"I cannot come to the banquet, excuse me, dear sir,
I've just bought a cow, and her cream I must stir;
I hate to miss the party, all the food and the fun,
Pray, Lord, excuse me, I cannot come.

"I cannot come to the banquet, excuse me, my Lord,
I've just married a wife, and I gave her my word;
I hate to miss the party, and all that good rum,
Pray, Lord, excuse me, I cannot come.

"I cannot come to the banquet, I'm too busy, you see,
Perhaps another time would be better for me;
I know the table's ready, and I feel like a bum:
Pray, Lord, excuse me, I cannot come!"

Either way, the message is the same: Whatever your excuse, the kingdom must go on. God is at work reconciling the world to himself and, if we're too busy or, for whatever reason, unwilling to be part of this ministry of reconciliation, God will choose others to do his bidding.

7. Marriage in India

Illustration

Lisa D. Kenkeremath

In most parts of the world, a wedding is just about the biggest, most lavish event most people will ever attend. In the villages of India, for example, the marriage rites and festivities last for three days. Preparations of food and decorations begin weeks ahead. Bride and groom alike are dressed head to toe in sumptuous fabrics of silk and brocade, gold jewelry set with precious stones, garlands of flowers around their necks the most beautiful clothes they will ever wear. The groom may ride into the village on a white horse to meet his bride. Everyone in the village, from the youngest to the oldest, from the richest to the poorest, is invited, and the bride's family personally feeds those who come to beg. No one would think of refusing the invitation, and even the poor people scrape together some bits of finery to wear. The bride and groom are almost incidental to the scene, which has a glamour and excitement of its own as people sparkle in their finery, eat and drink and make music. For a time, work is set aside, the daily grind of poverty and deprivation is forgotten, distinctions of wealth and rank are blurred. For a time, life seems full of love, joy and harmony.

And Jesus said, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding banquet for his son." Parties in general, and weddings in particular, figure prominently in the Biblical vision of salvation. The prophet Isaiah speaks of the day of redemption as the day when "the Lord will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines" on God's holy mountain (Isa. 25:6). This is the great messianic banquet when all creation is healed and God and humanity feast together. In today's text, the prophet sees the people of God as brides and grooms decked out in the garments of salvation.

8. DIPS IN DISCIPLESHIP

Illustration

John H. Krahn

Contrary to what some of you may be thinking, this meditation, "Dips in Discipleship," is not a pejorative way of speaking about certain disciples of Christ. Had that been my intent, I would not have used an outdated term like "dip." We are not talking about dumb people who are out of touch with reality. Rather, I am referring to those times in our lives as Christian disciples when we enter into the valleys of depression. The times when nothing goes right, when thing get so bad that even God seems to have deserted us. We probably all have been through some of these times in our Christian lives. Perhaps some of us have dipped into the valley of depression recently and are still there. There are even times when it seems that the harder we try to do the will of the Lord, the more life gangs up on us and brings disappointment our way. As a result, we sometimes dip into pits of spiritual depression.

Now listen carefully, God deserts no one. God isn’t a problem provider. There is evil in the world that causes dips in discipleship, but there is no evil in God.

Remember the children’s prayer, "God is great, God is good, and we thank him for our food"? That prayer is true. God is great and God is good - there is no evil in God. God is not the author of the dips. Crying out to God, "Why are you doing this to my life?" is dumping your garbage at the wrong doorstep. Rather, curse the Devil, the devisor of dips. Evil causes mental, physical, and spiritual sickness. When we become a disciple of Christ, we can almost guarantee that old evil foe is not going to sit on his thumbs but will put a few dips in the way of our lives.

Although God does not lead us into valleys of despair, he is even present in those valleys. As the psalmist says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil, for thou art with me." Even if we abandon God; he does not abandon us. As C. S. Lewis wrote, "The gates of hell only can be locked from the inside." God is always as close to us as a whispered prayer.

When he told the parable of the prodigal son, Jesus left no doubt that it is the Father’s desire to forgive us and re-enter into a loving relationship even after we have had a dip in discipleship. When all of our best efforts have failed and we realize that we can’t go it alone, through prayer we can invite the Holy Spirit to conquer the evil within us and to reinstate us as a member in good standing of God’s family.

When you are engaged in a particular life crisis, remember the story of David and Goliath. God helped David conquer a very large problem. If your life is calling upon you to stand firm for your principles, remember the time when Luther went to the Diet of Worms. The possibility of death snapped at his heels, but God was with him. He was not alone. Through God, he was also victorious.

9. Commitment

Illustration

Clarence Forseburg, one of the great pulpiteers of Methodism, tells of a story that occurred to him several years ago. He was on the campus of Nebraska Wesleyan talking to a group of students who had expressed an interest in the ministry. When asked how many of them were definitely committed to going into the parish ministry, only one raised their hand. One young lady spoke up and said: "I have a problem with your use of the word commitment. That sounds very binding and restricting.”

Bishop Kenneth Carder of Tennessee recently wrote: “The church of today has become an institution in which even belief in God is optional or peripheral. Marketing techniques for a multiple option institution have replaced response to the Gospel of Jesus Christ as the means of membership enlistment. The basic appeal is to self-defined needs rather than a call to radical discipleship. The church’s mission all too often is to meet it’s members perceived needs rather than to serve God’s need for a redeemed, reconciled, and healed world.”

Our concept of consumerism has crept into the church. To recruit persons and to be marketable we think that we need to be able to say: Look what our church can offer you.

In this atmosphere of a sorority rush party, talk of discipleship is muted. Discipleship means knowing who Jesus Christ is and following the revelation made known to us in his teaching, death, resurrection, and presence.

10. Never Underestimate the Power of a Cold Cup of Water - Sermon Starter

Illustration

Brett Blair

Now I would like to stop the world for just one minute and ask you to think back. Think back with me to the first century. Think about those 50 years after Jesus' death and what it must been like for Jesus' disciples. Before the last one died their efforts had brought 500,000 men, women, and children into the ranks of the church. But what they had to suffer in order to accomplish this task is seldom discussed. We like the outcome of their discipleship but we don't want to hear the cost of discipleship. So for the record here is the cost: History tells us...

John died of extreme old age exiled to the island of Patmos.
Judas Iscariot, after betraying his Lord, hanged himself.
Peter was crucified; head downward, during the persecution of Nero.
Andrew died on a cross at Patrae, a Grecian Colony.
James, the younger, son of Alphaeus, was thrown from a pinnacle of the Temple, and then beaten to death with a club.
Bartholomew was flayed alive in Albanapolis, Armenia.
James, the elder son of Zebedee, was beheaded at Jerusalem.
Thomas, the doubter, was run through the body with a lance at Coromandel, in the East Indies.
Philip was hanged against a pillar at Heropolis.
Thaddeus was shot to death with arrows.
Simon died on a cross in Persia (what we now call Iran.)
Matthew was first stoned and then beheaded.

What sacrifices! And I ask you why? Why did they choose to die this way? Why desert your father and mother, your wife and child, and your home? Why put up with the constant humiliation, and hunger, and persecution, and defeat town after town after town?

I'll tell you why, because, in the words of Apostle Paul, they were held captive by the words and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is Paul's way of saying they were slaves to Christ.

It is quite likely we shall never be tested to the extent that the disciples were but there are some ways to gauge our commitment. Let's look at a couple this morning...

1. Sacrifice is a sign of mature commitment.
2. Hospitality is a sign of discipleship.
3. A cup of water is a sign that Christ is welcome.

11. The Tragedy of the Unprepared Life - Sermon Starter

Illustration

Brett Blair

There's a true story that comes form the sinking of the Titanic. A frightened woman found her place in a lifeboat that was about to be lowered into the raging North Atlantic. She suddenly thought of something she needed, so she asked permission to return to her stateroom before they cast off. She was granted three minutes or they would leave without her.

She ran across the deck that was already slanted at a dangerous angle. She raced through the gambling room with all the money that had rolled to one side, ankle deep. She came to her stateroom and quickly pushed a side her diamond rings and expensive bracelets and necklaces as she reached to the shelf above her bed and grabbed three small oranges. She quickly found her way back to the lifeboat and got in.

Now that seems incredible because thirty minutes earlier she would not have chosen a crate of oranges over the smallest diamond. But death had boarded the Titanic. One blast of its awful breath had transformed all values. Instantaneously, priceless things had become worthless. Worthless things had become priceless. And in that moment she preferred three small oranges to a crate of diamonds.

There are events in life, which have the power to transform the way we look at the world. Jesus' parable about the ten virgins offers one of these types of events, for the parable is about the Second Coming of Christ. But Jesus doesn't come right out and say this. Rather, he let's the story describe it for him. The woman on the sinking Titanic understood, in the light of her current circumstances, that she must make preparations for living on a lifeboat. Diamonds would not suffice, only the precious resources of an orange were good enough. Likewise, in this world where Christ may return at any moment, the parable warns, we must be ready.

Weddings are one of these kinds of events. And every time I have a wedding, I admonish those in the wedding to be ready, to make a special effort to be ready on the day of the ceremony. I plead with them to arrive early and be dressed and ready to go. Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn't.

Jesus' parable about a wedding, is told not from the vantage point of the bride and groom, but of the ten young maidens who had been invited to the happy occasion, five of them were foolish, said Jesus, five of them were wise. What was the measure of their wisdom? In a word, their readiness to be a part of the event. All of the young women had oil in their lamps, but five had an additional supply.

This is, of course, foreign to our concepts of weddings today. Weddings in our society are announced for a specific time and place, and if things are late in getting started, those invited guests begin to fidget a bit. But in first century Palestine, a wedding could happen anytime within several days. The uncertainty was considered a part of the excitement of the wedding. The bridegroom hoped to catch some of the bridal party napping. But fairness required that some announcement be made, so just before the big event a messenger was sent through the streets shouting: Behold the bridegroom commeth." The alert ones in the wedding party would respond, and the others would be left behind.

In Jesus parable, the cry came at midnight. This was often the case; most bridegrooms chose to come late at night. The sleeping attendants were awakened. It was then that they realized that they did not have enough oil in their lamps to get through the night. Panicked, they attempted to borrow some from the other bridesmaids. But they responded, "If we give you our oil, there won't be enough for us. Hurry out to the dealers and buy some yourself." So the five foolish maidens hurried out, but by the time they returned the door had already been closed. They knocked on the door and pleaded to be a part of the festivities, but the groom said: "If you belonged at this event you would already have been present." Jesus concluded: Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.

What is this parable suggesting to us? I would like to make a few suggestions…

1. Some things cannot be borrowed.
2. Some things cannot be put off.
3. We can miss out on great opportunities.

12. See My Hands and My Feet

Illustration

King Duncan

Tolstoy told a story of a Czar and Czarina who wished to honor the members of their court with a banquet. They sent out invitations and requested that the guests come with the invitations in their hands. When they arrived at the banquet the guests were surprised to discover that the guards did not look at their invitations at all. Instead they examined their hands. The guests wondered about this, but they were also curious to see who the Czar and Czarina would choose as the guest of honor to sit between them at the banquet. They were flabbergasted to see that it was the old scrub woman who had worked to keep the palace clean for years. The guards, having examined her hands, declared, "You have the proper credentials to be the guest of honor. We can see your love and loyalty in your hands."

A similar story is told of the great missionary to Burma, Adoniram Judson. Judson went to the King of Burma to ask him if he might have permission to go to a certain city to preach. The King, a pagan, but quite an intelligent man responded, "I'm willing for a dozen preachers to go but not you, not with those hands. My people are not such fools as to take notice of your preaching but they will note those calloused, work scarred hands. I worry that you will turn the whole kingdom to your god."

13. How To Criticize Constructively

Illustration

Staff

One of the rarest management skills and one of the most difficult to learn is how to criticize constructively. Constructive criticism shows consideration for other people's feelings and invites their suggestions and cooperation. When you can't figure out how to criticize something constructively, the wisest course is to keep your mouth shut until you do. Criticism that starts out by attacking people and putting them in the position of having to defend themselves often turns small problems into big ones. Usually the best way to start is with simple, friendly questions, queries that will give people a chance to explain their position without them being offended and without getting excited. Then, after you've listened carefully, suggest the changes you'd like them to make and ask what they think of the suggestions.

Don't push for an immediate decision if it isn't necessary, or if there is still substantial disagreement. Ask them to think it over. Tell them you will too. Later, if you still believe in the changes you want to make, get together with them again. Explain that you've thought it over carefully and still believe the idea is worth a try. Tell them you feel an obligation to give it a fair chance, and you're counting on them to do the same.

One other important point; when you have to criticize or question someone's actions or ideas, always do it to their face. Discuss it with the person involved, privately if possible. Don't let him or her hear your criticism secondhand.

14. Hear No Evil

Illustration

Richard A. Jensen

Remains Of The Day is a powerful movie starring Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson. Hopkins plays the role of the chief butler at a large estate in England. Emma Thompson plays his chief assistant. The movie is set in the years immediately preceding and succeeding World War II.

The butler is the central figure in the film. He has come by his trade naturally. His father was a butler before him. The estate, therefore, is the only home he has ever known. He knows no other life. In this world he is a man of absolute dependability. He runs the large estate staff like clockwork. He is a model of efficiency. He is also a man who seems to have no emotions whatsoever. One evening, for example, while the staff is busily serving a marvelous banquet the butler is called aside. His father, who also works and lives at the estate, has taken ill. The butler goes quietly to his father's room. He finds his father is dying. He takes care of matters quite efficiently and goes back to the demands of the banquet. Not a tear is shed.

The head of the estate in these pre-war years in England is a man who has great sympathy for the German cause. Many meetings are held at his estate as he seeks to enlighten others in the cause of his sympathy. Much pro-Nazi discussion takes place around the ornately crafted tables of the estate. The butler is right there in the midst of all this. He hears the discussions but it seems to make no impression upon him whatsoever.

After the war the butler receives a warm letter from the woman who had in years past been his chief assistant at the estate. This was a woman who was greatly attracted to the butler. The butler either did not notice her attraction to him or he did not know how to comport himself in the presence of this beautiful woman. No one had ever taught him about love. At any rate, in response to her letter the butler gets the use of one of the cars of the estate to go and visit her with an eye to hiring her back to her old position. Watching the movie one hopes that, at long last, love will come to full bloom between these kindly souls. The entire movie works to build our suspense about this matter. She sends out all the clues in the world to him that she is interested more in him than in a position at the estate. But the butler cannot hear. The butler cannot see.

On his way to speak with his former assistant his car breaks down. He finds himself waiting for help at a local pub. The patrons of the pub ask where he is from. He mentions the estate. At first they mistakenly assume that he might own the estate. They ask him many questions. He can answer none of them. Two distinguished looking gentlemen get into the discussion with the butler. They have sized him up as a common man. They ask him his impressions of the former head of his estate. "Do you agree with the positions of your master?" they inquire. "What do you think of the war?"

The questions totally confuse the butler. "No, I don't have an opinion on that. No, I don't understand that." Those who have put the questions to him laugh at this common man who understands nothing. Just as they thought! The audience is left puzzled. The butler has heard many discussions at his master's estate concerning the war. He has been there. He has heard. He has seen. But he has heard and seen nothing. The butler cannot hear. The butler cannot see. "

15. Proclamation Appointing a National Fast Day

Illustration

William H. Seward

Washington, D.C. March 30, 1863

Senator James Harlan of Iowa, whose daughter later married President Lincoln's son Robert, introduced this Resolution in the Senate on March 2, 1863. The Resolution asked President Lincoln to proclaim a national day of prayer and fasting. The Resolution was adopted on March 3, and signed by Lincoln on March 30, one month before the fast day was observed.

By the President of the United States of America.

A Proclamation.

Whereas, the Senate of the United States, devoutly recognizing the Supreme Authority and just Government of Almighty God, in all the affairs of men and of nations, has, by a resolution, requested the President to designate and set apart a day for National prayer and humiliation.

And whereas it is the duty of nations as well as of men, to own their dependence upon the overruling power of God, to confess their sins and transgressions, in humble sorrow, yet with assured hope that genuine repentance will lead to mercy and pardon; and to recognize the sublime truth, announced in the Holy Scriptures and proven by all history, that those nations only are blessed whose God is the Lord.

And, insomuch as we know that, by His divine law, nations like individuals are subjected to punishments and chastisements in this world, may we not justly fear that the awful calamity of civil war, which now desolates the land, may be but a punishment, inflicted upon us, for our presumptuous sins, to the needful end of our national reformation as a whole People? We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven. We have been preserved, these many years, in peace and prosperity. We have grown in numbers, wealth and power, as no other nation has ever grown. But we have forgotten God. We have forgotten the gracious hand which preserved us in peace, and multiplied and enriched and strengthened us; and we have vainly imagined, in the deceitfulness of our hearts, that all these blessings were produced by some superior wisdom and virtue of our own. Intoxicated with unbroken success, we have become too self-sufficient to feel the necessity of redeeming and preserving grace, too proud to pray to the God that made us!

It behooves us then, to humble ourselves before the offended Power, to confess our national sins, and to pray for clemency and forgiveness.

Now, therefore, in compliance with the request, and fully concurring in the views of the Senate, I do, by this my proclamation, designate and set apart Thursday, the 30th. day of April, 1863, as a day of national humiliation, fasting and prayer. And I do hereby request all the People to abstain, on that day, from their ordinary secular pursuits, and to unite, at their several places of public worship and their respective homes, in keeping the day holy to the Lord, and devoted to the humble discharge of the religious duties proper to that solemn occasion.

All this being done, in sincerity and truth, let us then rest humbly in the hope authorized by the Divine teachings, that the united cry of the Nation will be heard on high, and answered with blessings, no less than the pardon of our national sins, and the restoration of our now divided and suffering Country, to its former happy condition of unity and peace.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

Done at the City of Washington, this thirtieth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the United States the eighty seventh.

By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward, Secretary of State.

16. Saving the Best for Last - Sermon Starter

Illustration

Brett Blair

The Jews attached great importance to the high moments of life. Thus a wedding was not just a brief ceremony, but an experience shared by the entire community. The typical wedding feast could last up to seven days. That sounds strange to our modern way of thinking, but this offered a bright interlude in an otherwise dreary existence. The ceremony would begin on Tuesday at midnight. After the wedding the father of the bride would take his daughter to every house so that everyone might congratulate her. It was a community experience. Weddings were a time of joy.

Years ago when Johnny Carson was the host of The Tonight Show he interviewed an eight year old boy. The young man was asked to appear because he had rescued two friends in a coal mine outside his hometown in West Virginia. As Johnny questioned the boy, it became apparent to him and the audience that the young man was a Christian. So Johnny asked him if he attended Sunday school. When the boy said he did Johnny inquired, "What are you learning in Sunday school?" "Last week," came his reply, "our lesson was about when Jesus went to a wedding and turned water into wine." The audience roared, but Johnny tried to keep a straight face. Then he said, "And what did you learn from that story?" The boy squirmed in his chair. It was apparent he hadn't thought about this. But then he lifted up his face and said, "If you're going to have a wedding, make sure you invite Jesus!" The little boy was on to something. Weddings are time of Joy.

At the wedding, which Jesus attended in Cana of Galilee, there was great joy but a problem developed. There was a shortage of wine. Not only was that a social embarrassment, it was also a symbol. For a wedding to run out of wine was an omen that there was little chance of this particular marriage reaching its full potential, maybe joy was not meant for this couple.

So Mary approaches Jesus and asks him to do something. His response? “Why do you involve me woman?” Sounds harsh, so unlike him, and it has long puzzled biblical scholars. But you have to look at this scene in its historical context. Jesus, at this moment, had not performed a single miracle. He was thirty years old and he had just gathered together his disciples. He knows

that if he performs a miracle, a clock will start ticking and it will not stop until he gets to Calvary. Crowds will flock; investigators will be dispatched. Is this the appropriate moment? Jesus thus makes his move and gives his first public sign that he is different; he transforms water into wine. It is a crucial moment for Jesus and the disciples. Let's take a look at:

1. The Miraculous Sign
2. His Glory Revealed
3. Their Faith Begun

17. Criticize and Minimize

Illustration

James Cole

I feel sorry for the guys
Who criticize and minimize
The other guys
Whose enterprise
Has made them rise
Above the guys
Who criticize and minimize.

18. The Fellowship of the Bearers of Cold Water

Illustration

King Duncan

An old man named Calvin had lived a good life as a farmer for years. One day an evangelist came to the community, and, in the course of his stay, visited Calvin and asked him what denomination he was. Calvin answered the question like this: "When my grain gets ready for selling, after I've harvested it and packaged it, I can take it to town by any one of three roads " the river road, the dirt road, or the highway. But when I get my grain to town and go to the buyer to sell him what I have, he never looks at me and asks, ˜Calvin, which road did you take to get your grain to town?' What he does do is ask me if my grain is any good."

Friend, is your grain good - the grain of your discipleship? That's all that really matters. When we get to Heaven we will probably find some (Roman Catholics) and some (Baptists) and some (Presbyterians). And they'll be just as surprised to see us as we will to see them. But we will all belong to just one fellowship. Let's call it the Fellowship of the Bearers of Cold Water. We will all be people who have lived out our discipleship through acts of kindness to others.

19. Many Parts, but of One Body

Illustration

John R. Steward

"For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ." (v. 12)

There was a man who had a dream one night that he had died. In his dream he found himself in a large room. The room had a very large banquet table filled with different kinds of food. There were people seated around the table but they were seated five feet away from the table. In his dream, the people were very hungry and wanted to eat but were unable to get out of their chairs. To make matters worse their arms were not long enough to be able to reach out and obtain the food.

As the man looked more closely, he saw a very large spoon that was five feet long that the people were fighting over for possession. In his dream, he watched with amazement how one person used the spoon to dish up some food and then carefully turned the spoon around toward his mouth with all the food falling off the spoon and onto the floor. Then another person grabbed the spoon but was unable to feed himself because of the length of the spoon.

Then the man turned to his guide and said: "This is hell; to have food and not be able to eat it." The guide replied, "Where do you think you are? This is hell. But this is not your place. Come with me." The guide took him to another room that was also filled with a large banquet table and delicious food. In this room, there was also a large spoon with a handle that was five feet long. However, in this room no one was fighting. Instead, one person would take the spoon and use it to feed another. They in turn would use the spoon to return the favor. The guide turned to the man and said, "This is heaven."

Source: Robert Schuller, Be an Extraordinary Person in an Ordinary World (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company), p. 113."

20. He Who Exalts Himself Will Be Humbled

Illustration

Mark Trotter

Robert Coles, the psychiatrist, writes a lot of books, teaches at Harvard. He wrote a book about Dorothy Day. In the book there is this anecdote. Dorothy Day, as you know, is that famous Catholic social worker, the founder of the Catholic Worker. When Coles was a medical student at Harvard, he volunteered to work at the Catholic Worker. He was a Harvard graduate. He was in medical school. He was going to be a psychiatrist. In this society, that is about as high a status as you can get. He knew that. He was really proud of it. He was also proud that as this person with all these credentials, he was volunteering to help the poor. It was the kind of thing people would sit up and take notice of.

He arrived at the premises of the Catholic Worker. He asked to see Dorothy Day. He went right to the top. The person said that she was in the kitchen. He went into the kitchen, saw her sitting at a table, talking to someone. He had enough medical training to recognize that the man that she was talking to was addicted to some dangerous substance. He was disheveled. He was obviously a homeless street person. She was sitting at table with him, listening intently to what he had to say. Now I want you to have in mind Jesus' parable of the banquet and the seats at the table, and where you are supposed to be at that banquet.

She is at table with this street person, giving him her full attention. So she didn't notice Coles come in the room. He stood beside the door, waited for her to finish. When she finished the conversation she stood up. That is when she noticed Coles. She asked, "Do you want to speak to one of us?"

He was astounded. Dorothy Day was famous. This man with her was a nobody. He's a derelict. "You wanted to speak to one of us?" Coles had never seen anything like this before. Humility that can identify with another person so completely as to remove all distinctions between them. It cut through all of the boundaries, all the categories that society sets up to separate us from one another. There were just two people, brother and sister, the sister concerned about the brother.

It changed his life. He said he learned more in one moment than he did in four years at Harvard. He saw in one moment what it means to humble yourself as our Lord did, "who did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but humbled himself, and took on the form of a servant."

For he who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.

21. Growing in Courage or Might

Illustration

Editor James S. Hewett

A man by the name of Mallory led an expedition to try to conquer Mt. Everest in the 1920s. The first expedition failed, as did the second. Then, with a team of the best quality and ability, Mallory made a third assault. But in spite of careful planning and extensive safety precautions, disaster struck. An avalanche hit and Mallory and most of his party were killed. When the few who did survive returned to England, they held a glorious banquet saluting the great people of Mallory's final expedition. As the leader of the survivors stood to acknowledge the applause, he looked around the hall at the framed pictures of Mallory and his comrades who had died. Then he turned his back to the crowds to face the huge picture of Mt. Everest which stood looming like a silent, unconquerable giant behind the banquet table. With tears streaming down his face, he addressed the mountain on behalf of Mallory and his dead friends. "I speak to you, Mt. Everest, in the name of all brave men living and those yet unborn. Mt. Everest, you defeated us once; you defeated us twice; you defeated us three times. But, Mt. Everest, we shall someday defeat you, because you can't get any bigger and we can."

22. Sacrifice for Discipleship

Illustration

King Duncan

Millions of Christians have been inspired by the life and death of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor and theologian who was killed during World War II.

Bonhoeffer was as outspoken concerning the sins of Adolf Hitler as John the Baptist was about the sins of Herod. Friends in the United States and England, knowing the probable consequences of opposing Hitler, arranged for Bonhoeffer to leave Germany. After a few months, however, Bonhoeffer knew he must return to his homeland. There he preached ever more strongly against what was happening to his people. Needless to say, he aroused great opposition. Soon he was forced to go underground. Later he was imprisoned. There he was executed.

Out of his struggles he wrote a monumental work, The Cost of Discipleship. It stands as an eternal judgment of those who want Christ but do not want to bear a cross. John the Baptist understood the cost of discipleship. He knew what it was to sacrifice everything in answer to God's call.

23. Cheap Grace

Illustration

Joel Leyrer

Let me give you a modern day illustration of a man whom I believe both understood and exemplified Jesus' words on self-denial, cross-bearing and following Him. Some of you may be familiar with the name Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He was a Lutheran pastor who lived in Germany during the Second World War. Convinced that it was his Christian duty to work within his own country for the defeat of Adolf Hitler, Bonhoeffer became a part of an underground resistance movement. Unfortunately, his involvement was discovered and he was sent to a prison camp. He never returned. In 1945, at the age of 39, he was executed by hanging, just as War II was ending. We may not share in all of his views, but by any and all definitions he is a 20th century Christian martyr.

By the time of his death he had already done quite a bit of writing. Perhaps his best-known work (still available and popular today) is entitled, "The Cost of Discipleship." In it he offers many thought provoking statements on the Christian life. One of the phrases he uses over and over again (and something he accuses many modern Christians of buying into) is the concept of "cheap grace."

Listen to how he defines it: "Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our church. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without personal confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ."

24. What Kind of Cross?

Illustration

Larry Powell

Not long ago, a hard-rock singer reknowned for his notorious over indulgence in mind-altering drugs appeared on television to scream, lunge, and gyrate through one of his bestselling songs. Inasmuch as the rather badly garbled words were totally incomprehensible to me, I turned my attention to the bizarre, uninhibited attire of this widely heralded "artist." Not to dwell on the flamboyance of his appearance, I wish only to point out that dangling from an expensive chain around his neck was a large cross. Perhaps it was there as a counterstatement, a message of rebellion to institutional religion, or perhaps he simply counted it as an attractive piece of jewelry. I do not know. But more and more, the cross is appearing on necklaces, earrings, bracelets, and the like as fashionable symbols, which is all right, I suppose, except that the behavior of those brandishing them is not always consistent with what the cross represents. If a person in ancient Rome had adorned himself with a cross, it would have been the equivalent of someone today wearing the likeness of the electric chair around his neck. The cross was originally not considered to be a thing of beauty. It conveyed pain, humiliation, and death. It still does, except in the Christian context. Another dimension was added to Calvary ... victory.

Jesus issued a call to discipleship, but the invitation contained an inherent inhibitor: "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." A cross of adornment or embellishment was not what Jesus had in mind. Self-denial and risking the consequences of following the way of Christ are at the heart of the call to discipleship.

In the eighteenth century, a German artist, Stenberg, was walking through the market place of his home town when he was attracted to the face of a dancing gypsy girl. He invited her to sit for him in his studio as a model. Accepting his invitation, she enabled Stenberg to paint his famous "Dancing Gypsy Girl." There is more. The young girl was greatly impressed by what she saw in the artist’s studio, particularly a painting in progress titled "Crucifixion." Arrested by the painting, she said one day to Stenberg, "He must have been a very bad man to have been nailed to a cross like that." Stenberg replied, "No, he was a good man. The best man who ever lived. Indeed, he died for all men." The girl asked, "Did he die for you?" Stenberg had never really made such a personal application of his explanation. He was led to search the Scriptures, and in a few short weeks, he discovered the answer and surrendered himself to Christ. Returning to his painting of the "Crucifixion," he added these words beneath the likeness of Christ on the cross: "This I did for thee; what hast thou done for me?" There is more. A young aristocratic count, Zinzendorf by name, chanced to observe the painting, paused to meditate at both the depiction and the words, and was so moved that he went on to found the Moravians.

There are elements of power and attraction about the cross. There also is an inaudible appeal: "This I did for thee; what hast thou done for me?" Have we denied ourselves and taken up our cross, whatever it may be, and followed him?

25. The True Meaning of Marriage

Illustration

Scott Grant

While the divorce culture has become a fact of life, the middle class has turned weddings into overwrought exercises in consumer spending, as if by just plunking down enough cash for the flower girls' dresses and tissue-lined envelopes for the RSVP cards, we can somehow improve our chance of going the distance. But in our culture, as marriage means less and less, we spend more and more on our weddings.

Caitlin Flanagan, the american writer says, "What we teach about the true meaning of marriage will determine a great deal about our fate."

26. The Art of Listening

Illustration

Cecil C. Osborne

Listening is not just passive hearing. It is an active participating experience in which you pay genuine attention to what the other person is saying. Here are some principles that should help you become a better listener:

Don’t grab the conversation: “Yes, now take me, for instance …”
Don’t let your gaze wander from the other person’s face except momentarily.
Validate the feelings of the other: “Yes, I see what you mean.”
Don’t interrupt.
Don’t try to top the other person’s story or joke.
Don’t criticize.
Ask appropriate questions: “What happened then?” or “How did you feel?”
Don’t argue.

27. Judging Prematurely

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

A young American found himself seated next to a Chinese diplomat at a banquet. He really didn’t know that this was a very learned man, that he was indeed a diplomat.

Not knowing what to say to a Chinese, the young man stupidly asked, “Likee soupee?”

The diplomat nodded and smiled. Later, Wellington Coo, this man seated by the young fellow, was called on to speak. He delivered an eloquent address in flawless English. As he sat down to the sound of applause, he turned to the young American and said, “Likee speechee?”

We had better not judge folks prematurely, lest we find out that it is we who are being judged, not they!

28. Yuk!

Illustration

David E. Leininger

Pastor David Leininger knows weddings can be adventures. He says he will never forget a wedding several years ago that went just beautifully until the very end of the ceremony. In that tender moment when bride and groom kissed, the bride's five-year-old brother, the ring bearer, let out with a "YUK!" The congregation was on the floor laughing. As people left that afternoon, the place glowed with everyone's grins. And in years to come, when people think of that wedding, the one thing they remember is YUK!

In a way, that is what we are confronted with in our gospel lesson. This one ALMOST became one of those weddings to remember and for a reason which would have mortified the bride and groom. They had almost run out wine.

29. Dinner with the Enemy

Illustration

Albert H. Quie

"The man I ate dinner with tonight killed my brother." The words, spoken by a stylish woman at a PF banquet in Seattle, amazed me. She told how John H. had murdered her brother during a robbery, served 18 years at Walla Walla, then settled into life on a dairy farm, where she had met him in 1983, 20 years after his crime. Compelled by Christ's command to forgive, Ruth Youngsman had gone to her enemy and pronounced forgiveness. Then she had taken him to her father's deathbed, prompting reconciliation.

Some wouldn't call this a success story: John didn't dedicate his life to Christ. But at that PF banquet last fall, his voice cracked as he said, "Christians are the only people I know that you can kill their son, and they'll make you a part of their family. I don't know the Man Upstairs, but He sure is hounding me."

John's story was unfinished; he hadn't yet accepted Christ. But just as Christ died for us regardless of our actions or acceptance, so Ruth forgave him without qualification. Even more so, she became his friend.

30. Consumerism

Illustration

Brett Blair

Another set of "money-changers" in the church is consumerism. Church members have bought into the concept of consumerism. They don't see themselves as servants, but as customers to be waited upon. Complaints about the church are frequently followed with the expression: "I do pay my money." That is consumerism. It is a way of saying: I am the one who is to be served.

When a church buys into consumerism, they go about meeting the defined needs of the customers, rather than meeting God's need for a redeemed world. Too often people treat church membership as though they are selecting a supermarket rather than a relationship. The call of Christ is not for consumers; it is for disciples. If we treat church members as consumers, then at what point do they quit becoming customers and start becoming missionaries.

To make matters worse too many churches attempt to market themselves and in the process of developing a market strategy the subtle message is released: discipleship and missions are optional. Friends, they are not optional. The call of Christ is: You must loose your life in order to save your life. We dare not fall down before the idol of institutional success.

When consumerism gets into the church, more time is spent on membership and expenditures than God's dream of the Good News proclaimed, justice administered, and inclusiveness and healing accomplished. Discipleship cannot be seen as a church option, alongside volleyball and jazzercise.

Likewise, worship cannot be viewed as a weekly variety show, but an opportunity for us to get in touch with the Transcendent God. And yes, clergy are guilty as well. Too much time is spent encouraging people to think positive about their sin.

31. Have You Ever Tried to Discredit Someone?

Illustration

Maxie Dunnam

Isn't there a tendency on our part to try to discredit the experience of others when we are intimidated by their experience? Think about it for a moment. Haven't you ever felt threatened by a close friend, or even a family member, who moved to a new level of Christian commitment, and began to take his or her Christian discipleship more seriously?

Maybe she began to talk more - to witness. You've not heard this sort of language before, not from a person like her, President of the Junior League or the Garden Club. She talks about "being born again" or about prayers being answered in such an explicit manner...and somehow, we feel threatened.

Or, he decides he needs to deepen his involvement with Jesus, and so he goes to serve in the Salvation Army's Soup Kitchen or to help build a home for a poor family. It's so out-of-character with this white-collar executive. He even talks about meeting Jesus in the poor whom he serves! And maybe he even begins to criticize the church for its self-serving attitude and low level of involvement in community issues - like homelessness, hunger, child abuse....

Both of them join a weekly prayer or Bible study group and they love to talk about how they see Jesus changing people's lives, and that's just a bit much! That's taking this "Jesus thing" too far!

You see, our religious neutrality, our middle of the road faith, is threatened "whenever someone we know well takes spiritual commitments seriously and refuses any longer to play hide-and—seek and touch-and-go with the living God." (Carl F. H. Henry, Ibid, p. 149)

So we try to discredit it all. "He's beside himself".

32. Living for Balance

Illustration

Richard A. Wing

I read the words of Dr. Meyer Friedman, who said that lifestyle and creative use of leisure can be more important than diet and exercise in preventing heart attacks. Obviously a balance among all three is most desirable. I have observed many people who have paid attention to the body and diet and have neglected the spirit and are dying inside.

Dr. Friedman gives suggestions for people to live less frantic lives by living more by the calendar than the clock: 1. Stop thinking about several things at one time. 2. Listen without interrupting. 3. Read books that demand concentration (games, too). 4. Avoid irritating people. 5. Plan for some personal quiet time each day. 6. Finally, things worth being are better than things worth having.

Remember the people who were here first. The Native Americans had an ability to live by the ages rather than by the day. Among certain tribes in North America were those who would make decisions for the tribe based on how that decision would affect people seven generations into the future!

33. See the Resemblance

Illustration

Larry Powell

In all prrobablity, you know of some young boy who bears such a striking resemblance to his father that a person would know immediately, even in a crowd, that they were father and son. The father can be seen in the son. The Bible tells us that "God was Christ!" In what ways did the Son resemble the Father?

a. In his life. Jesus affirmed and celebrated life. His was not the attitude that this world and all that is in it are despicably evil ... that the object is to totally reject life with an eye always on "glory" ... that beauty in any form must be repressed as a tool of the devil. No, instead, Christ affirmed and celebrated life. Not a recluse, he enjoyed friendships with Lazarus, Mary, Martha, and others. He observed simple domestic gestures and was so impressed by them that he gave them a prominent place in his teachings (a woman sweeping a house, or drawing water at a well, baking bread, old wineskins bursting with new wine, lamps flickering in the night, patches on old garments). He enjoyed and absorbed the movements in nature and referred to them in order to illustrate his message; birds gathering into trees, foxes going into dens, figs withering, storm clouds boiling. Jesus affirmed life in such a positive manner, experiencing and relating to God’s great intention and design for all he had made, that we may understand life is not to be either seized nor rejected, but "lived" in an attitude of "Praise God!" In the harmony of Christ’s life with creation, we see something of God’s great intention and design for each of us.

b. In his ministry. Jesus’ ministry was characterized by the absolute "giving" of himself. He was, as one theologian puts it, "radically obedient" to God. In the same spirit, he was "radically giving" to others, always reaching, touching, healing, praying, searching, loving. The Bell Telephone Company did not originate the concept of "Reach Out and Touch Someone." The concept was in the mind of God before creation and the practice is as old as Eden. It was perfected in Jesus Christ, proclaimed in the New Testament, and is as relevant today as this morning’s newspaper. The ministry of Christ reveals a God who "spends" himself for creation.

c. In his teaching. Jesus was able to recognize and relate to God in the common life through his teachings. His life, ministry, and teachings combined to reveal a God of boundless love, caring, concern, and sensitive compassion. What he taught, he practiced. Even in death he was consistent with the witness of his life. Having spoken of "forgiving one’s enemies" and those who "despitefully use you," he gathered his words into action on Calvary. "Father, forgive them," he prayed. He taught so very much more, all of which was personified in his life. He showed that if the "good teacher" is flawlessly consistent, how much more consistent and loving must be our heavenly Father?

d. In his resurrection. Here, God unmistakably reveals himself. His power is beyond imagination. His promises are made good. His intentions and purposes will not be overthrown. His actual involvement in the world is confirmed. In the resurrected Christ, God is clearly revealed. God was, in all ways, in Christ!

34. Fear and the Farmer

Illustration

John R. Steward

A farmer was being questioned by a lawyer during a trial concerning an accident on a highway. The lawyer asked the farmer, "Is it true, Mr. Jones, that when the highway patrol officer came over to you after the accident, you said, 'I feel fine'?"

Farmer Jones began to answer by saying, "Well, now, me and my cow Bessie were driving down the highway in my pickup truck when..." At this point the attorney interrupted, saying, "Please just answer my question with a yes or a no; did you say to the officer, 'I feel fine'?" Farmer Jones then tried to answer the question again. He said, "Well, now, me and my cow Bessie were driving down the highway in my pickup truck when..." The attorney stopped him again and this time asked the judge to intervene. He said, "Your honor, would you please instruct the witness to simply answer my question with a yes or a no." The judge said, "Why don't we just let him tell his story?"

So, Farmer Jones told his story. "Me and my cow Bessie were driving down the highway in my pickup truck. Bessie, of course, was in the bed of the truck. I heard a loud bang and knew that I had blown out a tire. The truck went flying off the road and landed in a ditch. I went flying out of the truck on one side of the highway and Bessie landed on the other side. When I woke up, the highway patrol officer came over to me and said that Bessie was in awful shape. He then went back over to Bessie, pulled out his gun and shot her dead. Then he came over to me and asked me how I felt and I said, " 'I feel fine, just fine.' "

Fear causes us to do things and say things that we might not do otherwise. Fear can be a powerful motivator in our lives. Too often fear is a destructive force with little redeeming value. In this scripture reading, the Apostle Paul encourages us to "let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts...." He even goes on to say that we have been called to this experience of peace in Jesus Christ. We were built and designed by God to be a people of faith, not fear. Faith in the one who redeems us will lead to peace.

Source: Parables, Etc. (Platteville, Colorado: Saratoga Press), October 1991. Used by permission.

35. Mr. Thanksgiving

Illustration

Ashley Johnson

Years ago, Bob Vogelbaugh of Moline, Illinois, noticed that many of the customers at his grocery store made no special plans for Thanksgiving. Some of them were single and had no family with which to celebrate the holidays. Some were elderly and didn't want to travel far for the family gatherings. Vogelbaugh invited a couple dozen of his customers to his store on Thanksgiving day, where he prepared a feast for them. The community Thanksgiving gathering was such a hit that Vogelbaugh made it a yearly tradition. Today they call him Mr. Thanksgiving. In 2020 he was still going strong marking his 50th year providing a free Thanksgiving banquet to more than 2,000 residents of Moline.

36. WHEN WINNING MEANS LOSING

Illustration

John H. Krahn

For the Christian, life is idyllic. As you embrace Christ, your problems become opportunities, heartaches turn into joys, and bad times fade into the past. Your career succeeds as it never has. Your relationship with those around you is enhanced. Unkind words once directed toward you no longer make their way to your ears. Temptation runs against you, then retreats in dismay. Money is no longer a problem, for you’ll have more than enough. Lovely flowers moving in the fresh breeze send their fragrance your way as the warming rays of the sun fill your body with the feeling of health and beautiful harmony with God and nature. You are God’s special person. He spares you from pain, problems, and poverty.

Hogwash, unmitigated hogwash - more like heresy. If Christianity is as I have just described it, then all of us must be wondering whether we really are Christians. Although our walk with Jesus brings us many blessings that will enhance our lives, the Evil One does not roll over and play dead when we follow Christ but continues to dog us as we make our way through life. Following Jesus Christ also brings with it a degree of suffering as our selfishness is lost to service and discipleship. And as we struggle to be what we are, children of God through Baptism, it is often hard and painful. Christ suffered, his followers suffered, we too will have the privilege of suffering.

Those of us who try to live a moral life in society that is so permissive know the suffering that sometimes accompanies our uniqueness. Often, others look at us in disbelief when we stand for something because it’s right rather than because it’s expedient. To them we appear as losers. But for us to do less is to march to a different drum beat than the one Jesus sounds. Jesus puts it this way, "If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." To lead a winning Christian life, we lose our selfishness and replace it with selflessness.

Our march through life does not end at the grave but moves beyond. Our vision is both present and future, in this world and the next. Courageously we meet the world, proclaiming the glory of the Lord in word and deed and find strength through him to overcome whatever conflicts our faith might encounter. Leaning on him we seek his Spirit’s power to help us deny ourselves, to bear his cross, and to even suffer for the Gospel’s sake. With Christ we desire that everyone might become his children through faith and join him and us at the Father’s house in eternity.

When we arrive, God will look us over - not for medals, or awards, or degrees, but for scars. Finding them, he will declare, "Ah, a wise person who understood that winning meant losing."

37. Cost-free Discipleship Produces Wimps

Illustration

Brennan Manning

Brennan Manning in his book, The Signature of Jesus, writes, "We have made it too easy to be a Christian. The sole requirements are the recitation of a creed and attendance at a local church where there is no community and little fellowship. Christianity used to be risky business; it is no longer. Cost-free discipleship produces wimps."

38. The Disciples' Culture Shock

Illustration

Father George Griener

In the summer of 1971 I had gone to Munich to study German. It was my first time in "the Fatherland," and I suppose I had half expected to find blond, blue-eyed kids yodeling on street corners, or adults heading to work in Lederhosen humming Beethoven's 9th. Instead, blaring from every Italian Pizza Parlor, every Turkish shish kabob stall or ubiquitous McDonald's was the 1971 Lynn Anderson hit song, "I beg your pardon, I never promised you a rose garden."

Some of you may even remember the words: it was a rather banal ditty, uttering the commonplace wisdom that sunshine and rain are part of every life. But hearing this American hit song in Munich played havoc with my expectations. In fact, it was such a culture shock that the memory remains vivid even today, three decades later.

Two millennia later Mark's Gospel continues to recall the culture shock the apostles had when the cost of discipleship finally dawned on them; when their expectations of the reign of God came face-to-face with hard-nosed reality; when fascination and enthusiasm with this Jesus began to be transformed into self-sacrificing commitment.

39. Fault-Finding

Illustration

Warren Wiersbe

Before we are too harsh in judging those scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day, let's stop and look at ourselves. All too many Christians today go to church to find fault, to gossip, and to criticize. Warren Wiersbe, in his book Angry People, wrote,

"An incident in the life of Joseph Parker, the great British preacher, illustrates this tragic truth. He was preaching at the CityTemple in London. After the service one of the listeners came up to him and said, 'Dr. Parker, you made a grammatical error in your sermon.' He then proceeded to point out the error to the pastor. Joseph Parker looked at the man and said, 'And what else did you get out of the message?' What a fitting rebuke!"

40. An Egotistical God

Illustration

King Duncan

Author Max Lucado once put it this way in envisioning what Jesus might say to this rich young man: "What you want costs far more than what you can pay. You don't need a system, you need a Savior. You don't need a resume, you need a Redeemer . . . God does not save us because of what we've done. Only a puny god could be bought with tithes. Only an egotistical god would be impressed with our pain. Only a temperamental god could be satisfied by sacrifices. Only a heartless god would sell salvation to the highest bidders."

Lucado concluded: A great God does for his children what they can't do for themselves. This man's wealth could not buy him a place at the table of God. But the banquet was already spread. All he had to do was take and eat.

41. A Man So Various

Illustration

Paul Dickson

England's Prince Philip was toasted at a banquet once with two lines from John Dryden:

A man so various that he seem'd to be
Not one, but all mankind's epitome.

The prince liked the lines so much he looked up the rest of the poem:

Stiff in opinions, always in the wrong;
Was everything by starts, and nothing long:
But, in the course of one revolving moon,
Was chemist, fiddler, statesman, and buffoon.

42. The Beauty Of Holiness

Illustration

Clement E. Lewis

The 96th Psalm is closely comparable with 1 Chronicles 16:23-26. Psalm 29:2 also contains the words, "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." The New Revised Standard Version translated Psalm 96:9 to read, "Worship the Lord in holy splendor; tremble before him all the earth." Older people have long been accustomed to using the words from the King James Version.

Worship ought to be made beautiful in sight, sound, and thought. The physical settings of worship experiences serve to enhance and reinforce the yearning for understanding and completeness. This may be illustrated by a question: "Would you rather have a picnic on a graveled area in the heat of the sun, or where there is verdure of grass, and the shade of trees?" Worship is best when the scene is not barren, but blessed with good architecture, beauty of color, protection from the elements, and in the presence of an altar, giving it sacred significance.

We need to remember that truth is not only conveyed by words. It is also shared in feelings, situational inclusion, comfortable meditation and contemplation, which nurtures us. But worship can also take place in foxholes of distress, danger, and despair. God's messages and our responses do not always come in pretty packages with liturgical decorations. Sometimes they come in moments of destitution, hunger, inner distress, pain, and loneliness. What we make of what we learn at such times turns the place of discovery into a temple, and we worship in the beauty of holiness because we have found a relationship that truly enriches life.

Worship may take place in prison, a hospital or a nursing home; in a cemetery, a forest, or in a barren desert. It was in a desert setting that Jesus dealt with his temptations and life determinations, as he recalled Deuteronomy 6:13, and declared, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only shall you serve." To the woman at the well in Samaria, Jesus said, "Believe me the hour is coming when on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. ... But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is a spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth." (See John 4:19-24)

All of us yearn for the experience of "worship in the beauty of holiness." The psychiatrist, Von Frankl, held that the urge to worship is instinctive in children in much the same way as the urge to nurse. He suggested that the ages of four and five are the times when children are most desirous and accepting for the experiences of worship. Esthetics and quality appreciation are important to the development and life of the child. The elderly demonstrate much of the same needs in their lives.

"The beauty of holiness" is a most suggestive and satisfying phrase. It conveys the idea of "Holy Presence," and of being involved in spiritual goodness. My how human hearts long for that! In the midst of crassness, competitiveness, controversies, hostility, and uncertainty of conditions, we need that respite desperately.

Symbolism, the historic sign of faith, serves to renew our sense of oneness with what has been generative before us, and proclaims that we too can be involved in the experience of personal inclusion.

The building we refer to as the church or the chapel ought to be as adequate, as comfortable, and as attractive as we want our homes to be. Shouldn't God's house be the most attractive and architecturally satisfying of all? Nostalgia is important to many of us, and plays a tremendous role in our religious and personal life. It is the incentive that leads us to memorialize -- to provide new and beautiful things that relate to worship. Yet, we know that nostalgic sentiment can become a barrier to doing what is most important for the future. We can become so attached to what we have, and give our loyalty to what is familiar, that we may neglect to see what we ought to develop.

"The beauty of holiness" should inspire us for the transformation of life. It should also challenge us to greater things, with God's encouragement and guidance. Contemplating "the beauty of holiness" is not enough! We must also ask, "And what else ought we to do, God?" The answer we receive may not be the one we might prefer, but we had better not pray, "Thy will be done," unless we are willing to be a part of that will. God calls us to the faithful application of our Christian belief and commitment to discipleship, in which is included "the beauty of holiness." Therein lies the great truth of the words with which we began this worship time:

"O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness;
Serve him with gladness all the earth." Amen.

The Benediction: Send us forth, O God, causing us to remember that the beauty of holiness needs to show in our lives, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

43. Simple Caring

Illustration

Gene Blair

For several weeks, Mrs. Sherman's first-grade class had waited for the field trip to the observatory. Notices had been sent home with instructions about the bus, lunch, and times of departure and return. To the students, waiting for the field trip was like waiting for Christmas.

Finally, the day arrived. We grabbed our lunches and coats and lined up for the bus. In the back of the room, one boy began to cry because he had forgotten to bring a lunch and would have to stay behind with another teacher. In a few minutes, the other children had contributed extra sandwiches, fruit, desserts, and drinks until the boy had a feast for his lunch. With new tears, this time tears of gratitude, he grabbed his coat, lined up, and climbed onto the bus.

We had given him a "cup of cold water." Acts of service are not always dramatic or earth-shattering. Simple caring is all that is needed. Discipleship means being alert for opportunities to care, to demonstrate God's loving-kindness, and to teach others to do the same.

44. Rethinking the Formula

Illustration

James Emery White

Some of you may remember comedian Yakov Smirnoff. He said when he first came to the United States from Russia; he wasn't prepared for the incredible variety of instant products available in American grocery stores. He says, "On my first shopping trip, I saw powdered milk--you just add water, and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice--you just add water, and you get orange juice. And then I saw baby powder, and I thought to myself, what a country!"

One of the most basic assumptions made about life change is that it happens instantly at salvation. According to this belief, when someone gives his or her life to Christ, there is an immediate, substantive, in-depth, miraculous change in habits, attitudes, and character. As a result disciples are born not made.

The question for rethinking discipleship is this: Are these assumptions valid? If they are, then working this formula in the life of the church should consistently give the same result: a new community of people who are becoming increasingly like Jesus in their life and thought. If that is not the answer a church gets when it works the equation, then it needs to rethink whether the formula is sound.

Unfortunately, many churches are not getting the correct answer. In fact, a Search Institute study has found that only 11 percent of churchgoing teenagers have a well-developed faith, rising to only 32 percent for churchgoing adults. Why? Because true life change only begins at salvation, takes more than just time, is about training not trying, and it is a team effort.

45. It’s Ok to Be Extravagant – Sermon Opener

Illustration

James W. Moore

A few years ago there was a true story about a man in New York City who was kidnapped. His kidnappers called his wife and asked for $100,000 ransom. She talked them down to $30,000.

The story had a happy ending: the man returned home unharmed, the money was recovered, and the kidnappers were caught and sent to jail. But, don't you wonder what happened when the man got home and found that his wife got him back for a discount? Calvin Trillin was the writer of this story. He imagined out loud what the negotiations must have been like: "$100,000 for that old guy? You have got to be crazy. Just look at him! Look at that gut! You want $100,000 for that? You've got to be kidding. Give me a break here. $30,000 is my top offer."

Mark Trotter concluded his rendition of the story with this thoughtful comment: "I suppose there are some here this morning who can identify with the wife in that story, but for some reason I find myself identifying with the husband. I'd like to think if I were in a similar situation, there would be people who would spare no expense to get me back. They wouldn't haggle over the price. They wouldn't say, 'Well, let me think about it.' I like to think that they would say, 'We'll do anything for you.'"

The point of that story is this: sometimes it's O.K. to be extravagant! Now, that is precisely what this story in the Gospel of Mark is all about. Remember the story with me. Jesus is on His way to the cross. It is just a few days before Passover. The chief priests and scribes are plotting against Him. Judas is about ready to betray Him. The crucifixion is less than a week away and Jesus knows it. Jesus and His disciples stop at Bethany. just a few days before, Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead there in Bethany. Now, as they are having dinner, a woman comes to Jesus and does a beautiful but extravagant thing for our Lord. The Gospel of John tells us that the woman was Mary, (the sister of Martha and Lazarus). Mary brings an alabaster jar of very expensive ointment. She breaks open the jar and pours the costly perfumed oil on Jesus' head. She anoints His head with oil.

Why did she do that? Some say it was an act of gratitude in which she was thanking Jesus for raising her brother Lazarus from the dead. Some say it was an act of consecration in which she was baptizing Jesus to encourage Him to go into the HolyCity and do what had to be done. Others say it was a foreshadowing, an act of preparation, in which she was anointing His body for the death which was to come in Jerusalem a few days later. All say it was an act of love and kindness.

But Judas said it was a waste. If you lived strictly by the Judas mind-set, you would have no Spire on the church, no flowers on the altar, no art on the wall, no robes for the choir, no fine organ, no beautiful weddings. Your daughter would come to you and say, "I'm in love and I'm so happy. I want to get married." And you would say, "Well, why don't you just elope? It's much cheaper. It would be wasteful to have a wedding." But the Mary mind-set says, "Sometimes in the name of love and kindness and gratefulness; it's O.K. Indeed, it's beautiful to be extravagant." Let me show you what I mean.

1. First Of All, It's OK To Be Extravagant In Our Generosity.

2. Second, It's OK To Be Extravagant In Our Gratitude.

3. Third And Finally, It's OK To Be Extravagant In Our Graciousness.

46. Lighten Up!

Illustration

M.T. Kutz

Lori Beth Jones wrote a book called "Jesus CEO". In this book she wrote:

"Perhaps Jesus loved to dance because he was born at a party. I believe any event that has a heavenly light show, people bearing gifts from distant places and a host of angels singing and giving directions is a dance of major proportion. It must have made an impact on him. One of his favorite miracles was to turn water into wine, not vinegar. As his fame and popularity grew, he was constantly invited to dinners at Nicodemus's or Peter's or rich young people's houses. The night before he was arrested, he gathered his staff (Lori Beth Jones calls Jesus' disciples his staff) together to sing songs and to dine. When crowds came, Jesus was adamant that no one leave with an empty stomach. He always managed to locate food for them. He turned one boy's lunch into food for thousands. He told stories of a king who arranged a banquet and then got angry and disappointed when nobody came. He spoke of a father throwing a lavish party to celebrate a wayward son's return. When Jesus returned from the dead, he prepared a fish barbecue on the shore, sort of a team picnic. He came from avery happy place, and he knew he was returning to a very happy place. When he said, ‘Whenever two or more are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them,' perhaps he saw a dance coming on. Indeed, his invitations read ‘I go to prepare a place [setting] for you'. I think he is telling us to lighten up. ‘Why do you worry so?' he would ask. ‘Don't you see the flowers, how beautiful they are? Do you think God is going to let you wear less then these?'"

47. Pouring Our Lives into People

Illustration

Neal Sadler

When speaking at a banquet one time, Billy Graham's style was noticeably different than before the crowds at the stadiums where he speaks. He certainly wasn't an overpowering presence or a good or even polished speaker. But one thing he said that night, memorable to many in attendance, was wondering that if rather than preaching to the masses as he had done, whether it would have been more effective to choose just 12 disciples as Jesus did, pour his heart into them, and encourage them to do the same. Maybe that would have made a bigger impact on the world. I don't know. Billy Graham has had quite the impact.

But the point he was making was that the most critical thing we can do in ministry is to pour our lives into people. Making disciples is the most important task of the church. But it's so easy to become distracted. Toilets overflow, roofs leak, computers crash, copiers breakdown, etc.

48. Clothing and Spiritual Change

Illustration

Mickey Anders

Clothing is a common New Testament metaphor for spiritual change. Paul wrote in Romans, "Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature" (Rom 13:14).

And in First Corinthians, "The perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:53).

In Colossians, we read, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience (Colossians 3:12).

Finally, in First Peter we are admonished, "All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, 'God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble'" (1 Peter 5:5).

Being clothed anew is a consistent New Testament expression for holiness and righteousness. The old clothes have to come off and new ones put on.

This text confronts us with the paradox of God's free invitation to the banquet with no strings attached and God's requirement of "putting on" something appropriate to that calling. The theological point is that we are warned of the dire consequences of accepting the invitation and doing nothing except showing up.

49. Follow Me…

Illustration

Samuel G. Candler

"Follow me, and I will make you fishers," said Jesus. Fishing takes practice, preparation, discipline. One must learn how to best throw the net, how to make the mouth of the net come open too. I can throw the actual cast net a long way, but I can't always make the net come open so that it will actually form a circle around the fish. One must learn how to cast the line on a rod. Again, some folks can cast a long way, but their accuracy is awful. There may be fish on the right, but they know only how to cast the line to the left. There may be fish on the left, but they keep casting to the right. Casting, like discipleship, is an acquired habit. It rewards practice.

Fishing is noticing the weather, watching the wind and the clouds. Fishing, like the gospel, dear friends, like the gospel, fishing is always practiced in context. It does no good to sit at one lake and wish I was on some other lake. It does no good to stand at the ocean and wish the weather were different. On that day, in that place, I fish in context according to what the conditions are.

So it is with the proclamation and the living out of the Christian gospel. It does little good wishing that we were somewhere else, in a different time or in a different country perhaps. Our context is this time and this place. Know where the wind blows. Watch the clouds.

50. Why Do You Keep Crying Aloud?

Illustration

Scott F. K. Kober

Elie Wiesel tells the story of a prophet who came to a city and delivered his message every day in the marketplace. After a time his ranting became a fixture of the city's life and people regarded him with amusement when they regarded him at all. Finally, a small boy, pitying the old man, approached him and said, "Sir, why do you keep crying aloud like this every day, year after year? The people here will never listen to you."

"I gave up hope that they would listen to me a long time ago," said the prophet. "I go on crying lest I begin to listen to them."

In the journey to Jerusalem the disciples are given a genuine moment, a transparent happening that reveals will clarity that Christ above all men has pleased God and above all others speaks for God. It is this glimpse that will sustain their discipleship into the future. They will continue to cry out in a world not eager to listen.

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