Acts 3:1-26 “The Beggar and the Crowd”

Acts 3:1-26

February 1, 2009

First Church of the Brethren

H. Kevin Derr

“A Beggar and the Crowd”

1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon. 2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts. 3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money. 4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!” 5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them. 6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.” 7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him. 11 While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “People of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see. 17 “Now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus. 21 Heaven must receive him until the time comes for God to restore everything, as he promised long ago through his holy prophets. 22 For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. 23 Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’ 24 “Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days. 25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ 26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”

One of the things we often forget is that Jesus, and the disciples were Jewish, continued to be Jewish. Our text today reminds us of this clear fact. The disciples, as Jesus had been, continued to be observant Jews. They understood no conflict in being both Jewish and followers of Jesus. They did not assume that all people of Jewish descent would be followers of Jesus, but they attempt to convince people to follow Jesus, to believe that he was indeed the Messiah. Today, there should be no difference either, being a follower of Jesus does not suggest or demand that one leave the synagogue and come to the church. Over the centuries, gentile followers of Jesus have not embraced this truth.

Prayer

I. Our text begins with this account of apostolic activity.

a. 1 One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon.

b. Peter and John are going up to the temple, not on a missionary trip, but to pray. They are going to the temple to pray at the appointed time of prayer.

i. There is no mystery here as to why, they continued to be observant Jews, they are following the example of Jesus.

ii. It sets up for us several key examples:

1. They were worshiping the true God,

2. Their worship of God was valid, though incomplete

3. The disciples continued to worshiping as Jews

4. So, at three in the afternoon, they are in the temple at the time of prayer.

c. This trip to the temple to pray sets up an encounter and a miracle. Luke recounts the events in this fashion.

2 Now a man who was lame from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.

i. There was a man, lame from birth, who came to the temple gate called Beautiful, to beg every day.

ii. In a time when there is no security net, this is how people survived.

iii. This is how this man supported himself.

1. Remember Almsgiving was an important part of Judaism at the time.

2. So, while he is not honored for his activity, neither is he chased away from the temple, but nor is he allowed in.

iv. The plot of the story unfolds in a very predictable fashion. He sees Peter and John coming to pray, he asks for money.

3 When he saw Peter and John about to enter, he asked them for money.

4 Peter looked straight at him, as did John. Then Peter said, “Look at us!”

5 So the man gave them his attention, expecting to get something from them.

1. He sees Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asks for money. A reasonable and pious request.

2. Then Peter demands “look at us!”

3. The man assumes that they are going to make some type of display about giving alms to him, and he is anticipating a gift of money.

a. All of this is well within the normal pattern of how things like this should progress

b. And then just as we should see the man getting a gift of money, something else happens.

v. Now here is the twist,

6 Then Peter said, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.”

7 Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong.

1. They don’t have money to give. The disciples continue to live an austere lifestyle, just as Jesus had done before. If they have been in Jerusalem since Passover, two months before, they just may have run out of cash. After all, they never had much in the way of money, they were blue collar workers.

2. So, now Peter tells him, they cannot give him what they don’t have, but there is something that they can give.

a. So, Peter says, “In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth , Walk!”

b. Peter then takes him by the hand, and pulls him up onto strong feet and ankles.

c. Notice there was no:

i. Committee to see if Peter and John should do something for this man, and then to figure out what should be done.

ii. There was no prayer before the event

iii. There was no doubt

iv. There was attempt.

v. Peter just said, “In the name of Jesus of Nazareth walk!

d. As you look at this, consider what else is missing. Listen to the text 8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God. 9 When all the people saw him walking and praising God, 10 they recognized him as the same man who used to sit begging at the temple gate called Beautiful, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.

i. The man is jumping, walking, and in the temple courts praising God.

1. There is no indication that this man is now a follower, nor is there an attempt to specifically convert this man.

2. Rather they let him praise God in the temple courts, walking on his own two feet, for the first time in his life.

a. The people who saw this were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to this man

b. These people had seen him sitting at the temple gate, all of his life, for as along as they had been coming to the temple to pray.

c. Now they see him running, jumping and praising God. Amazed to say the least.

II. Now, after the people see, after the men in the temple see this man, see him clinging to Peter and John, they come to see what has transpired. Luke tells the story, 11 While the man held on to Peter and John, all the people were astonished and came running to them in the place called Solomon’s Colonnade. 12 When Peter saw this, he said to them: “People of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk? 13 The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go. 14 You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you. 15 You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this. 16 By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has completely healed him, as you can all see.

a. While this man was holding onto Peter and John, people in the temple come to see what has happened, they ran to see.

i. Peter says to them, “Why does this surprise you?”

1. It would be surprising if we did this of our own power and godliness.

2. It would be surprising if we had done this on our own.

3. It was not who did this,

4. It was the work of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of our Fathers, who has glorified the name of Jesus.

a. This man was healed in the name of Jesus of Nazareth

b. This Jesus is a man you know

i. You disowned him

ii. Handed him over to be killed

iii. Though Pilate wanted to release him you wanted a murderer

iv. You killed the author of life but God raised him from the dead, and we are witnesses to his fact.

ii. By faith in the name of Jesus this man, the beggar now walks

1. It was not the faith of the man who was healed

2. It was the faith of Peter and John

3. This becomes center point of the healing, by faith in the name of Jesus, this man now walks.

a. It was not this man’s obedience, nor was it is ability to pray, to read the scriptures, rather it was the prayer offered in faith that made the man well.

i. God working in and through those who believe in the name of Jesus.

ii. Those who trust in the name of Jesus. b. Now they begin to teach the crowd about Jesus. Peter says, 17 “Now, brothers and sisters, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did your leaders. 18 But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Messiah would suffer. 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.

i. Peter says that they acted in ignorance, not that gives them a pass, but rather to point them to God.

ii. You didn’t know, so, let me tell you.

1. God has fulfilled what he promised

a. That the Messiah would suffer

b. Most people did not expect this, though the prophets make it clear.

2. We know scripture, but we focus on some things we like.

3. For example, Jesus said, “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.” In Matthew 10:34. The point is that people in all ages focus on specific things, though the prophets did say the Messiah would suffer, it does not mean that people spent time meditating on the passages.

4. So, now that we know the Messiah did need to suffer, the crucifixion did need to happen, what is next?

5. Repent, turn to God a. Be forgiven b. Let the refreshment of God come c. Hope for the Messiah to return, for Jesus of Nazareth to return.

III. Jesus is in essence their inheritance, what those who are listening rightly should receive as their own. Peter says, 24 “Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days. 25 And you are heirs of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers. He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all peoples on earth will be blessed.’ 26 When God raised up his servant, he sent him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.” a. Peter starts with Samuel, and declares that all who follow say the same thing.

i. In reality, those listening to Peter should know these things

ii. The prophets are theirs, they have heard them since they were children, it is part of their world view.

iii. They, those listening, are also heirs of the covenant God made Abraham, and this is part of that covenant. iv. God promised Abraham, that through your offspring, specifically Jesus of Nazareth, all people on earth will be blessed.

1. Do you wish to partake of God’s blessing?

2. It is that simple? v. So, the first to be blessed by God’s servant is those who are Abraham’s descendents, but then the gentiles will also be blessed.

b. They start to tell the message first to the Jew and then to the Gentile, the pattern first established by Jesus, now be enacted by the disciples.

Acts 2:14-47 “A Spirit Filled Sermon”

January 25, 2009
First Church of the Brethren
H. Kevin Derr Acts 2:14-47
“A Spirit Filled Sermon”

14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 ” ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ 22 “People of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25 David said about him: ” ‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’ 29 “Brothers and sisters, we all know that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, ” ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” 36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.” 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. The Fellowship of the Believers 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

I. People respond to God in a number of ways, some will embrace and engage God, others will find ways to make it seem that they have not encountered God at all. We all do this at one point or another. There are devout believers who for some reason or a other cannot presently make the leap of faith necessary, so they will find a way to explain what has happened in a fashion that preserves their understanding of the world. These traits are not a division between believers and non-believers, but rather they are the realities of believers lives.

a. Peter stood up to address a crowd of devout Jewish men, some scoffed at what they heard and suggested that the disciples were drunk, which enabled them to speak in other languages. A more tenous position to hold. Others wanted to know what it means, Peter addresses both groups.

b. He says, 14 Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and    addressed the crowd: “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. 15 These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning!

i. Peter says, these men are not drunk, it is only 9:00 AM

ii. Something else is happening here, God has unleashed his spirit.

iii. So, here is what is taking place: 16 No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 ” ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. 18 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

1. The prophet Joel (2:28-32) says God will pour out his Spirit on all people, not on just a select few.

a. Your sons and daughters will prophesy,

i. A prophet is not fundamentally someone who fortells the future, but rather someone who speaks God’s message to his people

ii. At times that does involve what will happen, but the core of the prophets messages is always about the moral failures of God’s people, and a call to repentance and a turning to God.

b. Your young men will see visions and old men will dream dreams

i. This is not say that young men will have a plan for the future, a vision about what they want to do, or that old men will day dream about the past, glory days of old

ii. No, this is about God speaking to his people, in some very specific forms, dream and visions, the way that God communicated with Joseph and with Mary.

2. When a specific time has come, God will pour out his Spirit on both men and women, and they will prophecy. Peter says, this day has come! c. In some ways this is almost a bitter sweet announcement, because with the hope that comes with the announcement of the outpouring of the Spirit, there also comes the warnings. Joel continues: 19 I will show wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. 20 The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. 21 And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

i. There will be signs in the heavens and signs on the earth

1. On the earth blood, fire and billows of smoke a. Classic signs of war, blood, fire and smoke b. Wars and the roomers of war

2. In the heavens a. The sun will be turned to darkness, sounds like a solar eclipse b. The moon to blood may well be a hunter’s moon, a full moon in the fall that allows hunters to be out gathering game before the winter.

3. Joel’s intent was not to be cryptic, Peter didn’t want to obscure the message, and rather he used phrases people would understand. ii. In the future there will be events that herald the coming of the spirit, Peter says this day is here. The result is that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.

iii. So, Peter begins to tell them about the Lord.

II. Who is the Lord, Jesus of Nazareth. 22 “People of Israel, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. a. Peter begins to preach what becomes known as the Kyrigma, the message, the core of the early church’s preaching about Jesus.

i. Jesus of Nazareth, they identify a specific person, not any Jesus but Jesus from the town of Nazareth.

ii. God accredited this man to you, God was his reference, how did God accredit Jesus of Nazareth to the people of Israel?

1. by miracles, wonders and sings which God did through him, as you can bear witness to

2. In other words, there is no dispute that Jesus worked miracles

iii. You handed Jesus of Nazareth over to sinful men, this was God’s plan and intent.

1. While you are responsible for your actions

2. This was none the less God’s plan

iv. And according to God’s plan, you killed him by nailing him to the cross.

1. Peter places the blame on the shoulders of those present, and yet keeps this in tension with God’s plan.

2. Peter does not say, if you had only listened to Jesus, and not killed him he would be on the throne today….

3. No, he said this is God’s plan.

v. Again, God takes action, and raises Jesus to life, death was unable to keep Jesus. Jesus was freed from the agony of death by the Father, this is again in accordance with God’s wishes.

b. So, what does all this mean? Peter continues to display the truth for us: 25 David said about him: “‘I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest in hope, 27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’

i. Peter quotes a psalm of David, Psalm 16:8-11 from the Septuagint. That Luke uses the quote from the LXX suggests he knew Greek and not Hebrew.

ii. This Psalm is about Jesus, as if Jesus is speaking, a prophetic utterance from the Psalms. How can I say this, simply, you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead, you will not let your holy one see decay.

iii. It is precisely in this light that Peter understands this Psalm, he says, 29 “Brothers and sisters, we all know that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. 30 But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. 31 Seeing what was to come, he spoke of the resurrection of the Messiah, that he was not abandoned to the realm of the dead, nor did his body see decay. 32 God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact. 33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

1. There is no way that David can be speaking of himself, he is in the grave, at the time of Peter the grave was commonly known.

2. That was not a question.

3. God made David a promise that one of his line would sit on the throne, and so the promise must speak of another.

4. He was speaking of the Messiah, of Jesus who God raised to life

5. Now, the day has come when the Holy Spirit is being poured out, just as God has promised.

a. They understand several of God’s promises coming to be seen in Jesus and now in the out poring of the Holy Spirit.

b. This is a significant day. c. Just in case there were still any questions, Peter takes this a step further, and builds his case from scripture again. This time from Psalm 110:1. Peter preaches,

i. 34 For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, ” ‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand 35 until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.” 36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”

ii. David is still in his tomb, this is the witness of the community.

1. So, David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he wrote

2. The Lord, God the Father, said to my Lord, Jesus of Nazareth, Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool

a. The Father says to the Son, seated on his right, I will accomplish this. b. And there is no way that this can be about David

i. It is about Jesus

ii. Another would have to have spoken these words about David, for it to be about David.

iii. So, who would David’s Lord be, someone greater than himself and yet not the Father?

1. Could this be about Moses? He is not seated at the right hand of the Father

2. It could not be about Saul, he was disobedient to God

3. Jesus of Nazareth is the only one that makes sense.

III. Those who heard Peter’s preaching were moved, moved to action, but they didn’t know what to do. Luke tells us, 37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

a. There is only one proper response, repentance, and in the case of those outside the community, baptism as well. That is the answer to what shall we do. Anytime we encounter God our first response will be repentance, not euphoric feelings, but a realization of our own distance from God, we too will be cut to the heart. Luke recounts the experience for us in the following: 38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.” 41 Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.

b. Repent and be baptized

i. Repent, turn from the sin you know, and follow Jesus

ii. If you have never made a formal commitment to follow Jesus, the next step is to be baptized, and state that I now am a follower of Jesus.

iii. If we repent, and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of our sins, we are then able to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

iv. And Peter continued to encourage them, plead with tem, to be saved from the corrupt generation.

v. That day, three thousand were added to the church.

c. So, what are we to do next? 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

i. Devotion to the apostles teaching

ii. Devotion to fellowship

iii. Devotion to the break of bread, communion,

iv. Devotion to prayer

v. The results are awesome:

1. Many signs and wonders were preformed by the apostles

2. All believers were together and held all things in common

a. They sold property as there was need

b. Daily the meet together in the temple for worship and prayer

c. They spent time together, in each others homes with glad and sincere hearts

3. Daily God added to their number those who were being saved

Plans of God and Men, Micah 2:1-13

September 28, 2008

First Church of the Brethren

H. Kevin Derr

Micah 2:1-13

“Plans of God and Men’

¹ Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds!
At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it.

² They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them.
They defraud people of their homes, they rob them of their inheritance.

³ Therefore, the LORD says: “I am planning disaster against this people,
from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly,
for it will be a time of calamity.

⁴ In that day people will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song:
‘We are utterly ruined; my people’s possession is divided up.
He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.’ ”

⁵ Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD
to divide the land by lot.

⁶ “Do not prophesy,” their prophets say. “Do not prophesy about these things;
disgrace will not overtake us.”

⁷ House of Jacob, should it be said, “Does the LORD become impatient?
Does he do such things?” “Do not my words do good to those whose ways are upright?

⁸ Lately my people have risen up like an enemy.
You strip off the rich robe from those who pass by without a care,
like men returning from battle.

⁹ You drive the women of my people from their pleasant homes.
You take away my blessing from their children forever.

¹⁰ Get up, go away! For this is not your resting place,
because it is defiled, it is ruined, beyond all remedy.

¹¹ If liars and deceivers come and say, ‘We will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’ they would be just the prophets for this people!

¹² “I will surely gather all of you, Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel.
I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture;
the place will throng with people.

¹³ One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their King will pass through before them, the LORD at their head.”

Prayer

I. We find in our text two oracles, one of woe, one of redemption. The oracle of redemption has some very clear and powerful messianic overtones that you will notice. But as we begin, we start with a lament of woe, an oracle of death.

a. The oracle of woe, ¹ Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it.

i. This is an oracle of woe to those who plan iniquity, those who plan evil and do it.

1. Doing evil, in this light begins with thinking about evil, planning to do evil.

2. This is the tendency we have to nurture evil thoughts, whatever type they are, and hold on to them, feed them, nurture them until they grow into sin or rebellion against God.

ii. In this case, it is those who plan evil while they rest on their beds at night, and in the morning they do the evil they had planned, because they can.

1. One of the reasons they can is simply because no one calls them to account.

2. The rulers of the land are either powerless to stop them, or are approving of their actions or at best unconcerned about what they do.

b. So, what is it that they do? These are men who have the resources to take land from others. Micah writes, ²They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. They defraud people of their homes, they rob them of their inheritance.

i. Likely these are men with land and money, who make loans to people knowing that they will not be able to repay them, in order to seize their land.

1. They covet fields and seize them, they defraud people of their homes, and in doing so take their inheritance.

a. Land was to stay in the family, passed from generation to generation, not sold to others

b. In fact, in the year of jubilees, land that had been sold was to be returned to the family from which it came.

c. In a real sense the land was sacred, in that it was part of the covenant between God and his people.

d. Land ownership, was not really kept in the hands of individuals, but in the family, and ultimately as a stewardship of what God had given the people.

2. The intentions of those who do evil are laid bare, their concern is adding to their person possessions.

c. First we find the accusation in the oracle of woe, this is followed by an explanation of the sin, then we find the judgment of God. Micah records God’s message to the wealthy who take from those who have little. He says, ³ Therefore, the LORD says: “I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.

i. God says, destruction is going to come upon you and there is nothing you can do to escape it, it is at hand!

1. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.

a. In other words, you have trusted in riches and ill gotten gain, you have cheated people of their land, their inheritance, their possibility of a future, and you walk about proudly, as if what you have done is right, just and good.

b. But, calamity is coming, and you will no longer walk proudly, but you will be brought low.

2. Oh, but it gets worse, ⁴ In that day people will ridicule you; they will taunt you with this mournful song:
‘We are utterly ruined; my people’s possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.’ ”

a. Those who exploited the poor, the widow and the orphan will be taunted, most likely by the very same ones they cheated.

b. The will sing them mournful song, as if speaking for them, ‘We are utterly ruined; my people’s possession is divided up. He takes it from me! He assigns our fields to traitors.’

i. We are utterly ruined

ii. My families possessions are divided up.

iii. God takes it from me!

iv. He has given my fields to traitors, to those we thought we had under our thumbs.

c. The wealthy, the exploiters are surprised that their empires are gone. They cry out that they have done nothing wrong. And now their things are passed out to others, and those they oppressed, exploited and cheated did not side with them in the end, and they seem suppressed.

i. In this you can see shades of Enron, Fanny Mae, Freddy Mac, and any one of the recent financial woes.

ii. Always, those in the thick of things assert they have done nothing wrong.

ii. Now it gets worse, these evildoers will be no more, they are cut off from the covenant community. Micah writes, Therefore you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD to divide the land by lot.

1. This sounds like an odd thing to say, but in truth it is very simple.

2. The land is assigned to the people of God by lots, if you do not have anyone one among the people of God, you will have no division in the land. You will have no part in the community of faith. You are disowned, your family is no more. You are utterly ruined.

d. As you may well imagine, Micah’s message was not well received by the rich and powerful, those who exploited the weak and the powerless.

e. They had religious leaders who told them what they wanted to hear, it is the same way today, you can find some religious leader who will tell you want you want to hear, it is sad how little difference there is. Micah quotes them saying, ⁶ “Do not prophesy,” their prophets say. “Do not prophesy about these things; disgrace will not overtake us.”

i. The false prophets are saying, “You are good, doing your best, no need to worry, disgrace, destruction, will not overtake us….”

ii. They spoke what people wanted to hear.

II. So, Micah asks a question, ⁷ House of Jacob, should it be said, “Does the LORD become impatient? Does he do such things?” “Do not my words do good to those whose ways are upright?

a. Micah asks the whole of the covenant community, “Does the Lord’s patience endure forever?” or “The Lord will never bring judgment upon us.”

b. “Does God do such things as bring judgment on his people? The answer is yes, of course he does. This is central to the story of God’s people.

c. And Micah pushes the question a little bit more, “Don’t my words do good to those whose ways are upright?”

i. It is only those who live in unrighteousness who need to fear, the upright have nothing to fear from God’s judgment, rather they will hear, well done my good and faithful servant.

ii. The unrighteous, on the other hand, have much to fear.

d. God brings two additional complaints against the people, Micah writes, ⁸ Lately my people have risen up like an enemy. You strip off the rich robe from those who pass by without a care, like men returning from battle.    ⁹ You drive the women of my people from their pleasant homes.
You take away my blessing from their children forever.

i. My people have risen up like an enemy army, and they do some very specific things

1. They rob the passerby who mistakenly thinks the land is safe, they he can walk through like a soldier returning from battle

2. They drive women, most likely widows from their homes

3. They drive fatherless children from their blessing, from their land

4. They rob and cheat to gain more for themselves.

5. It is so common, it is like an army has arisen in the land.

ii. Because this has been so common, there is only one solution, to see the people gone from the land, to clean the land of the evildoers. ¹⁰ Get up, go away! For this is not your resting place, because it is defiled, it is ruined, beyond all remedy.

1. Get up, go away! These people will be taken into exile

a. The land that was their home will be taken from them

b. The land is defiled, ruined beyond all remedy, save one, allowing it to be empty.

iii. No one wants to hear the truth, they want to hear what their itching ears are wanting to hear. Micah writes, ¹¹ If liars and deceivers come and say, ‘We will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,’ they would be just the prophets for this people!

1. They want false prophets to tell them, there is plenty, you will prosper, enjoy yourselves. See there is plenty of wine and beer….

2. But this is not what they need to hear, it is what they want to hear.

III. As dire as it all sounds, there is still hope here, hope for the future. Micah records, ¹² “I will surely gather all of you, Jacob; I will surely bring together the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in its pasture; the place will throng with people.

a. God will bring back a remnant, a portion of the people.

b. God will be their shepherd, and will gather them and lead them

c. There will be many, the land will be filled with God’s people.

d. Then we find what may well be a reference to Jesus. Micah writes, ¹³ One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate and go out. Their King will pass through before them, the LORD at their head.”

i. One who breaks open the way will go up before them

1. This sounds like Jesus defeating death

2. Jesus will take us to the Father, to the King who will pass before the people of God

3. Jesus will lead them.

Weeping, Micah 1:8-16

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H. Kevin Derr

September 21, 2008

Micah 1:8-16

“Weeping”

⁸ Because of this I will weep and wail;
I will go about barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
and moan like an owl.

⁹ For Samaria’s wound is incurable;
it has come to Judah.
It has reached the very gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem itself.

¹⁰ Tell it not in Gath;
weep not at all.
In Beth Ophrah
roll in the dust.

¹¹ Pass on in nakedness and shame,
you who live in Shaphir.
Those who live in Zaanan
will not come out.
Beth Ezel is in mourning;
its protection is taken from you.

¹² Those who live in Maroth writhe in pain,
waiting for relief,
because disaster has come from the LORD,
even to the gate of Jerusalem.

¹³ You who live in Lachish,
harness the team to the chariot.
You were the beginning of sin
to Daughter Zion,
for the transgressions of Israel
were found in you.

¹⁴ Therefore you will give parting gifts
to Moresheth Gath.
The town of Akzib will prove deceptive
to the kings of Israel.

¹⁵ I will bring a conqueror against you
who live in Mareshah.
The nobles of Israel
will flee to Adullam.

¹⁶ Shave your head in mourning
for the children in whom you delight;
make yourself as bald as the vulture,
for they will go from you into exile.

Micah weeps, laments the coming judgment on the people of Israel and Judah. Micah does not plead and beg the people to repent, he announces the coming judgment, the wrath of God on their disobedience. He does not ask God, “Why?” rather we weeps for the people, for their sin, for the results of their sin. It serves as a warning to the people of God today. We too are called to obedience and keeping the covenant. Micah’s words are a warning and a caution for us, in this place.

Prayer

I. Much of the word play, the sounds and alliteration are lost to us in English translations, but the images remain very vivid, very powerful and very much call our attention to the reality of expected loss, tears of grief.

a. Micah writes,

⁸ Because of this I will weep and wail;
I will go about barefoot and naked.
I will howl like a jackal
and moan like an owl.

b. Because of the destruction of the nation of Israel, Samaria becoming a heap of rubble, people being taken captive and dispersed all over the Assyrian empire, Micah will mourn.

i. He is not playing the, “I told you so game” nor is he saying, “It was them and not us, nor does he delight in the destruction of one who had been the enemy of his nation. Rather, he mourns.

ii. Look at the images and sounds of his mourning, weeping and wailing, going barefoot and naked around the city of Jerusalem.

1. Likely his nakedness was walking the streets in his loincloth

2. being dressed like this, going barefoot were symbols of mourning

iii. he howls like a jackal, moans like an owl

1. This is not stylized mourning

2. This is primal expressions of grief.

c. It does not end with this, his grief is flowing because the wound to Israel is fatal. He writes,

⁹ For Samaria’s wound is incurable;
it has come to Judah.
It has reached the very gate of my people,
even to Jerusalem itself.

i. Samaria never recovers from this attack, Israel never again flourishes like it had

ii. But there is more, the Assyrians not only bring destruction to the nation of Israel, they also visit pain and destruction but they also bring it upon Judah and Benjamin.

1. The wound, Sennacherib brings his armies to the gates of Jerusalem, he does not conquer the city, but he does devastate much of the outlying cities and towns.

2. So, Israel’s wound comes also to Judah.

II. Now we move to what to do about this: Micah writes,

a. ¹⁰ Tell it not in Gath;
weep not at all.
In Beth Ophrah
roll in the dust.

i. Don’t weep in Gath, in Philistia, don’t weep in the presence of those who would seek our demise.

1. Why? Because this is not about their opportunity to cause additional pain, but rather it is about the call of repentance that has been sounded among the people of God, a warning has come to us, and it is now time to take an account of what we do and why.

2. It is time to address our sin and repent, not moan to the neighbors about what God has done to us because of our iniquity.

ii. In Beth Ophrah, roll in the dust. In the city of dust, roll in the dust.

1. A sign of repentance to sit in the dust and be in sack cloth and ashes.

2. Roll in the dust, express your desire to repent.

b. Our next verse speaks about what happens in the wounding of Judah.

¹¹ Pass on in nakedness and shame,
you who live in Shaphir.
Those who live in Zaanan
will not come out.
Beth Ezel is in mourning;
its protection is taken from you.

i. Shaphir means “Pleasant” and so those who lived in the pleasant place of Shaphir will now endure the unpleasant life of a captive taken away, naked and in shame marched away from home and family, freedom and safety to a foreign land, an unpleasant experience to say the least.

ii. Thos who live in Zaanan, it sounds like Hebrew for “come out.” So those who live in the town of “Come out” will not come out, because they cannot, either they have been taken captive and are being lead away as captives, or they are so fearful of being taken captives that they will not come out.

iii. Those who live in Beth Ezel, the “House of Protection” are mourning because their protection has been taken away from them, the Lord has brought judgment.

iv. The wages of sin is death, and in this case, death may have been a better state, a forced march with little clothing or care, wounded struggling to keep up, women raped, and there is no recourse for injustice… these are the wages of sin

1. iniquity, sin, disobedience leads us into death, at points this is a spiritual issue, at points it is a physical issue.

2. Sin does not lead to peace, joy, grace, love, or happiness, it leads to death.

c. Now Micah turns his attention to the town of Lachish, a fortified city where chariots were kept, place that assumed it was secure because of the strength of the military forces stationed there. Lachish had a formidable city wall, twenty feet thick, defensive gates like those of Solomon’s other fortified cities, but all of the strength there did not spare it from God’s judgment.

¹³ You who live in Lachish,
harness the team to the chariot.
You were the beginning of sin
to Daughter Zion,
for the transgressions of Israel
were found in you.

i. Micah warns them to flee the city with the very means they sought to keep themselves safe, the horses and chariots.

1. You were the beginning of sin to Daughter Zion, to Jerusalem, and the sin of Israel was found in you.

2. This was a fortified city, a defensive point to protect the land, it is also the beginning of the sin of Daughter Zion.

a. What is the sin, trusting in their own military strength to keep them safe and secure, rather than God’s strength and righteousness.

b. Where do we place our trust? Our economy? Our military? Our education? Our technology?

ii. There is only one thing which will make a people secure, trusting in God’s strength and living in obedience to his word.

d. Parting gifts, gifts to people leaving on a journey. Gifts to the leaving captives or gifts to the ones who took them captive.

i. Again Micah plays with words here. He writes,

ii. ¹⁴ Therefore you will give parting gifts
to Moresheth Gath.
The town of Akzib will prove deceptive
to the kings of Israel.

iii. Moresheth sounds very similar to “betrothed” in Hebrew and the Father of the bride gives a dowry, a parting gift to husband to be.

1. The you is likely a reference to Hezekiah, who gave Sennacherib a tribute of gold and silver secure a peace.

2. Then there is the town of Akzib, “the deceptive” town, the word is used of a dry stream or brook that gives no aid or water to those in need. In the same way the people of Akzib will not be able to help the kings of Israel, they will prove to be deceptive like a dry brook

III. In truth this lament does not prove to contain much hope. It is as it should be, it is a lament.

a. ¹⁵ I will bring a conqueror against you
who live in Mareshah.
The nobles of Israel
will flee to Adullam.

b. Mareshah sounds like the Hebrew word for “conqueror” and here God says, “I will bring a conqueror against you who live in “conqueror”

i. The conqueror will be conquered.

ii. At this time either the glory of Israel will go to Adullam or the nobles of Israel will fell to Adullam

1. Either God will come as the Conqueror to Adullam or the nobles of Israel will flee to the caves in the region

2. Either is appropriate, when the nobles flee the people are left with no protection, no leadership, and little hope.

3. If God comes to conquer, the mountains will melt like wax before a fire.

c. All that is left for the people of Judah and Israel to do is to mourn, because the children in which they have delighted are lead away to be slaves in a strange land.

i. ¹⁶ Shave your head in mourning
for the children in whom you delight;
make yourself as bald as the vulture,
for they will go from you into exile.

ii. Shave your head in mourning, cut off your beard

iii. Your children, the ones you have delighted in, are being taken away in exile, and you will never see them again.

IV. The point is to bring people to tears, to mourning, to know the pain of the judgment of the Lord, because in God’s holy people there is no place for sin.

a. The warning is very simple, repent, turn from sin and turn to God, before God calls you to account.

b. Micah was speaking to a nation, to a people group

i. We as a people group need to hear that, as God’s people in this land, we ought to repent the sins of our people, our culture, our denomination, our congregation, our family, and our personal sin.

ii. We are called to repent!

Judgment, Micah 1:1-7

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September 14, 2008

First Church of the Brethren

H. Kevin Derr

Micah 1:1-7

“Judgment”

¹ The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

² Hear, you peoples, all of you,
listen, earth and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign LORD may witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.

³ Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling place;
he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth.

⁴ The mountains melt beneath him
and the valleys split apart,
like wax before the fire,
like water rushing down a slope.

⁵ All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,
because of the sins of the house of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression?
Is it not Samaria?
What is Judah’s high place?
Is it not Jerusalem?

⁶ “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,
a place for planting vineyards.
I will pour her stones into the valley
and lay bare her foundations.

⁷ All her idols will be broken to pieces;
all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
I will destroy all her images.
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,
as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”

Often we find the notion of prophets to be primarily centered around the activity of telling people of what will happen in the future. And while there is clearly a quality like that to the work of Micah, you will notice that there is a much stronger and more profound nature of dealing issues of sin and morality. Even here when there are promises of the future, they are based in the righteousness of God and the sin of humanity.

Prayer:

I. Here is the first verse concerning the prophet Micah. The text reads, ¹ The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.

a. Micah prophetic career run between 735 and 700 B.C. during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah who were the kings of Judah.

i. Ahaz is the low point in the kings of Judah

ii. Hezekiah is the high point of these three

b. What do we know about Micah?

i. He was from the town Moresheth Gath, located about 25 miles southwest of Jerusalem. This is a small town, rural.

ii. The prophet’s name, in its elongated form “Micaiahu”, is commonly translated “Who is like Yahweh?”

II. This passage is part of a larger portion of text that is often referred to as the first cycle, it runs from 1:2-2:11. You can envision this as two movements

a. The first movement is 1:2-2:11 and is comprised of several sections

i. The Divine Warrior comes to judge Samaria and Israel 1:1-7

ii. Micah laments the coming invasion of Judah 1:8-16

iii. Woe to the wealthy and oppressive land-grabbers 2:1-5

iv. The wealthy wicked and their false prophets versus Micah and his God 2:6-11

b. The restoration of a remnant 2:12-13

c. We see a very familiar cycle

i. God’s people sin

ii. God sends a warning

iii. God’s people continue to sin

iv. God brings judgment

v. God then saves a portion of the people

vi. This is the story of the tower of Babble, Noah, and every prophet that comes after we saw it play out time and time again in Judges.

d. This cycle like the second (3:1) and third (6:1) cycles begins with the word, “Hear”. It means more than just listen and receive information, this is a call to understand and to respond to in it in an appropriate fashion.

i. Listen to these words, ² Hear, you peoples, all of you,
listen, earth and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign LORD may witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.

1. It is not directed just to Israel or Judah, but it is a call for all the nations, all the peoples of the earth to hear the Lord.

a. The reason is not to receive good news, or a blessing, but rather to enter into a set of proceedings with the Lord.

i. This is no provincial deity, some local God, but the universal Lord that all people and powers to whom all peoples must give an account.

ii. This accounting does not begin with some pagan people, but rather with those who have received the word of the Lord and are more accountable than any others.

iii. There is a great caution for us in this realization, for we have had even more revelation that the people that Micah spoke the word of the Lord to.

b. The Sovereign Lord wishes to witness against you, this is the reason that the people are being called to hear.

c. He calls all people to hear, but only speaks against Israel and Judah, but if God will judge his people this way, it suggest that other peoples are standing in judgment as well.

d. God bring judgment from holy temple, which is an image of that which is set apart, holy, righteous. In fact God’s kingship is tied up in the notion of being holy, set apart.

i. You can see this in the description of the temple, the holy of holy is set apart

ii. Being set apart is the root of the idea of holiness in Hebrew.

2. Micah continues and as in the first portion of this cycle we are called to hear, now we are called to see. “Look” is the command. Micah writes, ³ Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling place; he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth.

a. The call is clear, “Look, and see that the Lord is coming from his dwelling place…’

i. It may be better translated, “Look! The Lord is about to come from his dwelling place…”

1. He comes from his dwelling place, his holy temple to the earth, to intervene in the history of humanity

2. We serve a God who is both transcendent, universal, and beyond but who is also close, involved and present.

ii. He comes down to tread on the high places of the earth.

1. High places can be specifically the pagan shrines we see in the land of Israel and Judah at the time, which were typically placed on high hill tops.

a. This is a vision of conquest and punishment, destruction, and judgment.

2. Or it is a reference to God striding about he earth no the high mountains.

a. This is simply a vision of God’s power and his ability to stride the earth and hold it all in his sway.

b. Either is a good way to understand this vision, though , I think the first is more in keeping with the theme of the text.

3. Now we see the effects of God’s intervention in the affairs of humanity, what happens when God treads on the high places. Micah writes, ⁴ The mountains melt beneath him
and the valleys split apart,
like wax before the fire,
like water rushing down a slope.

a. This is an image of power, mountains melt like wax before a fire, valleys split apart like water rushing down a slope

b. These things that don’t move of their own accord for us, flee before the presence of the Living God. In a real way this is a call for us to humble ourselves and repent before the Living God.

i. Because you do not want the Living God to come and judge you, to tread on your high places and bring you low.

ii. The wise person will repent! While we in Christ may not need worry about our salvation, we will give an account to the Living God, it is not a bad idea for us to get an idea of who will stand before.

e. Why is the Sovereign Lord coming down from his Holy Temple? The next verse begins to unpack this for us:

i. ⁵ All this is because of Jacob’s transgression, because of the sins of the house of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression? Is it not Samaria?
What is Judah’s high place? Is it not Jerusalem?

ii. There are three specific references in this passage:

1. One to Jacob the whole of the covenant community, all of the those who had or are descended from those who came through the Red Sea, the Wilderness and established the people of God in the promised land.

a. This is the first Jacob, the whole of the nation and the reason the Lord is coming is because of sin, rebellion, the breaking of the covenant by the people of God.

b. But then Micah gets specific: What is Jacob’s transgression, it is Samaria.

i. It could be an indication of the split between Judah and Israel and fracturing the body of God’s people, and that lead to an increase in sin in the northern kingdom of Israel.

ii. It could be that the leadership in the capital was corrupt and lead the people into corruption

iii. Yet, these two are very closely tied.

c. Judah does not escape the pending judgment, is not Judah’s high place Jerusalem?

i. Kings who did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord had installed pagan Idols in the Temple, and Jerusalem became a high place.

ii. It could also be that Jerusalem itself became an object of veneration, an Idol itself

iii. There will come a time when people assume that Jerusalem will never fall to an enemy because God would not allow his temple to be destroyed, and so they wrongly assumed the importance of Jerusalem and the temple.

III. The Lord’s punishment for Israel, the Northern Kingdom, begins to be seen in the lifetime of Micah, in 722-721 when the Assyrians capture Samaria, it’s conclusion is seen in the time of John Hyrcanus in 108-107. Micah announces the Lord’s punishment for the sins of Jacob.

a. ⁶ “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble,
a place for planting vineyards.
I will pour her stones into the valley
and lay bare her foundations.

i. Making Samaria a heap of rubble, a place for growing plants, not for growing families

ii. It will be laid bear, to the very foundations

b. Listen as the punishment is detailed:

i. ⁷ All her idols will be broken to pieces;
all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;
I will destroy all her images.
Since she gathered her gifts from the wages of prostitutes,
as the wages of prostitutes they will again be used.”

ii. Idols broken to pieces, temple gifts burned with fire, all of her idolatrous images destroyed.

1. Why, because they were not holy, they were profane

2. These were temple gifts to an idol, a prostitute being paid for acts of religious intimacy that should have been reserved for God alone.

a. But, rather than honoring their covenant with God they sought other gods, like a man married to a pure wife seeking intimacy with a prostitute, paying for that intimate act that was rightly reserved for his wife.

b. So, the people of god went to prostitutes and with their fees they built temples to these profane, substitute gods, the gods of their unfaithfulness.

c. So, these gifts, these glorious things given to prostitute will now be used to pay prostitutes.

i. One of the chief sources of wages for t he soldiers in ancient armies was the loot that they could take form captured cities

ii. Where to soldiers spend their loot, prostitutes.

iii. This is where your hard work, your efforts is going to go, to see others with prostitutes.

IV. This is a serious call for us to avoid idols in our own living. While we may not construct them in the same way, but we none the less worship many false gods in our contemporary culture.

a. And at points we too set up false gods in the church:

i. What translation of the bible we read, what kind of songs we sing, which evangelist we will listen to, which books we will read….

ii. Sometimes it is good discernment, at times it is person preference, and at times it becomes nothing but the idolizing of a specific person, type of music, specific translation, or some other cause

b. Micah’s warning should ring in our hears, Hear, Look, the Sovereign Lord is coming

Rebuke, Micah 3:1-12

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October 5, 2008

First Church of the Brethren

H. Kevin Derr

Micah 3:1-12

“Rebuke”

¹ Then I said,
“Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel.
Should you not know justice, ² you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones;

³ who eat my people’s flesh, strip off their skin
and break their bones in pieces; who chop them up like meat for the pan,
like flesh for the pot?”

⁴ Then they will cry out to the LORD, but he will not answer them.
At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done.

⁵ This is what the LORD says:
“As for the prophets who lead my people astray,
if you feed them, they proclaim ‘peace’;
if you do not, they prepare to wage war against you.

⁶ Therefore night will come over you, without visions, and darkness, without divination. The sun will set for the prophets, and the day will go dark for them.

⁷ The seers will be ashamed and the diviners disgraced.
They will all cover their faces because there is no answer from God.”

⁸ But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD,
and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression,
to Israel his sin.

⁹ Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel,
who despise justice and distort all that is right;

¹⁰ who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness.

¹¹ Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price,
and her prophets tell fortunes for money.
Yet they lean upon the LORD and say, “Is not the LORD among us?
No disaster will come upon us.”

¹² Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.

This passage begins the second cycle of the book of Micah. It begins with judgment and then moves on to redemption or salvation in the next section. Our text for this morning is centered in judgment. While this may not be the most comforting of texts, it is perhaps particularly appropriate for our preparation for Love Feast. This text addresses corruption in government, religion, economics and morality.

It should not be surprising that Micah speaks to corruption in the established forms of order that are to bring protection, peace and security for the people of the land, and in the case of Judah, they brought oppression. What does our establishment bring to us? Corruption seems to go hand and had with systems of power that have the potential for exploitation and oppression.

Prayer

I. Listen begins each of the three cycles that runs through Micah, and here we see the beginning of this cycle of prophecy. Micah does not soften his message, he may employ poetic forms, but the edge is hard, the images graphic, the meaning clear. He writes,

a. Then I said,
“Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel.
Should you not know justice, ² you who hate good and love evil;
who tear the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones;

³ who eat my people’s flesh, strip off their skin and break their bones in pieces; who chop them up like meat for the pan, like flesh for the pot?”

b. Listen, hear, pay attention, it is a command, an order. The prophet demands that the leadership of the people, the government pay attention to his words.

i. Should you not know justice, and implication that they do not, that they do not practice justice, that it is far from them, from their behavior.

ii. They should indeed know justice, but they practice something else, they hate good and love evil.

1. What does this look like, hating good and living evil?

a. They tear the skin from my people

b. They tear the flesh from the bones of my people

c. They eat my people’s flesh

d. They strip off my people’s skin and break their bones into pieces

e. They chop up my people like meat for the pan, flesh for the pot

2. Was Micah accusing the political leaders of Judah of cannibalism? No!

3. But he is accusing them of exploiting the people of Judah for their own benefit.

4. This is a regime that cruelly oppresses the people within its sphere of power and control.

c. There is a consequence for their behavior. Their deeds will return to them, and they will pay for the in due course. At present it is exacted like this, ⁴ Then they will cry out to the LORD, but he will not answer them. At that time he will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done.

i. These leaders at some point will cry out to God for help, but they will not be heard by God, he will not answer them.

1. Rather God will hide his face from them because of the evil they have done.

2. Does it seem harsh on God’s part? No, not at all, rather what we see operating here is something we know well, “do unto others what you would have them do unto you.”

ii. These leaders have ignored the cries of the people they were to care for, to shepherd, but rather than care for them the exploited them for their own gain and did not hear their cries for mercy.

iii. Now, when these leaders call out to God, they will receive the same treatment they have given, their cries for mercy will go unheeded.

iv. They chose evil over good, they chose exploitation over mercy, sin over the justice of God. They have chosen their lot, their direction in life.

II. Micah now turns his attention to the clergy, the religious establishment of the day and he does so with a clear edge cutting to the quick, and exposing the injustice of the religious establishment.

a. He writes, ⁵ This is what the LORD says:
“As for the prophets who lead my people astray,
if you feed them, they proclaim ‘peace’;
if you do not, they prepare to wage war against you.

⁶ Therefore night will come over you, without visions, and darkness, without divination. The sun will set for the prophets, and the day will go dark for them.

⁷ The seers will be ashamed and the diviners disgraced.
They will all cover their faces because there is no answer from God.”

⁸ But as for me, I am filled with power, with the Spirit of the LORD,
and with justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgression,
to Israel his sin.

b. Now the Lord, through Micah deals with prophets who lead the people astray.

i. Here is the practice of these religious leaders:

1. If you give them food, if you pay them, they will prophecy peace and security.

2. If you do not give them what they want, they prepare to wage a holy war against you.

ii. Because of their sin, their behavior, their practice of exploiting people for prophet, they will no longer hear from God.

1. No more visions

2. No more answers to divination

3. They will be left in darkness, with no light from God

4. God says plainly, you will not use me to oppress my people.

iii. The seers, the diviners, those who got answers for people from God, will be ashamed, because they will no longer hear from God.

1. Because they abused the gift of God, they will no longer be able to comprehend God’s will.

2. They will cut off, from God and because of this from God’s people.

c. Micah is notably different,

i. He is empowered not by food or pay, but by the Holy Spirit of God

1. He is also empowered by justice. The practice of doing what is right

2. He is also empowered with might, not to be the avenging tool of God, but rather to declare God’s message to his people, specifically to the political and religious leaders of the people.

3. Preaching a message of condemnation to those in power is not a practice that ensures old age.

ii. He is empowered to declare justice and righteousness that have been lacking in the halls of power.

III. Micah prepares for another round of judgment. He spares no one who practices power and walks in injustice. He writes,

⁹ Hear this, you leaders of the house of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel, who despise justice and distort all that is right;

¹⁰ who build Zion with bloodshed, and Jerusalem with wickedness.

¹¹ Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD and say, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster will come upon us.”

¹² Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.

a. Micah calls to account those who lead the people, of Judah and Israel, and charges them with despising justice and distorting all that is right.

i. I cannot help but hear shades of the sub-prime mortgage debacle

ii. I cannot help but hear shades of people manipulating stock prices and destroying companies to gain a bigger personal share, regardless of the people who get hurt

iii. I cannot help but hear shades of religious violence

b. Micah calls to account those who build Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem with wickedness

i. The way to grow the kingdom of God is not with bloodshed, but with righteous living

ii. The way to ensure a city’s prosperity is not with wickedness, but with righteousness.

1. But these leaders have looked for the easy solution, the quick fix, rather that in the long run does more harm than good.

2. Righteousness not wickedness the Lord will bless

c. Here is a quick summary of the problem, ¹¹ Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets tell fortunes for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD and say, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster will come upon us.“

i. The judges bring rulings based upon their bribes, the biggest bribe results in a positive ruling for the wealthy.

ii. The priests teach for a price, for a wage they will tell you about God, though they are already supported by the temple.

iii. The prophets will deliver a good fortune for the right price, but the words are not of God, but of gold.

iv. Then, they say, “Is not the Lord among us? No disaster will come upon us.”

1. They wrongly believed that because the temple was there, that God would not allow anything to happen to the city of Jerusalem.

2. Where do we place our trust, what do we believe wrongly?

a. Because we are a “Christian nation” God will protect us from. . .

b. Because we were founded with religious freedom…

IV. We cannot live sinfully and expect God to keep us from harm, in other words we cannot embrace evil and expect God to keep us from the effects of evil.

a. So, Micah tells the leaders what to expect.

b. ¹² Therefore because of you, Zion will be plowed like a field,
Jerusalem will become a heap of rubble, the temple hill a mound overgrown with thickets.

i. This city will be like a field

ii. It will be a heap of rubble

iii. The temple hill a mound overgrown in thickets.

“Apostleship” 1 Corinthians 4:1-21

April 6, 2008

First Church of the Brethren

H. Kevin Derr

1 Corinthians 4:1-21  

“Apostleship”

 

  ¹ This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. ² Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. ³ I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. ⁴ My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵ Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of people’s hearts. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

    ⁶ Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other. ⁷ For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

    ⁸ Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you! ⁹ For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. ¹⁰ We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored! ¹¹ To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. ¹² We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; ¹³ when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.

    ¹⁴ I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. ¹⁵ Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. ¹⁶ Therefore I urge you to imitate me. ¹⁷ For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

    ¹⁸ Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. ¹⁹ But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. ²⁰ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. ²¹ What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

Prayer:

I.                   Paul writes to the church at Corinth to see that church united as one body, without division and factions.

a.      He says,   ¹ This, then, is how you ought to regard us: as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed. ² Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful. ³ I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. ⁴ My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. ⁵ Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of people’s hearts. At that time each will receive their praise from God.

b.      This then is how you ought to regard us:  Who is the us, it would seem in this case it is Apollos and Paul, perhaps even Peter. 

                                                              i.      Those who are called apostles are considered to be servants of Christ, slaves of Christ.

1.      As such, they are entrusted with the mysteries God has revealed.  Namely Jesus who is the Christ.

2.      Those who are so entrusted must prove themselves faithful.

a.       Not by the courts of Rome or the people at Corinth

b.      But only by God.

c.       Not even by himself

                                                                                                                                      i.      He states that his conscience is clear

                                                                                                                                    ii.      That however does not mean that he is without sin.  That is the Lord’s to judge.

                                                            ii.      When the time of judgment comes, then God will bring to light what is hidden, and will expose peoples motives, and at that time each will receive from God their reward.

1.      Human acknowledgement does little good for us, in fact it may create more problems than it is worth, it puffs us up and makes us think we are more important than we are.

2.      Some of this is that we have misplaced our worth, the source of our personal value.  Is it the approval of the masses or is it the approval of God that we seek?

                                                          iii.      It is God’s to judge and to reward.

c.       The nature of the struggle at Corinth seems to be centered not between Paul and Apollos, but between factions in the church that have aligned themselves with these two leaders.  There is a real picture here of any internal conflict in a congregation.  One group goes one direction and another groups moves off in another direction.

                                                              i.      Paul writes:  ⁶ Now, brothers and sisters, I have applied these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, so that you may learn from us the meaning of the saying, “Do not go beyond what is written.” Then you will not be puffed up in being a follower of one of us over against the other. ⁷ For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?

1.      Paul is writing here, it seems on behalf of himself and Apollos.  He has applied the previous chapter to himself and Apollos.  It seems that Paul is saying, in effect, he and Apollos are equals.  Not to leaders in conflict, but two leaders attempting to bring healing and order to the church at Corinth.

2.      He says specifically that he is doing this so that they might learn “not to go beyond what is written”

a.       so that they would not become puffed up.

b.      so that they would not claim to be a follower one or the other

c.       The point?  People receive a letter from one of them and them and then that group feels that they are in the right, and infers from the letter new things to do.  They go to excess, likely to prove their allegiance to the author of the letter.

                                                                                                                                      i.      Paul says don’t do this

                                                                                                                                    ii.      This is not a completion!

                                                            ii.      Are these two leaders saying different things?  Paul says no.  Each has given something essential to the church at Corinth.  They are no different than any other member of the church.  In fact, they all have been given the gift of faith, not by special revelation from Jesus, but from one of those who has passed through the Church, Paul, Apollos, Peter or another.  So, don’t make like you didn’t get it the same way.

II.                Paul’s comments begin to take a new turn here.  He writes:   ⁸ Already you have all you want! Already you have become rich! You have begun to reign—and that without us! How I wish that you really had begun to reign so that we also might reign with you!

a.       Already you have all you want?  Is this a church that is prospering? It may be, it may be that the people here are wealthy.  Corinth was indeed a wealthy city. 

                                                              i.      Already you have begun to reign – that is without us!

1.      The church is growing?

2.      The church is wealthy?

3.      It cannot be that the church is spiritually mature, that much we know.

4.      It seems that at present the church is enjoying some economic prosperity.  It may be that they have followed the patter of the Jerusalem church and were holding things in common, or at least sharing a great deal of their resources with each other.

                                                            ii.      But from this point, we know that Paul and Apollos do not share in whatever is going on at Corinth. So, we can assume that it is not spiritual maturity.

b.      Paul continues, ⁹ For it seems to me that God has put us apostles on display at the end of the procession, like those condemned to die in the arena. We have been made a spectacle to the whole universe, to angels as well as to human beings. ¹⁰ We are fools for Christ, but you are so wise in Christ! We are weak, but you are strong! You are honored, we are dishonored!  

                                                              i.      Now Paul is speaking of apostles, in the plural.  He has included Apollos in this before, and may well here also. Along with the others.

1.      he says God has put us on display at the end of a procession, like those condemned to die in the arena

2.      He is not making reference to apostles being taken into the arena for execution, but something else.

3.      We have been made a spectacle for the whole universe, angles and humans.  Their existence is open to the universe to all of humanity to see.

a.       They are seen as being fools, as been weak, and dishonored

b.      The whole time the church at Corinth is seen as being wise, strong and honored.

                                                                                                                                      i.      It seems as though the church at Corinth is enjoying some public favor and respect

                                                                                                                                    ii.      They have wealth and are honored.

                                                                                                                                  iii.      But, the whole time they are actually behaving in a spiritually immature manner.

c.       At the same time, the apostles are in a different position:  Paul says it is like this for us: ¹¹ To this very hour we go hungry and thirsty, we are in rags, we are brutally treated, we are homeless. ¹² We work hard with our own hands. When we are cursed, we bless; when we are persecuted, we endure it; ¹³ when we are slandered, we answer kindly. We have become the scum of the earth, the garbage of the world—right up to this moment.

                                                              i.      At present Paul says, we are hungry, thirsty, naked, harshly and brutally treated.  In the face of such treatment and poverty we bless when cursed, when persecuted we endure it, when slandered we speak peace.  We have become like the garbage of the world, even now.

                                                            ii.      So, while the church at Corinth is enjoying food and drink, clothes and are treated respectably, they divide the church claiming one leader or another.  While the apostles live a different life.

III.             Paul does not do this to point out that he is suffering while they enjoy a nice life, rather he is saying, it may not always be like this.  He writes:     ¹⁴ I am writing this not to shame you but to warn you as my dear children. ¹⁵ Even if you had ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel. ¹⁶ Therefore I urge you to imitate me. ¹⁷ For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, my son whom I love, who is faithful in the Lord. He will remind you of my way of life in Christ Jesus, which agrees with what I teach everywhere in every church.

a.       Paul defines his relationship with the church at Corinth in this manner, of a parent and children.

                                                              i.      I write to you as a father writing to beloved children.

1.      Even if you do have may people who watch over you, there is indeed a special connection between Paul and this church.

2.      He says I urge you to imitate me.

a.       We brethren to humble to say such a thing, and not feel guilty.  But, isn’t this the point of a mentor, of an older sibling in Christ who helps us find the way to follow Jesus faithfully.

b.      How do children learn, by imitating the things that they see their parents do?

c.       What is the natural way for new believers to learn how to follow Jesus, by following the example of a mature saint?

                                                            ii.      So, Paul says, I am sending you Timothy, one who knows my way of life and will remind you of how I followed Jesus.  I’m sending you some to mentor you in how you follow Jesus.  This is what we mean when we say that Jesus is our example, but in reality we ought to be examples for others to follow as well.  If we are uncomfortable with someone learning about Jesus by shadowing us for a few months, then we have some areas of our lives that need attention.

b.      We do not find the closing paragraph of this chapter comfortable.  Because we are not comfortable with authority, holding it or being under authority.

                                                              i.      Every congregation is autonomous in the Church of the Brethren, we answer to no one, but to ourselves.  We do not like being told what to do, or how to do it.  We chafe under authority.  It was not so in the ancient world, it was assumed that someone had authority over you.

                                                            ii.      Paul writes as one who  has authority over the church at Corinth, he states: ¹⁸ Some of you have become arrogant, as if I were not coming to you. ¹⁹ But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. ²⁰ For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. ²¹ What do you prefer? Shall I come to you with a rod of discipline, or shall I come in love and with a gentle spirit?

                                                          iii.      It seems that there are those at Corinth that are saying, Paul has no power or authority over them.  These are the ones that Paul says are becoming arrogant.

1.      They talk about power, but what power do they have?  The implication is none.

2.      So, Paul asks, shall I come with a rod of discipline or in love with a gentle spirit.

a.       Pick, he says, and you shall receive

b.      Paul has no problem exercising authority over the church, he considers it his responsibility and as such he also considers himself answerable for what happens in that congregation.

“Leaders” 1 Corinthians 3:1-23

March 30, 2008

First Church of the Brethren

H. Kevin Derr

1 Corinthians 3:1-23  

“Leaders”

 

¹ Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. ² I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. ³ You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere human beings? ⁴ For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

    ⁵ What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ⁶ I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. ⁹ For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

    ¹⁰ By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. ¹⁴ If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

    ¹⁶ Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

    ¹⁸ Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; ²⁰ and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.” ²¹ So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, ²² whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, ²³ and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

As we move into the third chapter of 1 Corinthians, we continue to see the underlying issue of unity in the church.  I don’t think that it is possible to overstate the importance of unity in the church, so that we can properly understand the whole of this letter.  Here is the crux of unity in the church, all of the additional issues that Paul address are secondary to unity.  The point is to settle these secondary issues in order to maintain the unity of the whole church.  This is the very point where the protestant reformation fails, rather than working to settle difference, groups simply started new churches.  The end result is a massively fragmented church.

 

Prayer

 

I.                   Paul begins this section of the letter with what at first seem like unkind words, but it is likely that they are honest and spoken with affection, even if there is also remorse because of their state of maturity.

a.       Paul writes, ¹ Brothers and sisters, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. ² I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.

                                                              i.      Paul is speaking of  a previous correspondence or conversation, the context is not clear or specific.  Then the situation was, you were “mere infants in Christ.” 

1.      The understanding being that they are given the basics until they mature.

2.      He says “I gave you milk, not solid food”

3.      As the situation demanded, he provided

                                                            ii.      But, what is their present condition or level of maturity?  Have they progressed?

                                                          iii.      The sad reality is that they have not, the divisions and infighting among them are marks of their immaturity.  They still cannot deal with anything but basic instruction in Christ Jesus because they are still infants in Christ.

b.      If Paul could say this in a more direct fashion I would be shocked.  He writes, ³ You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere human beings? ⁴ For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere human beings?

                                                              i.      He says, “You are still worldly”  In other words you are not living or acting like Christians, you are not Christlike!

                                                            ii.      Here are the traits that show their maturity: they are jealous, they quarrel with each other, they act like the rest of the world, like mere human beings.

1.      The continue to promote divisions among themselves

2.      I follow Paul, I follow Apollos. . ., It sounds much like the modern western church, I am a conservative, I am a liberal, I am a . . .

3.      Our attempts to prove our points, at times displays our lack of genuine spiritual maturity, and we promote divisions and act as mere human beings.

c.       This is the part where it may get difficult for us, troubling even.  Paul writes:   ⁵ What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. ⁶ I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. ⁷ So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. ⁸ The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. ⁹ For we are God’s co-workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

                                                              i.      Paul says, “What is Apollos, what is Paul?  Only servants of God, through whom you came to believe.”

1.      Our allegiance is not primarily to any one person, theology, or one denomination

2.      We owe our allegiance primarily to Christ Jesus.

a.       Here is the reality:

                                                                                                                                      i.      One plants a seed

                                                                                                                                    ii.      Another waters the seed

                                                                                                                                  iii.      But it is God who makes it grow

b.      These others are not our enemies, our completion, they are fellow laborers in the Lord.

                                                                                                                                      i.      We do not labor for ourselves but we labor for Christ Jesus

                                                                                                                                    ii.      The point in all this is not to honor Paul or Apollos, or substitute any modern counterpart you like, but to honor God through Christ Jesus.

3.      Yet, when we become preoccupied with our own allegiances, with those things that should not come before Christ, but we put them ahead of Christ Jesus.

a.       There is a long list of our allegiances, pick an issue or a topic and you will find one, as long as they remain secondary and not primary they are fine, and at points we will have to disagree, but our disagreement should never cause detriment to the body of Christ.

b.      When we insist on our way, on our privilege, on our esteem, we are not following Jesus example and washing the feet of our brothers and sisters.

                                                            ii.      Now we come to a point that is central to Paul’s argument, the efforts of all believers should be to work to build up the body of Christ, to display Christ to people through their living, through their work, through co-operation with other believers.

1.      Paul talks about it this way: ¹⁰ By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should build with care. ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. ¹² If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, ¹³ their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. ¹⁴ If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames.

a.       Paul says, I started this building here in Corinth, by the grace that God gave me.

                                                                                                                                      i.      He says specifically, “I laid a foundation as a wise builder. . .”

                                                                                                                                    ii.      The enterprise began rightly, righteously, and with good work and effort

1.      But others have been building on that foundation

2.      Every builder, every believer must build wisely upon the foundation that is already laid

3.      That foundation is Christ Jesus

b.      Jesus is our foundation, our starting point, our primary allegiance.  Everything else is secondary!

c.       Paul assumes that others will build on the foundation, the only question is what kind of work will they do?

                                                                                                                                      i.      He says people will build with gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw

                                                                                                                                    ii.      How do we know what people are building with?  Knowing what others are building with is not our primary concern, knowing what we are building with is:

1.      The works of each believer, each builder, will be judged by fire

2.      You could claim that this is a reference to the fires of hell, but I think that is poor choice

3.      The implication of fire really seems to be the notion of the refiners fire, or trouble and tribulation.  They may be some sense of eschatology present here, but it seems more that this is an ongoing process not a final judgment scenario

4.      It is not a question of salvation, but one of reward.  The one whose work is suspect, that does not survive the test of scrutiny will suffer loss, but not the loss of salvation.

2.      Not everyone will want to be a builder, but the truth is, all believers are responsible to contribute to the Kingdom, to the whole, so the question is not, do I want to be a builder, but what kind of builder will I be.

II.                It would almost seem that Paul is transitioning here to another subject, but he is only changing his metaphor.  He states, ¹⁶ Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? ¹⁷ If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person; for God’s temple is sacred, and you together are that temple.

a.       Paul is not speaking of the body of one individual believer here, he is speaking of the church as a body.  God’s spirit dwells in the body of believers, his temple.  Just as the Ark of the Covenant signified God’s presence in the Temple in Jerusalem.

                                                              i.      So, the warning is not for those who might persecute the church, “If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy that person.”

1.      This is still in keeping with the internal conflict and divisions, if you destroy God’s temple God will destroy you.

2.      Because God’s temple is sacred, and the body of Christ, the church is that temple.

b.      Paul is stating very plainly that there can be no divisions in the church, he is very serious about this, no divisions based on personality or wisdom of the wise of this age.  He writes, ¹⁸ Do not deceive yourselves. If any of you think you are wise by the standards of this age, you should become “fools” so that you may become wise. ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; ²⁰ and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”  

                                                              i.      Do not deceive yourselves.

1.      That divisions are fine

2.      That we should be like the rest of humanity and break up our solidarity over personality or some bit of sophistry?

3.      Don’t think that you are wise by the standards of this age

a.       They were living in a time of technological advancement, wonders and travel and trade and the Roman peace

b.      The wisdom of that age crashed and broke and became nothing, it was eventually overrun

c.       The same will happen to our age

d.      We cannot depend on the wisdom of this age to make us holy, righteous, or Christ-like

4.      We need to forget the wisdom this age and become fools, here is the issue:

a.       We have a tendency to take whatever works in business and culture to make this popular and apply the to the church.

                                                                                                                                      i.      But, let me ask you, do you really want church to be like McDonalds?

                                                                                                                                    ii.      Come get the goods or services you want and then pay and go home.  Is that what church should be like?

                                                                                                                                  iii.      I think Paul would say, No! 

b.      The Church is to be the Body of Christ, the Temple of God, the place where God’s spirit dwells, a quick marketing solution may increase attendance, but will it make mature, connected disciples or just people consuming religious goods and services?

                                                            ii.      Remember, ¹⁹ For the wisdom of this world is foolishness in God’s sight. As it is written: “He catches the wise in their craftiness”; ²⁰ and again, “The Lord knows that the thoughts of the wise are futile.”  

1.      Part of the problem is that we let church become so many other things that what it is at is core, the body of Christ the place where the Spirit of God dwells.  Our primary allegiance is to Christ Jesus and everything else comes after that.

a.       And it is not say that these other things are bad, because they are not.  The problem is when you and I make things that are essentially secondary issues and place them above Christ Jesus.

b.      This is the same thing that happened at Corinth

2.      People were willing to sacrifice the unity of the body of petty personal issues of pride and position.  What have been our own points of willingness to sacrifice the unity of the body for our own pet issues and desires?

III.             I love this last portion of the text: ²¹ So then, no more boasting about human leaders! All things are yours, ²² whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, ²³ and you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

a.       Put this issue of divisions to rest, be done with it!  This is not to say that there are not points were we are called to render discipline, and withhold fellowship from people who claim to be believers. 

                                                              i.      But it is a last resort, in order to keep unity in the body.  It is not an excuse to form a new fellowship or sever a limb from the body of Christ.

                                                            ii.      Paul says, don’t you realize, “All things are yours. . .”

1.      Paul, Apollos, Cephas, the world, life or death, the present or the future, all are yours

2.      You’ve got everything at your disposal and if that is not enough, you are of Christ, and Christ is of God.

3.      Paul is trying to help the church at Corinth and you and I to get the big picture, not to fight over petty little items but to embrace the bigger picture and see what God has for us.

Palm Sunday, 2008 Matthew 27:11-54

Matthew 27:11-54

“Palms & Kings”

 

¹¹ Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.

¹² When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” ¹⁴ But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

¹⁵ Now it was the governor’s custom at the Festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶ At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸ For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.

¹⁹ While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”

²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. ²¹ “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered.

²² “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!” ²³ “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”

²⁵ All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus

²⁷ Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. ²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. ³⁰ They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. ³¹ After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

³² As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. ³³ They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ³⁴ There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. ³⁷ Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

³⁸ Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”

⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴² “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” ⁴⁴ In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

The Death of Jesus

⁴⁵ From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

⁴⁷ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.”

⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.

⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

 

What does it take for us to realize who Jesus is? It is a rather odd question isn’t it? But it is an important question. When we consider the events of Jesus life, culminating in his triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday and his subsequent arrest, torture, trial and execution, it includes many indications of who Jesus is, but does it still reach us? When we begin to look at the account of Jesus last week of life it is one goes from the highs of triumph to death on a cross, acclaim by the crowd to abandonment by the crowd. It sees the death of Jesus and the tombs of the holy dead opened with them being seen by many. It is a time of change and transition, one of doubt and hope, one of death and the promise of life.

Prayer

 

I. Matthew’s account includes the entry of Jesus in triumph, but this year we look beyond the palms of acclaim to the passion of the Christ, his trial and execution.

a. Matthew writes, ¹¹ Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.

i. Pilate asks Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” He does not ask if he is a descendant of David, a rightful heir to the throne, he asks presently, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Is this a spiritual question or a political question?

ii. Jesus reply to this question is, “You have said so.” In his answer, Jesus does not say yes or no to his question. He says, This is what you say.

1. This does not answer our question, is this a political or spiritual question? Or does it?

2. Perhaps it is best understood as both. To be a follower of Jesus, to submit to Jesus as our Lord, our King, our Cesar, is both a spiritual and political decision.

a. It is first and foremost a spiritual question, but in answering yes to Jesus, it becomes a political issue as well.

b. Our faith, following Jesus, claiming Jesus as King, implies that it will influence all that we do and say. If we segment Jesus to just spiritual matters we are not really his followers, because following Jesus includes all of our activities.

c. In the contemporary world we divide things into spiritual, scientific, political, economic, etc… but in the ancient world such things did not happen. Government was assumed to have religious content, as did economics and the philosophic as well as scientific.

d. Yet, Pilate is asking a question, that is significant, “Are you seeking to undermine Roman rule and authority?”

i. Jesus answers, “You have said that I am.”

ii. But he says nothing more on the subject.

b. Pilates question is asked, now come the religious questions, ¹² When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. ¹³ Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” ¹⁴ But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

i. Jesus does not respond to these questions at all. This astonishes Pilate, he Jesus is he has heard and understood what they are saying, and still Jesus says nothing.

ii. Why? Because their minds were already made up about Jesus. He was a threat to them, and so had to be dealt with.

1. Pilates concern was protecting Rome and perhaps his own place in the empire

2. These men, be they Pharisees or Sadducees, were either, in their own minds, protecting the state, the people or the temple or on the worst side their own wealth and position.

3. Jesus was a threat to both Pilate and these leaders of the people.

a. To Pilate, so as to protect the civil order and his place

b. To the leaders to protect their place or the people and state

c. Pilate, attempts to secure the most public good will: ¹⁵ Now it was the governor’s custom at the Festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. ¹⁶ At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. ¹⁷ So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” ¹⁸ For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.

¹⁹ While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him

this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”

²⁰ But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed. ²¹ “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor. “Barabbas,” they answered.

d. Pilate’s Scheme: To secure good will of the populace, to keep them happy.

i. To this end he brings Jesus to the crowd to set him free, which he sees as being the best solution. He doesn’t create another martyr out of a man who had people chanting in the streets as he came in to the city, he keeps them happy.

ii. So he offers the choice of Jesus or another hardened criminal Barabbas.

iii. Pilates wife comes and says stay away from this man, he is dangerous. Have nothing to do with him.

1. So he makes the offer to the people, Jesus the Messiah or Jesus Barabbas?

2. They wanted Barabbas, now we are told that the Chief Priests and the elders, persuaded the crowd to answer this way.

e. Now Pilate talks to the crowd: “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked. They all answered, “Crucify him!” ²³ “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”

i. The crowd chooses Barabbas, now I don’t know what Pilate is attempting here, but he asks the crowd what he should do with Jesus.

1. What are his motives, part of me want to say he was beginning to understand who Jesus is.

2. Another line of thinking pushes me to think that Pilate thought Jesus innocent

3. Still another pushes me down the road of Pilate’s self- preservation, in other words being a skilled politician.

4. Pilate had people executed before:

a. But he had never dealt with someone who had the whole city in an uproar.

b. He never faced someone like Jesus, and Jesus forced him to make a decision.

c. Jesus did not absolve Pilate of his predicament.

ii. The crowd says “Crucify him!”

1. Rather than make decision, Pilate is now forced into a place where his hands are tied, he gave control of this issue, of Jesus to the crowd. His wife was right, Jesus is dangerous.

2. So, he tries to take the easy way out, a cowards way.

3.

II. Pilates undoing: ²⁴ When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!” ²⁵ All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

a. Pilate couldn’t satisfy the crowd, so he has one choice to give them what they want.

i. But, he tries to deny his responsibility for the action.

1. He took water and washed his hands of t he matter in front of the people, so as to say, this is not my decision.

2. The crowd said they would take responsibility:

ii. But verse 26 tells the story as it is, ²⁶ Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.

iii. It took Pilate to release Barabbas, it took Pilates order to have Jesus crucified. Ultimately he is responsible for the action. He was a man with little courage. And Jesus was dangerous, dangerous to the status quo, to the normal way of life, to established patters of religion and society, to the fabric of family and honor, to the world as it is ordered.

b. No matter what we say, the soldiers listen to Pilate, not the crowd. It took his order for these things to happen. Matthew writes, ²⁷ Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. ²⁸ They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. ³⁰ They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. ³¹ After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

i. The governor’s soldiers took Jesus, they stripped him, put a scarlet robe on him, made a crown of thrones and put it on his head, put a staff in his hand and they knelt in front of him and mocked him.

1. “Hail, king of the Jews!” the Jews would not challenge their power, their right to rule the world. And not this one man.

2. The spit on him, beat him, and then took him away to be crucified. Pilate did not hand Jesus to the crowd to be stoned, he ordered his soldiers to do the work. The responsibility is his.

ii. It only gets worse from here: ³² As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. ³³ They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). ³⁴ There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. ³⁷ Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.

1. Jesus was so weakened by his ordeal at this time, he was unable to carry his own cross, a typical custom of the Romans, carrying the instrument of your own death.

2. They get to the appointed place where the crucifixion is to take place, and offer him wine mixed with gall, Jesus refuses:

a. Why? What was the gall?

b. It may have been a poison to kill him quickly?

c. It may have been a narcotic to numb the pain?

d. It may have been mixed with bitter water?

e. More than this I cannot tell you.

3. Then they crucified him, divide up his clothes by casting lots, and then sat down to watch the proceedings.

4. Above his head they placed a sign, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.

c. More Mocking: ³⁸ Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”

⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the

elders mocked him. ⁴² “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” ⁴⁴ In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

i. Jesus is not alone, there are two other men being crucified, rebels, political prisoners.

1. Those who came to see the spectacle, mocked them, taunted them

2. To Jesus they said things like, “You were going to destroy the temple and raise it up again in three days, were you”

a. Little did they realize in three days he would be rise again on the first day of the week.

b. They missed seeing who Jesus was

ii. There were those of the local political and religious authorities too, they said, . ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’

iii. Eventually, the rebels on the crosses next to him said the same things…

III. This brings us to the point, Jesus death: ⁴⁵ From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. ⁴⁶ About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).

⁴⁷ When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” ⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. ⁴⁹ The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”

⁵⁰ And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. ⁵¹ At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from to to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split ⁵² and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. ⁵³ They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

a. From noon until three in the after noon Jesus was alive on the cross. At three he died. For that time, darkness covered the land.

i. At three Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

ii. Many though he was calling Elijah, what the Romans thought at this point we have no idea.

1. Someone ran to get Jesus a drink of vinegar/wine, filled a sponge and put it on a poll to offer it to Jesus to drink.

2. them people said leave him alone and see what happens

3. then Jesus cried out in a loud voice and died.

a. At that moment, the veil in the temple that divided the holy of Holies from the Holy Place was torn in tow from the top to the bottom

b. The earth shook, rocks split

c. Tombs opened up and holy people who were dead were up and walking around

d.

IV. All that brings us to this point: Matthew writes, ⁵⁴ When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!”

a. What those of a Jewish background thought of the whole series of events we do not know, we only know what a group of Romans said.

i. “Surely he was the Son of God.”

ii. They were terrified, they realized that this was indeed God’s son, and dangerous. But they understood.

b. Do we understand who Jesus is?

i. Do we realize that Jesus is still dangerous

ii. That Jesus is working to bring about radical transformation in men and women, and in our culture and in our world.

iii. Do we realize that this Jesus, the Lion of Judah, is waiting and will eventually judge the quick and the dead.

1. We will not be able to wash our hands of him, no more than Pilate did

We must decide if Jesus is indeed who he claims to be, the Messiah, the King, and then to live accordingly?

“Revealed by the Spirit” 1 Corinthians 2:1-16

March 9, 2008

First Church of the Brethren

H. Kevin Derr

1 Corinthians 2:1-16

“Revealed by the Spirit”

 
¹ And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. ² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit

    ⁶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. ⁷ No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ⁹ However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived—
these things God has prepared for those who love him”—

    ¹⁰ for God has revealed them to us by his Spirit.

    The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit within? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. ¹⁴ The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ¹⁵ The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, ¹⁶ for,
“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.

 

Paul was a trained rhetoritician, a speaker, a thinker, a person who knew how to make a persuasive argument, and get the results he desired.  This was part of any classical education in the ancient world.  Yet, Paul tells his readers that this is not the means by which they were drawn into the body of Christ.  It was not the speakers power, argument or brilliance that won them over, rather it was the revelation of God’s power in their midst, through the preaching of the Cross.

 
Prayer

I.                   I find Paul’s opening in the second chapter so powerful.  He is working to bring first unity to the church, now he is working to build that unity into maturity. 

a.       He states openly: ¹ And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.

                                                              i.      Paul did not use the typical rhetorical forms to make an impassioned speech to these people at Corinth, he did not dazzle them with his logic or reason or wisdom.

                                                            ii.      It was not the power of his voice or the poetic fashion of his language that shook them and caused them to follow after Christ.

                                                          iii.      He says, “I proclaimed to you the testimony about God”

1.      The Kerygma, the core preaching of the early church that we talk about last week.

2.      It was not my wisdom, preaching or skills as an orator that had a effect it was this testimony about God.  About Jesus the Crucified.

                                                          iv.      Paul was a scholar, he was educated and a Roman citizen as well, he could have used all these things to persuade these people into believing, into following Jesus.  He writes, ² For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

1.      I resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

2.      Paul has taken steps to make sure that this does church in Corinth does not become a cult of personality centered around him.

a.       I doubt his website address was www.paulsministry.org

b.      This was not about him.  It is about Jesus, it is about people following Jesus and not Paul.

                                                                                                                                      i.      This was not Paul’s church, it is the body of Christ

                                                                                                                                    ii.      So, he does not employ the powerful tools of rhetoric and logic and wisdom to sell them Jesus.

                                                                                                                                  iii.      He speaks rather the message of the church, Jesus Christ and him crucified

1.      He asserts that the efficacy to his work is not in his oratory skills

2.      But rather in the word of God the message of God’s action, of Jesus crucified.

                                                            v.      Listen to the way that he says this: ³ I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. ⁴ My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.

1.      He came in the fashion that he describes in the previous chapter, in what God uses to nullify the things that are, the weak, the powerless, the shamed.  So, he comes in weakness, in great fear, in trembling.

2.      The results are not a based on his preaching:

a.       Not on: human wisdom,

b.      But on a demonstration of the Spirit’s power

                                                                                                                                      i.      So that their faith may be built on God’s power, not human wisdom

                                                                                                                                    ii.      It starts me wandering, how much of our faith is built on “human wisdom,” how much is our construct and how much of our faith is based on an experience of the Spirit’s power.

b.      Now is Paul saying that there is no wisdom in the message of the cross, of Jesus crucified?  Not at all.  In verse six he writes, ⁶ We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.

                                                              i.      There is a message of wisdom that is spoken among the mature, but it is not the wisdom of this age, of human manufacture.  It is interesting in what he says of the wisdom of his age, and I suppose the wisdom of any age, it is coming to nothing.

                                                            ii.      Now it almost begins to seem like Paul is telling us that there is secret information for the initiated.  He writes, ⁷ No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.

1.      God’s wisdom is a mystery that has been hidden

2.      That God has destined for “our glory” before the creation of the universe

3.      He then turns the focus on the powerful, the wise of the age, he writes, ⁸ None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.

a.       The wisest of this age, didn’t understand, the simple, foolish, message that you and I did.

b.      The proof that the did not have the wisdom to comprehend the wonder before them, they crucified Jesus, if they understood they never would have.

c.       The proof of the folly is in their actions.

4.      But for the foolish that are in reality the wise, the last who became first, we find these words, . ⁹ However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived—
these things God has prepared for those who love him“—   ¹⁰ for God has revealed them to us by his Spirit.

a.       Paul in quoting Isaiah 64:4 tells us that those who  understand are in for more than any one has seen heard or conceived, because for those that love God, he has prepared some wonderful and inconceivable things.

b.      But they will only be reveled by his spirit, and this is the hard part for us to get at times.  It is not by our knowledge, wisdom, intellect, insight or strength, this is a gift of God, given via his spirit.  We are not in control of this revelation.

II.                Now Paul tells us about the Spirit, the one who brings us the revelation of God.  He states: “The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except that person’s own spirit within? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.”

a.       The spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

                                                              i.      There is nothing beyond the scope of the Spirits knowledge.  This is illustrated for us in Genesis 1:1-2 ¹In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. ²Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

                                                            ii.      The Spirit knows the universe, the chaos, the order, the whole of God’s creation.  The Spirit is present in the created order, and the Spirit knows the universe as well as God.

1.      The Spirit knows…. And reveals the universe to God’s people.

2.      The Spirit knows the deep things of God, just as we know our own hearts and minds.

a.       We may not acknowledge what we know of ourselves

b.      But who knows us better than we know ourselves?

b.      Now he tells us about the Spirit we have received.  The Sprit is the Holy Spirit, and is given to us, those who believe in Jesus, along with forgiveness, the gift of the Holy Spirit.  He says, “We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.”

                                                              i.      In Christ we do not receive the spirit of the world, the wisdom of the world or the values of the world

                                                            ii.      We receive the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit who is from the Father, enables us to understand what has been freely given to us.

1.      It is because of this that we don’t use the world’s patterns of knowledge and wisdom to explain what has been revealed to us.

2.      He says we explain “spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words” or philosophy or wisdom.

3.      In other words, what is revealed to us is from God and we do not depend on the traditions of the world to convey the gospel, the good news.

                                                          iii.      This is the reason that we can never reduce the gospel to a simple set of propositional statements that make faith in Jesus the only logical, reasonable choice, and thus everyone becomes a follower of Jesus.  Paul says, ¹⁴ The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.

1.      Without the Spirit, people will not understand, want or accept the things that come from God, rather they will be considered foolishness, superstition and comic.

2.      The appeal of the cross, the beauty of the gospel, the logic of Jesus are only understood or discerned through the Holy Spirit.

III.             The Mind of Christ: Paul continues with this thought, ¹⁵ The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, ¹⁶ for,
“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”
But we have the mind of Christ.

a.       Here is the crux of this the follower of Jesus, who is endowed with the Holy Spirit, will make judgments about all things, we already make judgments about all things.

                                                              i.      But what are our judgments based on:  In Christ, we have the mind of Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to instruct us, to lead us to all knowledge as the scriptures say.

                                                            ii.      Does this mean that we become infallible?  No, not at all.  Just because we have the mind of Christ does not mean that we pay any attention.

1.      Church history is filled with bad judgments and poor choices

2.      but, we have the potential to make judgments or decisions based on a new set of values, Kingdom values, the mind of Christ.

                                                          iii.      No longer are we bound to or controlled by the values and patterns of our culture.  We know that there are other choices, and we can now choose those better things.