Bible Study, Sermon On The Mount

One

19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy,[c] your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy,[d] your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

-Matthew 6:19-24

Jesus has just specified three common religious practices–giving, praying and fasting–designed to lead the worshiper into a more intimate walk with God (Matthew 6:1-19).  Using these as a platform for advertising one’s personal holiness and devotion to God is a tragic mistake.  With each practice Jesus makes it clear that if we do these things to impress others, that fleeting praise will be the extent of our reward.  God is not impressed for His desire is that we desire Him more than anything else.

ONE COMPASS

To make this clear, Jesus then specifies three ways we must set our life’s compass.  This is necessary to help us to navigate through our tendencies to become side-tracked. The danger is that we may be lured away by cheap imitations that will not last into eternity.

ONE TREASURE

Single-minded pursuit of the one treasure helps us keep our compass pointing in the right direction as other treasures of much lesser value tempt us.  Without a clear direction in our lives we risk being enamored with treasures that will fail us in the pursuit of eternal values in the kingdom.

ONE LIGHT

The beginning of John’s gospel focuses upon Jesus as the One Light of the world (John 1:1-18).  “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind,” John tells us.  Further, this light “shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (vss 4-5).  The Apostle John assures his readers that John the Baptist was not The Light (vs. 8).  Rather, he pointed to Jesus Christ as “The true light that gives light to everyone….”

The metaphor of eyes and light could also be understood as a single window in a dark room.*   In that room are reflections of glass or metal that give some light such as, metaphorically, the logic of science, physics or philosophy, etc.  Devoid of light from The Source of The Light, however, only leads to darkness.

There are many lights in this world that seem to help us navigate the dark corners of our lives.  In many ways they are dim reflections of the true light of Jesus Christ.  Put too much trust in those lesser lights and you will find yourself, in the end, overwhelmed by  complete darkness.

ONE MASTER

A slave’s primary objective in life is supposed to be to please his master above everything else.  His master has total control over his very life, comfort and working conditions.  The idea of trying to please more than one master at a time means that there will be conflicts that lead to impossible choices.  “If I try to please Master #1, then there will be times when I will displease Master #2. I can’t do both at the same time.”

So it is with our desire for material wealth.   This is not so much a statement about ‘the haves’ versus ‘the have-nots’.  The desire for wealth is not exclusive to rich or poor; rather it is common to all.  Consequently, so is the danger that we will desire it more than we desire God.  And that, Jesus says, is unacceptable to God.  He is to be our obsession.  He is to be our foremost desire.  Nothing in this world is to overtake our desire to walk with Him, to know Him, and to talk, think and act like Him.  He is to be our Magnificent Obsession.

CONCLUSION

God insists upon an intimate relationship with us as we imitate His generosity, speak to Him in prayer and fast in order to underline our dependence upon Him.  Further, He tells us to make Him and His kingdom our treasure, to let His Light outshine all others and to choose Him as our Master.  With those principles in place we are now equipped for living our lives accordingly by trusting Him completely (Matthew 6:25-34).

The third soil Jesus describes in the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:1-23) refers to “The seed falling among the thorns” (vs. 22).  Jesus tells us that this “refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.”  Our compass in life will remain true to the treasures we pursue, the light we use to illuminate our way and the things we become enslaved to serve.  Pursue those things that will last!

* Carson, D. A. The Sermon On The Mount: An Evangelical Exposition of Matthew 5-7 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1978), p. 79.

Bible Study, Sermon On The Mount

Trust

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life[e]?

28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

–Matthew 6:25-34

Having an intimate connection with God through lives of generosity, prayer and fasting, we resist the temptation to seek after the praise of men (Matthew 6:1-18).  Further, we have set our compasses towards things of eternal value and kept those of lesser value in perspective.  Now we are ready to talk about how we live out our faith every single day.

TRUST ME. DON’T WORRY!

When someone says “Don’t worry about it!” we often know to put up our defenses.  More often than we would like to admit, we have all been deceived into trusting people who had ulterior motives.

On the other hand, when someone else says “Stop worrying about it!” it’s like asking someone to ‘be spontaneous.’  Just the very command to do something spontaneously, by its very nature, makes it impossible to do.

But, when God says “Don’t worry!” we should listen.  If our intimate relation to him is assured and our compass is set, trusting God with our needs and interests should begin to emerge as the way we do life.  After all, this is the God who provides birds with food, who can shorten or lengthen your lives and who clothes all of nature in all of its glory.  Need clothes, food or something to drink?

SEEK THE RIGHT THINGS

Jesus assures us that if we seek after His kingdom and His righteousness then everything is in place.  You can live forever on this diet!  And, by the way, as you pursue these things, your need for food, drink and clothing will find its proper place in your day-to-day lives.  Remember?  “Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11, emphasis mine).

Of course if you want to worry about these other things then you can be just like those who do not trust in God.  They get tied in knots about things that have no eternal value.

But not you!

The God who speaks universes into existence has got you covered.

 

Bible Study, Sermon On The Mount

Fasting

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”

…

16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

-Matthew 6:1, 16-18

THE FASTING TRADITION

Fasting has traditionally been understood as a voluntary withholding of all natural food from the body for a determined period specially appointed for moral or religious ends.  The Jewish Encyclopedia notes that almost every religious movement in the world includes some form of fasting.  In Jewish tradition, there were at least 25 occasions when the more devout were encouraged to fast, including the fast of Purim which is still observed.

Under the Mosaic Law there was only, ceremonially, one day of fasting: The Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:29, 31).  This event foreshadowed the the Passion of Christ (cf., Romans 3:25; Hebrews 2:17). The imagery of the scapegoat in Leviticus 16, is significant in light of the cross.

FASTING’S PURPOSE

However, in Isaiah 58:1-12 God specifies the purpose of fasting that goes way beyond a simple ceremony.  It strikes a fatal blow to the  duplicity of man’s heart.  This is not simply some pagan ritual that people do to please God to receive His blessing.  Fasting insults God when it is accompanied by godless behavior:

“Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please
    and exploit all your workers.
4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife,
    and in striking each other with wicked fists.
You cannot fast as you do today
    and expect your voice to be heard on high.
5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen,
    only a day for people to humble themselves?
Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed
    and for lying in sackcloth and ashes?
Is that what you call a fast,
    a day acceptable to the Lord?

– Isaiah 58:3-5

God then, through Isaiah, redefines fasting.  It is loosening the chains of injustice, untying the cords of the worker’s yoke, setting the oppressed free, sharing food with the hungry, providing poor wanderers shelter, clothing the naked and receiving family members into their homes (Isaiah 58:6-7).  These activities are what open the door to the morning light, healing, righteousness, the Lord’s glory in their midst and a God who answers their cries for help (Isaiah 58:8-9).  God commands them to do away with oppressive yokes, pointing fingers and malicious talk.

It is difficult to read of this scolding of two-faced religion and not hear overtones in Jesus’ parable about the sheep and the goats on Judgement Day (Matthew 25:31-46)!

GENEROSITY, PRAYER AND FASTING

In Matthew 6:1-18 Jesus addresses three practices that are associated with religious practices all over the world: giving to others, prayer and fasting.  The overriding question that rules each of these practices is “Why are you doing this?”  In each case, if the purpose of doing these things is to impress others, you have missed the point of the exercise.

These are characteristics of your spiritual walk with God that are private, personal and intimately between you and God.  Fasting is the third of these characteristics.  The principle Jesus is sharing with us is not new and we would do well to listen to our hearts as we consider their place in our desire to be like our Father in Heaven.

FASTING SUMMARY & CONCLUSION

We all are absolutely, totally dependent upon God for all we have, all we are and all we need.  What separates the follower of Christ from the rest of the world is that we acknowledge our dependence upon Him and we declare our desire to be like Him.  That desire for Him is so strong that discipline of fasting simply places a physical exclamation point at the end of our hungering and thirsting for Him through our pleas for more before His throne.  Our desire for Him becomes so real in our lives that we cannot imagine ever walking away.  With practice, we become more and more enamored with His presence and, conversely, resistant to those things that would draw us away.

Fasting can be a sacrificial lifestyle before God.  A form of self-control or discipline that underlines our decision to be totally dependent upon God.  It can mean food or drink or music, temporarily giving up needed things to emphasize the reality of our total dependence upon God.  It can also mean permanently giving up anything that hinders our dependence upon—our hunger and thirst for–Him.

Bible Study, Sermon On The Mount

Prayer

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

…

5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

9 “This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one.

14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

– Matthew 6:1, 5-15

Imagine standing in front of a crowd with trumpets sounding and heralders hearlding that you are now about to pause to pray!  “Silence!” the announcer cries out!  “It’s time for this holy person to pray!”

Just the thought of such a scene brings a wince to our faces as we consider the hubris of someone willing to announce their holiness to the world! 

And then I think of the times I have prayed publicly in church, before dinner or with a family in a hospital room wondering how my audience might respond to my special choice of words…and I hang my head.  Suddenly I don’t feel so holy after all.

THEY ARE NOT MY AUDIENCE!

“They are not my audience!” I cry out in shame.  Our audience in prayer is to be to The One and Only God of heaven who desires an intimacy with me that is just between the two of us.  There is only God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit that I should be focused upon.  He will attend to the hearts of the people around me!  It really is not about me!

26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” – Romans 8:26-27 (NIV)

CLOSE THE DOOR!

Jesus’ elegant prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) shines forth to teach us.  And so we learn that our conversation with our God is unpretentious, not littered with mindless repetition, but straightforward, simple yet thorough.  It is a prayer that celebrates our total dependence upon God as we live life, wrestling with our pride and arrogance under the ever-cleansing flow of the blood of Christ (1 John 1:7).

Audience of One

“…go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen.” (Matthew 6:6)

Bible Study, Sermon On The Mount

Giving, Parts 1 & 2

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

Matthew 6:1-4

Citizens of the kingdom of heaven keep their hearts in check by living their lives of generosity quietly.  Jesus is concerned that we might focus upon the wrong audience for approval.  At least three ways to live generous lives are available to every person.

  1. Ostentatious: “Hey everyone, watch me help this poor person!”
  2. Prideful: “Hey God! Did you see that?  I’m really good in Your sight, now, aren’t I?  Not like that person over there.  I’ll bet he doesn’t even tithe, let alone give more like me!”
  3. Perfect: “God, help me be more generous in every way, just like You!”

Jesus makes it clear that the rewards for the ostentatious or prideful are the immediate gratification they get in the moment.  In the kingdom of heaven, however, that is where their blessing both begins and ends with nothing to show for it.

In this two-part series we spend time talking about the generous life that strives to imitate God’s generosity in part 1.  Part 2 focuses upon giving consistently in a planful way that honors the Lord in faith by putting Him first.  Also in part 2 we used three charts to illustrate our own giving patterns and to encourage each other to become every more intentional in how we give.  Here are the three charts:

 

 

 

 

 

Here we see a monthly average of giving since February 2012 with a clear uptick in our present giving.

 

 

 

 

 

Here, focusing in to the last 1 1/2 years, since January 2017, we see a similar pattern as we average each month’s giving patterns.

 

 

 

 

 

Finally, we look at the week-to-week contributions over the last 1 1/2 years and the pattern swings more erratically.  This seems to reflect a more inconsistent tendency in our giving.  Hence, today’s lesson simply focuses upon making sure that we are being planful and intentional in our giving, putting God first in faith that He will provide.

Bible Study, Sermon On The Mount

Oaths

33 “Again, you have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill to the Lord the vows you have made.’ 34 But I tell you, do not swear an oath at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne; 35 or by the earth, for it is his footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the Great King. 36 And do not swear by your head, for you cannot make even one hair white or black. 37 All you need to say is simply ‘Yes’ or ‘No’; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.”

Matthew 5:33-37

Oaths or vows are serious matters to God and not subject to the technical exemptions men may create to skirt responsibility for promises made and broken.  Jesus tells us that citizens of the kingdom of God are  transparent people to whom truthfulness is a critical characteristic.  When they say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ their word is their bond to which further affirmations are unnecessary.

Of course, this quality of truthfulness is a natural result of people who acknowledge their brokenness before God, mourn over their sin, meekly submit to the will of their Father, seek His  righteousness, practice mercy towards others and walk with purity of heart to help others resolve their differences, even to the point of selfless suffering (cf., Matthew 5:1-12).  The thought of deceitfully promising something while holding on to a loophole or escape clause is not conceivable to them.

“Oaths” – May 20, 2018

Bible Study, Sermon On The Mount

One

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’  But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.  If your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.  And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.

“It has been said, ‘Anyone who divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’  But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, makes her the victim of adultery, and anyone who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Matthew 5:27-32

CONVERSATIONS

It is interesting how quickly discussions about marriage  can gravitate to conversations about marriages gone bad.  Divorce, remarriage, fornication, adultery seem to be topics that work their way into the dialogue rapidly as we recall someone else’s recent divorce, betrayal or remarriage…maybe even our own.

Question: How often do we have conversations about what is truly great about marriage?

BEHIND THE CONTROVERSY

In this passage it is easy to become embroiled in the controversy that Jesus addresses among the religious leaders.  When we speak of marriage we assume we are all thinking the same thing.

And so, we are automatically drawn to the controversial rather than the generally accepted.  The religious rulers of Jesus’ day seem to have largely moved past discussions of marriage and gravitated towards divorce: a fertile field for debate and polarization across a wide spectrum of opinions.  This becomes even more explicit in Jesus’ answer to their divorce question in verse 3 of Matthew 19:1-12.

THE CHALLENGE

“Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness,” God said (Genesis 1:26).  In John 1:1-4 John speaks of “the Word”, Jesus Christ, who was there at the beginning with the Father and the Holy Spirit bringing about the creation in all of its grandeur.  Mysteriously (to us) perfect singularity in purpose as One is now granted to mankind as man and woman unite to mirror the great Oneness, in whose image they are created.

So, it only makes sense that this mystery continues in mankind as man and woman unite in marriage:

23 The man said,

“This is now bone of my bones
and flesh of my flesh;
she shall be called ‘woman,’
for she was taken out of man.”

24 That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh.

Genesis 1:23-24

When we descend into the distortions of God’s intention the process of dissention and controversy begins as we analyze the aberrations of God’s intent rather than dwelling upon the grand design.  The religious rulers had been guilty of this very problem and Jesus goes right to the real problem: the heart of man.

THE DREAM OF ONE

Praying for all future believers, Jesus’ prayer on the night He was betrayed highlights this longing of God for a divine one-ness with those created in His image:

20 “…I pray also for those who will believe in me through their [the apostle’s] message, 21 that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— 23 I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

John 17:20-23

THE GRAND DESIGN

Jesus prayed that those who would believe in Him would be one, just as Jesus and His Father were one.  This is why Jesus gave the glory that God gave to Him to those who believe, “that they may be one as we are one–I in them and you in me–so that they may be brought to complete unity” (John 17:22-23).

Taking the next step, Paul makes in clear in 1 Corinthians 10:31, everything we do is to be for the glory of God.  Whether individually or collectively as the body of Christ, “to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 3:21).

Now, what happens a man whose mission in life is to glorify God marries a woman whose mission in life is to glorify God?  In their one-ness they now work together to glorify God in their marriage and, in the process, become the mirror of divinity that God intended at the beginning.  They, too, become one in marriage as the Father, the Son and the Spirit are one as God.  The natural outcome is that their marriage glorifies God as God intended it to do.*

THE GRAND HORROR

In this context there are at least two things that do not make logical sense any longer.  First, the idea of adultery or fornication do not have a context.  Second, divorce itself wars against the very divine intention of a holy God.  “I hate divorce” God says (Malachi 2:16).  When two God-loving people whose only desire is to glorify God come together as one, just as the Father, Son and Spirit are One, how can one even conceive of the dissolution of the marriage?

As Jesus would say later in Matthew 19:8, the only conceivable way it can make any sense is when God considers ‘your hardness of heart.’

CONCLUSION: THE HEART OF THE MATTER

In Matthew 5:27 and verse 31 the issue is not a matter of the law and fornication, adultery and divorce.  It’s a matter of the heart.  Two people united as one in the desire of their hearts for God’s glory do not live by the latest marriage controversy of the day or try to justify adulterous, lustful hearts.  Rather, their focus is upon pleasing their God to His glory.**

* Thomas, Gary. Sacred Marriage: What if God Designed Marriage To Make Us Holy More Than To Make Us Happy? (Zondervan, 2000).

** Mason, Mike. The Mystery of Marriage: As Iron Sharpens Iron. (Multnomah Press, 1985).

Bible Study, Sermon On The Mount

Children

38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 5:38-48

Children of the Father in heaven live by a radically new ethic when it comes to matters of justice and mercy.  Like their Father, the citizens of the kingdom of heaven turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, give beyond what is required.

This contrast with human nature is most stark when considering those who seriously injure us by their words or actions.

Jesus’ command?

Love them.

Why?

LOVING CHILDREN OF THEIR FATHER

Because when we love our enemies we begin to understand the love God has for us. As a result, we begin to become more like Him.  Love that is indiscriminate, unconditional and sacrificial.  A love that goes against every natural inclination of ours to seek revenge, to hate and to become embittered.

Children of the King and His kingdom do not seek out loopholes or technicalities to get around loving others like their Father loves them.  Rather, they choose to wrestle with their natural inclinations to bring them under His control, often acting mercifully when feeling resentful in hopes that one day the two will be in sync.

After all, learning to be perfect as our Father is Perfect is a daunting assignment that can only be accomplished by His grace!

Bible Study, Forgiveness

Forgiveness

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

-Matthew 18:21-22

So Peter asks Jesus about forgiveness.  Jesus answers him with an outlandish answer that harkens back to the braggadocio of Lamech (see previous article) and takes a u-turn, heading in the opposite direction.  Jesus tells Peter that forgiveness must be done with the same passion as Lamech had for revenge.

What?

A PASSION FOR COMPASSION

To illustrate, Jesus’ parable begins with a king who has a passion for compassion (vss. 26-27). Confronted by a servant debtor who owes him a ridiculous amount the king is ready to cut his losses, write off the debt and sell the debtor and his family off as slaves.

Being sold into slavery was not a sentence without hope.  Some day, a kind master may offer an opportunity for the servant to purchase his freedom or he may even set him and his family free once he no longer needed their services.  Or, in the case of a Jewish setting, the servant would have served, at most, 49 years or until the next celebration of Jubilee (cf., Leviticus 25).

26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

Matthew 18:26-27

Ridiculous debt, total devastation, over-the-top mercy and grace beyond anyone’s expectations.  Jesus harkens to what will soon become a cosmically defining moment for all time with a cross on a hill and His own suffering and death for the sake of the lost…and a God who is passionate about forgiving those whose incalculable debt of sin most certainly would otherwise ban them from His presence forever.

AN ABSENCE OF COMPASSION

For the forgiven servant this is his year of Jubilee!  There can be little doubt about his exuberance as the servant rejoices over being forgiven such a huge debt.  Not only that, he has also been released from his sentence for him and his family to be sold into slavery.  What an outlandish gift from the compassionate king!

Jesus’ parable follows the forgiven servant out of the king’s throne room and back into the marketplace.  Suddenly, his smiles and rejoicing turn to scowls and murderous rage as he encounters a fellow servant who owes him a much smaller amount, minuscule in comparison to the debt that has just been forgiven.   Enraged, the forgiven servant grabs his fellow servant around the neck and starts choking him. “Pay back what you owe me!” he demanded.

Echoing the forgiven servant’s very words before the king, the debtor servant falls to his knees and begins to beg him:  ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’  (vs. 29).

Jesus continues:  “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt”  (vs. 30).  The contrast between the king and the forgiven servant could hardly be more stark.  Having the man thrown into prison, where he could no longer work to repay his debt, the forgiven servant condemns his fellow servant to prison for the remainder of his life; a hopeless vengeance with no hope of repayment.  Lamech’s boasting suddenly finds resonance in a man who wants more than simple revenge; he wants his fellow servant to suffer beyond repayment to utter devastation and ruin.

THE WITHDRAWAL OF THE KING’S COMPASSION

Jesus concludes the parable with the king’s servants observing the forgiven servant’s actions with the one who owed the lesser debt.  Outraged themselves they report it to the king who immediately calls in the forgiven servant.  The king says to him:

‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’

The king’s sentence matches the one the formerly forgiven servant had meted out to his fellow servant who owed the lesser debt.  Only this time the king adds the prospect of torture until his debt was paid in full (vs. 34)…a day which would never, ever come.

FORGIVENESS CONCLUSION

Jesus then concludes the parable with a defining statement:

 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” (vs. 35)

This conclusion ties the entire discussion together.  Beginning with  the disciples asking whom among them would be the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, Jesus hammers home that kingdom citizenship stands or falls based upon one’s passion to forgive as they have been forgiven.

FORGIVENESS: PASS IT ON!

Bible Study, Forgiveness

Forgiveness

21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Matthew 18:21-22

In this article on Matthew 18, Peter’s question about forgiveness was extremely generous.  Imagine his shock when Jesus replies with such an outlandish response.  This kind of forgiveness is not a normal human response to the offending words or behavior of another person.

Normal human behavior is detailed for us in Genesis 4 at the beginning.  The familiar story of Cain and Abel demonstrates the powerful emotion of anger and resentment.

FAULTY THINKING

Here, in Genesis 4:1-16 Cain’s sacrifices to God were not acceptable while Abel’s were welcomed by God.   Abel had sacrificed from his “firstborn” of his flock of sheep in faith that God would provide for the future.  Conversely,  Cain sacrificed “some of the fruits of the soil” rather than from the firstfruits (vss. 3-5).

A logical response would be for Cain to do what was required to make his sacrifices acceptable to God. Rather than correcting his behavior Cain chose to become angry with his brother (vs. 5) to the point that he attracted God’s attention.  God counseled to Cain:

“Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast?  If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it” (vss. 6-7).

MURDEROUS INTENT

Cain’s response was to lure his trusting brother into a field.  There, Cain’s anger had consumed him to the point that the only solution he could see for his failure was to murder Abel.  God’s conversation with Cain is enough to strike fear into the heart of anyone whose sin has been revealed:

9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”

“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

10 The Lord said, “What have you done?” (vss. 9-10)

Continuing, God judges, convicts and sentences Cain:

Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground.  Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand.  When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth” (vss. 10-12).

CONSEQUENCES WITH A PROMISE

When Cain complains in fear of the consequences of his sentence–which would be that he suffer the same fate of his brother–God responds with a promise: “…anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over” (vs. 15).

GENERATIONAL CURSE

In Genesis 4:17-24, seven generations after Adam and Eve through Cain’s descendants, we are briefly introduced to Lamech who brags to his two wives:

“I have killed a man for wounding me,
    a young man for injuring me.
If Cain is avenged seven times,
    then Lamech seventy-seven times” (vss. 23-24).

Cain’s murderous rage at his brother began with a perceived injustice that festered from one generation to the next.  Lemech represents the darker side of the family trait of rage as it blows past simple revenge and an “eye for an eye” sort-of justice to an extreme  that knows no limits.  Crushing vengeance that destroys others over the slightest offense to make sure they suffer beyond measure.

The trend in Cain’s death spiral genealogy would finally meet its termination in Lamech’s son of whom he would predict:  “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed” *Genesis 5:29).  Lemech named his son, Noah.

LAMECH’S SON: THE END OF JUSTICE BEYOND MEASURE

One reference to those perilous times by Peter’s question would elicit a 3-dimentional response from Jesus that would be driven home by The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant.

This powerful ending to Matthew 18, a significant chapter on conflict resolution and forgiveness, would conclude with Jesus’ assertion that citizens of the kingdom of heaven must “forgive your brother or sister from your heart” (vs. 35).  We will address this parable and Jesus’ conclusion in the final article of this series on Forgiveness and Matthew 18.

Jesus is Our Shoreline