Jesus Divides (Matthew 10:26-42)

What would it take for England to win the World Cup?

Last Friday night was the very first football match I had ever sat down to watch. Up till then, I had been catching the highlights on the news; and watched bits of a few games on the weekend.

But last Friday, Vicky and I and a few of the guys got together to watch England play Algeria. The stadium was packed with fans who had spent thousands of pounds to fly down to South Africa, just to show their support for this one game. Even Princes William and Harry were there.

Everyone said, England was going to win – perhaps even by 3-nil, according to the bookies who were predicting that Wayne Rooney would score all three goals.

Except, as many of you may know, they didn’t. The result was a draw. Nil-nil.

The displeasure of the fans was obvious. The game ended to the roaring sounds of thousands of supporters, jeering the team off the pitch. Rooney was caught on camera saying, “Nice to see your own fans booing you.”

What would it take for England to win the World Cup?

A miracle? Better management? A kick up the backside? Someone said to me last week, I was more likely to become the next Archbishop of Cantebury than if England could win the World Cup.

One criticism you hear again and again from fans and media, is their lack of spirit. “They don’t seem to be taking enough chances. Their heart isn’t in it. They are playing it too safe”

In an international tournament like the World Cup, fans turn on their TVs not just for the performance, they are looking for passion.

And it’s the same with life. What keeps us from embracing life, from taking chances, what keeps us from getting up when we’re knocked down again and again – is not a lack of strength, but the lack of nerve. We get discouraged too easily. We lose hope too often.

Jesus’ half-time pitch

And so today we find Jesus speaking to his twelve disciples, about their passion and about their fears.

The context is mission. Jesus is sending them out as his missionaries, as his apostles, to announce the coming Kingdom of God. He empowers them with authority – verse 8:: they are to heal the sick, cleanse those with leprosy, drive out demons.

But he warns them, they are being sent into conflict. Verse 17: People will arrest them, torture them, even prosecute them under the law. And last week, we learned that Jesus had some very practical advice for these twelve apostles. Be careful of men; Be innocent in your conduct; Be prepared to speak the gospel boldly!

And today we're looking at the second half of Jesus' message to his disciples. But it's somewhat different. There are no practical tips. No tactics. Instead Jesus can see that before he sends these twelve men on their mission in there hearts, Jesus needs to deal with the battle that is raging in their hearts - their fears, their anxiety and their doubts.

Today’s text is Jesus’ half-time pitch to the players. They are words of comfort, but also words of inspiration. He tells them of the risks, but also promises great reward. As every good manager knows: there are going to have to be soft words, but also hard truths.

1. Do not be afraid

So do not be afraid of them. There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known.

What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight;
what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

The question at the end of the day is: who do you fear? Do you fear man, or do you fear God?

It’s a very useful question to ask yourself - especially in times of great temptation. When a friend suggests doing something you know is not right. When your boss tells you to fudge the accounts.

It’s useful to ask yourself: Am I more concerned with what people will think of me, or God? Do I fear man or God?

But actually, the context is not temptation – but proclamation. Will you continue to speak the gospel? When men threaten you to stop witnessing for Christ – will you fold?

Jesus says in verse 27 – speak it out even louder – in the open, from the rooftops.

Jesus is saying: the reason why Christians don't preach the gospel; the main reason why we don't tell our friends about Jesus - it's not opportunity, or lack of experience - the main reason is fear.

When we keep quiet about Jesus: it's because we fear man, and we do not fear God.

And Jesus says such fear is foolish - to fear man over God. It is foolish because it is God who can destroy both soul and body in hell. But it is foolish also because of verse 32:

Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven.

(Verses 32-33)

Meaning the basis of who is saved and who isn't; the basis of who gets into heaven and who suffers the judgement of God in hell - is not our goodness, nor our good works - but the acceptance or rejection of Jesus. Those who reject Jesus, Jesus will reject him before the Father. But those who receive Jesus, by receiving his message, by acknowledging him before men - Jesus will acknowledge him before his Father.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father.
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
(Verses 29-31)

Sparrows were the smallest creatures known to the Israelites, and the penny was one of the smallest denominations of currency - it was loose change. And here Jesus uses the insignificant, most unnoticed examples around us to waken our senses to the overwhelming truth of God's care, love and provision.

He says: these creatures you see as insignificant and cheap - God values them. How much more then does your Father value your life, your well-being, your safety.

Now, I've heard these verses used in the weirdest of contexts, even by Christians. Someone once said to me, "Does this mean my cat will go to heaven?" Seriously. "After all, it says right there, God cares for the sparrows; God cares for the animals - he wouldn't let them die in vain?"

Or, someone might look at these words and go, "So, have you combed your hair today? Especially since we're in church now? God looks at every bit of you, you know, he's concerned about all the details - your hair, your shoes, your clothes. Jesus says so!"

Now, the thing is, there is a small measure of truth in each of these statements. God does care for his creation. God does care for the smallest of details in our lives. Yes, even the number of hairs on our heads.

But the problem is, we lose sight of the bigger picture Jesus paints for us. Yes, Jesus uses the small things, the tiniest of things, to help us understand what he is saying - but his point is then to say, how much more! How much more, then does God care for your whole life!

Furthermore, we mustn't forget the context of Jesus' words - he is challenging he to stand firm in the message of the Kingdom - to speak boldly the gospel - even in the face of the opposition, of harm, of even death! He says, don't be afraid of man - though they threaten even your life. God cares for the smallest of details in your life - how much more does God have your life itself under his control! So? Be bold! Go the distance! Be risky, even with your own life - for the sake of Jesus and for the sake of the gospel! That is what Jesus is saying!

2. Do not get the wrong idea

Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.

For I have come to turn " 'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law -
a man's enemies will be the members of his own household.

Here Jesus is saying that he will divide even the deepest, closest of relationships. And he says this to expose how many of us have the wrong idea why Jesus came to die on the cross.

What Jesus says here is important if you are a Sunday School teacher. It’s important if you are marriage counsellor. If you're the kind of guy friends come to for advice, for help - these words are very important for you to take in.

The gospel is not a counselling tool. The purpose of Sunday School is not teach kids to be well-behaved little children. The bible is not there to give advice on how to fix marriages. This book is not a how-to guide to relationships, resolving arguments, tips on how to score in your exams or lose weight or getting a promotion.

Jesus did not come into the world to teach us how to be more loving; how to be more moral. He came to die for our sins so that we could be reconciled with God. He went to the cross so that we could be brought back into a loving relationship with God as our Heavenly Father.

And it is only after we have addressed our broken relationship with God that we can begin to deal with our problems with one another. Only after I see that my true identity is in Christ, and God is my Provider, my Protector, my Father - then I will be able to truly see you, as a brother in Christ, for whom Christ gave his life; who has been forgiven of all your sin - that I can see the importance of reconciling back with you; that whatever the grievance we have with one another in the family of God - we must always forgive one another; having ourselves been forgiven; we must always love one another - having received God's love through Jesus.

Now this means that if you do counsel a brother, a sister in Christ, a couple - it always begins with confession of sin; it means it always ends with prayer for forgiveness.

The reason we don't see this; the reason we don't do this - in part - Jesus has already told us. It's fear. We fear man and we do not fear God.

Are we too afraid of parents, to tell children the gospel? To help them understand how important it is that they giving their lives to Jesus?

Are we too afraid to say to the single Christians here today – you shouldn’t be dating a non-Christian. If you are, we will go through the relevant bible passages with you – to help you understand why for yourselves; But by the end of it, I’ll tell you that you will need to break off the relationship immediately – for both your sakes.

Is it fear that keeps us from telling the men to be men; to remind the husbands - and here I, too am convicted - to remind husbands husbands – Jesus charges you with the solemn responsibility of pastoring your family; of loving your wife - through the cleansing of pure water which is the word of God. Family devotions are your responsibility. It’s the man’s job to say – Let’s pray. Let’s open the bible. On Sundays, the man says - It's time to go to church. Not the wives, not the kids - the men being the man that God wants him to be - responsible, sacrificial, loving.

Sometimes we don’t say these things, because we fear man instead of God.But there is another reason we don’t say these things. It’s because we love man instead of loving God.

Here we come to the hardest verses in today’s passage, so please listen up, because it is so important we hear and understand what Jesus says next:

"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Now why does Jesus say this? These hard; these harsh words?

Today is Father’s Day. Let me tell you, I love my father. I just called him this morning, and it was good to hear his voice, to hear about his day, to tell him I love him.

And when I read verse 37 – Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me – my heart grows very, very heavy.

And I find myself asking: Why does Jesus say these things?

It’s because Jesus knows how much I love my father. And Jesus knows how much you love your parents, your family, your children. And here, Jesus is using the most precious, the most important things in your life to say, “Do you hear what I am saying? Wake up. This is serious.”

These are serious words. We have been talking about life and death. About heaven and hell. About salvation and judgement. Are you listening to what I am saying?

3. Our certain reward

Since Friday, I have been thinking again and again about the World Cup match. To be accurate, I have been thinking about what I've been thinking (?) Does that make sense?

I've been reflecting not on the game but my response to the game. Not about the players, but the fans who have so much to say about the players.

Everyone has something to say - the reporters, the commentators, the bloggers - guys who have never kicked a ball in their lives, suddenly become experts on the game. Everyone has a bone to pick, there is so much frustration expressed, anger vented, advice given - but very little mercy. Very little thanks.

And even now, I wonder how many of us think the same way about the church. About our brothers and sisters serving here today - in the music team, arranging the chairs, helping with the bible - How easy it is to find something we could comment on critically. "The music today could have been .....", "The sermon should have been .....",

I think Jesus picks up on this attitude in verse 41. He says:

Anyone who receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet's reward, and anyone who receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward.

He starts out by saying, it’s supply and demand. Econs 101. The bigger the effort, the bigger the supply - the bigger the cost, the bigger the reward. It's proportional. It's what we expect.

You receive a prophet – you get a prophet’s reward. If it’s a righteous man – then it’s a righteous man’s reward.

You go to dinner at Whetherspoons – it's 5 pounds. Dinner at Jamie’s Restaurant (Ooooh, fancy!) – 20 pounds. Bigger place, bigger cost, bigger price tag, better food. It’s logical, it's proportional.

Until you get to verse 42 where Jesus says something, well, something different. Maybe even, unexpected.

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.

What’s he saying? The small stuff matters to God. Even if no one else notices, God knows.

After service today, if pour a cup of tea and offer it to a friend – God sees that. God is pleased.

The time you spend praying for a brother or sister in need that no one else knows about – God knows. And Jesus says, God will reward.

Jesus intentionally chooses the smallest act of kindness, to the most insignificant individuals. Serving God doesn’t mean standing in front of lots of people, getting noticed, getting praised, playing in the music group, leading bible study, going on a mission trip, giving lots of money to the church.

Jesus says, the small stuff matters. I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.

You kids here today, Jesus is talking to you. He's talking about you - about the people around you, serving you. If you are a disciple of Jesus, it is our honour, our privilege to serve you, love you, be there for you today. I hope you see that, this is God's word speaking directly into your life saying - you're so important to him.


4. Winning the World

Well then, back to our first question: What would it take for England to win the World Cup?

I have absolutely... no idea!

But I know this: I know what it would take for the church to win the world. To win the world for Jesus and his Kingdom.

It takes men and women who love Jesus, above everything else. It takes Christians who live not for the praise of men but for the glory of their Saviour. It takes disciples living salty, risky, sacrificial lives for the gospel.

It takes you and me, focussed on serving Jesus - by serving one another, reminding each other about the cross - to stand firm to the end and to stay faithful to our Saviour.

We do that - and Jesus says, we will win the World.

Prepared to proclaim (Matthew 10:22)

This week we looked at some hard words from Jesus about persecution and I wanted to reflect on the words of Chapter 10 verse 22:

"All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."

1. Preparing for reality of suffering
   1 Peter 4:12 says, "Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you." What is striking about the way Peter describes suffering here is not the extent or intensity of pain; but how the Christians are caught by surprise by the reality of suffering. Jesus himself says, "I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you." (John 16:4)
   
   This is Christianity 101. This is basic discipleship; You will suffer. Paul understands this. Returning from his first missionary journey together with Barnabas in Acts 14, having planted new churches, and established them with new leaders, his first words to them recorded for us in verse 22 are, "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God."
   
   
2. Recognising the reason for rejection
   "All men will hate you because of me," Jesus says (verse 22). The disciples will be "brought before governors and kings", on my account (verse 18). "If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household" (verse 25).
   
   Jesus anticipates the rejection of his disciples as a reflection of the world's rejection of himself. "If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first." (John 15:18)
   
   
3. The hope, certainty and comfort of salvation
   Jesus says, "You will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes" (verse 23). Though he calls his disciples to faithfulness in the face of persecution ("he who stands firm to the end" - verse 22); here Jesus promises that their trial will be cut short before it reaches out of hand.
   
   Verses 22 and 23 are linked by the Greek word "telos" - translated in 22 as "the end" and in 23 as "finish". Though the apostles are to stand to the "finish", their persecution will not "finish"/"run it's full course" before the "Son of Man comes". Though this is commonly thought of as a reference to the second coming of Jesus - it is more appropriately understood as the fulfilment of Jesus' exaltation through his death on the cross.
   
   The title "Son of Man" is a reference to Daniel 7:13 - which describes one "like a son of man" coming with the clouds of heaven to receive authority, glory and power from God, pictured there as the Ancient of Days.
   
   
4. Recognising the suffering of Christ
   Ultimately, Jesus is preparing the Twelve, not for their suffering, but his. He draws their attention to his own rejection by the religious leaders (verse 25; compare also with 9:34 and 12:24); hints at his own betrayal (linking verse 21 - brother will betray brother - the word "betray" literally meaning "handing over"; the same word used in verse 17 - "they will hand you over"; and the same word used to describe Judas in verse 4 - "who betrayed (Jesus)" - see also Matthew 26:2) and connects the end/finishing/completion of their suffering with his exaltation at the coming of the Son of Man (verse 23).
   
   Jesus, in sending the apostles out as his missionaries and messengers, is saying to them, "Don't just look to the successes of my current ministry - the crowds, the power, the signs, the authority, the healing, the miracles, the casting out of demons, the calming of the storm, the awe-struck response to my teaching - don't just look at these ministry 'successes'; but look at the growing response of hostility and rejection to me. That will be the pattern of your ministry as well. I have come into this world of hostility and conflict; and I now send you into this same world."
   
   
5. Encouraged to speak boldly of message of Christ
   The ESV's translation of verse 22 is closer to the mark - "You will be hated by all for my name’s sake."
   
   Acts 5 records the fulfilment of Jesus' words in the experience of the apostles. Having been arrested by the temple guard, Peter and the apostles are made to appear before the Sanhedrin, flogged, and then warned "not to speak in the name of Jesus" (verses 40; see also verse 28). Verse 41 reads, "The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name."
   
   In chapters 4 and 5, "Jesus' name" becomes a shorthand for referring to the proclamation and teaching of, or identification with the gospel. To suffer hatred and rejection for "the Name", therefore means to face persecution for speaking message of the gospel.
   
   Hence looking again at Matthew 10:22 in its entirety, Jesus is calling his twelve apostles to "stand firm to the end" - by calling them to proclaim the gospel - the message of Jesus as the rejected Christ through his death on the cross. Inasmuch as it is a call to endurance in the face of our own suffering, it is moreover a call to faithfulness in witnessing to the sufferings of Christ.
   

Jesus and Islam

I had one of the most stimulating discussions I've had about Jesus in a long time with Muslim man this afternoon. We met at an exhibition about Islam in the city centre, where A welcomed me warmly to have a look at the maps, historical charts and calligraphy on display about the Islamic faith and culture. As soon as he found out I was a Christian, he became very inquisitive about the bible, the God of the bible and Jesus. It was clear that there were stark differences between Jesus and Islam, but I enjoyed the opportunity to explain how Jesus was central to understanding God, his plan of salvation and the meaning of Jesus' death on the cross.

Here are some points we able to talk through in the half-hour or so we chatted:

1. Grace and Mercy

• While A was emphatic that he believed in a merciful and gracious God, I pressed him to clarify what he meant by this. For Islam, grace is seen in God's benevolence. He bestows blessings - of life, sight and senses, enjoyment - upon creatures who do not deserve this.
• For Christians, God's mercy is fully revealed on the cross. Jesus dies to take our punishment for sin, thereby displaying the fullness of God's mercy in forgiveness.
• Grace is therefore unfair. A had a big issue with this - at two levels. One, God need not send Jesus to die in order to forgive sins - he merely needs to overlook it. Secondly, God cannot punish another man for our sins. This led to a discussion about God's view of sin (see no. 2); and God's relationship with Jesus (see no.3 below)
• It is important to see here, that Islam has a big issue not simply with God's forgiveness of sins (How the cross brings forgiveness), but for the need for forgiveness of sins (Why Jesus had to die in order for us to be forgiven).
• This was a good opportunity to then move on to the justice of God...

2. Sin and Judgement

• I think it was new for A to see that the cross displays the justice (or righteousness) of God.
• Starting with Paul's argument from Romans 1 (I did not refer to it as such, instead I often used the phrase "The bible says"), God's rightful anger is displayed towards sinful man in creation. A did not have a problem with the idea of creation testifying to God's existence. But he was unsettled with the notion that God was personally offended by our sinfulness.
• The follow-on question was then - How could we personally offend God? The bible says that we do not acknowledge him as God, neither glorifying him nor thanking him. But again, the rub was that God took personal offence at this as creator.
• The point I was trying to get across was our differing views on sin. Sin is a personal offence against God. Rebelling against him as God but also ignoring him as our Creator.
• Therefore God's response in judgement is also personal. He hates sin. But he also hates those who sin.
• Furthermore, I tried to get across the fact that God was grieved by sin. It saddens him as a father who is hurt when his children not only act in a way that is harmful to themselves (which was A's argument for our need for salvation), but when his children turn away from him to live lives independent of him, despising who he is and what he has done for them. For A, and for Islam, God is not affected when we sin. In Islam, God does not experience anger when we sin.
• I did this in part to help articulate A's problem with the "unfairness" of the cross. You see, for A and for Islam, God's righteousness is seen in punishing wrong and rewarding good. Therefore punishing the innocent (Jesus) and rewarding sinners (us) is "unfair".
• I was bringing A to the point where I could show him how the cross was the ultimate justice of God. God is able and justified to fully forgive sinners, not simply by overlooking sin, but because his anger has been satisfied when he poured out his wrath for sin upon Jesus.
• This was vitally important for A to see, as Islam defined grace very differently from Christianity. For Islam, God is "gracious" when he rewards those who obey his commandments - by observing the 5 pillars of Islam (the duties of every Muslim believer: prayer, profession of faith, fasting, alms-giving and the hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca).
• For Christians, God's grace is displayed through the forgiveness of sinners through the righteous judgement of anger poured out on Jesus at the cross.
• The questions that remained were: (1) Why was Jesus able to take our punishment for the sins of the world and (2) How can we know that what the bible says about this is true (over and against the testimony of Mohammed and the Quran)?

3. God and Jesus

• The repeated objection I got from A was, "You say there are two Gods: God the Father and Jesus. How can that be?"
• A had earlier had a conversation with a Christian named R (whom I suspect is a friend I know; and I was thanking God silently in my heart for) about the Trinity. A made comparisons between the Christian God and Hinduism, which also promoted a view of God in triplicate form (this was new to me). Essentially, A was saying that Christians taught there were many "gods" when they said Jesus was also God.
• In answering these very valid questions, I decided to bring A back to the cross. I said that Jesus fully revealed who God was through his life and ministry (his mercy and compassion), his dependence upon his heavenly Father (his personal relationship with God), but ultimately through his death and resurrection (God's humility, grace and love). So instead of starting with arguments about Jesus as creator, Jesus as judge (which I touched on in answering the caricature question - "You Christians say: The Old Testament God is anger, the New Testament Jesus is love"), Jesus as the true prophet (promised by Moses - not Mohammed) - which are all valid and useful - I wanted A to look at Jesus on the cross and see that there, God was fully revealed.... on the cross. There, God was fully revealed in his mercy, his justice and his love.
• On the cross we the severing of the eternal relationship between God the Father and God the Son. A's repeated caricature of the cross was "God punching himself". I could tell he was trying to evoke a response with that quip (even acting it out for me).
• Here is where the Trinity is so important in understanding what happened on the cross. God the Father punishes his Son, Jesus whom he has loved since eternity past - by breaking this relationship momentarily on the cross. The judgement is seen not in the pain Jesus experienced through the beatings, the cuts and bruises, the open wounds and stripes on his back - but through the rejection of Jesus from man and God. It is the severing of a loving relationship resulting in animosity, anguish and agony.
• Only the Trinity can explain God's love. It is relational: between the eternal Father and Son. For Islam, God's love is distant - Muslims are not to think of a God who is personally involved with their lives, their love or even their pain and frustrations - Allah is gracious in even considering to reward the believer who obeys him fully. But Jesus shows us that God is loving in an intensely personal and affectionate way: as a father loves his own son. And the cross demonstrates this supremely - in the true eternal Son, who humbly obeys his Father even unto death.
• In this way, the cross shows God's relationship with us. Through his death, Jesus clothes us with his righteousness: God the Father sees us as he sees him - holy, righteous and loved.

4. Revelation and Illumination

• My goal was to talk about the gospel, and the question that led there was revelation: Was the bible a reliable witness to Jesus?
• For A, the Quran was God's final revelation and a guide for Muslims to live rightly under his rule. He expected me to say that Christians only deferred on the point that the bible was our source of God's revelation.
• Rather, I replied that Jesus was God's final and full revelation, and that the bible was the means by which this was revealed to us, but only in as much as it pointed to Jesus. More than that, it pointed to Jesus on the cross and explained the reason why he came to save us through his death and resurrection.
• This was important, as A saw Judaism, Christianity (and the bible - though in a rather distorted form) and the Quran as successively revealing God through the prophets, with Mohammed as the last in the line of God's chosen spokesmen. However, for the Christian, every point of the bible, even the Old Testament pointed forward to the same event and person of Jesus as the fulfilment of God's plan of salvation. True, there is a progression in salvation history: through Abraham, through the Exodus and the Kingdom of Israel to the Deportation and return from Exile - but given any point of these events - they point to who Jesus is, and what Jesus did on the cross.
• Here, I brought A back to God's revelation of his wrath in creation. Though evident to all, hence making all mankind accountable for their rebellion, we suppress this revelation of the knowledge of God.
• This created the tension I was hoping for; because A's next question was - how do we get to Jesus? If the revelation of God in creation (which he agrees with from Islam's perspective) is suppressed, what role does Jesus play?
• In part, A thought Christians placed a premium over their personal experience over God's revelation. "You Christians say you feel what is right for you, but Islam speaks from the objective viewpoint of the Quran."
• I replied that the bible says we suppress the knowledge of God through sin. But the cross is the true revelation of God that overcomes this suppression by (1) displaying God's true justice over sin, (2) displaying God's forgiveness for sin and finally (3) enabling man to respond to God's offer of forgiveness and new life through repentance and faith.
• And here then was the biggest difference between the message of the bible and the message of the Quran - the gospel! The gospel was the good news of forgiveness for sins. And the turning point in all history that made this a possibility was the cross.
• When Christians speak about God opening their hearts to hear the gospel - it is the work of God's Spirit to open our hearts and minds to see Jesus on the cross.

At this point I got a call from V and had to leave. But I am praying for A that will see how wonderful the message of Jesus is; how much more hopeful and real and joyful the gospel is because of his death on the cross.

Some reflections on my encounter:

• Being loving
  I am conscious we were in a very public place. It would have been a terrible testimony if I had made any remarks or accusations about the Quran and Islam in such a context. Everything I said was only in response to A's questions on Christianity.
  
  The encounter was totally unexpected; I was only strolling through the area and had a heavy bag on my back. Throughout our conversation, A was gracious in his manner, and even apologised at times, which I really appreciated. To be honest, I wasn't concentrating on getting the answers right as much as I was thinking about getting them across as lovingly as possible - consciously slowing the pace of my speech (it was tempting to speed up to get as much in as possible), and listening to his comments closely in order to understand them rightly before answering.
  
  
• Being clear about Jesus
  A was firing question after question about Jesus, the Trinity, Catholicism - I didn't really get a chance to deal with any one of them at length. So, instead I focussed to connecting each question with Jesus and the cross; ending each answer with "It really has to do with what Jesus - what he did at the cross."
  
  Revelation of God? Look at the cross. The Trinity? Look at the cross. Grace? Look to the cross. How can Jesus be God? Good question - precisely the question that got Jesus into trouble and killed on the cross.

Stand Firm! (Matthew 10:16-25)

Sheep, snakes and doves

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

(Verse 16)

Jesus is speaking to his twelve disciples as he prepares to send them out as his apostles, empowered with his authority to heal any and every sickness, to drive out unclean spirits and teach and to preach the coming Kingdom of God. He is preparing them for the task ahead as he warns them soberly - there will be resistance and rejection. Not only will they receive the same mission, the same message and the same ministry as their master, these twelve disciples would also face the same hostility, hatred and dishonour as Jesus did.

He says he is sending them as sheep among wolves. The vivid imagery is that of savage beasts feasting on the flesh of helpless animals. These disciples, though filled with power from God to restore health and well-being to others, would be placing their own lives at risk.

But it is the next pair of descriptions that sound both compelling and confusing. For Jesus instructs his disciples to be shrewd as snakes, yet innocent as doves. It is odd that believers are to be like snakes; that they are called to be cunning like serpents; to exercise shrewdness to such a degree, just up to the point of deceitfulness. For serpents are pictured as evil creatures in the bible. The devil is referred to as a serpent. Indeed, the book of Genesis describes Satan's first appearance in scripture as a crafty serpent - the word "crafty" in the Greek Septuagint version of the bible being the same word translated in verse 16 as "shrewd". In what sense are the apostles of Jesus to be shrewd like serpents?

At least, the second description seems to make more sense. There must be innocent as doves. Their innocence will be all the more important in the following verses when the disciples will have to stand as witnesses before men, not simply to defend their integrity, but to proclaim words given them by the living God.

Conflict of the Kingdom, confidence in the Spirit

"Be on your guard against men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. On my account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
(Verses 17 to 19)

Here is the true context of gospel ministry - not through popularity but rejection, not in comfort but through conflict.

The disciples will face persecution at the hands of men. They will be mistreated, abused and imprisoned simply because they bear the message and ministry of Jesus. Yet, such opposition is ultimately to be seen as opportunity. "On my account," Jesus says - it is because of their association with him and witness of him - they will be (1) handed over to the authorities, (2) flogged in religious assemblies, (3) brought before governors and kings and (4) arrested.

It is in anticipation of such situations of conflict that Jesus comforts his disciples. "Do not worry," Jesus says, "about what to say or how to say it."

Here we see the essence of the mission given to the apostles by Jesus. They are to speak the message of God. They are to proclaim the Kingdom of God. Notice the repeated emphases on their witness before men - not simply with their conduct, but with their words. Verse 19: Do not worry about what to say or how to say it. Verse 20: You will be given what to say. Verse 21: It will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Jesus does not promise to deliver them out of trouble. Quite the contrary, their mission is to speak into situations of trouble and hardship with the gospel. Just as men will reject the message of the gospel, so will they reject the messengers of the gospel. But the true followers of Jesus are called to stand firm in the truth of the gospel.

Persecution of the church, propagation of the gospel

"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another. I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
(Verses 21 to 23)

The scenarios seem unimaginably horrific. Betraying your own flesh and blood? Killing your own offspring? Handing your father and mother over to death? Surely, Jesus is exaggerating? It's just religious fanaticism, isn't it?

Notice three things. First: the reason Jesus gives for such betrayal. Verse 22: All men will hate you because of me. Hatred of Jesus will overwhelm the deepest of affections from our loved ones. Humanity's rejection of a God will be mirrored by the world's rejection of the people of God. Jesus isn't saying that you must betray your brother, father, children. Far from it. Rather, he is saying that if you are a Christian, be prepared to be betrayed by your brother, father and even your children because of him.

Secondly, Jesus paints the picture of the end times. Brother will betray brother. Children will rebel; he who stands firm to the end will be saved; all this will happen before the Son of Man comes - a reference to Jesus' second coming. This is not to say that violence against Christians will only begin far into the future. The bible refers to the end times - the eschaton (eschatology is the study of the last days) - as beginning from the death and resurrection of Jesus. Meaning: this side of the cross, we now live in the end times. Rather, Jesus is painting a image of escalating rejection. Things will get worse, and continue to get much, much worse - before Jesus returns to bring the Kingdom of God.

It is worth noting that the word Matthew uses for the end is "telos" - meaning "finished"; and what this adds is the description of "the end of the end". The one who is still standing - who is still faithful - having "completed" this course; having "finished" the race - will be saved. (The same word is used in verse 23 - You will not "finish" - telesete; same word - going through the cities of Israel - Here Jesus denotes the urgency of this end time; The Son of Man will not wait till the persecution gets out of hand before he returns. Everything is timed according to God's plan).

And thirdly, Jesus calls us to wisely respond to such conflict. "When you are persecuted... flee". Here is the shrewdness of the serpent - The quickness in responding to a threatening situation. Here is the innocence of the dove - The avoidance of further unnecessary conflict. Don't go looking for a fight. Don't put yourself foolishly in harm's way.

Yet, Jesus is saying something more profound that just "stay out of trouble". He is giving a pattern of gospel propagation. He is saying, "This is how the gospel will spread. This is how God's people will go to the nations." It is through persecution.

In God's providential plan, the persecution of the church by the nations will be used to drive the propagation of the gospel to the nations. "I tell you the truth, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes." The book of Acts records how the early church established in the capital of Jerusalem soon faced persecution from the authorities, causing the believers to be "scattered throughout Judea and Samaria" (Acts 8:1), yet "those ... scattered preached the word wherever they went" (Acts 8:4).

Imitation of the master, expectation of the Christ

"A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!
(Verses 24 to 25)

We have seen that Jesus is preparing his followers for the task ahead. He soberly warns them of persecution and rejection. He reminds them of the mission of God's message. He points them to certainty of God's Kingdom and Jesus' return.

Yet, the whole purpose of Jesus in speaking these words is to reveal who he is. At this point, the Twelve have yet to recognise Jesus as the Christ. He is God's chosen King sent to bring in all God's purposes of salvation through the forgiveness of sins. His disciples do not yet understand, that Jesus brings in the Kingdom through suffering - specifically, his suffering and death on the cross.

"A student is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master." On one hand, Jesus is saying, don't forget who you are serving. He is the teacher, we are his students. He is our master, we are his servants (literally, slaves). The disciples are not to seek their own interests above the master's. They carry out his instructions. They serve his purposes.

Yet on another level, verse 25 elevates the position of follower. "It is enough for the student to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master." Now, Jesus implies the disciples are to find contentment in rising up to imitate their teacher, master and Lord. It even seems that Jesus is here inviting them to follow him, not simply as servants under his service, but partners with him in his mission. They are to be like him. This is their goal in ministry (a word which means "service"), and their purpose in mission - to be like Jesus.

But the question is: what kind of teacher is he? What kind of master, ought these servants aspire to follow and imitate?

He is a rejected Lord. Jesus is the suffering Christ.

"If the head of the house has been called Beelzebub, how much more the members of his household!"

Jesus is labelled "Beelzebub" a derogatory term which means "Lord of the flies" or "Lord of the house" - commonly used to refer to Satan. We see this accusation frequently in Matthew's gospel on the lips of the religious leaders and Pharisees. Near the end of chapter 9, the Pharisee, unable to refute the multiple miracles done by Jesus, say "It is by the prince of demons that he drives out demons" (Matthew 9:34). The religious leaders were unwilling to ascribe his power to God - not because they doubted the authenticity of the miracles - but because Jesus would not conform to their expectations of the Christ they were waiting for.

We see Jesus dealing with this more fully in Chapter 12. There, what prompts the Pharisees to make the same accusations in verse 24, "It is only by Beelzebub... that this fellow drives out demons" is verse 23, when the people say of Jesus "Could this be the Son of David" (a Messianic reference to the Christ).

Jesus now turns to his disciples essentially to say that they, too, will be rejected. Yes, their authority will be undeniable. Yes, their words will be convicting. And yes, God's spirit will be working powerfully through their ministry. But in spite of all this - perhaps, because of all this - men will reject them, persecute them, put them to death. Because that is what they did to their master and teacher. That is what they did to Jesus.

Jesus is dealing with expectations. What do we expect from following Jesus. What kind of Lord do we think him to be? What does "success" look like in the Kingdom of God?

At every point Jesus is bringing his hearers to the cross, where he will take our suffering upon himself. Through his sacrifice, Jesus takes the punishment for our rebellion against God, his wrath and anger, all upon himself. It is the basis of our salvation - that he takes our penalty, but we receive his righteousness.

But it is also the basis of all Christian service. Our suffering is a reflection of his. Not that our suffering saves, only Jesus' death achieves our salvation. But Jesus' work on the cross is demonstrated powerfully through the witness of his followers in the face of their suffering. The followers of Jesus are to boldly proclaim the message of forgiveness through the cross, to a world that is hostile to God's grace.

Jesus promises, "He who stand firm to the end will be saved."

You see, the big question at the end of the day is not our expectation of God, but Jesus' expectation of us. It is faithfulness. Will we trust him, and continue to trust in him, with our lives, to the very end of our lives?

In these words from Matthew 10, it means faithfully speaking about Jesus. Living every day hope of his return, but in the meantime, speaking the truth of his death and resurrection.

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

(Ephesians 6:13-15)

The Call of the Kingdom (Matthew 9:9-13)

As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector's booth. "Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew's house, many tax collectors and "sinners" came and ate with him and his disciples.When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

(Matthew 9:9-13)

It is tempting to focus on the one individual Jesus approaches and enlists as his disciple here in this passage. My NIV bible heads the section as "The Calling of Matthew". The other two gospels have "The Calling of Levi" (Levi being Matthew's other Jewish name) in their parallel accounts of Mark 2:13-17 and Luke 5:27-32.

Yet, in all three accounts, the controversy surrounds Jesus calling not one "sinner", but gathering around him many "sinners". Here in Matthew's gospel, verse 10, it is when many tax collectors and sinners come and eat with Jesus, that the religious leaders start to kick up a fuss.

This is not to say that Matthew's invitation by Jesus to join him in life and ministry is not important. Rather the calling of Matthew as an individual, soon gives way to the calling of a community made up of many individuals like Matthew, which forms the basis of a Kingdom proclaimed to many sinners like us. This passage progresses from:

• The Call (Verse 9)
• The Community (Verses 10 to 11); to...
• The Kingdom (Verses 12 to 13)

1. The Call

Matthew is a tax collector. His profession is highlighted three times in the passage. In verse 9, he is sitting at the tax collector's booth. In verse 10, many of his tax collector friends join him at home. In verse 11, the religious leaders criticise the whole bunch of tax collectors as "sinners".

All his life, Matthew never forgot that. In the next chapter, Matthew's name is among the twelve chosen apostles of Jesus. Yet even there, he is called "Matthew the tax collector" (10:3). Being in the inner circle of Jesus, witnessing his miracles and listening to his teaching, even writing this gospel account Jesus' life, ministry and death - never changed the fact that Matthew would always be remembered for this one job he once worked. But what was so significant about being a tax collector?

It is often taught in Sunday School that tax collectors were greedy businessmen who imposed harsh taxes on the people of Israel, forcing them to pay more than they could afford to line their own pockets. But the hatred of tax collectors goes deeper than even that.

2000 years ago, Israel (and much of the Western world) was ruled by the mighty Roman empire who enforced their power and influence through a strong military presence. The only way to finance the large number of troops needed for such a massive operation was tax. Money was collected to pay for soldiers, arms and supplies. Jewish businessmen bid for contracts to collect tax on behalf of the Roman government from their own nation. In effect, these tax collectors were financially enabling the occupation of their own country.

Tax collectors were seen as political traitors. But the label of "sinners" goes one step further to say that theirs was a moral offence against the God of Israel. Working in close proximity with Gentiles made them "unclean" - they couldn't come into the presence of God. Colluding with a foreign nation was an affront to the Kingdom of God - they stood under the wrath of the Almighty.

For Jesus to call Matthew, a tax collector, to follow him as a disciple is surprising, if not offensive. Not least because Jesus could have had his pick. Huge crowds followed him wherever he went. Many came seeking miraculous healing. Large numbers gathered to hear him preach. Not a few approached him to be discipled. In the previous chapter, Jesus had a learned scholar coming up to him to offer his services. "Teacher," he said, "I will follow you wherever you go." Jesus rebuffed him, "The Son of Man has no place to lay his head." Or later in chapter 19, when a rich man claiming to have kept the commandments of the God's law sought after Jesus, only to end up leaving sorrowful, having been asked by Jesus to sell his possessions.

Jesus could have chosen the best, the brightest and the influential. Instead, he chooses Matthew - a traitor, an outcast and a sinner. Matthew: who was not there in the crowd that day but stayed in his office minding his own business. He doesn't even bother to get up when Jesus finds him "sitting at the ... booth". But Jesus sees Matthew, Jesus calls Matthew, and Matthew responds.

"Follow me," he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

To be called of God, is to be invited by Jesus. Personally. Irresistibly. To get up from wherever you are in your life right now, and join Jesus by walking with him and living for him alone. This is what it means to follow Jesus. This is what it means to become a Christian.

And Jesus says the reason he came is to call people like Matthew. He came to call sinners.

2. The Community

The religious leaders did not understand this. When Jesus is in Matthew house with Matthew's friends, the Pharisees gather outside to condemn Jesus for the company he is keeping.

When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and 'sinners'?"

But notice that the point of contention is not just Jesus' company, but also his activity. Jesus is eating with these sinners. The issue is defilement. A sinner is unclean, and eating with a sinner makes you unclean. It was bad enough for Jesus to enter Matthew's home. But to eat his food? Doesn't Jesus realise he is contaminating himself not just externally but internally now?

Later in Chapter 15, Jesus would say to them, "Listen and understand. What goes into a man's mouth does not make him 'unclean,' but what comes out of his mouth, that is what makes him 'unclean.' " In Chapter 23, Jesus would condemn them for their concern with outward appearances but ignorance of their inner hypocrisy: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence."

The Pharisees raise their objections to Jesus' disciples. Perhaps they are trying to be polite (yeah, right!) by passing the message along. More likely, the religious leaders are standing outside Matthew's house, unwilling to risk defiling themselves by entering in. Yet there they are, standing on the outside, refusing to join in the celebration, and looking down disapprovingly on all who do.

The scene reminds me of Jesus' parable of the wayward son and his older brother in Luke 15 which ends similarly with a big party. The youngest son who had insulted his father by demanding his share of the inheritance only to leave home and squander it all on "wild living", returns home sheepishly only to be welcomed with open arms by his loving father. The father throws a huge celebration in honour of his youngest, much to the displeasure of his oldest son, who comes home after working all day in the estate, and starts kicking up a fuss. The older brother refuses to even step into the house. "No! I won't!" Like a small brat he throws a tantrum, blaming his father, blaming his brother, all the while insisting on being in the right.

And here in Matthew's gospel, outside Matthew's house, the Pharisees act like the older brother - who complain against the wayward, sinful brother; who pour scorn on their joy; who criticise Jesus for associating with these outcasts; and who still see themselves as righteous, holy and acceptable. It is worth asking at this point: why were they so confident of their rightness and Jesus' wrongness? What was it about the Pharisees and religious leaders that made them think so lowly of the tax collectors, indeed, of Jesus for mixing with the tax collectors?

It was their goodness.

Sunday School kids are often taught, "Don't by like those Pharisees, those hypocrites! They are the bad guys!" We imagine Pharisees to be spoilsports, mean-spirited, grumpy old men. But actually, the Pharisees were the good guys. They read their bibles. They followed the rules outlined by God's law. They looked forward to God's kingdom. They were religious, respectable and biblical. They were the kind of people you wanted teaching your kids in schools. They were the kind of people you wanted to run your churches - serious about sin and fervent about God's word. Pharisees were the good guys.

And Jesus shocks them by saying he didn't come to look for the good guys. He's come for the bad.

"For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

Ironically, it was not their badness that kept the Pharisees away from Jesus, it was their goodness. What about us? Are we tempted to think God will love us more because we have kept the rules? By maintaining a regular appearance on Sundays in church? Through our grades? What is our measure of goodness? A job? Cleanliness? What makes us look respectable, acceptable before other men? Our education? The number of friends on our Facebook page?

While we are at it: what is our modern equivalent of badness? Who are the sinners in our day and age? Who are the people we stay away from? The criminals? The hypocrites? The poor? The rich, maybe? The proud and arrogant? Are we tempted to think that they deserve God's judgement for what they have done, more than we do?

The issue at heart of it is prejudice. Everyone agrees it is bad. Yet, everyone has prejudices; everyone discriminates based on their subjective judgement of what is good or bad, what is beneficial or unprofitable, what is useful or harmful. We might try to legislate against the act of prejudice - by enacting laws against hate crimes, unfair hiring practices or discrimination in schools and workplaces. But how do you legislate against the heart? How do you imprison hate? How do curb envy?

You see, even the Sunday School teacher, summarising a passage like today's by saying, "Kids, don't by like the Pharisees!" is essentially doing the exact same thing the Pharisees were doing. "We are good, they are the ones who are bad!"

Which makes Jesus' reply to the situation all the more radical. He brings the matter back to God's judgement. But more pointedly, he brings the matter back to his own mission. Jesus' call would be the true measure of righteousness and acceptability in the Kingdom. For Jesus is the King who has come to bring in the Kingdom. Jesus is the Judge who determines God's judgement on who gets into the Kingdom.

3. The Kingdom

On hearing this, Jesus said, "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

There was something very significant about Jesus sitting down and eating with these tax collectors, and the Pharisees could see that. It wasn't just the food, though it was a possible issue of defilement. And, it wasn't just his friends, as hated as these tax collectors were. It was what the food and the friends represented together - a fellowship. Jesus was giving a glimpse into the new community that he would establish as God's new kingdom.

Every week, Rock Fellowship meets to study the bible and a big part of our coming together regularly each week, is meal we share beforehand. It is such a blessing to be able to do this as a fellowship, as a church and as a family. It really isn't just about the convenience of not having to grab dinner at McDonald's after work, or saving money, or even savouring a good hearty Chinese meal (though that helps!). Eating together is something you do regular with people you share your lives with. You eat with your friends. You eat regularly with your family.

The early church did this. In Acts Chapter 2, three thousand people became Christians in one afternoon. And from that day on, Acts 2 says these three thousand believers did three things. Every day, the met to study from the bible, to pray, and to eat together. They ate together as a sign of their new life together in Jesus.

So we as the Chinese Church gather on the first week of every month to share the Lord's Supper. It is simply a meal, consisting the bread and the cup of wine (well, cups - plural... filled with of Ribena), representing the body and blood of Jesus. We do this to proclaim his death for us, as one body in him. Often, you will hear us refer to this as "Communion" - our coming together as a community, to share this symbolic meal, as a reminder of the cross.

The bible speaks of heaven as a huge banquet. It is a feast prepared by God and shared with God's people. We looked at one such parable of Jesus on Valentine's Day recently when we studied Matthew Chapter 22 - The Parable of the Wedding Banquet. Here in Matthew's gospel, Jesus points forward to that hope of God's presence, blessing and salvation; he foreshadows that new reality - when we gathers these "sinners" around him and eats with them.

The Pharisees could see this. Theirs was a loaded question. They were essentially saying, "Why is Jesus choosing them over us?" The following passage reinforces this, where in verse 14, John's disciples, aligning themselves with the Pharisees also question Jesus' allegiances. "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" Notice, how complaint still has to do with food? One party feasts while the other fasts? And notice, how the issue is essentially about taking sides? We and the Pharisees - as opposed to - you and your disciples (which may have also been a dig at the tax collectors - ohh, so these sinners are your disciples now are they, Jesus?).

Jesus' reply engages them at three levels.

Need

The first is need. "It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick." Jesus says the reason people don't come to him is because they don't see their need for him.

For all the objections I've heard for years about the claims of the bible, about who Jesus is, about what he did for us on the cross, about the existence of God and the so-called problem of evil (which is really more a problem for the atheist that the Christian who actually believes that there is such a thing as good and evil, and a God who determines what is good and evil) - for all the effort that rightly goes into explaining and defending the truth of the gospel; what Jesus says here really hits the nail on the head. The number reason people aren't Christians isn't because they don't think it is true. It's because they think they don't need this truth.

Healthy people don't need a doctor. Good people don't need Jesus.

Jesus uses a very powerful analogy, doesn't he? Sickness as picture of sin. Now understand here that Jesus is not equating how you sick you are with how sinful you are (we will look at this in more detail in the next study). What Jesus is showing us is how aware we are of our sickness, yet how blind we are to sin.

That's because we don't ignore pain. We don't delay in dealing with our suffering. I have a headache, I take a few pills. I have a tootache, I immediately make an appointment to see a dentist. But we don't see our sin. We don't realise how it is killing us. We don't see how it affects the people around us. We don't realise how God is angry with our sinfulness.

Not all pain is a curse. God ordains some pain and hardship to open our eyes to the fact that we live in a sinful world. God sometimes uses pain to open our eyes to the reason for pain - our sinfulness and God's judgement over our sinfulness. There will come a day when God release this world from the bondage to decay. But until then, we cannot forget that heaven is not yet here, and Jesus has not yet returned. Seeing our pain, and recognising the pain of others ought to drive us to pray. It should remind us that we need God's grace to survive in this broken world, and ask him daily for grace, and long for daily for his Kingdom.

At the same time, not all health is blessing. Our wellness, our wealth, our privilege in life might very well be God's judgement in condemning a rebellious world in its blindness to the true source of life, treasure and joy in Jesus. It is one of the real dangers of the prosperity gospel over-emphasising blessings in this life. It spoils our appetite for Jesus. We don't need him as much as we need stuff from him.

Jesus says the healthy don't see their need, and they would not seek him to fill their need.

Mercy

Secondly, Jesus emphasizes God's mercy. He says, "But go and learn what this means: 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.' "

Here Jesus quotes from the Old Testament book of Hosea, and you find that it's such an important verse, Jesus quotes it twice in Matthew's gospel. Here as well as Chapter 12. Both times, he is speaking to the religious leaders. Both times, it is about condemnation that they bring against Jesus and his followers. Both times, it stems from a misunderstanding of God's will in his word, which is why Jesus points to Scripture to clarify the situation.

And Jesus mentions two good things, yet one is better.

Jesus talks about two godly things, but one one is desired.

What is the mark of a true community of God? Isn't it tempting to say "sacrifice"? "Wow, look at that guy - he is giving so much of his time, and money, and energy to serve in this church! He has sacrificed so much!" Isn't sacrifice a virtue we value in the Chinese culture? The kind of thing we look for in our leaders? The mark of a true Christian?

Friends, I suggest to you that maybe we lack one thing. Mercy. I mean, think with me for a moment. What would it even look like? When I think of the brothers and sisters in our fellowship, in our church, it is easy to recall how sacrificial we have been for one another. That is truly a blessing. That is truly commendable. But what would an instance of mercy look like in our group, I wonder?

You see, "mercy" means not one of us deserves to be here. Mercy means I deserve God's judgement, not his love. Mercy means I am a sinner; we are all sinners. When Jesus calls Matthew and hangs out with the tax collectors, he isn't denying that stand under God's anger. He identifies their sickness that needs healing. He acknowledges them as "sinners".

But Christians are a special subset of sinners. We are forgiven sinners. We are to be repentant sinners. In the other gospel accounts, we learn that Matthew leaves his job. He repays all he has cheated. He leaves his life of sin - of living his life for himself - and follows Jesus, living his life to serve Jesus.

God shows mercy by pouring out his mercy on undeserving sinners. That is what Jesus does with Matthew and his friends. He is showing them what it means to be loved by God. Not surprisingly, the original quotation in Hosea could be rightly translated as "I desire love, not sacrifice". The word in Hebrew is chesed - a rich description of God's covenantal, faithful, everlasting love.

A community of Jesus that displays mercy, is a community that displays God's love. It means constantly forgiving one another, having received forgiveness from God. It means loving one another with the love we have received from Jesus.

Jesus' Call

Finally, Jesus sums up by pointing to himself - his authority to call sinners to himself. "For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners."

To see the weight of Jesus' conclusion, we need to first notice a shift in pronouns. Previously, Jesus was quoting from Hosea where it was God who was speaking. "I desire mercy, not sacrifice," declares the God of the bible. In Hosea, it is God speaking to his people who have rejected him again and again. God desires that his people love him, with the love that has been shown them. A love that is constant, unchanging and steadfast.

And almost immediately, Jesus shifts to the first person. He says of God "I desire". Then Jesus says of himself, "I have come". One is the expression of God's will. The other is the fulfilment of God's love.

Jesus says the whole reason he came - into ministry; into this creation - was to call sinners. But more than that, he underlines the focus of his call by emphasizing the negative. He did not come for the righteous. There is a serious lesson here we need to take on board. Jesus did not take on flesh, to walk as man, to die on the cross, to be raised from the dead - just to give us a pat on the back for all the good things have done for God. He came to seek sinners who could not possibly help themselves. He came to save those who could not possibly save themselves. He came to die so that we would not have to face the final judgement of death ourselves.

This is in fulfilment of Hosea 6 - Jesus displays God's ultimate, merciful love to those who do not deserve it and could never earn it.

But it is also a display of Jesus' ultimate authority as God. For God the only righteous Judge can show such mercy in forgiving sinners. Only God has the ability and the authority to love the unlovable. The Pharisees for all their religion could not - their goodness could not save themselves, much less those around them - they lacked the ability and they lacked the will. But Jesus did. He had the authority to call sinners because he had the authority to lay down his life for sinners. That is the reason he came.

By quoting Hosea 6, Jesus offers a glimpse into the source of his divine authority - his sacrifice. Our sacrifices can never make us acceptable. Our goodness can never make up for our sinfulness. But Jesus can. On the cross, Jesus offered himself as a sacrifice for our sin, by taking God's judgement for our sin upon himself. He gave his life as a sacrifice for us, that we might receive mercy from him.

If you are a sinner, this means Jesus came for you. He died so that you could receive God's mercy, love and forgiveness. There nothing for you to do, nothing that you could do - because Jesus has done it all for you through his sacrifice on the cross. All you can do is respond. By obeying his call and by following him as your Lord and as your Saviour.

Hear the call of the kingdom
Lift your eyes to the King
Let His song rise within you
As a fragrant offering
Of how God rich in mercy
Came in Christ to redeem
All who trust in His unfailing grace

King of Heaven we will answer the call
We will follow bringing hope to the world
Filled with passion, filled with power to proclaim
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The Grace of Exposed Sin (Genesis 38)

"I am sure that God is bringing good out of evil every single day"

Mark Ashton, 3 March 2010

Genesis 38 is one of those chapters you probably skipped in Sunday School. It's a story about sinful actions, selfish desires and God's judgement. No one comes out looking good in this chapter. Yet, to much of our embarrassment, there it is. In the bible, to be read, in church, in our homes, and applied in our lives. What on earth do you with Genesis 38?

Answer? You read it and marvel: at how amazing, gracious and loving is the God of the bible, who brings good out of evil, every single day.

1. Judah

At that time, Judah left his brothers and went down to stay with a man of Adullam named Hirah. There Judah met the daughter of a Canaanite man named Shua. He married her and lay with her; she became pregnant and gave birth to a son, who was named Er. She conceived again and gave birth to a son and named him Onan. She gave birth to still another son and named him Shelah. It was at Kezib that she gave birth to him.

(Verses 1 to 5)

The story revolves around Judah, one of the twelve sons of Israel, and picks up from the previous chapter where Judah and his brothers have just sold one of their younger brothers, Joseph, into slavery. In fact, selling Joseph was Judah's bright idea. The brothers simply wanted to kill Joseph. But Judah thought, why not make a quick buck while they were at it? So he suggested that they sell Joseph, their own brother, to a gang of slave traders en route to Egypt.

So Judah isn't what you could call, a nice guy. But by the end of this account, we will see how God convicts Judah of the wickedness of his own sinfulness and brings him to the point of repentance for his actions.

Chapter 38 begins with Judah marrying a local pagan girl and having three kids. Already, this looks bad. Judah's father and grandfather were not allowed to take a wife from among the local Canaanite women, for fear of being enticed into ungodliness. Isaac and Jacob, Judah's dad and granddad both got wives from the distant home of their forefathers. But here Judah doesn't consult his father Jacob. Judah is a guy who makes up his own mind, thank you very much - in choosing his best friend (a man named Hirah the Adullamite, who will play a key role in Judah's sin later on), and in choosing his wife (a Canaanite woman named Shua). The brevity of his encounter with Shua and his marriage to her, suggests that Judah is a man who decides his own path and acts on his own impulses. He marries Shua and lays with her. As we read on, notice how Judah is constantly giving instructions to others. He expects to be obeyed, yet displays no willingness to submit himself to his own father, or even to his own conscience.

2. Tamar

Judah got a wife for Er, his firstborn, and her name was Tamar.

But Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the LORD's sight; so the LORD put him to death.

(Verses 6 and 7)

So, apparently, while Judah feels free to choose his own wife, the rule does not apply to his own sons. Judah "got a wife for Er, his firstborn". But God sees Er's wickedness and kills him because of it. We are not given any details on how Er offended God, but it must have been pretty serious. Not since the earth was destroyed by flood in Noah's time, or when Sodom and Gomorrah was levelled at the time of Abraham, has God visibly struck down sinful man. And even then, these were judgements poured out on masses of people, who had collectively sinned against God. Here, God kills this one individual. It is extraordinary in circumstance, but the uniqueness of the event, hints at the seriousness of Er's wickedness before God. It might be worth comparing him with his younger brother's sin later in verse 10, who also suffered the same fate and was similar described as "wicked in the LORD's sight".

Then Judah said to Onan, "Lie with your brother's wife and fulfill your duty to her as a brother-in-law to produce offspring for your brother."
(Verse 8)

With the firstborn dead, Judah instructs his second son, Onan, to "fulfil his duty". The request is as crude as it is direct. Judah doesn't say, "Marry Tamar, take care of her, and honour your brother's memory by raising a family with her." There is no hint of marriage. Only the very functional instruction to "lie" with Tamar - literally, to go into her. He doesn't even address Tamar by name - she is "your brother's wife", perhaps appealing to Onan's sense of duty, or even sympathy.

Deuteronomy 25:5-10 spells out the Mosaic law of levirate marriage (the word "levir" derived from the Latin word for brother-in-law; the Hebrew equivalent "ybm" appears 6 times in the passage). So, there was provision for this practice among God's people. We will look at how this applies in the following verses.

We studied this passage at Rock Fellowship recently, and as usual, we began by having members read a few verses each aloud. I do pity the brother who struggled to read out verse 9!

But Onan knew that the offspring would not be his; so whenever he lay with his brother's wife, he spilled his semen on the ground to keep from producing offspring for his brother.
What he did was wicked in the LORD's sight; so he put him to death also.
(Verses 9 and 10)

Onan refuses to carry out his duty and verse 9 tells us why. Any offspring would not be his. This could mean either that Onan was worried that he own estate would be put at risk - in the scenario that he doesn't have children of his own, any sons borne to Tamar would be in his elder's name and inherit Onan's wealth upon his death. Another possible motivation is greed. With Er dead, Onan now stood to gain the larger portion of the inheritance. Producing an heir for his elder brother would negate this. So, it could either have been an aversion to risk, or Onan's motivation of greed, that led to his refusal to comply with his father's wishes.

But there is another possibility - shame. Onan didn't simply refuse to carry out his responsibility. Rather he deceived everyone into thinking that he did. He still slept with Tamar. But whenever he did, Onan would deliberately take steps to make sure she would not be impregnated. It is sometimes mistakenly thought that Onan's sin was that of masturbation, as described colourfully in verse 9. Such is the use of the word "onanism". However, looking at the context of Genesis 38, what Onan was practising was closer to coitus interruptus.

It is interesting to note that the law of levirate marriage in Deuteronomy 25 spells out a very peculiar form of punishment for a man who refuses to adhere to the Mosaic code. In essence, the law says he is to be shamed. This is in stark contrast to all the other penalties which involve compensation and payment. In this case however, the widow had the right to publicly humiliate the offender.

His brother's widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, take off one of his sandals, spit in his face and say, "This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother's family line." That man's line shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.

(Deuteronomy 25:9-10)

So Onan wanted to keep up appearances without keeping to his promises, all the while avoiding the shame of public exposure (on himself as well as his future offsprings - who would be labelled the 'Unsandalled ones'); all the while sleeping with Tamar. Notice, that verse 9 indicates that he did this frequently and repeatedly, "Whenever he lay".

However, he could not hide his actions and motives from God. Onan was struck down for his "wickedness".

Judah then said to his daughter-in-law Tamar, "Live as a widow in your father's house until my son Shelah grows up." For he thought, "He may die too, just like his brothers." So Tamar went to live in her father's house.

(Verse 11)

Judah sends Tamar home. On the surface it looks like it is in her best interests. There, Tamar would be cared for in her father's household until Shelah, Judah's son was old enough to marry her. The text tells us, however, that Judah is more concerned about Shelah (what a name to give your kid!), and may not have intended to give him to her. He may have even been superstitious about her very presence, and wanted Tamar to be as far away as possible from his only surviving heir.

Whatever his hidden motives, Judah's words constituted a betrothal. All the more serious, when we consider how his subsequent sin in the following verses, would constitute adultery against his own son.

3. Blind to sin, justified in condemnation

After a long time Judah's wife, the daughter of Shua, died. When Judah had recovered from his grief, he went up to Timnah, to the men who were shearing his sheep, and his friend Hirah the Adullamite went with him.

(Verse 12)

Sheep-shearing was a season of celebration - marked by feasting and drinking (Esther 8:17, 1 Sam 25:2-8 - a good day , 2 Sam 13:23-24). As owner, it was also important for Judah to be there with his workers (eg. Laban in Gen 31:19, Nabal in 1 Sam 25:8 and Absalom in 2 Sam 23:24).

However, the celebration would have been at contrast in the wake of the death of Judah's wife, Shua. We find Hirah with him again. Perhaps he was there to console him in his grief. What is clear is, he is there now with Judah on his journey up to the festivities and celebration.

When Tamar was told, "Your father-in-law is on his way to Timnah to shear his sheep," she took off her widow's clothes, covered herself with a veil to disguise herself, and then sat down at the entrance to Enaim, which is on the road to Timnah. For she saw that, though Shelah had now grown up, she had not been given to him as his wife.

(Verses 13 and 14)

Tamar realises that her father-in-law had no intentions of honouring his promise to allow her to marry Shelah. The son was now of age, but Tamar was still in her father's house, waiting. She hears of Judah's journey up to the sheep-shearing celebrations and she lays out her plan to meet him - what she was about to do was planned. It involved a change out of her mourning attire into a "disguise" and a "covering", which translates an expression can also describe the putting on of perfume.

Then Tamar waits at the entrance of Enaim - which means "Twin Springs" or "Eyes". Genesis wants us to notice the irony in all of this: Tamar waits by the place of "Eyes" to capture the attention of a man who would be "blind" to her identity and his own sin.

When Judah saw her, he thought she was a prostitute, for she had covered her face. 16 Not realizing that she was his daughter-in-law, he went over to her by the roadside and said,
"Come now, let me sleep with you."
"And what will you give me to sleep with you?" she asked.
(Verse 15)

Judah is direct in his speech. No sweet-talk. No opening lines. He propositions her, inferring that Tamar is a prostitute from her "covering".

Yet, Tamar herself is direct and unabashed in her reply. She immediately asks for an offer for payment. "What will you give me?" She leaves it to Judah to set the price.

"I'll send you a young goat from my flock," he said.
"Will you give me something as a pledge until you send it?" she asked.
He said, "What pledge should I give you?"
"Your seal and its cord, and the staff in your hand," she answered. So he gave them to her and slept with her, and she became pregnant by him. After she left, she took off her veil and put on her widow's clothes again.

(Verses 17 to 19)

Judah's offer of a goat is substantial. Proverbs 6:26 mentions a "loaf of bread" as payment for a prostitute's services (going with the ESV's translation of "price" against the NIV's rendering of "reduces you to").

Tamar requests a guarantee of this promised payment; a pledge consisting of Judah's seal, cord and staff; the ancient equivalent of his credit cards and passport. They were personally and specifically identifiable to him. The seal was a small, tubular-shaped and made of clay with engravings on its side (There are examples on display at the Fitzwilliam Museum). This was rolled into wax to leave an imprint of its owner. It typically had a hole in it and the cord mentioned in verse 18 was the rope or string that threaded the seal, allowing it to be worn round the neck.

Meanwhile Judah sent the young goat by his friend the Adullamite in order to get his pledge back from the woman, but he did not find her.

He asked the men who lived there, "Where is the shrine prostitute who was beside the road at Enaim?"
"There hasn't been any shrine prostitute here," they said.

So he went back to Judah and said, "I didn't find her. Besides, the men who lived there said, 'There hasn't been any shrine prostitute here.' "

Then Judah said, "Let her keep what she has, or we will become a laughingstock. After all, I did send her this young goat, but you didn't find her."
(Verses 20 to 22)

Eager to retrieve his personal property, Judah sends his buddy Hiram with the goat to search for the prostitute. Tamar isn't there, so Hiram tactfully tries asking around for her. He enquires among the townsfolk of the "shrine prostitute", a slightly different term from the one used to describe Tamar in the earlier verses, and more politically-correct one.

It is interesting to see Judah so determined to honour his agreement with a stranger when he has been less than honourable with his own daughter-in-law. The irony, of course, being they are one and the same! Still, it becomes clear that Judah is trying to cover up the matter as quickly as possible. "Let her keep what she has," he says. He is thinking about the seal, cord and staff that he has lost, yet Judah is more afraid of losing face should his encounter be discovered, "... or we will become a laughingstock."

Despite all that has happened, Judah can still justify his own actions. "After all, I did send her this young goat." He did try to honour his part of the agreement, didn't he? His eyes remain closed to his actions at the place of "sight" (Enaim). They will not stay closed for long.

About three months later Judah was told, "Your daughter-in-law Tamar is guilty of prostitution, and as a result she is now pregnant."
Judah said, "Bring her out and have her burned to death!"

(Verse 24)

Judah discovers his daughter-in-law's pregnancy and his immediate reaction is outrage. "Burn her!" he instructs his servants. No need to check the facts, no need for explanations. Tamar has sinned. Tamar should be punished! Again, Judah feels entirely justified in his actions and words.

Verse 24 unpacks Judah's hypocrisy at several levels. Firstly, Tamar no longer lives under his roof. She is under her own father's care and authority. Secondly, Judah has himself recently slept with another woman not his wife.

But thirdly, Judah was quick to mete out a punishment that was so severe, it was reserved for a specific situation in the bible. Burning was only outlined in Leviticus 21 for daughters of priests who had prostituted themselves. You see, the only way Tamar could come close to being guilty of committing the specific sin of adultery, was if she was formally engaged to Shelah. However, Judah himself had taken steps to prevent this from happening. He never intended to let his only surviving heir marry this "black widow", yet was more than willing to keep up appearances, even if it cost Tamar her life. He might even have seen this as the perfect opportunity to get out of the sticky situation.

The real question is: why was Judah so angry? He is so angry that he demands that another person be burned alive as punishment for their sin. Why was he so incensed?

Judah is being religious. He is. He can see sin clearly. Just not his own.

When it is someone else's sin, that's bad. When it is someone else's fault, they need to be punished. And sometimes we need to realise how blind we are to our own sinfulness by simply looking at the last time we lost our temper. Was it over something that we needed to repent first of, before pointing it out to others? And sometimes it is precisely because we know that we are guilty of that same sin, that we are so passionate about it with others - in church, at home, on our blogs and Facebook - it's hypocrisy.

This isn't some of us, it's all of us. One thing the bible does is not just expose our sins, but our hypocrisy and blindness to our sinfulness. And God does this for our good, that we might begin to realise just how messed up we are but how gracious he is. For Judah, he thinks he is fooling everyone around him, by hiding the fact he went to see a prostitute, by living his life his own way but telling others how they should listen to him when it comes to their life decisions, by being hard on the sin of others and laying down the law - but in the end he cannot fool God, and he only fools himself. In such an instance, the one gracious thing God can do, is expose his blindness.

As she was being brought out, she sent a message to her father-in-law. "I am pregnant by the man who owns these," she said. And she added, "See if you recognize whose seal and cord and staff these are."

Judah recognized them and said, "She is more righteous than I, since I wouldn't give her to my son Shelah." And he did not sleep with her again.
(Verses 25 and 26)

Tamar lets the evidence speak for themselves. The seal, cord and staff belong to Judah. Judah is guilty of adultery. Judah slept with his own daughter in law!

Now, look at Judah's reply. Notice that he doesn't try to cover it up. Judah doesn't make excuses about not recognising who Tamar was, of the grief he had in being recently widowed - none of that. In fact, he goes one step further. He admits his earlier fault in withholding Shelah in marriage to Tamar.

The scene ought to remind us of another account of adultery and infidelity. In 2 Sam 11, King David took another man's wife to his bed, and tried to cover it up when the woman got pregnant. He killed her husband, brought the girl into his palace, and thought the matter was over and done with. He thought he got away with it. Yet chapter 11 ends with the words, "But the thing David had done displeased the LORD." God saw, and in the following chapter, God spoke.

The prophet Nathan confronted David, not directly appealing to his shame by exposing his sin, but interestingly, by appealing to his sense of justice. In 2 Samuel 12, we read how Nathan told David a parable - of a rich man who stole an ewe lamb from his poor neighbour. David's anger flared up, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."

Nathan's reply to David? "You are the man!"

Same thing happens here in Genesis 38. Tamar was essentially saying to Judah, "You are the man!"

We see an even tighter connection in the final verses of this chapter.

4. Salvation for sinners

When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. As she was giving birth, one of them put out his hand; so the midwife took a scarlet thread and tied it on his wrist and said, "This one came out first." But when he drew back his hand, his brother came out, and she said, "So this is how you have broken out!" And he was named Perez. Then his brother, who had the scarlet thread on his wrist, came out and he was given the name Zerah.
(Verses 27 to 30)

The account of the births of Perez ("Break out") and Zerah ("Bright colour"), echo that of Jacob and Esau in Genesis 25. A struggle occurs in the womb of the mother. The older brother is displaced by his younger sibling. It is a picture on the one hand, of conflict that is so ingrained in our natures it occurs between the closest of kin. Yet in the bible, it is also a key theme of God's sovereign choice, in blessing the weak, underlining his gracious undeserved mercy in salvation. As with Abel over Cain, Jacob over Esau, so here Perez in chosen over Zerah.

The birth of twin sons signifies God's mercy over the Judah-Tamar episode. Two sons given for two sons taken. In every genealogy listed on the bible since then, Perez and Zerah are counted as Judah's sons. But the story doesn't end there.

Ruth Chapter 4 ends with a genealogy of King David. Ruth, like Tamar, was a pagan woman. She, too was a widow. And when Ruth gave birth to her son, it was meant to be an adherence to the Deuteronomic law of the kinsmen-redeemer, the levir, who was a righteous man named Boaz. Yet, all genealogies since then, acknowledge Boaz as the true father. The genealogy in Ruth 4 is significant, of course, because it ends with great King David. Yet, notice how it begins in 4:18 "This then is the family line of Perez."

The New Testament incorporates both accounts into the family line of Jesus, the true King, the true Son of David. Matthew 1:3 reads, "Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar" and verse 5 reads "Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab, Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth".

Four women are notably listed in this line of Kings and important men. All four are unexpected. Matthew doesn't include great matriarchs like Sarah, Rebekah or Rachel - instead, we find Tamar. We find Rahab, a prostitute, the mother of Boaz. Ruth is there as well, a foreign pagan woman from the people of Moab - who was borne of the incestuous relationship between Lot and his daughter-in-law.

And Matthew caps the genealogy of Jesus with Mary. Another girl embroiled in scandal. Whom Joseph married to avoid her being punished for the appearance of having been unfaithful. But from the gospel accounts, we know that Mary had Jesus through the miraculous intervention of the Holy Spirit. She was faithful to her vows to Joseph, and in her obedience to God.

Jesus was born to be King. That is what Christ means - it means Messiah, Chosen One - it means God's chosen King. But he was given the name Jesus because "He will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). That is what his name means. Saviour.

And God has brought this great good through great evil. Through a royal family line that is ridden with sinfulness and wickedness, God establishes his king in righteousness and purity. Through a people who would crucify and kill the only innocent man who ever lived, God would bring salvation to sinners, through Jesus' death on the cross.

It's a funny thing that Christians often do when they gather together - they confess their sins, and they ask God show them their sinfulness. Because as believers in the death and resurrection of Jesus, we know we have a saviour who takes our sins, purifies us with his blood, and raises us together with him in righteousness and glory.

Depth of mercy can there be

Mercy reaching even me

God the Just His wrath forbears

Me the chief of sinners spares

So many times my heart has strayed

From His kind and perfect ways

Making clear my desperate need

For His blood poured out for me

Give me grace Lord let me own

All the wrongs that I have done

Let me now my sins deplore

Look to You and sin no more

There for me the Savior stands

Holding forth His wounded hands

Scars which ever cry for me

Once condemned but now set free