Wednesday, April 1, 2020

The March to The Resurrection Sermon Series - Week 3: It Gets Harder From Here

Before we moved to Quartzsite, Marika and I were living in Roseville, CA. When I first contacted Pastor Jeff about the position of youth pastor, I shared it with my pastor at the time. He told me that he had been a pastor in Scottsdale for three years and hated it. He never wanted to go back to the desert again.
Two weeks later, Marika and I were flying down to Quartzsite for an interview. It was much smaller than any place Marika had ever lived. Though I grew up in a small town, Quartzsite even seemed small to me.
We spent Friday with the teens, and on Saturday as we were alone in the church provided home, Marika said with tears in her eyes, “We’re going to get this position.” She understood that this was where God wanted us, but for the both of us, it was going be a hard move. We had never lived more than four hours away from our parents, here, we would be over ten. We had gotten accustomed to city life, but here it was nothing like it. The heat, the travel, was all new. And in that moment sitting in that room, the realization that God was calling us here, did not produce tears of joy, but of anguish. Though this was where God wanted us, it was not necessarily where we wanted to be. Sure we wanted to be in God’s will, but I was hoping God’s will would include palm trees and sandy beaches. Instead, we got thorns and rocks.
Over time, Quartzsite has become our home. We have been here for almost thirteen years, and I’m glad that we accept the hard move and came here. Away from family, friends and everything we knew, we are glad that we walked where God called us.

And it’s this idea of doing what God calls us to even when it’s hard for us, that brings us to where we’re at in this sermon series. Where we’ll be picking back up in the Gospel of Luke, in chapter 18, starting in verse 31. And as we open up to Luke 18, verse 31, let’s bring ourselves up to speed on what we’ve talked about so far.

In the first week of our series, we talked about two interactions Jesus had with four groups of people. In this we compared and contrasted a group of parents who were trying to get a blessing for their children, with the disciples who were trying to keep the children away. In this interaction, we talked about how we need to not be like the disciples, blocking people from being blessed by Jesus, but rather seeking on their behalf the blessings of God in their lives. In the second interaction, we saw that of the rich young ruler and Jesus. It was here that we compare and contrasted the children of the parents with this young ruler. We then talked about how even though the rich young ruler had prestige and wealth, he was unable to do the simple task of following Jesus. A task that we saw the children accomplished as they followed their parents to their blessing. It was here that we understood that we must be willing to give up whatever Jesus asks us to give up in order to follow him.
Then last week we saw two more interactions, where two miracles happened. The first miracle was the blind beggar. In this interaction, the blind beggar cried out for Jesus, who he understood was the Messiah. But like the disciples in the first week, the crowd that surrounded the blind beggar, tried to keep the him from getting to Jesus. But Jesus himself called on the beggar and restored his sight. It was then that the crowd rejoiced at the miracle. But their rejoicing didn’t last long, because the next interaction we saw was with Zacchaeus, the hated tax collector. In this interaction, we saw a contrast between the rich young ruler, and Zacchaeus. Both were rich, both possibly young, but where one had honor in his town, the other did not. Yet, it is the tax collector Zacchaeus, not the rich young ruler, that gains the miracle of salvation. And yet, we don’t see the crowd rejoicing at Zacchaeus’ passing from death to life. It was here that we understood that we need to have our biases stripped from us, so that we may rejoice in the work of God.

Now, as we jump into today’s passage, we’re going to be focusing on a parable that Jesus gives after the interaction with Zacchaeus. But before we get to the parable, I want us to see it in the context of everything we’ve talked about in these last two weeks. Because this parable isn’t necessarily directed at a particular group, like the crowd or the disciples, but instead, the parable is directed at the mindset of all the people. They believe Jesus is going to Jerusalem to overthrow the Roman government. This parable is to help people understand what is really happening. And this isn’t the first time that Jesus has had to do this. Within the passages that we have covered in these last two weeks, Jesus has spoken to this mindset that thinks he will be liberating Israel from Roman occupation.
Last week I said we were skipping a small set of verses in-between the two sets of interactions that we’ve talked about. Let’s return really quick to those skipped verses. Take a look with me to chapter 18, starting in verse 31. It reads like this, “31 Jesus took the Twelve aside and told them, ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. 32 He will be delivered over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him and spit on him; 33 they will flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again.’ 34 The disciples did not understand any of this. Its meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what he was talking about.”

It’s in this flow of thought of Jesus going to Jerusalem to be killed and rise again, that Jesus tells the following parable to the people. The people that think Jesus is coming as the conquering Messiah, but in reality, his prize is greater than the nation of Israel.
With these two weeks now fresh in our minds, and the context now set, let’s dive into the Gospel of Luke, chapter 19, starting in verse 11.

11 While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. 
12 He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. 13 So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. ‘Put this money to work,’ he said, ‘until I come back.’
14 “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’
15 “He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.
16 “The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’
17 “‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’
18 “The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’
19 “His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’
20 “Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’
22 “His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’
24 “Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’
25 “‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’
26 “He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’”  
Now this seems be some pretty harsh language Jesus uses, but let’s break down what each of these pieces of the parable represent. The first character we meet is the nobleman. This person represents Jesus himself. He is the one that has rule over one area, and is receiving full rule over all.
So what do these kingdoms represent? Let’s talk about the first one. If Jesus is the ruler of this first land, then we’re talking about the people or the nation of Israel. In other words, this land composes the Jewish people themselves. Jesus is saying, I am the God, or the nobleman who rules my own people Israel. But then the nobleman, or Jesus, goes to receive the full reign as king over all. If the first are the Jews, the second then are the Gentiles. 
This represents what the cross and resurrection does. It opens the way for both the Jew and Gentile to come to God, to come to Jesus himself. To have Jesus as their king, with Jesus ruling over all. This is what is talked about in the book of Revelation chapter 7 verse 9, where John writes, “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.”

This is what is referenced Philippians 2:9-11, where Paul writes, Therefore God exalted him (Jesus) to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

These two kingdoms that this nobleman is gaining, is Jesus gaining a group of people that are not separated by Jew and Gentile boundaries, but are instead ruled by one King. They are his people, drawn from both groups.

The next group of characters, are the servants, and we’ll talk about them more in a little bit.

Instead, let’s look at the third group, which are the citizens and the delegation. If the first kingdom that the noble rules over are the Jews, then these citizens are the Jewish people. And this delegation are the ones that do not desire the nobleman to reign over them. Let’s read verse 14 again, “14 But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’”

Did you notice that there was no reason for the subjects rejecting the nobleman? They simply didn’t want his rule. This is Jesus pointing to the Jews, saying “you don’t want my rule. Sure you think that I am your Savior who will overthrow the Romans, but you don’t want me as your King, or Messiah, or God." In this simple parable, we get the whole of the history of Israel. Israel, who has lived in this constant cycle of accepting God, then rejecting him, then crying out to him, just to reject him once again.
This is what Jesus is telling the people, you really don’t want me to overthrow the Romans, because then you would actually have to follow me. And instead, a group of the citizens try to tell the other kingdom, do not accept him as your king. We see this play out in the rest of Jesus’ earthly ministry, when the Jewish leadership of the Sanhedrin call on the Roman governor Pilate to crucify Jesus. They are the delegation seeking the Gentiles to reject Jesus as their king, just as the Jews themselves have done.
But this request doesn’t work, both in the parable, and in history. The nobleman receives the kingdom, just as Jesus receives the kingdom of the Gentiles. 

And it’s here that we come back to the servants, and where the rubber hits the road for us. We’re told that there are ten servants called, but we only see three. These three represent all of them, because we’re given a descending order of use and reward.
One servant takes his minus, or about $1,500 dollars today, and expands it to $15,000. The second servant, takes his $1,500 dollars and increases it to $7,500. And to each of these the nobleman gives a portion of the kingdom to them that reflects what they have done for him.
It’s then we’re brought to the final servant. This servant says to the nobleman, “Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. 21 I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.”

This servant accuses the nobleman of being too harsh and too severe in what he asks of people. This servant accuses his master of not doing anything, why the servants do everything. And so, the servant takes what he was given and does nothing with it, because he doesn’t want to lose what he had.
This is the mindset of how the Jews perceive God. For them, all the regulations, the ceremonial cleaning, and all the sacrifices they are to perform, makes it seem like God is a ruthless task master. Even today, a lot of people, even Christians, look at the God in the Old Testament and see him as a wrathful, vengeful, mean God. But up to this point in the parable, we haven’t seen that. This nobleman isn’t any of these things, in fact, he has given generously to those that he entrusted money to. Even the citizens and delegation had no reason for not wanting him as their ruler, they just simply did not. 
It is at the end of the conversation between the nobleman and the last servant, that Jesus says this, “Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.”

The responses of the other servants are surprised, “25 ‘Sir,’…’he already has ten!’”

I think we would be shocked too. Wouldn’t it be better that the servant with five get the minas? I mean, he does have less. But that’s not Jesus’ reasoning, he tells us in verse 26, “I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 27 But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.”  

This is some harsh stuff. For the servant, and for the citizens that would reject Jesus. Everything they had, even their lives are taken away. By rejecting Jesus, he is telling us, that we will be left with nothing. Everything, that we think we have will be gone. 
This is the harsh, but the reality of what it means to reject Jesus. The rich young ruler has done this very thing, the crowd looks as if they are doing this very thing, even the disciples are teetering on the edge of doing this very thing. And Jesus is calling all of them to follow him, as he receives, a greater kingdom than that of the nation of Israel.

And he is calling us to the same today. 

See, it can be easy to fall into the mindset of this last servant. It’s easy to think that God is asking too much of us. He is asking that we trust him in the hard things he calls us into, that we must give up things to follow him, that we use what he has given us, not for our glory, but for his. Not for our comfort but for his goals. And we can cry out to him, saying, please make it easier. 
But God wants us to understand that through these things he calls us to are hard, his kingdom is being built. People are moving from death to life. Salvation is coming to those that we wouldn’t expect it to. We are called to seek the blessings of others above ourselves. We are called to rejoice in the work that he is doing. And we are called to use the gifts we have been given and not hide them away. 
And God doesn’t leave us to do this in our own strength, but rather he has given us the Holy Spirit to rely on. We are not called to try desperately to do everything on our own, God knows that we cannot do that. But rather we are called to seek the Holy Spirit in all these things. To face the hard times, to reach out to those we might not want to, to rejoice when we see God move, to seek blessings for others, and to maximize what he has already given us.

We are called to rejoice over God’s building his kingdom with those that we might reject. We are called into hard things for his glory. And we are called to use the gifts that God has given us by relying on the Holy Spirit to guide us. 

This week I want to challenge you to first recognize the thoughts or actions that you’ve take that have said to God, you’re asking too much of me. Take those thoughts or actions, repent of them and ask for forgiveness, that they would be captured and brought before Jesus. As Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:5b, “…we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” Let’s do just that with anything that would keep us from recognizing our role in the call of God on our lives.
And second, let us seek the movement of the Holy Spirit this week. Asking him directly, “Holy Spirit reveal the gifts you have given me, and the purpose behind those gifts, that I might use them for the glory of God.” You are here for a purpose in God’s kingdom. You are here at this time, to be utilized for a purpose. Jesus has called you to participate in bringing others into his kingdom, and that one day he will return and call us to account for what we have done with our calling.

Let us be like the servants who grew what was given to us, that we might hear those wonderful words of the Master, “Well done, good and faithful servant!” Amen.

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