Parable of the Minas

Luke 19:11-27.  This sermon was preached on July 26, 2015 by Pastor Marty Bonner.

The parable that Jesus gives us today is a picture of the whole church age from the leaving of Christ to his coming back again.  As we analyze this parable we will gain a big-picture view regarding what God has been doing over the last two millenniums, and what is happening in the now.  In fact we see that both unbelievers and those who call themselves Christians have a choice to make every day.  Am I going to trust Jesus as my King or not? Regardless of our decision, it will be the key to our fate when Christ returns.  This world and the United States of America will not continue on as they are.  Father God has declared Jesus as the King of kings and Lord of lords.  This will not be overruled.  The sooner we deal with that the better it will be with us.

Jesus Had To Leave To Receive His Kingship

In verse 11 we are given the reason for this parable.  Jesus was approaching Jerusalem and the people thought Jesus would institute the Kingdom of God on the spot.  Clearly Jesus wants to dissuade their expectations and prepare them for what was really going to happen: crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.  In fact this is a recurring dynamic that we saw back in Luke 18:31-33.  No matter what things looked like on the surface, Jesus was headed into a situation where he would be rejected and killed.

Now this parable is very similar with the parable of the talents in Matthew 25.  Though some details are different, the spiritual points being made are the same.  Jesus would not receive his kingship from the people of Israel or even the people of this world.  He is not appealing to people to vote him in as king.  That might be a bit of a shocker to those of us who are used to living in a republic.  But, rather, God the Father is his source of authority to be king of the earth.  This will not be given to any man, either now or in the future, but Jesus.

In this parable Jesus pictures himself as a nobleman with the promise to become king, but with some things to do in order to secure it.  The distant country his is traveling to is heaven.  In Matthew 25 we are told that the return is not till after a long time has passed.

Thus the world experiences a period of time when there is rightful king is not present, but his servants are. These servants are tasked with taking care of his affairs. Though it has been 2,000 years and some would scoff at the idea of Jesus returning to earth, this is the testimony of the one who rose from the dead and ascended into heaven.  He told us in advance of the Resurrection so that we could understand and believe what was going on now. 

Jesus has received His kingship and that kingship is over the whole earth, not just Israel.  In Psalm 2 we are given a glimpse into this global decree of God the Father.  “Why do the nations rage, And the people plot a vain thing? ² The kings of the earth set themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the Lord and against His Anointed, saying, ³ “Let us break Their bonds in pieces And cast away Their cords from us.” ⁴ He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; The Lord shall hold them in derision. ⁵ Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: ⁶ “Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion.”  This would be a good description of the world today.  In fact, we are actually seeing many countries, who appeared to want Jesus to be king, changing their minds (AKA USA and Europe).

Before the nobleman (Jesus) leaves, he divvies out money to 10 servants, at one mina apiece.  Now a mina is about 3 months wages.  So what do these minas represent?  Jesus clearly gave the gifts of Truth, Wisdom, and Spiritual Gifts to the church as he left.  On another level we who become Christ’s servants by faith in his absence also receive gifts of him.  Now we have natural gifts such as: money, position, power, and we have spiritual gifts.  So what am I doing with these things?  Am I serving the business of my Lord Jesus, or am I using it for my own benefit?  In Matthew 25 differing amounts are given to the servants according to their ability.  But in this parable it is an equal amount.  Why this difference? Some gifts of the Lord are given in differing amounts, and others are given equally to all.  Think of it this way.  All believers receive the same Gospel and same Holy Spirit enabling them.  And yet, other things are not equal.  Not all have the same amount of money, influence, and abilities.  The question is not how much I have received, but what am I doing with it?  If you feel like God has not given you very much and you are envious of other servants who have great amounts, be careful.  God has not slighted you and if you are faithful you will be blessed.  Thus the mina really represents our life and the opportunity it gives us to serve Jesus.  No matter how long it is, we all have only one life with which to serve him.  So let’s make it matter!

“Do business till I come” implies that we should be doing the business he wants done versus the business we want done.  Thus verse 10 is critical.  Jesus has come to seek and save the lost.  That is his business.  We are to use all the gifts that come to us in life to add people to the house or Church of Christ, or better bring them into relationship with him.  Now notice that Jesus does not leave task masters behind to whip us and make us work.  He only leaves us with the means to do the work and the knowledge that he will return. 

Lastly, the citizens in this parable are the lost who do not want Christ to be their king.  Matthew 25 does not have this aspect.  But it can initially be seen as Israel’s rejection of Christ as king.  The country men of Jesus would not have him as king.  It is interesting that such a situation happened when Herod the Great was to become king.  He had to go to Rome in order to secure the kingship.  When the Jews found out about it, they sent a group to Caesar to protest.  Of course he was a wicked man and worth resisting.  But Jesus is the righteous one they said they were awaiting.  Yet, it goes beyond Israel.  To this day many individuals and nations have rejected Jesus as King.  They make it abundantly clear to God the Father that they do not like his decree.  Thus Psalm 2 becomes very descriptive of the world back then and today.  Even America is in the middle of changing its mind on who it will serve.  Initially we threw ourselves at the mercy of God.  “Our cause is just, save us.  We have no king but King Jesus!”  These are the kinds of things we said.  God was merciful and we were able to prevail against the British Empire.  But now we will not have Jesus as King of this nation. And, this is being made abundantly clear to God in heaven.  How we ought to warn people of the coming judgments upon those who refuse to trust God’s ways.  Regardless of our objections, Jesus will return and he will be king.

When He Returns He Will Begin His Rule On Earth

The day or hour of the return of Jesus is not known by anyone, but the Father.  Thus Jesus is pictured preparing a place for his servants and waiting the command of the Father to go back.  In verses 15-26 we see this return.

The first thing he does is settle accounts with his servants.  Part of his kingship is to settle accounts with his servants who served him while he was gone.  It is possible to see a hint towards the rapture in the phrase, “he then commanded these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him” in verse 15.  The judgment seat of Christ is described in 1 Corinthians 3.  This is where each Christian’s work will become clear, whether it was valuable for Christ or not.  Even some who work will find that their work is not up to par.  But they will still be saved.  This shouldn’t be confused with the Great White Throne Judgment that happens after the millennial reign of Jesus.  It is a judgment of believers only and they are not being judged for salvation, but for rewards.  This parable adds another possibility (which we do not see in 1 Corinthians 3) that some will not work at all, but justify their lack of concern for Christ’s things.  This surface profession has no desire to work for his kingdom beneath it.  Only 3 of the 10 workers are revealed.  One turned a mina into 10, another turned a mina into 5 and the last did nothing with it. Those who are faithful will receive a reward that involves their activity in the future kingdom.  Even though there is varying levels of success, those who work all receive reward.

Yet we see a different situation with the servant who does not work. These servants have obviously done something, but they have done nothing in regards to the Lord’s business.  They are content to live life for themselves and give lip service to their connection to Jesus and take hold of his gifts.  In the end they only surrender back to the Lord what he gave them in the first place (their life), but no goods and no increase.  This is a description of all who live for themselves.  They use God’s gifts for their own benefit and eventually surrender them one by one until in death they surrender it all, only to be found wanting.  They were only servants in name.  They never really put their faith in Jesus as their kings, or in the reality of his coming back.  It is sad to see the self-justification of this individual.  It is made by blaming his actions on the Lord himself.  “You are harsh, rough, and rigid,” (see vs. 21).  Also he complains that the servants do the work, but Jesus reaps the benefits and then holds us accountable.  Matthew adds a motivation of fear.  He is afraid that if he doesn’t have at least what he was given that he will be judged.  The hypocrisy of the answer is that they then should have done a bare minimum so that there was at least an increase.  Thus to them who accuse God of being harsh and use it as an excuse, God will show himself harsh.  But to those who recognize the grace of God and use it to motivate themselves, God will show that He is gracious.  Jesus is a good king.  Why would we fear if we are doing our best to work for him?  This makes the harsh things being said about Jesus and God in the modern age dangerous.  We have much to answer for.  In Luke this servant just loses his mina.  But in Matthew 25 the unprofitable servant is cast into utter darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.  Thus some who claim to be believers will find themselves losing what was given to them and kicked out of the kingdom.

The last thing the king does is to deal with the citizens who reject him as king.  These citizens are executed.  Let us never fool ourselves.  In this life there is a heaven to gain and a hell to avoid.  God will bless those who in righteousness serve him and he will punish those who in wickedness rejected His attempts to give them Truth.  God is leading this world into the greatest era of peace it has ever known.  But mankind will not have it.  It fights against His purposes and refuses to cooperate.  Thus a date of judgment has been set.  Until that day comes our judgment is not set in stone.  We can affect it to the good or the bad.  Make sure you become a servant of Jesus today and ensure your place in his kingdom.

Parable Minas audio

An Impossible Salvation

July 19, 2015—Luke 19:1-10, Pastor Marty Bonner

Today we are going to look at a “wee, little” man named Zacchaeus.  In Luke 18 we saw a rich ruler of Israel who left Jesus saddened at what was required to follow him.  It was then Jesus told his disciples that it was impossible for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  This caught the disciples by surprise.  They thought that riches were proof of God’s blessing.  Yet money, wealth, and riches are very powerful motivators.  Once we obtain them it is impossible not to become ruled by them.  However, Jesus did also say that what is impossible with man is possible with God.  Thus rich men can get saved, but it will only be by the grace of God.  Thus Zacchaeus becomes the proof of this.  In him we witness such an impossible salvation.

Another Rich Man Checks Out Jesus

Now that we have in mind the parallels between Zacchaeus and the previous, unnamed ruler, we can look at some other similarities between them.  Both of these stories start with an interest in Jesus.  Something in them both drew them to Jesus in order to find out more about him, and this is where any salvation starts.

Both of these men had a ruling position.  The first rich man is a member of the Sanhedrin, which was a group of 71 priests, scribes, and “ancients” who served as an official “Supreme Court” of Israel.  Zacchaeus is a ruling or chief tax collector- not nearly as prestigious as the other man, but it was a powerful position.  Both of the men have become rich.  In fact Zacchaeus is rich precisely because of his position.  Many people desire positions in the Church and in the world because they know it will make them rich.  This always leads to a destruction of the individual’s soul.  However, both of these men were still aware of their need for “something more.”  They knew they were lacking spiritually.

It is here that the stories diverge.  There are no difficulties or negatives listed about the rich ruler.  He knows the law and has “done it all his life.”  He is the type of guy who has the golden touch.  He is the golden child who seems to always end up on top and has everything going his way, and yet, he knows he is missing something spiritually.  Zacchaeus, on the other hand, has several negatives that stick out about him; things that made his life much more difficult than the rich ruler.  No one likes negative things in their life, but it is generally the negative things in life that teach us that we can live without many of the things we desire.  Negative things tend to teach us what really matters. But, when we have everything we want and have the “Midas touch,” we generally lose sight of God and His salvation.

Let’s look at several negatives that Zacchaeus had.  First, he was a short man.  He lacked in the area of physique.  It is very difficult to grow up with a physical deficiency of any kind.  Other kids look down on you and ridicule you.  Even in the best of environments you are continually made to know that you do not measure up.  Thus we   speak of a “little man” syndrome that can drive such a person with anger and even rage.  Perhaps this is the reason why a person would chose to take up a profession that would make you an outcast (tax collector).  He already felt like an outcast who never really fit in to his own country.  This leads us to the second negative.  He was a collector of taxes for the Romans.  The Romans were an occupying force in Israel, which was much resented.  A fellow Israelite who was collecting taxes for the enemy would be bad enough.  But it was also common for tax collectors to abuse their position to get more money then was right from people.  Thus Zacchaeus bore the mark of a traitor who betrayed his people for the ability to steal from them and enrich himself.  However, in his mind, he may just see this as embracing the outcast status that had already been forced upon him.  I realize there is some speculation in this, but I doubt it is far from the bulls-eye.  Zacchaeus would never fit in, but he could rise above most in Israel through the riches amassed.  Yet, Zacchaeus was still empty.  Thus he is drawn to Jesus.

This is an important point: An outcast can more easily identify with Jesus.  You see, Jesus was an outcast too.  He was rejected by his own nation, but also the Romans.  He told his disciples in John 15:18-19, “If the world hates you, know that it hated me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”  People who have suffered as outcasts know what it is like to be rejected.  A part of them longs for acceptance and yet has had any hope of such crushed.  Now being an outcast cannot save a person in and of itself.  But it can help you to appreciate and embrace the love and wisdom of Jesus.  Historically it was the poor and downtrodden that were drawn to Jesus, but not many great and mighty.  Typically the great and mighty only give lip service to God in the midst of nations where there is a strong belief in God.  But once this is stripped away, the great and mighty will show their true colors.  They have always served themselves out of selfish ambition and have never feared God.

This brings me to a point I must make about our own nation.  Up to now Christians have enjoyed a status of acceptance.  Now let me compare this to a group, such as those who embrace homosexuality.  They have been social outcasts in this society for a long time.  How have these things affected both groups?  The acceptance that Christians have enjoyed for so long has caused them to lose sight of God and His salvation.  In fact many have joined the ranks of Christians out of reasons other than true repentance and belief in God.  Many who call themselves Christians are empty and don’t know what they are missing.  But what they miss is a true saving faith in Jesus.  What about homosexuals?  On one hand the outcast status has bonded them together and made them committed to the cause of being accepted.  Yet, we might miss that it also enables them “to get” the message of Jesus.  Though it is a negative, it can have a positive effect.  Jesus does not tell us to make others accept us, he tells us to pick up our cross and follow him on in to further rejection.  As homosexuals win the fight of social acceptance, we see Christians becoming less and less acceptable (at least a certain kind of Christian).  It is here that we should be broken hearted for the homosexuals.  They are in danger of losing the one thing that keeps the door open for their salvation.  It is hard to follow Jesus when you have all you ever wanted.  Yet even then, we serve a God who can save the impossible!

Jesus Invites Himself Into His House

Because Zacchaeus is short, he climbs up into a Sycamore tree in order to see and hear Jesus when he passes by.  Yet, when Jesus comes to the tree he initiates a discussion by inviting himself to the house of Zacchaeus.  On one hand this might seem arrogant and rude.  But when you look at it from the mind of an outcast, Jesus is telling Zacchaeus that he accepts him and wants to have relationship with him.  This must have sent his heart flying.  Everyone there would despise him and tell him to leave, but Jesus honors him by wanting to come to his house.

This brings up the issue of guilt by association.  The crowd is surprised with this.  A righteous man should not associate with sinners and let us not fool ourselves, Zacchaeus is a sinner.  How should we interact with sinners and those who do not believe in Jesus?  In 1 Corinthians 5:9-13 Paul teaches the believers that we should not associate with Christians who are living in sexual immorality.  Why?  When sin is condoned and treated as acceptable, we are not displaying the heart of God, but rather the heart of the devil.  Of course, Matthew 18 describes a process whereby Christians are not on a witch hunt.  But rather we confront each other in love and forgive each other.  But if a person refuses to quit sinning and refuses to repent, we cannot pretend that they are following Jesus.  This is not being judgmental, but rather being honest.  On the other hand Paul tells the believers that he does not mean they should separate themselves from the sexually immoral people of the world who are not believers in Jesus.  Christians are not called to wall themselves off from sinners.  No, we are called to interact with them and share the gospel of Jesus.  We are called to be a channel of the love of God reaching out to them.  Yet, we are not called to participate in sin.  This is where the phrase comes from, “love the sinner but hate the sin.”  Sure, those who are sinners are not going to like this phrase.  But it is the truth.  You can love people and yet not agree with what they call “good.”  Any parent who has tried to raise a child can attest to this.  Even Paul’s principle of not associating with a Christian who persists in sexual immorality (or any open sin for that matter) is not meant to be treated legalistically.  The sin of a sinner cannot contaminate the believer, unless he opens himself up to sin.  Thus we are free to plead with and correct another Christian in the hope of drawing them back to Jesus.  However, we can never pretend that calling yourself a Christian and refusing to repent can coexist for long.

Zacchaeus is a sinner, but he is also repentant.  It is not clear if this happens on the street in front of the crowd or if it happens back at the house.  Regardless, the simple kindness of Jesus softens Zacchaeus to the point that he lets go of the justifications he had created for his lifestyle.  His mind had changed about things and that lead to a change of actions in his life.  He would no longer cheat people in the taxes.  Also, he would repay those whom he did cheat four times more than he stole.  On top of this he was going to give half of his legitimate holding to the poor.  That is not how the old Zacchaeus thought.  Something drastic has changed in him.  He has believed in Jesus.  John the Baptist called this “fruit worthy of repentance” in Luke 3.  If our mind has really changed then “fruit” will grow out of that real change.  The fruit of his repentance grew out the real actions of compassion and restitution towards his fellow Israelites.

Thus Jesus confirms the impossible salvation of this sinner.  He publically declares him as a righteous man.  The gospel’s depiction of instantaneous righteousness because of faith can rub some people the wrong way.  How can such a horrible sinner be considered acceptable in just a moment?  This truth is not meant to undermine a life of faithfulness.  If Zacchaeus only repents for a day and then goes back to those old sins then that is a new sin, a worse sin.  Rather, this instantaneous change of acceptance is meant to open the door of hope to those who have so much guilt and shame hanging over their head that they will never approach for forgiveness.  We see here a picture of salvation.  Jesus comes into our lives and in the relationship of love and truth that follows we are changed.  Faith comes alive, repentance is born, and righteousness is embraced.  Jesus even calls him a son of Abraham.  When we remember the discussion in John 8, we can see that Jesus is saying that he is a true son of Abraham.  Abraham was a man who heard God calling to him and he trusted God enough to follow Him.  Jesus is calling to you today.  Will you trust him and follow Him or will you continue to follow the sinful path of the self-life?

Jesus ends this section by telling us that his mission is to seek and save that which is lost.  We must never forget this.  Jesus is not physically on this earth right now.  But his mission has not changed.  He tells his believers to go into all the world and tell people the good news of how they can have the salvation of God and be set free from their sins.  May God help us to overlook the “impossibility” of a person and see the true, inner longing for the love and acceptance of God. God does not accept our sin, but He does accept us as sinners who are sorry for their sins and look to Him for salvation.  In this way many we think deserve salvation miss it and many we think can never be saved find it.

Impossible audio

Blind

July 12, 2015--Luke 18:35-43

This sermon was preached by Pastor Nick Hauenstein.  Please click the audio link in order to listen to it.

Blind audio

The Test of Freedom

July 5, 2015--Luke 18:31-34

This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner.  The following is only a summary of it.  Please click the audio link at the end of the article to listen to it.

This weekend we are celebrating 239 years since our declaration of independence from King George of the British Empire in A.D. 1776.  Looking back, we can see how that freedom has been tested in many different ways over the centuries.  First it was tested by the War of Independence itself.  Once that test had been passed we were tested on whether or not we could govern ourselves.  This gave rise to the constitution in 1789.  Of course other tests involved the Civil War in the 1800's, our rise as a global economic power since WWII, and throughout the last 70 years the test of our spiritual and moral fortitude.  Freedom is not a right we can demand.  It is a condition we can enjoy, but will always be tested.  Our founding fathers believed that it was the right of all men to be free simply because they are created by God and He intends them to be free.  Do we still believe that?

The story of the Bible is one of the enslavement of men and God’s consequent work to free men from it.  It is not God who enslaves us.  We are enslaved by our own sins to do the will of the devil.  Jesus in John 8:36 tells us, “if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”  We also see in the Bible, 2 Cor 3:17, “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”  Whether or not America will pass the tests of today and remain free, every believer in Jesus needs to recognize that, regardless of society, they can remain free as individuals who have embraced Jesus, the only true source of freedom.

Jesus frees us to trust God

In Luke 18:31-34 we see that the disciples did not really understand the plan and purposes of God in Jesus.  In retrospect we can see it is all about freedom, but for them it looked like Jesus was refusing to free them.  The interaction of Jesus with the rich man earlier in this chapter is ultimately about a man enslaved by trust in his wealth, rather than God.  Thus Jesus calls this man to embrace freedom and let go of his slavery. Of course he walks away sad because he is not sure he wants to be free from what enslaves him.  He would rather have both.  I want to have my cake and eat it too.  However, freedom often requires us to choose what we want more.

The call to freedom comes from Jesus to whoever will listen.  Leave everything else behind and follow me.  Peter recognizes that they had done that in verse 28. The disciples had successfully navigated the test that the rich man failed (at least in this moment).  Jesus of course recognized that what Peter says is true.  In fact the things they have lost have been replaced with something that is more and yet different, as Pastor Nick shared with us last week.  Though they left their families and jobs behind, Jesus had made them part of a new family with a new job.  They had trusted God and wanted Him more than their previous lives.

Yet something else needed to happen.  Jesus is not just a way of looking at the world and living life. He had to do a real work of freeing us from the guilt and judgment of our sins.  Thus Jesus takes the 12 aside in order to remind them where he was headed, that is the cross. Our sins keep us from freedom by leading us off the path of trusting God’s way.  No matter how much we want to be with God the desires of our flesh continually pull us away from God and separate us from Him.  They also keep us from freedom by the guilt and judgment that stands in the way of getting back on God’s path.  Jesus is not just our great example.  He is that and much more.  He is also our Sin Remover; our Punishment Surrogate; our Willing Scapegoat.  He sacrificed himself for our freedom.  Thus, it is one thing to embrace Jesus as a means of having a wonderful life.  It is quite another to follow Him through the cross and to the other side.

To stay free is to keep trusting God

Once having been given freedom it is important to hold on to it.  Your flesh, the world, & the devil fight against that freedom.  The only way to retain freedom is to keep trusting God.  "He who endures until the end shall be saved."  The endurance here is not about human strength, but about faith.  If we hold our faith in God and His Son, Jesus, we will remain in His freedom.

Our faith is never more tested than when we have to walk a difficult path and endure the hostility of sinners.  Jesus takes time to point them to the hostilities and difficulties that lie ahead.  This is the 3rd time Luke records Jesus telling them about the difficult death ahead of him. Yes, we are tested in just taking hold of the call to freedom.  But we are also tested in the holding on to it. Difficult paths can cause us to shrink away from freedom and retreat back into the slavery of self-life.  Jesus warned his disciples that to follow him, they would need to pick up their own cross. Difficult times lay ahead.  In fact he would be mocked, insulted, spit upon, scourged, and killed. They would not stand by him in his darkest hour, which would become a guilt and shame hanging over their head.  These things would test them severely.  What are we willing to endure in order to retain freedom as an individual?  As a nation?  The Israelites of the first century A.D. had a choice to make.  They could cling to the hope of national freedom of Israel, or they could let go of it and obtain the freedom that no dictator or terrorist can take away; freedom in Jesus.  Is there a hope for freedom of America in the days ahead?  As long as there is a God there is hope.  However, even nations can cross lines that bring about the judgment of God.  Yet, even if this nation is without hope of turning back, we as individuals must stand with Joshua and say, "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."  We cannot lose the greater in trying to keep the lesser.  Perhaps the time has come for American Christians to make a choice.  Is your love for this country greater than your love for Jesus?  It is easy to conflate the two.

So how can one remain free when faced with such choices?  Ultimately freedom was won by the sacrifice of Jesus on our behalf.  In a similar manner, the natural freedom of our nation was won by the sacrifice of men and women who put their lives on the line. This principle cannot be avoided: freedom is only maintained by sacrifice.  As Christians we follow a Lord who sacrificed earthly glory in order to give us true freedom.  So how can I put my life on the line for this nation?  Yes we can join militaries and police forces and fight against evil.  But even that finds a dead end when whole nations embrace wickedness and reject God.  The way of the cross has never been about saving the body of a man or the body politic of a nation.  Jesus and his disciples are our model.  They did not shrink back because the path was difficult.  Rather, they pushed ahead even to the point of laying down their lives as fishermen and Israelites.  They did this for themselves but also for the sake of those who would follow behind them.  They wanted others to be free.

When you trust God it does not mean the path will be easy.  But God has always aided His people against the forces of tyranny.  Even when those forces seem invincible.  He has pledged to free the world from this age of the darkness of man’s rebellion and the tyranny that forever chases us like a howling wolf.  We must trust that.  We must pick up our cross and follow Him.  Let’s be the light in this dark and perverse generation so that some may believe and find freedom.

Test of Freedom Audio