Father, we think we know ourselves, but we really don't know ourselves.
We don't know ourselves very well at all.
We often, Father, don't recognize why we do the things we do,
why we feel the things we feel.
We don't often understand what drives us,
what pushes us and what pulls us and what draws us.
We thank you, Father, that you have a perfect knowledge of us,
and we thank you, Father, that having a perfect knowledge of us,
still you loved us and sent your Son to die upon the cross to be our Savior.
We ask, Father, that your Holy Spirit would deeply fall upon us,
fall upon our minds and hearts and wills, our souls,
fall upon us right to the very center of who we are.
And, Father, in the face of Christ and what he did upon the cross for us,
help us to see ourselves and know ourselves
so that we might turn to you and love you
and receive what only you can give and give you glory.
In all this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior.
Amen.
Please be seated.
So, some people might be wondering what Jesus would say about the Supreme Court,
unanimous Supreme Court ruling on Friday morning,
which has changed the whole legal landscape of our country.
You know, I'm unbelievably well organized and have lots of foresight,
so I actually picked this Sunday with the scripture reading long,
months and months and months and months ago in advance,
just so I could say that.
Actually, that's not the case at all.
You know, we're just preaching through the Gospel of Luke.
That's what we do here at Church of the Messiah,
is preach through books of the Bible.
And I was just picking the text months and months in advance,
having no idea that, although it's not at all the center part of the text,
that, in fact, Jesus does make a comment upon the Supreme Court of Canada's ruling.
And it's also curious that the same text that makes a side comment on this,
it's actually a very bristly text,
because it also has a text in it that makes some people
who believe that Jesus is the champion of spiritual, not religious,
this text for many people shows how Jesus echoes Buddhist teaching.
Muslims, on the other hand, there's a part in this text that Muslims like,
because they think it shows how Islam is superior here to the Christian faith.
And monks like parts of this text,
health and wealth gospel people like parts of this text.
It's quite a text.
So if you have your Bibles, please open them to Luke chapter 18,
and we'll look and see what is it that Jesus says in this text
that comments on the Supreme Court of Canada ruling the Anonymous one on Friday morning.
If you don't have your Bibles with you,
there's always some free Bibles here at the front of the stage.
Just feel free to come up and take your seat.
I mean, take a Bible, keep it if you want, or give it back after it's over.
And so what does Jesus have to say?
Is Jesus a Buddhist?
Are Muslims right?
Sort of contradictory type of thing.
What does Jesus say about the Supreme Court ruling?
Well, Luke chapter 18, beginning at verse 18,
we'll look at the text, see what it has to say.
And the text begins like,
oh, just actually before we start,
in terms of the flow of the book of Luke,
remember that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to die.
And in fact, we have this Sunday and the next Sunday,
and then after that, I believe,
we have the Sunday where Jesus enters Jerusalem.
But Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to die.
So everything in the, from a literary point of view,
everything in the gospel has to be understood
within this sort of looming prophecy of Jesus'.
And just before the story of the rich young ruler,
you might not remember, but this is what Jesus said
just before the text that we're going to actually look at today.
Verse 16.
But Jesus called the children to him, saying,
let the children come to me and do not hinder them,
for to such belong the kingdom of God.
Truly I say to you,
whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child
shall not enter it.
And then we have our text for the day.
And ruler asked Jesus,
good teacher,
what must I do to inherit eternal life?
And just sort of pause there for a second.
And this story is recorded
in three of the early historical documents
about the life and death of Jesus.
And in all three of those historical documents,
Luke being one of them,
they record this story.
And so if you look at all three of the stories together,
you discover three things.
First of all, that it's a young man.
Second, that he's a ruler.
And third, that he's rich.
Two of them you get from this text.
The other one about him being a young man,
you'd have to get from one of the other texts.
So Jesus is talking to a very accomplished,
probably in those days as well,
he would have had to have had the wisdom
to have chosen the right ancestors
so that he could be born with some money.
But he's polished, has money,
is probably well-educated in that type of a context.
And he's rich.
And so that's who's speaking to Jesus.
And the other thing about it is
that he asks a very un-Canadian question.
You know, it's just really important for us
to understand that as followers of Jesus,
we follow Jesus in Canada.
And there's going to be many times in the Gospels
where we can see that there's so many insights
as Canadians that just come out of this whole
biblical tradition and the teaching of Jesus.
But there's things in our culture as well
which are very, very different
from Jesus and the time that he taught.
And if you think about it for a second,
very few Canadians would say to Jesus,
what must I do to inherit eternal life?
Because most Canadians think that as soon as they die,
they go to a better place.
So they'd never ask Jesus this question.
They might ask Jesus,
Jesus, what is the better place like?
That's what they might ask.
They might ask, you know,
when is the world going to get better?
And when I die, what is the better place going to be like?
But most Canadians would not ask this question.
Probably 60 years ago,
many Canadians would have asked this question.
Our culture's changed.
In many places of the world,
for instance, Muslims don't believe
that all Muslims will go to heaven.
Muslims believe that many Muslims themselves
will go to hell.
So it's actually the type of question
that a Muslim might ask Jesus.
You know, what must I do to inherit eternal life?
They might be very curious.
Jesus, according to Muslims,
is the second greatest prophet.
They'd be very interested to see what his answer is.
But it's not a Canadian question, is it, really?
What must I do to inherit eternal life?
And in fact,
the way that Jesus is going to respond to the question,
so it's an un-Canadian question,
and Jesus is going to give
a profoundly un-Canadian answer.
In fact, he's going to give an answer
that for people who see Jesus as a spiritual figure,
not religious,
it's going to make them doubt,
this first part is going to make them really doubt
whether in fact he's spiritual, not religious,
because he's going to sound judgmental.
Like, how does he answer the question?
It's in verse 19.
Follow along.
And Jesus said to him,
Why do you call me good?
No one is good except God alone.
Just sort of pause there for a second.
See, the Canadians would say,
first of all,
they wouldn't be bothered by the fact
that the person's being called a good teacher,
because one of the most important things for Canadians
is that no matter what we do,
that we're a good person.
I'm watching,
I've watched a series on Netflix called Rectify,
which is set in Georgia.
And in the course of that thing,
people do all sorts of really bad things.
But even though they do very, very bad things,
and it's sort of interspersed
with sort of curious, odd conversations about God.
But in between all of that,
they keep saying,
Am I a good person?
Are you a good person?
And so Canadians wouldn't be bothered
with the idea of calling Jesus a good teacher,
because for us,
it's actually profoundly important
that no matter what we do,
that we understand ourselves to be a good person.
But what makes us very un-Canadian
is that Jesus says,
Well, why do you call me good?
You see, for Canadians,
most Canadians,
many Canadians,
we would say,
Well, it can be good for you
and not good for me.
It's your good,
not my good.
Our goods are both different.
But Jesus completely and utterly
challenges that entire notion.
He says,
No one is good but God alone.
And by saying this,
he's implying that God is the source
and understanding,
in a sense,
a fixed,
unchanging standard
by which the good is to be understood.
In fact,
from the biblical point of view,
it's to be understood
that the same God who is good
is also the creator,
so that,
in a sense,
the good is natural to us.
It's woven into the entire created order,
the fabric of our bodies,
and the fabric of our minds,
that at a fundamental level,
God is the one,
I mean,
it's fallen,
it's bent,
it's distorted,
we don't understand it,
we twist it.
The Bible's not denying that,
but that God is the standard
of all of these things.
It's a very,
very un-Canadian response.
Our Muslim friends and neighbors
like this text,
by the way,
because they say,
Aha,
you see,
it shows that Jesus isn't God.
Did you notice that,
they say?
They'll say to you,
look at this,
your Bible,
you think your Bible teaches
that Jesus is God?
Look how he answers this question.
Verse 19,
why do you call me good?
No one is good except God alone.
And the Muslim will say,
that shows that Jesus
didn't think he was God.
Well,
that's actually mistaken.
It's very interesting
that if Jesus had responded
and said,
why do you call me good?
No one is good except the Father alone.
Then he would be denying
that he's God.
But when he says
that no one is good
except God alone,
he leaves open the possibility
that he is God.
In fact,
in the flow of the text,
he's trying to figure out,
because there's different times
in the gospel text
where people start to get
this glimpse
that Jesus is more than
just a human being,
that he's God.
If you go back
and read earlier on in the text,
remember this,
this famous story
of the disciples
fishing all night
and not being able
to catch any fish.
And Jesus comes
and tells them
to cast their net
on the other side.
And in the original language,
it's as if all of a sudden
there's so many fish,
it's almost as if
they're jumping into the net.
It's almost as if
they're jumping into the boat,
as if the net's
going to pull them down
and the boat's
going to pull them down.
And Peter has this recognition
that Jesus is just
not a normal guy
and falls down
before him in worship.
I mean, you know,
he's Peter.
Later on, he forgets about it.
He gets all confused about it.
You know, he's confused
about who Jesus is.
All the way through the gospels,
all the apostles
are all confused.
But there's the...
So Jesus is asking
the young man,
one moment,
you've seen
the different miracles
I've done.
You've seen my teaching.
You've spent...
Are you actually making
a great claim about me?
Do you actually have
some profound
spiritual insight
that's coming out?
Is that what's going on?
And then...
And so...
And then...
And so Jesus sort of
starts to begin to probe.
He has a conversation
with the young man.
The young man's come to Jesus
to have a conversation.
And Jesus goes deeper
into the conversation.
So in verse 20,
he says,
You know the commandments.
Do not commit adultery.
Do not murder.
Do not steal.
Do not bear false witness.
Honor your father
and your mother.
And just pause.
By the way,
if you're worried about time
and says,
Good grief,
George is spending
five minutes of verse.
This is going to be
a really long sermon.
We go through
some of the other verses
a bit quicker.
But these are sort of
very important.
We don't grasp
the full weight
of the story,
the challenge of the story
if we don't pause
over some of these things.
In this little aside
in the text,
which is sort of important
in the flow of the text,
but it's not the point
of the text,
Jesus' comments
on the Supreme Court ruling
when he says,
Do not murder.
And what that says
is Jesus is upholding
what we know of
as the Ten Commandments.
And that text
in the original language,
in both languages,
is that you do not,
you are not to take,
you are not to kill
innocent human life.
And so what Jesus would say
is that the Supreme Court
of Canada
has made a terrible decision
because it has ruled
that people have the right
to ask medical professionals
to kill innocent human life.
The ruling goes vastly beyond
concerns about
do not resuscitate.
We already have
do not resuscitate.
All of us know
that there is
a profound problem
with human beings
wanting to play God,
whether those are
human beings
who are the doctors
who want to play God
with medical technology
and extend life
way beyond
what should be extended,
or whether it's
family members
who want to play God
and force doctors' hands
to extend human life
long before it should
and do not allow
or do not resuscitate
or just the normal
course of nature.
And those,
that's a,
there's already
do not resuscitate
in the context of both,
whether it's a medical professional,
it's not always
a medical professional.
I've counseled
and been involved
with many families
where it's not the doctor
who wants to extend life,
it's the families
who want to play God.
And now we want
to play God even more
by giving doctors
and families
the right
and the power
and the authority
to ask for the putting
to death
of an innocent person
who's suffering.
And this,
by the way,
is the beginning
of a profound challenge
to those of us
who are Christians.
And it's,
I'm just taking
a time out of it.
If it hadn't been
for the Supreme Court ruling,
I probably wouldn't have
mentioned this at all.
But the time
has now come upon us
that Christian congregations
have to be
communities of life.
We have to become
communities of life.
People in a culture
of death
need to know
that whether it's doctors
who are connected
to our congregation,
that you can come
to a doctor
connected to our congregation
and you do not have
to worry
whether the doctor
is assessing
to kill you
or to cure you.
We have to figure out
how we can help
the weak and vulnerable.
We have to figure out
how we help those.
I mean,
this just throws open
the whole thing,
whether it's abortion
as well,
which is also the taking
of the innocent human life,
how we respond to this.
It's just deepened
the fact,
whether it's dealing
with the demonic,
it's at a very,
very profound level.
We are always supposed
to be a community
of life.
And this means
that now
in our culture
we will have to figure
out concrete ways
that affect our budget
and affect our time
and affect our comfort
that we can be seen
as communities
of life.
Pray for us
that in the days
and months ahead
that we will figure out
and that churches
will figure out
how to be centers
of life.
Now,
somebody say,
George,
let's get back to the text.
You've made your point.
Let's get back.
So Jesus says
to this young man,
he says,
you know,
why do you call me good?
Verse 19,
no one is good
except God alone.
You know the commandments.
Do not commit adultery.
Do not murder.
Do not steal.
Do not bear false witness.
Honor your father and mother.
And the young man says,
the young guy's a good guy.
He's the type of guy
you'd probably want to have
as your neighbor.
You know?
He's probably the guy
you'd want to have
as your boss.
And he says,
all these I have kept
from my youth.
And verse 22,
when Jesus heard this,
he said to him,
remember one of the differences
between Jesus
and natural human religion
and natural human spirituality
is that Jesus always goes
to the heart
in the context
of the living God.
And the Bible
primarily understands
the heart
as the center
of who we are.
The very basis
and depth
of who we are.
And Jesus is always
going to the center
of who we are
in the context
of the living God.
And so Jesus says
he goes right to the heart.
He's only mentioned
five of the Ten Commandments.
He hasn't mentioned
the first or the second
or the tenth.
And he goes right
to the heart of the matter
and he says to the young man,
verse 22,
when he said this,
when he heard this,
Jesus said to him,
one thing you still lack,
sell all that you have
and distribute to the poor
and you will have treasure
in heaven
and come,
follow me.
So is Jesus telling us
that every single follower
of Jesus
has to be poor?
No, he's not.
He's,
in fact,
we're going to see
that he's,
in fact,
very precisely
not telling us that
by the end of the story
and as the story
moves on to the two things
which follow.
That what Jesus
is going at
is, in fact,
Andrew,
if you could put it up,
the first point,
the young man
chose his money
and his power
over eternal life.
Jesus is asking
you and me
a question.
What do I believe
that I need
more than eternal life
with the living God?
What do I believe
that I need
more than eternal life
with the living God?
That's what he's asking.
He's asking us
to make ourselves
aware of the fact
that there's things
in our lives
that are at the center
of our lives
that the Bible describes
as an idol
that we do not believe
that we can live without,
that we subtly serve.
We dread losing it
and we only want it
to increase it.
We worship it.
And for this young man
it was money
and his power,
his ability to perform.
That's what he feared losing.
In fact,
as we're going to see
in a moment,
when Jesus says
that he has to give up money,
he's going to walk away sad.
But for some of us
it might not be money.
In fact,
it would be very,
very interesting.
It would be very interesting
if we had just
a confidential poll,
no names put it,
and we put down
how much money we make.
And then beside it
we put down
the smallest amount
of money
that we could possibly get
and still be happy.
And if we put that up
on the screen,
there'd be all sorts
of laughter
because some of us
would put up a number
and maybe two-thirds
of us would say,
that's hilarious.
I live on
a quarter of that
and I'm happy.
You know,
one quarter of us
think we can't live
with less than $60,000
and the other,
you know,
and maybe a quarter
of us are saying,
I live on less than $15,000.
I'm perfectly happy.
What's that first person
thinking about?
You know,
I've been married
to my wife
for 33 years
and my wife Louise
is definitely
God's gracious
provision for me.
When I was in grade 12,
I broke off,
no,
I didn't break off,
she broke off with me,
my first girlfriend
broke off with me
and I had a hard time
imagining how I would
ever be able
to live without her.
And I didn't even
think about this
until I was thinking
about a sermon illustration
and I've been married
to Louise for 33 years
and she's definitely,
she was God's provision,
is God's provision
for me.
But how many of us,
if we were to go back
and if God was all
of a sudden
to show us
at different times
in our lives
in the past,
what did we think
we could not possibly
live without
and somehow or another
that passes
and another thing
takes its place.
And we are in fact
often even blind
about what is right now
in our hearts
that we think
we cannot live without.
And maybe it's a job,
maybe it's prestige,
maybe it's physical looks,
maybe it's a wound,
maybe it's anger,
maybe it's resentment,
maybe it's hatred,
maybe it's the nation,
maybe it's our wife,
maybe it's our kids,
maybe it's a good thing,
like a wife or a husband,
maybe it's a bad thing,
like being able
to get stoned
or have drugs
or be able to have
the power to kill yourself
when you're unhappy.
I mean,
whatever it is,
what is in that
Jesus is saying
that you human beings,
that there are things
in your life
that you believe
that you need
more than eternal life
with the living God
and you don't even know it.
I want you to know it.
See, that's why this text
and the majority
of Christian commentators
have never taken this text
to mean that we should
all become like monks.
Jesus is asking
a general question
in a particular way.
what do I believe
that I need
more than eternal life
with the living God?
Now, some of you might say,
huh, George,
Jesus is being so hard
on this guy.
You know,
here I thought
he was spiritual,
not religious,
and gosh,
he took this
un-Canadian question
and he answered it
in an un-Canadian way
and he talks
in an un-Canadian way
about what's right and wrong
and now he's giving this guy
a really hard time.
Maybe Jesus is religious
because religious people
give people hard times.
Shut people up.
Isn't that what
you religious people do?
You just want to
shut people up?
I think the desire
to shut people up
is a human problem.
It's a human problem.
In five years' time,
we'll be told
that we can't have
a conversation
about euthanasia
because one side wins
and then they want
to shut us up.
It's a human problem,
not a religious problem.
Religious people
and spiritual people
have the problem
because it's a human problem,
not because it's religious.
But Jesus isn't trying
to shut the young man up.
Like,
let's look and follow
and see what happens.
In fact,
what we see happening
is that,
and this is a regular thing
in the Gospels,
we often see things like this
and we miss what goes on
in the text.
Jesus isn't trying
to shut the young man up.
That Jesus is trying
to have the young man
understand something
about who he is.
He's actually trying
to give himself knowledge
and he's trying
to begin and continue
the conversation
with the young man,
not shut him up.
And it's a conversation,
not a negotiation.
You can't negotiate
with God.
I mean,
you can try.
But you can always
talk to him.
And the text shows us
that the young man
walks away,
he walks away,
but Jesus continues
the conversation.
We'll see in the text
that Jesus understands
and the disciples understand
that the young man
could have come back
and said something
to Jesus.
An honest question
to continue the conversation,
but he walks away.
That's the challenge
to you and me.
Does the word of God
speak to us?
Does Jesus speak to us
in such a way
and we experience it
as a threat,
an attempt to shut us up,
when all Jesus is asking
is that we'll come back
to him with an honest question.
Continue reading
at verse 24.
So verse 20,
sorry,
but verse 23,
but when the young man,
the ruler,
heard these things,
he became very sad
for he was extremely rich.
And in the text,
he disappears,
he walks away.
Verse 24,
Jesus,
seeing that he had become sad,
said,
how difficult it is
for those who have wealth
to enter the kingdom of God.
for it is easier
for a camel
to go through the eye
of a needle
than for a rich person
to enter the kingdom of God.
Those who heard it said,
then who can be saved?
But Jesus said,
what is impossible with men
and women
is possible with God.
You see,
the disciples,
they don't walk away.
They ask the second question.
They ask what the young man,
the ruler,
the rich guy,
could have said to Jesus.
Jesus,
I don't think I can do that.
Who on earth could ever do that?
How could that ever possibly work?
And you can ask,
that's,
Jesus wanted to have a conversation.
And the young man walks away.
The idol of his heart
leads him to walk away.
Rather than just respond
with an honest question,
who on earth can do that?
Who on earth can possibly be saved?
It's a very,
very profound moment
in the text.
How on earth
can this possibly work?
And Jesus begins
to give the answer.
He gives it first,
and it's going to get unpacked
in the next verses.
If you could put it up,
Andrew.
Jesus teaches me
that a camel
will pass
through the eye
of a needle
before I enter
the kingdom of God
by my own accomplishments.
Jesus teaches me
that a camel
will pass
through the eye
of a needle
before I enter
the kingdom of God
by my own accomplishments.
You see,
it's a very,
very graphic thing.
It's, in fact,
saying the very same thing
that Paul says
time and time and time again
in the epistles.
Some of you
might have memorized
a very, very classic text
in Romans chapter 3,
verse 23.
For all have sinned
and fall short
of the glory of God.
For all have sinned
and fall short
of the glory of God.
And for many of us,
we like that type of image.
Our minds are,
I was talking the other night
to a person
and she said
how she likes abstractions
and sin,
all sin,
short of the glory of God.
That fits,
but some of us
can't think
in abstractions
very well.
And Jesus isn't just
for those of us
who think in abstractions.
Some of us think
with images
and some of us think
with very,
very concrete pictures.
And so for those of us,
he says,
okay,
you want to try
to use your accomplishments
to get into heaven?
The day a camel
goes through the eye
of the needle
is the day
that's going to work
for you.
And for those of you
who've been told
that this text
is saying
that there is a gate
in Jerusalem
where the camel
had to get down
on its knees
and all of the stuff
had to be taken
off the camel,
that gate was made
in the Middle Ages,
not in Jesus' time.
Jesus took
and made like
into a proverbial saying,
he gave them
the biggest animal
they knew
and the smallest
opening they knew.
And the disciples
understood it.
They said,
one moment,
a camel will never go
through the eye
of a needle
for all have sinned
and fall short
of the glory of God.
There is none righteous,
no doubt one.
Abstract,
concrete.
So, you see,
that's why
Jesus begins
to open up
the answer
that he gives
to the young man.
He says,
the first thing
is this challenge.
What is it
that you believe
that you need,
that you can't give up
and live without,
that's more important
than eternal life
with the living God?
And it's not just
for the rich guy.
And in fact,
Jesus is going to say,
you know,
those of you who think
that your accomplishments,
your keeping of the commandments,
you're keeping of the word of God,
you're keeping of whatever,
you're being a good person,
being successful,
being blessed with God,
and you add all that up
and it's somehow
going to get you
into the kingdom of God.
No,
a camel will go
through the eye
of a needle.
Before that,
any of your accomplishments
will add up to that.
That's what Jesus teaches.
You see,
some of you might say,
okay, George,
how does this all,
it works.
So he's just going to
sort of leave us here.
Like,
I thought that up until now,
in fact,
even when I heard that,
I sort of thought
that the camel
and the eye of the needle,
it was a little bit like,
in fact,
a lot of what Jesus
has been saying up to now
sounds very Buddhist.
That Jesus is teaching
non-attachment.
That the problem
that we have
is desire.
And the problem we have
is attachment to things.
And the camel
through the eye
of the needle,
that's just a little bit like,
it's just something
to try to give us enlightenment.
It's like trying to think
about the sound
of one hand clapping.
You're not supposed
to take it literally,
what is the sound
of one hand clapping.
If you think about
things like these sayings,
it gives you
a type of enlightenment
and it's all connected
to just non-attachment
to things.
But Jesus
is going to actually
go in a very,
very, very radically
different direction.
He's not talking
about non-attachment
and he's not talking
about enlightenment.
He's talking about
God doing something
which human beings
find impossible
and God will do
and make possible
what human beings
find impossible.
And he's going
to do it
to real human beings
like ourselves
who the problem
isn't attachment.
The problem is
that I have
a disordered heart
with disordered love.
I'm going to show you that.
Can you put up
the point, Andrew?
I'm going to show you,
but we're going to read
the text,
but I want you to see this
before we go to the text.
Note that it's that
Jesus warns me
that my,
I'll just say it,
Jesus warns me
that my disordered heart
has disordered love.
Remember,
Jesus is still giving us
a type of insight
about ourselves.
Jesus isn't saying,
once again,
that we just have to
get rid of all
of our possessions
and follow him
and then that's going
to work.
Jesus goes even deeper
and says,
no, no,
camels will go through
eyes of needle
before that's going
to work as well.
It's not a matter,
George,
of your accomplishments.
God's going to have
to do something
and yet you have
to understand
that at the very center
of who you are,
you are disordered.
And part of what it means
to be disordered
is that you're going
to love
in a disordered way.
Jesus warns me
that my disordered heart
has disordered loves.
Let's read
what Jesus says
in verse 28 to 30.
And Peter said,
we have left our homes
and followed you.
And Jesus said to them,
truly I say to you,
there is no one
who has left house
or wife or brothers
or parents or children
for the sake
of the kingdom of God
who will not receive
many times more
in this time
and in the age to come
eternal life.
You see,
it's very,
very funny
that Christians
in the monastic movement
often go to the first part
of this story
to justify
why we should all be monks
and health and wealth
gospel people
go to the end
of the story
to say whether,
why,
if you just put more money
in the plate,
God's going to bless you.
Put a thousand dollars
in the plate today,
folks,
God will give you
ten thousand bucks.
That's what it says
right here.
Give to God,
meaning us,
God will give to you
many times more.
Sort of an odd
type of text.
But it's odd
because we don't understand
that once again
Jesus is trying
to teach us something
about who we are.
That every one of us here,
I'm not exempting myself,
he's teaching me
that my heart
is disordered
and I have
disordered loves.
Andrew,
if you could put up
the image.
Yeah,
there we go.
There's a throne
with a question mark
and a crown over it.
See,
what the Bible
is teaching us,
what Jesus understands
is that God
created us
as human beings.
God created us
and God
is the beautiful,
he's the good,
he's the true,
he's the just,
he's the holy,
he's the pure,
he's the righteous.
In a sense,
it's saying that
beauty,
truth,
goodness,
love
created all things.
and God
created us
as human beings
to dwell
in a good,
just,
true,
ordered,
beautiful,
created order
in complete
and utter harmony
with God
who is the good,
the true,
and the beautiful.
And the way
that God created us
to do that
is he created
in the very center
of every human being
in a sense of throne.
and on that throne
sits God,
the good,
the true,
the beautiful.
It's actually
a profoundly beautiful picture
of what it was originally meant
for us to be as human beings.
That the God,
in a sense,
who is outside,
who is the good,
the true,
and the beautiful,
made a created order
which was,
reflected the good,
the true,
and the beautiful.
And that very same God
inhabits the throne
of every human being.
So the good,
and the true,
and the beautiful
sits on the throne
of my life
in a good,
and true,
and beautiful creation
made by a good,
and true,
and beautiful creator.
And there's a harmony.
The Bible teaches
in Adam and Eve
the decision was made
to cast the good,
and the true,
and the beautiful
off of the throne
of our lives.
And we were going
to put ourselves
on the throne
of our lives.
And it's very,
very interesting
that the very,
very first thing,
if you go back
and read Genesis 3,
and it's told
in picture language,
the very,
very first thing
that starts to happen
is that not only
does Adam,
in a sense,
want to become
on the center
of the throne
of his life,
and Eve wants
to become
on the center
of the throne
of her lives,
but instantly
there is disharmony
between Adam and Eve.
And instantly,
Eve wants
to also be
in the throne
of Adam's life,
and Adam wants
to be in the throne
of Eve's life.
And there's going
to be conflict.
And so every human
being has this
unfixable disorder
in the very center
of who we are.
And the throne
of our lives
doesn't just sort
of disappear
and go away,
but the throne
of our lives
now becomes
a battleground,
which is part
of the reason
why we get
so confused.
And it's because
on one hand,
I'm on the throne
of my life,
and on the other hand,
I think that I cannot
live without,
you know,
whatever it is.
It's my money,
my church building,
my prestige,
my health,
my body,
my power.
And on the throne
of my life,
there's me,
and there's all
of these things,
and they're all
wrestling from control,
and I go from one
thing to another,
which is why
sometimes I want
to be,
think of myself
as a kind
and compassionate
person,
and another time
I want to be
a type A individual,
and another time
I want to be
an athlete,
and another time
I want to be
a scholar,
and another time
I want to be
simple,
and another time
I just want to be
a guy who drinks
beer and watch football,
and on,
all these idols
on the throne
of our heart.
And so what Jesus
is saying here
isn't,
if Jesus was saying
that attachment
was the problem,
then he would say
that you would come
to a time
when you don't need
your house,
you don't need
your father,
you don't need
your mother,
you don't need
your brothers,
you don't have
to be attached
to any of those
things.
But when he says
all of this,
what he's pointing
to is that
the center of
who I am
are idols
that drive me,
that day by day
I do not believe
that I can live
without.
And there has
to be a way
by which God
does the impossible
and redeems
and heals
that primal,
primordial,
fundamental wound
in the center
of who I am
and the consequences
of that
and at the same
time whereby
Jesus,
the Savior,
the one who redeems
comes and sits
on the throne
of my life
and starts
to kick off
the idols.
It's his
rightful throne.
He's not an intruder.
He's not a usurper.
He's not a terrorist.
He's not a tyrant.
The throne
was built for him.
And salvation
is accepting
the pardon
and the forgiveness
that is accomplished
by Jesus.
That's how we're
made right with God.
And it's why,
if you go back
and read in John
chapter 14,
it's very,
very puzzling.
And Jesus talks
about how the Holy Spirit
inside of us
is better than Jesus
outside of us.
And it talks about
the Father and the Son
and the Holy Spirit
coming and dwelling within.
And it's this profound
teaching
that Jesus
first reconciles
us to God
and that's how
we become right with him.
It's become how we
become his adopted child.
And then growing
in grace
and growing in life
and growing in discipleship
is all about
the Jesus
who now sits
on the throne
of our lives
as he begins
to reveal
the idols
of our lives
and kick them off
so that we don't
have disordered love
but ordered love.
See, the problem
isn't that I have a wife.
The problem isn't
that I have a house
and a home.
The problem isn't
that I have money.
The problem comes
when that's all
disordered.
And so the profound
mystery is
is that when Jesus
comes and sits
on the throne
of our hearts
and begins to deal
with the idols
of our hearts
that part of what
he does is
heal our hearts
and heal the center
of who we are
so that we can begin
to love
and have room
in our heart
in an ordered way.
Andrew, if you could
put up
the fourth point.
Jesus knew
who he was dying for.
He died for people
with disordered hearts,
with disordered love.
He died to save me
and make me well.
That's the gospel.
That's how we become
right with God
and it's how
we follow Jesus.
Jesus knew
who he was dying for.
He died for people
with disordered hearts,
with disordered love.
He died to save me
and make me well.
Now some of you
might say,
George,
is this just
your own opinion?
Look and see
very briefly
how the story concludes
and then we'll end
with a prayer.
Look how the story flows.
Remember,
so he's,
he,
you know,
the young man
who walks away sad,
what he could have
just said to Jesus is,
Jesus,
that's impossible.
I can't possibly do it.
And Jesus might have said,
I'm so glad you said that.
I'm glad you realized
it's impossible
because you know what?
You need God
to do the impossible
for you.
And then,
and then he could say,
you know what?
I'm so frightened
that if God does
the possible for me,
the impossible for me,
that it will mean that,
well,
I don't know,
does it mean I'm going to have
to be like a beggar
on the side of the street?
Does it mean I,
that people are just going
to be able to kick me around?
Does it mean that I,
I can never have a wife
or family or children?
And,
and Jesus is saying
the problem that you have
is that you have money
in a place in your life,
ruling your life
in such a way
that making you,
it creates you,
within you fears.
It creates within you
false longings
and yearnings.
It's going to poison
how you relate
to money itself
and how it's going to relate
to your wife
and to your children
and to your home
and your neighborhood
and your communion
and your God.
It's going to ruin
all those things.
You have to understand
that you have
a disordered heart
with disordered loves
and I am going
to do something
to fix all of these things.
I'm going to deal
with the,
with the fundamental
brokenness that you have
and if you invite me
into your heart
and in your life,
you invite me,
you recognize who I am
and you call out upon me
for mercy
that I can save you
and make you well.
Look at what happens
in verse 31.
And taking the 12,
he said to them,
see,
we are going up
to Jerusalem
and everything
that is written
about the Son of Man
by the prophets
will be accomplished.
Just pause
before we read any further.
What that's saying
is that the Bible,
all of God's word,
that God,
from the very beginning
of Adam and Eve
and their fall,
that God began to promise
that he was going
to deal with them,
that they now
were in an impossible situation
and God was going
to do the impossible
for them.
And they didn't understand,
although there's hints,
even in Genesis chapter 3,
there's hints
that that's going
to mean the death
of God
upon something
like the cross.
But Jesus now says
that everything
that you read
in the Old Testament,
everything in all
of God's promises
is going to be accomplished,
it's going to be fulfilled.
He's saying
that I came
for one purpose
and my purpose,
the word that's
in the original language
for accomplished
is a telos word,
a telos word,
an end word.
In other words,
it's my purpose,
it's what I came
to accomplish
and fulfill,
that I'm going
to Jerusalem
to die upon the cross
and this is not
a tragedy,
this is not an accident,
it's been promised
by God,
I am the promise
of God,
I came
to die.
I came
to die
for you.
I came
to save you.
If you go back
and look,
the kingdom of God,
eternal life
and salvation
are all used
interchangeably
as the same image
of the same thing
that Jesus
will accomplish
in Jerusalem
by his rejection
and his death
upon the cross
for them.
Look how it continues,
verse 32,
for he will be delivered,
that's himself,
over to the Gentiles,
the pagans,
and will be mocked
and shamefully treated
and spit upon
and after flogging him
they will kill him
and on the third day
he will rise.
But they understood
none of these things.
This saying was hidden
from them
that they did not grasp
what was said.
We have to call out to God.
We think we see
but we don't see.
The young man thought
that he saw
but he didn't see.
We need to call out
for mercy
that we will see
that Jesus is
the power of God
for salvation
that God has provided
that this death
upon the cross
on our behalf
is a power
from God
for our salvation.
It has always been
an offense
to human pride
and the human desire
to be on the throne
of our own hearts
that God is to provide
the power
for salvation
that we cannot
provide ourselves.
It has always been
a great terror
to the idols
on our hearts
that the true person
who belongs
on the throne
of our hearts
will come
and begin to rule
and cast the idols
far from our heart
so that we might be well
and we might be free.
And the text shows us this.
It continues on.
Verse 35
right after
that it says
that the disciples
did not understand.
They didn't grasp it.
They didn't see it.
And as Jesus
verse 35
as he drew near to Jericho
a blind man
was sitting by the roadside
begging
he was living
without all of the things
that the rich man had.
He doesn't have sight
he doesn't have financial resources
and he doesn't have accomplishments.
But he still has
a profound need.
The text doesn't analyze
what is the treasure
at the center of his heart
that does not want to give up.
But what it shows
is that there is a person
despite
what other people say
about Jesus
that there is this moment
of illumination
that comes from the Holy Spirit
whereby he is going to call out
for Jesus
for mercy
understanding that Jesus
is the Messiah
the promised one of God
who has come
to save
and to make well
and to make free
so that you can walk
and live
and praise God
that Jesus
is that one.
Verse 36
and hearing a crowd
going by
he inquired
what this meant.
They told him
Jesus of Nazareth
is coming by.
That means Jesus
of Brudenel.
It means Jesus
of nowhere.
It means Jesus
who comes from someplace
that's completely
and utterly unimportant.
And in verse 38
the beggar cried out
and he doesn't cry out
Jesus
from nowhere
from somewhere
completely and utterly
unimportant
just a mere human being
who comes from Hicksville.
He doesn't say that.
He says
Jesus
son of David
have mercy on me.
And in that
Jesus son of David
all of the promises
to David
all of the promises
of the Messiah
all of the promises
of God
that he has this moment
that he realizes
that Jesus
is the promised one
who would come
from God
who provides a power
for salvation
and making well
that makes the impossible
possible
even for a sightless
beggar
who's accomplished
nothing.
In verse 39
and those who were
in front
rebuked him
telling him
to be silent
but he cried out
all the more
son of David
have mercy on me
and Jesus stopped
and commanded
the beggar
to be brought to him
and when the beggar
came near
Jesus asked him
what do you want me
to do for you?
Excuse me
and the beggar said
Lord
calls him Lord
calls him the son
of David
he calls him Lord
let me recover
my sight
and Jesus said
to him
recover your sight
your faith
has made you well
some of your versions
might say
recover your sight
your faith
has saved you
it's because
saved you
and made you well
are both ways
to translate it
in Greek
it would be understood
that both are true
at the same time
but you can't translate
that into English
so it has to either
choose one or the other
but that's what it means
your faith has saved you
your faith has made you well
and immediately
the beggar
recovered his sight
and followed him
glorifying God
and all the people
when they saw it
gave praise
to God
if you could put up
the final slide
this is a prayer
to begin the Christian life
it's a prayer
to walk the Christian life
this is what Jesus
is teaching in the text
you know
I say to you
over and over again
I can't tell you
how to be successful
can't tell you
how to lose weight
can't tell you
how to get promotions
in your work
I mean I
I don't know
the Bible
I can try to teach you
how to pray
and maybe the Holy Spirit
is pressing upon you
you realize that there's idols
in the center of who you are
that bind you
and bend you
and break you out of shape
idols of unforgiveness
idols of resentment
idols of intellect
idols of prestige
idols of money
idols of sex
idols of around politics
and ideology
idols around money
and
maybe you've asked Jesus
to be your savior
and your lord
but you haven't realized
that as part of that process
he's going to start
to give you self-knowledge
and kick the idols
off the throne of your heart
and for some of you
you've never really asked Jesus
to be your savior
and your lord
this is a prayer
for all of us
the invitation is
I'm going to ask you
to stand
in a moment
and those of you
who want
could join me
in praying
Lord Jesus Messiah
I thank you
that you did
the impossible
for me
when you died
upon the cross
for me
I thank you
that you are
the power
of God
for salvation
please take
your rightful place
on the throne
of my heart
as my savior
and my lord
please remove
every idol
from my heart
and make me
free and well
amen
please stand
if the Holy Spirit
is pressing on you
to pray
by the way
if you're always
some people like to
write these things down
all of these things
the notes will all be
on the web page
tomorrow
and you can
if you want to
just as the sermon
will be on the web page
tomorrow or Tuesday
or whatever
you can always look
at them later
but if the Holy Spirit
is pressing upon you
to pray
then just a moment
of silence
then I'm going to
pray it
and if you'd like
to pray it as well
if you don't pray it
that's fine
just what the Holy Spirit
is pressing in on you
to pray
then join with me
in praying this prayer
Lord Jesus Messiah
I thank you
that you did
the impossible
for me
when you died
upon the cross
for me
I thank you
that you are
the power
of God
for salvation
please take
your rightful place
on the throne
of my heart
as my Savior
and my Lord
please remove
every idol
from my heart
and make me
free and well
as I follow you
Amen