Chapter 9, starting at verse 30. If you are looking at one of the Pew Bibles, that is page 845.
So, you can turn there if you want to follow along, or I think it will also be up on the screen.
Do whichever one works best for you.
So, let me begin by reading the passage, and then I'll give some teaching on it, and then we'll have a song of reflection, and then there's going to be a time of open question and answer.
So, if you have questions along the way, feel free to jot those down or keep them in mind, because you'll have a chance to ask them, and we can interact over them at the end.
All right, Mark chapter 9, beginning at verse 30.
It says,
And they came to Capernaum.
And when he was in the house, he asked them,
What were you discussing on the way?
But they kept silent.
For on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.
And he sat down and called the twelve.
And he said to them,
If anyone would be first, he must be last of all, and servant of all.
And he took a child and put him in the midst of them.
And taking him in his arms, he said to them,
Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.
And whoever receives me receives not me, but him who sent me.
John said to him,
Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name,
and we tried to stop him because he was not following us.
But Jesus said,
Do not stop him.
For no one who does a mighty work in my name
will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.
For the one who is not against us is for us.
For truly I say to you,
Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink
because you belong to Christ
will by no means lose his reward.
Whoever causes one of these little ones
who believe in me to sin.
It would be better for him
if a great millstone were hung around his neck
and he were thrown in the sea.
And if your hand causes you to sin,
cut it off.
It is better for you to enter life crippled
than with two hands to go to hell,
to the unquenchable fire.
And if your foot causes you to sin,
cut it off.
It is better for you to enter life lame
than with two feet to be thrown into hell.
And if your eye causes you to sin,
tear it out.
It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God
with one eye
than with two eyes to be thrown into hell
where their worm does not die
and the fire is not quenched.
For everyone will be salted with fire.
Salt is good,
but if the salt has lost its saltiness,
how will you make it salty again?
Have salt in yourselves
and be at peace with one another.
Let's pray together.
Amen.
Lord, high and holy,
meek and lowly,
let me learn that the way down
is the way up,
that to be low
is to be high,
that the broken heart
is the healed heart,
that to bear the cross
is to wear the crown.
Let me find your light
in my darkness,
your life
in my death,
your joy
in my sorrow,
your grace
in my sin,
your riches
in my poverty,
your glory
in my valley.
Amen.
So how would you define
your life purpose?
If you go online,
you can find several websites
devoted to helping you craft
your very own life purpose statement
or personal mission statement
in 20 minutes or less,
summarizing what you're all about
and what success looks like to you.
I won't ask you to raise your hand
if you have one of these statements,
but one website lists 15 questions
that you should ask
to craft one of these purpose statements
or mission statements,
including these.
Number one,
what makes you smile?
Number two,
what makes you feel great about yourself?
Number three,
what are you naturally good at?
Number four,
what do people ask you for help in?
Number five,
what are your deepest values?
Number six,
imagine you're 90 years old
looking back over your life.
What memories or accomplishments
will matter most to you.
I won't go through all 15,
but you get the idea.
Now,
here are a few examples
of personal mission statements
that people have posted.
Number one,
my mission is to create,
nurture,
and maintain
an environment of growth,
challenge,
and unlimited potential
for all those around me.
Second one,
my purpose in life
is to be a mom,
to empower independence,
self-reliance,
and confidence in others
through being a positive,
supportive role model.
Third,
what matters most
is my connection with myself,
being present
and feeling blissful.
Now,
at the beginning of this passage,
Jesus
gives his disciples
something like
a personal mission statement
in verse 31.
And it goes like this.
He says,
the Son of Man
is going to be delivered
into the hands of men
and they will kill him.
And when he is killed,
after three days,
he will rise.
Now,
by almost any standard,
that's a really weird
personal mission statement
or life purpose statement
for two reasons,
really.
First,
Jesus defines himself
in a very odd way.
He refers to himself
as the Son of Man.
Not just a Son of Man,
but the Son of Man.
In other words,
it's like somebody
identified themselves
and said,
I am the human being.
I am the perfect expression
of true humanity
as God always intended it to be.
I am the perfect expression
of bearing the image of God
and ruling over the earth.
I am the human being.
destined to rule
over the world.
And you think,
boy,
that's a little unusual way
to describe yourself.
But then he says,
I'll be handed over
to human beings
and killed by them.
And my purpose in life
will be achieved
through my suffering
and through my death.
Now,
this isn't the only time
Jesus said something like this.
He already said this
if you look back
in chapter 8,
verse 31 and 32.
It says,
He began to teach
his disciples
that the Son of Man
must suffer
and be rejected
and killed
and after three days
rise again.
In other words,
this isn't just an accident,
a bad accident
that's going to happen
to him.
He says,
I must do this.
In other words,
this is part of
my divinely ordained destiny.
This is the way
I will fulfill
my God-appointed mission
through suffering
and death
and then rising again.
I mean,
just think of it.
How would you react
if your best friend
said to you,
I'm the perfect expression
of humanity
and I'm going to fulfill
my purpose in life
by being handed over
to people
unjustly accused
suffering and dying
and only through that
fulfilling my purpose
in life.
Well,
verse 32 says
the disciples
didn't get it either.
Right?
You sort of think,
are you making a bad joke?
Are you having a bad day?
Like,
what's going on?
See,
the disciples,
they were starting
to get this idea
that Jesus is the Messiah.
Peter had said it
back in chapter 8
in the last chapter
and they liked that idea.
He was the king.
He was going to
rule the world
and bring them
with him to glory
and bring them
to victory.
It's like
getting a star player
joining your team
and you think,
we're going to win
the championship this year
because we've got
the star player.
And then he says,
I'm going to totally lose it.
I'm going to lose it all.
And you think,
what?
The other thing
Jesus says
is not only
is this
his personal mission,
but he says,
if you follow me,
my mission
becomes yours.
Your mission
or my mission
shapes yours.
That's really
what this whole passage
tonight is about.
How Jesus'
mission on earth,
in particular,
his mission
to suffer and die
and then rise again,
how that shapes
our mission
and our lives
if we follow him.
In other words,
if we follow Jesus,
our personal mission
becomes replaced
with his mission
for us
and his purpose
for us.
And instead of being
defined by
what makes me smile
or what I'm good at
or what I like
or what I envision
for my future,
we become defined by
how Jesus sees us
and what he has
in store for us.
Instead of being
self-centered
and self-defined,
we become
self-sacrificially
identified with Jesus.
That's the main theme
that we'll see
running through this passage
is that
the cross of Jesus
makes us
self-sacrificial
instead of self-centered.
And the passage
fleshes out
what that looks like
in three specific areas.
So first,
verse 33 to 37.
And in these verses,
we see that
instead of seeking
to be the greatest,
we seek to serve people
who are the least.
You know,
it's very natural
for us to define ourselves
by comparing ourselves
to somebody else
and by seeking
to be great
in comparison
to others.
Maybe that's
what motivates you
to study every day
and to pull all-nighters
is because you want
to get a certain
class rank
so that when you graduate,
you can have
a certain GPA
on your resume
and then you'll have
a better chance
than others
who have a lower GPA
to get the job
that you want.
Or maybe that's
what motivates you
to work
because you want
to advance
to a certain level
in your career field
and you know
that to get there,
you're going to have
to surpass everybody else.
And so you work hard,
you're motivated
by this desire
to excel
compared to
the norm,
compared to
everyone else
around you.
Maybe that's why
you play sports
or play music
or exercise
or diet
or all kinds
of things.
We want to
feel better
about ourselves
because
we pursue
some kind
of greatness
and we define
that greatness
in comparison
to others.
Now maybe you feel
satisfied because
you've achieved
a certain level
of excellence
and you feel
gratified by that.
Maybe you feel
discouraged.
Maybe every day
you wake up
and you know
you haven't made it
and you look around
at everybody else
and everybody else
seems really successful
and you feel
like a failure.
See, both of those
ways we're defining
ourselves in comparison
to other people
around us.
Now the disciples,
they were the
ambitious types.
They were arguing
about who was
the greatest.
They were ashamed
to admit it
when Jesus asked them.
Jesus says,
what were you
talking about?
They all sort of
look at one another.
I'm not telling.
But Jesus knows
he had heard them.
Right?
So he says,
if you want to be first,
if you want to be
the greatest,
you have to be the last.
You have to be
the servant of all.
He says,
if you want an example
of what that looks like,
think about what it means
to receive a child.
Now if you're a parent
or if you've been
around parents a lot,
you know that
receiving a child
into your life
does not make
your life easier.
It will not help you
advance faster
along your career path.
It will not give you
more free time
to pursue your hobbies
and hang out
with your friends.
A child will slow you down
and interrupt your plans
and make your life a mess.
And make your house a mess.
And make your sleep patterns
a mess.
There's no such thing
as sleeping peacefully
through the night
with a baby
in your house.
Or sleeping in
on a Saturday morning
with toddlers.
Right?
There's no such thing
as a quiet,
leisurely dinner.
When you receive
a child into your family,
whether by birth
or adoption,
your life isn't
your own anymore.
It's not just
you and your spouse.
Right?
It's not just you.
If your kid gets sick,
you have to take care of them.
And half the time
you get sick too
because you're around them
so much.
Every winter
you get sick a lot more
than you used to.
Right?
If your kid grows up,
if they need clothes,
if they need school supplies,
I could go on and on.
Right?
Children are helpless
and needy
and they make a mess
all the time.
And Jesus says
true greatness
looks like
receiving someone
into your life
who's helpless
and needy
and makes a mess
all the time.
And not just
serving them
grudgingly
from a distance,
but welcoming them.
That's what that word
receives means.
To welcome them,
to embrace them
self-sacrificially.
To love them.
Now maybe,
you know,
this could look like
if you're married,
having a child.
Or if you have a child
seeking to be
the parent,
as much,
as involved in your life,
in their life as you can.
And caring for them.
And seeking to love them.
And making the sacrifices
necessary
in whatever situation
you're in
to seek to raise them
as well as you can.
Even if it holds you back
in other ways.
Or if you're single,
or if you're not at a point
where you're having children,
it might mean
taking someone else
into your home
who needs a place to stay.
Or meeting up with someone
once a week
who needs help.
It could look
all different ways.
But Jesus,
but when you think about it,
this is why
Jesus came into the world.
He says,
I came to be
the servant of all.
I came to receive you
as my children.
As my brothers and sisters.
As children of God the Father.
Jesus was the greatest,
but he didn't come
into the world
to gain greatness
in comparison to others.
He came to humble himself
to the point of death
on a cross as a servant.
So that he could welcome us
into his family.
I mean, think of it this way.
Jesus had the Father
and the Holy Spirit
from all eternity.
He was the Son.
He had the perfect family.
If you want to think
about it that way,
nothing ever came between
the Father,
the Son,
and the Holy Spirit.
They were united
in perfect love.
They perfectly understood
one another.
They carried out their plans
in perfect harmony.
They ruled over
the whole universe.
Unlimited in power
and glory.
They were completely
satisfied in one another.
They didn't need anybody
outside of them.
They had everything
that they could ever desire.
All the glory
was contained in them.
But for some
unfathomable reason
that I still don't understand,
the Father,
Son,
and Holy Spirit
chose to create
beings
outside themselves.
And then when
they had created us,
they saw us.
They saw the human race
after we had rebelled
against God.
Creatures,
right?
What do you see
when you look around
at the human race?
Creatures who are not only
weak and helpless,
but also rebellious
and proud
and jealous
and divisive.
Compared to God,
we have nothing to add
to Him.
We don't bring Him
anything that He
didn't have already.
We don't add anything
to His life,
to His glory,
to His satisfaction.
But the message
of the Bible
is that the Father
and the Son
and the Holy Spirit,
God Himself
chose
to reach out to us
and bring us
into
His fellowship.
And that Jesus Christ,
the eternal Son of God,
said,
I am going to share
my glory
and my righteousness
and my status
and my honor
with these people
so that they too
can be called
sons and daughters
of God.
And I'll pay
whatever price
it takes
to bring them in
and adopt them
and keep them
all the way
to the end,
even if that price
is me
being rejected
and killed by them.
You see,
that's why
Jesus had to come
and suffer and die.
is to pay the price
to bring us home
with Him.
You see,
Jesus is the greatest,
but He displayed
His greatness
by becoming
the last of all
and the servant of all,
by receiving
and welcoming us
when we had nothing
to offer Him
at great cost
to Himself,
at a great sacrifice
to Himself.
But He did it
with great,
for He considered
it a joy
to receive us.
So Jesus says,
instead of seeking
to be the greatest,
if you follow Me,
seek to love people
who are the least,
since I've loved you
and welcomed you.
So that's the first contrast.
The second one
is in verse 38
through 41.
And I'd summarize it
this way.
Instead of assuming
that God's kingdom
is centered around
us,
we seek to encourage
anyone else
who is centered
around Jesus.
So John says,
Teacher,
we saw someone
casting out demons
in your name
and we tried
to stop him
because he wasn't
following us.
Now,
there are several
ironic things
about this statement.
First,
if you were here
last week,
or if you look
in verse 14
through 29
of this chapter,
Jesus' disciples
just failed
to cast out a demon.
So,
they're trying
to stop someone else
from doing
what they just
failed to do.
Second,
they want these people
who are doing
what they can't
to follow them
and get behind them.
Third,
it says,
we tried to stop him,
which implies
we tried
and we failed.
They weren't able
to stop him
even though
they tried.
When you think
of it,
this is a very
foolish statement.
Now,
why did they say,
why did John say
something so foolish?
Why do we say things
that are sometimes
very foolish?
The problem was,
the disciples saw
doing mighty works
in Jesus' name
as a mark
of their own greatness.
And they didn't want
to share their greatness
with anybody else.
They thought
the kingdom of God
revolves around us.
And as a result,
they ended up
saying and doing
some pretty foolish things.
And you know,
we can fall into
the same trap.
Things like envy
or jealousy
or pride
or divisiveness
can be just as much
of a problem
for us.
We can fall into
the trap of thinking
the kingdom of God
depends on me
or it depends on
my church
and nobody else.
Now,
this can be a
particular temptation
for church leaders
and ministry leaders.
So,
if you're thinking
of going into
full-time Christian ministry
or becoming a leader
in the church,
beware.
Because I can guarantee
you,
you will face
this temptation.
Sometimes we want
to judge our success
by how much
our church
or our ministry
is growing.
And we don't think
about how are we
contributing
to the work
of God's kingdom
more broadly.
So,
example.
You hear through
the grapevine
that someone is
starting a new church
in town.
What is our,
what is the immediate
reaction?
Suspicion.
Right?
They must be trying
to compete with us.
They must not recognize
the good ministry
that we're already doing.
They must be
naive and foolish
outsiders.
Maybe their ministry
will fail.
Maybe it should fail.
They didn't bother
to reach out to us,
so we shouldn't bother
to reach out to them.
Or maybe,
on the other hand,
maybe you're the one
wanting to start
a new ministry
or plant a new church
or go to a new area
and you think,
God is going to use me
to save
this city,
to change
the world.
But,
do you take the time
to do research
beforehand
to see,
what is God
already doing?
Who are the people
that God's already using?
What are the ministries
or churches
that are already here
that are teaching
the truth about Jesus?
How can we
work together
and come alongside
one another?
You see,
whichever side you're on,
we can fall into this trap
or on an individual level.
Sometimes we can be
very focused on
how is God
using me?
I want to use
my gifts.
We think,
if I'm not using
all my gifts,
then
my church
must be wrong
because they're not
using all the gifts
that I know I have.
But sometimes
we need to,
sometimes God
allows us
to take a back seat
and play the role
of encouraging
other people
in using their gifts.
So,
I had an experience
after my freshman year
in college.
I was a camp counselor
for one week
at a Christian camp
on Martha's Vineyard.
And I felt like
a total misfit
the whole week.
I felt like
all the other counselors,
it was my first time there,
I'd never been there before,
it seemed like
all the other counselors
had been there before
and knew the students
who were there
and the campers
and they were all
more talented,
all the other counselors
seemed more talented,
more exciting to be around,
had better speaking skills,
connected more deeply
with the kids,
and I felt like
God was doing
some really neat things
in people's lives
during that week.
but I felt like
none of it was going
through me.
I felt like I was
relatively useless.
And it forced me to ask,
do I compare myself
with other people
and feel frustrated
or can I rejoice
in what God's doing
through the other people
around me
and think,
how can I
encourage them
or just
pray for them
and just
get behind them?
You see,
we often get it
upside down.
Jesus says,
the kingdom of God
is not centered around us,
it's centered around Jesus.
Jesus is the king
and his kingdom
is bigger than
us.
It's bigger than
any one church
or any one
denomination
or any one
network.
And so we should
never do anything
to hinder
someone else
who's doing ministry
in Jesus' name.
Now what does that mean
in Jesus' name?
That doesn't just mean
anybody who says
the name of Jesus,
but in Jesus' name
means doing things
under the authority
of Jesus
and according
to the word of Jesus
and in line
with the character
of Jesus.
So when we see
someone
serving other people
or even doing
powerful things
that maybe
you've never,
maybe we've never
experienced
ourselves,
we shouldn't become
jealous or envious,
Jesus,
but we should
come behind them
as long as it's
proclaiming the truth
about Jesus
and bringing glory
to Jesus.
Now Jesus tells us
in other places
that we should
exercise discernment
because he warns
that some people
will go around,
he says some people
are false prophets.
In other words,
they're preaching
a false message
or a confused message
that doesn't
clearly reflect
the biblical picture
of Jesus.
And so Jesus says
be careful,
be discerning,
don't just support
anyone and everyone
who's a religious
teacher.
But he says
it's not about,
in this passage
his emphasis is
it's not about you.
We should rejoice
whenever someone else
does a mighty work
in Jesus' name
and to encourage them.
Verse 41 says
whoever gives you
a cup of cold water
because you belong
to Christ
will by no means
lose their reward.
In other words,
doing something
as small
as bringing someone
a glass of water
to quench their thirst
because they love Jesus
and because you want
to support them
in what they're doing
to love others
in Jesus' name,
Jesus says
you won't lose
your reward.
That's an important
ministry in itself.
Sometimes God
will put you up front
and sometimes
he'll have you
sitting back.
And you know what?
It's all the same
in God's eyes.
if you're focused
on him.
When my wife
Jane
was in
Boston
in seminary
she went to
a little church
in Boston
called
South End
Neighborhood Church
and it was a
it's a really neat
church.
If you go to Boston
if you have a Sunday
and you have to visit
somewhere
it's a neat place
to visit.
It's been around
for about 40 years.
it meets in
a rented
building space
that about
three other
churches use
and it's never
grown more
than 100 people.
But it has
all kinds
of people there.
There's homeless
people,
there's people
with drug
addictions
and recovering
from drug
addictions,
there's Harvard
students and MIT
students,
there's couples
and families
who have
been doing
ministry in
Boston all
their lives.
There's the
whole range,
young,
old,
any racial
group you can
think of,
rich,
poor,
but it's
never grown
to be a
large church.
But in
40 years
they have
planted
six other
churches.
They've started
six other
churches.
One of them
is a
Spanish-speaking
church that
now has
several hundred
people.
So almost
all the other
churches they've
planted are
bigger than
them.
But they've
sent people
out,
they've
supported
pastors,
they've
encouraged
other people
to go into
other parts
of the city
to be
doing ministry
in Jesus'
name.
Now their
annual church
budget is
less than
a hundred
thousand
dollars.
It's a,
it's not
a power,
you know,
if you look
up, if you
look them up
on the
website,
they have a
very simple
website,
they're not
part of any
of the
flashy networks,
you won't
see the
pastor speaking
at a big
conference that
thousands of
people go to,
but he's a
faithful pastor,
and he loves
the people,
and he teaches
them God's
word every
week, and
he spends
time in
their lives,
and God's
used him,
he's been
there for
thirty years,
he and his
wife have
ministered
together to
people in
that church,
and raised
their kids in
that church,
and it's
been hard,
but God's
used them,
because they
have this
kind of
humble attitude,
saying we
want to be
about Jesus,
and not about
us.
So that's the
second thing,
instead of assuming
that God's
kingdom is centered
around us,
seek to
encourage anyone
else who's
centered around
Jesus.
Third, the
third contrast
is in verse
42 through
50, instead
of doing
whatever feels
good to us,
we make
sacrifices to
fight against
sin in our
lives.
Now if you
read verse
42 through
50, it
sounds sort
of harsh at
first, and
there are
strong words,
if your hand
causes you to
sin, cut it
off, if your
foot causes you
to sin, cut it
off, if your
eye causes you
to sin, cut it
off.
And you
think, what
does that
mean?
Now obviously,
Jesus isn't
speaking literally,
okay, so don't
go home and
amputate yourself.
There's been a
couple people in
church history who've
gone a little
overboard on this
verse.
I won't go into
details.
But what he's
saying here is,
kill sin, or
sin will be
killing you.
Sin is like a
deadly virus or
an infection, and
unless you deal
with it, it will
spread and infect
the rest of your
body and your
relationships, and
so deal with it
seriously.
You know, in
order to, just
like a doctor,
might have to
amputate a leg to
save a life if you
have a terrible
infection or
gangrene in your
leg.
And so Jesus is
saying it's better
to be alive with
one leg instead of
dead with two.
So what might,
now what might this
look like?
Well, some
examples.
You might need to
cut off an
unhealthy dating
relationship if it's
leading you into
emotional
codependence and
sexual compromise.
Or you might need
to cancel your
Facebook account,
account, or your
internet access if
it's, if the web is
sucking up all your
free time in vain
pursuits.
You might need to
cut up your credit
cards and throw them
away if you're
spending money
unwisely and getting
yourself into a
hole of debt.
You might need to
go to someone else
and say, I'm
struggling in this
area, I need you to
help keep me
accountable because I
can't fight this
battle on my own.
Now all those
things are painful
to do at first.
But in the long
run, it's the only
way that you can be
truly free.
The alternative is
far worse.
It's painful now or
it's much more
painful later.
You know, Jesus' words
may sound harsh, but
he says, sin is
destined for hell.
Now the word Jesus
used for hell was
Gehenna.
And that was the name
of the garbage dump
outside the city of
Jerusalem.
It was a place where
the fire was
perpetually burning,
where worms and
maggots fed on
decaying flesh, and
where the stench was
horrible.
It's not a
pleasant image.
But Jesus is saying
this is a reality to
be avoided at all
costs.
It's much better to
suffer terribly in
this life than have a
pain-free life on
earth and suffer for
all eternity.
And Jesus spoke more
than any other
biblical author about
hell.
It's a hard teaching.
You may have
questions about it.
We may need to
grapple with that.
But Jesus said these
things very seriously.
And he said them
because he doesn't
want this to happen
to us.
And Jesus also said
this because he knew
better than anyone
else what he was
talking about.
Because you know
what?
When Jesus came to
earth, he didn't
just come to suffer
by having his leg
amputated or having
his hand cut off.
He didn't just have
his eye gouged out.
He had his hands and
feet nailed to a
cross.
And his head was
bleeding from a
crown of thorns
pressed into his head.
His back was
scourged by a whip
containing pieces of
bone and metal.
He was mocked by the
crowds and abandoned
by his friends.
And on the cross he
cried out,
my God, my God,
why have you forsaken
me?
When Jesus was
hanging on the cross,
he literally went
through hell
to save us from it.
When he was on the
cross, he offered
himself as a sacrifice
on our behalf
so that we
might be
cleansed
and forgiven
and made whole
and made complete
in him.
You see, Jesus
knows what he's
talking about
when he speaks
about hell
because he actually
went through that.
He went through that
to pay the penalty
that we could not
pay.
He went through that
so that we might
become part of
his family
and be with him
forever.
You see, when that
hits home,
when we realize
that that is
the extent,
that is how far
Jesus has gone
to love us
and serve us
and rescue us
and bring us
into his family,
you see,
then we start to
look at life
in a whole new way
and this passage
starts to make sense
and we realize
that when Jesus
calls us to
sacrifice,
it's not because
he wants to take
away our joy
or our happiness
but because he
wants us to have
true and pure
and eternal
joy and happiness
in him.
And when we see
the great promise
that he has for us,
then we're set free
to become
self-sacrificial
instead of
self-centered.
Because it's not
just about
getting as much
as we can
in this life
or becoming
the greatest
or being better
than someone else.
But it's about
living for him
who loved us
so much
and who promises
that just as he died
and rose again,
that whatever
we have to suffer
or die to
for his sake,
he'll restore it
many times over
either in this life
or in the life
to come.
He promises that
at the end of the
next chapter.
We'll get there
in two weeks.
He says,
whatever you give up
for my sake,
I'll restore it
many times over.
You won't lose it
forever.
That's how we
can become
self-sacrificial
instead of self-centered.
And that's what
the last two verses
are about.
Verse 49 and 50
talk about fire
and salt.
You might think,
what in the world
is that?
Well, it's about
a sacrifice.
Because all the
sacrifices in the
temple were burnt
on the altar,
on the fire,
and all of them
had salt sprinkled
on them.
Leviticus 2.13
says that.
With all your
offerings,
you shall offer
salt.
So the point
about these verses
about salt and
fire is about
offering our
lives as a
sacrifice that
is pleasing to
God through
Jesus in
response to
the unique
sacrifice that
he made for
us.
So instead of
pursuing greatness
for ourselves,
we love those
who are the
least because
Jesus came as
a servant of
all.
Instead of
assuming that
God's kingdom
is centered
around us,
we seek to
encourage anyone
else who's
centered around
Jesus because
it's about him
and not about
us.
And instead of
doing what feels
good to us,
we're willing to
make sacrifices
to fight sin
in our lives
because Jesus
made the ultimate
sacrifice to
free us from
sin and its
consequences.
So let me
close with a
verse from
Romans that I
think captures
the message of
this passage.
And the
apostle Paul says
this, he says,
therefore I
urge you,
brothers and
sisters, in
view of God's
mercy, offer
your bodies as
a living sacrifice,
holy and
acceptable to
God, for this
is your reasonable
service.
Do not be
conformed to the
pattern of this
world, but be
transformed by the
renewing of your
mind.
Let's pray.
Lord Jesus, we
thank you for the
price you paid to
reclaim us, to
adopt us, and to
take us in as
your children with
all the mess and
all the sin and
all the weakness and
all the neediness
that we bring with
us.
We thank you for
the love and joy
that you have in
bringing us near to
you and in
welcoming us into
your family.
We thank you for
the great sacrifice
you made for us.
Lord, we pray that
what you have done
for us would
shape us and
change us.
For your sake.
Amen.
Mindy.
Yes.
So the word
translated hell here
is a Greek word
Gehenna, which is
from the, it's a
word that referred,
that was used to
refer to the garbage
dump outside the
city of Jerusalem in
what's called the
Valley of Ben-Hinnom.
So the Hebrew
Hinnom and
Gehenna, that sort
of came, the words
are related.
It was an image
that was common in
Jesus' day for
hell as a place of
punishment and
separation from
God's presence.
So he was using a
familiar image that
would have brought
up these images in
people's minds of
a stinky, rotting,
burning,
dump.
So.
Should we take him
literally?
Is that what hell
was going to be like?
Should we take him
literally?
Yeah.
Yeah, that's a good
question.
No, that's a good
question.
I think, so I think
there's several, there's
a few different images
that come up in
scripture for hell.
Some are related to
fire.
some are related to
darkness, being the
outer darkness.
Some are related to
anguish and frustration
that's never resolved.
And hell is described
as a place where
there's, where things
are never made right
with God.
where people continue
in their
rebellious
attitude toward God
and
don't.
That there's
sort of a
point of no return.
How literally
should we take those
things?
I think if
if they're not
literal,
they're meant to
point to something
if, so if it's a
metaphor, the reason
why we have
metaphors is because
it's a reality that's
greater than we can
literally describe.
And so, if it's
metaphorical, I think
it's basically saying,
it's not saying it's
not that bad, it's
saying it's worse.
So, the point is, I
think in all the
descriptions of hell,
the point is not to
figure out exactly what
hell is like.
It's to realize you
don't want to be
there.
And thank God that
Jesus has been
willing to go through
that to provide a
way out.
And I think it puts
some of our
sufferings in this
life in perspective
where Jesus is
saying, you know,
consider the
alternative.
Yeah, is it hard to
follow me?
Yes.
Does it require
sacrifices to follow
me of things that
feel like giving up
a lot?
Yes.
But when we think
in light of eternity,
both in light of
hell, but also in
light of what he
promises in heaven.
And I think we'd
see our lives
differently and be
free to sacrifice
some things now for
a good purpose instead
of holding on to them
because we feel like
this is all we've got
and this is what we're
living for in this
life.
more questions.
Yes.
That's a very good question.
How do you know what to take literally versus figuratively in the Bible?
And what are the criteria that we would use to, you know, responsibly determine that?
That's a great question.
So it's a big question.
So some parts of the Bible, so if you take one of the Psalms, the Psalms are poetry.
And in other parts of the Bible, some of the prophetic literature is poetic literature.
And so when you're reading poetry, you look for symbols.
You look for metaphors.
You look for things that are describing things, not in a scientifically precise way, but in an evocative way,
in a way that engages your emotions and conveys some of the reality of what they're talking about.
When you're reading some of the narratives, say some of the gospel narratives about Jesus,
they're written in a very historical narrative format.
And, you know, if you can compare them to other literature, they're not written in the same way as, you know,
myths about Greek gods or something like that.
It's a different form of literature that's rooted in history.
So I think some of it is the kind of literature sort of looking at what kind of book are we reading.
So that's why it's always helpful when you face a particular verse or a paragraph or passage
and you're thinking, how do I interpret this?
We have to step back and say, well, what book am I reading this in?
And what's the main point of this book and how does this passage fit into the larger point of this book?
So, and then also comparing it to other passages that are teaching similar things here.
So I think whenever the Bible is describing things that haven't happened yet or that are in the future in our experience.
So in the Old Testament, when there are prophecies about the Messiah, there were descriptions,
but a lot of it is, it's something that people hadn't yet experienced and so they couldn't fully put it into words.
So in the same way in the New Testament, when there's descriptions of heaven or descriptions of hell,
they are metaphorical because we haven't yet experienced them fully and so we can't fully put them into words,
which is different than writings about things that have happened, like writings about what happened in Jesus' life.
Well, that had already happened, they'd experienced it, so they're putting it into words in a historical way.
Looking towards something in the future, I think God is giving us a picture of what it's going to be like,
but it's, but it is, there's a metaphor involved in that we haven't yet been there.
But he's giving us a description of what it's going to be like so that we can live our life in light of that.
It's, how would I put it?
It's, I mean, it's like if you're trying, I mean, it's like if you're trying to tell someone, you know, where you're going on a road trip,
and they've never been, it's like if you're trying to tell someone about the Grand Canyon,
and they've never been there, and let's say you don't have any photographs, you know,
and you have to describe it, and you're trying to describe this amazing thing.
If you've been there, if you've seen it, or if you've been to any sort of natural wonder,
it's almost beyond what you can describe in words.
Even if you, like, draw a little diagram, that doesn't quite do it.
And so you're trying to describe this great reality so that, so the person will be like,
yeah, like, it's worth the road trip to get there.
It's worth driving all the way across the country through the desert for days and days,
and hiking down to the bottom of it, or something.
Whatever you want, you know, you get the idea.
But this is a very good question.
We could talk more about that, but maybe that's a beginning to it.
All right, well, if you have more questions, stick around.
Talk with one another.
Talk with me if you want.
But there's snacks in the back.
Get a bulletin as you go out.