Psalm 86 bears the title: “A Prayer of David.” And I love how David prays, as much as I need to look at what he prays for.
In the “how” column, he prays as a “poor and needy” man. Cognizant that he has nothing in himself.
He prays too as a “godly” man. Not perfect. Not righteous in himself. But one who looks to and desires to serve the one true and living God.
He prays to the Lord who is “good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.” To the God who does “great and wondrous things.”
The “what” he prays for is notable as well.
Deliverance from opposing or oppressing enemies. That’s reasonable.
But the real sum and substance of his concern is in vs. 11 ” Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name.”
a. To know God’s ways as taught from God Himself.
b. To walk in truth – in God’s reality.
c. And above all – that his heart might be united that he might fear God’s name.
How intriguing. A united heart.
A “united” heart; in other words, one that does not have any divided loyalties, but is wholly set upon finding its joy and satisfaction and fullness in Christ alone. One that fears God alone, and nothing nor anyone else.
So let’s pray with David today: Oh Holy Spirit, grant this heart to me! Heavenly Father, grant your Spirit to create this heart within this weak and brittle vessel. Give me, give we your servants, a singular, united heart – to fear your name. For the cause and glory of Christ we pray. Amen.
We now come to the end of Jesus’ public teaching on the end times. It is both a sour and a hopeful note. Which, depends upon your relationship to Him in faith. J.C. Ryle writes: “There are few passages in the whole Bible more solemn and heart—searching than this. May we read it with the deep and serious attention which it deserves.” Ryle, J. C. 1860. Expository Thoughts on Matthew. New York: Robert Carter & Brothers.
Note first, that we must beware of turning an analogical statement into a full orbed theological and doctrinal construct. This is a common error in our Bible study and interpretation, and an easy one to fall into. Jesus’ simple point is, that on the final day, He will separate Believers from unbelievers, and each will receive appropriately from His hand.
Some, mistakenly, have turn this parabolic statement into a construct of ontology. They see it as though the world is made up of people who are as fundamentally different by nature, as sheep are from goats. One confused soul even said to me once: “I was never a goat, I was always a sheep.” This is just confused.
Yes, the one who is saved by grace has become a dwelling place of the Holy Spirit, born again by His grace and adopted into the Family of God. But we must never forget Paul’s words in Eph. 2 when marking out what ALL of us used to be: “And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.” (Eph. 2:1-3)
Did you catch that last sentence? We were all, “by nature” children of wrath like the rest of mankind. There was no ontological, no constitutional difference between all human beings before salvation. We are all drawn from the same, fallen lump of Adam’s race.
As Don Carson is wont to say, we cannot make every simile, analogy or parable “walk on all fours.” We can over-interpret this way and end up distorting Scripture.
Note second: In the same vein as above, be careful to see that there is no attempt on Jesus’ part to turn “sheep” into believers everywhere sheep are mentioned in Scripture and “goats” everywhere they are mentioned into unbelievers. Sometimes, sheep are just sheep, and goats are just goats. All that is said here is that the Son will separate the believers from the unbelievers, in the same way a shepherd separates sheep from goats. The issue is separation, not ontological assignation.
Once again, if we press Jesus’ analogy too far, we’ll be at a real loss to deal with things like the Passover meal when instituted in Ex. 12; where the Israelites could select their Passover sacrifice from either the sheep or the goats, without distinction.
Note third: That the judgment for these two groups is different. One is rewarded for what they DID do, the other, punished for what they DIDN’T do. It is a most interesting dichotomy.
The Believer is rewarded according to his good acts, and the Unbeliever punished for his wicked acts.
Nothing that is holy but neglected will go undiscovered. Nothing done in earnest to serve Christ will go unnoticed either.
Note fourth: Both the terror and the glory of this one thing – It is Christ Himself who will sit as judge. Many a religionist fails to recognize that Jesus Himself is the judge. Yes, He is The Savior. Yes, He is the substitute. Yes, He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. And yes, He will be our final judge. The omniscient, Son of God. The God who walked in human flesh and knows every heartache, every temptation, every opportunity, every obstacle, every circumstance we all have faced in this life. He, will judge us all. With the unsparing scrutiny of His omniscience. He is the Living Word, who discerns even the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Nothing will serve as a justifiable excuse for failure to reckon with the demand of the Gospel to find forgiveness and grace in Christ. He knows us. He knows all we face. He knows all of our circumstances. And no one will be able to exempt themselves from His all-seeing examination.
By the same token, nothing that any who are His have done because they are His, no matter how small, how seemingly insignificant, how unknown by any other human eye or ear – will go unrewarded.
Note fifth: Because of who He is – because He is God, and perfectly holy, He can neither over-punish, nor under-punish sin. He knows what the penalty of sin costs personally. He endured it on the Cross. And for the very same reasons, He can neither over-reward nor under-reward His saints in judgment. And yet, He is free to pour out of His limitless grace, infinitely more than our just rewards, for He makes Himself our inheritance. His eternal limitless self. The fountain of all goodness, grace, love, wonder and joy.
1 Pet. 1:3-9 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.”
Horatio G. Spafford: The Man, The Myth, The Tragedy. A brief review of Thomas E. Corts’ “Seeking Solace, The Life and Legacy of Horatio G. Spafford”.
Cort’s impeccably and thoroughly researched biography of Spafford is a book I wish I hadn’t read, but find necessary that I did.
Throughout my life, the name Horatio Spafford was one I came to revere and admire.
To all who have imbibed the popular story behind Spafford’s composition of the words to “It is well with my soul”, he holds a cherished place in our hearts. As does his suffering wife, Anna. The account of losing nearly everything in the Chicago fire of 1871, followed by the unimaginable loss of his four daughters in a collision at sea between their passenger ship the Ville du Havre, and another ship, the Loch Earn – instinctively draws from our hearts the deepest sense of loss and compassion. Rightly so. But, with some of those central facts still intact, there remains yet much mythology that in the pursuit of truth, needs to be brought into the light.
Such de-mythologizing is painful. And I feel it keenly. But it is a necessary part of maturing. We often need to be dis-illusioned; freed from our illusions so that we can live in truth. And Corts’ fine biography does just that.
Warning: If you can’t handle seeing what may have been a hero to you examined in the bright light of reality, then do not, I repeat, DO NOT read this book. Go your blissful way with your image of Spafford unsullied and intact. But even at that, it is worth getting all the facts straight about the key points no matter what else you may learn.
We are all well aware that our heroes have flaws. Some more serious than others, but there are no super-saints among us. Some have flaws that are mere quirks of personality. Some are undergirded or exacerbated by mistaken understandings of Scripture. Some are located in a historical context very different from our own and ought not to be judged by present day sensibilities and cultural bents. Others, are truly disqualifying. Sadly, Spafford’s fall into the latter.
Let me lay out some of the chief myths Corts disabuses us of, and then fill in some additional information. I do not want to give a Cliff’s Notes version of the book. Rather, as you see some key facts, reading the book yourself will fill in the much-needed details.
Myth 1 – The Spafford’s lost everything in the Chicago fire. Untrue. Spafford was an attorney of some note, with an office and law library in Chicago which he indeed lost. The family lived, however, in a very fashionable suburb which suffered no damage by the fire whatever.
Myth 2 – Horatio penned the words to “It is well with my soul” while aboard a ship sailing over the place where his daughter’s drowned. Untrue. Ira Sankey – D. L. Moody’s close associate and Gospel singer remembered clearly it was not until 3 years after the tragedy. Philip Bliss who wrote the music for it and first sang it in public recalled the same. In fact, there is no record of Horatio ever placing any specific significance on the poem, or even referring to it. It was just one of many of his compositions.
Myth 3 – Upon her survival, Anna Spafford sent a simple 2-word cable home: “Saved alone.” Untrue. For many years, Sankey said Horatio had the original cable framed and hanging in his office. The cable operator listed the contents as 29 words.
Myth 4 – After their tragic loss, and the subsequent death of another child due to scarlet fever, the Spaffords were drummed out of their Church in Chicago. Untrue. Sadly, Horatio led a faction of the Church in accusing the pastor of financial impropriety. When the books were examined and the charges proved to be unfounded, Horatio led a group out and started a house church of sorts in his own home, later named the “Overcomers.”
Myth 5 – Moved by philanthropy and a burden for the Jews, the Spaffords moved to Jerusalem to start a missions work there. The most untrue and saddest of all. For years, it was unclear where Horatio was getting the money to finance his lifestyle, and even the 2 year trip abroad they were on when his daughters perished. Documents and court records show that given the executorship of 3 estates, he defrauded those he was to provide for, as well as running up mortgages on properties he owned. He fled from what was almost certain prosecution and perhaps prison.
Some random facts.
1 – Once the Overcomers were in swing, Horatio’s widowed sister (Margaret Lee) arrived, and praying to be filled with the Spirit, began getting direct words from the Lord on a whole host of topics and Biblical interpretations. Anna followed in this behavior, and soon the two women, seen as prophetesses ran everything.
2 – The move to Israel was due to a revelation in 1881, to Anna, that Christ would return on Mt. Zion within a month or 2. The Spaffords and a number of others immediately left for Israel, and clad in white robes waited on the Mt. But Jesus never came. Starting charitable ministry was plan “b” after the failed prophecy.
3 – In an 1881 interview he showed how he had totally split from Moody, Sankey and that ilk when stating: “Moody and his followers are all wrong, as well as all the Churches.” Consider that carefully, “all the churches.”
4 – Over time, under the strict command of Margaret and Anna, demanding celibacy even among the married in their group, denying the need for communion, the Lords’ Supper and other oddities, Horatio just became a sort of kindly old man, rambling about looking at flowers, teaching English occasionally and doing little else.
There is so very much more to the entire story you simply must read for yourself.
As I read the whole, I came to the conclusion that an unquenchable thirst for definitive answers to the “why” behind the inexplicable – especially in regard to personal tragedy – rather than dependence upon God’s character and His revealed Word, led to fanciful and dangerous journeys into mystical confusion.
That said, Corts, in extending every kindness he possibly can – points to the untold millions of people who have found true Biblical solace in the words to It is well with my soul. And Spafford’s sins, flaws and failings, do nothing to diminish that. God has used it. That is enough.
We looked first at an overview of Chapter 24, and then Jesus’ parable of the 10 virgins. But He is not done. He has two more major exhortations to make.
In 24 – The basic theme was: Don’t be fooled, lots of bad stuff is going to happen before I return, and there will be lots of Messianic imposters too. When I come, you won’t be able to miss it. With a bottom line that undergirds all four sections: Personal anticipation of and readiness for – Jesus’ return.
Men can argue all they want about signs of the times, world events, blood moons, eclipses, earthquakes, wars, yada, yada, yada – but none of it means a thing if I am not personally invested in His return, facing the full impact of what that will imply, and seeking to be ready to meet my King. None of it.
Sadly it seems, the enemy of our souls has done more damage by getting us fixated on trying to discern secret details about His return, than being about the truly central things. Peter put it most succinctly when he wrote by the Spirit: “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (2 Pet. 3:18)
Right now, the “apocalyptics” (to coin a term) are all about being “preppers.” This is true of nearly every Christian cult, and even in Evangelicalism. Store up food! Get guns and ammo! They’re coming for us! (whoever “they” are) and let’s all fight the one-world government! Of course, if the Bible says that’s going to happen anyway, I don’t know what you hope to accomplish. Antichrist will arise and there is precious little said in any portion of Scripture regarding trying to prevent it. No, not precious little – nothing. How can we possibly stop something inextricably tied to His return? It makes no sense.
All of this turns us away from Christ to news outlets and barking pundits. To sub-culture movements and obscurantists. Would you know all about the end times? Hear Christ! Read these portions. Seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. And live in accord with His stated plan for everyone who is in Christ – being increasingly conformed to the image, the character of Christ, informed by the Word and empowered by the Spirit. Grow in the grace and knowledge of the person and work of Christ! That is the only real thing you can do in preparation for His return.
And so it is we have today’s text.
Note first: It is impossible to miss the picture Christ paints. He pictures Himself as one who has gone on a long journey, from which He will return.
In 1 Thess. 1, Paul sets out four marks of the truly born again: 1 – They turn FROM their idols. 2 – They do so to SERVE the living and true God. 3 – And they do these in an attitude of anticipation – waiting for His Son from Heaven. 4 – Looking to Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come at His return. In this sense, all true Christianity is eschatological. The Christian to BE a genuine Christian, must be looking for Jesus’ return, and that His return includes the coming wrath of God. We live in the light of these truths. They inform our entire mindset. If not, we are not living as Christians.
Note second: Our King has put something of the improvement of His kingdom within us, into our hands.
Christians are not passive in our growth in Christ. True, such growth is not left up to our natural abilities. As the parable notes, He grants us His grace, His gifting to work from. But that we are called to use that grace and to (as the Puritans used to call it) “improve” that grace. Use it. Grow in it. Exercise it. Take on more and more of the likeness of Christ by the Spirit.
The old Puritan pastor Richard Baxter (1615-1691) used to meet with every congregant at least once a year. He used a simple diagnostic tool to probe. He asked first: “Have you grown spiritually in the past 12 months?” If they replied “yes”, then he would ask – “how do you know?” What are the indicators that is so? If they replied “no”. He asked – “why not?”
What if we were each to take such diagnostics on ourselves? Not to become Evangelical naval-gazers, but to take an honest look at our own spiritual condition from time to time.
What is apparent in Jesus’ parable here, is that He gives us something of His grace, and expects a return on it when He returns.
Does such a thoughts even enter the mind of the average Evangelical in America today? I fear not. Yet look at the emphasis Christ puts upon it here.
Note third: God does not require the same thing from each of us – only to be faithful according to what He has apportioned us.
Our God never requires us more than He supplies for us. Not everyone is gifted to counsel, preach, teach, evangelize, write, give etc. Each serves according to their sovereignly given capacity – hence we can never judge ourselves by others, nor anyone else by ourselves. While it may be useful to be challenged by seeing how others have employed what’s been given them, Paul will remind us that “But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.” We dare not go there.
What has God given you? Use that. Employ that. It may seem small in your eyes, but if it His appointment, it is all He requires. He doesn’t expect children to do adult tasks, the physically impaired to jump through hoops, the poor to give as the rich, the slave to serve as though free, nor the ill to rise up off their beds as the hale and hearty.
Seek Him. Seek to grow in His likeness. Love and serve His people and your gift(s) will emerge naturally. And when they do, be about them as best you can.
Note fourth: The one who had but one talent here, wasn’t judged because he had little, but because he had no interest in his Master’s business, but only in how these matters impacted himself. This self-focus in the Kingdom, not caring for Christ’s agenda and plans and purposes, but only for our own, is the mark of one who knows not The Master.
The man’s argument was: “I didn’t become evil, I just didn’t grow in grace, I made no spiritual progress. Isn’t it enough that I just stayed and OK person?”
And Jesus’ answer is – no. That’s not enough.
Some measure of grace has been given to and shown to all – the redeemed and the lost. And each will have to answer for what happened with that grace in our lifetime.
Note lastly: How richly He delights to reward His own. We deserved no grace to begin with. We only did what was fitting with what we had. And yet He multiplies it when we have sought to be faithful.
From Luke 10:1 – “After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them on ahead of him, two by two, into every town and place where he himself was about to go.”
When I was growing up, the image above was the cultural picture of the modern street prophet. His message was taken from Amos 4:12c. And it was widely criticized, scoffed at and denigrated.
And yet, there is some truth in it, isn’t there?
Enter Luke 10:1.
There may in fact be no more succinct description in all of Scripture regarding the breadth and nature of true Gospel ministry than is given in Jesus’ words in this verse.
What is it we are to be doing above all other things? Preparing people for the arrival of Jesus.
We do this in preaching the Gospel of justification by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone – so that they might enter the Kingdom and be reconciled to God.
And we teach those who believe how to walk with God, informed by the Word, empowered by the Spirit – to grow in the likeness of Christ that they may be welcomed by Him at His return.
Preachers, teachers, brother and sisters in Christ: Go into all the world, where Jesus Himself is about to arrive – and prepare all who hear you for His arrival. Reconcile to the lost to Him so that they might anticipate His arrival. And strengthen, encourage and assist Believers in their growth in His image, that they might be all the more ready to receive Him in due time.
The lesson from this simple passage is sweet, and necessary: Don’t fence God. He needs no body guards.
Note first: Christians need not be God’s protectors as many in Islam violently protect Mohamed. When our God needs defending by us rather than we needing defending by Him – things are upside down. Ultimately, it is the product of human hubris – even though it may flow from a personal sense of reverence.
It is true we are to pray and work for the fame of the name of God to be restored; for the whole of sentient creation to hallow, revere, respect and honor Him for who and what He is. When Jesus taught us to pray, He put this issue as the very first among all things we are to pray for. Nothing was dearer to His own heart than to see His Father’s reputation restored. To see all love and cherish and delight in the Father as He Himself did. But that is not done by swatting down those we think deficient, unworthy or even blasphemous. It is done by trusting Him, praising His name, walking in such a way as to reveal His character, preaching His Gospel and walking in truth.
He is our great defender, we are not His.
Note second: There are none more worthy than others to seek Him than others.
Young, old, hale, infirm, educated, ignorant, accomplished, indigent, intellectual or challenged. He came to seek and save “the lost”, not humanly created sub-sets of humanity.
Jonathan Edwards recounts the case of Phebe Bartlet who at the age of 4 began to manifest evidences of the Spirit moving in her soul. By 5 she was truly remarkable in her pursuit of God. John the Baptizer was filled with the Spirit even in his mother’s womb. And I can add that of myself, having my eyes opened to my sinfulness before God, and my heart opened to embrace Christ and the Cross at the age of 8.
When people show any interest in spiritual matters, we need to take it seriously. This is especially true with children, who do not take such an interest at all naturally.
Note third: How quick Jesus was always ready to bless.
And should we imagine Him any different today? Were these children displaying some interest in Him themselves, or was it only that their parents sought something on their behalf – He loves to receive and bless. Here, it says they specifically wanted Him to pray for these little ones. To speak to the Father on their behalf.
What an encouragement then for parents today to seek Christ that He might intercede on behalf of our children, grandchildren and others. In this, we never see a refusal. Instead, we see Him admonishing any who would hinder it.
Be encouraged to seek Him for your loved ones. He is far more gracious and ready and willing than we dare believe.
A key to understanding this short section has to do with prevailing Jewish thought on two fronts.
First off, we have to note that divorce had become fairly rampant in society. No doubt there are several contributing factors. Being that the Jews were under Roman occupation for quite some time, the permissiveness of Roman culture in this regarding divorce and remarriage, certainly had an impact on the general populace. They were used to seeing this behavior in their own leadership.
Herod the Great was the King of Judea (a Jew but under the Roman power) was in power when Jesus was born. He had 10 wives total. Some murdered, some divorced. But getting out of one marriage into another was a way of life. He considered himself a pious Jew. After all, it was he who built the magnificent Temple in Jerusalem where Jesus went frequently. And it was his son Herod Antipas who divorced his first wife to marry the wife of his half-brother – Herodias – who had John the Baptizer also murdered.
So divorce and remarriage couldn’t be all that bad could it? Since the Jewish political leaders were fine with it, why not everybody?
The second factor was that it was considered a duty for a Jewish man to be married. One commentator noted that is a young man reached the age of 16 and had no marriage prospects locked in, the elders of the Synagogue might call him in and find out what the matter was.
In that kind of an environment, if a man in fact did get divorced, it would be shameful to remain single.
Now you can see why the Disciples were a bit incredulous at Jesus’ statements. If a man can only divorce and then remarry under such narrow parameters, maybe it is best not to get married at all!
“But” Jesus says, singleness is not something to be entered into any less seriously than marriage. And here, He breaks with both major Jewish schools, and with a prominent sub-sect – the Essenes, who connected celibacy with a higher spiritual state. Once again, He doesn’t make anyone happy on any side of the equation. He neither condemns nor pushes singleness. What He does do is call each to live righteously before God, given our freedoms, and providential parameters.
Providentially, there may be some who are born in a condition (physically) where fulfilling the requirements of marital intimacy would not be possible. In such a case, there is a forced singleness. It would be the responsibility for such a one to live within those parameters righteously before God. And no doubt, special grace is extended to such as they seek how to live well before the Father.
Second, there may be those who through accident (perhaps in war) or more likely, by virtue of having been castrated as slaves, in order to serve in court positions to attend royal women – would too find that Providence had precluded marriage as an option. They too would need to seek for grace to remain pure in such forced singleness. Under this umbrella, one might consider a spouse who has become impotent or unable due to disease, accident or some other condition. This form of “singleness” (in this one regard) would require special grace.
And third, there are some who have been given a gift of not needing marital intimacy, and are able then to devote extra time and effort to serving the Kingdom. They have received another kind of special grace.
When all is said and done, Jesus’ teaching leaves us here:
1 – The norm is marriage, and marriage for life. Let us seek to serve Him within the bounds lovingly and wisely set for such a union. Seeking sexual satisfaction from anyone else other than one’s spouse, is grave sin.
2 – Some remain single for various reasons. There is no shame in not being married. And for some, an actual advantage.
3 – In both – we seek grace from the Lord to live righteously within the limits of His Providence. And He gives it. Let each receive as they are enabled. No providence excuses sin. Each context will find us needing to depend fully upon Him.
Contentment with God’s Providences is one of the most difficult spiritual lessons the Christian needs to learn.
But how gracious He is to provide for us in the gift of His indwelling Spirit.
The Pharisees seemed to have endless energy when it came to testing Jesus. One lexicon says that the word “tested” here means: “to obtain information to be used against a person by trying to cause someone to make a mistake—‘to try to trap, to attempt to catch in a mistake.’ Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. 1996. In Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains, electronic ed. of the 2nd edition., 1:329. New York: United Bible Societies.
The point is that they wanted to prove Jesus to be a fraud, to dissuade people from buying into Him. Perhaps this is because their popularity among the common folk would be eroded if they began to put stock in one who did not agree with the Pharisaical constructs. Perhaps it was that they could not abide anyone who did not support them or hold to every jot and tittle of their interpretations and practices. Perhaps both mixed with other motives as well.
Mind you, the Pharisees took the Bible seriously. They were zealous in serving God as they understood Him and His demands. But in their zeal, they became the biggest practitioners of the “Cancel Culture” of their day. Every disagreement, no matter how small, was a deal breaker for fellowship. Sadly, like so many today. Jesus didn’t fit neatly enough. So He had to be unmasked for the diabolical infiltrator He was. He had to go. So exposing Him publicly as not towing the orthodox line was a necessary tactic.
The problem was, their orthodoxy had features which were not central to Biblical truth, but was more reliant on their interpretations of certain things. Whether or not those were central to Biblical Yaweh worship took second place. If it didn’t fit their entire cast, it was not just suspect, it was evil and needed to be excised.
Sound familiar?
It is still true in politics. And it is still true in much of Evangelical Christianity. Much to our shame.
Note first: The most probable background for the question had to do with a debate between two schools of Biblical thought in that day. One school taught that a man could divorce his wife for things as trivial as burning his toast once too often. The other school, the “conservative” school, thought divorce could only be on the grounds of really serious sin. Of course defining such sin was open to discussion as well. All of this grew out of debate over the guidelines for divorce in Deut. 24.
Jesus was not about to make either side happy.
Why? Because His answer goes beyond questions of merely obeying some letter of the Law. He wants to take them back to consider the question – and all such questions – in terms of their principial foundations. When that is done, quick and easy answers to complex questions disappear. Note second: Jesus makes it clear that marriage is not simply a social contract. In it, God causes the two to be joined in a mysterious way which is meant to demonstrate the nature of Christ and His Church. So it cannot be dissolved easily and without due consideration for what else is involved. God has acted in it, not just the two people married. And no one ought to presume to sever what God has divinely brought into union before His eyes and for His purposes. This is a very high matter. More than man’s reasons and desires need to be dealt with.
Flippant reasons often given like: “We’ve just grown apart”, or, “we made a mistake”; “we were too young”; “I need to do this for me”; “He, or she doesn’t meet my needs”; or worst of all, “I’ve fallen in love with someone else” – don’t cut it.
Divorce is meant to complicated. God determined it so when He gave the Mosaic Law. Marriage, divorce and re-marriage are not issues where one just ticks off the right boxes. It has cosmic implications.
Note third: As was the issue with the Pharisees approach to the Sabbath, something is always amiss when we are called to serve what was meant to serve and bless us. The Sabbath as Jesus says in correcting their view, was made for man, not man for the sabbath.
So it is with marriage. Marriage was meant to bless and contribute to the flourishing of man. Man was not meant to serve marriage. When this is upside down, the institution takes on more importance than the people the institution is meant to bless.
Note fourth: Central to understanding Jesus’ words here, is rightly understanding vss. 8-9, which sadly have been greatly misunderstood by many.
Some interpret these verse so as to say God granted divorce to Israel to accommodate the sinful desires of some. This would be most strange indeed. It would be as though one said: “I am a serial rapist and cannot control myself due to the hardness of my heart”, and God replies: “I will make a law then that serial rapists are not to be charged for their sin, after all, it is due to the hardness of their hearts.” At once we see the folly of such an interpretation.
The sense is this: Because there are some, whose hardness of heart leads them to such an extreme that they would even violate the most basic, most sacred covenant of marriage – God gave to the innocent party a means of relief – that they might leave and be married to another who is faithful.
Divorce is not license to the wicked, it is relief for the betrayed.
Jesus is saying that the Law was not given to give those with hard hearts a pass, but rather to protect those injured and sinned against.
Note fifth: It is true that there is no divorce without sin. It is not true that who are divorced have sinned. If in fact divorce itself IS sin in all cases, then God writing Israel a decree of divorce in Jer. 3:8 implicates Him in sin. We know this cannot be true. But what was behind God’s divorce? Spiritual adultery. And what is it Christ appeals to here in our text? The same. Adultery.
Now it is obvious that the Bible has much more to say about the topic in a number of other places. But for Jesus’ purpose of refusing to be drawn into a war of interpretive niggling, and calling all parties to lift up our hearts and minds to see such matters on higher places indeed, He silences His prosecutors, and blesses His people.
At first blush, these two verses seem exceedingly incidental. Really, why bother? But I think there is something still worth noting here.
Note first: Back in 17:22, Jesus spoke – the most clearly to that point in time – about the immediate future. He said He was going to be delivered into the hands of men, killed, and then raised up three days later. This greatly distressed them the text says. But then the events of everyday life seem to push this revelation into the background. First there was the 2 drachma tax controversy, then the discussion over who was greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. And this led to Jesus’ extended discourse on humility and forgiveness.
And so it can be with us even now. The promises of Christ’s return, the resurrection, the new heavens and the new earth can easily be lost by us as having continuing importance in the ordering of our lives. As staggering as those realities are, they can be overshadowed by the stuff of everyday life. But not Jesus. He takes His sidestep to deal with the immediate, but as soon as He is finished with those, He is right back on track. He is still undeterred from His path to Jerusalem.
And I wonder in myself, am I so mindful of my own path to the Celestial City? Am I a traveling partner with Bunyan’s Christian? Yes, many things require our attention from all sides each and every day. But are we on our way home? Or has that idea been pushed so far back in our minds that it no longer informs our thoughts, actions and decisions?
Am I, are you – consciously proceeding toward Heaven? Is that our course? Are all other things dealt with, experienced and contexualized by where we are headed? For to lose sight of where we are going, is to wander aimlessly through life. And is this not behind the despair of so many – even professed Christians?
Are we consciously going home to be with Jesus? And do we remain aware that the only way there is through the cross?
Note second: No matter where Jesus is, or whatever else is going on, pouring our mercy and grace on others is never neglected.
Large crowds were following Him. And He was neither deterred by them, nor unmindful of them.
He might have been consumed in Himself with what was about to happen to Him. But no. Or, He might have been tempted to stop His journey to enjoy the attention of the crowds. But neither is true. He met them, and He continued on His way.
Note third: His ministry to these crowds, is a ministry to a throng of the unnamed. The common folk. There are no mentions of the healing of notable people. No mention of class, station nor even the particulars of the healings. It is simply recorded that this is what He did. They, unmindful of what awaited Him, were simply desiring their needs to be met. And in typical Jesus fashion, He just blessed them. He gave them what He had without pomp, ceremony or self-reference.
How sweet and how gracious and how willing to bless our Lord is.
And if He is not too busy, too distracted, too fixed on the Cross to stop and heal this nameless crowd, then how much more is He ready to hear the prayers and meet the needs of His people from His place beside the Father even today.
Oh Christian, come to Him with your needs.
Oh lost one, come to Him with your sin.
He is no further away than the cry of your heart .
Matthew 18:23-35 / To Enter Heaven, Heaven must first Enter You.
Jesus is not done speaking about forgiveness. And in taking up this parable, elucidates not only the foundation upon which our forgiveness of one another rests, but also a crucial principle of The Kingdom.
Note first: Jesus says the Kingdom bears a comparison to what He is about to disclose. This is not just a nice religious idea, it is in fact an aspect of the rule of God in His Kingdom. He establishes something of great importance here, and something not to be glossed over lightly.
Note second: Important to see in this parable is that these are legitimate debts, not sins per se. Among people, it is one thing, with God, it takes on much more gravity. How much easier is it to forgive a simple debt, than to forgive true sin? But in Christ, God deals with both.
Here the question arises, in what way is human sin to be likened to, or considered as a debt? Which answer is found in Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We were made in His image. We were created to bear and display His glory, His perfections and holiness to the rest of creation. And in our sin, we have defrauded Him of what we owe – bearing His image and honoring Him as God; which is also our very great sin. It is not just THAT we sin, and thus fall short of His glory. It is also that in falling short of His glory – we sin our greatest sin. For we who were made to reveal Him, obscure, hide and distort His image. SO the rest of creation is robbed of seeing, knowing and worshiping Him, and He is robbed of the duty we owe to Him inherent in the very purpose of our creation. What a debt!
Note Third: Now we must ask, what is it in comparison to what we owe God, do that we think others owe us – legitimately or not – and then fail to forgive when confronted? Respect? Deference? Recognition? Loyalty? And do we recognize their brokenness and inability to repay – and so turn a blind eye and a deaf ear and forgive freely? Father, give me that heart.
Note fourth: The nature of our debt is such that it cannot be repayed. For even if we were to perfectly display His glory from this day forward, there is no way to go back and restore the days already lost. Time cannot be undone. We cannot recover those lost days. They are forever gone. Such is the reality in the figures Jesus uses.
In His time, the servant owing 10,000 talents was something akin to 20 years wages. In modern dress, it would be something like a billion dollars or more. The point is that there is no way this debt could be repayed no matter how much patience the King might extend. Working another 20 years would only be earning what he ought to earn for those twenty – it would not make up for the loss.
And so it is with our sin-debt.
Note fifth: The announcement of the Gospel is, that forgiveness for this un-repayable debt is to be had for all who would come, humble themselves and plead for mercy. God is so lavish, so gracious, so merciful that “through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and by him everyone who believes is freed from everything from which you could not be freed by the law of Moses.” (Acts 13:38-39). And that Jesus Himself said this is to be proclaimed to the world. What a wondrous Gospel it is we have to preach.
Note sixth: Grace must bear fruit. If it does not, the grace extended is forfeited.
The 17th Century English Divine authored the famous book “The Almost Christian Discovered.” John Wesley and George Whitefield would both go on to preach famous sermons by the same title. For the great danger is, that men can come under the realization of their great debt to God, and can believe that God forgives for Christ’s sake, and for a while walk in the elation of thinking their debt forgiven – who nonetheless, show that such mercy announced has made no real change to their nature. And reveling as they may in the thought of their being set free, still treat others as though there is no mercy or grace to be found at their hands.
And what will end of such be? The free offer rescinded. And the final end, as though mercy had never been received at all.
So it is Jesus closes the parable with His warning. Look and see. If grace extended has not wrought an inward change so as to become a vessel of grace to others, one can at last prove themselves to still be lost and undone. Like wicked Simon the Magician, who “believed” but was not changed. Who was baptized, but was never born again. Who heard the announcement of free grace, but sought to make merchandise of it to others. Who despite his profession at the time, proved to still be “in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity. Who heard the facts of the Gospel, and rejoiced in them for a time, but was never born again by the Spirit of God.
Grace must bear fruit. If it does not, the grace received is forfeited. Like the seed which fell on rocky ground in Matt. 15. Something immediately sprang up. But with no depth of soil, what appeared withered just as quickly.
Our God forgives easily, freely, generously. But where grace bears no fruit, sin will yet be punished to the full.
ResponsiveReiding 