Stepping Out 3 – Evangelism: How? | Isaiah 51:1-6; Psalm 138; Romans 12:1-8; Matthew 16:13-20

click here to download podcast

Evangelism – Recap

Week 1

· What?

To be an evangelist is to proclaim the good news.  Because of Jesus there is a new system of justice in place.  God is King, the powers and principalities of this world are not.

Week 2

· Why?

We evangelise – spread this gospel, because it is for ALL people.  Jesus goes far out of his way to share it with the Canaanite woman, when Jesus feeds 5000 there are 12 baskets left over…

Crumbs enough for everybody.

Week 3

· How?

How do we evangelise?  How do we announce to the world around us that Jesus is King and the powers and principalities of this world are not.

The answer is a little complicated.  Jesus is often more confusing than we had hoped.

Matthew's Gospel

Up to this point…

In the section of Matthew's gospel from which we have been reading the question of Jesus' identity is shoved around… different suggestions are made by different people; as they are made they are interpreted and reinterpreted.

We look at some of them:

· Uncertainty

One response to the question of Jesus identity is a nervous uncertainty:

In chapter 11 John the Baptist's disciples come to ask Jesus, on John's behalf: "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?"

John announced Jesus' arrival, baptised him, recognised him as the Messiah, John warned that Jesus would baptise with purifying fire…  He even preached Judgment on King Herod – ending up in jail for his beliefs.

But now, in prison – threatened by death – he is starting to wonder if this Jesus is really who he thought he was.

· Condemnation

When crowds amazed at Jesus ability to cast out a demon that had kept a person mute and blind ask:  "Can this be the Son of David?"  The religious authorities respond with accusations against Jesus:

They come to the conclusion that he must be in partnership with the devil himself.  How could he be so in tune with the Spirit of God – yet so 'religiously unclean' – always associating with prostitutes and tax collectors…

To them, Jesus might be the anti Messiah (12:22-32).

· Partial Recognition

In all this there is a partial recognition of who Jesus is.

The crowds ask: "Could this be the Son of David?"

A Canaanite woman whose daughter is tormented by demons calls him Lord, Son of David.

The disciples, when they see Jesus walk on water proclaim that he 'truly' is 'the Son of God' (14:22-33).

*  *  *

And in today's scripture when Jesus asks his disciples:

"But who do you say that I am?"

Simon Peter answers on their behalf:

"You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God."

They get the words right – but it becomes clear just now that they still haven't quite got the idea of what they will ultimately mean..

· Uncertainty

Jesus responds to John's uncertainty with the prophecy of Isaiah:

 "…the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy."

- Isaiah 35:5-6

There are signs of God's Kingdom in the air – people are being restored to wholeness...  Jesus methods might not be what John anticipated – but he is effective.

· Condemnation

In response to Pharisees who think that Jesus may be evil; Jesus points to the fact that he does what God would do – not what the devil would do. 

He brings healing, he bears good fruit – he restores people to wholeness.  The devil would only destroy.

'wisdom is vindicated by her deeds' (11:19)

The fruit of his work is a sign of his goodness.

· Partial Recognition

In response to the Canaanite woman, the crowds, the disciples who all partially recognise who he is. 

Jesus affirms them – but ultimately challenges them to take their idea further.

*  *  *

The titles they give him, Son of David, Son of Man, Son of the Living God, Messiah (Anointed One) all refer to the belief that Jesus is the rightful heir to the throne of Israel.

A King who, in partnership with Yahweh, the living God, will bring justice to the nations on his behalf.  A King who will not only bring justice and peace to Israel, but to the whole world.

*  *  *

The people understand all of this – but they don't understand one thing:

That the world, that Israel will reject this king and his radical ideas – that he will be crucified, buried for three days – the world will think they are rid of his crazy ideas. 

But – on the third day he will rise again and his throne will be established, not on earth, but in the heavens.

Not temporarily – but for all eternity.

*  *  *

Only after all this has happened does everyone really realise who Jesus is.

Alternative Community

It's confession

But more importantly – what Jesus does when people recognise who he is, is he forms them into a community. 

Before the disciples recognised who Jesus was they were just disciples.  But when they realise that Jesus is King – Messiah – they begin to become his Kingdom.

*  *  *

When Peter makes his confession "You are the Messiah, the son of the Living God" Jesus says to him:

"You are Peter, (which means rock) and on this rock I will build my church, and not even death will prevail against it."

Jesus doesn't say that Peter (the person) will be the rock on which the church is built, but he plays on his name  – Jesus is most likely speaking about the confession he makes: "You are the Messiah, son of the Living God…"

This recognition of Jesus identity is what defines us as Christians.  Messiah is Hebrew for the Greek – Christos, which means anointed.

In Acts 11:26 we read that at Antioch the believers were first called Christians… people who believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

*  *  *

In his words to Peter Jesus explains that he will build a new community of people around the recognition that he, Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ, the Son of the Living God.

*  *  *

He also says that Peter didn't come to this conclusion by human means – but because God revealed himself to him.

· The difference it makes

In Romans 12:2 Paul encourages Christians to be different – to not be 'conformed' to the ways of this world, but to be 'transformed' because of the new life they have in Christ.

Martin Luther King, preaching on Romans chapter 12:2 says that most people:

"…are thermometers that record or register the temperature of majority opinion, not thermostats that transform and regulate the temperature of society."

Are we thermometers that simply reflect what's going on in the world around us; or thermostats that regulate the temperature.

*  *  *

Paul continues to write, describing what a community of Christians should look like:

He says we should:

'hate what is evil, and hold on to what is good.' (9)
'love one another with mutual affection' (10)
'out do each other in showing respect' (10)
'extend hospitality to strangers' (13)
'bless those who persecute us' (14)
'rejoice with those who rejoice' (15)
'weep with those who weep' (15)
'associate with the lowly' (16)
'not repay evil for evil' (17)
'live peaceably with all' (18)
'never avenge yourselves' (19)
'overcome evil with good.' (21)

*  *  *

Our belief that Jesus is the Christ means that as a community we should be positively different to those around us.

Yet we often fail to love one another, we seek our own honour, we don't like strangers, we mock those who give us a hard time – condemning them to hell, we rejoice when others weep and we weep when others rejoice. 

We would rather not have too many of the 'lowly' or 'embarrassing' around.

And we seldom leave vengeance up to God, but take it up ourselves.

*  *  *

When we fully realise and believe this gospel – that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God – then the whole paradigm of values through which we see the world is changed. 

Because everything is ultimately judged by the light of Christ.

· Our responsibility

When we are gospelised everything is transformed.  Our grocery trollies, our business decisions, our time schedules, our priorities are all changed because of our belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

· The effect

I guess, if I took a survey of the congregation most of you would not be here because of some 'reasonable argument' that you have heard for the Messiahship of Jesus Christ.

Most of you would not be here because you're afraid of what might happen if you miss church.

You probably didn't come to be here every Sunday morning  because you believed.

But you came because one day when you visited a church – voluntarily or involuntarily – you discovered a Christ centred community.

People who loved you for who you were and where you were – just because they knew that God loved them too; and if God loved them he obviously loved you.

People who had a different set of values which resonated with the Spirit of God in you – that said well this is how it is meant to be.

*  *  *

God began to work in you and you realised that maybe this Jesus was the Christ, and began to have faith in him.

I am 100% convinced that none of us fully understand this.  Those of us who think we understand the most are probably the ones who know the least.

*  *  *

But as we grow we are transformed more.  And as we are transformed more people come into contact with this community that Jesus is building.  And before we know it the whole community – the whole world is transformed by the people who simply make the confession to Jesus:

"You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God."

And on that rock, Jesus builds his community.

Conclusion

In the gospel different people respond to Jesus differently, some uncertain about who he really is.  Some condemning him as evil – some – recognising him as Messiah, but not getting the whole picture.

Jesus simply shows them with gentle words and positive actions who he is.

I believe that he calls us to do the same.  To show the world what the gospel looks like as we become a sacrament of his presence in the world.

*  *  *

When we confess that Jesus is God's anointed King – the image of God – we will begin to see the Kingdom of God in this place.

Amen.

Stepping Out 2 – Why Evangelism? | Psalm 67; Isaiah 56:6-8; Romans 11:1-2 and 29-32; Matthew 15:21-28

Click Here to Download

Stepping Out – 2

Last week I spoke about the evangelist that I met outside Paarl Mall. He wanted to convert me – even after I told him I was a Christian and a minister. What he said to me didn't really make sense.

When I was a teenager we did a 'Holiday Club' with Scripture Union – I must have been about 16. The enthusiastic leaders of the group sent us out to the neighbouring households to invite kids to come and join us… they also told us to ask them if they wanted to know about Jesus.

I wouldn't have done it – but they guilted me into it. Like those e-mails or chain letters you get that say at the bottom: "If you've got time for Jesus you'll send this on…"

And even though it's a silly e-mail you send it – because you're worried that Jesus won't think you love him if you don't.

What is evangelism?

Last week we began to answer the question – "What is evangelism?"

We learnt that an 'evangelist' is a 'gospelist', someone who spreads the good news about Jesus.

Good news could mean that a new system of justice was in place, there were new rules for how people should be treated.

New hope for the future.

And an evangelist is someone who announces this good news.

* * *

We looked at Elijah the Evangelist who announced the news to King Ahab (who did evil and worshipped Baal) that Yahweh was King.

Ahab and his wife Jezebel don't really like it when Yahweh is King because he holds humans accountable for their actions, and dictators don't like accountability.

Yahweh is not popular among those who like to abuse power. But Elijah is encouraged and empowered by God to keep going.

* * *

In Matthew's gospel Jesus walked on water… in response the disciples worshipped him; Jesus power over nature was a sure sign that He was with Yahweh.

Matthew – like Elijah is telling us the gospel news that Yahweh is King and Jesus is what Yahweh looks like in human form.

* * *

So evangelism is proclaiming the good news that Yahweh is King and the powers and principalities of this world are not.

The Kingdom of God has arrived and is arriving. And that is 'good news.'

Why evangelism?

This week we're going to look a bit at the 'why' of evangelism, and next week some of the 'how'.

And hopefully at the end of this we won't be telling people about Jesus because we feel guilty if we don't; but rather because of the hope that this gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ offers us and the world around us. Because we believe that we are blessed to be a blessing.

This Week

Matthew 15:21-28

Jesus' encounter with a Canaanite Woman

Scriptural Context

We are reading a part of Matthew's gospel where Jesus is ministering in the North of Israel in the region of Galilee.

Looking at Israel from the South Idumea is the southern most region, Judea in the middle – alongside the dead Sea –Jerusalem is there. Samaria and then the Galilean region in the North – Jesus is from Nazareth in Galileee and in this Sunday's reading Jesus goes as far north as the region of Tyre and Sidon.

* * *

Between the passage that we read today (Jesus' encounter with the Canaanite woman) and the one we read last week (where Jesus walks on water) Jesus has two separate encounters.

He heals the sick at Gennesaret on the shore of Lake Galilee (14:34-36).

He is then encountered by a delegation of Scribes and Pharisees sent from Jerusalem (15:1-20).

The scribes and Pharisees are concerned about the fact that Jesus and his disciples 'break the tradition of the elders'.

Before all of this Jesus feds the five thousand by the lake.

So in Matthew's gospel – Jesus feeds the 5000, Retires to Pray – Walks on water, Heals the sick at Genasserat and then is encountered by the Scribes and Pharisees asking why he breaks with tradition.

Historical Context

Within the history of the church Matthew is writing at a time when Jews and Gentiles are struggling to work out how to be Christians together.

The Jewish traditionalists demand circumcision and adherence to the dietary and ritual laws of the Jews.

A more liberal group on the other hand feel the Spirit's call to include more people in their community and jettison some of the Old Testament laws and traditions which exclude some people making joining the Christian community difficult if not impossible for foreigners.[1]

Matthew's response

Matthew, probably addressing his gospel to the community at Antioch, a community with lots of Jewish and Gentile Christians[2] carefully shows how Jesus bridges a gap between the two parties and welcomes those 'outside the law'.

* * *

In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus proclaims that he has not come to loosen the law, but to fulfil it (5:17)[3]. Jesus completes it.

If the law were a picture it would look like this – a picture that only shows totally black and totally white.

With the help of the Holy Spirit we get a better picture, greyscale – a mixture of black and white.

And with all three, Father, Son and Holy Spirit – we begin to see in full colour what it is all really about.

Jesus 'fulfils' the law – he adds something to it that helps us to see all that went before him in a new light and it begins to make sense.

Encounter with the Pharisees

So, when the Pharisees and scribes come and criticise Jesus about not sticking to the traditions Jesus points out their hypocrisy, their take on the law is two dimensional – Jesus quotes from Isaiah:

"These people honour me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is a human commandment learned by rote…"

- Isaiah 29:13

They are all law – and not enough heart. In their interpretation they don't factor in the merciful nature of Yahweh revealed to us in Christ crucified.

* * *

Jesus teaches with words, and he underlines his words with dramatic action.

Encounter with the Canaanite

Straight away Jesus travels 50-80 km N out of his way to Syro-Phonoecia, the region of Tyre and Sidon.

As Jesus is travelling a Canaanite women comes out and cries – desperately; "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is tormented by a demon."

He ignores her.

The disciples want to send her away – she's being a nuisance.

Jesus says – arrogantly I imagine, speaking in the tone of a self-righteous Pharisee: "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."

In other words: 'That is not in my job description'.

Jesus – who with a word can heal – doesn't… because law and tradition prohibit it.

She gets more desperate, she kneels in front of him – imagine it all: "Lord help me…"

Forget the prayer of Jabez, this is the prayer parents say when they're desperate and don't know how to stop their children crying or help them get better: "Lord help me…"

Anything to stop the yelling and the torment.

He insults her: "It is not fair to take the children's food and throw it to the dogs." (Still, I believe, mimicking the attitude of Pharisees and Scribes.)

But the woman (a Canaanite) shows herself to be a greater Theologian than we thought, showing incredible insight into the grace and mercy of Israel's generous God:

"Yet even the dogs eat crumbs from under their master's table."

* * *

Immediately Jesus answers: "Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish."

Crumbs for Dogs

"Even dogs eat crumbs from under their master's table."

If we rewind a bit in Matthew's gospel – thinking of crumbs – we go back to 14:13-21 – where 5000 men (not counting women and children) are hungry and there are only five loaves and two fish.

Does Jesus carefully discern who in the crowd is sufficiently holy or worthy and righteous and divide the food among them while the rest go hungry?

No – that would just be mean.

Instead, he miraculously feeds all of them and the disciples collect 12 baskets of leftovers.

In the Kingdom of God there is enough grace for everybody.

"Even the dogs eat crumbs…"

The Canaanite woman gets it.

Pharisees, scribes, disciples, and many of us simply don't.

There is enough grace in the Kingdom of God for everybody.

* * *

To doubly emphasise Jesus inclusion of people who don't know or keep the rules and regulations of the Jews Jesus then heals many gentiles (15:29-31), has compassion on and feeds four thousand 'outsiders' by the lake (Still in foreign territory; 15:32-39).

And we read in 15:31: "And they praised the God of Israel".

Conclusion

A simple answer to the question: Why do we evangelize (share the gospel of the Kingdom of God)?

Simply because there is enough room at God's table – and if we run out of space we will be fed even if we sit under the table like dogs and snap for scraps.

Conclusion

The Psalm we read this morning speaks of how God's grace and love spread to all the nations brings joy and singing – it is good news. Yahweh the one God – blesses all people.

In Isaiah we read of how we ought to treat the strangers among us, how God is adding to his community all sorts of people – and it is for us to enjoy his grace with them.

In the gospel we read how Jesus reaches out beyond the boundaries of custom and law to offer grace and mercy to a Canaanite woman… There are enough crumbs for all god's people at the Lord's table.

I invite you to share the good news because it is good news, the good news of God's grace and mercy. I invite you to do that in the way you treat other people, in the way you regard them, and in the way you speak to them in the way that you recognise God's love for them that goes before you.

Then I believe we will begin to see the Kingdom of God in this place.

Amen

---

[1] In Acts and Galatians we read that Paul goes to Antioch (the probable location of this gospel's authorship) and enters into a heated debate with Peter over whether gentiles converting to Christianity ought to be circumcised in accordance with Jewish law (Gal 2:11-14; see also Acts 11).

[2] JP Meier, "Gospel of Matthew," in The Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. DN Freedman, vol. 4 (New york: Doubleday, 1996), 624.

[3] πληρῶσαι – The Greek word pleroosai (translated as fulfil) is part of the same word group that one would use when speaking about filling a bucket or a fishing net. (JP Louw and EA Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains, 2nd ed. (New York: United Bible societies, 1996), 199-200)

Evangelism 1 - Psalm 85:8-13; 1 Kings 19:9-18; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33

Click here to download the podcast.

Stepping Out

I've never been a big fan of 'evangelists.' And I'm still not. They scare me a bit – I don't like it when people try to convert me – to any religion or sect.

Last year an enthusiastic young guy came up to talk to me at the mall – asked me if I knew that Jesus had died for me. I said yes, thanks – try the next guy, I told him I was a minister. He persisted and asked – but are you born again!?

He got a bit irritating and I got into the car encouraged by his enthusiasm, but disappointed by the impression he was making.

* * *

In my sermon today and over the next couple of weeks I want to look at what Biblical evangelism really is.

I hope you will find that evangelism is not necessarily as bad as you thought it was, possibly more difficult – but not the sterotype you get from TV.

Euangelion

Euangelistes is the Greek word translated as 'Evangelist'. It comes from the word Euangelion which in our Bibles its translated as 'gospel.'

Gospel comes from Germanic Old English, a combination of 'gõd' (good) & 'spell' (a tale). In English it means 'good story'.

Most languages, including our own don't really have one word to translate the word Euangelion so, in Biblical translations the word has been translated quite colourfully as:

'…news which makes one happy.'
'…information that causes one joy.'
'…words that bring smiles.'
'…a message that causes the heart to be sweet.'[1]

* * *

An 'evangelist' is quite simply, a 'gospelist'.

In Jesus day it was someone who proclaimed 'good news'; not necessarily religious news – usually news of a political nature.

Taxes lowered.
Petrol price adjusted.
A new King in power.
A tyrant deposed.

Good news could change your world. If you were a slave in a conquered nation and your nation defeated its oppressors you could quickly be freed.

If you were an oppressor – and the good news of your defeat came to you – you might soon face a lynch mob.[2]

* * *

An evangelist lets people know that the systems and values and authorities by which we know the world have changed.

The Kingdom of God has come.

And this has implications and consequences for who we are, and the way we live.

Elijah the Evangelist

In the reading from Kings we meet Elijah at Mt Horeb where he asks God to take his life. He has had enough…

Elijah, pronounced 'e li yah' means – "Yahweh is God" – he can't even introduce himself without talking religion.

Elijah lived during the reign of Ahab. The writer of Kings says of Ahab:

"He did evil in the sight of the LORD more than all who were before him."

- 1 Kings 16:30

One of the things Ahab did was stop worshipping Yahweh and start worshipping Baal.

* * *

Yahweh, the God of the Israelites gets angry when Kings worship other gods… not because of some sort of human and selfish jealousy or egotistical need – but because Yahweh loves his people. Other gods impose unacceptable and destructive value systems on them.

The commandment prohibiting idolatry (Exodus 20) is based on the fact that Yahweh is the liberator God - the one who sets people free from slavery and holds them accountable for their actions. [3]

False gods and idols can be controlled by the prophets who claim to speak for them and the Kings who pay their salaries – Yahweh – the jealous God – is not so easily tamed – he can not be bought, owned, bribed or shut up.

* * *

Tyrants hate accountability – they want to be able to abuse and oppress on their own terms, that's why for so many Kings of Israel alternative gods were more attractive.

* * *

Seeing what Ahab is up to Yahweh calls Elijah to risk his life, to go tell Ahab the gospel (the good news):

"Yahweh is Lord and Baal is not."

To prove it, Yahweh will withhold rain until Elijah gives word (a real insult to Baal because Baal is a fertility god who is supposed to bring rain).

* * *

To protect Elijah Yahweh sends him out to hide in the desert where he is fed by Ravens.

He then sends Elijah even further away to Zarapheth where he, a widow and her son son miraculously eat from a jar of flour and jug of oil that never get empty.

After three years Elijah is sent back to Samaria to say that Yahweh's drought is over – the rain will come again.

He calls Ahab and the prophets of Baal to the top of mount Carmel (a fertile mountain where people worshipped Baal) for a contest between the two Gods.

An altar is set up and Elijah says to Baal's prophets that if Baal really is a God he must set fire to his own sacrifice…

The prophets dance and pray and whip themselves into a frenzy but nothing happens.

After all their ranting and raving Elijah sets up an altar for Yahweh, has it wet with tons of water – says a simple prayer asking Yahweh to reveal himself and Yahweh sends down fire to consume it all.

The miracle proves that Yahweh is Lord – Ahab repents – the false prophets are put to death and Elijah runs ahead of Ahab's chariot back to Jezreel as herald proclaiming the good news that Ahab has turned to Yahweh.

* * *

Whether good news is good news often depends on who is hearing it… the more the gospel challenges us, the less likely we are to hear it as good news.

Jezebel knows that the living God would ruin her fun, she threatens to kill Elijah.

And Elijah, fearing for his life flees to Beersheba, feeling a failure after three years work; he collapses and says: "I wish I could die."

Matthew the Evangelist

The gospels or the 'evangels' tell the story of Jesus and who he is. They announce Jesus 'kingship'.

With Jesus' Kingship come new values, those reflected in his teaching – love of neighbour, justice for the poor, care for all people – putting oneself second for a change instead of first.

Jesus deeds underline the truth of his teaching. In this deed – recorded in Matthew's gospel – Jesus walks on water.

* * *

The disciples know the sea of Galillee.
They know storms.
That people in boats float quite safely and people outside of boats sink.
Storms often kill fishermen.

Yet Jesus walks on top of the water in a storm.

Its meant to surprise and confuse us; People just don't walk on water.

Matthew tells us that it frightened and confused the disciples:

They were terrified, saying, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear….

- 14:26

* * *

In Jesus act, the sea, powerful and chaotic is conquered.

Only Yahweh himself has this kind of power – the power to subdue the waters of the sea.

Job asks in 9:8 "Who alone stretched out the heavens and trampled the waves of the Sea?"

Psalm 93:4 exclaims: "More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters, more majestic than the waves of the sea, majestic on high is the LORD!"

Psalm 104:3: "You set the beams of your chambers on the waters, you make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind…"

Only Yahweh has that sort of power.

He might feed thousands, preach with authority, heal the sick; but when he walks on water the disciples worship.

Three times in Matthew's gospel the disciples worship Jesus, twice after he is risen from the dead, and once – now when he walks on the water.

* * *

Like Elijah's name which means Yahweh is God. Matthew's gospel is telling us that Jesus is Lord, an earthly picture of who Yahweh really is.

The story of Jesus walking on water is told in Mark and John, but in Matthew's gospel alone something else miraculous happens… Peter walks on water too; he sinks when he gets frightened – but he manages a few small steps; and when he does sink – Jesus pulls him to safety.

Conclusion

Two stories of evangelism – one about Elijah the evangelist and one from Matthew the evangelist about Jesus and Peter walking on water.

Elijah

We learn from Elijah's story that proclaiming the gospel of Yahweh's reign is dangerous. People seldom accept it. Even though it is good news.

When he is ready to give up an angel sends him to Mount Horeb. After 40 days there he hears God speak; not in thunder or the wind, but in the sheer silence. Yahweh comforts him letting him know that he still has a plan… there is still hope.

Seven thousand people have still not submitted to Baal – they also only worship Yahweh and dream of his Kingdom. Yahweh has a plan for his Kingdom – Elijah must anoint a new prophet and two new Kings who will carry on his mission.

* * *

When we read the papers and watch the news – when we get a good glimpse of our own sin I think we say with Elijah – Lord kill me now, I am no better than my ancestors. I've had enough; let me emigrate.

In that moment – let us remember with Elijah that God is busy with us and with the world around us – the Kingdom of God is not impossible – it is coming. The people around you today – here in this building are here because they too believe in that Kingdom.

Jesus & Peter

From the content of the gospels we can guess that people who followed Jesus faced persecution.

In the midst of this despair and fear, countering it, Matthew paints a picture of Jesus conquering the chaos – walking on water. Matthew shows them that Peter too, a bumbling disciple like you and me, can also conquer the chaos and walk upon the waters.

For the hearers of Matthew's gospel there is still even when life seems most hopeless.

For us

Perhaps we feel like Elijah or maybe like the first hearers of Matthew's gospel – overwhelmed by the challenge of Yahweh's reign. But in both of them we find hope.

God has a plan, God is powerful, the kingdom of God is a real and present possibility.

* * *

I think that evangelising happens on two levels – an inward one and an outward one.

* * *

We need to be evangelised – our personal lives, our wallets, our marriages, our households, the way we do our jobs all need to hear the news that Jesus is King.

As we do that – as we evangelise ourselves we also need to share this gospel with others. Introducing them to the possibility and the reality of the Kingdom of God – God's salvation now.

And when we do – I believe we will begin to see the Kingdom of God in our own lives, in those around us, in our town and in this country – we will see Africa transformed.

---

[1] Louw and Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on semantic domains, 412.

[2] Kittel, Friedrich, and Bromiley, Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 268.

[3] In Exodus 20:1-6 the first commandment against idolatry gives us a clue as to why it exists:

First it points out that Yahweh is a liberator, someone who sets his people free from oppression:

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery, you shall have no other gods before me."

- Exodus 20:2-3

Second it shows how Yahweh will hold people accountable for their actions:

"I the LORD your God am a jealous God, punishing children for the iniquity of parents to the third and fourth generation of those who reject me, but showing steadfast love to the thousandth generation of those who love me and keep my commandments."

- Exodus 20:5

Beatitudes 4 – Salt and Light | Psalm 112:1-10; Isaiah 58:6-12; Matthew 5:13-16

Click here to download the podcast

Gary Rivas, a minister from Lonehill Johannesburg was tasked with preparing us ministers who were leaving John Wesley College at the end of 2006. He kept saying to us: "The local church, is the hope of the world…"

He was trying to remind us how important the work we were being prepared to do was.

"The local church is the hope of the world…"

This little crowd of Christians, meeting in this place, on a Sunday morning at 9h00 (or 5 past nine). Could we be the hope of the world?

* * *

If that is the case. Is there much hope for the world?

* * *

In Matthew 5:13-16 Jesus basically says the same as what that minister said to us in the chapel at John Wesley College (Page 7 of the Pew Bibles):

13 "You are like salt for the whole human race. But if salt loses its saltiness, there is no way to make it salty again. It has become worthless, so it is thrown out and people trample on it.

14 "You are like light for the whole world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and puts it under a bowl; instead he puts it on the lamp-stand, where it gives light for everyone in the house. 16 In the same way your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven.

* * *

"You are like salt for the whole human race…"

"You are like light for the whole world…"

* * *

Could we be the hope of the world?

* * *

For the past few weeks we've been looking quite closely at the Beatitudes in Matthew's gospel, Matthew 5:1-12. A set of sayings of Jesus that mark the beginning of his ministry in Matthew's gospel.

In these sayings Jesus outlines the wisdom on which the Kingdom of God is built… the world where God is King and the powers of this world are not. In it the poor are the honoured ones, the mourners will be comforted, the meek will inherit the earth, the pure in heart will see God.

God's Kingdom values are wholly different to the values of so called worldly kingdoms. Worldly Kingdoms exist for the sake of commerce, taxation and empire building – especially in Jesus' time…

Jesus paints a picture (echoing themes from throughout the Old Testament) of what some people have called an upside down Kingdom. In God's Kingdom the poorest and weakest are most honoured… they are the wealthy and the powerful.

Jesus promises in the Beatitudes that this Kingdom is inevitable, even though the route to getting there might be painful… We might be persecuted for righteousness / justice sake, people might say all sorts of things – it might cost us a lot. But, a reward is promised.

Mourners will be comforted.
Hungry for righteousness will be filled.
The meek will inherit the earth.

* * *

After teaching his disciples all this wisdom – Jesus tells them that they are the hope of the world. Salt for the whole human race, and light for the world.

* * *

These two images, salt and light had special significance for people living at the time of Jesus.

Salt

Salt was a valuable and essential commodity, in Jesus day salt was an essential part of food preservation and preparation, and even for medical needs.

Meat had to be preserved using salt – there were no fridges around in Jesus' day.

For religious purity sake salt might also have been used in the preparation of Kosher food. Rubbed on meat it could draw excess blood out of it – making it ritually fit for consumption.

But once the blood had been absorbed by the salt, the salt wouldn't be any good any more and would have to be rubbed off and thrown away.

Salt was also understood to have cleansing properties – used to disinfect and treat wounds. New born babies were rubbed with salt. In 2 Kings 2:21 we read about how Elisha sprinkled salt into a spring of water – declaring it pure and good to drink in the name of the Lord.

* * *

To be the salt of the earth – the salt for all people means to be a preserving, cleansing, healing presence in the world. And perhaps also a little bit tasty.

We – the disciples of Jesus – when we make his values our values are the hope of the world.

Light

The other image used is light.

With regard to light we're a bit spoilt, when there's no load shedding we light up our gardens our houses, our streets at the flick of a switch.

In Jesus day light was much more valuable.

On a dark night travellers scrambling to make it into the safety of a city would be filled with hope at the sight of the city's lamps burning brightly on the hill.

Light symbolised hope, civilisation, order. A beacon guiding travellers home to rest...

God's first act of creation in bringing the world to order was to say: "Let there be light…"

* * *

But light has to do also with what Jesus is talking about in Matthew 5:1-12 (the beatitudes). A lot of what Jesus says reflects the prophet Isaiah. In Luke's gospel Jesus first sermon comes from Isaiah 61:1:

"The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
to bind up the broken hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives…"

- Isaiah 61:1

In Matthew's gospel Jesus repeats the same themes – when he says blessed are the poor and the oppressed – it is good news for the poor, the oppressed, the mourners.

* * *

Isaiah in Chapter 42 and 49 also speaks of Israel being a light to the nations. In Isaiah 58:6-12 the prophet carries God's message (Isaiah 58:6-12):

"Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?

Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover them, and not to hide yourself from your own kin?

True religion God is saying, is not just empty ritual, but it is made known in what we do – in the difference we make in the world, no matter how small:

Then your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up quickly; your vindicator shall go before you, the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard."

- Isaiah 58:6-8

The promise is repeated in 9 to 12:

"If you remove the yoke from among you, the pointing of the finger, the speaking of evil, if you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light shall rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the noonday."

* * *

Isaiah's prophecies – prophecies to which Jesus is probably referring as he preaches this sermon on the mount - tell us that when we bring God's righteousness and justice to our world – then we will see light, and we will be light.

* * *

When Jesus says 'you are the light of the world' he is quite clear about how that means we are going to be doing something.

"Your light must shine before people, so that they will see the good things you do and praise your Father in heaven."

- Matthew 5:16

* * *

He's not just talking about having a sunny disposition.

He is speaking about a life that reflects God's righteousness and justice into the world around us.

Then people will begin to see what God is like, and they will be left with no choice, but to praise our Father in heaven, because who he is, really is reflected in who we are.

* * *

The scrolls of Isaiah end with people flocking from all over the world to worship God in the temple in Jerusalem. Matthew's gospel ends with the instruction to the disciples to go out to all the world and baptize them, teaching them (by word and deed) to obey everything he (Jesus) has commanded.

* * *

Today, more than ever, we need to be that light of justice and mercy and that salt of purification that begins to transform the world around us, and usher in God's Kingdom reign. You and I are the hope of the world.

* * *

No pressure.

* * *

The pressure is off because we are not alone in this. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit. Paul reminds us in Romans 8:11 that the same Spirit of God (that raised Jesus from death) lives in us and will give life to us… we are empowered and enlivened by that Spirit to live God's way, as hope for the world.

We are not alone in this because even as a small body of believers we are the body of Christ… where I have weakness you make up for me. Where I have strength I make up for you. Together we enable one another to do what God calls us to do. And in some mysterious way – as we remember when we partake of his body and drink of his blood – we are a part of Christ himself.

We are not alone in this, because when we work with God – we have an unfair advantage… He created the world to be this way.

Working with God we are salt and light – we show the way out.

* * *

You see, I believe that we are the hope of the world… all we need to is trust in Christ and begin to work with him in bringing God's Kingdom to bear on the world.

Beatitudes 3 - Matthew 5:1-12 - June 22 2008

Click here to download the podcast of this sermon.

We've been looking at the Beatitudes in Matthew's gospel over the past two weeks.

In week one I spoke of how the beatitudes are the 'constitution of the Kingdom of God.' God is restoring the values that these beatitudes represent to us.

In the second week I spoke about the hope we hear in the Beatitudes – hope for an eternal reality in which we will receive what we are promised.

We are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, and because of that – what we count as valuable is quite different to what is normally considered appropriate.

Today I want us to take a moment to reflect on the scripture, line by line... as we make it more and more a part of the values system that underpins our lives.

Blessed

Like most Christian words we use blessed a bit casually... when something good happens to us we say we were blessed. What we mean then – I hope – is that even though we didn't deserve it we got something good – and we're saying that it was God who blessed us.

* * *

In the world of Jesus' day the term blessed was used of the wealthy and powerful. The well educated and well healed. The respectable members of society.

In Greek it was like a title – there goes 'blessed Matthew' - someone who is favoured and important.

* * *

If you wanted to do well in life, just like today – it would be good to be connected to those who were blessed.

On the other hand, the poorest of the poor are worthless... you'll get nothing from them.

* * *

Jesus words of blessing are the exact opposite of what anyone would expect. He begins to turn the world we know on its head... taking our conventional wisdom and replacing it with God's wisdom.

And so he begins:

Blessed are the poor in spirit...

In Jesus' context the poor in spirit are the physically poor the phrase also implies that they have lost hope, they are tired. Their life's breath has been sucked out of them – spirit is the Greek word for breath.

Jesus wants them to know that the prophecy of Isaiah 9:2 is coming true:

"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light..."

Most Kingdoms are for the sake of accumulating power and making money... Kings are interested in the Rich and the Powerful, they are keen to exploit the poor and weak.

In God's Kingdom the poor and weak are the rich and the powerful.

And this Kingdom is not tomorrow – or just now, it is right now. Among the citizens of God's Kingdom the poor and hopeless are most favoured.

Blessed are those who mourn...

To mourn is to know the searing pain of loss. To be bereaved. It is having known something – having seen a speck of hope or light – and feeling doomed never to see it again.

In mourning the Psalmist sings:

"By the rivers of Babylon – there we sat down and there we wept... How could we sing the LORD's song in a foreign land?"

- Psalm 137

The vision for Israel was magnificent – the laws they had revolutionary, they protected the weakest in the land – they ensured provision for the poorest of the poor and even a sabbath day of rest for slaves and animals.

The vision was great – but it was almost always a giant and gaping hole in the heart of the poorest Israelites because other – more powerful nations were constantly dominating them. Even their own Kings constantly railed against the laws of the Kingdom.

The promise is – that they will one day be comforted. Comfort for a mourner is getting back what they have lost.

Blessed are the meek...

In the Psalm which we read this morning the Psalmist proclaims:

"Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
But the meek shall inherit the land,
and delight themselves in abundant prosperity."

- Psalm 37:10-11

The whole of Psalm 37 reminds the meek and the gentle that they will eventually be rewarded. Power and wealth is just temporary.

In Matthew's gospel – the word for meek or gentle is used 3 times, the next time it is used is in the verse:

"Take my yoke upon you and learn from me; for I am meek and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

- Matthew 11:29-30

And the third time, as Jesus rides into Jerusalem for his crucifixion:

"Tell the daughter of Zion, Look, your king is coming to you, meek, and mounted on a donkey, and on a colt, the foal of a donkey."

- Matthew 21:5

The kind of gentleness we are talking about is the gentleness we see in Christ. A difficult gentleness, one that leads to crucifixion. But that is accompanied by the promise of a future hope... the gentle, the meek, the oppressed will eventually inherit and rule the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness...

In this slide I've used two pictures – a picture of a person kneeling and praying, and a judges gavel.

The word for righteousness often makes us think of holiness or 'religiosity'. Keeping all the purity laws – we mostly have negative images of what we would call 'righteous' people. They're always telling you how much they pray – or fast – and they speak an irritating blend of English and Bible.

Scripturally speaking, religious righteousness is not separable from practical justice. Righteousness and Justice are the same word...

Do we hunger and thirst for a just world?

Do we hunger and thirst for being made right with God?

The two are the same.

Jesus tells us that loving God is just like loving your neighbour...

(Matthew 22:38 & 39)

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy...

In the Bible justice and mercy are cousins.

In Micah 6:8 the prophet writes:

"He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God?"

- Micah 6:8

Mercy – or kindness dresses the wounds inflicted by injustice. Mercy has to do with helping people and not expecting anything in return from them. Not putting them in debt to yourself.

It also means forgiving them their sins and debts. Loving them – just the way they are. Christians are known for being judgmental... Christ calls us to be merciful.

Jesus encourages us to be merciful as God is merciful. If we are not – we risk not receiving the mercy which God might have for us. Jesus warns us in Matthew 6:14-15 to practice forgiveness – because if we don't – we risk not being forgiven ourselves.

Blessed are the pure in heart...

In Psalm 24:3-4 the Psalmist asks:

"Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
And who shall stand in his holy place?

Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.
They will receive blessing from the LORD,
and vindication from the God of their salvation"

- Psalm 24:3-4

The pure in heart, the beatitude tells us – will see God. To see doesn't necessarily mean to physically see – although that is our hope. But it is also to perceive, to see God at work in the world.

The pure in heart will see that Jesus is God – because they are willing to allow him to challenge their preconceptions and move them into a new direction.

So often we who are corrupt, and not pure in heart close ourselves off to Jesus as soon as we hear how difficult or challenging his teaching is.

But the pure in heart – will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers...

To be called a son or a child of God in scripture means to share the nature of God. Children inherited their parents work, their parents identity – to be a child of God is to be like God.

Peacemaking is something that God does.

In Jesus time many factions are arguing with each other about who holds the correct interpretation of the scriptures – the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Zealots, all with different ways of seeing things, often trying to catch each other out in arguments.

Jesus rises above all that – reminding people of their one goal – the Kingdom of God.

He makes peace between people, and between heaven and earth by showing the way of forgiveness and grace.

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake...

The 11^th and 12^th verse expand on this one.

As I explained earlier righteousness is not religiosity, but pursuing the kind of justice that God wants for the world. Pursuing this sort of justice is not always in our interest.

Often we live off injustice and those around us do too... we like cheap deals, we like cheap labour.

We don't always ask where what we're buying comes from – because if we asked too many questions we might find that what we are consuming is a product of injustice.

If some of us stood up for justice we might face losing our jobs.

* * *

Christians like to feel sorry for themselves. They make an absolute pain of themselves trying to force their religion down other people's throats – and when with good reason those people don't like them they claim to be persecuted.

* * *

When we stand up – at great expense to ourselves – for what is right – the Kingdom of God belongs to us.

* * *

When we make these values – our values we will begin to see the Kingdom of God in this place.

Beatitudes 2 - Matthew 5:1-12 - 15 June 2008

[Slide]

Introduction:

Last week we began a series on the Beatitudes… a series which we will still be looking at for another two weeks.

What we call the beatitudes are most famously known as Matthew 5:1-12, the passage that we read this morning.

I introduced this passage by quoting Gandhi – a man who challenged Christians to be a little more faithful to their beliefs.  He is said to have said to Lord Irwin, the viceroy of India:

"When your country and mine shall get together on the teachings laid down by Christ in this Sermon on the Mount we shall have solved the problems not only of our countries but those of the whole world."

*  *  *

As we observe the situation in the world today, in Africa, South Africa, in the middle East – I think those with their eyes open could not agree more… if we adopted these values from the sermon on the mount, if the values of God – outlined in Matthew 5:1-12 – were our values and were more than just ideals.  We would begin to see a world fundamentally changed.

As we watch the news I think many of us are starting to say that we might just become the physically poor that Jesus is speaking about in the beatitudes.

I spoke also of how these beatitudes are not just some 'spiritual ideology' a how to get to heaven formula.  They are practical words – Jesus practices what he preaches.

*  *  *

This is possible

My argument was that, making these values our own – and living by them, is not impossible, because - when we reach out to Christ, to God, in faith, God begins to transform us. 

And that transformation is not from something we are into something we are not.  But rather the other way around – it is a transformation from something we are not… money, power, obsessed, sinful people into something that we are… caring and compassionate – pure in heart… people with God's heart at the centre.

God transforms us into the people we were created to be.

Like it is written in Genesis – we were created in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), and that's certainly not about the way we look.  Paul says in Romans that we've sinned – fallen short of that glory – but because of Christ we can be restored to that glory (Romans 3:21-31).

The beatitudes are not just about the present, they are about the future:

Matthew brackets the beatitudes with two verses in the present tense, what we call an inclusio… the phrase 'for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.'  The first beatitude:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

And the eighth:

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."  

This way of writing lets us know that that's what all the beatitudes are about – they are about the Kingdom of God.  The kind of world we would see (as the theologian Marcus Borg puts it) if God was King, and the rulers of this world were not.

Although these two beatitudes are in the present tense, indicating as Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is here.  The other 6 are written in the future tense:

Mourners will be comforted.
The meek will inherit.
The 'hungry for justice / righteousness' will be filled.
The merciful will receive mercy.
The pure in heart will see God.
Peacemakers will be called children of God.

These are all promises of a future hope.

*  *  *

In Theology we call the study of what's popularly called 'the end times', 'eschatology' – that exciting end to which we believe the world is moving.  Put simply, using a common phrase from scripture:  "The day of the Lord", or as another good theologian puts it:  The day on which God will put the world to rights.

We see good creation at the beginning of the story and at the end of the story of the Bible – a good rebeginning.  A new heavens and a new earth.

*  *  *

Unfortunately there are many people who masquerade around pretending to know more about the end of the world than anyone else, often even Jesus himself.  There's no time for them now, but when you see them coming, my advice is that you run and run quickly!  They twist the scriptures, deceive people and take their money – and lots of it.

*  *  *

Although the beatitudes speak practically, their bulk speaks of a future hope for those who suffer now.

*  *  *

This hopeful language is not unique to Jesus, or to Matthew's gospel.  It is the language of Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1-4) and many of the prophets – the language of the belief that ultimately, God's way will win out, even when it seems less than likely.

These verses echo the belief that a day of justice is coming, and on that day the mourners, the meek, those hungry for justice, the merciful, the pure and the peacemakers will be vindicated.

And those who are the opposite of all this will also be brought to justice.

The promise is that the experiences of this life, especially when they are for the sake of the Kingdom of God are not for nothing… we will be comforted, rewarded, consoled.

*  *  *

In Philippians 3 Paul echoes this hope:  He speaks of how his greatest aim – his goal in life is to imitate Jesus – to follow the Way of Christ.  Paul aspires to being crucified with Christ, putting to death all of the desires of the flesh… living completely for the life after this one.

He did this, he said, because for him our citizenship is in heaven (we are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven).  Because we are citizens of the Kingdom of heaven we have a different currency.  What is counted as valuable in this reality – is nothing in that reality.  In the Kingdom of heaven the poor are blessed, the mourners are comforted, the cross is something towards which to aspire.

Jesus teaching overturns our conventional wisdom.

But Paul reminds us, the treasures of the Kingdom of heaven, in contrast to the treasures of this world are 'eternal.'

Paul warns his readers in Philippians 3:18, that many live as enemies of the cross… Their god is their belly – their bodily desires. 

Paul warns that that desire leads only to destruction.  (The Good News Bible says they will end up in hell… unfortunately for the GNB that's not even close to the Greek - In the Greek the words are telos (meaning ultimately) and apooleia (meaning destroyed or wasted)).

In contrast, Paul says that the citizens of heaven wait for Jesus the deliverer, the rescuer to restore us to the glory for which were intended.  And to put all things under his authority – putting the world to rights.

*  *  *

The Beatitudes speak of a future hope.  A hope that those who suffer for the sake of the good in this life will be eternally rewarded by God, a belief that God will bring the world to justice, and those who have been done down will eventually be vindicated.

*  *  *

In the adaptation of the Nicene Creed which we say at Baptisms we say about Jesus: "He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead."  As Christians we firmly believe that there will be a day of justice – but do we live our confession?

What to do:

Every Sunday I am grateful for those words from 2 Corinthians 13:13 which we say to each other… The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit…

They remind me – after I have been challenged by the scriptures, by our prayers, and the presence of God as we worship together that we are not alone in trying to live into the reality which God sets up for us.

We are citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, called to have a very different set of values to those around us. 

To help us to live with these values – Jesus gives us community.  Each other, people who remind each other, who pray with each other – who see the world differently together.

Next term we hope to get our fellowship groups going again – will you make discipleship a priority for you and get involved?

Another way to make these values a part of your reality is to pray – to take a minute or two – or half an hour… maybe a minute every hour.  And remind yourself that God is God and God is working out a story in this world.

Finally – study the scriptures.  Learn what these values which Jesus sets up for us mean.  Let your reality be defined by God's story.

Getting in on God's dream…

The field we are playing on slopes towards God's goal posts, we are created in the image of God (all of us) and God is on our team.

Desmond Tutu says in his book God has a dream that when he was at the front of a small crowd, intimidated by a powerful army, himself quite small in stature and unarmed – he would shout to the soldiers with their weapons and heavy trucks: "Come and join the winning side."

Because Tutu believed firmly that God is on the side of justice.