“Knocking off rough edges – Luke 9:37-62”
Gladstone Baptist Church – 12/3/06 am
S1 - Most people think that we are pretty good Christians and that Jesus is lucky to have us on his side. The disciples thought this also
There was once a man named Tom who was promoted to vice president of his company. He was so excited about his promotion that he kept bragging about it to his wife for weeks on end.
Finally she couldn’t take it any longer, and told him, "Listen, vice president means nothing, they even have a vice president of peas at the grocery store!"
"No they don’t do they? Really?" he said. Not sure if this was true or not, Tom decided to call the grocery store. A lady answered and Tom asked, "Can I please talk to the Vice President of peas?"
The lady replied, "Would that be canned or frozen?"
Have you ever had one of those moments where you thought you’d done something pretty good and then you were just brought crashing down to earth? I get that all the time. I think something has gone fairly well and then I hear someone say that it wasn’t as good as I thought it was. How does that make you feel when that happens?
It is good to sit back and reflect on how we are going in life – but our reflection has to be realistic and tempered by what others around us think. I don’t know about you, but I often wonder how God thinks I am going in my spiritual life. I know that there are some areas that I struggle with – like regular quiet times, like deep and meaningful prayer times. But over all, I often come to the conclusion that I’m not doing too badly and that God is lucky to have me on his team.
Is this how you usually assess your spiritual walk? You’d get a pass mark for spiritual maturity if it came to it. When I look at Jesus’ disciples in the Bible, I see them thinking pretty much the same. They were the chosen few and they felt pretty chuffed about it at times. Jesus was surely proud of them – who wouldn’t be – they were measuring up fairly well as disciples.
S2 - But when it came to whether they had enough faith to heal a demon possessed man – they failed to measure up. Jesus had to knock the sharp edge of unbelief off them. (9:37-43)
One day however, a man came to Jesus, seeking help – You’ll find this in Luke 9:37 if you want to follow along. It was just after Jesus, Peter, James and John had come down from the mountain where Jesus had been transfigured. These lucky three had just seen Jesus’ glory and majesty and I’m sure they were feeling fairly stoked at being a part of it, but their bubble was soon to be burst.
This man came to Jesus bringing his son who was possessed by a demon. His son had been possessed since his early childhood and it had often tried to kill the boy by throwing him into fires or into rivers or lakes. The boy that was brought was in a mess. I imagine that he had eyes that were wide open and wild. I imagine that on his little body were the scars from burns and injuries suffered in the past . I imagine that his parents were scared to let their son out of their sight in case he started convulsing and do himself more damage. He was a tortured boy and when he was brought to Jesus, the spirit took hold of him and threw him to the ground in a fit. The boy began to scream and foam at the mouth. Everyone took a step backwards as the boy rolled around in the dust and dirt at their feet.
The father who brought his son, looked at Jesus through eyes of despair for this was his only child. Imagine having only one child and instead of him bringing joy and fun and laughter, instead bringing worry, fear and pain. This Dad, pleaded with Jesus to help him. He said “ Teacher, I beg you to look at my son, for he is my only child. A spirit seizes him and he suddenly screams; it throws him into convulsions so that he foams at the mouth. It scarcely ever leaves him and is destroying him. I begged your disciples to drive it out, but they could not.”
This Dad had exhausted his options, he’d already asked Jesus’ disciples for help. He thought that surely they also had power like their teacher. The disciples obviously thought they should have had power also, because they tried to drive out the demon – but they failed. They failed because of their lack of faith. They failed to measure up to the man’s expectations, they failed to measure up to their own expectations and they failed to measure up to Jesus’ expectations.
Failure makes us feel pretty lousy doesn’t it. Any of you fishermen know that - as much as you say that it is nice sitting out in the boat all day in tranquil surroundings, if you don’t catch anything of worth, you feel lousy and that it has been a wasted trip. Failure makes takes us down a peg or two.
Jesus looked around him at his disciples and the crowd gathered. They were unable to bring healing to this poor boy because they lacked faith. Jesus looked around in disappointment. Didn’t they get it yet. Hadn’t they learned by now? He turned to them and in a voice that was tinged with frustration and disappointment said “O unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I stay with you and put up with you? Bring your son here.”
The disciples almost shriveled up at that moment and they wished the ground would swallow them up right then and there. Jesus then healed the boy and gave him back to his father.
They did believe didn’t they? But– obviously not enough because the boy wasn’t healed. God wants men and women of faith. When the crunch came the disciples were found wanting. They thought they had enough faith to heal this boy, but they failed. Their unbelief prevented them from healing and that day and Jesus had to knock off the rough edge of unbelief from his disciples. They weren’t as mature in their faith as they thought.
S3 : But when it came to pride and ambition – they failed to measure up. Jesus had to knock the sharp edge of pride off them (9:46-48)
Shortly after that an argument broke out among the disciples. Peter, James and John had just been up on the mountain with Jesus alone and seen his majesty and I’m sure that some of the other disciples were a bit miffed as to why these three were singled out for special treatment. The disciples began to argue about which of them were going to be the greatest in heaven. Who was going to sit at the place of honour at the great celebration feast of heaven? Who was going to get the most important job? Who was going to get the best view from their mansion? Who would be given the best angels to minister to them?
Jesus knew what was going on and he knew their individual thoughts. Instead of dressing them down individually, he took a small child and placed her beside him. Jesus then started to speak about the worth of this child in God’s eyes. He said “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For he who is least among you all—he is the greatest” (vs 48). Jesus told them that in order to get to heaven, they needed to become like that little child – humble and dependant on Him. The disciples looked at each other a bit shocked. Could Jesus be saying that this child was greater than they were? Who’d ever heard of such a crazy thing. But Jesus didn’t look to be joking – instead his tone and his expression showed he was deadly serious. There beside him in the place of greatest honor was a small child.
Have you ever thought that you were better than someone else? We all have haven’t we. Muhummad Ali was renowned for his boasting and the way he would talk himself up. "I am the Greatest!" he would say. One day he boarded a plane but refused to fasten his seatbelt. The flight attendants politely requested that he do so, on a number of occasions, but each time Ali refused, till finally he said, "Superman don’t need no seatbelt."
"Yes, and Superman don’t need no airplane" replied the flight attendant. Often we think that we are greater than we actually are. Jesus saw straight through the pride and ambition that drove the disciples. God desires humilty not pride. But when it came to the test of humilty, their pride got in the way and they failed to measure up to God’s expectations for them. Pride is an awful hindrance to our work for God. Pride and jealousy is where many disputes spring from and so Jesus had to knock the sharp edge of pride off them before they would be acceptable to God. They weren’t as mature in their faith as they thought.
S4: But when it came to protecting their turf – they failed to measure up. Jesus had to knock the sharp edge of competition off them. 9:49-50
All of this was becoming a bit much for John and so he pipes up at that point and proudly lets Jesus know that they actually had done something good. Some of the disciples had come across a man who was driving out demons in the name of Jesus – but he wasn’t one of their privileged group. And so what did they do, they tried to stop him.
I mean, imagine the nerve of that fellow – He wasn’t following Jesus around the countryside . He wasn’t one of Jesus’ special disciples, but he was seeking to heal by the power of Jesus and what was worse, he seemed to be succeeding where they were failing – he actually managed to drive out demons. But that was beside the point, they reasoned to themselves, it was downright dangerous to let untrained people minister like that because they could make mistakes that would damage people or do things in a way that – well – just isn’t right. So the disciples told him to stop it at once.
The disciples expected Jesus to pat them on the back for this one – a job well done in protecting the integrity of their ministry. But Jesus turns to them and sighs. He says “Don’t stop him. Whoever is not against you is for you.”
Talk about a response out of left field. The disciples were getting a bit sore and sorry now. They didn’t have enough faith to heal, they were too ambitious to be the greatest and now they were too protective of their ministry. You see, they wanted to keep all the action for themselves. They wanted the publicity, they wanted the results and when someone else tried to muscle in on them, they felt jealous and threatened. Jesus wasn’t impressed with their attitude. Their competitive nature and desire to keep it all for themselves failed to measure up to God’s expectations for them. God wants cooperation not competition. It wasn’t their ministry, it was God’s ministry and there is no room for competition in God’s kingdom.
You know, sometimes, I can’t help but look over the fence at other churches or even other ministries which are prospering and doing some amazing work and I feel jealous. I feel threatened that they are muscling in on my ministry and they are taking some of my best resources away from the work that I am trying to do here. Sometimes, I would love to tell them to go and work somewhere else or to stop competing with me and come and join me. But I’ve got to be taught, just like the disciples that we are all working toward the same end. Jesus had to knock off the rough edge of competition off the disciples before they would be acceptable to God. They weren’t as mature in their faith as they had thought.
S6: But when it came to judging others for their attitudes – they failed to measure up. Jesus had to knock the sharp edge of judgmentalism off them. (9:51-56)
A little while later, Jesus set out for Jerusalem. He knew it was time for him to give his life as a sacrifice and so he starts his final journey to Jerusalem and he took the short cut through Samaria. On the way, he finds himself needing to find accommodation in a Samaritan village. This was quite unfortunate because normally Jews avoided the Samaritans at all costs and if they had the time, they would normally walked all the way around the region of Samaria which added close to 40 km to a typical journey which was a lot when you were walking.
Jesus sent a couple of his disciples ahead to find some accommodation for them in this Samaritan village, but they were not welcomed at all and were refused any kind of hospitality. It sounds a bit strange, but most Jews headed to Jerusalem to take part in all of the Jewish feasts and religious rituals. The Samaritans were shunned by the Jews and banned from the temple at Jerusalem. And so anything to do with the Jewish temple and the religious practices of the Jews really got up their nose. They even went so far as establishing their own temple and their own worship rituals at Gerizim in opposition to Jerusalem.
It was not surprising therefore that the Samaritans weren’t too welcoming of Jesus and his disciples on their way to Jerusalem. But this annoyed the disciples so in the most righteously indignant voices they could muster, they suggested that Jesus call down fire from heaven to destroy these heathens and teach them a lesson.
These people were not supporting their ministry, but were actually hindering it and it made all the sense in the world for God to get rid of the obstacles. Jesus didn’t see it that way though. He turned around and rebuked them yet again and they traveled on to the next village. God wants people who are more likely to forgive than condemn
The disciples were quick to judge and in doing so, they failed to measure up to the standards that God had for them. Jesus had to knock the rough edge of judgmentalism off them before they could be used in his service. They weren’t as mature in their faith as they thought.
S7: And when it came to sacrificing for Christ – they failed to measure up. Jesus had to knock the sharp edge of self interest off them.
The last event I want to relate to you this morning occurred as this group were walking along the road towards Jerusalem. Jesus was such a charismatic person, that many people followed him. Some followed for a short time, some for a long time. In chapter 10 of Luke, we read that Jesus sent out 72 people in pairs. So there was a great crowd following him. And it was from this crowd that three are singled out.
The first man sidled up to Jesus and said “I’ll follow you where ever you go.” But Jesus turned to him, looked him in the eye as if to say “Will you really?” He said “Foxes have holes to sleep in, birds have nests to rest in, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” No home what so ever. That means no possessions, no security, no family – this man hadn’t considered those consequences and retired to the back of the crowd to think about whether he was willing to give up so much.
Jesus then turned to another and said “ How about you follow me.” This man looked a bit nervous. He was okay, just walking along in the crowd, but to have to commit to follow Jesus without knowing how long you were going to be gone or where you were going was a tough ask. The man thought for a moment and then said “I will, but first let me go and bury my father.” His father wasn’t even dead yet for crying out loud. He was saying – I’ve got family responsibilities to look after now and when my old dad is dead and my family responsibilities are dealt with, I’ll come and follow you. Jesus wasn’t impressed and turned to him and said “Let the dead bury the dead.” Death was certain, but in Jesus’ eye’s it was not as urgent as proclaiming the kingdom. This man also slipped back into the crowd to lick his wounds and consider the options.
A third man stepped forward and proudly said – “I’ll follow you and I won’t wait till my parents die, just give me a chance to go and say good bye to my family because I don’t know when I’ll next see them.” Everyone nodded at this reasonable request, but Jesus shook his head he said “Anyone who puts his hand to the plow and then turns back is not fit to serve God.”
No-one was expecting that one. How could Jesus be so heartless not to allow a man to say a proper goodbye.
Everyone in that crowd that day knew that you can’t plow a field by looking behind you, because you end up going crooked. Was Jesus saying that goodbyes were a distraction that could lead you on the wrong path?
Each of these three men had good intentions that they were willing to verbalise. But when it came to the crunch their commitments were suspect. The first man wasn’t too keen to sacrifice the comforts and security of home. The second man wasn’t willing to put Jesus before his family commitments. The third wasn’t willing to avoid all possible distractions to the task at hand. They were committed, but they were not totally committed. God wants people who put His priorities before their own. They were trying to juggle their commitment with self interests and that didn’t measure up to Jesus’ expectations. Jesus had to knock the rough edge of self interest off them before they could be used in his service. They weren’t as mature in their faith as they thought.
Jesus desires that we all become spiritually mature people ready for the Kingdom of God, but to do this he must knock off some of our rough edges.
I want to return to the question I began with at the beginning of the sermon today – How do you think God evaluates your spiritual life?
The disciples thought they were going pretty well modeling their life on Jesus Christ – but they were fooling themselves. Again and again they were measured and found to come up short to Jesus’ expectations. They lacked faith, they were proud, they were jealous of competition, they were judgmental and they still held their own interests very close. Again and again, Jesus had to knock off rough edges that kept cropping up – why? To transform us to be more like Him.
One of the verses we use as the basis of our mission statement here at Gladstone Baptist church is this …
Eph 4: 11-13 11 It was he [Jesus] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, 12 to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
Jesus gifts leaders in this church to prepare all of God’s people here for works of service so that the body of Christ can be built up. He desires that we be built up until we all reach unity in our faith and knowledge and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
One of Jesus’ goals for us during our life is that we become spiritually mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. He wants us to become like Christ – that is – to become spiritually mature. But in order to make us spiritually mature, he needs to go to work in our lives to knock off the rough edges that don’t look like Christ. To do that sometimes he uses words of others, or circumstances, or failures or rejection. Sometimes these thing hurt us, but in it all, his sole purpose is not to harm us, but to correct our attitudes so we look more like Christ.
How mature is your faith? I’m sure that if we looked through Jesus’ eyes, we would see lots of rough spots, but Praise God that he is patient with us and has promised that if we allow Him, who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day when Jesus returns.
