THE YEAR OF THE TOWEL – The Towel That Unifies Us
Matthew 25:31-46
November 20, 2022
Introduction:
We live in a state where we wear a lot of blue and white or black and red. I spent almost 15 years in Louisville, Kentucky wearing a lot of blue and white amid a sea of black and red.
I used to tell my Cardinal loving friends that blue and white were the color of Heaven and black and red were the color of Hell. It made me really popular...lol.
[It’s like the old joke that has Rick Pitino dying and going to heaven (I know, but just pretend...it’s a joke) and as St. Peter ushers him around he is shown amazing things. Finally they arrive at his mansion...it’s beautifully decorated in Cardinal red with black trim, one or two banners and other awards. Rick says, this is gorgeous...but as they continue down those golden streets they come to a mansion that’s 5 times the size...It’s decorated in Royal blue and with 8 national championship banners...and Kentucky Wildcat paraphernalia that just doesn’t stop...Rick looks at St. Peter and says, “How come Calipari gets a house like that?” and Peter says...“Oh No...that’s where God lives.”]
It’s pretty easy to identify Kentucky Wildcat fans and Louisville Cardinal fans.
But it’s gotten a whole lot tougher to identify Christians these days...sure we could put on T shirts with Christian quotes. Maybe wear a cross or two, or put an “Icthus” (fish) license plate on front of our car...but those are just superficial decorations.
The large majority of Americans still identify themselves as Christians according to a recent Gallop poll...77% of the adult population make that claim. 52% who are Protestants or some other non-Catholic Christian religion, 23% who are Catholic, and 2% who affiliate with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. 18% claim no religious identity and 5% identify with a non Christian religion. These results came from a random sample of 326,271 adults 18 and older living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
In the 1950s 95% of Americans identified themselves as Christians. As recently as 8 years ago it was over 80%.
So, that’s great right? 275 million Christians wearing Jesus’ jersey and trying to score for God’s kingdom.
There’s a problem though right? Clearly not all those who make the claim fit the Biblical definition of a disciple and there are 7 billion people in this world and only 2.1 billion make that claim...33%. The percentage of those who are living born again, Christ following lives is much much lower.
So, how do we identify those who have really picked up “His towel?” It’s important to realize:
I. CLAIMING JESUS AS LORD DOESN’T NECESSARILY MAKE IT TRUE
Jesus tells us a story about trees and fruit. He says every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus by their fruit you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:19-20)
And on the heels of this analogy He says:
MATTHEW 7:21-23
In both Matthew 25’s story about sheep and goats and in Matthew 7, people call Jesus Lord...“Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did...or did not help you.” “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons, and in your name perform miracles?”
The Greek word for Lord, used in both places here and 665 other places in the New Testament...“Kurios, literally means “He to whom a person or thing belongs.” Master...“Owner.”
The Matthew 7 group use it and then list all the stuff they’ve done...The Matthew 25 sheep and goats use it...unaware of what they’ve done or haven’t done.
But the connection is about “who” not “what.”
The first group does a lot of stuff “in Jesus’ name.” But he says “I never knew you.” The 2nd group says “Lord when did we see you?” And Jesus says...when you loved the least of these...or didn’t...you loved or didn’t love “me.” It’s the relationship that’s central to Jesus, not the words or activity.
“Kurios” or Lord, Master is a matter of the heart and soul...Even if you do stuff, if you haven’t really surrendered to His ownership...His plan...His authority...it’s just words...like the religious Pharisees...you can be outwardly obedient and inwardly arrogant and self focused.
Doing stuff can make us feel good...like we’ve earned Jesus’ grace...but relationships are harder...they take humbling ourselves, becoming open and transparent, they take time, effort and understanding...they’re risky...and sometimes very costly. But Something we’d better consider when it comes to our picking up the towel in 2016 is Jesus’ new command that followed him washing feet...“a new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples. If you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)
The jersey that identifies which team we’re on is “love.”...“A love like Jesus’ love”...A love that exists because He loved us...and now through that relationship it flows through us to others.
And there is an aspect of this love that deserves to be judged in each of us who claim to be His disciples.
II. HOW DO WE LOVE THE SINFUL, BROKEN AND HURTING PEOPLE AROUND US?
Sure we should cut our best friend’s yard when he’s on vacation...yes we should help our buddy out when his truck breaks down...But you don’t have to be a real disciple of Jesus to want to do that.
Jesus called the original 12 disciples over for some intimate important teaching...Here’s what He tells them:
MATTHEW 5:43-48
Being God’s child changes how we love people. We are called to love those it’s hard to love...like He does...Having Jesus as our King means we live by the rules of a kingdom different than the world.
One night a woman dreamed that she was having a conversation with God. She was angry about all the suffering and evil she saw around her, so she complained to the Lord. “God, why don’t you do something about all this?” God gently replied: “I did. I created you.”
I’m afraid many times we put the cart before the horse in American Christianity...we ask people to have a great relationship with the bride, which is the Church, but never really introduce them to the groom, Jesus. And then we wonder why...they end up doing stuff...but not really loving like Him.
Illustration:
One person observed how prevalent this truth was in Scripture, and so he rewrote Matthew 25 in this way:
I was hungry and you formed a humanities club and discussed my hunger.
I was imprisoned and you crept off quietly to your chapel and prayed for my release.
I was naked and in your mind you debated the morality of my appearance.
I was sick and you knelt and thanked God for your health.
I was homeless and you preached to me of the spiritual shelter of the love of God.
I was lonely and you left me alone to pray for me.
You seem so close to God; but I am still very hungry, and lonely, and cold.
[I remember when I lived in Louisville I had this giant flag pole in my front yard with a big American flag waving from it. It hung there on 1 particular occasion for almost two years. It became wind torn and faded and I would not take it down. I had a guy stop me one time and tell me how disgraceful it was to fly a flag like that....that there were rules that I was supposed to follow...and I said “Buddy, I hung that flag up there with my son the day he left to go to war...and on the day he returns we’ll take it down together and hang a new one up...Is that OK with you?”]
The Pharisees were very careful rule keepers. They hung their flags out and made sure everyone saw how carefully they folded it, and lowered and replaced it. The problem was they didn’t love the Son it represented. One that they should have longed to see come back home...and because of that they didn’t practice what they preached.
Jesus said,
MATTHEW 23:1-5
We are never, ever called to be people who go to Church in order to feel good about our righteousness...we are called to be a people who go into the world to share the love of our Savior...and then come together to celebrate His glory...and His goodness.
Jesus very clearly lets us know that the difference between religious people and those who have genuine saving relationship with Him can be identified...by the fruit they bear. Like the difference between sheep and goats...you might not think there’s much difference between the two...they look similar from a distance...But one’s a mere imitation...one’s the real thing...And the shepherd knows which is which.
Jesus said, “When you throw a banquet invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind.” (Luke 14:13)
This is what Jesus taught, it’s how He lived, it’s the example He set....He lived His ministry this way...and gave His Spirit to empower His followers to live the same way.
Loving the broken and hurting doesn’t save us. Good deeds are not the root of our salvation. Loving the broken and hurting are the Fruit of our salvation...because we are intimately connected to Jesus, the vine...we’re just the branches.
Maybe the goats in Matthew 23 were too busy with their own lives to notice the hungry and cold. Maybe going into the prison was just too uncomfortable. Maybe if they went to the leper colony they’d catch the disease, so they played it safe.
[Haddon Robinson said, “A certain kind of arithmetic has spawned in the counting rooms of Hell. It’s the kind that’s always talking about reaching the masses on Sunday morning, but never gets down to a man or woman on Thursday afternoon. It talks about winning the world for God, but doesn’t think about winning a neighbor or co-worker for God. That arithmetic makes it valiant to talk about crossing the ocean, but never really crosses the street.]
I instantly thought of this story when I read Matthew 23:
In October of 1993, in the town of Worcester, Massachusetts, police found an old woman dead on her kitchen floor. This was no ordinary discovery – she had been dead four years. Police speculated she died at age seventy three of natural causes. That’s when her bank transactions ended.
How can someone be so cut off from relationships that no one even notices when he or she dies?
To some extent, it was a mistake. According to the Associated Press, four years earlier, neighbors had called authorities when they sensed something might be wrong. When the police contacted the woman’s brother, he said she had gone into a nursing home. Police told the postal service to stop delivering mail. One neighbor paid her grandson to cut the grass because the place was looking run down. Another neighbor had the utility company come and shut off the water when a pipe froze, broke, and sent water spilling out the door.
To a great extent, though, it was not a mistake.
One friend from the past said, “She didn’t want anyone bothering her at all. I guess she got her wish, but it’s awfully sad.”
Her brother said the family hadn’t been close since their mother died in 1979. He added, “Someone should have noticed something before now.”
“Yeah...someone should have!”
Let’s Pray.
