I wish I could say I was shocked when I saw the story… A Libyan branch of ISIS claims to have beheaded 21 men. A caption across the bottom of the video screen read, “The people of the cross, followers of the hostile Egyptian church” As many as thirteen of the men were from one small farming community off the Nile River and 150 miles south of Cairo. A local priest said you could hear screams coming from every house and every street throughout the small town. The men were captured about a month ago, their hands tied behind their back with plastic ties, they were cursed at, beaten and kidnapped. A little more than a week ago, they were dressed in orange jumpsuits, made to kneel, and then tragically beheaded. ISIS, or the Islamic State, is a brutal extremist militant group that has seized much of Iraq and currently rules an area larger than the United Kingdom.
And they have also expanded quickly over war-stricken Libya, in Northern Africa. The Coptic Church numbers some 8.5 million people in Egypt and many of the poorest Egyptians have traveled to Libya in the last 4/5 years in search of work. We need to pray for government leaders across the world and in our nation to deal with this crisis. We need men and women of courage to rise up and to everything within their power to protect innocent lives. And we need to pray for these believers to have the courage to continue to follow Christ in the midst of such adversity. Now, ISIS is fueled by a specific vision of the end… a vision of violence and a return to way things were in the legal environment of the 7th century. And they believe they are written into God’s script as a central character in the end times. They ultimately wish to bring about the apocalypse. Jesus had very different views on the end times. Instead of waging violence on innocent people, Jesus called on His followers to invest their lives in kindness and love toward one another.
So Jesus tells a story, a parable, of an Absentee King. Jesus told versions of the same story in several places as recorded in the gospels.
For example, the Gospel of Mark has shorter version of it: On screen: “It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake.” (Mark 13:34)
Today’s Scripture
“As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately. 12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return. 13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’ 14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’ 15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business. 16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’ 17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ 18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’ 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ 20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief; 21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’ 22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ 24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’ 25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’ 26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’” (Luke 19:11-27)
Parables were Jesus’ favorite method to teach. Over the course of these four weeks, we’ve been examining some four parables of Jesus inside the gospel of Luke. Each of these represents a small story with a big truth. Now, Jesus taught in parables to disarm his listeners, and by doing so He was able to penetrate any hardness of heart or resistance to what He is saying. The first week, we witnessed the story of the crooked judge and how a vulnerable widow received justice despite the court’s inherit injustice (Luke 18:1-8); Last week, Jesus taught us the story of a dishonest man and how even sinners can teach saints a lesson about investing their money for eternity (Luke 16:1-13) Today, Jesus tells a story of an absentee king, who goes away and returns. We could also think of God as businessman, who invests in a business with the expectation of a profit. Jesus wants you to think of your life as money and invest it.
The Setting
Jesus tells this parable in Jericho but days away from His crucifixion. In fact, if we were to keep reading in the next verses we would witness Jesus riding into Jerusalem for His final week. Yet, the Disciples don’t get it – they don’t get His plans. Just one chapter earlier, a blind man that Jesus later healed, called Jesus “Son of David.” Jesus heard it and ordered the blind man to be silent. But the blind man again called Jesus the “Son of David” (Luke 18:37-38). “Son of David” in Jesus’ day was a word reserved for a military-esque Messiah who would kick Rome out of Israel and return Israel to the national sovereignty they enjoyed under King David. It was this combination of Him being the “Son of David” and Jesus being near Jerusalem that lead to horrific misconception on the Twelve’s part: “And taking the twelve, he said to them, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32 For he will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon. 33 And after flogging him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise.” 34 But they understood none of these things. This saying was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said.” (Luke 18:31-34)
They don’t get it – for “supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately” (Luke 19:11). The Twelve thought they were heading into Jerusalem for Jesus’ coronation but Jesus tells them, “The people will not crown me but crucify me!” Jesus tells this story to correct the misconception that’s He’s beginning a political kingdom. And here’s the one Big lesson: Don’t Waste Your Life. Just because the King’s away, doesn’t mean He isn’t watching.
Sermon Preview
Use it or Lose it
A Call to Duty
The Nature of God
1. Use it or Lose it
Gospel Connection Points to Our Story: Jesus is the “nobleman” who is the rightfully ruler and believers are His servants. He “leaves His kingdom” where the Bible describes Him ascending to heaven (Acts 1). Now Jesus is the “nobleman” (see verse 12) who is the rightful ruler, but some of the kingdom’s citizens hate him. Right before He leaves, He gives ten people (or every believer) one mina to work with or invest. Ten servants, ten minas. A mina was part of the currency of Jesus’ day and was worth about three months of the common man’s salary. Essentially, there’s given close to three years of salary – a substantial investment. Now, the mina represents the gospel itself. Every believer is given the gospel. Later Paul would say that believers are “entrusted with the gospel” (2 Timothy 2:2). And each believer receives the same gospel whether it’s Billy Graham or the Apostle Paul. So while King Jesus away, His servants (you and me) are to “Engage in business until [He] come[s].” (Luke 19:13) “Put the gospel to work while I’m away,” says the King to His servants. Now, it’s important to realize that the king returns at unspecified time. Jesus is also the One who will return (at the Second Coming) and will review what His servants have accomplished while He was away. Again, Jesus wants you to think of your life as money and invest it. Jesus will come again to settle His accounts.
When Traci’s Gone
Years ago, Traci went away for some reason (family, conference, etc.) and several days later she came back. Now, usually when she’s gone, I’ll hustle a meal or two out of a friend. When’s she’s gone, I’ll take the kids out to eat (Cici’s Pizza, etc.). I rarely cook anything substantive. So when she returns, she goes into the kitchen where the same dirty dishes were sitting that were there when she left. I never even thought anything about those dishes in the first decade or so of marriage. I’m getting smarter now – I’ll usually clean up the kitchen a few hours before she returns home ?. You get the point – the king is gone and will soon return – and we’re to accomplish our responsibilities before He returns.
Use It or Lost It
2. A Call to Duty
God has given you everything. God has given you existence. God sustains your life. He has given us everything. He holds us together. He keeps us alive every second. Therefore, he says, “Now serve me.” For many of you, you’re not just that into Jesus’ idea of “Engage in business until I come” (Luke 19:13). The idea that you are to “do your duty” and to fulfill your responsibilities to your family and society doesn’t have the panache that it used to. Think of the World War II generation and their patriotism for a moment. But now, contrast this with much of us in contemporary culture have been taught to find our passion and pursue it.
2.1 Dirty Jobs
Let me help you see this by pointing you to Mike Rowe of the TV reality show, Dirty Jobs. The cable show completed his run of 169 shows back a couple of years ago. If you haven’t watched the show essentially the producers tried to replicate the experience of your first day on the job. What would it feel to work a new dirty job week after week? Whether it is cleaning out sewers, delivering a calf, performing an autopsy on a shark… The show essentially promotes jobs that few Americans simply will not do. Reflecting on the show’s popularity, Mike, the hose, spoke of all that he learned in experimenting with various trades over the course of the show’s 8-year history. He cites the following: there are some 12 million Americans unemployed but you also see roughly 3 million jobs that go unfilled each year. Mike says, “It’s the way we approach our vocation and the degree to which we assign our identity to what we do.” Essentially, too few people pursue trades where the work isn’t glamorous. America lives by this one motto: I have the right to live, as I want.
2.2 Self-Sovereignty
The human heart pushes back and hates anything that threatens its self-sovereignty, the mastery of its own life. Because what the human heart wants more than anything else is to be its own master and its own lord. Anything that threatens it triggers anger.
For example, Saint Augustine gave this classic illustration in his Confessions. He’s reflecting on the fact that when he was a boy he stole pears from his neighbor’s orchard. He’s reflecting years later on why he did it. “Why did I steal those pears?” First of all, he says, “I wasn’t hungry.” Secondly, he said, “I don’t really like pears.” If he wasn’t hungry and didn’t really like pears, why did he steal the pears? He says, “I remember the answer. It’s because I was told not to get them. I was forbidden.” He says, “I wanted them because they were forbidden.” In other words, the prohibition against pears triggered that part of his heart that said, “Nobody tells me what to do. I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul.”
Again, Jesus tells a story of an absentee king who goes away only to return. And while two of his servants invest his money and earn a profit, a third servant doesn’t. This servant feels he has the right to live as he wants. He refused to acknowledge the king’s right to expect a return from His investment. After all, the third servant accepted the 3 years pay, didn’t he? Believer, your life counts and I want to show you three reasons why.
Three Essentials Truths to Life
2.3 Every Believer is Given Something – The Gospel
Remember ten servants, ten minas.
2.4 Your future level of responsibility is dependent on your present level of faithfulness
“Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we are to judge angels? How much more, then, matters pertaining to this life!” (1 Corinthians 6:2-3)
Every believer will give an account of their efforts You will give an account of your whole life. Some of you have taken the gospel and stuck in a sock drawer. Some of you have taken the story of Jesus and stuffed in under your mattress. Years go by and you do nothing with God’s investment in you. You’re a fool. You’ve laid your life in a handkerchief.
Big lesson: Don’t Waste Your Life.
2.3 Your reward is greater trust and more responsibility.
And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’ … 19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’ (Luke 19:17-18)
3. The Nature of God
There’s an emotional reaction when we hear Jesus’ words on what God will do with His enemies: “But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’” (Luke 19:27) Even the third guy even says this in so many words: “for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.” (Luke 19:21) The reason he tells us that he doesn’t do anything with his money is that he knows the boss is a cutthroat kind guy. After reading this story, we all are asking, “What’s the boss like?” We are left wondering, “What kind of God are we talking about, here?”
Earlier this week, I read these words: “For your steadfast love is great to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds.” (Psalm 57:10) And it got me thinking…. So many are confused: Is He kind or He is severe? Is God merciful or is He bloodthirsty angry? When we ask this question, we are asking, “What makes God tick?” We are wanting inside look at God. But we’re also asking, “Is God fair or just?”
The third man in our story wasn’t looking for anything else but an excuse to be lazy. “[The King] said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow? 23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’ (Luke 19:22-23)
If he thought the King was stingy, what hadn’t he take the baby steps of even investing the money in the bank? Instead, He wasted a lot of money. The king is like a good businessman. While God isn’t in the business of making money, He has invested His Son into the lives of countless believers. When we examine the inner motivations of the God of the Bible, we discover that God is both loving and angry at sin. God is … at one time… both angry at sin and loving toward sinners.
The Cup of God’s Wrath
Remember, Jesus is on His way to the cross. Later in last week of Jesus’ life, on the night he was betrayed, Jesus turns to Peter and says, “Put away your sword.” Why? “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me?” The cup of the Father. You have a combination of terms that we modern people feel like can’t be combined, and yet they are combined. Like bringing together fire and ice. It’s the secret of what happened on the cross. Cup means wrath.
In ancient times, sometimes you executed criminals by giving them a cup of poison. That’s how they executed Socrates - they would give a criminal a cup of poison. What if you and a friend were standing side by side, watching a bonfire, and all of a sudden your friend said, “Let me show you how much I love you,” and ran and threw himself into the fire and died. Would you say, “Behold, how he loved me”? No. You would say, “What was he on?” But if you’re standing in front of a burning house and your child is in the house and your friend runs into that house and saves your child and dies in the attempt, then you say, “Behold, how he loved us.” If Jesus Christ dies, gives his life on the cross, and we’re not in any trouble, we don’t have the wrath of God on us, we’re not on our way to eternity without God, we’re not lost, then his death isn’t a sign of love; it’s outrageous. It’s wicked. Or it’s crazy. But if on the cross he’s doing what he says he’s doing, drinking the cup of wrath for our sake.
On the cross he said, “Father, forgive them.” On the cross he said, “It is finished. I finished it.” What was he doing? He was drinking the cup, but he was drinking the cup of the Father. What does that mean? The cross shows how God can love us and be absolutely just at the same time. The cup of the Father means he’s equally just and equally loving at the same time. Only if you see Jesus Christ taking the wrath of God will you really see the magnitude of his love.
Questions to Ponder:
How am I putting the gospel to work in my life? What are you doing with what you have? What return am I making on God’s investment in my life? What profit will I show when Jesus returns? Believer, if Jesus returned today, would He pleased with how you’ve invested your life?
