In days gone by, kings and nobles were accustomed to having court jesters, or fools as they were called, to entertain them. Many years ago there lived a king who enjoyed the folly of his court jester. Jokingly the king gave his jester a scepter and told him that if someday he found someone more foolish than he, he could give that man the scepter.
A few years later, the king fell gravely ill. The jester went to visit his king. When he saw his beloved clown, the king told him, “I fear that I am about to embark on a long journey.”
“And when will your majesty return?” asked the jester innocently, “In a month?”
“No,” the king replied.
“In a year?”
“No, my beloved jester, I am never going to return.”
“Well then, what preparations has his majesty made for his long journey?” asked the jester.
“None,” replied the king sadly.
“Your majesty is going away forever and he has made no preparations for his journey? Please take this then,” said the jester handing the king his scepter, “for I would never do such a foolish thing.”
I have a question. How many years do the healthiest, strongest people of the world live? Eighty, ninety? Now, what is that compared to eternity? Death is always right around the corner. I could walk out on the street this afternoon and get plowed down by a bus. Besides that, we know that the world could end at any minute – before we die. So, it’s important to be prepared, right? For death or the end of the world whichever comes first. Well, this morning, our Lord Jesus Christ is going to teach us how to be ready for our “long journey” that we have before us, that is, for the after life. So, let’s look at what our Savior has to teach us in Luke chapter 12 verses 32 to 40...
I. Seek the eternal treasure
We have a lot of worries in this world, don’t we? Will we be able to make the money stretch until the end of the month? Am I in danger of getting laid off? Is my marriage on the rocks? How are my kids going to turn out with all the bad influences of this world? And the most scary thing of all: what is going to happen to me when I die?
In this world there are a lot of people scared to death of death, right? Nobody likes to talk about it. Nobody likes to go to funerals to face that coffin that one day will be their final resting place. But why? Why are we so frightened of death? I guess it’s the fear of the unknown, isn’t it? What’s it going to be like? What will happen to me? Where will I go?
Well, Jesus in the verses that precede our text for this morning tells his disciples that they don’t need to worry about anything. Using some examples from nature he assures them that if God takes care of the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, how much more won’t he provide for us his dear children everything we need? And that’s true, isn’t it? We’ve never been lacking what we need to live: food, clothes, a roof over our heads. In fact, he provides much more than we need.
Therefore, Jesus tells us not to focus our attention on obtaining earthly treasures, but rather to seek his kingdom, that is, to seek spiritual treasures. But really, that worries us as well, doesn’t it? In fact, that’s the fear that many have. They’re not sure if they have the eternal treasure which is heaven. And therefore they are afraid of death.
Because our consciences give testimony to the fact that by nature we aren’t prepared for death. We aren’t prepared for Christ’s second coming. Even though the world and the devil try to silence that voice within us – even though they try to get us to focus on the present, on what we have to do right now, rather than prepare ourselves for the future – we still have that voice within that tells us, “Be afraid of what’s coming. You haven’t done enough. You have been selfish, prideful and materialistic. You deserve to be punished.”
And simply put, that is why we are afraid of death, because at least subconsciously we are aware that when we die we must face the judgement of our just God. We are all slaves to sin and to the fear of death. And that’s why Jesus tells us here: Do not be afraid, little flock, for our Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.
What a relief! In other words, we don’t have to find God or earn his favor. He has given us his kingdom. He has entered into our hearts to reign there forever, and through that faith has given us eternal life. God has prepared us for death. He has prepared us for judgement day. Jesus suffered and died in our place to give us life. He faced God’s judgement for us, suffering God’s righteous anger for our sins of selfishness, pride and materialism. We have been freed from the slavery of fear. The writer to the Hebrews tells us that with his death, Jesus destroyed him who holds the power of death – that is, the devil – and freed those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.
We can stand before God’s holy throne with a clean conscience, with confidence because our sins have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. We have been dressed in the snow white robes of Jesus’ perfection. I mean, look at verse 37, when he comes, it will be to serve us. He’s not coming to punish us, but to serve us, to give us heaven, perfection, eternal life. The day of our death and the last day are not things to be feared. They are the day of our victory.
The devil is going to tempt us to fear death or even worse, to not prepare ourselves for it. But we don’t have to fear death. We don’t have to fear Christ’s second coming, because God has prepared us. Jesus came and won for us a first-class ticket to heaven. He has freed us from the fear of death. And through faith – faith which God also gives to us as a gift– we are prepared.
II. Keep constant watch
Now Jesus continues with two short parables here in our text. First he tells about a man who went on a trip to a wedding. He told his servants to be dressed and ready when he returned. Jesus tells us that it was good for those who were dressed and ready with their lamps burning, even until the second or third watch. In other words, that they were ready for him the whole night, even in the early morning hours.
Jesus’ point is simple: God wants us to be prepared for his coming, because he could come at any moment. The other parable that he tells says basically the same thing: we have to be keeping watch the whole night because we don’t know exactly when a thief could come. If we knew at what moment the thief would come, we could be ready just at that moment. But given that we don’t know, we have to maintain a constant vigil.
You know, there are some people in this world who think: “God will always forgive me, so for now I am going to go out and have some fun. I’ll do what I want and then later on I will repent and believe.” But what happens if Jesus comes before that? What happens if God says what we heard in last weeks sermon: “You fool. This very night your life will be demanded from you.” Jesus could return in five minutes or five thousand years – we need to be constantly ready.
And as we say, we are ready for death and for Judgement Day through faith in Jesus. But we need to maintain a constant watch. And how do we keep ourselves constantly alert and ready? Well, through God’s Word and the Sacraments – our spiritual coffee. When you are tired and you drink a shot of café cubano, what happens? It wakes you right up, doesn’t it? It keeps you alert. God’s Word keeps us alert, ready, prepared during the long dark night as we wait for Jesus. Without that coffee, we could easily fall asleep or become lazy in our faith. So let’s not stop keeping watch. Keep coming to church. God to Bible Class. Read God’s Word in your home. Participate in the Lord’s Supper. Through these “means of grace”, God strengthens our faith and keeps us prepared for death.
And that faith, that confidence we have in Jesus, also will produce fruit as we wait. In other words, now that we have the confidence that God will always protect and provide for us; now that we know that we can’t take our physical possessions with us when we die, well, we’re not going to hold so tight to them. “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Our treasure is in heaven. It is a treasure that doesn’t wear out, doesn’t get old, and can never be stolen. So let’s stop worrying so much about the treasures of this world. In fact let’s be will to use all we have to help others – to help the poor as our text tells us.
You know, we are always putting money away in our piggy banks, saving up to buy a new car, a new DVD player, or go on vacation, but how often do we put aside money to help the needy? How often do we consciously put aside money to give for our offerings and to spread God’s Word? I’m not saying this because I want your money. I am saying this because God wants us to use the blessings that he has given us to serve him and others. Look at all he has given you: your families, your friends, large homes, nice cars, TV, computers. Besides that, he has given us the most precious treasure that exists: heaven, a place in his kingdom. So let’s thank him by helping the needy, giving to a good charity, and also giving a portion back to God. Let’s not hold on to the things of this world. Keep a strong hold on the eternal treasure of heaven.
Because the day is coming when we will no longer be able to use our earthly treasures. Job reminds us: Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I will depart. You can’t take it with you. Death is a comin’. Jesus tells us in Revelation: I am coming soon. He could be here in five minutes or in five thousand years. But don’t worry. God has prepared us. He has freed us from death. He has given us faith. We are prepared. We’re going to heaven. So while we wait, let’s stay alert, drink plenty of the spiritual café cubano (God’s Word) and hold tight to your eternal treasure. Amen.
