"Forfeiting Our Souls"

Matthew 16.21-28

Pastor Tom Johnson, August 28, 2011

 

Jesus asks a penetrating question in our Gospel reading this morning: “What will it profit [you] if [you] gain the whole world but forfeit [your] soul? Or what will [you] give in return for [your] soul?”

Jesus just dropped a bomb on his disciples. He tells his disciples that he must suffer greatly, die, and rise again. Peter thinks this is an outrageous plan. He loves Jesus. He says, “God forbid it! This will never happen to you.” Jesus tells Peter to get out of his way. And he calls Peter “Satan”—which means “the adversary.” Peter has set him self against God’s will and plan for humanity. He is being an obstacle—adversarial to Jesus’ journey toward Jerusalem and his ultimate death and resurrection.

Peter is thinking about self-preservation. It is a completely natural human response. We burn our hand on the strove and we quickly pull it away and nurse it. We lock our doors at night. We walk the other direction if we see danger. mPeter heard Jesus talk about great suffering and death. I’m not sure if he quite heard Jesus speak about resurrection. But Peter cared about the welfare of Jesus. But it is through Peter’s rebuking of Jesus that Jesus hears the Adversary’s voice trying to keep him from giving his life for the world. Peter wants Jesus to tighten his grip on the things of the world and on his own self-preservation. And Jesus responds with the proverb, “What will it profit [you] if [you] gain the whole world but forfeit [your] soul? Or what will [you] give in return for [your] soul?”

How valuable is human life? What is your soul worth? What is your life worth? Jesus is remarkably current in understanding the importance of self-worth. How much do you value your own existence? At what price will you sell yourself on the auction block of the world?

Sin is like the the antigospel—the antithesis of the good news of Jesus Christ. Sin is pursuing our own unhealthy appetites at all costs. Our energy, our attention, and our time is consumed by whatever it is that we want and desire. And if we are really selfish we forget or stop caring how it effects others. One individual’s greed can destroy a whole corporation. One person’s addiction can destroy families and carreers. Personal vengeance can leave a trail of casualties a mile long. Jesus reminds us that it is in the pursuit of the world that we can forfeit our souls. We do spiritual harm to ourselves and others. We fixate on the world to the detriment of our spiritual well-being. As Jesus says earlier in Matthew’s Gospel:

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”

The truth is that when we fixate on ourselves and our own wants and needs, we are not helping ourselves at all. God wants us to trust him as not only our Creator but also our Sustainer. If Jesus embraced Peter’s rebuke—if Jesus tried to avoid suffering and death—Jesus never would have triumphed over death and the grave. He never would have been able to bring us forgiveness and eternal life. He never would have risen victoriously from the grave. Peter’s plan would have robbed the world of a Savior. Imagine if Jesus was more concerned about his own self-preservation than the humanity’s salvation—if he was more driven by wordly ambition than by eternal redemption. He would not be the Christ but the Antichrist.

Jesus’ mission was so entrenched in his mind and spirit that he would not even allow Peter or the Adversary to put an obstacle before him for a second. Jesus came into the world to bring forgiveness, life, and salvation.

Jesus wants it not only to be his own personal mission but our mission as well. “What will it profit [you] if [you] gain the whole world but forfeit [your] soul? Or what will [you] give in return for [your] soul?”

This is a radical understanding of what it means to love God with all of your heart, mind, soul, and strength—and to love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus is calling us to drastically rearrange our priorities. Its all too natural to put ourselves first and let our relationship with others and God fall by the wayside. But Jesus is calling us to put him first—to take up our cross and follow him—to make him the head and captain of our souls. And when we do give up trying to gain the world and its treasures for ourselves—when we lose ourselves in Jesus and others—the irony is that we haven’t forfeited our souls but rather that our souls have been redeemed by God.

“What profit is it to gain the whole world but forfeit your soul?” Ironically, Jesus turns this question on its head: He forfeits his life to gain the world. What will you give in return for your soul?” Jesus turns this question on its head also: Jesus gives his life on the cross and rises from the dead not for himself but for us,

"Look to the Rock"

Isaiah 51.1-6

Pastor Tom Johnson, August 21, 2011

 

“Look to the rock from which you were hewn
and to the quarry from which you were dug.”

The prophet is inviting us on a field trip. He takes us out into the wilderness to a dry, desolate place. The soil is not good for growing crops. Livestock will not find any green thing to eat here. He takes us into the middle of a wasteland where the earth drops. There is a large hole in the ground. And all around this deep pit are the permanent marks of labor cut right into the rock. You can see the chisel marks, the scratches, the cutting of stone out of the earth.

Stone quarries in ancient Israel were never very deep compared to other parts of the world because there was so much good stone near the survace. And after the work was done, bare rock was left behind with the marks of hammers and wedges. This may have been the stone quarry that built Solomon’s glorious temple—the beautiful building sitting up high on a mountain. Maybe God’s people were so taken by the magnificence of the temple, they forgot that it’s humble origins—that it came from a rocky pit.

The prophet points to the abandoned quarry so that we see the remains of decades of stone masonry. And he tells us. “Look at the rock.” “Look to the rock from which you were hewn and to the quarry from which you were dug.” “This huge stone pit is your birthplace. This where you come from—the rock and dust of the earth. Look,” the prophet tells us, “look at how God created life out of the dust of the earth—out of the formless, shapeless, and nameless rock. The hands of almighty God labored here. He cut out a life for us to live, and chiseled us in the unique and special people that we are. And after you have taken in the landscape of the quarry and chiseled rock, let it be a lesson. Look to Abraham and Sarah,” he says.

Just like the rock was shapeless and nameless until the hands of God carved it—so Sarah and Abraham were just another couple in the sea of humanity until the hands of God gripped their lives. God chose Abraham our Father. God chose you. He excavated your lives. He cut deep into the earth to make and mold you. You are chosen to be a blessing to all nations, tribes, tongues, and peoples. Everyone is chosen to be a recipient of my blessing and love—but I want it to come through you. Abraham and Sarah were also chosen to be the great great grandpa and great great grandma of Jesus of Nazareth—the Rock of our salvation.

“Look to the rock from which you were hewn and to the quarry from which you were dug.” Know your history. Know redemptive history. Know what God has done in the wasteland and the wilderness of this world. One of the greatest privileges I have as a pastor is to hear people’s stories—stories of growing up in a different era—a world far away from computers, cell phones, HD TV, and even the family car.

There are the stories of shut-ins I visited in Kansas who survived the dustbowl years—years of drought where families didn’t know how they would survive—stories of brothers and sisters who died from an outbreak of the flu. I saw the gravestones with my own eyes—rows and rows of buried children who died in 1914 and 1915 in the church cemetery.

There are the stories of the daughters and sons of immigrants who came to the Chicago area—who, although many faced persecution for being of German descent and German speaking—volunteered for both World Wars—stories of mom who, during the depression, sewed rags together so that they could stay warm on their long walk to school.

Then there are the stories of my own family. My mom and dad who had four girls in seven years—long before my brother and I were born. I’ve seen the pictures—four girls lined up like stair steps for a picture—or like the cell phone reception bars—all dressed up in the same Sunday dress—stories of how the third girl, Nancy, died of cancer at age six.

These aren’t just stories—these are the quarries and rock pits of the Lord. These are the opportunities to “Look to the rock from which we are hewn and to the quarry from which we are dug.” It was in these desolate places—these wilderness wastelands of our lives—droughts, war, poverty, unbelief, discouragement, and death—that the hands of God reach down into our lives.

And what greater rock can we look at other than the rock of Calvary—the place of the Skull—that desolate hill outside of Jerusalem. It is the place of Jesus’ suffering, pain, and death—but it is out of that rock that God carved out our salvation. Our forgiveness and eternal life were carved out of that rock and empty stone tomb.

“Look to the Rock.” Know God’s faithfulness in the past. See His formation of you up to the present. Listen to the stories. And take courage that God has carved us out of the Rock because he is building another Temple. And he assures us that this temple will stand for all eternity.

“Even dogs eat crumbs from the table”

Matthew 15.21-28

Pastor Tom Johnson, August 14, 2011

Three years ago, I heard a sermon on the same reading from Matthew. The pastor said that this story is evidence that Jesus was a racist. In other words, Jesus was fully human—so much so that even he could not escape the prejudice that human beings have toward one another.

It seems pretty clear cut, doesn’t it? I mean, the Canaanite woman just wanted her daughter to be healed and delivered from an oppressive spirit. She could not have been more polite and gracious toward Jesus. She calls him, “Lord, Son of David.” By the way she talks to him, she is affirming his royal lineage and spotless bloodline. He is a direct descendent of King David. He is an heir to the throne. He has royal blood. She acknowledges this. She respects and honors his heritage, culture, and ethnicity.

Jesus disciples aren’t so kind. They tell Jesus to send her away. She was shouting. “Don’t raise your voice at the rabbi, woman! Who do you think you are?!” Well the truth is that they are treating her this way because she is a Canaanite woman. She is not an Israelite. Her blood is mixed with various bloodlines.

Jesus seems quick to treat her with contempt. He uses a common epithet for these “half-breeds”—the racial slur he used is “dog.” After his disciples tell the woman to put a muzzle on it, he tells her that he only came for citizens of Israel, not the foreigner. When she persisted. Jesus says, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” Now, I admit this is a bit alarming. Jesus seems awfully politically incorrect here. But that’s just the thing, he was simply saying out loud what society thought about such women.

I believe Jesus is so human here that his full humanity is put on display. I don’t mean human prejudice, bigotry, and racism. I mean another human trait: sarcasm. Jesus is being ironic. He is throwing a curve ball at the woman. And he knows that she will hit it out of the park. He’s rattling her cage. He calls her and her people “dogs” so that he can unmask what is contrary to the Gospel. Jesus knows and we know that he did not come just for one ethnic group in one geographic location. He came for sinners. He came not only for the lost sheep of Israel but the lost sheep in Canaan, Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Americas—even the remotest corner of the earth.

Jesus rattles her cage so that they both can rattle the cages of his disciples and anyone else who has such a narrow view of God’s love and plan for the world. Jesus throws her a curve ball that he has no interest outside of Israel. “It’s not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” And she hits his curve ball out of the park. “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” She had a larger vision of what God is doing in the world. She looked beyond the exclusive table and could imagine a place for people like her also benefiting from the healing power of Jesus.

“Great is your faith!” Jesus says. And her daughter was healed immediately. And this is why I believe Jesus never meant the words he spoke; he praises her for believing the truth about God’s love. And this is the truth: that his love is for everyone.

The Canaanite woman had no bragging rights. She knew she and her daughter did not have the right DNA to be in the club. She knew that she and her daughter were not royalty. And she was even willing to look beyond the name-calling and believe that a good and loving God will not only love his Children but all creatures—even the dogs. Even dogs are part of God’s beloved creation. Even the dogs eat table scraps. How could it be possible for God to overlook human beings if he is even concerned about the dogs.

Just one chapter later, in the same Gospel as our reading today, Jesus says, “Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

Look at the dogs! Some of them are short and pudgy, some sleek and tall, some gray, some brown, some hairless, some tailless. And the dog owners love them. They are part of the family. They eat from the table even though you’re not supposed to do it. We name them. We coddle them. We treat them as our own children.

If we human beings can love these four-legged friends in such great variety, how much more does God love his two-legged friends, human beings—with all of our variety, brokenness, quirks, and sin. And here is the amazing thing: the Canaanite woman and her daughter did not just receive crumbs from the table—they received the very best—full and instantaneous healing. They were brought to the table. They are invited to the feast.

And that is how we are all invited to his table—not because of our blood lines, ethnicity, or breed—but because of the grace and love of our heavenly Father. Here Jesus gives us his true Body and Blood with the bread and the wine. He fills us. He strengthens us. He accepts us. He forgives us. There is no one sitting at the head of this table except Christ himself.

As Psalm 23 so beautifully puts it, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Yes, even you.

“From Hell to Heaven”

“For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered
my soul from the depths of Sheol” —Psalm 86:13

Reviewing “hell:”

If you came to our study of “hell,” you heard my argument that the vast majority of Scripture that speak about “hell” are not about eternal punishment at all. And, I believe, that the overriding message of the Bible is good news, a comfort to the believer, and the assurance of his grace, love, forgiveness, and eternal life in a restored paradise.

The word sheol is the Hebrew word for “grave.” The Greek word hades is the word translators chose to translate the Hebrew word sheol. These texts almost exclusively are meant to assure the believer that God has the power over death and “the grave.” Although these words are sometimes translated as “hell,” they are not talking about an eternal place of torment but the present reality of evil, death, and bondage to sin.

When Jesus talks about Gehenna (Matt 5.21-30), he is referring to a garbage dump on the southwest outskirts of Jerusalem. The epistle of James also uses the word Gehenna (James 3:6). Both use this word to refer to the presence of evil and the nature of sin.

Jesus’ mentioning of the “furnace of fire” (Matt 13.41-42) and John’s vision of “the lake of fire” (Rev 19.20; 20.10) give us a description of what many call “hell.” But neither use the word “hell.” And, in fact, “hell” is an Anglo-Saxon word describing the mythic, pagan underworld. The “furnace” or “lake of fire” is primarily for Satan and those who wage war against God and his people.

Yes, there is the judgment but, again, the emphasis is on those whose names are written in the “Book of Life.” There is no book of death. The Bible is clear and gives assurance of eternal life to the believer (John 3:16-17; Eph 2:8,9; etc.). But the Bible does not tell us who exactly who will be lost forever except the devil and his accomplices. In other words, we Christians should be clear on God’s grace and assure the child of God of salvation but we should be hesitant to identify or condemn those we think will suffer eternal separation from God.

Again, the emphasis in the Bible is not threatening the world with God’s wrath and eternal destruction but a loving God who promises forgiveness, life and salvation. And, our message is that there is no other comfort or assurance of this grace outside of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We are “evangelical” in the truest sense of the word; we are the people of the good news!

The emphasis in the Scripture is that evil, death, sin, “the grave,” and the world’s garbage dumps can destroy lives now. God wants us to know that he has defeated our personal “hells” and that we need not fear or live under the dominion of a broken world. We are free, delivered, and more than conquerors!

Preview of “heaven:”

So, we should at least give “heaven” equal time, shouldn’t we? That’s what I hope to do beginning on Wednesday, September 14th and Sunday the 18th. The study of “heaven” will be similarly structured with our study of “heaven.” You have the option of coming either Wednesdays or Sundays.

Perhaps it is not surprising that just as the Old Testament says little about “hell” so it says very little about “heaven.” What God holds before the eyes of the Old Testament believers is a righteous “kingdom” that is to be a blessing to the whole world.

Jesus makes the connection of this promised land to a promised presence wherever God’s Spirit works. This is the “Kingdom of Heaven” or the “Kingdom of God” that Jesus spends so much time talking about.

Again, the emphasis is not an abstract “place” somewhere else or sometime in the future but a present reality. This does not deny a future without sin, the devil, and death. But the blessings of “heaven” are here for us now.

The concept of a present and future heaven is sure to blow our minds as we talk about God’s promise of restoring his creation and reuniting heaven and earth into a renewed paradise. I’m confident that our discussions will be as encouraging and fruitful as our last study—actually, I’m sure it will be even better!

“No default economy of grace”

Isaiah 55.1-5

Pastor Tom Johnson, July 31, 2011

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Tuesday is the day when our federal government runs out of money. Economists warn that the government will be default on its loans. The government has spent far more than it has borrowed. And it owes more than we are able to pay back.

It really is pretty simple economics. You must have enough money to pay the bills. You can only borrow money for so long. At some point, what you owe and your expenses are more than what you earn. That’s what it means to be in default.

The foundation of our economy is that we earn money to pay for goods and services. If it costs us $1000 per month for our apartment or mortgage, we must earn at least that much and more to pay for utilities, food, medical care, and tickets to the game, movie, or concert.

The struggle to pay the bills is not just an American problem. All around the world, countries have declared default on loans and even bankruptcy. After months of draught, thousands of Somalians have journeyed through the desert in search of food—livestock is dying, crops are not growing, and there is not enough water.

The struggle to pay the bills is not just a modern problem. In the past, governments and people have earned less money, grown too few crops, raised too few livestock to sustain their living. That same cloud over our heads—that you must pay for what you get—was over their heads. This is basic economics.

It is why God’s sales pitch is so outrageous and even ridiculous. Isaiah heard merchants giving their sales pitches and now he hears the Lord’s:

“Ho, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you that have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food.”

“Hey you! Are you thirsty? You hungry? Shop at one of God’s kingdom outlet malls! Get your groceries at the marketplace of the Lord! Stop going to stores where everything has “9s” in its price and ends in “99” and go where every price is zero.”

“That’s right—zero—naught—nil—nothing—absolutely free. If you act now, I will double my offer—not just water but food too. That’s right I will satisfy your thirst and hunger absolutely free. Zero down, zero owed.”

“But wait! There’s more! When you shop here you will not receive anything with empty calories. There is nothing that lacks nutritional value. There is not one product that is poor quality.”

“With an offer like this, why would you continue to spend your money on junk food? Why buy poor quality when you can receive the best for free? This offer is good until the end of time. But act now. God’s people are standing by.”

The economics in God’s Kingdom is outrageous and even ridiculous. “You get what you pay for,” the proverb says. “There’s always a catch,” the cynic says. “Nothing is for free. There is always a cost,” the realist says.

Not so with God. It’s God’s to give because it’s all his. Psalm 24 says, “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.”

Just a few blocks from here is 1,180 cubic miles of water—that’s 1.3 quadrillion gallons of fresh water. And yet, each month you and I receive a water bill—maybe that is even more ridiculous.

God, Scripture says, is the One “who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food” (Isa 55.10; 2 Cor 9.10). God’s economics are more like the Native American concept—where ownership of land, animals, and crops was foreign and strange.

We are not owners but stewards of God’s gifts. God invites the whole world to enjoy the richest food and drink the creation has to offer. One day, Jesus will come back and there will no longer be thirst, hunger, sickness, death, or a national debt.

I believe that this is the hardest thing to accept about God’s love for us in Jesus Christ—it is free. The economics of God’s grace is outrageous and ridiculous. “The wages of sin is death,” Scripture says, “but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23). It’s a no-default economy of grace—no debt ceiling on his forgiveness—and no limit to his love.

If God were to keep a record of our sins, we would blow the debt ceiling sky high. As the great pop song by the Eurythmics says, “And if I had a dollar bill For all the things I've done There'd be a mountain of money Piled up to my chin.”

The good news is the radical grace of God—that he has paid our all our debts. We owe him nothing but our love, gratitude, and thanksgiving. We do not need to purchase anything or buy his love by our obedience or good works.

He has puchased us with the priceless blood of his Son Jesus. What is the currency in the kingdom of God? Not gold, silver, or the almighty dollar—but the life, blood, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

“Nothing in my hand I bring. Simply to thy cross I cling. Naked come to thee for grace. Helpless look to thee for grace.” Sound too good to be true? Can the good news really be that good? Come and see. And don’t forget your empty pockets. It is absolutely free.

“Too deep for words”

Romans 8:22-39

Pastor Tom Johnson, July 24, 2011

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Paul reminds us in our reading from Romans that we live by hope—and it is a hope that is unseen. “We live by faith, no by sight” (2 Cor 5:7). He tells us that creation itself groans for redemption—awaiting that day God will make all things new—hope is groaning and yearning for what God has promised to do.

Just like our future hope is now invisible, so our present struggle can be inexpressible. In our trials and strife, our prayers can be incommunicable, indescribable—too deep for words.

Paul says we groan in our hope for God to repair our lives and redeem this world. We groan in the midst of our troubles. We groan when we don’t have the words to express what we feel or describe what we are experiencing.

As our Scripture says, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought,” We are speechless—unable to articulate what is bothering us or how to ask for help.

In these times, we are broken, frail, and struggling. We are at a loss for words—we don’t know which words to pray—we are at a loss—it seems that the prayers we’ve learned and the Scripture we’ve put to memory have failed us.

I think one time that this groaning and prayer that is too deep for words is evident is when people are grieving. There are times when we experience loss or trauma that we cannot explain it to others.

When others try to put our grief into words, it falls short. They may have good intentions, but “We know your loved one is in a better place” does not cure the heartache. Or, quoting our text today, “All things work together for good for those who love God” seems to only put a band-aid on a mortal wound.

It is when we are in the midst of that nameless pain that we should know that it is okay not to be able to articulate it. It is okay to cry out to God. It is okay for our prayers to be no more than groaning and sighing that is too deep for words.

Our Scripture today is telling us that there are times when pithy sayings and shallow explanations don’t cut it. Even words themselves fall short of describing the human experience.

As human beings, we come to the limitations of our understanding, our strength, and even the dictionary. And Paul reminds us in our text that even though we may not know what we are saying, God knows.

“The Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” Like no other earthly interpreter or counselor, he speaks our language.

I’m sure you have been around young children who are learning to talk. Some children are very precocious and will talk and talk—even though you have no idea what they are saying.

The mother or father will know exactly what they are saying. What is babble to strangers is completely clear communication to earthly parents. So it is with our heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit our Comforter and Counselor.

God understands our babbling, groaning, and sighing. Our text says, “And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

God speaks our language. He not only can read our scrawl, understand our babble and interpret our groanings—he knows the thoughts and intentions of the heart. He knows the number of hairs on our heads. And, in the most profound sense, he knows our pain.

The Spirit sighs with us with sighs that are too deep for words. And God hears our collective prayers. He receives our prayer as if it was as eloquently spoken as the Queen’s English in a royal wedding.

We often say those in our Sunday morning prayers, “Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.” Our Scripture assures us that he does. He hears us. It is in the depth of our misery and at the bottom of our gutters that God reaches down deeper still.

Although we cannot see him—although we cannot understand—although we cannot articulate and only have groans too deep for words—God is with us, he hears us, he understands us, and he intervenes for us.

In another passage of Scripture, Paul says that God gives a “peace that surpasses understanding” (Phil). We live by faith, not by sight. We live with a hope that will not disappoint us. We live with a peace that transcends human comprehension.

It is from the depth of this love and compassion that God says those familiar words: “All things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.”

In the midst of nameless pain and speechless prayer, God assures us. H intends good in our lives. He has an overall purpose. It does not mean that we will know how to explain what we are experiencing or give a clear reason for why we are experiencing what we are experiencing.

But it does mean that we are in the care of a God who cares, understands, speaks our language, and is working behind the scenes on our behalf.

“What are we to say about these things?” Paul asks. Paul speaks to himself and to us the good news: “If God is for us, who is against us?” He gave us his Son to live, die, and rise again for us. “And nothing in heaven or on earth will separate us”—not even our loss for words.

“Weeds among the wheat”

Matthew 13.24-30,36-43
Pastor Tom Johnson, July 17, 2011

Listen to sermon:




When I first looked at the reading appointed for this Sunday, I confess that I took a deep breath. I muttered to myself, “Oh brother: the devil, the end of the age, and the furnace of fire. There going to think I’m fixated on this topic.”

Part of me wanted to speak about one of the other readings and hope that your minds weren’t filled with all the questions that flood my mind. But then how could I pass up an opportunity to preach on a topic we are currently having a Bible study about?

And so, I hope we prayerfully listen with ears to hear what Jesus wants to say to us this morning. And, it is my deepest conviction that these words are meant to encourage and comfort the believer.

Jesus first words are: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field.” First, the emphasis is the kingdom of heaven, not hell. In fact, the word “hell” doesn’t even appear in our passage.

Second, Jesus is talking metaphorically about the kingdom. This is a comparison. It is a parable. It is not an exact description. Jesus describes, in human words and physical descriptions, what the spiritual realm is like. “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field.”

Jesus illustrates the Kingdom of Heaven with the story of a farmer who plants good seed. When the good seed grow, the slaves are surprised to see weeds. Not only is the master already aware of the weeds, he knows who did it—the enemy.

The slaves of the master ask him if he wants them to begin gathering up the weeds immediately, but the master tells them to wait. At harvest time, the weeds will be gathered and burned and the good grain is brought into his barn.

This is what the Kingdom of Heaven is like—questionable farming. Conventional wisdom is to weed your garden early and frequently—so that it does not take over your garden. Traditional farming says “Get the weeds early before they take all the moisture and nutrients away from the good seed.”

But this master is not like farmers of this world—he is a farmer that illustrates the Kingdom of Heaven. When Jesus speaks in parables—or illustrative stories and word pictures—he does not always explain what it means. But here he does.

He tells us that the master farmer is the Son of Man—that is Jesus, the Messiah. The field is the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom. And the reapers are the angels.

The weeds that grow are the children of the evil one. And the enemy who maliciously planted them is the devil—the great accuser. The approaching harvest is the end of the age.

This parable answers a few questions. The parable raises a few more. This is a parable that talks about the origin of evil, God’s delay in dealing with evil, and his ultimate resolution of evil at the end of all time.

I believe that Jesus has a purpose in telling this parable of the Kingdom of Heaven. And that purpose is to comfort the believer. Jesus reassures us that the appearance of the weeds (or of evil) may have surprised some, it did not surprise him.

It troubles the slaves that there are weeds in the field. It troubles me that there evil in the world. It bothers a lot of people that evil has been allowed to grow in this world—so much so, that many question why a good God would allow such a thing or deny his existence altogether.

Not only did the Son of Man know that the weeds would grow, he knew who did it; because he knew the devil from the beginning. The question that it raises is why God would allow the devil to bring evil into the world. The question is unanswered.

Why did God allow the serpent to tempt Adam and Eve? Why did God allow the weed of evil and sin to grow? Why does God allow terrible things to happen? He doesn’t answer the question. Ultimately, God calls us to believe he is good and that his original design was to sow good seed. And that good will eventually overcome.

He assures the slaves, and us, that he has a plan from beginning to end; and it is good. He will deal with the presence of evil. For now, it seems too late or not soon enough. But he will deal with the root and cause of evil.

He won’t just pluck the presence of sin out of the world like a gardener does one weed at a time. He will pluck the source of evil out so that it will no longer plague this world. Jesus will put the causes of sin and evil into the furnace of fire.

In other words, Jesus will finally answer the prayer we pray every day and every week: “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” and, even more importantly, “Deliver us from evil.” He has done it by Jesus’ death and resurrection for us.

The purpose of this parable is to comfort the believer. Just like John’s vision of the lake of fire in the book of Revelation, Satan and his demons are removed from our world along with death and the grave. We do not need to fear a future with evil.

There are two clear things about this parable that should comfort us: first, God will ultimately root out all evil; and Jesus will gather and transform us. Good and evil are not equal opposing powers. Good will triumph over evil.

Our good and gracious God has overcome our sin, the devil, and even death by his love, which has been revealed to us in Jesus, the Son of God. And not only will good triumph over evil for us but we will be transformed from little seeds sown on earth to bright shining lights in heaven.

"Ever seen a tree growing out of a rock?"

“Instead of the thorn, a cypress”      Isaiah 55.10-13

Pastor Tom Johnson, July 10, 2011

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Have you ever seen a tree growing out of a rock? When you first spot one, it seems impossible. You wonder what sort of joke nature is playing. You look away and look back again to make sure your eyes aren’t tricking you.

Have you ever seen a tree growing out of rock…its leaves green with life…its trunk is thick, solid, and stable…its roots plunging down deeply out of sight into the rock…its branches spreading out to heaven in glorious praise?

Have you ever seen one? Once I started to pay attention, I began to have one sighting after another. I recently saw trees growing out of rocks high above the timberline in the Colorado Rockies. Just a week earlier I spotted them at Starved Rock State Park not too far from here.

Several years ago, my family and I took the architectural boat tour of Chicago. The guide pointed out building after building along the river. He gave historical and interesting facts about the buildings and river.

But in the middle of the tour, he stopped talking about the buildings and the river and told us to look off to the side. He pointed out a big slab of concrete on the river. And out from that concrete a tree—growing tall and strong.

The tour guide said, “I’ve given this tour many times. And that tree amazes me more than anything every time I look at it. Can any of you tell me how a tree can grow out of cement and rock?!”

In our Old Testament reading from Isaiah, God gives us the same remarkable vision. He sends his word like rain and snow from heaven. His word nurtures the soil of the earth like water falling from the heavens.

As a result, God provides seed for the sower and bread for the eater. He gives strength and sustenance through his word. He works miracles. And the picture he gives of his love and his grace are trees growing out of a rock.

“Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress; instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle; and it shall be to the Lord for a memorial, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

God will help us picture and remember his love and his grace—and the vision he gives is of trees growing in unlikely places—a tree growing out of rock. He wants to remind us that he can make trees grow anywhere.

It’s easy to pick up the newspaper and read about what’s going on in our world and in our communities and grow cynical—so much resistance to God’s Word—so much hatred and violence—so much materialism—so many fractured lives.

It’s hard to believe that God wants to do anything with the dry, rocky terrain of this world. At first glance, it appears hopeless and void of God’s activity… “a famine on the land; not a famine of bread, or a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8.11).

And at times we may feel that we going through our own dry spells. We may not realize our constant need for the Word and how thirsty we have become for God to work in our lives.

There may even be times when we seem impervious to the Word—our hearts like stone—like rocky soil under the rain and snow of God’s word.

I think that is what is so encouraging about this Scripture today—that it is okay to doubt our own receptivity to God’s Word and work. It’s okay to be disillusioned with the human heart and our capacity to change for the good.

The encouraging message of this Scripture is that God sends the rain and the snow to transform the soil itself. He does not just provide water but also makes the ground fertile soil.

He provides water for the thirsty land, seed for the farmers to plant, and bread for the hungry. And he also makes cypress and myrtle trees grow where nothing but thorns and briers could grow before. He reminds us that “For mortals it is impossible, but not for God; for God all things are possible” (Mk 10.27).

Have you ever seen a tree growing out of rock? I have. Its roots are slowly moving—so slow that its movement is invisible to our impatient eyes. Slowly, but powerfully, its roots breaking apart solid rock, sending rock and sand down the hill. It pushes its roots deep into the earth and transforms the landscape forever.

Have you ever seen a tree growing out of rock? The followers of Jesus did. They saw him, the Word himself, planted on top of a rocky hill called Calvary. There he died and there he was also planted deep into the stony tomb.

And it was there that he did the impossible—it was out of his rocky grave that he sprang out of the ground to life again. And beginning there, Jesus sends us out like the tentacles of a oak tree out into the world to break up the landscape forever bringing the assurance of God’s love and the certainly of eternal life.

Have you ever seen a tree growing out of rock…its leaves green with life…its trunk thick, solid, and stable…its roots plunging down deeply out of sight into the rock…its branches spreading out to heaven in glorious praise?