September 23, 2012
I would like to say a few words about a person who lived during the time of the Lord: Mary. In Luke 10, we see her at Jesus’ feet, hearing His words and learning about Him. In John 11, she is a Jesus feet again, but this time she is weeping; and Jesus is weeping with her. First, we see her as a learner; in the second instance, we see her as a mourner and the third time we see her as a worshiper. Let’s read about it in John 12:1 - 3. This is six days before the crucifixion. Lazarus is alive and sitting at the table. When Jesus was here on earth, few people gave gifts to Him. As a baby, He was given gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Here is the second time where the Lord was given something: a supper. But they did not only make it for Him, they also ate it with Him. We did that this morning. Then, Mary brought her ointment. She could have given it as a gift, but that would not have been appropriate. It was Jewish custom to anoint a body before burying it. By wiping His feet with her hair, which was her glory, she was laying her glory at Jesus feet. When she bowed at His feet, the odour filled the house. As we have bowed at His feet today, the odour has filled the room. Some may think we are wasting our time, but it doesn’t matter what they think. We put self out of the picture and put something else in its place: the Lord. This is worship: worship because of what He has done for us and because of who He is. May these thoughts sink into our hearts, so we adore the One that is so worthy!
Hymn 10 - Faith is a very simple thing
Prayer
Matthew 8:5 -10
This centurion came to Jesus with a problem: one of his servants was very sick, and he asked Jesus to heal him. Jesus agreed to heal him and said that He would go with him to his house. The centurion didn’t feel worthy to have Jesus come to his house and so he asked Jesus just to speak the word; he knew that could heal his servant.
A centurion is a soldier with other soldiers under him. When this centurion asked Jesus to just speak the word, Jesus was amazed. He had not seen such faith in any of the Jews, and this man was probably a Gentile: a Roman. He would need much more faith to believe that Jesus would help a Gentile.
This faith that the centurion had is a good example to us. Faith is believing or trusting in something. I know a man who built a zip-line across his property: from the top of the hill to the bottom. He began by placing a post at each end and running a cable between them. Finally, he rigged up a seat to run on the cable. Let’s say he said to you, “Go ahead and take a ride; it’s safe.” You would need to trust that it really was safe if you were to ride; that’s faith!
John 5:24
Now let’s imagine a canyon between two cliffs. One of the cliffs we called “life” and the other “death.” Between these two cliffs is a bridge which is the cross of the Lord Jesus. When we are saved we go from death to life, as in John 5:24.
The centurion had great faith. But what if you don’t have great faith? It doesn’t matter if you have great faith, as long as you put your faith in a great God.
Luke 15: 25-32
In these parables we have the lost and the “found”. There was the lost sheep, and there were the sheep in the wilderness (which don’t represent anybody real, because there isn’t anyone who doesn’t need repentance) and there was the coin and the coins; but it isn’t until this third parable that we have a lot to do with the “other side”: here, the older brother.
The prodigal son had taken his share of the inheritance, left home, lost all his money, repented, come back, and had been brought into fellowship with the father. The older brother, on the other hand, was an industrious fellow, a worker, and he was returning from the fields when he heard the music and dancing coming from the house. These things weren’t part of his life; he had no room for joy. So he asked a servant, “What does this all mean?” The servant said, “Your brother has come home, and your father has received him and killed the fatted calf for him.” Instead of rejoicing as his father had done, this older brother got angry. The prodigal was so hungry that he couldn’t stay away, but his brother was so angry that he couldn’t come in. He was like the Pharisee who loved the law, and was proud that he kept it. They were show-offs.
His father came outside. The prodigal came to himself, and then to his father; but this older brother didn’t come to himself, and his father had to come to him. He was proud, not humble, and vented his anger on his father. He felt that his dad owed him something. “I never disobeyed you, but you never even gave me a kid so that I could make merry with my friends.” It reminds us of the story of the Pharisee and the publican. The Pharisee was self-righteous. So with this older brother. He was like the ninety-nine sheep: he didn’t need repentance, or so he thought. That’s why he hated the grace shown to his younger brother. That’s why the Jews hated grace so much, and forbad it to be taught to the Gentiles. We can really see this brother’s hate when he says, “This thy son…”; instead of, “This my brother…“.
The prodigal son had already taken his portion of the inheritance, so all that was left would go to this first-born son. He may have had special privileges with the inheritance and the birthright, but what we see all the time in Genesis is the first-born being replaced by the second-born. And so it is here. The father still calls this brother “child” (and we are all children of God by birth, as was Adam); but today it’s the second Adam that takes preeminence, not the first one.
The first son was always there, but the younger one had been - as it were - received back from the dead. It was an opportunity for the father to let grace have free rule, and the older son demonstrated how much a Pharisee hates grace. Again, they were self-righteous, and demanded a place based on their works.
It’s encouraging to see how far the prodigal went and yet came back to the father. Christ’s work has made it possible for us to be in the presence of God. It is all of grace.
There are different aspects of fellowship: fellowship in the assembly (someone is received into fellowship), fellowship with others on common ground as Christians (similar thinking, hopes, etc.; this is represented by the loaf), and then there is “family fellowship” with the Father and the Son. We are brought into fellowship with the Father, over the Son. Our degree of fellowship may increase as we follow the Lord, and this is our portion now. While the angels rejoice in heaven, we have fellowship here on Earth.
The older son didn’t want fellowship, but his father came out and entreated him to come in. It reminds us of what Jesus said in Matthew 23:27. We can’t force people into heaven, all we can do is intreat them. We long for the Jews to accept their true Messiah, yet they don’t want Him. Paul wrote that he was willing to go to Hell if it meant that his brethren would go to heaven. That’s love.
333 - Come to the Saviour, make no delay
Prayer