Parables of Jesus: What To Do While We Are Waiting

Focus Passage: Matthew 24:45-51

I hate waiting for a plane or for someone to call. It feels like wasted time. I know people who think that church is wasted time as well. They would rather just join a church when they are ready to die. The bible tells us what to do during that time of waiting.

When the Bible talks about the last days, people think about crazy people who put on white robes and sit on top of a mountain waiting for the last day. Jesus, however, talks about the last days as a time of activity caring for one another and doing the work that he has given us. The church is not just about feeling good or having fun together. The real test of a church should be whether it helps people know God better and help them to serve in ministry well. The church is the place where we confess our sin and see our savior. The church is the place where we grow so that we are ready for whatever comes in the days ahead. The most important thing to do while we wait for the last day is to be in God’s word.

Some will lose hope that Jesus will ever return v.48 The last days will be a time of deceit when many are fooled by the glamor and glitter of the age. The servant in the text doesn’t believe that the master will return. He has become so confused that he stops feeding and caring for the servants around him. Without a steady diet of God’s word, people are easily led astray by the world. Without the word, they will slowly drift from the Lord and will lose their connection with the Lord.

Some begin to act like the world and will be punished v.49 The servant starts to change. What had been a faithful servant now starts to have a moral breakdown and becomes just as wicked as the world around him. The ideas of the world are not working. The servant begins to use force to control them as the world tells him to do. When a church becomes lax in their Bible study, they often become places filled with quarreling and moral breakdowns. They become just like the world around them.

The faithful are healthy and hopeful v.45a The wise servant knows that feeding himself and others is not an option. He will be different than the world around him having gained wisdom from his time with the Lord. He will be faithful. He will continue to take time for being fed even in busy schedules because he knows that he will not survive without the food that the master has left for him. He will not be led astray by the false claims, but will stay close to what the master has given.

The faithful feed others with God’s Word v.45b Notice that the servant feeds the others with the master’s food. Workers are not expected to go and find or purchase the food. The church is to feed people with the food left by the master in his Bible. They are not to feed people the wisdom of the day or the latest polls. They want to feed people with a wisdom that lasts. They want to feed people based on the forgiveness of the cross of Jesus Christ. They want to feed people so that their lives change and work.

The servant in the text will be rewarded by the master for he has cared for and fed others instead of giving into the world around him. He will be rewarded by giving him further privileges and will be elevated in the household because of his wisdom and faithfulness. The person who continues in the word will find that it will have great rewards as well. They will gain a closer relationship with the Lord. No longer will God be someone far off, but will be someone that you know and who you can rely on to help you in every situation. You will also have a real purpose to life and will have a life that will accomplish great things. You will not look back in your last days and wonder what could have been. You will look at your children and the way that you lived your life and see all the people that the Lord let you impact. As you learn from the Lord and put it into practice, your life will be different.

Parables of Jesus: The (Self) Righteous Brother

Focus Passage: Luke 15:25-32

I confess that there are times when I am self-righteous. Lord forgive me for the times when I hear of someone who is struggling and I feel better about my life. We often forget about the second brother in the parable of the lost son. He was just as lost as the first brother and sometimes, so are we.

Most of us can relate to the older brother in the parable of the Prodigal son. We have looked at a beggar on the street who has two good hands and two good feet and thought him lazy. We have been upset with someone swearing at a ball game and wondered why they have no manners. Such feelings seem justifiable. The world is filled with sinners who are destroying their lives. We have better character and we may be avoiding some of their problems. We are the righteous ones. Yet, that righteousness is not from us. We have been made righteous by our God and by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. It is not self-righteousness, but God righteousness. When we forget that righteousness is a gift from God we can rob ourselves of all the joy that God brings into our lives.

Over inflated self-worth v. 29b His words say it all. The older son has been out in the field working hard. Did anyone notice his hard work given day after day for the months or years that the younger brother was out playing around? He sees how the father and others value the younger son, but do they value him? Where was the celebration for his years of service? His reaction starts with an ego that is crushed. This celebration should be his celebration and be for the wayward brother. 

Misses the blessings he has had for years v. 29a The older brother has begun to think of his service as a duty. “This farm wouldn’t function without all the work that I put in day after day. You are lucky to have me. What if we had both run off like that worthless son of yours. You would be in trouble.” He has forgotten all that he received that the younger son missed. He had the father’s love every day and sat at a table filled with the best of food. He had been comfortable while his brother was suffering.

Contempt for others who do not feel our worth v.30 Ultimately, the older brother shows contempt for the father as well as his brother. In his self-righteousness, he is angry with anyone who does not feel just like he does. His self-righteousness creates a chasm between the father and him. If the father loves the younger son, then he must not love me. Self-righteousness makes us feel contempt for anyone who does not agree with us. People who have done nothing wrong are suddenly the enemy.

In some ways, this brother was just as lost as the younger brother. His heart is in a far country far removed from the Father’s love and character. The cure for his self-righteousness begins with the father’s love (v.31). In the text, the Father came to the older son to plead with him. The father is loving and gracious with this son. It is obvious that he values the older son and sees this son as important to him. It is only the love of the Lord that can break into a selfish heart. The story ends with the older brother standing outside the house. His anger has robbed him of the joy and celebration with family and friends. His bruised ego causes him to stand isolated from others grumbling and complaining. His pride won’t let him celebrate for his brother. When we see someone trapped in self-righteousness, we need to love them with God’s love, but most of all we need to pray for them. We need to help them to know that they are valued and appreciated for all that they do. Every child of the Father is special.

Parables of Jesus: The Importance of One

Focus Passage: Luke 15:1-7

How important are you to Jesus? Many of us feel like God doesn’t care. He may want to help when hundreds of people are struggling, but helping just one seems like too much. How important are you to your father or your mother? What would they do to help you even though you are just one person? Jesus told a parable about the importance of one.

Three shiny school buses pulled up at the Cincinnati zoo with a load of third and fourth graders. The teacher in charge lectured the children about staying with their chaperone. Then[ME1]  off they went across the bridge and into the Zoo. Ted was following the group when he spotted a docent showing off an eagle feather and talon. He heard squawking behind him and went to see the eagles in their cage. After a few minutes, he realized that he wasn’t with the rest of the group. He began to panic. At the same time, Mrs. Kravitz was counting heads and realized Ted was gone. She jumped up and began to retrace her steps finally finding Ted crying in front of the eagle cage. Ted was lost like sheep in the text and like the sinners that were gathered around Jesus. There was a big difference between the Pharisees who were against Jesus and the sinners who just got lost.

Many lost sheep don’t deliberately run away v.4a Like Ted in the story, sheep don’t deliberately run away. They see a green patch of grass just beyond the flock and head for it. Soon they look around and don’t see the flock. Some people get distracted. They got busy and one day looked up and found that they were outside the church. They were not sure how to come back. Would people at the church accept them and would they feel comfortable?

Lost sheep can’t find their way back v.4b Like Ted in our story when sheep are lost, they normally can’t find their way back. They might head off in one direction looking for the flock and then another. In the end, the shepherd has to go looking for them. We think that everyone can find their way back to church, but it is harder than we think. It is hard to get back into the routine. They feel awkward because they have been gone for a while. Someone help them feel welcome to be back.

Lost sheep are valuable v.5 When the shepherd finds the sheep, he rejoices just like any teacher would the teacher did in our story. The sheep were so valuable that you didn’t even trust them to find their way back. The shepherd carried it on his shoulders to make sure that it got back safe. Lost sheep are valuable in the church. We sit with them in worship and help them get comfortable. Lay people need to do that and don’t expect the pastor will do it all because people are valuable to us all.

Sitting at the cheetah show, Ted was so happy to be back with his class. He wouldn’t admit it, but he thought that he would never find a home. He would vow that day to never leave the group again, but those who knew Ted knew that like a sheep he might wander off again. He was easily distracted. The sheep in the text can’t tell you how happy it is to be back in the flock, but many of the sheep who have come back to church in these doors will gladly tell you their story if asked. There is a joy coming back to the Lord and being part of the church once again. It is a joy in finding that the Lord still wants you and can forgive you anything you have done. It is a joy in being part of the flock again and having people support you. It is a joy in finding how the Lord blesses your life again and how good it feels to have his comfort and love. It doesn’t mean that sheep can’t get distracted again. The world is a busy place. It is just nice to have them home.

 [ME1]