Rev. David Holwick ZF Running Into Jesus series
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
September 25, 2016
Luke 14:1-6
LOVE TRUMPS ALL *
I. Eating with enemies.
A. It may have been a setup.
1) The house was full of Pharisees, the main opponents of
Jesus, and they had a critical eye on him.
2) It was the Sabbath, a sacred day for focusing on God
and doing no work.
a) Jews were very strict about the "no work" part.
b) And before them was Jesus, who had specialized in
doing big miracles on the Sabbath.
1> As a matter of fact, the gospels give 7 separate
episodes where Jesus did this.
2> The Pharisees didn't like it one bit.
3) Someone else is standing there.
a) The sick man is not given a name, and he never says
anything.
b) He is just sick, with a serious but non-life-threatening
condition.
c) Many scholars suspect the Pharisees planted him to
provide an occasion to frame Jesus.
1> Will Jesus break the rules and heal him?
B. Jesus seems to have sensed the situation.
1) He broaches the unspoken issue before he does anything:
"Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath or not?"
2) The Sabbath was a big issue for the Pharisees.
a) The Ten Commandments list it as number 4.
b) No work is allowed, but few specifics are given.
1> The Old Testament mentions not plowing fields
(animals get to rest, too), selling things,
gathering fire wood.
2> Jews kept adding other specifics on their own.
A> Exactly how far you could walk on a Sabbath.
(wires around a neighborhood define it)
B> Life-threatening illnesses could be treated,
but nothing else.
c) A great example of their attitude is given in Luke 13:14.
1> Jesus has just healed a crippled woman.
2> The crowd was excited, but the synagogue leader
announces, "There are six days for work.
So come and be healed on those days, not on the
Sabbath."
3) Significantly, this man is not likely to die that day.
a) The Pharisees know what they are going to do - nothing.
1> They are not going to answer Jesus' question, or
help the man.
2> They want Jesus to heal the man so they can condemn
him for being a lawbreaker.
b) What will Jesus do?
C. Something very important about Christianity is revealed here.
1) Jesus honors God's laws, but God's grace is supreme.
2) This principle is more far-reaching than you may realize.
II. The man had dropsy.
A. This is an old name for edema or fluid build-up.
1) Usually it is not a sickness in and of itself, but the
result of another serious ailment.
a) (Celeste has lymphedema from her cancer treatments.)
2) It is a serious condition, but usually not fatal.
a) In a figurative sense, he is drowning in his own fluid.
3) Jesus grabs him, heals him, and sends him away.
B. Then Jesus turns the tables on his audience.
1) He asks a second question: if your son or ox falls into
a well on the Sabbath, would you pull him out?
2) Apparently that happened a lot - the book of Exodus warns
about the liability the owner faces if he doesn't put
a cover on a well. Exod 21:33-34
3) The Jewish list of actions allowed on the Sabbath mentions
saving someone from a well.
a) They wouldn't just save their child, they would save
an animal (which is more of a financial consideration
because they are expensive).
b) The clincher is, if you would save what belongs to you,
from drowning, how can you criticize me for saving
this man from drowning in his own fluid?
1> The logic silences the Pharisees a second time.
2> They realize they have been hypocrites.
III. A great principle is behind this passage.
A. In true Christianity, love is supreme.
1) Love is the essential meaning of God's commandments.
Romans 13:9-10 --
The commandments, "Do not commit adultery," "Do not murder,"
"Do not steal," "Do not covet," and whatever other
commandment there may be, are summed up in this
one rule: "Love your neighbor as yourself."
Love does no harm to its neighbor. Therefore love is the
fulfillment of the law.
Earlier in Luke 6:9, Jesus had said, "Which is lawful on
the Sabbath: to do good or to do evil, to save life
or to destroy it?"
2) God cares for people and wants to save them.
a) Salvation is more than just taking them to heaven.
b) He is concerned about their health and well-being.
3) We should care for people, too.
a) A classic passage is found in James 2:15-17 --
"Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and
daily food.
If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep
warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his
physical needs, what good is it?
In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not
accompanied by action, is dead."
B. Do your religious rules get in the way of people?
1) Conservative Christians are known for what we oppose, what
we condemn.
a) We also do positive things that help people in concrete
ways.
b) Which do we do more, condemn or help?
2) Love and concern need a greater emphasis.
IV. This principle can make religious people nervous.
A. Are all religious rules overthrown by the need to love?
1) Even the Sabbath can still be touchy.
a) In preparing for this sermon, I read a sermon by
J.C. Ryle, a British bishop, written 100 years ago.
He agrees that mercy is more important than rules, and
the Sabbath is meant for doing good.
But he also thinks Christians have gone too far.
Ryle believed that the Sabbath rules were still binding.
He preached:
"Can any one say that Sunday traveling, except on very
rare emergencies, is a work of mercy?
Will any one tell us that Sunday trading, Sunday dinner
parties, Sunday excursion-trains on railways, ...
are works of mercy?
"Whatever others do, let us resolve to 'keep the Sabbath
holy.'
God has a controversy with the churches about Sabbath
desecration.
It is a sin of which the cry goes up to heaven, and
will be reckoned for one day." #65318
b) Ryle's applications are old-fashioned, but he makes a
valid point.
1> The Jews forbid healing on the Sabbath, but the
Bible never does.
2> Jesus was violating their customs rather than God's
Law.
3> We should be very careful about throwing out clear
Biblical moral teaching in favor of a vague
defense of love and mercy.
B. A modern example.
1) Our society has seen a big revolution in sexual ethics.
a) Even Christians disagree about how we should respond.
2) Homosexuality has been one of the hot issues.
Justin Lee is the Executive Director of The Gay Christian
Network.
It is a group for Christians who are attracted to the
same sex, but who want to be devoted to Christ.
They believe that lust and promiscuity are wrong, just
like straight Christians do.
They are divided over whether gay Christians must be
celibate, or whether they can be in monogamous and
loving relationships.
Mr. Lee knows all about the Bible verses against
homosexuality.
There are 6 main ones and they call them the "clobber
verses."
He would like to explain them away, but he doesn't.
Instead, he uses today's passage to trump the other ones.
Compassion is more important than laws.
So Christians have to accept homosexuality as normal. [1]
Is he correct in this?
V. It is important to do good, but we must know what good is.
A. Real love guides people to salvation and God.
1) It doesn't give them what they want, but what they need.
2) A homosexual finds a Bible.
Christopher Yuan grew up in a non-Christian Chinese
home.
He came out as a homosexual in graduate school.
His family didn't think of it as a sin but his mom was
upset anyway.
He also rebelled against his parents, and went to jail
for drug dealing.
It was in prison that he discovered he was HIV+.
His experiences drove his mother to becoming a Christian.
In prison, Christopher found a Bible in a trash can and
started reading it.
A prison chaplain told him that the Bible did not condemn
homosexuality.
Christopher was eager to reconcile his faith with his
sexuality, but he wanted to be faithful to the Bible
above all.
The interpretations of the pro-homosexual scholars just did
not seem valid to him.
They seemed to be twisting things to make the Bible say
what they wanted it to say.
Christopher wanted to follow the genuine intent of the
Bible, and decided he would remain celibate.
He also concluded that holiness is more important than
sexuality, whether it is homosexual or heterosexual.
His identity in Christ outweighs everything else.
When he got out of prison he got a degree at Moody Bible
Institute in Hebrew and Greek and has been studying and
teaching the Bible ever since.
#65316
B. Be merciful, be loving, and be truthful.
1) God still calls us to repent of many things.
a) Each of us needs to repent of something.
b) But when we change direction, we are turning to a God
who wants the best for us.
2) We need to seek God's best for us and everyone else.
a) Try to have God's character in you.
b) Be patient with people and show them all the love you
have.
c) God himself has been doing this a long time.
* No political statement is intended by the title, though I did see a "Love Trumps Hate" yard-sign later in the week.
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
1. “Christians With Same-Sex Attractions Weigh in on Homosexuality-Bible
Debate,” by Nicola Menzie, Christian Post Reporter, 1 October 2012;
specific section is “Justin Lee - Executive Director of The Gay
Christian Network; <link>.
#65316 “Placing My Identity In Christ, Not My Sexuality,” by Christopher
Yuan; general article is by Nicola Menzie, Christian Post
Reporter, 1 October 2012; <link>.
#65318 “Jesus at a Pharisee’s House,” Rev. J.C. Ryle (1816-1900),
Liverpool, England; <link>.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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