A Family Intervention

    We all have that one relative.  You know the one I am talking about.  It’s generally the relative that you absolutely loved when you were a kid.  Maybe it was that crazy uncle or the cousin who was always doing risky stuff.  This relative always pushed the boundaries and brought some excitement into your life.  As a kid, you absolutely, positively loved it!  You couldn’t wait to see this particular relative, but as life moved on and you matured, you started viewing things a bit differently.  As you matured, you found out that your relative didn’t.  While you stopped acting like a child, your relative never did.  The risks actually became greater.  The behavior became more self destructive.  You wondered why you ever thought your kin was so cool.

    Sometimes, such family members begin to have very destructive behavior.  Sometimes they begin to drink heavily or delve into drugs.  Sometimes they become abusive.  Sometimes they begin gambling or neglecting themselves or the rest of their family.  In such cases, family members get together and work to change their loved one’s behavior.  We have such a word for this process.  It’s called an intervention.  These can be very important times in a family’s life.  They can bring healing and wholeness and restoration–not only for the one committing the destructive behavior, but for the entire family as a unit.  Interventions are sometimes very, very necessary.

    Jesus’ family thought so too.  Jesus’ family believed they needed to intervene in His life as well.  We have a very interesting bibilical snippet before us this morning from the book of Mark.  It’s actually two stories sandwiched together by the writer Mark.  Now, I personally believe Mark is a tremendous writer and storyteller.  I believe there is very much a purpose behind much of Mark’s writing.  Details are important to Mark as he conveys to us the story of Jesus’ life and teaching.  There is a reason Mark puts these two stories together.  He is trying to tell us something very important.

    As I said before, the story begins with Jesus’ family deciding they need to perform an intervention.  The translation from the Greek we have before us is a little muddied.  The English in the NRSV is not exactly what is portrayed in the Greek.  It should read, “21When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for they were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.”  The Greek does not add any extra “people.”  Jesus’ family believes He has gone out of His mind.

    This presents a bit of a conundrum as we take a look at the rest of the Gospel stories.  I mean, included in Jesus’ family, we find just a few verses later, is Jesus’ very own mother.  Mary is included in those who are coming to arrest–that’s literally what it says later–Jesus.  This is the Mother of our Lord who had the angel announce to her that she would give birth to the Savior.  This is Mary who heard the witness of the wise men and pondered these things in her heart.  This is Mary who had stood up at the wedding at Canaan and pronounced, “Do whatever He tells you to do.”  If Mary knew her child was the Son of God; if she knew He was the Messiah; then why did she allow the rest of the family to proclaim Jesus crazy?  Why did she go with them to arrest Him and participate in the intervention?

    As I thought about it, I wondered if Mary didn’t quite understand exactly how her son would fulfill His Messianic duties.  I wonder if the rest of the family had the wrong idea about what Jesus was supposed to be doing as the promised Messiah–I mean you don’t really think Mary would have kept that a secret from the rest of them, do you?  Before I get too convoluted with the questioning, let me explain.

    You see, Jesus was going around the region proclaiming, “The Kingdom of God is at hand.  Repent and believe in the good news.”  Jesus had also been proclaimed the Son of God at His baptism, and as Jesus went about the region casting out demons, the demons would shout out, “You are the Holy One of God!”  Even though Jesus commanded them to be silent, word was spreading.  Jesus was also coming into conflict with the religious authorities.  He was forgiving people of their sins even though they had not offered the appropriate sacrifices.  He was healing on the Sabbath.  Such behavior was a recipe for disaster.  How so?

    Well, if Jesus was going around saying, “The Kingdom of God is at hand,” He was directly undercutting the ruling, Roman authorities.  The Romans had instituted the Kingdom of Caesar.  Proclaiming the Kingdom of God was seen as sedition.  It carried the death sentence.  By casting out demons; healing the sick; making the lame to walk; and proclaiming a forgiveness of sins while undercutting some of the laws of the Old Testament, Jesus placed himself squarely in opposition to the religious authorities.  They would not have been pleased with one undercutting thousands of years of tradition.  They would not have been happy with one who was teaching things which were borderline blasphemy.  If they believed Jesus was leading the people astray, they could try Him and convict Him of blasphemy and ask that the Romans put Him to death.  Do you find it interesting that this is exactly what happened to Jesus later?

    His family could see this.  They could see the end.  They could see Jesus’ self-destructive behavior.  They could see where this path was leading.  They knew that He knew this as well.  “He must be crazy!” they thought.  “This is not how the Messiah is supposed to act.  We’ve got to put a stop to this.  It’s time for an intervention.”

    And now we have a break from this story as Mark inserts a related anecdote.  The scribes send a delegation from Jerusalem to deal with Jesus.  Remember what I said earlier about Jesus’ teaching and healing.  The scribes are not happy with Jesus, and they want to discredit Him.  They begin to tell the people, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of demons, Jesus casts out demons.”  They are obviously trying to paint Jesus as evil–as outside the bounds of the Law and the Prophets.  They are saying Jesus is not from God and anyone who associates with Jesus is buying into such deceit.

    Jesus points out the flaw in their logic.  “How can Satan cast out Satan?”  In other words, “We can all agree that getting rid of a demon and freeing a person is a good thing.  No one would argue that.  Why would evil seek to do good?  If evil seeks to do good, then it is divided and its kingdom will fall.  If Satan is casting out Satan, then he is ushering in his own demise.  Do you really think Satan would do that?”  The answer is obviously no.  Not a chance.  Satan would do no such thing.  But Jesus isn’t finished.  He makes one more pronouncement, “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin’— 30for they had said, ‘He has an unclean spirit.’” 

    This passage gives some folks difficulty.  It’s not surprising.  What is such an eternal sin?  Have I committed an unforgivable sin?  Several commentaries noted, “If you are asking whether or not you have committed this sin, then you haven’t.”  That’s a bit comforting, but it still leaves us asking, “What is it?  What is this unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit?” 

    I think Mark closes things out and brings us full circle by bring us back to Jesus’ family and their attempts at intervention.  I think Mark gives us an answer to that question.  Let us turn there now.

    As I said earlier, Jesus’ family, including His mother, show up to arrest Him.  They didn’t just show up to restrain Him.  They want to arrest Him; seize Him; stop Him from this insanity.  They can’t get into the house because of the crowd, so word spreads through the crowd that Jesus’ family has arrived.  Jesus hears, and He makes a startling pronouncement:

    33And he replied, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ 34And looking at those who sat around him, he said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’

    Now, if you aren’t shocked by that statement, then you really don’t understand the ancient world.  For family was everything in that world.  From your family, you received your identity.  You received your value.  You received your worth.  Think about that for a moment as you hear Jesus say, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”  Essentially, Jesus is denying His origin!  He is denying where everyone would find the source of their identity; their value; and their worth.  No one in His right mind would do such a thing!!  At least in that time and place.

    But then, Jesus does something more.  Looking at those around Him–most commentaries suggest that Jesus looks at His disciples–Jesus says, “Here are my mother and my brothers!  Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

    Let’s think about this for just a moment.  Jesus points to those sitting around Him–they may be the disciples.  They maybe the entire crowd in the house.  It doesn’t really matter in my estimation.  The question that I want to ask is, “What are they doing?”  Jesus says they are doing the will of God, so what are they doing?  What activity are they participating in?  Are they living perfect and upright lives?  Are they staying free from any and all sexual sins?  Are they doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God?  Are they loving God and loving neighbor?  Are they offering sacrifices for sin and atoning for their wrongdoings?  Are they feeding the hungry; giving drink to the thirsty; visiting the sick and imprisoned; and trying to transform the world into the Kingdom of God.  No.  They are doing no such things.

    What are they doing?  They are turning to Jesus for healing.  They are turning to Jesus for identity.  They are turning to Jesus to understand God.  They are placing their trust in Him and following Him.  They have made Jesus the most important thing in their lives.  Jesus’ family was placing a higher value upon the status of the family and their own expectations of what Jesus should be.  The scribes were putting a higher value upon Jewish law and upholding their status as religious leaders.  Neither were letting Jesus be who He was intended to be: The Lord and Savior of the world.

    Which leads us to the sin against the Holy Spirit.  What is that sin?  It is the Holy Spirit which brings us to the knowledge that Jesus is no lunatic or liar.  It is the Holy Spirit which calls us through the Gospel to see Jesus as the Savior and Redeemer of the world.  It is the Holy Spirit which leads us to place our trust in Him above any and every other thing.  To sin against the Holy Spirit is nothing less than to place our trust in something other than Jesus–to desire something else more than Jesus–to trust in our own selves and our own actions or in the actions and promises of something other than Jesus.  And why should you put your trust solely in Him?

    No other God is willing to die for you.  “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him.”

    C.S. Lewis once said the following, “A man who said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic on a level with the man who says he is a poached egg or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God.”  Jesus’ family thought He was a lunatic.  The scribes thought Him a liar.  The crowd and the disciples saw Him as Lord.  What about you?  Amen.

Why the Cross? Part 2

    Then Jesus said to them, ‘These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.’ 45Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, 46and he said to them, ‘Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day.

    Last Sunday, I delved into the question: Why?  Why was it necessary for the Messiah to suffer and then rise from the dead on the third day?  Why was the cross necessary?  I took quite a bit of time to focus on the aspect of sacrificial atonement and the cost Jesus bore to forgive our sins.  If you missed that sermon, it can be found on my blog.  I will be happy to give you the web address for that. 

    However, there is another aspect we must consider when it comes to the cross.  For there has been a long running criticism of those of us who preach that Jesus has given us our salvation–free to us, but costly to Him.  In the early Church, there were those who thought that proclaiming grace then gave no incentive to people to change their lives and live according to God’s will and purpose.  Centuries later, when Martin Luther, the namesake of the Lutheran church, called Christians back to the understanding of grace and the cross, there were even more calls that people would no longer seek to follow God’s commands.  I mean, if your salvation does not hinge upon your performance, then why even attempt?  Why change your life?  Why do things differently?

    The answer, we will see, is the cross, but let me start with this analogy.

    I want you to pretend that you have just reached the age where you can legally drive.  For much of your teenage years, you longed to be able to drive a car and experience the freedom of the road, but you wondered if you would ever be able to afford a car.  You wondered if your parents would ever be able to afford a car.

    On the day you came of age and completed your driver’s exam, a guy shows up on your doorstep.  He comes up to you and congratulates you on passing your exam, and then he hands you a set of keys.  They are the keys to a brand new car!  He says, “This car is yours.  We provide free cars to everyone here in this region.  Enjoy driving!”

    You are ecstatic!   You tell your folks you are going driving, and you head out.  You drive around and are exhilarated!  You pick up several of your friends.  Before long, you have the radio turned up as loud as it can go.  You are yelling back and forth at your friends.  You are on cloud nine.  Then your cell phone buzzes.  It’s a text.  You reach down to look at it.  You try texting back, and you run off the road.  You manage to slow down, but you still run into a tree.  The car is totaled.  Luckily, you and your friends are not injured, but your beautiful, new car is toast.  You cry.  You wonder if you will ever get another chance to drive.  A tow truck hauls your car away.

    You wake up the next morning sore and bruised, and you are surprised by a knock on the door.  You open it, and the same man who gave you the keys yesterday is there today.  He says, “I know you had an accident yesterday and your car was totaled.  You may be wondering if you can drive anymore.  I have good news.  You get another car.  I told you.  We provide free cars for the people of this region.”

    You are excited beyond belief.  This time, you are a bit more careful, but after several months, your cell phone buzzes again.  You check it again.  You wreck the car again.  You have a bit of grief again, but you wonder if you will get another car.

    Sure enough, you do.  You can’t believe this!  Even if you wreck your car, you are given another one.  So, you become fearless.  You begin to drive like the proverbial bat out of you-know-where.  You speed.  You run stop lights.  You take chances.  You have several more wrecks.  Doesn’t matter.  There will be a new car waiting in the morning.

    After one such wreck, earlier than usual, there is a knock on your door.  It’s not the car guy.  Instead, it’s someone else.  It’s someone driving an old, beat up car with all sorts of wear and tear.  You wonder to yourself why this guy just doesn’t run the car into a tree and get a new one.  He looks at you and says, “Bet you were expecting the car guy.  I always try to get in before him.  Come with me this morning.”

    You hesitate.  You don’t know this guy.  But he is reassuring and there is a certain air about him.  You trust him and climb in his old beat up vehicle.  He drives you beyond the outskirts of town.  You look out the cracked window and see a large factory up ahead.  The man drives the car right toward that factory.

    As you approach, however, you see something very strange.  There are myriads of cars out front of this factory–cars that look just like the one’s you’ve been given.  But the whole place is surrounded by fences with razor sharp wire at the top.  There appear to be watch towers with armed guards in them.  The man driving you has to go through several checkpoints just to get you in.  A helicopter hovers above, obviously watching for something.

    The man parks and leads you in.  He says, “You know, I was once like you.  I drove with a reckless abandon.  But then someone showed me what I am about to show you.  Have you ever wondered where your cars come from?”

    With that, the man leads you forward.  You walk into the factory, and you are stunned by what you see.  Huge assembly lines first catch your eye, but then your eyes move to the workers.  You are appalled!  The workers are all wearing filthy rags.  They look like they haven’t slept in weeks.  They barely seem able to stand and walk.  Supervisors constantly yell and scream at them to get busy.  When someone stumbles or falls, physical force is used to motivate them.  If someone is unable to get up, they are trampled upon, and someone else is forced to take their place.  You can hardly watch.

    The man then takes you to the lunch room.  You see the ragged clothed workers hurriedly eating a meal.  They are eating something that would make a billy goat puke.  “They only get 10 minutes before they are forced back to their work stations,” the man tells you.

    The man then motions you to follow.  You go to the workers’ homes–if you can call them that.  They look like jail cells.  There are meager foam mattresses on the floor which look only an inch thick or so.  Dilapidated tables and chairs litter the cells.  These workers are literally slaves.  And then it dawns on you!  The reason the region can afford to give you free cars is because of slave labor!   Your “free” care is bought with a great price!

    The car ride back to your home is a quiet one.  When you arrive, there in your drive way is a brand new car.  The man looks at you and says, “Now, what will you do?”

    What will you do indeed?  Will you continue to drive recklessly?  Will you continue to do things which would put the life of your car in jeopardy?   Would you even have a desire to drive that car ever again?  If you know the terrible price paid for you to have that “free” car, would you ever look at driving the same again?

    Of course you wouldn’t.  If you have even a smidgen of compassion in your heart, you couldn’t look at your car without seeing the faces and condition of those who built it.  You might never even drive again!  But why?  Why wouldn’t you drive?

    Because you would be acting out of guilt, and here is where the analogy breaks down when comparing to what Jesus accomplished on the cross.  Because Jesus was not being held against His will.  Jesus was not bound to the cross by any force natural or supernatural.  He could have walked away from it.  He could have called a legion of angels down to rescue Him from it.  He didn’t have to drink the cup.  That was what the Garden of Gethsemane was all about.  He prayed, “Father, if it is possible, take this cup from me, but nevertheless, not my will but Thine be done.”  Jesus could have walked away from His sacrificial death, but He didn’t.  He entered into it freely, willingly, but also with great terror and anguish.  He didn’t have to hang on that cross to save you, but He did because He loves you.

    “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but that the world may be saved through Him.”

    And when you arrive at the foot of that cross...
    When you see Jesus hanging there in pain...
    When you see the pierced hands...
    When you see the pierced feet...
    When you see the crown of thorns...
    When you see the blood flowing from the lashes...
    When you see Him cry out in despair, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
    When you see Him die the death that you deserved to give you the gift of salvation that you didn’t deserve...
    When you see Him face abandonment from God so that you never have to...
    When you see Him pay the price for your freedom...

    Can you keep driving your life the same way?  Can you keep doing things recklessly without any thought to God or to others?  Can you willingly break God’s commands knowing what Jesus did for you?  Can you go through life seeking your own will instead of the will of the Father?

    When you arrive at the foot of the cross and you understand the size of the debt you owe; when you understand the nature of your separation from God; you understand that Jesus willingly paid the price to reconcile you unto God; when you see just what it cost Jesus to purchase your redemption; your heart changes.  You feel horribly bad, and then strangely accepted.  You feel like the dirtiest of worms, and then like the apple of God’s eye.  You feel worthless, and then extremely valuable.  And you know you can never look at the world the same again.  You can never look at another person with anger and contempt again.  You can never hate another person who is created in the image of God again.  You can never hate yourself again.  Your heart overflows with an abundance of love for what God has done for you, and with an incredible desire to share that love with others.

    If you never saw the great cost paid by Jesus, your heart would never change.  But because of His willing sacrifice, even the hardest heart is brought to its knees.  It is at the cross where such change occurs, and it is why the Messiah had to suffer and die.  Thanks be to God.  Amen.

Being Yes, Yes People

    Today’s Gospel lesson is very deep.  There are so many connections and nuances that it almost makes the head spin.  I know that some of you may question me about that.  I mean, on the surface, this text looks absolutely straight forward; it looks like Jesus is telling us to be like the first son in the parable He told.  Change your mind and do the work seems to be the main point, but if you connect the dots, I think you will see it is much, much more.  I think you will see Jesus is calling us to something much, much deeper than simply doing the “will of the Father.”  Jesus is calling for the complete transformation of our hearts.  How so?  Let me try and explain.

    The text begins with the chief priests and elders coming to Jesus and asking Him a rather straight forward question, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?”  This question is an important question because of two events that preceded this conversation.  First, it was Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem riding on the back of a donkey.  Jesus entered Jerusalem in such a fashion to fulfill what the prophet Zechariah said long ago, “Lo your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”  Anyone with any background in scripture knew the significance of Jesus riding in like this, and the chief priests and elders certainly knew their scripture.  The second event followed: Jesus’ cleansing of the temple–casting out the money changers and overturning tables right and left shouting, “My house shall be called a house of prayer”; but you are making it a den of robbers.”  Again, you would be hard pressed to miss the significance of this act.  These are all actions of one who claims power and authority over earthly things and heavenly things.  These are the actions of one claiming to be the Messiah.  The chief priests and the elders want Jesus to come straight out and say this himself–probably so that they can trap him and arrest him.

    But Jesus doesn’t fall into this trap.  He doesn’t want to make things too easy for these folks.  He wants them to face the facts.  He wants them to face their own hearts–because, in the long run, he wants them to have a change of heart.  I’ll get to the details of this in a minute, but please trust me for the moment.  Therefore, Jesus responds to their question with a question of his own.  “The baptism of John–[or the ministry of John the Baptist]–was it of divine origin or human origin?”  This question is quite deeper than what it seems on the surface.  Sure, the chief priests and elders give one facet: they say, “If we say of divine origin, he will say, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’ but if we say of human origin, we risk angering the crowd because they believe John was a prophet.”  This is the line of reasoning given, but Jesus is going deeper–much, much deeper.  Why do I say that?

    Let’s turn for a moment to Matthew chapter 3.  This is the account of John the Baptist’s ministry, and we find some very significant things going on here.  For brevity’s sake, I will not read the entire account which is found in verses 1 through 11.  I will, however, hit the highlights for, you see, John’s proclamation was not simply repent and get your stuff together because the kingdom of heaven has come near.  John’s proclamation was not simply start living your lives in a manner worthy of God.  John’s proclamation was not simply repent or else.   John pointed to the Messiah.  11 ‘I baptize you with water for repentance, but one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 12His winnowing-fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing-floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’

    And, of course, we know John was referring to Jesus.  For in the next passage we have the baptism of Jesus where John flat it says, “14John would have prevented him, saying, ‘I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”  John was pointing to Jesus as the Messiah.  Jesus knew this.  The chief priests and the elders knew it too, but they didn’t want to acknowledge it.  They didn’t want to acknowledge that Jesus was the Messiah, and if they acknowledged John’s ministry as having divine origin–that meant they would have to acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah.  Jesus was effectively answering their question, and they didn’t like it.  Not one bit.  So they weaseled out of it.

    “We don’t know,” they said.

    And it’s not that they didn’t know.  They knew, but they didn’t want it to be true.  They didn’t want Jesus to be the Messiah because it would change their entire way of thinking and worshiping and acting.  They didn’t want Jesus to be the Messiah because it would involve them losing power and control.  They believed they were especially blessed and chosen by God to be in the positions they held.  If John’s claims were true, then, they were in trouble.  And they didn’t want to be in trouble.  Deep down, they knew this, but they were comfortable where they were.  They didn’t want to change.  What do I mean by that?

    Well, let’s continue on with what happens next and how Jesus continues to confront them.  Jesus says, “Well, then if you won’t answer my question, then I won’t answer yours, but what do you think about this...A man had two sons; he went to the first and said, “Son, go and work in the vineyard today.” 29He answered, “I will not”; but later he changed his mind and went. 30The father went to the second and said the same; and he answered, “I go, sir”; but he did not go. 31Which of the two did the will of his father?’ They said, “The first.”

    Let’s stop right here a moment.  Because I want you to have a very critical eye as you look at how the chief priests and the elders responded.  I also want you to have a critical eye in how Jesus responds to their answer.  Let me ask you this...does Jesus say they were correct?  Read carefully. 

    Jesus said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, the tax-collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you. 32For John came to you in the way of righteousness and you did not believe him, but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes believed him; and even after you saw it, you did not change your minds and believe him.

    Does Jesus say they are right?  No.  No, he doesn’t.  In fact, the reality is, both sons did not do the will of the father.  In Matthew chapter five, during Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught very clearly, “Let your word be Yes, Yes or No, No.  Anything else comes from the evil one.”  In the first case, the word was No, Yes.  In the second case, the word was Yes, No.  Neither one is the will of the Father.  The will of the Father is Yes, Yes.  Yes, I will do your bidding.  Yes, I do your bidding.  This is what every parent dreams of his or her child.  It is the same dream God has for us. 

    You see, when John the Baptist proclaimed the message that the kingdom of heaven was near and the Messiah was soon to arrive, this hit the tax collectors and prostitutes where they lived.  They knew they were sinful.  They knew they were broken.  They knew their lives were not in accordance to the will of God, and they were remorseful.  This is perhaps a better way to translate the Greek for “changed one’s mind.”  The Greek gives the nuance of remorseful to the point of changing one’s heart.  The tax collectors and the prostitutes knew they were broken and knew they needed to change.  Jesus says, in effect, that this knowledge gives them the inside track to entrance into the kingdom.

    But the chief priests and the scribes have no such remorse.  They have no such change of heart.  Why?  Well, they don’t believe they need a savior.  They don’t believe they need a Messiah.  Yes, it would be nice if such a person came and threw off the Roman empire, but as far as their relationship with God was concerned, the chief priests and elders thought they were just fine–thank you.  They believed they were sitting pretty and were on God’s good side.  They believed God was pleased with them and their work and their position.  They had no clue of their own brokenness.  They had no clue of their own separation from God.  They thought they were doing God’s will, and they had no remorse for anything.  Their hearts were hardened.  Why?

    Well, think about it for a moment: if you think you are accomplishing all of God’s works–if you think you are living the right life–if you think you are moral and upright–why in the world do you even need God?  Why even worship God?  Why even kneel before Him in humility if you can carry out His every command?  If I can carry out all of God’s commands, well then, I must be a pretty good person.  I must be favored by God.  I must have status and worth, and if anyone else doesn’t follow those commands, then I am better than them.  They are beneath me.  Do you see the train of thought?  Do you see how this develops?  And if those people are beneath me, God must not like them very much.  They aren’t worthy of God’s attention, so they aren’t worthy of my attention either.  I don’t have to care for them.  I don’t have to love them.  I don’t have to have any sympathy or compassion for them.  And now, do you see how we have progressed to the point where the chief priests and the scribes have now become Yes/No children?  By thinking they follow God’s laws perfectly, they actually begin to break them.  And they don’t even realize they are doing it.  Hence Jesus says, “Even the tax collectors and prostitutes will enter the kingdom of heaven before you because they heard John’s message and they had a change of heart.  Your heart’s stay the same and are unchanged.  They are not remorseful, and if you knew the Messiah was coming and was now here–if you believed and trusted John’s message–they would be.”

    Do you now see how layered and nuanced this passage is?  Do you now see how the webs are interwoven?  And can you begin to see the application for our own lives?   I mean, of course, we need to be people who are yes/yes people.  We need to be people who tell God, “Yes!” when He calls us as well as be “Yes” people in our doing.  There’s no doubt about that!  But how often do we do such things?  How often are we Yes/Yes people or even No/No people?  How often do we accept God’s direction and then carry it out or be courageous enough to say No/No?  Be honest with yourself and with me this morning.  Be brutally honest.

    The reality is we tend to be like either one of those two sons.  We tend to fall short of what we know we should do.  Most of us know we should be kind to each other, but we fail to do so.  Most of us know we should hold our tongues when it comes to talking about the actions of another person–yet we talk about them anyway.  Most of us know we should attend church more regularly and put God ahead of our recreational activities, but we don’t.  Most of us know we could and should be more generous, but we aren’t.  And the list goes on.  We tend to be yes/no or no/yes people who are driven by fear and guilt and anxiety.  We know we don’t get it right.

    Ah, but there was one who did get it right.  There was one who did answer Yes and then follow through.  There was one who understood the will of the Father, and by His wounds, we are healed.

    For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life.  For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.

    Yes, it’s all about Jesus here.  It’s all about the Son who completely did the Father’s will.  Who took on the mission of reconciling the world unto God; who faced temptation; who faced trial and tribulation; who faced suffering and death; who faced God’s wrath and abandonment; so that we wouldn’t have to.  Who took the payment we deserved and gave us the payment He deserved.  Who clothed us with His righteousness as He took our sinfulness upon Himself.  Who did so when we did not deserve it.

    And when we hear what Jesus has done for us, what does it do?  When we trust in what Jesus did for us on that cross reconciling us to God–what does that do to our hearts and minds?   It changes them.  It helps us break free of arrogance.  It helps us break out of self-pity.  It allows us to be remorseful for what we have done and continue to do while being secure that God’s love does not leave us.  And to the extent we trust what God has done, it begins to change our lives.  As our hearts become more and more trusting of His grace and mercy, we find ourselves saying Yes and then following through as we truly do the will of God.  Amen.