Sermon Tone Analysis

Scripture Readings

(Slide-off)

Introduction

Good Morning everyone!

We are delighted to be here.

My name is Mark, my wife is Norma.

A little about us...

We have two grown kids, one daughter living in CA who married last year.

Our son is deployed in South Korea and works as a Military Dog Handler, so we find our family over 3 continents at the moment.

My wife and I returned from CA last April after being there for some 22 years.

I am now the Pastor at Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft.

I have two things with me, my iPad and a Ruler.

Old and New Technology.

How Great is our God!

I was reading some time ago that the “observable universe” is estimated to be about 46.5 billion light-years

Have you asked yourself, what is a light year?

The distance light travels in one year, which is nearly 6 million million miles

So the observable universe is 46.5 * billion * 6 * Million * Million miles,

Or a really, really big number!

That is what our God created, on the fourth day.

Or at least what we know so far about what He created.

Or at least what we know so far about what He created.

How small are our Brains!

How big is the average human Brian?

Put your two fists together (big hands)

The average length of a human Brian is about 15 cm.

Think about that.

We Worship a God who created at least 46.5 * billion * 6 * Million * Million miles.

And we are trying to understand God in our 15 cm brains.

No matter how many letters you have after your name!

Parables are verbal Pictures

Is it any surprise that God uses pictures and parables throughout the Bible to try and covey truth about himself and his kingdom, into a 15cm space!

How great is our God!

How small are our brains!

(Slide)

That which was Lost is Found

At Great Yarmouth and Lowestoft we just started a series on the Parables of Jesus .

The Parables we read today is found in .

by looking at the first Parable in a series of 3 Parables in Luke.

It is the first in a series of 3 Parables.

The Lost Sheep, which is followed by the Lost Coin and by the the Lost Son, or the Prodigal son.

The Theme is basically the same in all three,

That which is Lost is Found.

An invitation to Joy and Rejoicing because that which was Lost is Found.

Setting the Scene

Luke sets the scene for these Parables in .

Luke is deliberated pointing out and comparing two groups of people.

One group draws near to hear Jesus.

The other stands at a distance and criticises Jesus.

Though there criticism is actually ironically true, .

“This Man receives sinners and eats with them.”

The Tax Collectors and Sinners

And the Pharisees and Scribes

The Tax Collectors and Sinners

Luke is deliberated pointing out and drawing a comparison between

The Tax Collectors were hated by all in Jewish Society.

There is no easy modern equivalent to compare them to...

The Tax Collectors is particular were hated by all Jewish Society.

Here is why,

Tax Collectors are probably better called “Toll Collectors” who were located at commercial centres, such as Capernaum and Jericho, to collect tolls, customs, and tariffs.

Such people had bid and won the right to collect such tolls for the Romans.

Such people had bid and won the right to collect such tolls for the Romans.

Only wealthy men were able to bid at the auction for the rights to collect, for those who acquired the privilege were required to pay a stipulated sum into the royal treasury, irrespective of how much was actually collected, and to furnish security until the amount was paid.

These Tax Collectors usually followed the practice of subdividing, among subcontractors, the area assigned them, to do the actual work of collecting taxes.

In the NT “publicans” were the agents who actually collected taxes from the people, and were probably, with rare exceptions, Jews.

The fact that their profit was determined by how much they collected and that their bid had been paid for in advance, led to great abuse.

The fact that their profit was determined by how much they collected and that their bid had been paid for in advance led to great abuse.

They were hated and despised by their fellow Jews.

Dishonesty among tax collectors was the rule and their witness was not accepted in a court of law.

They were hated and despised by their fellow Jews.

Dishonesty among tax collectors was the rule and their witness was not accepted in a court of law.

A “publican” was therefore ostracised from society and excommunicated from the synagogue.

A “publican” was therefore ostracized from society and excommunicated from the synagogue.

He was looked upon and treated as a heathen dog, and tolerated only because the power of Rome was back of him

He was looked upon and treated as a heathen dog, and tolerated only because the power of Rome was back of him

The Fact that such abuse took place is even testified to in the bible,

A “publican” was therefore ostracized from society and excommunicated from the synagogue.

He was looked upon and treated as a heathen dog, and tolerated only because the power of Rome was back of him

Tax collectors also came to be baptized.

This is understood better as “toll collectors” who were located at commercial centers, such as Capernaum and Jericho, to collect tolls, customs, and tariffs.

Such people had bid and won the right to collect such tolls for the Romans.

The fact that their profit was determined by how much they collected and that their bid had been paid for in advance led to great abuse.

They were hated and despised by their fellow Jews.

Dishonesty among tax collectors was the rule (Sanh 25b), and their witness was not accepted in a court of law.

Thus they were often associated with sinners and prostitutes.

Publicans.

Gr. telōnai, “tax collectors,” called by the Romans publicani.

Telōnai is from telos, “tax,” and ōneomai, “to buy,” thus literally, “buyers of taxes.”

Instead of having regular government employees appointed as revenue officers to collect fixed taxes, the Romans auctioned off the privilege of collecting revenues within a city or province.

Only wealthy men were able to bid at the auction, for those who acquired the privilege were required to pay a stipulated sum into the royal treasury, irrespective of how much was actually collected, and to furnish security until the amount was paid.

These telōnai usually followed the practice of subdividing, among subcontractors, the area assigned them, or of hiring agents to do the actual work of collecting taxes.

In the NT “publicans” were the agents who actually collected taxes from the people, and were probably, with rare exceptions, Jews.

As representatives of a heathen conqueror, tax collectors were to the people a most painful reminder of the low state to which the Jewish nation had fallen.

Adding to the disgrace of “publicans” in the sight of the Jews, was the unscrupulous practice followed by nearly all of these heartless parasites, of fleecing the people of every farthing that law or the ever-present Roman soldier might force from them.

A Jew who became a “publican” was looked upon as a traitor to Israel, a lackey of the hated Romans.

If it was wrong, from the Jewish point of view, to pay a tax, how much worse it must have been to collect taxes!

A “publican” was therefore ostracized from society and excommunicated from the synagogue.

He was looked upon and treated as a heathen dog, and tolerated only because the power of Rome was back of him (see on Mark 2:14; see p. 66).

The Him here is John the Baptist.

John’s exhortation is very clear and implies what had been happening.