"Chapter 24 -No Ordinary Man"

The Story: Chapter 24 – “No Ordinary Man” Sermon by Floyd Knight © 2016 All Rights Reserved 1 [Jesus] wanted his followers to know him to the core. Listening to his teaching and admiring his character was not enough. To follow this rabbi, his followers needed to know him more deeply in ways that would change their hearts, pursuits, and lives (p. 351). I. Backdrop—The Story: The Upper and Lower Story A. Upper Story: The Eternal and Infinite Perspective B. Jesus is interested in our total transformation; Jesus wants to transform us from being flesh and blood, sons, and daughters of God to spiritual daughters and sons of God--born anew. God’s goal is threefold: (1) to save us from our sins and God’s coming judgment and the destruction of the heavens and the earth by fire. (2) to sanctify us now in the present so that (3) we can [a] be resurrected phoenix-like and [b] enjoy communion or fellowship with God now in the present and forever in a new heaven and new earth. God wants to give us new, transformed bodies; new, transformed minds; and a new, transformed heart as promised in the Old Testament. God does not ultimately want to remodel, redecorate, rearrange, highlight, or modify our lives; God does not ultimately want to enlighten our minds or to improve our hearts or emotions. Jesus wants to transform us into a new heaven and a new earth; Jesus’ focus is on God’s kingdom and our total transformation into kingdom beings. Jesus replied, “I tell you for certain that you must be born from above before you can see God’s kingdom!” Nicodemus asked, “How can a grown man ever be born a second time?” The Story: Chapter 24 – “No Ordinary Man” Sermon by Floyd Knight © 2016 All Rights Reserved 2 Jesus answered: I tell you for certain that before you can get into God's kingdom, you must be born not only by water but by the Spirit. Humans give life to their children. Yet only God's Spirit can change you into a child of God. Don't be surprised when I say that you must be born from above. Only God's Spirit gives new life (CEV John 3:3–8). Paul says the same thing: What I am saying, dear brothers and sisters are that our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. But let me reveal to you a wonderful secret. We will not all die, but we will all be transformed! It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed. For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die; our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies. Then, when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die (NLT 1 Corinthians 15:50-53). God wants to transform our lives, our minds, our hearts, and our bodies; God wants to make you totally and wholly into the unique and perfect you—a “you” without the stain and blemish of sin—the “you” that God envisioned and foreordained you to be and become in the new heaven and new earth. While we focus on our current dreams and goals, on our daily activities, and on the stories of our lives, God is calling us to focus on the larger divine comedy—the eternal plotline that God has scripted for us and spiritually cast us as fellow victors with Christ, our King. C. Lower Story: The Time-Conditioned, Finite and Human Perspectives In each of our lower stories, whether we consider ourselves as protagonists in a horrifying tragedy or as heroes and heroines in a divine comedy, our lower stories— The Story: Chapter 24 – “No Ordinary Man” Sermon by Floyd Knight © 2016 All Rights Reserved 3 although eternally important and infinitely precious to God--are still just one chapter of one section of one book in God’s great trilogy of love, grace, and redemption: of paradise created; of paradise lost; and of paradise regained. Our individual stories and individual plotlines, therefore, do not set the arc or trajectory of this Triune trilogy, of this divine drama, of this romantic consummation of Christ and his bride, the church. Our tragic and comedic episodes, our struggles, and our victories, and all our past, present, and future decisions and actions have been foreseen, predicted, arranged, and written into time and history by the author and finisher of our faith. Our final and ultimate destinations—the lake of fire or eternal life—as well as the mechanism—Christ's death and resurrection and our free will—have both been prescripted and predetermined. All that remains is how we respond. We can choose individual, self-autonomy in this temporal, narcissistic existence under the rule of sin and death or we can choose an intimate relationship with Christ under the rule of Christ. We can choose this life and remain the lords of our lives to reap the second death, or we can choose death in this life and fall under the Lordship of Christ and reap eternal life. We have the upper, eternal, and infinite story that ends as a divine comedy where there is always a joyous and victorious ending in a new heaven and a new earth that is eternal. And we have the lower, mortal, and finite stories of individuals that can either (1) end as one of the countless, human tragedies that will unfold as time progresses or (2) culminate and merge into the upper divine comedy where each of us are eventually resurrected and transformed into new creatures for a new creation. The Story: Chapter 24 – “No Ordinary Man” Sermon by Floyd Knight © 2016 All Rights Reserved II. 4 Heart of Chapter 24, “No Ordinary Man” As We Grow and Know Jesus More Fully, More Deeply, and More Intimately, We Will Continue to Reach New Stages of Transformation and Sanctification. Chapter 24 of the Story is on “how to know Jesus through Scripture” and on “the Jesus that you will find in Scripture.” It is the preparatory chapter for the revelation of Jesus as the “Son of God” in Chapter 25 for next week. Chapter 24, itself, is an invitation to know not only more about Jesus but to know Jesus more intimately. As Henry and Richard Blackaby and Claude King put it: Christianity is fundamentally an interactive relationship between God and people [individually and collectively] . . .. God is not a concept or a doctrine. He is a Person who seeks a close, one-on-one relationship with you and me (Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby, Richard Blackaby, and Claude King, p. 3). Chapter 24 lists three of the four ways in which Scriptures records Jesus’ method of teaching: 1. Through Parables (pages 335-40) 2. Through Prose Discourses, Lectures, and Sermons (pages 340-351) The Story: Chapter 24 – “No Ordinary Man” Sermon by Floyd Knight © 2016 All Rights Reserved 3. 5 Through Interactive Apprenticeship and Hands-on, Practical, Student Teaching or Discipleship (page 346). For example, Jesus sends the twelve apostles and the seventy-two out on missionary activities as part of their training. 4. Not Listed or Illustrated: Jesus’ Use of the Socratic Method--Asking Questions of the Questioner so that the Questioner Ends Up Discovering the Answer Himself or Herself. One day an expert in religious law stood up to test Jesus by asking him this question: “Teacher, what should I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus replied, “What does the law of Moses say? How do you read it?” The man answered, “‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength, and all your mind.’ And ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “Right!” Jesus told him. “Do this and you will live!” (Luke 10:25-28 NLT) III. Heart of Today’s Message—A Reading of One of the Parables (Matthew 13, pages 335-356 of The Story) “A Story About Planting Seed” That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Large crowds gathered around him, so he got into a boat and sat down, while the people stood on the shore. Then Jesus used stories to teach them many things. He said: “A farmer went out to plant his seed. While he was planting, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and ate it all up. Some seed fell on rocky ground, where there wasn't much dirt. That seed grew very fast because the ground was not deep. But when the sun rose, the plants dried up, because they did not have deep roots. Some other seed fell among thorny weeds, which grew and choked the good plants. Some other seed fell on good ground where it grew and produced a crop. Some plants made a hundred times more, some made sixty times more, and some made thirty times more. Let those with ears use them and listen.” The Story: Chapter 24 – “No Ordinary Man” Sermon by Floyd Knight © 2016 All Rights Reserved 6 “Why Jesus Used Stories to Teach” The followers came to Jesus and asked, “Why do you use stories to teach the people?” Jesus answered, “You have been chosen to know the secrets about the kingdom of heaven, but others cannot know these secrets. Those who have understanding will be given more, and they will have all they need. But those who do not have understanding, even what they have will be taken away from them. This is why I use stories to teach the people: They see, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really hear or understand. So, they show that the things Isaiah said about them are true: ‘You will listen and listen, but you will not understand. You will look and look, but you will not learn. For the minds of these people have become stubborn. They do not hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might really understand what they see with their eyes and hear with their ears. They might really understand in their minds and come back to me and be healed.’ (Isaiah 6:9–10) But you are blessed because you see with your eyes and hear with your ears. 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets, and good people wanted to see the things that you now see, but they did not see them. And they wanted to hear the things that you now hear, but they did not hear them. “Jesus Explains the Seed Story” “So, listen to the meaning of that story about the farmer. What is the seed that fell by the road? That seed is like the person who hears the message about the kingdom but does not understand it. The Evil One comes and takes away what was planted in that person’s heart. And what is the seed that fell on rocky ground? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching and quickly accepts it with joy. But he does not let the teaching go deep into his life, so he keeps it only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching he accepted, he quickly gives up. And what is the seed that fell among the thorny weeds? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching but lets worries about this life and the temptation of wealth stop that teaching from growing. So, the teaching does not produce fruit n in that person’s life. But what is the seed that fell on the good ground? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching and understands it. That person grows and produces fruit, sometimes a hundred times more, sometimes sixty times more, and sometimes thirty times more.” The Story: Chapter 24 – “No Ordinary Man” Sermon by Floyd Knight © 2016 All Rights Reserved A. 7 Why Did Jesus Use Parables or Stories? While parables or stories are a widely used and familiar teaching device in both the ancient and modern world, the Scripture records two other reasons given by Jesus himself for using parables or stories in verses 10–17, especially verses 11–12, 15a, and 17. 10 The followers came to Jesus and asked, “Why do you use stories to teach the people?” 11 Jesus answered, “You have been chosen to know the secrets about the kingdom of heaven, but others cannot know these secrets. 12 Those who have understanding will be given more, and they will have all they need. But those who do not have understanding, even what they have will be taken away from them. 13 This is why I use stories to teach the people: They see, but they do not really see. They hear, but they do not really hear or understand. 14 So they show that the things Isaiah said about them are true: ‘You will listen and listen, but you will not understand. You will look and look, but you will not learn. 15a For the minds of these people have become stubborn. They do not hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. 15b Otherwise they might really understand what they see with their eyes and hear with their ears. 15c They might really understand in their minds and come back to me and be healed.’ Isaiah 6:9–10 16 But you are blessed, because you see with your eyes and hear with your ears. 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets, and good people wanted to see the things that you now see, but they did not see them. And they wanted to hear the things that you now hear, but they did not hear them. 1. Answer #1 (verse 12): To prevent people from knowing the secrets of the Kingdom of God: “But those who do not have understanding, even what they have will be taken away from them” a. Is God Being Arbitrary? i. God is simply giving people what they themselves are secretly requesting as verse 15a makes clear: “For the minds of these The Story: Chapter 24 – “No Ordinary Man” Sermon by Floyd Knight © 2016 All Rights Reserved 8 people have become stubborn.” As Jeremiah 17:10 remains us, God knows the inner thoughts and emotions of humanity: “I the Lord search the heart and examine the mind, to reward a man according to his conduct.” And 1 Timothy 2:4 tells us, “God desires all to be saved and to know the truth.” So, the people are stubborn and they, themselves, do not really want to know the will of God. God is simply honoring their request. If people were not stubborn, God would grant them the ability to understand and truly discern God’s will for them as verse 15b and 15c declare. 2. Answer #2 (verses 11, 16-17): God’s Sovereignty—God Chooses Those Whom God Wants to Bless and The Timing of Those Blessings. Verses 11, 16–17 tell us that it is not only people's self-willed, stubbornness that prevents them from knowing the truth of God, but also God’s sovereignty. 11 Jesus answered, “You have been chosen to know the secrets about the kingdom of heaven, but others cannot know these secrets.” 16 But you are blessed, because you see with your eyes and hear with your ears. 17 I tell you the truth, many prophets, and good people wanted to see the things that you now see, but they did not see them. And they wanted to hear the things that you now hear, but they did not hear them. (Mt. 13) The principle in verses 16–17 is not really about the worthiness of the Twelve Apostles (and of later generations of Christians who are privileged to read these words) over-and-against the Old Testament saints and/or over-and-against those The Story: Chapter 24 – “No Ordinary Man” Sermon by Floyd Knight © 2016 All Rights Reserved 9 who believe in other gods, i.e., pagans. The Twelve's blessedness and our blessedness have to do with God's timing and the coming of God's son. The incarnation of the Word made flesh and the revealing of God’s plan of redemption are the focus of the blessedness they hear. This is made clear a little later in verses 34–35 [as well as in several other passages of Scripture, for example, 1 Cor. 2:7; Col. 1:26; Romans 9:23; Galatians 4:4; Hebrews 1:1-3and 1 Peter 1:8-12 among others]. 34 35 Jesus used stories to tell all these things to the people; he always used stories to teach them. This is as the prophet said: “I will speak using stories; I will tell things that have been secret since the world was made.” (Matthew 13:34-35 NCV) [Quotation from Psalms 78:1-2] In the past, God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets many times and in many different ways. But now in these last days, God has spoken to us through his Son. (Hebrews 1:1-2a NCV). B. A Closer Look at the Meaning of the Weeds or Thorns in Verses 7 and 22 1. Biblical Parables Usually Come with Either an Explicitly Given Meaning or an Implicitly Given Discourse Frame. In Matthew 13, the meaning is explicitly stated. a. Verse 7 gives us the statement about the thorns: Some other seed fell among thorny weeds, which grew and choked the good plants (NCV). b. Verse 22 gives us the explicit meaning or interpretation: And what is the seed that fell among the thorny weeds? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching but lets worries about this life and the temptation of wealth stop that teaching from growing. So the teaching does not produce fruit in that person’s life. The Story: Chapter 24 – “No Ordinary Man” Sermon by Floyd Knight © 2016 All Rights Reserved 2. 10 For an example of contextual framing, see the following parables in Matthew 13 and how they reflect the explicit teaching of Jesus in verse 11 regarding the secrets about the kingdom of heaven and the meaning of the good seed landing in good soil in verse 23. 3. What are the thorns Jesus is talking about in verses 7 and 22? a. Notice that Jesus’ explanation involves a simile. v22. b. And what is the seed that fell among the thorny weeds? That seed is like the person who. . .. Notice the word ‘worry’ or ‘μέριμνα’ /me rim na/ in Biblical Greek. According to the editors of the Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament based on Semantic Domains, the term μέριμνα may refer to either unnecessary worry or legitimate concern1. Given the fact that Jesus had previously addressed both worry and concern in Matthew 6:1–33 in his “Sermon on the Mount” and for a third time in 19:23– 30, it is more than likely that the type of worry or concern in this passage is the same as that expressed earlier in Matthew 6 (food and hunger, drink and thirst, nakedness and clothing) and later in Matthew 19 (leaving homes and shelters, family and safety, and fields and sustenance). What Jesus is referring to in this 1 Johannes P. Louw and Eugene Albert Nida, Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains (New York: United Bible Societies, 1996), 312. The Story: Chapter 24 – “No Ordinary Man” Sermon by Floyd Knight © 2016 All Rights Reserved 11 passage is legitimate and reasonable worry or concern. Jesus is, therefore, focusing on two things in verse 22: (a) the greed, avarice, or covetousness or the pride and deceitfulness of wealth as well as (b) the everyday, run-of-the-mill worry or legitimate worry or concern. This is what I want to emphasize and what we often miss: God is both (1) condemning avarice and dependency on wealth and material goods (that is Jesus is warning us of the danger of financial idolatry (cf. Mt 19:16-22)) and also (2) condemning the placing of our physical, social, and emotional needs above obeying and worshipping God. Here are the hidden agenda and hidden idols that Americans and Western Christians often miss when reading this parable. Western Christians tend to think it is reasonable and godly to address “our primary” physical concerns such as securing food, clean water, clothing, and shelter before addressing religious, theological, and philosophical concerns. We tend to think that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is Biblical and a natural part of the Gospel message. Didn’t God design us—after all—with these primary physiological needs for food, water, clothing, and shelter and with our secondary psychological needs for emotional, physical, and financial security? What Jesus would say to us today is that Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is antithetical to Christian living; Maslow’s hierarchy of needs is, itself, an idol. Why? To place anything other than God and the kingdom of God as primary is categorically wrong. In Matthew 22, Jesus said that the first and greatest commandment in all of Scripture was Deuteronomy 6:5, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart The Story: Chapter 24 – “No Ordinary Man” Sermon by Floyd Knight © 2016 All Rights Reserved 12 and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment” (NIV). Earlier in Matthew, Jesus had proclaimed, “Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it” (10:37–39 NIV). Placing God first and being willing to die for the cause of Christ are two principles that clearly and explicitly show that Maslow's hierarchy is antithetical to Jesus' teaching and Christianity in general. One cannot be a mature Christfollower and place his or her primary physical and secondary psychological needs above those of living and dying for Christ—above following God and doing God’s will. We are to follow God even if we are hungry, thirsty, naked, and homeless–not after, or if, our primary physical and secondary psychological needs are met. This is made abundantly clear by the lives of the Apostles and the testimony in Hebrews 11: Many of these people were tortured, but they refused to be released. They were sure that they would get a better reward when the dead are raised to life. Others were made fun of and beaten with whips, and some were chained in jail. Still, others were stoned to death or sawed in two or killed with swords. Some had nothing but sheepskins or goat skins to wear. They were poor, mistreated, and tortured. The world did not deserve these good people, who had to wander in deserts and on mountains and had to live in caves and holes in the ground. All of them pleased God because of their faith! But still, they died without being given what had been promised. This was because God had something better in store for us. And he did not want them to reach the goal of their faith without us. (Hebrew 11:35-40 CEV). The Story: Chapter 24 – “No Ordinary Man” Sermon by Floyd Knight © 2016 All Rights Reserved 13 Jesus is calling us to a supernatural existence. Jesus wants us to have a Kingdom agenda with a Kingdom focus. Contrary to Maslow’s logic, the Scripture tells us that in our natural state, “people’s thoughts and actions are bent toward evil from childhood” (Genesis 8:21 CEV) and that our “sinful nature is always hostile to God” (Romans 8:7). Paul says, The natural man does not welcome what comes from God's Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to know it since it is evaluated spiritually” (1 Cor. 2:14 NIV). When we do what comes naturally, when we follow “best practices” models of our professions (medical, business, technology, or educational) based on the industrial leaders in our fields of endeavor, when we place any other practices and principles that are not tested by and/or are not found in the Word of God above God’s Word, we run the risk of idolatry. When we do what comes naturally and do what seems the most profitable or rationale or practical—however we define success, we run the risk of violating God's will. The natural man or woman in the natural state of sin can do nothing but fulfill that which is contrary to God's nature. Yes, Christians can use “best practices” and “leading industrial and institutional standards” but only after they have examined what principles are in harmony with God’s Holy Word and what principles are not. Mature Christians should always employ spiritual “due diligence” at work, at home, at play, and at church; immature Christians simply walk in their natural state unaware of the choking dangers that this has to their spiritual growth. The Story: Chapter 24 – “No Ordinary Man” Sermon by Floyd Knight © 2016 All Rights Reserved IV. 14 Evangelistic Close Bibliography Blackaby, H., Blackaby, R., & King, C. (2008). Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God. Nashville, TN, United States: B&H Publishing Group. Lucado, M., & Frazee, R. (2011). The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People. Grand Rapids, MI, USA: Zondervan. McKnight, S. (2016). King Jesus Gospel: Revisiting the Original Gospel. Grand Rapids, MI, USA: Zondervan. Willard, D. (1997). The Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life in God. Grand Rapids, MI, USA: HarperCollins. Willard, D. (2012). Hearing God: Developing a Conversational Relationship with God. 1984. Downers Grove, IL, USA: IVP. Willard, D., & Black, G. (2014). The Divine Conspiracy Continued: Fulfilling God's Kingdom on Earth. New York, NY, USA: HarperCollins.