The Wounds of Covetousness
By His Wounds We Are Healed • Sermon • Submitted
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· 9 viewsWe continue our series on the 10 Commandments with covetousness. The sin of covetousness is a foundational sin to many other sins.
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The Wounds of Covetousness
The Wounds of Covetousness
Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief.
My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak.
Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors and an object of dread to my closest friends— those who see me on the street flee from me.
I am forgotten as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery.
For I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side!” They conspire against me and plot to take my life.
But I trust in you, Lord; I say, “You are my God.”
My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me.
Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love.
“You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,
but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’ ”
“You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.
“For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”
When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.
Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival.
They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.”
Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.
Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine.
Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
Introduction:
When was the last time you were tempted to do something you knew you should not? I bet right now, those of you who are fasting for Lent are tempted to quit. I have to admit, by this point in Lent, I begin getting tired of the changes I have made in my life for Lent and am ready for Easter to come and release me. How about you?
Well do not give in, but hold fast to your fast! :-) (Pun intended).
We make a lot of jokes about things we are tempted to do or not do. This week I heard a good one.
10,000 Sermon Illustrations Arrest of Jose Rivera
Arrest of Jose Rivera
Have you heard the folk story of the bandit Jose’ Rivera, who became notorious in several little towns in Texas for robbing their banks and businesses? Finally the townsfolk, weary of the constant plundering, hired a ranger to track down Jose’ Rivera in his hideout in Mexico and retrieve the money. The ranger at last arrived at a desolate, ramshackle cantina. At the counter he saw a young man enjoying his brew. At one of the tables, hands over his ample stomach, hat over his eyes, snored another patron. With much gusto, the ranger approached the young man at the bar and announced that he was on a mission to bring back Jose’ Rivera, dead or alive. “Can you help me find him?” he asked. The young man smiled, pointed to the other patron, and said, “That is Jose’ Rivera.”
The ranger shifted his southern girth and ambled over to the sleeping bandit, tapping him on the shoulder, “Are you Jose’ Rivera? he asked. The man mumbled, “No speak English.” The ranger beckoned to the young man to help him communicate his mission.
The ensuing conversation was tedious. First the ranger spoke in English and the young man translated it into Spanish. Jose’ Rivera responded in Spanish, and young man repeated the answer in English for the ranger.
Finally, the ranger warned Jose’ Rivera that he had two choices; the first was to let him know where all the loot he had stolen was hidden, in which case he could walk away a free man. The second choice was that if he would not reveal where the money was stashed, he would be shot dead instantly. The young man translated the ultimatum.
Jose’ Rivera pulled himself together and said to the young man, “Tell him to go out of the bar, turn to the right, go about a mile, and he will see a well. Near the well he will see a very tall tree. Beside the trunk of that tree is a large concrete slab. He will need help in removing it. Under the slab is a pit in the ground. If he carefully uncovers it he will find all the jewelry and most of the money I have taken.”
The young man turned to the ranger, opened his mouth...swallowed...paused—and then said, “Jose’ Rivera says...Jose’ Rivera says...’Go ahead and shoot!’”
Ravi Zacharias, Can Man Live Without God, (Word Publ., Dallas: 1994), pp. 98-99
At that point, I would be tempted to lie also. Temptation isn’t a sin, it is only when we give into the temptation that it becomes a sin. However, today we are looking at the tenth commandment, and it is not only a sin, but often leads us to commit other sins.
“You shall not covet!” Covetousness takes us all the way back before Adam and Eve when an angel of light coveted the position of God, which led to a rebellion among the angels and later leads to the serpent tempting men and women for the same reason.
It was covetousness that was at the heart of the Jewish leader’s hate for Jesus. Jesus had authority, power, and the ear of the people. This was a threat to them and their desires. And there is the key…their desires. These priests were not serving God, but they were serving themselves. There hate was so strong that they were determined to see Jesus die in the worst possible manner and even more, shame. Look with me at today’s passage which is Jesus final moment before Pilate before His crucifixion.
From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha).
It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.
But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified. So the soldiers took charge of Jesus.
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Sermon:
Covetousness was the first sin. Look with me at Isaiah 14:12-15.
How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!
You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.
I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”
But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.
Satan coveted the throne and power of God. Satan coveted the worship that God received. This sin of covetousness consumed him until he could stand it no more and began to acquire followers with the intent of removing God.
Have you ever noticed how the greed for power often makes people do stupid things leading to their demise? Satan was no different.
I worked for years in corporations or banks and I often witnessed people like this. They literally did all they could to climb over the backs of others to get ahead, only to eventually have it blow up and cause them their job.
Such people do not make good team players and often cause a lot of conflict which actually deters from getting work done efficiently.
Such people often do not learn either. Such was the case with Satan. He was cast out from his position and place alongside God. But he did not stop his campaign. He quickly turned to God’s latest creation, man and woman, in order to steal their devotion from God.
Satan sowed his own discontentment upon them.
Adam and Eve had an entire garden to choose to eat from. They had everything they could ever want. Only one tree did God tell them to stay away from. Now Satan laces Eve’s heart with doubt. Was it possible that if she ate from that tree that she could have the power and knowledge and be like God? The truth is, Satan was never offering that as he wanted that position for himself.
Well you know the story. Eve ate and then encouraged Adam to eat and now all peoples are born with a sin nature. That is a desire to be gods of our own having full control of our lives, which in effect often steps on the control others want for themselves. It is a vicious cycle.
If you have ever been in an office where there is not a strong leader, you quickly find there are too many bosses and all that ever does is create conflict and confusion. Can you imagine a world where we are all gods? I have always enjoyed various mythology stories. When I was in junior high, there was a series of books on various stories of mythology from Greece, Hawaii, Alaska, etc… In all those stories, there were always conflicts as all the gods were seeking the ultimate authority.
Today, our Lenten journey finds us knocking on Easter’s door and the desire for power is at the very heart of it. The truth is that for man, there is no ultimate level of power. The power of a man or nations is always coveted by anther person or nation and so the power one has is always threatened.
Rome holds the power over Israel, Israel wants it back. For this reason, Rome holds a firm grasp on Israel to prevent an uprising. The Sanhedrin believes this mild, meek man called Jesus is a threat to their power. They seek to have him killed but it did not save them, for later others did rise up against Rome. Others who did not follow the teachings of Jesus and Rome did retaliate and destroyed Jerusalem. All that the Sanhedrin fought so hard to keep was lost to them.
Jesus had tried to warn them. When they had asked for Jesus to show them a miraculous sign, Jesus gave this response.
Matthew 12:39-41
He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.
For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now something greater than Jonah is here.
As Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, there was a great celebration taking place. It would feel like you were entering a carnival pregnant with excitement and expectation. In fact, in the very moment that Jesus entered, there was expectation. People were gathered at that Eastern gate, palms in hand expecting to see the priest arriving with the passover lamb that would be used for the nation of Israel. However, when Jesus arrived their was an explosion of excitement. Not because they recognized that He was the passover lamb (which of course He was without their realizing it in that moment). But because Jesus had fulfilled all the Messianic miracles.
You see, Israel had a long standing tradition that there were four miracles that only the Messiah would be able to perform. They are as follows:
1) Healing a leper
2) Casting out a mute demon
3) Healing a man born blind
4) Raising someone from the dead after four days
They believed that prophets and people were sometimes empowered by God to do miracles, but these four they believed were reserved for just the Messiah. With the raising of Lazarus from the dead a short while before this festival, Jesus had fulfilled the final Messianic miracle. People were gathered in parade fashion expecting the passover lamb, but when they saw Jesus arriving they broke out in tumultuous sound crying, “Hosanna!” or “Save Now!” They were crying for Jesus to rise up and declare His intent to overthrow Rome.
However, not everyone was as excited and pleased to see Jesus entering with such enthusiasm. Instead of being excited over the Messianic miracles, the Jewish leaders were threatened by them and the reaction of the crowd for fear that Roman officers were observe and fear a riot.
They also feared that Jesus was taking the power and glory in that moment, though in truth, the power and glory were already Jesus’ by right.
We find the reaction of Pharisees in the crowd in John 12:19& Luke 19:39.
So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
This event is an interesting and very revealing moment in the life of Jesus. We find three responses; an excited crowd hoping Jesus will begin a riot to overthrow Rome, an outraged Jewish leadership fearing Jesus will try to do just that, and a melancholy Savior. Yes, I believe melancholy fits well. He is so misunderstood in that moment by everyone. He must have felt so alone.
We see this melancholy spirit as He enters Jerusalem.
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it
The word used for wept here is klaiō (Key) klah'-yo (Key) which means to sob, or to wail as in deep mourning. Jesus was not just tearing up, He was sobbing uncontrollably. These people in their excitement of the moment, have no real understanding of the rejection they are then and even later are about to heap on Him. They are not receiving Him has He has come, in peace and longing to save His children. They are receiving Him with the hope that He will accomplish an act of war upon Rome. Their hearts are still not with Him, but only with what He can do for them.
This melancholy seems to be with Jesus throughout that day. After He enters Jerusalem, Jesus enters the temple. He is probably in the Court of the Jews. You see, the temple had designated areas and not all were permitted to all parts. The outer courtyard was the Courtyard of the Gentiles. The Gentiles could worship here, but could not enter past that part. Which was one of the offenses of the moneychangers as they were using the courtyard provided for Gentile worship to conduct business. Then there was the women’s courtyard. Women were permitted here, but were not allowed to enter beyond that point. Then you had the Court of the Jews. Jewish men could enter here and worship and have discussions in this area.
In John 12:20 we find some Greek’s seeking the disciples to ask audience with Jesus. This could be because Jesus was within this inner court of the Temple where they were not allowed. It could also be because of a large crowd, but in the following verses you do not get the feeling that Jesus is in a crowd, but is with a small group of His disciples. Here again, we see this melancholy that is hanging over Jesus.
“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.
I read a commentary this week that said we should not take this literally because moments later we see Jesus’ glorification mentioned, so Jesus had no cause to be actually troubled. Well I have to tell you that I tossed that commentary out of my references.
Jesus had every right to be troubled. He was just hours away from a horrific death. Jesus was just as much man as He was God. He did not cheerfully say He was facing death and then shrug it off because He knew He would be glorified after. In fact, we know that later in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus sweat blood. That is a medical condition that comes from severe distress.
We also see Jesus do something that we do not see much of before. Jesus ignores the request of the Greeks to see him and instead, he once again prepares his disciples for what is about to happen and it is in this moment we see illuminated the difference between Jesus and mankind.
Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.
Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
Here is where we see the greatest difference between Jesus and Caiaphas. Everything Caiaphas did was to protect the life he was living. Caiaphas would never consider laying down his life for another. In fact, Caiaphas was not above murder to preserve his way of life.
Jesus on the other hand, was willing to lay down His life, in the most awful way, to save all peoples.
Caiaphas won that week. Jesus was finally crucified. Ironically, Caiaphas traded Jesus, a man of peace for Barabbas, a true insurrectionist. Barabbas was everything that Caiaphas was accusing Jesus of being and Pilate knew it, but Pilate had his own power crisis. If Caiaphas accused Pilate of releasing someone who was a threat to Caesar, it could put Pilate in jeopardy with Rome.
However, it gained neither man anything. Both Caiaphas and Pilate were dismissed from office around A.D. 36. Then in AD 70, Jerusalem was destroyed and the Sanhedrin became no more forever.
Jesus was crucified that week, but rose from the dead three days later just like He said. He was glorified just as the Father promised.
Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
However, Jesus did not need the Father’s reassurance because unlike people, He knew the Father was dependable and would see it through.
Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine.
Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.
And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
Jesus had good cause to be melancholy. Just like the prophets of old, He was not listened to or understood. Even the disciples in this moment are blind to what He is saying. He had told them repeatedly that He will die and arise from the dead in three days, but when it happens, it takes awhile for them to remember and comprehend. But I get ahead of myself. :-)
Today we nail the 10th commandment to the cross.
(Nail commandment to the cross)
Now if you are thinking I missed one, well you are right. I skipped number nine and that one we will look at Friday night in our Tenebrae service. But for today, we nail the 10th command. “You shall not covet.” Nailing with it every time we have desired something that did not belong to us. Nailing with it every time we coveted God’s power, authority, or throne. Every time we disobeyed to follow our own will instead of the Father’s will.
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