Things Jesus Never Said

Intro

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Is there anyone here who has watched or is a fan of the classic television series, “Little House on the Prairie?” I had seen it a kid a little bit while running re-runs, but my wife had all the tapes and had seen each episode. When we got married she started showing them to me when they became available to stream. The show is based on a true story of the Ingles family living the prairie life of Minnesota in the latter half of the 1800’s. One episode we watched recently, depicted the oldest Mary agreeing to become a teacher in an even more rural area than she already lived. When she arrives she is met with mistrust from uneducated townspeople who are resistant to new technology or notions of the modernizing world. Mary’s trouble most come from Mrs. Peele (a town and church elder) who doesn’t believe education. Mrs. Peele seeks to discredit Mary at every opportunity, and begins spreading rumors about her as a Jezebel to the town. At first Mary has had enough and decides to quit and go back home to her family in Walnut Grove. But then she decides to stand up for herself and return for a church meeting to challenge Mrs. Peele. Mrs. Peele is teaching on the 10 commandments. It becomes clear to Mary, that is Mrs. Peele misquoting the ten commandments, when she lists “Do unto others as you would have done unto you” (The Golden Rule, qouted by Jesus in Matthew) as the 6th commandment). Mary realizes Mrs. Peele is a fraud and cannot even read. Mary declares to Mrs. Peele that she is guilty of breaking the 9th commandment, “Thou shalt not bear false witness.” After a not so small back and forth, Mary is able to prove Mrs. Peele’s dishonesty. The townspeople/church people realized they had been going off of what they had heard rather than learning what the Bible actually said.

And isn’t that a problem we can have today? Can we be guilty of learning or believing something about God because we had been taught it but because we aren’t, ourselves studying in “the good book”, (As Mrs. Peele called it).

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Maybe those of you who grew up going to church and attending Sabbath school can remember things you were taught in the Bible, but never verified it in scripture. Have you ever had a spritual discussion, where you say, “Doesn’t the Bible say something about such and such subject?” But not know where. Sometimes we are not even thinking of a scripture, but an accepted Ellen White quote. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of Ellen white. Desire of Ages, Steps to Christ, and the Great controversy, are some of my favorite books and are great additions to help us understand scripture and learn about Jesus. However, in 6 and half years pastoring, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard Ellen White quotes confused with scripture.

Even Bible verses shared outside of its original context can be shared in a way that is misleading. This is what we are going to spend more time talking about. Before we go further lets take a moment to pray.

Prayer

When I was in High school I remember having a verse explained to me for the first time. Some of us were listening to a worship talk on prayer, and the person who was talking said to us, something to effect of.

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“The Bible tells us that “when two or three are gathered in my name, there I am with them.” He was quoting this verse I am certain many of you have heard before, maybe even quoted before Matthew 18:20. This verse is usually quoted as an encouragement to one another when there is low attendance for a worship service or given as a benediction during a prayer meeting. This person shared with us that based on this verse, Jesus was saying, when we pray earnestly enough together in unity, God is guaranteed answer our prayer, and its handled, no matter what.

Now, listen I believe there is power when we unite in prayer. I believe in the power of praying together. The problem is this verse doesn’t say that, and it doesn’t say what others have quoted it as.

Here’s the two most common ways it’s misused.

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1. To Say That When Two Are In Agreement Whatever They Ask Will Be Done 

When this verse is used this way it’s implying that when two or more are in agreement then what they ask will be done. In other words, when two pray the same prayer what they pray for will be answered.

Not only is that not in the context of this verse, but it’s also not accurate theology. God listens to our prayers whether we are alone or with others. Being with others doesn’t increase the chance that He will hear and respond to our prayers. 

2. To Say That When Two Or More Are Gathered God Is With Them 

This is what I most commonly hear. Often said by a church leader at a gathering to show that God is present with them because there are two or more gathered.

But what does the inverse of this interpretation mean? If there were only one person present God would not be there? Certainly, no one believes that (I hope). But when we twist this passage this way that’s what it implies.

So what is the context of Matthew 18:20?

When we ignore the context in which a passage of the Bible is written we can quite literally make it say anything. One of the simplest and most important things we should do when reading the Bible is to look at the context. Read the verses before and after. 

In this case the verses that kick off this section will tell us what Jesus is actually talking about in Matthew 18:20. 

If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. ’If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector. Matthew 18:15-17

In context, we can now see that Jesus is giving instructions about how to handle conflicts with others. When there is a conflict in community (the church) He gives some very practical steps we should take. 

Matthew 18:19-20 is the encouragement that comes at the end of these instructions. Essentially Jesus is saying you follow these steps and leave the consequences up to me. 

When the context of this passage is ignored you can make Matthew 18:20 say something it was never intended to be about. Which can lead to some dangerous theology. 

Let’s look a little at the meaning of this passage. 

Where Two Or Three Are Gathered Meaning

Now that we know the context, we can get to the Matthew 18:20 meaning. We already know that Jesus is talking about how to handle conflict in the Church. So, let’s look at the process a little deeper. 

What Jesus is doing is he’s giving an order of process to follow when you have a conflict with someone. Here’s how they break down: 

1. Talk to them privately about the issue.  2. If they refuse to repent, grab two or three people that are trusted within the church and talk to them again.  3. If they still refuse to repent bring the issue to the church leaders.  4. And finally, if they still refuse to repent then it’s time to remove them from the Church. Hopefully, through this final serious action, they will realize the error in their ways and repent. 

Jesus is giving incredibly practical advice. That you don’t even need to be a Christian to appreciate.

Just imagine how much healthy the church (or any organization) would be if we actually followed this process. This would solve SO many problems in the church, in the workplace, in our neighborhoods, and in our families, if we just did this. 

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Let me ask you a question. Is there anyone here who likes being misquoted or having your intentions being misrepresented? I doubt there is anyone in here who would have much appreciation for that.

As Christians, I believe it is our duty and calling to represent the God we serve by the way we live. I am not saying, we must be perfect, but we should strive to be more and more like Jesus. Loving, forgiving and gracious, and nice. Yes you can represent Jesus by just simply being nice to people, even people you disagree with.

Ephesians 5:1–2 ESV

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

The context of the passage continues to tells, us basically, when we are filling ourselves with foolishness on the inside. (I interpret this as the immoralities of hatred, anger, sexual sins, and discontent and coveting) This is revealed on our outside, by our treatment of others by our lips, or maybe by how we engage people online or simply by the way we treat our friends, or how treat our neighbors, or even our enemies.

So if we have accepted the premise that we are to strive to live and represent Christ; we must acknowledge an example of this is by quoting scripture in its proper context. We do not need to twist scripture to fit our accepted narrative. Scripture does not need to be changed. I admit, there are plenty of examples of confusing and head scratcher texts and passages in the Bible. Sometimes the context of those verses or passages are not found directly following or preceding these verse, but sometimes even found later down the road, maybe even in a different book. For example, just try reading the visions of Daniel without tying them to the book of revelation, of vias versa.

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When Jesus began His ministry on Earth he found all sorts of things being taught by the religious leaders of the day such as the pharisees (which believe it or not were would be the religious liberals of the day) or the Sadduccees (The extreme conservatives,) twisting scripture and teaching things, either no longer applicable, or in ways the prophets of the OT had not intended. There were those teaching scriptures only through the lens of legalism, and others even blended in paganism. Some were out their using the scriptures to gain wealth and personal prosperity.

These things obviously don’t happen today anymore right???!

No sadly they still do. We need a savior in the worst way, the same as the people of Jesus’s day did.

In Matthew 23 after many other exchanges with pharisees attempting to trap Jesus in his words and often trying to use the words of the prophets against him, or the law of Moses. Jesus confronts the scribes and pharisees while speaking to the disciples and crowd that had assembled.

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Matthew 23:2–7 ESV

“The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.

Then what follows is known as Jesus 7 woes to the scribes and pharisees.

Jesus points out the hypocrisy of their teachings and their work is actually a counteraction of kingdom building. Jesus essentially calls them imposters of Moses. Their work is a misrepresentation of the God of Israel. They lead with a false authority and Jesus calls them on it.

Folks, I’m not sharing anything about the religious leaders of Jesus’s day you have not already heard. However I can tell you this throughout church history when people only listen to scripture being presented to them rather than studying the “good book” themselves alongside what we are being taught, people have been and will continue to be deceived. Not convinced. Let me share a few more scriptures and you tell me if you have ever heard these verses shared in such a way, as I will describe. change slide

“I CAN DO ALL THINGS THROUGH HIM WHO STRENGTHENS ME.” – PHILIPPIANS 4:13

Out of Context: This verse has nothing to do with dunking a basketball, hitting a game-winning homerun, bench-pressing a bus, winning the lottery or closing a business deal.

In Context: The Apostle Paul is under house arrest awaiting his trial, where he may possibly be put to death for preaching the resurrection of Jesus.

However, instead of being defeated by unfortunate circumstances, Paul is using this opportunity to teach the young church in Philippi that he can endure any and every circumstance—ups and downs, highs and lows—because he has a strength that only comes from Christ.

This supernatural strength to endure all seasons and situations is always with Paul because the Holy Spirit of Christ is always with him, even in prison.

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“FOR I KNOW THE PLANS I HAVE FOR YOU, DECLARES THE LORD, PLANS FOR WELFARE AND NOT FOR EVIL, TO GIVE YOU A FUTURE AND A HOPE.” – JEREMIAH 29:11

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Out of Context: This verse is typically given to someone as a sentiment during a difficult time, or on a graduation card after crossing a stage receiving his or her diploma or degree.

As a stand-alone promise, it appears as though God exists to make us all popular, rich, healthy, and powerfully well known! God declares the American Dream over my life!

In Context: This incredible promise is given not to an individual, but to a people group—Hebrews exiled in Babylon. God promised that He had not given up on His people and that even though things looked dire, they still had a future and a hope!

So, the word “prosper” doesn’t refer to money or material blessings; it refers to physical and spiritual salvation. It’s a beautiful promise that God is not done with His people and that their future and hope were only found in Him.

The promise is that He will see His plans through, and His people get to be a part of them.

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“JUDGE NOT, THAT YOU BE NOT JUDGED.” – MATTHEW 7:1

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Out of Context: We’re living in a day that values tolerance above all, unless, of course, someone disagrees with our beliefs, lifestyles, or opinions; then, we’re extremely intolerant. We may even boldly shout, “Only God can judge me!” However, this is, not Biblical theology.

In Context: This verse is not a warning against speaking out against certain actions or behaviors. In fact, in other places of Scripture, we’re told “we’ll know them by their fruit.”

We’re also commanded in the Great Commission to “make disciples,” which includes helping others wage war against sin. However, Matthew 7 is a warning against self-righteousness and hypocrisy.

If we’re going to correct someone, then we must expect to be held to the same standard. If we judge with aggression, then we can expect to be judged with aggression.

Even though we remove the plank in our eye, Jesus still says we must remove the speck in our brother’s.

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Alright here is one more: And I warn you this one may sting a bit.

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May all who are godly be happy… Psalm 97:12

Out of Context:

1. Whatever makes me happy must be right. Whatever makes me unhappy must be wrong.

2. Discomfort, delay, risk, suffering, inconveniences, and obstacles can’t be God’s will.

See the problem here is we allow our culture of pleasure seeking to dictate our understanding of a verse like this. Our pursuit of pleasure begins to outweigh our desire for God’s will and God’s blessing in our lives. The pursuit of pleasing ourselves outweighs our desire to please God.

We rationalize pleasure. “Well God doesn’t want me to be miserable or unhappy....Food makes me happy, Sex makes me happy, Alcohol makes me happy...” God doesn’t want to deprive me of joy and happiness so the more and more of these things = more happiness.

WHEN IT IS ONLY BASED ON THINGS OF THIS WORLD.

Better possessions + peaceful circumstances + thrilling experiences + the right relationships + the perfect appearance = happiness.

So why don’t we allow scripture to interpret scripture and add context . 1 John 2:15-17

Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. 16 For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:15-17

GOD WANTS YOU TO LIVE BLESSED

Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Psalm 37:4 ESV

May all who are godly be happy in the LORD and praise his holy name!

Psalm 97:12 NLT96

When you read the Bible in its full context we understand better what God is offering you and me in regard to happiness, is a lasting Heavenly peace, not the absence of pain and difficulty, and not short cuts to temporary addictive pleasure. The Bible does not tell us God wants us to be happy, by the world’s standards. God wants us to find true lasting delight, IN HIM.

God wants your heart to be full! I promise you this, if you will study the scriptures in the larger fuller context, this is what you will discover also.

I mentioned this last one might sting a little bit. I hope most of you know that self-examination can be painful. Just in a room this size we’ve got a few people who have been of pursuit of all the world offers, or maybe just some.

You've tried everything you can try. You tried the party scene. You tried the material stuff. You tried the outfits. You tried the car. You tried the different job. You tried the different relationship, then another person, then another person. You moved to a different city. You tried the vacation. You tried to save enough money to make you happy. You've tried everything you can, and there's still a void.

Why is that? Because you are trying to fill a spiritual void with material things, and there are not enough material things to fill that void. You have a Christ-shaped void.

Here's the good news. God is pursuing you, and He loves you so much that He did something for you, and did something for me that we could never earn or never deserve.

Conclusion,

Folks, today there are some modern day pharisees and modern day sadducees out there.

The modern pharisees are telling us through a twisted scriptural narrative Salvation is earned abstaining from all the evil, and ultimately through works.

The Modern Sadduccees are telling us through a twisted scriptural narrative that Salvation is everyone’s already, and ultimately your pursuit of worldly pleasure is of little consequence.

If you would open your Bibles and let it reveal its full truth to you, you would read.

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John 3:16–17 ESV

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.

Ephesians 2:8 ESV

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,

Matthew 6:33 ESV

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

You know what these scriptures teach me about Jesus. It is because of Jesus that we can be saved. We get to choose whether or not to accept what He has done for our lives. When we accept what He has done in our lives, We now desire to live for Him and pursue His Holiness, His character, and His loving kindness and grace. Our blessings we receive will not be without trial or even pain. But our gift of eternity with Him will far outweigh the trials of our present circumstance.

It doesn’t mean God doesn’t care about your grief or pain or unhappiness now, He very much does hurt when we hurt and even sends us relief in the present. But God wants you to live blessed and find your happiness truly in Him.

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I hope your takeaway today is:

Do not be decieved, Context in scripture Matters

Pursue the character of God when studying scripture

Represent God authentically, by showing love, kindness, compassion, and in faithfulness to His word.

Join His kingdom today!

This life of pursuing God. This life of pursuing Him in the scriptures. This pursuit of God will very unlikely bring you riches and fortune as the world measures. But if you read your Bibles and read what Jesus did say, you’ll find He does have a literal specially designed place for you in His kingdom. Won’t choose Him today?