15: What Price Honour?

Something Valued

The definition of the word for honour in the New Testament begins with an expression of value, an estimation of a price. It can mean a monetary value, or the price someone has to pay because of something.

Matthew 15:4 “For God commanded, saying, ‘Honor your father and your mother’; and, ‘He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death.’”

This an expression of value. It would be a mistake to assume that “honour” as it relates to our parents is speaking nicely of them, or living in such a way that makes them proud.

In Star Trek, there is an infamous test called the “Kobayashi Moru.” The trainee captain is given a no-win scenario to test how he responds to adverse circumstances. In the real world, we have the trolley problem, or for us, the tram problem.

It goes like this: a tram is heading down a track and the driver takes ill and the tram becomes a runaway. You are in the control room and can determine which of the tracks the tram can be on and have to make a decision:

Divert the tram onto a rescue line that will bring it to safe, controlled stop;

Let it crash killing the Bluebells on board.

Here’s the catch: on the rescue line, you can see a wee girl has wandered onto the track. If you choose the rescue line, the wee girl will die, but the 5 Bluebells on board will survive. If you don’t choose the rescue line, the wee girl lives but the 5 Bluebells are done for.

Which do you choose?

A recent poll published online revealed some very interesting results. In western countries like ours, respondents saved the little girl even though several others had to die to save one life. In oriental countries, the Bluebells got to Zoom another day but the wee girl never grew up.

It provided an interesting snapshot of the value on parents held in some societies. Is it really better the elderly survive at the expense of the young? Of course, it is a hypothetical example meant as a test.

What it does reveal is how some societies value their various generations.

The Bible is quite emphatic on this point. When a son marries, his primary responsibility is to his new wife. In the Bible, women are vulnerable—formidable at times—but vulnerable. So God in His wisdom wants the newlywed man to assume his responsibility of looking after his new wife. He has a great responsibility to ensure her future prosperity. This is illustrated in the parable of the lost coin in Luke 15. Losing a coin may not seem like much to us (you may well find one on the street on your way home today), but when you appreciate it is her pension, the dowry he paid, the tangible token of his love for her, and the promise that she would be taken care of by him, even in death, then we appreciate her frantic efforts to recover it. Today, it would be the equivalent of losing a diamond from the engagement ring.

However, the fifth commandment to which Jesus refers is a command to honour one’s parents. This is directed specifically at the men of Israel by Moses in Exodus 20. While the covenant was binding upon all of Israel, the vast majority of the Law was aimed at men. Fidelity in marriage, divorce laws, and honouring of parents are all in the Torah with men in mind because, as the First Testament so often illustrates, men get on with it but the women often suffer from neglect. God cares. So does Jesus, and He supports the fifth commandment. Honour then, in this context, is referring to financial responsibility toward one’s parents and Jesus reiterates what Moses had already said that sons must not abrogate their responsibilities toward their parents simply because they have married.

Another illustration of how honour is connected to value is seen in the heinous transaction recorded by Matthew of Judas’ betrayal of Jesus.

Matthew 27:6 “But the chief priests took the silver pieces and said, “It is not lawful to put them into the treasury, because they are the price of blood.””

Matthew 27:9 “Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced,”

In the account of Judas’ remorse, 4x the value/price meaning of the word is used. Jesus’ life was worth a miserly 30 pieces of silver—the price of a slave purchased at the market.

Another example of how the Greek word “honour” is used to speak of value is seen by how often it is used in the gospels to speak of rebuking. In Matthew, Mark, and Luke there are several instances where Jesus rebukes demons and even Peter. This illustrates the price someone has to pay metaphorically. For example, the demons in Mark 1:21–28 are rebuked by Jesus in verse 25. They were judged to be unworthy of declaring the Lordship of Jesus. Likewise, Peter too was similarly sternly warned in Mark 8:33 about his opposition to God’s plan for Messiah Jesus. In other words, Peter had earned that rebuke.

Something Esteemed

For the most part, when we hear “honour”, we think of “esteem”. We may refer to a sheriff in the courtroom by the term, “Your Honour.” Members of Parliament are often termed “The Honourable” or “The Right Honourable”.

Jesus uses the same word for rebuking for this concept of esteem. In John 4:44 “For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.” He used it negatively, which is to say, having no honour. Canadian actor Michael J. Fox attained considerable success and fame in his career, but his dad still had him washing the dishes when he was home with his family.

These days, we are often inclined to attach too much honour, or any for that matter, to the wrong people. We give it to sports stars who earn more in a week than most of us will earn in a lifetime. We lavish on celebrities who make their success by often doing the exact opposite of what God asks.

If honour to honour is due, then:

First and foremost, God is to receive honour.

Our Greek word under consideration today is τιμη. Only John’s gospel uses it to ascribe honour to God in John 5:23 “that all should honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent Him.”

1 Tim 1:17 “Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Revelation 7:12 “saying: “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom, Thanksgiving and honor and power and might, Be to our God forever and ever. Amen.””

Secondly, Jesus is to receive honour.

1 Tim 6:16 “who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.”

2 Pet 1:17 “For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.””

Revelation 4:9–11 “Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.””

Widows and elders are to be given honour.

1 Tim 5:3, 17.

Every Christian is to receive honour.

1 Cor 12:23–24 “And those members of the body which we think to be less honorable, on these we bestow greater honor; and our unpresentable parts have greater modesty, but our presentable parts have no need. But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it,”

Romans 12:10 “Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;”

Romans 13:7 “Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor.”

Something Earned

As honour is intrinsically something of value, then there is a sense in which this is something to be earned.

Jesus’ encounters with the religious leaders of His time were demands on His part to work for the honour and to deserve it from others. He was critical of those in privileged positions who saw their position alone as their value and condemned their practices as wrong because they were failing to live up to what they were supposed to be. The real condemnation came from how this reflected upon God.

Matt 15:5–6 “But you say, ‘Whoever says to his father or mother, “Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God”—then he need not honor his father or mother.’ Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition.”

Jesus earned honour and Philippians 2:5–8 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

best illustrates why. Or perhaps Romans 5:6–8 “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Jesus earned the right to receive honour.

As for us, the same holds true. This is not an advocacy for meritorious works, the idea of earning salvation, works versus grace. However, it is very much connected to Philippians 2:12–13 “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”

God has given us something of immeasurable value: His Son. How do we respond to that? How does that change us?

By becoming like Jesus, we, in a sense, are earning honour. Jesus was honoured by the people at various times and they did so because of the things He was doing. They saw God at work in Him.

Something Given

To further clarify what I am saying, honour is a thing that is to be given, not taken. God deserves to be honoured. He is, after all, God. A remarkable statement to me is Philippians 2:10–11 “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

On that Day, even those who were bitterly opposed to Jesus and God will see Him as He is and find it impossible to say anything other than Jesus is Lord. What must God in His absolute revelation of holiness be like that it brings everyone to that confession?

The same is true of Jesus. We’ve just read how this incredible confession of Christ as Lord is provoked by the mere mention of the name—Jesus!

What about each other? What can any of us claim to have done by ourselves to deserve any honour?

The root of this is humility.

Philippians 2:3 “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”

I am saved as you are saved as the previous generation was saved as the next generation will be saved. My need is the same as your need. My response is the same as your response. My conversion is the same as your conversion. There is parity and equality amongst us for that reason. We all need the same Saviour for the same reason to achieve the same outcome: our salvation.

Before God, we are equal in need for salvation. Christ died for all that all may be saved, but not all will be saved from hell. Some will refuse God’s invitation to return to Him.

So here’s the crux: I see in you Jesus.

I see Jesus in Melanie with her reading glasses perched on the end of her nose surrounded by Bible class folders as she works on the curriculum.

I see Jesus in Finlay as he comes up to the front with his well-prepared reading and his head barely seeing over the top of the pulpit.

I see Jesus when I get a text from Felicia with gratitude for the lesson and the knowledge that she has probably just prayed for me.

I see Jesus when I see Mike about to fall off his seat as he listens to a sermon with such intensity that his zeal for the word eats him up.

I see Jesus in Paulina when she sends out her daily reminder to read the book and the day’s Scripture for our encouragement.

I see Jesus in Dick when he sends a text to Adam saying he’ll teach the book of Hebrews.

I see Jesus in Chris as she wanders around the room talking to everyone and saying hello.

I see Jesus in Pete when he tucks the boys in at night and says prayers with them.

I see Jesus in Jannie when she takes sermon notes in her book and whose heart bursts for God.

Time forbids me from saying something about all of you, but I see Jesus in all of you. You have encouraged me. You have shown me Jesus. You have put others first. You have given honour to God and to one another.

1 Peter 2:17 “Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”

What Price Honour?

What price honour?

Thirty pieces of silver?

Your life on a cross for everyone’s?

Yourself surrendered so you can serve others?

In Romans 12:10 Paul prefaces honour with love, rejection of evil, pursuit of good, and brotherly love. He follows it with serving the Lord and it is achieved by our duty to unity and and the pursuit of humility.

The ultimate honour will come from God when He sees in each of us His Son and calls on us to enter into His eternal rest.

Until then, let’s work on outdoing each other with honour.