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Luke 17 "Advanced Instruction"
Last week we talked about the reality of hell. Actually Jesus warned the Pharisees about it after they ridiculed him because they loved money more than loved God. So after warning the scoffers about the danger that they were in, Jesus turns to His disciples and gives them some advanced instruction.
"Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him." (Luke 17:1-4)
The offenses that Jesus is talking about are "stumbling
blocks". I like to think of them as the "speed bumps"
to faith. Back in my home town our highschool parking lot had speed
bumps put in during my junior year. It seems that some of the kids with
their brand new driver's licenses were going a little too fast around
the parking lot. Well one day there were no bumps and the next day there
were bumps. It happened that they forgot to paint the bumps yellow and
so not knowing they were there, I pulled into the parking lot, maybe
driving a little too fast, and hit the first one. WOAH...that slowed
me down! The Pharisees were putting these stumbling blocks in the way
of people's faith, and Jesus said that it would be better for them if
one of the huge stones used for grinding flour were tied around their
neck and they were tossed into the ocean, than to become an obstacle
to someone else's faith. I can see all the disciples nodding, "Amen,
Jesus, those Pharisees should be thrown into the sea."
But then Jesus says, "Take heed to yourselves". Jesus is not
really talking about the Pharisees anymore, he has a lesson for the
disciples and for us. "If your brother sins against you, rebuke
him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven
times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I
repent,' you shall forgive him." This is hard to take. First, Jesus
is talking about a brother. I find that it is easier to forgive people
that I don't know than those I do know. A complete stranger shoves his
elbow into my stomach as we try to get on the train. After catching
my breath, and catching my tongue from saying something rude to him,
I also catch my thoughts and think to myself, "Gee, maybe he is
having a bad day." I forgive him and even pray that God would bless
him that day. But I expect better from my friends and especially from
a brother in Christ. It is more difficult to forgive people we know
because then forgiveness requires action. You can't just say "I
forgive" and then forget about it. You have to act out that forgiveness.
Then, Jesus, is talking about sin against you, personally. This is not
just sin in general but something that hurts you. You cannot just ignore
it. I can walk right by a drunk who is shouting out foul language and
just act like he is not there. But when that same drunk grabs hold of
me, I am forced to respond. Jesus is talking about sin that is against
you. So let's say that we are at camp and I hear a Christian brother
say something unkind about me. I walk over and talk with him about it
and he says that he is sorry that he said it. Jesus says that I should
forgive him. OK. No harm done. I forgive him and we put our arms around
each other and go to play basketball. Well, as we are playing this guy
thinks that I am cheating and starts to accuse me in front of the others.
Man, it hasn't even been ten minutes. But he repents again and says,
"Oh, pastor I'm sorry I just got mad and couldn't help what I was
saying." OK. I think to myself, this guy has a problem with anger
we need to work on. So, I put my arm around him again and say "No
problem, it happens to all of us." Later on during lunch the guy
starts complaining that the food is lousy and that the camp isn't well
planned. "Gee!" I start to think, I have forgiven this guy
twice already and he is still criticising me. Well this time when he
says that he is sorry, you had better believe that I am slower to forgive
him! But Jesus says seven times, in the same day. And "seven"
in Hebrew culture really means "all", or as many times as
he sins against me and repents I need to forgive, because all of time
flows through the seven days of the week that cycle over and over. In
fact Jesus said that we should forgive not just seven times, but seventy
times seven times. No wonder the disciples said to the Lord, "Increase
our faith."
What kind of faith? Well, after you have given that brother five chances,
and six chances and seven chances it is difficult to believe that they
are ever going to change. You start to build a protective wall around
yourself, so that you won't get hurt by the sins that he keeps doing
against you. You start to spend less time with him, when he is around
you look for reasons to leave. When he joins the conversation you stop.
Pretty soon you have excluded him and that is the same as casting him
out. You need faith in God that He can change this person. You also
need faith in God that He will protect you from being hurt by that person's
sin. Some people are like cactus, if you hug them you are going to get
hurt. But Jesus says that if you have faith as a mustard seed, you can
say to this mulberry tree, Be pulled up by the roots and be planted
in the sea.' and it would obey you. You might think, "That's impossible"
but with God nothing is impossible. Go ahead, hug the cactus-people,
you might feel a few pricks but it won't beat you, it won't overcome
you . It might be difficult but if God commands it then it is possible.
Why is it so important to forgive when someone repents? Because unforgiveness
is the biggest stumbling block to faith. Remember Jesus said "take
heed to yourselves." We don't want to slow someone else's faith
down. But that is just what we do when we don't forgive someone who
repents. You see, how can someone believe that God will forgive them
when the Christian they see right in front of them won't? When you won't
forgive, it acts like a speedbump to another Christian. It gives them
a shock, they lose momentum, their eyes are no longer on the goal, but
on the bump. I have met more Christians who tell me that the reason
why they are no longer walking with the Lord is because they were hurt
by another Christian. And many times I find out as we talk more that
they were sunk because even though they knew that they had messed up,
the Christians were not willing to forgive them. But, Pastor, this guy
has been repenting that same sin over and over again! Doesn't that mean
that his repentance isn't real. Isn't he just using Christian love to
get away with his sin? Shouldn't we cast him out if his actions don't
change? After all didn't Jesus say that "if your brother sins against
you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears
you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear, take with
you one or two more." and then if he still won't hear you tell
it to the church, and then if he still refuses to hear even the church,
let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector." (Matt 18:15,17)
Folks, listen carefully here. "If he will not hear" is the
phrase that is repeated over and over. If he is not repentant, if he
won't accept the fact that he is wrong, if he won't hear then treat
him like those you don't know. Pray for him, love him, but don't let
him babysit your kids or teach Sunday School. But if there is repentance,
any kind of repentance, then give him another chance, because, "If
he hears you, you have gained your brother."
The key to forgiveness is repentance. Jesus never asks you to forgive
those who don't repent. Jesus says that you should love those who persecute
you and spitefully use you. Jesus says that we should love our enemies
and pray for them. But forgiveness is reserved for those who repent.
You see, I know all too well as a Father that if I forgive before my
child sees what he has done wrong and is sorry for it then I am doing
a disservice to my child. I am actually encouraging him to do wrong
again, because he thinks that I do not care. God does not forgive anyone
who does not turn from their sins and put their faith in Jesus Christ.
But God loves all, and He offers forgiveness to all who will repent.
It is not our place to decide whether or not their sincerity is genuine.
I have no right or ability to judge the quality of another person's
repentance.
I told you that this is the advanced course. Jesus gave the basic course
to the Pharisees. He told them "Repent, or perish". The disciples
had already repented. They thought that they were doing alright. They
thought that they were special. But then Jesus warns them to "Look
to yourselves." They were falling into the very same trap that
the Pharisees had. They were starting to think of themselves as better
than everyone else. This kind of attitude breeds self-righteousness
and kills forgiveness. I think this is why Jesus told them about the
servant. "And which of you, having a servant plowing or tending
sheep, will say to him when he has come in from the field, 'Come at
once and sit down to eat'? But will he not rather say to him, 'Prepare
something for my supper, and gird yourself and serve me till I have
eaten and drunk, and afterward you will eat and drink'? Does he thank
that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I think
not. So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you
are commanded, say, 'We are unprofitable servants. We have done what
was our duty to do." (Luke 17:7-10) Last Friday I got back from
the Yamaguchi mission trip, tired but happy about a job well done. On
Sunday I gave two messages at the Westin and Sangenjaya, on Monday the
BBQ went well and then on Tuesday we had a great prayer meeting from
1 until 5. I was really looking forward to spending Wednesday at home
with my family. But then on Tuesday night I got a call begging me to
come preach at a dedication ceremony. I wanted to say, "Lord, I
really am doing you a favor here". But really all my work, the
best that I can do, is nothing more than my duty. I am not a super servant,
in reality I am an unprofitable servant doing nothing more than what
I was commanded in the first place. And if I am honest with myself,
I realize that most of the time I do far less than my duty to God. This
cuts off my spiritual pride at the knees. John, the disciple whom Jesus
loved, who wrote the gospel, said "If we shall say that we have
no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in it. He did not
say "if you say that you have no sin" This spiritual giant,
who saw into heaven and was given the revelation of the last days, included
himself saying "we" But if we shall confess our sins, He is
faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
iniquity." (1John 1:8-9) John learned the advanced lesson. If you
put yourself above "the little ones", if you look down on
the spiritual babes who are wrestling with sins that you won victory
over years ago, you are forgetting that we all depend on the faithfulness
of God to forgive us our sins. "Look to yourselves" Don't
put spiritual speedbumps in the way of other people's faith.
"Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!" So when He saw them, He said to them, "Go, show yourselves to the priests." And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?" And He said to him, "Arise go your way. Your faith has made you well." (Luke 17:11-19)
This is a great miracle story. The ten lepers call out
to Jesus from afar, because they were afraid of infecting him with their
disease, and Jesus seeing them calling back, "Go show yourselves
to the priests". Jesus didn't even have to walk over and touch
them to heal them. He just says the word. This is also a great faith
story. As the lepers were walking they were cleansed. They weren't healed
immediately but as they believed Jesus enough to start walking, the
healing began in their bodies. But there is also a great warning here
for us. Out of the ten lepers, nine were Jews. They had grown up knowing
about God and believing that they were chosen people. One of the ten
was a Samaritan, a man who was rejected by others not only because of
his disease but also because of his religion. Out of these ten, only
the Samaritan came back to give God the glory, to thank Jesus. It seems
that recognizing his cure even as he walked along he turned back to
Jesus. The others presumably went to the priests and spent seven days
in quarantine before being pronounced clean. But this one, the Samaritan
was told by Jesus, "Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you
well." Jesus didn't send him back to the priests, like the others.
For this one, his faith had made him well. Jesus was not just talking
about freedom from disease, but freedom from the law and sin and death.
The others were healed, but they weren't saved. Why not?
I think that the stories of the unprofitable servant and the ten lepers
are related. Both have to do with God as Master and us as servants.
The ten lepers called out to Jesus, "Master, have mercy on us!"
We must be very careful that we do not become confused about this relationship.
You see I think that the nine lepers were privately thinking that God
owed them. They thought that all these years they were being unfairly
treated, that they were victims, that they deserved better than they
had received. After all they were part of the chosen people. When they
finally were healed they thought "At last, God has done what He
was supposed to do all long." You see they called out with their
mouths, "Master, have mercy on us!", but with their actions
they said, "Finally, what took you so long." Even though the
servant has worked all day, that does not mean that the master is going
to thank him for doing what he was supposed to do in the first place.
God does not owe you anything. He cannot be in your debt. No matter
what heights of spirituality you might attain, no matter how great the
work you do for God, you are still receiving a free gift of grace. The
nine lepers thought that they were finally getting what they deserved
and walked away with only that. The one knew that he was getting far
more than he ever dreamed of, and received both that and much more besides.
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