Matthew 1:18-2:18: What is your choice? [short, 2014]

Presented to the Swift Current Corps on 25 December 2014, 23 December 2013 and 26 December 2010. Presented to Corps 614 Regent Park, Toronto on 27 December 2015 and Alberni Valley Ministries on 26 December 2021 by Captain Michael Ramsay

Read the extended 2010 version on-line here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2010/12/matthew-118-218-what-is-your-choice.html

 

Read the 2013 version here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/12/matthew-118-218-what-is-your-choice.html

 

Click here to read the 26 December 2021 Alberni Valley version: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2021/12/matthew-118-218-whats-your-choice.html

   . 

Today, in Matthew’s version of the Christmas story, we are met with three responses to the miracle of the birth of Christ, that of:

1) Joseph[1] (his legal father),

2) Herod[2] (the king of the Jews), and

3) Magi (astrologers, astronomers, magicians or wise men, traditionally ‘we three kings’).

I want to look a little bit today at each of these responses to the news that Jesus was to be born and the news that he was actually born.

1) Joseph

First we have Joseph:  Joseph is a carpenter/stone mason. He is from the occupied territory of Judea and Joseph is righteous.

Matthew tells us also that Joseph is pledged to be married to a girl named Mary.[3] Now, betrothal in the first century is not like it is today. When you are engaged then you are already bound.[4] But even so before Mary and Joseph ever ‘know each other’ in the Biblical sense, before they ever come together in THAT way, Mary becomes pregnant.

Imagine this scenario with me, if you will – men in particular: you are engaged, you have not had relations with your fiancée and all of a sudden you find out that she is pregnant. What would you do? What would you say? What would you feel? What would you think? What would you think and what would you do if your girlfriend to whom you are engaged becomes pregnant – and not by you? Would you still get married? Joseph, when he finds out that Mary is pregnant, is planning to call off the wedding altogether. Verse 19 says that he wants to do this quietly so as to not bring any disgrace upon Mary.

Then something happens. Joseph has a dream. He dreams about an angel and in the dream this angel tells Joseph that he should ‘take Mary home as his wife’, Verse 20, ‘because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit’. He then dreams of the child saving people, even from their sins. Joseph thus has a number of decisions to make.

1.      Does he believe in visions and angels in general and does he believe this vision of this angel in particular?

2.      And how will he respond to this belief? Will he ignore his conviction that this vision is from God and press on with the separation/divorce anyway or will he accept the commission given to him from God through a messenger in a dream?

What would you do? Do you believe in your dreams? When Joseph awakes from his sleep, Verse 24, he does everything the angel from the Lord told him. Joseph is a righteous man.

2) Herod

The second character’s response to the news of Christ’s birth in our story today is Herod. Herod is a regional king. He works for the Romans and he is known throughout history as ‘Herod the Great’. Herod is a great political leader. He is a politician and as such is involved in all the political intrigue of his era in all the ways that political intrigue is carried out in his era (cf. Josephus, Bellum ii.10–13; cf. also Josephus, Antiquities xvii. 224, 229, 250, 304, 307, 340).[5] He is a king but his job is no more secure than that of a contemporary politician and Herod defends his title and his job no less vigorously: in order to secure his position, Herod needs to back the right horse and defeat all his rivals (cf. Josephus, Antiquities i.358). He – like many contemporary politicians – switches his allegiances more than once as to whom he backs for Emperor – first he backs Mark Anthony’s (and Cleopatra’s) coalition government and later crosses the floor to support Caesar Augustus.[6] Herod the Great is a king who leaves behind a good legacy of building and growth but he is also an adept politician, cruel and insecure. The title awarded to him by Caesar Augustus is Herod, King of the Jews.[7]

Imagine with me what it must have been like for him. Imagine you are King of the Jews and these privileged academics come to you from a foreign country and, Matthew 2:2, they ask “Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.” You haven’t just had a son; so what is going on? Imagine, you have this job that you have fought hard for all your life and your job title is ‘King of the Jews’ and these strangers come up to you and ask to meet your replacement, the new King of the Jews. How would you react?

I was a dishwasher once, for about a week as a teenager; the job didn’t go well and I didn’t get along with my co-worker and one day I meet a friend for coffee; he is excited as he tells me that he has just been hired for a job at this same restaurant. When we talk for a while it becomes apparent that they have hired him for my job. That is how I found out that I am going to be fired. This could be what it is like for Herod when he hears this news that a there is going to be a new king of the Jews. This news is a shock to him. This news is a threat to him. Current kings can be killed when new kings take over. Herod is the current king. He hasn’t just had a son; so who is this new King of the Jews that has just been born? If you were Herod, what would you do? What would you say? What would you feel? What would you think?

Herod is determined to eliminate his would-be-rival so Herod sends in the troops. The military massacres male babies two years old and younger in order to wipe out any possible rival king of the Jews who may have been recently born. This is Herod’s reaction.

3) Magi

The third response to the news of the coming King of the Jews which we are looking at this morning is that of the Magi. Magi are astrologers, astronomers, or wise men (cf. Daniel 2:2,10; Acts 8:9; 13:6,8). Our word ‘magic’, interestingly enough comes from the same root as ‘magi’. In Acts 13:6,8, this same word, ‘magoi’, is actually translated ‘magicians’.[8] In the Christmas story these magi are traditionally known as ‘we three kings’ (ca. 225 CE Tertullian called them kings).[9] Now – of course – there is no mention about how many of these magi there actually are in the story. The Bible mentions that they bring three different kinds of gifts – gold, frankincense, and myrrh – but does not mention how many magi there were (Matthew 2:11). The word ‘magi’ is plural so presumably there are at least two of them but there could be 2 or 102 of them. We don’t know but we do know that they are learned people.

These learned people see this thing in the sky. They see this ‘star’. These magi, they probably aren’t Jews.[10] They come from the east (cf. Philippians 2:10-11). Remember that travel isn’t easy in that day and age: they can’t just hop a flight or drive the Trans-Palestine superhighway to Jerusalem. These wise men realize somehow from their studies of the world around them that the King of the Jews has been born (cf. Numbers 24:17, Daniel 9:25, John 4:25,Romans 1). [12] What do they do when they discover this? Remember that they probably aren’t Jews and they don’t live in the area. They probably are men of privilege; who else has time to devote to study and travel in this way in this time in this place? What do these privileged foreign academics do when they find out a king of the Jews has been born? They come to worship him (Matthew 2:2; cf. TSA d. 2,4).

They go to the palace in the capital city of the Jews and ask the current king if he has had a son or where else one would find a new king. After an interview or two with the current king of the Jews, these learned Magi realize that not only is the new king of the Jews not with the current king of the Jews but they realize that the current king of Judea has no immediate idea of what they are talking about and King Herod even asks them in a subsequent interview to tell him where he is when they find him (Matthew 2:8). Herod is up to something (Matthew 2:16). But the Magi are warned by God in a dream; they avoid Herod’s trap and they follow God’s star to where God is taking them and God is taking them to a house in Bethlehem where these gentiles meet the King of the Jews and present him with the gifts they brought with them (Matthew 2:11). These foreigners see the signs; they leave their homes and their lives to track down the young king in a foreign country and worship Him. These are the Magi.

What is your response?

These are the three different responses to the birth of Jesus that Matthew intertwines for us in our text today. What is our response to the news of Christ? Are we like Herod? Herod is a man of power, prestige and privilege in society. He doesn’t believe in the power of the Almighty God. Herod thinks he can take matters into his own hands and disregard the truth of what God has preordained. Instead of worshipping the Lord, he tries to rule his world himself. His plans are frustrated though and he is furious. Likewise today if we deny the reality of the Kingdom of God and the return of Christ, instead trying to control our own world, in the end we will be frustrated because in the end every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord – whether we want to our not (Isaiah 45:23, Romans 14:11, Philippians 2:10). Jesus has already defeated sin and death. We do not want to make the same choice as Herod.

Better are the choices of the Gentile Magi and the Judean Joseph in their responses to the news of the birth of the Christ. Joseph, a righteous man, has grown up in the faith. He knows that God can be trusted so when the almost inconceivable conception occurs, he draws on the teaching of his youth, he follows his dreams, he listens to God and he spends his life living with the Christ. This is a faith that each of us who grew up in the church should have. We have the Biblical record (cf. TSA d.1), we have the historical record, we have our personal experience, and we have a brain; so rather than chuck all that we have known and experienced out the window like Herod, let us lean not on simply our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5) but let us trust instead in the power and majesty of our Lord.[11] And let us today and forever more, when we realize the power and majesty of the reality of Christ’s reign; let us, like the Magi, come and worship Him. This is my prayer for us today on this Christmas Day some 2000 years after the birth of our Saviour, that indeed that we will realize from all the evidence around us the reality of Christ, cast all else aside and come to worship Him forevermore (cf. TSA d. 2,4).

Let us pray

www.sheepspeak.com 

---

[1] cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Luke 1:26-37: Do You Believe?' Presented to the Nipawin Corps 14 December 2008. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/luke-126-37-do-you-believe.html and Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Matthew 1:18-25: Do you believe?' Presented to each Nipawin and Tisdale Corps, 24 December 2007 and the CFOT chapel in Winnipeg, December 2006. Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/matthew-118-25-do-you-believe.html
[2] cf. Captain Michael, 'Luke 19:11-27: Time, Talent and Treasure Series, Part 2: Employee Evaluation: What About the Slaves?'  Presented to the Swift Current Corps, 19 September 2010 Available on-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2010/09/luke-1911-27-time-talent-and-treasure.html[3] cf. R. Alan Culpepper, Luke (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995), 51 and E. Earle Ellis, 71. Betrothal is not quite like engagements of today. In those days a man and his wife were committed to each other at the engagement ceremony. They did have a public ceremony with witnesses and the more. They did each gain a marital status, complete with rights and responsibilities and if Joseph had died after their engagement ceremony but prior to their marriage ceremony, Mary would still be considered a widow with all the responsibilities and rights (or lack thereof) of a widow. The betrothal was very different then anything we have today and even though Mary would be Joseph’s legal wife, after this engagement ceremony rather than going off to live with one’s husband, the wife usually returned to her father’s household for a period of up to a year.[4] M. Eugene Boring, ‘Matthew’ (NIB VIII: Nashville, Tennessee: Abingdon Press, 1995), 134.[5] Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, Luke (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995), 363.[6] Jona Lendering, 'King Herod the Great', cited 23 December 2010. Available on-line: http://www.livius.org/he-hg/herodians/herod_the_great02.html[7] Cf. Leon Morris: ‘Luke: An Introduction and Commentary’, Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1988 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 3), S. 290 and Expositor's Bible Commentary, The, Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Exposition of Luke/V. Teaching and Travels Toward Jerusalem (9:51-19:44)/F. Final Approach to Jerusalem (18:31-19:44)/4. Parable of the ten minas (19:11-27), Book Version: 4.0.2
[8] Douglas R.A. Hare, Matthew (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1993), 13.[9] Ralph L. Smith ‘Magi’ in Holman Bible Dictionary, Editor, Trent C. Butler, (Holman Bible Publishers: Nashville, Tenn., 1991), 910. [10] Walter W. Wessel and Ralph Earle, note on 2:2, 1467, and Douglas R.A. Hare, Interpretation:  ‘Matthew’, 13.
[11] Cf. Cf. Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke (NTC: Baker Academic: Grand Rapids Michigan, 2007), 155: cf. also France, R. T.: Matthew: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 1985 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 1), S. 76: In fact the aim of the formula-quotations in chapter 2 seems to be primarily apologetic, explaining some of the unexpected features in Jesus’ background, particularly his geographical origins. It would be a strange apologetic which invented ‘facts’ in order to defend them! 

Luke 1:46-56: Christmas is Coming 2014

Presented to Swift Current Corps, 21 Dec. 2014 and Alberni Valley Ministries, 22 Dec. 2024. Based on the 20 Dec. 2009 sermon by Captain Michael Ramsay. 

Based on the 20 Dec. 2009 homily available here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2009/12/luke-146-56-christmas-is-coming.html

The 22 Dec. 2024 version is available here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2024/12/luke-139-56-rejoice-smoke-will-clear.html

Wayne Cormier told me a story the other day. He is currently the director of ECIP (Early Childhood Intervention Program); he used to work for the government. A few years ago he found himself driving around one of the cabinet ministers and his assistant was sitting in the back with his tape recorder taping everything the minister said as per protocol at that time in that situation. They were driving around sizing up the damage from all of the forest fires in the north when all of a sudden their vision became impaired. It became more and more impaired. Wayne was chauffeur and he could barely see anything in front of him and it wasn’t winter so it wasn’t snow – it was smoke from the fire. The fire was so close you could almost feel it. The politician asked Wayne, ‘what do we do now’?

Wayne said, ‘Pray’. Wayne is a solid Christian and he has been for a quite a long time. ‘Pray’, he says, ‘we can’t see anything but we can’t stop driving or its game over; we can’t do anything else but drive and pray - so pray!’

The assistant with the tape recorder in the back begins to pray quite a bit when Wayne hears the cabinet minister, the politician, start to pray. He prays, ‘God if you save us, I will go to church on Sunday.’ They wait patiently as Wayne drives slowly through the fire. They wait and they pray as they await their salvation from the fire.

When they get out of the fire and they start to relax a bit and get ready for their next tour, Wayne approaches the politician, the cabinet minister, and he asks him, ‘So you’re going to church on Sunday?”

“Oh, you heard that, did you?”

“Yes, and so will everyone; your assistant has it on tape”

“Oh, well maybe I should go to church then…”

Now Wayne doesn’t know whether or not the politician was true to his word. He doesn’t know whether he did go to church or not but while he was waiting for his salvation, in that moment he approached God, he encountered God and we can only hope that once that waiting was over he continued to wait on God.

 This is the Advent season and waiting is what Advent is all about. We are waiting for Christmas to come. Advent is when we remember the first coming of Christ as we are awaiting His second coming.

Who here like to wait? One of the keys to waiting is faith (see Matthew 17:20 and Hebrews 11:6). Faith is a key element of Advent; so what is faith?

There is the classic definition of faith, of course, from Hebrews 11: 1 “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

Martin Luther says: “Faith is God's work in us, that changes us and gives new birth from God (John 1:13)… It changes our hearts, our spirits, our thoughts and all our powers. It brings the Holy Spirit with it. Yes, it is a living, creative, active and powerful thing, this faith. Faith cannot help doing good works constantly.”

Faith is a belief in the seemingly impossible. Faith is a belief that you will come home and find that your children have cleaned their rooms or done the dishes all on their own.

The Greek word translated variously as ‘faith’ or ‘believe’ is pistis (noun) and this comes from pistevo (verb)[1] meaning ‘to have faith in, extend credit to; to commit, to adhere to, to trust in, and to rely on.’

Prominent theologians James Dunn and Tom Wright drive home the point in many articles and books that faith isn’t just a vague belief in something. Faith is an action word. Faith and faithfulness are forever intertwined.[2] One cannot say they love God and not love their neighbour (Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 10:27, 18:18-29). If you have faith in Christ, you will be faithful and even when we are unfaithful, Christ’s faithfulness makes our faith(fullness) possible (Romans 3:3,4, see also Genesis Romans 1:16-17, Romans 2:1-16, Hebrews 11). It is the faithfulness of Christ that leads to humanity’s salvation. Faith is an action and the action of faith during Advent is waiting. Christmas is coming.

In our story today something very interesting is happening: Mary an unwed teenager finds out that she is pregnant and goes to her aunt’s or a much older relative’s; she goes to Elisabeth’s house and this is Mary’s greeting (vv. 46-49):

And Mary said: My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for He has been mindful of the humble state of His servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— Holy is His name.

Mary speaks about how good the Lord has been to her. She talks about how greatly she has been blessed by the Lord. She speaks about how He has been mindful of someone such as her. Mary here is praising God.

Mary, the mother-to-be of Jesus, is a teenager in the occupied territory in Palestine. Mary isn’t married when she finds out she is going to be with child. Mary’s partner in today’s vernacular, her husband-to-be, had never been with her in that way:[3] they have never consummated their relationship.[4] Can you imagine what people in that day and age would think of Mary who is pregnant without being married? If you were her husband-to-be or if you were her parents what would you think if your teenage daughter came home and told you she was about to have a baby? In those days she could have received the death penalty for that.[5] Mary is vulnerable and Mary is on the margins of society.

Mary isn’t a wealthy woman and months from now, right when Mary is to have this baby, she and Joseph are supposed to load up a pack animal and walk all the way from Nazareth in Galilee to Bethlehem in Judea to enrol in a census for the purpose of paying their taxes. They are to walk and/or ride on the back of this pack animal this whole distance when Mary is very, very pregnant (Luke 2:1-7). I don’t know how many women here when they are nine months pregnant would like to hike from here down to Moose Jaw or Regina either by foot or ride there on the back of a donkey.

Mary is a poor, humble girl who isn’t yet married but is already with child in a time when she could be executed for this and Mary is anticipating a very long journey by foot or on the back of a donkey right around the time she is supposed to give birth, Luke 1:46-49, “And Mary said:  ‘My soul glorifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour, for He has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me— Holy is His name.’” Mary - in this state - finds herself blessed.

Now, I have spoken to many people in the last few days and weeks and there are quite a few people around here who have very real troubles around this time of year. As Christmas is coming; how blessed do we feel? The lead up to Christmas is often a very stressful time. Do we, when our life seems challenging, almost overwhelming, do we –like Mary- consider ourselves blessed?

I know that there are people in this city and I know that there are people in this congregation who are going through some really difficult times. I have heard stories recently in our city of eviction notices, of addiction struggles, of custody battles, of illness, and of life and death battles. I have heard of direct demonic attack. There are families that have been torn apart who because of restraining orders can’t even see each other when they transfer their children from one home to another – they have a tragically but aptly called ‘broken family’ and Christmas is coming. There are so many people in the hospital. There is injury. There is illness. There is even death. Many have even lost almost everything but Christmas is coming. Mary is in her circumstance with all that is involved in it and Mary is praising God.

Today is the fourth Sunday of Advent and Advent is a time of waiting for Christmas. As the smoke from the forest fires of troubles, of depression, of oppression, of adversity, of sin, of circumstance surround us so much so that we cannot see anything through the life around us, Christmas is still coming. The lead up to Christmas is often a very stressful time. Do we, when our life seems challenging, almost overwhelming, do we –like Mary – praise the Lord, considering ourselves blessed?

Mary continues her greeting to Elisabeth praising God. She says of God, Luke 1: 50-55:

 His mercy extends to those who fear him,
      from generation to generation.
 He has performed mighty deeds with his arm;
      he has scattered those who are proud in their inmost thoughts.
 He has brought down rulers from their thrones
      but has lifted up the humble.
 He has filled the hungry with good things
      but has sent the rich away empty.
 He has helped his servant Israel,
      remembering to be merciful
 to Abraham and his descendants forever,
      even as he said to our fathers."

Mary in the midst of all that she is in the midst of, Mary speaks about God’s mercy to all who fear Him (Luke 1:50); she remembers that He performs mighty deeds with His arm (Luke 1:51). She praises God for remaining faithful to His covenant with Abraham, blessing all the nations of the earth (Luke 1:55, see Genesis 12:3). She praises God, Who faithfully fulfils His covenant with Abraham and his descendants even though they – even though we – were faithless over and over again (Romans 3:3,4). Mary’s life is not easy. And Christmas is coming. Her son will be born after a long way from home and placed in an animal’s feeding trough. Her son will grow up and eventually suffer a state execution at the hands of her country’s occupiers and at the urging or her own religious leaders – Christmas is coming.

Mary is singing her song of praise to God in this circumstance. There is another interesting part of Mary’s song of praise that I think merits attention here in that it refers to either just before, just after, or at the very moment when Jesus returns. We have spoken about Christmas and waiting for the birth of the Messiah, the incarnation of Christ, but we are also waiting for Jesus to come back. Mary says that at that time – when he returns the rulers of this age will be brought down (Luke 1:52). There will be no more corrupt politicians. There will be no more election fraud scandals; there will be no more bribery scandals. There will be no more handing people over to be tortured. We will not have Prime Ministers who hate the poor or Presidents in our world inventing weapons of mass destruction or picking up peace prizes en route to escalating wars against some of the poorest people on earth. The rulers of our age – it says in verse 52 – the rulers of our age will be brought down from their thrones. Corrupt Presidents and dishonest Prime Ministers will be replaced by the King of Kings and the Prince of Peace whose government will never stop ruling and being peaceful (Isaiah 9:6-7).

We will no longer be subservient to brutal economic systems in which one man get rich as over 25 000 children die every day and where today nearly 1 billion people have not even been taught how to read a book when the Lord has provided more than enough recourses for the whole world to be fed and clothed and otherwise taken care of many, many, many times over.[6] These systems of oppression will end. Mary and the Bible says the rulers of this world will be brought low. We will no longer see a situation where people become millionaires for appearing on a screen or playing baseball while others cannot afford to clothe themselves. In our world today there is pornography, which horribly is North America’s most lucrative pastime. In the United States, pornography revenue is more than all money made from professional football, baseball and basketball combined. The money made by US pornography exceeds the revenues of all their major TV networks combined. Child pornography alone generates in excess of $3 billion annually:[7] all while thousands upon thousands of people are dying of malnutrition. The systems and rulers who oversee all of this will be brought down. This will come to an end.

The greatest in this world shall become the least and the least shall become the greatest. Jesus is the great equalizer. When he comes back those in power and luxury (which may be many of us here) will experience His justice and those who are hungry and humbled here will be lifted up and be fed.

Advent is about waiting and this is what we are waiting for and this is what we are praying for as we drive through the smoke of the forest fires of corrupt leaders and their world and all of the trials and tribulations that accompany it. And as we are waiting, as we act in faith doing our part like the sheep in Matthew’s parable of the sheep and the goats by giving the hungry something to eat, giving the thirsty something to drink, inviting in the stranger, clothing the naked, looking after the sick and visiting those in prison (Matthew 25:31-40); we look forward to the day when Christ returns and all of the injustice is finally set right. Jesus’ Advent 2000 years ago was a foretaste of the justice and mercy that lies ahead when he returns. And as we show mercy to our neighbours, we show that we belong to His world that is to come rather than to this present evil age – and this is important because as sure as Christmas is coming, Christ is coming back – so as bad as things may seem as we are driving through the smoke of the forest fires of our troubles that make it so dark that maybe we cannot even see, we must remember that just as Jesus was dwelling in Mary’s womb as they were eagerly waiting for him to come, so too now as the Holy Spirit is indwelling in us as we are eagerly waiting for Jesus to come again; the world is in its ninth month, the smoke is clearing, Jesus is coming and Jesus is coming soon and when He does, everything will be alright. I promise. Christmas is coming.

Let us pray.

www.sheepspeak.com

---

---

[1] Cf. Strong's Greek Dictionary

[2] Cf. NT Wright and James Dunn. An Evening Conversation on Paul with James D.G. Dunn and N.T. Wright Available online at: http://www.thepaulpage.com/an-evening-conversation-on-paul-with-james-d-g-dunn-and-n-t-wright/

[3] Cf. Culpepper, 51. Lenski, 69, Ellis, 75.

[4] Now betrothal is not quite like engagements of today. In those days a man and his wife were committed to each other at the engagement ceremony. They did have a public ceremony with witnesses and the more. They did each gain a marital status, complete with rights and responsibilities and if Joseph had died after their engagement ceremony but prior to their marriage ceremony, Mary would still be considered a widow with all the responsibilities and rights (or lack thereof) of a widow. The betrothal was very different then anything we have today and even though Mary would be Joseph’s legal wife, after this engagement ceremony rather than going off to live with one’s husband, the wife usually returned to her father’s household for a period of up to a year. Cf. E. Earle Ellis, 71 and R. Alan Culpepper, 51. See also Captain Michael Ramsay, Luke 1:26-37: Do You Believe? Presented to the Nipawin Corps 14 December 2008. Available on-line at http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/luke-126-37-do-you-believe.html

[5] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, Matthew 1:18-25: Do you believe? Presented to each Nipawin and Tisdale Corps, 24 December 2007 and CFOT chapel in Winnipeg, December 2006. Available on-line at http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/12/matthew-118-25-do-you-believe.html

[6] Global Issues: Social, Political, Economic and Environmental Issues That Affect Us All. Cited December 15, 2009. Available on-line: http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats

[7] Christian Technology Solutions, Pornography Industry Statistics. Cited 21 November, 2009. Available on line: http://christiantechnologysolutions.com/content/view/18/24/

Week 14: Luke 1:53: Waiting

A devotional thought presented originally to Swift Current Men’s Prayer Breakfast, Thursday 18 December 2014

Read Luke 1:50-53

Advent is about waiting. We remember waiting for the birth of our saviour millennia ago even as now we await his return anytime soon. And when He returns what a day that will be. Our Scripture reminds us that when Jesus comes back, we will no longer be subservient to the brutal politico-socio-economic systems we are today where one becomes rich as over 25 000 children die each day even though the Lord has already provided more than enough resources for the whole world to be fed and clothed and otherwise taken care of many times over. These systems of oppression will end. The rulers of this world will be brought low. We will no longer see a situation where people become millionaires for appearing on a screen or playing baseball while others cannot afford to clothe themselves. In our world today there is also pornography, which horribly is America’s most lucrative pastime. In the United States, pornography revenue is more than all money made from professional football, baseball and basketball combined. A small percentage of this money would feed and clothe the world. The presidents, money people, and other rulers of our age who oversee all of this will be brought down.

This will come to an end. The greatest in this world will become the least and the least will become the greatest. Jesus is the great equalizer. When He comes back those in power and luxury will experience His justice and those who are hungry and humbled will be lifted up and fed.

This is the second coming that we are waiting for. And as we do our bit by giving the hungry something to eat, giving the thirsty something to drink, inviting in the stranger, clothing the naked, looking after the sick and visiting those in prison (Matthew 25:31-40); we anticipate the day when Christ will return and all injustice will end. Jesus’ Advent 2000+ years ago was a foretaste of the justice and mercy that that awaits us when He returns and as we show mercy to our neighbours, we show that we belong to His world to come rather than to this present evil age – and this is important because as sure as Christmas is coming, Christ is coming back – so as bad as things may seem as we are riding our metaphorical donkeys down to the capital to pay our proverbial taxes, we must remember that just as Jesus was dwelling in Mary’s womb and they were eagerly waiting for Him to come, so too now as we have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and we are waiting for Jesus to come back; the world is certainly in its ninth month and Jesus is coming soon and then everything will be okay.

What are you doing while you await Christ’s return? What evidence is there that you are part of the advance guard of His Kingdom to come?

www.sheepspeak.com 

---

---

---

[1] Based on the sermon by Captain Michael Ramsay, Luke 1:46-56: Christmas is Coming. Presented to The Salvation Army Swift Current on 20 December 2019 http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2009/12/luke-146-56-christmas-is-coming.html . Presented to Riverside Cafe on 25 November 2016.

Week 13: Acts 2:38: Forgiveness

Devotional thought presented to Swift Current Men’s Prayer Breakfast, Thursday 01 December 2014, River Street Cafe, Monday 16 May 2016, and Fir Park Village, 24 March 2019 by Captain Michael Ramsay

Read Acts 2:36-39

Acts 2 is quite a dramatic chapter in the Bible and parts of it read like a suspense-filled thriller movie. Acts 2 speaks about an appearance of the Holy Spirit after Jesus has returned from the dead. It shows the power and authority of God to all who are present. The signs in this chapter show that Jesus is King; Jesus is God and as Peter speaks to them, the people realize that Jesus is the Christ and they understand, Verse 36, that they have killed the Christ, the one they have been waiting for to save them. They have killed him.

These people now standing in front of Peter are like repentant children in front of the school principal, realizing that they’ve done something terribly wrong. They realize that Jesus is the Christ and they realize that they’ve killed him. We’ve killed him and now Jesus is back from the dead. If we didn’t know the ending and for those present who don’t, it could be like a 1970s horror movie. You wrongfully kill someone and they come back from the dead to set things right! That is what Jesus did. The people in our text today are hoping against hope to somehow make it right with this Jesus whom they have killed and who has now returned from the dead. Verse 37, “When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”

Peter says, Verse 38, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.” Now this is significant. Jesus is ushering in the Kingdom of God.  And what does this Kingdom look like? It is a Kingdom of forgiveness. It is a Kingdom –like the Lord’s Prayer says - where we forgive those who do things against us and God forgives us what we have done – even our sending God’s own son to die on the cross. This is what it looks like when we are a part of God’s Kingdom; this is what it looks like when we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Christ has already forgiven us everything. As we accept the forgiveness, as we repent and as we forgive others, we will be forgiven and we will be a part of his Kingdom of Forgiveness.

Questions for today: Is it evident in our lives that we are a part of God’s eternal Kingdom of Forgiveness? Do we forgive others as Christ has forgiven us?

www.sheepspeak.com

---

[1] Based on the sermon by Captain Michael Ramsay, Acts 2 - Act II, Scene 1. Presented to The Salvation Army Nipawin & Tisdale on 12 August 2007 and Swift Current on 23 May 2010 and the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity service on 16 January 2011 held at St. Stephen the Martyr Anglican Church in Swift Current: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2007/08/acts-2-act-ii-scene-1.html 

Week 12: John 3:16: Rescue

Devotional thought presented  to Swift Current Men’s Prayer Breakfast, Thursday 04 December 2014; Arthur Meighen Retirement Home, Wednesday 18 May 2016; River Street Cafe, 27 May 2016.

Read John 3:16-21

God loves us. John 3:16 records that He loves us so much that Jesus laid down His life that we may live; therefore, I can’t imagine how much it must hurt Him that some of us actually perish.

I am a parent. Think about this scenario for a moment. The house across the street is on fire; there are children in that house. Your child is able to save them. Your son or daughter – your ONLY son or daughter can reach them so you encourage her, “Go, go, go! Save them.”

Your daughter goes. She suffers every peril in that burning house that everyone else in there is suffering (cf. 1 Corinthians 10:14, Luke 4): There is the deadly smoke, the fire, and the falling beams. She is successful. She gets to the children. She is able to make an opening in the wall. She points them to the way out. She yells for them to walk through the opening in the wall. She makes a clear path so that all of the children can be saved and then… she dies. Your daughter dies so that all these children can be saved. Your child dies so that none of these children need to die but – here’s the kicker: the children do not want to be saved. They die anyway. Your daughter dies so that they can be saved but they choose to stay and die. They do not need to die but they choose not to walk through the opening she died to make for them. They refuse to be saved.

This is what it is like for God when our loved ones reject Him. He sent His Son to this earth that is perishing. He sent His Son to this house that is on fire and His Son died so that we may live but some refuse His love and some reject His Salvation. He sent Jesus not to condemn us to burn in the eternal house fire but to save us; however, like those children, some refuse to walk through that opening that Jesus died to make. John 3:18: “Those who believe in Him are not condemned; but those who do not believe are condemned already…” of their own accord because, John 3:19, “people loved darkness rather than light.”

But there is good news here. Yes, the house is on fire; yes, Jesus died, but we - as long as we are still breathing - have the opportunity to walk through the hole in the wall that He created through His death and resurrection. We can walk through the wall from certain death to certain life. All we need to do is believe in Him, obey Him, and walk through that wall to eternal life with the Father because, John 3:17, “Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.” John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only [begotten] Son, so that everyone who believe in Him may not perish but may have eternal life.”

Have you walked to safety yet?

www.sheepspeak.com

---

[1] Based on the sermon by Captain Michael Ramsay, John 3:16-21: For God so loved the world. Presented to The Salvation Army Nipawin & Tisdale on 23 November 2008 and Swift Current on 12 March 2011. On-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2008/11/john-316-21-for-god-so-loved-world.html

Luke 16:1-13: Sudden Death Overtime (2014)

Presented to Swift Current Corps 21 March 2010 and 30 November 2014. Presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Corps, 29 July 2007 by Captain Michael Ramsay

This is the 2014 version. To read the 2007 version, click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2007/08/luke-161-13-sudden-death-overtime.html

Thank you to everyone who is helping out with all of our events this Christmas season. Kettles are well under way; we have finished the first week of hamper registrations; Friday we were at the Tree Lighting and had a float in the Light Parade. The Teddy Bear, Toque, and Mitt Toss is coming up next weekend: Saturday, December 6^th at the Broncos Game.

I enjoy the SC Broncos games. It is neat going to see WHL games. I remember watching the Victoria Cougars play when I was a kid with my dad and it was always a good time too. When there was a World Juniors game here in Swift Current a few years ago I went to see the game with my girls and they actually caught the game puck! That was exciting. Hockey at the local rink can be a lot of fun.

When Rebecca was just born, I used to listen to hockey every Friday night. I worked almost every other night (and day, I owned my own business) and Friday night was my night to be home with Rebecca and clean the house; so I would listen to the junior hockey games on the radio after I put her to bed as I was doing the dishes and other things around the home.

I remember this one game. I caught the 3^rd period. The home team had just dominated the game. It was three or even four to nothing coming into the last minute of play. These players had worked really hard; completely controlling the game and they started celebrating the winning of the last game of their season… with one minute left to go. Then the other team scored. Then again. 30 seconds left. Then again. 10 seconds left. It was four nothing less than a minute ago – they were celebrating – now they are up 4-3 with only 5 seconds left and they aren’t so confident – and now there’s a face-off in their own zone. And you know what happens? The away team scores with less than a second left to force sudden-death overtime. Our team squanders their lead and as a result they face sudden death.

If you’ll turn with me back to Luke Chapter 16, the manager we read about also squanders from his position, and now he faces sudden death – or sudden unemployment anyway: he is fired.

Jesus tells this parable directly to his disciples right after he tells the story of the prodigal son. Remember, the point of that parable (which we looked at earlier today)? What happens when the son squanders what (the) God (figure) gives him? He is forgiven. The parable of the prodigal is about God’s forgiveness of the son who squanders everything on wild (NIV) or dissolute (NRSV) living. As we return to God, He will forgive us - whatever we have done.

But this parable raises another question then…can we just keep sinning and it doesn’t matter?[1] If we are members of God’s family, His household, can we just squander everything on ‘wild living’ and sin, like the son? After all, the father not only forgave him but he also threw a big party for him. So, why not just keep sinning?

And this is a question that Jesus answers right away in the next parable:[2] God (the father) in the prodigal story forgives the one that squanders what he is given but God (the owner) at the commencement of the manager story does not.

Jesus says, Luke 16:1-2, “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of SQUANDERING (NRSV) his possessions.  So he called him in and asked him, ‘what is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer.' You face sudden death – sudden unemployment.   

The prodigal son is forgiven but the wicked manager is fired. Jesus is right away stopping any thoughts people might be having that we can just keep sinning when we work for God. If there are any who think that they can go out and waste everything that God has given us, Jesus answers us emphatically… No – No – No, He says, give me an account.

The manager is working for (the) God (figure) in this story –just like the disciples are and just like we are - and now the manager, he is fired and he never saw this coming.

Verse 3, he asks: “what shall I do now… I’m not strong enough to dig. I’m too proud to beg.” He’s being fired for squandering what God has given him and he probably didn’t see it coming.

Well, how are we doing with what God has given us? We know, of course, that our jobs, our businesses, farms, car, home, family, and all the gifts and talents we have really all belong to God and we are just managing them until Jesus returns; so, how have we been doing with that?

Are we using them for the Kingdom and God or are we squandering them on ourselves? At anytime, Jesus will come back. At anytime the owner will ask us for an account of what we’ve done with his possessions: are we using them for what he wants us to use them or are we squandering them on ourselves and on ‘wild living’?

I can think of a time when I was a pre-teen and I was in the living room when my dad was watching some telethon to help the needy kids. He was talking to me about it for a while. Trying to instil in me the values of helping others – or something like that – and then right when they are asking for money –on purpose – he says, "thanks Mike for all the help you’ve given me working around the yard this summer" ...and he gives me five bucks... while he’s picking up the telephone. He says, "now you can spend this on anything you want"…while he dials…"anything at all…Hello telethon"…and he hands me the phone…immediately, I’m thinking about giving the telethon $2.50 (or less), but I know what my father is saying that I should do with this money and I do it.

Are we doing what our Heavenly Father wants with what He gives us? What are we doing with His money, yes, but also – can you teach? Are you teaching others about Jesus? Are you organised? Are you using your administration skills for the Kingdom? Are you are social person? Are you telling people about Jesus and visiting them when they are sick? All of this is included in the first question Jesus is addressing with the parable of the manager but he doesn’t stop there.

Look at Verses 4-7. These are controversial verses for some scholars but let’s see what we can make of them, shall we?[3] The manager says to himself, ‘What shall I do now? — I know what I’ll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.’  “So he called in each one of his master’s debtors. He asked the first, ‘How much do you owe my master?’

“‘Eight hundred gallons of olive oil,’ he replied.

“The manager told him, ‘Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred.’

“Then he asked the second, ‘And how much do you owe?’”

‘A thousand bushels of wheat,’ he replied.

“He told him, ‘Take your bill and make it eight hundred.’

So do you see what the manager is doing here? Now this isn’t his money, remember. This is his bosses’, the master’s money – in one way or another[4] – this is the master’s money and the manager’s plan is to give it away; isn’t this what he got in trouble for in the first place – wasting his master’s money?! Isn’t that what he was fired for in the first place?

And now he is out on his ear, this is his idea: he slashes what people owe his master and he makes a lot of friends in the process. No kidding… can you imagine? And these are not just small personal loans. This is big business, these amounts, by the way. This isn’t just a family operation. Can you imagine if the CEO of RBC –faced sudden death, sudden unemployment- can you imagine if he just got his pink slip and went out and cancelled everybody’s mortgage or student loans…no kidding people would like him and offer him jobs. Or like a politician, who looks like he’ll lose an election, bails out big business or privatises something, selling it to his friends. No kidding someone will offer him a job.

So then, what is Jesus saying here? Is he saying that it is okay to cheat God like the manager cheats the owner? This is another question inherent to the parable…and look at Verse 8. When all this happens and the owner potentially loses the equivalent of millions of dollars in the process, it says “the master commended [praised] the dishonest manager because he acted shrewdly.” He commended him for wasting his money, which is what he fired him for in the first place. What?!?

What is Jesus saying? …Is Jesus saying that we can be tricky and waste God’s possessions? Well…no. And this is where the first part of this parable that we spent so much time looking at comes into play. No, the Bible says you cannot waste that which God has given you and Jesus is pretty clear about this. If we can’t be trusted, if we squander what God has given us, we will be fired. We will lose. It is the same as stopping playing hockey in the last minute. We will face sudden death overtime and - if we stop playing - we will lose.

Further, if we have any doubts about this, in Verses 10-12 Jesus is explicit. There is no ambiguity. He says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?

Do you see that? Jesus is saying it is not the untrustworthiness, the shrewdness, the trickiness that is being applauded in this parable. It is not the fact that the manager has -without permission- reduced all these debts for his own personal gain; it is not this that Jesus is applauding. He says if you are dishonest with a little, you will be dishonest with a lot. And if you do squander -waste the talents and other things God gives you- you will not be eternally employed.

So then, if it is not the manager’s untrustworthiness that is being applauded? Why is the owner happy with the manager who wastes and squanders his things after he has already been fired for wasting and squandering his things? Is it that he put profit first? He cut a deal with big business to get a new job like a corrupt politician about to be kicked out the door selling off a country’s possessions. The manager doesn’t want to do any physical work but he still wants to make big bucks. Is this what the parable is talking about?[5] Is this what is being applauded: planning for his own financial security?

No. Jesus answers this question in Verses 13 and 15. He says emphatically, “No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.” ...What is highly valued among men is detestable in God’s sight.” And Jesus goes even further earlier in Luke when he says (14:33) that one should be willing to give up all one’s possessions to follow him…

So why does he commend, why does he praise the manager? What’s he talking about? What is he really talking about? Jesus makes it clear that he is NOT saying that we should aim for material gain (v.15) and if we do we are not serving God (v.13) and Jesus makes it clear that he is not applauding untrustworthiness for he says clearly that those who are untrustworthy here are not worthy of trust in the Kingdom of God; so what is Jesus talking about in this parable?

Jesus' point to his disciples in this parable and Jesus' point to us is this, if even the people of this world (v. 8), who are not even wise enough to secure the ‘true riches’ for themselves (v.11), if even the people who wickedly squander what they are entrusted with on themselves, if even the people who don’t use God’s wealth for His purposes (cf. Luke 12:13-21) – if even the people of this world are wise enough to prepare for their future when they know it is near (v.8); so should not we, who have been entrusted with so much more –the knowledge of the Kingdom of God – should not we be even more wise than they?

In context this makes sense. The prodigal son comes back. He returns to Father. He comes back to live with God. Sure he strays but he comes back and, like the son, if we stray we can return. We are welcome back and the story of the prodigal makes that clear. But don’t leave it too late.

The story of the manager picks up where the prodigal son leaves off. The manager did not return to doing what was right until it was almost too late. He is on his metaphorical deathbed before he realizes that it is just about too late. He, like the hockey players in our earlier analogy has stopped playing the game well before it is over and he is facing the natural and logical consequences.

We need to remember this. If we assume that we are in God’s employ so we can stop being holy and just start sinning because it doesn’t really matter than we will find that we are in the same spot as the manager. We shouldn’t celebrate so much that we stop playing before the game is over (cf. Lk 12:35-41,41-48), if we do we may find out that we are not actually on the winning side.

On that note, how are we doing at managing God’s time, money, and skills that He has given us? How are we doing? Are we using our gifts for the Kingdom? If we are, this is what the Kingdom looks like; this is what it is like when we have returned to the father and when we are trustworthy managers: If our dad gives us five bucks and tells us to give it to Jerry’s kids, we will give it to Jerry’s kids. If our Father lets us have a good job with good pay and invites us to give some of that money back in tithes, offerings or other ways, we will give it back. If He gives us the skills to teach Sunday school, fix the church; if He nudges us to invite our friends to church, we will do that and more. When we do this will avoid being in the same position as the manager. You see, we have already been entrusted with the true riches of the Kingdom of God. It is not too late. 

The third period’s not over. We can play the full game and we can experience the victory with Jesus. We can. No matter if we’ve already started to squander our lead like the son or the manager, it is not too late. We can come back. We can come back. We can return and experience the victory with Jesus, we can. Praise the Lord. Halleluiah. Let's avoid 'sudden death' and let us build on that lead playing for the Lord for now and forever.

Let us pray.

www.sheepspeak.com 

---

---

[1] This is one of the questions that is being answered for his disciples (cf. Lk 8:8-10; Mt 13:10-17; Mk 4:10-12).

[2] This is not the only place where it can be argued that Jesus answers a parable with a parable. One of Luke’s two references to the parable `hiding your light under a jar` appears to be part of his explanation to his disciples of the parable of the Soils (Luke 8).

[3] The scholars varied opinions are around things such as whether or not the manager was acting honourably or dishonourably here, whether or not this section is making a comment about the character of God, and questions about if the manager's untrustworthiness and love of money were actually rewarded; I argue alongside the majority opinion, based on the larger context as I address later in this sermon, that it is not these things that are being rewarded at all.

[4] R. Alan Culpepper, NIB IX: Luke, John, 308-309 has a good discussion of various theories around how the wealth was acquired and why or why not the manager’s actions here are justifiable. This is a contentious issue; I don’t think that it need be however. If even the ‘wicked’ are smart enough to prepare for the future in their wicked ways, how much more should the trustworthy (faithful) (v. 11) prepare for the future and how much more seriously should we take the true riches (v. 12) with which we have been entrusted

[5] Some may suggest that we act this way; you’ve heard the argument that you can only take care of others once you take care of yourself. What good would we be to the poor, if we were broke ourselves?

Week 11: Numbers 3:4a: Worship

A devotional thought presented originally to Swift Current Men’s Prayer Breakfast, Thursday 27 November 2014 and River Street Cafe, Tuesday 27 June 2017

Read Numbers 3:2-4

Two of Aaron’s children have died: his oldest two sons “fell dead before the LORD when they made an offering with unauthorized fire before Him in the Desert of Sinai. They had no sons; so only Eleazar and Ithamar served as priests during the lifetime of their father Aaron” (Num 3:3,4; cf. Lev.10:1).

Just as the whole generation who left Egypt will die in their sins before they enter the Promised Land (except Joshua and Caleb), two of Aaron’s children including his first-born son die here before the LORD.

Scholar Ronald B. Allen (The Expositors Bible Commentary, Version 4.0.2) comments on this passage: “‘Unauthorized fire’ translates a Hebrew expression that is seemingly deliberately obscure, as though the narrator finds the very concept to be distasteful... The essential issue here is that Nadab and Abihu were using fire that the Lord had not commanded (Lev 10:1). The pain of the account is strengthened by its brevity and mystery. We are left at a loss to explain their motivation, just as we do not know the precise form of their error. Were they rebellious or presumptuous? Were they careless or ignorant? Or was their sin some combination of these and other things? Because of the prohibition of wine and beer among the priests in their priestly service in Leviticus 10:8-11, it may be inferred that these sons of Aaron had committed their offence against God while in a drunken state.” But we do not know.

Whatever their sin – and we can only guess the specifics of it – the Lord chose him for a special task: Aaron’s oldest son, Nadab, was assumed heir to the High Priesthood. He was supposed to lead the Israelites in worship and service to the LORD. He was a significant man in a significant position to lead others in serving God. He was potentially even more in power, authority, responsibility, than many famous church leaders in our world today. He however fell short and he fell dead. And it may not have been an act of outward rebellion as much as careless neglect of the LORD.

This should be a warning to us. He fell short and he fell dead while coming before the LORD for worship. How do we come before the LORD? Are we ever rebellious or presumptuous, careless or ignorant or do we ever possess a combination of these in our worship? Are we actually worshiping as we sing in church? Are we worshiping as we listen to the Scriptures and the sermon on Sunday morning? Are we worshiping as we pray together at prayer meetings or in church? Do we love the Lord our God with our whole heart, soul, and strength (Deut 6:5) or are we sometimes careless or half-hearted in our worship? How can we prepare ourselves so that we fully worship the Lord together?

www.sheepspeak.com 

---

[1] Based on the sermon by Captain Michael Ramsay, Numbers 3:4: This is a test…. Presented to The Salvation Army Nipawin, March 01, 2009. On-line: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2009/02/numbers-34-this-is-test.html