Matthew 18:10-35: The Restoration.

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 05 March 2023, by Major Michael Ramsay

 

Matthew 18:15-20 is an important pericope. The context of Jesus’ words here is very important. It follows Jesus’ encouragement to us that he will leave even the many who are doing well enough to help out the one who isn’t, and it precedes his encouragement to forgive people forever and for always. Matthew 18:15-20 talks about the church and how we are to get along with each other and it can also be extended to how we should operate in the world at large.

 

Matthew 18:15, “If your brother or sister [adelphos: fellow Christian] sins, [hamartanō: misses the mark] go and point out their fault, [elencho: help them feel conviction] just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.” Paraphrase: If someone does something wrong by accident or design, kindly help them see their error in private. If they understand and are willing to chat, the matter is solved.

 

Believe it or not, you will probably have a disagreement with someone sometime. Believe it or not, you will probably have a disagreement with someone who goes to a church or even this church sometime. And, believe it or not, you will be wrong sometime – really, it is true. I don’t know if that has happened to you ever yet or not but it might… and if it does this is how Matthew says we should receive help from each other:

 

If we accidentally or otherwise do something to someone, they should come and chat with us about it. They should let us know what we have done -just between the two of us- and if they do, the matter will be settled.

 

This is one of the most basic steps in morality and ethics. This is a key aspect of a Christian lifestyle. If a Christian (and I would say any decent human being) has a problem with something someone has done, they will go speak to them directly – one-on-one. This is important. This is one of the things that define a decent human being. Think of what the other options are:

1)    Do nothing. This cannot be right – ever. As I paraphrased a quote often attributed to Edmond Burke in a letter to city council the other week, "The only thing necessary for evil to triumph in the world is that good men do nothing."

2)    Gossip. Gossip, of course, is evil. Gossip is included in lists of attributes of those who deny God. A prime example is Romans 1:29b-32 where it says, "...gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death...."

 

When we are faced with someone who is struggling against sin those are our only 3 options: 1) Tell others about it; not them. This is gossip. This is bad 2) Keep your thoughts to yourself; this is abandoning others so that they are consumed by sin. This is bad or 3) The right option: talk to the person to their face. This is what we are supposed to do when we are Christians. And the reason the Bible gives for this is that the person may see the error of their way, repent and then all is well. Another reason for speaking to the person directly is that we may be wrong – they may not actually be trapped by the sin that we think that are.

 

The next step in extending God’s love to someone trapped in a sin (once it has been established and assuming that everything isn’t resolved after you have spoken to them in private) is to bring someone else along. A second person can hear the story, make sure there are no misunderstandings or miscommunication, and they can help you convey the love you feel for the person that you are hoping and praying will be delivered from whatever this sin is that is dragging them down.

 

And then the third step -assuming the first two steps haven’t freed the person from their sin- is to go to others who love them, other members of the congregation, good Christians whom you and they trust, the Church, and invite them to engage your friend in a conversation in the hopes that they will be freed from whatever the sin is that is dragging them down.

 

And, if that doesn’t even work, after that - step 4 -you still don’t give up on them. You give them even more grace.[1] You know that you expect more of some people than you do of others. You expect an 18-year-old to be more able to do things than an 8-year-old. You expect someone who has been on the job 10 years to be able to do more than someone who has been on the job 10 minutes. It is the same with Christians. Don’t give up on someone just because we think they should know better. If they aren’t acting like they know better than it is unfair of us to have the expectation that they do – no matter how long they have been coming to church! (How long we have known someone is no excuse for us to treat them poorly) We understand that sin can entangle even long-time Christians; so, we should show the same patience with them as we would with those who are brand new or not yet in the faith (this may involve suspending soldiership or a denominational equiviallent), who we do not expect to know any better.

 

Verses 18 and 19 then encourage us to not give up on our friend who is trapped in sin because whenever 2 or 3 of us are gathered (as in the example above) as long as what we are asking is actually on behalf of Jesus (in His Name), God will grant it; so let us not give up on one another! [2]

 

Peter hears all of this about restoring someone who has sinned against him and he says, in effect, ‘whoa…okay; but how long do I have to do this?’ ‘How long do I have to keep supporting this fellow to help him out of his sin?’ ‘How many times should I go through these steps with someone before I just say forget it – seven times? ‘No’ Jesus says, ‘seventy times seven times’. This is important we aren’t supposed to write anyone off (possible exception being the apostate); we are supposed to keep loving them away from sin and towards salvation.

 

I will read again Jesus’ parable that he shared with Peter to express this point, Jesus says:

23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ 27 The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

 

This my friends is what the Bible says about Church discipline. This my friends is what the Bible says about holiness. This my friends is what the Bible says about love. This my friends is how we are all supposed to treat each other – be patient with each other in affliction (specifically here sin); do not give up on each other; and forgive one another always and forever.[3] 

 

We are supposed to love our friends enough that whatever it is that they are going through (sin or otherwise) that is messing up their life we will do everything to try and help them and if they hurt you in the process – forgive them; and if they hurt you again, forgive them again; and if they hurt you again, forgive them again. Do not give up on them. Keep gathering together and praying for one another. As we stick by each other like this, as we help each other like this, as we love each other like this, surely we will all get to heaven and when we do what a day of rejoicing that will be.

 

 Let us pray...

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[1] Cf. Douglas R.A. Hare, ‘Matthew’, (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky: John Knox Press, 1993), 214. But, for a contrary opinion, cf. D.A. Carson, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Matthew/Exposition of Matthew/ Treatment of a sinning brother (18:15-20), Book Version: 4.0.2

[2] J. Duncan M. Derrett quoted in The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Matthew/Exposition of Matthew/ Treatment of a sinning brother (18:15-20), Book Version: 4.0.2 : ("Where two or three are convened in my name … `: a sad misunderstanding," ExpT 91 [1979-80]: 83-86) has argued that vv. 19-20 do not deal with prayer at all. The two who agree are the offender and the one against whom the offense has been committed. They come to agreement on earth about any judicial matter they have been pursuing: the verb aiteisthai can refer to "pursuing a claim," as well as asking in prayer (cf. F. Preisigke, Worterbuch der griechischen Papyrusurkunden, mit Einschluss der griechischen Inschriften, Aufschriften, Ostraka, Mumienschilder, usw. aus agypten, ed. E. Kiessling, 4 vols. [Berlin: 1927-31], s.v.). The promise, then, is that if two individuals in the church come to agreement concerning any claim they are pursuing (presumably on the basis of the church's judgment, v. 18), "it will be allowed, ratified (literally it shall succeed, come off) on the part of my heavenly Father" (Derrett, "Two or three," p. 84). This is because God's will and purpose stand behind the binding and loosing of v. 18 and also because ("for," v. 20) the presence of Jesus is assured with the two or three who are (lit.) "brought together"—judges solemnly convened before the church and by the church to render a decision

[3] The passage is not speaking about God's forgiveness of us as much as it is our forgiveness of one another. Cf. Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13 where God's forgiveness of us precedes our forgiveness of others; cf. also Psalm 86:5, 1 John 1:9; Psalm 103:12; 130:3-4; Daniel 9:9; Isaiah 43:25

Psalm 126: Imagine

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries, 24 October 2021, by Captain Michael Ramsay

1 When the Lord restored the people,

we were like those who dream.

2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then it was said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.”

3 The Lord has done great things for us,

and we rejoiced.

4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

like the watercourses in the Negeb.

5 May those who sow in tears

reap with shouts of joy.

6 Those who go out weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

carrying their sheaves.

 

Imagine this with me. You get up and get ready for your day. You head out to pick up some groceries before doing whatever else you have planned for the day. You don’t have a mask. You don’t go back to your car to get a mask; you don’t have one there either. You don’t go all the way back home; you have no idea where one might be there even though not long ago you had 2 or 3 readily accessible everywhere. You don’t have a mask. You don’t know where you might find one. But here is the thing – imagine this: You don’t need a mask. You don’t have to look for one because no one asks for you to wear one. 

 

Imagine then that you go for brunch with a friend. The is no hand sanitizer at the door. There are no directional arrows on the floor or the wall. No one meets you at the door or at your table asking to see your papers or scan your vaccine passport. Imagine that the table next to you is full of your friends. Imagine that you shake hands with your friends or even –if you are a hugger – hug. Imagine your friends ask you to join them. Imagine that the waitstaff pulls a table up to theirs for you and your friends to all sit down together. Imagine that you go up to the counter to pay the bill when you are done and there is no plexiglass separating you and the host or hostess. 

Imagine then that you go to a coffee shop with a friend later in the day. You drive there while listening to the radio and you don’t hear about any new covid-19 cases. You get to the coffee shop early so you check your phone or a newspaper while you are waiting and you see no news of a pandemic. You wait in line and are so close that you accidently touch the person in front of you – and neither of you notices! Imagine that as you stand in this line while people are talking all around you and you don’t hear anyone complaining about daily or weekly changes to the rules that guide our society. Your friend arrives, the two of you have a conversation and out of nowhere Covid-19 does come up in the conversation but neither of you can remember the names Dr. Bonnie, Dr. Tam, or Dr. Fauci or Dr. whomever else. 

Imagine then that you go home at night – you are afraid to go to sleep because you may wake up and realize this is all just a dream. You wake up the next morning... and... it’s true. Covid-19, the pandemic is just a memory. People’s fear and anguish about the virus is just a memory. People’s confusion and anger about what to do about it is just a memory.  

This Psalm is very much like that. It was probably written either while or just after the people of Israel were in exile or when they were in some other significant predicament.  The people of Israel were experiencing or anticipating a ‘new normal’ with all of the challenges that that inevitably held. Not everyone survived the exile. People in subsequent generations suffered and died. Individuals never saw their homes again. It got to the point where people thought that the time that they were going through was never going to end – and then it did. They got through it.

God got them through it. This was very likely a psalm that was sung regularly by pilgrims as they approached Jerusalem remembering and praising God for seeing them through this time.  When people did return it was not the same as before. There were many challenges ahead. But today in this psalm there is much celebration! God has delivered them just as God is delivering and will deliver us through the pandemic

Just like we can imagine the joy in our lives when this pandemic comes to an end, the author of this psalm captured the moment of excitement for the people. It is like the end of a war or the end of a plague, a global pandemic. We are in that moment now of dreaming of times to come, like many did in the Bible and many have done since and before. It is important that psalms like this are recorded and repeated (as they were)  because soon people forget about all the things that people suffered through and in times of prosperity people forget about all that God has brought us through – how faithful He is to us. It doesn’t take long to forget. But we need to remember because remembering is hope for we know that just as God has got us through predicaments in the past, He will get us through predicaments in the future and He will get us through this one now.  He is faithful!

Picture yourself in the hopefully very near future, months from now even when this is all over. Now imagine a year or two down the road. Imagine explaining to someone a few years from now about what it was like when the whole world once-upon-a-time had a lockdown. Imagine explaining to them how people had to isolate for two weeks if they went to certain places or saw certain people. Imagine explaining that all school was homeschool or online from Spring break until the end of the 2019-2020 school year. Imagine explaining to people how churches, restaurants, businesses, and many other things were actually forcibly shut down for months. Imagine explaining to people how you weren’t allowed to visit your parents and grandparents in seniors’ homes for months on end. Imagine explaining that some people were actually denied their last rites (or equivalent) by Health Authority staff or administrators. Imagine explaining to people that you weren’t even allowed to visit your sick and injured children in the hospital. Imagine explaining that there were actually many people who never or very rarely even left their homes for the better part of a year or more. Imagine explaining to someone that many people stopped going to work and either quit, went on leave, or worked from home for a long time, a year or more without going into the office. Imagine trying to explain to people that after the businesses slowly opened that your friend lost their job because they couldn’t actually get a government approved injection. Imagine telling someone how you personally were turned away from a restaurant once because your phone died and you forgot your laminated version of a vaccine passport. Imagine explaining to someone a few years from now what a vaccine passport even is! Imagine explaining to someone that feeling you have when you walk all the way across a parking lot to the store only to get to the door, realize that you don’t have a mask, and have to walk all the way back to your car. Imagine explaining to someone that – yes – you actually did have a facemask in your car. Imagine showing someone pictures of the different masks and visors we wore. Imagine Covid-19 as a distant memory. Imagine being able to gather and celebrate and enjoy life without so much of a thought to any of these things. Imagine the pandemic as a memory that fades so much that we actually have to strain to remember the details of the plague! Imagine! Imagine when we will say:

 

Psalm 126

1 When the Lord restored us,

we were like those who dream.

2 Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then it was said among the nations,

“The Lord has done great things for them.”

3 The Lord has done great things for us,

and we rejoiced.

 

 Let it be, Lord; Let it be. Verse 4ff: 

 

4 Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

like the watercourses in the Negeb.

5 May those who sow in tears

reap with shouts of joy.

6 Those who go out weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

carrying their sheaves.

Let us pray.

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Devotion 2.40/92: John 21:17: Restored

Presented to River Street Cafe, 24 February 2017

Read John 21:15-17

One night when I was sixteen, I am allowed to borrow my parents’ car on one condition – that I bring my along little sister. It is bad enough that I have to bring my sister with me but what is worse is that she has a curfew; so I have to stop whatever I am doing to bring her home by 9 pm.

I take her down to the local hangout and tell her not to bother me. It is a good evening. I meet some friends. There is a party that night that we are planning to attend – there is just one problem – I have to get my sister home by 9 pm.

As my friends and I are in the middle of planning our night, my sister shows up and says, “It’s time to go” and she is not alone. She has found herself a boyfriend! And this boyfriend, Tony,  is a friend of mine! I have an idea…

He can bring Lorinda home! There are, however, a couple of details to work out: (1) my sister isn’t allowed to date yet and (2) this boy will bring her home on a motor scooter. These won’t go over so well with my mom, so I come up with a plan: I tell him he can take my sister home but to make sure he parks around the corner from our house so my mom won’t see them and I tell her to tell mom that she got a ride home from Melody, a girl from church group, instead of from a boy on a motor scooter.

He gets her home all right but rather than parking around the corner he parks on the street, under a streetlight, and he gives her a good night kiss. Then my sister has a cigarette as she walks the rest of the way home - where my mom is watching this whole scene. My sister walks in the door and mom asks, “How did you get home?”

“Melody…”

A couple of hours later I come home. All the lights are on and mom is waiting at the front door… “How did your sister get home? How did she get home? Who took her home? I am caught. I know it. I betrayed my mom’s trust and now I am being asked these questions over and over again .

‘Do you love me?’ is the question Jesus asks Peter over and over again. Peter must feel just about the same way I did. “Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me?” Jesus trusted him. Peter betrayed that trust and now he is in need of restoration.

Now, of course, Jesus does restore Peter. Jesus is faithful to build his church upon Peter’s work for the Kingdom. Jesus forgives him and restores him just like my mom forgave me and after grounding me for a month or so, restored me to being trusted with her car.

It is the same with each of us. Whatever it is that we may have done to deny our responsibilities or to betray Jesus’ trust we are forgiven and we can be restored; all we need to do is to come to Jesus and accept his offer to ‘feed his sheep’

What does it look like to ‘feed his sheep’? How can we do that today?

John 21:13-23: Welcome Back, Feed My Sheep.

Presented to TSA Warehouse Mission and Corps 614, 19 February 2017
Presented to Swift Current Corps of The Salvation Army, 07 April 2013,
Presented to Nipawin Corps, 21 February 2009,
Presented to Weston Corps, May 2006.
By Captain Michael Ramsay

This is the 2017 version: to view the originally published text click here:  http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2009/02/john-2115-23-were-back.html 

     

  

 I can remember one Friday night when I am sixteen, I need to borrow my parents’ car and I am allowed on one condition – that I bring my along little sister, Lorinda – she is fifteen. If I can be trusted with the car then I can take my sister with me. It is bad enough that I have to bring my little sister with me but what makes this even worse is that she has a curfew, which I don’t, so I have to stop whatever I am doing and bring her home by 10:00.

I take her down to the local hangout where I meet my friends and tell her to just to find something to do and not bother me until it is time to go. This works well because, believe it or not, she didn’t really want to spend all Friday night with her brother either – so this thing might just work out after all. Now as the evening progresses, I am having fun. I meet some new friends. There is a party later that night that the group of us are planning to attend – there is just one problem – I have to get my sister home by 10pm.

As my friends and I are in the middle of planning our night, my sister shows up and says, “it’s time to go” and - she is not alone. She has gone off and found herself a boyfriend! And this boyfriend is actually a friend of mine! I have an idea…

He can bring Lorinda home! There are, however, a couple of details to work out: (1) my sister isn’t really allowed to date just yet and (2) this boy, Tony, will be bringing her home on his motorcycle! (actually I think it was probably more like a moped or motorized scooter). These won’t go over so well with my mom, so I come up with a plan: I tell Tony that he can take her home but to make sure that he parks around the corner from our house so my mom won’t see them when she looks out the window and I tell Lorinda to tell mom that she got a ride home from Melody, a friend from church group, instead of a boy on a motor scooter.

Tony does get her home all right but rather than parking around the corner like I told him to he parks down the street, in plain view, and under a streetlight and he decides to give her a good night kiss. And then Lorinda has a cigarette as she walks the rest of the way home where my mom is watching this whole scene from the window. Lorinda walks in the door and mom asks, “How did you get home?”

“Melody…” up oh…

Fast forward a couple of hours - I come home. All the lights are on and mom is waiting for me at the front door… “How did Lorinda get home? How did Lorinda home? Who took Lorinda home?” I hear her question - I just don’t answer. I am caught. I know it. I can tell. I betrayed my mom’s trust and now I am being asked these questions over and over again .

‘Do you love me?’ is the question the recently resurrected Jesus asks Peter over and over again. John 21:15-23: Peter must feel just about the same way I did. “Do you love me? Do you love me? Do you love me?” As recorded in John 18, Jesus trusted him. Peter said he would stand by Jesus and he did not and now he is in need of restoration. He betrayed His confidence.

Peter had a special relationship with Jesus; he was even one of the three Jesus invited up the mountain with him for his last night before Calvary. Jesus told Peter everything that would happen then; Peter still denied even knowing him 3 times in the High Priest’s courtyard… and then they led Jesus out to be crucified.

Now Jesus, who died, is sitting right here; Jesus, who was killed, has appeared to the disciples more than once; Jesus, who was denied by Peter, has just finished eating with them. Jesus, who, initially to Peter’s surprise came back to life, is sitting right in front of him asking him whether or not he actually loves him. No wonder, as it says is verse 17, Peter feels hurt. Who wouldn’t feel a little convicted, a little ashamed, a little embarrassed? You make a promise to stand by someone. He even calls you on it – “Peter, before the rooster crows YOU will deny me three times.”

“No, not me” says Peter “No, not me”…. well, 3 rooster crows later and Jesus is denied, crucified, died and now he is back from the dead staring Peter straight in the face asking, “do you love me?” “Do you love me?”

Can you imagine? You deny someone. He knows it. He’s killed. He comes back from the dead and is staring you right in the face and asking you, “do you love me?”

There is even more to it than this. Remember that Peter is the ‘Rock’ upon which Jesus is going to build His church (Matt. 16:18); he is one of the inner circle of apostles; He is sent out to proclaim the good news; he is supposed to be a leader. Now he has fallen. How can he be even a follower, if he doesn’t follow; led alone a leader, if he doesn’t lead. Peter is in need of restoration.

So with all this probably racing around in Peter’s mind and more, Jesus not only asks him, “Do you love me?” Peter also might hear, in effect, “Prove it – feed my lambs, feed my sheep, feed my sheep;” “Prove it - take care of my followers – prove it, actually feed people - prove it.” Peter hears, “Do you love me? Do you love me?”

Peter, we can imagine, is so saddened that he does not answer, “Yes, I love you and I’ll do it.” Instead Jesus’ ‘Do you love me?’ only elicits, according to some translators, “I like you…” Can you imagine?

  

“Do you love me?”

“I’m fond of you.”

“Do you love me?”

“I like you…I like you a lot.”

“But do you love me? Then feed my sheep…”

  

This is important. In the Greek it is recorded that Jesus is really asking Peter if he (agape) loves him but Peter at first is only answering “I (phillia) love you, which in its range of meanings might mean merely, “I like you,” “or I’m fond of you.” This was probably not Peter saying, ‘I don’t love you’; it is more like him responding, “I’m unworthy of loving you.”[1]

            “Do you love me?” A runaway child asks her mom, in our city today, from her cell phone. She wants to come home. She needs to be restored to her place as a loved and cared for daughter.

            “Do you love me?” the little boy asks his big brother coming back from detention of some sort. He needs his brother back.

            “Do you love me?” a now grown child who suffered abuse in the residential schools, asks the churches? The church needs its family back; it needs to be restored.

            “Do you love me?” a sister asks her brother who left her and their mom to live with his dad years ago. He needs to be restored as big brother.[2]

            “Do you love me?” a six year-old asks her 15 year-old sister who just returned from six months of Drug rehab[3]. The sister needs to be restored as big sister.

            “Do you love me?” an estranged wife asks her recovering alcoholic husband as she returns to him. He needs to be restored as husband.

“Do you love me?” Jesus is asking each of us as we are in need of restoration in our relationships.

            Let me tell you a story: A friend of mine grows up in the church. He is almost always involved something up there. He reads his Bible all the time – everyday for years. He always prays. He never doubts that God has what is best in store for him. When others surrender, he perseveres. Even when his parents don’t want to get up to go to church, he gets himself up, gets dressed and walks all the way there by himself. He rises every morning at 6am just to spend time with God. He always has a Bible tucked away in his pocket somewhere so that he can read it or give it away to someone who might need it. God loves him and he loves God.  Then he meets a girl.

            She is a nice girl. He falls in love but…she is not quite on the same page as he is. As they grow more and more intimate, He drifts farther and farther from God. He slowly stops reading his Bible. First he just misses a day here or there, then a whole week, then –he moves in with her- he stops getting up early and talking to God; he stops listening to God. Then he stops hearing God; it is silent; it is silent. He is in need of restoration. “Do you love me?” Jesus is still asking him.

Any parts of this story strike a chord with us? Is there anything separating us from God? Are we in need of restoration? “Do you love me?” Jesus is still asking us. What have we done to remove ourselves from the will or presence of God? Are we in need of restoration? “Do you love me?” Jesus is still asking us.

Jesus is still asking Peter, ‘do you love me?’– and more. There is an important progression here. It is not only Peter whose answers possibly develop – remember the answers of  ‘I love you’ that can mean, “I’m fond of you” and “I like you” and that it may be only on the third time that Peter actually responds “You KNOW I love you.” Jesus’ questioning also develops. He starts out with, “do you love me then…. feed my lambs.” Next, do you love me, then…. take care of my sheep; then, “feed my sheep.” This is important: it apparently moves from concentrating on a subset of the flock, to overseeing all the flock, to actually feeding the whole flock. Peter’s responsibility grows.[4]

At first Jesus also asks Peter if he loves him more than these – more than the other disciples[5]. This brings one’s mind back to his boast of a couple of chapters earlier - John 13:37 (cf. Matthew 26:33) - where Peter claims that he will never leave Jesus. The threefold questioning recalls the criteria for a legal declaration.[6] This is not about apostolic succession,[7] however, Peter is not forsaken he is forgiven.

Jesus is restoring Peter. He does so in such a way as to leave no doubt. While, as we have looked at, the questions are not exactly the same, he is asked three times to confess Christ at his restoration like he denied Christ three times to put him in need of this restoration and later in Acts 10, when he is told through a dream to bring the gospel to the Gentiles, he is also told three times. The triune God is building on the significance of threes.

This is exciting and Peter gets it. Finally, he understands. Peter is restored. After he confesses, (v. 17) “Lord, you know I love you.” Jesus lets him know about what is in store for the future. In verses 18 and 19 “Jesus [says], "Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go. “Jesus [says] this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he [says] to him, ‘Follow me!’”

The death: Peter gets to die for Jesus. He gets his martyrs’ crown. Now, while this may not necessarily sound so good to us– the person you deny and is killed and comes back from the grave to tell you, you are going to die… (And tradition has it that Peter was actually crucified on a cross, just as Jesus was, except that he was hanged upside down.) To Peter, however, this is good news. It means he is back. He is back! Peter has been restored. His sin is forgiven, Jesus trusts him. He accepts the responsibility to ‘feed his sheep’ and this responsibility is offered to us all.[8] As Peter himself exhorts us in 2 Peter 5:2-4, “Be shepherds of God's flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”

“Follow me!” He is back. “Follow me”, Jesus says to Peter. He is back and he is excited. So much so that Peter starts asking about others around, such as John, ‘the disciple whom Jesus loved,’ who was right there and also sat next to Jesus at the last supper, Peter asks (v. 21) “what about him?” Jesus answers, ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me’ (v. 22). Peter is forgiven. “Follow me.” That’s what is important for Peter now – that he must follow Jesus. Jesus has provided a way for him to be forgiven, reinstated and Peter is restored.

“Follow me,” Jesus says, and “welcome back.” Welcome home. Welcome home, in our world today, to the girl who ran away from her mom. Jesus loves you and you are restored. Welcome home to the big brother who has returned. He is restored. Welcome back to the alienated denominations who ran the residential schools, you can be restored. Welcome back to the big sister who slipped up and went on the binge. You are back. You are clean; you are forgiven and you are restored to your responsibilities of big sister. Welcome back to the repentant, recovering alcoholic dad. Welcome back. You are forgiven. You are sober; you are restored to your position as husband and dad. Welcome back! Jesus has restored you. Welcome back. All of us can be restored.

I, after not being allowed to use the car for a month or so, was eventually restored to being trusted again. My mom trusted me again even though I had denied my responsibilities. She forgave me and I was restored.

My friend, the silence for him must have been as painful as the denial was for the disciple Peter. The girl he was involved with is now a Christian as well and they are married. He is restored to getting up early and spending time with God. Jesus loves them both. God is faithful. They are restored and they are feeding his sheep.

We are invited to accept forgiveness. We are invited to feed Jesus sheep. We are invited to be restored. We are invited to show the way, the truth and the light. We are invited to accept forgiveness as well. Jesus died on that cross for us and he is sitting, in effect, on the beach with you and me like he was with Peter. He knows our hearts. He knows your heart. He knows and forgiveness is offered. So let us accept that forgiveness, that restoration and that reconciliation and ‘feed his sheep.’ Let us feed his sheep. Let us look after the physically hungry. Feed his sheep. Let us look after the spiritually hungry. Feed his sheep. Let us take care of those in real need. Feed his sheep. Let us not lose any of the flock of which he has given us oversight. As we are restored and as we are forgiven, let us forgive others and let us feed his sheep.

Let us pray: “Dear God, we thank you for your example of the restoration of Peter. We thank you that forgiveness and restoration is available to us all. We confess any times we have denied and not followed you. We confess any times that we have not fed your sheep. We love you and we pray that, as you enable, like Peter claimed, we will always follow you. Amen.”

www.sheepspeak.com 

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[1] R.C.H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel. (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 1420

[2] “Statistics Canada indicates that ten percent of families with children are stepfamilies, and about a third of them include children from different unions. In the United States, it's estimated that stepfamilies may outnumber biological families by the year 2010.” Reader’s Digest Canada, “What do you think is the lasting impact for children of divorce?” n.p. [cited 25 03 2006]. On-line: http://www.readersdigest.ca/debate.html?a=v&di=116

[3] 28.6% of 15-17 year-old girls in Canada have reported illicit drug use. Michael Tjepkema, “Use of Cannabis and Other Illicit Drugs,” Statistics Canada Health Reports 15, no. 4. (2004): 47

[4] R.C.H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel. (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 1421.

[5] George R. Beasley-Murray, John. (WBC 36: Waco, Texas: Word Books, 1987), 405.

[6] George R. Beasley-Murray,  p. 404.

[7] Gail R. O’day, John. (TNIB 9: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 1996), 861.

[8] Gail R. O’day, p. 861.

Luke 11:14-28: The Haunted House

Presented to Swift Current Corps, 31 October 2010; Corps 614 Regent Park Toronto, 01 November 2015; Alberni Valley Ministries (abridged), 31 October 2021 by Captain Michael Ramsay

This is the 2015 Corps 614 Toronto version, to view the original 2010 Swift Current version, click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2010/10/luke-1114-28-matthew-1225-29-parable-of.html 

To view the 2021 Alberni Valley, BC Version, click here:  http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2021/10/luke-1114-28-parable-of-haunted-house.html

To view a video of the abridged 2021 version, click here: https://youtu.be/zkKz9y_uBoQ

Yesterday was October 31^st so I thought that it would be good to start off with an October 31^st quiz today (answers in footnotes):

1)      What historic event happened in Wittenburg on October 31 in 1517?[1]

2)      True or False: Ghosts are mentioned in the Bible.[2]

3)      True or False: A king of Israel went to a witch to speak with the spirit of a dead person[3]

a.       Bonus Marks name the King, the dead person, and the witch

4)      How many people can you name who the Bible records God used to raise others from the dead?[4]

5)      The man possessed by so many demons that they called themselves Legion, where did he live?[5]

6)      True or False: Jesus tells a parable about a haunted house?[6]

The parable – especially noticeable in the Lukan account – talks about a demon-possessed man and a demon-possessed house. Luke 11:24-26: “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first.” The house is haunted by more demons than it was in the first place. This is in the Parable of the Haunted House.

There are many important things to come out of this Parable of the Haunted House. We obviously don’t have time today to spend on all of them. One of the key things to come out of this parable is that God is more important than anyone in the Christian’s life.[7] This is highlighted in the Markan account (Mark 3:20-35).[8] If even one’s own parents are opposed to the life and work of Jesus, Christ goes as far as to model disowning one’s parents; when his mother and brothers came to interfere with his work, in order to take charge of and/or arrest him Jesus replies, “Who are my mother and brothers?” (Mark 3:31-34; Matthew 12:46-50; Luke 11:27-28, 8:19-21).[9] We are not to be distracted from serving the Lord by anyone (cf. Matthew 10:38-39, 16:24-24; Mark 8:34-35; Luke 9:23-24, 14:26-27, 17:33; John 12:25; 1 Corinthians 15:31; cf. also Gospel of Thomas 55b).[10] This is very important.

There is in Matthew and Mark’s record of this parable also the important, significant, and controversial statement about the unforgivable sin, which is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:32, Mark 3:29).[11] This sin is almost certainly not a once-off and in this context here, especially in Mark’s version, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit appears to refer to anyone who gets in the way of the work of the Lord or anyone who consistently attributes the work of God to the devil. Luke speaks about sweeping the house clean and then the spirits returning to haunt to the haunted house once more.[12] This is similar to John’s words about the apostate and those who walk with Christ but then reject him completely so much so that they never return to Him (1 John 2:18-26, 5:13-20, 2 John 1:7-11; cf. Matthew 10:14, 12:31-32; Mark 3:29-30, 6:11; Luke 9:5, 12:10; Acts 13:50-52; 2 Peter 2:17-22). These ‘rejecters’ appear to be the ones who have committed the unforgivable sin (cf. TSA Doctrines 7 and 9).

Each of these interesting points we can talk about later if you like but today I would prefer to concentrate on something else in this, the Parable of the Haunted House. Recorded in Luke 11:17-18 and Mark 3:24 and Matthew 12:25, “…Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? ...” And Luke 11:23 and Matthew 12:30 each record Jesus’ comment that “He who is not with me is against me” Jesus is drawing the line here. He is being quite clear. Jesus has had a serious accusation levelled against him. He has been accused of exorcising demons by demonic power.

Jesus is accused of driving out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons (Luke 11:15, Matthew 12:24, Mark 3:22). We are familiar with the term Beelzebub, right? Milton named one of his characters in ‘Paradise Lost’ Beelzebub. In Milton’s story he was the devil’s henchman but Beelzebub here in scriptures isn’t the right hand man of the devil.[13] Beelzebub is the devil himself. Beelzebub is another name for the Satan. We remember that the ancient Israelites – long before the time of Jesus’ birth– were often split between those who worshipped YHWH and those who worshipped a Canaanite god by the name of Baal. One of the names people who worshipped Baal used to call him was Baal-Zebul - which literally means ‘Baal the Prince’ (Cf. 2 Kings 1:6; Matthew 10:25; 12:24,27; Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15, 18-19).[14] Knowing this, the people who didn’t worship Baal gave the Canaanite god a related nickname of their own. They called him Baal-Zebub, which sounds like Baal-Zebul, ‘Baal the Prince’, but in reality means Baal, Lord of the flies; Baal the pest; or Baal, Lord of the dung heap.[15] It wasn’t a favourable name, Baal-Zebub. It was a derogatory name. By Jesus time, with Baal-worship relegated to the dustbin of history, they couldn’t let this good nickname go to waste though; so they applied it to the devil, Satan inherited this nickname. Beelzebub, in the first century CE, was a common derogatory name for Satan.[16] Jesus in our text here is being accused of working for the devil.

In our society today we think nothing of people dressing up like evil characters or using the language of demon-possession and witchcraft: we hear it everyday on TV, radio, in pop culture and in casual colloquial language. There were on TV last night alone dozens of movies and TV shows trivializing or glorifying evil. It is so common in our contemporary Canadian society that many times we don’t even twig when we hear references to sorcery or divination but it was very different in Jesus’ day (cf. Deuteronomy 18:10; 1 Samuel 28:9; 2 Kings 19:22; 2 Chronicles 33:6; Micah 5:12; Nahum 3:4; Galatians 5:20).

Witchcraft is a serious crime. It was punishable by death (1 Samuel 28:9, Galatians 5:20). These religious teachers who are accusing Jesus of being an agent of evil here cannot be left to make these remarks unchallenged. It must be addressed. They are accusing Jesus of divination, of witchcraft, of sorcery, and in those days (unlike today when many of our kids and grandkids or their friends watch cartoons or other  shows relating to the occult or dress up as devils and witches) people won’t stand by and let that evil go unchecked. 

Jesus doesn’t stand by and let these accusations stand. Knowing their thoughts Jesus tells them: “…Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges” (Luke 11:17-19; cf. Matthew 12:15-17, Mark 3:23-26). Jesus tells them that if he is driving out evil with evil than his opponents are doing exactly the same thing when they perform exorcisms and even more than that Jesus says, one won’t and one can’t even drive out evil with evil: a house divided against itself will fall. Jesus says, Verses 21-22, “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own house, his possessions are safe. But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armour in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils (Luke 11:21-22; cf. Matthew 12:29, Mark 3:27)” And, Verses 24-26, “When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ When it arrives, it finds the house swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first” (cf. TSA Doctrine 9). These are the only two options. A divided house cannot stand. So just like an American president said not too many years ago as they were embarking on one of their many wars, “You are either with us or against us.” Jesus says, Luke 11:23, “He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me, scatters.”

Well, on this day after Halloween Day, on this day after Reformation Day, 2000 years after the birth of our Lord, where do we stand? Are we with him or are we against him? I have run through a litany of the contemporary evils of the western world and of the English-speaking Empire many, many times. Even though Canada was founded upon Psalm 72, the Word of God, now we no longer say the Lord’s Prayer in the House of Commons or even read the Word of God in our public schools. If whatever demons our ancestors had were exorcised when we chose to build our nation on the Word of God (the Godly principles of Isaiah 9:6: Peace, Order, Good Government and promise of Psalm 72 claiming this land as the Lord’s dominion from sea to sea) then I think in our lifetime, as we’ve left our historic values, those demons that were exorcised have returned, found our house swept clean and brought many, many of their friends.

Some of the legions of demons that currently haunt our nation have the same names as the deadly sins mentioned by Dante in his historic book (which would be very appropriate for Halloween) entitled ‘Inferno’, which he wrote many, many years ago. Some of our cultural demons include: Pride, the belief that we can do things on our own, without God (Psalm 10:4; 2 Chronicles 26:16; cf. Proverbs 16:18); Vanity, the desire to do what is right in our own eyes (cf. Judges 21:25) – it seems that our whole political system these days revolves around this sin; There is Lust, not only pornography, but you have noticed commercials and advertising these days? Sloth is another demon that seems to have made his home in our culture; has there ever been a less active generation in service in the history world? Just look at the declining membership not only in churches but also in service groups across this country. We have seemingly been raising a generation or two of people who would rather stay home and indulge themselves than get out there and do something. There is also Gluttony; did you know that the number of people in the world who suffer from malnutrition as a result of hunger is in excess of 1.2 billion and -at the same time- the number of people in the world who suffer from malnutrition as a result of over-consumption is in excess 1.2 billion?[17] We rich nations are mal-nourishing ourselves by eating the food that the underdeveloped nations so desperately need. That contains a scary symmetry. Did you know that children in our society are now suffering from adult onset diabetes? Adult onset diabetes in children is a direct result of eating too much bad stuff.[18] This can also relate to greed and the so-called deadly sin of Greed could also be the name of one of the demons haunting our nation’s house here today: it seems that our whole economy depends upon greed.[19] I read once that if the North American societies went even just one day without spending any money on frivolities our entire economies would collapse.[20] Ire / unholy anger is another demon; have we forgotten that ‘vengeance is mine…saith the Lord’ (Romans 12:19)? With this unholy anger comes an appetite for violence that I imagine would even make the Romans in their coliseum cringe: there is a not only a market for violent movies and television but people also watch real people brutalize each other in ultimate fighting or other such events and not only that but we Canadians allow our children to sit down and watch the never-ending violence that is on TV. Do you think that so many people would support international wars of aggression and violence against foreigners if we weren’t conditioned from the time we were children to see revenge and even so-called ‘pre-emptive strikes’ as normal? As sure as in generations past God used great churchmen and women and faithful servants of our Lord as a broom to sweep this land clean of the demons that had plagued it; the devil has now found it well kempt and come back stronger than ever. Our nation, it seems, is haunted by many demons.

This we know not only applies to our nation; it also applies to ourselves as well. The sin spiral has many parallels with addictions for example. Any of us here who have ever struggled with addiction or who know others who have, we know that each time one becomes clean and then slips up, it becomes more and more difficult to become clean again remain that way. The metaphorical demons of addiction come in apparently stronger (bringing in more friends) each time we invite them in. It doesn’t need to be that way. Jesus can clean our haunted houses and when Jesus cleans our house we can let him keep it clean too (TSA Doctrines 6 and 10)! Pretty good deal!

So what can we do? Well, of course, we can do nothing to clean the house: Jesus defeated sin and death between the cross and the empty tomb (TSA Doctrine 6) but if we look back in our text to Luke 11:27, we notice that a woman who hears what Jesus is saying and who witnesses what Jesus is doing in delivering a man from evil; she calls out to him, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” Jesus then gives her an answer which should be our answer to the deliverance he has offered each of us through his death and resurrection. Jesus replies, Luke 11:28, “blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” Luke 11:23, “He who is not with me is against me.”

This is the choice set before us today. We can ask Jesus to sweep our life clean of the demons that haunt us and he will. But in that we have to choose whom we will serve. We can serve ourselves, our own lustful desires, we can serve the Enemy by inviting demons back in to haunt our lives again or we can serve the Lord and live life abundantly (TSA Doctrines 6 and 8). Today we must decide, are we with our Lord or are we against him? 

Please remember too that any and all of us can ask our Lord Jesus to come and clean our haunted houses. Even if he has already cleaned it once or a hundred times and we have subsequently messed it up. While we still have breath in our body, we can invite him back into our lives to clean them up and sort us out and then, we can continue on to receive the Lord’s blessing of eternal life, Luke 11:28, “blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” As we do this, we will continue in the blessing of the Holy Spirit. This is holiness and this holiness is available to all of us but we must make a choice (cf. TSA Doctrine 10). And, as Joshua said on the very border of the Promised Land, when faced with this very choice, Joshua said ‘as for me and my house we will serve the Lord’ (Joshua 24:15) and I pray that that will be the same response for each and all of us today.

Let us pray.

www.sheepspeak.com

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[1]  Answer 1: Luther nailed his 95 theses to the door of the church

[2] Answer 2: True, especially The Holy Ghost in the Authorized Version

[3] Answer 3: True (1 Samuel 28), King Saul went to the witch of Endor to contact the deceased prophet Samuel

[4] Answer 4: God used Elijah to raise the son of the widow of Zarephath (1 Kings 17:17-23), God used Elisa to raise the Shunammite woman's son (2 Kings 4:32-37); There was the man they threw into Elisha’s grave (2 Kings 13:21) Jesus raised: the widow's son (Luke 7:12-15), Jairus' daughter (Luke 8:49-55), Lazarus (John 11:43,44); God used Peter to raise Dorcas (Acts 9:37-40) and Paul to raise Eutychus (after Paul had literally bored him to death? Acts 20:9-12)

[5] Answer 5: In the tombs, the graveyard near Gerasenes; Mark 5:1,2, Luke 8:26-27

[6] Answer 6: True, Matthew 12:25-29, Mark 3:23-27, Luke 11:17-22

[7] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, 'Mark 3:20-35: The Family of God', presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Corps (February 17, 2008) Available on-line at: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/02/mark-320-35-family-of-god.html

[8] Cf. C.L. Mitton. The Gospel According to Mark. London: Epworth, 1957, p. 26

[9] Cf. F.C. Grant, The Gospel According to St. Mark. Vol. 7. IB. New York: Abingdon, 1951, p. 694: “In place of broken family relations, ostracism and persecution, was the close and intimate relation to the Son of God.”

[10] Cf. Lewis Foster, ‘Luke’ in NIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids, Mi : Zondervan, 2002), note on Luke 9:24, p. 1589.

[11] Walter W. Wessel, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM: Mark/ Book Version: 4.0.2l: The words of v. 29—"will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin"—have caused great anxiety and pain in the history of the church. Many have wondered whether they have committed the "unpardonable sin." Surely what Jesus is speaking of here is not an isolated act but a settled condition of the soul—the result of a long history of repeated and wilful acts of sin. And if the person involved cannot be forgiven it is not so much that God refuses to forgive as it is the sinner refuses to allow him. Ryle’s famous words are great reassurance to any who might be anxious about this sin: "There is such a thing as a sin which is never forgiven. But those who are troubled about it are most unlikely to have committed it" (J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels [New York: Revell], 2:59). On the other hand, those who actually do commit the sin are so dominated by evil that it is unlikely that they would be aware of it.

[12] Ibid: "because they were saying, `He has an evil spirit'"—suggests an explanation for the unforgivable sin. Jesus had done what any unprejudiced person would have acknowledged as a good thing. He had freed an unfortunate man from the power and bondage of evil (cf. Matt 12:22; Luke 11:14). This he did through the power of the Holy Spirit, but the teachers of the law ascribed it to the power of Satan. Taylor (p. 244) says that the sin described here is "a perversion of spirit which, in defiance of moral values elects to call light darkness." Further, Mitton says, "To call what is good evil (Isa 5:20) when you know well that it is good because prejudice and ill will hold you in bondage, that is the worst sin of all. The tragedy of the `hardening of heart' (as in Mk 3:5) is that it makes men capable of committing just this sin" (Gospel of Mark, p. 28). Perkins, Pheme. NIB VIII: The Gospel of Mark, p. 547: The evangelist’s comment in V. 30 shows that the judgement saying is directed against those who have charged Jesus with using Satan’s power.”

[13] John Milton featured Beelzebub as seemingly the second-ranking of the many fallen cherubim in the epic poem Paradise Lost, first published in 1667. Wrote Milton of Beelzebub "than whom, Satan except, none higher sat." Beelzebub is also a character in John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, first published in 1678. See Absoluteastronomy.com, Beelzebub: http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Beelzebub

[14] Cf. Choon-Leong Seow. The First and Second Book of Kings. (NIB III: Abigdon Press, Nashville, 1999), p. 170 and R. D. Patterson and Hermann J. Austel, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM: 2 Kings/ Second Kings Note 1:3, Book Version: 4.0.2

[15] Cf. R. D. Patterson and Hermann J. Austel, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:2 Kings/Notes to Second Kings/Second Kings 1 Notes/Second Kings Note 1:2, Book Version: 4.0.2

[16] Cf. Captain Michael Ramsay, "2 Kings 1:6: Is it because there is no God in [this place]?” Presented to the Nipawin Corps 31 May 2009.

[17] Cf. Sheepspeak, ‘Be a Hero Stuff’, Monday, December 19, 2005 (posted at 1:53PM). Available on-line at http://renewnetwork.blogspot.com/2005_12_01_archive.html#113502200702877662

[18] ‘Overweight’ in PAEDIATRICS Vol. 113 No. 1 January 2004, pp. 152-154

[19] Cf. http://www.buynothingday.co.uk/ for more information about ‘Buy Nothing Day’.

[20] Cf. also John Wesley, 'The Use of Money': Sermon 50.