Mark 3:20-35: The Family of God

Presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Corps of The Salvation Army on February 17, 2008; Swift Current Corps on February 22, 2015; 614 Warehouse Mission on 06 May 2018; Alberni Valley Ministries on 21 April 2024 by Captain (Major) Michael Ramsay

To view the 2008 Nipawin and Tisdale version, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/02/mark-320-35-family-of-god.html

To view the 2015 Swift Current version, click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2015/02/mark-320-35-family-of-god.html

To view the Toronto 2018 version click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2018/05/mark-320-35-family-of-god.html

 

Today’s passage is about family. I have been thinking about family lately. Move announcements were this week and each year there is the potential that we can be moved. We were told that we are able to stay here for one more year. This is the longest our family has stayed in one town and even the longest that we have stayed in one province since Heather was born. And whenever we do move – especially if we have to move provinces again – this time will be different; we won’t be taking our who family with us. It is challenging enough with children in Chilliwack and part-time in Victoria as well as parents we don’t seen nearly enough on this Island here. I can’t imagine what it will be like when we move again, this time away from and not with family.

 

Mark 3 is about family – Jesus’ family. 3:20: “Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.” Verse 21, “When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind.’” (Sometimes family thinks that about us.)

 

Jesus is portrayed here as almost a workaholic.  He is working late and he takes his work home with him and his work right now is casting out demons and he has a lot of work to do.

 

Can you imagine the scene? It is dinnertime. He comes to a home to eat with his closest disciples. There is so much going on. There are so many people crowding into the house that they aren’t even able to take time to eat. There must be people everywhere and Jesus is working away: he and his disciples are ploughing through people healing them, casting out demons and doing what needs to be done.

 

His family no doubt is worried about his health. They are no doubt worried because he’s not eating anything. They are no doubt worried because he is not taking enough time for himself. He is just working, working, working – without a break – this can’t possibly be healthy, can it? Is it any wonder that his mother and brothers, throw up their hands when they hear all of this and say, Verse 21, “He is out of his mind” – “he’s crazy” – “he’s nuts.”[ 1]

 

Jesus’ family decided that it is time to go and take charge of him. They are going to make him rest and take care of himself. (Now this is interesting because the Greek word KRATESAI is actually the same word that is used when the police go to ARREST someone; so, this is serious.) They are concerned about him and if Jesus won’t take care of himself, they will take matters into their own hands; they will take charge of him because, as they understand it, “he is out of his mind.”

 

“He is demon possessed,” the teachers of the Law say. “He is [even] possessed by Beelzebub…the prince of demons,”[2] Verse 22 records the learned, esteemed, intelligent, and respected teachers as saying – “[It is] by the prince of demons [that] he is driving out demons.”

 

So this is interesting. Both Jesus’ family and the religious experts agree that Jesus is not acting normally here. He is out of his mind; he is demon-possessed. And again, in this crazy scene, we can probably understand what they are saying to some degree, can’t we?

 

Jesus understands and he answers the teachers who –unlike his biological family (cf. 3:31-32)[3] - are right there, near, or even in the house with him and his disciples. Jesus understands what they are saying.

 

Now what the Pharisees might actually be doing here –unlike his family- is probably more than just looking out for his well-being. What they might be doing is probably more than just mocking him or writing him off. What they might be actually doing is gathering evidence or at least inspiration to formulate an official charge against him.

 

In our society today we think nothing of people using the language of demon-possession and witchcraft: we hear it everyday on social media, TV, radio, in pop culture and in casual colloquial language. There are witch stores on the corner here and regular witchy or psychic fairs in town. It is so common that many times we don’t even twig when we hear about witchcraft but it was different in Jesus’ day (cf. Dt. 18:10; 1 Sam 28:9; 2 Ki 19:22; 2 Chr 33:6; Micah 5:12; Na 3:4; Gal 5:20).

 

Witchcraft is a serious crime. It is a sin punishable by death (cf. 1 Sam 28:9).[4] These religious teachers cannot be left to make these remarks unchallenged. It must be addressed. They are in essence accusing Jesus of divination, of witchcraft, of sorcery, and in those days people won’t let that go unchecked. And Jesus won’t let these accusations go unchecked; he speaks to them in a couple of very short parables or metaphors.

 

Vs 23ff: “So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: ‘How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come.”

 

Think about it in terms of our world today…Think of Libya, Iraq, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Sudan, Ethiopia. There is also Ukraine: Hundreds of thousands are dead and still dying and millions fled and still fleeing after our allies toppled their elected government in a coup and now it has escalated beyond what anyone could ever have imagined. The country is divided. It is broke, fighting at first civil war, and now a proxy war between Russia and the US. Divided countries cannot stand: this is what Jesus is saying in this parable. A divided house cannot stand.

 

And this is the kind of thing that is playing out in our very houses here today. If husband and wife aren’t on the same page, how can their children grow up in the strength of a solid family? If mom won’t stop yelling at dad and dad does stop coming home altogether, how can their daughter learn to be kind to her future husband and how can their son learn to stick it out when life gets difficult? If the house is divided, how can it stand?[6] Between 1965 and 1988, Canada's divorce rate went from being one of the lowest among industrialized nations to being one of the highest.”[7] Divided houses do not stand.

 

This is what Jesus is telling his accusers. He is saying that if he is on the same side as Beelzebub, if he is on the same side as the devil, he wouldn’t attack him because then he would be destroying himself. If Jesus were working for the devil why would he cast devils out? He wouldn’t. He doesn’t.

 

There can be many reasons and motives for the Pharisees to accuse Jesus of working for the enemy but he lets them know that their argument doesn’t make any sense. Jesus uses the analogy now of robbing a house. Jesus says that, Verse 27, “In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house.”

 

If Jesus were on the same side as the devil, why would he even want to rob the devil of his prize? He wouldn’t. If he was working for the devil, then he would not be freeing this man from Satan’s power; because by casting out the demons, he is weakening the Republic of Evil and in the process strengthening the Kingdom of God and when one is at war, one tries to kill one’s enemies and not one’s allies. Jesus is showing those present that indeed he is intentionally attacking the devil’s dominion, freeing his captives, liberating his territory and Jesus is reminding us that no one intentionally kills with ‘friendly fire.’ If Jesus were on the same side as Satan, he says in this parable, he would not rob him of his prize. Instead, as Jesus is more powerful than Satan, by freeing the demon-possessed man, he binds the metaphorical strong man and robs his house.

 

Jesus makes his point. We realise divided houses cannot stand. Houses cannot be robbed without first taking care of the security guard. But Jesus doesn’t stop at making this point. You’ll notice that this story doesn’t end here. Jesus has some strong words for the people who are accusing him of working for the Beelzebub. He says, Verses 28-30, “I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.”[8] He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”

 

Jesus is warning the Pharisees not to say he is demon-possessed. He is telling them point blank that all other sins will be forgiven – EXCEPT for blaspheming the Holy Spirit – He says that there is no sin as bad as this one that they may be committing here. Calling the Holy Spirit evil, rejecting God in this way. There is nothing worse.[9]

 

But what about Jesus’ family? Remember that as the Pharisees said ‘he has an evil spirit (v. 30)’, his own family said that he was ‘out of his mind (v. 21)’ and they came to take charge of, or even ‘arrest’ him; what about his flesh and blood relatives? What does Jesus say when they arrive to ‘take charge of him (v.21)?’ Verse 31. You’ll notice that they even don’t come in. It says that they are still standing outside. They don’t even come into where Jesus is working. They don’t come in to arrest him, to take him home. They, instead, want Jesus to come out to them. People who do that, they can’t be up to any good, can they?

 

Jesus’ family, vv. 31 & 32, send someone in and the crowd tells Jesus that his family- his flesh and blood – those who think he’s out of his mind for doing the will of God – those who gave birth to and those who grew up with him – Jesus’ family is here. The crowd tells Jesus, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”

 

What does Jesus reply? This is important to our story. Jesus replies, verse 33ff, “‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’…Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother.’”

 

Jesus denies his mother and brothers. Jesus doesn’t go out to his family in this story. He denies them. His mother and brothers are not supporting Jesus doing the work of God and he is not acknowledging them.

 

Just like Jesus told the Pharisees, that “whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven” because they said he has an evil spirit. He says of his mother and brothers, who went out to take charge of him, “Who are my mother and brothers?” They are not those who are my flesh and blood if they are opposing the work and the will of God!

 

My family, Jesus says, is “whoever does God’s will.” In our passage here today, the author of Mark has revealed a great truth to us. The family of God is not necessarily the educated, the theologians, the scholars and the pastors. The family of God is not necessarily those who are born into the churches, Christian families and their loved ones.[10] The family of God is quite simply those who do the will of God, which, of course, we discern as we pray and read Scripture.

 

So today, as we have looked at divided houses –those of the parable: of the Jewish teachers,[11] of Jesus’ own biological family – as we have looked at these divided houses, I think we need to consider something ourselves. Are we really members of the family of God, or are we more like some of the others represented here?

 

Are we like the Pharisees? They knew a lot about God, probably more than anyone but they thought they knew better than Jesus. Do we think we know more than God? Do we reject, by our words and/or actions, that Jesus Christ is real? Do we treat what he says and what he does as if it is not truly of God?  This is what the Pharisees did in today’s story. Are we like them?

 

Or are we like his biological family? They grew up with him. They knew him but they wanted to ‘take charge’ of him. Do we ever want to ‘take charge’ of Jesus, like his family whom Jesus even refused to acknowledge in this story? Do we ever try to ‘take charge’ of Jesus and mold him to our idea of what Jesus and God should be rather than to let him make himself know to us? This is what his biological family was doing in this story. Are we like them?

 

Or are we like his true family, his real family, the family of God? …the disciples and others with them here who were doing what Jesus was telling them to do? Do we in our daily lives discern through prayer and Scripture the will of God, and seek to do it?  Because it is only then that we will we truly be Jesus’ brother and sister and mother. It is only then will we truly be a part of the family of God. And this is what Jesus wants. He wants us all to be members of his family and heirs in His kingdom.

 

Let us pray…

2 Corinthians 5:6-10: Home and Away Series 2019

Presented to The Salvation Army Alberni Valley Ministries 25 August 2019 based on the version presented to the Nipawin and Tisdale Corps 19 October 2008 by Captain Michael Ramsay

Read the original here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/10/2-corinthians-56-10-home-and-away.html

Today's message is entitled ‘Home and Away Series’. One of the joys of when we were living in Toronto was going to see the Blue Jays play. I wasn't ever really a baseball fan before we lived there but going to a Blue Jays game was a lot of fun and it wasn't nearly as expensive as watching the Maple Leafs (and when we were there they had a much better chance of winning!) so I would try to catch a game or two a year.

Going to sports games can be a lot of fun. The girls and I try to catch a few Bulldogs when we can. Many years ago I worked with international colleges that would bring students to Canada from all over the world to study. When I was working for one college (CPCI), I can remember the excitement of taking a number of our Japanese students to a couple of box lacrosse play-off games - for the final series.

I can remember that at first I didn’t really realize what a big deal the final series was – I thought that I could just get someone to swing by and get tickets for the final home and away series so I asked Susan to just go down and pick us up some tickets on her way to wherever she was going. Well there must have been five to six thousand people lined up (at least!) to try and get one of the remaining tickets. This was in the old days long before you could just buy tickets and other things on-line; so Susan crowded in the line-up for hours as the line moved slowly forward until, I think, she had to go to her job or something. Then I traded off and went down to the arena myself.

Shortly afterwards my cell phone rang. It was Susan; she just heard on the radio that you could buy the tickets over the phone now and praise the Lord this was in the days before everyone had cell phones - they were still pretty rare - and big (I carried mine on my belt like an old west gunslinger or something). But with this new information, now not only was I waiting in line but I was calling from my phone and I had my whole staff at the office and Susan trying to get through on the phone, all the time I was moving closer and closer to those last remaining tickets with less and less of them available all the time. It got down to there being very few tickets left and I wasn’t even near enough the ticket booth to see it yet when my phone rang – it was Susan, we got the tickets! I cheered as I took the victory tour, and embarked on the challenge of moving through the crowd like a Salmon swimming upstream.

This victory of just getting the tickets was almost as exciting as when our guys won the cup. Play-offs: They are exciting when you hear your team win on the radio when they are away. They are exciting to see your team win on TV but there is nothing like seeing the victory of the home team live or in my case even the victory of being able to get the tickets to watch the home team play live. Our text today is talking about that a little bit too. 1 Corinthians 5:6-10:

Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight. We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.

Paul is talking about a home and away series of sorts (cf. Eph. 218-20; Phil 3:20). He says that though we are in the body right now and playing an away game as it were (because we are away from the Lord), the final will be a home game (cf. 1 Thess. 4:17; Phil 1:23). In the end we will be playing before the Lord. Paul is saying very much that it is like a championship series and right now we are playing in an away game. And in this away game of our life, we may be dying but the home game is coming. The home game is to be seen in heaven and that is when our performance will be judged and we’ll receive whatever is due us (2 Cor. 5:10).

Look at verse 10. Paul is writing to Christians and he says that we all must appear before that judgement seat at the next game when the trophy is to be awarded. We don’t get a bypass on judgement just because we are Christians (cf. 1Cor 3:10-15 and Rom 14:10-12). Just because we are on Christ’s team doesn’t mean we get to sit out the rest of this game on the bench either. We can’t stop playing if we want to get that trophy, even if it seems like we might be losing, even if it seems that we aren’t playing our best, even if all the fans seem to be cheering against us. Even if we are a little injured, we have to keep playing and sometimes it’s difficult.

Sometimes our opponent seems to be winning. Sometimes it seems that no matter what we do, sometimes, to use a baseball analogy, sometimes it seems every time we swing, we miss. Sometimes it seems that we just strike out. Sometimes it seems that events or the devil get the upper hand.

The devil is pitching for the other team. Sometimes he throws curve balls. He even threw some at Jesus during the away game. We know that Jesus suffered the temptations known to man and that Jesus prevailed (Cf. Mt. 4, Mk 1, Lk. 4, 1 Cor. 10:12-14, Js 1:1-3) but do you remember the story of the devil’s attempt to tempt Jesus in the desert (Mt. 4, Mk 1, Lk. 4)? As part of this, the devil says to Jesus, Luke 4:5-6, I will give you all of the power, all countries (kingdoms) in the world. I will give you all this authority, he says, “it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I please. If you then worship me it will be yours.” The devil says all of this as he is trying to knock Jesus out of the away game. The devil doesn’t want Jesus to play in the game. He doesn’t want Him to make it home. He is trying to throw Him off or maybe – for an even better analogy - he is even trying to offer Him a buy-out or an early retirement package or trying to acquire Him for his own team in a free agency deal of sorts.

Satan offers Jesus everything and it seems to be a pretty good offer because in a sense the devil is right. He has been given authority on earth (Jn 12:30-32, 14:29-31, 16:11)– you don’t have to look so far with all the wars, violence, and starving people around (even though God has given us more than enough to solve all of these problems), You don’t have to look too far to see the trouble that we people are causing here because, as the scriptures say, the devil is the ‘prince of this age,’” (Jn 12:30-32, 14:29-31, 16:11) and because we fall victim to his pitches.

The devil tried to knock Jesus out of the away game with temptations; are there times when even though we know Jesus has already won the series between the cross and the empty tomb, are there ways that we can be knocked off our game with a temptation not to play anymore? Are there are times when, even though we know Jesus has already won the series, we just don’t want to get in and play anymore? Are there times when we are tempted to take the devil’s early retirement package rather than to stay and play the final game?

What are some of the pitches that he throws that might make us want to retire in this, the away game? Do you ever just get tired? Do you ever wonder why should I be so good? Why should I behave? Why should I be honest if everyone else is cheating? Why should I read the Word? Why should I go to church? Why should I have to do everything that I do? – Even, why should I even bother getting up in the morning… because nothing changes anyway? The devil throws some tough pitches.

Here, in Port Alberni, I have walked with people in real crises. I have spoken to people who the doctors are trying to convince to kill themselves; I have spoken to people whose marriages are strained and are in need of strengthening; I have spoken to people whose loved ones may be not long for this world; I have spoken to friends who - themselves or their loved ones - are fighting desperately to get free of the clutches of addiction.

Do you ever feel like giving up? Do you ever feel like giving in? The temptation to not read your Bible; the temptation to not pray; the temptation to hide; the temptation not to get up in the morning, the temptation not to bother, the temptation to turn to self-indulgences or give in to addictions and fear…the temptation to just give up! These are all pitches that the devil throws our way in the away game and it gets stressful and the thing about this away game is that at times – it feels as if we are all alone – it feels as if no one is on our side – it can be almost like everyone is cheering against us.

We need to persevere though - There is good news and that good news is that the final game is coming. Those of us that keep playing, those of us that keep pressing on towards the goal (Phil 3:14; 1 Cor. 9:24; Cf. Col 2:18); those of us who don’t give up; those of us who – like it says in verse nine – those of us who make it our goal to play for Jesus (who is both our coach and our star player, btw); those of us who make it our aim to play for Christ who has already won the victory; we are going to play in the home game when the trophy is awarded. We are going to stand before the judge. We are going to be given the prize for playing on the winning team – provided we keep playing – provided we don’t give up – provided we don’t take the devil’s trade or early retirement package, as good as it may seem. If we stay with Christ we will claim the victory.

Jesus has already won the series. Remember that. Remember that even though Satan is the ‘prince of this age’ as it says in John, and even though he does have some power given to him from above and even though his offers are real, and even though they can sound pretty good - remember that he is just the prince of this age, He is not the king of the age to come.

God is. Jesus is. Therefore, we should remember that when the devil throws these pitches, as Jesus states in Luke 4:8, we should respond and ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only’. Satan, with as much power as he seems to have on this continent and in this world, Satan is just like a bad manager while the boss is away. And you know what happens to a bad manager when the boss comes back? He gets fired and Jesus is coming back and when he does the devil and his angels, will be fired (so to speak...)

The truth is that Jesus has actually already won the victory. Even though the away game may still be a tough haul, the game has actually been won already and we are actually just returning home for the victory parade. Jesus has already won the victory so we should not give up. The clock is ticking down; this away game is almost over and the series has been won already. Don’t give in to temptation to quit. Stay the course. Like it says in Verse 9, “whether we are home or away we make it our aim to please Him.” This should be our aim.

So when the devil tosses you balls of self-doubt, when the devil tosses you balls of blame and temptation, hit them out of the park. Remember that Christ has already won the victory. We are just waiting for the cup to be awarded. When you are tempted to give up, when we are tempted to sin. Stand firm, Remember that the prize has been won and it is waiting for us. So let’s have a strong finish to our game.

In this away game of our lives, we don’t need to give in to sin. We can accept God’s offer to be holy (1 Pt 1:15, Lv 11:44,45; 19:2; 20:7). We can accept God’s offer to be perfect (2 Cor. 13; Col. 1:28; Hb 11,12;) not by ourselves but with the Lord’s help. He will do it (1 Thess 5:23-24). He has won the victory. The Spirit will let us endure any temptation as we stand firm we will indeed enjoy the victory!

Let us pray: This prayer for us from 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24, ‘May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you (us) through and through. May your (our) whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it.’

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Joshua 9: and the Gibeonite Dilemma

Presented to Alberni Valley Ministries, 27 January 2019

A distinguished, prominent big city pastor cruised through a small town. As he did his eyes fell upon a child not more than two feet tall at the door of one of the houses. The boy was on tiptoes valiantly attempting to reach the doorbell. Amused and wanting to help, the pastor parked his car and went over to assist the boy. He reached up and pushed his finger onto the button and the chimes rang inside. Satisfied that he had done his good deed for the day, the pastor turned to the child, “Okay, what happens next­?”

With a smile the child replied, “Now we run!”

Another story: This lady goes to the doctor. She has been in serious pain for quite a while. The doctor asks her where it hurts and what is the matter. To which she replies, “It hurts when I touch my temple; it hurts when I touch my side; it hurts when I touch my arm; it even hurts when I touch my nose.”

“I think I know what the problem is”, the doctor says, “your finger is broken.”

Today we are going to talk both about being tricked and the pain associated with pulling against a covenant. The covenant we are talking about today is the one with the Gibeonites referred to in Joshua 9 and it is one of the most important in the Bible for understanding the workings of covenants.

Covenants are important and how we live in our covenant relationships have significant implications. We know what the Hebrew word for covenant means? Berit[h] literally means to be shackled together, to be bound. The Lord promised His people that He would never break His covenant with them. As such, we are not released from our covenants simply for disobeying them (Ro 7:2) and there are often significant consequences that result from trying to break an unbreakable bond (see Num 33:55; Jos 23:13).

This is important for us as Salvationists to remember because we are a covenanted people; we have the opportunity to enter into rich and strong covenant relationships with the Lord in the form of our Officers’ and Soldiers’ covenants. It is important for any of us living in the so-called ‘First World’ too where litigation, broken contracts, and divorces occur on a daily basis both inside and outside the churches and thus people miss out on the benefits of covenants. Because of this, we should all know to what we are agreeing to when we enter into a covenant with the LORD as either a partner or a witness.- be it a marriage or a Soldiership pledge or anything else. These next few weeks our focus in the Army world is Call and Commitment. This is when we ask you to consider responding to the opportunity to enter into a covenant with God as either a soldier or an Officer.

Covenants made with and before God are good things. The Lord uses covenants to give us direct access to strength, security, and blessing. The Lord made a promise to Abraham (Gen 12) that all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him and - even though Abraham and we have been unfaithful - God's promise is still fulfilled through Jesus Christ. The only reason any of us are saved is because the Lord is keeps His word. He is bound to us through His covenantal ties that will not be broken.

Even though God doesn't cancel a covenant because we disobey it there are still some serious consequences for pulling against it. In Joshua 9, Israel were disobeying an earlier covenant that they made with God to not make a treaty with the Canaanites and even to destroy them (Dt 7:1-6; 20:16-18). Also, in our passage inotice that the Canaanites lied to Joshua and the Israelite leaders: the leaders were tricked when they made the treaty with the Canaanites (Jos 9:15). They did not first discuss the matter with God and in making this covenant they disobeyed their earlier covenant with the LORD.

Betraying a promise to YHWH is not a trivial matter. In the book of Judges alone generations of people suffer as a result of this broken promise to God. For hundreds of years their children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and even more than that experience the consequences of continuing in rebellion against this covenant and this promise. The natural results of not respecting our covenants with or before God - whether or not we are tricked into them, whether or not we consult God before we call Him as a witness (Jos 9) - can be devastating.

The Israelites were tricked into making this covenant agreement with the Gibeonites (who are Canaanites). They didn’t realize that in so doing they were defying their previous promise to God. They entered into this new agreement under false pretences. The Gibeonites lied to them but that doesn’t change the fact that Israel is now bound through the covenant her leaders made with the Gibeonites before God. The leaders themselves are well aware that they are bound to keep this covenant (9:18). When the Israelites find out that they have been tricked, they don’t nullify the agreement: they realise that it is not within their authority to do so; Israel does not attack the Gibeonites. They don’t attack the Gibeonites because –even though they have been lied to, even though they have been tricked, even though they have been deceived – they are still bound to God and the Gibeonites via this treaty. Simply disobeying a covenant does not render it void. There are consequences for disregarding a promise but disobeying a promise made before God does not render that covenant void .[1] God says, through His angel, Judges 2:1: “I will NEVER break my covenant with you.” The covenant with or the covenant before God is not nullified; the ties are not severed just because one disobeys God.

There is another interesting point about the agreement that Israel enters into here. Israel enters into a covenant with God first that says that He will give them the land and that they will not make a covenant with the Canaanites: they will instead destroy the present inhabitants of the land. Then the Israelites –without consulting God– enter into the second covenant with the Gibeonites (who are Canaanites) promising that they will not destroy them and in the process Joshua and the Israelites disobey the first covenant agreement with God.

Israel is understandably held to its original agreement with YHWH. It is understandable that Israel suffers the consequences for disobeying God by making this competing covenant. What is interesting, however, is that the Israelites are also held accountable to this new covenant made before God with the Gibeonites even though they made it contrary to the expressed command of God. The Israelites disobeyed God in making this second covenant but they are still held accountable to it. God holds them accountable to both covenants: the one that He initiated and the one that He forbade. [2]

In Judges 2 we read the consequences of breaking the first covenant with God and in 2 Samuel 21 we see the consequences the Israelites suffer for breaking the second, competing covenant with the Gibeonites many years later. God holds us to our promises. As is evidenced here, whether we are lied to, tricked, or even enter into a covenant that is against the Lord’s commands, God holds us to our covenants that are made with Him either as a witness or as one of the parties Himself.

2 Samuel 21:1-5, 13-15:

During the reign of David, there was a famine for three successive years [people die]; so David sought the face of the LORD. The LORD said, “It is on account of Saul and his blood-stained house; it is because he put the Gibeonites to death.” The king summoned the Gibeonites and spoke to them. (Now the Gibeonites were not a part of Israel but were survivors of the Amorites; the Israelites had sworn to spare them, but Saul in his zeal for Israel and Judah had tried to annihilate them.) David asked the Gibeonites,

“What shall I do for you? How shall I make amends so that you will bless the LORD's inheritance?”

The Gibeonites answered him, “We have no right to demand silver or gold from Saul or his family, nor do we have the right to put anyone in Israel to death.”

“What do you want me to do for you?” David asked.

They answered the king, “As for the man who destroyed us and plotted against us so that we have been decimated and have no place anywhere in Israel, let seven of his male descendants be given to us to be killed and exposed before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul—the Lord 's chosen one.”

So the king said, “I will give them to you.”

13-15: “David brought the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan from there, and the bones of those who had been killed and exposed were gathered up. They buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the tomb of Saul's father Kish, at Zela in Benjamin, and did everything the king commanded. After that, God answered prayer in behalf of the land.”

Even though the Israelites disobeyed God by entering into this covenant with the Gibeonites (and suffered their due consequences for disobeying the covenant with God), when they disobeyed the Gibeonite covenant - even though it was made against the expressed will of God - God did not even answer their prayers until they made it right.

There are a couple of important things we need to know about our covenants with God, be they marriage covenants, soldier covenants, or officer covenants:

1), God does not sever His covenantal ties that bind us before Him; because

2) He is faithful to His promises even if we are faithless

This is important for us to remember. Again this is Call and Commitment time in the Army: We should not enter into our covenants lightly. I don’t believe that God says we can simply declare through secular courts that we are not happy with our partner so we are no longer married. I don’t believe God says that simply because we disobey our Soldiership agreement (by having a drink or whatever else) that we can throw out our covenant. I don’t think the tie is broken. I don’t think God says that just because we are not active Officers anymore that we are no longer have the opportunity to ‘make soul-saving the first purpose of our lives.’ I think God still supports us in these covenants. I think that this covenant referred to in Genesis 15, Judges 2, 1 Samuel 21 and here is Joshua 9 points to the fact that God doesn’t break His covenants with us but on the contrary, He will still be there for us when we need him. And this is important because if it is not true than none of us are saved; because if it is not true than God's salvation in conditional and we know that it is not - anyone who calls on the Name of the Lord can be saved.

This brings me to another point: covenants are not punishments; the consequences of pulling against our covenants are the natural and logical results of our own actions. Like we said, tje origin of the Hebrew word for ‘covenant’ comes from a root word meaning, ‘to be shackled together’. The image of a covenant then is of one being tied to God through a promise. One can compare a covenant with God (be it through marriage, Soldiership, Officership) to being seat-belted into a train (or SkyTrain), with God being the train. When we are belted in the train and ride comfortably in it – following the Lord’s lead - we wind up where He is going a lot faster and a lot easier than if we walk the tracks on our own. This is the benefit of a strong covenant with the Lord. However, once we are strapped in, if we try to go our own way or try to tie ourselves to something going in a different direction, it will not be a pleasant experience. The seatbelt doesn’t break. Disobeying our covenants is like jumping out of the train and trying to run in the opposite direction while we are still belted to it. It is going to hurt but this is not God’s fault. He doesn’t throw us from the train and, because God is faithful, this covenantal tie is so strong that it won’t break but we suffer are the natural results of our own actions. This is what happens in Joshua and Judges. God, wanting the Israelites to experience the full rest of the Promised Land, entered into a covenant with Abraham and then Israel. They willing belted themselves into His train but later the Israelites also tied themselves to the Gibeonite train that was going in a different direction and they suffered the consequences of their actions. This is exactly what happens to us when we don’t respect our covenants.

But there is good news in this and that good news saved the Gibeonites - even from the zeal of the of the Israelites' king. God saved the Gibeonites and God saved the Israelites. And this is good news for us for no matter how many times we are faithless and jump off that train. No matter how many times we try to break that covenant; no matter how many times we throw ourselves onto the tracks, under the wheels of the ‘God Train,’ the Lord is faithful: the covenantal tie will not be broken; God is faithful, and Jesus himself is standing there as the eternal tie that binds us in our relationship to God; Jesus provides the eternal covenant through whom whosoever may be pulled back up onto the train of everlasting life. As this is the case, instead of rebelling against God, instead of pulling against the tie that binds, let us all give our lives over fully to the Lord, buckle up, lean back and enjoy the fully sanctified ride on this train because this train is bound for glory.

See also:

Ramsay, Michael, 'Rights and Responsibilities of Covenants: a look at Judges 2' in Praise The Lord For Covenants: Old Testament wisdom for our world today. Vancouver, BC: Credo Press, 2010. (c) The Salvation Army. Available on-line: http://www.sheepspeak.com/ptl4covenants.htm

Captain Michael Ramsay, "Rights and Responsibilities of Covenant -a look at Judges 2", Journal of Aggressive Christianity, Issue 56 , Aug.-Sept.2008, p.48-55. On-line: http://www.armybarmy.com/JAC/article10-56.html

Michael Ramsay, Judges 2:1-5: Covenant and the Gibeonite Dilemma (a look at Judges 2:1-5 through the lenses of Joshua 9 and 2 Samuel 21). Presented to Nipawin and Tisdale Corps on May 18, 2008. Available on-line: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2008/05/judges-21-5-covenant-and-gibeonite.html

1 Samuel 17:46-47:The Battle belongs to the Lord

Presented to The Salvation Army: Nipawin and Tisdale Corps on July 6, 2008; Swift Current Corps on May 2, 2010; Warehouse Mission Corps, Toronto on July 17, 2016; 614 Warehouse Regent Park, Toronto, June 11, 2017. By Captain Michael Ramsay

This is the 2016-17 Toronto version; to view the earlier Saskatchewan versions, click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2008/07/1-samuel-1746-47-battle-belongs-to-lord.html

So I played a bit of sports growing up.  I won a few soccer trophies. I tried baseball – my team won a trophy once for winning the season. I tried basketball too. Now given my great height and size in general (5’7”), one would think that by rights I really shouldn’t be any good at basketball. But you know what? … I’m not. I tried out however for the grade six team…and I was one of ONLY two kids in my whole class -  NOT to make the team.

One day when I was in university, we went down to the park to play some basketball. Now my friends – they were really good at basketball. Some of them actually made the teams growing up.  Because they were all good sports and had a certain degree of patience, they would actually take the time to explain to me that hip checks, slide checks and nose tweaking were not acceptable defensive manoeuvres. Who knew?

After most of guys had gone home, I was left with a few of the more serious players and they decided to have a bit of a competition to see who was the best shot. How this would work was that one player would try to pick a tricky shot and if he could make it, all the rest of us would have to make it too – or we would be knocked out of the competition. So they would be doing these reverse lay-ups, shots from the three-point line and the like and due to the grace of God, I was actually able to keep up but then came my turn…

So for my turn - I clarified that I could do any shot that I wanted – I clarified that if I made the shot that they would have to do exactly the same thing – so I would make up the most elaborate shooting routine that I could think of: I would do things like roll on the ground eight times, while singing a children’s song and then throw the ball with my back to the net. Or at one point I think I bounced the ball in off another player after tripping and falling over myself. And – guess what - by the grace of God, the ball actually found the net; so here were all these too serious, too skilled players trying to concentrate on these shots while laughing and not being able to concentrate at all and - at the end of the competition - I was indeed the last man standing. /// It was weird but in life there are times when we can’t really rely on our own skills and abilities to carry us through. After all is said and done we must confess that the battle is not to the strong and the race is not to the swift (Eccl. 9:11). The battle -as 17:47 says- the battle belongs to the Lord.

Now we all know the story of David and Goliath that we read about today (1 Samuel 17), about how a young inexperienced soldier toppled a professional fighter and we know that the battle belongs to the Lord but instead of this – the fact that the battle belongs to the Lord - we often concentrate, when retelling this story, on how a person with just a sling can topple a well-armed soldier.

While it is true that Goliath is painted as a giant of a man, somewhere between 6’9” and 9’9” tall (depending on your translation: MT or LXX, 1 Samuel 17:4) and it is true that he is portrayed as having the most advanced weaponry of his day and age. Remember that the Israelites did not have any iron technology at all (1 Samuel 13:19). Remember that the Philistines forbade them from defending themselves– and remember that after they disarmed them then they attacked them - much like the USA in the second Iraq war or today with some countries and nuclear technology where they are doing their best to make sure that they are the only ones who will use these weapons. Here in our text today, Goliath has his century’s version of the depleted uranium bombs NATO dropped on Yugoslavia: Goliath has an iron spearhead that ways about 600 sheckles of iron (17:7). He is a formidable foe with superior technology…nonetheless the battle belongs to the Lord.

That being said, sometimes in playing up Goliath we play down David a little too much  – remember that David is already referred to as a warrior in 1 Samuel 16:18 and, as a shepherd, he has a lot of experience with his weapon of choice – the sling. And you’ll note also that his weapon of choice is a real weapon that real soldiers really did use in battle. They could fire a rock from a sling at over 100 km/hr. and an expert could be deadly accurate. IT WAS LIKE A GUN SHOT (2 Ki 3:25, 1 Chr 12:2, 2 Chr 26:14): Judges 20:16 says that some men who were left-handed could even sling a stone at a hair at a distance and not miss. This is not a child’s toy; it is a pretty powerful weapon that David chooses to bring into the battle.

David is not just a child; he is a pretty powerful tool that the Lord chooses to bring into battle. So then part of the miracle of the Lord’s victory in this battle here is NOT the fact that David is good with a sling but part of the miracle could be that the Lord apparently conceals this sling from Goliath’s sight until the contest begins (notice that in his taunts of 16:43 there is no mention of the sling – only of the David’s rod) so it appears then that Goliath and his shield-bearer – even with their superior superpower class technology - are ill-prepared to face their opponent and why? … Why? Because the battle belongs to the Lord. Goliath and David’s speeches make that quite clear (17:43-47). This isn’t a contest of two men who serve different gods; this is a contest of two gods (one real and one imagined), who have chosen as their weapons/armour different men. This is a significant difference (repeat). The battle belongs to the Lord.

IT ALWAYS REMINDS ME OF THIS CLIP FROM INDIANA JONES. 

THE BATTLE BELONGS TO THE LORD.

In our own lives, this is true too and I think that we too often forget that indeed the battles we have before us actually do belong to the Lord as well. I have been involved with a couple of different AA (alcoholics anonymous) groups in my time.

You should hear some of the testimonies in these different AA / NA groups. Steps 1-3 of AA’s 12 step programme confess that we are powerless over our foe, that only a power greater then ourselves can restore us, and that we need to turn our will and our lives over to God. This is true. When they forget that in AA it is not pleasant. When we forget that in our life it is not pleasant but when we remember it…when we remember it, all of a sudden the seemingly insurmountable can be surmounted because really life’s battles do belong to the Lord. They are not ours to fight.

What about us here? What do we do when we are faced with life’s conflicts? King Saul set up monuments to what he saw as his own accomplishments. Are we any better than Saul? Do we set up monuments for ourselves by taking credit for what God does through us? Do we set up monuments to ourselves in our minds by thinking that we are the reason that we won this or that we got that or that this worked out okay for us? Do we think that we have anything to do with the price of tea in China or the price of groceries or anything else here or do we remember that the battle belongs to the Lord?

When we are faced with life’s battles, do we just strap on the amour that society offers us - our education and experience - like the amour that Saul offered David and try to fight on our own strength? When we are faced with life’s battles, when we are deciding what to tell a friend, what to do with our cheques, what jobs to take; when we are faced with the battle of deciding what to do with the time and money we have been entrusted with– do we ask God? (really)  Do we pray? Do we read the Bible when we are faced with challenges (like this one from Goliath)? Do we, like David, realise that the battle belongs to the Lord. Or, instead do we try to face life’s challenges purely on our own strength (cf. 1 Samuel 15)? God has given us our experiences, and our education and they are indeed as formidable as a stone in David’s sling but only if we remember that it is the Lord’s battle. We need to seek Him because, indeed, life’s battles do belong to the Lord.

In our text today that is made very clear in verses 46 and 47. David says to his foe, “This day the LORD will hand you over to me…and the whole world will know that there is a God in Israel. All those gathered here will know that it is not by sword or spear that the LORD saves; for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give all of you into our hands.”

It is not by the sword or the spear that the Lord saves. This is the same in our world. We can have an education that is the equivalent of the king’s armour. If we don’t use it for God it really is useless.  We can have as much money as a superpower spends on weapons. It means nothing if we don’t submit to the Lord.

So I know that life sends us many struggles. Everyday, some are facing a new Goliath. I know many people who are struggling with addiction. I know many friends who are struggling with serious health and family concerns. I know that there are those here that have real decisions to make about their home, their future, their children and their life.

As this is true, as this is all true, I invite you; I implore you to remember that the battle belongs to the Lord. So then let us load up our slings with the stones of effort, education, experience, talent, and know how but let’s do so in faith. Remember, no matter how difficult life’s challenges are; no matter how big are the Goliaths in front of us; no matter what seemingly insurmountable difficulty we are facing today – as we turn to Him, as we turn to our Lord, through prayer and Bible study – as we turn to Him, He will be successful for indeed the battle belongs to the Lord.

www.sheepspeak.com

[1] Ronald F. Youngblood. The Expositor's Bible Commentary.  Pradis CD-ROM:1 and 2 Samuel. The death of Goliath (17:1-58), Book Version: 4.0.2: The purpose of such contests was "to obviate the necessity of a general engagement of troops which would spill more blood than necessary to resolve the dispute" (Harry A. Hoffner, Jr., "A Hittite Analogue to the David and Goliath Contest of Champions?" CBQ 30 [1968]: 220). Whether this kind of radical limitation on warfare is ever sincerely accepted by either side remains in itself a matter of dispute (for a nuanced treatment of the issue, cf. George I. Mavrodes, "David, Goliath, and Limited War," Reformed Journal 33, 8 [1983]: 6-8). It is clear, however, that contests of champions (to be carefully distinguished from duels, which are individual combats not representing larger groups) such as that between David and Goliath or between Menelaus and Paris (Homer Iliad bk. 3) were not uncommon in ancient times (for additional examples, see Hoffner, "A Hittite Analogue," pp. 220-25).

2 Ibid.: By any standard of measure, the Philistine champion was a giant of a man (v.4). Some LXX MSS give his height as "four cubits and a span" (so also 1QSama; Jos. Antiq. VI, 171 [ix. 1]), others "five cubits and a span." The MT reads "six cubits and a span" (thus NIV mg.), making him "over nine feet tall." Other comparable heights in the OT are those of "an Egyptian who was seven and a half feet tall" (1 Chronicles 11:23) and Og king of Bashan, whose size is not specified but whose bed/sarcophagus was "more than thirteen feet long" (Deut 3:11). The MT account of Goliath's height is paralleled in modern times by reports concerning Robert Pershing Wadlow, who was eight feet eleven inches tall at the time of his death on July 15, 1940, at the age of twenty-two (Insight [18, 1985]: 51).

3 There is much debate as to whether chapters 16 and 17 are placed chronologically in order or even if they both originate from the same source or were both originally about the same people for that matter.

4 This may have contributed as well to David’s great speed in battle as he was not as encumbered with defensive amour as was Goliath. David was the light infantry as it were.

5 AA 12 Steps: www.alcoholics-anonymous.org

6 ^{http://renewnetwork.blogspot.com}

Acts 23:1-11: Punch in the Face (2015)

Presented to each the Nipawin and Tisdale Corps 23 September 2007 and the Swift Current Corps on 31 July 2011 and 14 June 2015 by Captain Michael Ramsay

To read the earlier version click here: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2007/09/acts-23-1-11-punch-in-mouth-or-terrible.html 

There’s a children’s book by Judith Viorst entitled “Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day”[1] Have you ever had one of those days, where it doesn’t matter what you do you just seem to get in trouble? … I remember grade 2.

Now grade two admittedly was not my finest hour. It seemed that I was a permanent member of the detention club. And I remember one day, I just couldn’t win for losing. It was my birthday and many of the grade two’s were coming to my party after school so we were told, ‘no dawdling’. We had to be home right after school.

Well, Mrs Leung gave me a detention – and it wasn’t even my fault! You see, Clinton had been chewing gum in school. Now, I hate gum. He gets in trouble for it and he tells Mrs. Leung that he isn’t actually chewing GUM, he is chewing his cheek. She believed him! I thought it was a strange thing to do - chew your cheek so, like any curious 8 year-old, I have to try it and, of course, … And Mrs. Leung catches me and says “Michael no chewing gum” and I say, “I’m not – I’m chewing my cheek” (which I was) and do you think she believes me NOOOO! So I have a detention after school on my birthday and it’s not even my fault!

Now, it is my birthday so Mrs. Leung has pity on me and lets me get out at the regular time and this would be fine except two friends of mine in the class – Wade and Clinton – go and get detentions and Mrs. Leung isn’t going to let them go. So sure I get out at the normal time but we all have to wait anyway.

Well, so there we are waiting just INSIDE the exterior door for Wade and Clinton – and now apparently there is a rule that you are not supposed to wait INSIDE the school for anyone – you have to wait OUTSIDE. So guess what? Wade and Clinton finish serving their time and are on their way out of detention hall only to find out that the rest of us our now on our way into detention…so much for getting home on time for my birthday party! But that is not the end of the story either!

You see Wade and Clinton are waiting for the rest of us and guess what? They decide to wait for us INSIDE the school – so guess what…we all wind up spending the first part of my Birthday in detention hall

Well, more than ½ an hour later we all show up for my party…it was just like the children’s book says, “a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.”

In Acts, today, up to and including Chapter 23, you will notice that Paul has been having a little bit of a run like that himself.

In Chapter 16, as we read about last week Paul winds up in detention in Philippi and again in Thessalonica after being attacked by a mob there and again in Berea all in Chapter 17. By Chapter 19 Paul is in the centre of a riot in Ephesus and by Chapter 21 he is now in Jerusalem again and arrested again after being attacked again by still more mobs. Paul really seems to be having “a Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad” time of it.

Now Paul is arrested when he is spreading the good news. But it is not the gospel that gets him in trouble with the secular authorities really. They are just trying to keep the peace and save his life. The gospel is getting Paul in trouble with some of the Jewish religious leaders.[2] It is from them that God delivers Paul through the Romans.

Paul is saved[3] but the Romans really have no idea why some religious people want to kill him;[4] so, they keep him under a full, armed guard. He is in the custody of the Superpower of his day[5] and because they do have a vested interest in keeping the peace and because he is a Roman citizen himself, they REALLY want to find out exactly what he has been accused of here; so, they order the Sanhedrin to convene to try to shed some light on the situation.

Now in our text today then, Chapter 23, it opens with this fact-finding hearing with the Sanhedrin. Do we know what is the Sanhedrin? It is the equivalent of a combination of our parliament and Supreme Court. It is a council of the chief priests and others who make up the ultimate Jewish authority in occupied Judea.

So with the occupying Roman authorities looking on as official observers, the trial begins. Paul begins. He looks straight at the Sanhedrin (13 vs. 1) in his opening statement and says, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.”[6] … and then the High Priest (vs. 2) orders someone to punch him in the mouth. What!?

The Romans are asking, ‘what’, too, I’m sure; when I first read this I was asking, ‘what’? So I turned to my reference books and poured through Acts to see if I could find out what Paul said that was so offensive. Yeah… No luck. All I can guess is that they perceived Paul as misrepresenting God in some way here – but that is just a guess – however, we do know that whatever it is, it obviously offends Ananias,[7] the High Priest, so much that he gets someone to punch Paul in the mouth.

Now Paul, as we already said, is apparently not really having a particularly good day and so he does not maintain his usual composure under pressure.[8] He lashes out at the High Priest – this is pretty bold – he says, verse 3, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!” and look at what happens after this in verses 4 and 5: Those who are standing near Paul said, “You dare to insult God’s high priest?” Paul replies, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.’ (Exodus 22:28; cf. also Hebrews 13:16; Romans 13:1, 5; Titus 3:1)

So… now… this is interesting: Paul says that he doesn’t realize that he is the High Priest. This is very unlikely, I think. Picture this with me: Paul is a Jew. Paul is a Pharisee. Paul is a Roman citizen in Roman custody. Even if the Romans didn’t tell him that he was to be in front of the Sanhedrin, which they probably would, Paul would know where he is and Paul would know that the High Priest usually chairs the Sanhedrin.

It would be like us winding up in front of the Supreme Court of Canada, and looking at the person in the wig and the black robes in front of us and after insulting her saying, “Oh, I didn’t realize that you were the judge. Far be it for me to insult the judge.” I think Paul knew and I think he is being intentionally sarcastic here.[9]

But, however, when he is reminded of the Priest’s authority, he certainly doesn’t push it any further. Luke is painting a portrait of Paul in Acts as ‘a good Jewish boy,’ and this is what he is conveying at this juncture – that Paul will defer to Ananias’ authority.

Whether he is sarcastic in his approach or not (and he may not be) he certainly ceases insulting authority here when confronted and he acknowledges God’s directive (of Exodus 22:28) that we do not speak evil of those in authority over us.[10]

And this I think is important for us.[11] For what do we do when people in authority over us attempt to limit our freedom of religion and in so doing symbolically punch us in the mouth – and let’s not kid ourselves this is happening more and more in our society. I think of when the Swissair flight crashed in the Maritimes not too many years ago.[12] The Jewish, Muslim, other clergy and spiritualists were all invited to invoke the name of their deities at the ceremony but the Christians were prohibited from mentioning Christ. This is a punch in the mouth by those in authority over us.[13] More recently during the official Canadian 9/11 ceremonies that same religious right of expression was denied again.

I think also of those in Ontario who were literally spying on meetings of city counsellors to make sure that they don’t catch anyone praying. If they do, they ‘punch them in the mouth’; they call on the authorities to enforce their ‘anti-praying’ belief system.[14] The Supreme Court has just upheld religious discrimination in Quebec- disallowing prayer in various meetings even though – as was pointed out by our Premier and others – that it is protected under the Canadian Constitutional Acts. But our Supreme Court and our Federal Government continue to erode our traditions and revoke our religious freedoms.

The Canadian government has removed the Lord’s Prayer from the House of Commons and there has even been talk on Parliament Hill – some of you will remember - about deeming the Bible as hate-literature.[15] Susan has mentioned previously that whenever we see Christians portrayed in the media or by the entertainment industry, it seems to be only in a mocking or belittling fashion. And I have heard stories recently and stretching back more than 20 years now, as well, of people standing up for their Christian beliefs and being kicked out of classes or even whole university faculties, or even worse![16]

I think also personally of my time working in schools in BC. We were told not to mention Christ in the classroom. We were involved in a tutoring outreach to children in Vancouver’s DTES, among other places, and our tutors were told not mention Christ in the public schools and we didn’t….

People, from other faith perspectives, however, I witnessed myself, were free to even invite children to partake in their traditions in the classroom but that being said secularism certainly does seem to have a privileged spot in the classroom– more and more so everyday. And if this trend continues, don’t think people won’t eventually drag people in Saskatchewan before the courts like they have in Ontario and Quebec to have us ‘punched in the mouth’ for disagreeing with their religious world view.

This prosecution is happening - but what can we do about it? Really, what can we do about it? What can we do, particularly when it is by those in authority over us – such as courts, school boards, municipal, provincial, and federal governments? What can we do when the authorities order us to be ‘punched in the mouth’? What can we do?

Paul was punched in the mouth. And Paul did not shrink from persecution; he declared unequivocally that he is not ashamed of the Gospel (Romans 1:16,17)– He did not avoid persecution at all from even within his own religious community - and don’t be so naïve as to believe that our religious communities – even here in Swift Current - are any more unified or less likely to persecute us than the Sanhedrin of Paul’s day. Some allegedly Christian clergy are already trying to neuter Christ with the scalpel of secular-atheism in our very own community. But here’s the thing… how did Paul stand up to the persecution? What did Paul do when he was punched in the mouth by those in power? He quoted scripture, saying that you should not speak evil of those in authority (vs. 5) and then – after his initial outburst - he did not.

So this is the dilemma isn’t it? I know Christian friends of mine (some who are clergy) who have strong feelings about for instance, issues such as gay marriage, remarriage, abortion, euthanasia, prosperity gospel, etc.[17] And as their own religious authorities, their denominations developed different viewpoints; they were tempted to speak evil of those in authority over them.

But what did Paul do because his leader ordered him to be punched in the mouth? This is neat actually. Paul isn’t distracted by the punch; instead[18] he is listening to God and looking for God’s direction in what to do (Acts 16:6-10).[19] He is not looking to his attackers, he is looking to what God is doing and what does he see? Verse 6 – he sees opportunity to be delivered from his persecutors and he sees opportunity to proclaim to Gospel some more. He neither shrinks from persecution nor is he distracted by disobeying those in authority here. He keeps his eyes on Jesus and sees opportunity to proclaim to Gospel.

Look at verse 6, it says:

Then Paul, knowing [or noticing, NRSV] that some of them were Sadducees and the others Pharisees, called out in the Sanhedrin, "My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee. I stand on trial because of my hope in the resurrection of the dead." [This is true. He stands on trial for just that: proclaiming that Jesus rose from the dead and that He is the Christ for whom we have been waiting] 7When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and the Sadducees, and the assembly was divided. 8(The Sadducees say that there is no resurrection, and that there are neither angels nor spirits, but the Pharisees acknowledge them all.)

 9There was a great uproar, and some of the teachers of the law who were Pharisees stood up and argued vigorously. "We find nothing wrong with this man," they said. "What if a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?" 10The dispute became so violent that the commander was afraid Paul would be torn to pieces by them. He ordered the troops to go down and take him away from them by force and bring him into the barracks.

Isn’t that neat? God delivers him. Paul keeps his eyes on Jesus. He isn’t distracted by the actions of others. He doesn’t attack the authorities or hide behind his Roman citizenship, which he could. He defers to the Jewish authorities over him and he is delivered by God through the Roman authorities over him. Paul was, like the Holy Scriptures say we should be, as wise as a serpent and as gentle as a dove (Matthew 10:16). He did not respond to a punch in the mouth with a punch in the mouth (Exodus 21:24, Matthew 5:38). He defers to the authorities and God delivers him AND lets him proclaim the gospel.

And what should we do? Should we unfairly personally mock, malign, and speak evil of our leaders, our bosses, our families, when they punch our beliefs in the mouth? No! We should rather be as wise as serpents and as gentle as doves. We should do simple things to be bold for the gospel. We should say grace in public before we eat. We should read our Bibles in coffee shops and other public places and we should look to the Lord and see what He is doing.

Back to a story I was telling you earlier. When I was teaching with The Salvation Army in Vancouver schools. We obeyed the authorities. We did not speak evil of those who we felt were persecuting us and we did not mention Christ in the classrooms. We did however build relationships with teachers, parents, and students alike. We did however invite the students to our facilities. We did however get invited into the homes of students and their parents and we did get to present the gospel and we did see many of them invite Christ into their lives. God is good.

We did not speak evil of those over us. We did not disobey the authorities after their ‘punch in our mouth.’ We were not distracted by them. We kept our eyes on Jesus and we were delivered in order to present the gospel and halleluiah, many of our students were delivered unto Salvation.

And it is the same here in Swift Current today; we are servants of the Lord. He knows our predicaments and situations and so then instead of being distracted by and then maligning our attackers –whomever they may be - our leaders, our bosses, our families, –when we are punched in the mouth, we should rather keep our eyes on the Lord and see where he is leading for He will never leave us nor forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Let us all turn our eyes upon Jesus.

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[1] You can read an on-line version at: http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/family/alexander/

[2] It is they -the religious leaders- who are afraid. It is they who think that he is leading people away from God. It is they that want to stop the spread of the gospel. It is they who are trying to kill him.

[3] And he is not only saved by them but also from them: 22:25 states that he is actually spared a beating by the Romans themselves by identifying himself as a citizen of that Superpower - Rome. Superpowers tend to grant special privileges to there own. Through all this then and the occupying Roman armies save him.

[4] I always find this an interesting parallel to today where in our news countries, who like to think of themselves as religious, are often the most addicted to violence. I also find it interesting that a nation that most of the world considers to be Christian has the highest consumption of violent and pornographic images, the highest percentage of its people behind bars, and among the greatest income disparity between the rich and the poor.

[5] As he was in the custody of the Superpower of his day and he would probably be almost as vulnerable as the people in Guatanamo, Abu Garib and other such terrifying places in our world today - except that he has the foresight to speak up and let them know that he’s one of them.

[6] See 20:18-21, 26-27; 24:16; Rom 15:19b, 23; Philippians 3:6b; 2Tim 4:7 for similarly bold claims made by the Apostle Paul.

[7] Ananias the son of Nedebaeus was as high priest from A.D. 48-58 and was known for his collaboration with the occupying forces, avarice and liberal use of violence. When the rebellion against Rome began in 66, the nationalists burned his house and forced him to flee to the palace of Herod the Great where he was found hiding in an aqueduct and was killed along with his brother Hezekiah (cf. Josephus War II).

[8] Contrast this to what Peter reports about Christ’s actions in front of his accusers (1Pe 2:23) : When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.

[9] Cf. Theodore Zahn, Die Urausgabe der Apostelgeschichte des Lucas [Leipzig: Deichert, 1916], p. 763.

[10] cf. Ecclesiastes 8:1-3; but see also 1 Chronicles 21:6 where Joab does not heed David’s disobedience of God’s command; this is not a matter of denying God, but it is an ethical dilemma that Joab faced concerning obedience to God’s commands versus a godly man’s commands: David after all was a man after God’s own heart, 1 Kings 11:4

[11] The Apostle Paul teaches unequivocally that “it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience” (Romans 13:5) and further that “everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1; see also Titus 3:1).

[12] Cf. The Ethics Centre 2000, 156-158.

[13] Cf. United News 1999, rockies.net/~united/united/articles/ 9810news.html

[14] Sheep Speak Commentary: Christian Persecution (Part 1), Jan 26, 2007.

[15] This was a concern mentioned around a piece of legislation (particularly relating to some of the language around people’s natural objection to certain kinds of sexual expression) from which Svend Robinson garnered a lot of publicity.

[16] I can readily think of two testimonies that I have heard of this – one of a friend of mine in university and the other of a high school student that I just heard word of the other week.

[17] The former two, I think of friends of mine in the Anglican and United traditions. The latter example I think of various members of Canada’s new Conservative party who transferred a billion dollars in tax revenue from the poorest in society to the wealthiest. Cf. Matthew 25:31-46 and see also the NCR’s comments (http://ncrcafe.org/node/1296) which were referred to in the Sheep Speak Commentaries of September 10^th and September 20th.

[18] Now those who have been studying the book of Acts along with us will be familiar with the acts of the Holy Spirit and the resurrected Christ to date. We know about all those who have been saved. We remember, from Acts 16, particularly, how Paul, Silas, and Timothy are becoming quite intentional about listening to the Spirit –even to the point where he does not preach in places where God doesn’t want him to do so.

[19] Even after Paul has had his big fight with the other believing Pharisees and then with Barnabus (Acts 15) who was the one who took a chance on Paul when no one else would (Acts 9:27ff). Even after all this, he is listening to God.