Luke 4:14-30: Liberation!

Presented to Corps 614 Regent Park of The Salvation Army, 31 January 2016 by Captain Michael Ramsay

This is the original. To read the version presented the Alberni Valley Ministries on 07 April 2019, clik here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2019/04/luke-414-30-today.html

A week ago Saturday was the men’s breakfast. It was a great breakfast. It was one of the best turn outs yet. The speaker spoke about digging ditches: great message. There was bacon. It was a great time. At one point someone asked me very politely who the woman was who had come to the men’s breakfast. There was one lady who showed up – a friend of ours here – John was good to send her away, with some bacon. I thought that is who I was being asked about. ‘No, who was the lady who stayed and had breakfast with us for the whole meal? At the next table there?’, he asked.

‘Oh. That wasn’t a woman’, I said. Our friend was a little embarrassed – there wasn’t really any need to be - but you know what it is like when you think things are one way but they turn out to be another way. Our scripture today is a little bit like that.

Luke 4:14-30: This is really an interesting text. At least for me it is. It is one of those where you have read it maybe less than one million times but you have read it enough that you think you know what it says and then one day you slow down and read what it actually says and are somewhat surprised.

I started to look at this passage in preparation for today a couple of weeks ago when we just came back from Cuba which was also around MLK day in the US. It was at that time and in that context I read the passage Jesus’ quotes from Isaiah here. We recognize this passage don’t we? Our corps is based on Isaiah 61:4 and Jesus here quotes Isaiah 61:1-2 and more and it is a powerful quote. Jesus says, NIV,

¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,

    because he has anointed me

    to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners

    and recovery of sight for the blind,

to set the oppressed free,

¹⁹     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.”

This is exciting stuff and this reminds me of Martin Luther King Jr. in the US; Che, the Argentinean, Fidel Castro from Cuba– and William Booth from our Salvation Army for that matter. I don’t know if you have ever read the writings of any of these revolutionaries and I would probably add voices of Leon Trotsky, Nelson Mandela, or Leo Tolstoy to the list. These people - Booth, Castro, MLK jr. – these people can be absolutely inspiring.[1] Whether you ascribe to liberation theology or not, I don’t think you can read the words of any of these people without being impressed upon.

Our Scripture fits right in line with any of the aforementioned, Jesus quotes Isaiah and more in saying:

• today good news is to be announced to the poor;
• today he has sent me… to proclaim freedom for the prisoners;
• today, he has sent me.. to preach recovery of sight to the blind;
• today, he has sent me… to set the oppressed free;
• TODAY, he has sent me… to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. Not tomorrow, not in some far off place, not in some far off time, but
• Today this very scripture has been filled in your presence. Do I hear an ‘amen’?!

This reminds me so much of some of MLK’s speeches – especially his ‘I have a dream’ speech and his address to the UN on receiving the Noble Peace prize that I can’t help but hear these verses echo as MLK’s voice in my mind: Today, the oppressed shall be set free![2] Today, we proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour! Amen!

As I was preparing for this time today I was going to chat about how this passage is a fulfillment of scripture. The Christ and thus all Christians will proclaim these things alongside those revolutionaries we have mentioned today. I was going to mention how those in the synagogue rejected Jesus because he was taking on the mantel of messiah calling for these revolutionary ideas of justice. I was then going to quote some of the aforementioned and highlight how they and we have received that message - reflecting especially upon how North America has fallen short of MLK’s dream and how we killed him as we killed Christ and others… but then I read the text a little more closely.

These things – proclaiming good news to the poor, freedom to the prisoners, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed, the year of the Lord’s favour – this isn’t what got the people in Jesus’ hometown upset at all. They weren’t upset about this or any possible messianic claims imbedded therein. In fact it was quite the opposite. Take a look at our Scripture. Jesus begins his homily on this pericope by saying that today this scripture has been fulfilled, vs. 21, he then presumably elaborates upon that premise and look at how Luke says the people respond.[3] Luke records, vs. 22, “All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. ‘Isn’t this Joseph’s son?’ they asked.” It says that they are amazed. They are impressed that Joseph’s son, whom they all undoubtedly know personally as this is his home synagogue in his home town, which he has visited and read scripture in many times before; they are impressed that he spoke in such a way.[4] I can imagine from verses 21 and 22 that if this were a contemporary church, people would be shouting ‘amen!’ at full volume as Jesus winds up his message. They are amazed, it says, but then their amazement changes. It doesn’t change because he may have implied that he is the Messiah and it doesn’t change because he claims that the time of scriptural fulfillment is now. The gospel notes that they were quite happy with that:[5] they were quite happy as Jesus proclaimed good news to the poor, freedom to the prisoners, sight for the blind, freedom for the oppressed, the year of the Lord’s favour. What made them mad was Jesus implied very obviously that that favour - and all of the other related blessings - that this salvation is not for them.[6] Jesus says, vv. 24-28:

“²⁴ “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. ²⁵ I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. ²⁶ Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. ²⁷ And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”

²⁸ All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.”

Can you imagine? A now newly or about to become famous preacher or politician or both, whom you have grown up with (either he or his mom and dad) comes to his and your home community’s church and speaks to us all about these wonderful things that are going to happen. We all say, ‘good job!’ ‘Well done!’ ‘You tell them Jesus!’ ‘Go get ‘em!’ Right? We are proud when people we know from the neighbourhood make good on their life. We are proud of everyone who makes it from our community here. In Saskatchewan where we were recently posted, every small town on the Canadian prairie has these big bill boards on the highway outside their community saying home of ‘Travis Moen’, ‘Zack Smith’, ‘Patrick Marleau’, whomever – celebrating and commemorating famous hockey players, football players, politicians or others who have come from the community. It would be the same in Jesus’ home synagogue in Nazareth. ‘That’s Jesus’, they might say, ‘I knew him when he was just a little kid. His dad and I grew up together. He was a good kid. Everything this boy is saying makes sense. He’s one of us. He’s a chip off the old block and more. Jesus is one of us and we are going to take the world by storm.’ And then, right in the middle of our voiced or imagined praise of him, it would be like he says – right when we are all puffed up about how great he is and how proud we are of our neighbourhood – Jesus says… “Oh you thought I was saying all these good things about you…?’ ‘This is not for you – no, no - this good stuff is all for someone else. Not you Nazareth, where I grew up; not for you Israel, where I live; not for you Judah.[7] This good stuff is not for you who are here thinking that you are the only children of God. This good stuff is for someone else and not just for someone else; it is for your enemies: the Sidonites and the Syrians, just like it was in the days of Elisha and Elijah before, and implied always.[8] You thought I was talking about you…no, no, no, this good stuff is for other people and not just other people; it is for other people with whom you to go to war when you get the chance. Jesus says, just like in the OT and as always, it is the Sidionites, the Syrians, and others that will experience this salvation from the Lord that you just ‘amen-ed’; I am not talking about you.” Can you imagine?

 You can see why they might get a little upset. It would be like if someone led a pep rally here at the ACC, under all the old banners hung from the rafters, extolling the virtues of the ‘greatest hockey franchise ever’ and as everyone in Toronto here is cheering about how indeed they will win another Stanley cup and maybe even someday soon –even next season - assuming the speaker is talking about the Leafs and the crowd is all worked up and then he yells out ‘and God bless Canada’s greatest hockey team, the Montreal Canadiens!’ This would be the feelings aroused in our text. And even more, it would be like Jesus was extolling the virtues of the greatest country on earth, working us all up into a frenzy believing he is talking about Canada and then says ‘God bless America’ or ‘God bless Saudi Arabia’… ‘Oh you, thought I was talking about Canada?’

This is what has gotten the people all riled up.[9] They came here wanting words of encouragement and wisdom and Jesus read and spoke about the Scriptures and he gave them some words alright. They thought he was blessing them and he was telling them quite plainly that just like God could have saved Israelites in the times of Elisha and Elijah but he chose rather to save their enemies; so too today. This is why they are upset.

Jesus is – as always - concerned about people on the fringes: the poor, ill, and the marginalized; our enemies, our rivals, and others who are on the outside. Those who think they are healthy do not seek a doctor (Luke 5:31; Matthew 9:12, Mark 2:17). Those who think they are saved are not looking for salvation. Jesus here foretells and more Israel’s rejection of her and our messiah and how regardless of that, Israel’s saviour is going to save her enemies and anybody else.

 Now this is offensive but honestly the people hearing this should know this. The Israelites in general should be and the Pharisees in particular would be very familiar with the fact that Israel was not chosen to be saved in place of other people, quite the contrary Israel was chosen to bring salvation to the entire world (John 3:16-17).[10] God says to Abraham, in the Bible, before Israel even exists, that ALL the nations of the earth will be blessed through you (Genesis 12:3). Israel was chosen by God not to be saved from the world but to bring salvation to the world and though they had not been faithful in that task, still God uses the Israelite, Jesus, to save the world even as many in Israel will reject that Salvation and choose to perish outside of the promised kingdom to come. God loves everyone and He wants everyone to be saved and even in this (cf. Galatians 3:28, 1 Corinthians 12:13), as John Wesley says, He has a preferential message for the poor;[11] and we need to bring and be brought that message – our message- of Isaiah 61 to ourselves, our community and to our world today.

Look at our banners around this church today that we have carried with us to the various locations we have worshipped and proclaimed God’s Salvation. We have Matthew Chapter 7. We have Isaiah 61:4. These are promises Jesus offers to our community and these are promises that Jesus offers to our world. Do we believe that? Do we claim that? And do we live that? The truth is that as John 3:16-17 proclaims, Jesus didn’t come into the world to condemn the world but instead he came so that whosoever, anyone and everyone, might be saved. And this is wonderful news: it is not just for the privileged few. It is for all of us and especially those of us when we are in real need. As Jesus says, 

- today good news is to be announced to the poor;

- today he has sent me… to proclaim freedom for the prisoners;

- today, he has sent me.. to preach recovery of sight to the blind;

- today, he has sent me… to set the oppressed free;

- today, he has sent me… to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.

Today is the day of the Lord’s favour when we can all be rebuilt, restored, and renewed; do we believe that?

Let us pray

www.sheepspeak.com

https://www.facebook.com/Salvogesis

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[1] Cf. Paul John Isaak, 'Luke', Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 1239.

[2] Cf. William Hendricksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke (NTC: Baker Academic: Grand Rapids Michigan, 2007), 255, re. 'today'

[3] R. Alan Culpepper, Luke (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995), 105

[4] N.T. Wright, Luke for Everyone (Louisville, Kentucky, USA: WJK, 2004),

[5] Cf. Paul John Isaak, 'Luke', Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 1239.

[6] Cf. R. Alan Culpepper, Luke (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995), 108

[7] Cf. Amy-Jill Levine, ‘Luke and the Jewish Religion’ in Interpretation: A Journal of Bible and Theology 2014, Vol. 68 (4) 389-402.

[8] Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Exposition of Luke/IV. The Galilean Ministry (4:14-9:50)/A. Initial Phase (4:14-6:16)/1. First approach and rejection at Nazareth (4:14-30), Book Version: 4.0.2

[9] Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Exposition of Luke/IV. The Galilean Ministry (4:14-9:50)/A. Initial Phase (4:14-6:16)/1. First approach and rejection at Nazareth (4:14-30), Book Version: 4.0.2

[10] Cf. N.T. Wright, Luke for Everyone (Louisville, Kentucky, USA: WJK, 2004), 48.

[11] Cf. Donald W. Dayton, 'PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS:THE WESLEYAN OPTION FOR THE POOR' in Wesleyan Theological Journal 26, 1991, 7-22. On-line: http://wesley.nnu.edu/fileadmin/imported_site/wesleyjournal/1991-wtj-26.pdf

John 2:1-12: They Believed.

Presented to 614 Regent Park 17 Jan 2016 

by Captain Michael Ramsay [a]

I remember when I was younger than my older two girls are now - maybe 10 or 11. I remember once we were watching TV in the living room –my mom, my dad, my sister, and I - and I, as a 10 or 11 year-old boy make some apparently hopelessly inappropriate comment about something on TV so my mom decides that it is time for my dad and I to have a sex education talk and banishes the two of us to the kitchen.

My dad and I talk about what we are supposed to talk about for a while but the conversation eventually changes to other interesting things such as God and family history. It is an easy transition from sex education to family history especially as my grandfather’s father brought the first rodeo across Canada; he was always travelling from the east coast to west. He had another reason for travelling too. He had one family out west in Saskatchewan and another family back east in the Maritimes – until, of course my great grandmother found out. My great grandfather could have used one of these sex-ed talks. I am eagerly learning all of this family history from my dad and it is starting to get really interesting as we have long accomplished our assigned topic and task and we are actually laughing about some of the more interesting family stories and other things.

It is at this point that my mom hears all the laughter. My mom comes into the kitchen and with a firm voice reminds us why we are supposed to be here. It is not supposed to be fun. It is so ‘I can learn a lesson,’ she says. ‘And how is the sex education talk going?’ She asks. To which, as an 11 year-old boy, I reply, ‘Very well, I’ve taught dad everything I know’. My dad continues, ‘Yes, I’ve learned a lot.’ That doesn’t go over so well. We laugh. Mom doesn’t. I, however, am glad that my dad had added to my comment because it means that I am off the hook and able to sneak out of the room and out of trouble as Dad is now the recipient of Mom’s attention.

Our pericope today speaks to –among other things- a relationship between a mom and her son. We have an interesting exchange between Jesus and his mother here in vv. 3 -5 of John 2. Jesus is older than 11 in our story today; he is probably in his early 30’s. He is at wedding, probably a family wedding.[1] He is there, as is his mother, his brothers, and his disciples (a least the first 5 of them, anyway).[2] The wedding is taking place in the town of Cana. Cana is really close to where Jesus, his mother, his brothers, and most of his disciples live. It is only 8 or 9 miles north of Nazareth. Eight or nine miles: what is 8 or 9 miles from here? That is still part of the GTA. This wedding in Cana is pretty close to Nazareth.

Whoever is getting married is obviously a family member or a close friend of the family because we notice that when trouble arises – the running out of wine – it is Jesus’ mother, Mary, who either volunteers or is tasked to find the solution to the problem. Mary and Jesus, his brothers and his disciples are not just casual guests. They must know the people getting married fairly well. They (or at least Mary anyway) have some significant role to play in this event.

Now we have just finished the Christmas season here and we looked briefly - as we often do around Christmas - at the 1st Century Judean engagement/betrothal arrangements that are really quite different from traditional Canadian engagements. Today, in our pericope, we have a wedding. Now Galilean weddings in the first century did have some things in common with Canadian weddings of the 21st century. There were often lots of people; friends and family would travel a great distance to attend the festivities. Then, after they did travel all that way, the family would often stay to visit for a while– especially if they walked there, which many of them would have in 1st Century Galilee.

Marriage celebrations then and there, unlike weddings here and now lasted quite a while. A wedding ceremony nowadays can reasonably be expected to last between 30 minutes and 2 hours and then add another hour or few for the reception afterwards. There and then in Galilee it was expected that the wedding festivities would last for up to a week.[3] The Bridegroom was the host. He and his family would then be expected to host all the relatives, friends, and family from both sides for this week: providing them all with accommodations, food, and beverages. Here and now in our world today it is embarrassing enough if we don’t quite make enough sandwiches for a funeral or some other event. There and then, can you imagine if the marriage celebration began on a Monday and was to last until Friday or Saturday but you ran out of food and drink for your guests on Wednesday? It would be humiliating! You couldn’t just call to have pizzas delivered. You couldn’t just have someone run down to the store to pick up a sandwich tray. You would be out of food; you would be out of wine and the whole town, your whole family and the whole lot of your new in-laws would all be thinking a few things about you if you ran out of wine at your wedding celebrations.

This is the background to the story when we get to the part of this pericope that always interests me, verses 3,4 &5:

3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him,

“They have no more wine.”

4 “Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied.

“My hour has not yet come.”

5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”

This will be Jesus’ first recorded miracle. The question many people seem to ask here is why is Jesus’ first miracle to make wine (and it is wine; it is not grape juice![4]) for people who have already had quite a bit to drink. If they had roadside check stops in those days, I probably wouldn’t recommend that any of them drive home.

The questions that strike me though are:

1) Why is Jesus’ mother even asking Jesus to do something about the fact that they have run out of wine? Why doesn’t she ask Jesus AND his other brothers who are there? This is his first recorded miracle; so why just ask Jesus? Does she expect him to do some kind of a miracle? Has Jesus done something similar at home before? In the context of the Bible here (John 1-2), it has only been in the previous few days that Jesus has even just acquired his first disciples – he probably doesn’t even have all of the twelve yet; did his mom expect Jesus to send these disciples to do something or did she know already (before he had ever performed any public miracles) that he could and that he would perform miracles such as this – making wine at a wedding? [5]

2) Another question I have pertains to Jesus’ response to his mother’s request. When asked by his mom to do something, he says: “Woman, why do you involve me? My hour has not yet come,” To this my dad would respond, if I ever uttered such a phrase, “Is that anyway to speak to your mother?” Aren’t we supposed to honour our mothers and fathers? How honouring is this response?

3) And another question that I have relates to Mary’s response to Jesus’ comments. Mary asks him to solve the wine problem in whatever way he will solve it. Jesus replies in such as way as one might infer that he is refusing to help his mother: “Woman, why do you involve me? My hour has not yet come.” But this does not faze his mother at all; she seems to ignore his objections all together and says to the servants, “do whatever he tells you”? Why isn’t Mary fazed by Jesus? Why does she seem to completely ignore his response to her as if he is a toddler or a child protesting for the sake of protesting?

Can you imagine the scene at the wedding: The wine has just run out. It is a potentially devastating situation for the bridegroom and his family and Mary and Jesus are having this little discussion as recorded in vv. 3-5.

More questions then arise, of course, such as: Why is the author of the Gospel of John telling us this story? What is the text saying? And more importantly: what is God doing here in the story?

The wedding party has run out of wine. Jesus has just had this encounter with his mother. He then proceeds to save the day by turning some jars of water that they used for ceremonial hand cleaning into about 150 gallons of the best wine possible, to be served when most people have been drinking for a while and so they won’t even notice how good it is.[6] John 2:11: “What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.” This miracle is Jesus’ first sign of who he is and what he is doing and his disciples put their faith in Him. Jesus’ transformation of water into wine causes his disciples to put their faith in Him.

Lots of questions: let us explore the text a little more here as we address them. This miracle of Jesus’ was no small feat. There was a lot riding on the fact that the wine would show up. If it didn’t, the bridegroom would have been humiliated. Jesus, in turning the water into wine, and not just any wine but into copious amounts of the best wine of the wedding, not only saves the day very dramatically but He shows what God can do and His disciples here and now put their complete faith in Him. This is an important part of the story.

It is the same in our world today, when we are faced with difficult situations, when we are faced with family members putting demands upon us, when we are faced with embarrassment, when we are faced with humiliation, when we are faced with even not being able to provide for our family in our world today, Jesus is there for us just like Jesus is there for his friends and family in Cana. The only questions for us then are: do we believe in Jesus, like his disciples do? And are we willing to put our faith in him, like his mother does?

Speaking of questions, I am not going to leave us hanging entirely about the questions we mentioned earlier. Let’s see what we can find in the way of possible answers. First about the question that everyone asks regarding Jesus making wine for people who had been drinking and were possibly even drunk - does that mean that Jesus condones drunkenness? No, the Scriptures condemn drunkenness more than once actually (Leviticus 10:9, Proverbs 31:4-5, Ecclesiastes 10:17, Isaiah 28:7, 1 Timothy 3:8). However, making water into wine has been associated eschatologically with divinity (Jeremiah 31:12, Joel 3:8, Amos 8:11-14; cf. also Enoch 10:19). [7] This text isn’t addressing drinking. It is addressing divinity and eschatology. Also providing this wine is a real and important part of showing hospitality to your neighbour in 1st Century Galilee, especially on an important occasion like a bridegroom’s wedding. Jesus isn’t promoting drunkenness, on the contrary Jesus is showing his faithfulness to those around him, as well as to God; and he is showing that we can put our faith in him.

Now about the other questions: the questions about the way Jesus was addressing his mother. He wasn’t actually speaking with any disrespect. The word translated ‘woman’ here in our text, when he addresses his mother can be seen as a neutral or a positive term and he does definitely honour his mother in the text by fulfilling her request and much more (cf. Matthew 15:28, Luke 22:57, John 4:21; cf. also 2 Kings 3:13, 2 Chronicles 35:21).[8] Jesus doesn’t leave her in the lurch; he saves her as he saves the festivities. Mary takes no offence by what Jesus says and she has perfect faith in him as she even instructs the servants in this story to “do whatever he tells you.”[9] I think this is good advice for us today too. Whenever we are faced by life’s crises, like Mary and the servants, we should have the faith to ask Jesus what to do and then we should have faith to do whatever Jesus tells us to do. He is faithful and we can put our faith in Him.

So then pertaining to those of us who are here today, I know that there are people in this congregation and even in this room who are facing challenges every bit as big as Jesus’ friends and family at the wedding. Some here are facing challenges of possibly not being able to provide for your family or yourself – January is a long month for some. Some here are without work. Some have even lost jobs. Some are faced with the daunting prospect returning to work after a long break. Some have serious health challenges. Some have lost loved ones, friends and family members. Some of us are grieving friends who have moved on in one way or another and some of us are faced with family problems every bit as intense as the challenges of today’s text. Some of us are facing new realities, different from anything we had ever hoped for or expected. Some of us are hurt. Some of us feel betrayed. Some of us are anxious, some of us are angry, and some of us here today are just plain sad. Sometimes life can be overwhelming.

John’s record of Jesus’ miracle of turning the water into wine has a special message for each of us who find ourselves in situations like this here today. When things look as bad as they can look; when there seems to be nothing that we can do; when it seems like our life and our world is ‘going to Hell in a hand basket’, as they say; when it seems that everything going askew, we can put our faith in Christ – just like Mary did and just like the disciples did. When everything seems to be going sideways, we can put our faith in Christ and we can turn our will and our lives over to Him. Just as Jesus was faithful in the midst of the chaos and concern at the wedding, saving the day, and his disciples put their faith in him; Jesus is still faithful here and now in the midst of the chaos and confusion of our lives so that we too can put our faith in Him and we too can be saved.

Let us pray.

www.sheepspeak.com 

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[a] A version of this sermon was presented to Swift Current Corps on 06 Jan. 2012. Available on-line at: http://sheepspeaks.blogspot.ca/2013/01/john-21-12-and-they-believed-in-him.html

[1] Cf. Rosemary King, “17th January: 2nd after Epiphany: The Marriage at Cana (John 2:1-11)," The Expository Times 121, no. 3 (December 2009): 134.

[2] Colin G.Kruse, John: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 2003 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 4), S. 93.

[3] Stack and Billerbeck, Das Evangelium nach Johannes in Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Tulmud und Midrash, (Munchen, 1924), 401. Cited in William Hendricksen, John, in New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, Mi: Baker Academic, 2007), 114.

[4] Cf. William Hendricksen, John, in New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids, Mi: Baker Academic, 2007), 115.

[5] Cf. Colin G.Kruse, John: An Introduction and Commentary. Downers Grove, IL : InterVarsity Press, 2003 (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries 4), S. 93: these were after all eschatological signs.

[6] Gail R. O’Day, The Gospel of John, in The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 9, ed Leander E. Keck, et. al. (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995), 538.

[7] Gerard Sloyan, John, in Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, ed James L. Mays, et. al. (Atlanta, Georgia: John Knox Press, 1988), 36-37

[8] ‘Gail R. O’Day, The Gospel of John, in The New Interpreter's Bible, Vol. 9, ed Leander E. Keck, et. al. (Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995), 536-537.

[9] Cf. Merrill C. Tenney, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:John/Exposition of John/II. The Public Ministry of the Word (1:19-12:50)/A. The Beginning Ministry (1:19-4:54)/3. The first sign (2:1-11), Book Version: 4.0.2

Luke 3:7-14: In the Advent of Revolution

Presented to TSA Corps 614 Regent Park, Toronto, Ontario on 20 December 2015 by Captain Michael Ramsay

John, ‘the Baptist’ as he is called, is a celebrity preacher in 1st Century Palestine. He is on a speaking tour into all the country around the Jordon (Luke 3:3). People are making an effort to see him. In order to see John in those days you can’t just hop the TTC or catch a ride. You have to walk, by and large, and you have to walk and long way; you probably have to take at least one day off work.

Picture this scenario with me. Pick some famous person you want to see; they are coming near Toronto – maybe a couple of hours away - and you have been given free tickets. (Who might that be?) You take time off work or cancel your plans for the day to go see them. Now imagine that they are a celebrity preacher. Major Danielle Strickland of The Salvation Army was recently named one of the most influential Christian speakers. Imagine she comes to town. Big crowds come to see her and not just Salvationists but all kinds of us. Let’s say we get a bus full of people and we all take the day off kettles – sorry Iris – to hear her. She has this great ministry of telling us to turn to God, to repent of our sins. We are among hundreds or thousands of others who take the time and make the effort to come to see her. And when we get there she says (cf. vv.7-9), “All of you who have come to see me… you are a bunch of snakes, why are you here!?" (Can you imagine?) "Who told you, you could be saved!? You need to start acting like Christians! And don’t tell me you’ve been a Christian since you were six or you had this life changing moment when you were eleven or your great grandmother was saved through William Booth himself on the streets of London 100 plus years ago. Don’t tell me you don’t need saving because you are already a child of God. I tell you the truth God can raise up children from these rocks here if he wants to; if you say you are His children you need to start acting like it!”[1] Can you imagine? How would you feel? What would you think?

This is what it would be like for people in our text today who have made this effort to go hear John in the desert; he addresses the crowds in much the same way, telling them that if they think they are children of Abraham, they’re really not unless they start acting like children of Abraham. In today’s colloquial vernacular, many who went to the desert may have ‘thought they were saved’ but John says, are you so sure about that? This is quite a greeting!

It is effective though.[2] Luke records voices seeking salvation in the disparate crowd calling out to him, “what should we do then?!” (v.10). John tells them, in essence, if you think you are saved, and if you really are a part of the ‘Kingdom to Come’, then, Verse 11, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

How many people here have two shirts – or more? How many people in our world have none? How many people here will eat today? How many people in our world won’t? Now I know most of us here are good at sharing with our friends who need food, clothing, and other items – individually and through The Salvation Army. I know there are many people here who would give the shirt right off their own back to someone in need. John, the Baptist, says that that is because you are a part of the Kingdom of God. I love it when we study the Gospel of Luke in Advent because Luke, like the Army's spiritual grandfather John Wesley, is crystal clear in presenting the Gospel as a social justice gospel: Christians will not acquire and hoard wealth while others are in need.[3] The Baptist says, quite the opposite, “produce acts in keeping with repentance” (v.7).

But there is more to the story than just this. After John answers these cries from the crowd about what should anyone do who wants to be saved from the coming wrath (v.7), tax collectors who are part of this crowd say in essence, “yes, we all know that: everybody who is saved will give food and clothes to those in need. But what specifically should WE, saved tax collectors, do when we make this public confession through this baptism that we have come here to make today?”[4]

Verse 13, “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” John tells them. Now this sounds easy but let’s take a little look at the way things ran back then. It was not all that different from the way things are run today. These tax collectors were probably Jewish toll booth operators working for the Romans. Their job was to collect tolls and they made their money from surcharges applied to the tolls. The Romans used an early franchise system of sorts to collect these taxes.[5] They pseudo-privatized their toll booths. Much like fast food restaurants, big chain stores, and other corporations today; they used a franchise-style system. Judean business people would buy a toll booth franchise or a number of toll booth franchises (such as in the case of Zacchaeus; Luke 19); they would collect the money to cover the fees from their clients and everything else they made after they paid their overhead was profit. This is similar to the way many or most chain stores, franchises, fundraising catalogues, contemporary manufacturers and most businesses in general are run today. They collect what they are required to for head office or whomever and/or to cover the cost of inventory already paid for and then the rest, after expenses, goes to profit.  But John says to them, ‘don’t collect any more than you are required to [by the head office].” Don’t make a profit this way, the free laissez-faire capitalist way, charging what the market can bear in order to make a profit. Well, who would want to be a tax collector then?! Can you imagine if the Baptist told the franchise owners or others today that they are not to make a significant profit off their customers, that they are only allowed to charge what they are legally or otherwise required to charge, what would they do? ... Well, just maybe John, Luke, or even Jesus IS saying just that… I love looking at Luke in the Advent season. Luke is a revolutionary text. Luke's is a gospel to the poor. Luke is the social justice gospel.

Luke’s not so subtle condemnation of this 1^st century expression of a market economy that made the rich richer and the poor poorer is as radical then as it would be now if we applied the gospel to our own society today.[6] Anyone who drives in this city knows that the parking meters all collect different amounts of money for an hour or an half hour: a dollar fifty here, $3 there; $8 for a parkade here, twenty dollars for a parkade there. And grocery stores owned by the same person, the same corporation, the same company – you buy the same product at a different outlet and it is a totally different price simply because they know they can get more money from you at that location. This is Adam Smith and Ayn Rand's version of capitalism; this is the free market.[7] But what John is saying to the owners of the Roman tax franchises in the first century is seemingly quite the opposite; he says, “don’t collect any more than you are required to.” And this I think is what Luke is telling us today: poor people in the Kingdom of God should have the same access to life as wealthy people, so do your part, “don’t collect any more than you are required to;” don’t make a profit at the expense of others. I love looking at Luke in Advent. Luke’s is a revolutionary text. Luke’s is a social justice gospel. Luke's Gospel, as Miranda and John Wesley remind us, is good news, gospel for the poor.[8]

Now after these tax collectors/toll booth franchise owners get their answer, the soldiers who have also come here to be baptised are eager to know what is required of them. Like the tax collectors, the soldiers know they need to give food and clothes to the poor - but they don’t own toll booths; they don’t own franchises. They aren’t rich. Quite the opposite: while the tax collectors were apt to get rich from this 1^st Century inflationless microcosm of market-driven free enterprise, the Judean soldiers were likely to get poor from it; so, what should they do when they are saved from the impending wrath? Verse 14, John says, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

This sounds easy enough doesn’t it: don’t extort money from people, don’t falsely accuse people, and be content with your pay. Easy? Maybe. These soldiers weren't Romans; they were Judeans just like the tax collectors and just like most of the rest of the crowd. These soldiers worked for the Romans just like the tax collectors but these soldiers were very poorly paid. They didn’t have the freedom of the toll booth operators to set their own wages so they resorted to other ways to make money - basically stealing. But that was okay, they convinced themselves, because ‘everyone was doing it’. But that is not okay. I love looking at Luke in Advent season. Luke is the social justice gospel. It is a revolutionary text.

I remember when we were living in Vancouver, there were many stores in our neighbourhood which would charge you less if you paid in cash because then they wouldn’t have to declare the money as income. I have met many people who are paid 'under the table', who deliberately do not claim income on their taxes – after all they don’t make very much and the government doesn't need their money. When I worked at a military base pre-9/11, one co-worker allegedly regularly used to take discarded copper home to sell for extra money, after all he only made minimum wage; the government didn't need more money. I remember as a janitor when I was a teenager, colleagues who would take food or office supplies from the buildings where they were working: they're only going to throw it out anyway. Why would they miss this food from their coffee room? They have lots of money to buy more. Luke says, “be content with your pay.”

I remember too, we used to be able to make more money by working more hours so we would volunteer to take on extra hours cleaning extra buildings. I –like my fellow janitors – loved that. This is where you could get overtime pay without even working one hour overtime. It was late at night and we often worked alone so some of us could do 16 hours worth of cleaning in just six hours without anyone noticing. The buildings were clean, thus no one complained so we would write 16 hours on our timesheet even though we only worked six; no one cared, everyone was doing it and that way we would not only get paid for 10 hours of work we didn’t do but we would even get time-and-a-half or double-time for some of those hours. It was an easy way to make an extra buck or two. Get paid for hours you don’t work, take food and supplies no one will miss which ‘everyone else is taking anyway’. (I have also seen Salvationists with jobs and money take food or toys meant for the poor as presents for their own families too… ‘everyone is doing it’…)

I remember one security guard at a building where I worked as a janitor for a while. I would chat with him about God, among other things; one day he asked me, “If you are a Christian, why are you leaving early?”

“My work is done.”

“Are you getting paid?”

“Yes.”

“So, do more work.”

“Everyone just leaves when they are done, we’re expected to”

“Isn’t that stealing?”

The baptiser, John, says to those of his day who weren’t paid necessarily a ‘liveable wage’, “be content with your pay.” Luke says to we today who may be tempted to pad our hours, not declare our income, or manipulate our wages, “be content with your pay.” It is always interesting looking at Luke during Advent. Luke is the social justice gospel. It is a revolutionary text. Luke tells as what the impending Kingdom of God looks like. It is a place where the poor will have equal access to life and liberty as (or more than) the rich and everyone who is a part of God’s Kingom will deal openly and honestly with each other.

And honestly, in Advent this revolution is noticeably important. We, as Christians, are called to be holy. We, as Christians, are called to be the advance guard of a just society where the poor do have the same access to life and to forgiveness as the rich. The middle class and the elite - like the tax collectors - are not to make a profit at the expense of the poor and those just barely eking out a living; we are to do it honestly. And all of us, rich or poor, are to be content with our wages for God will provide for us as He provides for the birds of the air and the lilies of the feild (Luke 12:27, Mt 6:28).[9] Everyone, as we are a part of God's proleptic Kingdom, we are to love our neighbour and as they are in need we are to provide for their need just as our Heavenly Father provides for our needs.

Last Sunday we lit the Candle of Joy and as we love our neighbours as ourselves in this way we will experience the joy of the Lord - I promise. This week, we lit the Candle of Peace and as we love our neighbours as ourselves in this way we will experience the peace of the Lord - I promise. This week, as we await the celebration of the penultimate arrival of our Lord as a baby laid in a manger and as we await the ultimate arrival of our Lord at the echaton, let us all be a part of the joyful, peaceful revolution by honestly loving our Lord with all our heart, mind and soul and loving our neighbour as ourselves and as we do I promise God will change our world as He changes us from the inside out.

  

Let us pray.

www.sheepspeak.com 

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[1] Cf. N.T. Wright, Luke for Everyone (Louisville, Kentucky, USA: WJK, 2004), 34

[2] Cf. Fred B. Craddock, Luke (Interpretation: Louisville, Kentucky, USA: John Knox Press, 1990), 48.

[3] Captain Michael Ramsay, Analysis of 'The Use of Money': Sermon 50 by John Wesley (Presented to William and Catherine Booth College, Summer 2008) http://sheepspeak.com/reviews_Michael_Ramsay.htm#Use

[4] Walter L. Leifeld, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Luke/Exposition of Luke/III. Preparation for Jesus' Ministry (3:1-4:13)/A. The Ministry of John the Baptist (3:1-20), Book Version: 4.0.2

[5] R. Alan Culpepper, Luke (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995), 84

[6] N.T. Wright, Luke for Everyone (Louisville, Kentucky, USA: WJK, 2004), 36

[7] William Hendricksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke (NTC: Baker Academic: Grand Rapids Michigan, 2007), 208

[8] Cf. Jose Miranda.  Marx and the Bible: a Critique of the Philosophy of Oppression. Trans., John Eagleson. (New York: Orbis Books, 1979), 250 

[9] R. Alan Culpepper, Luke (NIB 8: Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon, 1995), 85.

Acts 12:20-25: Herod: Diet of Worms

Presented to TSA Corps 614 Regent Park, Toronto, 22 November 2015 and Alberni Valley Ministries, 26 June 2022 by Captain/Major Michael Ramsay

Today I have some jokes for us:[1]

1. What do you get if you cross a worm and a young goat?

A dirty kid!

2. What do you call it when worms take over the world?

Global Worming!

3. What do worms leave round their baths?

The scum of the earth! 

4. Why are glow worms good to carry in your bag?

They can lighten your load!

5. What is the worm army called?

The Apple Corps!

6. Why didn't the two worms get on Noah's Ark in an apple?

 Because everyone had to go on in pairs!

7. What kind of computer does a worm have?

A Macintosh.

8. Why do worms have trouble getting up in the morning?

Because the early bird catches the worm.

9. What eats laptops?

Computer worms.

10. How do you make a glow worm happy?

Cut off his tail, he'll be de-lighted!

11. Why did the worm go to the movie?

He enjoyed the book.

Our pericope today speaks about worms, These worms aren't going to the movies; they are going for dinner. These worms have King Herod Agrippa I for dinner. Herod was the King of the Jews who was persecuting followers of Jesus, King of the Jews, Chapter 12 of our text starts with Herod killing the Apostle James, imprisoning Peter and killing the guards who, in Herod's eyes, let him escape. But by the end of the chapter the worm has turned and Herod meets his demise.

Do we know who this Herod Agrippa I was - other than worm food - and why he was tracking down suspected Christian terrorists, imprisoning and executing them?

Herod Agrippa I was a Jew. His grandmother was a Jew, his grandfather was known as Herod the Great and he was King of the Jews when Jesus was born. Herod the Great was the one who killed all those newborn baby boys as he was trying to execute Jesus, the new born King of the Jews (Matthew 2). Herod the Great was a masterful politician. He backed the right people at the right time and had a very successful - and ruthless - reign. Herod's kingdom was split upon his death between his children.[2] They didn't do such a great job, it seems. At least one of them had to be removed from power.[3]

Herod Agrippa I, the Herod in our text today, is the grandson of Herod the Great; he is a Jew of privilege who was born about 5-10 years after Jesus.[4] He fled or was sent to Rome to get a formal education with other rich and privileged people. Now Rome - of course - was the centre of the entire empire of which Judea (ruled by Herod's family) was a small insignificant province. And one of Herod Agrippa's classmates or one of the people he befriended when he was in Rome was either a fellow by the name of Gaius, a.k.a. Caligula or Claudius;[5] do we know who Caligula and Claudius each were? They would each in turn become Emperor of the entire Roman Empire.

We just had a change of leaders in this country. What has just happened to our former leaders, the people who were members of Harper's cabinet? They all lost their cabinet jobs and were replaced with people chosen by Prime Minister Trudeau. When Caligula and then Claudius became Emperor, the same sort of thing happened; when his friend(s) became ruler of the entire Roman world, Herod went back to his grandfather's old riding that had been divided between his uncles and he was eventually appointed cabinet minister, king. in charge of that whole area.

Herod Agrippa, like Herod the Great, was a skilled politician and he was a popular one. Judah was part of the Roman Empire and the Romans could put anyone in charge they wanted and they put Herod in charge of Judah and Herod, we remember, was a Jew. The people accepted him as a Jew. And even though the Romans usually used Caesarea as their de facto capital, Herod chose to rule from Jerusalem, Judah's historic capital.[6] Herod was a Jew; he was popular among the Jews and his success made him popular among his Roman overseers which then provided even more chances for political advancement. Herod was a popular leader among the Jews.

Now there was a group of people the ruling class of Jews did not like at all. The Jewish aristocracy, especially the Sadducees in Jerusalem where King Herod Agrippa lived, did not like these people known as Christians. These powerful, privileged Jews thought that Christian Jews were troublemakers and besides the Christians believed that Jesus, not Caesar was King of the World and they believed that Jesus, not Herod was King of the Jews.[7]

Not unlike the present War on Terror, Herod thought that he could kill two birds with one stone, so to speak, by rounding up Christian leaders and starting to kill them off. This would get rid of this subversive group of potential terrorists and please both his constituency of the Jews and his bosses, the Romans. Herod kills James, one of Jesus' inner circle and when he sees that this pleases the Jews he proceeds to lock up Peter, the apparent leader of the entire post-resurrection Christian movement, with an aim to execute him as well. God, however, delivers Peter from a maximum security prison and Herod Agrippa has his guards executed in Peter's place.

This is Herod Agrippa I: he was a privileged Jew, a very astute and popular politician who rooted out potential Christian terrorists, and at his height of power… became a meal for worms.[8]

This is the part of the text that I want to focus on today - the death of Herod Agrippa I. Herod had a dispute with the Phoenicians (one of Judah's primary trading partners) and as a result, it appears that he took economic sanctions against two of their city states - and the sanctions seemed to work. The Phoenicians went to great lengths to get one of Herod's personal servants to intercede for them so Herod would agree to meet them and lift the sanctions. He wanted to do it publicly. Like modern day politicians or leaders of superpowers, he wanted everyone to know how good he was to stop starving the Phoenician people into submission.

This summer the Pan-Am Games were here in Toronto. In 2010, the Olympics were in Vancouver. In 44 CE there were games in the Near East to celebrate Emperor Claudius' triumphant return from the British campaign.[9] Herod was there and all eyes were on this rising, important, impressive politician as he made this magnificent speech - and then… he died - very publicly.

Now before we get into some of the details Herod's death and what that all means for us today half a world and two millennia away, I have some more jokes for us. This time I have some owl jokes:

1. Where would you find a list of famous owls?

In a book of Who's Hoo

2. Which Owls like drying dishes?

Teat owls

3. Why did the Owl start a franchise?

So she could have owlet stores?

4. What did the Owl dressed as Casper the friendly ghost say?

Boo Hoo

5. What do you call an owl magician?

Hoo-dini

6. What do you call an owl with a sore throat?

A bird who doesn't give a hoot?

7. What do you call an owl wearing armour?

A knight owl

8. What is an owl's favourite subject?

Owl-gebra!

9. What happened to the Owl who fell in the well?

It got wet.

10. What is an owl's favourite kind of book?

A Hoo Dun it.

11. What does an educated owl say?

Whom

Now I did bring up the owl jokes for a reason. Luke isn't the only historian who records Herod Agrippa's death and Acts in the Bible isn't the only place it is mentioned. The famous Jewish historian Josephus also relates the events surrounding Herod's death. Josephus tells us in Antiquities Book 18, Ch. 6 v.7 of an earlier time when Herod was imprisoned by Emperor Tiberius Caesar.[10] During his time in custody he saw an owl sitting near him. A fellow prisoner, a German, told Herod that this owl meant good luck and that Herod would soon not only be free but he would also be elevated to the highest position - which he was (compare Genesis 40). But that prophesy came with a caveat, a warning, and that warning was that if he should ever see an owl again he would die within five days. Josephus records that Herod saw an owl perched upon a rope above his head five days before his death.[11] Eusebius, the Fourth Century church historian says that this owl he saw seated above his head was an angel.[12] Acts 12:23 records that an angel of the Lord struck him down and he was eaten by worms and he died.[13]  Acts 12:21-24:

On the appointed day Herod, wearing his royal robes, sat on his throne and delivered a public address to the people. They shouted, “This is the voice of a god, not of a man.” Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died. But the Word of God continued to spread and flourish.

Herod was a Jew. Herod was in Jerusalem where the early Christians gathered regularly to share the Gospel. Herod was aware of God, he knew to give God the Glory and praise but he chose to exalt himself instead. Herod  also apparently had every opportunity to know Jesus but instead of supporting God's mission of salvation to the world, Herod accepted glory for himself - even to the extent of being praised as a god. He chose to impede the work of the Lord and in this the vain Herod failed for, Verse 24, 'the Word of God continued to spread and flourish'.

How does all of this apply to us today? I want to offer you these two pieces of encouragement from our text today. 1) No matter how dark it gets - In our text today, Jesus' closest followers were being killed and put in jail - God's will, will be done. To paraphrase Major David Ivany, 'in the end everything will be all right; so if everything isn't all right then it isn't the end.' And 2) we cannot thwart the will of God; the only choice we have is whether we will be a part of it, whether we benefit from it or not. Herod, as a Jew and as ruler of Judea, he had ample opportunity to support and benefit from the inevitable spreading of the Gospel of the proleptic Kingdom to Come. Instead he attempted to impede God's message of Salvation by killing Jesus' apostles.  It didn't work. God's salvation cannot be stopped. Salvation was provided for the whole world between the cross and the empty tomb (TSA d. 6). The only question is whether we will reject that Salvation and perish outside His Kingdom where the worms do not die and the fire is not quenched (Mark 9:48; TSA d.11) or whether we will rejoice as we experience that glorious Salvation which is both for now (in the midst of whatever trials and tribulations we are facing) and forever as we spend eternity with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in His Kingdom to Come. It is my hope that we will choose Salvation.

Let us pray.

www.sheepspeak.com

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[1] Most of the worm jokes were taken from Jokes4us.com:  http://www.jokes4us.com/animaljokes/wormjokes.html

[2] Simon J. Kistemaker, ‘Acts’, New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids Michigan: Baker Academic, 2007), 432.

[3] Paul Mumo Kisau, 'Acts of the Apostles', Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 1348.

[4] Paul Mumo Kisau, 'Acts of the Apostles', Africa Bible Commentary, (Nairobi, Kenya: Word Alive Publishers, 2010), 1348.

[5] Simon J. Kistemaker, ‘Acts’, New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids Michigan: Baker Academic, 2007), 432.

[6] Richard N. Longenecker, The Expositor's Bible Commentary, Pradis CD-ROM:Acts/Exposition of Acts/Part I. The Christian Mission to the Jewish World (2:42-12:24)/Panel 3-Advances of the Gospel in Palestine-Syria (9:32-12:24)/D. Divine Intervention on Behalf of the Jerusalem Church (12:1-23)/1. The deliverance of Peter (12:1-19a), Book Version: 4.0.2

[7] Cf. William H. William, "The Politics of Life" in ‘Acts’, Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching, (Atlanta, Georgia: John Knox Press, 1988), 115-122.

[8] N.T. Wright, Acts for Everyone Part 2 (Louisville, Kentucky, USA: WJK, 2004), 182.

[9] R.C.H Lenski, The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles. (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 486.

[10] Josephus, Complete Works. Translated by William Sanford, (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel Publishing, 1960), 387.

[11] Cf. R.C.H Lenski, The Interpretation of the Acts of the Apostles. (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Augsburg Publishing House, 1961), 488.

[12] Simon J. Kistemaker, ‘Acts’, New Testament Commentary, (Grand Rapids Michigan: Baker Academic, 2007), 446.

[13] Cf. Robert W. Wall, ‘Acts’ The New Interpreter’s Bible 10, (Nashville, Tenn.: Abingdon Press, 2002), 181. This angel of the Lord striking Herod down would immediately remind Luke's readers of the Angel of Death that preceded the deliverance of God's people from Pharaoh leading into the Exodus.