The Filter of our Fear (May 2, 2021)

Matthew 14:22-33

Introduction: One thing this past year has shown us is the reality and power of the filters we all have. How is it that the exact same facts or events (a virus, masks, a vaccine, an election, a killing that causes racial tension) can cause wildly divergent reactions? How can we all look at the exact same thing and see something totally different? There are a few ways we could answer these questions but there is one answer that now seems undeniable. We all have filters that we use to see, understand, and interpret the world.

The Filter of our Fear | Fear is like a filter, isn’t it? When we feel afraid, whatever we fear seems so large as to obstruct our view of anything else. We often try to reason ourselves out of it or act rationally, but it just doesn’t seem to work sometimes. Perhaps our fears become a pattern so that our behavior is continually changed whenever we interact with particular things, people, or events. In this way, what we fear becomes a master over us, it controls us, and it becomes a filter that we cannot shake off.

The story of this passage deals with fear in a storm. Jesus challenged his disciples to face their fear of a storm with faith in Him. The same lesson applies to us today should we consider how life brings many storms our way. During these moments, we might experience the debilitating feeling of fear that causes tunnel vision. Is it possible to overcome this filter of fear? Yes! It is possible because one greater than the storm is with us. We must not allow Jesus to escape the center of our vision during a storm. As we consider how to apply this lesson, let’s consider some things we should expect in the face of a storm.

1. What NOT to Expect in the Storm
The first important lesson in this story deals with a very important principle of life as a Christian. Matthew makes it clear that we should never expect a storm-free life or a life free from fear. This is a lesson that many people either miss entirely or forget about during their journey as a Christian. Verse 22 reads that Jesus made the disciples get into a boat and go ahead of him. The original language indicates that this is a strong and forceful command. So the disciples were entirely in the will of Jesus when they stepped into the boat and made their way out into the water to later face a storm.

Sometimes we believe in a kind of Christianity that filters out the storms, adversities, or trials. We do this because it feels comfortable. The concept is simple: if we are obedient and have enough faith already, then Jesus will give us a life of perfect peace and comfort. This cannot be further from the truth! Not only here in this passage, but throughout the New Testament, there are countless examples of suffering and adversity associated with following Jesus. It is true that Christianity promises an eventual end to the storms beyond this life. But it is also true that Christianity promises something more realistic and better for our life in this world than our faulty conceptions.

2. What To Expect in the Storm

a) Expect Fear and Doubt | Realistic
While Jesus went up on a mountain to pray, the disciples were busy at sea working against battering waves. Verse 24 reads that they were still a long way from their destination. The timeline reveals that they had been rowing for nine hours or so and that it was very early in the morning. The disciples were stuck, weary, cold, and in the dark! No matter how spiritual you think you are, this scenario would create fear and doubt. Like many of us, the disciples were probably wondering: where is Jesus?

Verse 25 reads that Jesus came toward them, walking on the sea. Peter is the first to respond and boldly requests that Jesus command him out onto the water. Here, Peter is an example of faith and fear/doubt – in the same person!. Peter stepped out in faith on the water, but when he noticed the strength of the wind, he became afraid and began to sink. In his eyes, the storm became bigger than Jesus. Though he initially expressed courageous faith, the fear set in again, and he lost sight of Jesus. Even if we were as bold as Peter, there is no way to be 100% prepared for all storms. Fear and doubt are always mixed in.

b) Expect Jesus to Come Toward You | Better
Even if our faith is little, and the storm is great, we can expect Jesus to come toward us as he did with his disciples. Jesus comes to us and speaks as he did in verse 27: “Take courage, it is I. Don’t be afraid.” The Greek implies that Jesus is not just issuing a reminder, but a statement of identity - I AM. These words are all we need to get through a storm. But even if we falter like Peter and begin to sink. Jesus reaches out to save us. When Peter called out to be saved, Jesus immediately took hold of him and challenged his doubt. We can lose sight of Jesus, but he will never lose sight of us. Faith is enough - even little, sinking, desperate faith.

.The Gospel is clear in this passage: Jesus was alone on a mountain in prayer and communion with his Father. He became aware of a storm that was beyond the strength of his disciples. They were afraid, stuck, and weary. Jesus came down and entered the storm to rescue them. For us, Jesus came down from heaven to enter into our storm of sin, evil, and death. He alone rescues us from the great storm, and he will guide us through any and all storms! Praise be to God!

3. What to Expect After the Storm

The storm is not evidence of Jesus’ lack of love for his disciples, but the opposite. Sometimes there are lessons we can only really learn from a circumstance as troubling as a storm. In verse 33, the disciples exclaim, “Truly, you are the Son of God.” This is the heart of Christian growth and maturity. When we move from the faith of assent to the faith that adores, then we have understood true saving faith.

So what can we expect after the storm? First, we can expect sincere worship. Only when we trust Jesus in the storm can we shed our filter of fear. Without the filter of fear, we see Jesus for who he truly is - a mighty Savior we can always trust. Second, we can expect to be safe with Jesus. Even if life has many storms that have yet to cross our path, we can rest in Jesus, who has saved us from the greatest of all storms in the Gospel. To know Jesus is to know for sure that whatever storms we encounter, He will bring us into an everlasting safety (2 Tim. 4:18).

“Through many dangers, toils and snares
We have already come.
T'was Grace that brought us safe thus far
And Grace will lead us home.

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. What about this sermon most impacted you or left you with questions?

2. When you think about a filter of fear, what are the fears that immediately come to your mind? Are there any patterns you notice that keep you from seeing anything beyond your fears?

3. Have you ever thought that the Christian life should be free from fear and doubt? How prevalent is this comfortable concept of Christianity? What are the problems you might run into if you embrace this view?

4. In what ways have you experienced fear and doubt as a Christian? Read 2 Corinthians 1:8-11. Have you ever experienced anything like what Paul describes? How did Paul overcome his fear and doubt and what impact should it have on us?

5. C. H. Spurgeon once said, “He who fears God has nothing else to fear.” In what ways can a greater fear be the antidote for another fear? Does this concept encourage you about facing fearful circumstances in the future?

6. Have you ever stepped out boldly in faith only to realize that you became quickly overwhelmed? How does this passage comfort us should that ever occur?

7. Read Psalm 107:24-32. How many similarities can you find related to the Matthew passage? What does this passage reveal to you about God’s desire to keep his people safe?

8. In what ways have you learned from storms in your life that could not have been learned in a classroom? How does this affect the way you worship God? How does it altar your expectations for the future?

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5 + 2 = 5,000 (Apr 18, 2021)

Matthew 14:13-21

Introduction: One thing this past year has shown us is the reality and power of the filters we all have. How is it that the exact same facts or events (a virus, masks, a vaccine, an election, a killing that causes racial tension) can cause wildly divergent reactions? How can we all look at the exact same thing and see something totally different? There are a few ways we could answer these questions but there is one answer that now seems undeniable. We all have filters that we use to see, understand, and interpret the world.

The story in this passage – the feeding of the 5000 – is well-known, and among all the miracles of Jesus it has a unique/important place: it is the only miracle story that is told in ALL 4 Gospels. There must have been something special about this particular miracle that caused all 4 writers to include it. Let’s try to explore that by looking at the two very clear focuses in this story, neither of which are on the miracle itself!

1. Who Jesus is For Us - Verse 13 tells us that “when Jesus heard about it he withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone”. Whether “it” refers to the execution of John the Baptist or simply that King Herod had begun paying attention to him, Jesus was still certainly dealing with the rejection he had received from his hometown and even his own family.

This ‘remote place’ was supposed to be a retreat - to pray, to rest, to grieve, to think. But as Jesus is getting out of the boat, he sees thousands of people there waiting for Him! In the midst of his very real human exhaustion and grief, this passage shows us:

a) Jesus is compassionate beyond our comprehension. This is not a fringe part of his character and person – it is an essential part of who Jesus is, repeated over and over again in the Gospels. If you come to him with your need, He is never irritated, He will never be busier with more important things, he will never be uncaring. There is never a bad time! He will never say ‘I told you so, you deserve it, serves you right’. Jesus will ALWAYS meet your every need with compassion beyond comprehension.

b) Jesus is powerful beyond our understanding. What Jesus can do does not fit into our categories. There have been many attempts over the years to filter this story through our modern ideas of what is possible/ scientific. But this miracle can’t be understood by adding up with human factors alone - there is a divine factor in the equation. If Jesus is who He says He is – the Son of God – that is the factor changes the equation.

.The point of this miracle is how these 2 things come together in Jesus: Raw miraculous power alone isn’t enough. Deep and heartfelt compassion alone won’t cut it either. But in Jesus we see compassion joined to power, where He can understand and comfort our needs no matter what and we can trust that he is able to meet them, oftentimes in ways we can’t understand or comprehend.

We tend to filter out Jesus’ compassion based on wrong perceptions of his distance, sovereignty, or our own worthiness. Others filter out his power based on our limited human understanding of what can see (it feels hopeless!) and understand (he can’t possibly be working in this!). But this story assures us – at all times, in all our need - Jesus is compassionate beyond our comprehension, He is powerful beyond our understanding.

2. What Jesus Can Do Through Us

This miracle story is focused not on the miracle itself, but the one who did the miracle. BUT what is so unique about this miracle (compared to all the other ones) is how Jesus did this miracle – through his disciples. A number of commentators have noted a hint of possible impatience/exhaustion/frustration in the disciples’ interaction with Jesus. We know from the other Gospels that they had been sent out on mission around Galilee, and part of the reason for the retreat into the wilderness was for them to rest.

In our current Covid-afflicted times, perhaps we can relate to the disciples’ desire to have Jesus “send the crowds away”. Many (if not most!) of us probably feel like ‘I don’t have the time, or the energy, or the heart, the desire! What do I have left to give? If anything, it’s only just a little.’ There is real truth here, that the demands of our particular season of life do give rise to limits. But we look all around and see overwhelming need, and underwhelming resources – probably much like the disciples.

Given the circumstances, the disciples were being realistic – they were drained, they were empty, and knew their own limits. Sending the crowds away probably felt like a reasonable solution. In fact, the worst thing the disciples could have done was to attempt the task without acknowledging how inadequate 5 loaves and 2 fish (a common laborer’s meal) would be. Those most out of touch with reality are those who believe they can carry out their calling from God in their own resources/capacity. Those most in touch with reality know they are inadequate in and of themselves.

Jesus then says to them ‘bring them to Me.’ The disciples were looking at the desert, the massive need, their meager resources – the reality. Jesus responds by acknowledging the math, BUT reminding them that they’ve left out one important variable – Him. If we count out Jesus, we are missing the central reality of the situation. Jesus called them to a task beyond them, but He gave them the grace to do it – that is the promise here. If Jesus asks us to do something, he will give us the grace to do it. If we believe Jesus is who He said He is, the most central reality in any situation is Jesus. We can never factor him out. He is compassionate beyond our comprehension, powerful beyond our understanding and wise beyond our perception. That’s the lesson of the parable = 5+2+Jesus = enough.

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. What about this sermon most impacted you or left you with questions? Here is what one scholar said about the filters we bring to Jesus:

   It is vitally important for us to develop a clear vision of Jesus. For many people, an understanding of Jesus is cluttered with fragmented or distorted images. We are often more familiar with the pieces of Jesus’ image that our culture, denomination, church, or fellowship group has excised for its own use than we are with the full biblical picture. (Michael Wilkins, Matthew)

   Do you agree with this? How do you see this in your own life and experience?

2. How would you describe the compassion of Jesus based on this passage? Where are you most in need (and maybe doubting) the compassion of Jesus? How can this story encourage you?

3. How would you describe the power of Jesus based on this passage? Where are you most struggling to believe in Jesus’ power? How does this story encourage you?

4. In addition to compassion and power there was one more thing mentioned in the sermon that this miracle revealed about Jesus – his wisdom. He asked the disciples to do something that seemed foolish - there was no way it made sense to them. This is meant to show the us that Jesus is wise beyond our perception. How has this proven true in the past for you? Where do you most need to remember this in your life?

5. Where do you most feel inadequate and not enough to be/do what Jesus has called you to be/do? ie Where do you most feel like “All I have is 5 loaves and 2 fish”?

6. What might it look like for you to bring what you have for Jesus and trust that he will use it and multiply in ways you can’t understand or comprehend? What is holding you back from doing this?

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Jesus Unfiltered (Apr 11, 2021)

Matthew 13:53-14:2

Introduction: One thing this past year has shown us is the reality and power of the filters we all have. How is it that the exact same facts or events (a virus, masks, a vaccine, an election, a killing that causes racial tension) can cause wildly divergent reactions? How can we all look at the exact same thing and see something totally different? There are a few ways we could answer these questions but there is one answer that now seems undeniable. We all have filters that we use to see, understand, and interpret the world.

Jesus Message = Proclaim Justice, Jesus Mission = Lead Justice to Victory

In this series on the Gospel of Matthew 13-20, we will explore how these filters work to get in the way of us seeing Jesus for who He is. In this section of Matthew, two things happen simultaneously – 1) Jesus more clearly reveals who He is & what He came to do and 2) People (even his own disciples) more blatantly misunderstand and misinterpret Him. How does this happen? How might it be happening with us?

1. We All Have Filters - These stories show us the reality and power of our filters in two different settings.

1) Jesus Hometown – In 13:53-55, Jesus is blowing away his hometown with his teaching. They all seem to know he has also done miraculous and unexplainable things. But that’s not what they are seeing. They say, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t this Mary’s son? Don’t we know his brothers and sisters?” In other words, they are saying, “We cannot believe that someone from this town, from this ordinary family, with an ordinary human occupation, with brothers and sisters that we know could do these things - so we can’t believe it.” Why? Not because of the evidence, or what they were hearing or seeing. It was because of the filter they had. He didn’t fit their categories for a Messiah, so they didn’t believe. They wanted a Messiah on their terms. What Jesus was doing and saying couldn’t get through.

2) Herod – In 14:1-2, we see a totally different filter at work than the people of Nazareth. Herod the tetrarch (a term for a ruler of a territory) heard about all the same things that the town of Nazareth was seeing. He concluded it was John the Baptist raised from the dead. This was a pretty outlandish thing to believe. Why did he believe this? Was it because of the evidence or what he had heard about Jesus or the sources he was hearing it from? No – it was because of the filter he had. Having put John to death earlier (as told in 14:3-12), he saw Jesus through the filter own fears, paranoia and guilt.

The point of putting these two stories side by side is to show us that people did not look at or listen to Jesus honestly or reasonably. Why? Because of their filters. This passage is one of the clearest places in the Bible that shows us the power of the filters we have in our thinking and beliefs. The question for us is not – do you have a filter? It’s do you know yours? Do you know how you filter out things about Jesus you don’t want to see or hear?

2. Jesus and Our Filters

How do we know when Jesus is challenging our filters? How can we be better able to see ours? This passage shows us how. When one or both of the two things happen in us that happened in Jesus’ hometown - astonishment and offense.

• Astonishment - In 13:54, we read that the people in Jesus’ hometown were “astonished”. The word means to strike out with a blow; to strike out of one's senses; to be dumbfounded. This is what happens when you meet the real Jesus and consider Him as He is. The Jesus we meet in the New Testament is unlike any person anyone has ever encountered. If you haven’t been astonished by Jesus. You have a filter. When you find yourself saying, “It’s too good to be true”; “He’s too good to be true” you know Jesus is bumping up against your filter..

• Offense - In 13:57, we read that the people of Nazareth were also offended by Jesus. They (and likely Herod too) were scandalized at Jesus demand for total loyalty and allegiance to Him. Isn’t this Mary’s son. How can he be saying these things? Who is Jesus to speak with authority over us? Herod likely thought, “Another prophet come to call me out? Who is he to say anything about how I live my life, what is right/wrong for me?” If you have not been offended or scandalized, by Jesus. You have a filter. The Jesus of the New Testament is more demanding than any person anyone has ever encountered. When you find yourself saying, “It’s too hard to be true, “He’s asking too much to be true”, you know Jesus is bumping up against your filter.

3. Jesus Unfiltered

How do we put our filters down and see Jesus for who He is? The answer given here is faith. It was because of “their unbelief” that Jesus did not do many miracles in Nazareth (v58). The power of Jesus is withheld when people keep their filters up in unbelief. But faith sounds like an overly simplistic and very pious answer, “Just have faith!” Note that faith, according to this passage, is not opposed to reason, evidence and thinking. It is in line with reason and evidence. The unreasonable and unthinking people in the passage are those who refuse to see Jesus for who He is. Their faith in their filters was too strong to see and consider Jesus for who He really was.

Here is what we need to admit – the thing holding up our filters is faith. It’s our faith or trust in the categories we have, our understanding of the world, the things we believe we must to have to be happy, the things we believe give us status. We must be willing to examine and question our faith in these things when we experience Jesus “bumping up against them”. Faith begins and grows when we look to Jesus – not through the filters of own preference, culture, politics or desires – but as He is in all his astonishing and offensive fullness.

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. What about this sermon most impacted you or left you with questions? Do you agree that this past year has shown us the reality and power of the filters we all have? How have you seen this?

2. A Filter is something that lets what you want in and keeps what you don’t want out. This isn’t always a bad thing but can be if we are keeping parts of Jesus out of our lives. What filter(s) do you have? (A few mentioned in the sermon were the conservative filter, the progressive filter and the American filter – just to suggest some non-controversial ones 😉.

3. When were you last astonished by Jesus (blown away, dumbfounded)? When were you last offended by Jesus (scandalized)? If it’s been a while, why do you think this is?

4. How have you seen God remove and change the filters you have used to see and listen to Him and His word?

5. While it seems like a tragic ending for Jesus’ hometown and own household, this isn’t the end of the story. We know from history that two of his brothers did end up believing and becoming leaders in the early church (James, Jude). Even when we resist Him with our filters, Jesus doesn’t give up on us. How does this give you hope for yourself? for the church? for others (whose filters you can see)?

BONUS – FOR REFLECTION & PRAYER

The scariest part of this passage for Christians is that Jesus was least appreciated where he was best known. In “his hometown, his household”. There is a message here for us today. A message for the church. To those who are most familiar with Jesus.

At this point in the story of Jesus there is a major transition that is a sober warning to people who think they know Jesus. Jesus never went back to a synagogue after this. This is pretty fascinating and extremely significant. Why is it a big deal? Synagogues were the official place for Jewish people to gather, hear teaching, worship. After this, Jesus decided to work outside the normal religious structures of his day. If you wanted to find Jesus, you had to be willing to put down your filters and meet Him, see Him for who He was, on his terms. He wouldn’t be found in a synagogue.

There are many dead churches throughout history and around the world. Churches that end up becoming museums. There are many vibrant and thriving churches throughout history and around the world. Churches that experience the presence of Jesus and live in the power of His kingdom. What’s the difference? Those willing to put down their filters and meet the full and true Jesus for who He is – those are the churches that are alive with his presence and power.

One significant reason we and our churches drift into unhealth is that we neglect or under-emphasize or even turn away from aspects of Christ himself that we find confusing or threatening. ... We get healthy again when we stop miniaturizing Christ and rediscover his actual grandeur and we allow him, in our churches, to be all that in fact he is. -Ray Ortlund

Spend time as a group praying for each person and for our church to put down our filters to see Jesus for all of who He is.

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The Victory of Justice (Apr 4, 2021) Easter Sunday

Matthew 12:9-21

Introduction: As we close our series on justice during the Lent and Easter season we reflect on the premise: there is no true justice without Jesus, and there is no true Jesus without justice. Justice is a concept that is being debated in many of our current cultural/political conversations. It is entirely possible for us to err in two directions in seeking a biblical application of justice to our present culture. One, we might settle for a cultural version of justice without reference to Jesus. Two, we might seek to uphold a version of justice in the name of Jesus that ignores the legitimate plights of others. As we have seen in this series, both of these versions of justice are incomplete. Jesus shows us the way to full and comprehensive justice.

Jesus Message = Proclaim Justice, Jesus Mission = Lead Justice to Victory

Our series has shown us that justice is not a side issue. It is not an optional concern relegated only to those who have the gift of mercy and compassion. Justice is a theme central to both Testaments of the Bible, and this passages clearly shows us – it is a critical component of the Gospel message. In the Old Testament, we have observed God’s call for justice in the prophets like Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, Malachi, and Amos. In the New Testament we find that Jesus aims to carry out justice, albeit in a way that no one could comprehend. Despite the long history of injustice in the world, this passage in Matthew proclaims that Jesus will lead justice to victory. How can we know that things will get better? How can we know that justice will one day prevail? The bible teaches we can know because Easter is true. The risen Jesus is our only hope for the victory of justice. This passage tells us how and why we can believe this.

1. The Apparent Absence of Jesus

It is no surprise that Jesus drew in large crowds. His message was viral for all kinds of people looking for justice, hope, and peace in a broken world. In verse 9, a man with a shriveled hand comes to Jesus in his brokenness and need for healing. Jesus saw the man and felt compassion, but the Pharisees saw an opportunity to win an argument. Jesus responds by healing the man and indicating that the Law of God is not an excuse to ignore the cause of broken people. Even this small interaction is a good lesson for us today.

The Pharisees did not take Jesus’ remarks lightly, but plotted to kill him. We should expect Jesus to valiantly stand in their way and condemn them, right? Wrong. Verse 15 indicates that Jesus “withdrew” and even warned people “not to make him known.” Why would he do that in the midst of peoples’ pain and desire to meet with him? With so much injustice in the world?! Perhaps we too have felt this way about Jesus. One of the most difficult parts about being a Christian is that Jesus often seems absent when we feel like he should be near. That’s why Matthew quoted this text from Isaiah. There is something deeper going on here, there is a bigger picture. We must remember that an apparent absence of Jesus does not mean that he is not working.

2. The Baffling Strategy of Jesus

So if Jesus is not absent, then what is he doing? What is the big picture? Here is where we need to take a closer look at this long passage from Isaiah. This is the longest quote in his gospel. In this beautiful prophecy, Isaiah claims that this chosen servant “will not argue or shout. You will not hear his voice in the streets. He will not break a bruised reed, and he will not put out a smoldering wick.” Here is the strategy: Quiet and gentle. When we see injustice in the world, we sometimes want Jesus to reign down fire. We sometimes want him to confront his opponents and stand proud and bold. We want King Kong to rise up and fight against Godzilla! But Jesus has a very different strategy. He doesn’t withdraw from a broken world of injustice, He withdraws from using certain strategies like arguing, shouting, publicity, power, or political force as the primary method in his fight for justice. Among all the brokenness, injustice, and division in the world, Jesus chooses a rather baffling strategy. He finds a way to enact full justice and to embrace broken people in loving gentleness. He takes it all upon himself. If Jesus used our strategies to lead justice to victory - there would be no one left! Only Jesus would stand guiltless and safe if God’s perfect justice would be led to victory. But Jesus chose to be broken on our behalf, and take upon himself the wrath of God against all injustice. As we peruse the landscape of today wondering how all the injustice in the world will be finally quelled, let us never forget the ultimate example of our mighty but gently Jesus. He is the reason we can have hope in a future where justice is victorious.

3. The Certain Victory of Jesus

Jesus identifies himself as the chosen servant in Isaiah, and this is incredible news. For it reads that he will not stop “until he has led justice to victory.” What this means for us is that we don’t have to be merely optimistic about Jesus’ future victory, but certain. How can this be possible? The future victory of justice finds its ground in the resurrection, and so we can be certain that He is working. Even when we can’t make sense of what He is doing.

If the Easter story is true, then the absence of Jesus is only apparent, and the baffling strategy is the best strategy, and the victory is certain. This is the joy of every Christian on Easter Sunday, because Jesus did rise from the dead. The Father affirmed his work on the cross to save sinners and his mission to “proclaim justice to the nations.” Do you really believe that? Will you look back to the certain victory of the Cross and look forward to the certain victory of his coming?

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. Have you struggled recently with the feeling that Jesus is absent - either in your life or the needs of the world? How does this affect you (doubt, apathy, anger, anxiety)?

2. When it appears that Jesus is absent how can it help to remember the big picture as “painted” for us in this passage (ie, This broken world is not the end! Jesus is not finished with his mission)? What about the picture of Jesus here is most encouraging to you?

3. Jesus’ strategy was baffling to everyone - including those closest to him. Sometimes we are able to believe that Jesus is there - but we are so baffled by what he is doing. Can you identify with this? How so?

4. What about Jesus quiet and gentle strategy is hardest for you (in a broken world filled with injustice?)

5. What about Jesus quiet and gentle strategy is most appealing to you (in your own brokenness and/or guilt and complicity in injustice toward the poor, needy and marginalized)?

6. How does the gospel show us how God can be unswervingly committed to justice and unswervingly committed to gentleness for people broken by a world of sin (even those guilty of injustice, which is all of us at some level)?

7. If the resurrection is true, how does this give us certainty about a final victory for justice? What difference does this make in our lives now? in working for justice now?

8. It was said in the sermon that people who really believe the resurrection is true, have the greatest reason and hope to work for justice now? Do you agree? What would this look like? What would it look like for you?

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Justice and Lament (Mar 28, 2021)

Malachi 2:17-36

Introduction: During this season of Lent we are focusing on this premise: there is no true justice without Jesus, and there is no true Jesus without justice. Justice has become a controversial word in our culture, triggering all kinds of reactions. We have already seen that justice is also a central theme of the Bible – learning who God is, what God does, and what God commands us to do. Amos 5 shows us the connection between justice & lament and how God actually feels about injustice.

1. When God Laments

Scholars tell us that verses 1-3 are patterned after a funeral song or lament. God is lamenting where his people are in their present “fallen” state, that they cannot rise up, and where they are headed if they do not radically repent and respond to what God is saying through Amos.

This funeral lament also signified something else: that their relationship with God was not just in need of some adjustment or correction, but that it had actually died! Given the context of the book of Amos, this would have been an absolute shock to the people to whom it was addressed. During the time of King Jeroboam II, Israel was experiencing a time of economic prosperity and success, in which people thought that God was blessing them. However, Amos tells the people, “Prepare to meet your God”. And when He comes, it as a God who is singing a lament.

But why is God singing this song of lament? God’s desire is for us to seek Him! The obvious implication is: “You think you are seeking me, but you are not. If you were really seeking me, you would live; but you are not and that is why I sing a funeral lament.” That the people are not seeking God is a clear sign that their relationship with God is dead.

Verses 10-12 show us how this looked in Amos’ time. We see that the powerful and privileged people (who say they know Him and believe they are blessed by Him) mistreat the poor and weak members of their society by “tramp[ling] on [them].” This was borne out in their judicial system, with oppressive taxes and usury (resulting in induced slavery or the relinquishing of land to wealthy landowners). The Old Testament observation of the year of Jubilee (cancelling debts, returning ancestral land, giving to the poor resources to re-start for free) was also being completely ignored.

When does God lament? God laments when people “who claim to know him” (as v14 says) live in comfort while people are trampled/oppressed/deprived of justice. And when that happens, it is time to sing a funeral song.

2. When We Should Lament

So when should WE lament? We should lament for the same reasons that God laments – when we see justice turned to wormwood [bitterness] and righteousness cast to the ground (5:7). We should especially lament when we have believed that we can seek the Lord and not love good, seek to establish justice or care for the poor in our midst; when we see a “faith without works is dead” kind of faith in us.

Justice is incomplete without the following three things:

• Orthodoxy – a sound theology of justice; not from culture but Scripture

• Orthopraxis – to do good, to perform acts of mercy and justice

• Orthopathos – (which we see in Amos) to experience the right affections and emotions, a broken heart

The experience of lament is something that many modern-day Christians have little to no knowledge of, but about which we must learn! Fully 1/3 of the Psalms are forms of lament, and an entire book of the Bible is called Lamentations. People who are hurting and suffering need other people who can lament with them. One writer reminds us that the Bible calls us to weep with those who weep; it doesn’t tell us to judge whether they should be weeping. (H. B. Charles Jr.)

On a societal level, the first reaction from Christians toward people experiencing pain, poverty, racism has often been a desire to judge whether or not they should be weeping! Rather than this form of evaluation or judgment, lamenting requires listening to those who are bitter or feel they have been cast to the ground. Consider the words Amos used to describe people like this: “trampled, oppressed, deprived, obstructed”. When Christians encounter people who are experiencing these things, we are called to lament.

3. Where Lament Will Lead Us

Lament will lead us to Jesus Christ. This sermon is from Palm Sunday – the start of Holy Week. In Luke 19, we see the palms, the praises, the hosannas! But we often miss the lament of Palm Sunday in vv. 41-42. Why is Jesus weeping? He knew that for most of those gathered on the road, it was not real. They acted like they were seeking God, but they were spiritually dead like the people in Amos’ day. Amos the prophet told the people to prepare to meet their God. But Amos lamented over their rejection of God and the coming judgment. In Luke 19, Jesus (God in the flesh) comes into Jerusalem but laments their rejection of him.

In Jesus, God had come to meet us – not to bring judgment on us for all our injustice but to take the just judgment of God in our place. Jesus lamented and cried over the unwillingness of people to come to him for forgiveness and real spiritual life. If the warnings of Jesus about our own sins of injustice don’t move us to seek Him in repentance, may we let the tears of Jesus move us to run to him in our own tearful repentance.

Having heard the warning of God in Isaiah, the delight of God in Jeremiah, the requirement of God in Micah, the confrontation of God in Malachi to do justice and show mercy to the poor; now let the tears of God in Amos – fulfilled in Jesus Christ – lead us to repentance and change. Though we deserve judgment, death and a funeral, we receive by faith in Jesus forgiveness, a song of resurrection and new life. Jesus can take those who truly repent and lament and turn them into a person whose life flows with the streams of justice.

REFLECT OR DISCUSS

1. What about this sermon most impacted you or left you with questions about the justice of God?

2. What are the signs of a “dead faith” according to this chapter in Amos 5? What is the role of works of justice in a life of genuine faith? How does this challenge/encourage you personally?

3. Look above at the 3 aspects of biblical justice. Why is orthopathos so important? What might it look like for us to lament injustice?

4. H. B. Charles Jr. said, “The Bible calls us to weep with those who weep; it doesn’t tell us to judge whether they should be weeping.” Why do we judge whether others should be weeping instead of weeping with others? Has this been true of you?

5. How can lament people a part of reconciliation – even in our divided and tense time? Consider the quote below.
   As it turns out, our all-wise and all-loving God has given us in the Bible just such a technology, a way of talking with a built-in procedure and potential to help us express our feelings, empathize with others, turn to God in faith, and, by the Father’s grace, inch toward a deeper experience of reconciliation. That way, that technology, that language is lament. Oh, that we would use this universal translator to commune with each other across our ethnic differences! (Thabiti Anyabwile, Weep with Me)

6. How might the lament of Jesus change us if our hearts our indifferent to injustice or we are inactive in doing anything for those affected by injustice?

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