Theology – The way of Jesus lies in the shadow of the cross

Cause & Effect

J. Thomas Johnson – March 2, 2023

Sometimes I assume I have to choose between what is natural and what is supernatural. If an occurrence has a natural explanation—that is, if something can be explained according to the normal patterns of life on earth or of the universe generally—, then I am tempted to assume that it occurred naturally. If an occurrence has no clear natural explanation, then I am tempted to consider supernatural involvement. This all seems very reasonable to me, but I am becoming increasingly aware of how unbiblical this way of reasoning may be.

Recently I’ve been considering the fall of the walls of Jericho in Joshua chapter six. The Scriptures tell us that God told the Israelites to march around the city once each day for six days. Then on the seventh day, the Lord told them to march around the city seven times, with the priests marching before the Ark of the Covenant blasting the trumpets the whole time. Following the seventh time around the city, after the priests had released a long blast from the ram’s horn, the people were to shout a great shout, and the walls of the city would fall. The Scriptures tell us that this occurred precisely as God had described, and the Israelites took the city. What the Scriptures don’t say is whether anything ‘natural’ occurred at the same time.

For what I consider to be dubious reasons, most contemporary critical scholars have rejected the Bible’s date of Israel’s conquest of Canaan (i.e., 1406 B.C.) and have preferred a date of 1250 B.C. There is little archaeological evidence of a major settlement in Jericho in 1250 B.C. But, during the period in which the Bible indicates Israel came into the land, there is evidence of such a settlement. Assuming that the Bible is right both about the dates and about the events surrounding the fall of Jericho, how precisely might the walls have fallen?

Biblical historians who accept the Bible’s dating for the conquest of Canaan have suggested that an earthquake (or a series of earthquakes) might have led to the wall’s collapse. The Jordan River Valley is part of a large fault line sometimes called the Syrian-African Rift. In the last 2,000 years earthquakes have been recorded as causing landslides that have blocked the Jordan River’s flow and as having done substantial damage to human-made structures. Since the conquest of Jericho was preceded by the miracle of the Jordan River’s waters stopping for Israel to cross over, some historians have suggested a large earthquake followed by several aftershocks might have led to the fall of Jericho’s walls.

We don’t know if that is what happened, but if it were, would that mean these were not miracles—that is, that God was not involved? No. Permit me to explain.

According to the Scriptures, life is unnatural. According to Genesis, the natural state of things is lifelessness, formlessness, emptiness, darkness. God imposed life on lifelessness by speaking. For Christians, the universe is not natural, but a miracle, and life along with it. Order and life have been imposed on disorder and lifelessness by God. Nature is supernaturally sourced and supernaturally maintained.

Perhaps, then, it is not surprising that the Scriptures often describe events as both natural (that is, as consequences of cause and effect) and as supernatural (as intended by God). How many earthquakes might Jericho have withstood during its history? We don’t know. However, on that day in the late 1400s B.C. God did not allow the walls to remain standing. Was this a consequence of building on a fault line? Yes. Was this judgment? Yes. Was this the fulfillment of God’s promise to Israel? Yes. As Christians we don’t choose between these interpretations. They were all true simultaneously.

Consequences of poor decisions are both natural and forms of divine judgment. The earth has been created in such a way that God can bring judgment through its design. God does not need to circumvent creation in order to use it for His purposes. God can and has worked through the very mechanisms of nature that He has created and that He maintains. As has always been true and remains true today, consequences can be both natural and forms of divine judgment simultaneously. Perhaps we should look for God’s communications and activities in the natural consequences of our choices and not only in the inexplicable or exceptional aspects of life on earth.

John Wesley Sermons – The More Excellent Way (1 Corinthians 12:31)

The original sermon can be found in: The Works of John Wesley, Volume 7 (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1996), 26-37.

Language edited and updated by J. Thomas Johnson – Sunday, June 26, 2022

[Why revisit the sermons of John Wesley? What could a preacher from 1700s England have to say that is worth hearing today? I’m not sure. But, I am certain that when I was praying and seeking the Lord about our next sermon series that this was where I was pointed. Methodism today is certainly facing a significant moment of decision. In a purely practical sense, perhaps it is useful for us to return to the beginning of this movement as we consider what it means to be Methodists today.

However, I have found an additional blessing in reconsidering Wesley’s sermons. I am finding myself challenged to read and understand the Scriptures in ways I had not considered before. For instance, I have often read Jesus as a wisdom teacher who placed ideals before us to which we should strive. Wesley, on the other hand, as will be clear in the sermon today, read Jesus not as an idealist but as One who reveals the will of God to us. Consequently, Wesley read every teaching of Jesus as a revelation of the will of God—almost as a new law by which we should govern our lives. I think this is a perspective sorely lacking in our day, and I have found it refreshing to listen to someone who read and responded to Jesus in this way.

In the message today, Wesley sought to be deeply practical. Jesus has taught that to be His disciple one must, “deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Jesus” (Luke 9:23, NASB). Wesley understood this to be a call to a universal lifestyle of self-denial. And so, he sought to explore what a life of self-denial would look like every day. Some of his examples are dated, but all of them were Wesley’s attempt to embrace Jesus’ call to self-denial in even the smallest areas of his life. Rather than trying to update these applications, I’ve left them as they were.

One more comment before we begin to listen again to Wesley’s reading of the Scripture. On some occasions, Wesley gets a little too ascetic, in my opinion. In other words, sometimes Wesley’s understanding of self-denial carries with it too much of the Greek philosophical assumption that earthly pleasures were evil in and of themselves. We should recognize that when God created the heavens and the earth, God called the creation good. There is nothing inherently evil in the flesh or in the capacity that we have for pleasure or enjoyment. Also, the Scriptures do not teach that our mental capacities are morally superior to our bodily capacities. I will say that, for his time, Wesley was remarkably balanced in the way he spoke of these things. But, I would caution that self-denial is not simply a way of speaking of restraining bodily desires or of denying oneself pleasure so as to increase one’s contemplative devotion to God. The Christian life is a balance of body and spirit, both submitted to God and enjoying all of creation within the boundaries God has set.

In any case, without further ado, let’s revisit Wesley’s sermon, “The More Excellent Way.”]

³¹But earnestly desire the greater gifts. And yet, I am going to show you a far better way.
1 Corinthians 12:31, NASB

In the preceding verses, the Apostle Paul has been speaking about the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit, such as healing of the sick, prophesying, speaking in languages which the speaker had never learned, and the miraculous interpretation of languages. And Paul has said that these gifts of the Holy Spirit are desirable. In fact, Paul encouraged the Corinthians (at least the teachers among them) to desire them earnestly that they themselves might be useful to the body of believers and to the non-Christian world.

“And yet,” Paul has said, “I am going to show you a far better way”—a far more desirable way than all of these put together. This far better way will not fail to lead you to happiness, both in this world and in the world to come. Even if a person had all of these extraordinary gifts, they might find themselves to be miserable, both on earth and in eternity.

It does not appear that the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit were common in the Church for more than two or three centuries. We seldom hear of them after that fatal period when the Roman Emperor Constantine called himself a Christian and, from an empty desire to promote the cause of Christianity, heaped riches and power and honor upon Christians in general and upon the Christian clergy in particular. From that time forward, they ceased almost entirely. And this was not because (as some have ignorantly assumed) “because there was no more need for them,” since all the world had become Christian. This is a miserable mistake. Not even five percent of the world was even marginally Christian in the years that followed.

The real cause of the cessation of the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit was that “most people’s love,” the love of almost all Christians, “became cold” (Matthew 24:12, NASB). Christians, then, had no more of the Spirit of Christ than non-Christians. When the Son of Man came to examine His Church, He could hardly find faith on the earth (Luke 18:8). This was the real cause of the cessation of the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit in the Christian Church, because Christians had become non-Christians again, and had only a dead form of Christianity left.

However, I do not want to speak today of the extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit. Today I will speak of the ordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit, and these, too, we should earnestly desire, in order to be more useful in our generation. We may desire the gift of convincing speech in order to probe the unbelieving heart along with the gift of persuasion, both to move the emotions and to enlighten the mind. We may desire knowledge, both of the word of God and of God’s activities in the world. We may desire enough faith to allow us to do miraculous works. We may desire a clear articulation, or a pleasant sermon which is preached in submission to the will of God. We may desire any of these things or other gifts that would allow us to be useful wherever we are. But there is a far better way.

This far better way is the way of love; the way of loving all human beings for God’s sake; the way of humble, gentle, patient love. This is the far better way that Paul has described so clearly in the rest of the chapter. And without this love, Paul has assured us that all eloquence, all knowledge, all faith, all works, and all sufferings are of no more value in the sight of God than that of a series loud, annoying bangs and contribute nothing at all to our salvation. Without love, all we know, all we believe, all we do, and all we suffer will not benefit us at all on the day we stand before Jesus and make an account for how we have lived in this world.

But today I would like to look at this text from a slightly different angle and point out a far better way in another sense. One ancient writer has observed that from the very beginning there have always been two orders of Christians. One order of Christian lives a law-abiding life, is obedient in all things, does not rebel against the customs or expectations of the world, does many good works, abstains from obvious evils, and attends to the basic requirements of God. These Christians try to live in such a way that their consciences remain clean, but they do not work to improve themselves. In most things, there is no difference between them and their neighbors.

The other order of Christians does not only avoid all kinds of evil, but they are eager for good deeds of every kind. They attend to all the basic requirements of God, but they also desire earnestly to have the attitude in themselves which was also in Christ Jesus, and they try sincerely to live in every way as Jesus lived. In order to do this, they live lives of universal self-denial. They deny themselves daily of any pleasure which they do not believe will prepare them for finding their delight in God. They take up their crosses daily. As Jesus has taught them, they “strive,” they agonize without ceasing, “to enter through the narrow door” (Luke 13:24, NASB). And above all, they are willing to endure any agony or pain that is necessary to arrive at the summit of Christian holiness, “leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, [to] press on to maturity;” (Hebrews 6:1, NASB); “to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that [they] may be filled to all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19, NASB).

From my experience and my observations over a long period of time, I am inclined to believe that whoever finds redemption in the blood of Jesus, whoever is justified, has the choice of walking in the higher or the lower path that I have just described. I believe that at that moment, the Holy Spirit calls this person to the far better way and encourages them to walk in it—to choose the narrowest path in the narrow way, to long for the heights and depths of holiness, to long to embody the full image of God. But, if this person does not accept the Spirit’s offer, they decline into the lower order of Christians, perhaps, at first, without realizing it. This person still walks in what might be considered a good way, serving God in some degree, and they will find mercy at the end of their earthly lives through the blood of the covenant.

I would not want to extinguish a dimly burning wick (Matthew 12:20, NASB). In other words, I would not want to discourage those who are serving God in a lower degree. But, at the same time, I do not want them to remain as they are. I would encourage those on the lower road, to come up higher. Without thundering hell and damnation in their ears, without condemning the lives they are currently living, without telling them that the way they are walking leads to destruction, I will try to point out to them what is, in every respect, a far better way.

And please remember that I am not claiming that all who do not walk on this higher road are on the road to hell. Even so, I am saying that those who walk on the lower road will not have as high a place in the new heavens and the new earth as they would have had had they chosen the better part. And will it be a minor loss to have fewer stars in your crown of glory? Will it be a small thing to have a lower place than you might have had in the kingdom of your Father? Of course, there will be no sorrow in the new heavens and the new earth. There all tears will be wiped from our eyes. But, if it were possible for grief to enter into that place, we would grieve at that irreparable loss. Irreparable then, but not now. Now, by the grace of God, we may still choose the far better way. Let’s compare, in a few particulars, the far better way and the way in which most Christians walk.

Let’s begin at the beginning of the day—in the morning. Most Christians who no longer work for their living or who make their living with a more flexible schedule wake up, particularly in the winter, at eight or nine in the morning, after having slept for eight or nine or more hours. I don’t believe any longer (though I did believe this fifty years ago) that all who indulge themselves in this way are walking on the road to destruction. But, neither do I believe they are on the way to the new heavens and the new earth, denying themselves, and taking up their crosses daily. I am certain there is a far better way to promote both mental and bodily health.

Being now in my sixties, I have learned that healthy men require, on average, between six and seven hours of sleep, and healthy women often require a little more—from seven to eight hours—each day. In my experience, this amount of sleep is most advantageous to both the body and the spirit. This sleep schedule is preferable to any medication which I have taken, both for preventing and for resolving nervous disorders. It is, therefore, a far better way, in defiance of what is popular and customary, to take only as much sleep as experience proves our bodies require. This is indisputably most conducive to bodily and spiritual health.

So why do so many people not adopt this schedule? Is it because it is difficult? No. With human strength maybe it is challenging for some, but all things are possible with God. And, by God’s grace, all things will be possible for you, too. If you bring this matter to God in prayer continually, you will find it not only possible, but easy. Even more, it will be far easier to rise early consistently than only to do it once in a while. But, of course, the routine must be started on the right end. If you want to wake up early, then you must go to sleep early. Impose it on yourself, except in extraordinary circumstances, to go to bed at a fixed time. Then the challenge of it will soon be over, but the advantage of it will remain forever.

Many Christians pray in the morning when they awaken, and most of those probably use some form of prayer that they learned when they were eight or ten years old. Now, I am not condemning those who pray in this way as mocking God (as many do), even though they have used the same prayer, without variation, for twenty or thirty years. But surely, there is a far better way of ordering our private devotions. What if we were to follow the advice given by William Law in his book A Call to Christians Showing the Necessity of a Devout and Holy Life? He encourages us to consider our outward and inward states and then to pray accordingly.

For instance, suppose your outward state is prosperous—suppose you are healthy, at ease, having plenty, in good relationship with your family, having good neighbors and good friends. If this is true, then your outward state calls for praise and thanksgiving to God. On the other hand, if you are in difficult circumstances—if God has given you much to be anxious about, if you are in poverty, if you are in need of basic necessities, if you are distressed, if you are at risk of harm, if you are suffering pain or sickness—, then you are clearly called to pour our your heart before God in response to these circumstances.

Similarly, you might pray in ways according to your inward state—your mental, emotional, or psychological state. Do you feel weighed down either from a sense of sin or because of recurrent temptations? Then, let your prayer include whatever confessions, requests, or pleas that might help you in your distress. However, what if you are experiencing peace, what if you are rejoicing in God, what if you are recognizing the ways in which He is comforting you? Then say with the Psalmist, “²⁸You are my God, and I give thanks to You; You are my God, I exalt You” (Psalm 118:28, NASB). You may also, when you have time, add to your prayers a little reading and meditation, and even a psalm of praise—the natural outflow of a thankful heart. You must certainly see that this is a far better way than you have used before.

Most Christians, after praying, usually then get busy with the work they have been entrusted to do by their employer. Every person that has any desire to be a Christian will not fail to do this, since it is impossible for an idle person to be a good person. Laziness is inconsistent with Christianity. But, how do you understand your worldly work? Do you work primarily to provide things for yourself and for your family? That’s a good reason, but it does not go far enough. All people work for those reasons, religious and non-religious alike. But a Christian may go much further. Our goal in all the work we do is to please God, not to do our own will, but to do the will of the One Who has sent us into the world, to do the will of God on earth as the angels do in the heavens. We work for eternity. We “do not work for the food that perishes” (this is the smallest part of our motives), “but for the food that lasts for eternal life” (John 6:27, NASB). Isn’t this a far better way?

And how do you do your work? I hope you work diligently. I hope that “whatever your hand finds to do, [you] do it with all your might” (Ecclesiastes 9:10, NASB). I hope that you are fair in your work, giving to each person what they are due, in every area of your life. And I hope that you are a merciful person, doing to every person what you would want them to do to you. All of this is good, but a Christian is called to go further, to add faithfulness to God to their fairness, and to add heartfelt prayer to the work of their hands. Without these things, all a person’s diligence and fairness only reveal him or her to be an honorable non-Christian, and there are many who claim to be Christians who go no farther than honorable non-Christians.

And, in which spirit do you work? Do you work in the spirit of the world or in the Spirit of Christ? My fear is that thousands of those who are considered to be good Christians do not even understand what I am asking. If we work in the Spirit of Christ, we walk as Jesus walked in all we do, from the beginning to the end. We do everything in the spirit of sacrifice, giving up our will to the will of God, and continually aiming, not at ease, pleasure, or riches—not at anything this temporary world can provide—, but only at the glory of God. Can anyone really deny that this is a far better way of doing our work in the world?

And these material bodies in which we live in this world require constant care or they will return to the dust from which they were taken even sooner than nature requires. To prevent this, we have to eat every day. Among Heathens in the ancient past it was common to set aside some of what they ate for their gods, even though, as the Apostle Paul has reminded us, their gods were only demons (1 Corinthians 10:14-22). A recent historian has written:

“It seems there was once a similar custom to this in our own country. For we often see a gentleman, before he sits down to dinner in his own house, holding his hat in front of his face, and oftentimes seeming to say something, though usually in a way that no one can tell what he has said.”

Now, what if, instead of superstitious rituals, every parent earnestly requested a blessing from God and gave Him thanks before he or she sat down to eat any meal—breakfast, lunch, or supper? Wouldn’t this be a far better way than to go through a meaningless ritual, which, in the end, is nothing more than a mockery both of God and of humans?

And as to the amount of food we eat, honorable people do not usually eat to excess, at least not so much as to make them sick with food or intoxicated with drink. And most honorable people eat their food politely and with a measure of cheerfulness, which is said to help digestion. So far, so good. And, as long as they only take as much plain, cheap, wholesome food as their body requires for health of mind and body, no one should criticize this. For instance, I would not require anybody to take the advice of the poet George Herbert, who wrote:

Take thy meat; think it dust:
Then eat a bit, And say with all,
Earth to earth I commit.

This is too dreary. It does not fit with the cheerfulness that should be part of a Christian meal. Allow me to illustrate what I mean with a story.

One day the King of France was out hunting with a company of people, and he outrode them. After looking for him for some time, they found him sitting in a cottage eating bread and cheese. When he saw them, he cried out, “Where have I been living? I’ve never tasted food this good in all my life!” “Sire, said one of them, “you never had so good a sauce before, because you have never been hungry.”

Now it is true that hunger makes things taste better, but there is a better sauce than hunger—thankfulness. All food tastes better with thankfulness. And why shouldn’t all your meals be seasoned with it? When we eat, we don’t need to think about death. We should receive every morsel as a pledge of eternal life. By the food that you eat, your Creator not only delays your dying, but He promises that, very soon, “death shall be swallowed up in victory.”

Mealtimes also often include conversation. After all, it is natural to refresh our minds as we refresh our bodies. How should Christians converse together? What topics should they discuss? If our conversations are harmless—if they don’t include anything profane, or immodest, or untrue, or unkind—if there is no gossiping, backbiting, or speaking evil about people, then we have reason to thank God for keeping us from these evils. But there is more than this that is involved in conducting ourselves “in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27, NASB).

First, our conversations must be good—that is, the things we talk about should be good things. As the Apostle Paul has taught us: “Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth” (Ephesians 4:29a, NASB). In other words, we should not discuss just anything that occurs to us or anything that might be occurring in the world around us. What have we to do with politics and government? It is not our business to fight the wars or to reform the state, unless a remarkable event requires us to comment on the justice or mercy of God. Of course, sometimes we have to speak of worldly things. Otherwise, we might as well leave the world. But we should only do this when absolutely necessary, and then we should quickly return to better subjects.

Secondly, Paul continued in Ephesians by saying, “but if there is any good word for edification according to the need of the moment, say that, so that it will give grace to those who hear” (Ephesians 4:29b, NASB). Therefore, our conversation should be deliberately designed to strengthen or build up both us and our hearers either in faith or in love or in holiness. Thirdly, we must ensure that our conversation is not only interesting or entertaining, but that it in some way gives grace to those who hear. Now isn’t this a far better way of conversing than simply by aiming to be harmless?

So far, we have discussed far better ways both of governing our conversations and of doing our work in the world. But we cannot always be working. Both our bodies and our minds require some relaxation. We need intervals of rest from work. I will have to speak very bluntly about this because it a subject which many have misunderstood.

Leisure activities are quite varied. There are sporting activities like hunting, shooting, and fishing. Some activities are more social, such as races, costume parties, movies or plays, dances, and concerts. Others are more private, such as playing cards or reading. Some activities which used to be popular are not any longer. For instance, noble men and women rarely engage in hawking any more, and the rest of us rarely watch people fight each other with swords, staffs, or sticks. We no longer use dogs to attack bears or bulls for sport. And, if it were not because of a few wealthy investors, cock-fighting would not be practiced in England at all anymore. I don’t want to say anymore about these foul remains of barbarity than that they are an offense not only to the Christian religion, but to the very nature of what it means to be human.

Of course, I would not condemn sporting activities in the same way. If one has nothing better to do, then feel free to run foxes and rabbits out of breath. I don’t want to comment on horse races, either, unless someone wants to try to debate the issue. When it comes to movies or plays, I don’t personally allow myself to watch dramatic plays or movies. I can’t watch them with a clear conscience, at least not in an English theatre, given all the profanity and lustful and sinful behaviors that are routinely featured there, but possibly others can.

I can’t say very much about balls or formal parties, which, even though they are generally more upstanding than costume parties, tend to have the same general spirit. So, certainly have all public venues which include dancing. And, of course, given the way dancing is done today, this is not surprising. In the ancient past men and women never danced together, but always in separate rooms. This was the way dancing was done in ancient Greece and for a long time in Rome. In both those societies men and women would only have danced together in the course of engaging in prostitution. When it comes to playing cards, I feel the same as I do about seeing plays or movies. I cannot do it myself with a clear conscience, but I don’t pass judgment on anyone who feels differently. I leave that decision between them and God, since they need to answer to Him, not to me, for their decisions.

But, even if all of the activities that I’ve just discussed were all innocent diversions, for those of us who love and fear God aren’t there far better ways of spending our free time? If people of strong character want to spend their free time outdoors, then they could consider working in their yards or planting and maintaining gardens, or they could visit and talk with the wiser of their neighbors, or they could visit the sick, the poor, the widows, and the fatherless. If they wanted to spend their free time inside, they could read meaningful books on history or religious writings or books on nature. They could learn to play a musical instrument or stretch themselves by doing activities to challenge and strengthen their minds. But, more than all of this, when we have learned how to pray and converse with God, we will find that as the air fills the sky so prayer will be part of all that we do. Then we will be able to say that we are aware of God’s presence in every moment of every day.

I want to consider one more subject—that is, the use of money. How do most Christians use money? And is there a far better way?

Many Christians usually set apart some of their yearly income for charitable uses. I have known a few people who said, like Zaccheus, “Behold, Lord, half of my possessions I am giving to the poor” (Luke 19:8, NASB). O how I pray to God that He would multiply these sorts of people on the earth! But, even though few make this kind of commitment, there are thousands who give large amounts of money to the poor each year, especially in response to a tragedy or crisis. I praise God for all who respond in this way. May they never grow weary of doing good! May God restore what they have given, seven-fold! But still, I want to show you a far better way.

Each of us should consider ourselves as a person into whose hands God has entrusted a part of His wealth which is to be used according to His direction. And God’s direction is that each of us should consider ourselves as only one of a number of impoverished people who are to be cared for out of the portion of His wealth that He has entrusted to us. You have two advantages over the others who are to be cared for out of the wealth entrusted to you: First, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35, NASB). Second, you are to care for yourself first and others second. This is how Christians are to see both themselves and others.

But, to be even more candid: if you have no family, then after you have provided for yourself, give away all that remains, so that

Each Christmas your accounts may clear,
And wind your bottom round the year.

This was the practice of all the young people at Oxford who were called Methodists. For example: one of them earned thirty pounds a year [which is equivalent to about $6,500 today]. He lived on 28 and gave away 2. Three years later he made ninety pounds [equivalent to near $20,000 today]. He still lived on 28, and gave away 62. The next year he made 120 pounds [equivalent to $26,000 today]. He still lived on 28, and gave away 92 to the poor. Isn’t this a far better way?

Secondly, if you have a family, seriously consider in prayer with God how much each member of the family truly needs in order to have what is necessary for life and for godliness. And in general, do not allow them to have less than this, but also, do not allow them to have much more than you allow yourself. Thirdly, having done this, commit yourself to not raising your standard of living. I charge you in the name of God, do not increase your standard of living! As more income comes daily or yearly than you need, let it go. Otherwise, you are laying up for yourself treasure on earth. And this our Lord Jesus forbid us to do just as He forbid murder and adultery. By storing up treasure on earth, therefore, we are “storing up wrath for [ourselves] on the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Romans 2:5, NASB).

But suppose that storing up treasure on earth were not forbidden by Jesus. How could we find it wise to spend money in a way which God may possibly forgive instead of spending it in a way which God will most certainly reward? We will not receive any reward in heaven for what we save up. We will only receive a reward in heaven for what we give away. Every dollar we put into an earthly savings account is lost. It bears no interest in heaven. But every dollar we give to the poor is put into the bank of heaven. And it will bring glorious interest which will accumulate throughout all of eternity.

“¹³Who among you is wise and understanding?” (James 3:13, NASB). Let the wise person decide today, at this hour and moment, by God’s help, to choose in all ways the far better way. And let him or her faithfully walk in it in sleep, prayer, work, food, conversation, and leisure, and particularly with regard to the use of money. This one thing I will do, I will store up treasure in heaven; I will give to God the things that are God’s; I will give Him all my goods, and all my heart! [Amen.]

2022-06-26-Wesley-TheMoreExcellentWay-1Corinthians12_31 Download

John Wesley Sermons – On the Trinity (1 John 5:7)

Preached by John Wesley on May 7, 1775

Language updated and edited by J. Thomas Johnson – June 12, 2022

The original sermon can be found in The Works of John Wesley, Volume 6 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Books, 1996).

As I prepared to share Wesley’s reflections on the doctrine of the Trinity today, I was reminded of a recent experience at my last ministry assignment. When I was pastoring Christ Community Church of the Nazarene in Camillus, NY in the middle of a sermon in which I mentioned the Trinity a visitor to the congregation stood up, interrupted the message, and reprimanded me publicly. He was of the opinion that the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were three distinct beings—that is, three Gods. Their oneness, according to him, was a way of speaking of their agreement with one another, but not of their being, together, one God.

In response, I led the congregation to the Nazarene hymnal, and I read aloud the Nicene Creed. For me, at that time, it was an open and shut case. Either one confesses belief in the Trinity or one is not Christian. The man was quite upset and ended up leaving the service before I had finished explaining the orthodox Christian view. It’s one of those moments that has stayed with me. So, as I prepared this week to learn from John Wesley, I was anxious to hear what he had to say about the Trinity.

I’ve had to do a little editing of Wesley’s teaching throughout the message just to keep his main point clear. Several of the illustrations Wesley used, though perfectly suitable in 1775, prove to be quite dated today. Having lived before Albert Einstein and his theory of relativity, for instance, Wesley’s understanding of gravity and the motion of the planets was limited to that of his time. With that said, I think the points Wesley was attempting to make remain important. So, I have updated his illustrations with some that speak similarly today as his did to his original audience.

Also, the main passage Wesley was discussing in this sermon is 1 John 5:7. Interestingly, that verse occurs in a greatly abbreviated form in modern translations of the Bible. And the verse was debated heavily in Wesley’s day, as well. Wesley seems to have believed that the longer version of 1 John 5:7 was authentic. Most scholars today believe the additional language was added later. In light of this, I have added a few verses to Wesley’s message that help to support his point beyond 1 John 5:7.

With that said, I will begin Wesley’s message by reading the same passage from the King James Version, which is the closest version to the one from which Wesley was preaching.

¹ Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. ²By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. ³For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. ⁴For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. ⁵Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? ⁶This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth. ⁷For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. ⁸And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
1 John 5:1-8, KJV

Whatever people may assume, opinion is not religion. Religion is not simply a way of speaking of a set of right opinions, nor is religion mentally agreeing with one or even with ten-thousand truths. Religion and opinion are worlds apart. Even a right opinion is as far from religion as the east is from the west. People can hold correct opinions about a great many things, and still, at the same time, be irreligious. And, on the other hand, people may be truly religious while, at the same time, holding many wrong opinions.

Can anyone possibly doubt this while Roman Catholicism remains in the world? For who can deny not only that throughout history many of this tradition have been truly religious—such as, Thomas à Kempis, Gregory Lopez, and the Marquis [Jean Baptiste] de Renty—, but also that many even today are real inward Christians? And yet, what a heap of erroneous opinions do they hold, delivered by tradition from their fathers! Even more, who can doubt this while there are Calvinists in the world—that is, those who believe in absolute predestination? Will anyone dare argue that none of these people are truly religious? Not only were many of them in the last century burning and shining lights, but many of them are still today real Christians, loving God and all humankind. And yet what are all the absurd opinions of the Roman Catholic Church compared to that one of the Calvinists that the God of love—the wise, just, merciful Father of the spirits of all flesh—has, from all eternity, fixed an absolute, unchangeable, irresistible decree that part of humankind will be saved and they have no say whatsoever in their salvation and that part of humankind will be condemned eternally and they have no say whatsoever in their damnation!

In light of this, we cannot but conclude that there are ten thousand mistakes which may coexist with real religion. Therefore, any careful and considerate person will allow for differing opinions. But there are some truths that are more important than others. It seems there are some which are of deep importance. I do not call them, myself, fundamental truths because that is an ambiguous word, and, consequently, there have been many heated disputes about the number of fundamentals. With that said, there are some truths which we must be concerned with knowing because of their close connection with vital religion. [In other words, there are some truths that are so central to the ways in which we worship God that to change them would be to change how the Scriptures require us to worship.] And certainly we might rank the words of 1 John 5:7 among these:

⁷For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
1 John 5:7, KJV

Now, I do not mean to say that we must believe this tradition or that tradition’s explanation of these words. In my opinion, a wise person would not attempt to explain them at all. One of the best tracts which that great man, Dean [Jonathan] Swift, ever wrote was his Sermon upon the Trinity. In that sermon, Swift has demonstrated that all who have tried to explain the Trinity at all have utterly lost their way and done more theological harm than good.

[In the words of Jonathan Swift himself, from his sermon first printed in 1744:

Since the world abounds with troublesome books, particularly written against the doctrine of the Trinity, it is important to inform you that the authors of these books were mistaken from the beginning. Their desire was to demonstrate how impossible it is that three can be one and one can be three. However, the Scripture says no such thing, at least not in the way they have taken it. The Scriptures only say that there is some kind of unity and distinction in the divine nature, which humankind cannot possibly comprehend. Therefore, the whole doctrine is short and plain and should not be controversial. God has simply revealed the fact but concealed the manner. And therefore, many theologians who thought it best to refute those wicked books have been mistaken, too, by answering fools according to their folly and trying to explain a mystery, which God intended to keep secret from us. Therefore, I would encourage all people to avoid reading those wicked books written against the doctrine of the Trinity, and I would also encourage them to omit the responses to those books as unnecessary, as well.]
Swift, A Sermon on the Doctrine of the Trinity, 1744, 11

Such folks have only, as Job has said, “darkened the divine plan by words without knowledge?” (Job 38:2, NASB). It was in an evil hour that these expositors began their fruitless work.

I insist upon no explanation of the Trinity at all, not even the best one I ever saw—that is, that which is given to us in the creed commonly ascribed to Athanasius. [The Athanasian Creed begins with the words:

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith; Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.
And the catholic faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity; Neither confounding the persons nor dividing the substance.
Historic Creeds and Confessions, electronic ed. (Oak Harbor: Lexham Press, 1997)

And so it continues.]

I would not say that those who cannot agree with the Athanasian Creed “will without doubt perish everlastingly.” Because of this statement and another later in the creed, I, for some time, did require that all believers subscribe to that creed. But then I realized, first, that these sentences relate only to willful unbelievers—that is, to those who have had opportunity to read and understand this creed, but who still reject it. And second, that they relate only to the substance of the doctrine of the Trinity, not to the philosophical illustrations of it.

I do not insist that anyone use the word Trinity or Person when speaking of God. I use these terms myself without any difficulty, because I know of no better words. But if anyone has a problem with them, who should force him or her to use them? Not I. I would not burn a man alive for saying, “Though I believe the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God; yet I struggle with using the words Trinity and Persons because I do not find those terms in the Bible.” These are the words which the merciful John Calvin cited as having been written by Servetus. [Servetus was burned at the stake for heresy under Calvin’s leadership in the town of Geneva.] I would insist only on the words just as they appear in the Scriptural text without explanation:

⁷For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
1 John 5:7, KJV

“Just as they appear in the Scriptural text.” But here arises a question: Is that text genuine? Were the words “…the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one…” originally written by the Apostle John, or were they inserted later by others? Many have questioned the authenticity of this passage, . . . .

[Whatever the outcome of the debate over the authenticity of 1 John 5:7, several other passages describe God as both Three and One. The insistence on the Oneness of God is from the beginning, as can be seen in Deuteronomy 6:4: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.” And yet, Jesus revealed distinctions within the Oneness. For instance, in John 10:27-30, Jesus said:

²⁷My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; ²⁸and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. ²⁹My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. ³⁰I and the Father are one.
John 10:27-30, NASB

Furthermore, in Matthew 28:18-20, Jesus taught His disciples:

¹⁸And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. ¹⁹Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to follow all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Matthew 28:18-20, NASB

And the following exchange between the Apostle Philip and Jesus in John 14:8-11 is particularly telling:

⁸Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” ⁹Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you for so long a time, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? The one who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? ¹⁰Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own, but the Father, as He remains in Me, does His works. ¹¹Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves.”
John 14:8-11, NASB

We could go on, but that should suffice for our present purposes.]

Another objection has been made: “Whatever one makes of the text of 1 John 5:7, we cannot believe what we cannot understand. Therefore, when you require us to believe mysteries, we ask to be excused.”

Here is a two-fold mistake: First, you are not required to believe any mystery with respect to the Trinity, despite your belief to the contrary. And second, every person already believes many things that s/he cannot understand.

To begin with the latter: Each of us already believes many things which we cannot fully comprehend. Each of us believes that there is a sun over our heads. . . . [and we believe that the earth revolves around the sun, along with the other planets, by a force called gravity. But, what precisely is gravity. When NASA was asked that question in its Starchild Question of the Month in February of 2001, the NASA response was:

We don’t really know. We can define what it is as a field of influence, because we know how it operates in the universe. And some scientists think that it is made up of particles called gravitons which travel at the speed of light. However, if we are to be honest, we do not know what gravity “is” in any fundamental way – we only know how it behaves
https://starchild.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/StarChild/questions/question30.html

But even though we cannot fully comprehend what gravity is, we still believe that the motion of the planets around the sun is effected by it.]

We believe there is such a thing as light, whether it emanates from the sun or any other light source, but we cannot fully comprehend either its nature or the manner in which it flows. . . . [Michael Schirbner, in his 2007 Live Science article entitled, “The Enduring Mystery of Light,” has written:

It goes through walls, but slows to a standstill in ultra-cold gases. It carries electronic information for radios and TVs, but destroys genetic information in cells. It bends around buildings and squeezes through pinholes, but ricochets off tiny electrons.
It’s light. And although we know it primarily as the opposite of darkness, most of light is not visible to our eyes. From low energy radio waves to high energy gamma rays, light zips around us, bounces off us, and sometimes goes through us.
Because it is so many things, defining light is a bit of a philosophical quandary. It doesn’t help that light continue to surprise us, with novel materials that alter light’s speed and trajectory in unexpected ways.]
https://www.livescience.com/7186-enduring-mystery-light.html

Explain this, and I will explain the Three-One God.

. . . .

Many people believe we have souls. . . . [that] we have an immaterial soul connected with this physical body. But can any of us fully comprehend how? What are the ties that unite the heavenly flame with the earthly clod? None of us understands this. Those who believe this assume it to be true, but how it is, no one can explain.

. . . .

In summary, those who will not believe anything that they cannot fully comprehend, must not believe [in gravity], that there is light shining around them, nor that they have a soul. . . .

Secondly, as strange as it may seem, in requiring us to believe:

⁷For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one;
1 John 5:7, KJV

we are not required to believe any mystery. That great and good man, Dr. Peter Browne, the former bishop of Cork, has demonstrated that the Bible does not require us to believe any mystery at all. The Bible only requires us to believe facts, not the manner by which they have come to be facts. The mystery, after all, does not lie in the fact, but entirely in the manner.

For instance, “God said, ‘Let there be light’; and there was light” (Genesis 1:3, NASB). I believe this. I believe the plain fact of it. There is no mystery at all in this. The mystery lies in the manner of it. How did it happen? How does creation work? I don’t know anything about the manner of it. I believe nothing about it. This is more an object of my faith than it is of my understanding.

To apply this to the Scripture passage before us:

⁷For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.
1 John 5:7, KJV

I believe this fact also—namely, that God is Three and One. But I do not understand how this is so, and, therefore, I do not believe in the manner of it—the how of it. It is in the manner of it that the mystery lies. But I am not concerned with how this is so. That is not the object of my faith. I believe only what God has revealed and no more. God has not revealed how this is so, therefore, I believe nothing about the manner of it. But still, it would be absurd of me to deny the fact that God is Three and One simply because I do not understand the manner of it. In other words, it would be absurd to reject what God has revealed simply because I do not fully comprehend what God has not revealed.

This is a significant point for us to grasp. There are many “Things which eye has not seen and ear has not heard, and which have not entered the human heart” (1 Corinthians 2:9, NASB). Some of these “to us God revealed them through the Spirit” (1 Corinthians 2:10, NASB)—“revealed;” that is, unveiled or uncovered. God revealed those parts He requires us to believe. But, parts of them God has not revealed. These things we need not and cannot believe. These unrevealed things are far above us, out of our sight.

Now, where is the wisdom of rejecting what is revealed because we do not understand what is not revealed? Is it wise to deny the fact of what God has unveiled because we cannot comprehend the manner of it, which remains hidden, especially when we consider that what God has revealed to us with respect to His being Three and One is a truth of the highest importance. This confession lies at the heart of Christianity, and, it lies at the root of all vital religion[—that is, at the heart of how the Scriptures instruct us to worship God.]

Unless these Three are One, how can “all honor the Son just as they honor the Father” (John 5:23, NASB). Socinus wrote in a letter to his friend, “I know not what to do with my untoward followers. They will not worship Jesus Christ. I tell them that it is written, ‘And let all the angels of God worship Him’ (Hebrews 1:6, NASB). They answer, “However that be, if he is not God, we dare not worship him. For ‘It is written: you shall worship the lord your God and serve him only’ (Luke 4:8, NASB).

What I’m trying to explain is this: The knowledge of the Three-One God is interwoven into all true Christian faith, and, therefore, with all vital religion[—that is, with all Christian worship.]

I am not arguing that every real Christian must confess with the Marquis de Renty, “I bear with me continually an experience of the truth of and an abundance of the presence of the ever-blessed Trinity.” I presume that this is not the experience of “children,” but rather “fathers in Christ.”

But I do not know how anyone can be a Christian believer until he has, as the Apostle John has written, “the testimony in himself;” until “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16, NASB)—that is, until the Holy Spirit testifies that God the Father has accepted him through the merits of God the Son, and, having this testimony, he honors the Son and the blessed Spirit, even as he honors the Father.

It is not that every Christian testifies to this. Early in the Christian walk, perhaps one in twenty would not confess it. But, if you were to ask any true believer a few questions, you would find quite quickly that it is implied in what he or she believes.

Therefore, I do not see how it is possible for any to have vital religion and deny that these Three are One. My hope for them is not that they will be saved, but that, before they pass into eternity, God will bring them “the knowledge of the truth” (Hebrews 10:26, NASB). [Amen.]

2022-06-12-Wesley-OnTheTrinity-1John5_7 Download

The Sheep & the Goats (Matthew 25:31-46)

The Christian Scriptures certainly call followers of Jesus toward generosity and hospitality. As Jesus Himself taught in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew:

³⁸“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ ³⁹But I say to you, do not show opposition against an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other toward him also. ⁴⁰And if anyone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak also. ⁴¹Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. ⁴²Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
⁴³“You have heard that it was said, ‘you Shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵so that you may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. ⁴⁶For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same? ⁴⁷And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same? ⁴⁸Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 5:38-48, NASB

Generosity toward those in need, hospitality toward strangers, and care for the vulnerable or disenfranchised are behaviors expected of the people of God. These are, indeed, ethics of the Kingdom of the Heavens. As God explained to Israel through Moses:

¹⁴Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the highest heavens, the earth and all that is in it. ¹⁵Yet the Lord set His affection on your fathers, to love them, and He chose their descendants after them, you over all the other peoples, as it is this day. ¹⁶So circumcise your heart, and do not stiffen your neck any longer. ¹⁷For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who does not show partiality, nor take a bribe. ¹⁸He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the stranger by giving him food and clothing. ¹⁹So show your love for the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. ²⁰You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him, and cling to Him, and you shall swear by His name.
Deuteronomy 10:14-20, NASB

Throughout the First and New Testaments, these behaviors are commended to the people of God. Those who live in these ways are praised. Those who do not are warned, called to repent, and, if continuing in their rebelliousness, disciplined.

But, contrary to much contemporary preaching and teaching, this is not what Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats was about. Before we look at the parable, we must first contextualize the language that Jesus uses therein.

One of the terms that proves essential to understanding Jesus’ intent as it has been preserved by the Gospel of Matthew is the term brother. The Greek word is adelphōn, and since it can be used to refer generically to one’s relatives, it is often translated today as brothers and sisters. This is not a word Jesus used casually in Matthew’s recollection of His ministry. Perhaps the most illustrative context is Matthew 12:46-50:

⁴⁶While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. ⁴⁷[Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.”] ⁴⁸But Jesus replied to the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹And extending His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold: My mother and My brothers! ⁵⁰For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.”
Matthew 12:46-50, NASB

The Christian Scriptures do not teach the universal brotherhood or sisterhood of humanity. It is true that all humans are descendants of Adam and Eve by way of Noah and his wife. However, this reality does not lead the writers of Scripture to describe humans universally as brothers and sisters. Quite to the contrary, the New Testament authors have insisted that to become part of God’s family, we must be adopted by faith in Jesus. As Paul has explained in Galatians 4:1-7:

¹Now I say, as long as the heir is a child, he does not differ at all from a slave, although he is owner of everything, ²but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by the father. ³So we too, when we were children, were held in bondage under the elementary principles of the world. ⁴But when the fullness of the time came, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, ⁵so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons and daughters. ⁶Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying out, “Abba! Father!” ⁷Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son; and if a son, then an heir through God.
Galatians 4:1-7, NASB

In addition to Galatians, Paul used the terminology of adoption in Romans 9:4 and Ephesians 1:5, as well. This is the way Jesus was speaking of family in Matthew 12, when He said, “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.” When Jesus used the word brother, He was not referring to humanity generally, but to those who do the will of His Father particularly.

Now, let’s listen to the parable of the sheep and the goats with contextualized ears.

³¹“But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. ³²And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, just as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; ³³and He will put the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left.
³⁴“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. ³⁵For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; ³⁶naked, and you clothed Me; I was sick, and you visited Me; I was in prison, and you came to Me.’ ³⁷Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink? ³⁸And when did we see You as a stranger, and invite You in, or naked, and clothe You? ³⁹And when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ ⁴⁰And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me.’
⁴¹“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you accursed people, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels; ⁴²for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink; ⁴³I was a stranger, and you did not invite Me in; naked, and you did not clothe Me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit Me.’ ⁴⁴Then they themselves also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, or thirsty, or as a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not take care of You?’ ⁴⁵Then He will answer them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for Me, either.’ ⁴⁶These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
Matthew 25:31-46, NASB

We have to go back a long way to discover the context of this teaching of Jesus. It can be found in Matthew 24:3:

³And as He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”
Matthew 24:3, NASB

This parable of Jesus is the last of a long series of teachings that Jesus did in private with His disciples during the last week of His pre-resurrected life. According to Matthew, only the disciples heard it. What was Jesus trying to tell them?

These teachings were prompted by Jesus’ declaration that the Temple in Jerusalem would be destroyed. His disciples were understandably vexed by this prediction, and they asked Jesus both when the destruction would occur and when He would reveal Himself to be the Messiah. Jesus’ responses to both questions were not encouraging to the disciples. Jesus spoke of seasons of great difficulty and tribulation ahead for them. Most dire was his prediction of their future suffering:

⁹“Then they will hand you over to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. ¹⁰And at that time many will fall away, and they will betray one another and hate one another. ¹¹And many false prophets will rise up and mislead many people. ¹²And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will become cold. ¹³But the one who endures to the end is the one who will be saved. ¹⁴This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:9-14, NASB

It is to this mistreatment of the disciples that Jesus was speaking when He told them the parable of the sheep and the goats. Who are these brothers of mine? Jesus meant to single out those of His disciples who had suffered in the way described in the parable for bearing His message. It was those who bore His message faithfully who would be hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick, and imprisoned. What Jesus was revealing to His disciples (and to us through them) was that the judgment of the nations at the end of time would take into account their treatment of the disciples of Jesus. Though they would be persecuted and oppressed and even killed for the message of Jesus, at the final judgment, the nations will answer for their treatment of Jesus’ brothers—i.e., their treatment of those who were doing the will of the Father.

As I said at the onset, hospitality and generosity are part of the ethics of the kingdom. Those who truly follow Jesus will live in these ways. But, the parable of the sheep and the goats does not teach that at the final judgment people will be judged solely based on how they have treated the poor or the criminal. Jesus told the parable of the sheep and the goats to encourage His disciples and to warn the world that the nations and people of the earth will answer at the final judgment for how they received those who have followed Jesus by doing the will of the Father.

There are several ways that we might apply this revelation of Jesus today. But, there is one that the Lord seems to have asked me to highlight today. The Lord has an accusation to make against those professors, scholars, pastors, and laypeople who have persecuted His Prophets and Apostles by disregarding or disrespecting the messages from God entrusted to them and preserved in the Christian Bible. Hear the Word of the Lord:

Throughout the ages many humans have presumed to speak in the Name of a god. Most have spoken presumptuously words from their own imaginations. But, I chose the prophets of Israel and my own Apostles as a people apart from the world. I put my Word in their mouths and I entrusted them with a message for the nations. While they lived, they were persecuted, marginalized, and restrained. After their deaths, many conspired to silence them, to twist the words I had entrusted to them, and to refashion what I said through them into words more amenable to fleshly desires and appetites. Though I had warned such people not to add or to take away from the Word I had sent, they did not heed my warning.

When the day of judgment comes, I will separate the nations as a shepherd separates sheep from goats. To those who have honored, cared for, received, and embraced my prophets and Apostles, I will welcome them into my kingdom. To those who have dishonored, disrespected, rejected, and twisted the words of my prophets and Apostles, I will cast you into darkness.

Whatever you have done to the least of these brothers of mine, you have done to me. Repent, nations and people of the earth. For I desire the destruction of no one. You must heed the words of those I have sent to you.

³³“Listen to another parable. There was a landowner who planted a vineyard and put a fence around it, and dug a wine press in it, and built a tower, and he leased it to vine-growers and went on a journey. ³⁴And when the harvest time approached, he sent his slaves to the vine-growers to receive his fruit. ³⁵And the vine-growers took his slaves and beat one, killed another, and stoned another. ³⁶Again, he sent other slaves, more than the first; and they did the same things to them. ³⁷But afterward he sent his son to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ ³⁸But when the vine-growers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir; come, let’s kill him and take possession of his inheritance!’ ³⁹And they took him and threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. ⁴⁰Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those vine-growers?” ⁴¹They said to Him, “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other vine-growers, who will pay him the fruit in the proper seasons.”
⁴²Jesus said to them, “Did you never read in the Scriptures,
‘A stone which the builders rejected,
This has become the chief cornerstone;
This came about from the Lord,
And it is marvelous in our eyes’?
⁴³“Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people producing its fruit. ⁴⁴And the one who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; and on whomever it falls, it will crush him.”
Matthew 21:33-44, NASB

Many have seized my vineyard, and put my servants, the prophets and the apostles, to death. Their teachings are no longer revered and their words have been twisted to suit worldly gain. I am coming to reclaim my vineyard. Repent, before I come.

As in the days of Ahaz…

As in the days of Ahaz, so my people have traded the fear of the Lord for the fear of temporal things. Ahaz constructed places of prayer in every home and every hovel, on every hill and under every tree. The temple that bore my name was not enough. He longed for me to be available at a whim. Like the false gods of Canaan, Ahaz taught the people to treat me as a common thing in Israel. No more purification, no more pilgrimage festivals, no more Torah. He wanted only the act of worship to suffice.

So, I abandoned Israel to her enemies. I gave my people over to the gods they had worshipped. Their high places and Asherah poles did battle for them, and their enemies swept over them as a flood.

But when my time of wrath was spent, I judged, too, the nation that had judged them. For a nation without mercy will receive no mercy, and a people without compassion will be shown no compassion.

As in the days of Ahaz, so are the days of my people today. Fear rules the land, doctrines of demons are preached from my pulpits, and my people are possessed by the spiritual forces of evil in league with the flesh.

And I have brought judgment on my people. Every hidden thing is being made known. And more than secrets will be unearthed in the days to come. Again, my people have built high places and called them centers of worship. Again my people have fashioned gods of their own choosing and worshipped them in my name.

For these sins, I am releasing the flood on my church. Not one stone will remain on top of another. This nation will fall from without and from within. The people will be feasting on each other when they are interrupted by ravenous lions. The vultures are gathering! Feed creatures of the earth, feed! For the feast is before you. The spoils of the earth have been brought into houses of prostitution, but none shall eat of their fruits. What has been gathered will be scattered. What has been ripened will become rotten. My people will not rest. Weariness will be their lot. For they feared the world and only flattered God.

But woe to the creatures who feed on them, and woe to those who pillage their stores. For I will not call innocent those who do violence to those under my judgment. When my wrath is spent, I will call to account every evil deed done against my people. To those who show mercy, mercy will be shown to them. And to those who bind the wounds of justice with compassion, with compassion I will bind their wounds.