Mark 12:38-44
38. As he taught, he said, “Beware of the
scribes, who like to walk around in long robes, and to be greeted with respect
in the marketplaces,
39. and to have the best seats in the synagogues
and places of honor at banquets!
We haven’t changed that much in the last two thousand years
have we? We know these people. Amen?
We may even BE these people.
Opps! I’d better back off before
I start meddling. It’s too early in the
sermon to start stepping on toes. Don’t worry;
the toes that get stepped on are my own.
Remember, every message I deliver was delivered to me first.
40. They devour widow’s houses and for the sake
of appearance say long prayers. They
will receive the greater condemnation.”
Okay, here is confession time for me. And please understand, I’m not telling you
this to be boastful. I’m telling you
this in all humility. When I am
preaching, I write the corporate prayers in advance because I want to be sure
to cover all the concerns of the congregation.
My goal isn’t for length but for completeness.
That is the difference between these public prayers for
others and my personal prayers which are much different. 99% of my prayers are quick, one topic
prayers, more akin to post-it notes than letters. I talk to God a lot because I talk to Him
about what is on my mind. And, well, I
guess my mind does hold a lot of thoughts at a time! But the point is I don’t have to get “caught
up” with God. I don’t have to fill Him
in on what is going on, ‘cause He’s there with me all the time.
Those prayers are also nearly always silent. You could follow me around all day and never
realize when I’m talking to God. If you
ever hear one of my public prayers and think to yourself, “I wish I could pray
like that!” you will have missed the
point completely. Public prayers may be
for public use but they are not for public entertainment. Prayer is “talking to God” and that is ALL it
is.
My mother had a saying, “He almost threw his arm out … patting
himself on the back.” It was her way of
saying that someone was a little too full of himself. That seems to describe the scribes that Jesus
was talking about. But let’s not get too
smug here. How many of you have a trophy
case? A scrapbook or shoebox full of mementos
of past achievements? How many have your
old report cards from grade school?
Medals, ribbons, awards certificates, letter jacket letters? I think I still have my sharpshooters and
badge and even my good conduct ribbon from the military. They are in a jar in a drawer someplace.
We all like to be recognized for what we’ve
accomplished. Especially we like to be
recognized for achieving a goal that we had to really struggle to achieve. I don’t believe that there is anything
inherently wrong with accepting the praise of others for our honest
achievements. The problem arises when we
fail to give God the praise for the strength, the wit, the ability to achieve
those goals.
I’m reminded of the old pioneer’s prayer that went like this,
“God, I thank thee for this bread, that I baked, from the flour that I ground,
from the wheat that I grew, in the field that I planted after I plowed after I
cleared it of timber and grass and stones.
Yes, I thank you for this bread that I baked in the oven I built from
the stones I gathered from the field and carried to the house that I built from
the lumber I milled from the trees that I felled in the land I
homesteaded.
I am sorry to say that I have at times had a few too many
“I”s in my prayers and not enough “thee”s and “thou”s. A more proper prayer would be, “Thank you,
Gracious God, for this bread which you have provided. Thank you for the seed that you created to
grow in your good soil and watered by the rains in their season. Thank you for the health and strength that
you have given me to work the soil.
Thank you for the creative mind to conceive and construct my home. Thank you most of all that you loved me
enough to send your son to die in my place for my sins. Amen.”
You see, Jesus was trying to show his followers (that’s us)
that we need to take our eyes off of ourselves and onto God. And to be sure that his listeners heard the
message he repeats it with another illustration.
But before we get to this next part of the reading I don’t
want anyone to start squirming in their seats.
We’re going to be talking about money.
And I know when a preacher starts to talk about money people start
thinking, “Okay, here it comes … he’s trying to get into my wallet.” So, let me make this clear. I am not going to pass the plate. I’m not going to take an offering. If you have a home church, I encourage you to
support them even while you are away from home.
This ministry has very little expenses and does not need your
money. By the same token, I was told by
a couple who attended our service back in Iowa, that they felt the “need” to
give and that I was being selfish for not allowing them to do so. So, if you feel lead to support this
ministry, it will be humbly accepted and put to use as God directs us. But again, don’t hear the following part of
the sermon as a plea for money. That is
not what Jesus was trying to teach his disciples. He was teaching about giving all (not just
money) to God. He was teaching about the
price and the prize of following Him.
Okay, now as Paul Harvey would say, “The rest of the story.”
41. He sat down opposite the treasury, and
watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums.
Praise God! Rich
people SHOULD put in large sums. Jesus
never spoke against that. As a matter of
fact, he made it pretty clear that the rich should put that money to its best
use here in this life because it wasn’t going to follow them to the next. He was quite pointed as to what happens to
people who are bad stewards of the assets they are in charge of. He also praised those who used their
resources to gain an increase. I believe
that God gives us more than we can use for the purpose of giving to others. So listen to what Jesus has to say.
42. A poor widow came and put in two small copper
coins, which are worth a penny.
43. Then he called his disciples and said to
them, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who
are contributing to the treasury.”
44. For all of them have contributed out of their
abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she
had to live on.
Now wait a minute! All
she put in was a couple of coins. Those
coins were an insignificant portion of the total treasury. What difference could those coins make in a
treasury so well stocked? Well, that’s
the point; you see Jesus wasn’t looking at the good it was going to do the
treasury. He was looking at the good it
was going to do this poor widow.
Wait! What? Did I just say that Jesus was looking at what
the widow had just gained? Yep! Stay tuned, we’ll get to that in a minute.
Yes, she had given all that she had. Jesus never asked anyone for less than all
they have. Think back to when Jesus
called Peter and Andrew and James and John.
Do you remember what happened?
Matthew 4 starting with verse 18
18.
While Jesus was
walking along the shore of Lake
Galilee
19.
Jesus said to
them, “Follow me! I will teach you how
to bring in people instead of fish.”
20.
Right then the
two brothers dropped their nets and went with him.
21.
Jesus walked on
until he saw James and John, the sons of Zebedee. They were in a boat with their father,
mending their nets. Jesus asked them to
come to him.
22.
At once they left
the boat and their father and went with Jesus.
Do you see? He asked
EVERYTHING of them. Leave your
business. Leave your family. Leave all of the things that you have
planned. Leave it all. Because there is so much more to gain!
In Luke 14:26 there are large crowds following Jesus. He was becoming extremely popular with many
people. He was healing them and feeding
them. It appeared that life would be
good for his disciples. And so, many
followed him. Then he turned and said to
them, … “If you want to be my disciple, you must hate everyone else by
comparison – your father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters –
yes, even your own life. Otherwise, you
cannot be my disciple.”
There is Jesus disclaimer.
In this day and age, to keep from being sued, it seems everything has a
disclaimer attached to it: “Results may vary, consult a physician before
proceeding, side affects may occur … some serious … including death.” Jesus didn’t want these ‘fair weather’
followers to be unaware of he ‘side affects’ to become His disciple.
To become his follower, you must be willing to loose
everything, to own nothing, not even your own life. And he never promises that it will be
easy. Indeed he says “pick up your cross
and follow me.”
We, in this day and age, are so far removed from the reality
of “the cross”, that I think we fail to take in the impact of what Jesus was
saying. What those present were hearing
him say was, “If you follow me, you must be willing to be tortured and executed
in the most painful, brutal and humiliating way possible.
If you are looking for “sunshine and lollipops, where all
your dreams come true”, don’t bother following Jesus. He demands all that you own and all that you
are … nothing less will do.
“So what’s in it for me?” we ask. If I am to give up everything, even my will,
what will I gain? That seems a fair
question to ask. Amen? The
Psalmist does a good job of answering that in the 23rd psalm.
1. The Lord is my shepherd … He provides
guidance for our life.
2. I shall not want … He provides for all our
needs.
3. He makes me to lie down in green pastures …
He provides us with rest in a turbulent world.
4. He leads me beside the still waters … He
refreshes us.
5. He restores my soul … our sin laden soul is
cleansed and made new
6. He leads me in the paths of righteousness …
He gives us clear instruction and examples of how to live our life.
7. for His name’s sake … We are children of God. We are Christians. We are His namesake.
8. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil … even in death there is nothing to fear.
9. for
You are with me … Jesus said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the
age.” Matthew 28: 20b
10. Your rod and Your staff,
they comfort me … we actually have the full armor of God … belt of Truth …
breastplate of righteousness … the gospel of peace … shield of faith … the
helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. –
Ephesians 6:10-18
11. You prepare a table before me in the presence
of my enemies … Yes, even in the presence of our enemies. Hear what Romans 8:38 & 39 say, “neither
death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present not the future,
nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.”
12. You anoint my head with
oil … There are two ways of anointing with oil.
One is as a sign of acceptance and friendship, as when a host would
anoint his guests with oil; it was a refreshment from the heat and dust. The other use of anointing with oil is to
sanctify or make holy, as in the anointing of the sacrificial altar or the
priests or the king. Both of these are
true for us as Christians. … Romans
8:17… “and if children then heirs – heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.”
13. My cup runs over … Blessings beyond blessings
are ours. More than we can consume …
enough to share, just like a 3 Musketeers Bar.
14. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all
the days of my life … Again from the 8th chapter of Romans in the 28th
verse we read … “And we know that all things work together for good to those
who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Goodness and Mercy even in those times when
we don’t see them … God is at work turning everything into what is good for
us. Sometimes it’s ice cream and
sometimes it is cod liver oil, but it is always good for us.
15. I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever
… Jesus said in John 14:3, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” As a follower of Christ our eternal home is
already prepared; the woodwork is polished, the knick knacks are dusted, the
bedspread is turned down, and the cupboards are fully stocked and the curtains
are drawn back … home is waiting for us.
All of this on the day when we give our life to the Lord, we
lost everything … and we gained everything.
Paul understood this concept and tried to pass it on to the church at Philippi .
Philippians 3:
8. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to
the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have
lost all things. I consider them
rubbish, that I may gain Christ.
Okay, I said earlier that it was too soon in the message to
start meddling. Well now we're far enough
into it that it is time to start meddling. I want you to think for a moment what you have
gained by knowing Jesus as Lord of your life.
(If you don’t know him as your savior and your lord, come see me
afterwards and I will pray with you about that.) Maybe what you have gained is a better life …
not necessarily an easy life … but a better life than you had or would have had
without Him. Perhaps what you have
gained is a hope beyond this life. The
reassurance that where He has gone, you will also go to live with Him for
eternity. Maybe you have gained victory
over an illness, or weakness or addiction that had held you. Maybe you were raised in a Christian home and
never strayed far from the path so for you what you have gained is a
continuation of that fellowship into the next life. What ever you have gained is personal and
between you and God.
Now think, if you can, of what you lost by become a child of
God. Anything of value? Speaking for myself here, I can’t think of
anything that I can say that I gave up.
There are things that I no longer do, places I no longer go, thoughts I
no longer have, and emotions that I no longer feel. But, in truth, what ever was left behind was,
as Paul said, rubbish.
Actually, I’ve heard that a translation closer to the meaning
of his words would not be rubbish, but sewage.
That is what we who have found the Lord have left behind … sewage. And in exchange we have gained it all! Praise God.
Amen.
Let’s bow our heads in prayer. Father, I pray that if there is anyone here
who has not yet made that commitment to surrender their will to yours, that you
will speak words of power and reassurance to their hearts right now.
And Lord, for those who already have given our lives to you,
we praise you for our salvation, for out strength, for our courage, for our
peace, for our relief and for our comfort, but most of all we thank you for
your abiding presence in our lives.
Amen.
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