The Cost of Following:

Context:

• In the Luke account, Christ’s time drew near. 
• Christ set his face to go to Jerusalem.
• The people in a Samaritan village were no help.

Luke 9:57-58 “...As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head...”

Matthew 8:19-20 “...And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head...”

How did Jesus respond to those who were sure they could “follow wherever”?

What is it like to depend on others?

What is it like to have no consistent place to call home?

Does Jesus call people to this type of life?

What necessities do we think we can’t live without?

• Can we follow Christ and still seek worldly advantages?

Luke 9:59-60 “...To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God...”

Matthew 8:21-22 “...Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead...”

How did Jesus respond to those who had business to complete before following?

• Jewish burial custom involved an initial burial, but additional attention one year later, when the flesh had rotted off the bones and they were reburied in a special box.
• This person’s father may have been close to death, but not actually dead.
• Does business always take too long?
• How does the world’s business interfere with kingdom business?

Luke 9:61-62 “...Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God...”

How did Jesus respond to those who wanted to “say farewell”?

• Looking back usually leads to drawing back.

• 1 Kings 19:19-21 “...So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him...”

Does following Jesus require more immediate response than following a prophet?

Are we almost, or altogether, followers of Christ?

Was following Jesus at this point more pressing because of where He was going?

How pressing is what Jesus wants accomplished right now?

Skandalise: Revisited

Context:

• Mark 9:42 “...Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea...”
• “Cause to sin” refers to enticing or provoking a disciple to turn away from Jesus, resulting in serious spiritual damage.
• Jesus is pretty clear that this is not a good situation.

How serious is scandalizing - causing someone to sin?

Mark 9:43-48 “...And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ ...”

Who is policing whom in this passage?

• Jesus is warning people to police themselves.
• Disciples must recognize their issues and deal with them.
• Whatever tempts a disciple to cling to this world’s life must be removed much like a surgeon amputating a gangrenous limb.

Is this extreme?

• Does the intensity of the danger justify the intensity of the preventive measures?

What happens when the preventative measures are inappropriately minimized.

• The severity of the problem is minimized.

Mark 9:49-50 “...For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another...”

What does it mean to be salted with fire?

• Salt is usually referred to as a preservative.
• Because v49 follows v48, which speaks of the perpetual fire of hell, some believe that this is a reference to the eternal nature of hell’s torment
• Because v49 is followed by v50, some believe it’s referring to the trials and testing that preserve those devoted to God.

Does everyone refer to every unbeliever, every believer, or all people?

• The combined context of people policing themselves, being salted with fire, and having salt and peace seems to point to believer.

Where is the salt?

• Do God’s people carry the salt, or are they the salt?
• Are God’s people to retain in themselves those precious qualities that provide a blessing to all around them.
• Colossians 4:5-6 “...Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time. Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person...”

How are salt and peace related?

• When God’s purposes are preserved, there is peace.

• Hebrews 12:14 “...Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord...”

Forgiveness:

Context:

• Who’s for Jesus? Who’s against Jesus?
• Tempting someone to sin is a scandal.
• Who will care for the needy?
• Who will restore a wayward soul?
• Peter hopes Jesus will set comfortable limits on the requirement to forgive.

What do we know about the number seven?

• It is the symbol of the completion of God’s initial creative action in Genesis.
• It is the symbol of the completion of the end of the age in Revelation.

Does it make sense that seven would be enough times to forgive someone?

• The Jews actually followed the three strike rule - no forgiveness at four.
• Peter more than doubled the number by asking about forgiving seven times.

Matthew 18:22 “...Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times...”

What is Jesus saying about forgiveness?

• It shouldn’t be limited, but rather consistently and continually given.

How and why does this differ from the 3 strikes of Matthew 18:15-17?

• The previous situation described attempts to bring a person to repentance.

• This situation describes offering forgiveness to someone who is repentant.

Luke 17:3-4 “...Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him...”

• The Luke account seems to combine the two concepts.

Luke 17:5 “...The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!...”

What did the apostles know was needed for this type of forgiveness.

• More faith.
• Why is faith needed for God's type of forgiveness?

Matthew 18:23-27 “...Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt...”

How does this describe our relationship to God?

• We owe more than we can pay. We deserve eternal punishment.

Matthew 18:28-30 “...But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt...”

How does this describe our typical dealings with others?

• We should be acting justly and extending mercy.

• We tend to expect mercy and deliver judgment.

Matthew 18:31 “...When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place...”

Does God need someone to tell Him what we’re like?

• God knows everything about us.

• Our advocate in heaven is interceding on our behalf

Matthew 18:32-35 “...Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart...”

What will the heavenly Father do to those who don’t forgive from their heart?

• Place in jail until payment is made in full.

Can payment be made in full?

What does it mean to forgive from the heart?

• To treat as though the offense was not committed.

• To harbor no malice

• To not treat poorly or in an unkind matter.

• To absolutely bury the matter, as far as the east is from the west.

Caring for the Wayward:

Context:

• Who is for Jesus and who is against Jesus?
• Who sins, and who causes others to sin?
• In a world of sin and sorrow, what do we care about?
• The Pharisees and scribes complained about the company Jesus kept.

Matthew 18:10 “...See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that in heaven their angels always see the face of my Father who is in heaven...”

NOTE: Early manuscripts don’t include Matthew 18:11 "...For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost...”

Who are the little ones Jesus is referencing?

• He said entry into the kingdom of heaven required becoming like children.
• He explained the importance of receiving children.
• He explained the consequence of causes these little ones to sin.
• He is either talking about children, child like Christians, or both.

Who has angels and what privilege do they have?

• These little ones have “their angels”.
• These angels always have access to the face of the Father.
• This is a passage used as evidence that angels do indeed guard God’s people.

Hebrews 1:13-14 “...And to which of the angels has he ever said, “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet”? Are they not all ministering spirits sent out to serve for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?...”

 

Matthew 18:12-14 “...What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish...”

Luke 15:4-6 “...What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost...’

What do these verses reveal about God’s will?

• He cares about those who have gone astray.
• He doesn’t want any of the little ones to perish.

Is He talking about all humanity?

Does the reference to sheep and little ones narrow the scope?

Luke 15:7 “...Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance...”

• This sounds more inclusive of all humanity.

• Just as the shepherd’s friends rejoice when he finds that which was lost, God’s friends rejoice when he recovers what was lost to him.

Were the Pharisees and scribes rejoicing with Jesus as He went after sinners?

Were the Pharisees and scribes God’s friends?

Are we God’s friends?

Matthew 18:15-17 “...If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector...”

What process is being described?

• The process of reconciliation, of rescuing one who has gone astray.

What is the appropriate sequence?

• First contact is private, you and him alone.
• Second contact, if needed, is with one or two others.
• Third contact, if needed, involves the church.
• Fourth contact? Three strikes and out?

Matthew 18:18-20 “...Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them...”

What is being bound or loosed?

• John 20:23 “...If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld...” [spoken after breathing the Holy Spirit on them - apart from the Spirit this process doesn’t work correctly]

• People. God desires reconciliation. People can refuse it.

Is this scripture ever used out of context?

• 1 Timothy 5:19 “...Do not receive an accusation against an elder except on the basis of two or three witnesses...”

•  Hebrews 10:28 “...Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses...”

We need God in our midst to process reconciliation correctly.