Forgiven Debts

One staple of American culture that seems to be lost on the current generation is that of gathering together for a meal. While many are attempting to bring us back to this cultural norm, it is still considered the exception rather than the rule. With soccer practice, band practice, gymnastics, etc. the American household has become a race to see who can be in the most places at once.

I never appreciated it as a kid, and I especially didn’t appreciate it as a teenager, but my mom regularly tried to get us to gather together for family meals. As we sat around the table, there was a bonding experience that took place while eating a meal together. It didn’t matter who was at the house, neighbors, cousins, or strangers, everyone was welcome to join us as we ate together.

As special as those times were, not every meal turned out to be a sitcom family dinner. I remember one time in particular when my cousin was staying the night. We were pretty close. He’d stayed on numerous occasions, and when he was at our house he was treated just like one of the kids. He had been there enough that my mom no longer showed special treatment just because he was a guest.

This particular evening I couldn’t tell you what we were having to eat, but I do know that it included mashed potatoes. In my household you ate what was on your plate or you went hungry. We weren’t expected to eat all of our food, but we at least had to try a little bit of everything. As the plates were set and the food was being passed around, my cousin tried to pass on the mashed potatoes. When questioned by my mother, he informed her that he didn’t like them. As most mothers would do, she pressed him to try some.

The conversation went back and forth for a while with him saying he didn’t like them and her telling him to try them anyway. Finally, after some form of ultimatum, she persuaded him to take a bite. He scooped a small bit onto his fork. The fork no sooner entered his mouth and everything from the previous meal came back up and onto his plate. Dinner was over.

The nice family meals are great, but there are some things that will ruin any meal. This was likely the feeling of Simon the Pharisee when he invited Jesus to dinner at his house. We find the story in Luke 7:36-50.

There are other passages of scripture that closely resemble this passage in Luke. These other passage, found in Matthew 26, Mark 14, and John 12, tell of a time when Jesus entered the house of Simon the Leper in the town of Bethany. Much debate has surrounded these four passages trying to piece together the fully narrative. However, this account in Luke seems to throw a curveball at the whole thing. This has led many to determine that the account given here in Luke is a completely separate event that took place much earlier in his ministry.

First, note that the attitudes towards the woman were different. In the other three accounts the disciples are indignant about the waste of the perfume while in Luke the Pharisee questions Jesus’ authority because he fails to see the woman’s sin. The two women were different between these accounts. We are given no indication that Mary from Bethany had any sort of sinful stigma about her, yet in Luke’s account the woman’s sin is central to her identity.

The timeframe in which the two events take place are different. The other accounts take place near the end of Jesus’ ministry. We know this because he makes direct reference to the woman preparing him for burial. Luke’s account, however, takes place early in Jesus’ ministry. This is evidenced by the Pharisee’s interactions with him. If you’ve read much of the scriptures, you know that late in Jesus’ ministry the Pharisees were plotting to kill him, but this Pharisee invites him to dinner. You might say he was trying to set up a trap, but he goes on to give him a level of respect by calling him teacher. However, he also doesn’t give Jesus some of the basic courtesies offered to dinner guests. This leads us to conclude that it likely took place after Jesus had gained some credibility as a teacher but before the Pharisees decided that he needed to die.

Finally, the locations between the two events are different. Luke’s account takes place in Galilee while the others are said to be in Bethany which is in Judea. Many of us have grown up hearing these stories intertwined together, but looking at what the scriptures say, it seems clear that these are two distinct events that share only a handful of similarities.

Turning our attention specifically to Luke’s passage, we find Jesus, as was the custom in the day, reclining at the table in the house of Simon the Pharisee. If you’ve watched Passion of the Christ you likely saw how Jesus invented the chair, but the truth is that it was customary to recline at the time with one hand free and your feet behind you. Also, due to Jesus’ status, as was the custom, this event would be open to the community. The door would remain open, and those that wished to hear the rabbi teach were permitted to enter and sit at the edge of the room.

Among the crowd that had gathered sat a woman whom many considered to have led a sinful lifestyle. Many have speculated that he sin was that of an adulterous nature, but the scripture doesn’t go into any more detail than to call it sinful.

Taking advantage of this open door meal, the woman proceeds to wash Jesus’ feet with her tears. As touching and sweet as this action is, it was viewed by those gathered as inappropriate intimacy. It’d be the equivalent to someone walking into the room and repeatedly kissing the neck of the person sitting next to you.

Given the social inappropriateness of the woman’s actions, it is no surprise that Simon the Pharisee reacted as he did. This woman, while also a guest in his house, had ignored the social norms refusing to sit quietly along the walls. Given her actions as well as her colored history, I’d say many of us would have shown disdain for her just as Simon did.

It is at this point, seeing the reaction of Simon the Pharisee, that Jesus begins to tell him this parable. As indicated earlier, Simon’s response to Jesus, “Tell me, Teacher”, does not portray a Pharisee that has set out from the beginning to undermine Jesus. Rather, this is a curious man.

Jesus’ parable was not difficult for the people to understand. Lending and borrowing money was common place in the lives of the Jews. In that way it required very little explanation for those present. In comparison, the amounts of money owed are relatively small. Even the 500 denarii debt would have been less than the typical home loan. However, in the case of both, each was so utterly bankrupt that they were unable to repay the debt.

We then see that the lender cancels the debts of both men. However, of interest here is the Greek word charizomai (ἐχαρίσατο) which is translated to “cancelled” in this verse. A more descriptive translation would be “forgave of his generous bounty.” This translation more beautifully captures the heart of the money lender. He didn’t merely cancel the debts because he was tired of dealing with the debtors. No, this money lender freely cancelled their debts out of his own good will.

Jesus then poses the question to Simon the Pharisee, “which of them will love him more?” His understanding is revealed by his reluctance to answer and demonstrated by the “I supposed” preceding his answer. Simon clearly sees the point being made, but now Jesus will drive the point home.

There are three customs that were common when a distinguished guest was invited to dinner. First the host gave the guest a kiss. Second the host would provide water for the guest’s feet. Finally, oil was typically placed on the guest’s head. None of these were required, but they were considered to be a courtesy offered. Through Jesus’ dialogue, we see that Simon the Pharisee had not extended any of these courtesies to his guest, yet this woman kissed, washed, and anointed his feet.

Jesus uses the parable to contrast the sinful woman against Simon the Pharisee. By Simon’s own admission the one that was forgiven more would love more. While the formal greetings that Simon had neglected weren’t required, his failure to perform them stood in stark contrast to the woman’s actions. As Jesus alluded from his parable, the woman had been forgiven much more than Simon and thus she displayed her love more prominently.

There was no assumption on the part of Jesus as to the life of Simon the Pharisee. As a Pharisee, he would have been considered one of the righteous people in the land, but we know that none are without sin. Looking at this passage, it seems clear that Simon had drawn a hard line between himself and the woman. Clearly, compared to the number and level of this woman’s sins, Simon would be considered a saint, but Jesus did away with this idea. In his parable it was not the amount owed that was the issue. Both owed an amount that was beyond their ability to pay. The same is true for us today.

We need recognize that it is not the amount of bad found within us on which we should focus. Rather we need to place our focus upon the goodness of the one who holds the debt, God. It doesn’t matter how bad we are or aren’t when compared to others. Regardless of our pasts we all have a debt that we are unable to pay. True, some have debts greater than others, but since none of us are able to repay our debts, the amount isn’t of importance. The true point is the love and forgiveness offered by he who offers to pay our debt.

Don’t Give Up

Being a parent is no easy task. You try to do your best, but there are definitely times when you get to the end of the day and wonder if you did the right thing. Many times we feel like we’re just stumbling through the whole experience hoping that we don’t screw our kids up too badly.

I especially feel for those that are single parents. Being a parent is hard enough, but at least I have my wife on my team. There are times when we have to double team the kids in order to get the job done, kind of a good cop, bad cop deal. Sometimes we don’t even mean to, but in the moment we just need to tag out.

This especially happens with my youngest. He’s three years old and knows he’s cute. Lately we’ve had issues with him not wanting to eat his dinner, so we’ve taken to making him stay at the table until he’s finished. The scenario often plays out with my wife starting the enforcement. However, as the time begins to pass, he will be begin to turn on the charm. She’ll be in mid-sentence sternly telling him to eat his dinner when he pulls out the puppy dog eyes and begin to tell her how much he loves her.

It’s at the point that I have to jump in as she’s fighting back a laugh and trying to stay in the character of bad cop. The truth is, none of us want to be bad cop. We want to give our children nice things, especially when they’re being cute. We like to give nice things to our kids.

I’ll even admit that there are times I want to give in even when he’s not being cute. When my toddler is screaming and throwing a tantrum that I just want to give him whatever he wants just so that he’ll stop crying. I know that’s not the way to handle it. He has to learn that throwing a tantrum is not a good way to deal with his problems, but truth be told, I just get sick of hearing him cry so I’m tempted to just give in. In those times it’s a test of who’s more persistent, me or the toddler.

This scenario is similar to a parable that Jesus told. Typically his parables revolve around what God is like or what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. However, the parable Jesus tells in Luke 18:1-5 seems to take the opposite approach.

The first thing to note in this parable is Jesus’ reason behind telling it. Typically he’s trying to explain to them a spiritual reality, but here his purpose is illicit action on the part of the disciples. He tells them this parable to tell them “that they should always pray and not give up.” Other translations say “and not lose heart,” or “and not faint.” It carries with it this idea that if they don’t pray they will give up, lose heart, or faint.

We are commanded in scripture to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thess. 5:17). This doesn’t mean to keep rambling on with our words. We’re specifically told not to do that (Matt. 6:5-15). Instead, prayer should be a natural part of our lives, much like breathing. We don’t consciously choose to breathe. In fact, if you do try to consciously breathe, you typically get all out of whack when you try. Prayer is communicating the desires of your heart to God. We typically do this with our lips, but even if we never speak a word, we can constantly lay our desires at the throne of God.

Our sinful, dying world is toxic to a healthy relationship with God. The world is constantly trying to tell us that right is wrong and up is down. Much like in a gas chamber, if you continue to breathe in those toxic fumes, they will eventually overtake you. Prayer is like a breath of fresh air that we draw from heaven. This is why Jesus tells them to pray and not faint. As we continually pray, we continue to breathe in God’s goodness which strengthens us.

As we get into the heart of the parable, notice that Jesus did not say that God’s people are like this woman. He also did not say that God is like this king. This is important to note for many reasons.

The courts in those days were much different than they are right now. They didn’t have a nice courtroom in a fine building in which an honorable judge oversaw the cases brought before him. The judge’s tent was moved from region to region as the judge completed his circuit.

Within his tent the judge, surrounded by his assistants, set the agenda. They were the ones that decided which cases would be heard. Anybody could watch the cases, but only those who were approved would actually have their cases tried. This typically meant that you had to grease the palms of the judge and his assistants in order to be heard.

Widows were not known to be wealthy people. In that culture it was a man’s job to care for the women in his family. This is why there was so much emphasis placed on caring for widows. Women were considered to be second class. A woman couldn’t just go before the judge. It was the place of the man in charge of her to plead her case. However, being a widow, this woman had nobody to plead for her.

Likewise, without a man to care for her, she had little money. Seeing as how the easiest way to have your case tried was to bribe the judge, there was little chance that she’d have her case heard. These were two major strikes against her.

Again, Jesus doesn’t say that God’s people are like this woman. There are some glaring differences between the two. First, the woman did not know the judge. She was a stranger with no standing. On the other hand, we are God’s children. While the judge cared nothing for this widow, God deeply loves his children. While the woman had not access to the judge due to her financial situation, we freely have access to the Father. We may bring our petitions to him at any time.

This widow had nobody to go to bat for her. Without a man in her life there was nobody to go to the judge on her behalf. However, scripture tells us that we have an advocate in Jesus Christ. He will go to father on our behalf and represent us before the throne of God.  

Through his word to us, we can fall back upon the promises of God. He promises us that he will take care of our needs. He has promised to be our shield. This widow had no such promises from the judge. As she cried out to the judge, she had no reassurance that he would do anything to help her.

The biggest difference between us and this widow is that while this widow came to a court of law we are able to come to God’s throne of grace. She had no hope of mercy or compassion. She was at the mercy of the law. We on the other had have a gracious God that desires the best for his children. The God that we serve is nothing like this unjust judge. Jesus highlights this in the final part of the parable (Luke 18:6-8).

In reading this parable, if we fail to understand that Jesus is contrasting us versus the widow and the Father versus the judge, it may seem that in order to have our prayers heard and answered we must badger and bribe God. In contrast, God is not like this judge. He is a loving father that seeks the well-being of his children. He is attentive and generous. He is concerned for us and ready to answer when we call.

The judge only helped the widow because he was afraid she’d eventually wear him down. The phrase literally translated says he was afraid she’d give him a black eye. He was afraid she’d ruin his reputation. That was the only reason he gave her justice. God on the other hand is not afraid of our retaliation. That’s not his motivation.

In short, our God in heaven is nothing like this unjust judge and we are nothing like this widow, but that’s the point. If an unjust judge will give justice to widow that persistently pleads to him, how much more will God listen when we bring to him the desires of our hearts? If a judge that doesn’t know or care for this woman will give her justice, a Heavenly Father that loves and cares for us will do so all the more.

We then must address the topic of unanswered prayer. Jesus says, “I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly.” In our haste to declare that God has left our prayers unanswered, we must remember that God’s delays are not delays of inactivity. Instead, they are delays of preparation.

Romans 8:28 tells us that “in all things God works for the good of those who love him.” God is always answering prayer, otherwise this verse can’t be in the Bible. He is constantly at work causing all things to work together to accomplish his purposes. The instant we make a request of God that is in his will (1 John 5:14-15), he begins the preparations to bring that desire into reality. We may not see his hand at work, but he is working all the same.

This brings us to Jesus’ final statement of the parable. “However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” This world is toxic, and as the scriptures show us, there is little faith remaining on the earth in the last days. Eight people were saved in Noah’s day and only four from Sodom. This is why Jesus told his disciples this parable that they might always pray and not faint.

If we are going to survive in this toxic world, we must pray without ceasing. We must regularly be in tune with the heart and will of God so that we might receive that breath of fresh air we so desperately need. My challenge to you then is to not give up.

It’s Not Fair

The church in which I grew up in Davenport, IA, was your fairly standard church. We were positioned about halfway down a hill. This made us the ideal location during the winter months. After a good snowfall it seemed like everyone in the neighborhood was in our church parking lot and sledding down our hill.

The church was just down the street from the high school and just down the hill from the fairgrounds. Every year, when the Mississippi Valley Fair came to town, people would be parked all the way down the hill so that they could go to the fair.

When I was a teenager, the church called Pastor Bill VanPatten to come and lead us. He and his wife Sue were such an amazing couple. They were actually a big factor in my wife and me becoming foster parents. Being foster parents themselves, they always had kids at their house even though their kids were grown and moved out.

God had called them to minister to delinquent, teenage girls, which is no easy task. Pastor Bill would often make reference to the girls in his home during his sermons. One thing that seemed to come up repeatedly was their cry for fairness. He and Sue would inevitably do something the girls didn’t like, and their cry was always the same, “That’s not fair!” Having had him as a pastor for a few years, the whole congregation immediately knew his response to that objection. As soon as those words left their mouths he would respond, “Life is fair only one week a year, and it takes place up the hill. After that week, they pack up, and it’s not fair anymore.”

I know it’s corny, but it always seemed to get a chuckle out of the church people who knew and understood about life. Life isn’t fair. Fortunately for us, we serve a great and powerful God. There used to be a professor at Nazarene Bible College that had a saying. He’d say, “God is good, God is fair. To some men he gave brains and to others hair.” Obviously he was on the follicly challenged end of that equation, but this week I began to think on this little poem and began to wonder. Is God really fair?

In teaching his followers about God, Jesus told them a parable which is found in Matthew 20. Again, a parable is a short story in which Jesus would use common everyday things to explain a spiritual truth. This was his way of teaching the people, and each parable, while it may explain a couple different things, had one main point that was to be taken from it. In Matthew 20:17 Jesus begins teaching the people with one of these parables. It was a scenario they would all have been familiar with.

This would have been a common scene in those days. If you’re a farmer, you know quite well that during harvest season it’s all hands on deck. It’s a race against the clock.

It was no different in these days. When the time came to harvest the grapes, it was essential that they were harvested quickly. The grape harvest ripened towards the end of September, and the fall rains were not long after. If the vineyards were not harvested before the rain, the harvest was ruined. So it was that a field owner would hire as many people as possible to harvest his vineyard.

In those days as well, it was common for working class men to stand in the marketplace and wait to be hired. Landowners knew that if they needed workers they could be found in the marketplace. Especially during harvest, they would go down to the market and take whatever workers they could find, even if it was only for an hour.

The landowner’s offer here was quite fair. In those days the workday started at 6AM and continued until 6PM. The commonly expected pay for a day’s work was one denarius. It wasn’t going to make you rich, but it would put food on your table and was commonly considered to be fair.

We see that when the landowner first goes out at 6AM, he offers the workers the going rate for a day’s work. He then goes out again at 9AM, noon, 3PM, and again at 5PM. Again, these workers weren’t slacking or being lazy. They were waiting for work in the place where the landowners knew where to find them. For each of these workers the landowner tells them, “I will pay you whatever is right.”

The expectation was that if working a full day earned you a day’s wages, one denarius, then starting the day at 9AM would earn you 3/4ths of a day’s wages. Starting the day at noon would earn you half of a day’s wages. Following that logic, those hired at 5PM, one hour before the end of the workday, expected a fair pay to be 1/12th of a day’s wages. Nobody would expect their employer to pay them for a full day’s work if they only worked for an hour. This is what was expected when the landowner stated, “I will pay you whatever is right.”

Looking at the end of the parable in Matthew 20:8-16, many of us can relate. As those hired at 5PM came to receive their pay, they were surprised to have received, not 1/12th of a day’s wages but a full day’s wages. That’s twelve times what they deserved. Likewise, those that came at noon also received a full day’s wages, twice what they deserved. This caused those that had been hired first to expect that they would receive something more. Surely if the landowner had given these men more than they deserved, those that had worked the whole day would receive more as well.

However, when it came time for them to be paid, they received one denarius just like everyone else. Upon this, they did what any self-respecting employee would do and filed a grievance with the Human Resources representative. No, they did what most of us would do and began to grumble and complain. When the landowner heard of their complaints he goes to them and tells them, “‘I am not being unfair to you, friend. Didn’t you agree to work for a denarius?”

Upon receiving their wages for the day these men cried out, “It’s not fair,” even though they had received exactly what they had agreed upon. They told the landowner that they would work a day’s work for a day’s wages, but when they saw others getting the same pay for less work, it was suddenly unfair.

Upon hearing this parable, we like to take the moral high ground and say that these men had no right to complain. However, many times we find ourselves in the same boat as these men without realizing it.

Clearly this parable is meant to symbolize God’s saving grace for those that believe in him. I’ll be the first to confess that I celebrate whenever someone comes to the altar and repents of their sin. When God forgives that person and they become a new creation, the church and the angels both celebrate.

However, we’ve all been there too when someone who has lived a horrible life receives the same forgiveness and the same eternal life. We don’t want to accept it. We don’t want it to be true that they have received the same forgiveness and adoption into the Kingdom of Heaven that we have. Much like the brother of the prodigal son, we detest the person. Especially when it’s a deathbed conversion, we grumble and complain that it’s not fair. We’ve been faithfully attending church and tithing for years, and here this person is just going to say I’m sorry and get the same reward that we’ve worked our whole lives for.

Much like these workers, we grumble and complain when we feel that God isn’t fair, but the truth is, God isn’t fair. That’s the whole reason any of us are here. We come to church and enjoy our savior, but it’s not because he’s fair. God is many things (and there may be times when he’s fair), but chiefly God is just and God is gracious.

We must be careful when we cry out for justice and that we get what we deserve, because the truth is that we don’t deserve the forgiveness that God offers. We can decry that unfairness that God freely bestows his forgiveness upon the murderer who repents upon his deathbed, but the truth is that it was unfair when God forgave us as well. We don’t deserve it. We never have, and we never will. Much like with the landowner, God’s grace and forgiveness are his own to give, and he can give out his grace to whomever he wants.

The truth is that many times we are jealous and envious of those who lived a life of sin and still find God’s grace and forgiveness. We look at them longing to have had their carefree life when all the while they’re looking back at us with the same envy and jealousy. They look at us and bemoan the time they spent away from God and privilege we’ve had to spend our whole lives serving him. Why do we want that life anyway? Are our lives with God so lacking in joy that we long for the sinful lifestyle? If so, I dare say we’re doing something wrong.

When it comes down to it, God is just, and he is gracious, but he is not fair. He gives to each of us that which we do not deserve. He has offered to mankind the opportunity to become princes and princesses in his kingdom. We certainly don’t deserve that. The world may be fair for only one week each year, but our God is gracious and loving all year around and for all eternity. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Good Soil

This last summer we planted our first garden here in North Dakota (truth be told, it was more my wife’s garden than mine). I grew up in Iowa, so gardens weren’t anything new. My family had a garden growing up. I remember getting corn, carrots, etc. from our garden as a child.

Being from Iowa, we took for granted the great soil that we had. It wasn’t until I moved my family to Colorado that I noticed the difference the quality of soil made. The apartments in which we lived had a small area where tenants were allowed to plant their gardens. The couple of years we were there we planted everything from potatoes to watermelon. Even as we began till the soil, we could tell that something was different.

Growing up in Iowa, we were used to the dark, rich soil that covers almost every square inch of the state. However, in Colorado we found something entirely different. It looked like some good soil had been added to the garden boxes provided to us, but there was also quite a bit of sand. The soil didn’t pack together like we were used to.

It’ll likely come as no surprise to anyone in North Dakota that the plants didn’t grow quite as well as we’d expected. Part of that was likely due to our unusual watering conditions. However, I believe much of it had to do with the quality of the soil.

Any gardener knows that if you’re going to have a good yield on your crops, you need to have good soil. This year when we planted our garden in our backyard, we supplemented with some potting soil. We were pleasantly surprised by the yield of this garden compared to our gardens in Colorado. It seemed like every day my wife was bringing in tomatoes or cucumbers. Our pumpkins even took it upon themselves to claim half of the back yard. It’s amazing how much difference good soil can make.

This is a universal truth that is understood by anyone that has ever tried to grow anything. This is why Jesus used this same analogy when teaching his disciples. When speaking in parables, Jesus would use common, everyday things to help explain spiritual truths.

We live in a material world, so it can be difficult to use words from a materially focused world to describe that of spiritual reality. This is why Jesus spoke in parables. He was using material words, through metaphor and analogy, in order to explain the spiritual. It came as no surprise to the people when Jesus told them the parable of the sower in Mark 4:3-8.

If you’ve been attending a church for any length of time, you’ve likely heard a pastor preach on this parable. Jesus goes on to explain the parable to his disciples, so there’s really no debate about it’s meaning. For those unfamiliar with this parable, the seed represents the Word of God.

The seed that falls on the path is people who hear God’s Word but immediately have it taken from them by Satan. The seed that falls on the rocky soil represents people who hear the word and immediately receive it. However, they don’t develop roots and quickly fall away at the first sign of inconvenience or persecution.

When the seed falls among the thorns, just like with the rocky soil, the word is received and the believer starts to grow. However, the thorns represent the worries of life, money or other things, choke the word making it unfruitful.

Finally, the good soil represents a heart that is ready and eager to receive the Word of God. These people hear God’s Word and joyfully accept it. They are able to put down roots and aren’t choked by thorns. In this soil, God’s Word grows and produces a harvest up to one hundred times what is sown.

As we hear this parable, we in the church tend to focus on the first three types of soil. We look to the hard path, the rocky soil, and the soil with thorns to see how we can help those people to become good soil. However, in so doing, I believe we miss the point.

In the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan, he touches on this parable in a chapter titled, “Profile of the Lukewarm.” Early in the chapter he walks through the explanation of this parable, but instead of taking the normal Christian route of primarily focusing on the first three types of soil, he makes a simple statement that completely transforms how we look at this parable. He prompts self-examination of the reader by simply stating, “Do not assume you are good soil.”

Did you catch that? Do not assume you are good soil. All too often our focus is upon how we as Christians can transform others into good soil. All the while we make the assumption that we are already good soil. Do not assume you are good soil.

If we are not good soil, what kind of soil would we be? If we walk through the different types of soil again, we start with the hardened path. The seeds that fall on this soil aren’t received. If you’re reading this, I’ll assume that you’ve accepted and received the Word of God, so clearly we don’t fall into this category.

Continuing on to the rocky soil, we find those that quickly receive God’s Word but quickly fall away. While it’s possible that many in the church fall into this category, anyone that has been in the church for an extended period of time certainly hasn’t “quickly” fallen away.

If we are not to assume that we are the good soil, that only leaves one type of soil left, and that is the thorny soil. What’s interesting about this type of soil is that unlike the rocky soil in which the plant quickly grows but then withers, the seeds in the thorny soil actually grow. What the scripture says, “Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.”

Let us then contrast this with the good soil. In the good soil, much like the thorny soil, the Word of God was received. As the scriptures say, “It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.” Seeds falling on the good soil and the thorny soil grew and survived. They didn’t wither away. However, the seed on the thorny soil did not produce a crop while the seed on the good soil produced a crop up to one hundred times.

What does this mean in our personal lives? If you’re reading this, it’s likely that you are either the good soil or the thorny soil. The only thing that distinguishes these two soils is the fruit that they bear. We can begin to debate about what exactly constitutes fruit. Is it specifically leading people in a prayer of salvation? Is it raising the future generation to follow Christ? Maybe it’s a combination of both as well as other things. Regardless of the fruit, the point is clear. The good soil will produce fruit.  

As we look back at this parable of the sower, one glaring question remains. Which soil are you? Don’t assume you are the good soil. Honestly examining your life, would you say that your life fits more with the good soil, or does it better resemble the thorny soil? Do the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for the things of this world crowd out the Word of God and prevent you from producing fruit? The major difference between the good soil and the thorny soil comes down to the fruit. The seed among the thorns grew just like the seed in the good soil, but it was unfruitful. It did not reproduce. On the other hand, the seed that fell upon the good soil grew and produced a crop multiplying itself thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times. Don’t assume you’re the good soil.

Hidden Treasure

Coming off of Christmas, you almost have to detox your kids from the gimme, gimme attitude. Throughout the month of December whenever our kids would watch TV, every time commercials came on all we’d here was, “I want that. I want that.” Of course, then they go to grandma’s house for Christmas and are thoroughly spoiled.

I don’t fault grandma. That’s her job, but as parents, our job is to bring our children back down to earth and help them to understand that you don’t just get something because you want it. There is a price to be paid for everything you want, and since you can’t buy everything, you must make a choice about what’s really important.

I remember as a kid I had learned to ride a bike on my brother’s bike, but more than anything in the world I wanted a bike of my own. My mom took the opportunity instill in me this value of money and the work that goes into buying things. I did odd jobs around the house, and I saved my birthday money. It seemed like I saved forever when in reality it was likely only a couple of weeks. In the end I had a sandwich baggie full of change and a couple of dollar bills. We scoured the newspaper classifieds for a bicycle, and my mom and I went down to buy it.

Looking back, I likely hadn’t saved as much as I thought I had, and my mom likely paid for most of the bike. But it was my very first bike, and I had bought it with my own money. It’s a lesson that each of us have had to learn, and it’s a lesson that we as parents work hard to teach our children.

As we continue our study of the parables of Jesus, we find a couple of parables in which Jesus is teaching the same thing. In Matthew 13:44-46, we find a couple short parables. Remember, parables are a story that helps reveal a deeper truth, in this case about the Kingdom of Heaven. While you could pick apart every word in a parable in order to decipher deeper and deeper meanings, they typically have one main point. If you start looking too deeply into them, you begin to lose and confuse the main point just like with any other analogy.

As we look at the first parable, we find a man who, while digging in a field, finds buried treasure. At first this may sound like a tale from Treasure Island where someone tries to dig up pirate treasure, but to be certain, that is not what it happening here.

In our modern age, when we have money or items of value that we wish to keep safe, we have many options available to us. We can take them to the local bank. They’ll deposit the money into an account or place valuables within a lockbox in their safe. If you don’t trust the banks, you could always purchase your own safe and keep your items on your own property. However, the people to which Jesus was speaking didn’t have these luxuries available to them.

A tale such as this would have sounded completely natural to Jesus’ audience. Banks were reserved only for the wealthy. The average Joe couldn’t just walk down to the bank and make a deposit. In a land where a man’s garden might quickly be turned into a battlefield, people needed a place where they could keep their valuables safe from invaders.

As people fled their homes they would often bury their valuables. The thought was that they would return to reclaim their valuables once everything settled back down. In the worst case scenario you would tell your family members so that they might recover it if you’re unable. In this scenario, the owner of the treasure likely wasn’t able to tell anybody about the treasure before meeting an ill fate. As such, the treasure remained hidden and the land passed to a new owner.

We then come to the man at the center of the parable. We are given no indication as to the circumstances under which this man found the treasure, but since it states that he found it, it’s unlikely that he is the one who buried it. We have no reason to believe that he was searching for any treasure or was doing anything malicious when he found it. It’s likely that he was either a renter or a hired hand tasked with caring for the garden. Either way, when he stumbled upon this treasure on someone else’s property, he immediately understood its value.

The man buries the treasure again and proceeds to sell everything he owns so that he might purchase the land and obtain the treasure for himself. It may seem a little shady that this man would find the treasure and then try to con the landowner knowing full well the true value of the land. However, while the land was under Roman law, in day-to-day life, traditional Jewish law was the law of the land. Traditional Jewish law stated, for lack of better terms, finders keepers. According to the Jewish law of the land, this man was the rightful owner of the treasure.

We could continue to dig into the details of this, but as I said, if you begin to dig too deep, as with any analogy, the true meaning begins to be lost. In short, this man, in the course of his normal, daily activities, stumbled upon a great treasure. Upon finding the treasure he went to great lengths to ensure that the treasure was his, to the point of selling everything he owned.

The second parable is much like the first. However, in this parable the merchant knew what he was looking for. He was actively on a quest for fine pearls, and when he found one of great value, he sold everything he owned in order to buy it.

Pearls, during this time period, were fabulously priced. The average person couldn’t hope to ever be able to buy a pearl. The merchant in question, had dealt with pearls for quite some time. He understood his wares and was looking for more. However, he wasn’t looking for just any pearls. He had his eyes set on fine pearls. He searched high and low knowing full well what he was searching for.

One day in his searching he came across a pearl of great value. Being a pearl merchant, he would be the one to know what it took for a pearl to be of great value. Once he found it, just like the man who found the treasure, he sold everything he had in order to obtain it.

Looking from the outside in, this may sound ridiculous. If you sell everything you own in order to buy a luxury item, where are you going to live? What are you going to eat? However, if we begin to dive into those questions, we miss the whole point. Parables typically have one main point.

Both the man digging in the field and the merchant searching for pearls found something of great value. Intrinsically they knew the value. Upon that discovery each did everything in their power to make that treasure their own. Thus is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Throughout history many people have stumbled upon the knowledge of God without looking for it. The Apostle Paul was heading down the road to Damascus when he had a surprise encounter with God. Much like the man in the field, he wasn’t looking for the Kingdom of Heaven, but when he found it it changed his life.

On the other hand, in Acts 8 Philip meets with the Ethiopian Eunuch. When he finds him he is reading the scriptures looking for answers, searching for that great treasure. In his search, Philip directs him to the messianic prophecies and the life of Jesus. In his searching he found the pearl of great value that he had been searching for.

With both of these cases, and with many more throughout history, the story has been the same. When a man or woman discovers the Kingdom of Heaven and understands its intrinsic value, there is nothing in this world that is worth more. These men sold everything they owned so that they might claim their treasure.

The Kingdom of God is the salvation that Jesus Christ offers us, but in order to understand it, we have to see its value. We must understand who we are and what is being offered. We must understand that we are not some glorious king or queen capable of such treasures on our own. We are a poor peasant lost in sin with no way out.

It doesn’t say it in these parables, but reading between the lines, I’d dare to say that neither of these men paid the full price for the treasure they found. How could they? If they’d had the resources to acquire the treasure on their own, what need did they have of the treasure. Likewise, we cannot hope to earn the Kingdom of Heaven on our own.

God has given us his salvation as a free gift. The treasure that we could not purchase on our own has been provided to us. It’s not something you can buy with silver or gold. It is a free gift, but that does not mean it comes without cost. The price you’re willing to pay will directly reflect the value that you place on this treasure in your life.

We live a comfortable life here in America. We have our jobs, car, house, and family. We don’t have everything, but we are comfortable. We’re living the American dream. Throughout history men and women have died for this treasure because they have seen its great value. Throughout history men and women have sacrificed their lifestyle, their families, and their health because they understood the value of this great treasure, and they were willing to sacrifice everything to acquire it.

I don’t know what it will cost you to acquire this treasure. It may cost you your comfort. It may cost you your friends or family. The price you’re willing to pay will directly reflect the value that you place on this treasure, the Kingdom of Heaven, in your life. The question is, how much are you willing to pay for this treasure?

The Wedding Banquet

Weddings are such a beautiful thing. As I’m sure most of us have, I’ve been to quite a few weddings. Some of close friends. Some of obscure family members. Some weddings that most people watching from the outside agreed never should have happened. Weddings in my family are interesting to say the least.

The city of Davenport, IA, where most of my family lives is not unlike many other cities. It has its good parts of town and its not so good parts of town. With my family not being the most well off, we tend to have our weddings and wedding receptions in the not so good parts of town. One family wedding a couple years ago rented a reception hall in which there stood a security guard. As you entered the reception hall the security guard stood there searching people for weapons. And before you think, “That’s a little excessive.” As I walked in with my wife and two sons, we walked in behind one of my uncles. He stops at the security guard. The security guard pats him down and says, “Sir, really? Take the gun back to your car. I just made you take your knife back, did you really think I wasn’t going to find the gun?” Yes, that is my family.

But those are the only kind of weddings I get invited to. Unless you’re rubbing elbows with the social elite, folks like me, and maybe you too, don’t get invited to the really fancy weddings such as that of Prince Charles and Princess Diana or Prince William and Princess Kate. Weddings like that, you don’t even get near the church, let alone the reception, unless you’ve explicitly been invited. There is no way that you crash a wedding like that. But see, those are the weddings that you want to crash. Those are the weddings that everyone wants to be at. They may televise them, but to be able to say that you were there immediately elevates you to a whole new social status. Not to mention the goodie bags. Did you know that at the wedding of Kanye West and Kim Kardashian they gave out gift bags worth $125,000? That’s the kind of wedding I want to be invited to. Instead I only get invited to the weddings where my relatives try smuggling firearms.

But did you know that Jesus tells us a story that talks about this very same thing. In fact, in the 22nd chapter of Matthew Jesus tells a parable about a wedding banquet. Now, a parable is a story; however, it’s also more than a story. It’s a story that reveals to us a hidden truth about God, and this parable is no exception (Matthew 22:1-2).

Now, this would be just like when Prince William was married. In case you didn’t know, the son of a king is called a prince, and in this parable, this prince was getting married. In this time period things were a little different than they are now. In today’s world when you send out wedding invitations you make sure you put a date. In fact, nowadays we get a “Save the Date” card well before we ever get an invitation. So at this point the king, when he started preparing the wedding, would’ve sent a message to all those invited letting them know that a wedding would be taking place EVENTUALLY. It was understood that they would prepare themselves so that when the time came they would be ready (Matthew 22:3).

Again, this was the wedding of a prince. The type of people that would be invited would be the dignitaries and rulers of the land. This was the elite of the elite, the very well to do people, that were invited. They’ve been notified well in advance that this was going to be happening. Yet, when the messengers came and told them that it was time for the prince’s wedding, they refused.

This is the event of the century. These people were the select few that were important enough to be invited. They had been given ample warning, but when the time came to actually attend the wedding, they refused. They received an invitation that anyone in their right mind would love to receive, yet they refused.

Now, maybe they had a good reason. I heard it said that for Prince William’s wedding there were many guests that declined to come. In one such case a king that had been overthrown by his people was invited as well as the new king of that same country. The new king declined the invitation due to the fact that the other king was invited. You can imagine how awkward it would be if the new king and the former king were to accidentally bump into each other during the festivities. I think we can all understand that one. What is a king to do? (Matthew 22:4)

After sending out the initial notification and the subsequent “let’s get this party started” notification, the king now sends a personal invitation to the guests telling them specifically how grand the wedding banquet is. It’s like the first time around the king simply sent an invitation, but this time he’s calling them up and saying, “Please come. I’d really like you to be there. It’s going to be grand. We’ll have caviar, fine wine, ” and whatever else rich people eat. But as it says in Matthew 22:5, “But they paid no attention and went off—one to his field, another to his business.”

As we see, it’s not like they had good excuses. They simply were too busy with their own lives to celebrate this occasion with the king. They paid no attention and carried on with their lives as if the invitation had never been given. They were too busy with their own things to be bothered with attending “the event of the century.” But, that’s better than what happened with the other servants (Matthew 22:6-10).

Now, I told you that a parable is a story, but that it’s a story with deeper meaning. It reveals to us something about God. In this case, as Jesus said when this parable started, it reveals to us something about the Kingdom of Heaven.

Before we go any further, let’s take a look at what we’ve seen so far. The king in this story, as all scholars agree, is God. Likewise, the people that were originally invited are understood to be the Jews. Long ago the Jews had been invited to be God’s chosen people. Yet, when the time came, they refused to follow. They were so caught up in their own lives and their own religion to see that the banquet had started. God sent even more messengers and prophets to them; yet they ignored these messengers and some were even killed.

However, just as the king then extended the invitation, God has done the same. Paul, in many of his letters in the New Testament, speaks of this very thing. The good news of Jesus is given first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles, the non-Jews. That’s you and me. Notice, the king’s orders were to “go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find.” Anyone! And if you are sitting there and still thinking that this invitation isn’t for you, just look again at verse 10, “So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good.”

Notice that “the bad” are mentioned first. Typically when we say a phrase like this we say, “the good and the bad.” The emphasis is on the good, but the bad are included also. However, this is flipped around. The emphasis is on the bad, but the good are included also.

Now, I’m pretty sure that everyone in this room falls into one of those two categories, either the bad or the good. To everyone included in either of these categories, this invitation to the event of the century has been extended to you! That’s the good news of the gospel! It’s not for the social elite. It’s not for those good enough to earn their way in. It is for ANYONE, both bad and good. Anyone and everyone has been invited. The invitation has been extended to you. That person that cut you off in traffic, the invitation has been extended to them. That kid that bullied you all through elementary school and junior high, the invitation has been extended to them as well. No matter how much good or how much bad a person has done, the invitation has been extended. That’s good news of the gospel! You don’t have to earn the invitation. It’s already been given to you. Not because of what you’ve done but because of what the king has done. That’s good news, but that’s not the end of it. (Matthew 22:11-12)

Now, at first glance, it seems rather odd that the king would go to someone that had just come off the streets to join the wedding banquet and complain that they aren’t dressed properly. However, customs were different back then. With prestigious events like this, it was common for the king to provide wedding clothes for the guests. This man knew what was expected.

Proper clothes had been provided. This man had the capability of wearing the right clothes. We can see this by his response. The man was speechless.

Think about that for a second. How often are you speechless. If you showed up to a wedding without wearing your nice clothes and someone came up to you and asked, “Why aren’t you wearing your tux?” or “Why aren’t you dressed up?” There are likely a couple different things you’d say. You might try to explain what happened. Maybe you don’t own any nice clothes. Maybe the dog ate them. If that’s what happened, you’d explain yourself.

On the other hand, maybe you didn’t know you needed to dress up. It’s possible you thought jeans and a tuxedo t-shirt were appropriate attire. In that case, you would respond with your surprise at the comment on your clothes. However, this man didn’t do either of these things. He was speechless. He had no excuse. He had no good reason why he wasn’t wearing the proper clothes. (Matthew 22:13-14)

This seems like a very harsh punishment for a man who simply wore the wrong clothes, but we must understand, this is more than just a story. This is a parable. There is a much deeper meaning here. Just as many of you here today understand this phrase, the people listening to this understood what was meant when someone was thrown outside “where there was weeping and gnashing of teeth.” That is hell. That is the worst place possible to be sent.

But what exactly happened here. This was more than a man wearing the wrong clothes. As a parable, this story holds a deeper meaning. The fact that this man wore the wrong clothes represents more than just a simple mistake. It represents something more.

I’ve been to quite a few weddings in thirty-five years of life. I remember when as a teenager I’d be invited to go to my mom’s friend’s daughter’s wedding. Seeing as how it’s my mom’s friend, I was pretty much required to go. I only vaguely knew the person, let alone her daughter. You know the kind wedding where according to your mom “you two used to play together when you were still in diapers.” Sorry, I don’t remember much about being in diapers.

It was weddings like this that I would try to see how little I could get dressed up. I’d wear khakis and a polo if I could get away with it. Fast forward to a few years ago when I went to my cousin’s wedding. Some family members I couldn’t even tell you their names, but there are some cousins that are almost like extra brothers and sisters.

This family of cousins were the latter. I remember when he was born. I remember holding on to his hands as he learned to walk. When he was married a couple years ago, I packed up my family and travelled halfway across the country to go to the wedding. And you had better believe that my family was among the nicest dressed there. We put on our very best, not because it was a requirement, but because we wanted to. Our love for that man and his family was the reason for the journey and what caused us to get dressed up.

In this story, that was the problem, at least in part, with what this man was wearing. This man’s unwillingness to wear wedding clothes demonstrated his lack of love for the host of the banquet. The fact that he didn’t wear his wedding clothes when they were provided to him showed that he didn’t care enough to make an attempt.

This parable shows both sides of the coin. First it shows the grace that has been extended to all. The gift of eternal life has been extended to all who will accept it. However, while God’s grace is a gift, it is also a grave responsibility. When we accept that grace we cannot help but be transformed by it. We cannot help but to show our love and gratitude to the one that has extended grace. We cannot go on living the life of sin that we lived before.

Like with many other things in this parable, these wedding clothes aren’t just clothes. These clothes represent the righteousness of God. When we show up to the wedding banquet and notice everybody else wearing extravagant clothes provided by the king, we notice that we don’t quite fit. We notice that we don’t have the righteousness that is required of us. We are continuing to wear our old dirty clothes and baggage we brought with us, the life of sin that we’ve been called out from.

However, the king has provided for us the righteousness, the extravagant wedding clothes, that we are to wear. Everything we need has been provided to us, we need only to put it on. But there’s a big difference between those who love the king and those who just came for the $125,000 gift bag. Those who love the king desire to please him and put on the clothes, the righteousness provided. They would be happy to be there even if there was no party and they were the only ones to show up. Those who are just in it for the gift bag will disregard the righteousness provided for them and will continue to wear the same dirty, old clothes and live in the same sinful, dirty lifestyle. They don’t care about the clothes the king has offered, their only concern is what’s in it for them. They’re looking to get that gift bag and get out with as little inconvenience as possible.

You see, this invitation is open to all, but it is not an invitation to come and remain in sin, to remain in the dirty old clothes that we came in. It is an invitation to holiness. It is an invitation to be changed. “For many are invited, but few are chosen.”

As Jesus says in Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’”

This invitation is given to all, but unfortunately even out of those who come to the banquet, not all will do so out of love. If you truly love the king, you will not only come to the banquet, but you will clothe yourself in the righteousness that he has provided to you. And in the end that is what is required in order to fully accept this invitation. You can accept the invitation, but if you truly love the king, you will also accept his righteousness.

Unlike Jesus, I don’t know the hearts of every person, but I know that there are many that have yet to accept this invitation. Whether you’re the bad or the good, this invitation has been extended to you. The king has graciously extended this invitation to you, but I want you to ask yourself, why do you want to go to the wedding? This is not an invitation to be taken lightly. It’s not an invitation to accept because your mom says you should, or because your boyfriend or girlfriend says you should. It’s not an invitation to be accepted simply because all of your friends are going. It has to be accepted in love.

If you’ve already accepted this invitation, I want you to ask yourself, why do you want to go to the wedding? Have you accepted this invitation because you want the benefits that come along with it? For the $125,000 goodie bag being given to the guests? Have you accepted this invitation because you fear being left out? Everyone else is going and you feel like you need to as well. If you didn’t accept the invitation you were going to be left out. Have you accepted this invitation out of obligation? You feel it is expected of you. Maybe you’re the son or daughter of a pastor or your parents have always been involved in the church. You feel that is it your obligation to go, even if you don’t particularly want to.

Or have you accepted this invitation out of love? Have you fully understood this invitation that has been given to you, this invitation that you surely didn’t deserve? Have you accepted this invitation because of your love for the one giving it? If so, it’s going to show. It will be obvious by the clothes you wear and the lifestyle you lead. If you truly love the king, you will not only show up to the banquet, but you will put on the wedding clothes, the righteousness, that he has provided for you. And everyone else that ignores that righteousness and continues on in their old, dirty clothes, their filthy, sinful lifestyle will be thrown into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Not everyone who enters the banquet hall will get to stay. Not everyone that comes to the altar and says a prayer will be ushered into the kingdom of heaven. It all comes down to love. Those who love the king will put on the banquet clothes and do the will of the Father. All others will be thrown into the darkness where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  

We don’t like to talk about eternal judgement, but there are real consequences for the choice we make. So I want to leave you with this one question. Why do you want to go to the wedding?