Obedience
Scripture References
Ezekiel 18:1-4, 25-32
The Soul Who Sins Shall Die
1 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? 3 As I live, declares the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. 4 Behold, all souls are mine; the soul of the father as well as the soul of the son is mine: the soul who sins shall die.
25 “Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? 26 When a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice, he shall die for it; for the injustice that he has done he shall die. 27 Again, when a wicked person turns away from the wickedness he has committed and does what is just and right, he shall save his life. 28 Because he considered and turned away from all the transgressions that he had committed, he shall surely live; he shall not die. 29 Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is not just.’ O house of Israel, are my ways not just? Is it not your ways that are not just? 30 “Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.”
Philippians 2:1-18
Christ’s Example of Humility
1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Lights in the World
12 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. 17 Even if I am to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering of your faith, I am glad and rejoice with you all. 18 Likewise you also should be glad and rejoice with me.
Matthew 21:23-32
The Authority of Jesus Challenged
23 And when he entered the temple, the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to him as he was teaching, and said, “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” 24 Jesus answered them, “I also will ask you one question, and if you tell me the answer, then I also will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” And they discussed it among themselves, saying, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ he will say to us, ‘Why then did you not believe him?’ 26 But if we say, ‘From man,’ we are afraid of the crowd, for they all hold that John was a prophet.” 27 So they answered Jesus, “We do not know.” And he said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “What do you think? A man had two sons. And he went to the first and said, ‘Son, go and work in the vineyard today.’ 29 And he answered, ‘I will not,’ but afterward he changed his mind and went. 30 And he went to the other son and said the same. And he answered, ‘I go, sir,’ but did not go. 31 Which of the two did the will of his father?” They said, “The first.” Jesus said to them, “Truly, I say to you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes go into the kingdom of God before you. 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes believed him. And even when you saw it, you did not afterward change your minds and believe him.
Sermon Script
Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, Oh Lord, my strength and redeemer. Amen.
Obedience
There is a farm show near Grand Island every year in the middle of September called Husker Harvest Days. As the world’s largest totally irrigated farm show, it attracts a total of 100,000 people each year. One of the numerous attractions during this show is a sheep dog exhibition. There are several sheep in a pen and the dog upon the signals or voice commands of its owner, will gather the sheep and direct them in a predetermined path that might reflect skills needed during an everyday working life on the range.
Not only are the sheep obedient to the action of the sheep dog, but the dog is also obedient to the commands from the dog handler. These demonstrations are amazing to watch as they demonstrate the skill through action and communication, working in obedient partnership to maneuver the sheep around the pen and through the obstacles.
The readings today also revolve around obedience… or in other words… “submission to another’s authority.”
But what we need to find out is…. who is going to submit to who in the chain of commands? That is the question developing in and prior to the Gospel lesson today. As we read in the writings of Matthew, a lot was going on in Jerusalem as Jesus was nearing the end of His ministry. Although he continued to speak the truth to all who would listen, but tension was building with those who did not listen to the truth.
The Pharisees were one of those groups that did not want to listen. In their mind, they thought they had authority over Jesus as they sit on their self-righteous throne. These chief priests also had numerous merchants who were obedient to them as they carried out God’s business with corruption and greed… People following the laws of man and selling sacrifice offerings to worshipers. However, Jesus had a lot of followers as well, and that is what was upsetting these religious leaders.
By What Authority?
So, there is a pretty good chance the Pharisees were paying very close attention to the activities at the beginning of chapter 21… Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem on a donkey. People were throwing down their cloaks and palm branches in front of Him… Shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Jesus’ authority over Jerusalem is revealed in grand fashion as Holy Week has just begun.
He then marches right into the temple as Matthew writes in verse 12, “and drove out all who sold and bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the moneychangers and the seats of those who sold pigeons.”
Jesus is not winning their favor and there is a pretty good chance the Pharisees didn’t sleep much that night. You see, about a fifth of Jerusalem’s population derived their living from selling goods in the temple… and they are all angry. That is one group. Then there are those who are cheering that these bums got thrown out of the temple. Then yet another group are those folks that follow Jesus wherever he goes. There is no way to please everyone, and all these things are churning in the minds of the chief priests as they are now very angry and afraid. How will they be able to get rid of Jesus and deal with the mob?… They are trying to decide what to do about this man who claims to be the chosen one.
But we must remember, it is Holy Week, and in a few short days, their plot will be to have Him killed. We must also not lose sight that this is God’s plan as He sends Jesus to be the Passover sacrifice which will take away the sins of the whole world. Jesus needs them to be angry enough to kill him by the end of the week, and He is well on the way.
Yes, the heat is rising. And it’s about to boil.
The Gospel lesson for today in Matthew chapter 21 picks up that next morning. Jesus comes back to the Temple where the chief priests and elders question Him in verse 23… “By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” If Jesus says He has God’s authority, they will say that their authority as priests and Rabbis are higher. If He says He has His own authority, they will claim to have grounds to hand Him over to the Romans right then and there.
So, He answers their question, with this question that they cannot answer… “The baptism of John, from where did it come? From heaven or from man?” If the chief Priests answer it was from heaven, then they would be asked why they didn’t believe. They answer that it was from man, then they fear the crowd that believed John was a prophet. So they say they do not know.
Yes or No?
Then, if they aren’t upset enough, Jesus gives them a parable that exposes their sins. The man with two sons… The father wants help in the vineyard. One son says “yes” but doesn’t do it and the other son says “no” but then changes his mind and goes out to work.
This parable demonstrates the religious leader’s failure to respond to John the Baptists prophetic ministry. Let’s look at verses 31-32. “Jesus said to them, ‘I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”
They did not walk the walk or talk the talk. This parable showed them, and us as well… that what we do and how we act reveal this… if we are obedient to God’s message it will drive our actions from within our heart. These Pharisees on the other hand, were more interested in outward appearances, or old covenant self-motivated actions, to show their obedience to God.
We can learn from this as obedience only works when there is complete submission to authority. Whether it is the sheep submitting to a dog, the dog submitting to the handler, or a son submitting to his father. Therefore, the question was asked… Which son did the will of his father?
It can be asked of us as well. An obedience question better suited for you and I would be; “Which is more important, to say that you are a Christian… or to actually do it… from the heart?” Which one would show your obedience to God?
Paul explains this to the Philippians… in the Epistle, chapter 2… we are reminded of the very sort of life we have received from Jesus because of His great sacrifice for us at the conclusion of Holy Week. His righteousness becomes mine and my sin becomes His. Obedience in this non-obedient world is found in the crucified Christ.
Jesus’ humble submission and giving of self to the whole world, even to the guys who killed Him, has become both the empowerment and the pattern of the Christian life. Like Jesus… we are supposed to… and can, put others first. Not considering our own needs but those of one another. By being a Christian in action, we must not grumble and complain… but shine like stars amidst a wicked and twisted generation of people. When people see us in Christian action…. They will see Jesus.
My Way
However, there are still those times we ignore God’s ways… setting our mind on what “we” want to do… and becoming like the disobedient son.
This reminded me of a short story from a collection by Thomas Boswell in the book “How Life Imitates the World Series.” In this story it tells about Earl Weaver, a former manager of the Baltimore Orioles and how he handled the famous Reggie Jackson. Weaver had a rule that no one could steal a base unless given the steal sign. This upset Jackson because he felt he knew the pitchers and catchers well enough to judge if he could successfully steal a base.
So, one game Reggie decided to steal a base without the sign. He raced to second base and easily slid to second safe and sound. When he shook off the dirt he smiled with delight as he expressed his self-determined judgement to the manager.
Weaver later took Jackson aside and explained why he had not been given the steal sign. First, the next batter was Lee May, his best power hitter other than Jackson. When Jackson stole second, first base was left open, so the other team walked May intentionally, taking the bat out of his hands.
Secondly, the batter next up hadn’t been strong against that pitcher, so Weaver felt he had to send a pinch hitter in for an attempt to get a run, leaving him short on the bench later in the game.
The problem was, Jackson saw only his relationship with the pitcher and catcher. Weaver was looking at a bigger canvas.
God’s Way
We, too, can only see so far. God sees the bigger picture. It is important for us to be obedient to God’s commands, even if we think we know better. The Pharisees thought they knew better. So does the world in which we live… Doing what God wants us to do is not easy. Like the two sons, looking obedient by saying “yes”, or saying “no” delaying obedience until a later time. Jesus wanted the Pharisees to be obedient. He wants us to be obedient as well.
One thing we must remember… obedience cannot be done with words… it must be done with actions. Walk the walk of Christian life.
We can do this with the faith we have in our risen Lord. Thus, our actions will be direct results of our faith. Through our faith we can repent of our rebellious hearts and minds. Placing our faith in Jesus’ saving gospel through his death and resurrection, which alone has the power to change a rebellious heart and make it obedient and fruitful to God.
He is not interested in what we have done, He is interested in what we are doing. Our father wants us humble and obedient to his teachings and will. It’s the way of righteousness! God also wants us to serve Him in his vineyard, bearing the fruit He asks of us… As sons and daughters, we have been called to serve Him, especially in the work of sharing the gospel, in spreading His word, in teaching it, making disciples of all nations… For all these things, we need obedient faith.
Jesus Loves Me
Through our obedient faith, we will see the love God has for us.
The last verse in the Old Testament lesson in Ezekiel 18 gives us a peak into God’s heart, “For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord God; so turn, and live.” God loves us so much He sent His one and only Son to Die on the cross amidst all my failings… so I could live. To “turn” I must repent. Repentance is the action for Christian life… and the forgiveness we receive to live.
Jesus paid the price because He tried to get the Pharisees, money changers and all the people who hate him to repent and live.
As you know, God’s plan was completed through those who hated Him as He died on the cross just a few days later. What Jesus accomplished during Holy Week, however, gives us the assurance of salvation through Him. God’s gift of forgiveness and eternal life… because… if there is room in God’s Kingdom for the prostitutes and tax collectors who believe in Him… there is room for me and all other sinners as well.
This assurance for all believers is a gift from a loving father. Who forgives us when we are disobedient. Who loves us unconditionally. God wants us to follow Him, trust Him, and obey Him as the sheep that we are…. Being obedient to Him as our shepherd shows us the way.
And may the peace of God which surpasses all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Amen,