Discipleship According to Jesus – Part 4
Luke 6:37-38
April 22, 2018
If you’ve been with us recently you know that
We are currently listening to Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount”.
He is confronting the massive crowd that has gathered to listen to Him.
We already listened as He addressed the first two groups.
#1 TO THE COMMITTED
Luke 6:20-23
• Here Jesus reminded those who had left everything to follow Him that they should not mourn because they are blessed.
• And if they could only see what their true treasure is for trusting in Him they would be leaping for joy.
#2 TO THE COMFORTABLE
Luke 6:24-26
Jesus next turned to the crowd who had not forsaken all to follow Jesus.
• They were only here because Jesus could make their lives more comfortable via His ability to heal their diseases.
• But they weren’t interested in giving up their money or their comfort or their reputations to follow Jesus.
• Jesus told them that this was a foolish decision for rejecting Jesus for comfort in this life would mean certain weeping in the next.
It was a foolish decision.
And then Jesus turned to the 3rd group in the crowd.
#3 TO THE CURIOUS
Luke 6:27-49
These are the people who are basically still on the fence.
• They are feeling Jesus out.
• They are here to be healed.
• They are here to listen.
And Jesus now addresses them.
And as we said last week, His main objective here
Is to crush them under the weight of their own guilt
And to condemn their self-sufficiency.
As we said,
Many times when preaching the gospel to our world we find it necessary to first get a person lost before we can see them saved.
That’s NOT TO SAY that they aren’t lost already, it’s just that they don’t realize it.
• They are content in their own goodness
• They are content in their own morality
• They have compared themselves to their culture and figured that they’re fine.
Just go to a funeral some time.
The worst theology in the world is spewed at funerals.
Everyone goes to heaven at funerals.
All you have to do is love your kids, love your momma, and love your dog.
The point is people are notorious for self-justification.
• We hear it all the time, “I’m a good person”, “I have a good heart”
• Some can even list their good deeds, “I go to church”, “I donate my time”, “I give to charity”
As humans we are masters of self-justification.
And that is precisely what Jesus has set out to expose and to destroy.
In this sermon He is kicking the crutch right out from under them.
He is showing them that their goodness isn’t nearly good enough,
And if they judged themselves rightly they would not be so confident.
He started last week by CONFRONTING THEIR MERCY.
Mercy is vitally important because it is a chief characteristic of God.
• God first showed mercy in the Garden of Eden when He clothed Adam and Eve instead of killing them.
• And God showed mercy continually since then.
• Even His altar is known as the “Mercy Seat”
When God introduced Himself to Moses, He did so like this:
Exodus 34:6-7 “Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth; who keeps lovingkindness for thousands, who forgives iniquity, transgression and sin; yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”
David spoke of God’s mercy:
Psalms 103:6-14 “The LORD performs righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed. He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust.”
The point is that God is clearly merciful,
And if you are one who considers yourself a child of God
Then you’d better be able to demonstrate your mercy.
And so Jesus was clear.
Demonstrate your mercy like this:
“love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.”
He went on to reveal
If your love or your goodness or your generosity is only given to those who deserve it and can give it back to you then your mercy isn’t really mercy at all.
God’s mercy is defined by the fact that
He does good to those who don’t deserve it.
SO if you want treasure in heaven and if you want to be considered as a child of God then Jesus said, (36) “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
And we noted last week, that that is a condemning statement.
I might think I’m more merciful than someone else,
But who can say they are merciful like God is merciful?
And that’s the point.
No one. We need Christ.
• We need forgiveness.
• We need to be clothed in His righteousness.
So you can see that Jesus is driving these people to desperation.
Well THIS MORNING Jesus continues beating the drum regarding mercy.
We approach an often quoted, but rarely understood passage.
(37-39) “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure – pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
Now before we dive into it,
It is important that we set the record straight here.
THIS VERSE IS NOT A MANDATE TO JUST LEAVE SIN ALONE.
This verse is about offering mercy,
Not eliminating the message of repentance.
Mercy and tolerance are not the same thing.
Consider Jesus confrontation with the religious elite and that story commonly known as “The woman caught in adultery”
• You know the story recorded in John 8 where the woman is brought to Jesus
who has been caught in the very act.
• Her accusers have the Law on their side and they ask Jesus if they should
stone the woman as Moses commanded?
• Jesus of course writes in the sand, but then says, “Let him who is without
sin cast the first stone at her.”
• Of course they leave.
And then Jesus looks at the woman and says:
John 8:10-11 “Straightening up, Jesus said to her, “Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “I do not condemn you, either. Go. From now on sin no more.”
THE POINT IS CLEARLY SEEN THERE.
Tolerating sin and offering mercy are NOT the same thing.
We are not commanded to tolerate sin,
But we are commanded to offer mercy.
Now that’s important because our world wants to use this verse
As a command to never confront anyone else’s sin.
But this verse is NOT saying that
If you’ll just refrain from ever disapproving of other people’s actions
Then God will never disapprove of yours.
Jesus’ statement, “For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
DOES NOT mean that in the judgment
You will only be judged by the same standard that you lifted up.
Obviously that is not the message of the Bible.
The Bible reminds us that in judgment, we are judged according to God’s perfect and holy standard.
He says in Isaiah:
Isaiah 28:17 “I will make justice the measuring line And righteousness the level; Then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies And the waters will overflow the secret place.”
Paul preached in Athens
Acts 17:30-31 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
The Bible promises that
The standard of judgment will be God’s perfect righteousness.
It will be the righteousness of Christ,
Not the standard you choose to adopt.
NOR is Jesus saying that no one should ever confront the sin of anyone else.
That is perhaps when this verse is quoted the most.
You tell someone in sin that they ought not do such things
And they immediately fire back with “Judge Not!”
But that is not Jesus point either.
In fact, later in the passage when speaking of having a plank in your eye Jesus says that after you remove it “you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.”
It was also Jesus who said:
John 7:24 “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”
It was Jesus in Matthew 18 who taught us that
• When we see our brother in sin, we are to confront him,
• And if he doesn’t listen to take a brother with us,
• And if he still doesn’t listen to tell it to the church,
• And if he still won’t repent to pronounce judgment on him.
• He is to be treated as a Gentile or a tax collector.
This was also what Paul had in mind concerning the immoral brother when he wrote:
1 Corinthians 5:9-13 “I wrote you in my letter not to associate with immoral people; I did not at all mean with the immoral people of this world, or with the covetous and swindlers, or with idolaters, for then you would have to go out of the world. But actually, I wrote to you not to associate with any so-called brother if he is an immoral person, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or a swindler — not even to eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging outsiders? Do you not judge those who are within the church? But those who are outside, God judges. REMOVE THE WICKED MAN FROM AMONG YOURSELVES.”
And we could go on and on here.
The message of the Bible is not to just leave sinners alone
And so long as you don’t confront anyone
Then no one will confront you either.
That is NOT what Jesus is saying here.
Jesus is here addressing people who are steeped in their own goodness
And who see no need for mercy at all.
They don’t care if their enemy repents or not.
They don’t care if a person is in need or not.
THEY DON’T WANT TO OFFER MERCY.
• Remember this is the group who didn’t want to love those who hated them or to pray for those who mistreated them.
• They only wanted to love people who loved them and to give to people who would give back to them.
• These people saw no need for mercy in their way of life.
WELL JESUS IS CONFRONTING THAT MINDSET HEAD ON.
And I think I can ask a question that will sum up His point.
DO YOU REALLY WANT TO ELIMINATE THE REALITY OF MERCY?
Now that’s a question to ponder.
Do you want to just throw out the standard of mercy altogether?
Now, this is not the only time we see such an argument in Scripture.
TURN TO: MATTHEW 18:15-35
This is such an important passage on this concept.
It begins with the passage we alluded to a moment ago about church discipline.
(READ 15-20)
Now some read that as cold and harsh
And I’ve been told numerous times by people that they just don’t see how a church could ever adopt such a policy.
Well, we adopt it because Jesus commanded it.
But what you must understand about this passage is that
It is not a passage about judgment, it is a passage about mercy.
This passage drips with mercy.
• It is filled with chance after chance after chance for a brother to repent and be brought back to full fellowship.
• In fact, the only way a person ever reaches the point of discipline is if they are extremely stubborn and strong willed about keeping their sin.
• And even then it’s not permanent. If at any time they are willing to repent they get to come back.
This passage drips of mercy.
And we know that because Peter picks up on it.
(21) “Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
Peter DIDN’T say, “Lord I just don’t think we can be so harsh with people.”
That wasn’t the point.
• Peter saw Jesus’ teaching as a loop-hole for too much mercy.
• Peter saw a system which he thought could be abused.
• He was fine with mercy but he still saw the need for a limit.
But Jesus blew the limit off the hinges.
(22) “Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
And the point obviously is that if you do the math you’ve missed the point.
And then Jesus gave a striking parable.
(READ 23-35)
We covered this recently with our youth, but it is such a vivid picture.
We have a man who is in debt over his head.
The Scripture says he owes 10,000 talents.
• 1 talent = 15 years wages.
• So if $40,000 is an average yearly salary, 1 talent = $600,000
• And 10,000 talents = 6 billion dollars
And that makes his case absurd.
He’s never gonna pay that back. His talk is cheap.
He’s just hoping for a long shot of mercy.
But, to the glory of the king, HE RECEIVES IT.
(27) “and the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.”
It’s the next part that is shocking and which makes Jesus’ point.
This slave then goes out and finds one who owes him money.
• A man owes 100 denarii.
• 1 denarii = 1 days wages
• To earn $40,000 a year you need to bring home around $19 and hour.
• That’s $152 a day.
• 100 denarii = $15,200
Now, that’s not nothing, but it’s certainly not insurmountable.
People take out car loans or mortgages that far exceed that.
This man really might have repaid.
But the first slave was unwilling and started choking him
And threw him in prison where he’d never be able to repay.
When the other slaves told the king, the king was enraged.
(32-35) “Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. ‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
Now we chase that rabbit to look at that passage
Because the point there is the same as the point here.
Peter asked how many times he should forgive his brother
Jesus basically answers, “Well, I guess that depends on how many times you want to be forgiven.”
Isn’t that what Jesus taught us about mercy last week?
Luke 6:31 “Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.”
That is the point of the two verses we see here.
The passage starts with 4 commands, 2 are negative and 2 are positive.
(37) “Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned;”
“judge” translates KRINO and it means “to judge or to decide”
“condemn” translates KATADIKAZO and it means “to pass sentence upon”
And Jesus says “Don’t do it”
Now again, this is NOT a message regarding the confrontation of sin.
Jesus said this in the context of talking about mercy.
And the point is that when someone approaches you
And wants mercy then don’t judge and don’t condemn.
When they want your coat…
When they need your help…
When they desire a pardon…
“Do not judge…and do not condemn”
In other words, when they desire mercy, give it to them!
Which explains the two positive commands as well.
“pardon, and you will be pardoned. Give, and it will be given to you.”
• When someone comes wanting to be forgiven, give it to them.
• When someone comes wanting a pardon, give it to them.
• If your brother comes 70 times asking for forgiveness then give him forgiveness 70 times.
AND THE REASONING IS CLEAR.
If you don’t judge “you will not be judged”
If you don’t condemn “you will not be condemned”
If you pardon “you will be pardoned”
If you give mercy “it will be given to you.”
WHAT IS JESUS SAYING?
He is merely asking you what kind of standard you desire to live under.
Several years ago we had a young lady get pregnant out of wedlock.
By all accounts she was a very good and moral young lady, she just made a mistake. (She certainly was not alone)
I just happened to walk upon a conversation of some other young girls who were saying, “She got what she deserved.”
Well, that’s true.
That’s what we call justice.
Justice is when you get what you deserve.
And when you make the mistake this girl made, then pregnancy is what you deserve.
And that’s what I told those girls.
And then I asked them, “It’s true she is getting what she deserved, but is that the way we want to play the game?”
Is that the way we want it; where everyone just gets what they deserve?
I don’t think so.
If I read in my Bible correctly, I’m in pretty big need of mercy.
Ephesians 2:1-5 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ ( by grace you have been saved),”
Titus 3:3-7 “For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”
I’m one who desperately needs mercy to be a reality.
If mercy isn’t available then I am sunk.
AND THAT’S THE POINT JESUS IS MAKING.
PEOPLE WHO HAVE NO DESIRE TO OFFER MERCY
ARE PEOPLE WHO DON’T UNDERSTAND THEIR OWN NEED OF IT.
Those who have been broken before God under the weight of their own sin and guilt, are definitely those who love mercy.
People who are unwilling to give mercy
• Are those who have never understood the value of it.
• And that is only because they have never understood the measure of their own guilt before God.
TURN TO: JAMES 2
• Starting in James 1:26 and running through James 2, James is making the point about the importance of mercy.
• In particular he is bothered by the presence of favoritism in the church and the lack of mercy that the poor man and the widows and orphans are receiving.
• He sees a church that doesn’t understand the value of mercy.
• And James sets out to show them how important it is.
He actually uses the 2nd greatest commandment as a jumping off point,
Since that is a command they were breaking
By not loving the poor man as much as they loved themselves.
(READ 2:8-11)
I hope you see what James just said.
You are those who don’t want to offer mercy, but you are those who desperately need it.
WHY?
Well it is true that you haven’t broken those “Big” commands
Like murder and adultery and such.
The only command you are guilty of is a failure to extend mercy to the poor.
But let me tell you the problem in that.
(11) “He who said, “Do not commit adultery,” also said, “Do not commit murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.”
What is his point?
In regard to breaking the Law,
It’s not about THE command you break,
It’s about WHOSE command you break.
We’ve been covering this with our youth and I shared with them the story of our popular UPS driver Graylon.
“Oh, you’re going to do the dishes…”
It wasn’t about that little command regarding dishes, it was about the fact that Graylon had offended the chief authority of his house.
Now do you understand why breaking even the little commands lands you in just as much hot water as breaking the big ones?
They are all an offense to God, and thus we all need mercy.
And after James reveals that he says:
(12-13) “So speak and so act as those who are to be judged bythe law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Which is again the same point Jesus is making here.
• If I were you, I wouldn’t be so quick to eliminate mercy.
• If I were you, I’d hold on to mercy as tightly as I could.
“For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
Jesus looks at this crowd that doesn’t want to offer mercy.
And Jesus is merely asking, “Ok, but is that the way we want to play this game?”
Do you really want Jesus treating you the way you treat others?
And that is the problem with this crowd.
One more object lesson and we’ll wrap this thing up.
TURN TO: JONAH
Everyone remembers the story of Jonah and how God told him to go to Nineveh, but Jonah didn’t want to go.
And we know why he didn’t want to go.
• Nineveh was the Assyrians, they had done awful things to the Jews and Jonah didn’t even want to warn them of their sin for fear that they would repent and God would forgive them.
• Jonah didn’t want them to be forgiven.
• In fact, after Jonah does preach and they do repent and God was merciful Jonah was livid!
(READ 4:1-4)
• So Jonah is mad, and the Bible says next he sat down outside of the city and waited for God to incinerate them.
To comfort Jonah, he received an object lesson.
• God caused a plant to grow and shade Jonah and then God caused a worm to come and kill the plant, and Jonah was mad again.
And God’s answer is profound.
(READ 4:9-11)
It’s the only book in the Bible that ends with a question.
It’s there for you to ponder.
And the question is this:
SHOULD GOD BE MERCIFUL?
Be careful how you answer because “by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
In fact, Jesus even speaks of THE DEGREE OF THE MEASUREMENT. It will be “pressed down, shaken together, and running over.”
SO DO YOU WANT HIM TO BE MERCIFUL OR NOT?
Well we’ll look into the expected answer of this crowd next time,
But this morning I think it’s a question we should answer.
HOW MUCH MERCY SHOULD I BE EXPECTED TO GIVE?
Well, I don’t know, how much mercy would you like to receive?
HOW MANY TIMES CAN I BE EXPECTED TO FORGIVE?
Well, I don’t know, how many times would you like to be forgiven?
HOW MUCH OF A PARDON SHOULD I BE EXPECTED TO OFFER?
Well, I don’t know, how much of a pardon would you like to receive?
Jesus is addressing a group of people here who don’t offer mercy,
But all it actually reveals is that
They have never contemplated how badly they need it.
And that is true for us.
• Do you know how badly you need mercy?
• Do you understand your offence of God?
• Do you grasp what James said that ever sin is an offence to God even if you just think it is a little insignificant one?
Let me ask you,
What great immoral thing did Adam and Eve do which brought about their removal from the garden and the curse of this whole world?
They ate a piece of fruit.
It wasn’t about the fruit, it was about their defiance against God.
And God cursed this whole world.
Do you really suppose that you don’t need mercy?
Do you really suppose your sins to be so small?
Jesus is driving this crowd to understand that
They need Him for forgiveness and that mercy is a good thing.
I would say the same to you.
Friend, you need the mercy of Christ.
And if your life is characterized by bitterness and a lack of forgiveness and holding grudges and refusing mercy
Then how is it that you can expect to receive the mercy of Christ?
Only a self-righteous person would have a disdain for mercy.
And that is the point here.
This morning let me encourage you to see the value of mercy
And run to Jesus that you may receive it.
