Bible Reading: Mark 6:45–46 and Luke 10:38–42 (supporting text)

Main Point: Jesus made time to be with his Father and his ministry was all the richer because of it.

Intended Response: To encourage people to spend more time in God’s presence, if they don’t already do so, and to be transformed by this time as disciples.

Introduction

Why should we spend time alone with God? Why is meeting with God in the secret place so important? Until we gain an understanding of the immense value and availability of encountering God, we will never consistently engage in this foundational, vital practice. As we discover God’s heart to meet with us in order that we might experience the depths of his love, I pray that your life would be marked by a new grace to consistently and powerfully encounter the living God.

We see, in the busyness of life and ministry that Jesus prioritises time with the Father (Mark 6:45–46). He has to dismiss the people. He knows he doesn’t have enough to give without taking time to replenish his spirit. He takes time, sets himself apart, and receives from the Father what no one else can give him.

ContextJesus has been on an emotional rollercoaster – from being rejected in his home town and finding frustrating blockages in his ministry (Mark 6:4) to having a really fruitful time in ministry of empowering and equipping the disciples to go out (vv 7–13).

He then hears the news of the death of his cousin John the Baptist (v 27), the person who understands most what it feels like to be called for such a time as this. Jesus is then swamped by thousands of people who are spiritually and physically hungry (vv 33–44).

In verse 45 Jesus tells the disciples to get into the boat, away from the crowds, reiterating his initial plan to give them a chance to be alone and

Discipleship Series Sermon – Putting First (Prioritising)

rest (v 31). They obey. The difficulties that they experience on the sea are not of their own making but stem from their compliance with Jesus’ command.

In verse 46 after Jesus has sent the multitudes away, he goes by himself to pray. The mountainside location signals the importance of this moment. He knows that this time of solitude is key and that prayer is vital to his overall mission.

What was it like when Jesus walked on the water just after this? Was he ‘skipping’ over the waves, energised by time with his Father? Were the storm waves parted around him as he walked calmly through peaceful waters in the middle of it all? Was he fiercely fighting and battling his way victoriously through the treacherous waters? Whatever it looked like, this time with the Father gave Jesus all he needed to move forward from an emotionally and spiritually exhausting season.

Key HeadingsJesus is focused

Of course we can meet with God anywhere, but Jesus demonstrates the need to set aside time for focused, dedicated prayer. He goes up on the mountainside, where he won’t be disturbed. He gets away from it all: the people, the burdens, the distractions.

He sets a specific time, and a specific place, to do a specific task. It is all about meeting with his Father. What Martha missed, and Mary grasped with both hands, was an opportunity to set aside distraction and focus only on the ‘one thing’ that was needed.

Jesus needed to pray alone

Jesus sent his disciples on ahead, and dismissed the crowds. He got away from any sense that this was all about him and what he could do, away from adoring fans or booing enemies.

It’s in that personal time with God that he reminds us who we are, and who he is, and the other voices fade away as we learn his truth. We’re designed to live and work and minister in community. Praying together is precious, and a beautiful way to get to know each other’s hearts and to spur each other on.

There also need to be times, when it comes down to it, where it is just us and Jesus. These often become the most precious times. We can’t rely on others for our relationship with God. He invites us into a level of intimacy that only comes from one-on-one time together.

‘There are some things you cannot get in public; you must press in for them in private’ (Banning Liebscher).

Transformed by time in the presence of God

Martha is different when we next encounter her after Lazarus has died. She runs straight to Jesus, eager to have deep, frank conversation with him (John 11:20). Time with Jesus has shown her his power to transform lives, and she focuses on that, rather than being ‘worried and upset about many things’ (Luke 10:41).

For Jesus, this time away with the Father is vital in helping him to mourn his cousin healthily and process the struggles he has been working through, recharging and revitalising him as he continues his ministry.

It’s one thing to ‘say your prayers’, it’s another thing to wait on God for him to show up and see what he wants to say or do.

ConclusionSo often, life requires that we meet with God ‘on the run’. Ask the congregation what time in their week they set aside for devoted, undistracted connection with Jesus. Sometimes we are in danger of developing a faith that relies on other people’s relationship with Jesus to survive. How do they stand when it’s just the two of them together? Encourage them to take some time in the coming week to spend time in private personal prayer and ask Jesus what he wants to show them and how he wants to take their relationship to deeper levels.

ApplicationDo they have somewhere special (favourite armchair, bench in the garden, coffee shop, prayer room, sanctuary, walk in nature – beach, forest, mountain, etc) where they like to meet with Jesus? Is it time for a visit?

Have they been ‘saying your prayers’ rather than holding out for a real two-way relationship? Can they look back over their prayer life and see how time in the presence of God has changed them?

Bible Reading: Luke 14:25–35 (and Luke 18:18–23)

Main Point: Following Jesus wholeheartedly inevitably means ‘letting go’ of all other priorities that conflict.

Intended Response: To enable people to consider what needs ‘letting go’ of in their lives, in order to follow Jesus wholeheartedly ‘every day, in everything and everywhere’.

Introduction

Begin by getting your congregation to think of an example of someone not doing something because they are scared or anxious about it, and then missing out on the full joy or benefit of that experience. For example, someone putting their toe in the water, judging it to be too cold, and so missing out on the exhilaration and refreshment of plunging in and enjoying a good swim. Clearly, swimming might not do it for everyone, so you might like to have a few different examples.

ContextJesus is making his way to Jerusalem, where he knows betrayal, arrest, prosecution, torture and death by crucifixion wait. As he travels he talks to the crowds journeying with him about what it means to be a disciple, and in particular about being willing to embrace the cost of discipleship. No doubt he is thinking about what being faithful to his Father is going to mean for him practically and personally. He knows that if his enemies are prepared to submit him to such violent and unjust treatment, then his followers need to know that being willing to die for their faith, in real physical terms as well as in a whole range of other ways, is ‘par for the course’. It is better for his disciples to count

Discipleship Series Sermon – Letting Go (Sacrificing)

that cost up front, and be fully prepared for the test that is coming, rather than discover this reality further down the journey, only to retreat from the challenge and let themselves down.

Verse 26 is one of those ‘difficult sayings’ of Jesus. Clearly, in view of the commandment to ‘honour our father and mother’, and to love one another, including our neighbour, as we love ourselves, Jesus is not literally asking us to hate our family and friends. Rather, he is dramatically accentuating the extent to which we must love God first and foremost, before all others. In other words, no one can be allowed to stop us following Jesus.

Verse 27 shows that following Jesus might involve us being willing to die in the same manner as him, but considering the unlikelihood of this, will certainly involve being willing to die to our own selfish priorities and goals (‘carry his cross’).

In verses 28–32 the two examples of building a tower and going into battle illustrate the utter foolishness of not being fully prepared for the cost of the venture embarked upon. It would be better to hold back and cautiously weigh the costs, rather than plunge in, oblivious to the danger.

Verse 33 is the point that Jesus is leading up to: ‘those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples’. The story of the Rich Ruler (Luke 18:18–23) is a good example of this very point.

In verses 34–35 Jesus is thinking of salt as a fertiliser, and suggests that a disciple who cannot pay the full cost is someone whose service for the Kingdom of God is worthless, like ‘unsalty salt’ that is fit only to be thrown out.

Key HeadingsIn this passage of scripture, Jesus offers three or four dramatic images of what it means to be unwilling or unable to pay the full cost of following him.

The highest love (vv 25–27)

We know from the full message of scripture that Jesus is not literally expecting us to hate anyone! He is dramatically exaggerating his point in order to help us to understand that being a disciple involves loving God first and foremost more highly than any other person, even those most near and dear to us!

To be a faithful follower of Jesus means that no one, no object or possession, no opinion or expectation can properly stand in the way of us wholeheartedly embracing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.

The story of the Rich Ruler (Luke 18:18–23) is a very good example of this.

The complete cost (vv 28–33)

Jesus offers two different examples of someone who has not fully understood or considered what it might cost to fulfil their venture, either to build a tower or to win a battle, and as a result is ultimately defeated. (Maybe you can think of a more contemporary example – for example, on a recent island holiday, I encountered many half-built, empty, hollow and derelict houses which had been started before the money ran out and the island hit hard times.)

What Jesus is dramatically saying is that if you can’t embrace the full cost, then don’t start the venture, because by doing so you might find yourself in an even worse situation than when you began!

All this is, of course, in the context of Jesus knowing that he is on a journey to the cross, a journey that we will also inevitably be required to follow, whether by physically giving up our lives or by giving up our selfish aims and ambitions.

The greatest service (vv 34–35)

Finally Jesus says that a disciple who is not prepared to give up everything to follow him is like salt that has lost its saltiness and has become of no use or service to the soil. It is only worth throwing away!

If we have not died to ourselves and live to follow Jesus, then all our service is of very little value (see 1 Corinthians 13). We are like salt that is not salty – the quality of our service is missing. Since God’s life is not in us, we are not ourselves nourished through God’s love and do not nourish others.

ConclusionJesus is absolutely clear that to follow him ‘every day, in everything and everywhere’ means to be clear that there is absolutely nothing holding us back, nothing that will get in the way, nothing that will distract us. These things have been ‘let go of’! They no longer count as being more important to us than Jesus. In response to v 35, ‘he who has ears …’, we have heard the call, and have left everything to follow Jesus! The life of a disciple is to constantly identify what we need to let go of, each and every day in order to live fully in the life that God gives us.

ApplicationIn order to ground what it looks like in practice to live faithfully in the full reality as a disciple of Jesus, it will be important to think about your congregation and

their daily lives. What are some of the likely challenges that they will face in living in two worlds at the same time – wanting to belong to the Kingdom and follow Jesus wherever he leads, yet living with confused priorities, unresolved conflict and personal expectations that meet their own selfish needs?

A possible practical illustration might be to give everyone a stone (or pebble) of some kind to hold and reflect upon. Can they identify anything that, like this stone they are holding on to, is potentially a hindrance, barrier or conflict in their lives to faithfully and wholeheartedly following Jesus? Invite them to either write something on the stone, or maybe just bring to mind what it is particularly that they need to ‘let go of’. Then encourage them to bring these stones forward and lay them on an altar or maybe the ‘mercy seat’ as a symbol of that ‘letting go’.

Bible Reading: Luke 19:1–10; Luke 18:15–17 (supporting passage)

Main Point: Jesus demonstrates the importance of going out of his way to spend quality time with Zacchaeus.

Intended Response: To enable people to not only see, but to act as they spot the ‘person in the crowd’ that Jesus wants them to engage with.

Introduction

Face in the crowdUsing a ‘Where’s Wally?’ picture from Google Images ask the congregation:

Where’s Wally? How easily can you spot him?

He looks like everyone else until you learn what makes him unique. (Red and white striped top, bobble hat and glasses.)

It can be hard to spot a face in the crowd. Share an experience of being in a crowd at a roadside (maybe watching a race or procession).

Jesus is used to crowds. He’s good at spotting individuals who need to be found.

Discipleship Series Sermon – Opening up (Including)

In this story of Jesus passing through the city of Jericho, Zacchaeus is the ‘face in the crowd’ that everyone wants to ignore, but Jesus picks him out.

What does this encounter have to teach us as disciples following on behind Jesus?This is a lesson we continually need to learn – it’s all about ‘seeing’.

ContextSeeing like the crowdA crowd is a collection of individuals, but with shared experiences and attitudes.

In verse 1 the crowd are excited to be meeting Jesus, whose fame has spread. What experiences or attitudes might they share?

The crowd want a hero – someone to bring about a change in their fortunes.They share a collective hatred of the Romans and those who collaborate with them.They are burdened by religious rule-keeping and the judgmental attitudes of the Jewish leaders.

In verse 7 the crowd have already judged Zacchaeus as a cheat, a parasite, a fraudster, a sinner. (As chief tax collector, he has climbed to the top of his profession, with all that suggests about his single-mindedness and greed. He is a man with considerable wealth gained at the expense of the people in the crowd.)

He’s ‘in’ the crowd, but also excluded. This is how the crowd ‘see’ things.

Key HeadingsSeeing like JesusWhen Jesus looks at Zacchaeus, he sees something different. What is Jesus seeing?

Looking past stereotypes Jesus does not dismiss Zacchaeus because of his profession or social

position (Luke 19:5), just as Jesus didn’t dismiss the children and parents who came to him for a blessing (Luke 18:15–17).

How does this challenge the stereotypes we hold to do with class, age, race, religion, gender, ability or sexual orientation? Who are the people we find it difficult to relate to?

[Illustration: Mother Theresa quote ‘If you judge people, you have no time to love them.’]

Looking past expectations The crowd didn’t expect Jesus to want to visit Zacchaeus’ home or eat

with him (v 7). They didn’t expect Zacchaeus to respond in the way that he did (v 8).

How often do we limit our relationships with others because of our own limited expectations of what God can do? Who are the people we are guilty of not noticing?

Seeing potential Jesus looked at Zacchaeus and saw the possibility of transformation. No

one else could see it (v 5). Are there people we think God cannot reach (even amongst our own

families and friends)? What would it take to see the possibility of transformation?

[Quote: ‘Free the child’s potential, and you will transform him into the world.’ Maria Montessori]. It’s not just children who have potential.

Offering real fellowship (not just a handshake!) Jesus surprises everyone when he announces he wants to spend some

quality time with Zacchaeus. It had probably been a long time since anyone wanted to eat and talk with him (v 5).

Jesus looks to relationship – not superficiality. How does this challenge the time we are prepared to give to others? What does it say about the importance of eating with others?

Risking rejection Clearly, the crowd are not happy with Jesus singling out such an

undeserving person. They mutter amongst themselves in disapproval (v 7). But Jesus is not swayed – even if it makes him unpopular (v 9).

Don’t expect accolades as a follower of Jesus. Noticing people others don’t notice, befriending people others dismiss and valuing people for who they are will not make you popular.

[Illustration: Lyrics of God I Look to You by Bethel Music –God I look to you, I won’t be overwhelmedGive me vision, to see things like you do.God I look to you, you’re where my help comes fromGive me wisdom, you know just what to do.]

Conclusion and ApplicationBreaking with the crowd[Illustration – show a photo of a crowd on an underground train. No one looks at each other. Everyone looks at their phone, or at a book or a paper or into space.

It’s a weird situation of being squashed up close to so many people who are trying their hardest not to connect.]

Church community should be the opposite. Jesus wants to give us new vision – new eyes to see people as he sees them. And not only to see – but to act as we spot the person in the crowd he wants us to engage with.

What does it take to make our church community a place of inclusion and acceptance?

What attitudes do we ourselves need to change?

Encourage people to have a conversation with someone they’ve known by sight for a while, but never spoken with!

Bible Reading: Acts 2:42–47

Main Point: The significance of getting together as disciples and the missional significance of gathering.

Intended Response: Encourage the congregation to consider how the primitive church can be a model of true Christian fellowship and mission for us today.

Introduction

This passage is well known in the Church and has become a blueprint for many churches. We see people nurturing, evangelising, worshipping, serving (the NEWS analogy), giving a snapshot of Christian community – a place of balance between ministry and mission. Does this sound familiar?

OUR MISSION

Discipleship Series Sermon – Getting Together (Gathering)

'Called to be disciples of Jesus Christ, The Salvation Army United Kingdom Territory with the Republic of Ireland exists to save souls, grow saints and serve suffering humanity.'

Our mission as The Salvation Army is to participate in aiding the saving of souls, in growing saints (through our ministry we enable discipleship), and in serving suffering humanity (our service).

ContextActs 2:42–47 sits in the chapter immediately after Pentecost and after Peter addresses the crowd gathered in Jerusalem (Acts 1:15–22). In verse 41 we read about the 3000 who were baptised on that day of Pentecost and the passage moves on to show how this new community of faith, instigated and guided by the Holy Spirit, starts to organise itself.

In verse 42 we read that the believers continued steadfast in the teachings they were receiving from the apostles. They lived in holy fellowship, strengthening and building each other up. They ate together frequently and broke bread as a reminder of Jesus’ sacrifice. They knew that prayer was a key to communion with God and an increase of grace in their own lives.

In verse 43 this deep awe seems to be resting on the community of believers ever since the earlier baptism of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples (Acts 2:2–4), and for several weeks they see a series of miracles happen before their eyes.

In verses 44–45 we read that there was unity in their thinking and being, they were of one mind. In these circumstances, it was natural and proper that the believers should share their property with each other, and with others who were in need, while they remained together.

Verse 46 tells us how they broke bread in their homes. This new community of believers are not just organising themselves and gathering for corporate/temple worship, but gathering in each other’s homes, which is different from temple activity.

Verse 47 shows how the humble, serious and devoted witness of the believers won the favour of the great mass of the community. In doing their part, the increase in numbers wasn’t theirs, but the Lord added to their numbers.

In Acts 4:23–31 Peter and John return from their ordeal of being arrested and brought before the Sanhedrin. They gather with their community and collectively they pray. It is through their time of corporate prayer and petition that the Holy Spirit comes to them, and the passage ends with the group speaking the word of God boldly. This time of togetherness is about refreshment, renewal and

recommission. The time equips them for further mission, and they go from their time together in boldness, they go in community and with responsibility – with the Holy Spirit’s anointing and equipping.

This passage is a challenge to Christians today: to gather, to pray for one another and to corporately receive the power of the Holy Spirit to minister to the Church. It is in the gathering, in the coming together that the individual can be built up in their faith, but can also be equipped in reaching out into their community.

Key HeadingsGathering as part of a community of faith Coming together with other disciples to eat, learn, pray, serve is a key part of the discipleship journey (Acts 2:42–46).

Eating and sharing in food together is meeting our common human need. Learning is sharing in knowledge and wisdom, corporately seeking God and his will for our lives. Praying with each other and for one another, and then for our wider community is both ministry and can also be missional. Just like serving each other, but also the communities we find ourselves in.

Reverend Michael Moynagh (Fresh Expressions) suggests that discipleship is often regarded as individualistic and about the person being equipped in their own walk of faith. However, Moynagh argues that this should not be the case, saying that Christians need community in order to belong and to be able to foster practices, disciplines and rhythms in life. ‘Sharing practice builds community, which then builds the individual, who – in a virtuous circle – comes to value the community more highly.’ (M. Moynagh, Church for Every Context, London; SCM Press, p347).

No longer is discipleship about our own relationship with Christ but our corporate relationship with him and with others. There is something Trinitarian in all of that! God himself is in community with himself, through the Trinity. Therefore, gathering together is our ministry to one another and also our catalyst to mission.

Missional significance of gathering Discipleship can be viewed as ministry within the church but it should also

be linked with mission, as is seen in Acts 2. The time together (the gathering) is a time of both nurturing and equipping.

Quote: ‘While good discipleship will develop leaders within the Christian community it will also develop Christian leaders who can be Kingdom agents within all parts of God’s world. The key to making disciples is supportive relationships’ (Goodhew, Roberts and Volland, Fresh!).

We need to create community which is supportive and which holds relationships with one another as a significant value in the life of the corps, church and faith community. The Greek word koinonia (koίηόηία) encapsulates this common Christian fellowship and communion with one another.

John Stott argues that koinonia is firstly ‘a Trinitarian experience, it is our common share in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But secondly, koinonia expresses what we share together, what we will give as well as what we receive.’ (John Stott, The Message of Acts).

Conclusion Small groups, gathering with one another around food (our common bond), coming together to study God’s word, to pray and to serve one another (and the wider community) are key to discipleship, to church growth and to playing a part in God’s Kingdom in the community.

Discipleship has been designed to be a shared journey not an individual trek. Jesus’ disciples were called as a collective, were anointed by the Holy Spirit as a collective and birthed the Church as a collective. To be in communion with Christ is to be in communion with one another– koinonia.

Application

Encourage people to think about the people in their corps community who they are journeying with in discipleship. Do they already gather together with them? If not, how could they make that happen? Ask God to identify people around them who they could journey in faith with. Do the realities of their corps or small group have the elements of both ministry and mission? If not, how could they see these being adopted into the life of the congregation?

Bible Reading: Luke 13:10-17

Main Point: Being a disciple involves righteous action that demonstrates the new life we are living.

Discipleship Series Sermon – Acting Out (Practising)

Intended Response: To enable people to think about how their actions and belief in the new life which Jesus gives impacts their daily contexts.

Introduction

This short passage comes amidst a few chapters (11–15) where the author of Luke’s Gospel arranges some of Jesus’ teachings into a long section that can be difficult when read as a whole. It is full of warnings and condemnations for Israel where Jesus is pointing out how far their conduct is from the will of God. However, there are also verses of hope that point to the Kingdom that Jesus insists is close.

ContextThis pattern of condemning and pointing to hope is perfectly shown in the short sections before and after our main reading. Preceding the story of the woman is a short story about a fig tree that won’t bear fruit (Luke 13:6–10). The fig tree was the symbol of Israel. For three years Jesus has searched the branches of Israel’s faith for signs of genuine connection to the Father, for signs of healthy roots that draw deep from God’s will, and in that three years he found nothing, so he declares it is time for a new thing. Luke then places the story of the woman almost as an illustration of the wider point he is making; as a piece of evidence to Israel of their fruitlessness and distance from God’s will and as an indication that a new reality is coming.

Following the key passage, we have the famous verse where Jesus compares the coming Kingdom of God with the mustard tree (v 19). Mustard trees were considered to be non-impressive weeds and Jewish law forbade them to be planted. Yet, by its humble strength the mustard tree could overwhelm a land, spreading rapidly regardless of what was there before – a truly unexpected picture of the Kingdom.

It is within this context that Luke places the story of the woman who is oppressed with a ‘spirit of weakness’.

In verses 10–11, while some translations suggest the woman had arthritis and others an evil spirit, there is a resonance that she was someone who had been worn down, whose spirit and strength had been eroded by the circumstances of her life.

In verse 12 we read that, like everyone else, Jesus would have seen the burden upon the woman, understanding the sort of life she must be leading. However, unlike everyone else, Jesus also was able to see what fullness and flourishing might look like in her life.

Verse 13 sees a ‘breach of Sabbath decorum’ in which Jesus had not only called the woman forward but is now touching her during worship, risking ritual violation. She is immediately healed and praises God.

In verse 14 the synagogue leader’s instinctive reaction is to retreat to his regulations: there is a system for healing, there are regulations about the Sabbath, laws about what can and can’t happen. These have been set by those with far more authority than him or, seemingly, this wandering Rabbi and his uneducated disciples, and so they must be carefully kept.

In verse 15 Jesus sees the larger story. This woman is a daughter of Abraham, a child of God and so there is new life for her.

Key HeadingsRighteousness

Jesus’ righteousness allows him to see with new vision; it gives him the strength and courage to act, to shame his enemies and delight the witnessing crowds.

A helpful way to think about righteousness is the unification of justice and holiness. True justice is impossible without the humility and gentleness of holiness and holiness is not fully realised without dissatisfaction and anger at injustice. It is this middle space that is righteousness.

The accounts of Jesus’ revolutionary actions (vv 12–13, for example) are there to inspire us to act, to spur us on to do similar things. As disciples we can perceive the injustices and understand the call of our holy living but we can lack the will to act. We cover this with excuses surrounding things we would need for the task; training, equipment, people, expertise, money – which each can become seemingly insurmountable hurdles but are actually defensive walls put up to protect us.

Illustration: In the film Batman Begins there is a moment where Bruce Wayne is completing his training and his mentor (who – Spoiler Alert! – turns out to be the villain of the film) guides their conversation to what he is lacking: ‘the will to act’. In rediscovering righteousness in its fullness we may find the will to act.

Retreat to regulation When we lose our depth, our connection to God and our vision of his will

and his Kingdom, we naturally retreat to regulation. The process is a gradual and subtle one that we see in Israel’s history, in the New Testament Church, in the historical church and in our own movement’s past. There is a clear and profound calling of God to move in a new direction.

Over time, that direction is formalised, systems are created to enable day-to-day functioning, beliefs and practices are codified, and all of this is right and good. However, given more time some of these formalisations, systems and codices crowd out the original vision, obstructing what God intended.

It takes real righteousness to break out of this. It requires this righteousness because to many others it will look like a dereliction of duties or outright dissent. But we can be encouraged because that is exactly what they were saying about Jesus as he healed this woman (vv 14–16).

Resurrection Resurrection never occurs without disruption. Often, the Saturday

between Good Friday and Easter Sunday provides just enough of a gap for us to forget. But it is through disrupting the reality that is before us that we can see the new possibility that is waiting. That takes a lot of faith as it may require the death of something we prize.

God has made a way, he has gone before. His resurrection was not designed to create a ‘fire exit to heaven for the faithful', but to create a way for all to live fully. As Tom Wright puts it, Jesus’ death and resurrection was ‘the beginning of God’s new project not to snatch people away from Earth to heaven, but to colonise Earth with the life of heaven’.

In the original Greek it is plain and clear. When Jesus calls his disciples and they get up the word used is the same root as being resurrected [anastasis]. When Jesus appears to the two on the road to Emmaus and they get up and return to Jerusalem they too are resurrected. When Jesus placed his hands on this woman and she stood up she too was resurrected into new life (v 13). At these moments of righteous disruption people enter into resurrection life; into a new way of living that is full, close to God’s will and rooted in his love.

Conclusion Conclude with three challenging simple questions:

What righteous disruptions are we creating? Are there regulations, rules, habits, routines that we are hiding behind that

God is calling us out from? How are we introducing people to new life?

Blessing:If there is righteousness in the heart,There will be beauty in the character.If there is beauty in the character,There will be harmony in the town.If there is harmony in the town,There will be grace in the nation.If there is grace in the nation, There will be peace in the world.So, let it be.

Bible Reading: Matthew 21:12-17

Main Point: Responding to the injustice we see in the world comes from a deep connection with the promptings of the Holy Spirit, a willingness to speak out rather than observe from a distance and a boldness to act for the sake of the Kingdom.

Intended Response: To challenge us to seek God’s empowerment to be people who live out the Gospel in our words and actions with integrity and courage.

Introduction

Visual illustration – Take a glass of water and place it where everyone can see it in the congregation. Now ask someone to come up to the glass and whisper to it! You should not see very much happen. Now ask the person to shout ‘Hosanna’ as loud as they can to the glass of water! There will be ripples (for an even greater reaction, play some music or ask someone with a brass instrument to play a long low note by the glass).

These vibrations through the water are like the way our words can vibrate through other people. They can challenge, they can heal and they can make a difference. When we ‘speak up’ it makes vibrations.

ContextJesus is at the height of his teaching journey, gathering crowds wherever he goes (Matthew 17:14), teaching in parables (18:21), challenging old ideas (19:1) and creating new perspectives (19:13).

In chapter 21 Jesus enters Jerusalem on a donkey, riding through the celebrating crowds to the shouts of ‘Hosanna to the Son of David’ (21:9), fulfilling Scripture and raising his already significant profile to an almost dangerous level. He could have taken his fill of this new celebrity status, but he did not. Preparing for his own death, celebrated by the masses yet disdained by the chief priests, he is at his most visible and most controversial.

Discipleship Series Sermon – Speaking up (Testifying)

In verse 12 as he enters the Temple, he is indignant both at the misuse of a holy place of prayer and at the unscrupulous practices of the animal vendors. His reaction is swift, an outburst which prompted some to greater worship and others to greater anger. Yet his response to the injustice he perceived can inspire us to speak out rather than sit by.

Verse 13 shows how the Temple was originally created to be a significant place of prayer and worship. Seeing it become a place for certified animal vendors employed by the High Priest’s family to charge exorbitant prices, Jesus drives them out. Quoting from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11 he calls the Temple a ‘den of robbers’.

In verse 14 Jesus’ outburst is followed by a realignment with the Temple’s purpose as people come to Jesus for healing. Only when the injustice is spoken out about and the Temple returned to its proper use does he heal people there.

In verse 15 the chief priests see how their significant financial and positional benefits are challenged through the turning of their employees’ tables, the inevitable mess, the disruption to their proceedings and the sound of children shouting praise to Jesus.

In verse 16 the chief priests challenge Jesus, ‘Do you hear what these children are saying?’ expecting him to reprimand them or denounce their lack of respect for such a sacred building. Instead he quotes from Psalm 8:2 and in so doing he does not rebuke their praise but states that it was ordained by God, prompted and pleasing to him.

In verse 17 Jesus leaves the city at night to go to Bethany. One can infer that this hasty removal from a city he had just entered may have been necessary due to the rising tensions of that day’s events.

Key HeadingsLook up

How often do we ‘look up’ before we act, before we speak? How often do we check with God, confer with him in prayer before the major decisions of our life?

Illustration – The BBC programme ‘Do you have what it takes?’ followed a group of would-be astronauts (members of the public) through gruelling physical and mental tests. One of the tests involved being capsized in a large boat and, by following correct procedure, getting out safely. One trainee, however, was so fearful of being under water that she made a serious mistake: she did not look up. She kept her eyes shut as the water

came in; she kept them closed as she fumbled around for the door handle and panic set in as she struggled blindly to undo her seat harness. She made it out with the help of others, but failed to complete that task – all because she did not first look up.

Before we take a stand, speak up, testify, we need to seek the will of God and ask for the Spirit’s guidance in what we say, when we say it and how we say it. We need to ask ourselves ‘Does this fit with Scripture? Does it reflect the heart of grace and mercy we are called to reflect? Will this stand – this testimony – encourage and challenge others?’

Jesus’ life and ministry was marked by periods of rest, reflection and ‘looking up’ immediately prior to his most extraordinary and controversial moments. (Matthew 14:22 for example). Before we speak up or stand up we must look up.

Speak up There is power in the words we speak. They make an impact, they make

vibrations upon the people around us, like the vibrations rippling through the water in the glass.

Jesus’ vibrating words were loud and clear (verse 13) and taken directly from the Old Testament scriptures; words the chief priests standing around him would have known very well. He used Scripture to first remind them of the ordained purpose for the Temple and then to rebuke them for its misuse.

There are many things we see on our TV screens, on social media or in the papers which cause us to feel deeply indignant. It may be in our local community, in our region or a global issue. Whatever the subject, if the Lord has laid it upon our heart and we have sought his guidance first, we are called to speak up about it.

We may think, well this is all very nice but I am too young, too old, not eloquent enough, it’s not my place, no one will listen to me. The second group who spoke up in the text were children (v 15). They shouted praise to the Son of David and were commended by Jesus for doing so. Children, who culturally should have been seen and never heard. Jesus responded to their speaking up as ‘ordained by God’. If children can speak up to the glory of God, why can’t we? What prevents us from being bold enough, brave enough and humble enough to speak up?

Stand up

Jesus’ earthly ministry is notable for many reasons. The extraordinary teaching, the parables, the intimate and controversial conversations with sinners, the challenging and courageous debates with religious leaders. And yet his was not solely a preaching ministry; his actions often spoke louder than his words.

Within The Salvation Army we have an extraordinary heritage of letting our actions speak as loudly as our words, a heritage of standing up for others. Our actions in the earliest days were bold, controversial and dangerous. We bought a young woman to prove to society it could be done and should stop, we opened a match factory to prove that safe matches and safe working conditions were possible, we marched into places others feared to go and took the grace of Jesus with us.

What about today? Are we still fighting injustice as a movement, working to free those caught up in human trafficking, providing shelter for those without a home, offering hope to those caught in addiction, befriending the unlovable? Are we being disciples who ‘speak up’ at home, in the workplace, at school and university and even in our own places of worship?

Conclusion

Jesus’ turning of the tables had a ripple effect, one that we still speak of today, and yet in essence it was a small-scale reaction. A temple, in a city, in a local community. But even a small stand is still a stand. We do not have to look for a grand, global situation when there are also small, important but ignored injustices occurring right on our doorsteps.

Application Ask people what the Lord has laid upon their hearts to stand up for or to speak out about. It may be a long-standing concern or it may have come to your heart and mind today.

Look up – encourage them to bring it to Jesus in prayer, seek his direction, be sure it is in line with what the scriptures teach and ask for his wisdom and an opportunity to engage.

Speak up – then ask them to consider how they can speak into the situation: perhaps through a letter, an email, a conversation. And consider how they can make vibrations and influence others.

Stand up – challenge their actions to speak as loud as their words. Perhaps suggest they sign a petition, visit the place they are concerned about, actively go and support those they are speaking on behalf of. Ask for the words to say and the courage to say them, ask for the opportunity to engage and the boldness to take it.

Response activity: On the place of prayer (mercy seat/bench) place a card which reads ‘Look up, speak up, stand up’. Ask people to take a card and write on the back the issue, great or small, which they want to bring to him. Then encourage them to ask God for the courage to be willing to respond to Jesus’ example and in so doing make an impact, cause a vibration, for his glory and his Kingdom.