Category: Luke

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Blessings and Curses

Summary of my sermon, based on Luke 6:20-26. Preached at Greenhills Christian Fellowship Toronto on March 17, 2024, 2024.

The story of David and Bathsheba is one of the most tragic episodes in the life of King David. It begins with a subtle yet telling detail in 2 Samuel 11:1, where we read, “In the spring of the year, the time when kings go out to battle, David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel…” This verse sets the stage for what follows—a king who was once celebrated for his courage and military prowess now shirking his responsibilities. David, who once led Israel to victory and was praised with the words, “Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands,” (1 Samuel 18:7), now chooses to stay behind while his men go to war.

This decision marks the beginning of David’s downfall. While he was in the wrong place, avoiding his duties, David saw Bathsheba, the wife of one of his soldiers, bathing. Overcome by lust, he took her and slept with her, leading to her pregnancy. In a desperate attempt to cover up his sin, David called Bathsheba’s husband, Uriah the Hittite, back from the battlefield under the pretense of seeking a report on the war—an ironic request considering David himself should have been leading his troops.

David’s plan was simple: send Uriah home to his wife so that her pregnancy would appear to be from her husband. But Uriah, a man of integrity, refused to go home while his comrades were still on the battlefield. Thwarted by Uriah’s righteousness, David resorted to a more sinister plan. He sent Uriah back to the front lines with a letter instructing Joab, the commander, to place Uriah where the fighting was fiercest and then abandon him, ensuring his death. In a bitter twist of fate, Uriah unknowingly carried his own death sentence back to the battlefield.

Bathsheba became David’s wife, and it seemed that the affair was successfully covered up. But, as we know, nothing is hidden from the Lord. God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David with a parable about a rich man who, despite having plenty, took the only lamb of a poor man to serve it to his guest. David, enraged by the injustice in the story, declared, “As the Lord lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity” (2 Samuel 12:5–6). Nathan’s response was as piercing as it was revealing: “You are the man!”

This story is a powerful example of irony—a situation where the outcome is the opposite of what is expected. David, the king, and warrior, who was supposed to uphold justice, instead committed grave injustices. His anger at the fictional rich man was justified, but he failed to see that he was condemning himself. Irony is often used to highlight a deeper truth, and in this case, it reveals the blindness that sin can cause, even in the most righteous of people.

Irony also plays a significant role in the teachings of Jesus, particularly in the Beatitudes. In Luke 6:20, Jesus says, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God.” This statement is shocking, even paradoxical. How can the poor be blessed? In our world, wealth and success are often seen as signs of God’s favor, yet Jesus turns this idea on its head. He continues with more unexpected blessings: “Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh” (Luke 6:21). And in contrast, he pronounces woes on the rich, the full, and those who are praised by others (Luke 6:24–26).

These teachings are difficult to accept, especially for those of us living in relative comfort. By global standards, many of us are rich. A full-time worker earning just above minimum wage in Canada is among the top 20% of income earners in the world. Jesus’ words challenge our assumptions about what it means to be blessed and force us to consider the responsibilities that come with wealth.

The irony in Jesus’ teachings is not meant to condemn us but to awaken us to the realities of God’s kingdom—a kingdom where the last shall be first, and the first shall be last. This kingdom is not about accumulating wealth or seeking the approval of others. Instead, it calls us to live with humility, generosity, and a deep awareness of our dependence on God.

So, how should we respond to this challenging message? First, we must recognize that blessing is not about material wealth or social status. True blessing is found in a relationship with God, as expressed in the priestly blessing: “The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace” (Numbers 6:24–26). This blessing is ultimately fulfilled in Jesus, who reveals the face of God to us and offers us peace that surpasses all understanding.

Let us be grateful for the blessings we have received, not taking them for granted, but using them to serve others. Let us also remember the weight of blessing—that it comes with responsibility. As we reflect on the story of David and Bathsheba, and the teachings of Jesus, may we be reminded of the irony of blessing and the call to live lives that honor God in all circumstances.

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Come to Jesus

Summary of my sermon, based on Luke 6:17-19. Preached at Greenhills Christian Fellowship Toronto on February 25, 2024.

In December 2013, a young Public Relations executive named Justine Sacco made a decision that would drastically alter the course of her life. As she prepared to board a plane to South Africa, she sent out a tweet to her 170 followers: “Going to Africa. Hope I don’t get AIDS. Just kidding. I’m white!”

Despite her relatively small following, Justine’s tweet quickly spread worldwide, igniting a firestorm of criticism. The backlash was swift and severe, with people across the globe expressing their outrage. One person lamented, “How did @JustineSacco get a PR job?! Her level of racist ignorance belongs on Fox News. #AIDS can affect anyone!” Another tweeted, “All I want for Christmas is to see @JustineSacco’s face when her plane lands and she checks her inbox/voicemail.”

The public shaming that followed was relentless. While Justine was on a 12-hour flight from London to Cape Town, unaware of the storm brewing on the internet, the hashtag #HasJustineLanded began to trend on Twitter as people eagerly awaited her reaction upon landing. When she finally touched down and saw the damage, she deleted the tweet and closed her account. But the damage was done. Branded as a racist and fired from her job, Justine’s life was effectively ruined.

In an attempt to move forward, Justine traveled to Ethiopia to volunteer for an NGO working to reduce maternal mortality rates. However, even this effort was met with scorn. The journalist who had initially amplified her tweet found out about her volunteer work and shared it with the world, writing, “Sacco, apparently spent the last month hiding in Ethiopia after infuriating our species with an idiotic AIDS joke…”

In February 2015, Jon Ronson published an article about Justine in the New York Times Magazine. In it, she tried to explain herself: “To me it was so insane of a comment for anyone to make, I thought there was no way that anyone could possibly think it was literal.” Ronson attempted to redeem Justine, suggesting that her tweet might have been a reflexive critique of white privilege rather than a literal statement. But this did little to rehabilitate her image. A quick Google search of her name still brings up the infamous tweet, a testament to the permanence of her public shaming.

Justine’s story is just one of many instances of lives being ruined through public shaming by the internet mob. Some might be tempted to connect this with the lack of grace and mercy within certain cultural movements, particularly since many people are “cancelled” for comments or actions related to sensitive topics like race, gender, and sexuality. However, the desire to destroy someone’s life for a public blunder is not new. It is a universal phenomenon that has existed long before the advent of social media.

Jon Ronson, in his article about Justine, compared the online mobs to public shamings in New England from as far back as the 18th and 19th centuries. The truth is, the lack of grace and mercy is ingrained in the fallen human condition—it is the result of sin. As Christians, we are called to a higher standard. In a world that lacks grace and mercy, we must call on people to “Come to Jesus.”

The Gospel of Luke, which we will be exploring in a new series of sermons, provides a powerful reminder of the grace and mercy that Jesus offers to all. Unlike the other Gospels, Luke was written by someone who was not an eyewitness to Jesus’s life. Luke was a physician and a companion of Paul, who compiled stories from eyewitnesses to create his account of Jesus’s life. Luke’s Gospel is unique in that it was written for Gentile converts to Christianity, addressing the inclusion of Gentiles in God’s plan of salvation and the hostility with which first-century Jews viewed Jesus and the early Christians.

One of the most significant sections of Luke’s Gospel is the Sermon on the Plain, found in Luke 6:17-19: “And he came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. And those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power came out from him and healed them all.”

This passage highlights two key aspects of Jesus’s ministry. First, it shows that Jesus’s invitation is for everyone, regardless of ethnicity or circumstance. The mention of people from Tyre and Sidon—Roman cities—demonstrates that the Gospel is for all, not just the Jewish people. As Paul writes in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

Second, this passage illustrates the healing and rest that Jesus offers. Those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured, and the entire crowd sought to touch Jesus because they knew that power came out from him and healed them all. This echoes Jesus’s words in Matthew 11:28-30: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

In a world that is quick to condemn and slow to forgive, let us remember the grace and mercy that Jesus extends to all. Let us be quick to offer that same grace and mercy to others, pointing them to the One who offers healing, rest, and salvation.

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Treasures in Heaven – Part 2

Summary of my sermon, based on Luke 21:1-9. Preached at Greenhills Christian Fellowship Toronto on January 14, 2024.

In last week’s sermon, we delved into Jesus’ teachings in Matthew 6:19-24, where He instructs us to lay up treasures in heaven rather than on earth. Jesus emphasized that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21, ESV). This teaching, part of the larger Sermon on the Mount, underscores a fundamental principle of Christian ethics: our hearts follow our treasure. The passage also hints at how we can store up heavenly treasures—by embracing generosity and rejecting the twin evils of stinginess and jealousy.

Jesus further illustrates this point by drawing a stark contrast between a healthy and a bad eye, a first-century idiom for generosity versus greed. He closes the passage by addressing the idolatry of wealth, stating, “You cannot serve God and money” (Matthew 6:24, ESV). This sets the stage for today’s message, which builds on last week’s lesson by exploring the practical application of generosity through tithing and offerings in the church.

Today’s topic is not easy to discuss, primarily because it involves personal finances—a subject often considered taboo. Moreover, discussing giving in the church can be uncomfortable for pastors and congregants alike, especially in light of the potential for abuse. Many of us are familiar with the so-called “Prosperity Gospel,” a dangerous distortion of Christian teaching that promises health, wealth, and prosperity as the divine right of all believers. This false gospel preaches that financial blessing and physical well-being are guaranteed by faith, often leading to the exploitation of vulnerable individuals.

As theologian Stephen Hunt explains, the Prosperity Gospel centers on the belief that “health and wealth” are the automatic divine rights of Christians and can be attained through faith. However, as John MacArthur rightly points out, this message is not just misguided—it’s satanic. It preys on the sinful desires of people to accumulate wealth, offering them false promises in exchange for their money. Prosperity preachers often live lavish lifestyles, using their wealth to further deceive their followers into giving more, all in the name of “activating” divine blessings.

One of the scriptures frequently twisted by Prosperity Gospel proponents is Luke 6:38: “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap” (ESV). On the surface, this verse seems to support the idea that giving leads to financial gain. However, when we examine the full context—“Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful. Judge not, and you will not be judged… forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:36-37, ESV)—it becomes clear that Jesus is not talking about material wealth, but about mercy and forgiveness.

This misuse of scripture is a prime example of the potential for abuse when discussing giving in the church. It’s understandable that such distortions can make people wary of sermons on tithing. However, the truth remains that Christians are indeed called to give generously. The motivation behind our giving is what truly matters.

So, what should motivate our giving? First, it’s essential to understand that everything we have belongs to God. Psalm 24:1-2 reminds us, “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein” (ESV). Our giving, then, is not about meeting God’s needs—He has no needs—but about acknowledging His lordship over all creation.

Tithing, or giving 10% of our income, is a biblical principle rooted in passages like Leviticus 27:30: “Every tithe of the land… is the Lord’s; it is holy to the Lord” (ESV). While we are no longer bound by the Mosaic Law, tithing remains a beneficial practice that honors God and supports the work of the church. Proverbs 3:9 further instructs us to “Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce” (ESV). This principle suggests that our giving should be from our gross income, not after taxes and other deductions.

Moreover, tithing helps reorder our priorities, aligning our hearts with God’s kingdom rather than with earthly wealth. Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:21—“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (ESV)—serve as a poignant reminder of this truth.

Finally, tithing provides for the needs of the church and the community. Malachi 3:10 encourages us to “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house” (ESV). The early church exemplified this practice, as seen in Acts 4:34-35: “There was not a needy person among them… as any had need” (ESV).

As we consider our giving, let us remember the example of the poor widow in Luke 21:1-4, who gave two small copper coins—“all she had to live on” (ESV). Her gift was small in value but immense in faith. May we, too, give generously, not out of obligation, but out of love for God and a desire to see His kingdom flourish.

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O Come: See What Your God Has Done

Summary of my sermon, based on Luke 2:30-32. Preached at Greenhills Christian Fellowship Toronto on December 31, 2023.

As we journey through the Christmas season, one of the most profound aspects of this time is the fulfillment of ancient prophecies that foretold the birth of Jesus. Often, when we think of these prophecies, our minds turn to the familiar passages in Isaiah, particularly Isaiah 7:14, where we read of the virgin conceiving and bearing a son, and Isaiah 9:6-7, where the coming Messiah is described as “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.”

These passages have sometimes been misinterpreted, seen by some as referring to a military hero or political leader—a Messiah who would deliver Israel from oppressive empires like Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece, and Rome. This interpretation has led some to doubt that these prophecies refer to Jesus, suggesting instead that they were fulfilled by King Hezekiah or that they remain unfulfilled. Another crucial misinterpretation is the belief that the Messiah was meant only for Israel, sent solely to save the Jewish people.

But if that were the case, why are we, who are not Jewish by birth, here today, worshipping Jesus as the promised Messiah? How do we reconcile the fact that Jesus, in Matthew 28:19, instructs His followers to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit”?

To understand this, we must delve into the events following Jesus’ birth as recorded in the Gospel of Luke, where we find a key moment that reveals the universal nature of Jesus’ mission.

Before we explore these events, it’s important to clarify some elements of the Christmas story. Many of us are familiar with the traditional nativity scene: Mary, Joseph, and the baby Jesus, surrounded by shepherds, angels, and wise men, under the light of a shining star. These elements, while deeply ingrained in our Christmas celebrations, are actually a combination of details from the Gospels of Matthew and Luke.

Both Gospels share common events, such as the angel’s visit to Mary and the census decree that led Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem. However, Matthew focuses on the visit of the wise men and the family’s subsequent flight to Egypt, while Luke tells of the shepherds and the angelic announcement of Jesus’ birth. Luke also includes a lesser-known but significant part of the story that is particularly relevant to us as Gentile believers.

In Luke 2:21-24, we read that Jesus was circumcised, presented at the temple, and that a sacrifice was offered for Him. His circumcision fulfilled the covenant requirement in Genesis 17:11: “You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you.” The presentation at the temple, though not a specific requirement, is tied to the sacrifice Mary and Joseph offered, fulfilling the law that every firstborn male was to be consecrated to the Lord (Exodus 13).

What stands out here is the humility of Jesus’ family. They offered two turtledoves or pigeons, the sacrifice prescribed for those who could not afford a lamb (Leviticus 12:8). This humble offering underscores the lowly circumstances of Jesus’ birth, a stark contrast to the grandeur we might expect for the King of Heaven.

Amid these rituals, Luke introduces us to Simeon, a devout and righteous man, who had been promised by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before seeing the Messiah. Simeon, described as “waiting for the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25-26), was not merely expecting a political savior but someone who would bring true comfort and redemption to God’s people. When he saw Jesus, he recognized Him immediately as the fulfillment of God’s promise.

Simeon’s response upon seeing Jesus is a profound declaration of the Messiah’s universal mission. In Luke 2:29-32, he says, “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”

Simeon understood that Jesus was not just the Savior of Israel but the Savior of the world. This understanding goes back to God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:3: “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” It is echoed in Isaiah 49:6, where God declares, “I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

As we reflect on Simeon’s song and the prophecies of Isaiah, we see that Christmas is not just a celebration of Jesus’ birth but a reminder of His mission to bring salvation to all people. This truth should compel us to share the message of God’s love and salvation with others, just as Paul urges in 2 Corinthians 5:20-21: “We are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

As this Christmas season draws to a close, let us remember that we are called to be lights in the world, proclaiming the good news of salvation to everyone, so that all might come to know the love and grace of our Savior, Jesus Christ.