Judge for Yourself (Luke 12:48-59)

 

God is visiting you.
The time for judgment is now!
You are being weighed and measured.

[Title Slide] Judge for Yourself (Luke 12:48-59)

 

A farmer was out working his fields one day when he spotted something strange in the sky. He saw in the clouds the letters S.P. [Slide] It was as plain as day, the letter S, followed by the letter P, right up there in the sky. He was awestruck and wondered what it could mean. That night while he was praying, he had a sudden epiphany. S.P. means “Start Preaching!” He told his wife, “The Lord is calling me to start preaching!” So he enrolled in a Bible College and soon after he was invited by his hometown church to be the guest preacher. He was so excited he could hardly stand it. He worked real hard preparing for the big day. And when the day came to preach, he worked up a sweat he gave so much of himself. And he was sure to tell everyone the story about the letters S.P. in the clouds. After the service was over, one old farmer came through the receiving line and when he got to the fledgling preacher he said, “Well sir. I thank you for your message today, but did you ever think the letters S.P. meant, ‘start planting?’”

 

Jesus wants to know why the crowds can’t seem interpret the signs of the times. [Slide] They can tell when it’s about to rain by looking at the sky, or they know it’s going to be a hot day when the south wind blows, but they cannot see that the age of the Messiah has come.

 

Jesus faced strong opposition from the Pharisees. When he performed an exorcism, they claimed that Jesus was in league with Beelzebul, a prince of demons. Jesus confronts their hypocrisy.

 

“Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. (Lk 11:39)

 

Jesus told his followers to beware of the Pharisees’ hypocrisy. Do not be bullied by them! Do not be afraid of them, even if they threaten you. Instead fear God, who is the ultimate judge.

 

“I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body and after that can do nothing more. But I will show you whom to fear: fear the one who, after killing, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear that one! (Luke 12:4-5)

 

It might be tempting to shovel a little hellfire and brimstone with such a passage. That’s not what Jesus is about. He’s encouraging us to choose allegiance to God.

 

There are lots of things competing for our attention. [Slide] We get caught in a tug of war between trying to please our family and our employer, our friends, and our spouses, our commitments to others and our hobbies. The current cancel culture/mob intimidation that’s going on in our country is one example. Do you choose to fall in line with the current trends on social media, for fear of being cancelled? Or do you stay true to God’s will as revealed in scripture? The Bible is our canon, our means by which we measure our lives and the life of the church. But often we are torn between keeping the word of God and fitting in with the crowd.

 

Jesus is saying, “Don’t be afraid of the crowd! They may crucify you on social media. but don’t let that bother you.  Pay attention to the One who has authority to judge your soul. Give your attention to God.

 

Jesus said, “Acknowledge me before others, and I will acknowledge you before all God’s angels!” In other words, when you stand before your Maker to account for your life, you will have an advocate who will vouch for you!

 

Luke chapters 11-14 carry a strong theme of judgment. If I were to distill it down to one message, it’s this: [Slide]

 

“God is visiting you! The time for judgment is now! You are being weighed and measured!”

 

[Slide]

Jesus exhorts the crowds, “Unless you repent, you will all perish.” (Luke 13:3)

 

The fruitless will be cut down. (Luke 3:8-9; 13:9)

 

All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted. (Luke 14:11)

 

Jesus is playing the role of the prophet. He is bringing to the people an urgent message from God. He uses provocative language to shake us out of our slumber, and to awaken us to what truly matters. Don’t chase after wealth. Be rich toward God. Only God gives the things that last.

 

[Slide] Jesus is drawing a line in the sand and calling the crowd to choose. By choosing Christ, you are set apart from those who do not.

 

In today’s passage Jesus said,

 

[Slide] “I have come to cast fire upon the earth, and how I wish it were already ablaze! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division!

 

Families will be divided, two against three, three against two, son against father, mother against daughter. Those who choose Christ will be separated from those who do not.

 

It was a severe kind of separation in the first century in Judaism. The Pharisees and their followers were utterly devoted to God by ardently observing every law handed down by Moses. They did not acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah. The early church was viewed as dangerous and heretical. Christians were thrown out of synagogues, excommunicated or worse.

 

I experienced church division in my youth. [Slide] In the 1970s, the Charismatic Movement tore congregations apart. There were those who had experienced the Holy Spirit in powerful ways, and they stood against those who had not. The Charismatics claimed only they were true Christians. “If you haven’t been baptized in the Spirit, then you’re no Christian at all.” You can imagine the church fights that occurred. 

 

A very similar thing was happening in the Jewish faith in response to Jesus. Each side thought only they were in the right. The conflict led to bloodshed. Jesus was scourged, beaten, and crucified. Stephen was stoned to death. James was put to the sword. Saul of Tarsus persecuted the followers of Jesus and threw them into prison.

 

Jesus is anxious to set the world on fire! You can’t miss his sense of urgency. He can’t wait to see the world burn.

 

That sounds destructive, like terrorist activity, but fire is not simply destructive. [Slide] Fire provides energy. We heat our homes and cook meals with fire. Fire purges impurities from metal. A lay pot won’t hold water unless it passes through the fire. Fire brings a glazed finish in the kiln.

 

The apostle Paul wrote to the church at Corinth,

 

the work of each builder will become visible, for the Day of judgment will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, [Slide] and the fire will test what sort of work each has done. If the work that someone has built on the foundation survives, the builder will receive a wage. If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:13-15)

 

The refiner’s fire burns up impurities. What has value for the kingdom of God remains. Jesus brought divine judgment through fiery prophetic words.

 

[Slide] Jesus feels overwhelming pressure to undergo his baptism. He is referring to his death. Baptism symbolizes death and resurrection. One dies as they go under the surface of the water. They die to the life they lived before baptism. And when they break through the surface, they rise with Christ into a new life.

 

Paul wrote to the church in Rome,

 

[Slide] Do you not know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we were buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we also might walk in newness of life. (Romans 6:3-4)

 

[Slide] Jesus is drawing a line in the sand by changing lives. The line separates those who live a life in bondage to sin, under the influence of fear, greed, lust, pride and hatred, and those who live a life empowered by the grace and love of Jesus Christ. When you live your life in union with Christ, doing as He did, walking in His steps, you may run into opposition with those who do not, even among your own family.

 

[Slide] And so Jesus urges “judge for yourself what is right,” for the time for judgment has come. It is upon us all. We can read the signs in the sky and can tell when a storm is coming. We can tell when harvest is near by looking a fruit ripening on the tree and vine. Can you read the signs that announce Christ has come?

 

…the blind receive their sight; the lame walk; those with a skin disease are cleansed; the deaf hear; the dead are raised; the poor have good news brought to them. (Luke 7:22)

 

These are the signs that tell us that the age of the Christ is upon us, that The Kingdom of God is at hand. How might we respond?

 

If the tornado sirens blow, will you not take shelter? If the fire alarm blasts, will you not exit the building? The prophet from Nazareth has announced the Kingdom. He’s sent out invitations for the wedding banquet. Shall we make excuses, or will we join the celebration?

 

The judge of all the earth is calling. Let us reconcile with God before the final hour.

 

Paul wrote to the church, [Slide]

 

We urge you: do not to accept this grace of God in vain...

Look, now is the acceptable time; look, now is the day of salvation! (2 Corinthians 6:1-2.

 

We implore you on Christ’s behalf: [Slide] Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be a sin offering for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:20-21)

 

And how do we reconcile ourselves to God? By repenting and believing the gospel. We reconcile with God by turning away from a life lived in blindness, ignorance and rebellion, and by turning toward God through faith in Jesus Christ.

 

For there is only one mediator between God and humanity, the man Jesus Christ. (1 Timothy 2:5)

 

Last Sunday we heard Jesus talk of household servants waiting for their master to return from a wedding feast. It will be good for the servant that the master finds busy feeding the other servants and managing well their master’s affairs. But how sad for the servant that decides to get drunk and abuse the other servants. When the master returns and discovers the wretched unfaithfulness and brutality of his errant slave, he will beat him severely, cutting him to pieces, and assign that servant a place with the unfaithful. (Luke 12:45-46)

 

[Slide] The irony here is that Jesus took that beating for me and you. Jesus was cut to shreds with the cat and nine tails; a whip set with barbs that tore into his flesh. By His wounds we are healed. By His sacrifice, we are set free. By His resurrection, we are made new.

 

The strange and wonderful gospel is this: The Judge of all the earth gave His one and only Son, as an atoning sacrifice, so that all who put their trust in Jesus will not die, but receive the gift of everlasting life.

Repent and believe the good news!