Getting to the heart of the matter: character issues that leaders must deal with
“John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.” “Don’t stop him!” Jesus said. “No one who performs a miracle in my name will soon be able to speak evil of me. Anyone who is not against us is for us. If anyone gives you even a cup of water because you belong to the Messiah, I tell you the truth, that person will surely be rewarded. “But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands. If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, ‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.’ “For everyone will be tested with fire. Salt is good for seasoning. But if it loses its flavor, how do you make it salty again? You must have the qualities of salt among yourselves and live in peace with each other.””
The passage is one that begins with us as we are, reveals the sin in us and then it brings us the solution - the hope - what life could look like.
We’ve got to that part of the Gospel where Jesus is intentionally preparing the disciples, in order for them to carry on after he has gone. But for this to happen - there are few significant issues that need to be dealt with.
If we are honest with ourselves - we have to acknowledge that we ourselves have similar problems…so what are they?
“After they arrived at Capernaum and settled in a house, Jesus asked his disciples, “What were you discussing out on the road?” But they didn’t answer, because they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.”
Being self-absorbed
They had been arguing about who was the greatest amongst them. They were following Jesus, they had hung around with Him, they’d figured out who He was. They had started to see themselves in an elevated position as a consequence of their relationship with Him. Many of us are self-absorbed.
“John said to Jesus, “Teacher, we saw someone using your name to cast out demons, but we told him to stop because he wasn’t in our group.””
Judging Others based on our own insecurities
This may look wise at first glance. It’s possible that this exorcist hadn’t been with Jesus, didn’t know Jesus, and wasn’t a Christ-follower - not like them, at least. They weren’t one of them. The real issue is revealed - he was not part of the gang, he didn’t have that special status that the disciples had. The irony, of course, was that the disciples had just failed to cast a demon out of a boy a few short verses ago, and here is this man, who wasn’t one of them, casting out demons successfully. And the disciples weren’t happy about this and their insecurity was shown.
The overriding characteristic of Jesus' desires for His church is love. But are we any good at doing it? We are really good at naming other groups that claim to follow Jesus and we can even identify what is wrong with them. We can sound good and noble. But is it just a cover for our own insecurity?
This isn’t just about churches but can apply to us as individuals - especially when people are threats to our identity.
“But if you cause one of these little ones who trusts in me to fall into sin, it would be better for you to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around your neck. If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one hand than to go into the unquenchable fires of hell with two hands. If your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It’s better to enter eternal life with only one foot than to be thrown into hell with two feet. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out. It’s better to enter the Kingdom of God with only one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, ‘where the maggots never die and the fire never goes out.”
Not Taking Sin Seriously
The other issue we see here is that they didn’t take sin seriously. There is a lot of over-the-top-language that is being used. You wouldn’t really expect to hear this from Jesus. We do know that it is not meant to be taken literally. Scripture, for example, forbids self-mutilation.
The language is here to expose the severity of sin. Jesus was making it clear that no sin is worth going to hell for. It’s far better to deal with sin at the root cause rather than head down the path of self-destruction.
As people, we tend to minimise the effects of sin. Sin will always cost you more than you are willing to pay. We think it’s not a big deal, and take the necessary steps to irradiate sin in our lives, yet if there is one thing that is clear from this Scripture - dealing with it is more important even than the things that are indispensable.
Let’s not tolerate the things that can destroy us, and that destroys others.
What's underneath it all?
Let’s look at what is underneath all the sins that this passage has identified. Jesus isn’t dealing with a shopping list of sins - but rather one thing that is under all of them…
… a failure to understand that we serve a Saviour, who went to the cross, and invites us to follow Him, and suffer.
One of the largest theological blindspots that the western church has at the moment is a balanced view of suffering.
We have lots of teaching on how to avoid sin and get free from it. There is counseling. There is therapy. But we don’t really through resources into the theology of suffering.
We should expect suffering as followers of Jesus Christ. Suffering is actually one of the key things we need to grow as healthy Christians.
Maybe the disciples had to deal with all of these things because they hadn’t yet grasped what Jesus was going to do. They thought that Jesus was going to come as a victorious conqueror. They had no category for a Messiah that would suffer and be killed.
“Leaving that region, they travelled through Galilee. Jesus didn’t want anyone to know he was there, for he wanted to spend more time with his disciples and teach them. He said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of his enemies. He will be killed, but three days later he will rise from the dead.” They didn’t understand what he was saying, however, and they were afraid to ask him what he meant.”
When you are marching to a cross…you stop pushing to get to the front of the line.
This was their undying issue…they hadn’t grasped the cross. When you are marching to a cross…you stop pushing to get to the front of the line.
It’s when we understand the cross, and enjoy the benefits of it by living as a sacrifice to him that we see freedom in these areas.
This really works itself out in our relationships. The understanding of cross shapes our lives and how we live in community because when we understand how Christ has welcomed us, then we will be ready to welcome others as well.
Jesus calls each of us to live our lives in the shadow of the cross; a life of humility and a life of service. We could say that there is so much wrong with us. We could have a shopping list. But we will never really deal with them until we deal with the underlying issue of coming to the cross.
Don’t settle for anything less when God has an amazing plan and purpose for your life - in Him.
The problem is that contemporary people think life is all about finding happiness. We decide what conditions will make us happy and then we work to bring those conditions about. To live for happiness means that you are trying to get something out of life. But when suffering comes along, it takes the conditions for happiness away, and so suffering destroys all your reason to keep living. But to “live for meaning” means not that you try to get something out of life but rather that life expects something from us. In other words, you have meaning only when there is something in life more important than your own personal freedom and happiness, something for which you are glad to sacrifice your happiness.
— Tim Keller
It’s when we understand the cross and enjoy the benefits of it by living as a sacrifice to him that we see freedom in these areas.
This really works itself out in our relationships. The understanding of cross shapes our lives and how we live in community because when we understand how Christ has welcomed us, then we will be ready to welcome others as well.
Jesus calls each of us to live our lives in the shadow of the cross; a life of humility and a life of service. We could say that there is so much wrong with us. We could have a shopping list. But we will never really deal with them until we deal with the underlying issue of coming to the cross.
Don’t settle for anything less when God has an amazing plan and purpose for your life - in Him.