Paul and Barnabas Witness in Lystra (Acts 14:8-28)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, June 8, 2025

We are journeying our way through Acts and we come to an amazing passage. Think about the complexities in this passage:

• This is a passage where the Apostles can heal someone, yet be stoned in the same passage, really?
• This is a passage where Paul will be stoned and left for dead. Yet, he will preach so that people can receive real life immediately after that. Preaching the Gospel, you were just stoned to death for? They are killing you, but others are receiving real life!
• This is a passage in which we realize Paul’s ability to identify with an audience through preaching. We see an abbreviation of a sermon which he will preach in Acts 17:16ff.

Who’s your god? Do we make people gods as well? Paul and Barnabas wouldn’t allow themselves to be worshipped?

When I was a kid in school, I recall studying ancient Greek culture and the gods and goddesses it worshipped. The idea was that they had many gods, whereas we worship only one God. We were studying in public school, so the majority of the class believed that in today’s time, many people don’t believe in or worship a God at all. The idea is that we have advanced, we know these things about Zeus and Hermes aren’t true. Looking at the church across America, I wonder, have we really advanced? The Ten Commandments say, “Do not commit idolatry.” Do we?

Can you remember a time when you got something new? For me, it is hard to get something new and not let that “thing” consume me. When I get a new car, that is all that I think about. I might even commit idolatry with that man-made thing. It has been said that worship is our response to what we value most. It has been said, “If you follow the trail of your time, energy, passion, money, you will find out what you worship.” It could be money, yourself, friends, things, your past, etc. The point is that we were created to worship.

We are about to turn to a passage in the New Testament where people who have worshipped Hermes and Zeus now try to worship Paul and Barnabas.

1. Let’s look at the miracle.
   1. Acts 14:8-10:
   2. ⁸ Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. ⁹ He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, ¹⁰ said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking.
   3. Context is everything.
   4. Look at the previous seven verses.
   5. Paul is on what we call his first missionary journey.
   6. Paul had left for this journey back in Acts 13:4. They had already gone to Pisidian Antioch and preached there.
   7. While still in Antioch, in Acts 13:46, the Jews got jealous; consequently, Paul and Barnabas moved on to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. This seemed to start a precedent for Paul that he would always go to the synagogue first and then to the Gentiles. In Acts 13:50, the text tells us that the “Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.”
   8. That leads us to the beginning of Acts 14. They have now moved on to Iconium. They followed the same procedure in Iconium as they had in Pisidian Antioch. Paul and Barnabas first went to the synagogue and spoke to the Jews. Many Jews and Greeks believed. In Acts 14:2 the text tells us that the Jews who disbelieved “stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren.” However, Paul and Barnabas stayed around and spoke boldly. Still, verses 5 and 6 tell us there was an attempt to stone them, and Paul and Barnabas found out about it and left. They then went to Lycaonia, Lystra, and Derbe, and the surrounding region. Verse 6 tells us where they went, and then verse 7 tells us what they were doing. They continued to preach the Gospel in those locations. Now, that brings us to verse 8. Now, what happened at Lystra?
   9. The miracle (Acts 14:8-10).
   10. We will look at the miracle but first notice how Paul and Barnabas were persistent in preaching the gospel.
   11. They tried to stone them! In verse 5, it says this. Did that shock you? It didn’t shock me. The first-century person would have been shocked by this. Stoning was a terrible punishment. The accused would usually be taken outside the city and stripped. Then, the witnesses would cast the first stones, followed by everyone else. I have heard that they would throw stones until the person was buried.
   12. Although this occurred in the previous city due to Paul and Barnabas preaching the Gospel, they continued on to share the Gospel.
   13. Paul and Barnabas were focused then, but what was about to happen would have tested me.
   14. Verses 8-10: Now they are in a city called Lystra. This is a city in what would be modern-day Turkey.
   15. Verse 8 tells us that a man who had no strength in his feet was sitting. How long was he lame? The Bible tells us from birth. Then the same verse gives an extra emphasis by saying he had never walked. Now, if the text has already said, “Lame from his mother’s womb.” Why does the text need to say that he had never walked?
   16. Luke emphasizes that this man had never walked before. Luke is preparing us for what is about to happen. Why? What is about to happen is a miracle.
   17. This man was interested in the Gospel.
   18. Paul looks at him and can tell that this man had faith to be healed. What does that mean?
   19. We can’t be sure what this passage means by saying, “Faith to be made well.” What I think is that the Holy Spirit supernaturally showed Paul that he believed in Christ and had faith. It is overreaching to take this passage and say that everyone who is not healed doesn’t have faith.
   20. Just because in this case it says he had faith to be made well does not mean that when someone is not healed it is a faith issue.
   21. In Inductive Bible Study, this is called:
   22. Fallacy of Composition: This fallacy involves the assumption that what is true of the part is necessarily true of the whole.¹² If one were to infer that because Luke presents some Samaritans as more generous (10:29–37) or grateful (17:11–19) than some Jews, he wants his audience to conclude that all Samaritans are morally superior to Jews, then one would be going well beyond the evidence and committing the fallacy of composition. The same would be the case if one were to infer from the story of the healing of the lame man at the Beautiful Gate in Acts 3:1–10 that Luke thereby teaches that all who are in need of physical healing will find it if they likewise place their faith in the name of Jesus.^[1]
   23. In verse 10, Paul told this man to stand upright. This man leaped to his feet.
   24. I notice no hesitancy in Paul’s voice, I notice no physical therapy for this man. He leaped to his feet.
   25. Many of you are parents and grandparents. Remember when your children started walking? Did they just leap and start walking? Of course not! There was a slow process of learning to walk, not in this case!
   26. The application is that when God is involved, things can happen quickly.
   27. This is the third time in Acts that a lame man is healed (Acts 3 and 9:34).
   28. God doesn’t heal everyone; however, we do need to understand that the Holy Spirit is still active today. The Holy Spirit hasn’t hidden in a cave or retired.
   29. One last thing about this: When someone is made well due to our medical advances, give the Lord the credit. God works.
2. In verses 11-13, we see the reaction to what God had done.
   1. Acts 14:11–13 (ESV)
   2. ¹¹ And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” ¹² Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. ¹³ And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.
   3. A whole crowd appeared to have seen what God had done through Paul.
   4. The crowd started speaking in the Lycaonian language. The people were probably speaking in Latin to begin with. It appears that at this location, they knew Latin and Greek. There is also evidence that this native language was used up until the 6^th century A.D. “There is evidence that two Christian monasteries in Constantinople (Byzantium), founded in the sixth century, used the Lycaonian language in their liturgy.”
   5. Why would they think that the “gods” had come down? One reason would be the miracle. Just imagine, you are sitting at the hospital with someone who can’t walk, and suddenly they jump to their feet!!! This would be amazing!
   6. Another reason is this: Local Phrygian legend told of an ancient visitation by Zeus and Hermes to Phrygia. In the story only one couple, Baucis and Philemon, received them graciously; the rest of the population was destroyed in a flood. Knowing some form of the story in their own language, the Lycaonians are not about to make the same mistake ancient Phrygia had made; they want to honor Paul and Barnabas, whom they mistake for gods. People sometimes considered miracle workers as gods.^[2]
   7. Do we do this today? Do we worship people? What about actors? Athletes? Do we worship video games and things? Cars? Houses? Careers?
3. Verses 14-18 show that Barnabas and Paul will not be worshipped.
   1. Acts 14:14–18 (ESV) ¹⁴ But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, ¹⁵ “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. ¹⁶ In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. ¹⁷ Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” ¹⁸ Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.
   2. They tear their clothes which is a sign that they have seen idolatry. They say:
   3. We are men like you.
   4. We preach the Gospel that you should turn to the living God who:
   5. Made everything.
   6. God has given you a witness of Himself, and He gave you rain, food, and fruits.
   7. They said these things and, with difficulty, restrained these crowds.
   8. Do you notice it? They were being worshipped! They could have accepted it, but instead they turned their attention to God. They were God focused!
4. In verses 19-20, Paul is stoned.
   1. This is amazing.
   2. Acts 14:19–20 (ESV)
   3. ¹⁹ But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. ²⁰ But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.
   4. Notice this, Jews came from Antioch (not the same Antioch as Acts 13) and Iconium.
   5. They persuaded the crowds and dragged Paul out of the city, and stoned Paul.
   6. Wow!
   7. They thought he died.
   8. Verse 20 is so simple. The disciples gathered around him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.
   9. Did the disciples pray, and was he healed?
   10. Was there another miracle?
   11. Were there two miracles in this passage- the lame man and the healing of Paul?
   12. We don’t know.
   13. Acts 14:21–23 (ESV) ²¹ When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, ²² strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. ²³ And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
   14. Notice, they continue preaching the Gospel. They are also returning to the same cities that threatened them.
   15. Let’s read the rest of the chapter:
   16. Acts 14:24–28 (ESV) ²⁴ Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. ²⁵ And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, ²⁶ and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. ²⁷ And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. ²⁸ And they remained no little time with the disciples.
   17. Notice that they are returning to Antioch in Syria. They are returning and celebrating what the Lord has done.

Notice two things:

Paul and Barnabas would not allow themselves to be worshipped. Always look to God. Always point people to God.

Secondly, these miracles were to point people to the gospel. Miracles in the New Testament are always about spreading the Gospel.

¹² Engel, With Good Reason, 93–94; Rudinow and Barry, Invitation to Critical Thinking, 281.

^[1] David R. Bauer and Robert A. Traina, Inductive Bible Study: A Comprehensive Guide to the Practice of Hermeneutics (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011), 259.

^[2]Keener, C. S., & InterVarsity Press. (1993). The IVP Bible background commentary : New Testament (Ac 14:9). Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press.

Paul and Barnabas continue to preach the gospel. They persevere through persecution (Acts 14:1–7).

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, June 1, 2025

Swindoll:

In his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl wrote these amazing words:

“We who lived in the concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last pieces of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: The last of his freedoms is to choose his own attitude in any given set of circumstances—to choose one’s own way.”¹

I could not be in greater agreement. We make a choice every waking moment of our lives. When we awaken in the morning, we choose the attitude that will ultimately guide our thoughts and actions through the day. I’m convinced our best attitudes emerge out of a clear understanding of our own identity, a clear sense of our divine mission, and a deep sense of God’s purpose for our lives. That sort of God-honoring attitude encourages us to press on, to focus on the goal, to respond in remarkable ways to life’s most extreme circumstances.

It was that kind of remarkable attitude Paul and Barnabas consistently maintained throughout their missionary journey. The two Antioch-sent servants faced and overcame countless and extreme obstacles with a relentless determination to stay focused on the goal.

We all need a reliable game plan for facing extreme circumstances. The situation that now looms in front of you may be fixable, or it may seem impossible to overcome in your own strength. It might be the result of your own actions, or you may be an innocent victim, caught in the backlash of someone else’s consequences. Whatever the case, we can easily become intimidated, even fearful, and eventually immobile when facing such obstacles. The only way to move beyond that sort of paralyzing stalemate is to learn to accept and trust God’s plan. You release the controls and wait for Him to move. And while you wait, maintain a good attitude.[1]

We are continuing our trek through Acts.

My theme today: Paul and Barnabas continue to preach the gospel. They persevere through persecution.

The application: persevere in what God calls you to do.

1. First, we see that a great number of both Jews and Gentiles respond to the message (Acts 14:1-2), but some stir up contention.
   1. Acts 14:1–2 (ESV)
   2. Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. ² But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
   3. Remember, they are on their first missionary journey. They are taking the gospel to many other cities.
   4. In the previous section, they were forced to leave Antioch because of persecution. This is Antioch in Pisidia. It is not the same as the city of Antioch that is north of Jerusalem (Acts 13:1-3).
   5. This is modern Konya.^[2]
   6. Again, they enter a Synagogue.
   7. Interesting that they go back to the synagogue after all the persecution they have already gone through.
   8. They spoke in “such a way”–what does “such a way” mean?
   9. It must have something to do with persuasion and convincing.
   10. A large number of Jews and Greeks believed.
   11. One source shares: Because the native language of Iconium was Phrygian, Paul and Barnabas may address mainly the Greek-speaking upper social strata, or they may speak through interpreters (cf. 14:11, 14); but it is more likely that most of the crowd understands Greek, even if it is not their first language.
   12. Among the deities that the Gentiles of Iconium worshiped, the most prominent was Cybele, the Phrygian mother goddess; Phrygian mystery cults were also common. But inscriptions testify that the Christian faith spread and Iconium later became a major center of Christianity in Asia Minor.^[4]
   13. Look at verse 2:
   14. Even though a large number believed this verse makes it clear that there were Jews, at least, who didn’t believe.
   15. These Jews make the Gentiles angry. They “stirred up” or, actually, the NIV says, “poisoned their minds” against Paul and Barnabas.
   16. I once heard that only one percent of rat poison is poison. Ninety-nine percent of it is fine. That means that to incite trouble against Paul and Barnabas, all they may have had to do is change some small and subtle things about them, or that Paul and Barnabas were saying and change the truth.
   17. That type of stuff happens in the church today and is dangerous.
   18. Gossip can do a lot of damage.
2. Paul and Barnabas spend time discipling converts (Acts 14:3).
   1. Look at verse 3: So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
   2. Again from Swindoll: A sentence in the diary of James Gilmore, pioneer missionary to Mongolia, has stayed with me since the day I first read it. After years of laboring long and hard for the cause of Christ in that desperate land, he wrote, “In the shape of converts I have seen no result. I have not, as far as I am aware, seen anyone who even wanted to be a Christian.”
   3. Let me add some further reality to that statement by taking you back to an entry in Gilmore’s journal made in the early days of his ministry. It expressed his dreams and burdens for the people of Mongolia. Handwritten in his journal are these dreams: “Several huts in sight. When shall I be able to speak to the people? O Lord, suggest by the Spirit how l should come among them, and in preparing myself to teach the life and love of Christ Jesus.”
   4. That was his hope. He longed to reach the lost of Mongolia with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. How different from his entry many years later, “I have not, as far as I am aware, seen anyone who even wanted to be a Christian.”
   5. What happened in between? He encountered the jagged edge of an authentic ministry. When I write about succeeding in the work of the Lord, I’m not promising success as we define it in human terms. I’m not saying because you are faithful to proclaim the Word of God your church will be packed. Some of God’s most faithful servants are preaching their hearts out in places where the church is not growing. A great temptation for those in that difficult setting is to turn to some of the other stuff that holds out the promise of more visible results. Don’t go there. Stay at it. God is at work.[5]
   6. They were not only speaking but speaking boldly.
   7. God confirmed His message with signs and wonders.
   8. Do signs and wonders happen today? Do we look for them?
   9. I once heard a man on Focus on the Family preaching, and as he was preaching, his voice was restored. A while before that, he had an illness which made it very difficult for him to talk. His voice was never supposed to be the same again, but it was healed. Praise God!
   1. Look at verse 4:
   2. But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles.
   3. This verse notes that the people of the city were divided.
   4. Some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles.
   5. An apostle is one who is on a mission. Paul’s message divides the city in half (Acts 14:4).
3. Paul and Barnabas flee (Acts 14:5-7).

1. 1. Look at verses 5-7:
   2. Acts 14:5–7 (ESV)
   3. ⁵ When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, ⁶ they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, ⁷ and there they continued to preach the gospel.
   4. The Jews from verse 2 were somewhat successful because now there is an attempt made by not only the Jews but also the Gentiles and the rulers to mistreat and to stone them.
   5. In verse 6, the text talks about the other areas that Paul, Barnabas, and their group went after finding out about the plot.
   6. They fled to Lystra and Derbe which were cities of the district of Lycaonia:
   7. Lystra was a city in Lycaonia about 18 mi (30 km) south of Iconium, a Roman colony that was not on the main roads of Lycaonia. Because of its relative isolation, its local character was able to be preserved.^[9]
   8. Derbe was a city in Lycaonia about 35 mi (60 km) southeast of Lystra.^[10]
   9. Sproul shares:
   10. Luke tells us that the Apostles fled to Lystra and Derbe, which were situated in the province of Lycaonia. This minor detail is of great significance. In the nineteenth century we saw an unprecedented attack by liberal scholarship against the trustworthiness of the biblical record, and at the very front of this assault was an attack against the historical reliability of Luke, who gave us this history of the expansion of the early church. One of the things about which the critics carped was this little clause, “They fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region.” The critics said that Lystra and Derbe, while closely situated, were not in the province of Lycaonia but in different provinces. That, the critics said, is a clear example of a historical error and inaccuracy in Luke’s writing.
   11. One of those scholars, distinguished for his historical expertise, was the British Sir William Ramsay. Ramsay decided to embark on a journey that followed the biblical record of Paul’s missionary journeys and wherever possible to do archaeological research pertaining to the accuracy of the details supplied by Luke. Ramsay was a skeptic. He agreed with the liberal viewpoint that Luke’s book had been filled with error, but everywhere he went, every time he turned over a shovel of dirt, his findings verified the details Luke had included in both his Gospel and in Acts. When Ramsay came in his journey to the places noted in this particular passage, he found the boundary marker between Derbe and Lystra, and indeed the boundary marker had the two cities in different provinces. However, upon further examination he found that at various times in antiquity the boundaries of those provinces changed, and, to his amazement, he discovered that between the years d. 37 and a.d. 72 Lystra and Derbe were in the same province—the exact province Luke mentions here in the text. At the end of his tour Ramsay said that he could not find a single error of historical reliability in the book of Acts, and he joined other later scholars who now call Luke the most reliable historian of the ancient world.^[11]

Again from Swindoll:

Paul’s ministry was saturated with the Word of God. Fifteen times in chapters thirteen and fourteen the phrases “God’s Word,” the “Word of truth,” the “teaching of the Lord,” the “Law and the Prophets,” and the “Good News” are mentioned (13:5, 13:7, 13:12, 13:15a, 13:15b, 13:32, 13:44, 13:46, 13:48, 13:49, 14:3, 14:7, 14:15, 14:21, 14:25).

On that first journey Paul took with him just enough to live on, sufficient clothing to cover his nakedness, a heart full of hope in God’s truth, and a confidence in God that would keep him faithful. That’s what held him together. That’s what steeled him against the tightening jaws of mistreatment in the ministry.

Could it be that you’ve grown a little soft in the past few months in your commitment to time spent in the Scriptures? It may be happening to you just as it happens to me from time to time. Please heed this gentle warning: If you’re getting ready to go off to school, or preparing to take on new ministry responsibilities, or getting ready to launch a new phase of your career, don’t do it without first establishing a regular time to meet alone with the Lord, preparing yourself for the new challenge by spending time in His Word. Your spiritual future depends on it. Without that commitment to saturate your life with God’s Word, you step into the unknown future at your own risk. I urge you to spend sufficient time with the Lord so you might be strengthened within. It can begin with as little as fifteen minutes each day.

Some of you are thinking, I don’t have fifteen minutes a day! Try cutting your lunch break short so you’ve got time on the other end to spend reading through a Psalm or two or digesting one of the New Testament letters.

If Paul could saturate his life in the Word of God, you and I can too. You are touching some people in your sphere of influence that likely no one else will touch. Be known for your biblical commitment, your biblical counseling. Be known for your biblical advice. Be appreciated for your biblical stand on moral values. It all starts with your investment of time in the Bible. Go there. Become saturated with the Word of God. That in itself will carry you miles down the road toward establishing an authentic ministry.[12]

[1] Viktor E Frankl, Man’s Search for Meaning (New York: Pocket Books, Simon and Schuster, 1976).

Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Accessed on website on 04.28.2025: https://www.insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/good-attitude1

^[2] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2112.

[3] Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Accessed website on 04.28.2025: https://www.insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/elusive-popularity1

^[4] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Ac 14:1–4.

[5] Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Accessed on website 04.28.2025

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⁵⁸ For bibliography and further discussion, see chap. I, n. 61.

^[6] John B. Polhill, Acts, vol. 26, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 311.

^[7] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Ac 14:5.

^[8] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Ac 14:5.

^[9] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ac 14:6.

^[10] Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Ac 14:6.

^[11] R. C. Sproul, Acts, St. Andrew’s Expositional Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 251–252.

[12] Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Accessed on 04.28.2025

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Memorial day message

Our best IS good enough (Matthew 6:33 seek Ye First…)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, May 25, 2025

Today is Memorial Day:

Memorial Day was established after the Civil War. All these men served in the War Between the States. All these families sacrificed as the husband was gone, the father was gone. Families were torn apart. What was it like for the soldier?

Today is Memorial Day weekend. For some, it has little meaning other than a day off and the running of the Indianapolis 500. Yet, the origin of the day began with remembering the dead in the War of Northern Aggression-—the women of Pennsylvania who decorated Union graves in August of 1864, the women of Virginia who decorated Confederate graves in April of 1865, and the women of Columbus, MS who decorated the graves of both Union and Confederate dead-—prompting Horace Greeley’s editorial and the subsequent events which called for national observance of such memorials. This day reminds us of all our war dead, hence that freedom has a cost.

I am very grateful to all of our military men and women who sacrificed for our country. I am grateful to all the military who paid the highest price.

I would like to take this day to preach on refuting a lie we often believe. We often believe the lie that our best is NOT good enough. That needs refuted. Our best is good enough.

THE ANT, THE PRAYER, AND THE CONTACT LENS

A true story: Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. Although she was scared to death, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff. In spite of her fear, she put on the gear, took a hold on the rope, and started up the face of that rock. Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda’s eye and knocked out her contact lens.

Well, here she is on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet below her and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and looked and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge, but it just wasn’t there. Here she was, far from home, her sight now blurry. She was desperate and began to get upset, so she prayed to the Lord to help her to find it.

When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but there was no contact lens to be found. She sat down, despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to make it up the face of the cliff. She looked out across range after range of mountains, thinking of that Bible verse that says, “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth.” She thought, “Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me.”

Finally, they walked down the trail to the bottom. At the bottom there was a new party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, “Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?” Well, that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it!

Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a picture of an ant lugging that contact lens with the words, “Lord, I don’t know why You want me to carry this thing. I can’t eat it, and it’s awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I’ll carry it for You.”

We need to remember these words when we are asked to do something that we feel is too heavy for us to do and or carry. “God, I don’t know why you want me to carry this load. I can see no good in it and it’s awfully heavy. But, if you want me to carry it, I will.”

Today, I wish to address the subject of our best. There are lies that maybe we believe, but they cause us harm, they hurt us. These make us work harder than we need to. They break down our confidence. They overwhelm us. One of these lies is that “our best is not good enough.” I am not going to address this lie separate from the Holy Spirit. In a way, the lie is a lie regardless of whether or not one is a Christian or not. But it is a big lie for the Christian because the Christian is not alone. The Christian has the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:9 (ESV)

⁹ You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Just for a moment realize even a non-believer can only do their best. It has to be good enough. But for the Christian, we can really be overwhelmed if we try things on our own.

My theme today: Our best is good enough because it is combined with God’s strength.

My application: Matthew 6:33:

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

1. Let’s talk about the overwhelming weight the Christian faces and the overwhelming answer.
   1. I like what Pastor J.D. Greear writes as he talks about being overwhelmed: And as I said, I used to be one of them myself. No matter what I gave, there was always more that was needed. One more child to free from the sex trade . . . one more unreached people group to target . . . one more person to tell about Jesus! How could I take my wife out to dinner with needs like that weighing on me? Or go on a vacation? In fact, how could I keep any money for my own enjoyment or pleasure when so many in the world die with nothing? If the price of a cup of coffee could really feed an Indian orphan for a week, was it right for me ever to have a cup of coffee? And why did I need a hot shower? Should I take only cold showers and free up another $ 20 a month in energy costs to house another refugee? John Wesley famously took down the pictures off of his wall, saying they were the “blood of the poor,” unnecessary indulgences while people starve. Was my indulgence of hot showers depriving some poor person of their next meal? My wife and I own a fairly modest house, but couldn’t we have a smaller one? After all, my next door neighbors in Indonesia lived in a 400-square-foot, non-air-conditioned, aluminum-roofed hovel, and they were a family of ten. I don’t know anyone in America who lives that way, but my Indonesian neighbors survived . . . so wouldn’t truly “radical” living require that I live that way, too, and give the excess money to missions? Was my insistence on living like a first-world American, with a nice home (even if modest), condemning many to starvation and hell?
   2. If every person I see is headed either to heaven or to hell, then shouldn’t I spend every minute of every day interrupting them to make sure they know how to get to God? Don’t they all need to know, right now? If it depends on me, shouldn’t I interrupt them, immediately?
   3. But, J.D. continues to share that God does not need us. If He needed us all that would be true but:
   4. Thankfully, the weight of the mission sits upon the shoulders of a God who has no needs.
   5. He creates universes with words.
   6. He takes five loaves and two fish and feeds more people in five minutes than twelve men working full-time jobs could supply in eight months.
   7. He finds tax payments in a fish’s mouth.
   8. He knocks down mighty giants with creek pebbles.
   9. He summons rich, pagan, enemy kings to pay for his building programs.[1]
   10. We serve a big God, and we walk with the Lord. Our best is good enough because everything God calls us to do is about Him and not us.
   11. Think about the beginning of the book of Acts in Acts 1:4. Jesus is risen, and He is with the disciples and He tells them not to leave Jerusalem until the Holy Spirit comes upon them. I find this funny. It is as if Jesus knew without the Holy Spirit their best is not good enough. With the Holy Spirit everything will work out. The book of Acts is all about the Holy Spirit.
   12. Peter was afraid and denied Jesus (John 18:25-27) but when the Holy Spirit comes upon him, He preaches and people are saved, 3000 were saved.
   13. The Holy Spirit simply told Philip to witness to the Ethiopian and the man was saved (Acts 8:25ff).
   14. The Holy Spirit radically transforms our best.
2. Jesus addresses this giving us the answer, seek God.
   1. Let’s read Matthew 6:25–34 (ESV) ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? ²⁸ And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, ²⁹ yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? ³¹ Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ³⁴ “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
   2. I am not going to take apart this passage. My goal is not to teach this passage today, but instead show that as we are seeking the Lord, our best is good enough.
   3. Our assignment is not to worry about our best.
   4. Our assignment is to work hard and let God supply the rest.
   5. Our assignment is to seek the Lord and follow what He calls us to do.
   6. Our assignment is to remember that He is in charge.
   7. Our assignment is to let God be God.
   8. God will multiply your hard work and make it better than you can imagine.
   9. God will multiply your integrity and make things work out His way.
   10. God will give you favor when you seek Him, when you let the Holy Spirit work in you.
   11. I am not only talking about church ministries. God will give you favor at work for seeking the Lord and telling the truth. Own up to mistakes and have integrity.
   12. God will give you favor when you don’t gossip on Facebook.
   13. God will give you favor in your family when you can be trusted not to spread rumors.
   14. Sometimes seeking the Lord is tough, but God will give you favor when you seek the Lord even when it means obeying the law and there is a cost. There is a cost to obeying the legal law and God’s way. Sometimes we think our giving does not make a difference, it is just pennies, but God will take care of you when you give what you can and stretch yourself a little bit more.
   15. God will give you favor when you seek Him by restoring a relationship. Sometimes we are overwhelmed thinking a relationship can never be healed, but remember that God can do all things. It is not your best healing the relationship, but it is God doing that.
   16. Sometimes we think, I could never finish college or some training, but remember you have God’s strength within you. Sometimes we think, I cannot face another day at my work! But remember you don’t go there by yourself.
   17. Don’t worry, give it to God. Say, God I am overwhelmed, and I just don’t know that I am making a difference. I need the Spirit to lead me. I am seeking you. I am giving this to you. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
   18. Write out your worries on paper and give them to God.
   19. Write out that you think you are doing your best and missing out, give them to God.
   20. How do we seek the Lord?
   21. Daily devotions- TAG time= time alone with God. This includes prayer and reading the Bible.
   22. Time with our church family- prayer partners, Sunday school/small groups/Bible studies; worship with your church family.
   23. Other spiritual disciplines: silence, learning, serving, giving, etc.
   24. These are all ways that we seek the Lord.

Close:

It is God who multiplies our work. Our job is to obey. Think about Joseph, he goes to Egypt as a slave, and he maintained integrity, and God multiplied that, giving him a position second to the Pharaoh and saved all of the Israelites through Him (Genesis 37-50). All he did was what was right.

I met with the Vice-President of a Company. He told me that he started out as an accountant and did not want to be with the company that long. That was 17 years earlier. He had previously served as a missionary, youth pastor, and worship leader. He was from Mexico and then was transferred to Illinois as the President of the Company, the company merged and at that time he was the VP. But he never wanted to stay there. He wanted to be a missionary again. I thought of Joseph, God gave this man favor just like Joseph. God promoted him. Now he has had prayer meetings and Bible studies in that office. He had shared the Gospel in that office. He was seeking the Lord and the Lord used him. He did his best and the Lord used him. Praise God. It happens by the Holy Spirit within us.

Our job, seek the Lord and trust Him with the results.

Do you know Jesus? Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

[1] Greear, J.D.; Greear, J.D. (2014-11-04). Jesus, Continued…: Why the Spirit Inside You is Better than Jesus Beside You (p. 77). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Paul Turns to the Gentiles (Acts 13:42–52), Persistently Sharing the Gospel

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, Oh on: Sunday, May 18, 2025

We have been preaching our way through the Book of Acts. As we walk through Acts, we see God’s mighty works of the Holy Spirit. Today, we will continue to see God’s work. The Book of Acts has been called the Acts of the Holy Spirit. It is the first church history book.

Acts is about the spread of the Gospel, and the Gospel is eternal life. Listen to what I once read:

THE TREE TRUNK THAT TRUMPETED LIFE AND TRUMPED DEATH By Pastor Rick Sams

  The most popular tourist attraction in Herfordshire County, England is a graveyard. People come from all over the world to see a grave of a woman buried over 200 years ago.

  Lady Anne Grimston was a proud, wealthy, and obstinate woman who lived for this life alone.

  Toward the end friends tried to encourage her to think about what comes after we breathe our last. She would not. She believed there was nothing beyond: “It is as unlikely that I shall continue to live as that a tree will grow out of my body.”     

  She went so far as to make a challenge to Heaven, saying: “If, indeed, there is life hereafter, trees will render asunder my tomb.” 

  Lady Anne Grimston died, was buried, and forgotten. But not quite. After many years the thick marble slab over her grave was found ajar. The builders put it back and forgot her again. 

  But once more the marble slab tilted to one side, and in the middle was a crack, with a tiny bunch of leaves bursting through. The crack was sealed with cement and the slab returned to its original spot. A few years later the marble was again lifted up, the crack opened wider than before, and the trunk of a tree emerged from the opening.

  Workmen repaired the increasingly crumbling tomb and installed iron rails and rods to hold everything together. But the young tree would not be tied down. It kept making its way, breaking the masonry, destroying the walls of the tomb, and tearing the heavy iron railings out of the ground. 
  Today, growing right from the heart of Lady Anne Grimston’s grave in St. Peter’s churchyard is one of the largest trees in England. Because of that tree the site is a mass of twisted metal and crushed marble.
  For over 200 years an old tree trunk has trumpeted: “life trumps death.”[1]

Jesus is eternal life so it is critical that we are persistently giving people Jesus.

As I teach you this passage, notice Paul’s persistence to preach the Gospel.

My theme today is:

Paul turns to the gentiles (Acts 13:42–52), persistently sharing the gospel.

Persistence is important:

Swindoll reminds us:

I’m sure Anne Mansfield Sullivan had a host of folks telling her that the blind, 7-year-old brat wasn’t worth it. But Anne persisted—in spite of temper tantrums, physical abuse, mealtime madness, and even thankless parents. In her heart she knew it was worth all the pain. Was it ever! Within two years her pupil, Helen Keller, was able to read and write in braille. She ultimately graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College (where Miss Sullivan had “spelled” each lecture into her hand), and Helen Keller devoted the rest of her life to aiding the deaf and the blind.[2]

1. Context:
   1. The previous section was Paul preaching in the synagogue.
   2. The whole section is Paul’s sermon.
   3. Paul preached on the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
2. The people want to hear more (Acts 13:42-43).
   1. Acts 13:42-43: ⁴² As they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. ⁴³ And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God.
   2. They want to hear more.
   3. Verse 43 tells us that many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas.
   4. These would be proselytes to Judaism.
   5. These are full converts to Judaism who had been circumcised.^[3]
   6. Paul and Barnabas urged them to continue in the grace of God.
   7. I like what MacArthur writes: With such encouragement, Paul and Barnabas hoped to prevent those who were intellectually convinced of the truths of the gospel, yet had stopped short of saving faith, from reverting to legalism rather than embracing Christ completely.^[4]
   8. Do we pray the same way? Do we think the same way? Do we realize that we must pray fervently that we and loved ones stay close to the Lord.
   9. There is another application from this passage. They wanted to hear more. In verse 42 they asked to hear more the next Sabbath.
   10. Are we eager to hear more of the Word of God?
   11. There is a danger that we get used to these great truths from the Scripture. I believe we must pray fervently that God continues to speak to us through His Word.
3. The reaction (Acts 13:44-52):
   1. Look at verse 44: ⁴⁴ The next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord.
   2. Notice what they gathered for, they wanted to hear more of the Word of the Lord.
   3. It says almost “the whole city” gathered. This is probably some hyperbole, but it still communicates that the Gospel is making a great impact.
   4. ESV SB: Since the population of Antioch was mainly Gentile, almost the whole city indicates that the majority who showed up were Gentiles.^[5]
   5. But notice verse 45: ⁴⁵ But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him.
   6. Now, we have a problem.
   7. Now, there is resistance.
   8. The Jewish people did not like the message Paul was sharing.
   9. Remember that most of those showing up were likely gentiles.
   10. This may have had something to do with the issues.
   11. I like what one source adds: When famous speakers (e.g., Dio Chrysostom) would come to town, much of the town would go to hear him. Word spreads quickly about the new speaker at the synagogue in Antioch, and Paul, probably originally more comfortable giving expositions of Scripture than public speeches in the Greek style, is billed as a rhetorician or philosopher.^[6]
   12. Notice the Jewish response. They started to contradict what was spoken by Paul. They started to revile him.
   13. They likely were reviling what was spoken and not Paul himself.[7]
   14. Notice the passage says the Jews saw the crowds and were filled with jealousy.
   15. It seems that this was not as much about the message but their jealousy. The Jewish response was rooted in the sin of jealousy.
   16. How do we pray and prepare so that we do not get jealous? Do we evaluate a message based on whether it is true or false? Or, do we let jealousy fill our hearts?
4. Paul and Barnabas respond:
   1. Look at the next few verses:
   2. ⁴⁶ And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly, saying, “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
   3. “ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
   4. that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
   5. Paul and Barnabas did not change their message.
   6. It is easy to try to adapt the message based on what people want to hear.
   7. We can’t do that with the Gospel.
   8. We can’t change the gospel.
   9. Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly.
   10. They said it was necessary to take the gospel to them first.
   11. Paul cites Isa. 49:6 in verse 47.
   12. God offered the plan of salvation to the Jews first (Mt 10:5, 6; 15:24; Lk 24:47; Ro 1:16).^[8]
   13. Paul says that they thrust it aside. They thrust the Gospel message aside.
   14. They are judging themselves unworthy of eternal life.
   15. Then, verse 47, Paul is quoting Isaiah. They are a light to the gentiles.
   16. Salvation shall be brought to the ends of the earth.
5. The gentiles rejoice (verse 48)!
   1. ⁴⁸ And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
   2. Verse 48 is like an interlude.
   3. This verse shows the gentile response.
   4. They rejoice.
   5. Do we rejoice that we have the Word of the Lord?
   6. There is an interesting phrase at the end of verse 48: and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.
   7. That word “appointed” trips us up. But notice the end of Acts 14:1: spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.
   8. So, verse 48 reads that those appointed were saved. But a few verses later, they “spoke in such a way…”
   9. To me, these verses communicate God’s sovereignty and free will.
   10. There is a mystery between God’s sovereignty and human responsibility, and I cannot explain it.
   11. God has chosen people for salvation. Yet, we have free will involved, and we are responsible for communicating the message and receiving Him as Lord and Savior.
6. Then what happens (verses 49-52)?
   1. ⁴⁹ And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region. ⁵⁰ But the Jews incited the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city, stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district. ⁵¹ But they shook off the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
   2. The Word of the Lord continues to spread.
   3. When it says this, it means the gospel. “Word of the Lord” means “the Gospel.”
   4. Notice the Gospel is spreading throughout the whole region.
   5. But verse 50 shows that they still have problems.
   6. The Jews incite “devout” women. These women are devoted and have high standing.
   7. Paul and Barnabas are persecuted and driven from the city.
   8. But Paul and Barnabas shake the dust off their feet and continue.
   9. Many Jewish people on returning to the Holy Land would shake the dust of a pagan land from their feet; because the temple was considered holier than the rest of Israel, they would also shake the dust from their feet when they entered the temple. Paul and Barnabas probably imply that those who reject their message are pagan and stand under God’s judgment. Jesus had commanded his disciples to follow this practice even in Jewish Palestine (Lk 10:10–12).^[9]
   10. But look at verse 52: The disciples are filled with joy from the Holy Spirit.
   11. That is powerful.
   12. They have seen the gospel spread, but they are persecuted. They have joy. They are filled with the Holy Spirit.

Swindoll:

When Paul was rejected, he didn’t quit. As my good friend and wise mentor, Howie Hendricks, often says, “Where there’s light, there are bugs!” The brighter Paul’s light, the more the bugs. And in that situation, those bugs had stingers filled with poison.

What grit! Paul didn’t back down an inch in his response to open rejection. The result? Not surprisingly, the Gentiles in the crowd rejoiced in the good news he had for them. How exciting! What started as a smoldering ember of religious curiosity burst into flames of faith.

Why were Paul and Barnabas able to persevere? Neither man set his affections on temporal things. What discipline. If you want to get caught in the net of disillusionment, allow yourself to get tangled in the tangibles. You’ll not only run shy of courage, you’ll sink like a rock in a country pond. Why? Because others’ opinions will start to mean everything. When you allow their responses to be the ballast, then their applause becomes essential to keep you afloat, and their assaults drag you straight to the bottom. That formula for failure can be found in all people-pleasing ministries. You’re doomed to disillusionment if you don’t focus on the eternal.

Lee lacocca, not long after leaving the automobile business, said, “Here I am in the twilight years of my life still wondering what it’s all about. I can tell you this: fame and fortune is for the birds.”

You may be one who lives your life pursuing fame and fortune, depending on the applause of others. Bad plan. To begin with, fortune has shallow roots. The winds of adversity can quickly blow it all away. “Riches certainly make themselves wings,” writes Solomon, “they fly away as an eagle toward heaven” (Proverbs 23:5 KJV). And fame is as fickle as the last response from the crowd. Learn a dual lesson from this fine man who had wisdom far beyond most of us. When you’re praised and applauded, don’t pay any attention. And when you’re rejected and abused, don’t quit. It wasn’t human opinion that called you into the work you’re doing. So don’t let human responses or criticisms get you sidetracked. Keep going.

Don’t get tangled in the tangibles![10]

Pray

[1] (SOURCE:http://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/h010rp.LadyGrimston_Galitzin.html

[2] Excerpt taken from Come before Winter and Share My Hope by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 1985, 1988, 1994 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide. Accessed on 04.14.2025: https://insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/persistence-part-one1

^[3] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Ac 13:43.

^[4] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Ac 13:43.

^[5] Crossway Bibles, The ESV Study Bible (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2008), 2112.

^[6] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Ac 13:44.

[7] See NET Bible note

^[8] John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), Ac 13:46.

^[9] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), Ac 13:51–52.

[10] Taken from Great Days with the Great Lives by Charles R. Swindoll. Copyright © 2005 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. www.thomasnelson.com

Accessed on 04.14.2025: https://www.insight.org/resources/daily-devotional/individual/tangled-in-the-tangibles1

Mother’s day: Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on May 11, 2025

I read the following:

One day, I taught my young class the story of Jesus visiting Mary and Martha. I carefully explained how Martha had hurried to clean the house and cook a special meal. Then I paused and asked, “What would you do if Jesus was going to visit your house today?” One little girl quickly responded, “I’d put the Bible on the table!”[1]

How do we focus on Jesus? How do we show that Jesus is important?

Let’s talk about focus. Let’s talk about being with Jesus now. Have you ever heard someone say, “Be here now”? I think I was a McDonald’s manager when in the management training, they would say, “Be here now.” What does that mean? To me, it means that I must stay focused. When managing my shift, I needed to focus on the crew, the customers, the immediate needs, and the day’s needs. I had forms I had to fill out to make the shift smoother. I had a form I would fill out regarding who was on the registers and who was on the grill and who was on back drive-thru and who was on front drive-thru; as a McDonald’s manager, I had to stay focused on the day. I couldn’t send everyone on break at once. I had to think about what was happening before sending anyone on break. I had to “Be here now.” I needed my mind to be present where my body was. I was once saying that to someone. I said, “Be here now.” She said, “I am here.” It can be confusing, but it is easy to not be present where your body is. I find it quite easy to be daydreaming or thinking about other things.

My theme today is:

We learn good things from Mary and Martha; however, we must be present with Jesus.

Read the text: Luke 10:38-42:

Luke 10:38–42 (ESV)

³⁸ Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. ³⁹ And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.” ⁴¹ But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, ⁴² but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” 

You know the story, we just read it:

How many of you would call yourselves a Martha? Please don’t be ashamed; I am probably a Martha.

How many of you would call yourselves a Mary? 

We have applications for both of us.

1. Let’s start by learning from Martha.
   1. We can learn from both Mary and Martha. Sometimes, Martha gets a bad reputation, and, after all, she is rebuked by Jesus. But I think there are some good qualities to learn from Martha. If you have these good qualities, don’t gloat about them; notice the things you can improve on.
   2. Today’s focus is on Mother’s Day, and my applications will be in accordance with that subject.
   3. I am not a mother, so I can’t be specific.
   4. Notice that Martha was welcoming. It says that she “opened” her home to him.
   5. She welcomed Him into her home.
   6. But we soon discover that though she welcomed Him into her home, she missed Him.
   7. We find out that she is very busy.
   8. What is it like to, on the one hand, be very welcoming but, on the other hand, be so busy that we don’t notice people? On the one hand, we say, “Come over.” But when they are over, we serve them, but we really don’t fellowship with them.
   9. What does it mean to be welcoming?
   10. The Greek word means to take under one’s care, as if placing the hands or arms under a person or thing, to receive hospitably and kindly.
   11. We see this word about four times in the New Testament.
   12. Do we notice our children, family, friends, church members? Or, are we so focused on other things that we miss them?
   13. In the next few verses, we see that though she was opening her home to Jesus, once He came in, she really did not pay attention to Him.
   14. Could we get so busy, even at church, that we miss Jesus?
   15. We may be here, but are we here?
   16. We may be with family, but are we with family?
   17. In verse 41, in the Message, Jesus says that she is “fussing” about things.
   18. That is what I do. I fuss, and my children show my weaknesses. I will never forget putting together a crib for Abigail. This was obviously over eleven years ago. I got frustrated, and Mercedes heard it. She copied my frustration.
   19. Don’t miss it, it does seem that Martha wants to be with Jesus. She is just busy. I get this because I am always thinking about details too. Let go, worship.
   20. The first application here is about being present with Jesus. Don’t miss Jesus.
   21. However, I do believe there are other applications- don’t miss your children, your grandchildren, your family.
2. Learning from Mary for the church.
   1. It appears that Mary is one of those students who we would think of as a “Teacher’s pet.” Mary is the student who, when you are sitting in class, and class is about over, thinks, “Great, no homework!” But then Mary says, “Teacher, you forgot to give us homework.” You are sitting thinking, “Noooooooo!”
   2. Mary was close to Jesus, look:
   3. We find out more about Mary in John 11:2: It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.^[2]
   4. Jesus rebukes Martha, but not Mary.
   5. We learn from Mary to focus on Jesus. We learn to be here now.

Close:

One writes:

While I was serving in Paraguay, a Maka Indian named Rafael came to sit on my porch. I was eating and went out to see what he wanted. He responded, “Ham, henek met.” Again I asked what I could do for him, but the answer was the same. I understood what he was saying but not its significance: “I don’t want anything; I have just come near.”

I later shared the incident with a local veteran missionary. He explained that it was Rafael’s way of honoring me. He really didn’t want anything; he just wanted to sit on my porch. He found satisfaction and pleasure just being near me.

“What brings you here, my child?” the Lord asks.

“Ham, henek met.”

Doesn’t that reveal the heart of true worship?[3]

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

[1] Louise Day, Mount Holly, VA. Today’s Christian Woman, “Heart to Heart.”

^[2] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Jn 11:2.

[3] Stuart Sacks, Villanova, Pennsylvania

Christians Agree on the Universal Church (Matthew 16:18)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, May 4, 2025

John Fawcett is a name you may not immediately recognize. In the late 18th century, Fawcett pastored a small, poor church in Wainsgate, England, where his salary was only 25 pounds a year.

In 1773, Fawcett was invited to become the pastor of a much larger church in London. Initially, he accepted the new position. But as his belongings were being loaded for the journey, the people from his church came to bid him farewell.

The tearful goodbye was so moving that John’s wife, Mary, cried out, “John, I cannot bear to leave!” “Nor can I,” he responded. “We shall remain here with our people.” Their belongings were taken back off of the wagons, and John Fawcett remained in Wainsgate for the entirety of his 54-year ministry.

Years later, as he reflected on his decision to stay, Fawcett penned the words to his most-well-known hymn: Blest Be the Tie That Binds. The familiar words of that song resonate with the loyalty and love that characterized the pastor who wrote them.

Blest be the tie that binds

Our hearts in Christian love;

The fellowship of kindred minds

Is like to that above.

Before our Father’s throne,

We pour our ardent prayers;

Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one,

Our comforts, and our cares.

Fawcett’s story illustrates the legacy of long-term commitment in pastoral ministry.

Christians disagree upon many different things. Today, I want to preach a sermon on a subject in which Christians agree. Christians agree upon the universal church.

My theme: The church is for Jesus, you, and the world.

Read with me:

Colossians 1:18 (ESV)

¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.

1. The church is for Jesus.
   1. Jesus is the head of the church.
   2. The church belongs to Jesus.
   3. Let’s put that passage in context:
   4. Colossians 1:15–20 (ESV)
   5. ¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. ¹⁶ For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. ¹⁷ And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. ¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
   6. That passage is all about the supremacy of Jesus and He is the head of the church.
   7. Another passage: Ephesians 1:22–23 (ESV) ²² And he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, ²³ which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.
   8. When I talk about the church, I am talking about the universal church. The adjective “catholic” means “universal.” The catholic church really, originally, meant “universal” church. John Wesley would write about the catholic church, and that is what he meant.
   9. Christians agree that the church is universal. It is one holy, catholic church. The church is universal.
   10. Jesus established the church.
   11. The church belongs to Jesus.
   12. Jesus is the Lord of the church.
   13. Jesus is the Chief Shepherd of the church.
   14. There is much more to be said about that, but I want to move on.
2. The church is for you.
   1. Romans 12:4–8 (ESV)
   2. ⁴ For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, ⁵ so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. ⁶ Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; ⁷ if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; ⁸ the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.
   3. I could give dozens of more verses about supporting and loving each other in the church.
   4. We are here to love each other, encourage each other, serve each other, support each other, and much more.
   5. 10:24: And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works…
   6. I have heard “stir up one another” be shared as “encourage.”
   7. As a church, we can build each other up. We can stand beside each other and say, “You got this, you can do this.” As we go through life together, we are supporting each other. We support each other with words of encouragement and love. We support each other in loving deeds. We support each other in teaching. We support each other with wise words. We support each other in so many other ways. This does not always mean we tell each other what we want to hear. No, the closer we are to each other and the Lord, the more wisdom we have to know what to say and when to say it (James 1:19-20).
3. The church is for the world.
   1. How is the church here for the world?
   2. I am glad you asked.
   3. We are here to take the Great Commission to the world (Matt. 28:19-20).
   4. The stronger we are in fellowship, the more likely we are to reach the world.
   5. The closer we are in fellowship, the more people think, “I need a community like that.” That is the strength of Celebrate Recovery. People know they have a strong group of people, like a family.
4.  Applications:
   1. A little boy tripped and fell outside and one of his hands fell in the mud. His mother said to him, “Go wash your hands.”
   2. He went in the bathroom and came out a few minutes later. He now had two dirty hands. His mother said, “I thought I told you to wash your hands!”
   3. He said, “I did. I took my clean hand and wiped my dirty hand.”
   4. The dirt rubs off. If you want to be clean, hang out with clean folks. ^303,[1]
   5. Being part of the church does not mean that we are all clean. No, the church is a hospital for sinners saved by the grace of the Lord.
   6. I heard about this elderly minister. He was close to death. He sent word for two of his members, an IRS agent and a lawyer, to come to his house. Upon arrival, he motioned for them to sit on each side of the bed. The men were very moved that they could be with the minister in his final moments. At one point, the lawyer asked very sincerely, “Sir, why did you choose both of us?” The minister mustered up some strength and said, “Jesus died between two sinners. That’s the way I want to go.”
   7. I just meant that for humor. The church is for sinners saved by the grace of the Lord.
   8. We are not called to live the Christian life alone.
   9. I could give you applications about being committed to the church, and I think they would be appropriate. I could give you applications about giving to the church, which would be biblical. I could give you applications about Sunday School, small groups, and ministries, which are essential. However, let me go a different route.
   10. I want to review:
   11. The church is the bride of Christ.
   12. The church is here for: 1) King Jesus, 2) you, and 3) the world.
   13. 1) The church is here for King Jesus because He is the Lord of the church (Eph. 1:22; Col. 1:18).
   14. 2) The church is for you. We are all members of the church, and we are to support each other.
   15. 3) The church is here to reach the world with the Great Commission.
   16. I have ran four marathons and a half marathon.
   17. In these long races, there are points when you may think, “I don’t know if I can finish.” Then, you keep running and you see a crowd of people up ahead. They do not know you, but they are cheering you on. They have signs up. Akron was my last marathon. I was running up a big hill, and it felt like it would never end. Then, people on the sidewalks said, “This is the last hill, you’ve got this!” It was a lie; there were more hills, but they meant to encourage me. On my first marathon, I had my marathon number, which I wore, and something else that read, “first timer.” It meant it was my first marathon. Many people ran near me, saying, “You got this, first timer.” It is encouragement.
   18. That is the church.
   19. As we live life as Christians. As we face challenges, we face them together.
   20. As we face difficulties, we face them together.
   21. Do you know what I notice? The stronger someone is connected to the church, the more organic the support comes.
   22. The King protects the church.

O Church, Arise

O church, arise, and put your armor on;

Hear the call of Christ our captain.

For now the weak can say that they are strong

In the strength that God has given

With shield of faith and belt of truth,

We’ll stand against the devil’s lies.

An army bold, whose battle cry is love,

Reaching out to those in darkness.

Our call to war, to love the captive soul,

But to rage against the captor;

And with the sword that makes the wounded whole,

We will fight with faith and valor.

When faced with trials on every side,

We know the outcome is secure.

And Christ will have the prize for which he died:

An inheritance of nations.

Come, see the cross, where love and mercy meet,

As the Son of God is stricken;

Then see his foes lie crushed beneath his feet,

For the Conqueror has risen!

And as the stone is rolled away,

And Christ emerges from the grave,

This victory march continues till the

Every eye and heart shall see him.

So Spirit, come, put strength in every stride;

Give grace for every hurdle.

That we may run with faith to win the prize

Of a servant good and faithful.

As saints of old, still line the way, Retelling triumphs of his grace,

We hear their calls, and hunger for the day

When with Christ we stand in glory.

—Keith Getty and Stuart Townend (2^[2]

Do you know Christ?

Luke 9:23

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

^[1] Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 104.

^[2] Joni Eareckson Tada, Songs of Suffering: 25 Hymns and Devotions for Weary Souls (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2022), 77.

Paul Preaches in the Synagogue of Pisidian Antioch (13:13–41)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, April 27, 2025

Billy Graham has preached the Gospel to more people in live audiences than anyone else in history—over 210 million people in more than 185 countries and territories. Hundreds of millions more have heard the message of Christ through television, video, film, and webcasts.

I’ve been inspired by reading Billy Graham’s autobiography, Just As I Am.  In 1953 Graham was doing a series of evangelistic meetings in the Dallas Cotton Bowl.  In his own words, he recalls:

“One night my preaching did not seem to have spiritual depth or power, although a number of people did come forward at the Invitation.  After the meeting, John [Bolten, who was a close and trusted friend of Graham’s] and I took a walk together, and he confronted me.

“Billy,’ he said, ‘you didn’t speak about the Cross.  How can anyone be converted without having at least one single view of the Cross where the Lord died for us?  You must preach about the Cross, Billy.  You must preach about the blood that was shed for us there.  There is no other place in the Bible where there is greater power than when we talk or preach about the Cross.” 

Graham writes, “At first I resisted his rebuke.  The Cross and its meaning were more often than not, a part of my sermons.  But that night I could not sleep, and before morning came I knew he was right.  I made a commitment never to preach again without being sure that the Gospel was as complete and clear as possible, centering on Christ’s sacrificial death for our sins on the Cross and His resurrection from the dead for our salvation.”

That commitment to constantly preaching the cross did two things for Billy Graham: it brought him constant criticism from so-called intellectuals, and it resulted in revival and conversions wherever he went.

During Graham’s life he had to wrestle from time to time with feelings of inadequacy. In addition to the criticism he faced, he sometimes felt insufficient to preach at campuses such as Princeton and other prestigious universities since he did not have an advanced degree and had never been to Seminary.^[1]

So, Billy Graham had to be convicted of preaching the cross. Today, let’s look at a passage when the Apostle Paul preaches a sermon, and let’s break it down because we will see that he preaches the whole Gospel. Paul does not budge on anything. Paul does preach the cross. Paul preaches the death, burial, and the resurrection. Paul also challenges the people to an application.

I have often taught the following gospel acronym. We see this acronym in Paul’s preaching:

God created us to be with him (Gen. 1-2).

Our sin separated us from God (Gen. 3).

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen. 4-Mal 4).

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again (Matt. – Luke).

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life (John – Jude).

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever (Rev. 22:5).

My theme today is that the whole Gospel is critical.

1. In verses 13-25, Paul begins with the foundation.
   1. I am not going to read the whole passage, but instead I will summarize and read key verses.
   2. This is not to say that we always must begin with the Old Testament. But when declaring the Gospel, we must be wary of taking shortcuts and not giving someone the whole Gospel.
   3. Now, if you have been following along in my sermons on Acts, this sounds familiar. Stephen preached a similar sermon in Acts 7. They all preached the whole Gospel.
   4. Verses 17-25 are Old Testament history. In verse 17, we see that God chose. Later, we see that God found David in verse 22.
   5. We see an emphasis on God as sovereign.
   6. The Old Testament is the foundation for our faith. This does not mean that we must read through the Old Testament every day, but we should not neglect it.
   7. In sharing the Gospel, this is simple: God created us to be with Him. Yet, our sins separated us from God and sins cannot be removed by good works.
   8. Paul moves from the Old Testament to Jesus.
   9. Acts 13:23–25 (ESV)
   10. ²³ Of this man’s offspring God has brought to Israel a Savior, Jesus, as he promised. ²⁴ Before his coming, John had proclaimed a baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. ²⁵ And as John was finishing his course, he said, ‘What do you suppose that I am? I am not he. No, but behold, after me one is coming, the sandals of whose feet I am not worthy to untie.’
   11. In sharing the Gospel, this is the next part of the G.O.S.P.E.L. acronym: Paying the price of our sin, Jesus died and rose again.
2. In verses 26-41, we see the emphasis on the death, burial, resurrection, and application.
   1. In verse 26 Paul addresses the people again as Fellow children of Abraham and you God-fearing Gentiles. He is readdressing them.
   2. Acts 13:27–31 (ESV)
   3. ²⁷ For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. ²⁸ And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. ²⁹ And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. ³⁰ But God raised him from the dead, ³¹ and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people.
   4. In a powerful way, the next few verses connect Jesus with Old Testament prophesy.
   5. I mentioned Billy Graham and the cross.
   6. Paul says that Jesus was executed without proper grounds for a sentence (verse 28).
   7. Paul tells them of the burial and the resurrection (verses 28-30 and 33-34).
   8. Paul emphasizes forgiveness of sins (verse 38).
   9. Notice that Paul does not leave out sin (verse 38).
   10. Notice that Paul boldly preached when given the opportunity; he stood up and spoke.
3.  Applications:
   1. I already gave some applications, but let’s give a few more.
   2. 1 Peter 3:15 says to always be ready to give an answer of the hope that is within us.
   3. Notice the sovereignty of God in all things. God directed things throughout the Old Testament to lead to Jesus. God was, and is, in control.
   4. This reminds us that God is faithful, we can trust Him.
   5. We may see things in our life, things that we question, but we can know that God is faithful. We may not know how, but we can trust God is in control and God is taking care of things according to His divine plan.
   6. God can redeem hardships, and struggles.
   7. Romans 8:28: And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
   8. If you love God, and you are following God, God works things together for good. You will still have those hardships, but He is working in them for good.
   9. Remember Romans 8:31: What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
   10. We see in this passage how Paul preached the Gospel, we must also preach the Gospel. However, in the gospel narrative that Paul shares we see this emphasis on God’s sovereignty, we see how God is in control. We see that thread come through. So, that is an indirect application to remember God is in control. Never forget that.
   11. God is in control, and He permits or causes all things. However, He is with us in everything.
   12. Piper talks about sustaining grace, here is an example:
   13. In 1996, my wife was driving from Minneapolis to Atlanta, which is about 1,000 miles, and she had our two sons and our baby daughter. Abraham was 16. Barnabas was 12. Talitha was one, and I was not with them. On a Saturday night, the car broke down, and it was the radiator. They were one hour south of Indianapolis in Indiana in the middle of nowhere.
   14. So Noël is without her husband, the 16 year old isn’t driving, and she has a baby and a 12 year old with her. She pulled off on the side of the road because it was Saturday and nothing was open, and now what is she going to do? A man pulled up behind her, who happened to be a farmer, and she said to him, “I don’t know what’s wrong. There’s no water pressure or anything. It’s overheating. We’ll have to have a motel and see if we can find a place Monday morning to get it fixed.”
   15. Then he said, “Well, you could stay at our house if you’d like, my wife and I.” Now, that puts my wife in a really awkward position, right? He could tell she was hesitant, so he said, “You know, the Lord says that when we do something to somebody else, it’s like doing it to him,” which gave her some hope. And she said, “Well, could we go to church with you tomorrow morning?” to kind of test him out. And he said, “Can you stand a Baptist church?” not knowing he was talking to a Baptist pastor’s wife. So they agreed and they piled into his car and headed to his farm.
   16. Now, it turns out, this man was a retired aviation mechanic. He drove early Monday morning to Indianapolis and got a new radiator and put it in with his own hands before noon. And then they were on their way. They went to church together, and the icing on the cake was that my 12 year-old son, Barnabas, who is the only fisherman of all my four sons, pulled his fishing rod out of the car on the farm, found a pond, threw it in, and caught a 19-inch catfish. That made his summer. This was the best detour we’ve ever had.
   17. Of course, if God can arrange for there to be a farmer who’s a retired mechanic, who is generous, who’s a Baptist, who has a pond with a 19-inch catfish arranged to bite onto a 12 year old’s worm, he could have spared the radiator. It’s a piece of cake for him. There’s just not the least difficulty for God to spare my wife that trouble. But sustaining grace is not grace to bar what is not bliss, nor flight from all distress, but this: The grace that orders our trouble and pain, and then, in the darkness, is there to sustain.[2]
   18. So, please notice the sovereignty of God. Be encouraged by that.
   19. Lastly, let’s come back to the idea of sharing the gospel.
   20. Paul does give them the next two steps from our gospel acronym:
   21. Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life (John – Jude).
   22. Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever (Revelation 22:5).

We must go and do likewise.

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him (Gen. 1-2).

Our sin separated us from God (Gen. 3).

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen. 4-Mal 4).

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again (Matt. – Luke).

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life (John – Jude).

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever (Rev. 22:5).

Pray

^[1] – See more at: http://claypeck.com/articles/there-is-power-in-the-cross-clay-peck/#sthash.2Tru0c65.dpuf

[2] Piper message published on June 29, 2006 on Desiring God. Accessed on 04.21.2025: https://www.desiringgod.org/messages/will-we-last

Resurrection Sunday: The Curse Is Reversed (Gen. 3; John 20:1-16; Rev. 21)

Prepared and preached for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH, on Sunday, April 20, 2025

Tim Keller writes:

Edgar Alan Poe’s most famous literary production, The Raven, is a very strange poem. It’s about a man who is bereaved and away because he’s broken up with a girl, a woman named Lenore, and he’s trying to figure out, “Can I get her back? Do I have to move on? Will I ever be happy again?” And this raven comes in and sits on the bus [my source said “bus” but it is “bust of Pallas just above my chamber door… Pallas is a symbol of wisdom and reason. ] and keeps saying one word over and over again. You remember what the word is? Nevermore. And you know what that is? That is getting across with frightening pithiness what life is about, at least what it seems to be about, and that is the irreversibility of life. When things are gone, they’re gone and it’s seemingly irretrievable. When you’re young and then you get old, your youth seemingly is gone forever. When people die, they are irretrievable.[1]

Is that true?

From the Christian worldview, that is not true. The resurrection gives us hope that this world is not the end.

My theme is:

Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection reverses the curse. Reversing the curse gives us fullness of life and life that is everlasting.

1. Why death? Let’s look at the first garden, the Garden of Eden.
   1. I will summarize much of this passage, but the first garden was the Garden of Eden.
   2. God created man and woman and placed them in the Garden of Eden. He placed man in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:8, 15), and then He created woman (Gen. 2:21-23).
   3. Adam and Eve were in paradise. They were told they could eat of any tree, but not the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. If they eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil they will die (Gen. 2:17).
   4. Sometime later, the devil disguised as a serpent (Gen. 3; Rev. 12) tempted Eve and then Adam to take and eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
   5. This brought death, disease, and separation.
   6. The rest of Genesis 3 shares that the ground is now cursed (Gen. 3:17-18). It will be harder to work. The world is cursed. They will die.
   7. Genesis 3:19 (ESV)
   8. By the sweat of your face, you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”
   9. The first garden was paradise, but with the curse means they were cast out of the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:22-24). They could no longer take from the tree of life, which would allow them to live forever.
   10. This brought on the fallen, depraved state.
2. Let’s look at the second garden.
   1. The second garden is a cemetery.
   2. John 20:1: Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark, and saw that the stone had been taken away from the tomb.
   3. Jesus has been crucified; the disciples are in mourning. But they do not realize that Jesus cannot be kept down.
   4. Mary Magdalene comes to the tomb to see Jesus.
   5. She was the first to go to the tomb, and she saw the stone rolled away.
   6. John 20:2: So she ran and went to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid him.”
   7. Mary did the logical thing; she went to Peter and John. This is likely John; when we read, “The disciple whom Jesus loved,” we believe it is John. She runs to Peter and John. She was in a hurry.
   8. John 20:3-4: So Peter went out with the other disciple, and they were going toward the tomb. Both of them were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first.
   9. Peter and John ran to the tomb, but John ran faster.
   10. John 20:5–10 (ESV) ⁵ And stooping to look in, he saw the linen cloths lying there, but he did not go in. ⁶ Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb. He saw the linen cloths lying there, ⁷ and the face cloth, which had been on Jesus’ head, not lying with the linen cloths but folded up in a place by itself. ⁸ Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in, and he saw and believed; ⁹ for as yet they did not understand the Scripture, that he must rise from the dead. ¹⁰ Then the disciples went back to their homes.
   11. They get to the tomb and see the tomb empty.
   12. John saw and believed.
   13. Verse 9: They had not understood the Scriptures that He must rise from the dead.
   14. Now, why did I say that this was a garden?
   15. John 20:11–16 (ESV)
   16. ¹¹ But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb, and as she wept she stooped to look into the tomb. ¹² And she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had lain, one at the head and one at the feet. ¹³ They said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid him.” ¹⁴ Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. ¹⁵ Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.” ¹⁶ Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means Teacher).
   17. She thought Jesus was the gardener.
   18. It is possible that she was so distraught, so overcome with grief, that she did not recognize Him.
   19. Remember the last time she saw Jesus, He was beaten and crucified.
   20. So, the first garden brought death. This second garden brings everlasting life. Why? In the second garden, we see that Jesus has been resurrected.
   21. She is seeing the resurrected Jesus.
   22. She sees that through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, the curse is reversed.
3. The third garden leads to the final city.
   1. The final city is in Revelation 21 and 22. This is the New Jerusalem.
   2. In the Garden of Eden, there were many trees, but two were specified. One was the Tree of Life (Gen. 2:9), and the other was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Gen. 2:9).
   3. They were not to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil because that would bring death.
   4. They were to eat from the Tree of Life, which would give life (Gen. 3:22).
   5. Ever since they sinned in Genesis 3, we have not had access to the Tree of Life, but in the final city, we will have access. In the final city, the Tree of Life will be on both sides of the River of Life (Rev. 22:2).
   6. Because of the second garden, because Jesus died in our place and rose again, we have abundant life now and eternal life later.
   7. Because Jesus rose again, the curse was reversed.
   8. Sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3).
   9. God is holy. He is set apart, perfect. Ps. 66:18: If we withhold sin in our heart, the Lord will not hear our prayer. Hab. 1:13: God is too pure to behold iniquity.
   10. The Bible even says that we have separated God from ourselves because we have sinned (Isaiah 59:2).
   11. The Bible says that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
   12. The Bible says that the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23).
   13. The Bible teaches that sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). The Bible says that God will not let the guilty go unpunished (2 Thess. 1:8-9).
   14. Yet, the Bible teaches that God loves the people of the world (John 3:16), Which is a dilemma.
   15. God can’t tell a lie, or He wouldn’t be God (Numbers 23:19).
   16. God doesn’t change His mind (1 Sam. 15:29).
   17. That is why God sent Jesus. The guilty must be punished. Jesus took our punishment on the cross. The penalty for sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus, who is the way, the truth, and the life.
   18. God is holy, so we need a way to take care of our sins.
   19. Throughout the Old Testament, bulls and goats were sacrificed, but they were just types. They could never bring salvation, but instead, they pointed to the day when God would come in the flesh, live the life we could not live, die the death we could not die, and rise again.
   20. Jesus did that.
   21. Jesus lived a sinless life.
   22. Jesus took the wrath of God in our place.
   23. Jesus rose again.
   24. Why?
   25. God is holy and cannot tolerate sin. Jesus took our sins upon Himself.
4. 1. Tim Keller: The illustration of a friend of mine comes from the movie The Sixth Sense. Okay, you can only see that movie twice, actually, because the first time you see it and then you get to the end and you find out, “Oh my goodness, there’s this big shocking ending.” The second time you see it you can’t possibly see any part of the earlier passages of the movie without thinking about the end. Right? I don’t want to spoil it for you but Bruce Willis is dead, which is sort of the opposite of the gospel, isn’t it? The Sixth Senseis sort of the anti-gospel, you know. You get to the end, the hero’s dead. But at the end of this gospel, the hero is alive. I’ll take this gospel. But my point is once you know the ending you go to the earlier scenes of the movie and you say, “Ah, here’s Bruce Willis and here’s a woman, they’re in the same room, and the first time I thought they were talking to each other, now I realize she doesn’t really look at him.” And you can’t not look at every scene in light of the ending. It’s impossible.
   2. John Piper says the same thing: You can’t not—when you know how the story ends—look at that particular passage and say, “But wait a minute, Jesus is the ultimate example of that, whether or not the actual author at that moment was trying to get across a Messianic prophecy or not.” You can’t help it.[2]
   3. People today think like The Lion King, you become part of the fertilizer and out of that come plants that other living things eat. You become part of the world, there’s no reason to be afraid of death.[3]
   4. This is not true.
   5. The resurrection shows the curse is reversed. Jesus gives fulness of life and life eternal. Applications

What Edgar Allen Poe wrote is incorrect. We will get it back. Because of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, we will have life everlasting. Jesus gifts us with the fullness of life now and life everlasting.

Jesus is going to make all things new.

Further, no one is too far gone for the Lord. There is always hope. In the gospel accounts, the battle-hardened Centurian says, “This was the Son of God” (Matt. 27:54). Later, we see the Apostle Paul saved (Acts 9).

No one is too far gone.

God is going to make all things new. He is going to restore all things. Be encouraged! The resurrection gives us hope.

What does this mean?

If you have lost loved ones who knew Christ, you will see them again. They will not be in a disembodied state. No, we will have an embodied, physical, eternal existence.

What about suffering now? God knows what we go through, and He is preparing is to reign with Him (2 Tim. 2:12).

If you have lost babies whom you have never met, you will meet them in heaven.

If you have had children or grandchildren with special needs, they will be restored in Heaven. They will be able to talk, and walk, and run, and understand and so much more!

If you are dealing with a disability, you will be restored in heaven.

If you are dealing with pain, or having trouble walking, or with sight, or hearing, you will be restored in heaven.

God is going to get rid of cancer. God is going to get rid of Alzheimer’s. God is going to get rid of sickness. God will get rid of special needs, everyone will be special, and there will not be any needs. God is going to get rid of aging. God will get rid of viruses, infections, parasites, and poisons. God is going to get rid of death. God is going to get rid of sin. There will no longer be hate. There will no longer be murder, or violence, or any other sin.

Everything will be made new. Everything will be restored. We will be reunited.

Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection reverses the curse. Reversing the curse gives us the fullness of life and life that is everlasting.

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Confess, Believe, trust, commit: Firmly make the decision to be with Him in order to become like Him and to learn and do all that He says and then arrange your affairs around Him.

Prayer

[1] Keller, Tim. Article on Preaching Today, accessed on 03.17.2025. https://www.preachingtoday.com/preaching-guides/preaching-on-easter/jesus-vindicated.html

[2] Keller, Tim. Article on Preaching Today. Accessed on 03.17.2025. https://www.preachingtoday.com/preaching-guides/preaching-on-easter/jesus-vindicated.html

[3] Keller, Tim. Article on Preaching Today. Accessed on 03.17.2025. https://www.preachingtoday.com/preaching-guides/preaching-on-easter/jesus-vindicated.html

[4] Keller, Tim. Article on Preaching Today. Accessed on 03.17.2025. https://www.preachingtoday.com/preaching-guides/preaching-on-easter/jesus-vindicated.html

Patient Endurance, Waiting for Jesus (Ezekiel 10; Zech. 9:9-10; Mark 11:1-11)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, April 13, 2025

Timothy Keller writes:

In The Lord of the Rings, the trilogy. The little hero is a remarkable Christ figure because he has a burden, and the burden is he has to go right into the heart of the realm of the evil lord and take his ring of power and throw it into the mountain of fire and destroy it.

In order to go toward that evil and go toward that terrible doom, he feels it in front of him all the time. At one point, the narrative says just like a man, if you close your eyes you can always tell which direction the sun is because you feel it beating on you, he felt his doom beating upon him. It became a wheel of fire. When he even closed his eyes, he saw the ring, the doom.

Now this is Jesus. Jesus is always thinking about his death, and he’s always thinking about us. He always has it on his heart. Do you know the place in John 17 where he says to his Father, “And for their sakes I sanctify myself …”? Do you know what that means? To sanctify means to totally devote yourself to something. It means, “I have excluded everything else. I am living for them. Everything about me, all of my powers, all of my privilege, everything, is completely dedicated and devoted to living for them.”^[1]

Today is Palm Sunday. Today, we celebrate Jesus entering Jerusalem, and the people were ready for a King. The crowd hailed Him King. They cried out:

³⁸ saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38 (ESV))

Or, as Mark’s Gospel reads:

Mark 11:9–10 (ESV)

⁹ And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! ¹⁰ Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!”

Today’s theme is “patient endurance.” That theme fits Jesus’s triumphal entry. Throughout the Old Testament, the people were waiting for a King. They were waiting. They were enduring. Jesus came, entered Jerusalem, was beaten, crucified, and rose again. He will come again.

1. In the Old Testament, they were waiting for a Savior.
   1. D. Greear shares:
   2. Ezekiel 10 records that Ezekiel saw the light of God’s presence leave the temple, hesitate at the threshold, depart from Jerusalem by way of the east gate, ascend up the Mount of Olives and into heaven—seemingly forever. And years later, when Jesus makes his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, he takes the most unusual route. Matthew tells us that Jesus first ascended the Mount of Olives, then rode a donkey down into Jerusalem, where he entered by the east gate. The first place he went? The temple. He was reversing Ezekiel 10.[2]
   3. Wow! That is a different way of thinking of this.
   4. This procession of Jesus into Jerusalem was a fulfillment of an Old Testament prophesy.
   5. Let’s go back in time and talk about the passage prophesying Jesus’ procession.
   6. Now, let’s read Zechariah 9:9-10: Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion!
      Shout, Daughter Jerusalem!
      See, your king comes to you,
      righteous and victorious,
      lowly and riding on a donkey,
      on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
      ¹⁰ I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
      and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
      and the battle bow will be broken.
      He will proclaim peace to the nations.
      His rule will extend from sea to sea
      and from the River to the ends of the earth.
   7. Notice this passage prophesies that the King will come and the King has come. We see this in verse 9 and we see it’s fulfillment in Matthew 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-10; John 12:12-13; Luke 19:29-38
   8. Why is this?
   9. They needed a Savior.
   10. All through the Old Testament they sacrificed animals and these were types pointing to Jesus. Jesus was the antitype. That means He was the fulfillment of the types and the prophesies. animals could never ultimately take away sins. But Jesus sacrificed Himself for us.
   11. Jesus entered Jerusalem to take our place on the cross.
   12. The passage says, “Rejoice.” The passage says to “rejoice greatly.”
   13. Why? Your King is coming to you.
   14. Now, that is something to be excited about, right?
   15. The passage says that the King will come humble and riding on a donkey.
   16. Now, that is something to motivate the troops.
   17. Early in Israel’s history, very early, it was respectable to ride around on a donkey. But by Solomon’s time, it wasn’t. See, Solomon brought into Israel horses. He had literally…some say 30,000 horses in his private group of horses. He introduced the horse. And from that time on, nobles and soldiers and important people rode horses and the donkey lost its dignity. You were really admitting your poverty by putting around on a donkey.
   18. But the passage acknowledges Jesus’s humility.
   19. Could we miss King Jesus because He came in humility?
   20. I think we certainly could.
   21. Now, let’s jump to Mark 11. We read parts of the passage earlier, so we will not read them again.
2. Jesus came.
   1. Jesus came.
   2. Jesus lived some 33 years, and He never sinned. His whole life He was going to the cross.
   3. Simultaneously, His whole life, the people were patiently enduring, waiting, for a Savior.
   4. Then, Jesus entered Jerusalem.
   5. We can notice that in the first few verses Jesus’ disciples obeyed Him and went and got a colt.
   6. Before we get there, it is important to note that in this Gospel Jesus’s Divinity is called a “Messianic secret.” Jesus would tell them not to tell anyone. An example of this is Mark 8:29-30. Peter had confessed Jesus as the Messiah, and Jesus told him not to tell anyone about this (Mark 1:43-45 is another example.).
   7. However, in this case Jesus allows people to worship Him. In this case He allows Himself to be known as King.
3. In verses 8-11, Jesus now makes His entrance.
   1. But He is going to enter riding on a donkey. He is fulfilling the prophesy that we talked about.
   2. Mark doesn’t really tell us why this happened, but Matthew does.  Matthew 21:4: “This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet.” What prophet? Zachariah, 500 years before Zachariah 9:9, Zachariah said, “Say to the daughter of Zion, ‘Behold your king is coming to you gentle and mounted on a donkey, not even a donkey but even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden…the foal of a donkey.’”[3]
   3. Now, they put coats on the donkey for Jesus to sit on and then they put coats and leafy or palm branches on the road. Spreading coats under a person was recognition of royalty.
   4. Now, this happens during Passover and Jewish hopes of a Savior ran high, so Rome, not wanting any trouble, had extra soldiers around.
   5. People in front and all around Jesus were shouting: “Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord; blessed is the coming Kingdom of our father David; Hosanna in the highest!” This comes from Psalm 118:26. Hosanna is Hebrew and means “save us.”
   6. Jesus entered Jerusalem, knowing that He was going to the cross. His eyes were on the cross.

• Jesus is coming again.
  1. In Zech. 9:10, this passage prophesies judgment, this is still to come.
  2. Jesus is coming as the judge. Verse 10: I will take away the chariots from Ephraim
     and the warhorses from Jerusalem,
     and the battle bow will be broken.
     He will proclaim peace to the nations.
     His rule will extend from sea to sea
     and from the River to the ends of the earth.
  3. If you turn to Revelation 14:14, it says: I looked, and there before me was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like a son of man with a crown of gold on his head and a sharp sickle in his hand.
  4. This is about Jesus coming as judge. We see this also in: Luke 21:27; Phil. 2:9-11.
  5. See also 2 Peter 3:9-10: The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. ¹⁰ But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
  6. Verses 9-10 of Zechariah are double prophecies. They were fulfilled in Jesus entering Jerusalem on a donkey, but they will be fulfilled again when Jesus comes again as judge and literal King.
  7. We could even look at Zechariah 9:1-10 as a triple prophecy since Alexander the Great fulfilled part of the passage.

Keller:

When Jesus entered Jerusalem, they were yearning for a Savior. We are still yearning for a Savior. We need a Savior. They were patiently enduring waiting for a Savior. We are patiently enduring waiting for a Savior.

C.S. Lewis says, in several places, “We want something else which can hardly be put into words. That is why, in the oldest stories, we have peopled the air and the earth and the water with nymphs and elves. That is why our lifelong longing to be reunited with something in the universe from which we feel cut off is no mere neurotic fantasy, but the truest index of our real situation. For if we take the Scripture seriously, God will one day give us the morning star. The trees and the hills will sing with us [Ps. 96; Isa. 55], and so the ancient myths and poetry, so false as history, may be truth as prophecy.”

The Messiah is going to bring this! The Messiah is going to bring back the glory of God. The Messiah is going to be the ultimate priest. He’s going to be the temple. He’s going to mediate the presence of God. It’s going to surround us. We’re going to be healed![4]

Let’s worship Jesus. Let’s patiently endure waiting for Him to come again!

^[1] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

[2] J. D. Greear. Blog. 12.10.2024

https://jdgreear.com/the-only-light-that-reveals-and-heals/

[3] https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/41-56/the-false-coronation-of-the-true-king

[4] Timothy J. Keller, The Timothy Keller Sermon Archive (New York City: Redeemer Presbyterian Church, 2013).

[5] Adapted from Jean Fleming, Pursue the Intentional Life (NavPress, 2013), page 44

Prayer Like Jesus, He Prays for Us (John 17)

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, April 6, 2025

Do we pray for others? Do we pray for others in front of others? These two Sundays, before Palm Sunday, we are focusing on praying like Jesus.

Today, notice that Jesus prayed for Himself, yes, but mostly for us.

Jesus’ prayer showed us His heart.

John 17:1–5 (ESV)

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, ² since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ³ And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴ I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

1. In verses 1-5 of this prayer, we can see that Jesus prays for Himself.
   1. Let’s put this in context.
   2. Jesus is sitting with the disciples at the Last Supper. He is about to go to the cross. Jesus had plenty to think about. He could have been nervous or anxious. We know from other accounts that He was in agony and burdened by what He was about to face. Yet, Jesus took time with the disciples and took time to pray.
   3. I don’t see Jesus beginning the prayer in a customary fashion. He doesn’t say, “Let’s pray.” He just starts His prayer with “Father…”
   4. The Scripture tells us that He looked towards Heaven. He may not have literally looked up. This could be the Gospel writer’s way of saying that Jesus was praying.
   5. Jesus prays like a high priest:
   6. A high priest would pray before the sacrifice, and he would pray in 3 concentric circles:
   7. Himself and ministry;
   8. Family and consecration;
   9. All the people of God would be blessed and pardoned through the sacrifice he brings.[1]
   10. Jesus says the hour has come. Jesus means that it is just about time for His arrest and crucifixion.
   11. The time of Jesus’ teaching with the disciples is just about complete. What last message does He have for them?
   12. Is it about building a church? Is it about sermon preparation??? No
   13. He prays for them. He lets them hear His prayer for Himself. He lets them hear His prayer for us today.
   14. In the first few verses we are able to overhear a conversation between the Son to the Father. Jesus, in humble submission, gives all credit to the Father. Jesus is focused on eternal life. In verse 5, Jesus is able to talk about a time in the long past when He had glory with the Father before the world was created.
   15. What can we apply from these first few verses? We can take many things from this, but something that I see is:
   16. Jesus cared about the disciples (and us) so much that He let them in on a personal conversation between Him and the Father.
   17. In John 15:15, Jesus said that He calls the disciples friends because He tells them what the Father tells Him. Jesus is showing the disciples that He meant this. Jesus shares His heart and passions with the disciples. They are not servants.

John 17:6–19 (ESV)

⁶ “I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. ⁸ For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. ⁹ I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. ¹⁰ All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. ¹¹ And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. ¹² While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. ¹³ But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. ¹⁴ I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁵ I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. ¹⁶ They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. ¹⁷ Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. ¹⁸ As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. ¹⁹ And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.

• Prayer for the disciples.
  1. In verses 6-19 the prayer is totally for the disciples.
  2. Jesus cared so much that He left them hearing His deepest desire for them. But more than that, Jesus gave these desires to God the Father, who can do something about them. Jesus knew and modeled a life of prayer, and now He allows the disciples to hear and experience His prayer life.
  3. Starting in verse 11, we can overhear some heartfelt request: I am not in the world but they are:
  4. Keep them in Your Name. Name means character.
  5. Let them be One as we (the Trinity) are One.
  6. Jesus compares the disciples oneness to the oneness in the Trinity.
  7. Verse 12 shares that Jesus guarded the disciples while He was with them.
  8. Jesus has just asked for God to keep the disciples united in the Father’s character, and now He talks about how He guarded them when He was with them. I think Jesus is asking the Father to guard them.
  9. The guard idea gives an idea of a watchman who stands on a city wall watching for invaders.
  10. Review, Jesus is about to leave them, He prays that God, the Father will keep them in His character, He prays that God, the Father will keep them One, He prays that God, the Father will guard them as a watchman.
  11. In verse 13, Jesus prays that the disciples have His joy.
  12. I don’t know of one verse where Jesus just starts complaining! Jesus had joy.
  13. In verse 15, Jesus asks that God keep the disciples from the evil one.
  14. 6:9-13 has the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray, and Jesus teaches us to pray, “deliver us from evil.”
  15. In verse 16, Jesus compares the disciples with Himself (twice now, Jesus compared the disciples with Himself). He says, “they are not of this world as I am not of this world.”
  16. That must be very encouraging to hear Him say. The disciples greatly respected Jesus, and they heard them compare them to Him. They must be like “Yes, we are on the same team.”
  17. Do you know someone who you have always looked up to and would count it an honor if you were compared with them?
  18. Growing up, I always respected my dad and was honored and excited anytime someone said that I was like my dad in any way.
  19. Here Jesus compares the disciples to Him.
  20. Jesus asks the Father to sanctify them in God’s Word, which is truth.
  21. In verse 19 Jesus will say that He has sanctified Himself for their sakes.
  22. Jesus cared that much. He set Himself apart, apart for the Father’s mission for us.

John 17:20–26 (ESV)

²⁰ “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, ²¹ that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, ²³ I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. ²⁴ Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ²⁵ O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

• Starting in verse 20, Jesus prays for the future disciples. Jesus prays for us.

1. Again in verse 21 Jesus prays that we all will be one.
2. Eugene Peterson: “If we stay in the room with Jesus as He prays for us, we will acquire a readiness to embrace all the baptized as brothers and sisters. It may be slow in coming, but Jesus’ prayer will have its way with us. We will no longer define other Christians as competitors or rivals. Jesus doesn’t evaluate or grade His followers as He prays. He does not lay out plans to settle the controversies that he knows will arise. He is praying us into easy camaraderie. The longer we stay in Jesus’ praying presence the more we will understand that our impulses toward schism and sectarianism, our rivalries and denunciations, have no place in the room while Jesus is praying for “us to be one.” (page 225)
3. Jesus compares us to the Trinity. That the church can have the oneness that the Trinity has.
4. Jesus even adds to this by describing the oneness of the Trinity.
5. Verses 22-23 expand the oneness idea. Jesus wanted the church to be one. Jesus, once again, compares this to the oneness of the Trinity.
6. In verses 25-26, Jesus again invites us into the personal conversation between Him and the Father.

Close:

Robert Murray McCheyne writes:

If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies. Yet distance makes no difference. He is praying for me.^[1]

^[1] [Charles R. Swindoll, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart and 1501 Other Stories (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2016), 455.]

Sometimes a prayer is also a message. This is true because a prayer includes a request, and you can hear the heart of the person saying the prayer. Jesus’ prayer gives us a message. Jesus tells us to be one. That is our challenge as a body of Christ, we must be united.  Jesus tells us that we are not of the world. But more than anything else, I think Jesus tells us that He cares so much for us that in His last moments before death, He prays for the disciple’s current and future. He says this prayer in front of them.

Do you pray in front of people? Do you pray for people in front of people? What about your children? Do you pray for them in front of them? It is humbling and meaningful to show that you care for someone so much to pray for them.

You may be thinking, “That is arrogant! I’ll pray for others in private.” Well, it would be arrogant if you simply wanted them to know that you are praying for them. But in this type of prayer, you can talk to God the Father and your loved one at the same time. Your motivation is not to say, “Look at me, I pray!” Your motivation is to reveal your concerns and requests for this person to God and to the person at the same time. That is what Jesus did. Jesus cared so much that He prayed.

Encouragement: Jesus prays for us— wow!!!

Conviction: we must pray for others.

Prayer

[1] Sinclair Ferguson; Renewing Your Mind; 07.23.2021