Jump Start # 2428

Luke 13:4 “Or do you suppose that those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, were worse culprits than all the men who live in Jerusalem?”

This week we remembered and took notice of a somber, tragic and devastating event in this country’s recent history, 9-11. There has never been such an attack upon civilians on our soil before. Things changed after that. And, still, all these years later, the “why’s” keep crossing our minds. Our verse today, is the second tragic event that is reported in this chapter. The chapter begins, like a news flash, in which some report to Jesus about Pilate killing some Galileans. The text said Pilate mingled their blood with the sacrifices. In many ways this is a 9-11 event of the first century. It sounds like a terrorist attack. It sounds like a shooting in a church service.

Our verse, comes from Jesus. He told them about another tragic event. A tower fell. Eighteen people were killed.

Our nightly news is filled with reports of shootings, fatal car accidents, hurricanes off the coast, fires, and disasters. Had these verses not been recorded in our Bibles, we wouldn’t even know about them. History is filled with tragic stories of wars, crime, and disasters. Space shuttles blow up. Titanics sink. Tall buildings are attacked and collapse.

With both of these first century events, Jesus follows with a question and His own answer. When the news came about the executed Galileans, Jesus said, “do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans?” In other words, what happened was not a result of Pilate’s hatred, but God’s judgment? Is that what you are thinking? Were they killed because God punished them? That’s the thought behind the Lord’s question. Something bad happens and immediately the thought is “God did this.” The Lord answered His own question. Were the murdered Galileans greater sinners than other Galileans? No. If God were to punish sinful Galileans that day, all of them would die.

In our verse, about the falling tower, Jesus asks, and then answers, “were they worse culprits than all the other men who live in Jerusalem?” He again answers His own question. No. No they were not. They did not die because of the wrath of God.

Now, some thoughts from this.

First, it’s easy to want to sit in God’s chair and declare that certain people got what they deserved. One must be extremely careful about that. The throne of Heaven is only large enough for God to sit on, and not you and I. Before every funeral begins, we’ve already made up our minds about the deceased. We have them either in Heaven or Hell. Let God be God. We have a hard enough time running our own lives. We can’t and shouldn’t try to run the universe. Jesus asked in both stories, about the moral condition of those who died. He didn’t say anything about why the tower fell. Was it a foundation problem? Poor engineering? Bad storms? Too many people in the tower at once? Who knows. He asked if they were worse culprits than the others. With the murdered Galileans, Jesus asked if they were worse sinners than others. Both of these questions drive at the moral and spiritual condition of these people. They were not worse than any other. They died not because Heaven was against them.

Second, bad things and accidents happen. Pilate killing the Galileans was a strike of Rome against the Jews. It was political. It came about from orders from the top, Pilate. The tower fell. I don’t think we ought to read into this that Rome pulled it down or that it was similar in anyway to Pilate’s attack. But in both events people died. Things break. Things wear out. Accidents happen. Tragic events are the result of twisted minds and evil hearts. Why are there so many shootings? Some want to blame guns. Guns don’t shoot unless someone pulls the trigger. It’s the wicked heart that is aiming the gun at others and pulling the trigger. Pilate was to blame in the first tragic event. Maybe no one was to blame for the tower. God allowed both of those events to happen. This troubles some. If God is good, why would He allow eighteen people to be killed from a falling tower? Why didn’t He stop it? And, this is enough for some to walk away and give up on God. There is no God some say because towers fall and people die. People fail to realize that this isn’t Heaven. Since the forbidden fruit was eaten, Paradise was lost. There is death. There is suffering. The world is broken. Free will and sin has changed things.

Third, there are many tears and questions behind those tragic events in Luke. Eighteen people died when the tower fell. Eighteen funerals. Eighteen families forever changed. Eighteen families that weren’t expecting this to happen. And, Pilate’s execution of the Galileans would make one nervous about going to worship. Where is anyone safe? Hasn’t those same questions crossed our minds? Shootings in schools. Shootings in movie theatres. Shootings in church buildings. Shootings in malls and stores. Where is it safe? With these tragic events comes many, many questions. Why did this happen? Why me? Why now? And, often, there are no satisfying answers to our questions. Solomon said, “Time and chance happen to man.” What Jesus was showing with those questions that He answered, is that these people didn’t do anything wrong to bring this on. Being in the wrong place is something that just happens.

Fourth, life is fragile. A tower fell and eighteen people died. Just like that, their lives were over. We are not cats with nine lives. We are not Superman. It doesn’t take much for a life to end. Being careless, dumb and risk takers often invites death and often death catches that person. David, in the O.T., told Jonathan, “there is but a step between me and death.” That is true for all of us.

Finally, what the Lord did with these two tragic stories was to tell His audience to “repent.” Both stories, both times, Jesus says, “Unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” Tragic events happen. It’s sad. But what that puts before our minds is, “What if it was me?” “Am I ready?” Repent, or you will perish is what Jesus said. Perish, by a falling tower? Perish by God striking them down? No. Perish from eternal presence of God. Perish by being banished from God forever. Am I ready? Am I ready for this to be my last day? What am I putting off? What more needs to be done? What if this was my last day? Many go off to work, never realizing that they won’t come home that evening. A car accident. An attack. A sudden fatal illness. And, like a tower falling, they are swept into eternity.

Live like you are dying was the name of a great song. Someday it will happen. Live righteously. Rather than thinking about those poor people who died, what about you? They died, but you got to live. Their lives are over, but your life is not. They stopped, but you got to go on. Will you do anything different? Will you be better? Will you walk closer to the Lord?

The nightly news should bring those thoughts to our minds. Murder takes place. Accidents happen. What if it was me? Would I be in a good place? What do I need to do to get there? This is what Jesus did with those tragic events. What do you do with them?

Roger

Jump Start # 2427

Luke 12:48 “But the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging will receive but few. And from everyone who has been given much shall much be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more.”

He carried a name that was found in the Bible. He was actually named after his father and his father was named after his father. Three lines of descendants with the same first name. Not too long ago I stood at his grave. In his day he was a legend and a pioneer among early believers in Southern Indiana. His name appears in many historical books about the early restoration in Indiana. He was among the first to bring pure Christianity to these parts. Generations later, some of his family line still are following the simple N.T. pattern. But sadly, most have never heard of this early preacher. He was fearless in preaching the Gospel of Christ and very instrumental in getting whole congregations to see the need to toss away creeds and man-made rules and simply be Christians.

His name was Absalom, like David’s son in the O.T. Unlike the Biblical rebel prince who tried to steal away the kingdom from his father, this Absalom, my Absalom, tried to build the kingdom of Christ in the hearts of others. Now, 150 years after his death, outside of a handful of historians, the good that he did is pretty much forgotten.

I spent a few minutes looking at his old tombstone. It’s weathered, been knocked down and is leaning against another stone. Everything I’ve read about him says that he was kind in spirit, carried a joyous and happy disposition and was earnest in preaching the pure Gospel of Christ. Great qualities. I wish I could get ahold of one of his sermons, but none have been saved and none have been published. His times were tough. Contemporaries write about panthers, rattle snakes and Indian raids that were a constant danger. Men carried rifles with them everywhere, even to the church house. And, then there was the hard core religious ignorance and stubbornness that he chipped away at in sermon after sermon. These pioneer preachers preached nearly every day of the week. They gave lessons out under a tree. They taught in little log cabin homes. Anywhere there was an audience, they opened God’s word and spoke. Courageous, these early voices of truth, helped pave a spiritual highway that many of us travel down so easily today. We preachers of today do not face near the dangers, the struggles, the hardships that those pioneer preachers did. His work seems forgotten. His name is unknown to most. But to Heaven and to his generation, he made a difference.

And as I looked at that old tombstone, I wondered, if God allows this old world to continue on, if someday some preacher would stand looking at my tombstone and wonder about the work that I have done. And, this brings us to our verse today. A mighty principles set forth by the Lord. To whom much is given, much is required. Only the Lord can make a difference across all generations and for all times. However, you and I must do what we can for this generation. Much has been placed upon our shoulders and we must rise up to the occasion. Too many are so obsessed with themselves that they forget about the mighty work of God that is before us. If we do not do it, who will?

Consider a few thoughts:

Jesus placed the entire future of the kingdom into the hands of those first apostles. They were it. There was no “B-team.” There was no JV’s. If Peter went back to fishing and Matthew back to tax collecting, jobs they knew well and jobs that would not put them in harms way, what would have happened to the kingdom? Instead of going into all the world, suppose they simply went home. To whom much is given, much is required. Those apostles understood their roles. They were not to be worshipped. They were not to be honored. They would want all attention pointing to Jesus. They did what they could do. Aside from the writings of the N.T., most of the work of those apostles is forgotten and unknown. There are stories. There are legends. But in their time, they laid foundations that others built their lives upon.

The kingdom needs you and I to be busy in God’s work. This generation needs us. Our families need us. Our congregations need us. If not us, then who? We need solid churches today that are touching the lives of others. We need churches to be beacons of hope and truth. We need a legacy of leaders who are Biblical, godly and have the heart of servants. We need families that are strong spiritually and are making a difference in the community. Work, schedules, kids, and things of this life pulls us away from what really matters. Time passes and we leave few footprints and we do little good and so little difference is made. When I read about those first pioneer preachers, their work was surrounded by godly men and women who became the backbones of those congregations that were established. It’s those men and women who remained in those congregations as those preachers went out preaching that also made a difference. Lives were changed. A stake for God was planted in those prairie fields, as men and women facing dangers every day, put the kingdom of Christ above all other things.

I can only imagine what those apostles or even those pioneer preachers in young Indiana would have done had they had Facebook, Twitter, videos, emails, and texting at their disposal. Their tools were so primitive, yet they did so much good. To whom much is given, much is required. It’s sad to see so many congregations today sitting on their hands and not using the tools of our times to teach, strengthen and make disciples. We need to be pushing the envelope of technology and find way to get the message out, not just in the neighborhoods around the church building, but around the globe. Today, God’s people need to become global. There are so many powerful ways to help small churches worldwide, without having to fly across the world. We need to lift up our eyes and look upon the fields. You may connect with people who will never visit your congregation, but they are in the kingdom. Your work can help answer questions, provide encouragement and put tools into their hands that can help them in their work. As we near the end of a year and begin thinking about plans for next year, leaders need to consider what we are doing outside the walls of the church building. They need to be asking what are we doing globally? What are we doing beyond sending money to a preacher overseas? Put some thought into that. Put some energy into that. Look at your resources of sermons, class materials and other things that can be of use worldwide.

To whom much is given, much is required. Some day what we have done in our time will be looked at. If not by historians, or brethren, definitely, by the Lord. Have we done all that we could? Have we taken risks to push the borders of the kingdom? Have we made a difference in our times?

Absalom Littell is the name of the pioneer preacher whose grave I stood at. He was a hero among believers. He made a difference. Forgotten today, but not by Heaven. I hope to not only meet him in Heaven, but more than that, I hope that somehow I can make a difference like he has.

To whom much has been given…What has God given you? Talent. Time. Life. Opportunity. Open doors. To whom much is given, much is required. Make a difference by walking with the Lord! Make a difference by stepping up and doing what others are not. Make a difference by taking risks. Make a difference by not being overcome by the dangers of today. Make a difference!

Roger