The Christ Establishing His Kingdom

On the final day, the Messiah will come to earth with all the authority and power of the spirit world. On that day, he will establish his kingdom.  Every person on earth will be gathered and all will stand in line like immigrants.  Those whose paperwork checks out will be on the right, and those whose paperwork is inadequate will stand on the left.

The king will say to those on his right, “I am overjoyed to have you in my kingdom, which God has been preparing for you from the creation of the world.  I was hungry and you gave me food.  I was homeless and you gave me a place to stay.  I lacked clothing and you clothed me. I was in need of companionship and you listened to me. I was desperate for justice and you marched with me.  I was arrested and you picked me up from jail.” 

These merciful looked confused and replied, “When did we do this? When did we house you or help you or listen to you?” 

The King responds, “I sent my people to you. When you acted mercifully to them, you did the same to me.”

Then he turned to those on his left and said, “Leave me. Get out of my kingdom. Go and be punished with the devil, as you acted like him.  For I was hungry and you ignored me.  I was an immigrant and you pushed me away.  I was freezing and you told me to get a job.  I was lonely and you told me to shut up. I needed justice and you said my suffering was my own fault.  I was arrested and you said I deserved it.” 

They answered, “But when did we ignore you or say any of these things to you? We honored you, Lord, our whole lives.” 

The King replied, “When I sent my people in the garb of poverty and need to you, this is how you treated them.  Even so, this is how you treated me.  I will have nothing to do with you.” 

And these will go to punishment, but the merciful has a place in the nation of the merciful.

-Matthew 25:31-46, SKV

Jesus on Church Discipline

“We are facing the greatest challenges of our ethics and faith. People will try to undermine our faith, our mercy before God.

"But think about their fate, for a moment. The person who has a two-ton truck tied to his neck and then is allowed to drop to the bottom of the ocean—that person’s fate is better than the one who targets God’s children to attack them.

"So take care for yourself! Be merciful instead of judgmental!

"Instead of judging your companion when they screw up, tell them to straighten out. When they apologize, whichever way they do, treat them like your sibling, not like an outsider. Even if he screws up, in the same way, seven times in a single day, forgive them, just like you would your sibling.

"They are family, after all.”

-Jesus       (Luke 17:1-4)

Missed Lesson

Ministry is harder than anyone thinks.  It’s a 24/7 operation, without enough time to eat or sleep properly.  “It’s time to take a break, guys,” Jesus said to his disciples.  He knew of a campground he could use in the woods, so they headed off there.  Unfortunately, some of the crowd heard where they were going, so they drove there ahead of Jesus’ ministers.   A lot of them.  Frankly, the campground was filled with people.

“Damn,” said Philip.  “There goes our break.”

Jesus saw their need, and they were so desperate for some guidance.  So he mingled through the crowd, speaking to some, praying for others.  After a day of this, Jesus’ ministers caught up to him, “Hey, Jesus.  These folks must be hungry, huh?  Let’s send them home so they can eat.”

Jesus looked at his group and said, “It’s our responsibility to make sure they eat.”

They said, “But we only have what we brought for the retreat!  Just some bread and meat for sandwiches!  To feed them would require thousands of dollars!”

Jesus sighed.  “Remember when the children of Israel were in a remote place, without food?”  Jesus stopped and looked at their blank faces.  “Here, give me the bread and meat.”  And Jesus began making sandwiches.  After he put together a hundred of them, he gave them to John, “Here, you give these to that group over there.”  He kept handing sandwiches to the student ministers to hand them out until everyone had eaten.    Then Jesus gave a teaching to the crowd and sent them away.

During the teaching time, the students counted the crowd and there were about five thousand there.  When they collected the leftover sandwiches, there was enough for each student to take one tub home.

***

Another day, after Jesus had argued with a council of preachers, Jesus told his students, “Beware of the byproducts of the preachers that infect the good bread.”

The students discussed what Jesus meant by this.  Some speculated that it was because they hadn’t brought enough food with them.  They should have bought more.

Jesus’ mouth was agape.  “How could you not get this?  How many lessons must I teach you?  You are sometimes so dense! When you counted five thousand people, how many sandwiches were left?”

“Twelve tubs.”

“And when you counted four thousand, how much food was left?”

“Seven tubs.”

“Don’t you  get it?  Food isn’t the issue!  God will always provide food!  He’ll make sure that everyone is fed, even through us, no matter how little food we seem to have.  That should be the least of our worries.  Rather, we should be concerned about the leadership of the church that teaches hate and judges the people God called them to serve!  Don’t be like them—claiming to be of God but lacking the love of God!”

Then they understood that he was talking about the leadership of the church, and not about sandwiches.

Mark 6:31-44; 8:11-21

Scripture Reading

In a local church, a travelling preacher was given a Bible passage to read to the congregation.

He said, “Isaiah 61, beginning at verse one.”  He cleared his throat and said,

“God has granted me his Spirit of power and authority
To encourage the poor with news of their victory:
Let the prisoners free from their cells!
Let victims of illness be given healing!
Let the abused be delivered from their oppressors!
Let every debt be wiped off the books!
Let the celebrating begin!”

He closed the book and then stood before the congregation, gazing at them.  “Today,” he said, “this passage is happening.  Right here.  Right now. “

-Luke 4:17-21

The Embezzler

Recently, an attorney at Debt Masters, a local collection agency, found out that one of his managers was cheating the business. Of course, the manager was fired, but he was given to the end of the day when he would be given his final check.

The manager considered quickly, recognizing that he would soon be without a job and homeless, because it would be difficult for him to find another job. He refused to live on the streets, so he quickly came up with a plan.

He looked up all his clients who were living in Portland and gave them a call. His conversation went like this:

"Hi! This is Jed from Debt Masters and I have good news! The company is cutting your debt in half! The only requirement is this: The company may ask you to house a clean, polite man for a week sometime in the future. If you agree to this we can take thousands off of our debt!"

Although some hesitated, most leaped at the opportunity to reduce their bill. The attorney who supervised him found out about his scheme and he couldn't help but shake his head in admiration at the manager's ingenuity, so he gave him a job in his law office instead.

"Even so," said Jesus at the end of his story, "have ingenuity like this manager. If you have resources or money, give them to people who act mercifully to the poor so they will reserve a room for you in heaven. Some of you will never get there otherwise."

-Luke 16:1-9 (SKV) (really, if you know your Bible, look it up, that's what he said!)

Yesterday in Portland and Beyond...

Yesterday a pastor in Portland died. He was well loved in the community, was very popular and was known as a good speaker. He lived comfortably with his wife and children. He will be missed.

At the back of his church was Lazarus, a homeless man, often without a coat and eating from dumpsters. It used to be that the pastor would walk by Lazarus every night, pray with him, and ask him when he was going to quit drinking. But he never gave him food or allowed him to sleep inside the church, because that would be "enabling."

It so happened that Lazarus also died yesterday. He was taken to Jesus, who fed him well and cared for him. The pastor, however, was taken to be punished. The pastor was allowed to see Lazarus and he prayed to Jesus, "Lord, this punishment is severe! Couldn't Lazarus come over and give me a little help?"

Jesus replied, "Unfortunately, it isn't allowed for Lazarus to give you any more help than you offered him in his life. Justice requires him to be comforted now and for you to be punished for your damnable apathy."

The pastor prayed again, "Lord, would you please send Lazarus to my congregation! They need to know the truth!"

Jesus replied, "The one good thing you did, pastor, is to give your congregation Bibles. They just need to read my words without the blinders you set on them and they will see this truth clearly. That's the only visitation from a Risen One they need."

Luke 16:19-31

Prodigal Revisited

Jesus told them this story: “There was a father with two sons.

"The younger son said to his father, ‘Dad, I can’t wait for you to die to get my inheritance, so give it to me now.’ So the father divided all of his wealth and gave the two sons their own share.

"A few days later, the younger son collected his belongings and traveled to a godless nation and wasted the money, living by his impulses. After all his money was gone, an economic depression came upon the nation and he was in desperate need. After begging for a job, someone hired him to clean up rooms in a brothel, picking up needles and cleaning soiled sheets. No one actually ever paid him, so he began to starve, finding the crumbs left in the rooms to be appetizing.  

"Finally, he came to his senses and said to himself, ‘Even the laziest of my father’s farmhands eat to their fill, and here I am starving to death? I know what I’ll do, I’ll go back to my father and tell him how evil I have been and then ask him to hire me. After all, I’m not worthy to be his son.’  

“So he left that place, traveled back home and came to his father. His father saw him from a distance and felt his heart leap within him and he ran to his son, grabbing him and hugging him desperately. Once he could catch his breath, he said to his father, ‘Father, I have done evil before God and yourself. Don’t take me as a son— I don’t deserve it.’

"His father, though, called his workers and said, ‘You— go into my room and get out my best clothes and shoes and give them to my son. You— get the necklace with the family crest on it and bring it here, and put it on him. You— get into the kitchen and prepare a feast with steak for everyone. Because this is my son the one who died. Now his come back to us from the dead— he was lost, but now he is returned.’”


Paraphrase of Luke 15: 11-24

Jesus Goes to the Christian Conference

Jesus went to the Christian Conference, and he saw that many were trying to get the attention of their acquaintances on or behind the stage to let them in. Jesus turned to those with him and said, “When you go to an event, don’t try to get up on stage, or else a security person might come and throw you out because you are being disruptive. Instead, stand back, waiting, until your friend behind the stage sees you and says, ‘Hey, you want to come back here?’ and you will be escorted into the stage area. Even so, where God rules, everyone who grabs for what they want will be pushed back, and everyone who humiliates themselves will be welcomed up.”

 Then Jesus said to the one who invited him, “If you go to a concert or have a party, don’t invite your friends or relatives or coworkers, who can pay to go. Because they will just invite you to the next event, and so pay you back. Instead, invite the homeless and the handicapped, the impoverished, and people with social and mental disorders. Because they will never be able to pay you back and instead you will gain your repayment from God on the last day.”

(Paraphrase of Luke 14: 7-14)

Kimes, Steven (2012-04-04). Long Live the Riff Raff: Jesus' Social Revolution (Kindle Locations 287-296).  . Kindle Edition.

The Fortunate Few

How fortunate are the anguished due to poverty because they will rule God’s kingdom!
How fortunate are the sorrowful, because God will cheer them up.
How fortunate are the lowly, because God will give them the earth.
How fortunate are those who desperately desire justice, because they will get just what they want.
How fortunate are those who act in compassion, for God will be compassionate to them.
How fortunate are those single-minded on God, for they will see Him.
How fortunate are the creators of peaceful communities, for God will make them rulers.
How fortunate are the sufferers for righteousness, because they will rule God’s kingdom!  

How fortunate you are when your enemies verbally abuse you and do and speak evil against you because you follow me. When that happens, you are like the prophets of the past who suffered for their message they received from God. Even as they are now rewarded by God, so will you be. So when you are persecuted for me, be happy about what you will receive— jump up and down in joy and praise God!  

You are essential for the world. But if you lose the basic qualities that make you important, you cannot regain them. You will be useless, cast out of God’s kingdom and trampled.   You are God’s glory and truth in the world. You are the kingdom of God to come, and you cannot be hidden. Nor should you be hidden— God’s glory should be displayed, not hidden. So display the true righteousness of God before everyone, so that people will see your acts of God and so glorify the Father.

(Paraphrase of Matthew 5: 3-16)

Jesus on the Bad Guys

Jesus taught,
The ancient Scriptures taught eye for eye and tooth for tooth.  Th ey said that if an evil person attacks you, justice is getting back at them.  Many people today have taken this to mean to rebel against authorities who attack you.


But I'm telling you, don't rebel against evil authorities.  In fact, give them exactly what they want.  If a judge sentences you unjustly with 30 days, recommend that he make it 90.


If a debt collector clears out your account, send him a check for more.


If a cop rips up your tent and sleeping bag, give him your shoes as well. 


If they insist on taxes you can't afford, give them more.


In doing this, they will incur the wrath of God who demands justice for every oppression.  Give your revenge to God, who is the greatest advocate of the oppressed, and the final court of appeal. 


The ancient Scriptures also taught, "Love your neighbor, but hate your enemy."  They advocated care for those like you and war for those who oppose you.


But I say to love your enemies-- to do good to those who do evil to you.


Pray that those who oppose you will be benefited. 
Give food and presents to those who hate you
Help and listen to those who irritate you
Restore those who tore you down
Work on establishing peace to those who warred against you


This is what God the Father did with us all-- fed, restored and brought peace to us whether we were God's supporters or His enemies.  Although we often opposed God with our actions, He acted in good faith, helping us on every side.  So if we are to truly be God's children, we need to be like God. 


Look, anyone can love those who love them.  Even gangsters do good to those who do good to them.  Even  the most evil cultist is friendly with those in his own group.  Why do you expect some reward from God for doing what everyone does? 


Instead, let your love be mature, like your Father's is: love everyone without exception.

SKV of Matthew 5:43-48

The Insignificant-- Matthew 18

At that time, Jesus’ students approached him and asked, “Who gets to be a boss in God’s coming kingdom?” He called over a boy with Down's Syndrome and put him right in the middle of them. He said, “Pay attention now. Unless you become completely transformed and become like the incompetant, you won’t even get through the front door of God’s kingdom. 


"The one who will be boss is the one who will be on the level of this toddler-so ignored and considered so ignorant that they aren't consulted for decisions. And if you welcome and show hospitality to a child like this, then you are welcoming me. But whoever spiritually deflowers one of the insignificant ones who believe in me, he might as well strap himself to the bottom of the Titantic, because his punishment would be worse than that.  The world is a terrible place because of people and things that deflower your faith! Yes, it is true, such traps are inevitable—but how awful to be the agent of the trap! 


"So if something deeply important to you—even one of your own limbs!—causes you to stray away from God, get rid of it! It is better for you to be without one of your limbs, but alive, than to be whole but punished by God. And if whatever you see causes you to stray away from God, get rid of it! It is better to be half blind but alive than to see everything but end up punished eternally.


 "And be very careful that you do not disrespect one of my insignificant disciples—for they have a line directly to the throne of God!"

The Good Muslim (Luke 10)

A Bible professor approached Jesus, wishing to test his teaching.  He asked, “Teacher, what should I do to obtain God’s life that never ends?”  Jesus said, “What does it say in the Bible?  How do you understand it?”  The professor answered, “You will love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength and all your mind.  And you will love your neighbor as yourself.”  Jesus, impressed, replied, “This is correct.  Live this out, and eternal life is yours.” 

 But knowing he had not lived this out—and had no intention to—but wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “But, really, who is my neighbor?”  

Jesus sighed and responded, “There was a man traveling from Washington D.C. to New York and some terrorists kidnapped him, stripped his clothes off and beat him half to death, leaving by the side of the road, helpless.  Now it so happened that a Mennonite pastor passed by, and he saw him.  But, thinking he was a homeless bum, he ignored him and went on his way.  Then a Baptist worship leader drove by the same spot, but since he was in a hurry to make it on time to his worship service, he also ignored him and made it to the service on time.  Then a Muslim drove by and saw the man laying on the side of the road.  Compassion welled up in his heart and he stopped, got out his first aid kit, covered his wounds, put him in his car (getting blood all over the new seats) and drove him to the hospital.  There he told the doctor, “If he doesn’t have any insurance, here’s my credit card number—just take it from my account.’ 

"Now,” Jesus concluded, “Which of these was the neighbor to man attacked by terrorists?”  The professor said, “The M- the one who had compassion on him.”  Jesus smiled and looked him in the eye, “Now you do the same.”  

Jesus on Denominations

One day, John came up to Jesus and said, "We saw this guy on the street feeding the homeless.  He had a big sign that said, 'If you do this to the least of these, you do it to Me.'  We thought he might be a part of our denomination.  After talking to him, we found out not only is he not one of us, but he doesn't even go to a church!  We told him to stop using your name for his so-called 'ministry.'"

Jesus replied, "Why did you stop him?  No one who does a good work in my name will say anything evil about us later.  Although he might not think well about your denomination, now.  Whoever is not against us is for us.  Let the people doing good in my name keep doing it, even if they may not agree with you theologically.  Every good work done in my name is holy. Even if a person gives you a cup of ice water because you use my name, that one will get reward from God-- no matter what their creed, no matter what their petty sins."


Based on Mark 9:38-41

Clothes and Buildings (Mark 7)

Jesus was attending church in a local fellowship and some of the members noticed that his students were dressed in filthy clothes, and that some of them smelled.  (It is a tradition in many churches to dress up to worship and there are in some fellowships even an unspoken competition between people as to who could look the sharpest for Sunday worship.)  So the members asked Jesus, "Why do your students dress in such a lowly way?  It is disrespectful to God to not dress our best."

Jesus replied, "Isaiah truly spoke of you: 'This people respects me with their lips, but their desire is distant from me. Their worship of me is pointless and they hold human tradition to be doctrine." You have so many of your own rules, but you ignore the command of God.

"How often you avoid doing God's will for the sake of your traditions. The command of God is: 'Sell your possessions and give to the poor.'  Yet you tell your people that they must increase their giving to build your new buildings and to increase your staff's salaries.  Their wealth is dedicated to 'God's work' and thus God's people suffer. You erase God's word by your tradition, always putting your desires ahead of Gods'.

-Mark 7:1-13

Jesus' Parables For Religious Politicians

A translation of Matthew 21:23-22:14

Jesus walked into the cathedral area and taught the people outside. In the middle of his teaching, the ruling priests and some members of congress approached and challenged him, "What gives you the right to act this way? You come into our city as if you were the king, and then begin kicking people out of the temple as if you were the high priest—who appointed you to be in charge of our city?" Jesus replied, "I’ll tell you what—answer my question and then I’ll answer yours. When John came offering people membership into God’s nation—was that his own idea, or was he appointed by God?" The rulers turned toward each other, and discussed their answer. "If we say John was appointed by God, he will say, ‘Why didn’t you believe him, then?’ And if we say that he was acting on his own authority, then the throngs around him will lynch us, for they consider John to be a prophet." So they replied, "We’re not sure about John." Jesus then said, "Then why should I tell you who my authority is? If you won’t commit yourselves, why should I commit myself?"

"So, you wise men, let me ask your judgement of this situation: A man had a garden which needed some tending one day, so he figured he would ask his kids to do it. He goes up to his first kid and says, "Could you please tend the garden?" The kid replies, "No way!" But after thinking about it, the kid changes his mind and works. Disappointed, the father goes to his second kid and asks the same question. This was a polite kid and he said, "Sure, no problem, dad." But, in the end, he neglected to actually do the work. So tell me: which one of these kids did the will of his Father?" The rulers of Jerusalem replied, "The first did." Jesus concluded, "Even so, prostitutes, homosexuals and drug users will be a part of God’s nation before you will. John told everyone freely the way of God—repentance from sins— and you didn’t believe him, but the sinners did. And even after you noted this, you still didn’t repent and believe in John.

"Here’s another event I want you to judge: An entrepreneur—the CEO of a large international corporation— established a successful business. He owned the building, bought the machines to manufacture the product, established security, and set up policies. Then he handed over the running of the business to managers, while working on other businesses. After a few months, he looked at the books and saw his business had made a profit. So he sent a group of messengers to the managers, asking for his share of the profit. The managers laughed, beat up the messengers, and even killed some. The CEO sent an even larger group of messengers, but the results were the same. So the CEO decided to send his son to them, thinking that they would respect the authority of the CEO’s son, and be ashamed of what they had done. But the managers saw the CEO’s son driving up and said to each other: "If we kill the son, we can have a legal right to the business!" So as the son walked in, they threw him out as if he was an intruder and killed him. So answer me, when the Lord of the business comes, what do you think he will do to the managers?" The rulers of Jerusalem said, "He will kill those managers before his eyes and select other managers that will give him his profit."

Jesus glared at the rulers. "Haven’t you read in the Bible, ‘We are amazed to see that the quarry-stone which the builders rejected as inadequate, that is the very stone selected by the Lord to be the mantelpiece.’ Those which you reject will be the very ones the Lord chooses to rule his people. God’s nation—which you have ruled so shabbily—will be given over to a people who accomplish the Lord’s will." After hearing his stories, the ruling priests and Republicans finally understood that he was talking about them. They wanted to arrest him, but they were nervous about the crowds, because they considered him God’s spokesman.

Jesus, however, continued speaking to the rulers with another story: "God’s nation is like a president who invited all the most important rulers of the nation to his son’s wedding. He sent messengers, but the rulers didn’t want to come. So he gathered another group of messengers and instructed them, ‘Tell the rulers: "Everything is ready! Prime rib for everyone and champagne is flowing! Come to the wedding."’ The rulers, however, occupied by their own business, had the messengers arrested, insulted and killed. The president was furious and he sent his army to ravage their cities, arrest and execute those rulers. Then he said to the messengers that were left: ‘Those who received invitations to my son’s wedding weren’t worthy to come. Well, then, go out to the cities and towns and invite everyone to enter the wedding feast.’ So the messengers called to everyone they could, whether evil or good. Soon, the reception was filled with guests. As the president mingled, he noted that there was one who did not have the proper clothing. ‘Sir, how did you get in without proper clothing? Weren’t you provided with respectful clothes?’ The man was embarrassed, and he remained silent before the president. The president said to the guards, ‘Put this intruder in handcuffs and throw him out to the joyless existence, where many weep because they could not come in.’ For many are invited, but few are actually welcome."

Jesus Goes To A Concert

Jesus was invited by one of his disciples to go to a Christian concert one day. As Jesus came in, he saw that many were trying to get the attention of their friends on or behind the stage to let them in.

Jesus turned to those with him and said, “When you go to a concert, don’t try to get up on stage, or else a security person might come and throw you out because you are being disruptive. Instead, stand back, waiting, until your friend behind the stage sees you and says, ‘Hey, you want to come back here?’ and you will be escorted into the stage area. Even so, where God rules, everyone who exalts themselves will be lowered, and everyone who lowers themselves will be exalted.”

Then Jesus said to the one who invited him, “If you go to a concert or have a party, don’t invite your friends or relatives or coworkers. Because they will just invite you to the next event, and so pay you back. Instead, invite the homeless and the handicapped, and people with social and mental disorders. Because they will never be able to pay you back and instead you will gain your repayment from God on the last day.”

One of the people in Jesus’ group heard this and said, “I can’t wait to enjoy the party when God rules!”

Jesus replied, “God’s rule is like a man who was giving a huge, expensive party—a Martha Stewart affair. And there were many who were invited to dress up and come. So he began to call them up and remind them to come. One of those invited said, ‘Oh, I can’t make it, I’ve got to work late.’ Another said, ‘My wife wants me to stay home tonight.’ Another said, ‘I’ve got a business meeting to attend to. Sorry, I can’t come.’ The man became very angry and called a friend of his, ‘These worthless people won’t come. So come with me and let’s bring in the homeless, the handicapped and the mentally and socially disabled.’ After they brought in all of these they could find, there was still room left. So the man told his friend, ‘Okay, let’s go outside of town and invite anyone on the street who happens to be passing by until all the spaces are filled. But not one of those who were invited will even taste of my dinner.’ ”

Because Jesus was a celebrity, he was invited to say a few words on stage to the crowd. “Look, I know that many of you have thought about following me. I just wanted to let you know, if any of you want to follow me, you will have to love me more than you love your spouse or children, more than you love your mother or father, more than you love your brothers or sisters or friends. In fact, if you don’t love me more than you love your own life, you cannot follow me. Anyone who follows me will be punished by those who don’t love me like that, and some of you will be killed—you need to recognize that.

“Look,” Jesus said, “if you are going to paint your house, you want to know how much it will cost ahead of time, don’t you? Because otherwise, you get halfway done and run out of money to buy more paint and anyone passing by laughs at you and says, ‘Look, this guy started something but he couldn’t finish it.’ And the neighborhood association will be at your door and ask you to finish it or to move away.

“Let’s say there’s a general who is calculating the chances he has in a war. If he has ten thousand troops as opposed to the other general who has twenty thousand troops, he had better figure out if he will do war against his enemy or surrender and offer reprisals in order to make peace.

“Even so, recognize, if anyone wants to follow me, he needs to give up his possessions.”

Then Jesus got down and left.


This stuff is in the Bible—really! Read it for yourself— Luke 14:7-33.