Rev Dr Edgar Mayer; Living Grace
Toowoomba Church; Message: The
Kingdom For Keeps 02; Date: 20 February 2011
For more sermons and other
writings check the following homepage: www.livinggracetoowoomba.org
Small
Gate Narrow Road
Jesus called his disciples to
be fishers of men
and then he showed them how the fishing worked how to sweep large masses of people into the kingdom of
God. Consider this early report from the
Bible Matthew 4:23-25: [With his first disciples in tow] Jesus went
throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of
the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people. News
about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill
with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those
having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them. Large crowds from
Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan
followed him.
By all accounts this looks
easy. Of course large crowds would
follow him. How can anyone not become a Christian around Jesus? He preached the
good news of the kingdom God loves you and God wants to save you and then this preaching came with the power to heal all the sick and free
everyone from demonic oppression. Fantastic!
Just imagine that you are caught up in the
following scene: Like in
the times of Jesus you also find
yourself in a great mass of people. It is evening the sun goes down
excitement is in the air. The surroundings look like a rock concert: sound-speakers
stacked one upon the other, huge screens in every corner and flood lights. Only it is not a rock concert but a
preaching event and now it begins. First you notice that the worship band gets everyone pumping with hands raised
up high. Then you cannot but
notice that the message is preached with passion and people to your left and to
your right are responding with shouts of hallelujah and praise God. Finally you see something that you have never seen
before: In the name of Jesus and his kingdom the blind see. The deaf
hear. The lame get up from their wheel-chairs. Tumors these lumps of cancer
shrink and disappear. The people go
wild. There is one healing testimony after another. This is good! What a night!
And then the next night as the reports of the first night go out all over
the region the crowd doubles in size. Yeah!
Swept up in such excitement (just put yourself into that kind of
environment) would you now consider
becoming a Christian? On the night if
anyone asked you whether you wanted to accept the good news of the kingdom with
its healing power and then further asked you to raise your hand as an
expression of your desire, would you raise your hand? (I think that) the chances are good. You would raise your
hand as many have done before. According to our report from Jesus
(Matthew 4:23-25) large crowds began
to follow him.
Only, Jesus immediately pricked
the bubble of easy salvation. Jesus knew that the people around him may have
raised their hands and welcomed the kingdom of God in a flush of emotion with
a sinners prayer on their lips but
many at best have only made an
acquaintance with the kingdom of God because you cannot enter the kingdom as the
consumer of a spectacle. Its not enough to come back for another inspiring
night. Its not enough to want more healings and miracles and kingdom joy.
[And whatever else a modern Christian sales pitch may promise you.] You cannot enter the kingdom of God as someone
who is signing up for the best (worldview) deal free kingdom benefits guaranteed service by God himself.
You are not in the driving seat. God is. It
is his kingdom and in
complete contradiction to our consumer mentality he has placed conditions on entering his kingdom. Are we aware of them? We may think that any
conditions would seem unhelpful in attracting people to the Christian faith
(this is not going to make the church nice and harmless) but not only are they in place, these
conditions are tough and therefore salvation
is not easy.
When Jesus saw that the large crowds kept
following him, he went up a mountainside and sorting out his disciples first (the fishers of
men in training) he repeatedly
confronted his listeners with tough
kingdom conditions Matthew 5:19-20:
unless your righteousness
surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly
not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:22: . I tell you anyone
who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgement
anyone who says,
You fool! will be in danger of the fire of hell. Matthew 5:27-30:
anyone
who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his
heart. [Therefore] if your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw
it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole
body to be thrown into hell
Matthew 5:48: Be perfect, therefore, as
your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 6:24:
You cannot serve
both God and Money. Matthew 7:1-2: Do not judge, or you too will be
judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the
measure you use, it will be measured to you. Matthew 7:12: So in
everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up
the Law and the Prophets.
Then Jesus concluded his
preaching with persistent pleas that entering the kingdom of God was not easy
Matthew 7:13: Enter [the kingdom of God] through the narrow gate. For
wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many
enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life,
and only a few find it. Matthew 7:15-20: Watch out for false prophets
By their fruit you will recognize them
A good tree cannot bear bad fruit,
and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit
Matthew 7:21-23: Not everyone
who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who
does the will of my Father in heaven
Matthew 7:24-27: Therefore
everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a
wise man who built his house on the rock
But everyone who hears these words
of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his
house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and
beat against the house, and it fell with a great crash.
[Cf. Matthew 10:32-39: Whoever
acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in
heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in
heaven ... Anyone who loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy
of me; anyone who loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever
finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will
find it. Matthew 12:20: A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering
wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory.
Matthew 12:36-37: But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on
the day of judgement for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words
you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. Matthew 12:50:
For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and
mother. Matthew 16:24-28: Then Jesus said to his disciples, Whoever wants to
be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For
whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for
me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet
forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? For the
Son of Man is going to come in his Fathers glory with his angels, and then he
will reward each person according to what they have done. Truly I tell you,
some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man
coming in his kingdom. Matthew 18:35: This is how my heavenly Father will
treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.]
After the disciples witnessed his massive
preaching fame, Jesus spoke these sobering words. There is no easy access to
the kingdom and nothing is gained by following the crowds either because so Jesus said Wide is the gate and
broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But
small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find
it. Therefore, beware of the wide
and broad gates of easy Christianity. However, why is the gate to the kingdom so
small and narrow despite the public healings and miracles? The answer has to do
with obedience. It is too hard to obey God at least how Jesus spelled out
obedience in the Sermon on the Mount. Would
you agree with me?
Listen again to some of Jesus words Matthew 5:22:
anyone who says,
You fool! [to his brother] will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Matthew 5:27-30:
anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already
committed adultery with her in his heart. [Therefore] if your right eye causes
you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one
part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell
Matthew 5:48: Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
This seems to be over the top. Sometimes
people do call each other names and then they get over it. Sometimes men and
women do check each other out and then no one demands that anyone gouges out
their eyes in an attempt to stop them from looking. Jesus directions seem to
have a ring of fanatism and zealotry about them (maybe more at home with
the Taliban than the church) (he even scares people with the dangers of hell)
and his general instruction is simply
impossible: Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Yet for all of our objections Jesus spoke the truth. The Bible is unanimous about this. The condition
for entering the kingdom of God and remaining in the kingdom of God is doing
the will of God and not your own. One
day in heaven the question will not be: What did you think about Jesus?
What did you learn at Sunday school? The question will be: Did you follow him and did you do what he
said? [This is not contradicting our
teaching on justification by faith as I will demonstrate below.] Your behaviour matters. It is absolutely crucial.
Jesus warned us: Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter
the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father in heaven.
[James 1:22: Do not merely listen to the
word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.]
Let me ask you: How committed are you to
obedience the kind of
obedience that squeezes through the small and narrow gate of Gods kingdom? Do you measure up in what you do from day
to day?
This is how it looks in real life. This is
how Jesus applied the Sermon on the Mount to a young man who came to him with a
question [retell the
Bible story in your own words] Matthew 19:16-30: Just then a man came up
to Jesus and asked, Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?
Why do you ask me about what is good? Jesus replied. There is only One who
is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments. Which ones? he
inquired. Jesus replied, You shall not
murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give
false testimony, honor your father
and mother, and love your neighbor as
yourself. All these I have kept, the young man said. What do I still
lack? Jesus answered, If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions
and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow
me. When the young man heard this, he went away sad, because he had great
wealth. Then Jesus said to his disciples, Truly I tell you, it is hard for
someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is
rich to enter the kingdom of God. When the disciples heard this, they were
greatly astonished and asked, Who then can be saved? Jesus looked at them and
said, With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. Peter answered him, We have left everything
to follow you! What then will there be for us? Jesus said to them, Truly I
tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his
glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or
brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for my
sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But
many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
The young man wanted to know how to enter
life how to enter the
kingdom of heaven and Jesus answered
him with simple and clear words: If you want to enter, keep the
commandments. Do not murder. Do not commit adultery. Do not steal. Do not tell
lies. Honour your father and mother. Love your neighbour as yourself. This confused the young man because
maybe unlike many of us he had kept
these commandments, yet he knew that he was still outside of the kingdom of
God. What was missing? Then, Jesus showed him the narrow gate. It had to be as
radical as the Sermon on the Mount. He said to him: Sell your
possessions and give to the poor
Then come, follow me.
Here was the narrow gate to the kingdom of
heaven. The young man understood the condition as we may understand the condition today but he
did not enter in. He turned and went home sad. In his mind too much was required of him. The gate was
too narrow too small for a man
of great wealth. How could he sell everything for Jesus? How can you give up
everything for Jesus? Only Jesus did not soften the requirements for the
young man. Instead, he confronted our predicament by saying: It is hard
for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich
to enter the kingdom of God.
This worried even the disciples (as it may worry us today). They asked Jesus in astonishment: Who
then can be saved? In other words: Who then can make it through the
narrow gate? Jesus answered: With
man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.
Here now we are coming to another
secret of the narrow gate. It is so narrow that indeed you cannot enter in without God. Jesus said:
With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible. God needs to help you and he is willing to
do so. The rich young man only needed to stay a little longer not go home
sad in response to Jesus words but grow desperate and then turn to Jesus
in his desperation. He promised that he would be there for the desperate. In
fact, this is how Jesus began the Sermon on the Mount. Before he would talk
about radical obedience righteousness conforming to the perfect will of
God he promised Matthew 5:3: Blessed
are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:6:
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be
filled.
The gate to the kingdom of God may be small
and narrow too small and
narrow for you but it will open for
the desperate who are looking to Jesus. Whoever hungers and thirsts for
righteousness whoever longs to know and do the perfect will of God in
their lives will receive from Jesus
the power to make it through the narrow gate.
I want to spend a little more time on how
this works. When Jesus had finished preaching so
the Bible records Matthew 7:28-29:
the crowds were amazed at his
teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers
of the law. There was authority on
Jesus which means that he did not just babble words but bestowed the reality of
the kingdom through his preaching. It is the same kind of authority which was
on him (before and after the Sermon on the Mount) to heal the sick. For instance immediately after he had finished preaching, he said to a man suffering from
leprosy: Be clean. And this
man was clean through the word of Jesus that had authority.
The very next episode would again make the
same point. A centurion came to Jesus with a request to heal his servant who
was at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering. Jesus said to him Matthew 8:7: I will go and heal him.
Yet, the centurion knew better than
bother Jesus with an unnecessary journey. He said Matthew 8:8:
Just
say the word, and my servant will be healed
(cf. Matthew 8:16). The centurion knew that when a man of
authority speaks, the paralyzed get up from their beds. Suffering stops. In
the same way when a man of authority
preaches, the poor in spirit those that hunger and thirst for
righteousness the young men whom Jesus calls to sell everything that they own
and give it to the poor they do find
the narrow gate to the kingdom of God. They will have a commitment to be
perfect as their heavenly Father is perfect.
The source for Jesus authority is revealed
also in the same Bible chapter of all these episodes following the Sermon on
the Mount. We read
Matthew 8:16-17:
many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and
he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to
fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: He took up your
infirmities and carried our diseases. The place where Jesus took up our infirmities and diseases and our
corruption with sin which is hindering us to enter in the narrow gate of
Gods kingdom is the cross. When Jesus
hung on the cross with a crown of thorns on his head and his entire body
bruised and split open from a flogging he
was carrying our diseases in the body and the heart. He took our place. He had
not done anything to deserve such a death. On the contrary he had demonstrated a holy life according
to the Sermon on the Mount but according to plan this made him the acceptable sacrifice for our sickness and sin. He
took our infirmities on him so that they would no longer be on us. Then
after three days in the grave God
raised Jesus from the dead. The sacrifice was done it was sufficient for
all of humanity (and the entire created world) and now the risen Jesus would continue to minister his authority
through his disciples until the end of time (cf. Matthew 28:18-20).
Jesus demonstrated the absolute power of
what he had done. Since he carried (or would carry) our
infirmities on the cross, he was able to say to a man (not long after he
preached the Sermon on the Mount) Matthew 9:2: Take heart, son; your sins
are forgiven. Therefore
making this very personal for a moment do
you want to enter into the kingdom of heaven this morning? Are you desperate?
Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness? Is sin keeping you out? Is the love
of money keeping you out? You do have help. There is one that is breaking the
power of sin loosening the grip of sin in your life. Cry out to him and he will say to you: Take heart, son; your
sins are forgiven. Welcome to the kingdom.
Is this going to be difficult? Yes it
will be. The Sermon on the Mount will always challenge us. Even an experienced
church leader like the apostle Paul wrote in the Bible 1 Corinthians 9:27: But [like a
boxer] I buffet my body [handle it roughly, discipline it by hardships] and
subdue it, for fear that after proclaiming to others the Gospel and things
pertaining to it, I myself should become unfit [not stand the test, be
unapproved and rejected as a counterfeit].
[For the disciples there were also the
scary implications of Jesus following words Matthew 7:21-23: Not everyone
who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who
does the will of my Father in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord,
Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and
perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away
from me, you evildoers! Ministering in power is no guarantee for being in the
will of God. Gods gifts and call are irrevocable (Romans 11:20) and,
therefore, even the disobedient can operate in power but this is no guarantee
that Jesus is pleased with them. According to Jesus many suffer from such
delusion.]
Yet on the other hand Jesus promised us a breakthrough into something that is easy and
beautiful. He said Matthew 11:28-30: Come to me, all you who are
weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn
from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. At first it may be difficult to trust God enough to
let go of our sin wrong attachment to money, unforgiveness, stealing, and
whatever else it may be we struggle to
come on board with righteousness because we still want our old life but
then as soon as we commit to Jesus and
the kingdom, there is another surprise. It is actually easy. It gives rest to
our souls. We have given all of our money to the poor but now God provides for
us. We have forgiven our enemies but we are feeling lighter. We are no longer
making speeches at night no longer exert so much negative energy in
holding a grudge. God can be trusted.
The Sermon on the Mount turns out to be easier than we thought.
At the heart of this promised sense of ease
and freedom and it is
there for you to experience is a
wonderful relationship with God whom we call Father. Jesus throughout the
Sermon on the Mount kept the Father
before us Matthew 5:16:
praise your Father in heaven. Matthew
5:45:
that you may be children of your Father in heaven
Matthew
5:48:
your heavenly Father is perfect. Matthew 6:1:
your
Father in heaven. Matthew 6:4:
your Father
will reward you.
Matthew 6:6:
pray to your Father
Matthew 6:8:
your Father
knows what you need before you ask him. Matthew 6:9:
Our Father in
heaven
Matthew 6:14-15:
your heavenly Father will also forgive
you
Matthew 6:18:
your Father
will reward you. Matthew
6:26:
your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable
than they? Matthew 6:32:
your heavenly Father knows that you need
them. Matthew 7:11:
how much more will your Father in heaven give
good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:21:
my Father who is in
heaven.
As you let go of sin (and this may where you struggle), the kingdom life proves to be easier and
more satisfying than chasing money, drugs or revenge. You learn to love the
Father in heaven that loves you. The more this love grows, the easier it gets
to cast off anything that stands in the way of this relationship. Love knows no
boundaries. Love would do anything. Love perfect love has no problems with the Sermon on the
Mount.
I come back to the beginning. As people are
first introduced to the kingdom of heaven, is it easy for them or difficult? This morning is it going to be easy for you to become a Christian or not? To the
disciples these fishers of men in training it looked easy when large crowds kept following Jesus swept up in
the excitement of powerful preaching and healing the sick. But Jesus took them aside and taught them Matthew 7:13: Enter
[the kingdom of God] through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is
the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the
gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
The gate is narrow because the condition
for entering the kingdom of God is absolute obedience Matthew 5:19-20:
unless your
righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you
will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 5:22: . I
tell you anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgement
anyone who says, You fool! will be in danger of the fire of hell.
Matthew 5:27-30:
anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already
committed adultery with her in his heart. [Therefore] if your right eye causes
you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one
part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell
Matthew 5:48: Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
Matthew 6:24:
You cannot serve both God and Money. Matthew 7:1-2: Do
not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you
will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Matthew 7:12: So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to
you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. Matthew 7:15-20: Watch
out for false prophets
By their fruit you will recognize them
A good tree
cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit
Matthew
7:21-23: Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom
of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father in heaven
Matthew
7:24-27: Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them
into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock
But everyone
who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a
foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose,
and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell with a great crash.
Considering this teaching are
you willing to enter in this morning right now? The gate is narrow but nothing compares to the kingdom. One day
with Jesus authority on them the
disciples had done some preaching and healing themselves. They returned to
Jesus with joy, saying Luke 10:17: Lord, even the demons submit to us
in your name. Yet, Jesus replied
Luke 10:20: Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice
that your names are written in heaven [in other words: that you have
entered the narrow gate into the kingdom]. [Cf.
Like in Matthew 5-7 here Jesus to personal salvation.] Jesus invites you into the kingdom and it is your place in the kingdom
which will remain the greatest joy forever. Are you coming? Amen.
Appendix
I want to clarify that justification by faith is not
opposed to the necessity of obedience. When we are justified, we do become a
new creation and the kind of tree that cannot but bear good fruit (cf.
Matthew 7:15-20). Please, consider the two quotes below.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer: The Cost Of Discipleship, London:
SCM Press 1959, p54-58:
The following two propositions hold good
and are equally true: only he who
believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes.
It is quite unbiblical to hold the first proposition
without the second. We think we understand when we hear that obedience is
possible only where there is faith. Does not obedience follow faith as good
fruit grows on a good tree? First, faith, then obedience. If by that we mean
that it is faith which justifies, and not the act of obedience, all well and
good, for that is the essential and unexceptionable presupposition of all that
follows. If however we make a chronological distinction between faith and obedience,
and make obedience subsequent to faith, we are divorcing the one from the other
and then we get the practical question, when must obedience begin. Obedience
remains separated from faith. From the point of view of justification it is
necessary thus to separate them, but we must never lose sight of their
essential unity. For faith is only real when there is obedience, never without
it, and faith only becomes faith in the act of obedience
Only the obedient believe. If you are to believe, we
must obey a concrete command. Without this preliminary step of obedience, our
faith will only be pious humbug, and lead us to the grace which is not costly.
Everything depends on the first step. It has a unique quality of its own. The
first step of obedience makes Peter leave his nets, and later get out of the
ship; it calls upon the young man to leave his riches. Only this new existence,
created through obedience, can make faith possible
In the end, the first step of obedience proves to be
an act of faith in the word of Christ. But we should completely misunderstand
the nature of grace if we were to suppose that there was no need to take the
first step, because faith was already there. Against that we must boldly assert
that the step of obedience must be taken before faith can be possible. Unless he
obeys, a man cannot believe
D.A. Carson: Jesus Sermon On The Mount, Grand Rapids:
BakerBooks 1999, p139:
It is true, of course, that no man enters
the kingdom because of his obedience; but it is equally true that no man enters
the kingdom who is not obedient. It is true that men are saved by Gods grace
through faith in Jesus; but it is equally true that Gods grace in a mans life
inevitably results in obedience. Any other view of grace cheapens grace, and turns
it into something unrecognizable.