Synoptic Gospels: 263-264

The Sons of Zebedee and Greatness in the Kingdom

Folks have already expressed some appreciation for that anyway. Well i was going to ask uh... brother george for his uh... his expert note-taking opinion on exactly where we were. I think uh... at least what i have looked at is we're in the middle of section two sixty three in the blue book.

If someone would like to maybe uh... distribute the copies that we have. We have been studying through the synoptic gospels for uh... the majority of the past decade. And uh... so uh... if you don't end up with one of those it's uh... matthew.

Twenty and mark ten are the two parallels the sons of zebedee and precedence among the disciples. My uh... my recollection is that we had not really completed looking at this section before getting to Zacchaeus as i recall once again uh... we'll look at mark chapter ten verses thirty five to forty five.

This is section two sixty three in the uh... synoptic. And james and john the sons of zebedee came forward to him and said to him teacher we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you. And he said to them what do you want me to do for you.

And they said to him grant us to sit once your right hand once your left and your glory. But jesus said to them you do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that i drink and to be baptized with the baptism with which i am baptized.

And they said to him we are able. Jesus said to them the cup that i drink you will drink and the baptism with which i am baptized you will be baptized. But to sit at my right hand or at my left is not mine to grant but is for those for whom it has been prepared.

When the ten heard it they began to be indignant at james and john. And jesus called them and said to them you know that those who are supposed to rule over the gentiles lord over them and their great men exercise authority over them.

But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant. Whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. The son of man also came not to be served but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.

Now the last time that we were in the synoptic study we looked at the uh... synoptic issue of the mother of the sons of zebedee versus james and john the sons of zebedee. We looked at uh... our answers for that particular issue and uh... the synoptic uh... issues that it raises.

We had worked through the fact that the disciples had become indignant at uh... james and john uh... for the request that was given to jesus that they would uh... in essence have priority over the others is the interpretation we saw uh... jesus statement that they were not to be like the gentiles.

They were not to be like uh... the gentiles who lorded over them their great men exercise authority over them uh... this was not to be what you would have amongst the church. And when you see how the church is organized in acts when you see that is organized as local assemblies uh... you do not have the creation of a uh... external authority outside of the local assemblies even acts chapter fifteen and the jerusalem council is not a sufficient basis for the assertion that there is to be some kind of hierarchical organization existing outside of the local assemblies uh... where you would have individuals who in essence lord over a large portion of uh... the church or larger sections of the church uh... the the way that the lord and his apostles established the church really uh... contains within it a antidote uh... to the idea of uh... clericalism of the creation of a special priest class of the creation of a view of of men uh... who have some type of ultimate authority over large swaths of uh... the church.

Monarchical Episcopacy and Clericalism

Now of course it did not take long for that apostolic example and the new testament example of the formation of the church to be overrun by a return to older ways uh... not only the idea of a uh... what historically is called a monarchical episcopate, a monarch episcopacy, the bishops, so a reigning bishop uh... early on in the second century you have someone like ignatius who is bishop of a city and clearly he represents the first step in a creation of a hierarchical structure even though interestingly enough his letters likewise illustrate that he knew that not all churches functioned that way.

And one of the interesting churches that he writes to that has no single bishop is the church at rome uh... that continued to have a multiplicity of elders just as we have in the new testament until about the year 140 uh... then you began to see that creation of a uh... monarchical episcopate there as well uh...

The fact is that this idea of uh... great men exercising authority over them in two thousand five uh... i had the opportunity of uh... lecturing in uh... in italy and uh... spending one day in uh... in rome specifically and uh... i visited uh... saint peter's and uh... i will never forget not only the ornateness of the building and the gold and the marble and all the rest of it goes with it uh... but these massive tombs these massive uh... statues of uh... these uh... these popes some of whom i knew their personal stories and just had to chuckle just a little bit uh... at seeing that the grandiose nature of their entombment in light of the lives that they live and uh... you just can't help but think of in that in that context you said the disciples it shall not be amongst you uh... yes they they like to uh... call the pope the the servant of all uh... but uh... not too many servants end up in uh... in marble tombs uh... with ornate uh... ornate decorations all over it.

So once you abandon uh... the the biblical parameters then it's easy to start exalting people to positions that the new testament never even dreams of uh... uh... existing in in the church. Instead the path to greatness as church history certainly shows us over the years uh... is seen right here.

But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant. Whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. And when we think of those who uh... whose names do loom large in the history of the church it is those who uh... gave their lives in service not who accepted service of everybody else.

And so you think of the great names. And how often they would uh... sacrifice and give of themselves in the in the mindset of a servant. And that is what made them uh... great. And what causes us to remember them uh... even though obviously many of the greatest uh... servants of christ we will not know about until uh... the day of judgment itself and uh... and eternity will reveal these things.

For many uh... have died martyrs deaths that we uh... we do not know uh... today we can certainly through the use of uh... electronic means uh... hear much more about people who are suffering for christ then than we have in the past uh... we might only hear even a matter of decades ago.

It might be quite some time before you hear about uh... someone's uh... death. Maybe there might even something could have been done had communication been faster to try to save certain people from a certain fate.

But uh... today uh... we can find out in in a matter of moments when for example in pakistan uh... our fellow believers are condemned to hanging into death for blaspheming the prophet which is which is the charge that uh... is used by the majority muslim population against anyone who dares to stand up against them uh... who dares to to speak what is right.

And of course to even say uh... that jesus is the son of god is considered by the muslims to be a blasphemy of the prophet because the prophet said otherwise. So if you're saying jesus is the son of god then you're saying the prophet was a liar.

Therefore under the laws of pakistan you must die. And hence you have the persecution the constant fear every single day of our fellow believers of the muslim majority that uh... very gladly utilizes this to persecute our our brothers and sisters uh... all under a government propped up by our billions and billions of tax dollars.

Keep that one in mind uh... afghanistan exact same type of thing is happening there uh... we don't necessarily hear about everyone. We do hear more and more about this but it it's happened all down to history.

The fact that the path to greatness for a believer is uh... through service uh... is laid out here. And it is interesting before i look at the uh... forty-fifth verse i just want to know something on the synoptic level.

Notice that luke does have an extremely abbreviated version of this story in chapter twenty two verses twenty four to twenty seven uh... dispute also rose among them. Which of them was to be regarded as the greatest doesn't even mention james and john.

Doesn't mention james and john's uh... mother anything like that. But you have the same response. The kings and gentiles exercise lordship over them. Those authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you.

Rather the greatest among you become as the youngest leader as one who serves for which is a greater one is that the table when he serves is it not the one who sits table. But i'm among you as one who serves now that is either a greatly abbreviated version or in all probability given that on the night of jesus' betrayal as they are walking to the garden of gethsemane uh... what are the disciples after the lord's supper.

After the washing of their feet. Jesus has given them the example of servanthood. After all of that what are they arguing about who was going to be greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Uh... i've said many times if i was jesus i i i would have given up on these guys.

I mean obviously uh... they just don't get it. Let's look for some better guys. But uh... thankfully that's that's not how the lord works uh... but it seems to me most probable that what luke is giving us here is a synopsis of a number of the things that jesus said over and over and over again because this dispute arose over and over and over again.

I mean you know when you have thirteen people walking along the trail they can't all be gathered around one guy. So you're always going to have the the dusk eaters in the back uh... and they're going to talk with one another.

And especially when things have taken place like when they were sent out and they were given authority to heal and so on. And so you can just imagine you know the guys in the back they know they're out of your shot.

Or think they're out of your shot of jesus and what they can start talking about. So bartholomew uh... did you see uh... did you see that healing i performed back then. That was a tough one wasn't it.

He seemed to be doing great. We're all done. Wasn't that great. Yeah. But you see that demon i dealt with oh let me tell you. And you know here comes the conversations and we we know human nature we know what people are like and and so i would imagine that this came up many many times because it's recorded for us enough time to represent the fact that probably many times this uh... this conversation that took place but the basis of this being the servant whoever would be first among you must be your slave is then laid out in the example of jesus himself.

For the son of man also came not to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. And so the very foundation that the christian is to have to view his life of one of service is given to us by christ even though he is the son of man.

The son of man has servants who uh... serve him in divine service in daniel. In the book of daniel the son of man has has servants who give him the true all the highest form of spiritual worship and service.

Uh... the son of man is a is a term uh... that had a a rich background. But he says the son of man came not to be served. He will be served. But his purpose in coming was not to uh... subjugate his disciples or the earth at that time and exercises divine power and establish a a a human kingdom.

Instead he came to serve. So the purpose of his coming. This is very much again demonstrative of the fact that what paul presents to us in philippians chapter two in the carmen christie that him as to christ is to god uh... that he made himself of no reputation he took on human form he became obedient he humbled himself even to the point of death even the cross death.

This is not some secondary thing. This is not some oh man i created now man's fallen. What am i going to do now uh... Or or the idea that jesus came first to be messiah for israel to accept him as messiah and to exalt israel.

And and uh... established the old covenant all the rest of us. Well israel's now rejected jesus. And now we come up with plan b. There are people who have that idea too. No way uh... the whole purpose of the coming of christ is repeatedly laid out.

He has come not to be served but to serve from the start that was his intention is to serve. And that service is uh... exemplified especially in the phrase and to give his life as a ransom for many uh...

We have seen that phraseology before uh... it comes to us out of isaiah uh... The servant uh... by his sacrifice will justify the many. Here he gives his life as a ransom for many uh... In the angelic announcement of the birth of christ the reason he is called jesus yahashua jehovah saves is because he will save his people from their sins.

His is a salvific mission as a mission of service. It is through the accomplishment of that mission of service that then as paul says he is exalted. He is given the name which is above every name in the name of jesus.

Every knee shall bow every tongue shall confess of those in heaven earth and on the earth all the glory of god the father. And then as a result of the accomplishment of his sacrifice uh... you then have uh... the fact that every knee will bow.

And the the kingdom of god is certainly established with a king. And so uh... we serve him. But we serve him. And following in his footsteps he gave us the example in his life of service. And so that then becomes what jesus teaches them.

But we know this takes place before the night of the betrayal. So even after teaching them this uh... certainly when it says give his life as a ransom for many. What what what what what does that mean.

How you know the same same theme struck in matthew chapter sixteen if you recall. And what's satan's response. Uh... Yeah sort of. What's peter's response uh... far be it from you lord you you you will not die.

You're you're the messiah. And jesus' response to peter is get behind me satan. You're not mine of the things of god but the things of man. So uh... the message just doesn't sink in until the reality of the crucifixion uh... is there.

And uh... the coming of the holy spirit to help them to understand section two sixty four uh... i believe we've already covered back in ninety six. Double check this here uh... yes we've covered that in section ninety six.

This is why we're actually gonna be picking up speed here so we can go to Zacchaeus. And then the parable of the pounds repeated in two ninety nine. So we'll get to that one eventually. And then the anointing of bethany.

We've already looked at that one uh... and uh... so actually we're we are just a couple sections away from the triumphal entry. And uh... without a doubt the most difficult uh... synoptic issues uh... are right around the corner uh...

So uh... it's it's we're gonna have to get a deep seat in the saddle. No two ways about it uh... because it'll it'll get uh... it'll get difficult. You roasting. I guess i've got roasters uh... in the room.

So uh... uh... we'll see what the uh... the thing is saying here it's saying seventy five seventy six. So it's getting up there a little bit. So the fan's running is the fan running in the back. If someone could check that at least the air isn't moving i've got a fan on me that helps the sun does start beating on this wall.

And it's uh... believe me the warmest spot in the room is alright. Zacchaeus. Luke chapter nineteen verses one through ten. Luke chapter nineteen verses one through ten. He entered jericho and was passing through.

And there was a man named Zacchaeus. He was a chief tax collector and rich and he sought to see who jesus was but could not on account of the crowd because he was short. It says he was small in stature but that's the politically correct way of saying he was short.

So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him for he was to pass that way. And when jesus came to the place he looked up and said to him Zacchaeus make haste and come down for i must stay at your house today.

So he made haste and came down and received him joyfully. And when they saw it they all murmured he has gone in to be a guest of a man who was a sinner. Zacchaeus stood and said to the lord behold lord the half of my good they give to the poor.

If i have defrauded anyone of anything i restore it fourfold. Jesus said to him today salvation has come to this house. For since he also is a son of abraham the son of man came to seek and to save the loss.

Now we all know the story. Okay uh... i uh... i am old enough to remember this story on flannel graph. Amen. Hallelujah brother. Yes i think i guess there's a number of flannel graph hands going up there.

I remember that too uh... uh... i don't know how long it took the sunday school teachers back then to cut out all those little figures and uh... put them up on the flannel graph. But that was in my day.

That was uh... that was video entertainment. You know that was uh... that was the best we could come up with. Was uh... Yes i do. Oh yes. Oh yes. Zacchaeus was a man. Yeah something like that. Yeah wee little man.

Yeah i do recall. And uh... So yes uh... it's been a while since i sang it. However it's not in the trinity hymnal for some odd reason i'm not sure why uh... But uh... Yes i i do recall that from from long long ago uh...

And i don't think we're going to be pasting that one in like we did uh... And can it be in front of these old ones. But uh... we all know the story fairly well. And it's it's interesting that uh... possibly uh... this is luke's way of repeating uh... what we just saw uh... in the statement of uh... jesus a son of man came to give his life for ransom.

Here you have the son of man came to seek and to save the lost. But here an example is given that's nowhere anywhere else. And uh... this kind of thing gives scholars who are wedded to particular theories of dependence of luke and matthew on mark and so on and so forth fits.

Because it's like okay it's one. It's one time like in the parable of the pounds on the next page you have some type of parallel between luke and matthew. And remember yeah remember seven years ago we did the introduction of the synoptics.

We talked about the various theories that are out there. And one of the primary theories is that uh... matthew and luke are following what's called the q source uh... q for the german word quela which means source.

So if you call it the q source you're calling it the source source uh... but it sounds good uh... and that they have this this collection of jesus's sayings primarily that we no longer possess. But that doesn't really explain a whole lot uh... of why luke would go off on his own or matthew go off on his own and things like that.

But it's found only in luke. And we have this interesting story there's uh... it really strikes us as a very strongly historical story about a particular man maybe luke in his travels had met zacchaeus uh... you would expect that zacchaeus would be a believer in jesus christ once the gospel is proclaimed.

And uh... maybe in the persecutions that came against the early christians zacchaeus had been uh... forced out of uh... the land of judia uh... out of his home uh... which it was one of the purposes i think in that early persecution of christians uh... while the gospel had said you shall go forth to the uttermost parts of the earth sometimes god has to do some pushing to get folks to the uttermost parts of the earth.

But uh... maybe luke encountered zacchaeus at some point don't know can't say but it it seems uh... that you have here a very straightforward story and you do of a short christian or a future short christian uh... the tax collectors were detested because they were considered to be traitors uh... in essence this is a position that you would purchase uh... because no one could ever really know exactly what the taxes are supposed to be.

Sounds familiar uh... Uh... so the tax collector just sort of got to establish that for himself and rome would allow him to charge a certain percentage or whatever he could get uh... without causing rebellion.

Now you you cause you know someone rebels because you're doing way too much and and you lose your job. But clearly he was a chief tax collector which would basically mean he was probably over others uh... this is sort of uh... the roman amway version of tax collection uh... from the past and uh... it simply straightforwardly says he was rich uh... but he also had short man's disease and uh... so he was well known and you can just imagine in your mind's eye he's trying to see this miracle worker he's heard about him and the crowds are all along the streets and streets that didn't look back then like our streets look today i assure you uh... if you've ever been over there they're very narrow uh... and so just a few people on either side of the street is gonna pretty much block it off and you can see this little guy this little runt of a guy running around behind folks and i'm sure there are plenty of folks who saw him back there and if they had liked him they would have said ah Zacchaeus come forward hear that.

Or he was nervous about that uh... because you know ah Zacchaeus come forward here comes the horse push him out there and boom ah poor Zacchaeus but uh... one of the two and so he can't see but there weren't multiple multiple multiple ways to go along the roadway.

So he knew of a sycamore tree and uh... who knows if this was the very first time he had been up the sycamore tree but uh... he goes up the sycamore tree there clearly is some kind of a miraculous element to verse five uh... because there is no indication that jesus has ever met Zacchaeus yet he has knowledge of his name and stops and looks up in the tree uh... at this point i'm sure Zacchaeus Zacchaeus was for a moment mourning the uh... ease with which everyone could see him uh... he was wishing he was short and down in the crowd at this point uh... until jesus said for i must stay at your house today.

So jesus points him out make haste and come down for i must stay at your house today. Now there's obviously a purpose for this on jesus's part he knows exactly who Zacchaeus is and he knows exactly what the response of the crowd is going to be when he goes with Zacchaeus because he knows how the people feel about Zacchaeus and the crowd sees it and they murmur.

And he has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. So once again the theme is struck as it is struck many times in the gospels in many different ways that jesus was a friend of sinners that he associated with the wrong crowd.

You will know that whenever jesus is found amongst sinners he is never doing what sinners do. He is never rejoicing in their sin. And the result is always the repentance of those who are sinners. Now the term a sinner here is not meant to indicate for example a prostitute but this is just simply a word of derision.

He's a sinner because he has betrayed his people and he works for the romans. And a good jewish person would not do what jesus is doing now i don't know what kind of time frame exists between verses seven and eight.

If you notice if you're thinking back to the flannel graph with me uh... the assumption always is that verse eight is after dinner after maybe jesus has spoken words of wisdom and life and conviction and explained who the messiah should be.

We are not told. All we have is jesus in the roadway uh... make haste come down. So zacchaeus comes down received him joyfully. So evidently that's when they go to the house. And when the crowd sees they've gone to the house that's when they're complaining and griping and complaining.

And so at some point after dinner whatever luke does not give us uh... menu or uh... anything else there's there's a lot of summarization going here. But uh... when it says zacchaeus stood i sort of chuckle about that.

Are you standing zacchaeus. Oh good. Okay just checking uh... But i think the reason it says that zacchaeus stood is because how you would eat dinner. Remember you would eat dinner lying down uh... resting on one elbow in that culture in that day which i can't believe it was overly good for digestion uh...

But that's how it was done. I guess that's how you'd always done it. Then you'd get used to it uh... we do it sitting down and anymore for most of our society sitting down behind the wheel of a car uh... that's how you do it.

And so it says that zacchaeus stood. And this probably would be stood after the dinner while everyone else is still reclining. Which would be something you would do if you're making an announcement which is exactly what he is doing.

Because it says that zacchaeus stood and said to the lord behold lord the half of my goods i give to the poor and if i have defrauded any one of anything i restore it fourfold now this would be in line with old testament uh...

Categories. Uh... jesus accepts his words at face value. They seem to be from a a true heart because jesus' response to him is today salvation has come to this house since he also is a son of abraham for the son of man came to seek and to save the lost.

And so jesus knows that the crowd outside because of the i guess the only way we could really put it properly at the infection of the pharisees has adopted a view of god's law that is very externalistic and therefore a matter of well i won't have anything to do with someone like that uh...

That clearly is how zacchaeus had been treated all along. And jesus' showing of kindness to him but not a compromising kindness results in this man's well today salvation has come to this house. How was that shown.

That was shown in the fact that there was a change of what zacchaeus was passionate about. Clearly he had been passionate about his possessions of this point so much so that he was willing to be made a pariah amongst his own people.

He was willing to walk down those narrow streets and endure the looks of hatred being despised. No one even though they all knew his name because he would come knocking on their doors when it was tax time.

No one would say his name in kindness. Uh... it must have been a difficult life. But when your passion is your stuff your things then that's where your your love is. That's where your focus is. But to give away half of his goods and to restore fourfold any one who had been defrauded would mean zacchaeus would be living on the margin.

Now he would only be collecting what he was supposed to collect not becoming rich. And was the clear demonstration that something had truly taken place in his heart. If he had just you know made a major donation to the uh ministry of jesus and left it at that that would be more of a stabbing of the conscience than truly a demonstration that there had been a a change in the man's heart.

But what he does results in jesus's announcement that salvation has come to this house resulting in one of the more famous statements in the gospels. The son of man came to seek and to save the lost. This is a text that i have often used in a series of texts because it's a purpose statement it's not a hope statement.

It's not a i wish i could do this statement. It is. Why did the son of man come. Well we just saw it in the preceding page. The son of man came so notice you have the son of man came in mark 10 45. I'm sorry matthew 2028.

Now you have the son of man came. Now if you parallel the two then he came to do what. In matthew and mark. To give his life as a ransom for many in luke in this story to seek and to save the lost. So obviously the atoning work of christ the giving of his life as a ransom for many is the means and mechanism whereby he fulfills the statement here to seek and to save the lost.

So many people because of our traditions because of maybe how we were raised or what we hear so often around us hear this and reinterpret jesus' statement. Jesus' statement in luke chapter 19 verse 10 is made after the accomplishment of the salvation of zacchaeus.

And yet so many people will take that phrase of accomplishment to seek. He miraculously sees zacchaeus in the tree knows his name knows his situation. He calls him to himself goes into his home. We're not told what's said but we can imagine he seeks and he has saved the lost.

Zacchaeus was lost. He was a son of abraham. And given that he follows the mosaic law and restoration he knew what god's law was. He wasn't ignorant. He undoubtedly had been raised in the synagogue which only made his becoming a tax collector all the worse.

Here it's in the context of accomplishment. And yet so many people see this and they read it. For the son of man came to seek every single person and to save those who allow him to do so. Isn't that how most people understand it?

I mean it's just a mindset. But they're not realizing that. In this context there's an entire crowd outside that have missed what jesus is about. That's why they are murmuring. And when you see that term murmur check that phrase out sometime because in john chapter 6 the crowd was murmuring about what jesus said.

And jesus' response to them was stop grumbling amongst yourselves. No one can come to me unless the father who sent me draws him and I'll raise him up on the last day. That was jesus' response. They're murmuring and grumbling in john 6.

And they're outside murmuring. He's gone in to be a guest a man who's a sinner. If he was really a prophet he'd know that that guy was a sinner. He'd know that woman was a sinner that's touching his feet wiping his feet with her hair.

He'd know that if he was really a prophet and to take phrases like this and say well he was he was trying just as hard to save them as he was. Zacchaeus just makes a mockery of the whole thing. But it's that tradition a tradition that gets in people's way.

This is a phrase of ability just as john 6 is a phrase of ability. You are not believing. The ones the father gives me will follow me. Here we have. For the son of man came to seek and to save both. And yet so many will say well yeah he tries.

He really puts forth a good effort. If he can fail at this then the very son of man a divine figure in the book of Daniel can come and try but fail. And a lot of people say yep that's right. And I say nope don't believe it for a second all right.

We will pick up. I will just have to remember this because we don't have the official keeper of the notes with us today. So we will pray that George is all right. And we will pick up with the parable of the palimpsest next time.

Let's pray together our gracious heavenly father. We thank you for your word. We thank you for preserving it for us down through the centuries. And we do thank you that the son of man came to seek and save the lost.

For that's us. And you have done that. We thank you for it. We ask now as we go into worship that you would cause us to hear your word. That you would cause us to present to you worship. That would be pleasing in your eyes.

We pray in Christ's name amen.