The Call to Humility (1 Peter 5:5-7)

Audio available here

There is a quality often found in humanity that was once identified by Aristotle as the crown of virtues. The great philosopher said that this characteristic was inseparable from nobility and goodness of character. Centuries later, Nietzsche said that this quality was part of a past set of master morals which had been lost and replaced by a lower, slave-type of morality. In his estimation, unless humanity could recover this lost trait, mankind would remain forever in a state of servitude. Yet when we turn to the Bible, we find this same quality called a sin and spoken of with intense severity. This sin is called a thing that God hates, a quality found in evil men, a thing that precedes personal destruction, even the very sin that transformed an exalted angel into the very devil himself. And the devil has used this sin to bring about the downfall of countless men and women throughout human history. This quality so highly praised by history’s secular philosophers and so roundly condemned by Scripture is, of course, pride. In our text today, we read that God is opposed to the proud.

Of course, the opposite of pride is humility. Throughout the pages of the Bible, humility is championed as a crowning virtue of a holy life. While today, humility is a cherished quality even among some who have no regard for the Bible, it has not always been this way. In the writings of the ancient Graeco-Roman world, humility was rarely even mentioned, and when it was, it was almost always in a negative light. In some writings it is considered to be a mark of an evil and unworthy person. It was widely considered to be a characteristic of weakness and cowardice, appropriate only for slaves. It would have been shameful for a free citizen of the Roman Empire to be considered humble. Christians were among the first people in the history of the world to champion humility as a virtue, and the high esteem that many have for humility in our world today can be said to be a result of Christian influence. In a sense, true humility is a uniquely Christian virtue.

Yet, humility, though essential in the Christian life, does not come naturally to any of us. As sinful people, we are consistently prone to fall into the error of pride. Throughout life, we find our feet on a slippery slope that will spiral us into this deadly sin if we are not constantly on guard against it. The great Puritan pastor Richard Baxter once received a letter filled with words of praise. Baxter understood the great temptation that pride perpetually posed, and responded to this letter by saying, “I have the remainders of pride in me; how dare you blow up the sparks of it?” Pride is so native to us, and humility so foreign, that the Scriptures have to continually echo warnings against pride and commands to be humble. And God, who so opposes our pride, actually enables us for humility through the work of His grace in our lives as we allow the Holy Spirit to cultivate godly character within us. As Peter says here, quoting from Proverbs 3:34, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” He actively works against the proud and actively works to prevent His people from becoming proud. But once His people determine to embrace humility, He grants to them the grace to make it possible.

The Apostle Paul provides us with a great example of this from his own life in 2 Corinthians 12. There he said that a “thorn in the flesh” had come into his life in order to prevent him from “exalting himself.” We do not know what this “thorn” was, but we know that Paul calls it a messenger of Satan that tormented him. But he says he prayed three times for this thorn to be removed, and the Lord’s answer to him was, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” We can draw from this that God was willing to allow His servant to suffer great hardship in order to keep him humble, but God would also supply His servant with the grace necessary to endure the hardship and demonstrate the humility.

Now, in our text today, we find a call for Christians to be a humble people. This humility is to be demonstrated in two different directions, if you will. First, there is a call to humility within the church, and second a call to humility before the Lord. Let’s take a closer look at this call to humility that God requires, and which God’s grace enables us to have in our lives.

I. Christians are called to be humble toward one another in the church (v5)

Our society is not too much different from that of the first century in some respects. Like that day, so in our own, it is common, and often expected that a person will assert himself or herself to rise above others and grasp for power and prestige, popularity and prosperity. The one who does not do that will not advance far in our society, and will at times be looked down upon or pitied by others. And certainly there are right ways to be ambitious, but most often our sinful nature prompts us to pursue ambition in a prideful way. Now, what happens when this kind of prideful ambition is found within the church? Members begin to look down their noses at their fellow members, they begin to lobby for power and prominence, they use others for their own ends and agendas. And God only knows how many churches have been destroyed by this kind of pride, but typically when a church is facing internal conflict, pride can be found at the root of it. This is why humility is so vital for the health of a church.

Peter says here that the younger men are to be subject to their elders. While it is a good general principle for younger generations to show respect for the older generations, that general truth is not what Peter is talking about here. A few verses before, he defined what an elder is in this context. An elder, as we discussed last week, is another word for a pastor. It speaks to a pastor’s spiritual maturity and qualifications for church leadership. Therefore, when he speaks of younger men, he may not have in view a person’s age at all, but rather he may be speaking to those who are younger in their standing in the church, or to those who lack spiritual maturity. We find throughout the New Testament a call for the church to submit to its leaders who are gifted by the Spirit to guide them according the the Word of God, and this could be one further echo of that call.

But there is some relevance here especially for younger generations of church members as well. Younger Christians are often more resistant to being led by someone else, more headstrong, more determined to do things their own way. Macarthur says that it is “obvious that they generally tend to be the most aggressive and headstrong members of any group.” I can remember when I began to grow in the Lord, I became very critical of my pastor and my church because I felt that they didn’t do things the right way, which could be translated as “the way I wanted them done.” I had no sensitivity to the need to make changes slowly, the need to minister to people with a variety of needs and interests, the need to preserve and honor some important traditions. And this is a common pitfall that young Christians who are beginning to grow in their faith fall into. Some of you students have a desire to go on to seminary, and when you do, sometime during your first semester or so, you will know enough Greek, enough Systematic Theology or Philosophy, or enough Church Administration principles to be dangerous! The knowledge that will be imparted to you in the classroom is valuable, but also volatile if it is not tempered with humility. So, while all believers must have a humble attitude toward those who lead them in the church, younger believers in particular must beware of a prideful zeal that would undermine the unity of the fellowship. Humility would place us at the feet of those we would otherwise criticize, that we might learn from them how to proceed in the right direction with the right attitude, rather than rupturing the fellowship over matters that in time will prove to be of lesser importance.

But then notice that Peter turns the focus from the humility that needs to be expressed toward church leaders to the humility that needs to pervade every relationship within the church fellowship. He says, “All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another.” This command is issued to all believers, pastors, leaders, deacons, teachers, new believers -- all members alike. The idea of “clothing yourselves” has to do with tying something on, such as an apron worn by servants. Humility is to be our garment, our covering. Surely all of us give at least some thought to how we will dress when we gather with the church. Some would insist that they are not dressed for church until they have put on their tie, or their certain shoes or specific kind of dress. Those preferences vary from place to place and generation to generation, but one garment is always a necessity when believers gather together -- humility. Paul says in Romans 12 that no Christian should think more highly of himself than he ought to think, but to think so as to have sound judgment. He says that rather, Christians should give preference to one another in honor. This means that the humble Christian will look upon his brother or sister in the faith as someone who to serve, someone to sacrifice for, someone who is more deserving of honor than oneself. How would church fellowship be transformed if we began to look at each other through these eyes? What kind of revival would erupt in our congregation and others if believers began to clothe themselves with humility?

The really ironic thing is that not only do we often fail to wear the covering of humility, we actually do the opposite. When we come together, we often put on airs that portray ourselves as something of significance and importance, as people who have no problems or needs, as people who are stronger, better, and more holy than we really are. And sometimes we can pull it off and fool some folks, but never as many as we think, and certainly we can never fool God. Why do we do this? Pride! Too insecure to admit weakness; too afraid to admit our needs; too ashamed to confess our sins, and so like Adam and Eve, we stitch together the fig-leaf garments of false pride to cover our true condition. But have we not heard? Do we not know? Peter says here that God is opposed to the proud. In all of our efforts to dress up and look godly, we are actually walking in defiance of God, and lining ourselves up under His active opposition. But if we would abandon pride, we would find that God gives us the grace we need to be humble, and this humility would cover us like a garment. No church would ever be the same where this kind of mentality began to take root.

II. Christians are called to be humble before the Lord (vv6-7)

In 1792, England sent George Macartney to China in hopes of having him installed as the first British ambassador there. It was explained to Macartney that when he entered the throne room of the emperor, he must “kowtow,” that is, kneel three times, and each time he knelt, he must bow three times with his head touching the floor. This manner of approach was the customary way that one would approach a deity, and the Chinese considered their Emperor to be a god. Macartney explained that he would only do this if a Chinese official would do the same before a picture of King George. This was refused, but Macartney was granted audience with the emperor anyway. When he entered, he bent his knee as he would have done before his own king, but Macartney was not allowed to become the ambassador. Some time later England tried again, this time sending William Amherst to the Chinese Emperor. When Amherst entered, he refused to kowtow or even to kneel, and for this he was called a rude man who did not know how to behave, and he was sent back to England. Thus, early efforts for the British to have an embassy in China were frustrated in part because of British pride and the refusal of the British to show the kind of humility that was required in the Imperial throne room. Now, whether or not the Chinese Emperor was worthy of such humiliation in his presence is beyond the scope of our discussion. Our question is rather, how should we come before the throne of the King of Kings? And the answer is quite obvious: we must be humble. There is no room for pride when we come before Him.

Peter says here that in light of the fact that God is opposed to the proud and gives grace to the humble, we must humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God. To approach God with any measure of pride in ourselves is the epitome of arrogance. To be humble under His mighty hand recognizes God’s complete sovereignty. The very fact that I am alive is something attributable to His grace alone. That I might approach Him at all is something that I do not deserve. In our sinful condition, if God were to grant us what we deserve, we would be cut off from Him to perish forever in hell. And every day that a human being wakes up and finds himself or herself not in hell is a day to give God thanks for His mercy and His grace. But God, in His sovereign grace, has even given us the offer of redemption; the opportunity to be reconciled to Him by having our sins forgiven and being made righteous by faith in Jesus Christ who died bearing the penalty of our sins and rose from the dead in victory. No one will come before this sovereign God boasting of his or her own accomplishments and insisting on rights!

The Christians to whom Peter was writing were undergoing extreme hardship. They were the objects of hatred, slander, and persecution. Could they come before the Lord with any sort of claim that He had been unfair to them or had given them something worse than they deserved? By no means. They were not in hell, and hell is what they, and we, deserve. So the call to be humble under God’s mighty hand is a call to recognize God’s sovereign hand, and to accept the circumstances in which we find ourselves, no matter how difficult. God could have prevented them; God could change them, and in time He may yet. But we are not to assume that God needs our counsel or advice on how we think things ought to go. We must approach Him humbly knowing that if He has choreographed our circumstances, even if they be unpleasant, then He will supply the grace to endure them for His own sake.

But notice also that the call to be humble before the Lord also recognizes God’s faithfulness. Should we find ourselves in a state of suffering for Christ, as Peter’s readers did, or surrounded by difficulties that press down on us from all sides, we must return to the promises that God has made to His children. Those who are His by faith in Jesus Christ have been promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us; that He will provide for us; and that ultimately when this life is over, He will raise us up to eternal life. So, in this life, though it is often filled with the hardships of a world broken by sin, we can embrace our position and find contentment in our circumstances knowing that God has not forgotten or revoked any of His promises. We can humble ourselves under His mighty hand in full confidence that if we are to be exalted beyond these things, He will be the one to do it, and He won’t need our help. It will happen “at the proper time.” We do not know when that time will be, but God does. For some, it may be a season in life; things may be difficult today, but tomorrow things may change, and God will raise you up from the difficulties of life. Or it may be next week, or next month, or next year, or sometime in the distant future. But for others, it may not be in this life at all. The “proper time” may be when God calls you home to glory through the door of death, and even that death may be unpleasant. Peter’s audience included many who did not know but that the next day their lives may be required of them simply because they followed Jesus. Yet the promise is still true for them and for us: if we humble ourselves before God, He will exalt us at the proper time. We do not need to exalt ourselves, but rather to wait patiently, humbly, on the Lord to do what He intends to do both in us and through us. And when He has completed that work, in this life or in the life to come, He will exalt us to a height that we cannot imagine, and which we certainly do not deserve, if we have pledged ourselves to Him by faith in Jesus.

And Peter says that this humility before the Lord recognizes, in addition to God’s sovereignty and His faithfulness, also His goodness. As we humble ourselves under His mighty hand, we are invited to “cast all of our anxiety on Him.” The word that Peter uses here for “cast” is a word that means “to throw something on something or someone else.” It is used in Luke 19:35 to describe how the people threw their coats on the back of the colt that Jesus would ride into Jerusalem. Are you loaded down with anxiety? You are welcomed here to throw it upon the Lord, that He might bear it. Do not say, “God will not give me more than I can bear.” God will regularly give you more than you can bear, in order to teach you to give it to Him. God will not give you more than HE can bear, and He invites you to cast it upon Him. To go on trying to bear those burdens yourself is prideful and arrogant. You cannot handle it, no matter how strong you think you are. You must humble yourself and say to the Lord, “I need help!” If you don’t, you risk the opposition of God, who opposes the proud, and you forfeit the grace that He gives to those who are humble to admit their weakness. The Greek word here for “anxiety” is the same word used in the parable of the sower, where Jesus says that the “worry” of the world, among other things, can choke out the Word of God from our lives. So we are left stumbling under a load that we cannot bear, starving for lack of nourishment on the very bread of life that would strengthen us. Why be so proud to bear it alone? God is good! He cares for you! And because He cares for you, He says that you can cast all of that anxiety upon Him. How do you do that? You do it in prayer, as Paul says in Philippians 4, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” As the old hymn says, “Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

Humility. It was not highly regarded in ancient societies. It is not highly regarded in our own. But we who have been purchased by the mercy of God through the blood of Jesus Christ are not citizens of this society. We have become citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, and a mark of that citizenship is humility. It is a humility that considers one another of more importance than ourselves, and leads us into serving each other. It is a humility that recognizes God’s sovereignty, God’s faithfulness, and God’s goodness. God calls us to this kind of humility; and it is contrary to every prideful fiber in our being; but His grace makes it possible within us if we abandon and embrace humility as our way of life. The challenge from this word strikes us all today. How do we view one another within the church? How do we approach the throne of God? Perhaps the Holy Spirit is speaking to your heart today about your attitude toward another Christian, or your prideful estimation of yourself; or perhaps He is speaking to you about your prayer life, your worship habits, your beliefs and heart-attitude toward Him? Let humility be our clothing as we respond to God’s word prayerfully today.

Others perhaps would recognize that they have never truly come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Understand that He died for your sins, including your pride and every sinful manifestation of it. And He has defeated your sin and all of its penalty through His resurrection from the dead, and offers to cover you in His perfect righteousness if you will turn to Him by faith. This means that you have to abandon the pride of thinking that you can be good enough or do good enough to make yourself right with God, and in humility recognize that you are hopeless apart from Jesus. May God’s grace empower you to make that decision today if you never have.

The Marks of a Faithful Pastor (1 Peter 5:1-4)

This is a longer version of this message than I actually preached. Time constraints forced me to eliminate several lengthy portions of the message, but I retained them in the manuscript because I thought they were essential to the full development of the message. The audio of the shorter version is available through this link.

I was scheduled to meet with a pastor in a New England town about a mission project we were involved in in his city. I didn’t know what he looked like, and he didn’t know what I looked like. When I got to the church I asked a guy, “Are you the pastor?” He chuckled and said “No, but you’ll know him when you see him.” Several others said that to me as well. I really wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be looking for that would be such a dead giveaway. But suddenly, bouncing down the steps from an upper floor, I saw first the tennis shoes and black socks, then the bare legs and khaki shorts, then the black shirt with the white clerical collar, then an enormous cross that hung around his neck, then a smile that stretched from ear to ear. “Ah, you must be the pastor,” I said. Sure enough, I knew when I saw him. In contrast, almost daily people come to our office and I greet them at the door and they ask to speak to the pastor. I confess that sometimes I am tempted to say that he’s not in at the moment, but I never do. When I say that I am him, people regularly say, “Oh, I didn’t expect you to be the pastor.” I’m never quite sure if that is a compliment or not. I don’t know what they were expecting … an older man, perhaps; a suit and tie maybe; more hair care product; a collar or something like that? Traditionally Baptists have shunned the use of a collar among pastors, and even the robe to a large extent. I chose a number of years ago to begin wearing the robe on occasions that I felt demanded a higher degree of formality and gravity, such as today when we observe the Lord’s supper, or on significant occasions and ceremonies. But I do not presume to think that wearing a robe makes me more spiritually qualified or a more holy person. It is, for the most part, just for appearance and symbolizes the seriousness of the moment.

Policemen wear badges, doctors and nurses wear scrubs, soldiers have uniforms. Each of the identifying marks of the person’s respective vocation. But what are the marks of a pastor? Is it the robe or the clerical collar? Is it the big Bible or the heavily sprayed hair? No, according to Peter in our text today, the marks of a faithful pastor have nothing to do with how he looks or what he wears. Peter, who identifies himself as a pastor, here sets forth an exhortation to his fellow pastors about the marks that should distinguish them in their faithful service to Christ and his church. His qualifications to give these instructions are based in a description of himself that he provides. He is a fellow elder, perhaps having even been the pastor of many of the Christians to whom he is writing when they lived in Rome. He is also a witness of the sufferings of Christ, indicating his apostolic ministry that began as he walked with Jesus during His earthly life. We also have the confidence that he is writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and can therefore say that this is God’s Word for the church in all generations.

These words are particularly relevant to us today for a number of reasons. First, they set forth, together with 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Acts 20:17-38, Ephesians 4:11-16, and Titus 1:5-9, the standard that pastors should be measured by. Second, we see from this passage and others that the biblical descriptions of pastors have far more to do with the kind of people they than the kind of tasks they do or results they produce. And third, we are on the precipice of a major crisis in pastoral ministry today. Fewer and fewer seminary graduates are entering traditional pastoral ministry, opting instead for roles as church planters, specialized church staff roles, missionary service or parachurch ministry roles. This means that small churches in particular will have a far more difficult time finding willing men to serve as pastors in the years to come, and if we do not have some sort of objective standard for measuring candidates, disaster could loom large over the church.

There may be some who would criticize me for addressing this subject here today for a couple of reasons. First, it may be said that we are not all pastors, and therefore we do not all have a need for this instruction. To that I would say that if it was important enough for God to record in His book, then it is important enough for our consideration in this setting. Additionally I would say that while we are not all pastors, we all need pastors (myself included) to shepherd us in the Christian life, and therefore we must know what the Scriptures teach about pastors. Second, some may suggest that it is self-serving for me to preach about the work of pastors. I would have to respond to that by saying, initially, that if it can be shown how this message is in any way self-serving, I will apologize for mishandling it. I would add that, on the contrary of being self-serving, I am actually setting before you today a standard that I hope you will use to judge my work as a pastor, and that of any other pastor. This passage and the others I have mentioned are ever before me as a lofty standard that I know, apart from the enabling of the Holy Spirit, I can never attain to. So daily I reflect on these as my own marching orders from heaven and seek His help to abide by them. And, though I have no intention of leaving Immanuel for another place of service, none of us knows what the future holds. If the Lord tarries, we can be quite sure that death, or the call of God, or some other unforeseeable circumstance will necessitate you calling another pastor someday. And if and when that day transpires, if I have not taught you the Word of God concerning the role of pastors, I will have failed to equip you in a matter of fundamental importance for the life and health of this church. My own pastor used to regularly teach the congregation on matters of pastoral ministry, saying, “If I don’t do this, who will?” I would echo that sentiment here today. And then of course, there are some who would be critical of this message today simply because they are critical people. In fifteen years of pastoral ministry, I have yet to discover the best way to deal with that kind of criticism, except to just pray for them, love them anyway, and press on in service of the Lord knowing that ultimately He is the one I have to please in the end.

Now, that said, let’s dive into this text and examine what God’s Word teaches us here through Peter’s letter about the marks of a faithful pastor.

I. The faithful pastor is marked by his titles.

I walked up on a church in another city and noticed that the sign indicated who the speaker was to be for the upcoming Sunday service. Since I have forgotten his name, we’ll call him John Doe. But what I have not forgotten was his title that was spelled out in full on the sign: The Very Right Reverend Monsignor John Doe. That sounds impressive doesn’t it? While I assume that John Doe did not select this title for himself, but rather it was granted to him by the denomination in which he ministers, I was taken aback that none of this impressive collection of titles is found in Scripture. In fact, most of the titles that are commonly used to refer to church leaders around the world are not biblical titles. Not Reverend, Priest, Father, Monsignor, or even the collective title “Clergy.” Rather, these titles come from centuries of man-made traditions and hierarchies. Any time you see the title “Reverend” in front of my name, you can be sure that I didn’t put it there. When I write a title before my name, I use “Pastor.” Pastor is found in the Bible; Reverend is not. When we turn to the pages of the Bible we find something far more simple, far more humble, and far more appropriate for those who would serve Christ in His church than all of these elaborate and honorific titles that have arisen through history.

There are, in the New Testament, only two “offices” or positions held within the church. They are the deacon and the pastor. When it comes to the office of the pastor, we actually find that there are three terms used interchangeably throughout the New Testament. First, the word pastor, which is the least frequent title used in Scripture, and which translates the Greek word poimen, which means literally, “a shepherd.” Second, we find the word presbuteros, which is most commonly translated as “elder” in our Bibles. And third, we find the word episkopos, which literally means “overseer” but which was translated in the King James and other English versions as “Bishop.” While some churches today hold that these three titles refer to three different positions, we find in the New Testament that all of them actually refer to the same position. Take this passage before us, for example. Here, Peter is addressing the presbuterous, the elders, and he exhorts them to poimanate, that is, to shepherd or pastor the flock of God, by exercising episkopountes, or oversight, of the congregation. The elders are admonished to pastor as overseers, or bishops. Turning to Acts 20, we find the same thing. There Paul calls together the elders (the presbuterous) of the Ephesian church and reminds them that God has made them overseers (or Bishops, episkopous) and that their responsibility is to shepherd or pastor (poimainein) the church of God. So, in at least these two passages, and others could be cited, we see how the terms are used interchangeably to refer to the same office in the church.

But what do these titles teach us about the faithful pastor? Is he faithful simply because he wears one or more of these titles before his name? Certainly not. Many have taken up these titles and abused the office that they held and failed to serve the Lord or the church faithfully. Rather, these titles give us insight into the kind of person who is to hold the office and the kind of work that he is to do. What does it mean that this person in this position is called an elder? Does it mean that he must be elderly? I think that is what some people think because often when people meet me they say, “Oh you are too young to be a pastor!” I still get that, even after doing it for so long. But we know that this cannot be the case, because in 1 Timothy 4:12, Paul actually tells the young pastor to not let anyone look down on his youthfulness. Rather, the idea of being an elder has to do with a person’s spiritual maturity. That is why, for instance, Paul says in 1 Timothy 3:6 that a pastor must not be a new convert. He must be seasoned in living the Christian life and wise according to the Scriptures in order that he might be able to teach and preach them faithfully. He must have walked closely with Jesus for a long enough time to be able to lead others to do the same.

The primary exhortation that Peter gives to the elders here is that they shepherd or pastor the flock of God. Throughout the Bible, the people of God are compared to sheep, and the comparison is not always complimentary. Sheep are meek, gentle, and tranquil creatures, but they aren’t very bright. They require the care of a shepherd to provide for them, to protect them, and to nurture them. But the pastor must be under no delusion in thinking of the church in this way, for he himself is first of all a sheep before he is a shepherd. I have often referred to pastors as sheep in shepherds’ clothing. We pastors are not immune to the challenges of life as sheep. Left to our own devices, we are just as spiritually dumb as any other sheep. That is why we must be anchored to the Word of God and desperately adhered to the power of the Holy Spirit in our ministry. Though we are shepherds, we are under-shepherds; Jesus is the Chief Shepherd, as Peter indicates in verse 4. We have to be guided by Him and by our fellow shepherds as we do our own shepherding. Shepherding sheep is a multifaceted task, as is pastoring a church. There is the element of guidance, the element of caregiving and nurturing, and the element of feeding, which in the spiritual realm occurs through the proclamation of God’s Word. His Word is the food for the Christian’s soul, and the faithful pastor must be committed to feeding the flock with a healthy diet of the Word.

Then, when we think of the term overseer, there seems to be some suggestion of the responsibility that the pastor has among the church. I prefer the term overseer to Bishop because it is a literal translation of the Greek word, and it is a much more descriptive term. In this passage, the phrase “exercising oversight” is adverbial, describing how the pastor is to shepherd the church. He does so while exercising oversight. The pastor has a responsibility before God to oversee the spiritual well-being of the church and its members. This means that there must be a certain degree of authority invested in the pastor’s position, but it is not unlimited or unaccountable authority. He is accountable both to the Lord and the church for the exercise of that authority and oversight. Hebrews 13:17 says that the leaders of the church will give an account for your souls before the Lord, and therefore, there should be some degree of submission and obedience given to them in light of this responsibility. If he leads the church astray, he will answer to God for doing so. But, should the members of the church make his work grievous rather than joyful, that same verse indicates that it will be unprofitable for the church. In other words, the pastor will answer to God for his leadership, but the church will also answer to God for their “follow-ship.” There are individuals in many churches who have gained reputations as “pastor-killers”, and Hebrews 13:17 stands as a warning to those individuals that they will be held accountable before God for their attitudes and actions toward their pastors.

So, as an elder, the pastor is to be a spiritually mature person who is able to lead others in their walk with Jesus. As a shepherd, he is to provide care to the flock, chiefly in the form of teaching the Word of God to them. And as an overseer, he is an administrative leader and a spiritual guide for the church. Paul summarizes these responsibilities in 1 Timothy 5:17 when he speaks of elders who rule well and work hard at preaching and teaching. These, we may say, are the biblical responsibilities implicit in the titles that the faithful pastor bears.

II. The faithful pastor is marked by his relationships

The Christian life is entered into individually. Each person must make his or her own decision to follow Christ. But the Christian life cannot be characterized by individualism; it must be lived out in the context of relationships. As Christians, we have a certain relationship with the Triune God: with our Heavenly Father, with our Lord Jesus, and with our indwelling Holy Spirit. We also have a relationship with other Christians: those within our own church family, those in other church fellowships, those who live all over the world, and even to an extent with those who have lived at all points of Christian history. We stand in a line with them, receiving much from those who have gone before us and leaving something behind for those who come after us. And then of course, we also have a certain relationship with those who do not know Christ, as witnesses and missionaries who testify in word and deed of the saving grace of Jesus to those who do not yet know him. And these same relationships also mark the life of the faithful pastor.

We see in this text something of the pastor’s relationship to the Lord. As an elder, we have already mentioned, he is a person of spiritual maturity that has been nurtured through walking with the Lord by faith over a period of time. But in his role as a shepherd, he has a somewhat unique relationship to the Lord Jesus. After all, it was Jesus who said, “I am the good Shepherd” (John 10:11). Since that is the case, pastors should seek to emulate the shepherding ways of Jesus as we serve Him. Peter actually makes the case here that we are “undershepherds.” In verse 4, when he refers to the return of Jesus, he calls Him the “Chief Shepherd,” using the word archipoimenos, the highest of all shepherds, in the Greek. So in a very real sense, Christ is our Lord and Savior first, but also our “boss” if you will, serving as our example in shepherding and our master to whom we will give account for our ministry as His undershepherds. Incidentally, this text is the reason why I despise the term “Senior Pastor.” This term “Chief Shepherd” is the closest thing we have in Scripture to “Senior Pastor,” and it is a title that belongs only to Jesus.

We also see in this text something of the pastor’s relationship to the church at large, throughout history. This is suggested in Peter’s description of himself as a “fellow elder.” We stand in line with a group of Christians who have served Christ’s church since the time of the apostles and include even some of the apostles. While we do not know for certain how many of the twelve actually served as church pastors, we do know that Peter did, and John did, and Paul to a great extent did as well. And we know that wherever in history and geography the church of Jesus Christ has been present, there has been someone called by God to lead and feed that church on the Word of God. On the one hand, there is honor in this reality. When we are tempted to think of our work as insignificant and meaningless, we are reminded by this that the calling of Pastor has been foundational to the work of God since the earliest period of church history. But there is also something humbling about this. Many of these who have held this office throughout history have suffered and died for their calling as pastors, and therefore we must not be surprised by suffering if it comes or way or think that we deserve something better. Also, we are reminded because of these relationships with pastors throughout history that we are not irreplaceable in the program of God. While the office of pastor seems to be a fixed reality for the church until Christ returns, no individual pastor holds the keys to the kingdom all by himself. Should he fail to exercise his calling faithfully, should he abuse his authority, should he mistreat the flock in any way, or should calamity fall upon him in the ordinary coming and going of life, he can and will be replaced. Therefore no pastor should think himself to be irreplaceable in the purposes of God, and no church should think of their pastor in that way. You will have another pastor some day unless the Lord returns before my death or before God calls me to serve elsewhere. And it is a fundamental part of my work as your pastor to prepare you to follow the next person to occupy this position. It has always been one of my goals as a pastor to make the job of my successor easier. Understanding our relationship with the church at large, throughout all time and over the span of the whole world helps us keep this fresh in our minds.

Now, we also see something of the pastor’s relationship to the local church among whom he serves. I had just begun my first pastorate when an older man in the congregation came into my office to talk about some issues with me. He began to address thirty years of church problems with me, before I finally asked him, “Why are you telling me all of this?” He said, “Well, you are the pastor, and you are the head of the church, so you need to do something about it.” I agreed with him that perhaps there were some things I could do about some of these problems, but I said, “If anyone in this church thinks that the pastor is the head of the church, then THAT is the root of all of our problems.” We’ve already established that pastoral ministry involves some degree of accountable authority, but no pastor must ever think that he is the head of the church or that the church belongs to him. In the same way, neither the deacons, the church council, nor any other individual or group of people must think that the church belongs to them or that they are the head. Jesus Christ was very clear in Matthew 16:18, “I will build My church.” The church belongs to Jesus and, as Paul says in both Ephesians 5 and Colossians 1, it is Christ who is the head of the church. Here in this text, when Peter speaks of the church, he says that it is the flock of God. Though the pastor is called to shepherd this flock, he never becomes the owner of it or the head of it. The flock belongs to God. And as such, the pastor does not stand above the congregation, but alonside of them on level ground before the Lord. This is why Peter refers to the pastor shepherding the flock of God among you. They are not beneath him, nor are they above him. The pastor and the people are brothers and sisters under the Fatherhood of God; coworkers together under the Lordship of Christ; and fellow pilgrims indwelled and empowered equally by the Holy Spirit. The Spirit has gifted each of us for the service of God in some avenue of ministry. Some are gifted and called as pastors, but those are not more important than those who are gifted and called to serve Christ as teachers, businessmen, stay at home mothers, plumbers, carpenters, or any other vocation. Whatever skills and gifts we have are to be exercised in the service of the Lord, and for some those gifts and skills are carried out under the divine calling of pastoral ministry. Pastors must remember that there was a gracious work of God going on in their lives when He set them apart for His service. I don’t deserve to do what I do. I haven’t jumped through certain hoops to earn this position. I stand here by God’s grace and nothing else. You didn’t call me to serve in this position because you couldn’t find anyone better to do it. It was because we both recognized that God was bringing us together in His sovereign grace for this purpose. Thus, Peter says that the pastor must always bear in mind that the church he happens to serve is one that has been allotted to his charge, as he says in v3, by the grace of God. And we must each recognize the sovereign hand of God in bringing us together in this way: His calling me to serve you as pastor; His allotting of you to my charge. This comes into sharper focus as we examine the third mark of a faithful pastor …

III. A faithful pastor is marked by his attitude

As we look at the New Testament passages concerning pastors and their service to the church we find that there is always more emphasis placed on who and how than what. That is, the priority in all of these texts are on the spiritual qualifications of the man, and the manner in which he conducts his ministry, rather than on the specific tasks listed under his job description. Every pastor is unique in his gifts and abilities. Some are better teachers and preachers, others are better counselors, others are more compassionate in their personal caregiving, and others more effective as organizational leaders. While all pastors must engage in all of these tasks on an ongoing basis, each one will excel at differing aspects of pastoral ministry. As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:4-6, “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.” Different gifts, different ministries, different effects; but all of it is empowered by the same Spirit, rendered unto the same Lord, and accomplished by the divine work of the same God. And this sovereign God who calls pastor and church together knows with perfect knowledge the strength that each pastor brings to his office, and the needs that each church has in that season of its history. So, we mustn’t begrudge the fact that Pastor Jones is a better preacher, but a worse counselor than Pastor Smith; or that Pastor Davis is a better leader, but a worse caregiver than Pastor Murphy. Rather, we trust that God knew what He was doing when He brought the pastor and people together, as it were, “for such a time as this.”

But, though there are great varieties among pastors in terms of their strengths and abilities, one thing must remain constant. There is an attitude that must pervade all pastoral work if the pastor is to be found faithful. That attitude is expounded here in this text in the form of three contrasts.

First, Peter says that the Pastor must shepherd the flock of God “not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God.” Essentially, Peter is here speaking of the difference between doing what you’ve got to do and what you get to do. The pastor must not engage in any of his duties with a begrudging spirit as if he is being forced to do something against his will. Rather, he must see all of the aspects of his ministry as part and parcel of what God has called him to do, as God’s will for him, and therefore engage in those tasks joyfully and willingly.

Then Peter says that this shepherding must be done “not for sordid gain, but with eagerness.” Here Peter is saying that the motivating factor in a pastor’s ministry must not be the power, privileges, prosperity, or other personal benefit that he would hope to gain from it. Moreover, the word that Peter uses actually goes farther to suggest that he must never resort to dishonest or manipulative means to acquire such benefits from the work of the ministry. Rather, he is to serve with eagerness, ready to do what God has called him to do, even if there is no reward or recompense this side of heaven at all. This raises the question of whether or not it is right, and to what degree, a pastor should be compensated for his work in the church. There are two issues here. First, the New Testament is clear that a church who benefits from the ministry of a pastor should compensate the pastor for his labors. And chief among these labors is the duty of preaching and teaching the Word of God. We see this in 1 Timothy 5:17 where Paul says that the elders (or pastors) who rule well are worthy of double honor, particularly those who work hard at preaching and teaching. He goes on to say that withholding compensation from such a pastor would be equal to muzzling an ox while it is threshing, thus preventing it from eating of the grain beneath his feet; or withholding the wages of a laborer. In 1 Corinthians 9:14, Paul says that the Lord has directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel. So, there is a biblical expectation among the churches that they will financially support the pastors who serve them faithfully with the Word of God. But then, the other side of that coin has to do with what is right for a pastor to expect. First of all, according to this and other passages, we see that the pastor’s primary motivator is not to be his salary but his calling to proclaim the gospel. If that is so, then he will do it whether he is being paid to do it or not. As Paul says 1 Corinthians 9:16, “Woe is me if I do not preach the gospel.” If this is what God has called me to do, then a paycheck or the lack thereof will have no bearing on whether or not I obey that call. And then secondly, understanding the true nature of the church and the pastor’s relationship to it, each pastor must be willing to live on what the church provides, according to its means based on the giving of each member. And if that figure is unreasonably low, then perhaps the church needs to adjust its expectations of the pastor so that he may take up some other vocation to supplement his income, even as Paul did with tent-making. Think of it this way: if a church has a hundred members, and all of them tithe, and ten percent of that church’s budget is devoted to the pastor’s salary, then he would be receiving the average income of his congregation, without placing an undue burden on the church budget. When I met with your search committee in the summer of 2005, they asked me, “How much salary would you require?” And my answer was that I trust God to provide, so if He is calling me here, then whatever the church offers me will be sufficient to meet my needs. The committee was shocked by such an answer. They told me that they had met with numerous candidates who insisted on six-figure salaries. How many of you draw a six-figure salary? If you were supporting a pastor with that kind of salary, his standard of living would be far beyond that of the average church member, and this should not be. So, while the church has a biblical mandate to support the faithful pastor in his work, the pastor is to serve God in obedience to the call and trust Him to provide, with or without a church paycheck.

The third contrast concerning the pastor’s attitude is found in verse 3: not “lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock.” You want to know the must humbling, stressful, anxious part of being a pastor? No, it’s not moderating business meetings, but that comes close. Rather, it is this reality -- my spiritual leadership must never be that of just telling you what to do. I have to show you what to do by my own life. That means that when things in the church aren’t going in what I think is a good direction, the first place I have to look is at the mirror and see what kind of example I am giving you. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” It would be much easier for me to just say, “Follow Jesus and do what I tell you to do,” and you know, kind of boss people around in the name of Jesus. But this is not the calling of a pastor. Rather, the shepherd walks in front of the sheep, showing them the way to go by leading them along in his footsteps. If you are going to have a close relationship with Jesus, then I must make sure daily that I have a close relationship with Jesus. And that is really humbling when I think that I will answer to God not just for my sermons but for my example as well. Jesus told His disciples that the rulers of the Gentiles “lord it over” the people. They demand things of the people and insist on being served by the people. But Jesus said that this was not to be so of His followers. Rather, the greatest disciples of Jesus will be those who serve others. Jesus said that even He Himself did not come to be served, but to serve and give His life as a ransom for many. If I would be an example to you, then I must follow Christ’s example. I must not think of you as my servants, but of myself as your servant; and I must be willing to give even my very life for you. I have preached this sermon to myself for 15 years, and I have a long way to go in living it out. These words are ever before me, and I hope they will work their way into your hearts and minds as well as you consider your church and your pastor, whether that is me or any other pastor in the future.

Now, in closing, I want to point out what Peter says about what the faithful pastor has to look forward to. Throughout his ministry, he will have hard days, he will make hard decisions, he will bear heavy burdens, he will suffer, sacrifice, and struggle. But if he remains faithful, if he carries out the responsibilities that come along with the titles he bears, if he nurtures the relationships that God has placed him in as a pastor, and if he maintains the proper attitude, then the pastor can look forward to a great reward when we see Jesus face to face. When the undershepherds stand before the Chief Shepherd, those who have been faithful to their calling will receive the unfading crown of glory. It is not fair to call it a reward, because it is of grace. It will not have been earned or deserved, but freely bestowed by the One who freely called and freely empowered us to serve. I pray that I might be found among that number of pastors who receive that crown on that day. But if I am, don’t look for me to be wearing it in heaven, for it will be cast with all other crowns at the feet of Jesus, the Chief Shepherd, the Senior Pastor, to whom belongs all glory and honor forever and ever, Amen.

The Unexpected Christmas Gift (Matthew 10:34)

Audio available here

Snowfall created a crisis in our area last weekend. Not only did we have to cancel church, but the bigger news story was how the retail industry would be crippled because shoppers couldn’t get out on the day after Christmas. On that day, typically shoppers rush out to stores for two reasons. For one, they want to buy all of next year’s Christmas items at a reduced price; and they head out to return all the gifts they received but really didn’t want. I’ve been on both ends of that whole “unwanted gift” thing before. We gave some presents to a friend of our children, and when he had opened it, he said, “I really don’t like these; they’re not what I wanted.” And I’ve had those moments where I opened something and wanted to say that, but like a polite grownup I smile and say, “Oh, you shouldn’t have!” What I really mean is, “Seriously, you SHOULDN’T have.” Of course, sometimes you receive a gift that you really wanted, but once you unbox it and begin to make use of it, there is something unexpectedly disappointing about it. It doesn’t fit like you thought it would; the quality is poorer than you expected; it doesn’t have the features you were hoping it would have.

Now, we all know that Christmas is not about the gifts we give to each other, but about the Gift that God has given to each of us in Jesus Christ. And yet, it seems that as we acquaint ourselves with this wondrous Gift, we are sometimes disappointed, or at least surprised by something we never expected. Are you shocked to hear me say that? Don’t be, for God surely knows that we have all thought it; therefore it is no shame to just come out with it. Surely all of us have had those moments where we were faced with a reality that we never expected following Christ would entail. That has happened to every person who has ever begun to follow Jesus, beginning with the apostles and continuing on to this very day. The fact of the matter is that there is nothing wrong with Jesus; He is who He is, and He is glorious in all of His divine perfections. But sometimes there is something off-kilter in our expectations or understanding that gets whiplashed as we come to discover more about the Christ to whom we have pledged ourselves by faith. And so we come to realize that He is an unexpected Christmas gift.

In our text today we find an instance where we are perhaps taken aback by the words of Jesus. He says in Matthew 10:34, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth.” Peace? Where would we have gotten a silly idea like that? Oh I remember now, that is what we were told His coming would bring to the world! You remember how the angels said in Luke 2:14, “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.” These very words were inscribed on precisely 72.8% of the Christmas cards I received this year (OK I made that part up to make it sound more convincing, but those words were on a lot of cards). Surely the coming of Christ means peace on earth. But no, Jesus says, “Do not think I came to bring peace on the earth.” Well, if He didn’t come to bring peace, He must have come to bring something similar to peace. Maybe it is one of those “Greek word” things where we translate it one way but it really can also mean something similar but different. So what did He really come to bring? He said, “I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”

Well, now if this isn’t the ultimate bait and switch! This is worse than my last visit to Best Buy. I went in to buy a computer that was listed in the paper, and was told that they didn’t have them and couldn’t get them but they could sell me one that was half as good for the same price. When I called to complain about that, they told me that the offer in the paper only applied to residents of Brooklyn, New York. That was bad, but this is worse. We were promised peace, but then Jesus shows up and says, “No, I didn’t come to bring peace! I came to bring a sword.” I think we’re going to need to talk to the Manager or something about this! This is not what we expected!

So in order to understand all this, we need to look at the peace that was promised and the sword that was sent and see how this Christmas gift that we never expected actually proves to be for our good and for God’s glory in the world.

I. Reexamining the peace that was promised.

Throughout the Old Testament, the people of God were promised a time of peace that was coming. The Hebrew word Shalom encapsulates so much more than just the absence of warfare. It carried the idea of completeness, wholeness, a state of perfect well-being in which all would be right in the world. It was clear that this day had been promised and that Messiah was the One who would bring it about. When Isaiah spoke of the coming of the Messiah, He said that he would be called the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), and said that there would be no end to the increase of His government or of peace (9:7). Isaiah spoke of the days in which Messiah would reign, and the people would beat their swords into plowshares, and nations would no longer lift up swords against one another, and never again would they learn war (2:4). Surely the angels who made their announcement to the shepherds in the fields in Luke 2:14 were not lying when they said, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace....”

Now, because of our familiarity with the King James Version, and moreover because we have memorized Christmas carols that are based on the King James text, we tend to think of Luke 2:14 as saying, “Glory to God in the highest, peace on earth, good will to men.” But, in fact, this is not the best translation of that verse. Quite literally it means, “peace on earth to men of good will,” that is, “to those on whom God’s favor rests,” men of His good will; not peace and good will to all men everywhere. It is those who receive Christ and the promise of salvation who receive peace.

Jesus told His disciples, “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you.” The kind of peace that Jesus gave to His followers in His first coming was a peace between God and man that results from deliverance from sin. Because of sin, humanity is at war with God, and it is a war that we cannot win. But Christ’s coming is the offer of peace. God Himself comes to dwell among us as a man in the person of Jesus to take the penalty of our sin upon Himself, so that in Christ we may be at peace with God. Paul says in Romans 5:1, “Therefore, having been justified by faith,” that is, having been made righteous through faith in Christ on the basis of His sinless life, His substitutionary death, and His glorious resurrection, “we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The sin that separated us from Him has been overcome by the blood of His cross and we have been reconciled to Him in this grace of salvation. So, indeed, Jesus came to bring peace to those on whom God’s favor, His saving grace, rests.

But, the coming of Christ which we celebrate at Christmas makes no such promise of peace and good will to all people everywhere on the earth. Christ made this clear, and the promises and prophecies made this clear. For every promise that had been made of a coming peace, there were also promises of vengeance and wrath, promises of hardship that would be endured by the faithful people of God, promises of strife that would arise for the sake of the name of Christ. So when Jesus said, “Do not think that I came to bring peace,” the word which is translated as bring in our Bibles is the Greek word ballo, from which we get the word “ball.” It means to throw, to cast, to hurl, if you will. Jesus is saying, “I did not come to cast peace over the whole earth.” Though such a universal peace has been promised, it is for now postponed until His second coming. This was not the purpose of His first coming which we celebrate at Christmas. There is a peace with God that can be experienced individually by those who call upon Him, a peace with God that issues forth in peaceful relations between men where His grace flows through those who belong to Him by faith. But that peace has not been comprehended or experienced by all, and therefore, universal peace will continue to elude our grasp until He returns. When that day arrives, all evil and all sin will be vanquished by His glorious power, and the perfect state of Shalom, the perfect peace of His eternal reign will be cast over the whole earth. But it is yet future. Do not think that He came to bring that kind of peace at Christmas. For that we still wait; but here and now we can have personal peace with God by believing the Gospel of Jesus Christ which says that He lived the righteous life we cannot, and died the sinners’ death in our place, that we might be forgiven, redeemed, made righteous, and adopted as sons and daughters in the family of God. And if we lose sight of the distinction between these two kinds of peace, we may become disappointed and find Christ to be a most unexpected Christmas gift.

II. Considering the Sword that was Sent

I am for better and for worse something of a creature of habit, and for the last ten years or so, one of my habits at this time of year has been to reread C. S. Lewis’s The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. The land of Narnia sits under the control of the White Witch and she has made it so that it is always winter and never Christmas. But Aslan, the mighty lion who represents Christ, is coming to set things aright in Narnia. The ancient Narnian prophecy had foretold: “Wrong will be right when Aslan comes in sight; at the sound of his roar, sorrows will be no more, when he bares his teeth, winter meets its death, and when he shakes his mane, we shall have spring again.”

Before the children of the story meet him, they meet Father Christmas, the preferred name among the British for Santa Claus. It is he who announces to the children that “Aslan is on the move.” The appearance of Father Christmas indicates that the witch’s spell is breaking and that Christmas will come to Narnia; Aslan will arrive on the scene at the perfect moment, just as Christ arrived on earth in the fullness of time. When Father Christmas gives the children their presents, to Peter, the eldest, he gives a sword and a shield. Lewis says that Peter “was silent and solemn as he received these gifts, for he felt they were a very serious kind of present.” Before peace could be established in Narnia, there would be a great battle, and Peter would have to make use of the gift he had received.

The biblical imagery of Lewis’s Narnia Chronicles is hard to miss. Just as Peter received the unexpected gift of a sword from Father Christmas, so Jesus says that He did not come to bring peace but a sword. And similarly, we understand this to mean that before there can be the universal peace of Messiah’s reign, there must be a battle to vanquish evil. That battle has been raging since sin first entered the world and it will continue until Christ returns. However, when Jesus came in His first Advent, the battle began to intensify. He came, He said, to bring a sword.

People will ask me from time to time if I interpret the Bible literally. That is really a misguided question, for the Bible, like all literature, contains passages that are literally stated and those that are figuratively stated. There are twin errors that arise when someone wants to interpret all of its passages with strict literalism or with strict figurativism. Usually, when figurative language is present, it is quite obvious, and this is one of those times. We know that Jesus does not mean that He came to bring a literal sword to the earth. First, the earth already had plenty of swords; second, we have no historical record of Jesus ever using a sword; third, when Peter drew his sword to defend Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus rebuked him; we could go on, but it is plain to see that Jesus is using “sword” here in a figurative way. But what does this figure of speech mean? Like most figurative language, there are many possibilities. In the Bible, a sword is sometimes used to speak of war, and sometimes of violence and bloodshed. While the Quran uses the idea of the sword to teach these things, the teachings of Jesus clearly indicate that this is not what He means when He says He came to bring a sword. There are passages that speak of the sword as an instrument of judgment, wielded both by the state (in the sense of capital punishment) and by the Lord. But divine judgment is something that is promised for the second Advent, not the first. There are also some passages that use the figurative language of a sword to describe the Word of God, and certainly Jesus not only came to proclaim the Word, but He also IS the incarnate Word of God. Yet, context here does not point to this meaning either. The symbolism here seems to point to the idea of a sword that divides.

In 1836, Colonel William Barrett Travis stood in front of the Alamo and took his sword and drew a line in the sand, saying, “I now want every man who is determined to stay here and die with to come across this line.” This is the same idea that we find here with the sword that Christ brings to the world. He comes to divide those who are with Him and those who are against Him. He eliminates all potential for a middle-ground. In Matthew 12:30, He says, “He who is not with Me is against Me.” And here in this text, He gives a stern warning to His followers.

We who have chosen to be with Him, to believe in Him by faith, will feel the sharp slice of the sword that He came to bring as we find ourselves divided from even our closest relationships. He says in the very next verse, “I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother law; and a man’s enemies will be the members of his household.” The point here is not that Jesus calls us to make enemies with those people. No, the Bible is clear that the people of God are to love, honor, respect and care for their family members, even those who are unbelievers. Rather, Jesus’ point is that we must not be surprised when those family members cut us off from their company and turn away from us because of our faith in Him. We must understand that this kind of division is inevitable, and though it is as painful as the stab of a sword, we must endure it for the sake of His kingdom.

This is the point of what He says in verses 37-39. “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy or Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” Are we willing for the faith that binds us to Jesus to sever us from earthly ties? Does the threat of that sword cause us to want to shrink back from following Christ? If so, then Jesus says we are not worthy of Him, for we have not truly grasped the eternal severity of following Him, nor have we fully committed ourselves to Him. He says, “He who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.” Because we do not daily see crucifixion happening, these words have lost their sting in our day. Jesus’ original hearers understood full-well that when Jesus spoke of taking your cross, He meant death. If we are not willing to follow Christ to the point of death, suffering every earthly loss it may entail, including the loss of our very lives, then we have not comprehended the all-surpassing glory of Christ. The loss of earthly ties may seem mild compared to the bloody death of a cross that both Christ and many of His followers have had to endure. But we must be prepared to suffer both if we choose to follow Him.

But then He says, “He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.” If our existence is all about preserving our own luxuries and comforts so that we have a more enjoyable life here and now, then all that we seek to maintain in the present will be lost when this life comes to an end. What does it profit a man, Jesus said, to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? But if our faith in Christ is sincere enough to suffer the loss of earthly relationships, luxuries, comforts and privileges in order to hold fast to His name, then we will find that we have lost nothing in this life that is not more than compensated for in the life to come when we see Him face to face. The sword that Christ brings is much like the surgeon’s scalpel – it cuts us painfully and draws blood, but it cuts us to heal us. And when we awake to see His face in glory, our healing will be complete … First John 3 says that when we see Him, we will be like Him. And all the pain that the Christmas sword caused will fade from memory altogether, and there will be joy, glory, and ultimately peace like we have never known before.

Today I’d like to conclude by asking you if you have received this Christmas gift of Jesus Christ and the salvation that He lived and died to provide for you? As you follow Him, you may be surprised at what He calls you to and commands of you. The sacrifices you may be called to make may be quite unexpected; some of what He has promised may be postponed for a later day. But He will be faithful to His promises, and in Him alone is salvation found. So, though the bells of Christmas have ceased from ringing, the ultimate gift of Christmas is still available to all who will receive Him. We invite you today to receive Christ as God’s gift to you by calling upon Him as your Lord and Savior.