Welcome to this week’s episode, a special rerun from our Speaking of Life archive. We hope you find its timeless message as meaningful today as it was when it was first shared.
Watch video on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2yoqDxQ-B0
Program Transcript
Speaking Of Life 3041 | Jesus Interrupted
Greg Williams
Have you ever been interrupted? We all have! Kids especially have a gift for knowing the worst time to burst in the door and throw off the whole trajectory. Every one of us has some story of the kid who yelled at church or loudly announced his bathroom needs during a quiet moment.
Mark 7 records one of the oddest interactions Jesus has—and it’s the story of an interruption. Jesus had just had a fiery confrontation with the Pharisees not long after John the Baptist was executed. He was also strategizing his mission and going through Israel and from there out to the world. At this point, he was laying low for a little while, as Mark says: “And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know” (Mark 7:24).
Even before he can enter a time of privacy, a worried mom interrupts Jesus. A Syro-Phoenecian woman begs him to heal her daughter—right at that moment when he’s trying to not draw attention to himself. He enters into a verbal sparring match with her that may leave us scratching our heads:
And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
Mark 7:27-28 (ESV)
Huh?! On the surface it looks like Jesus is insulting this woman, even calling her “dog”—a common slur for Gentile people. It would be reasonable if he were upset by her interruption during this strategic moment.
But look closer. The word he uses is actually a term of affection like “puppy.” He’s hinting toward a change, a softening of the division between people. Look again and you can see, by her witty response that she’s engaging with Jesus, almost joking with him.
True, he is strategically laying low right now. True, he is called to Israel first to fulfill the narrative of the gospel. But he can’t help himself—this determined, headstrong woman captured his heart at that moment.
And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.”
Mark 7:29 (ESV)
This is Jesus, interrupted. We will see later in the chapter—as Jesus fulfills a prophecy of Isaiah—that Jesus moves very carefully within his bigger story. His life and actions tie together the story of Israel and redemption.
But the greater theme of this particular story of interruption is generosity—God’s overflowing love that doesn’t always go “according to plan.” Determined and worried parents, overly active children, and faith-challenged disciples become part of the epic story.
The interruptions drive the plot.
How are we being interrupted today? Are the kids ruining our concentration? Is a difficult person calling us outside “office hours”? These moments are often uncomfortable and never predictable, but they are grace moments and Jesus is there in them. Perhaps they are part of the plot of your life with him.
This is Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.
Program Transcript
Speaking Of Life 3041 | Jesus Interrupted
Greg Williams
Have you ever been interrupted? We all have! Kids especially have a gift for knowing the worst time to burst in the door and throw off the whole trajectory. Every one of us has some story of the kid who yelled at church or loudly announced his bathroom needs during a quiet moment.
Mark 7 records one of the oddest interactions Jesus has—and it’s the story of an interruption. Jesus had just had a fiery confrontation with the Pharisees not long after John the Baptist was executed. He was also strategizing his mission and going through Israel and from there out to the world. At this point, he was laying low for a little while, as Mark says: “And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know” (Mark 7:24).
Even before he can enter a time of privacy, a worried mom interrupts Jesus. A Syro-Phoenecian woman begs him to heal her daughter—right at that moment when he’s trying to not draw attention to himself. He enters into a verbal sparring match with her that may leave us scratching our heads:
And he said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she answered him, “Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.”
Mark 7:27-28 (ESV)
Huh?! On the surface it looks like Jesus is insulting this woman, even calling her “dog”—a common slur for Gentile people. It would be reasonable if he were upset by her interruption during this strategic moment.
But look closer. The word he uses is actually a term of affection like “puppy.” He’s hinting toward a change, a softening of the division between people. Look again and you can see, by her witty response that she’s engaging with Jesus, almost joking with him.
True, he is strategically laying low right now. True, he is called to Israel first to fulfill the narrative of the gospel. But he can’t help himself—this determined, headstrong woman captured his heart at that moment.
And he said to her, “For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter.”
Mark 7:29 (ESV)
This is Jesus, interrupted. We will see later in the chapter—as Jesus fulfills a prophecy of Isaiah—that Jesus moves very carefully within his bigger story. His life and actions tie together the story of Israel and redemption.
But the greater theme of this particular story of interruption is generosity—God’s overflowing love that doesn’t always go “according to plan.” Determined and worried parents, overly active children, and faith-challenged disciples become part of the epic story.
The interruptions drive the plot.
How are we being interrupted today? Are the kids ruining our concentration? Is a difficult person calling us outside “office hours”? These moments are often uncomfortable and never predictable, but they are grace moments and Jesus is there in them. Perhaps they are part of the plot of your life with him.
This is Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.
Psalm 125:1-5 · Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23 · James 2:10,14-17 · Mark 7:24-37
This week’s theme is the Lord’s inclusive love for all. In our call to worship psalm, the psalmist declares that God, in his love surrounds his people. In Proverbs, the writer reminds us that the Lord pleads the cause of the poor and the afflicted. In James, the apostle warns the Jewish believers to not be guilty of showing favoritism. And in Mark, we witness Jesus casting a spirit out of a girl who’s a Gentile.
Compassion Over Favoritism
James 2:1-17 NIV
One Sunday in November of 2013, a Mormon bishop by the name of David Musselman posed as a homeless person outside the church he attended. He recalled that while a few people offered him money, most people had a negative reaction towards his presence.
Much of the congregation were indifferent towards David and simply ignored him, but five people were so offended by the sight of him that they took it upon themselves to ask him to leave. Undeterred, David took his seat in the front row as the service started.
When it was time for the bishop to speak, David took to the stage, much to the shock and dismay of the congregation. Then he revealed his true identity. He said he wanted to see how a homeless person would be treated if one of them decided to show up. It was an experiment that would prove to be quite revealing to that congregation.[1]
Today, we are going to be looking at a passage of scripture found in James 2:1-17. What James is going to be addressing may sound like the situation we just heard. Although James may not have shown up dressed as a homeless person to one of their gatherings, he was aware of how the poor among them were being treated without respect.
James is going to have to call out the believers on their behavior and the favoritism that they were affording the well-to-do in their midst. James has a lot to say to us about how to treat our brothers and sisters in the faith, as well as presenting us with the challenge to prove our faith by our actions. We are going to start by looking at the first four verses of our passage.
My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? (James 2:1-4 NIV)
James is not just referring to someone wearing a customary gold ring. He is drawing a sharp contrast we would all be familiar with. To modernize this for us, picture someone pulling up in their brand-new Lexus or Mercedes. They are decked out as they exit their shiny impressive vehicle, wearing an Armani three-piece suit and sporting an expensive Rolex watch. How is this person likely to be treated? After asking if they are lost, we may be tempted to give this person the royal treatment.
Now, picture someone whose appearance is the total opposite of this person. Maybe their shoes, if they are wearing any, are completely worn out with holes in them. Their clothes haven’t been washed in months and from the smell of it, they have not bathed in a long time as well. How will we treat this person?
James would argue for equal treatment in either case. If the rich person is shown favoritism over the poor person, then we have a problem. James is asking us to dig deep into our motives for how we treat others. Part of having a healthy church is recognizing where we are not operating with healthy behaviors and attitudes. This is where we honestly admit when we erroneously place a higher value on certain people over and above others.
The Christian community gets all excited when we find out that a certain celebrity or athlete is now professing their faith in Christ. It’s as if an “important” person we admire has now legitimized our faith in the eyes of the world. There is something about this that strokes our egos a bit. But why is a high-profile athlete coming to Jesus any more important to us than when an unhoused person has made the same decision?
Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name of him to whom you belong? (James 2:5-7 NIV)
James now proceeds to point out the obvious flaws in their thinking. These believers were stuck on the external trappings of this new member. “He’s a big deal!” “He’s a winner!” At this point, James offers some rhetorical questions to challenge their thinking. In essence, here’s what he is asking:
“Is it really the person who’s on top of the world that most often sees their need for Christ, or is it those who know that they have already hit rock bottom? The kingdom of God is so near to them. These people are ripe for the good news. Can’t you see that? Besides, which one of them is more used to getting their way and who wouldn’t think twice about ruining you financially in court?”
Note: Further study would reveal there were three clear flaws. 1) their attitude was diametrically opposite to God’s long-standing concern for the poor with no partiality (Deuteronomy 1:17, Leviticus 19:18, and Zechariah 7:9-10), 2) the rich were exploiting and persecuting the church, and 3) the believers’ actions violated the “royal law” of love for neighbor.
James is continuing to share the long-standing tradition of the fair treatment of the poor. In Luke 14:13, Jesus said, “But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed.” In Deuteronomy 15:11, it says “Therefore, I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and towards the poor and needy in your land.” James, then, is not presenting a novel idea to these believers. He is insisting on participating with an idea that was birthed in our heavenly Father’s heart ages ago.
If you really keep the royal law found in scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it. For he who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “you shall not murder.” If you do commit adultery but do not commit murder, you have become a lawbreaker. Speak and act as those who are going to be judged by the law that gives freedom, because judgment without mercy will be shown to anyone who has not been merciful. Mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:8-13 NIV)
James is writing to Jewish converts to Christ. These are a group of people who are well acquainted with the Law of Moses. As such, he wants to drive his point home to such a degree that the message goes to their very core.
In verse 8, he sites one of the two great commandments to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
The phrase “really keep” has extreme emphasis and is used only twice in the New Testament, (the other occurrence in Romans 2:27). This phrase means to “bring to perfection” or to “bring to completion” and is much stronger than the Greek word used for “observe” or “keep” used later in verse 10.
Not “really keeping” the law was seen as breaking the law. Being accused of being a lawbreaker is not something that James’ audience would have had an easy time hearing. He allows no wiggle room either, as if they could claim that at least they were not adulterers or murderers. Maybe not, but they are still lawbreakers.
If the Jewish believers were unwilling to act kindly towards others, how could they possibly think that they will be treated with mercy? Instead, merciful kindness wins out over judgment every time.
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action is dead. (James 2:14-17 NIV)
Here we come to perhaps the most famous quote from the book of James: “faith without works is dead.” So, in context, what is James communicating to us? He is telling us that it is more than not discriminating against others; we are also obligated to do something for them. We are not merely to tolerate their presence among us; we are to make them feel welcomed, and we are to address their needs.
Sadly, we need to make something clear. Some come to a body of faith to take advantage, and they are unwilling to help themselves. This is a different topic. Here, James is talking about brothers and sisters we worship with who come to a place of need. He is not telling us to meet every need of those who seek to take advantage.
So, this just took James’ message to a higher level. A level that moves us to taking responsibility for our siblings who require our care and assistance. This echoes what James wrote in James 1:27 that God considers caring for the most vulnerable among us as the purest form of religion. A faith that is alive will concern itself with a focus that looks beyond oneself. He is exhorting us to trust God with our whole being as we look outward to minister to others.
Faith reorders our own desires away from securing our well-being by our own efforts, from enhancing our image by associating with glittering celebrities, and summons us to make our friends among the shabby poor, and to trust the provision of God, who gives freely to all.2
We live in a time where celebrities are worshipped, where those who seem to have it all are seen as more valuable and worthy. It looks like we have this in common with first century believers. And yet, James speaks loudly to our present culture. He reminds us to esteem our siblings whom the world may despise. He would agree with Paul’s statement that “we regard no one from merely a human point of view.”
As we put our faith into action, we do so by tangibly loving our neighbors as ourselves. This is what pleases our Father, who in his heart, sees all of us as his treasured possessions. We welcome all to our assemblies with a seat of honor not based on class, but on the esteemed value God has placed on all his beloved children.
- K. M. Adam, Tutor in New Testament and Greek at St. Stephen’s House at Oxford University, wrote the following:
- Pastor Disguises Himself as Homeless Man | Snopes.com
- Commentary on James 2:1-10 [11-13] 14-17 – Working Preacher from Luther Seminary
David Kowalick—Year B Proper 18
Listen to audio: https://cloud.gci.org/dl/GReverb/GR052-Kowalick-YearB-Propers18.mp3
September 8, 2024 — Proper 18 in Ordinary Time
James 2:1-17
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Program Transcript
David Kowalick—Year B Proper 18
Anthony: Let’s pivot to our next passage of the month. It’s James 2:1-17. It is the Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 18 in Ordinary Time, which is September 8. David, would you read it, please?
David: Sure.
My brothers and sisters, do not claim the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory while showing partiality. 2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, 3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here in a good place, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor person. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into the courts? 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 11 For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
Anthony: Mercy triumphs over judgment. I’m not sure how it is in Australia, but here in the United States, David, far too many Christians hold up wealth as a sign of success and God’s blessing. Whereas poverty, it’s a curse based on, often, what is considered apathetic or lazy living. All of which can lead to a pathway of showing partiality.
From your perspective, what instruction does this passage give the church that we need to hear?
David: Yeah. Sure. Again, I would be saying that there’s something extraordinary that takes place in a person’s life when they become a believer. And the circumstances of your life really have little bearing on the outcome of that because if grace is up to good breeding, good luck. Then that means that grace isn’t grace after all. It’s just pure luck.
And the fact that God can take anyone from any situation, even of the worst situation in the world, and not just poverty in a financial sense, but poverty in the way that they’ve been raised, their education, maybe health, whatever it is. And he can take that person and turn them into an extraordinary human being who can be involved in things that are beyond the imagination that they would have had under natural circumstances. That means we can’t look at those surface things like even your personality and your socialization, education. All those things count little in the end when it comes to what God can do with someone.
And in fact, it’s almost as if God deliberately turns everything upside down. And to me, one of the best examples of this is the choosing of Jacob over Esau. You remember the story where Ephraim and Manasseh were being blessed by Jacob later in life. Because Jacob had experienced being chosen by God over his older brother, which was exactly the opposite to the way things would normally take place.
And then when he goes to put the blessing on Joseph’s children, he crosses his hands, and he puts his right hand on the son who’s on the left side and his left hand on the son who’s on the right side. And he deliberately does this because that’s what he had experienced, because he’d seen God do that to him. God sort of deliberately crossed his hands, and he put the greater blessing on the lesser of the two sons.
And in a way, you can see that taking place at a broader sense that God puts the greater blessing on those who have the greatest poverty, whether it be in spirit or in finance or both or everything. And so often God’s choosing is not based on the ways that we judge people.
So, someone wanders into the church — and I think this is what James is really saying — don’t look down on someone who is poor, considering them to be less because in the eyes of God, that makes absolutely no sense.
And often God chooses the people that we would never choose to get the job done, like Jacob. Look, let’s face it, Jacob wasn’t the greatest [inaudible]. And yet he became the bearer of the message. And Paul takes that point, and he says, nothing can thwart what God is going to do.
And so, if he’s going to cross these hands — beware, if you treat someone who in this world looks like they’re lesser, they may actually end up being the one who’s got the greater blessing. And you put your — I’ve forgotten the verse in the Old Testament where it says to show contempt to the poor is to show contempt to God.
And so, if we look down our nose on anyone, then we’re really putting ourselves in a great danger, in a sense. And we make ourselves the judge of the situation, and if we do that, as it’s very plain elsewhere in the New Testament, that if we lack mercy, then we thwart mercy. If we don’t give forgiveness, then we shut the door to forgiveness.
I suppose that the story that really gets me every time is that story where Jesus said to Matthew, come and follow me. And so, he left his tax collecting job, and then he got all his reprobate friends around for a party. Then the Pharisees were talking to the disciples and saying, how come your rabbi hangs out with these lowlifes and what’s the deal with that?
And then Jesus comes out and he understands what’s going on. And he talks to them, and he says that a doctor only comes for the sick, he doesn’t come for those who are well. And I can imagine, and it’s not actually stated, but it’s implied that the Pharisees heard that and were thinking, oh, okay that explains why you don’t hang around with us because we’re healthy and we don’t need a doctor. Right?
And of course it was a thinly veiled rebuke, and they couldn’t understand it. But of course, they thought themselves above the sickness and above, in the spiritual sense, needing help. And of course, the ones who know they need help are first in line to receive it. And the ones who don’t know they need to, or don’t think they do, don’t line up for the grace of God.
There was an old TV game show that used to be here in Australia, probably you had something similar in the United States. It was called the Money or the Box. And in the game, if you acquired a certain amount of wealth in the game — let’s say you, you’d earned a thousand dollars in the process of the game. At some point in the game, you could choose to give up all of your money to get a box, which you don’t know what’s inside of it. Now inside the box, there could be a million dollars or there might be an old shoe.
And so, then you were given that opportunity to trade your thousand dollars for whatever’s in the box. Now of course, if you’ve got a decent amount of money, you’re going to be loath to trade it for what you don’t know. It could just be nothing, and you’ve given it up and it comes to nothing. But if you’ve only earned, say, 10, and then the offer is made to the money or the box, of course you give up your 10, and you receive what’s in the box, and who knows, you might get a million dollars.
And something like that is true between the person who is poor in spirit. Jesus said, blessed is the poor in spirit, the person who knows that they need help. They’re the ones that are going to trade in whatever they’ve got and say, I’m trading this whole thing in. And that’s exactly what Matthew did.
He said, I’m trading in my tax collecting business because I know it’s leading nowhere and I’m going to take a chance on this. Whereas the Pharisee or the person who’s rich in spirit or rich in things of this world, may be loath to do it and wants to hang on to it and doesn’t want to give up what they already have.
I guess the rich young ruler falls into that category. He was rich, he was young, and he was powerful. And it turns out that he was not only those three things, but he was also kept the Ten Commandments since he was a boy, he bragged.
Jesus said, how are you going with the Ten Commandments? He said, been keeping that since I was a boy, no problem. Got that sorted. And he’s like that kid at school, in your class, if you remember him. He was a good athlete; he was a great artist and brilliant at arithmetic and all of the STEM sciences as well.
He was one of those guys and Jesus said, would you trade all of that? Would you give that all up and come and follow me? And I don’t think he was saying, well done on the Ten Commandments. Now let’s go to the next level. You’ve got through the primary level. Now you go to radical discipleship.
I really think he was saying to him, are you willing to give up everything that you put your hopes in, which is your good, strong spiritual life, your wealth and power, which you would see as a blessing from God. And of course, at the end of that whole thing, after that guy went off, Jesus said, how difficult it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
And at the time, of course, those Jewish people would have been saying if a rich man can’t get in, a man who’s blessed and has got all the obvious signs of God’s blessing, then there’s no chance for any of us. And he wasn’t saying that. That being poor is a virtue, but he was saying that being rich can blind you to the things of God. But then, of course, the [inaudible] that Jesus gives is with man, it’s impossible. But with God, all things are possible. In other words, anyone, no matter who, can be brought into the kingdom of God and nothing can stop you being brought in.
But one thing that can stop you is being blinded by your own spiritual wealth or physical wealth or whatever it is, the sort of markers that the world says, these are good things.
And so, when we make those distinctions with our brothers and sisters in church, we are really muddying the pool of God’s grace very much.
Anthony: Yeah. Amen. And we know that God chooses the weak and base things, the powerless. And I think we’d all do well to remember, that’s us. We want to project that onto others sometimes.
David: I’m not having any trouble remembering that.
Program Transcript
David Kowalick—Year B Proper 18
Anthony: Let’s pivot to our next passage of the month. It’s James 2:1-17. It is the Revised Common Lectionary passage for Proper 18 in Ordinary Time, which is September 8. David, would you read it, please?
David: Sure.
My brothers and sisters, do not claim the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ of glory while showing partiality. 2 For if a person with gold rings and in fine clothes comes into your assembly, and if a poor person in dirty clothes also comes in, 3 and if you take notice of the one wearing the fine clothes and say, “Have a seat here in a good place, please,” while to the one who is poor you say, “Stand there,” or, “Sit by my footstool,” 4 have you not made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brothers and sisters. Has not God chosen the poor in the world to be rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he has promised to those who love him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor person. Is it not the rich who oppress you? Is it not they who drag you into the courts? 7 Is it not they who blaspheme the excellent name that was invoked over you? 8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you do well. 9 But if you show partiality, you commit sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. 10 For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. 11 For the one who said, “You shall not commit adultery,” also said, “You shall not murder.” Now if you do not commit adultery but you murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. 12 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
Anthony: Mercy triumphs over judgment. I’m not sure how it is in Australia, but here in the United States, David, far too many Christians hold up wealth as a sign of success and God’s blessing. Whereas poverty, it’s a curse based on, often, what is considered apathetic or lazy living. All of which can lead to a pathway of showing partiality.
From your perspective, what instruction does this passage give the church that we need to hear?
David: Yeah. Sure. Again, I would be saying that there’s something extraordinary that takes place in a person’s life when they become a believer. And the circumstances of your life really have little bearing on the outcome of that because if grace is up to good breeding, good luck. Then that means that grace isn’t grace after all. It’s just pure luck.
And the fact that God can take anyone from any situation, even of the worst situation in the world, and not just poverty in a financial sense, but poverty in the way that they’ve been raised, their education, maybe health, whatever it is. And he can take that person and turn them into an extraordinary human being who can be involved in things that are beyond the imagination that they would have had under natural circumstances. That means we can’t look at those surface things like even your personality and your socialization, education. All those things count little in the end when it comes to what God can do with someone.
And in fact, it’s almost as if God deliberately turns everything upside down. And to me, one of the best examples of this is the choosing of Jacob over Esau. You remember the story where Ephraim and Manasseh were being blessed by Jacob later in life. Because Jacob had experienced being chosen by God over his older brother, which was exactly the opposite to the way things would normally take place.
And then when he goes to put the blessing on Joseph’s children, he crosses his hands, and he puts his right hand on the son who’s on the left side and his left hand on the son who’s on the right side. And he deliberately does this because that’s what he had experienced, because he’d seen God do that to him. God sort of deliberately crossed his hands, and he put the greater blessing on the lesser of the two sons.
And in a way, you can see that taking place at a broader sense that God puts the greater blessing on those who have the greatest poverty, whether it be in spirit or in finance or both or everything. And so often God’s choosing is not based on the ways that we judge people.
So, someone wanders into the church — and I think this is what James is really saying — don’t look down on someone who is poor, considering them to be less because in the eyes of God, that makes absolutely no sense.
And often God chooses the people that we would never choose to get the job done, like Jacob. Look, let’s face it, Jacob wasn’t the greatest [inaudible]. And yet he became the bearer of the message. And Paul takes that point, and he says, nothing can thwart what God is going to do.
And so, if he’s going to cross these hands — beware, if you treat someone who in this world looks like they’re lesser, they may actually end up being the one who’s got the greater blessing. And you put your — I’ve forgotten the verse in the Old Testament where it says to show contempt to the poor is to show contempt to God.
And so, if we look down our nose on anyone, then we’re really putting ourselves in a great danger, in a sense. And we make ourselves the judge of the situation, and if we do that, as it’s very plain elsewhere in the New Testament, that if we lack mercy, then we thwart mercy. If we don’t give forgiveness, then we shut the door to forgiveness.
I suppose that the story that really gets me every time is that story where Jesus said to Matthew, come and follow me. And so, he left his tax collecting job, and then he got all his reprobate friends around for a party. Then the Pharisees were talking to the disciples and saying, how come your rabbi hangs out with these lowlifes and what’s the deal with that?
And then Jesus comes out and he understands what’s going on. And he talks to them, and he says that a doctor only comes for the sick, he doesn’t come for those who are well. And I can imagine, and it’s not actually stated, but it’s implied that the Pharisees heard that and were thinking, oh, okay that explains why you don’t hang around with us because we’re healthy and we don’t need a doctor. Right?
And of course it was a thinly veiled rebuke, and they couldn’t understand it. But of course, they thought themselves above the sickness and above, in the spiritual sense, needing help. And of course, the ones who know they need help are first in line to receive it. And the ones who don’t know they need to, or don’t think they do, don’t line up for the grace of God.
There was an old TV game show that used to be here in Australia, probably you had something similar in the United States. It was called the Money or the Box. And in the game, if you acquired a certain amount of wealth in the game — let’s say you, you’d earned a thousand dollars in the process of the game. At some point in the game, you could choose to give up all of your money to get a box, which you don’t know what’s inside of it. Now inside the box, there could be a million dollars or there might be an old shoe.
And so, then you were given that opportunity to trade your thousand dollars for whatever’s in the box. Now of course, if you’ve got a decent amount of money, you’re going to be loath to trade it for what you don’t know. It could just be nothing, and you’ve given it up and it comes to nothing. But if you’ve only earned, say, 10, and then the offer is made to the money or the box, of course you give up your 10, and you receive what’s in the box, and who knows, you might get a million dollars.
And something like that is true between the person who is poor in spirit. Jesus said, blessed is the poor in spirit, the person who knows that they need help. They’re the ones that are going to trade in whatever they’ve got and say, I’m trading this whole thing in. And that’s exactly what Matthew did.
He said, I’m trading in my tax collecting business because I know it’s leading nowhere and I’m going to take a chance on this. Whereas the Pharisee or the person who’s rich in spirit or rich in things of this world, may be loath to do it and wants to hang on to it and doesn’t want to give up what they already have.
I guess the rich young ruler falls into that category. He was rich, he was young, and he was powerful. And it turns out that he was not only those three things, but he was also kept the Ten Commandments since he was a boy, he bragged.
Jesus said, how are you going with the Ten Commandments? He said, been keeping that since I was a boy, no problem. Got that sorted. And he’s like that kid at school, in your class, if you remember him. He was a good athlete; he was a great artist and brilliant at arithmetic and all of the STEM sciences as well.
He was one of those guys and Jesus said, would you trade all of that? Would you give that all up and come and follow me? And I don’t think he was saying, well done on the Ten Commandments. Now let’s go to the next level. You’ve got through the primary level. Now you go to radical discipleship.
I really think he was saying to him, are you willing to give up everything that you put your hopes in, which is your good, strong spiritual life, your wealth and power, which you would see as a blessing from God. And of course, at the end of that whole thing, after that guy went off, Jesus said, how difficult it is for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.
And at the time, of course, those Jewish people would have been saying if a rich man can’t get in, a man who’s blessed and has got all the obvious signs of God’s blessing, then there’s no chance for any of us. And he wasn’t saying that. That being poor is a virtue, but he was saying that being rich can blind you to the things of God. But then, of course, the [inaudible] that Jesus gives is with man, it’s impossible. But with God, all things are possible. In other words, anyone, no matter who, can be brought into the kingdom of God and nothing can stop you being brought in.
But one thing that can stop you is being blinded by your own spiritual wealth or physical wealth or whatever it is, the sort of markers that the world says, these are good things.
And so, when we make those distinctions with our brothers and sisters in church, we are really muddying the pool of God’s grace very much.
Anthony: Yeah. Amen. And we know that God chooses the weak and base things, the powerless. And I think we’d all do well to remember, that’s us. We want to project that onto others sometimes.
David: I’m not having any trouble remembering that.
Small Group Discussion Questions
- What do you think would happen if a homeless person walked into your service?
- Point to examples of favoritism that may exist in the world and church
- What are some practical ways to help those in need in your community?
- Why do you think that God has always had a “soft spot” for the poor and needy?
In your paragraph about some people who are just trying to take advantage, How do we know who is taking advantage and who may be mentally blocked from caring for themselves from past trauma, depression, or other unseeable problems