Sunday of Last Judgment
November 6, 2016
Luke 19:11-27
While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once. He said: “A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas ‘Put this money to work,’ he said,‘ until I come back.’ But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ He was made king, however, and returned home. Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it. The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ ‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ The second came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned five more.’ His master answered, ‘You take charge of five cities.’ Then another servant came and said, ‘Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth. I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow.’ His master replied, ‘I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow? Why then didn’t you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?’ Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘he already has ten!’ He replied, ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away. But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them—bring them here and kill them in front of me.’” (NIV1984)
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
I’m not sure if this is the norm, but never in my life have I seen a Voter Information Guide as extensive as the one I received in the mail a few weeks back. This Official Voter’s Guide has Propositions that cover a whole variety of issues and claim to correct a whole variety of problems. For example, if you think there is a problem with the educational facilities in the State of California, look at Prop 51. It attempts to fix that “problem.” If you think that the “wealthy” citizens of our State ought to pay more in taxes check out Prop 55. It extends by twelve years the “temporary” tax increase that was enacted in 2012. If you have a problem with the State of California imposing the death penalty on certain offenders, Prop 62 and Prop 66 are ones that you will want to read very carefully. If you think there is a problem with who is allowed to purchase ammo in our State, check out Prop 63. And if you are concerned that the carry out bags at the grocery store may be having a negative impact on the environment, Prop 65 and Prop 67 are designed to address that issue.
The sheer size of this Official Voter Information Guide and the sheer volume of television commercials we are seeing reveal that there are a number of issues and various problems that people want to address here in our State. I commend them for their efforts. All too often people are more than willing to stand on the sidelines and talk (i.e. complain) about what needs to be done, yet they are not willing to roll up their sleeves and actually do something that may help. I also commend them for their goal. Anything that can be done to protect and provide for people, anything that can be done to protect and preserve this wonderful world our God has given to us is a huge step in the right direction. But I can’t help but wonder. Are these propositions pragmatic? Are they practical? Can passing certain regulations and banning certain outward activities actually solve the problems we see in our society? Or, are they simply playing “Whack-A-Mole” with the outward “symptoms” while leaving the root “cause” of the problem untouched?
I am proposing to you today that here in our sermon text our dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is reminding us of the “Solution” to the troubles that we see in our world today. With that in mind let’s study our text under the theme: As Disciples of Jesus— We Need to be Very Pragmatic With the Gospel! What does it mean to be very pragmatic with the Gospel? It means two things. First, being pragmatic with the Gospel means that we treasure the message of the Gospel— as it was given to us by our King. Second, being pragmatic with the Gospel means that we need to actually use the Gospel that our King has given to us.
There are two things I want to bring out before we get to our text for today. First, you might be wondering how I came up with our sermon theme for today. This theme jumped out at me as I was translating this text. In verse 13 Jesus has the king say to the servants to whom he had given the minas, “Put this money to work until I come back.” The verb which is translated here as “put to work” is the verb “pragmateuomai.” Very literally “pragmateuomai” means, “to do business.” I see in this Greek verb the English word “pragmatic.” According to Webster’s dictionary one of the definitions of pragmatic is: “Concerned with actual practice, everyday affairs, etc., not with theory or speculation; practical.” Since the “mina” in this parable represents the precious Means of Grace (namely, the Gospel as it comes to us in Word and Sacrament) that our King has given to us and since Jesus Himself uses the verb “pragmateuomai” in connection with this “mina,” I came up with the theme: As Disciples of Jesus— We Need to Be Very Pragmatic (very practical) with the Gospel.
Second. Look at the opening verse of this text. Jesus gave us this parable for a very specific reason. That reason was, “…because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.” The crowd that was following Jesus had just seen Him miraculously heal a blind man. They had just heard Him say to Zacchaeus — a wealthy chief tax collector— “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham” (Luke 19:9). Now as they walked with Jesus as He was going up to Jerusalem, the beloved City of God, the people were sure that Jesus was about to establish the “kingdom of God” right here on this earth. They were sure that Jesus was finally going to get rid of the hated Romans and “restore the kingdom to Israel”— with Jerusalem, of course, as its capital city. (See also Acts 1:6)
To correct this false understanding of the “kingdom of God” Jesus tells the people a parable. The parable is about a “man of noble birth” (that would be Jesus) who according to the custom of the day went to a “distant country” (might that be heaven?) in order to receive the authority to serve as “king.” Before this “man of noble birth” leaves He summons His servants (that would be you and me) and He gives to each of them the exact same thing— a “mina.” This “mina” represents the glorious gift of the Gospel as it comes to us in Word and Sacrament. Then the King says to us, His servants— and I paraphrase— “Be pragmatic with the mina that I have given to you! Put My Gospel message to work, until I return!” What this means for you and for me, my friends, is that no matter who we are— whether we are a pastor or a teacher, a parent or a child, and no matter what we do for a living— whether we work in an office or a factory, in the home or in the great outdoors or whether we are retired, when our King returns to this earth He will hold us accountable for how we used the “mina” that He has given to us. Yes, our King (Pointing to the cross) will hold us accountable for how faithfully we used and how faithfully we shared the precious Means of Grace that He has entrusted to our care!
With that accountability in mind, let’s see that as disciples of Jesus you and I do indeed need to be pragmatic with the message of the Gospel— as our King has given it to us! This means that we need to remember a couple of things about this “mina.” First, we need to remember that the “mina” that our King has given to you and to me is not the “social gospel” that is so prevalent in so many churches today. In other words, the purpose of the Christian church is not to “even out” the “inequities” that exist in our society today. No rather, the purpose of the Christian church is to proclaim to a broken world the “Good News”— the “Good News” that Jesus, the true Son of God, willingly suffered and died to pay for your sins, the “Good News” that Jesus, the true Son of Man, physically rose from the dead so that through faith in Him you can stand “Not Guilty!” before God Himself. (See Romans 4:25)
We also need to remember that the “mina” that our King has given to you and to me is not the “prosperity gospel” that is being peddled by preachers such as Joel Osteen and Joyce Meyer. The “prosperity gospel” teaches that God wants you to be “rich.” God wants you to be “successful.” God wants you to be “prosperous.” Now, if you want to be “prosperous,” if you want to be “successful,” if you want to be “rich” then you need to be obedient to God and do this and this and this first! No, my friends, the purpose of the church is not to show you what you need to do in order to be “prosperous” and “successful” and “rich” in this world. The purpose of the church is to proclaim the sweet simple message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ— the Gospel which Paul describes as “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16), the Gospel which guarantees to you that through faith in Jesus you are “rich,” you are “successful,” you are “prosperous”— on a spiritual level for all of eternity!
Once we understand that being pragmatic with the Gospel means treasuring the message of the Gospel as our King has given it to us, then it will be very easy to understand why being pragmatic with the Gospel includes actually using the Gospel message in a very practical way. Look at verses 15-24 of our text. When the “man of noble birth” returned as king he summoned his servants so that they could give an account of how they used his “mina” while he was away, to “find out what they had gained with it” as Jesus says here in our text. The first servant said, “Sir, your mina has earned ten more” to which the king replied, “Well done, my good servant! Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.” The second servant came to the king and said, “Sir, your mina has earned five more” to which the king replied, “You take care of five cities.” When the third servant was summoned to give an account to the king, what did he do? He came up with all these “excuses” as to why he didn’t even try to use the “mina” the king had given to him. He simply “laid it away in a piece of cloth.” The king’s reaction was both swift and predictable.
Being pragmatic with the Gospel message that our King has given to us does not mean that we wrap it up in a handkerchief and put it in our pocket or put it in our purse and take it out only when we are here in God’s house on Sunday morning. Being pragmatic with the Gospel message that our King has given to us means that we “put it to work” in a very practical way, that we let the Gospel do what only the Gospel has the power to do!
How do we do that? How do we apply this parable to our lives as disciples of Jesus living in 2016? Let’s start by looking at the “big picture.” If the Christian church today truly wants to be a part of the solution to the problems that our society is facing, then we need to be very pragmatic with the Gospel! This means that first and foremost, we need to expose sin for what it is— a futile rebellion against the Almighty Creator of heaven and earth. Once a person is led to see who they are by nature then we can point them to the cross and proclaim to them me glorious message of the Gospel! Once the Gospel does what only the Gospel has the power to do— change a person from the inside out by bringing them to faith in Jesus as their Savior— then they will want to change what they are doing, then they will want to change how they are living as a way of saying “Thank you!” to Jesus for all that He has done for them.
From the “big picture” we can turn to the individual personal level. How can we be pragmatic with the Gospel on a personal level? Here is where we need to remember that our King expects us to use the Means of Grace that He has given to us. Our King expects that we will be here in His house to bring Him our praise, adoration and thanks on a regular basis. Our King expects that we will receive His holy Supper as often as we can.
Once we have applied the Means of Grace to our own hearts and to our own lives then we will want to broaden the circle out to include those we love the most— our family. As Christian parents and grandparents we want to do everything we can to make sure that our children and our grandchildren come into contact with Jesus! This means that we bring them to church and we bring them to Sunday school. This means that we not only teach them how to pray, but we model prayer for them. This means that we have home devotions so that they can see how important it is to read and study God’s holy Word.
And then, if as an individual child of God you want to help someone who is experiencing trouble in their life— guess what you need to do! If someone is troubled by their sins or by their past, be pragmatic with the Gospel. Assure them that Jesus already suffered and died to completely pay for those sins. If someone is troubled by an illness or by the effects of aging, be pragmatic with the Gospel. Assure them that Jesus is the Great Physician of both body and soul. There is nothing that Jesus can’t heal. There is nothing that Jesus can’t carry them through. Also assure them that when Jesus calls them home to the glory and perfection of heaven all their troubles will instantly be gone forever. If someone is experiencing financial troubles, be pragmatic with the Gospel. Assure them that their heavenly Father will provide for all their needs by providing them with their daily bread as Jesus Himself taught us to pray. And then— here’s a radical idea— be pragmatic with the Gospel by letting the Gospel of Jesus Christ lead you to help them by sharing with them some of the blessings that God has graciously given to you. I think it was the Lord Himself who said to us, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40; see also James 2:14-17). If that’s not being pragmatic with the Gospel I don’t know what is!
We do indeed live in a very troubled world, my friends. On a global level, on a national level, on a state level, on a city level, on a neighborhood level, on a family level, on a personal level troubles are everywhere. While we do indeed commend the efforts of the people who are actually trying to do something to solve these problems instead of just sitting on the sidelines and talking, as disciples of Jesus we know that there is only one Solution to all these troubles— the cross on Calvary’s hill. Let this cross motivate you to help solve these troubles by being very pragmatic with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
To God be the glory!
Amen
