Indictment: Day 2

Good morning, Southeast family. How are you doing? Yeah.

Hey, my name is Tom. I'm the executive pastor here at Southeast Christian Church. And so what that means is I handle like the business aspects of the church. While Aaron does all the important stuff. But don't worry. We're not going to talk about tithing today. So you guys are safe. What I do need to talk about though, is that right there, right over there on camera one is my beautiful, beautiful wife Katania. Can you get a shot of her maybe with the gib or something, but anyway, yeah, church is a family. Church is a family affair. And so don't worry about it, guys, nepotism is alive and well in the church today. I'm kidding. Mostly -- a little bit. So Aaron and Kelli and their family are having some vacation. They're hanging out in Florida air and sun, and I know it's tough. So you guys know how to pray for, for them. So they're just suffering for Jesus with palm trees. He texted me a picture of this morning. Hey, just thought you’d think this would be cool to see -- it's exactly like Denver. I'm like, okay, Aaron, thanks a lot. Thanks a lot. It's 28 degrees it warmed up to a sweltering 30 degrees now. So anyway, they're in Florida and they send all their love. He'll be back here next week. So you get the good preach and then don't even worry about it.

But today we are in day two or week two, rather, of our series called indictment. Now, what we're learning is that the last seven days of Jesus's ministry on earth was one huge indictment of the whole temple system. So we spend these last, we spend one week per day of Jesus's last seven days. And that season is called lent starts Ash Wednesday and ends Easter Sunday. And some of you observe lent some of you don't. If you know, if you have a friend who's giving up chocolate, or I have a friend who's giving up games on her phone, I was like, Hey, I guess whatever you gotta do. Right. but she said, it's just really, really hard for her. I'm like, Hey, good for you. That's one way to do hard things. So lent is this season where we take a little bit of time to look internally and ask this really challenging, but really important question. What in me needs to die so that something new can be raised to life.  Because you can't have resurrection without death, which we're going to see in about five days or five weeks.

What is going on this morning about five, about five week? But we're asking ourselves the question, what in me needs to die so that something new can be raised to life?  And this is a tough one guys. Every time Aaron leaves, something wild happens. Okay. So, the first time Aaron was gone for any extended period of time and I had to preach for him -- I don't know if it was March of 2020. I don't know if that date is important to you. Yeah. A worldwide pandemic happened. He's like, it's spring break, man. Everything will be fine. It's the easiest time of year. I'm just going to take off, get a little bit of rest and vacation and you got this. I'm like, okay, sure. Sounds good. And the world ended. I was like, really dude, come on. So anyway, what was I talking about?

Lent? It doesn't just happen to Aaron. Okay. He's not alone in, in, in the ADD situation. So what, what it means  to die so that something new can be raised to life. And this is a tough one. This is a tough sermon. That's where I was. Aaron gave me an easy one to preach this week. Cause I saw some of you come in the door this morning and it's, you know, it's, it's some, it's some heavy time. We weren't, I don't know how much longer this whole thing is going to last. We're carrying a little bit of frustration in the door with us, a little bit of exhaustion. Our kids are at home, like all the time. What is up with that? I hear that we're on the cusp of that not being a thing anymore. I love my kids. Don't get me wrong. They're amazing. But it's also amazing when they're at school. And I would just leave that there. But I would love to preach this morning a message of hope like, Hey, it's going to be okay. Everything's all right, you got this, but that one's, that one's coming that one's a little further down the road. Today is, is a bit of a harder day where we have to take a look at some stuff that maybe is uncomfortable for us to examine. So without further ado, let's dive into the text. Okay. I love God's words because they live. Mine don't, his do so let's spend a lot of time in God's word. So Mark chapter 11 is where we're at. We're picking up Jesus on day two. Here's what it says: “the next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry.” I love stuff like that. It's awesome. Jesus was hungry. Jesus was thirsty. Jesus was sleepy. Jesus was having trouble losing that last, that last 10 pounds. You know, it just sort of invites us into a human sort of relationship with God, which I think is beautiful. “Jesus was hungry. Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs.” So that makes sense. If I were to look at an apple tree right now, I would be shocked to find apples on it. So, my response to the apple tree would not be what Jesus is about to do. He says to this fig tree, that's not supposed to have figs – “’May no one ever eat fruit from you again.’ And his disciples heard him say it.” So that's weird. Let's get an idea of what we're after here. So we have this huge wall and what we do here at Southeast Christian Church is we put pictures on it. That is, and usually they're of Israel. So guess what? Pictures of Israel, here we go. So let's take a look at a fig tree. This is “a” fig tree. This would not be “the” fig tree that Jesus was talking to in this particular passage. Okay. That was a joke. That didn't go well with the last service either. So I think I'm just going to cut that one out. I'm gonna cut that out of the next one? Whoops. Okay. So anyway, so this is a fig tree and if we can zoom in a little bit with another picture. So that's a thick, this is what Jesus is, is not finding here on this fig tree, because obviously it's not the season for figs. And yet he goes, “may no one ever eat fruit from you ever again.” So what on earth is going on? What is Jesus up to here? So my thoughts are, are this, either Jesus is hangry. Like, he's been walking and he's just grumpy. And he's like, no one ever eat fig from you again. And the disciples are like, Jesus, here, you need a Snickers. And he's like, why? Cause you're kind of being a diva. Okay. Oh, that's better. Right? Like, I don't know if that's what's going on, or if he's doing some kind of a rabbinical Bible, teachery, wink, wink, nudge, nudge here. So, spoiler it's the second one. He's definitely trying to make a huge, important point.

In first century, Israel, a fig tree represented rabbinic spiritual leadership. So that's really important. It represented the religious spiritual leadership of the day. Everything in the Bible has or most things, not everything, most things of the Bible they represent things because rabbis teach with visual AIDS. Like, I mean, I can’t imagine what they would have done with a big, huge wall, but they, they would almost never teach a lesson without having something to look at. So this fig tree is a, is representative of rabbinic spiritual leadership. If your commentary says that it represents Israel, get a new commentary. The olive tree represents Israel. The fig tree represents rabbinic spiritual leadership. So let's take, let's take a look and see if we can dive in and figure out where this is all coming from. Let's look at Proverbs 27:18, and you'll start to see this picture. Come out. It says, “The one who guards a fig tree will eat its fruit. And whoever protects their master will be honored.” Hmm. So the, what the writer of this proverb is doing is writing sort of like a parallelism right there. In the same way that one who guards his fig tree will eat its fruit; one who protects or in, in the Hebrew. I dunno this -- welcome to the way I think  -- this is funny to me. The, the Hebrew word for protect there is smush. Funny.  Say “smush”… come on. It's fun. Smush. So, protect their master. The word there, “master” in Hebrew is rab. This is before rabbis really existed. So it's pointing to, you can see where the word is coming from the etymology of that word, but this word smush. I like to think maybe it's like schmooze. But that's where we get this word for sort of like kissing up to somebody. I don't know who knows, who knows I'll look it up later, or one of you will email me about it and, if you do, it's Aaron.Couch@Southeast cc.org. So, smush--  protect their master will be honored. So, a fig tree was like a first century candy store. Figs are incredibly sugary, incredibly sweet. And one of the, one of the sweeter, naturally occurring fruits in this region and in this era. So if you had a fig tree on your property, it was like having a candy store. So you were going to, especially if you had kids, you were going to protect this thing like crazy. This was going to be, and they're also picky. They're finicky. They don't bear any fruit for the first three years of their life and they're not super easy to grow. And so, in the same way that if you care for and carefully guard and carefully honor, the teachings of your are carefully, carefully guard and honor a fig, you'll get to enjoy the sweetness of its fruit. In the same way, if you care for an honor and carefully guard, the teachings of your rabbi, you'll get to eat its fruit.

So the rabbi represents rabbinic spiritual leadership. Jesus curses it. And in John's account of this particular situation, he says that the fig tree shrivels up and dies right then and there. Like, I picture that scene from the wizard of Oz where the house lands on the witch and her toes are like, that's, that's that's kinda how I see that going down. And later on in Mark, in the next chapter of Mark, and we're going to see that Peter, they walk out of the temple and Peter's like, wow, the fig trees dead Jesus is like, correct. So he curses this fig tree that's supposed to represent rabbinic, spiritual leadership, the rabbinic spiritual system – the biggest spiritual religion of the day. And it dies. And he says, may no one ever fruit from you again. And it still doesn't quite make sense a hundred percent what Jesus is up to here. So, the cool thing about the Bible is, is that it's you know, it keeps on going. So if we keep on reading here, we're, we're going to see more and more about what Jesus is up to. So let's go back into Mark chapter 11, this time we're going to be at verses 15 through 17, and we're going to see Jesus as he's, he's done his deal with the fig tree and now they're heading into the temple. And the Bible says, “On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. And as he taught them, he said, ‘is it not written: My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of robbers.” And any trained Jewish listener hearing Jesus say that would have gone, Boom, mike drop, or staff drop. I don't know. Yeah, sorry. I'm like, Oh my gosh, no way. That's incredible what he's doing. And, and, and the reason for that is that it is amazing. Jesus is using this Hebrew teaching tool called Gezarah sheva, right? So what he's doing is he's taking two unrelated passages of scripture that have the same phrase repeated in them. And he's grabbing those phrases -- because of those phrases -- he's connecting these two unrelated passages of scripture in order to make one larger point. It's brilliant. It's unbelievably hard to do. It's almost like he's God, it's, it's crazy. He's sharp.

So, let's take a look at what he's doing. Let's look here at the first bit comes from Isaiah 56. So let's do some scripture reading and see what we can learn about what Jesus is trying to say about the system of religion that's going on here in Israel. It says, “This is what the Lord says: ‘Maintain justice and do what is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will soon be revealed. Blessed is the one who does this -- the person who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing any evil.’ Let no foreigner who is bound to the Lord say, ‘the Lord will surely exclude me from his people.’ And let no eunuch complain, I'm only a dry tree.’” Record scratch, wait. There's a dry tree sitting right outside of the temple. So, if you read Deuteronomy, eunuchs and foreigners, they're not allowed in the temple, but Isaiah here is saying, or yeah, Isaiah is saying, absolutely, they're welcome there. They need to come into the temple or unit should not say I'm just a dry tree. Jesus is saying, the people that are outside looking in. The people who are not allowed into the temple to really worship the way, the way that I'm intending them to. You aren't the dry tree. The system of religion that is keeping you out is the dry tree. That's why Jesus curses this fig tree. That's the point that he's trying to make. Something has to give. He's saying something has to break, right. “To the eunuchs to keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and holds fast to my covenant -- to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters;” What could be better in a family position than son or daughter? Well, bride. Jesus is saying, you have taken the place for my bride and you have turned it into a den of robbers. How dare you? He goes on to say, “I will give them an everlasting name that will endure forever and foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to my covenant -- these I will bring to my holy mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.’”

But you have blown it. He's saying, you have lost the plot. Jesus is referring to Isaiah 56 to say, this is how it's supposed to go. This is what it is supposed to look like. There’s supposed to be a place at the table for people who are normally held outside. They're supposed to be an invitation in for the people who don't look like they, I don't know, bring it forward into our time for people who don't look like, you know, churchy, who don't say the right things or, or, or whatever. They're supposed to be a place -- they're supposed to be a memorial and a name, a place of not, not just, not just, you know some kind of you know, I guess you can come in, but, but, but the place of a bride and then Jesus uses Jeremiah 7 to say, but this is what you have turned worship into. “This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord. Stand at the gate of the Lord's house and there proclaim this message: ‘Hear the word of the Lord, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says.” So, remember, Isaiah 56, this is how it should be. Jeremiah 7, this is what you've turned it into. Okay? “This is what the Lord almighty, the God of Israel says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. Do not trust in deceptive words and say, ‘this is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord!’ If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors forever and ever. But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless. ‘Will you steal and you murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my name, and say, ‘we are safe – safe to do all these detestable things? Has this house, which bears my name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the Lord.” 

You see this temple system, this system of worship that had developed in first century Israel was so corrupt. We talked a little bit about it last week. Aaron referred to the money, right? So if you, well, let's, let's start at the beginning. You would come to the temple to worship, had to happen at the temple because the temple was God's house. The first century Jewish mind would say that God literally lives in the temple. So where else would you go to worship God? Well, he would want to go to the temple and how do you worship God? Well, God lays it out in scripture through sacrifices and offerings, right? And so families would be coming from far, far away. And it's totally impractical to bring like, you know you know, cage full of doves or a lamb or in rare cases, a bull. And so, temple workers would have sacrifices there ready, ready to go, ready for you to purchase with your money. But here's the problem. Any coin that had an inscription or a name on it, was not allowed on the temple because that was considered idolatry. So you had to take your money to these money changers, which Jesus just got done. And we just read turning over these tables. You had to take your money to these money changers and exchange it. Well, what was the exchange rate? It was ridiculous. It was whatever they wanted it to be. So they would just absolutely steal from people. Right. And then you'd go and you'd buy your sacrifice. And how much did the sacrifice cost? You've all gone to like a Broncos game or something. It's like getting a hot dog there. You’re like, why is this worth $8? I don't understand this. Right? But at stadium pricing, you're stuck there, so you got to buy the hot dog. It's a little bit of a bad example. Okay. I get it. I get it. But so they're way overcharging for these sacrifices. Oh, even worse. Okay, for those families that live close enough and it was practical to, to bring an animal to sacrifice -- their own animal, to sacrifice, they would raise like, let's just, let's go with a lamb. Okay. We'll call it Mary. They would raise, thank you for laughing. That was rough. So, they would raise this lamb from birth. Like it was one of their own children, actually. Like it was in their own family. It would literally eat at their table, this lamb because it had to be spotless; perfect to be acceptable as a sacrifice, it had to be flawless. This lamb would not walk very often, this is where you see the image of the shepherd carrying the sheep over his shoulders because it had to be perfect. It wouldn't sleep outside in an insula, where the animals slept. They would sleep, it would sleep inside with the family. That is how important this animal was. So then the day would come, we're going to bring this animal up to the temple and we're going to worship God as a family. So, we bring the lamb to the temple priest. We say, Hey, we've got this lamb. We need it examined because God's word says so. The priest is like, got you. So he takes the lamb back and examines it and lifts the -- they would do this, the lift up the haunch, the rear of the lamb and pinch and twist to create a welt, bring it back to the family and say, Oh, so sorry. You can clearly see that there's a blemish. There's a flaw here. Your Lamb's not spotless, but I have good news. For the low, low price of all your money. I've got a spotless lamb right here just for you. And because this is how we worship. This is, this is how we access God and worshiping God is part of our identity, you buy the lamb. So off we go with our lamb penniless to now finally make our sacrifice. That's only if you could afford to get started to begin with. This other lamb that had the blemish. Well, I mean, that would go away as soon as bruises go away. So that priest would take that lamb and put it in the pen with all the other spotless lambs. So they could run the same racket over and over again. This system of worship, this thing that was supposed to be so beautiful, was a disaster. And this is what Jesus is so upset about. He's turning over these tables, going what are you doing, you have missed the plot. You've totally lost it. What are you doing with worship in my house?

Look, let's put up a picture of the temple. We're going to see where all this happens. Okay? So this is a model it's not the temple. So you see over here, I'm going from my right to left. You have the court of the women, the [inaudible] of the balustrade and then the court of the Gentiles. So the court of the Gentiles is this super cool place. It was commanded by God to be built. And the purpose of the court of the Gentiles was for all of the nations, all of the foreigners, all of the outsiders, all of the eunuchs that we just read about back in Isaiah, to come and watch the people of God worship to come and see how God's people are going to put him on display. The purpose is so that they could have a place in the temple as we just read, so they could watch God's people worship him and be inspired, compelled and drawn into relationship. Guess where all of this buying and selling and money trading and disaster was happening? Right there, right there. The place where the world was supposed to watch God's people put him on display, had become a disaster. I wonder if there's any application for where we're at today. Yeah. These people forcing, forcing people out, you had temple workers deciding you get you're you're out, you're in, you can come in. You can't based on where you grew up, how you were born how much money you have deciding who's out and who's in. And I wonder if there's any application for us today. When someone walks through the doors of our church. And like we said earlier, maybe doesn't look quite churchy enough. What happens in our hearts? If someone walks into this building and they're not met by radical love -- friends, we’ve failed them. If someone comes into this room and doesn't see the people of God putting them on display through worship friends, we’ve failed them. If someone sees me pray at the table at the restaurant after church today, and then I treat my server like garbage -- friends, I have failed them. The world is watching us. How are we putting our God on display? Are we telling a compelling story with the way we worship God, with the way we honor him -- a story that draws other people into the family of God? Or are we just confirming all their suspicions that this Christian stuff is no good. It's nonsense. What story are we telling? How are we putting our God on display? The world is watching. And even more importantly, God wants it that way. He built his temple that, or he commanded his temple to be built that way. God intended it to be that way. Scripture calls us living stones, living testimonies to the goodness and the glory of God. The world is watching. How are we putting our God on display? Let me tell you a story. So, when I was in high school, I had a friend named Tim. I went to high school in Idaho. So Tim and I did a lot of duck hunting. Yep. I was every stereotype. Just bring it on. Yep. Except for I'd never farmed potatoes. It was the only thing. So Tim was a senior. I was a junior and we'd duck hunt together all the time became super good friends. So Tim goes off to college. Neither of us knew the Lord at this point, tin goes off to college. And then my senior year of high school, God met me. He radically, radically saved me and my life was never the same. Sometime, you know, take me to coffee, I'll tell you the story. But so then I graduated and I went off to the same college that Tim was at. So I'm on fire just lit on fire for Jesus. Right. And I see Tim, I'm like, yeah, what's going on, dude. Hey, I, and I invited him to this worship service that we had later on that night. And he's, I was like, you want to come? And he goes, okay. Like, it was like that exciting. And I was like, really? All right. So, so we go and we go to this worship service and I'm just worshiping the way I worship. I don't know another way to tell the God who rescued me, who saved a wretch like me, that I love him except with my whole heart, from the, from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. So I'm just worshiping all out, right? And I feel these eyes on me and I opened my eyes or like maybe one. And, and the reason I could feel eyes on me is because there were, and Tim is standing next to me going like this. Okay. And so, so he's staring at me and I'm worshiping and it's awkward, right? That little bead of sweat that magically appears and starts going down your back. I'm like, Ooh, well, so then I turned it up to 11, right? If he's going to watch me worship, then he's going to see someone who's radically in love with God. So I just, so I worship God all out, right? Worship service ends. Tim goes, Hey what was that? Right? And I told him that's worship. That was, that was me telling this God that I love, who saved me, who rescued me how much, how grateful I am and how much I love him. And Tim goes, tell me more about that. And I was like, I'll do that. And that night, Tim gave his life to Jesus. And he's still walking with the Lord today. Yeah. The point is not to say like, Oh, look at me. Aren’t I cool. The point is to say, the world is watching us. The world is watching us. How are we putting our God on display? Does the way we live, does the way we worship is our system of religion a compelling invitation into relationship with God. Or is it this thing where we say, well, surely someone like you, that person, and you can insert whatever that person you want in your mind. That person couldn't really have a relationship with God, right? Friends, deciding who's out and who's in, is not up to us. That's not our work. Our work is to put our God on display, to love and honor him and to join him in restoring what's broken to join him in finding what's lost to join him in raising what's dead. Our job is not to be truth bully isn't to tell you where you're wrong and to fight with you on Facebook. Oh, help me, Jesus! Guys, can we real talk for a minute? We're the people of God. And I look on our Facebook pages and I see arguments over whatever, usually politics. Now it's something else. And later on, it'll be something else, unless we stop. With all the love in my heart, look, I know I respect that this is a little bit of a challenge and I might be poking, but guys, friends, beloved, we can do better with our social media. We can tell a better story with the way we drive. We can tell a better story with the way we tip. We can tell a better story. Does the way we worship tell a great, great God on display, or does it tell a different story? I want to be about telling a better story. So I've got some implications for us today. 

The first one is this, as followers of Jesus, who's out and who's in, is not our concern. Putting our God on display is. It's not keeping the wrong people out and the right people in. That's not it. Telling a story about this incredible God, so someone walks in this room, in this building and is met by radical love. And that's our work. And let me say this two things. One, if you're here this morning or watching us online and you feel like I'm not the kind of person that would like normally be at church. I don't know. I don't know if I fit here. Can I tell you? You are so welcome here. You are so loved here. You are so treasured here, and I cannot wait for you to see this amazing God that we talk about and that we sing to and that we worship. Second thing. If you have come in here, come in to this church or any other church and you've experienced anything other than radical love -- I hate hearing stories about church hurt. Friend,. I have my own. Can I say on behalf of the church? I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for the way a church has hurt you. I'm so sorry. It is not supposed to be that way. I am so sorry. We're Christians, but we're imperfect and we're still learning. So please forgive us and give us another chance and we'll do better. And then we'll mess it up again. And then we'll try again. I'll do better, but stay with us. Okay.

Second implication: righteousness is not revealed by our rightness. It's revealed when we join God in his restorative work. And what is God's restorative work? We said it making dead things alive, making lost things, found, making, broken things whole. Oh, that's what I want to be a part of. I don't want to be a part of, of telling somebody where they, where they've got it wrong. I don't know. I don't know about you guys, but I've never beat anyone over the head with a Bible so hard that they got saved. I'm willing to try it. No, I'm not. I'm kidding. I've never truth-bullied somebody in the church. I just haven't seen it happen. That's not what saved me. That's not what saved a wretch like me. It was the people of God radically demonstrating the nature of God and telling a better story. And I was like, yep, give me that. Righteousness is not revealed by our rightness. It's revealed when we join God in his restorative work.

And this is the last implication. We'll say it again. The world is watching. How are we putting our God on display? And again, I respect that this is a tough word, but this is lent. This is the season where we need to look inwardly a little bit and ask ourselves the questions. What in me needs to die so that something new can be raised to life?

As we, as we move in our service toward communion, I want us to wrestle with this thought and maybe offer God this prayer. Lord, in the temple of my heart, what needs to be cleansed, what needs to be driven out so that the people that you've invited into my life can see a clear picture of who you are. Let's go ahead and pray over that. 

On the night, Jesus was betrayed. He took the bread and he broke it. And he said, this is my body, which is broken for you. As often as he come together, do this in remembrance of me, let's eat. In the same way, after the dinner, he took the cup and he said, this is my blood of the covenant, which is shed for you. As often as you come together, do this in remembrance of me. Let's drink. Jesus, thank you for your word. Thank you that it's sharper than any two-edged sword -- that it cuts, where it needs to cut and it heals where it needs to heal. Thank you for the work that you're doing in my heart and thank you for the invitation to clean the temples of our hearts so that we can better put you on display. Lord, help us to join you in your work. We love you. It's in your name we pray, amen.

Let's stand and sing one more song. So may you, this week have the courage to invite Jesus into the temple of your heart and say what needs to be cleansed, what needs to die so that something new can be raised to life. And if you would like the opportunity to pray with someone today, maybe God's working, maybe God's working on you this morning, or there are people who are, who are up here right now, our prayer partners, who would love to pray with you. So please feel free to come forward. Otherwise God bless you. Thank you so much for coming. We love you. You're dismissed.