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An archive of Jacob Nannie's Sermons & Lectures
Good morning.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you.
thank you Vicki good morning everybody it's good to be with you all here this morning I feel like
it's been a while but we're here and if you know me then you know I tend to get really obsessed
with things hobbies trivial things but the problem is I never really follow through with them
this happens often I mean all the time just yesterday I ran a half marathon oh thank you
where were you guys yesterday when I finished
now this might sound like follow-through right but hear me out I signed up for this race almost
a year ago and I knew it was coming I thought about it often I even planned for this race
okay yeah my plans were just in my head I never executed them but I did plan for
this race you see I had all of the knowledge all of the knowledge the
proper cadence the timing of water and gels electrolyte balance nutrition
training and mental preparation I even had all the devices to keep track of all
those different things down to the minute detail but that's not enough wasn't
enough. Knowledge wasn't enough. I did plan, but knowledge wasn't enough.
I didn't sacrifice my time or energy, putting all of that knowledge, that good
knowledge to work in training. I didn't train for this half marathon. And the
result was misery. Christina ran it with me while she ran for a bit and then she
just rushed ahead of me and just dusted me and that's the result she she trained she put her
knowledge to work I did not you can see clearly by me trying to hold myself up we can take that
slide down now my lack of sacrificed sacrifice proof I didn't really love running I just love
the idea of running I love the idea of training I like the idea of preparing I like the idea of
of planning. I didn't love running, I just liked the idea of it. And friends, knowing about something,
loving the idea of something, without practice, is not enough. And we see this in our passage this
morning, in Mark chapter 12. Jesus confronts religious leaders in the temple who know God's
law. They know God's law, but that's not enough. They didn't love and act in obedience. They only
love the idea of being obedient. That's just head knowledge, and friends, head knowledge,
knowledge of things without practice is not enough. And as we've been journeying with Jesus in the
second half of the Gospel of Mark, he's been teaching us, again, these upside-down values of
the kingdom. All throughout, he's been teaching us that we have to have the cross before the crown.
And now here in chapter 12, in his final days, he has just a few days left, one or two days left,
He's spending these days cleansing the temple, as we saw last week,
and debating religious leaders.
And these debates aren't random.
They're in direct response to what he was teaching in his parable
at the beginning of Mark chapter 12, where he teaches the parable of the vineyard.
And in response to that teaching, the religious leaders are trying to test Jesus.
They're trying to test that authority.
So they start debating him in the temple.
Should we pay taxes to Caesar?
how will life work in the resurrection and they're trying to trap him all right the pharisees do this
all throughout the gospel mark they're trying to trap him to see if he'll say something that will
get him killed to see if he'll they'll say something that they can use against him but
the parable has already revealed the nature of their hearts they're testing jesus and towards
towards the end of all these debates, a certain scribe approaches Jesus, and he has a really
genuine question for Jesus. He says, what is the greatest commandment? Take some time to think
about this scene, right? Again, Jesus has been in the temple debating the religious leaders,
debating the scribes and the Pharisees. He's been giving intense debates with them,
debates that came after the scene in the temple that he made after the cleansing of the temple
debates that come after mark says the chief priests and scribes heard it and started looking
for a way to kill him do you think it was easy for the scribe to approach jesus
and ask him this question and all his friends were just fighting with jesus but notice what
our text says in verse 28 one of the scribes approached and when he heard them debating
he saw that jesus answered them well he asked them which command is the most important of all
he heard jesus he saw jesus and he moved towards jesus and while all the other scribes are trying
to undermine Jesus' authority, this scribe comes with a genuine question.
What command is the most important of all?
And Jesus answers him in verse 29.
The most important is, listen, Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and
with all your strength.
The second is, love your neighbor as yourself.
There is no other command greater than these.
Listen.
That is what the scribe is doing.
He's listening to Jesus.
He draws near to listen to Jesus.
He asks a question to hear, to listen to Jesus.
And that first commandment that Jesus gives him is from Deuteronomy 6, 4 through 9, to listen.
This commandment in Deuteronomy is called the Shema.
Shema is not just a simple command to remember something.
Instead, loaded into this Hebrew concept of Shema, this word for hearing, is an obligation.
As one scholar says, there is an urgency connected to the teaching.
The word Shema demands that the hearer respond with his total being,
total being, to the fact and demands of this essential revelation.
It's much more than just hearing, it's responding.
And loaded in that term is a demand to respond.
If you know something, if you hear something, if you shema something and don't do anything
about it, then you don't really know that thing.
Can I say I really know, really know how to run a half marathon well if I never put any
effort into it?
Well, no, I can't.
I haven't done it and I haven't even practiced to get there.
Hearing and knowing imply doing.
This is especially true for the Hebrew scriptures.
Hearing and knowing imply doing.
And friends, this principle is scattered throughout all of Scripture.
James 1.22.
But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
Because if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer,
he is like someone looking at his own face in a mirror.
For he looks at himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of person he was.
But the one who looks intently into the perfect law of freedom and perseveres in it, and is not a forgetful hearer, but a doer who works, this person will be blessed in what he does.
Hearers of the word should be doers of the word.
And hearing the word and doing the word is a difference, is the gap between building your life on the rock and building your life on the sand, as Jesus says in Matthew 7, 24.
Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
The rain fell, the rivers rose, and the winds blew and pounded that house, yet it didn't collapse because its foundation was on the rock.
But everyone who hears these words of mine and doesn't act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
the rain fell the rivers rose the winds blew and pounded that house and it collapsed it collapsed
with a great crash hearing implies doing hearing demands doing and the scribe heard these words
from jesus the greatest commandment and he agrees with these words all these debates with the
pharisees and the scribes and this scribe agrees with jesus verse 32 then the scribe said to him
you are right teacher you have correctly said that he is one and there is no one else except him
and to love him with all your heart with all your understanding with all your strength
and to love your neighbor as yourself is far more important than all the burnt offerings and
sacrifices these this scribe agrees with jesus he hears jesus he agrees mentally with jesus he even
seems to agree with Jesus' valuing of the temple. Jesus had just caused this great scene, disrupted
the temple, and he agrees that loving God and loving neighbor is far superior than anything
happening in this temple. I mean, again, can you imagine how much courage it took for this scribe,
in this context, to come to Jesus? The scribe's friends were just in a series of not-so-friendly
debates with Jesus. They wanted to kill him, and he approaches anyways. And despite all that,
the scribe dares to see Jesus. He moves towards Jesus. He listens to Jesus, and he agrees with
Jesus. He's correct, right? He's got it, right? Well, here's what Jesus says next.
When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, you're not far off from the kingdom of God.
Wait, what? Not far off? Jesus, this man just summarized your teaching well, agreed with it,
even agreed with your opposition to the temple. What do you mean he's not far off from the kingdom
of God? Isn't he there? Like he knows Jesus. Isn't he there? Remember, hearing the word is not the
same as doing the word. Yes, this scribe had correct theology. He had right priorities. He had
the proper head knowledge, but all of that stops right there. Despite all that he knows,
it's not enough to get him into the kingdom of God. Despite all he knows, it's not enough
to get him into the kingdom of God.
He's almost there.
I mean, don't we hate almost?
Sometimes there's no other word in the English language
that brings more pain and tension with it.
It screams loss or failure
that is only accentuated by how close you are
to actually grasping the thing you were reaching for.
Did you get that promotion?
Almost.
did the treatment help almost did she say yes to going out almost
did he say no to temptation almost did that client sign on almost did you beat your half marathon
time not even close so close almost is but it's not close enough it's excruciating right
to hear almost this idea of almost is a central theme in the work of propaganda who's a christian
hip-hop artist and poet known for exploring faith and struggle and redemption
in his newest release of poetry beautiful endling he has this theme of almost
this theme of almost this is what he says in one of those poems i've almost hit number one
four times on billboard grammy-nominated artist prop maybe i'm tripping but you ever ate an almost
cake almost fried chicken that could kill you
i'm terrified that i wasn't i was a decent father an okay husband a pretty good poet just couldn't
manage to turn the corner i'm barely squeezing by and it's it's okay it will do i'm mr right now
silver medalist option b he was almost a star almost that's a hard word even the word itself
feels like it's on its way but stops short right like all not all no just almost nobody wants
almost we want to all we want to go the distance we want fullness not almost full and that's what
scribe wants as well he wants it all and he actually risked it all in some sense to get
there and when he finally does jesus says you're almost there you're not far off from the kingdom of
god but why why was he just almost there well it's because he knew but he hadn't surrendered
he knew but he hadn't surrendered the scribe knew god's law even the greatest commandment even
agreeing with jesus but he didn't surrender at least not yet in the story he didn't surrender
to the law giver knowing about something is not enough knowledge without practice is not enough
but notice where the story heads next again he's debating religious leaders in the temple
about authority about taxes about resurrection and the greatest commandment he has these
confrontations around different facts of knowledge and then he says this in mark 12 35
while jesus was teaching in the temple he asked how can the scribes say that the messiah is the
son of david david himself says by the holy spirit the lord declared to my lord sit at my right hand
until i put your enemies under your feet david himself calls him lord how then can he be his son
the large crowd was listening to him with delight this seems a bit confusing right
all these debates around things around what around facts and then a hard shift
to this why is just going from all these debates about his own authority about
theology and to a kind of random discussion about the Messiah because all
of these debates around the what and now mark wants us to know it's not about
what but about a who. It's about the Messiah. It's not about following a set of rules. It's not about
getting theology right. It's about following a person, Jesus, the Messiah. But the religious
leaders of Jesus' day, they missed this simple fact. They missed the who amongst all these debates.
Don't get me wrong. They believe, the scribes believed, Jesus is right, that the scribes believed
the son of David. They believed in a liberator. They believed in a Messiah, a king from the line
of David who would come and set them free, but they missed it. How did they miss it? Why did they
miss it? Well, they believed that this Messiah would come and he would be another king like David
who would conquer Israel's enemies, this time the Romans. He would conquer Israel's enemies in the
same time, same way that David did, but this time against the Romans. They almost have the Messiah
right, but because they're stuck on the what, because they're stuck on the what of why they
thought the Messiah would do, they missed the who. They're stuck on the what. Here's what the Messiah
gonna come do here's how how he will liberate us and they miss the actual who friends missing the
who missing jesus leaves us in almost you're almost there and understanding who jesus is the messiah
is the bridge between knowing the law and surrendering to the law giver we often fail to
bridge that gap don't we we like the religious leaders take the title son of david and we load
meaning into it or maybe the title messiah we load meaning into it and sometimes we take it too far
we want a political messiah who fixes our lives and affirms our desires and serves our agendas
that's what the religious leaders wanted the political messiah who would come and save them
from rome and we make up our own rome in our minds of what jesus should be fixing and we want him
to do that we want a king to wield as a weapon not a lord to surrender to
but what the religious leaders missed and what you and i might miss today
is that jesus isn't just another king jesus demands to be surrendered to as lord
Again, the Messiah is not merely a descendant on the line of David.
He is David's Lord.
He is God, and not just another king.
An entrance into his kingdom does not come by just knowing about this king,
but by submitting to him as Lord,
the one whose authority transcends all other authorities.
Entrance into the kingdom of God is not about a what, it's about a who.
It's about submitting to the person of Jesus Christ.
This is something we explored over five sermons earlier this year in our Becoming series.
In those five weeks, we explored how we become virtuous people, good people,
by following a person rather than a set of practices.
And I encourage you to go back and listen to that series.
Because when we, like the scribes in our story,
get laser focused in on getting it right knowing the right thing to do right now we miss the who
we miss jesus we move we have to move from knowing christ is lord to surrendering to his lordship
knowledge of christ can't stay knowledge it has to transfer into surrender in practice you have
to love the lord and love isn't proven by what you know but by who you know it's not what you
know but it's who you know and love is known in surrender when we know jesus then we will surrender
to jesus and this morning's passage shows us two examples of that of surrender this truth
two examples that are in contrast to each other i should say the first example is a negative
example and it comes in verse 38. he also said in his teaching beware of the scribes who want to go
around in long robes and who want greetings in the marketplaces the best seats in the synagogues
and the places of honor at banquets they devour widows houses and say long prayers just for show
these will receive harsher judgment
the religious leaders those who knew god's law even some of them knowing it correctly
are acting in hypocrisy
they crave access they crave attention they crave honor they crave these things all to the
detriment of loving not only god but their neighbors as well clearly despite what they know
quote, they don't actually love God or neighbor. Clearly, their head knowledge of God and his law
did not lead to them loving God or neighbor. Also, they would have sacrificed their excess.
They would have sacrificed their attention. They would have sacrificed their own honor
for God and for their neighbor. The religious leaders want it all, but instead they're left
with almost and possibly even nothing at all. And because of that, they're judged.
But Mark immediately contrasts that with a positive example in verse 41.
Sitting across in the temple treasury, he watched, Jesus watched,
how the crowd dropped money into the treasury.
Many rich people were putting in large sums.
Then a poor widow came and dropped in two tiny coins worth very little.
summoning his disciples he said to them truly i tell you this poor widow has put more into the
treasury than all the others for they all gave out of their surplus but she out of her poverty
has put in everything she had all she had to live on
the widow who knows and loves god acts in total surrender so one more difference the widow knows
god and acts on her knowledge of god on her love for god she surrenders what little she has
because she loves the god who owns it all and has all authority whereas the religious
leaders gave out of their surplus. They had plenty to spare. The widow with her two, the text says,
tiny coins worth very little gave out of her poverty. And because of that, she gave more than
anyone there. What are you giving to God? What are you surrendering? And how does what you surrender
show what you love?
It's not all about financial giving.
What of yourself, of your time and your talents and your treasure,
what are you surrendering?
How does that surrender or lack thereof show your love for God?
Because a lot of us claim to know God, and we do.
We do know God up in our heads.
But are we showing that we truly love him by what we are surrendering to?
Are we showing that we truly know God, that we shema God, we hear God?
Are we doing that by our actions?
Are we being hearers of the word and doers or just hearers only?
Again, a lot of us claim to know God, but our surrender stops.
Our surrender stops where our comfort begins.
We sing that he's Lord, but only over the parts of our life that we're comfortable and willing to give up.
We pray for his will to be done as long as it doesn't really interact with my plans.
We study his word, but stop short of obeying it when it costs us something.
Or maybe we know a lot about God and surrender a few convenient things to him,
but we withhold actions that love our neighbor.
Friends, Jesus said to love God and love neighbor,
and he didn't put a hierarchy on the two.
They go in tandem.
Maybe we withhold actions that love our neighbor.
I see a lot of that in our day.
I see a lot of us keeping up to date on all the injustices happening around the world,
but I don't see a lot of us going all the way in sacrifice like we saw from the widow in this passage.
We like causes online, but don't like the idea of rearranging our weekends to serve.
Those causes or anywhere else.
We sign digital petitions for justice but don't sign up to mentor kids in a broken home. We repost
scripture graphics about mercy but we hold grudges against people we actually know.
We share posts about human trafficking but don't ask what it would cost to support a survivor
ministry or a survivor. We grieve over Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan but hesitate to open our wallets
to refugees, and help rebuild their lives. We drive past empty buildings and homeless neighbors,
yet when a chance comes up to set up housing for them, we say no. Not because we can't help,
but because we don't want to see them. These are hard truths, and we can keep going a list of these
things. These are harsh truths that I see. Are you sacrificing for your neighbor? Loving God and
loving neighbor go hand in hand. And friends, I see it in myself as well, this lack of sacrifice.
Just this past weekend, on my way, Thursday, on my way to write and finish this very
sermon, I went to pick up lunch, and at the corner of the street, there was a homeless man
who had a sign that said, hapless, helpless, and homeless. He, through his presence and his sign,
was asking just to be loved. Asking for money, sure, asking for food, sure, but to be loved.
And I drove past him, ordered way too much food for myself, ended up sitting in this line way
longer than I wanted to. I felt my day being encroached on because this line was taking too
long for food I didn't actually need. And as I'm in line in my car, this man is in front of me the
whole time. He was directly in front of me and I got my food and I drove past him. I went out of my
way to drive past him? Let me ask you, based on that, would you say, honestly, that I loved this
man? No. I went out of my way to avoid him. I surrendered other things, so I didn't have to
surrender time to minister to him. We must repent of that type of life, a life that's filled with
the empty lie of loving ourselves, surrendering to my priorities, to my comforts, and my
conveniences, a life that only loves God and loves neighbor when it's convenient for me.
I am repenting of that right here in front of you right now. Will you repent of that with me?
If we don't repent of that, if we don't turn away from that and towards God and towards our
neighbor, then we're like the scribe who's left with just an almost. We're almost there.
And if you want to be all the way there, if you want to be in the kingdom of God instead of not
far off, like Jesus tells the scribe, then you need to let Jesus turn your almost into all.
Let Jesus turn your almost into all. And we do this by first recognizing you don't own anything
but God owns everything you have nothing to give you have nothing to surrender you have nothing to
let go of that doesn't already belong to God not even yourself not even your own life as the first
question the New City Catechism says our only hope in life and death is that we are not our own but
belong, body and soul, both in life and death, to God and to our Savior, Jesus Christ.
We belong to God.
You don't own anything.
God owns everything.
We belong to God.
That is what Jesus is teaching us earlier in Mark chapter 12, when he was debating the
religious leaders on paying taxes.
He asks them, when they're talking about coins, whose image is on that coin?
Well, on that coin, it's Caesar's image.
But what Jesus is getting at is on you, stamped on you as God's image.
You belong to God.
You belong to God.
Whether in life or death, you are God's.
That's what Jesus is teaching us when he debates on the resurrection earlier as well.
Jesus says, you don't know the scriptures or the power of God.
The scriptures say, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.
He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living.
Through these debates, Jesus is teaching us that we belong to God.
We don't own anything.
God owns everything, even us.
And when we take that in, when we give into that reality,
Jesus takes our almost, and by the power of the Holy Spirit, he turns it into all.
We also let Jesus turn our almost into all by recognizing that we have no authority.
have no authority, but Jesus has all authority. Everything that you have been given is for you to
steward. Jesus has the ultimate authority over all things. Again, that's what he's teaching us
when he debates the religious leaders about his own authority earlier in chapter 11. And when we
recognize that we are but stewards of God's great and precious gifts to us, then Jesus turns our
almost into all we can surrender to jesus friends we have to grasp this and it's hard
we have to grasp the who jesus and not just the what
it's not about our ownership it's not about our authority or our priorities or our knowledge it's
all about jesus the disciples who walked with jesus even they had a hard time with this
they were concerned with the what even to the point of seeking out who was the greatest among
them but then this glorious thing happened this rabbi they were following was crucified
he died three days later he rose from the grave
and when he rose victorious over sin death and the devil this is what he proclaimed in matthew 28 19.
all authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth go therefore and make disciples of all
nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit teaching
them to observe everything that i have commanded you and remember i am with you always to the end
of the age it is here for the disciples and for us this morning and beholding the glory of the
the resurrected Christ, that we move from a what to a who. It's in the resurrection of Jesus that
the disciples and you today are emboldened to surrender your lives to him, to love the Lord
your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, with all your strength, and to
love your neighbor as yourself. Hold on to that resurrection power. Remember the example of the
widow. She had nothing to give but two tiny coins, which was her entire life. And maybe you're here
this morning saying, I have nothing left to give. If you have nothing left to give, Jesus, by the
power of his resurrection, can reach into that abyss and pull out life. If you're afraid you have
nothing to give or nothing left to give, then look no further than the risen Jesus, who owns it all
anyways when you have nothing left to give look to the one who gave it all for
you remember that the God who owns everything even you and has all
authority over everything sent his one and only son to give not almost but all
of himself for you not just a little bit but all of himself jesus showed us that he loves us
by surrendering his own body his life for us friends every sunday we remember that rich
and precious truth through the act of communion