John Gunter: And what I love about that song is, you ever notice the tenor part is just God is love, God is love, God is love. And we're going to, and we should keep that close to us as Christians, right, that God is love. Amen? I need it. He has it.
So we cling to Him. This morning we begin in verse 13 of Mark chapter 12. And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians to trap him in his talk. And they came and said to him, teacher, we know that you are true and do not care about anyone's opinion. For you are not swayed by appearances but truly teach the way of God, dripping with sarcasm.
Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not? Should we pay them or should we not? But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, why put me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me look at it. And then they brought one and he said to them, whose likeness and inscription is this?
They said to him, Caesar's. Jesus said to them, render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's. And they marveled at him. What an interesting, interaction with Jesus. Because Jesus immediately snuffs out what is going on, doesn't he?
What I want you to notice, and it it says there in the beginning here that the Pharisees and some of the Herodians so you actually have two people that that don't see eye to eye on things. The the Pharisees are looking for a Messiah to take them out of Roman occupation. The Herodians are good with what's going on. They're they're pro Rome. They're they're all about what's happening now, but because of what Jesus is doing in their society, they team up to try to trap him.
You know what? The what? The, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. That's exactly what's going on here. Alright?
Let's see what we can do because Jesus is causing problems for both of them. For the Herodians, well, maybe Jesus is is kind of encroaching on, is He going to cause unrest, right? More unrest. Remember Roman peace. For the Pharisees, it is, well, you know, we have always been the authority around here.
What is this new guy coming and doing and teaching, Right? Drawing crowds that that that threatens me in some way because I had the authority, I had the power, and now I don't. And, so, that's the issue coming up here. And, and, so, they asked Jesus this question that that is is a challenging question because there was this thought in Jewish society that if we're a theocracy, we worship God, that's that's what we're here for, then we shouldn't be having money with Caesar's picture on it and honoring him with that. We should be honoring only God.
And so, it's a trick question. It's trying to catch Jesus in the moment and and Jesus kind of outsmarts it, doesn't he? He? He says, bring me one of those things. And he said, alright.
Well, whose whose picture is it? And he said, well, it's Caesar. And he said, well, render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God. Now, that's still kind of a political statement because Caesar could be seen as God. They worshiped him as a God.
And Jesus kind of makes a separation there. That to Caesar, what is Caesar's? To God, what is God? And so, they come up with this silly hypothetical for this reason to trap Jesus. Notice, they do it again.
In verse 18, the Sadducees came to him. You see, they're they're getting every group. You see that? That's what Mark is trying to tell you. Everyone was taking their shot and Sadducees came to him who say there is no resurrection.
Notice that. The the narrator is telling you this is important information for you to know. The Sadducees don't believe in resurrection, but yet, they have this question. Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. There were seven brothers.
The first took a wife, and when he died, left no offspring. Then the second took her and died, leaving no offspring. And the third, likewise. And and the seven left no offspring. Last of all, the woman also died.
In the resurrection they don't believe in resurrection. In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as a wife. You see, they don't even believe this, but they're trying to get Jesus in this question. Okay.
What they have just done is is called a, let me see if I can remember the the Latin Latin term. It's reductio ad absurdum. I'm making an absurd claim. This is a ridiculous claim to try and prove my point. Right?
The resurrection of the you know, how could how could you believe in the resurrection? Because think about this scenario here where there's seven there's seven men and one wife. Who's whose wife is she gonna be? And and Jesus said to them, is this not the reason you are wrong? Because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God.
For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses? How God spoke to him saying, I am the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. He is not God of the dead, but of the living, you are quite wrong. Well, they asked the question and he ends with you are wrong.
He answers what is behind the question, you see. The Sadducees were a group of people who who really only believed in the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible. That's why when they start this thing, they said, well, Moses taught. K? You see that?
And so, have you not read in the book of Moses, he says in verse 26, in the passage about the books, how how God spoke him saying, not I was the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, because they're dead, he says, I am. A couple of things else I want you to to notice here. In verse 19, the word teacher. The Sadducees didn't see eye to eye with Jesus at all. This is just a polite thing because everyone else was calling him teacher.
Teacher, I really want to know this. And I'll tell you, this hits close to home as a minister because a lot of times when people come up with these kind of absurd questions that they want to trap you with, they are not interested at all in learning anything. I just wanna be mad and I wanna gripe. And I'll I'll I'll do with the pleasantries. I've come for you to hear me, but me not to hear you.
And so, we'd say, teacher, okay? Yeah. Okay. Whatever. But we come up with these silly things and and Jesus says, alright.
Well, is it not, is this not the reason you're wrong? You neither knows, you know neither the scriptures nor the power of god. How do you think that sounded to someone who believed they knew the scriptures? He's just pointed out they don't know the scriptures. What about the bush where god says, I am not I was.
Right? And and and that's what it comes to. And again, when I meet with people who are upset, they don't wanna hear that. They don't wanna study. They don't want to learn.
They just want to gripe. And often, the case is is that we don't know scriptures as well as we'd like to think we do. He continues in verse 28. And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, which commandment is the most important of all? Ain't that interesting?
Which commandment is the most important? You ever you ever thought about that other than the scripture here? Like, that's my favorite commandment. And which one's yours? Right?
Which one's the greatest commandment or most important of all? And Jesus answered, the most important is, hear, oh Israel. You heard that this morning? Hear, oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall 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 this, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said to him, you are right, teacher. You have truly said that he is one and that there is no other besides him. You think that guy lived out the rest of his days telling people that he told Jesus he was right?
Right? It's like letting the smart kid in class answer a question and you go, ditto. That's exactly what I was thinking. Right? I didn't say it, but that's exactly.
That's what Jesus said. There is no other beside him. And to love him with all the heart, with all the understanding, and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself is much more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. Now that's a big statement, but he's right. It it it is more than all the sacrifice.
That was an important thing. Right? But to love god and to love your neighbor is much more important than all sacrifices, And I'll show you more about that in just a second. And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, you are not far from the kingdom of God. And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions.
So this scribe gets an attaboy from Jesus. Amen. I'd hang that thing on the wall, put it on my bumper sticker. You think his mama had that on the on the cart the donkey pulled? My son got an attaboy from Jesus.
You you are close to the kingdom of God. Now the kingdom of God is is this idea that, again, God is breaking into the kingdom and we are going with him. We are accepting that. And Jesus says, if you understand this, if you understand that that to love God and to love your neighbor, if you understand how important those things are, you are close to the kingdom of God. Keep living it out.
It's not a there's no negative, like you're close, but you're not meant he didn't say anything negative there. But keep living this way. Right? But you you see the importance. We'll we'll live it out now.
And so that's the way we should live. We should hold these things as close to our our chest as we can, but often we don't. I wanna back up just a second to talk about what he said there. How important, these things are. In first Corinthians thirteen thirteen, Paul echoes the same kind of thing.
How important love is. He says, so now faith, hope, and love abide these three, but the greatest of these is what? Love. Alright. So if the greatest of these is love, love is more important than faith.
Correct? You don't even want to say that, do you? It feels wrong, doesn't it? Because we elevate what we think or what we believe, I think a lot of times, above anything else. Our churches do it.
I'm sure we're not the only one. I think we're unique in that. But we elevate what we think or what we believe. Well, John doesn't believe this or he doesn't think this and and and we do that or brother so and so or sister so and so. Well, I heard in class.
Well, okay. And we elevate those things, what we believe or think. And what Paul says and what the scribe has just said that that Jesus gives an attaboy is love is greater than all of those things. And boy, we don't like it. Can you say it this morning that that love is the greatest?
Say love is the greatest. You understand that? Hope, faith, those are great things. Those are powerful things in your life. Love is over the top of it.
Because from love comes everything else. You understand that? We get the same kind of thing in in Micah chapter six, where the prophet here says, With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on high? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, with 10 thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, oh man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Now, I've highlighted that that term love kindness that in English that's not capturing what is said there. Because what what he's saying there is love h e s e d.
If you wanna look it up later, write that down, h e s e d. Everyone say hesed. That is the that is the term that over and over that is used for God's love for us. And, and a lot of times what you'll see translated is not love kindness, but loving kindness. That there's a perseverance to it, that there's a loyalty to it, and that is how God shows his love for us.
And so what we're seeing there is do justice and to love loving like God loves, alright, and to walk humbly with your God. Do you understand? And what he's just said is, this is what you should do over all the sacrifices, all the things you can bring to God. This is the thing that God desires. Do you understand that?
That God desires you and this love and loving others, again, is is showing people who God is, because that's who we're supposed to be. Right? We are supposed to be the hands and feet. We say, you're supposed to be the salt and light. We are supposed to be the image bearers of God.
Right? From first John, chapter four and verse seven. Beloved, let us love one another for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. You heard that recently? Yeah.
I'll put a tune to that. Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love. In this, the love of God was made manifest among us that God sent his only son into the world so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. Did you catch all of that? Do you think love is important? Do you think loving your brother is important?
Do you think loving others is important? Anyone who does not love does not know God. You understand that? Pretty plain this morning. In verse 19, it says, we love because, what church?
He loved us. Right? God has given us the example of love. He has shown you how much He loves by the actions He has given. Correct?
Amen? Have you seen God's love in your life? Say, amen. Yes. We love because He first loved us, and then he gets into stepping on our toes.
If anyone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. You catch that this morning? Maybe we ought to just sit with it just a second. If anyone says, I love I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother and whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
Well, that makes sense, doesn't it? For he who does not love his brother whom he he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from him, whoever loves God must also love your brother. I said a few weeks ago and something similar, we're talking about loving your brother. If you can't do that, it's very hard to do the rest of scripture.
Because there are some very hard things in scripture. You you talk about Leviticus nineteen thirty four. You shall treat the stranger. A lot of times that is translated the foreigner. So you shall treat the stranger or foreigner who sojourns with you as the native among you.
Treat them as one who is a native. Okay? And you shall love him as who? Boy, I hold myself up there. How can I do that?
Right? You should love him as yourself for you were strangers in the land of Egypt. I am Lord your God. God says, you know what it's like to be strangers in another land. So you need to treat people in your land as natives.
Well, how can you do that if you don't even love your brother? Well, what about this? Okay. Matthew five verse 43 through 47. You've heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.
But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. Oh. So if you wanna be like God, to to be a son of God, that you in verse 45, so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven, you can't hate your enemy. You can't hate the foreigner.
You gotta love all of these people because God's example again, that's what he's pointing back to is what Jesus is saying. Okay. Well, god's example to you is is giving all of these great things to both the evil and the good. Well, how can I do that if I don't love my brother? He finishes this way.
For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same. You know that was a punch to the gut, don't you? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same.
And I think we let ourselves off the hook because I think sometimes we sit in a pew and the foreigner or the enemy is almost like this theoretical person. They're not sitting here in front of us. I don't have to look at their ugly faces and walk through the door. Right? Because if I've got beef with you and I meet you at the door, I just ruined my day.
Right? But the foreigner and the enemy is kind of like this theoretical person that's out there that I don't really have to deal with, and so if you're sitting in Bible class and say, hey, do you love your enemy? Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
I don't know who it is. Right? I don't see him. They're in another probably in another country somewhere. They're just plotting my event, but I I don't really have to deal with them, so they're theoretical.
And if we get back to it, what he's saying is the practical thing is, if you don't love your brother, don't say you love god. Because you don't. How can you? Because if you can't love the person sitting in front of you that you can see, that you can deal with, and you can have conversations with, how can you love God who you haven't seen? How would you deal with that?
How do you know that someone's a Christian? Somebody tells you they're a Christian, we get new people in all the time. How how can you tell somebody's a Christian? We kind of we kind of have different ways. I think we probably couldn't pinpoint a way but I think we could use the scriptures this morning about it.
Do you love people? Do you love your brother? You want to be a son of god? Okay? Then, you have to love people.
Not with gritted teeth, I don't think. I've had to do it. John said, I had to do it this week. Griped the whole time I was helping that person, right? No, that's not it.
But you have to love em. Because people claim all kinds of things, especially if you're in the Bible Belt, right? We claim Christianity. I've I've given the example of people in my family, like, hey, do you want a Christian service? Oh, yeah, we're all Christians here.
They they have no evidence of that in their life. There are no fruits of the spirit to show that. So we can use fruits of the spirit, right? A long time ago, probably a decade or more ago now, heard a politician, you know, is claiming to be Christian. They said they never asked for forgiveness.
Well, is that not a mark of Christianity? And if I told you this morning, I've been a Christian since 1994. I've never asked for forgiveness. You'd probably line up behind at the door and say, John, I don't think you're a Christian. That's kind of Christianity one zero one right there.
You you gotta ask for forgiveness. You know, I know you got that whole dancing with snakes thing, that's a few weeks, but, you know, you kinda have to ask for forgiveness. So what are the marks of someone who is a Christian? Well, John, in one John four again, anyone says, I love God and hate his brother. He's a liar.
You can't love. If you can't love your brother who he has sinned, you cannot love God who he has not seen. Well, John thirteen thirty five, By this all people will know that you are my disciples If you have love for one another. How can I tell that you're a disciple of Christ? This, and if that's not evident in your life, something's off, isn't it?
If somebody else tells you, you know, hey, I'm a Christian. I'm I'm claiming Christ. No. Not if this isn't part of your life. Because we fall for the cheap substitutes all the time.
And I I don't wanna get too political this morning, but politicians do it to us all the time. You understand that? You know how many politicians do that just to get your vote? Like like the person who said, yeah, I'm a Christian, but I haven't asked for forgiveness. I don't think you're a Christian.
Okay? You gotta do that. Okay? We're we're kinda swan. Well, you're only a Christian if you vote for this party.
You heard that? Yeah. Maybe you felt that way. And and what we do is we whittle things down to one issue or another, and we go, well, I'm not voting for that, so I'm gonna vote for this. And so then I'll be with the Christian party.
Is this all this is not new to you, is it? No. Then I'll be the and what we do is we substitute something like this where you're supposed to love one another. Have you ever seen a political campaign that talks about this? We are the party who loves everyone.
That's what we just read in scripture. Right? That wasn't what I said. That's what we read this morning in scripture. This is how you'll know.
Well, if you'll have love for one another. No. We run on other platforms. If you'll vote for this or not. Okay?
And so what we end up with was this cheap substitute of, well, we're the party of the Christians and so we almost rubber stamp other things And we call it Christianity. And it's not. And I am tired of living in a world where we are so divided. Are you? We live in a world of red versus blue, right side of the aisle, left side of the aisle.
Are you lined up behind a donkey or an elephant? I will just tell you, if you are not doing things in the image of the lamb, I haven't got time for you. Don't claim me as a part of your group. One of the things I hate as an American is the winner say our presidential elections it gets me because the first State of the Union, what we get is, I won, so I'm taking this as a rubber stamp that everything I've said is what you want to happen. And as a discerning person, I say quit saying that mess.
I only voted for you because I liked you just a little bit more than the crazy guy I know that I didn't vote for, right? But often that's what happens is we get pushed into these these boundaries that should not exist, where we should exist in this right here. That we are known by red, blue, left, right, whatever, but we are known by the way we love one another. And are we a church that is known this way? Are we showing our love for one another?
Could people pick out that we are actually disciples of Jesus Christ? Again, from first John four, beloved us love one another for love is from God and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God because God is love. And I don't mean to click pick just on, political things. That's an easy target.
But we do the same thing as individuals, as church member. Right? We we we don't actually go for the, hey, do you love people? We pick out characteristics about people that we like, and we base everything on that. Is he nice to me?
I see people all the time, and and, you've heard me say it before, that's a faithful sister in Christ, and the only evidence that they're a faithful sister in Christ is that the rear end is in the same spot every Sunday, Not do they love people. And so, every time we go to to do elder selection or deacons or anything like that, I I see this come up is that we don't go, hey, are you a loving Christian? Do you show the love of Jesus in your life? A lot of times we we get to those things, well, he was kind to me. Well, that's great.
That's a part of the fruit of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, spacious, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. That's good. But from love springs everything. And so if what you're seeing in, whether it's a politician or somebody sitting in the in the chair right here, is not love, don't call it Christianity.
You understand? You need me to say that again? If it is not love, if it is not loving, don't call it Christianity. Jesus, when he taught his disciples how to pray, he said, when talking to God, holy is your name. Set apart.
Let your name be holy. Let it mean something. Don't attach all of these other things to it. Let your name be distinct and we keep grabbing on and saying, well, this is Christianity. I told you the story one time of, of someone I went to church with and one of my elders said, well, I really love her.
She just says what she thinks. That's not a fruit of the spirit. Y'all, you know that? Love, joy, peace, patience, saying whatever you think without a filter. Yeah.
No. Uh-uh. That's not it. But we gravitate towards those things that make us feel good instead of holding each other to do you love people? And what we have is is people get upset and I wish you should have given the commercial about class today.
In class today, Ryan said, you know, when you really understand this and when is when things aren't going right. When when the road is bumpy. Right? That's when you understand whether or not someone is living this way. Because when things are good, they're great, right?
Not complaining, nobody's upset, but when things get a little bumpy, then you see. And then you you have people claiming Christianity, well, they were nice to me. Well, they're divisive and they're dividing the church and they're saying bad things and they're gossiping and all of that stuff. Well, they were nice to me. Don't call that Christianity because you're not showing love for your brother in that, are you?
You're not showing love for your neighbor. And you certainly, if you can't do that, again, foreigner, stranger, enemy, you certainly can't do that and scripture says you can't do it with God because you haven't seen him. And so, don't call that Christianity if it's not of Christ. The people of God entrusted with the Word of God should reflect the image of God. Let me say that one more time.
The people of God entrusted with the Word of God should reflect the image of God. Do you agree with that church? Say amen. So, what we should be able to show the world is exactly what we read this morning, not coming from my mouth, but from the words of God in scripture. That again, if anyone says I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar, or he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
And so the people of God entrusted with the word of God should reflect the image of God. And if it doesn't measure up, don't call it Christianity. We're not perfect. You're not gonna be perfect. The way we show the world that is we own it.
Right? When we're not perfect, we say, okay, I repent of that. I confess of that sin. And I am again, I want to I want to show perfectly. I wanna reflect perfectly the image of God.
I'm not gonna do that perfectly. But when I am wrong, when I have sinned, or when I have done something to harm someone, I wanna change that. I want God to change me. And I'm going to humble myself, and I'm going to be this this kind of person. And I want to be back in line with this.
So if it is not this, don't call it. This morning, we're gonna offer an invitation.