Sermon Luke 6:39-49 Jesus the Comedian

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Sermon  Luke 6:39-49 Jesus the Comedian

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

May 22, 2016

            We have reached the midpoint of the church calendar.  The church calendar begins with the season of Advent, when we anticipate Jesus’ birth and coming again.  It continues through the events in Jesus’ life, baptism, transfiguration, death and resurrection.  It concludes with a look at the implications of the resurrection and the coming of the Holy Spirit.  The second half of the church calendar deals not with the events of Jesus’ life.  Rather it looks at Jesus’ teaching.  And this is what we begin today, a look at Jesus’ teachings as recorded in the Gospel of Luke.  We will get to this, but first let’s pray.

            Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, and to Thy glory. Amen. (Calvin)

            Jesus was a teacher.  The Hebrew name for teacher is rabbi.  And Jesus, like a rabbi, would teach people practical ways to live their lives.  He drew upon the law of God and the centuries of rabbinic commentaries which form Jewish wisdom literature.  Jesus was a very good teacher and drew large crowds for his lessons.  Like any good teacher he taught in many different but still entertaining ways.  And today will hear Jesus use humor to communicate to his students.  And so Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you Jesus the Comedian.

Luke 6:  ³⁹ He also told them this parable: “Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? ⁴⁰ The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher.

            I have a riddle for you.  Two people are walking down the side of the road.  Both are blind.  Now, solve the riddle. While you are thinking about this let me tell you a true story.  I once knew an elderly couple living in Florida.  The husband had Alzheimer’s and the wife was blind.  When they had to go to the grocery store they always went together.  He drove because he could see.  But he couldn’t remember where he was going.  She couldn’t see, but could remind him that he was going to the store.  Somehow they got to the store and back.

            Now, back to our riddle: Two people are walking down the side of the road.  Both are blind.  The solution to the riddle is that both will fall in the ditch.  What could Jesus have meant from a riddle like this?

            If you want to be a good person find a good person to follow.  And do whatever that good person does, imitate him, so that you too will be a good person.  But if you follow someone with a life of trouble then you too will live a life of trouble, and no one wants that.  So find a good person, preferably in church, and follow him or her to become good too.  And Jesus, whom you may follow, would be a great choice.

            Now, let’s go back to Jesus the Comedian and hear him use a literary device called. exaggeration.  

⁴¹ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴² How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

            I recently heard one presidential candidate criticize the husband of another about his infidelity to his wife.  He seemed not to remember that he himself has had three wives and numerous girlfriends.  There seems to be some hypocrisy here.

            Whenever we criticize someone without first examining ourselves we are open to the charge of hypocrisy.  Jesus tells us not to do this.  Never criticize someone else until you have first examine your own life, confess what you have done, and change your ways.  Most of us don’t do this because it is much easier to see someone else’s faults than our own.  But if we do this, Jesus would call all of us hypocrites. 

            Church is the only place in our culture that encourages you to examine yourself and confess you sin to God.  We do this every Sunday in order to build confession into a habit.  Always examine yourself, confess your sin, and repent before you even think of criticizing someone else.

            So far we have heard from Jesus the very practical advantages of finding good teachers and examining ourselves before criticizing others.  Now, let’s return to Jesus the Comedian as he uses absurdity to illustrate a point.    

⁴³ “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. ⁴⁴ Each tree is recognized by its own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. ⁴⁵ A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

            Suppose your wife planted tomatoes in the garden a couple of weeks ago.  Already they are choked with weeds.  Your wife tells you to pull the weeds and spay fertilizer on the tomatoes.  But you, in a hurry to get back to the baseball game on TV, decide to just spray the fertilizer and call it a day.  But instead of fertilizer, in your haste, you pick up a bottle of Roundup and the tomatoes are history.  What will your wife do to you when she finds out?

           You see, the quantity and quality of tomatoes depend on what goes in them.  If tomato plants have good soil, plenty of sun, and the right amount of water and fertilizer, tomato plants will produce abundant good fruit.  But if you spray weed killer on them they will die.  So too with us!  If we put good things in us then good fruit will come from us.  But if we put garbage in then garbage comes out.  That is why it is so important to pray and meditate on scripture every day.  This is the good fertilizer that will yield in you good fruit.  But if you fill yourself with bad stuff, then don’t be surprised if your life consists of one problem after another.  Fill yourself will good things and your life will produce good fruit.

            So, find good teachers and follow them, examine yourself before criticizing others, and fill yourself with goodness every day.  You will be blessed.  Now let’s listen to the comedian Jesus as he tells a humorous story.

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ⁴⁷ As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. ⁴⁸ They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. ⁴⁹ But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”

            I moved to California in 2004 to attend seminary.  The first thing I noticed was that it does not rain in Los Angeles.  Not a drop had fallen for months.  Only around 5 inches fall in a year.  And this has a impact on the land.  Here on the eastern shore our land is flat.  Any hills that were once here were long ago eroded away by the wind and the rain.  But in California the hills remain.  They are large piles of sand which have compacted together over the centuries with minimal rain for erosion.   A few years ago a developer wanted to build a housing development on one of these hills.  Engineers told him that he had to anchor the houses to the bedrock beneath the sand.  Since this was too expensive he abandoned the project.   But in 2004 another developer bought the land, and ignoring the engineers, began building homes without anchoring them in the bedrock.  The homes were beautiful and expensive and sold quickly because of the great view on top of the hill.  Then in January of 2005 the rains came.  And the houses began sliding down the hill, ruined.  The money lost in those houses far exceeded the cost of a proper foundation.

            This is also true for us.  Our lives need a proper foundation so that we can withstand the troubles of life.  One day a loved one will die.  One day you will lose your health.   One day your job may be eliminated, or your retirement income won’t be enough.  What do you do?  You better have a firm foundation for your life or you will be blown away.  So, how do you build a strong foundation for your life?  Listen again to what Jesus said.

⁴⁶ “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? ⁴⁷ As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like.

            It is not enough to just come to worship.  That will not prepare you with a firm foundation for life.  You need more.  Let’s look at what Jesus tells you to do.

            First, you are to come to Jesus.  You are to come to church and get involved.  You are to pray and meditate on scripture every day.  You are to develop a relationship with Jesus through constant engagement.  This relationship will be for you a necessary part of a firm foundation.

            Second, you are to hear what Jesus says.  You are to pay attention to the scripture read and proclaimed in worship.  You are to attend Bible studies.  You are to read your Bible every day.  Listen to what Jesus says.  Learn from him.  And this will be for you another necessary part of a firm foundation.

            And third, you are to do what Jesus says.  You are to care for the needs of poor and the needy.  You are to assist the widow and orphan.  You are to ensure that aliens in the land receive justice.  You are to love your neighbor.  Do what Jesus says and you will build a solid foundation for your life.

            Come to Jesus in a close relationship, hear what Jesus says through study of scripture and do what he tells you to do.  Then you will have a firm foundation which can withstand the problems of life.

            What happens when the blind lead the blind?  They both fall in a ditch.  So to live a good life, find a good teacher.  What happens when you criticize others without first examining yourself?  You will be a hypocrite.  So always examine yourself and confess your sin before you even consider criticizing someone else.  What happens when you spray weed killer on tomato plants?  They won’t produce any tomatoes.  So to live a good life, fill yourself with good things. What happens if you build your house on sand?  It will blow away.  So to live a good life, come to Jesus for a relationship, hear what he says in the Bible in worship and Bible study, and always do what he says.  Do all of this and lead a blessed life. Let’s pray.

            Lord Jesus we thank you for your teaching.  Help us to lead good live.  Provide with good teachers.  Feed us with good things in your word.   Bring us closer to you so that we may learn from you how to live our lives.  This we pray in your glorious name.  Amen.