Old Testament Reading: Proverbs 25

“These also are proverbs of Solomon which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied. It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out. As the heavens for height, and the earth for depth, so the heart of kings is unsearchable. Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel; take away the wicked from the presence of the king, and his throne will be established in righteousness. Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, “Come up here,” than to be put lower in the presence of a noble. What your eyes have seen do not hastily bring into court, for what will you do in the end, when your neighbor puts you to shame? Argue your case with your neighbor himself, and do not reveal another’s secret, lest he who hears you bring shame upon you, and your ill repute have no end. A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in a setting of silver. Like a gold ring or an ornament of gold is a wise reprover to a listening ear. Like the cold of snow in the time of harvest is a faithful messenger to those who send him; he refreshes the soul of his masters. Like clouds and wind without rain is a man who boasts of a gift he does not give. With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone. If you have found honey, eat only enough for you, lest you have your fill of it and vomit it. Let your foot be seldom in your neighbor’s house, lest he have his fill of you and hate you. A man who bears false witness against his neighbor is like a war club, or a sword, or a sharp arrow. Trusting in a treacherous man in time of trouble is like a bad tooth or a foot that slips. Whoever sings songs to a heavy heart is like one who takes off a garment on a cold day, and like vinegar on soda. If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink, for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you. The north wind brings forth rain, and a backbiting tongue, angry looks. It is better to live in a corner of the housetop than in a house shared with a quarrelsome wife. Like cold water to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country. Like a muddied spring or a polluted fountain is a righteous man who gives way before the wicked. It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glorious to seek one’s own glory. A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.” (Proverbs 25, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Luke 14:7-24 

“Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, ‘When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.’ He said also to the man who had invited him, ‘When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.’ When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, ‘Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’ But he said to him, ‘A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’” (Luke 14:7–24, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

Luke begins the section we are considering today by saying, “Now [Jesus] told a parable to those who were invited…” This reminds us of the scene. Back in Luke 14:1, we were told, “One Sabbath, [Jesus] went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees…” (Luke 14:1, ESV). Remember, he healed a man of dropsy there, and he confronted the Pharisees for their cold-hearted legalism. So, this is the scene. Jesus is at the home of a high-ranking Pharisee for dinner, and it is to this group that he speaks.

Interestingly, Luke describes Jesus’ teaching as a parable. A parable is an earthly story with a spiritual meaning. Typically, a parable is a fictional story designed to illustrate spiritual truths. Eventually, in Luke 14:15-24, Jesus does tell a fictional story. But he began by using the real-life situation he was in – the dinner at the ruler of the Pharisees’ house – as a kind of living parable. By this I mean, in verses 7-14, Christ used the situation he observed in the room as an opportunity to teach about spiritual things.

What are the spiritual lessons delivered by Christ in this passage? Here Christ teaches us about life in his eternal kingdom and he does so by contrasting it with the way these Pharisees were living. No doubt, these Pharisees thought they were in the kingdom of God. More than this, they believed they were the preeminent ones in the kingdom of God. But here Christ condemns their way of life and insists that the values and ethics of his kingdom are radically different from the values and ethics of theirs.

You have heard me say that the gospel of Luke is all about the inauguration of the kingdom of God at Christ’s first coming, and so it is. If you pay careful attention to what Jesus has to say about life in his kingdom and the ethics of his kingdom, you will see that Christ’s kingdom is an upside-down kingdom when compared to the kingdoms of this world. This is what we see in the text that is open before us today. The way of the world is not the way of Christ and his kingdom. Things work differently in Christ’s kingdom. In brief, it is not the prestigious, powerful, prideful, and self-promoting who flourish in Christ’s eternal kingdom, but those who are humble, lowly, and servant-hearted.   

This passage consists of three parts. 

Everyone Who Exalts Himself Will Be Humbled, And He Who Humbles Himself Will Be Exalted   

The first is found in Luke 14:7-11. There we read, “Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor…”  In that culture, men lounged on the ground at low tables to eat. As it is in our culture, certain positions at the table were considered to be places of honor. The places of honor at the table were the most comfortable, provided the best view of the room, and were situated close to the host or guest of honor so that conversation could be had with those of importance. What did Jesus observe at this dinner party? He saw men clamoring for the best and most honored places at the tables.  

And so he took the opportunity to instruct them concerning them, saying, in verse 8, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” 

This is a wise saying. It sounds very much like Proverbs 25:6-7: “Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great, for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here,’ than to be put lower in the presence of a noble” (Proverbs 25:6–7, ESV). This is very good advice. One would be wise to follow this advice at dinner parties or at weddings. But I trust you can see this is about more than dinner party etiquette. This is about life in Christ’s kingdom. 

In the world, and even in the world of the Pharisees of Old Covenant Israel, men clamor for positions of honor, power, and prestige.  But this is not how things work in the inaugurated kingdom of Christ, that is to say, the church. In the kingdom of Christ, “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” It is this final remark from Jesus that makes his teaching a parable. Christ used the scene that was unfolding before him – men clamoring for positions of honor – to make the point, “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”      

As I was contemplating this passage it occurred to me that later in Luke’s gospel we find another story about Jesus dining with others. It is in Luke 22 that we find Jesus dining with his own disciples. There is a linguistic connection between this passage and that one. In Luke 14:1 we are told, “One Sabbath, when [Jesus] went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees…” (Luke 14:1, ESV). And in Luke 22 the same Greek word translated as “dine” appears. In Luke 22:14 we read: “And when the hour came, he reclined at table, and the apostles with him. And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer” (Luke 22:14–15, ESV). There the Greek word translated as “eat” is the same as the Greek word translated here in our text as “dined”. Not only is there a linguistic connection between Luke 14 and Luke 22, but the scenes are very similar. In both scenes, Christ is dining with people. I do believe that Luke wants to compare and contrast these two dinner parties. 

In Luke 14, the ruler of the Pharisees is the host. In Luke 22, Jesus is the host. In Luke 14, the Pharisees are found clamoring for positions of honor. And what do you know, in Luke 22 the twelve Apostles are found doing the same thing. In Luke 22:24 we read, “A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest” (Luke 22:24, ESV). In Luke 14 Christs rebukes and instructs the Pharisees, saying, “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” In Luke 22:25, Christ speaks to his ambitions, self-seeking, and self-promoting disciples saying, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves” (Luke 22:25–27, ESV). Luke does not tell the story of Jesus washing the feet of his disciples at this Passover feast. Only John tells that story in chapter 13 of his gospel. No doubt, the words of Jesus recorded in Luke 22:17 are meant to remind us of this story. Jesus Christ, the Son of God incarnate, the Messiah, the Lord of Glory, humbled himself and took the position of a servant. As he celebrated the last Passover with his disciples, he “rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him” (John 13:4–6, ESV). And he instructed his disciples, saying, “You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you” (John 13:13–15, ESV).

This is the ethic of Christ’s kingdom. The great are those who are truly humble. The great are those who are resolved to serve and to put the needs of others ahead of their own desires. This kingdom ethic is exemplified by the King of the kingdom, Christ the Lord, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:6–11, ESV). All who have Christ as their King are to have this mind within themselves (see Philippians 2:5). We are to clothe ourselves with humility toward one another, knowing that “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” (1 Peter 5:5, ESV).

It is possible, dear friends, to act humble in public but to lack true humility in the heart. We must not forget that God sees the heart. True humility comes when we begin to see ourselves as we really are.  Those who are proud have a distorted view of themselves. They see themselves as righteous (in themselves), being blind to their sin and folly. They see themselves as self-sufficient, oblivious to the fact that it is God who upholds their life and gives them their every breath. Contrary to all the evidence, the proud think of themselves as immortal and invincible. They do not see that their life is but a vapor and a breath. Those who are truly humble see themselves as they truly are. They agree with God’s word that they are sinners by nature, creatures who depend on God for everything, and created to give thanks and praise to God and to worship and serve him forever. True humility comes only when we begin to see ourselves as God sees us, as revealed in the pages of Holy Scripture. 

The Pharisees lacked a proper view of themselves, and so Christ warned them and taught them, “Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” Sometimes the proud are humbled even in this life, and sometimes the humble are exalted even in this life. Certainly, the proud will be humbled and the humble will be exulted on judgment day and in the life to come.        

Do Not Invite Those Who Can Repay, For You Will Be Repaid At The Resurrection Of The Just 

In Luke 14:12 Christ delivers another message. This time, he spoke directly to the man who had invited him to the banquet and said, “When you give a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:12–14, ESV).

If in the previous parable, Christ confronted the Pharisees concerning their pride and self-promotion, here Christ confronts them for the preferential treatment they showed to their kinsmen according to the flesh and those with prestige.

It would be a mistake to think that Christ is here forbidding private dinner parties wherein those invited are all friends or members of the same family. Certainly, there is a time and place for private celebrations. Jesus’ words must be interpreted in kingdom terms if they are to be correctly understood. These were Pharisees, remember? They were recognized as religious leaders within that society. Clearly, this dinner that Christ attended was not a simple celebration for family and friends, but an event of religious and political importance. This is why the people were clamoring for the honored places as the tables. I’m sure the whole scene made Christ sick, and so he confronted them for the preferential treatment they showed to family and those with prestige while neglecting the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind among them. 

Jesus’ concerns in this instance seem to be very much like the concerns that James had when he wrote his letter to Christians, saying, “For if a man wearing a gold ring and fine clothing comes into your assembly, and a poor man in shabby clothing also comes in, and if you pay attention to the one who wears the fine clothing and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’ while you say to the poor man, ‘You stand over there,’ or, ‘Sit down at my feet,’ have you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts? Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor man. Are not the rich the ones who oppress you, and the ones who drag you into court? Are they not the ones who blaspheme the honorable name by which you were called? If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘

You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well.” (James 2:2–8, ESV)

As I have said, this passage is about Christ’s kingdom and the ethics of his kingdom. I do not doubt that what Christ saw in the house of the ruler of the Pharisees repulsed him. He delivered this teaching as a rebuke to the Pharisees, and also to instruct his disciples concerning life in his inaugurated kingdom, that is to say, in the church. Dear friends, as the church – that is to say, as the officers and members of Christ’s church – we must never show partiality or preferential treatment to family members or to those of wealth and prestige within society but must care for the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind among us. In other words, we must not relate to people thinking, how will I benefit from this relationship in the here and now? Instead, we must love our neighbor as ourselves and do unto them as we would have them do to us if we were in their position. Here Christ reminds us that there will be a reward for those who live according to this ethic when he says, “For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.” 

 Blessed Is Everyone Who Will Eat Bread In The Kingdom Of God

Christ had one more lesson for this group. It is found in verses 15-24.

In verse 15 we read, “When one of those who reclined at table with him heard these things, he said to him, ‘Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!’” Evidently this man understood that Christ was talking about the kingdom of God and the ethics of this kingdom. Why did he speak up? I do not know. Perhaps he genuinely agreed with Jesus. Perhaps he simply wanted his voice to be heard. Perhaps his statement was intended to prompt Jesus to answer the question, who will eat bread in the kingdom of God? Whatever the man’s motive, Jesus did take the opportunity to teach about entrance into the kingdom of God. Here we find a classic example of a parable. 

Verse 16: “But he said to him, ‘A man once gave a great banquet and invited many. And at the time for the banquet he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet’” (Luke 14:15–24, ESV).

The primary meaning of this parable is clear. The man who gave a great banquet represents God. The banquet represents the marriage supper of the lamb that will be enjoyed in the new heavens and earth when the kingdom of God is consummated (see Revelation 19:9). The servant who was sent out to say to those invited, “Come, for everything is now ready”,  is Jesus Christ. Those who were invited first – the ones who made excuses as to why they could not come because they were preoccupied with the cares of this world – represent the Jews and especially the leaders of the Jews, men like the Pharisees. The master of the house growing angry and saying to his servants, “Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame”, represents the realities of Jesus’ earthly ministry. Not many who were wise according to worldly standards, or powerful, or those of noble birth followed after receiving the invitation to the great banquet. Rather it was foolish, the weak, the low and despised in the world, who responded in faith to the invitation of Christ (see 1 Corinthians 1:26–29). When the servant in the parable spoke to the master, saying, “Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room”, it symbolized the fact that not all of God’s elect were called to faith and repentance in the days of Christ’s earthly ministry. Far from it! There was still room – a lot more room – at God’s banquet table table. When the master said to the servant, “Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled”, it symbolized the fact that the gospel of the kingdom of heaven would soon go out from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth (see Acts 1:8). When the master spoke to the servant saying, “For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet”, it was a condemnation of the Jews, especially the religious elite from amongst the Jews, who had rejected the invitation of Christ and persisted in unbelief. 

The man at the table said, “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” No doubt, his statement was true! But Christ made it clear by this parable, that none of these Pharisees would be blessed to eat bread in the kingdom if they continued to make excuses and reject the invitation delivered by Jesus because they loved the world and the things of this world more than God.

This, I say, was the primary meaning of this parable. This is what the parable meant primarily as it was originally delivered by Jesus the audience he had at the ruler of the Pharisee’s house. But parables can have layers of meaning. The secondary meaning of this parable is that this dynamic continues even to the present day. The invitation to the great banquet of God continues to go out. It is the gospel proclaimed by the followers of Jesus Christ. And men and women continue to make excuses and reject this invitation because they love this world and the things of this world more than God and the things of God. 

It could be that you are one of those fools who have chosen the fleeting pleasures of this life over a seat at God’s heavenly banquet table. How do you receive this invitation and come to take your seat at God’s heavenly and eternal banquet table? Only by turning from your sins and trusting in Jesus the Messiah for the forgiveness of your sins. How foolish the men in this parable were! They were invited to a very great and grand banquet! And yet they made excuses. The first one said, “I have bought a field, and I must go out and see it.” Another said, “I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to examine them. Please have me excused.” And another said, “I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.” These were lame excuses indeed. And they reveal the indifference, lovelessness,  and lack of interest that these men have in the master and in the master’s house.  Some who are here might have the same indifference, lovelessness, and lack of interest in God and in the things of God. 

It is so, I pray it will soon change. May the Lord grant to all who hear these words a true appetite for the great banquet of God that will be enjoyed when Christ returns to consummate his kingdom. May our hunger for the things of this earth pale in comparison to our hunger for the marriage supper of the lamb. And dear friends, may the Lord grant us the grace to have our hunger pains for the feast of that great and final day satisfied by the feast that God has set before us now in the Lord’s Supper.  

The man at the table with Jesus was right! “Blessed is everyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!” This will be true in the world to come when the kingdom of God is consummated. But it is also true now as those with faith in Christ eat bread at the Lord’s table in the inaugurated kingdom of heaven.

Conclusion

Baptist Catechism 43

Q. 43. What shall be done to the wicked, at the Day of Judgment?

A. At the Day of Judgment, the bodies of the wicked, being raised out of their graves, shall be sentenced, together with their souls, to unspeakable torments with the devil and his angels forever. (Dan. 12:2; John 5:28,29; 2 Thess. 1:9; Matt. 25:41)

Scripture Reading: Revelation 20:11–15

“Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” (Revelation 20:11–15, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

Talk of hell is weighty. It is a very heavy and serious subject. Every Christian does feel this heaviness within their soul when they think of someone being sentenced to hell, and it is right that they do. It is similar to the heaviness that fills a courtroom when a criminal is tried, convicted, and finally sentenced. Everyone in the room can feel the weightiness of the moment. Everyone knows that something serious is happening. And even if all agree that the man is guilty and the penalty is just, those who have love in their hearts will feel a sense of sorrow even for the condemned, knowing that a life has been ruined by sin. And how much more is the weightiness of the final judgment, and eternal damnation?

I think it is right to say that the Christian should never take pleasure in the thought of someone going to hell. The Christian should feel a sense of sorrow at the thought of even their worst enemy coming under God’s condemnation. Just as it would be concerning if a courtroom erupted in jubilant celebration when the sentence of death is pronounced upon the condemned, so too it would be concerning if someone rejoiced in their heart concerning the thought of a man going to eternal punishment. Only one who is consumed with anger and a desire for vengeance could feel such a thing in their heart. As I have said, it is right that we feel a sense of sorrow for those condemned, for this is a weighty matter.

But let us be sure not to err in another direction, and that is, to consider the judgments of God to be somehow unnecessary or unjust. While it is true that the thought of men coming under the judgment of God is weighty and ought to produce a sense of sorrow within us, it is also true that we ought to say this is right and even good.

If we go back to the courtroom you’ll see what I mean. If when the guilty murderer is sentenced to death the courtroom erupts in jubilant and cheerful celebration, that shows that men are very angry and vengeful — this cannot be the disposition of the Christian. But will anyone dare to say that it is wrong for them to rejoice in the fact that justice has been served? Will anyone dare to say that those who have lost a loved one at the hands of the murder are wrong to consider the judgment to be fitting, right, and even good? And so you see that justice will always produce a mixture of thoughts and emotions. It is right for us to grieve over the destruction that sin brings, but it is also right for us to rejoice when justice is served. 

If we rejoice in this way over the just judgments of men, how much more should we rejoice over the just judgments of God? And brothers and sisters, rest assured God’s judgments are always perfectly just.

For one, God is not driven by a passion for vengeance, as we sometimes are, so he is moved to overdo it.  In fact, the scriptures reveal that he takes no pleasure at all in the death of the wicked. Listen to Ezekiel 33:11: “ As I live, declares the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 33:11, ESV).

And when God judges, he does not judge with limited knowledge as we do, for he is all-knowing. Human judges and juries do their best to judge according to what they know. They rely upon evidence and testimonies. But they cannot see for themselves whether or not the crime was committed. Not so with God. The Judge of all the earth sees everything with perfect clarity. He even knows the thoughts of man and the intentions of his heart. He does not struggle with the issue of limited knowledge when he administers justice. 

And when God judges he will get it perfectly right, for he is just. The punishment will fit the sin, and perfectly so. Psalm 96:10 speaks to this: “Say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns! Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved; he will judge the peoples with equity” (Psalm 96:10, ESV). Equity means rightness or fairness. God’s judgments will be perfectly right and fair. And this is why Paul says in Romans, “Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God” (Romans 3:19, ESV). At the judgment, every mouth will be stopped. No one will say, God, you got it wrong. 

In our prisons, there are men and women who insist that they are innocent. Some of them probably are! For we are flawed in our judgments. But many of them are guilty. They know it, but they lie. There will be none of that at the judgment on the last day, for God will judge with perfect equity, and all will see it. Every mouth will be stopped before him who judges justly (Romans 3:19).

This truth should bring a kind of comfort to the people of God. This world is filled with sin, wickedness, and injustice. We long for justice because we are made in the image of God who is just. And so it is comforting to know that on the last day God will right every wrong. 

And isn’t it interesting how even those who do not believe in God or in the Christ whom he sent will comfort themselves with the idea of justice in the afterlife when faced with some great evil? “This predator will get what is coming to him”, they say. Or “this terrorist who killed thousands of innocents will pay in the life to come.” These same people may deny that hell exists for the common folk, but they hope that it exists for those who are particularly heinous. They assume that hell is sparsely populated, I guess. They assume that it is for Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, and other characters like these. But when it comes to the common man, hell is a myth to them. Those who think in this way are right to take some comfort in the fact that wrongs will be made right in the end and that justice will be served. But they are terribly wrong to minimize their own sin and the sin of others.  

The scriptures teach that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23, ESV), and “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23, ESV). Yes, there are particularly heinous sins. But all sin is truly heinous and will be punished on the last day, unless we are found in Christ, washed in his blood. 

Do not believe the lie that your sin is not serious. It is truly terrible for humans to live in the world that God has made, to enjoy his blessings in this life, and to partake of his mercy, but fail to give him honor and glory. How ungrateful we are by nature. And not only do we fail to honor our Creator, we worship the creature instead. We rob him of the glory due to his name. This is a heinous sin deserving of God’s just condemnation. And add to this the disrespect we have shown to mother and father and to others with authority over us, the hatred we have shown to our fellow man, our sexual immorality, our thievery, and dishonesty. We are ungrateful sinners by nature. Do I really need to convince you of this!? It is strange how we read the news and say, look at all the wickedness in the world! But we are unable to see the wickedness in our own hearts. We see it in the lives of others while convincing ourselves that we and those who are close to us are basically good. 

Brothers and sisters, God would be just to send us to hell for all eternity for our sin against him –  for failing to love him with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbor as ourselves –  But he is merciful and kind, as you know. He has provided a Savior, Christ Jesus the Lord.    

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Catechism Explained

Question 43 of our catechism helps us to understand these things. It asks, “What shall be done to the wicked, at the Day of Judgment?” Answer: 

“At the Day of Judgment” 

“At the Day of Judgment…” When will this day be? It will be on the last day when Christ returns. Christ came the first time to pay for sins and to accomplish our salvation. And the scriptures teach that he “will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews 9:28, ESV), and to judge. Christ himself taught this when he said, “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left… Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels”(Matthew 25:31–33, 41 ESV).

“The bodies of the wicked, being raised out of their graves” 

“At the Day of Judgment the bodies of the wicked, being raised out of their graves…” Notice that the resurrection day is the Day of Judgment. On the last day when Christ returns, the dead in Christ will be raised, and so too will the dead who are not in Christ. Question 41 of our Catechism taught us that on that day those in Christ, “being raised up in glory, shall be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the Day of Judgment, and made perfectly blessed, both in soul and body, in full enjoyment of God to all eternity.” Here we learn that those not in Christ will be raised bodily too.  

John was shown a vision of this as recorded for us in Revelation 20:12-13: ​​“And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened…. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done” (Revelation 20:12–13, ESV).

“Shall be sentenced, together with their souls” 

So then, or catechism is right to say that the wicked will be raised and “shall be sentenced, together with their souls”. Just as the righteous will be openly acknowledged and acquitted in the Day of Judgment, and made perfectly blessed, both in soul and body, in full enjoyment of God to all eternity”, so too the wicked will be judged in body and soul, that is to say, as whole persons.

 “To unspeakable torments with the devil and his angels forever.”

Lastly, our catechism says, “to unspeakable torments with the devil and his angels forever.” Three things should be noted. One, hell is described as a place of torment. And this is clearly the teaching of scripture. Two, hell is also a place of torment for the devil and his angels. It will be a place of punishment for all who have rebelled against their maker, the exception being those to whom God has shown mercy in Christ Jesus (see Revelation 20:10). Three, our catechism is right to say that this punishment is forever. The Matthew 25:41 passage that was cited earlier teaches this. There Jesus says to the goats, “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels”(Matthew 25:31–33, 41 ESV, emphasis added).

Some have questioned if eternal punishment fits the crime of a lifetime of sin and rebellion. Though there is some mystery concerning what heaven and hell will be like, we must believe and confess what the scriptures teach. Hell is eternal, and God is perfectly just. Perhaps we need to adjust our view concerning the severity of sin instead of standing in judgment over God’s justice. 

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Conclusion

Let me conclude with three suggestions for application. They will sound familiar to you because they are similar to the points of application that were made last week.

One, this teaching should move you to ask the question, where will I go when Christ returns to judge? Will I be openly acknowledged and acquitted by him and invited to experience the glories of heaven, or will I fall under his just condemnation and be cast into the torments of hell? What makes the difference? Answer: faith in Christ! We are all born in sin. We all violate God’s law in thought word in thought, word, and deed. We all deserve the torments of hell. But God has provided a Savior for us, Christ the Lord. We must be found in him, and so I urge you to turn from your sins, trust in Christ as Savior, and confess him to be your Lord.  

Two, this teaching should move us to pray for those who do not believe in Christ and also to tell them about Jesus. These are the means that God uses to bring his people to salvation: the proclamation of the gospel and prayer. 

Three, this teaching should increase our gratitude for the mercy and grace that God has shown to us in Christ Jesus. In questions 35 through 41 of our catechism, we were taught about what Christ has saved us to. There we learned about the benefits that come to those who have faith in Christ in this life –  justification, adoption, sanctification, and the several benefits which in this life do either accompany or flow from them, namely, assurance of God’s love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Spirit, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end. There we also learned about the blessings that come to believers at the moment of death and at the resurrection. But here in questions 42 and 43, we have learned what Christ has saved us from, namely, eternal judgment in hell. 

Thanks be to God for his mercy and grace shown to us in Christ Jesus. 

Old Testament Reading: Psalm 103

“OF DAVID. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him. For he knows our frame; he remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass; he flourishes like a flower of the field; for the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place knows it no more. But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children, to those who keep his covenant and remember to do his commandments. The LORD has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all. Bless the LORD, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word! Bless the LORD, all his hosts, his ministers, who do his will! Bless the LORD, all his works, in all places of his dominion. Bless the LORD, O my soul!” (Psalm 103, ESV)

New Testament Reading: Luke 14:1-6 

“One Sabbath, when he went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees, they were watching him carefully. And behold, there was a man before him who had dropsy. And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?’ But they remained silent. Then he took him and healed him and sent him away. And he said to them, ‘Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?’ And they could not reply to these things.” (Luke 14:1–6, ESV)

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Please excuse any typos and misspellings within this manuscript. It has been published online for the benefit of the saints of Emmaus Reformed Baptist Church but without the benefit of proofreading.

Introduction

Luke 14:1-6 is very similar to Luke 13:10-17. In both passages, Christ heals on the Sabbath Day. In both passages, Christ comes under the criticism of Jewish leaders for it. In Luke 13:10-17 the criticism is spoken; in Luke 14:1-6 it is implied that the leaders were critical and judgemental towards Jesus in their hearts.  In both passages, Christ rebukes his critics and insists that the Sabbath Day is not only a day for rest and worship but a day to show mercy to those in need. 

In the sermon I preached on Luke 13:10-17, I focused on the Sabbath. I attempted to demonstrate that Christ was not against the Sabbath but was concerned to observe it properly. Christ was not preparing to do away with the Sabbath (as many claim) but was rescuing the Sabbath from the heard-hearted and loveless legalism of the Pharisees. In that sermon, I attempted to convince you that the Sabbath day was the very best day for Christ to perform this miracle of healing, for the Sabbath day is meant to remind us of the eternal Sabbath rest we will enjoy when Christ returns to make all things new. When Christ healed the woman with a disabling spirit, it was a foretaste and foreshadowing of the new creation. It demonstrated that Christ has the power to bring us into the state of glory, of which the Sabbath is a sign, and to heal us from all our infirmities. In that sermon, I also attempted to convince you that the practice of Sabbath-keeping remains for the people of God today (see Hebrews 4:9). The Sabbath day is no longer on the seventh day, but is now the first day of the week. Why? Because Christ rose from the dead on the first day of the week, and when he rose on the first day, he accomplished our redemption and inaugurated a new creation and the New Covenant. The seventh-day Sabbath has been fulfilled by Christ and has been taken away, but Sabbath-keeping remains for the people of God. Now, we rest from common labor and recreations to devote ourselves to worship, corporately and privately, on the first day of the week. It is Lord’s Day (see Revelation 1:10) or Christian Sabbath. 

The passage that is open before us today is so similar to Luke 13:10-17, I suppose I could have simply preached that sermon all over again today. But instead of repeating what I said only a month or so ago, I have decided to come at this text from a slightly different vantage point. Instead of focusing on the Sabbath, I wish to focus on the topic of healing. 

If you have been paying attention in our study through the gospel of Luke you will know that Christ healed many in the days of his earthly ministry. If you are familiar with the New Testament Scriptures, you will know that the apostles of Christ could heal (see Acts 3 & 4) and that some within the early church also had the gift of healing (see 1 Corinthians 12:28). 

This raises many questions. Here are the questions that come immediately to my mind. Why did Christ heal? Why were the apostles of Christ given this ability to heal? Why did some within the early church have the gift of healing? Does the gift of healing remain in the church today? If not, does God heal today? If so, how does God heal? Should we expect that God will heal us? Why should we pursue healing when we are physically ill? And how should we pursue healing? These are the questions I would like to address today. 

First, we will move very quickly through our text. After that, we will take up the topic of healing. 

A Brief Exposition Of Luke 14:1-6

In Luke 14:1 we read, “One Sabbath…” As I have said, I do believe this text is about the Sabbath and the practice of Sabbath-keeping. “One Sabbath, when [Jesus] went to dine at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees…” I do like the idea that Christ dined with others on the Sabbath day. I do believe that the Sabbath is a wonderful day to have people in your home to eat with them. It is interesting, though, that Christ “dined at the house of a ruler of the Pharisees…” As you know, the Pharisees were typically opposed to Jesus, and that there was opposition and tension in this situation is made clear by the words, “they were watching him carefully.” They were watching him so as to catch him in some perceived error so that they might accuse him. I’m guessing you could feel the tension in the room. This doesn’t sound like a pleasant dinner to me. 

In Luke 14:2 we read, “And behold, there was a man before [Jesus] who had dropsy” (Luke 14:2, ESV). Dropsy is a condition involving swelling due to the build-up of lymphatic fluid under the skin.  We would call this condition, edema. 

In Luke 14:3 we read, “And Jesus responded to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, ‘Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?’” (Luke 14:3, ESV). The word “responded” is interesting. Responded to what? The lawyers and Pharisees hadn’t said anything! But they did, if you know what I mean. They said things before, they spoke through their body language, and Christ knew their thoughts, and so he responded to them, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?” 

I do wonder if this man with dropsy was a friend of theirs. I assume he was. Poor fellow. When Christ asked, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”, everyone knew Christ was thinking of him and his condition. I’m sure the man with dropsey wanted everyone to show him mercy and to give the green light, but in verse 4 we read, “But they remained silent.” He must have felt betrayed and unloved by his legalistic friends. Thankfully, Christ showed him compassion. In the second half of verse 4, we read, “Then [Jesus] took him and healed him and sent him away” (Luke 14:4, ESV). 

Jesus then took the Pharisees and lawyers to Sabbath school. Verse 5: “And he said to them, ‘Which of you, having a son or an ox that has fallen into a well on a Sabbath day, will not immediately pull him out?’” (Luke 14:5, ESV). The obvious answer is that everyone in the room would labor to pull their son or ox out of a well on the Sabbath-day. Why? Because these men, though they showed no love to their friend with dropsy, loved their sons enough to rescue them from harm on the Sabbath. And truth be told, they would even rescue their ox if it were in trouble. Why? Because an ox is a living being that is to be cared for and (perhaps this was the more important thing to these men) the ox had great monetary value. Think of how much work it would take to pull a son or an ox out of a water well. It would require a lot of work – way more work than was required of Jesus to free this man from his watery bondage. When the lawyers and Pharisees disapproved of Jesus’ actions in their minds and hearts, they once again were proved to be cold-hearted hypocrites, and so the text says, “they could not reply to these things” (Luke 14:6, ESV).

As I have said in the introduction to this sermon, though this text is mainly about the Sabbath, proper Sabbath observance, and the significance of the Sabbath, I wish to focus attention on the topic of healing.

Why did Christ heal? 

Why did Christ heal? Why did he heal this man in this instance? And why did he heal so frequently in the days of his earthly ministry?

First of all, we must say that Christ healed the sick because he had compassion on them. In Luke 7:13 we are told that Christ had compassion on the weeping widow who had lost her only son before he raised him from the dead. In Matthew 14:14 we read, “When [Jesus]… saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.” There is more to be said about the reason Christ healed, but one reason is that he had compassion on the sick.  

Secondly, when Christ performed these miracles of healing it was a sign. The Apostle John often uses the word “sign” in his gospel to describe the miracles Jesus performed. John 2:11: “This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” John 2:23: “Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.” John 3:2: “This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.” John 4:48: “So Jesus said to him, ‘Unless you see signs and wonders you will not believe.’” John 6:2: “And a large crowd was following [Jesus], because they saw the signs that he was doing on the sick.” John 7:31: “Yet many of the people believed in him. They said, ‘When the Christ appears, will he do more signs than this man has done?’” Etc. 

A sign is “an event which is regarded as having some special meaning” (Louw-Nida, 442.) The miracles that Jesus performed were signs that demonstrated that: his words were true; he was from God and that God was with him; he was the Messiah just as he claimed.  In Acts 10:38 we hear the Apostle Peter speak of the earthly ministry of Christ, saying,  “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him” (Acts 10:38, ESV). You see, when Christ healed and cast out demons it was a sign that God was with him and that the kingdom of God was indeed present with power (see Luke 11:20).

But why this sign? Why did Christ heal as a sign that God was with him? In other words, is there some special significance or meaning within the sign of healing? Indeed, there is. Friends, the signs Jesus performed were not magic tricks. It is not as if Christ performed miracles merely to impress his audience. It is not as if he said, do you not believe my claims? Well, watch this! No, like with the Ten Plagues that were poured out on Egypt through Moses, the miracles themselves were pregnant with meaning.

When Jesus cast out demons it was a demonstration that he had the power to overthrow Satan and his kingdom and to establish the kingdom of God. And when Christ healed the sick and raised the dead it was a demonstration that he has the power to eradicate all sickness and even death. He has the power to do what the Psalmist hoped for in Psalm 103 – to heal all our diseases and redeem our life from the pit. 

If we wish to interpret the healing ministry of Jesus correctly, we must remember where sickness and death came from. They were not a part of God’s original creation. They were not present before man’s fall into sin. Sickness and death entered the world when Adam rebelled against God. Indeed, the wages of sin is death! The healing ministry of Jesus Christ must be viewed against the backdrop of man’s fall into sin and God’s promise to send a Redeemer. In brief, in Old Testament times it was promised that God would send a Redeemer who would defeat the Evil One who tempted Eve and, through her, Adam. This Redeemer would reverse the effects of the fall. More than this, he would bring his people into the estate of glory, of which Adam, and through his representation, all humanity, fell short. 

When Christ healed the sick it was not only a sign that his words were true, that he was from God and that God was with him, and that he was the Messiah just as he claimed. It was also a sign that he had come to reverse the effects of sin and to bring his people into the estate of glory, where sin and death will be no more.

Why were the Apostles of Christ given the ability to heal? 

The answer to the question, why were the apostles of Christ given the ability to heal?, is almost the same. The difference is this: while Christ healed by his own authority and power, the apostles of Christ healed and worked signs and wonders in Jesus’ name.   

In Acts 3 we find a story wherein the Apostle Peter healed a man who was lame from birth.  The man was begging and he “fixed his attention on [Peter and John], expecting to receive something from them. But Peter said, ‘I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!’” (Acts 3:5–6, ESV). The man was healed and the people were astonished, “For the man on whom this sign of healing was performed was more than forty years old.” (Acts 4:22, ESV).

If you search for the phrase “signs and wonders” in the book of Acts, here is what you find: Acts 4:29-30 we find believers praying for continued boldness in the face of persecution, saying, “And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” In Acts 5:12 we read, “Now many signs and wonders were regularly done among the people by the hands of the apostles.” In Acts 14:3 we read, “So [Paul and Barnabus] remained for a long time [in Iconium], speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.” In Acts 15:12 we are told that the “assembly [in Jerusalem] fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles.”

The apostles of Christ were given the ability to perform wonders in the name of Jesus Christ as a sign that the word they proclaimed was true. These saw Christ resurrected, remember. These were commissioned by Christ to function as his special representatives. It is no wonder that God enabled them to work signs and wonders as a demonstration that their word was true. 

Do you know where else the phrase, “signs and wonders”, is found? It is found in the Old Testament in texts that are about the Exodus. In Exodus 7:3, God speaks to Moses, saying “But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, Pharaoh will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and bring my hosts, my people the children of Israel, out of the land of Egypt by great acts of judgment.” In Deuteronomy 6:22, Moses says, “And the Lord showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes.” Jeremiah 32:20 says, “You have shown signs and wonders in the land of Egypt, and to this day in Israel and among all mankind, and have made a name for yourself, as at this day.” This is an important observation. The working of signs and wonders is linked to great acts of redemption. God worked signs and wonders through Moses in the Exodus. And God worked signs and wonders through Christ and his apostles in the days when Jesus accomplished our eternal redemption.

Why did some within the early church have the gift of healing? 

Why then did some have the gift of healing in the days of the early church (see 1 Corinthians 12)? I trust you can anticipate the answer. In the days of the early church – in the days before most of the New Testament Scriptures were written – there were apostles, prophets, and other eyewitnesses to Christ’s resurrection ministering the word of God and testifying to what they saw, and miraculous gifts did accompany them – the gift of healing, miracles, and tongues – as a sign that their word concerning Christ was true. 

Does the gift of healing remain in the church today? 

Does the supernatural gift of healing remain in the church today? No. There are no apostles, or prophets in the church today. These are the stones of the foundation of God’s new covenant, new creation temple, remember? Christ is the cornerstone. The church is built upon this foundation. The offices of apostle and prophet have ceased. And neither are there eyewitnesses of Jesus’ resurrection in the church today. For this reason, there are no miracle workers or healers in the church today. The ability to work miracles and heal functioned as a sign that the apostles, prophets, and eyewitnesses of Christ’s resurrection spoke the truth. These have passed away, and now we have their inscriptuarted word. The miraculous gifts have ceased. More could be said in support of our cessationist position, but this will have to do for now. 

Does God heal today? 

But does God heal today? This, my friends, is a different question. And the answer is, yes! Do Christians have the supernatural gift of healing today? No. But does God heal today? Yes. 

How does God heal today? 

And how does God heal? Three categories come to mind. 

One, miraculously, through prayers of his people.

This is why James says, “Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord” (James 5:14, ESV). It is not only the elders who should pray for healing. If a person is ill, they should pray for their own healing. They should also pray with others for healing. And if the illness is so severe that they are bedridden and unable to assemble with the church, they ought to ask the elders of the church to come and pray for them and to anoint them with oil. Some say the anointing oil is medicinal. Others say that it symbolizes the Holy Spirit. While I respect the medicinal view, I do believe the oil symbolizes the Holy Spirit. And I do not believe that the symbolic view requires us to call this anointing a sacrament of the church, as the Roman Catholics do. The oil signifies the Holy Spirit. It reminds the one who is ill of God’s presence and of his love for them in Christ Jesus. The oil does not heal. Prayer is the means through which the healing comes (if it is God’s will to grant it), and that what James says next: “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:15, ESV). The point is this: though the miraculous gift of healing has ceased, this does not mean that God has ceased from healing in miraculous ways. If it is his will to heal, he will do it through the means of prayer

Another way that God heals is naturally, through prayer, with the help of gifted physicians.

Did you know that Luke, the author of this Gospel, was a physician? That is what Paul calls him in Colossians 4:14. As we reflect on the fact that Luke was a physician, I suppose it should strengthen our conviction that God can bring healing to us miraculously or through natural means. Luke knew that Jesus could heal and yet that did not lead him to abandon his work as a physician.  

Dear friends, if you are ill it is not wrong for you to seek help from a physician. God has gifted men and women with the natural ability to study the natural body and to help it heal from injury and illness. We should rejoice in this gift and make use of it when necessary. But I would urge you to be careful. Take care that you do not place your trust in man rather than in God. Take care to avoid the assumption that physicians have all the answers. In our day and age, I believe it is especially important to think critically and to take responsibility for your health. We should recognize that the majority of the doctors in our society operate within a system. In fact, you should know that it is very difficult for a doctor to break away from the established system even if they want to. And while there are many good things about our modern medical system – things to be thankful for – it is my conviction that the system has significant flaws and weaknesses. We should be mindful of the flaws and weaknesses, brothers and sisters, as we pursue health and healing.  

I do not wish to bind anyone’s conscience on this point, but I would encourage you to consider looking outside of the established system for alternative approaches to health and wellness. It is my opinion that while our modern medical system excels at trauma care, there are alternative approaches that better support overall health and healing.  But as soon as I say this, I must caution you again. In my experience, many of the so-called alternative approaches to health and wellness that I have encountered are all tangled up with philosophies, worldviews, and religions that we as Christians must not entertain. I have also read books on alternative theories about health and wellness that claim to be Christian or are written by professing Christians. But upon close examination, I find their use of Scripture to be very concerning and their theology very poor. 

The general point that I am making is simple. God has the power to heal us miraculously and directly.  This he will sometimes do, and if he does it, he will do it through the prayers of his people. But God might also heal through natural means and with the help of physicians. Dear brothers and sisters, in some instances, I do believe it is right for us to seek the assistance of physicians and health practitioners while pursuing health and healing, but we must be discerning. Ultimately, our trust must be in God, not man. All things must be bathed in prayer.   

There is a third way that God heals that we sometimes forget about. God does also heal through prayer and the body’s natural healing processes. 

Friends, God has designed our bodies with this incredible ability to heal. You can see it most clearly when you cut yourself. The cut will heal naturally and over time.  I’m afraid we sometimes forget about this natural ability and feel as if we must intervene whenever symptoms arise. Worse yet, we intervene with medicines even before there is a real problem, having been convinced of a threat. There is clearly a time for medical intervention. But is it not possible that our excessive interventions and our propensity to overmedicate make problems worse in the long run? To be clear, my view is not that all medications are bad. Neither am I advising that those on medications stop the use of them. That can be very dangerous, as you probably know. I am, however, urging thoughtfulness and discernment. I am urging you to take a step back from the system and from the industry that supports and surrounds it and to ask critical questions. When it comes to the topic of health and healing, we cannot forget that God has designed the human body with the capacity to heal itself. I would even propose to you that many of the common symptoms of illness that we experience are in fact an important part of the body’s healing process. When we always rush to suppress symptoms, we might be doing more harm than good. I do believe we would benefit from regaining confidence in the body’s natural ability to heal. Not every fever requires a pharmaceutical. Not every ache or pain requires a consult with a doctor. As I consider our modern medical system, I do wonder if a good deal of the sickness in our society is not the result of a system that overmedicates and is quick to intervene. 

Should we expect that God will heal us? 

Does God heal today? Yes. How does God heal? Sometimes directly and miraculously as his people come to him in prayers. God also heals through natural means, with the help of gifted physicians, and through the body’s natural healing mechanisms. But should we expect that God will heal us when we are ill? This question must be answered carefully. 

One, we must know for certain that God is able to heal us if it is his will. If God does not bring us healing immediately or ever in this life, it is not due to some weakness or inability in him. 

Two, connected to this, we must not forget God’s purposes in our afflictions. Does the Bible teach that Jesus healed and that God can heal the sick? Yes. But the Bible also has a lot to say about the causes and purposes of afflictions in the lives of God’s people.

Earlier I mentioned having concerns with books I’ve read on alternative approaches to health and healing written by authors who claim to be Christians. One of the major concerns I have is with the idea that Jesus Christ came so that we might be healed bodily now. These authors will point to passages like our text for today and say, see, Jesus heals! In him, we are already healed. We only need to believe it and claim it, etc. That’s nonsense

In fact, the Scriptures have a lot to say about the benefits of afflictions and God’s purposes for them. You know, there is a book of the Bible devoted to this very subject, the book of Job. Job cannot be ignored. And neither can we ignore passages like James 1:1-2: “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1:2–4, ESV). 1 Peter 5:6-7 is also precious. Here Peter commands us, saying, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6–7, ESV). These passages teach that we are to submit ourselves to God in the midst of afflictions. We are to trust him, knowing that he loves us. We are to wait upon him, knowing that he will exult us in due time. 

This is what Paul did. In 1 Corinthians 12:7-10, he speaks of a metaphorical thorn in his flesh. “So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:7–10, ESV). Some claim that this thorn in the flesh was not a physical ailment but a person who harassed Paul. I doubt that given what Paul says about the weakness and limitations that Pual endured because of this thorn in the flesh. But really, it does not matter what this thorn in the flesh was. The point is clear. Paul suffered under an unrelenting affliction of some kind. Afflictions of all kinds are a part of life in this present evil age. Paul asked for it to be removed, but God said no. And the affliction was used by God to draw Paul into a closer dependence upon him. In this, Paul rejoiced. 

Those who claim that Christ came to heal us now ignore the fact that afflictions of all kinds are used by God to test, strengthen, mature, and purify his people as we live life in this present evil age. Brothers and sisters, we must have a well-developed doctrine of suffering and afflictions. We will not fare well in this world without it. 

The question that I would really like to ask these people is, what about death? Did Christ come to irradicate death now? Clearly the answer is, no. And that reveals the problem. These folks have developed a system of doctrine that erroneously brings the blessings that will be enjoyed by God’s people in life to come into the here and now. 

Did Jesus come to heal us and to free us from all afflictions? The answer is yes! But we will experience the fullness of those blessings only in the life to come.    

Why should we pursue health and healing?

Some, after hearing what I have said about God’s purposes in afflictions and my warnings against expecting the blessings of the life to come in the here and now, will think: then I suppose we must simply be content with sickness. That is not my point. Yes, we must pursue contentment when sick! But this does not require us to be content with the sickness. In fact, I do believe that Christians have an obligation to pursue health and healing.   

Morally, the sixth commandment requires it! Our catechism is helpful:

Q. 72. What is the sixth commandment?

A. The sixth commandment is, “Thou shalt not kill.” (Exodus 20:13)

Q. 73. What is required in the sixth commandment?

A. The sixth commandment requires all lawful endeavors to preserve our own life and the life of others. (Eph. 5:29,30; Ps. 82:3,4; Prov. 24:11,12; Act 16:28)

Q. 74. What is forbidden in the sixth commandment?

A. The sixth commandment absolutely forbideth the taking away of our own life, or the life of our neighbor unjustly, or whatsoever tendeth thereunto. (Gen. 4:10,11; 9:6; Matt. 5:21-26)

Friends, God has given you a body. We must be good stewards of it! 

How should we pursue health and healing?

How then should we pursue health and healing?

One, always through prayer. When ill, we must pray to God to implore his mercy. As we ask him to remove the affliction, we must also humble ourselves before him and submit ourselves to his perfectly wise will. As we ask him to remove the affliction, we must pray that he would use it for good in our lives and the lives of others. We must also give thanks to God in the midst of the affliction. As Paul says, “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:16–18, ESV). I’m afraid that people make their afflictions much worse when they give themselves over to a grumbly and ungrateful mindset. We are to pursue contentment in God and in Christ in every circumstance. As Paul says in Philippians 4:11, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:11–13, ESV). How should we pursue healing? Always through prayer. And our prayers must always be perfumed with thankfulness. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:4–7, ESV).

Two, when we fall ill, we should make a careful search for sin. All illness is the result of sin in a general way. As has been said, illness was not present in the world before Adam rebelled. To be clear, not every illness is the direct result of some personal and particular sin. The story of Job is clear about that. But some illness is the result of personal and particular sin. When David lived in unrepentant sin, he said that his bones wasted away and that his strength was sapped as by the heat of summer (Psalm 32). Paul says that some who partook of the Lord’s Supper in Corinth in an unworthy manner were weak and ill, and some had died (1 Corinthians 11:30). In the James passage that was read earlier about the one who is ill calling for the elders of the church to pray and to anoint with oil, James says, “And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven” (James 5:15, ESV). James suggests that there may be a connection between illness and sin. It could be that God disciplines his beloved children when they are living in unrepentant sin by permitting them to be afflicted with illness. It could also be the sin that has brought with it what we would call natural consequences. If you are drinking to the point of drunkenness, do not be surprised if your liver is diseased. And similarly, if you are harboring bitterness and unforgiveness in your heart, do not be surprised when that heart sin affects your physical body. Dear friend, we are soul and body. These two parts of our nature must be distinguished but they cannot be divided. The soul affects the body, and the body affects the soul. When I urge you to make a careful search for sin, do not forget to look for sins of the mind and heart. Sins of the mind and heart will affect the natural body if left unchecked. I’m not sure why we have such a difficult time recognizing this in our day and age. When you are angry, you’ll feel hot and grow red in the face. When you are bitter, you’ll feel it in your gut. When you are anxious, you’ll experience tightness in your chest. When these sinful emotions are not dealt with and are allowed to remain, they are bound to impact us physically even resulting in illness. If sin is found, it must be turned from. 

Three, when we fall ill, we should make a careful search for folly. By this I mean, we should examine our lives and ask, am I living foolishly in some way? Under this heading I would encourage you to ask questions like this: am I consuming unhealthy food, am I ingesting, injecting, or implanting things that may be toxic into my body, am I overworking, am I overly stressed, am I staying up to late and not getting enough rest, am I neglecting physical activity and exercise, etc., etc.  These things might not fall under the category of “sin”, but it is possible that foolish living will result in physical illness. If folly is found, we must turn from the folly and pursue a life of wisdom.

Four, when we fall ill, we must look to Christ and place all of our hope in him. We must look back upon his earthly ministry to consider the signs and wonder he performed. When we consider that he cast out demons, healed the sick, raised the dead, and was raised from the dead himself, after which he ascended to glory, we see that he has the power to forgive all our iniquity, to heal all our diseases, to redeem our lives from the pit, to crown us with steadfast love and mercy, and to satisfy us with good so that our youth is renewed like the eagles (see Psalm 103). We must also look to the future to the return of Christ the King when all of these benefits will be ours in full in the new heavens and earth that he has secured. Then and there, God will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for then the former things will have passed away” (see Revelation 21:4).

Conclusion