Introduction: Grace be to you and peace, from God our Father, and from our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ. Our text is the Gospel Lesson just read, from Mark 9. We begin with prayer.
Dear fellow disciples of our Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ:
- What is it that is truly at the heart and core of human sin and our sinful condition? If we can understand this it helps a great deal in understanding ourselves and also the nature of human conflict – and the real source of all evil in the world. James clearly identifies it in the Epistle Lesson, and we see it contrasted with the way of Jesus in our text. It is “bitter jealousy” and “selfish ambition.”
- James identifies this as “demonic” and the source of “disorder and every vile practice.” We can see this in Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden – the desire to “be like God.” Jealousy of God and His prerogatives and power, and the selfish ambition to be on His level, and perhaps to even usurp His place.
- We think that we would never be so bold and arrogant and evil as to be this way toward God – but every time we dislike the Word of God, every time we think it better not to hear the preaching of God’s Word, every time we have something better to do than attend Worship and Bible Study, and every time we transgress God’s Word whether in thought, word, or deed, we are in essence putting ourselves on God’s level, and usurping His authority over us.
- And this leads to all of the evils in the world – the immorality, the hatred, the violence, the greed – all of which are contrary to and transgressions of the Word of God. And as we see in all three of our Scripture readings for today, such sin is deadly and destructive – to others and to ourselves.
- So we consider “THE DESTRUCTIVE NATURE OF HUMAN SIN” and God’s gift of redemption – and hopefully we are led to a more sensible and rational consideration of the importance of repentance, faith in God’s gracious mercy, and a commitment to the ways of love. For:
I. Human Sin Rebels Against God And His Goodness And Is Deadly
OT Lesson: “The Lord made it known to me and I knew; then You showed me their deeds. But I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter. I did not know it was against me they devised schemes, saying, ‘Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name be remembered no more.’”
Epistle: “Where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. . . . What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?”
Text: “Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him. And when He is killed, after three days He will rise.’”
Statement: The ultimate desire of human sin is the death of God – the crucifixion of His perfect Son. The judgment of mankind on Jesus is that He is filthy – the worst off-scouring of mankind, and deserving of the most wretched and detestable death! Every time we sin, every time we reject the Word of God, every time we fail to appreciate the love of God in Christ Jesus, we are essentially judging and saying the same thing about Jesus! Yet God, in His great love for us, utilizes this wretched human rebellion to accomplish our greatest good – our redemption, and the atonement for all of our sin and guilt.
Application: This is something that we must contemplate then. For we will either continue in that “jealousy and selfish ambition” that seeks independence from God, and even the destruction of God, or we will be brought to our senses and to repentance – to sorrow over our evil and faith in God’s great love and goodness! And in our repentance we must recognize the effects of our sin, how we express our rejection of God: our persecution of His servants, those who bring His Word to us, our quarrels and fights with fellow believers, our covetousness and selfishness, our desire to be “greater” than others, to be “the greatest.”
We see these effects of sin in God’s Old Testament people, and in Jesus’ own disciples, and in the early church as the apostle James describes it. We are not exempt, and we need to see it also in ourselves – and to decide whether we will repent of it or perpetuate it! James advises repentance: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.”
Transition: He will indeed exalt us with His gracious love, mercy, and forgiveness, and with His gift of salvation! And this is important, and a great blessing, for:
II. Human Sin Is Divisive And Destructive Of Fellowship
Text: “Jesus asked them, ‘What were you discussing on the way?’ But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.”
Epistle: “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. You adulterous people!”
Statement: Now I suppose that one could look at society and our laws and even our social mores as means by which we seek to moderate, control, and perhaps “mask” and hide our passions. But there is no denying the power and pervasiveness of “jealousy and selfish ambition” – it is the great economic engine of commerce and business. And our efforts to hide and moderate our base motivations only prove their existence. And their destructiveness is undeniable – the history of the world is the record of sinful, murderous ambition expressing itself in violence, murder, and war.
Application: And the power of this demented sin and wickedness is even evident within the fellowship of the church. Virtually all conflict and “disorder” within the church stems from this basic desire to displace the lordship of God and usurp His prerogatives. And again, there are but two options for us: either to continue in this destructive and murderous ambition, or to repent and return to the gracious mercy of God, humbling ourselves and seeking His gracious forgiveness and clemency.
Transition: And much is at stake in this decision, for:
III. Human Sin Rejects And Destroys True Godliness And Greatness – That Of Humble Servanthood To The Least – Which Is True Service To God
Text: “’If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.’ And He took a child and put him in the midst of them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, ‘Whoever receives one such child in My Name receives Me, and whoever receives Me, receives not Me but Him Who sent Me.’”
Statement: It is remarkable that God would receive our service to Him in our service to one another, including especially the children. But jealousy and selfish ambition takes no thought of serving children, or serving those with less than we have, or serving anyone else for that matter. Jealousy and selfish ambition drive us to think only of “being the greatest,” of having the most and exercising the most power over others. And it rejects those who seek to serve others – people like Jeremiah or Jesus. In fact, it would rather do away with such people – counting them to be but fools. For those who truly serve others will by their very existence and lives condemn those who remain ensnared in the unspiritual and demonic, in jealousy and selfish ambition!
Application: So we must understand the outcome of continuing in rebellion against God, in what seems so normal and natural to us – living out of our own self-interest and selfish ambition: we will ultimate have to destroy those who are serving God, and we will be utterly incapable of serving God ourselves, because we will refuse to serve or even receive those who are little. One cannot be last of all and servant of all while pursuing jealousy and selfish ambition!
Conclusion: So we again have but two courses available to pursue: continued rebellion against God and commitment to the evil of selfishness and pride, or deep-seated repentance and a return to the mercy, forgiveness, and love of God. The first course is demonic and yields wretchedness, murder, and self-destruction under the judgment of God; the second course yields what is “pure, peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere, and a harvest of righteousness.” Hopefully, it is not only obvious to all of us which is preferable, but also that God’s goodness is becoming our deep and heartfelt desire.
If we recognize what is at the heart and core of our sinful hearts, perhaps we will be more eager to repent. If we understand the nature of God’s gracious mercy and love, perhaps we be compelled to repent and to seek to live by “the wisdom from above,” to follow Jesus in humble servanthood to the good of others. May God grant such grace and blessing to each of us. Amen.
Votum: And the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds in the true faith, which is in Christ Jesus, even unto life everlasting, Amen.