Wednesday, June 27 – Meet Pastor D!  Dixon Platt will be arriving on June 26th, so you can help move boxes, furniture, whatever is needed, and visit with him.  Reminder that the Destination Mission team will be in Pine Bluff.

Additional camps:

CAMP TANAKO is a United Methodist camp in Hot Springs, Arkansas www.tanako.org

CAMP EGAN is a United Methodist camp near Tahlequah, Oklahoma.  www.okumcministries.org/Camps/site.html

So some of the disciples headed towards Emmaus. Where is Emmaus, you might ask? It is a place just 7 miles from Jerusalem. Why were they going to Emmaus? Perhaps it was the home of one of the disciples. It is reasonable that they were returning home after the Passover feast. Maybe it held some social or religious significance that has been lost over time.  The name means “hot bath,” and there were famous hot baths from Solomon’s time along that road; maybe they were going for a relaxing soak or a massage after all the stressful events of the preceding days.  Or maybe because it is just 7 miles from Jerusalem, and if you were walking, it is just far enough to get away from the misery and confusion of Jerusalem.

The writer Frederick Buechner describes Emmaus well:

“Emmaus is whatever we do, or wherever we go to make ourselves forget that the world holds nothing sacred: that even the wisest, bravest, and loveliest, decay and die; that even the noblest ideas that we have had – ideas about love and freedom and justice – have always in time been twisted out of shape by selfish men for selfish ends. Emmaus is where we go, where these two went, to try to forget about Jesus and the great failure of his life. (The Magnificent Defeat, p.85)”

And so as they walked along, the Scriptures say they were in an animated discussion: “reasoning out these things.”  And Jesus came alongside them (though they were kept from seeing him as Jesus) and said, to paraphrase, “Whatcha talking about?”

They were kind of rude to their new companion; the disciples turned to him, sadness written all over their faces, and one of them, Cleopas, said, “have you been under a rock? Everyone has heard about what’s happened in Jerusalem these last few days.” And they went on to describe what they knew so far, on the first day of the resurrection.

Remember, these were some of Jesus’ closest companions. I kind of relate it to the news stories that have captivated Northwest Arkansas, and Arkansas in general, over the last week or so regarding the University’s football program. It seems to be all anyone can talk about around here; but in talking with my brother this week, he hadn’t heard hardly anything except for what was reported on the national news.

This might tell us something: sometimes we are so close, so entrenched, in the events that are close to us that we can’t even fathom that these are not a blip on the radar to someone else. And conversely, we can be so consumed by our own thoughts and feelings that we can’t even see the person standing right in front of us!

Back to the story: Jesus begins speaking to these disciples while they walk to Emmaus, (though his identity is still hidden from them) and begins by saying, “you foolish people!” Now, I love what it says in the original language (Greek):  it calls them slow of thought and heart!  Literally, the word is bradycardia: your heart beats too slow!

And then Jesus begins to reveal to them, by going through the Scriptures, that this is an exact fulfillment of what was predicted from the beginning of time until now.

As they approached their stopping point, their learned companion acted as if he was going on, but they begged him to come and stay with them. As he did, they sat together for a meal, and while the Scriptures are not explicit, it simply says, v. 30 “As they sat down to eat, he took the bread and blessed it. Then he broke it and gave it to them. ³¹ Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!”

What made the difference? How did they finally recognize him? Was it then that they got a good look at his face? Or maybe it was as he reached for the bread, it revealed the nail scars in his hands? Or maybe it was just in how he had broken the bread for them, as he had many times before, but most notably just a few days before when he radically re-oriented the Passover meal to reveal in that age-old tradition a purpose in their midst? In whatever way it was revealed to them, at once then Jesus was gone, and they were amazed!  “They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?””

1.  Sometimes we are so consumed by our own issues and doubts and fears that we fail to recognize the ONE who is walking beside us.

-          Jesus said he would never leave us or forsake us!  We are NOT alone on this journey!

-          It may be a bit kitchy, but it still holds true: the poem “Footprints in the Sand” by Mary Stevenson:

  One night I had a dream–
I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord
and across the sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints,
one belonged to me and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life,there was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest and saddest times in my life.
This really bothered me and I questioned the Lord about it.
“Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you would walk with me all the way,
but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life there is only one set of footprints.
“I don’t understand why in times when I needed you most,
you should leave me.”
The Lord replied, “My precious, precious child,
I love you and I would never, never leave you
during your times of trial and suffering.
“When you saw only one set of footprints,it was then that I carried you.”

2. Sometimes our hearts comprehend what our head does not

-          notice that in all of their discussing and deliberation, they were trying to make logical sense out of the events of the past days, and they were failing – miserably.

-          I will admit, I have a great tendency to approach troubles head-first: reason them out, find a logical pattern. But like the disciples, sometimes when the issue is too weighty, or the emotion too strong, logic fails.

-          And in those moments, we must hear our hearts: our slow-beating hearts!

-          “did not our hearts BURN within us!”  It was their hearts that were trying to tell them the truth!

At the conclusion of this story, even though it was dark, even though it was nighttime, and they had already traveled the 7 or so miles one-way to Emmaus, they HAD to get up and go back to Jerusalem!  It was not an option!  They made the return trek – completing a half-marathon that day – so they could find the others in the midst of their doubt and confusion and tell them what they saw with their eyes, heard with their ears, and above all, knew with their hearts!  And wouldn’t you know it, when they got there, the other disciples had the same story to tell!  They said, “the Lord appeared to Peter!”

That Jesus, he sure was busy after being dead for three days!  But there was still more to do;  tune in next week as we take another look at “Life After Easter”

Philosophers have taken note as well; Dr. Jerry Walls, senior research fellow at Notre Dame (and one of my former professors) says there are three distinct ways people approach apocalypse.

The first view about the end is one guided by theology. “Religious believers tend to think, by and large, that the world has, in its end, a goal, a purpose,” Walls says. “They believe that there’s a narrative that is not driven solely by the human actors; there’s a bigger director telling the story and He’s taking it somewhere.”

Others think the world will have a definite conclusion: Something will happen that wipes out our species and potentially all life. It could be anything from an atmospheric change to a super asteroid. The twentieth century development of nuclear weapons only strengthened the belief that we pose a great threat to ourselves, and the most modern schools of thought say it is humanity’s abuse of the planet that will bring about an ecological meltdown.

The third end of the world option is what I call the “Hollywood Eschatology”:  Dr. Walls: “There are a lot of people in these survival movements that are expecting some sort of apocalyptic event—nuclear war, economic meltdown, something of the like—that will throw the world into chaos,” he says. “These people think that they’ll weather the storm, the end of the world as they know it, and then they’ll rebuild after the apocalyptic events have passed.”

I call it the Hollywood Eschatology because there have been a lot of movies made lately based on the end of the world theme. In most, the premise is that there will be survivors, and we must adjust to the new “normal” that exists because of the radical changes that come in a post-apocalyptic world:  anything from mutant animals and even humans, scarcity of resources like food, water, gasoline (think “Mad Max”). There was even a Superbowl commercial with this theme:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XxFYYP8040A

And perhaps the most popular post-apocalyptic movie to come out in a decade, “The Hunger Games” released just a couple of weeks ago, and has already made hundreds of millions of dollars telling the story of a post-apocalyptic North America in which there are 12 districts (there used to be 13) and each year, to remind the inhabitants that there is a price to be paid for rebellion against the Capitol, one boy and one girl between the ages of 12 and 18 from each district are selected by annual lottery to participate in the Hunger Games, an event in which the participants (or “tributes”) must fight in an outdoor arena controlled by the Capitol, until only one remains. The story follows 16-year-old Katniss Everdeen, a girl from District 12 who volunteers for the Hunger Games in place of her younger sister, Primrose.  She chose to lay down her life for the good of her younger sister.

In the Bible, John 15:13 says, “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” At the end of John 13, he said “by this all will know that you are My disciples; if you have love for one another.” Then in 15:13, He says there is no greater love than to give your life for a friend.

What about you? I am willing to give my life for my wife and my kids. I would sacrifice myself for their well-being. While that would be considered “heroic” by some, it would be somewhat normal to give my life to save the life of someone I know and love.

So would you?  Would you give your life in exchange for this one? Or this one?  Would you lay down your life for this person?  How about this one? Would you lay down your life for this person?  (then random unknown people)  How about him? How about her?

You say, I know those people.  Well, Firefighters and soldiers are not called upon to risk their lives for their own families, for those they love – when that time comes, it is usually for complete strangers, perhaps even an enemy. What these men and women do daily is without judgment, meaning – when you go into a burning building, you don’t do a background check to see if that person is on the most wanted list and “deserves” to be saved! You do it because they are in danger, and it’s your job to save them.

But there is a distinct difference between one who will give his life for his own child or even a stranger – and One who gives His life for someone He knows to be a thief, a child molester, a murderer…someone evil.

Would you give your life for this one? Or this one? Or this one?  In deciding, you are judging that those deserve punishment far more than you.

The world has already been JUDGED…

It has been judged according to the law of righteousness.  Just as in the days of Noah, Genesis 6:5  The Lord observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil. And the world still sits under judgment by the same righteous standard.

and we have been JUDGED too. We don’t escape this judgment. Romans 3.23 ²³ For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” 

The judge is a righteous judge; it is God Himself. What gives God the right? He is holy; He is not swayed by flights of fancy or favoritism; only God can look at the human heart; only God can discern our thoughts.

And because of this, We have been found GUILTY

But God, the righteous judge, did a very un-judgelike thing: He stepped down from his judgment seat, put on civilian clothes, and paid the penalty Himself – through His Son.  Jesus Christ gave His life knowingly and willingly with complete judgment. Romans 5:7 says, “Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man (a judgment), though for a good man (a judgment) someone might possibly dare to die.”
Vs. 6 has told us that Christ died FOR the ungodly, FOR the unrighteous, FOR the worst of sinners.

At one point in the Hunger Games, Katniss is sitting with Peeta, her friend and co-tribute, and he says, If I’m going to die, I want to die like me.  Katniss says, “I don’t have that option.”  Katniss did not see death as an option; she felt she MUST survive. Jesus, on the other hand, saw that death WAS the only option; that HE was in control of the game: not Pilate, not the Pharisees, not the people, not the pain.

Though Jesus KNEW the sinful condition of every human that had lived or ever would live, the evil that grows out of the human heart, the cold and calculated murderous thoughts and acts of mankind – He CHOSE to “become tribute” for us; to die in our place.

That makes NO earthly sense! The only explanation for such an unthinkable act is – “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…”

You see, Jesus knows EVERYTHING about you, but still loves you! He loves you enough to say, “I will take your place; I will die for you.”

And what we celebrate today, on Easter Sunday, is that the price was paid, the ransom met, the judgment was satisfied; and that in so doing, DEATH has become IMPOTENT; Death has no power any more!  1 Cor 15:54ff  “Death is swallowed up in victory.⁵⁵ O death, where is your victory?    O death, where is your sting?^[l]” ⁵⁶ For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. ⁵⁷ But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

With this knowledge, you are faced with a choice. You can no longer say you don’t understand what Jesus did for you; You can no longer say I will wait until later.

The Bible says Jesus paid the price for you to go to heaven; all you have to do is surrender your life to Him. Here is how you do that –Admit what God already knows, and has judged you guilty:  you are a sinner. Believe that Jesus died and rose again for you, taking the penalty of your sin on HIS back. Confess Him as your tribute; your savior and Lord.
Would you like to know where you will spend eternity? You can settle it today!

 Jesus tells us in our passage today the essence of getting along:  do not judge.  For you see, when we make up our mind about another person, their character in our mind is tainted, and therefore we can dismiss them.  So let’s look carefully at what Jesus said:

 First, it is:

A COMMAND:  when we judge, it

• ___emphasizes_ the __faults_ of others. –and we have plenty of our own to deal with.
• __assumes___ we have the whole picture. (and you know what they say about when you assume…)

1. in a courtroom, both sides get to plead their case before the judge. When we judge, we take the judge’s seat, assuming we have all the facts, when in fact, we’ve just made up half of the case in our own heads and hearts!

• We play __GOD___.-ONLY God is given the right to judge, because 1) he is faultless and 2) he DOES have the whole picture.
• You see, we view our lives like the frames of a movie; we see only what is in frame at any given time, and we can only view one frame at a time. We rarely have the backstory of other characters that drift in and out of frame; we don’t see how all things interact in the story. But God, He sees our lives as a snapshot; a mural from beginning to end, seeing the interweaving of our lives and stories with the others whom we cross paths, and also sees their lives and stories.

When we judge, we criticize others unfairly. We don’t know all their circumstances, nor their motives. Only God, who is aware of all the facts, is able to judge people righteously.

John Wesley told of a man he had little respect for because he considered him to be miserly and covetous. One day when this person contributed only a small gift to a worthy charity, Wesley openly criticized him.  After the incident, the man went to Wesley privately and told him he had been living on parsnips and water for several weeks. He explained that before his conversion, he had run up many bills. Now, by skimping on everything and buying nothing for himself he was paying off his creditors one by one. “Christ has made me an honest man,” he said, “and so with all these debts to pay, I can give only a few offerings above my tithe. I must settle up with my worldly neighbors and show them what the grace of God can do in the heart of a man who was once dishonest.” Wesley then apologized to the man and asked his forgiveness.

A CAUTION:  when we judge, we will be held to the same measure:

• We open ourselves to _criticism_.  Matthew 7:2 For you will be treated as you treat others.^[a] The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.
• We reveal our own ___faults___.  We tend to judge the things more harshly in others that we don’t like about ourselves.

A CONTRADICTION – Jesus says it is like a person who is trying to get a tiny speck (an airborne particle) out of your eye when they have a big log sticking out of their own eye!

Jesus calls those who criticize _hypocrites_.

We talked about hypocrites last week:  used to be known as a play-actor, someone hiding behind a mask and playing a role; but the real meaning of the word I think is very telling: in the Greek, hypo means (under or behind – like a hypo-dermic needle, under the skin) and crites means judgment; so “hypocrite” literally means, ‘under judgment’

In 1884 a young man died, and after the funeral his grieving parents decided to establish a memorial to him. With that in mind they met with Charles Eliot, president of Harvard University. Eliot received the unpretentious couple into his office and asked what he could do. After they expressed their desire to fund a memorial, Eliot impatiently said, “Perhaps you have in mind a scholarship.”

“We were thinking of something more substantial than that…perhaps a building,” the woman replied. In a patronizing tone, Eliot brushed aside the idea as being too expensive and the couple departed. The next year, Eliot learned that this plain pair had gone elsewhere and established a $26 million memorial named Leland Stanford Junior University, better known today as Stanford!

It was F.B. Meyer, I believe, who once said that when we see a brother or sister in sin, there are three things we do not know: First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin. And second, we do not know the power of the forces that assailed him or her. And third, we do not know what we would have done in the same circumstances.

Maybe God would have us look at our own lives and engage in some honest self-criticism.  Whenever you find yourself picking a fault in someone else, ask God instead to show you one of your own.  Then ask him to help you grow in that area.  Pray as David prayed:

 Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

That’s why I like the Greek language.  There are 3 words for the word “love”:  eros (erotic) meaning a passionate, sexual love;  philos (as in Philadelphia) meaning a brotherly love; and agape, meaning a sold-out, unrestricted, whole-person love.  This is best demonstrated in John 21.  After Jesus’ resurrection, he went to Peter (the one who betrayed him three times) and asked him three times “Peter, do you agape me?”  To which Peter replied, “Lord, I phileo you”.Jesus responded, “feed my sheep.”  This was repeated two more times, with Jesus the third time asking if he phileo him, which grieved Peter.  You see, Peter loved Jesus, but loved like a brother.  He loved a person, but not with his whole heart.

‘heart’, ‘soul or life’ (as nephesh), the emotions, affections, the mode of thinking and acting, the centre of the will and decision making, ‘intellect’, ‘understanding’ and ‘wisdom’.

At the beginning of my second semester of seminary, I noticed this fellow student.  She had dark, curly hair, a great smile, and these piercing blue eyes, like the sky on a clear day.  I found out her name was “Denni.”  Then, I did as every good single male student did:  I went to the “Who’s Who”, a student directory that contained the vital information for every student on campus:  their name, phone number, address, home town, denomination, and whether they were married or not (!).  I read all this information, committing it to memory, about this woman who had captured my interest.

The point of the story is that I did not come to love this woman who was to be my wife by reading about her in a Who’s Who.  Some days I wish there were an instruction manual, or an autobiography entitled “My Life” by Denni Palmer, but there isn’t.  I came to love her by coming to know and love a PERSON.

And that’s what God asks us to do.  In the Old Testament, he asked people to follow him, to love him (first in Deut. 6) with their whole hearts.  But the pattern repeats itself over and over in the OT:  the people would drift away, getting themselves in big trouble.  God would restore them, and they would come back to him for awhile, but then would drift away.  This is exemplified by Hosea (married a prostitute; she kept leaving, demonstrating how painful it is for God to see us go)

In the NT, God loved us not by sending us a message, or by a pillar of fire at night and a cloud by day, but by sending us a PERSON:  the person of Jesus Christ.

Loving God BEGINS by truly acknowledging who God is

-          God seeks those who worship in Spirit and truth

-          We say it every week:  “hallowed be thy name” – but do we truly know what it means?

Loving God is also acknowledging who WE are

-          sinful from birth

-          desperately in need of His grace

Loving God is giving our WHOLE heart to him, knowing He loved us first, and most.

Let’s look at how Jesus taught his disciples to love God through prayer:

Our Father in Heaven – grounded in RELATIONSHIP

- We constantly define ourselves by our relationships:  I am a husband, a father, a son, a brother;   this is where I work, this is where I play, this is where I shop.  All are relationships!

-          When we recognize who GOD is, and who we are in relationship to HIM, prayer becomes natural

-          Also acknowledges WHERE he is; he is not earthly, but eternal

Hallowed be your name – an attitude of humility

-          Hallowed= HOLY.  We can’t just recognize who God is, but we must recognize him as pure, holy;

-          Adoration:  we can’t approach God without giving praise.  God’s very nature inspires praise from his people.

Your Kingdom Come – Set up Your rule , here among Your people, right here, right now

Thy will be done on earth as in heaven – not about what I WANT:  In fact, it is in spite of, and even in opposition to, what I want, that I am asking that you work your will here on earth, and I am willing to both subject myself TO it, and to be used as an instrument OF it

 Give us this day our daily bread –You are the SOUL PROVIDER    

We look to you as the ULTIMATE SOURCE OF OUR BEING; In other words, we trust in you to provide us with the vitamins, minerals, fats, carbohydrates, proteins and water that we need on a daily basis to survive;  but we ask for nothing more than today’s needs.  You provided daily for your people Israel in their desert wanderings through manna and doves, and water even from a rock, and now I trust in you to do the same again.

Forgive us as we forgive others – A CONDITIONAL:  if we believe others don’t deserve it, then WE DON’T EITHER

a note:  I hear sometimes people utter the phrase, “Well, I just can’t forgive myself…”  And to them I say, “Do you think you’re a better judge than God?  (to which they say no)  Well you’re acting like it!  You are holding your own forgiveness above HIS!   Instead of beating yourself up over this, why don’t you take a new look at God’s grace, and accept the fact that HIS forgiveness is enough?

 Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil – our protector

Give us your Holy Spirit to guide us in the paths of righteousness

For THINE is the Kingdom, THINE is the power, THINE is the glory – It’s got nothing to do with me!

So why would we practice this pattern of prayer? The danger, of course, is that we would memorize this prayer and recite it without thought of what we are really saying. That is the danger, but that is a matter of the condition of our own heart than a condition of the prayer!

James Moore tells a story of how he was able to go to the Colonial in Ft. Worth, a PGA tournament where Tiger Woods was playing.  He was awed at the throngs of people who followed him during his round, but even moreso at Tiger’s activities before and after the round was over.  Before his round, he went to the practice range, and all he hit was 5-iron.  5-iron, 5-iron, 5-iron.  He practiced high, arching shots; 5-iron, 5-iron, 5-iron.  He practiced low, driving shots; 5-iron, 5-iron, 5-iron.  He must have hit a hundred shots, all with his 5-iron!  He then played his round, and at dusk, returned to the practice tee.  And again, all he hit was 5-iron, 5-iron, 5-iron.  Again, the next day, on the practice tee, 5-iron, 5-iron, 5-iron. After the round, back on the practice tee, 5-iron, 5-iron, 5-iron.  Dr. Moore wondered at this odd method of practicing, but it all became clear to him on Sunday.  As Tiger was charging for the lead on the back 9, he was about 190 away from the pin, and what did he pull out?  You guessed it, five iron!  He knocked the ball within 3 feet of the cup!  And then it became perfectly clear why Tiger went 5-iron, 5-iron, 5-iron. It was all about practice, for that particular shot.

Our prayer lives may seem the same sometimes:  same thing, day in and day out, 5-iron, 5-iron, 5-iron.  We may become arrogant and think we have it mastered, so our practice becomes less and less.  But then we find ourselves in a pressure situation, and we need to pray.  If we have kept up the practice of prayer (5-iron, 5-iron, 5-iron.) we will know just what to do.   So I commend to you:  when you rise, pray, pray, pray.  When you sit down to a meal, pray, pray, pray.  When you walk along the road, pray, pray, pray. When you brush your teeth, pray, pray, pray.  When you lay back down again, pray, pray, pray. At all times, in all places, for all circumstances, PRAY!

“Watch out! Don’t do your good deeds publicly, to be admired by others, for you will lose the reward from your Father in heaven.

 To start off, I need a few volunteers this morning.

Jesus talks about three spiritual disciplines, and three people that personify them. And if we are honest, we are tempted to be each of them in the given situation. So here is our mini-play on the three temptations of self-sacrifice:

1. The BIG CHECK temptation

BIG CHECK: (Talking loudly with as much arrogance as one can muster)  “I would like to give this check, on behalf of me and my wonderful family, because we have been so richly blessed, to some poor schmuck out there who, well, obviously God doesn’t like very much, or they would be blessed like me!

2. The BULLHORN temptation

BULLHORN: (LOUDLY)   ATTENTION! ATTENTION! NOW HEAR THIS! GOD IS LISTENING TO MY PRAYER! IT IS NOT THAT I THINK GOD IS DEAF, BUT I WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT EVERYONE KNOWS HOW TRULY RIGHTEOUS I AM!

3. The BEGGAR temptation

BEGGAR:  (trying to act humbly, holding up sign)  Do you have any pity? Can you spare some sympathy for a righteously fasting person? I haven’t had any food in hours! I am sacrificing for my faith; won’t you please have pity on me and give me your sympathy? HEY!  I’m FASTING

(dismiss the volunteers)

Yet, Jesus had a word for each of these people:  HYPOCRITES.  And Jesus gives specific warning:

“Don’t do as the HYPOCRITES do…”

The term “hypocrite” literally means mask-wearer; an actor playing a part; it is used to mean disingenuous; fake, false.

Jesus had much to say to the hypocrites he saw in his day: look in Matthew 23, as he spoke of the outward show of the Pharisees and teachers: 5 “Everything they do is for show. On their arms they wear extra wide prayer boxes with Scripture verses inside, and they wear robes with extra long tassels.

Prayer boxes, called phylacteries, were little boxes that contained passages of scripture; and they were held in place on a man’s forehead or hand by leather straps, worn during the appointed hours of prayer and worship. This practice probably came from the Old Testament, where God spoke through Moses to the people of Israel about His laws and commandments, and says: “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes” (Deut. 6:8). But when Jesus said that the scribes and Pharisees “wear extra-wide prayer boxes”, He was saying that they wore them for display; and that they would walk around with them still upon their bodies, long after the appointed times of prayer – all as a way of advertising their “righteousness” before the sight of men.

And He also said that they would “wear extra-long tassels”. The Old Testament law commanded that the men of Israel were to make tassels on the corners of their garments; and that these tassels were to serve as reminders to them: “that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of the LORD and do them” (Num. 15:39). But Jesus was pointing out that they wore ostentatious “tassels” – not so much as a way to remind themselves of God’s commandments, but as a way to impress others with their supposed “commitment” to those commandments.

Now in doing these things, the scribes and Pharisees were doing what the law required. But clearly, whatever value there was in wearing a phylactery or in having a tassel on the edge of one’s garment, that value was lost before God by the fact that it was done “to be seen by men”.

So we can discern from this part of the sermon on the mount a few things:

No IF’S – Jesus doesn’t say “IF” you give, or IF you pray, or IF you fast; these are common and expected practices for the believer

No HANDS – Do not let the right hand know what the left hand is doing. Now, this has an obvious meaning, but there is a second meaning to it as well: First, it is customary in the middle east world to call an intimate friend your left hand. In that case it was Jesus’ intention to say that you should not inform even your most intimate friend how much you give. In other words, do not announce to others in any shape or form what you are doing.

Years ago the magazine The Chaplain told how the noted preacher Charles Spurgeon and his wife were called miserly because they sold all the eggs their chickens laid and wouldn’t give any away. Because they always made a profit on their butter, milk, and eggs, rumors circulated that they were greedy.
The Spurgeons, however, took the criticism graciously, and only after they both had died was the truth revealed. The records showed that their entire profits had been used to support two needy, elderly widows whose husbands had spent their lives in serving the Lord. The Spurgeons had refused to defend themselves because they did not want to call attention to their giving.

The second meaning begins with the more obvious: the right and the left hand belong to the same body. Therefore, Jesus’ words can also mean: You must try to forget what you gave. Don’t add it up in your mind so that you become proud of your own generosity. Do not take your little book and put it down. Don’t keep these books at all; don’t keep a spiritual ledger; don’t write a diary in this sense; just forget all about it.

You must not keep the account. God does that. He sees everything and He records it all. And do you know what he will do? He will reward you.

Because they don’t keep an account there are people who will be surprised on the day Jesus returns and blesses and rewards them. In their surprise they will ask Jesus a question:

^{Matt 25:37-39} “Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ Truly, their left hand does not know or remember what their right hand is doing.

A Few BUTS…

But when you give…But when you pray…But when you fast…don’t make it about YOU. To avoid the least hint of temptation to parade your righteousness before others, to avoid the mask-wearing trap of hypocrisy, follow Jesus’ words: But when you give, do not keep record of the matter; there is a record-keeper, and He is trustworthy. But when you pray, go into a closet to pray. Pray silently and fervently. But when you fast, don’t look all sullen as if you’re about to die. Wash your face, comb your hair, and don’t breathe a word of it. If you’re looking for an immediate reward, then by all means, don’t follow the if’s, hands, or buts; but if the reward you seek is in heaven, the If’s, hands, and a few buts are for you today.