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Following the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, the crowd finds Jesus again and wants him to fill their bellies again — instead he shows them how to feed and never be hungry again.
“The Conversationalist” Sermon Series
When Jesus Speaks Through Parables
“I Am The Bread of Life”
John 6:25-59
Introduction
“Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”[1]
Prayer
The Work That Produces Life (vv. 25-29)
25 When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” 26 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. 27 Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” 28 Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” 29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
John 6:4 tells us that the setting of the parable is the Passover, and is introduced by two sign-miracles (6:1-21); God supplies manna for the needs of his people and leads the disciples to safety across the dangerous waters of the sea. Later in v. 59 we see that he is teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
The crowd seems to be upset with Jesus because He and the disciples had left them, so they ask, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” – There were also some in this crowd that wanted Jesus to become their king and lead a revolution against the Roman oppression (see 6:15). Jesus doesn’t respond to their question, but speaks to their motives. Jesus is asking them, why are you following me?
Even though they had all night and into the next day to think about the miracle of the multiplying of the loaves and fish, “They were moved not by full hearts, but by full bellies.”[2] They were seeing him as the Messiah, “who could maintain them in a life without toil.”[3] They were hungry again. Jesus is not a genie in a lamp that comes out to give us the wishes of our hearts.
Are you following Jesus because you want Him to fix your immediate life issue, make you wealthy, healthy, make your life easier – or do you truly understand who Jesus is and what the miracle (feeding the five thousand means)? The crowd is focused on the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, and not the meaning behind the miracle. Jesus wanted to teach the crowd something about Himself through the miracle. “They certainly saw the miracle and even tried to make him the messianic prophet and royal Messiah (6:14-15), But they missed the true significance of the “sign” pointed to Jesus as The Bread of Life, not just a miracle worker.”[4]
(v. 27) “Do not work for the food that perishes,– Jesus is telling the crowd to stop seeking food that spoils and go after “the food that endures to eternal life” Jesus gives a similar teaching to the woman at the well in John 4:13 when He tells her “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again.”
How much time are we spending “building up treasures in heaven,”
verses pursuing earthly treasures on earth? (Matthew 6:19-21) Every person has a “hunger of the soul,”[5] which food will you ease the craving[6], heavenly food or earthly food?
In this hunger we ask the question, “Why are we here?”
So thinking that they could do something to earn God’s favor, or do something to receive eternal life for their effort, they ask “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” “They have completely missed Jesus’ central point, repeated again here, that “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
“It is the ‘Cain-heart’ and though there may be a religious profession, a form of godliness, as Cain had it, yet it is solemnly true of the natural man as it was of Cain, ‘the way of peace have they not known; there is no fear of God before their eyes’ (Romans 3:17-18). The natural man thinks he can do something and by doing he will make himself acceptable to God. And thus speak of “the golden rule,” as if man had inherent capacity to practice it. Or someone else says “do some good deed every day”; as if good deeds as the way to peace and glory. Even pagans have done this, . . .”[7]
Eternal life is a free gift from God and comes only through faith in Jesus.”[8] They wanted a list of things to check off. Our work is faith in Jesus. The verb that John uses for faith or belief does not mean a mental belief of something, it also included obedience or action.[9] You will act on what you believe to be true.
The Wanting For One More Miracle (vv. 30-34)
30 So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? 31 Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”[10] 32 Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”[11]
Jesus has claimed to be God by referring to himself as, the Son of Man (v. 27). And while this crowd has seen him perform the miracle of feeding five thousand people from five loaves and two fish – they want another sign. They reference the Israelites in the wilderness where God provided mana (bread) “from heaven” (Deuteronomy 18:15). They don’t connect that Jesus is his provision as being from heaven, like the manna in the wilderness is “from heaven.” God had provided manna for forty years, Jesus’ miracle was this one occasion. They think that is Jesus is the Messiah, then he should out do Moses.
Jesus corrects them when they say it was Moses that gave them the bread in the wilderness, it was God. And here, it is God who has provided it. The bread that God provides now is a “he.” And so, completely missing the spiritual meaning, they want this bread now, always.
They are thinking that like God providing bread in the wilderness, where they would go and collect it every day – Jesus would now multiply bread (from loaves and fish) “always.” But this bread, that was from long ago, didn’t give eternal life (they all eventually died), but the bread Jesus offers them, once they eat of it, they will live forever.
Jesus did the miracle of multiplying the fish and loaves for a reason – to show how He provides eternal life. They are only thinking about Jesus as a bread miracle worker. They are missing the spiritual implications behind the miracle.
(v. 34) “They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” – They refer to Jesus as “Sir,” not Lord. Earlier they called Jesus “Rabbi, but here their greeting is respectful, but they do not regard Jesus as their Lord. They want the miracle (free ongoing bread and fish), but they do not want to submit to Jesus as God of their lives. Jesus “desired that men should receive him, not simply for what he might give them, but for what he might be to them.”[12]
The Will of the Father that None Will Be Lost (vv. 35-40)
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life[13]; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
Jesus says that He is what they need – but what do we do with Jesus? He says there are two things, “whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” “Later when an awakened sinner cried out, ‘What must I do to be saved?’ the answer was given at once by the Spirit of God, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, and your household. Acts 16:31).”[14]
So while we do no work to earn our salvation, Jesus explains that a person must “coming to Jesus, and believing in Him.” Numbers 21:7-9 “Pray to the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us.” So Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the LORD said to Moses, “Make a fiery serpent and set it on a pole, and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.” 9 So Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on a pole. And if a serpent bit anyone, he would look at the bronze serpent and live.” If you were bitten by a snake in the wilderness if you would go and look upon the raised bronze serpent, you would be healed. But you had to go and physically look at it.
Jesus is the way for a person to have eternal life – our action we take is to move toward Jesus, and believe that He will save us. He even promises here that anyone who does this will never be cast out.
(v. 39) “but raise it up on the last day.” – This is a reference that at the end of time, The Day of the Lord (Zech. 14:1-9); Those that Come to and believe in Jesus will be with God.
The Wrong Things Being Focused On (vv. 41-51)
41 So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” 42 They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus answered them, “Do not grumble among yourselves. 44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day. 45 It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me— 46 not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.
(v. 41) “So the Jews grumbled about him, because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” – “His ‘I am’ is a solemnly emphatic statement, and in this context has overtones of divinity.”[15] We see that Jesus says He has seen God, that He was sent by God, and here (v. 41) that Jesus is God – from this passage alone one has to decide what they are going to do with Jesus – He cannot be a good moral person, if he lies about being God. He cannot be trusted if He is a lunatic claiming to be God and spouting off teachings, or He really is God that has come down from heaven.
In the wilderness the Israelites grumbled in 14 different occasions (they grumbled and complained about Moses’ leadership, thirst, hunger, they wanted meat, about the giants in the promised land, etc.) John specifically highlights, “the Jews” it is to remind us of their previous grumbling in the wilderness, and they even grumble about Jesus.
Jesus responds to their grumbling by saying, “Do not grumble among yourselves.” – If the goal is understand the things of God, it does no good for the church to grumble.
They are willing to receive the miracle bread, “Sir, give us this bread always,” but how can the carpenter’s son, “the son of Joseph” – we know his parents, how did He come down from heaven? They are being asked to place their faith in Mary and Joseph’s kid – Jesus doesn’t try to prove who He is, but explains, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.”
With our relationship with Jesus; God draws people to the Son, and those people come to and believes in Jesus. The Christian theologian John Calvin had a lot to say about this concept of God’s election, and human choice in salvation. But it is a “both and” – we can choose God and His gift of salvation, while also God is sovereign in the process. It is not by works that we are saved, but the work we do is to place our faith in Jesus. “Salvation is never achieved apart from the drawing power of God, and it is never consummated apart from the willingness of humans to hear and learn from God.”[16]
(v. 45) “It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’” Jesus is quoting Isaiah 54:13. “He will teach them within their hearts. Only those who are taught in this fashion come to Jesus.”[17]
(v. 46) “not that anyone has seen the Father except he who is from God; he has seen the Father.” Jesus is saying that He is the only person that has seen the Father, and it is because He has been sent by the Father as the only means for anyone to be saved. God has revealed Him as the only Savior through whom anyone can ever be saved (14:6-7). To reject Jesus is to ensure that you will never know God. Stop grumbling and focusing on the wrong things – If you come to Jesus and believe in Him, you will be with God forever – if you reject Him there is no other way of salvation.
47 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. 50 This is the bread that comes down from heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
(v. 40) “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.” There was miracle bread in the OT, and Jesus provided them with miracle bread (multiplication of the loaves and fish), and “The physical bread on the hills would not guarantee life any more than the manna did”[18] in the OT.
Jesus very clearly is claiming to be God (because only He has seen the Father), he was sent by God so that people may have eternal life (by coming to and having faith in) Jesus, and is the only way to be saved – if one follows the law, you will eventually die, but if you believe in the one who the law points to, and the prophecies point to – then you will be saved.
(v. 51) “If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever” – “To eat of this bread means to appropriate Christ as one’s life. Jesus equals life.
The Willingness of the Disciple to Consume Jesus (vv. 52-59)
52 The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” 53 So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. 55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. 58 This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate, and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” 59 Jesus said these things in the synagogue, as he taught sat Capernaum.
Jesus has pointed this crowd to the Israelite wilderness experience (the lifted up serpent, manna from heaven, grumbling by the people) which begins with the Passover meal as they leave Egypt and slavery, and here as he is teaching in Capernaum at the time of the Passover – now references the Passover meal. The family as they are celebrating the Passover meal must eat all of the Passover lamb – consume it completely.
Jesus is saying that as the Bread of Life, his followers must consume him completely. Half-hearted followers fall away, v. 66 The disciples said to Jesus, this is very hard, “After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” Jesus starts this teaching with focusing on the things that are of eternal significance – the truly important things in this life. Far too many Christians want to focus on the treasures of this world – and end up being half-hearted followers of Jesus.
“In John 4:10 he offered the Samaritan woman “living water” to drink, and now he is “living bread” to eat. This is the sixth of seven times in this chapter Jesus describes himself as descended from heaven, further stressing his true origin from God.”[19] But He demands full, complete devotion (because God is worthy of our everything).
This is one of the greatest paradoxes of Christianity, that life comes through death. Jesus dies that we may live, and we die to the things of this world, so that we may live for God (Rom. 6:4-6). In order for you to have eternal life, you give Jesus your entire life, and He lays down His life in exchange for yours.
_________________________
[1] C. S. Lewis, from the sermon “The Weight of Glory”
[2] Leon Morris, The New International Commentary on the New Testament, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids, Michigan, WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1981) 358.
[3] W. Robertson Nicoll, The Expositor’s Greek Testament, Volume 1 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1967) 751.
[4] Grant R. Osborne, Osborne New Testament Commentary, John Verse by Verse (Bellingham, Washington; Lexhan Press, 2018) 157.
[5] “All earth’s full rivers cannot fill, The sea, that drinking thirsteth still.” Christiana Rossetti, “By the Sea.”
[6] B. F. Westcott, The Gospel According to St. John, The Authorized Version with Introductory Notes (Grand Rapids, Michigan; WM. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1981) 100.
[7] Arno C. Gaebelein, The Gospel of John, A complete analytical Exposition (Neptune, New Jersey; Loizeaux Brothers, 1982) 124.
[8] Osborne, 158.
[9] Gerald L. Borchert, The New American Commentary, John 1-11 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman & Holman Publishing, 1996) 263.
[10] They are comparing what think Moses did (the feeding of over a million people), to Jesus’ only feeding five thousand.
[11] “There was a tradition (quoted by Lightfoot and Wünsche) that ‘as the first Redeemer caused manna to fall from heaven, even so should the second Redeemer cause manna to fall.’ For this sign then, or one like this, the people looked from Him whom they were ready to regard as Messiah.” Westcott, 101.
[12] Merrill C. Tenney, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 9 (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing, 1981) 76.
[13] This is one of seven “I am” statements Jesus makes in this gospel; The bread of life (6:35); the light of the world (8:12); the gate (10:7,9); the Good Shepherd (10:11, 14); the revelation and the life (11:25); the way, the truth, and the life, (14:6); and the true vine (15:5). Osbourne, 161.
[14] Gaebelein, 124.
[15] Morris, 365.
[16] Borchert, 268.
[17] Morris, 372.
[18] Borchert, 269.
[19] Osbourne, 169.
To Find An Excellent Wife
Proverbs 31
Introduction
Prayer – Father in Heaven, help us, man or woman, to pursue your ideal for our lives. We know that you want us to be like Christ. May we accept all the guidance available in Scripture to do so, and may the Holy Spirit do his work of transformation in our lives. Amen.
I. Setting a High Standard (v. 10)
10 An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.
In the opening chapters of Proverbs, a father is speaking to his son and most of the time when a woman is mentioned is usually referencing an adulteress, or a woman who will lead the young man to foolishness. Fathers and mothers are mentioned in chapters 10-29, and here the book of Proverbs closes with a picture of an excellent woman.
The adulteress flatters with her lips; she forsakes the covenant with her own husband, to seduce someone else. She has lips that drip honey, she has a smooth tongue and she hunts for the precious life of some victim. There is not only the “adulteress” but there is the “noisy woman,” the loud, boisterous woman, with whom no one wants to live, and the normal man would prefer, the proverbs says, “to live in the corner of the roof, in a tiny little place, than in a big house with a boisterous woman.
There is the “foolish woman,” there is the “rebellious woman,” there is the “quarrelsome woman,” and they are all really set in contrast to this “excellent wife” here in chapter 31. There is in chapter 12:4 of Proverbs, this statement, “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who shames him is as rottenness in his bones.”
Because he was royal, and because he was going to take a position of rulership, His mother told him some things he really needed to know. The book of Proverbs closes with the boy’s mother teaching him wisdom.
This is great advice from this Jewish mother to her son in verses 3-8. “Stay away from alcohol, stay away from sexual immorality, take care of hurting people, defend those who can’t defend themselves, stand for the oppressed, support the needy, and deal justly with everybody.
This is how to be a good king, this is how to be a great man, and most of all,” and this is what occupied the length of her speech from verse 10 to 31, “find a good wife,” understanding the implications of a bad one–boisterous, quarrelsome, self-centered, wicked (such as Jezebel). And realizing the influence she was bound to have upon his life, his mother encouraged Lemuel to “find an excellent wife!”
There are 22 verses from verse 10 to 31, and there are 22 characters in the Hebrew alphabet. Each of these verses begins with the next character in sequence in the Hebrew alphabet, so that it starts with Aleph, Beth, Gimel, and so forth, right down through the Hebrew alphabet. The first letter of each of these proverbs, each verse, is the next letter in sequence. Why? Because it was easy that way to memorize this. It became an acrostic which created a formula for easy memorization and recall of these features, so that every young Jewish son could be taught by his mother to memorize Proverbs 31:10-31, and thereby have in his mind the criteria, at all times, by which he was to measure the excellence of a woman.
Too often when a selection is made of a woman or a wife, it is made for the wrong reasons: looks, education, personality, likes and dislikes, accomplishments, style–rather than virtue and character – those things that matter. But this woman has a value that is far above jewels.
The word actually describes precious stones of any kind. Some versions translate it “rubies,” some translate it “pearls.” “Jewels” is the best, it’s just a generic word for precious stones. The point being, this is a very, very valuable woman–not easy to find. Then in verse 11, she begins to describe this woman.
So how does the boy’s mother describe this “excellent wife”? What should he be looking for?
II. Characteristics of an Excellent Wife (vv. 11-28)
Trustworthy (v. 11)
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. 12 She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life.
Literally “his heart trusts her” – She is faithful in every area of her life. Her husband lacks nothing of value because of her faithfulness. She is faithful everyday of her life, and she brings him good.
(Joseph and Potiphar’s wife) Genesis 39:19 “As soon as his master heard the words that his wife spoke to him, “This is the way your servant treated me,” his anger was kindled. 20 And Joseph’s master took him and put him into the prison, the place where the king’s prisoners were confined, and he was there in prison.”
It doesn’t say who his anger was kindled against, and why did he put Joseph in prison instead of having him killed? I believe it was because he could not trust his wife. She did not respect his property, his work goals, him as her husband. Can your husband trust you, when he is not there?
Not just trustworthy in fidelity but also in that she does not take things from him – Not their money, their possessions, their resources, or his reputation. She never speaks evil of him so that those in the home would learn to distrust him because of her testimony of his absence of character. She does him good not evil. She does everything to build him up.
“all the days of her life” – her love for him is based upon spiritual principles that it doesn’t fluctuate with the circumstances of life. She is focused on building her husband up, no matter the conditions of life (for richer or poorer, sickness and in health).
Hard Working (vv. 13-19, 24, 27)
13 She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. 14 She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. 15 She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens. 16 She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. 17 She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. 18 She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. 19 She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.
She is diligent and this is the trait that is given more text than anything else. In the ancient world women had to stay busy in their spare moments (spinning wool, making clothes). Weaving and sewing were a major part of her work. She selected the materials, and works with “delight of her hands.” She took pleasure in creating something of beauty and usefulness. It was not a duty, and she didn’t complain.
In her work she makes extra (she goes beyond what is required) and then sells the extra clothes. With the extra clothes that she sells, she saves up enough to purchase a field. She is like a merchant ship bringing the home items that the family cannot produce for itself. To make this happen she gets up early to make sure that her family is well fed and taken care of.
Her lamp does not go out at night is a reference that she works into the night making her clothes. So she gets up early to oversee her family, she oversees her household and ventures during the day, and in the evening she works into the night. 24 “She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant.”
“27 She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. This Proverb 31 woman sees it as her responsibility to oversee what goes on in the home. She’s not waiting around or wasting time, she spends considerable time “looking well into” how the home is running and making it a better place.
Caring (v. 20)
20 She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy.[1]
As driven as this woman is, she is willing to step away from her work and help others in need. She holds the clothes that she has spent hours and hours making, and instead of putting them on her own family, or making money for her family, she opens her hands and gives and serves the poor.
Her hands are diligent to make cloth and clothes, and her hands hold these clothes out for other people to be able to be clothed. She gives dignity (nakedness) and warmth to others, and see this as something that is important to do. Later the text says that she does not fear the future – but those around her who are poor and needy do fear what is to come – so she also gives security to other people. She takes away this burden of worry.
Looks Ahead (vv. 21, 25)
21 She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.
Scarlet clothing was expensive, of the highest quality, and would be adequate for cold weather. Because she has worked hard and saved money – either she has saved up to buy, or she has made their clothes. Either way, when the cold weather months come she does not have to fear.
Wisdom means skill, and part of wisdom is the ability to look at one’s life as a whole, or to be able to see how our actions will lead to a certain way of life (consequences, long life).
Also, typically wool clothes were not dyed, so the fact that it was colored scarlet means that she has added some personality and flair to the clothes. “25 Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She includes her own bright personality to her work and makes it fun.
Takes Pride Her Appearance and Her Home (v. 22)
22 She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple.
She again makes her children’s clothes, bed coverings, and now the mother in reminding her son what to look for in a wife tells him to look for an excellent wife who takes some pride in her appearance.
She honors God (who gave her the beauty) and honors her husband by taking time to put herself together. She knows that how she presents herself is extended to her husband and her family.
Brings Honor to Her Husband (v.23)
23 Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land.
She enhances her husband’s reputation. He’s risen to the very top of the esteem of the people in the profession he has chosen in life because he is free to do so because of the dutiful wife. She creates a world for him and their family in which he can be everything that God would want him to be.
She’s so faithful to the duties of her love that he is free to be all that he can be as a man. He is known in the gates. He is a well-known man. The implication there is that he is esteemed, he is honored, he is respected.
Teaches Others (v. 26)
26 She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
Not only does she open her hands to the poor, but she opens her mouth to teach her children wisdom and shares her wisdom with her husband. When she teaches her children she is not being hypocritical. If you live in the home with someone you know if they are just talking or are they being genuine and honest.
III. A Wise Woman Will Be Blessed (vv. 28-31)
28 Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: 29 “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.” 30 Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.
Children and her husband realize how she has lived her life and see how she has been a part of their lives and “call her blessed.”
If a woman is charming – then she uses her personality to manipulate, charm is a way of approaching another for the purpose of getting something you want. So, how do you know if she’s being truthful or if she’s playing you? If she is beautiful, it will fade – there is a sure bet for the woman you are looking to marry – what does her character show?
With all these things that we have mentioned, how is a woman ever going to be able to do them all? Proverbs begins with a call to wisdom and to fear the Lord, and here is a portrait of a woman who is wise and fears the Lord. Matthew Henry said, “Proverbs 31 is the mirror against which every Christian woman must stand and face herself.”
She can do all these things if her life is centered on Christ, and gives herself unselfishly to her home and family.
The mother in Proverbs 31 tells her son to look for a list of godly virtues. What are you looking for today?
Both the hummingbird and the vulture fly over our nation’s deserts. All vultures see is rotting meat, because that is what they look for. They thrive on that diet. But hummingbirds look for the colorful blossoms of desert plants. The vultures live on what was. They live on the past. They fill themselves with what is dead and gone. But hummingbirds live on what is. They seek new life. They fill themselves with freshness and life. Each bird finds what it is looking for. What are you living for? Is the past, however glorious or painful, what you’ve set your sights upon? Or are you seeking after new, abundant life? Only if you know what you’re looking for will you find it.
[1] Acts 9:36
Identity Sermon Series
Discovering Who and Why You Are
“What Should I Be Doing?”
Ephesians 2:1-10
Opening
In Luke 15 we see the story of the prodigal son. The boy went to his father and demanded his inheritance, even though his father was still alive (which was a great insult, and potentially hard on the family financially). But the father gives the boy his inheritance and the boy leaves home, travels far away and absolutely wastes the money. Eventually he runs out of money, finds a job taking care of pigs, and is so hungry he wants to eat the slop the pigs are eating. He comes to his senses and decides to ask his father back home if he can work on the family farm as a servant.
Luke 15:20 “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’3 22 But the father said to his servants,4 ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. 23 And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. 24 For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”
We know that the prodigal son was not physically dead while in the far country, or physically made live when he returned home. The prodigal son was dead because he was away from home, out of touch and out of communion with the father. He is dead in his trespasses and sin against his father.
Prayer
Your Past (vv. 1-3)
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Paul begins our chapter by reminding us of our past. “Scripture uses many metaphors to describe man’s sinful state, such as blindness, deafness, fever, paralysis, leprosy, etc. but not one more forceful in meaning than this one of being dead in sins.”[1]
Man does not become spiritually dead because he sins; he is spiritually dead by his nature, therefore he is sinful. His condition has nothing to do with the way he lives; it has to do with the fact that he is dead even while he is alive. He is spiritually dead while being physically alive.
We are “dead in the trespasses and sins,” – to trespass is a violation of a definitive law, and to sin is to miss the mark (like an archer aiming at a target). We are guilty on both accounts. It is as if there is a giant “no trespassing sign” and we willfully went past it.
“We are sinners because we have taken our own way, and we are trespassers because we have transgressed what we knew to be the revealed word of God; and so we are dead to God in our natural condition.”[2]
And no one will deny that there are degrees of sin. If we compare Hitler who oversaw the killing of millions of Jewish people, and someone who stole a package of gummies at a gas station – are they the same? Both are sin.
If we look at Mark 5:21ff. we see Jairus’ daughter, and by the time Jesus got to her she had only been dead for a very short period of time, yet dead still. And later when we see Jesus coming to Lazarus’s tomb (John 11) – he intentionally stayed away for days, and when it was time to roll away the stone at the entrance when “Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.”[3]
Both Jarius’ daughter and Lazarus are in different stages of corruption, yet they both are dead. You may not be Hitler, but we are all sinners by our nature, Romans 3:23 “. . . for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”
Man’s common state of sin is like people trying to jump across the Grand Cannon (4 to 18mi.). 10 year old (8 feet), 20 year old Olympic long jump (30 feet), 50 year running from the IRS (50 feet) – all will fall short. We are all, “Sons of disobedience and children of wrath” are parallel verses, meaning the same thing.
(v. 2) “in which you once walked,” – The word walk is often used in the New Testament to describe a way of life. The words transgressions and sin describe the path in which people walk and the boundaries that shape their lives.[4]
Because we were spiritually dead, by nature (v. 3) “in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind” – it is our nature as human beings to live this way, and which always results in God’s Wrath. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
In the gospel of Matthew 11:16-19 we see “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates, 17 “‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’ 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.” John the Baptist and Jesus were both preachers, John’s message was focused on repentance and judgement (like a funeral dirge), and Jesus’ sermons he compares to a flute at a party (good news, joyful) – but the people did not respond to either.
But in the heart of some, there is a quickening.
The Holy Spirit draws some toward Jesus.
Your Present (vv. 4-6)
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
(v. 4) “But God,” – dead people can’t do anything. They can’t breathe, they can’t heal, they can’t take action to please God – all they can do it decay. And since they can do nothing to improve their situation, God chose to do something to make our relationship with Him right again. He made the first move.
1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.”
“being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us” – “There is an infinite resources of mercy for the vilest sinner. There is no one for whom there is no mercy” or where the mercy will run out.[5] Not just a little bit of mercy, God is rich in His mercy toward sinners.
In Genesis 1 we see that at the beginning of time, “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.” God spoke, God took action, and there was light where there once was darkness.
God saw our condition of sin and spiritual death, and out of compassion and love for His creation He took action, “made us alive together with Christ Jesus.”
Jesus’ death on a cross and his resurrection from the dead is a picture and a promise of us being made alive with Jesus. “There was a time when because of my sins Jesus Christ lay dead in the grave, but having completed the work that saves, God quickened Him from the dead and brought Him back in triumph from the tomb.”[6] We believe in Him and are brought forth from the place of the dead and are brought back to life.
“by grace you have been saved” – grace is God’s action toward us when we do not deserve His favor.
“raised us up with him and seated[7] us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” – Jesus has done all the work (dying on the cross, bearing the weight of our sin, He has done all the things required for our salvation), then we get to go with him to heaven. Jesus bought the ticket, and he turns and hands us one for free, and we get to go with him.
Your Future (vv. 7-10)
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
(v.8) “Grace is God’s part, faith is our part.”[8]
God loves his creation so much that He sent His Son into the world to be a propitiation for our sins, but He loves His Son so much that he will not permit anyone into heaven who ignores the work of the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished.”[9]
When a person chokes or drowns and stops breathing, there is nothing he can do. If he ever breathes again it will be because someone else starts him breathing. A person who is spiritually dead cannot even make a decision of faith unless God breathes into him the breath of spiritual life. Faith is simply breathing the breath that God’s grace supplies.[10]
Every person lives by faith. When we open a can of food or drink a glass of water we trust that it is not contaminated. When we go across a bridge we trust it to support us. When we put our money in the bank we trust that it will be there when we go to withdraw it. Life is a constant series of acts of faith.
Human effort has nothing to do with it. And thus, no one should boast, as if he had any part of it. All boasting is eliminated in salvation. When we see each other in eternity, we will know that none of us deserve to be there and will bow before Jesus in his glory and grace.
(v. 10) “For we are his workmanship” –
Psalm 100:3 “Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
Colossians 1:16 “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”
(v. 10) “created in Christ Jesus for good works” Not in order to be saved but because we are already saved are we to do good works. As the sun was created to shine, the rose to give forth its delightful fragrance, the bird to fly, so we are created anew to do good works and thus to glorify him who created us as what we are in Christ Jesus.”[11]
(v. 10) “which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”[12] – “What Paul says is not that God prepared us that we should walk in good works (so Luther), but that he prepared the good works.”[13] The believer is saved, but then we don’t look around for just something good to do, God lays out the journey before us. Our job is to stay close to God and His Word, so that “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.”
“We are saved not by but for good works, and we are saved not just for a beautiful heavenly destiny that God has prepared but for good works here, likewise prepared by God.”[14]
Conclusion – let’s go back to Luke 15, remember when the father sees the son returning home, he says, “Bring quickly the best” – for the farmer it was a robe, a ring, sandals, and a celebration meal. When our heavenly father see us he says, “Bring quickly the best” What is the best that the heavenly father gives us?
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” God gave His best so that we may have eternal life – have you received Jesus’ free gift of salvation and new life?
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[1] August Van Ryn, Ephesians The Glories of His Grace (Neptune, New Jersey; Loizeaux Brothers Publishing, 1963) 40.
[2] H. A. Ironside, In the Heavenlies (Neptune, New Jersey; Louizeaux Brothers, 1979) 101
[3] Ironside, 100.
[4] Klyne Snodgrass, The NIV Application Commentary, Ephesians (Grand Rapids, Michigan; Zondervan Publishing House, 1996) 96.
[5] Ironside, 105.
[6] Ibid, 106.
[7] Seated is given in the past tense (aorist tense) indicating it being so definite that it is as if it has already fully taken place. MacArthur, 60.
[8] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume 4 (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1931) 525.
[9] Ironside, 111.
[10] John MacArthur, The John MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Ephesians (Chicago, Illinois; Moody Press, 1986) 61.
[11] R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians to the Ephesians and to the Philippians (Minneapolis, Minnesota; Augsburg Publishing House, 1961) 427.
[12] “C. L. Mitton concludes his discussion on this verse with an appropriate comment: “This final phrase about our ‘walking in them’ reminds us that fine phrases or eloquent sermons about love are not what is required, but the actions, costly actions, which express in practical conduct the love which God’s saving power has created in our hearts.” David J. Williams, New International Biblical Commentary, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon (Peabody, Massachusetts; Hendrickson Publishers, 1990) 186.
[13] Lenski, 427.
[14] Walter L. Liefeld, The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, Ephesians (Downers Grove, Illinois; Intervarsity Press, 1997) 67.
