Tell Us A Story – of Reckless Patience is the third sermon in our series on the parables of Jesus. Is it possible to wait TOO LONG? Maybe…
44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”
Jesus warns that it won’t go well if anyone tries to oppose him. The point of this last verse is clear. One of the great blessings of our modern age is that we have copious pairs of footwear! It wasn’t that long ago that individuals had one pair of shoes. These were the shoes that you wore to school, that you wore while doing chores on the farm, and that you cleaned up and polished before heading off to church on a Sunday morning. Even though I have plenty of pairs of slippers, shoes, crocs, and boots, sometimes I don’t wear them and I stub my toe. I think this happens in every house. People try to navigate in the dark around a house and they stub a toe. When that happens no one ever seems to ask how the table leg is doing. How did the door frame hold up? The reason is because my toe doesn’t do any damage to any of those things. Jesus warns these Jewish leaders that they would come to an end if they fought against God. Looking back at the verse – it didn’t matter if they were the ones falling on Jesus or the other way around, God wins.
I started this sermon talking about patience. There is an end to the amount of patience we have – that goes for all of us. According to this parable, that goes for our God too. I’m not saying there is a sin so big Jesus can’t take it away. Nor am I saying that someone can be too far gone. There is a limit to what God will allow. That’s not for us to judge! Our job it to reach out in love to our neighbors.
I think a far more fruitful exercise is to ask ourselves what to we do with Jesus. The first thing to remember is that we don’t need to worry about Jesus. He already knows that people might not like him. Take Jesus everywhere you go. Make him the unseen guest at every meal. Remember that he goes with your loved ones as they leave to start a new chapter in your life. Give him your worries and your doubts, your fears every night before your head hits the pillow. He’ll hold them all night for you. Before you start your day ask for his mercy when you fail, and for his strength as you bear his cross.
Want to hear more? Watch this week’s message taken from Matthew 21 – Tell Us a Story – of Reckless Patience.
Book(s): Matthew
Series: Tell Us A Story
Speaker(s): Fred Guldberg