Do Business With This Until I Come Back

October 15, 2023 · Harmony of the Gospels

Series · Harmony of the Gospels · Week 28 of 36

Scripture referenced 5 passages

The passage this message was preached from, in full, with every other passage it reached for.

Luke 19:11-28 main passage for the sermon, the parable of the minas

11 As they heard these things, he went on and told a parable, because he was near Jerusalem, and they supposed that God’s Kingdom would be revealed immediately.
12 He said therefore, “A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return.
13 He called ten servants of his, and gave them ten mina coins, and told them, ‘Conduct business until I come.’
14 But his citizens hated him, and sent an envoy after him, saying, ‘We don’t want this man to reign over us.’
15 “When he had come back again, having received the kingdom, he commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by conducting business.
16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten more minas.’
17 “He said to him, ‘Well done, you good servant! Because you were found faithful with very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’
18 “The second came, saying, ‘Your mina, Lord, has made five minas.’
19 “So he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’
20 Another came, saying, ‘Lord, behold, your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief,
21 for I feared you, because you are an exacting man. You take up that which you didn’t lay down, and reap that which you didn’t sow.’
22 “He said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant! You knew that I am an exacting man, taking up that which I didn’t lay down, and reaping that which I didn’t sow.
23 Then why didn’t you deposit my money in the bank, and at my coming, I might have earned interest on it?’
24 He said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina away from him, and give it to him who has the ten minas.’
25 “They said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’
26 ‘For I tell you that to everyone who has, will more be given; but from him who doesn’t have, even that which he has will be taken away from him.
27 But bring those enemies of mine who didn’t want me to reign over them here, and kill them before me.’”
28 Having said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

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Matthew 2

the Christmas story, Herod the Great and the slaughter of the innocents

1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, behold, wise men from the east came to Jerusalem, saying,

2 “Where is he who is born King of the Jews? For we saw his star in the east, and have come to worship him.”

3 When King Herod heard it, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

4 Gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he asked them where the Christ would be born.

5 They said to him, “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is written through the prophet,

6 ‘You Bethlehem, land of Judah, are in no way least among the princes of Judah: for out of you shall come a governor, who shall shepherd my people, Israel.’”

7 Then Herod secretly called the wise men, and learned from them exactly what time the star appeared.

8 He sent them to Bethlehem, and said, “Go and search diligently for the young child. When you have found him, bring me word, so that I also may come and worship him.”

9 They, having heard the king, went their way; and behold, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, until it came and stood over where the young child was.

10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceedingly great joy.

11 They came into the house and saw the young child with Mary, his mother, and they fell down and worshiped him. Opening their treasures, they offered to him gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 Being warned in a dream that they shouldn’t return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”

14 He arose and took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt,

15 and was there until the death of Herod; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called my son.”

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked by the wise men, was exceedingly angry, and sent out, and killed all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all the surrounding countryside, from two years old and under, according to the exact time which he had learned from the wise men.

17 Then that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, saying,

18 “A voice was heard in Ramah, lamentation, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; she wouldn’t be comforted, because they are no more.”

19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,

20 “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel, for those who sought the young child’s life are dead.”

21 He arose and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.

22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee,

23 and came and lived in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophets: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

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Isaiah 61

Jesus reads from this in his first sermon, declaring the acceptable time of the Lord

1 The Lord Yahweh’s Spirit is on me; because Yahweh has anointed me to preach good news to the humble. He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to those who are bound;

2 to proclaim the year of Yahweh’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;

3 to provide for those who mourn in Zion, to give to them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of Yahweh, that he may be glorified.

4 They will rebuild the old ruins. They will raise up the places long devastated. They will repair the ruined cities, that have been devastated for many generations.

5 Strangers will stand and feed your flocks, and foreigners will work your fields and your vineyards.

6 But you will be called Yahweh’s priests. Men will call you the servants of our God. You will eat the wealth of the nations, and you will boast in their glory.

7 Instead of your shame you will have double. Instead of dishonor, they will rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land, they will possess double. Everlasting joy will be to them.

8 “For I, Yahweh, love justice. I hate robbery and iniquity. I will give them their reward in truth, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 Their offspring will be known among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples. All who see them will acknowledge them, that they are the offspring which Yahweh has blessed.”

10 I will greatly rejoice in Yahweh! My soul will be joyful in my God; for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with a garland, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the earth produces its bud, and as the garden causes the things that are sown in it to spring up; so the Lord Yahweh will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations.

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Luke 4

Jesus stops short of reading the vengeance of God, angering the crowd who wanted to throw him off Nazareth's ridge

1 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness

2 for forty days, being tempted by the devil. He ate nothing in those days. Afterward, when they were completed, he was hungry.

3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread.”

4 Jesus answered him, saying, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.’”

5 The devil, leading him up on a high mountain, showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.

6 The devil said to him, “I will give you all this authority, and their glory, for it has been delivered to me; and I give it to whomever I want.

7 If you therefore will worship before me, it will all be yours.”

8 Jesus answered him, “Get behind me Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and you shall serve him only.’”

9 He led him to Jerusalem, and set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here,

10 for it is written, ‘He will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you;’

11 and, ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest perhaps you dash your foot against a stone.’”

12 Jesus answering, said to him, “It has been said, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’”

13 When the devil had completed every temptation, he departed from him until another time.

14 Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee, and news about him spread through all the surrounding area.

15 He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.

16 He came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. He entered, as was his custom, into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read.

17 The book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He opened the book, and found the place where it was written,

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to heal the broken hearted, to proclaim release to the captives, recovering of sight to the blind, to deliver those who are crushed,

19 and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

20 He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him.

21 He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

22 All testified about him, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth, and they said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”

23 He said to them, “Doubtless you will tell me this parable, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done at Capernaum, do also here in your hometown.’”

24 He said, “Most certainly I tell you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown.

25 But truly I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land.

26 Elijah was sent to none of them, except to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow.

27 There were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed, except Naaman, the Syrian.”

28 They were all filled with wrath in the synagogue, as they heard these things.

29 They rose up, threw him out of the city, and led him to the brow of the hill that their city was built on, that they might throw him off the cliff.

30 But he, passing through the middle of them, went his way.

31 He came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee. He was teaching them on the Sabbath day,

32 and they were astonished at his teaching, for his word was with authority.

33 In the synagogue there was a man who had a spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice,

34 saying, “Ah! what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know you who you are: the Holy One of God!”

35 Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” When the demon had thrown him down in the middle of them, he came out of him, having done him no harm.

36 Amazement came on all, and they spoke together, one with another, saying, “What is this word? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and they come out!”

37 News about him went out into every place of the surrounding region.

38 He rose up from the synagogue, and entered into Simon’s house. Simon’s mother-in-law was afflicted with a great fever, and they begged him for her.

39 He stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her. Immediately she rose up and served them.

40 When the sun was setting, all those who had any sick with various diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on every one of them, and healed them.

41 Demons also came out of many, crying out, and saying, “You are the Christ, the Son of God!” Rebuking them, he didn’t allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Christ.

42 When it was day, he departed and went into an uninhabited place, and the multitudes looked for him, and came to him, and held on to him, so that he wouldn’t go away from them.

43 But he said to them, “I must preach the good news of God’s Kingdom to the other cities also. For this reason I have been sent.”

44 He was preaching in the synagogues of Galilee.

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1 Peter 4

benediction, each one has been given a gift and should use it to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace

1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind; for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin;

2 that you no longer should live the rest of your time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.

3 For we have spent enough of our past time doing the desire of the Gentiles, and having walked in lewdness, lusts, drunken binges, orgies, carousings, and abominable idolatries.

4 They think it is strange that you don’t run with them into the same excess of riot, blaspheming:

5 who will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

6 For to this end the Good News was preached even to the dead, that they might be judged indeed as men in the flesh, but live as to God in the spirit.

7 But the end of all things is near. Therefore be of sound mind, self-controlled, and sober in prayer.

8 And above all things be earnest in your love among yourselves, for love covers a multitude of sins.

9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.

10 As each has received a gift, employ it in serving one another, as good managers of the grace of God in its various forms.

11 If anyone speaks, let it be as it were the very words of God. If anyone serves, let it be as of the strength which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

12 Beloved, don’t be astonished at the fiery trial which has come upon you, to test you, as though a strange thing happened to you.

13 But because you are partakers of Christ’s sufferings, rejoice; that at the revelation of his glory you also may rejoice with exceeding joy.

14 If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed; because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. On their part he is blasphemed, but on your part he is glorified.

15 For let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or an evil doer, or a meddler in other men’s matters.

16 But if one of you suffers for being a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God in this matter.

17 For the time has come for judgment to begin with the household of God. If it begins first with us, what will happen to those who don’t obey the Good News of God?

18 “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will happen to the ungodly and the sinner?”

19 Therefore let them also who suffer according to the will of God in doing good entrust their souls to him, as to a faithful Creator.

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Recap

The message in order, in a few minutes of reading.

Pastor Mark opened with a long stretch of historical background on the Herodian dynasty before reading Luke 19:11-28, the parable of the minas. His aim was to show that the parable is not floating in the air but planted in a very specific place, on a very specific road, with a very specific crowd who knew exactly what kind of nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself.

What was said

Before getting to the text, Pastor Mark spent time on the world the parable was born into. Antipater the Edomite worked his way into the Hasmonean court as a political operator, eventually becoming Roman procurator of Jerusalem. His son Herod the Great built enormous monuments, slaughtered the innocents of Bethlehem, and died a miserable death. Herod's son Archelaus then sailed to Rome to secure his inheritance from Caesar Augustus, while a delegation of Jews sailed after him to argue against it. Caesar split the territory, denied Archelaus the title of king, and gave him the lesser title of ethnarch, with the promise that if he ruled moderately he might yet be called king. He ruled badly, had thousands executed, and was eventually banished to Gaul. That story, Pastor Mark said, is the background for this parable.

Jesus told this parable because he was approaching Jerusalem and the people around him thought the kingdom of God was about to appear on the spot. Luke says so plainly, and Pastor Mark treated that stated reason as the key to reading the whole thing. Jesus is not promising a throne to everyone who walks up the hill with him. He had already told them the first would be last and the last first. He had just called a despised tax collector down from a tree and offered him salvation. He is trying to reframe what his followers think is about to happen.

The nobleman of the parable leaves ten slaves with a mina each, roughly a hundred days wages, and tells them to put the money to work until he returns. Two of them do. One hides his in a handkerchief, offers it back unchanged, and defends himself by calling his master a hard and demanding man who reaps where he did not sow. The master turns the servant's own words against him: if you knew I was that demanding, why did you not at least put it in a bank? The mina is taken from him and given to the one who already has ten.

Pastor Mark was honest that he has always found that exchange jarring, and that he instinctively places Jesus in the role of the returning master and then wonders how to square harshness with the one who proclaimed the acceptable year of the Lord. He worked through it by noting that Jesus stopped the Isaiah 61 reading before he reached the vengeance of God, which infuriated the crowd in Nazareth because that was exactly what they wanted to hear. The parable holds both things: grace extended to all, and judgment for those who refuse the offer and do nothing with what they were given.

The parable closes with the enemies of the nobleman, those who sent the delegation saying they did not want him to reign over them, being brought before him and slaughtered. Pastor Mark connected that to the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians who would all unite to crucify Jesus, and to the coming judgment Jesus had been warning about throughout Luke. The crowd walking with Jesus up toward Jerusalem would have recognized the Archelaus story in every detail. Jesus is not just spinning a moral tale. He is describing a pattern they had lived through, and telling them the pattern has not ended.

The closing point came in the benediction more than the sermon proper, and Pastor Mark said so directly. What God has placed in the hands of His people while He is away is forgiveness, grace, mercy, His word, love, and the gospel itself. The question the parable leaves is whether those things are being put to work or tucked away in a handkerchief out of fear.

Doing a Bible study?

Here is a guide we have prepared for you: the passages in order, questions for the group, and room to write.

The pastor connected current events in Israel to the historical pattern of evil being acted out against victims, and said that 'both sides' framing can sometimes obscure a clear moral reality. How do you think Christians should navigate that tension between showing compassion to all people and calling out evil for what it is?
The historical background showed that Archelaus went to Rome to receive a kingdom, that his own people sent a delegation saying they did not want him to reign over them, and that Jesus used this very familiar story as the skeleton of his parable. Why do you think Jesus chose a figure his listeners would likely recognize as corrupt and ruthless to illustrate something about the kingdom of God?

and 3 more questions in the guide

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Find in this transcript

Speaker 1Hey, man. When there's a countdown timer, you feel like you have to just keep on going, even if you gets to the end of a song, would you stand with me? We're gonna sing a few people in from the vestibule out there, I think. But we're gonna sing, I will sing of my redeemer. It's hymn number five seventeen.

The hymn books are stacked up up here in the front. If you want one, you're welcome to them. Other than that, we'll just sing off the wall together. Whatever comes up there.

Speaker 2I will sing of my redeemer and his wondrous love to me on the cruel cross he suffered from the curse to set me free.

Speaker 1On the last,

Speaker 2I will sing

Speaker 1As a true base, it's hard to sing just the first part of that, not sing the second part but it sounds real weird on the internet when I go to singing bass because I'm mic'd and y'all aren't. So, I'd rather have Jesus. Hymn five zero six. Amen. Y'all can have a seat.

I cannot sing that song without thinking of Doyle Vaughn. Yep. Beautiful. Announcements. Tanya said, hurry through the announcements this morning.

Get to the sermon. Here we are. Check out the Bible study board in the bag. If you want to get involved in a small group or Bible study, there's a big list of them on the bulletin board out there and the contacts for the leaders are there. If you see one that doesn't have a contact or you want to know more about it, ask us and we'll tell you.

Youth group, middle school, Sunday, three to five. That's happening this afternoon, three to five down the hall in the Fellowship Hall. High school happens on Thursday night, 06:30 to eight at the Tribe Ministry Center, which is on Broadway across the street from the Whole Grocer. And sorry. That was annoying.

The high school, 06:30 to eight at Tribe Ministry Center. It's across the street from Whole Grocer on Broadway. If you can't figure out how to get there, let us know. We'll get you there. It's pretty easy to find.

Awana clubs are happening. So we have an Awana club that meets here on Monday evening starting at 05:45. They gather up around the circle right here. There's game time. There's counsel time.

There's scripture memorization and listening time. And then there's a little awards ceremony at the end. It's great. This week is Truth and Trainers, the TNT class. Truth and Trainers are their parents are invited to come and just kind of go through the night with the TNTers and see how it goes.

So kids club, Awana here, Monday nights, 05:45 is beginning. There's a discovery class that will be, that's next week, I think. It's usually the third Sunday of the month. If you want to know more about First or if you just want to get a chance to talk instead of just sitting and listening and talk about what's going on at First Bee, we'd love to talk to you. So October 22 between services, ten next week.

Gary Geek usually leads that. There are, you probably saw them out there, red and green boxes for Operation Christmas Child. That's happening again this year. The boxes are due on the nineteenth, it says. Packed boxes are due on the nineteenth.

What's today? Today is the fifteenth, isn't it? That's quick. Is it October 19 or November? November?

Are you sure? I don't know. November. Okay. Good.

Good. Good. Good. Thank you. Nick stuck his head in.

He did. He made. Yeah. Good. Thank you, Nick.

Okay. November 19. Okay. Thank you. Yeah.

And if you don't remember, your taxes are due tomorrow. Okay? If you if you skip in April like I usually do. So there you go. So here we go.

Oh, would you stand up and you can wave to them. You don't have to touch them if you don't want to. But look at this, it says, find out if the person behind you has a colder hand than a penguin. Nick Nick made that slide. He used AI to make that slide and it gave the penguin a human hand.

Greet So your neighbors and say howdy. We'll bring you back together with a song. Alright. Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is peace. Watch the rest on this one.

Let's sing it again. In moments like these, when I think of this song, I don't think of hard times, honestly. In moments like these, but it's in moments like these. It's all the times. And there's a lot of hard stuff going on in the world right now.

And I have been walking through a lot of hard stuff with a lot of families right now. And I know some of you have been sick. And this song applies to every single one of those things. In moments like these.

Speaker 2Let's sing that one again too.

Speaker 1Amen. Y'all can have a seat. I'm going invite the ushers to come forward and if you would, pray with me. God, thank you for this morning, for this, for the freedom to gather, for the freedom that's offered to us in Christ. Lord, that we can walk forward unburdened by our sin and only burdened, Lord, with the advance of your good news.

In Jesus' name, I pray, Lord, that we would carry the gospel forward in the way that we live our lives. I think looking at the way that things are going in the world right now and seeing the fight that is just constant and it is just one upmanship always, Lord, ugly, evil, worldly, contentious nonsense. You are the way forward. You are the way to peace. You are the way forward, Lord Jesus.

Would you be our peace? Would you allow us to walk in the way of the kingdom of God? We're walking in the light, not in the darkness. So God almighty, I pray that you would bring about your will through your people. I pray, Lord, that you would put an end to the violence that is just senseless and hopeless.

I pray, Lord, that you would make peace and not just keep peace, keep them separated. God, help us figure things out. I know, Lord, that it's constant, But we also know that you, Lord, are almighty. So we ask to be a part of your solution. In Jesus' name, I pray that you'd use, all of the things that we place in this place metaphorically, Lord, our time, our energies, our conversations, our thoughts, the meditations of our heart, Lord.

I pray that you'd use all those things to advance your good gospel. In Jesus' name, thank you for using us. The gift and the giver, Lord, we ask for multiplication. Your will done in your way. In Jesus' name, amen.

Amen. Thank you, Judy. Luke 19. That's what we're up to in our Harmony of the Gospel study. Luke here is speaking alone again.

Luke nineteen eleven through 28. Now you might, if you're a student of the Bible, you might say, no, Matthew says this same parable. He teaches the same parable as this in his. And it is similar, but I think that there are differences that are sufficient. I believe that Luke is speaking right here.

It's very important about where he is and when he is there. So Luke nineteen eleven twenty eight is what we're going to cover today. But first, a story. Actually, it turned out in the first service to be twenty minutes of history, okay? But I think it's important to recognize context.

It's not just biblical context, but historical context. In our day right now, and I've alluded to it in the prayer, and it is such a it's such a time of ugliness. And I wanna say that, there are times when I've been accused, actually, of not choosing a side. So Republican, Democrat, I think both of them are damnably wrong. That's the truth.

So I don't really choose a side on either of politics, whatever. So I kinda get the, you must be wishy washy. I'm not wishy washy. I just think they're both wrong. Hamas means zeal in Arabic, but they got to choose their name.

Right? In Hebrew, Hamas means senseless violence, and that's the name they chose for themselves. Their whole plan since the beginning, when they formed and ever since, is to eradicate Israel from the face of the earth. There's no doubt about what they're trying to do. Now, people are in always following after their hearts, and their hearts are desperately wicked.

And there are people who are losing their lives on both sides, and I mourn losses on both sides. But there is such a thing as evil. And right now, Hamas is acting as evil, and they're acting that way towards Israel. And in our times, in the name of tolerance and everything else, people kinda say, well, you know what Israel's done to them? Well, both side ism is that's that's tempting to go there.

But when evil is actually being evil towards a subjugated victim, you can call that. Call it out. And so I wanna say, I'm praying for the peace of Jerusalem. I wanna say that I'm praying for the souls of people on both sides, that the gospel would go forth and penetrate into both communities. But when innocents are slaughtered, when people in nursing homes are killed, when babies are murdered, there is no both sides are wrong about this.

This is an act of aggression from one side towards the other. I would say too that part of the reason why we and Midge and Michelle took jeeps to Ukraine is the same situation is going on from Russia towards Ukraine. Yes. You can say there's corruption in both places. Yes, there is.

It's human beings. That's what we do. That's who we are. But there is such a thing as evil being acted out on a victim. And it happens in corporate ways, and it happens in individual ways.

So the story, once upon a time that's a terrible way to lead into a nursery nursery rhyme. Once upon a time I'm gonna go back actually to the first century Jewish historian, Josephus, who has left us a good record of what's going on. It's an extra biblical source, so it's outside of the Bible. He is a Jewish historian. He fought in wars.

He fought against Rome and then kinda saw the political necessity of agreeing with Rome. But he's writing, and he gives us a ton of information about the Herodian dynasty. Not just Herod the Great, which there are a lot of people that wrote about Herod the Great outside of the Bible, but he wrote just not about Herod the Great, but about his dad, Auntie Potter, and even a little bit about his granddad who's before him, Auntie Paz. So Auntie Potter the Edomian. It's important that you get that Edomian means Edomite.

For those of you who have done a lot of Old Testament history, you know that Jacob and Esau, the split there and the argument that ensued over winning that birthright, started the battle that we're talking about this morning. That's part of the battle. It went on the next generation or the generation before that, the Ishmael and Isaac battle, and then the Jacob and Esau battle. And it grows and grows and grows, and there has always been conflict. Human terms, people are in a quest for land and power, and they'll do pretty much anything to get it.

Antipater, the Edomian, that's how he's known because he was an Edomite, is the father of Herod the Great. Now I'm a put this up here. I know you can't read it, but you can see that there are different levels here. There are colors and levels, and it's it's crazy. There's a heart.

Wherever there's a heart of a color, it means that that person was married to that other person. That's murder, lies, all kinds of ugly stuff. Okay? That's the Herodian dynasty. So if we start with Antipater, the Edomite, the Edomian, he's born in one fourteen BC, lives to forty three BC.

He is a political weasel. He is from Edomia, which is where the Edomites or the people of Esau had lived during the classical period. They moved to Edomia. And in between, in about the second century or so, Antipater's family, so probably his dad Antipas, had converted to Judaism. And I use air quotes to say converted to Judaism because the edict from the people in charge in Jerusalem was either you convert to Judaism or we kill you.

So forced conversion. So he's Edomite, and he was, at some point, converted to Judaism. And Antipater was Hellenized, or Greek. Roman in his makeup understood politics and understood who was really in charge. The Roman Empire at the time, were the people that were in charge.

So he's the father of Herod the Great. Edomea Antipater works his way into the Hasmonean court. The Hasmoneans are the descendants of the Maccabees. I know this is history for a lot of it just going up over your head. I don't know.

The Hasmonean dynasty was a Jewish line of people. Hierarchanus was one of the guys in charge, and Antipater worked himself into the position of being his chief adviser. So Antipater is speaking in Hierarchanus' ear and giving him advice. Some of it was good advice. Most of it was bad advice.

And he gets to the position of starting something that gets him to be named the procurator of Jerusalem, the Roman governor of Jerusalem. He says that he is Jewish. He says that his people were people of the Babylonian exile. When they came back from Babylon, they stopped over in the land of Edom, but they've always been Jewish, but they knew better than that. Everybody knew better than that.

And so, as much talk as we do in the New Testament about Samaritans and the Jews considering them half breeds, it was even worse towards Edomites. So Antipater, the Edomian, that's how he's known, is because that is his makeup. Okay? So he is father of Herod the Great. Herod the Great has other siblings too, but Herod the Great is the one who rises to the top.

Auntie Potter's position in the Hasmonean court, he had endeared himself to them, but he also had endeared himself to Rome. He was fighting with Pompey, if you know anything about Roman history. He's fighting with Pompey for a while, and then when it's clear that Caesar's gonna take over and gonna whoop Pompey, he changes sides, and now he's on Caesar's side. So he's been Hyrcanus' guy, he's been Pompey's guy, he's and been Caesar's guy, and he's politically just a weasel. And he grows and grows and grows to where he's put in charge of Jerusalem specifically.

And then Herod the Great. All we know of Herod the Great the main thing we know about him is wise men from the East came and they saw Herod the Great. And they came to him and they asked him, where is born this king of the Jews? Well, he says, well, I'd love to worship him too. And we know Herod the great is a cutthroat, ruthless, barbaric tyrant, and he's the bad guy in the Christmas story.

We know the Magi came to him and go find him, and when you find him, bring him back to me. And the next thing we hear about Herod is when they didn't come back, he just decided to have all of the innocents in Jerusalem, all of the kids in Jerusalem murdered. If you can't see the slide, be thankful. It is a fairly graphic depiction of innocents being slaughtered. And that is, I should say again, that's what is happening today.

That's what happened in the past couple weeks. If you're looking at the region, usually when we look at this map, you know, I'm talking about the Sea Of Galilee and the Dead Sea and where Jesus was. He's in Perea moving over. This is at the time of Herod the Great. He was born in Ashkelon, which is considered Edomea.

It's outside of Jerusalem, outside of Judea. But Ashkelon and he has these red they look like Coke bottles for some reason here, but these red little things are fortresses of Herod the Great. They're huge building projects. I don't know why it is, but people love building projects. They just love monuments and massive things.

And so he built the Herodian, which was gonna be the place where he would be buried. He built, rebuilt, and amplified Masada, which if you visited Israel, you probably went to Masada or maybe to the Herodian too. He had the Maritime Caesarea, big encampment up there. These are some of the ruins that are still left. This is the Herodian, the top of this mound, this rounded mound of a hill.

Josephus tells us about the construction of this. It's basically a city unto itself. This is the plan, kind of a plan view. I got I got these images from a National Geographic article that is fascinating. It would be worth it to look it up.

This mound and up at the top is the all kinds of stuff, gardens, and he had water in the desert that would keep the gardens going up top. And then he has this 80 foot tall Spire, which is to be his burial place. That's an image of it, modern day. That's theater he devoted to himself. That's a recreation of that 80 foot tall burial place.

This is pieces and parts of it put up in a museum. A sarcophagus probably of his second wife because he had his first wife killed and their son killed to maintain his power. This is probably the grave of the second wife. This is probably his. But you see what happens in the olden times when the history is something you don't like or disagree with, you try to destroy it.

So his tomb was absolutely, utterly destroyed so people would not remember. And honestly, it wasn't uncovered until fairly recently. This is the first image that you have seen today about Herod Archelaus. And it I I chose this one. This is from a French illuminated manuscript, and it's about Herod Arceleus, who is the next generation.

So we have Antipater, who's a bad dude political weasel, sets his son up, Herod the Great, to win to become Herod the Great. Actually, if I backed up to this slide, that the dark tan area is everything that Herod the Great was in charge of. So it includes Edomea and Judea and Samaria and Galilee and even above Galilee. Thank you. Thank you, Blake.

So this image is Herod Arcelius, and you can see him there with a king's crown on his head, and he's got a scepter, and he's sitting there on the throne. And this across the room, what he's looking at is he's looking at Herod the Great waiting for him to die. Okay? Now Herod the Great, we hear about the Magi. We know about that time period.

But Herod the Great died a gruesome, ugly, ugly death covered in boils and sores and gangrene, and it was an excruciating thing to watch. Herod the Great, when he was dying, had already murdered his first wife and their son, and he had his own sons that were coming behind him. Now Antipas, the one we know from the New Testament that beheaded John the Baptist and Jesus stood before in the kangaroo kangaroo court. Right? That Herod Antipas, we know him from scripture.

He's the brother of Archelaus. There's also Philip as another brother. And Antipas was supposed to get it all after Herod's other son was murdered. Excuse me. So Archelaus makes a trip to go to where dad is, in Jericho.

This is bringing it back around. Okay? Jericho is where we were last week when Zacchaeus it was Jericho. Now Jesus is about to make his last trip before the crucifixion up the hill to Jerusalem. And we're there with Zacchaeus, and then Jesus starts to tell a parable.

We're getting to that in a minute. Archelaus goes to his dad and says, You need to rewrite the will. You need to rewrite the will. You need to rewrite the will. Finally, his dad does and he says gives the lion's share to him, to Archelaus.

Now Herod the Great knew Julius Caesar and knew all of these important Roman officials whose names you recognize. Archelaus, when he has the will changed, he knows that Rome has to sign off on anything that happens. Like, he's not the king until Rome says he's the king. So Herod Arceleus. Everywhere you see him pictured, they put a crown on his head.

This is a coin of Herod Arceleus. Now think about this. Jews are not supposed to create any graven images. What's a coin? It is a graven image.

But Herod the Great had coin after coin after coin mended. They hated his guts for it because he's a half Jew, if anything. And he, Herod the Great, would do things that were just outlandish in the minds of the observant Jews. Like, he put a golden eagle up in the temple. Like, first of all, it's a graven image.

Second of all, it's the symbol of Rome. Now he's a puppet king for Rome anyway, but he's basically just declaring that in the temple, and people rioted, and he had 2,000 of them killed. He's a terrible governor. He took exorbitant taxes to build whatever he wanted to build wherever he wanted to build. He lived a profligate lifestyle.

And this coin is a coin of Herod Archelaus. Now Archelaus, upon his dad's death by the way, his dad, Herod the Great, when he was dying and knew he was dying, he ordered that 300 of the most famous and well loved people of Israel would be brought into the Hippodrome, and they gathered them up and they brought them in. 300 of the most well loved people. And his order was, at the moment of my death, I want you to kill all 300 of them so that no one in the land would not be mourning my loss. That's a bad dude.

Okay? Evil exists and should be called out for what it is. Right? This is a ship right here. This is a ship, and it is a warship on the back of this coin for Herod Archaeus, and it is depicting his going to Rome.

So he leaves from The Holy Land and goes to Rome. And when he goes to Rome, his whole mission is to secure his kingship. This, I just put in there. That's a coin of Herod the Great, coin of Herod Archelaus, coin of the next level of Herod's. This is Herod Archelaus, son of Herod, who kneels before Caesar Augustus.

Now, he's king of the Jews. Right? Herod was known as king of the Jews. And when he heard that there was born king of the Jews, he sets forth in murdering the babies of Bethlehem. His son, Archelaus, goes to Caesar Augustus and Tiberius, who would eventually become the Caesar.

Tiberius was his lawyer, and he was pleading the case that Herod Archelaus should be the rightful heir of all of the land. And Caesar says, I'll agree with your dad's will. He gave you half the territory. I'll give you half the territory. I'll give your brother Antipas Galilee, and I'll give Philip the Tetrarchy of Philip, which is up above the Sea Of Galilee.

So he does capitulate in one way to what Archelaus wanted, but he didn't call him a king. He called him an ethnarch. And an ethnarch is higher than a tetrarch. Philip is a tetrarch. Antipas is a tetrarch.

But he's called an ethnarch, which means this is a rowdy land, and your father ruled, and it was always a headache for me. And, yeah, he built great things, and he collected a lot of taxes. That's what Herod the Great was really good at, collecting taxes, building stuff. When Herod Archelaus is arguing that he should be the king, what he wants to do is collect taxes and build stuff, make a name for himself. He wants to continue and subjugate the people.

There is no doubt about whether he's devout. He's not devout. He's an ugly, ugly, vile man. And he goes and he bows the knee to Caesar Augustus so he can be the puppet king, and he goes back as an ethnarch. Now when he gets back, the people are saying, you gotta lower taxes, and you gotta do stuff for us, and you gotta pay attention.

Now when he went to Caesar Augustus, they sent a delegation of a bunch of Jews from Jerusalem to go with him, and they argued against him. He should not be our king because his dad was horrible, and he's gonna be horrible too. There are already 8,000 Jews living in Rome, and they all argued that he should not be the king, but they gave it to him anyway. Now we get to Matthew two, the Christmas story, and we hear about Herod the great. That's one thing.

So we hear about the slaughter of the innocents. That's another thing, but that's Herod the great. When it says that Herod the great died and Joseph and Mary were told in a dream that Herod the Great was gone, it's safe to go back. And it says, but Joseph was afraid because he knew Archelaus was governing. So he didn't go back to any of the areas that were covered by Archaeus.

Idumea, Judea, or Samaria, they settled in Nazareth right up there. Nazareth is in Galilee, Antipas' territory. So rioting and aggravation ensued when he got back. Not technically as king, but Caesar Augustus said, I will make you a king if you will rule moderately as ethnarch. I will make you a king.

We'll do that down the line if you prove yourself. So when he got back, there was more rioting, more aggravation, more turmoil in the streets, and the Pax Romana, though it hadn't officially begun yet, was already underway. And the empire, what they wanted is their subjugated people to just get along. And if you couldn't rule to keep the people getting along, then you couldn't rule. So when he got back, he had even more enemies, 3,000 of them, executed by the Romans, Roman army he was in charge of.

3,000 enemies were executed upon his return as ethnarch. Caesar's advice was not followed to rule moderately. And ultimately, he was banished to Gaul. Now he had only served as ethnarch for ten years from the death of his father, unofficially until the word came that he is official, until six AD. That story is something that I didn't know.

I knew about it, heard about it in seminary. I read about it in commentaries all week, and then I just wanted to do all the research I could and boil it down for you. That story is the background for this story. Okay? Jericho is where Herod the Great died.

Jerusalem is where he had been in charge and where his son would be in charge, where his son would do all of his building projects from there. Now, scripturally, where we have just been is in Zacchaeus. When they were listening to these things or while they were still talking about these things, what things? This is the story of Zacchaeus. Now when the people saw this, Jesus calls this wee little man down out of the tree who's a tax collector.

Now who's he collecting taxes for? Herod, the Herodian dynasty, the Romans. But it's not just the Romans. Herod is the one who's able to collect the taxes from his people. So that's why they hate them so bad because they're building the Roman kingdom and their own self selves of kingdom.

When the people saw this, they all began to complain saying, he has gone in to be the guest of a man who is a sinner. This wretched beast that collects taxes against us. But Zacchaeus stopped and said to the Lord, to Jesus, behold, lord, half my possessions I'm given to the poor, and I have extended if I have extorted anything from anyone, and actually better read, it's probably since I have extorted from some of these people, I'm gonna give back four times as much to each of them. And Jesus said, today, in the real world the reason I wanted to connect the history is because what's going on in the world now and what was going on in the world then, it's real world stuff that really matters. We are responsible for our actions, and God knows.

He understands. He knows the end from the beginning. He is in charge. He is on the throne. Nothing takes him by surprise.

Today, Jesus says, salvation has come to this house because he too is a son of Abraham. For the son of man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. And while they were still listening to these very things, God is extending the open invitation even to the worst of these. And it says, now while they were still listening to these things, Jesus went on to tell them a parable because now it gives us the why. Why is he telling the parable?

Because he was near Jerusalem. He's walking up the hill to Jerusalem. It's like walking from here to the top of the pass, and that's gonna be the last trip he makes before the crucifixion. He knows that that's happening. In fact, if you look at the book of Luke, the very next heading in your Bible will be the triumphal entry.

After this parable, the next thing is the triumphal entry. Because he was near Jerusalem and because they thought that the kingdom of God was gonna appear immediately. The way of the world is seeking power. It's seeking influence and power, and it's weaseling your way into position. And if you look at even the disciples and even those followers of Jesus, on the night that he's betrayed, they are saying, which one of us can be the best in the kingdom?

Which one of us gets to sit on the right? Which one of us gets to sit on the left? He told this parable because he was near Jerusalem, and they thought that the kingdom of God was gonna appear immediately. And this parable, he calls it a parable. It's also a parable in Matthew.

But there's separate events, what I think separate applications. This is why he said it. So he said, a nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself. That what does that sound like? Virtually every commentator says, this is probably because of where he was, Jericho, where Herod the Great died.

He's walking up to Jerusalem where Archelaus would reign, where Herod the Great had reigned, where Antipater had established himself. A nobleman went to a distant country. Rome's a distant country. A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom for himself and then to return. That was his plan.

And he called 10 of his own slaves and gave them ten minas and said to them, do business with this money until I come back. There's that is that's not ambiguous. He just says, here, here is some money. It's about three months wages, about a hundred days wages. Here, here's some money.

Now use this. Do business with it, with this until I come back. I'm going, but I'm coming back. But his citizens hated him. And they sent a delegation after him saying, we do not want this man to reign over us.

That literally is what happened with Archelaus, literally. But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him. Now they would have all known this story even if we don't, But we don't want this man to reign over us. And when he returned, after receiving the kingdom, he ordered these slaves to whom he had given the money. There were 10 of them.

They were given an amount, all the same, but summoned him so that he would learn how much they had made by the business that they had done. They were in charge of his resources while he was gone. And the first slave appeared saying, master, your mina has made 10 minas more. He doesn't say, I've made 10 minas for me. He says, your mina has made 10 minas more.

It's increased. And he said to him, well done, good slave. You're a good servant. Since you've been faithful in a very little thing, you're to have authority over 10 cities. Wow.

Returning king, and now you're a returning governor, maybe mayor of 10 cities. The second one came saying, your mina master has made five minas. And he said to him also, and you are to be over five cities. And then another came saying, master, here's your mina, just the one, which I kept tucked away in a handkerchief. Now this is just three of them.

There are seven more. I think the first guy, yeah, he made 10 Mina's off of this. He's gonna be first in line. Five Mina guys behind him, but this one is saying, but but but but but I I was scared of you. I didn't I know I know.

I'm sorry. Master, Yermina, here it is. I kept it tucked away in a handkerchief. I hid it, and I was afraid of you because you're a demanding man. You take up what you didn't lay down.

I know how ruthless you are, and you reap what you didn't sow, and I was afraid. And he said to him, the master said to him, from your own lips, I'm gonna judge you, you worthless slave. Now I I have read this story, I don't know how many times before, and I always put myself in there. Jesus is telling a parable because he's going to Jerusalem and because they think the kingdom is gonna appear right away. That's his point.

That's the reason Luke tells us he tells a story. Thank you, Luke, for saying that. Because when I read this, I put Jesus in this position, and I go, boy, that's harsh. That's really, really, really harsh. I know Jesus came and declared the acceptable time of the Lord.

In his very first sermon, he uses that passage from Isaiah 61, and he declares sight to the blind, which he's just done in the last two chapters. Right? And healing the lame and open the ears of the deaf and setting the captives free and making a universal call to all to come to him. He's done that. It says that he has proclaimed the acceptable time of the Lord.

Now he stopped short and sat back down, handed the scroll back before he got to the vengeance of our God. That made the people so mad because that's their favorite part, is the vengeance of God against our enemies. And so they got so mad at him, they wanted to throw him off of Nazareth's Ridge. That's all the way back in Luke four, I think. It's early.

At this point, when he's heading up to Jerusalem, he's telling them it's not gonna be exactly like you think. And in John, we've got four or five chapters of him saying, it's not gonna be like you think. It's to your advantage. If I go away, I'll send the comforter. I'm gonna send the paraclete, the Holy Spirit, and you're gonna be comforted by him, and he will lead you into all the truth.

You don't have to worry about this. I know it's gonna be weird and different for me to be away, but I've been trying to warn you about this. I told you I was gonna be crucified, resurrected. I told you this over and over. You just didn't get it.

You weren't ready for it. Even that story right there, he's telling it. There is judgment coming, and we'll see that, the rest of the story. But Jesus is, I think, trying to calm down the people who in the next scene, we're gonna see them triumphal entry. And we see him crying over Jerusalem because he's making peace available and they won't happen.

He said to him, from your own lips, I will judge you, you worth save. Did you not did you know that I'm a demanded man? You said you did. Taking up what I didn't lay down, reaping what I didn't sow. And so then, why did you not put the money at least in the bank, and when I come back, I would have collected that interest at least.

And then he said to the other slaves who were present, take that mina away from him and give it to the one who has 10. What? And they said, master, he already has 10 minas. Why would we do that? I tell you that everyone who has, more shall be given.

But from the one who does not have, even what he does have shall be taken away. So there's a term that that is helpful, I think, in this. God has given common grace to all. Right? He gives us sun, and he gives rain.

He causes it to fall on the just and the unjust, and he gives air to breathe, and he gives food to eat, and he blesses even the birds. And Jesus is pretty constant about him just being offering a common grace to all. But there is there is something that is a specific grace for those who will accept it with thanksgiving, who will take the offer that has been given. So if I were to put what this guy gave them, it says it's money. Money, power, because money is rewarded with cities.

It's power. And that is the way of the world. And that is the way that human beings tend to think. And that's what the situation in Israel is about right now. And that's what it was with Herod the Great.

That's what it was with Antipater. That's what it was with Archelaus. And Jesus, I think, is telling this story to a crowd who would know that story, and they'd recognize that story. But as for these enemies of mine who didn't want me to reign over them, I saw the delegation they sent that they didn't want me to reign over them. And when he got back and he killed them off, Jesus is referring to that right here.

As for these enemies of mine who didn't want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them in my presence. Now judgment is coming, and that is present in this story. But what the reason he told the story was it's not gonna be like you think. You're not gonna walk up this hill with me and get a a ministry or a dis an office. You're not gonna get a throne for walking up the hill with me.

It's gonna be different than you think. He's already said in Luke multiple times, the first shall be last, the last shall be first. He's offered salvation and had it accepted by a tax collector. But there are those who don't want him to reign over them. The pharisees were constantly, you're not ours.

We're sons of Abraham. You don't have anything we don't have anything to do with you. We don't want you, in fact. When pharisees and Sadducees and Herodians all get together and they all wanna crucify you, that says something. Now, after Jesus said these things, this parable, he was going on ahead and going on up to Jerusalem.

And this is, like I said, the last thing we see before he cries over Jerusalem. Oh, how I've wanted to gather you up under my wings like a mother hen does her chicks, but you would not have it. You didn't recognize the time of your visitation. God, would you help us? Would you help us deal with things in this world in a way that is good and godly?

Would you help us, Lord, with what you've given us? Lord, what are the meanas that you've given us? For those of us who have put our faith in Christ, Lord, you've given us forgiveness for all of our sins, iniquities, wrongdoing, the evil that is in our hearts. You've forgiven us, Lord. So how do we put that to work?

You tell us, Lord, that we are to be forgiving others just as God in Christ has forgiven us. Lord God almighty, you have beyond common grace. You have specifically offered, and we've accepted a grace that has brought salvation. May we be offering that to others. May we be putting that salvation in business, Lord.

May we be telling the story. In Jesus' name, I pray that whatever gifts you have bestowed upon us, spiritual or physical, intellectual, financial, whatever you have given, Lord, I pray that we'd be putting it into service. In this time, while you are away, I pray, Lord, that we'd be taking exactly everything that you have given us, and we'd be putting that to work, that we wouldn't be afraid. Lord God Almighty, in Jesus' name we pray, that you'd be working in us, and not just in us, but through us, on the world around us. In Jesus' name, may we not be just another ugly part of this world, but may we be offering the peaceful resolution and solution in Jesus.

Amen. Would you stand and sing with us, O master, let me walk with thee. That parable of the menace, I I said it in the prayer, but I didn't really come back to it in the sermon sermon proper. What God has offered to us and said, be working with this until I get back, is forgiveness, love, mercy, grace, his word, Oh, rebuke, exhortation. All of those things that he does for us, we should be doing for others.

Putting it into to work. Amen.

Speaker 2Tell me thy secret help me hear the strain of toil, the fret of care. Teach me wayward feet to stay and guide them in the homeward way

Speaker 1For a benediction today, first Peter four. I I think of it. I have it in my head in the New American Standard that says or maybe New King James that says, just as each one of you has been given a gift. Right? It's a certainty.

If you put your faith in Christ, you have been given a gift. I don't know what exactly yours is, but just as each of you has been given this. Each of you should be using whatever gift you have to serve others as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. God, would you please do that through us? Allow us to see the gift and be implementing it for your kingdom's work.

In Jesus' name. I'm thankful for the missionaries present here right now going out into this world. I'm thankful for Bob who turned 96 today. In Jesus' name, I pray that you'd bless all of these to do your kingdom work. Amen.

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Herod Archelaus Israel Conflict Judgment And Faithfulness Kingdom Of God Parable Of The Minas Using Your Gifts

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