It's Never Too Late

Introduction

            A number of years ago I had a customer, Susan (not her real name), who hired me to do some remodeling in her home. She had gone through a divorce and got the house as part of the divorce settlement. At first, she didn’t have the heart to make changes to the house she and her husband bought together. After some time had passed, she was ready to make some changes to her home to reflect more of her personality—so she called me for help. It was quite a bit of work that took me nearly six months to complete. During that time, we spent lots of time talking and she shared many details about her life and her family with me. I shared with her that I was a pastor and that I did carpentry work to pay for the ministry expenses. Over the months, she had more and more questions about God and I had many chances to share the message of Jesus Christ with her. She told me that when she was a young girl, she went to church with her mom and dad every Sunday but then something happened between her mom and the church they were attending and her mom was deeply wounded by the incident and they stopped going to church altogether and never talked about it at home. After a few months, she told me that her mom and dad were moving to a retirement facility near her because her mother, who was battling Alzheimer’s Disease, was getting worse by the day and couldn’t be left alone. I thought I knew God’s plan with respect to Susan, and maybe she was part of the plan, but God has His sights set on another.

            One day, as I was finally coming to the end of the project, I walked in to Susan’s home to find her sobbing on the floor. It took me a while to comfort her so that she could tell what had happened. I thought perhaps her mother had passed away during the night but instead, she was distraught because her mother wouldn’t die. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that she wanted her mother dead, she was just so tired of seeing her suffer. Susan said something that has stuck in my head all these years. She said, “I feel like mom has some unfinished business and she won’t let go until it’s done.” I asked her what she thought it was and she told me that she thought it had something to do with what happened so many years ago at church and the subsequent abandonment of her faith. So she asked me; actually she begged me, if I would be willing to visit her mother and pray for her. Of course I told her that I would do whatever was needed. By this point it was afternoon and I told her I would follow her to the retirement home. When we got to the lobby of the facility where her mom and dad were living, Susan briefed me on the condition of her mother so that I could be prepared. She hadn’t received any food for at least a week and her eyes had been closed for the last few weeks. For the last 2-3 days her mouth was constantly open. The doctors told her that it was normal for someone in her extremely emaciated state. It was likely that she couldn’t close her mouth at this point. When I walked in to their apartment, her father was in the living room waiting for us. The mood was somber and Susan didn’t want to waste any time so she led me into the bedroom where her mother was lying in bed. I thought I was prepared for what I would see but I had never seen a live human being in such an extremely emaciated condition. Her mother was essentially a skeleton covered in a thin veneer of skin. I found her just as Susan described her—eyes closed and mouth open. Her father asked if I wanted a chair but I told them that I preferred to kneel next to the bed, which I did. With Susan and her father standing behind me, I set my Bible and a small vile of water on the nightstand next to the bed and I put my hand on the mother’s exposed arm and spoke softly to her. I told her my name and that I was there to pray with her. I told her that her husband and daughter were also in the room with us. She just lay there quietly, barely breathing. I reached for my Bible and opened it up to the gospel of John and began to read to her. By the time I got to the end of the first chapter, I heard Susan gasp and when I looked up from my Bible I was a bit shocked to see that her mother had closed her mouth. Susan began to weep and I resumed my reading until I got to John 3:16. At that point, I prayed for her salvation, baptized her and prayed that God heard the words she wasn’t able to say. I have no idea what happened right at that moment but I did what I could and left the rest to God. Susan was still weeping and by this point so was her father. They both thanked me and I showed myself out. I got a call from Susan about six hours later telling me that her mother had died.

The cynic would see this as mere coincidence but I choose to believe that God had a plan for His child and dying while she was separated from Him was not part of that plan. Throughout her life, she had countless chances to repent and turn back to God but for whatever reason she continued to resist His call—until, perhaps, a few hours before she died. I’ve been in awe that God allowed me to be part of the events of that day. There was a profound lesson in it for me, one I already knew from the biblical record, but I had never experienced it first-hand. I prejudged why God brought Susan into my life. I thought it was because she needed to hear the Gospel message—and she certainly did. But God had a more urgent mission for me—an 80-pound, emaciated woman trying to find her way back to God in time. Of all the lessons I learned on that day, the one that follows me around whenever I share the gospel message with someone is that It’s Never Too Late to trust Jesus and be reconciled to God.

Subject Text

Luke 23:32-43

³²Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. ³⁴Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. ³⁵The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” ³⁶The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.” ³⁸There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the Jews. ³⁹One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” ⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Context

            Jesus’ earthly ministry is coming to an end. He was wrongly accused of blasphemy by the religious leaders at a sham trial where the line of questioning led Jesus to announce to the religious leaders that He was the Son of God; that he was equal with God. In the weeks leading up to Jesus’ arrest the religious leaders had been looking for a way to get rid of Jesus as His popularity and influence among the people began to grow. Jesus, riding into town on the back of a donkey to the chants of “Hosanna to the Son of David” in the temple area, seemed to be the last straw for the religious leaders. With thirty pieces of silver in hand, the religious leaders easily found an accomplice in Judas who betrayed Jesus by providing the religious leaders with the information that led to Jesus’ arrest. Once Jesus was arrested and in custody, the wheels were set in motion for Jesus’ conviction for blasphemy because He claimed to be equal to God. The only problem was that they couldn’t carry out the sentence. So they enlisted the help of the Roman authority and turned Jesus over to Pontius Pilate to carry out the sentence for them. The Romans, however, had no vested interest in the matter and Pilate attempted to return Jesus to the religious leaders claiming that it was a religious squabble and not the business of Rome. The religious leaders had to think quickly. They weren’t going to let Jesus slip through their fingers again. Knowing that Rome was intent on maintaining peace throughout the various provinces (known as the Pax Romana—“Roman Peace”), the religious leaders claimed that Jesus was inciting the people and disrupting the peace. Afraid that Rome might think there was an uncheck uprising in the Judean province, Pilate accepted the claims of the religious leaders and sentenced Jesus to death but not before he allows the religious leaders to put the last nail in their own coffins in God’s eyes.

The Jews, and especially the religious leaders, hated Rome’s rule over them—but they hated Jesus even more. Last week I told you about how the religious leaders tried to trap Jesus with the question of paying taxes. I said that one of the possible reasons the Jews hated paying taxes to Rome was because Caesar’s inscription was on Rome’s currency and the Roman’s declared that Caesar was divine. I also said that it was possible that they just didn’t want to part with their wealth. Well the events Jesus’ sham trial, make me believe it was more the latter than the former. When Pilate parades Jesus in front of the crowd calling for His crucifixion, he asks them, “Shall I crucify your King?” To which the religious leaders answer, “We have no king but Caesar!” How convenient! The religious leaders adopted the ancient Arabic proverb, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend,” when they needed Rome, who they hated, to do the dirty work of getting rid of Jesus, who they hated even more. However, none of the events, no matter how horrific, would stop God’s plan of reconciliation between the Creator and His creation as we will come to find out when one final sinner reaches out to Jesus for salvation as he was dying on a Roman cross right next to Jesus.

Text Analysis

³²Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed. ³³When they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left.

             The silhouette of three crosses on a hill described in vv. 32-33 is almost a novelty to many Christians because we’ve seen it so many times by now. However, if a picture is worth a thousand words, the image of Jesus crucified between two criminals is worth a million. Does it matter that Jesus is crucified between the two criminals? Would it have made a difference if Jesus were on one end or the other of the three? The Bible doesn’t say but would it really surprise you if God had ordained it to occur just like it did in order to illustrate, one last time, the extremes of humanity’s relationship to God? The attitude of each of the two criminals toward Jesus is the perfect metaphor of humanity’s relationship toward God. On the one side are those who reject God to the very end and on the other side are those who have reached the end of the line; the end of themselves, and seek God’s mercy and grace to save them. “The ‘meeting of the sides’ is summarized in the exchange between the two criminals crucified with Jesus. One is convinced that Jesus has nothing to offer; the other asks him to exercise his authority as a king in order to assure him a place among the saved.”[1]

            I also want you to note something else from the text. Jesus is crucified at Golgotha, which means “place of the Skull.” “The very name of which has gruesome connotations. It may have received its identity on account of the shape of the hill or rock spur on which crucifixions were held. It was the nature of this form of Roman execution that it be held in a public place to ensure maximum traffic and, therefore, maximum deterrent value for people subject to foreign rule.”[2] Here is another picture worth a million words. You have to go back to almost the beginning of the Scriptures to find the possible metaphor. Let me try and set it up for you. Who are the main players here at the cross? Think first before you answer too quickly because they may not be who you first think. It’s not the Romans or the religious leaders or the disciples or the crowd. It’s not Simon the Cyrene who carries Jesus’ cross for Him nor is it really the two criminals. You’re right if you said Jesus was one of the two primary players in the events of the cross. Still not sure who the other one is? Let me give you the relevant Scripture as the clue:

“So the LORD God said to the serpent, ‘Because you have done this, cursed are you above all the livestock and all the wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel (Gen 3:14-15).’”

            Do you see how the prophecy is fulfilled at Jesus’ crucifixion? Although Jesus dies on the cross (“strike his heal”), we know that death could not hold him and Satan was, in fact, defeated (“crush your head”)—the Cross of Christ crushes the Skull of Satan!

³⁴Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

            Imagine for a moment being betrayed by a friend, falsely accused, arrested, condemned by the testimony of false witnesses, nearly beaten to death, and finally sentenced to a death in the most gruesome, painful, and protracted way possible. I know that some of you don’t have to imagine all of these elements because you’re living some of them right now. I know that many of you have experienced some degree of this and after some period of time you’ve been able to forgive and maybe even seek reconciliation. But what was your attitude while you were in the middle of it? Where was your heart and mind? Was your primary goal one of self-preservation? Were you trying to figure out how you could shift blame? Were you too frightened or grief stricken to think about anything? Were you blind with rage and already devising a plan for retribution? Could anyone really blame you for having any or all of these thoughts and emotions? But that wasn’t Jesus’ way. Like pretty much everything Jesus does, we are just left shaking our heads in amazement when Jesus asks the Father to forgive His persecutors for their ignorance. And not only for their ignorance, but for their insolence as well while they basically rolled dice at the foot of His cross to see who won the honors of keeping the clothes He left behind. I don’t think there is a clearer illustration of the difference between Jesus and the rest of us—or maybe I should say it is the biggest difference between Jesus and me. I think on my best day I could probably muster up the courage to be ambivalent toward those who hurt me and I could probably build up the courage to forgive them after some period of time had passed but I know myself well enough to know that forgiveness probably wouldn’t be my first, let alone my immediate, reaction to an offense. I’m working on that because that’s exactly who Jesus was according to v. 34. Jesus’ first and immediate reaction to the horrific events leading up to and including His crucifixion was to pray for forgiveness for His persecutors.

            Does this tell us something that Jesus did or does it tell us something about who Jesus is? The answer is that Jesus did it then and He does it now according to Paul when he wrote that “Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us (Rom 8:34b).” Jesus was then and is now an outspoken advocate for the sinner. Jesus’ primary mission then and now is the same—the reconciliation between God and humanity. “Despite the precedent of Old Testament prayers for vengeance, Jesus prays that God will forgive his persecutors. Those who were executed were supposed to say, ‘May my death atone for all my sins”; but Jesus confesses instead the sin of those who falsely convicted him, who under Old Testament law were liable for his penalty before God.”[3]

³⁵The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” ³⁶The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar ³⁷and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. ³⁸There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the Jews.”

            Funny how a mob gives people courage to do and say what they wouldn’t do or say by themselves. Well the mob was fueled and ready to go with front row seats to witness their devious handiwork play itself out. No doubt there were at least a few people who were there who grieved the events, but Luke focuses our attention in vv. 35-38 on those who seemed at best ambivalent and at worst applauded the gruesome spectacle. The “people” stood and watched. The religious “rulers” sneered at him. The Roman “soldiers” mocked him. There’s something else that happens when there is a mob, the minority, for the most part are silenced. Do you notice a group of people who are largely absent during these events? That’s right the disciples! They scattered when Jesus was first arrested and went into hiding and we won’t hear from them for three days. I’m sure it wasn’t Luke’s intent but he manages to illustrate how people seem to relate to Jesus. The “people” who are essentially spectators—Believers when it benefited them and unbelievers when it became inconvenient. The religious “rulers” who were hypocrites—Witnesses to the presence of God while blind to His presence. The Roman “soldiers” who were selfish and self-centered—Unbelievers with no room for belief in God because life is either about making it or taking it for yourself. Only the weak look to God for help. The “disciples” are a work-in-progress—Believers who don’t always know what it means to be a faithful “follower” of Jesus Christ.

            None of those present understood Jesus’ mission. They mocked Jesus’ seeming inability to “save Himself.” The religious leaders could never accept that the Christ; the Chosen One of God would allow Himself to be put to death. They constructed a theology of God and Jesus didn’t fit that construct. The Romans simply thought it was a joke that some homeless Jew would consider Himself to the divine Son of God. They demonstrated their mockery by taunting Him to “save Himself” and offering Him vinegar to drink. The final insult was put in writing on a plaque the read, “THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS” and placed on the cross over His head. The irony that this picture paints is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Jesus’ mission was never to “save Himself,” it was to be the sacrifice that would save others and that salvation couldn’t be accomplished by anyone other than the divine KING as the sign above His head correctly labeled Him. “Pilate had authorized a placard to be placed above Jesus’ head to describe his crime. Jesus’ crime was claiming to be king of the Jews. Again, this had both a religious and a political dimension. This mocking placard, however, proclaimed eternal truth for those who would listen. Jesus is truly the king of the Jews, the promised Messiah, and as such is the only hope for the world. Those who would be part of an eternal kingdom must believe on him as their king.”[4]

³⁹One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” ⁴⁰But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? ⁴¹We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

            Luke now turns our attention back to the two criminals in vv. 39-41. Lost in the indifference of the people, the arrogance of the religious leaders and the insolence of the Roman soldiers, are the two criminals sentenced to be crucified alongside Jesus. We now come face-to-face with both of them. The text doesn’t tell us what they were convicted of but the Greek word that translates as “criminal” is an accurate translation but can also be translated as “good-for-nothing’s” or “evildoers.” “Good-for-nothing” is a painful reminder to me because it’s one of the things my dad used to call me whenever I made a mistake. I wasn’t a criminal but I wasn’t valuable in his eyes either. The two men who were crucified with Jesus were “criminals” and probably even “evildoers.” But who determines their value? The screaming majority? The governing authorities? The religious leaders? None of those! They may be rejected by the majority. They may be sentenced as criminals by the governing authorities. They may be condemned as evildoers by the religious leaders. But humanity’s true value can only be determined by God!

            The dichotomy of humanity’s relationship to God is on full display in the two criminals. One is defiant and presumes upon Jesus to save Himself and to save them. He joins the religious leaders and the soldiers in mocking Jesus. Keep in mind that at this point all three have been nailed to their respective crosses yet this one criminal is still defiant. The other criminal, however, displays the complete opposite attitude. Unlike the defiant criminal, he knows that he has reached the end of the line. There’s no use pretending; no use lying to himself or anyone else; no use putting up a defense. He knows that they are guilty of the charges against them and that Jesus is innocent of the charges against Him. He knows that they deserve what’s coming to them but Jesus doesn’t deserve what’s coming to Him. One relates to Jesus with a heart of defiance and the other relates to Jesus with a heart of surrender. One seeks to be rescued from his earthly death sentence while the other seeks to be rescued from his eternal death sentence. I recently told a friend that people react in one of two ways when they are confronted by Jesus (in our case, the “Jesus” that people see in us)—they either turn toward Him and are transformed by His saving grace or they turn away from Him and instead embrace the sin that entangles them.

            “The irony of this situation is not lost on the second criminal, who rebukes the first just as Jesus had rebuked the evil spirits (e.g., [Lk] 4:35, 41). The mistake of the first is threefold: (1) Rather than fearing God, he maligns God’s instrument of salvation. (2) He assumes Jesus is guilty when, in fact, he is innocent. (3) In his sarcasm, he fails to recognize that this Suffering Righteous One will be delivered not from but through death, and that he will continue to exercise his role as Savior. What is more, in admitting his own guilt, the second criminal distances himself from Jesus (as had Peter in [Lk] 5:8 [when he said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!”]), thus presenting himself, according to the Lukan calculus, as a candidate for divine beneficence.”[5]

⁴²Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” ⁴³Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

            Think about the monumental events taking place on this day within both the earthly and the spiritual realm of creation. There is a war taking place between the “have’s” and the “have not’s” in the earthly realm and between “good” and “evil” in the spiritual realm. However, all this appears to be pushed to the background leaving Jesus and the repentant criminal on center stage in vv. 42-43. Those who spent virtually every day with Jesus for the tree years before this day saw in Jesus’ crucifixion the end of a hoped-for earthly kingdom. But this lone criminal saw in Jesus the hope for the coming eternal Kingdom. Jesus’ mission was the same from the beginning of His ministry to the end—to seek and save that which was lost (Lk 19:10). Jesus’ heart wasn’t filled with anger and hatred, it was filled with mercy and grace. Mercy doesn’t give us what we deserve—punishment and eternal death. Grace gives us what we don’t deserve—forgiveness and eternal life. And all this just for the asking. The criminal has confessed his sin; his shortcoming, and now he is asking Jesus to forgive him; to save him. The criminal had nothing to offer and his time was nearing its end. All he had left was to ask Jesus for help—not to preserve his earthly life but to preserve his eternal soul. All it took was three simple words—“Jesus, remember me” and by grace he went from being separated from God to being able to spend eternity in paradise with Him. “The dying criminal had more faith than all the rest of Jesus’ followers put together. By all appearances, the Kingdom was finished. How awe inspiring is the faith of this man who alone saw beyond the present shame to the coming glory!”[6]

Application

            In about a month, those of us who have likewise looked beyond our present shame to the coming glory will be celebrating the event that takes place three days after out Subject Text—the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Jesus is always the object of our affection and on Resurrection day He stands alone as the primary focus of our attention. However, for the last few days, I’ve been thinking about the repentant criminal from our Subject Text. We don’t really know much about him, not even what he did to deserve death. We don’t even know his name. I’m sure he had one. I’m also sure he had a mother and father. We don’t know much about them either. We assume all those who were present were there to witness Jesus being crucified. I wonder though if anyone from the criminal’s family might have been there; maybe his father or his mother. What if they were there watching the events unfold before their eyes? What if he were your son, or husband, or brother, or uncle, or neighbor, or friend? You’ve tried everything possible to point him to God but God always seemed like a kill-joy and sin was so much more fun. So for years you’ve been praying for him to repent and seek God but nothing seemed to change. It’s as if God didn’t care because He didn’t appear to be doing anything. And now the fun of sin has caught up to your son or husband or brother and he’s been sentenced to death. You spent years pointing him toward God without success. You spent years praying for him to turn to God without success. Now, the end is at hand and it’s too late with death lurking just a few short hours away. All that you can hear echoing in your head is, “It’s too late! I’m never going to see him again!” At that moment, you would trade places with him to give him more time because you know where you’re going but you need for him to have more time; another chance; a second chance; a thousandth chance to repent and give his life to God so you could have the chance to see him again one day. But you can’t so all you have left is to despair the senseless loss.

Suddenly, through all the shouting, crying and wailing you hear a familiar voice; the voice of your son, your husband, your brother, your uncle, your neighbor, your friend. He’s saying something to the other criminal that has also been sentenced to death but you can’t quite make it out so you push your way to the front of the crowd so you can be closer and just when you get to the front, you see him look over at Jesus and you’re able to hear the three words that will give you the strength to endure life beyond this day. You hear him say, “Jesus, remember me.” Just when everything seems lost; just when everything seems darkest; just when everything seems hopeless, at that moment the power of Jesus is strongest. Until a person draws his or her last breath, It’s Never Too Late for Jesus’ saving grace.

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[1] Darrell L. Bock, Luke—The NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1996), p. 598.

[2] Joel B. Green, Luke—The New International Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), p. 819.

[3] Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary—New Testament, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), p. 254.

[4] Trent C. Butler, Luke—Holman New Testament Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2000), p. 394.

[5] Joel B. Green, The Gospel of Luke—The New International Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), p. 822.

[6] Bruce Barton, Philip Comfort, Grant Osborne, Linda K. Taylor, and Dave Veerman, Live Application New Testament Commentary, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), p. 356.

Submit To Authority For Your Own Good

Introduction

            Unless you’ve been in solitary confinement or complete seclusion for the last six to eight months, you’re probably well aware of the shooting of Michael Brown by a police officer that took place in Ferguson, Missouri. However, since not all of you reside here in America, I’ll give you a very brief synopsis of what happened. Michael Brown had just left a convenience store where he had stolen some cigars and assaulted the store owner. He and his friend were walking down the middle of the street when a police officer ordered them to move to the sidewalk. At this particular point, the police officer was unaware that Brown had just committed burglary and assault. However, it would seem that Brown didn’t realize that the officer didn’t know that. Had Brown obeyed the officer’s instructions and moved to the sidewalk, all the events that followed would have been avoided. Instead, Brown refused to submit to the officer’s commands and instead assaulted the officer while trying to take the officer’s weapon. Ultimately, the officer drew his weapon and killed Michael Brown. What ensued was mass chaos as family and friends somehow managed to concoct a story that Brown was being obedient and was shot while submitting to the officers commands. Agitators and race-baiters took advantage of the fact that the police officer was white and Michael Brown was black. Soon, the lie that was concocted about Brown spread like wildfire and riots broke out in Ferguson and other cities in America demanding that white police officers stop shooting “innocent” black people like Michael Brown.

            This past week, the federal government’s Department of Justice issued their findings on the shooting and the evidence proved that Michael Brown did not surrender to the police officer and that the officer was justified in shooting Brown because he was a threat. Nevertheless, more rioting erupted at the Justice Department’s findings and two police officers were shot by an unknown assailant. In response, Franklin Graham, son of the famed evangelist Billy Graham, talked about the need for submission to governing authorities and how all this could have been avoided if people would learn to respect the authority that has been placed over them. You could say that only Christians understand this because it is a specifically biblical teaching but the riots in Ferguson prove otherwise. Let me explain. Except for the few who concocted the lie that Brown was killed by the police officer even while he was surrendering, most people actually believed Brown was killed for no reason. Consequently, they were outraged and should have been had it been true. Their actions demonstrate the inherent belief that those who are placed in authority over us are supposed to be there for our good not to use their authority to harm us. Their actions, albeit misguided by deceit, demonstrate the inherent belief that we were always meant to Submit To Authority For Our Own Good and it is sin that causes us to rebel against that authority just as it is sin that causes those in authority to oppress those who are given to their care. So what is our duty with respect to those who are in authority over us given that some of them may abuse that authority? The Bible is very clear that we must Submit To Authority For Our Own Good.

Subject Text

Romans 13:1-7

            ¹Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ²Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. ³For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. ⁴For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. ⁵Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience. ⁶This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

Context

            Paul wrote this letter to the Church in Rome where he planned to visit on his way to Spain after he first delivered a collection to the poor and beleaguered Christians in Jerusalem. Paul’s letter to the Romans is often considered one of his greatest treatises on sin, salvation, and the ongoing life of the believer. I don’t want you to miss the spectacular irony of Paul’s letter to the Church in Rome especially with respect to our Subject Text. Remember that Israel was conquered and under the control and rule of Rome. Keep in mind that Jesus was arrested by Roman guards. He was brutally beaten by Roman guards. Jesus was taunted and ridiculed by Roman guards. Remember that it was Roman guards who nailed Jesus to the cross, a prized instrument of torture and death used by the Roman authorities. And Paul wouldn’t escape Rome’s attention either. Paul wrote his letter to the Church in Rome in 57 AD as an evangelist who moved freely between the various churches he helped to plant during his various missionary journeys. However, just four years after he wrote this letter, he spent 2 years as a prisoner in a Roman jail for preaching the Gospel. And although he was eventually released and continued the missionary and pastoral duties to which he was called, in or around 67 AD he was back in a Roman prison for preaching the Gospel and this time he would be executed by the Roman authorities. Consider the irony of Jesus’ death and Paul’s death and add to them the martyrdom of all the disciples except John, who was exiled for life to isle of Patmos, and remember that all these injustices where carried out under the authority of Rome. Nevertheless, Paul’s letter to the Church in Rome continued to be circulated to all the various churches and was eventually handed down to us as part of our Bible. And given the fate of all the ministers of the Gospel and that of our Lord Himself, Paul’s instruction remains the same as it did when he first gave it, Submit To Authority For Your Own Good.

Text Analysis

¹Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.

            Paul wastes no time getting to his point in v. 1. But before we go any farther, I want you to pay close attention to the very first thing Paul says. It is true that Paul is writing to the believers in Rome. However, if his instruction were aimed exclusively at believers, it would make more sense if Paul had instead said, “You must submit yourselves to the governing authorities….” However, Paul says that “everyone” must submit to the governing authorities. This makes perfect sense considering Paul’s instruction that all governing authority has been established by God. I want you to notice something else in Paul’s instruction. I want you to notice something that isn’t there. Nowhere does it say that we are only to submit to governing authorities who recognize our Christian faith or governing authorities who themselves recognize that they are under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Can you see how Paul’s instruction could be offensive to believers and unbelievers alike? Unbelievers reject the idea of authority established by God because they reject God and believers reject the idea of authority that refuses to recognize its divine appointment. This seems like an ingredient for disaster in our modern culture. However, it was no different for Paul. You have to remember that Paul is writing to the Church in a culture that was governed by unbelievers. Not only was Rome, during Paul’s day, unchristian in belief and practice, they actively persecuted Christians. So how is it possible to believe that God ordained Rome as the governing authority over His people? Unfortunately, I can’t give you a comprehensive answer to that question but I can pull back the curtain a little so that we can perhaps get a glimpse of God’s divine purpose behind allowing Rome to rule a significant portion of the region during Paul’s day.

             We know based on Paul’s various letters that he traveled to many cities within the Roman Empire. However, when we read about Paul’s missionary journeys we take for granted the method of transportation because we don’t really think much about getting from point “A” to point “B” because traveling large distances is relatively easy in our modern culture. However, travel during the 1^st century wasn’t nearly as easy as it is today. Travelers went from place to place on foot or as part of a wagon caravan or riding horses or donkeys. And here’s where God’s providence comes into play. Rome was responsible for connecting its empire with a sophisticated road and highway system. In fact, by the early 2^nd century Rome had constructed 50,000 miles of hard-surface roadways from Britain in the west to the Tigris-Euphrates river system in the east and the Danube river in the north to Spain and northern Africa in the south. Some of the roads are in use even to this day. The influence and notoriety of the roadway system has reached even as far as a small town located right here in Colorado adjacent my hometown that I travel on a regular basis named Via Appia which was the name of the largest Roman highway in Paul’s day. God had a very specific purpose behind the divine appointment of Rome as the governing authority during the time of Paul. “The Roman road system made possible Roman conquest and administration and later provided highways for the great migrations into the empire and a means for the diffusion of Christianity. Despite deterioration from neglect, it continued to serve Europe throughout the Middle Ages, and many fragments of the system survive today.”[1] What we see, from our finite perspective, is a governing authority that was hostile toward Jesus Christ specifically and after His execution toward Christianity generally. However, from God’s perspective, Rome literally paved the way for the massive expansion of the message of Jesus Christ by means of their very own transportation routes.

            Opposition or rebellion to Rome’s rule didn’t appear to serve a purpose as part of God’s plan because rebellion in any of the regions of the Roman Empire was quickly silenced. If God wanted an end to Roman rule in the 1^st century AD, He would have orchestrated events to accomplish that objective as He eventually did by the end of the 5^th century AD. Instead, God’s plan necessitated Rome’s rule during the 1^st century AD and Rome was well equipped to maintain that rule. “The ethos of Roman government placed a high value on maintaining order and promoting the value of submissiveness to authority, and consequently Roman authorities showed a distinct impatience with resistance and insurgents. Crucifixion proved a valuable and much-used tool to communicate these values to the Judean population.”[2]

²Consequently, he who rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.

            It follows that if God has ordained the rule of a governing authority, then according to v. 2 when we rebel against the governing authority, we rebel against God. This is the part that is so difficult for many of us as believers when we witness some of the ungodly practices of those who are in authority over us. However, just as we have a duty to submit to those who are in authority over us, those who have been appointed to govern us have a duty to rule in accordance with God’s divine instruction and guidance. Nevertheless, the failure of the government to rule according to God’s divine instruction and guidance does not preclude the rest of us from submitting to the authority of their rule. “Are there times when we should not submit to the government? Paul does not address this question here, but other passages of Scripture give guidelines and examples. The government can demand respect, obedience, taxes, and honor from its citizens inasmuch as God appoints governments to protect people. When a government demands allegiance that conflicts with a believer’s loyalty to God, Christians must respond in a different way. Believers should never allow the government to force them to disobey God. Jesus and his apostles never disobeyed the government for personal reasons; when they disobeyed, they were following their higher loyalty to God (Acts 5:29). Their disobedience was not cheap; they were threatened, beaten, thrown in jail, tortured, and executed for their convictions. If we are compelled to disobey, we must be ready to accept the consequences.”[3]

            Let me try and give you an example of what this looks like. Many people oppose the government here in America because it supports and endorses so many unbiblical practices such as abortion and same-sex marriages. However, regardless of how detestable and unbiblical these practices are, Christians are not required to engage in either of them even if their tax dollars go toward funding their advancement. Here, however, is where we are permitted to disobey the governing authorities: In America, the state has attempted to compel some Christian business owners and pastors to service and support same-sex wedding ceremonies. Christian businesses who have refused to cater same-sex weddings have faced the loss of their businesses and pastors who have refused to perform same-sex weddings have faced the loss of their freedom. In more extreme cases elsewhere in the world, especially in countries like Iran or Saudi Arabia or North Korea or some regions of China, Christianity is forbidden by the governing authority. Clearly, God did not give government the authority to make belief in Jesus Christ unlawful. Consequently, this is a case when the Christian must be prepared to follow a higher loyalty to God (Acts 5:29).

³For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and he will commend you. ⁴For he is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He is God’s servant, an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.

            If you drive a car, you’re probably aware of that sinking feeling when you look into your rearview mirror and see those flashing blue lights behind you. For some of you, just the thought of that makes your palms sweat because you know that feeling. Your mind begins to race as you immediately look down at your speedometer to check your speed and then try to remember what the speed limit was along the road you are traveling. Then you try and retrace your path to see what you might have done wrong to give the authorities reason to stop you. I grew up with a very healthy respect for authority largely because I was terrified of my father who was a strict and even brutal authoritarian. I have raised my own children to be very respectful of authority. In fact, I still remember the hysterical phone call I received from each of them the first time they got pulled over for a traffic violation. They were both shaken, and rightly so, by the experience. Not because the police officers who stopped them were brutal or unkind in any way but because they got caught doing something wrong and I hope they never lose that feeling. This is what Paul is referring to in v. 3-4. We are usually free to go about our daily lives without worry as long as we abide by the laws that govern us. However, we should be rightfully apprehensive when our actions contravene those laws because God has appointed the governing authorities to stop us from doing so—by deadly force if necessary. It should go without saying that if we reject the authority of those who God has ordained to govern us then we do so to our own peril as Michael Brown learned in Ferguson, Missouri when he rejected the authority of the police officer who confronted him and eventually killed him. Michael Brown had no reason to fear the police officer that shot him except he had just robbed a convenience store and assaulted the owner of that store. “Fear, in this context, is not a terror inspired by the unjust use of power by the state. Paul emphasizes that those who do what is good have no reason to fear, and conversely those who practice evil receive the penalties inflicted by civil rulers. Indeed, those who do good will be free from fear since the government will praise those who practice goodness. The judgment exercised by the state, then, occurs in history, but it should not be separated in an absolute way from God’s judgment since the ruling authority is designated as ‘God’s servant’ and…’ministers of God.’ The judgment of the state against evildoers in history anticipates the eschatological judgment of God at the end of history…Such descriptions indicate that the state is carrying out a function appointed by God, and thus it mediates God’s judgment in history. Although that judgment is provisional and earthly and cannot be identified absolutely with the eschatological judgment, those who are judged by the state for evildoing in the present will also experience the full fury of God’s judgment on the last day if they do not repent.”[4]

⁵Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also because of conscience.

            It is well known that fear is a poor motivator because it constantly has to be renewed and reinforced in order to be effective. Conscience, however, is another matter. Our actions are ultimately a direct reflection or the state of our conscience. In the chapter leading up to our Subject Text, Paul provides a discourse on the Christian duty to love. A conscience that is bathed in love is sensitive to what is right and wrong. A conscience that is accustomed to love understands submission in terms of putting others’ needs first. Conversely, a conscience seared by sin is not motivated by fear and certainly isn’t motivated by love. No doubt there are some people who are law-abiding citizens because they fear the consequences of breaking the law. However, I firmly believe that most citizens are law-abiding because their conscience would be in a constant state of unrest otherwise. Paul is making an appeal in v. 5 to the more base emotion of fear but also to something deeper and far more powerful—the human conscience that was originally created with an inherent sense of the difference between right and wrong. “The conscience is only part of our moral make-up. Its work is largely negative. As the pain we feel when we do something wrong, it acts like a red warning light. It serves as a sort of moral double-check on our actions. It operates largely on the basis of experience. It needs to be educated and carefully tended. But as such, it is very important. When we speak of conscience in English, our meaning often seems to oscillate between conscience in the narrow sense as pain, or the instrument which makes us feel pain, when we transgress the moral law, and the wider sense of moral consciousness. The latter involves the whole person, viewed as a responsible moral being. It is not just a pain which works retrospectively in the light of past actions and which by extension might enable us to forecast what future actions might cause us pain. It includes the power of discernment and rational reflection which enables the mind to analyse [sp] situations and actions, to discern moral values and principles, the capacity to hear and apply the Word of God to our lives, and also conscience in the narrower sense.”[5]

⁶This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. ⁷Give everyone what you owe him: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.

            No one wants to hear what Paul has to say in vv. 6-7. I think paying taxes is a point of contention for people in every culture and in every age and that seems to include the people of the 1^st century Roman Empire. Every organized culture has required some type of taxation or tribute in order to fund the administration of that culture. The Jews hated the fact that they had to pay taxes to Rome. In fact, they tried to trap Jesus by asking Him if it was right for them to pay taxes. They thought they had trapped Jesus in a no-win situation. However, Jesus asked to see one of the coins used for their currency. He then asked those who had gathered whose image was on the coin to which they replied that it was Caesar, the emperor of Rome. Jesus shocked those in attendance when He said that they were to give back to Caesar what is his and give to God what is His (Mt 22:15-22). Why is Jesus’ instruction significant? Because Caesar wasn’t just the head of the Empire, he was considered a god. It’s difficult to ascertain the Jews’ true objection to paying taxes to Rome but it may have had something to do with the idea that in their minds, paying taxes to Caesar dishonored God because Caesar considered himself to be divine. Or perhaps they didn’t want to part with their wealth. Maybe it was some of both. Nevertheless, even Jesus knew that an ordered society required an organized administration and that administration required funds to maintain that ordered society. This wasn’t a foreign concept to the Jews—especially to the religious leaders and keepers of the Law. They readily collected the temple tax and other offerings according to the scriptures in order to maintain the continued and orderly function of the temple as the center of Israel’s religious life. Additionally, all their needs were supplied through those collections so they understood that an administration of any kind couldn’t function without the support of the people given to its care. It was no different for the Roman government.

“Part of what it means to submit to the authorities is to pay taxes. Believers are to carry out this particular civil obligation because those who levy taxes are servants of God. They devote their time and energies to governing. They are ‘God’s servants’ in the sense that it is God who has granted them the authority with which they secure and maintain civil order. Believers are under obligation to those in authority in government. They are to pay taxes where taxes are due…They are to respect and honor governing authorities, ‘not because they are powerful and influential men, but because they have been appointed by God.’”[6] This is why elections in countries where that is possible carry so much responsibility in the life of believers. If we have a duty to pay taxes then we had best understand how those we elect intend to use those tax dollars. For example, any candidate that supports any public policy that specifically contradicts biblical principles must not be considered a worthy candidate by Christians who have the right to choose their government representatives. For example, any candidate who supports murdering unborn children (aka abortion) must not be considered by Christians as an acceptable candidate for any government position. Specifically, if Christians play a part in electing government officials who hold and advance policy positions that are unbiblical then those Christians who played a role in electing them will be indirectly condoning and directly complicit in unbiblical practices through the use of their tax payments. In other words if you, as a Christian, participated in electing someone who endorses killing unborn babies regardless of what politically correct euphemism is used to describe or camouflage the practice then you, in all practicality, endorse the practice as well, regardless of what you say. Does it really matter that you say you oppose abortion if you willingly pay someone else to do it? Let me ask it a different way: Do you think God cares that you say you oppose abortion if you give money to someone else to support the abortion industry? Do you think that God cares that instead of calling it abortion you call it “a woman’s right to chose?” I’m pretty sure God is smart enough to figure out that if the end result is a dead baby you can call it whatever you want and He’s not going to approve of it and neither should you!

            For those of you live in countries with non-democratically elected governments, you may perhaps have fewer freedoms and choices but you are also far less complicit in the unbiblical practices of the governing authority that rules over you. Nevertheless, regardless of the type of government authority that rules over your life, we are all required to pay taxes whether we approve of how those tax dollars are used or not.

Application

            A few months after Michael Brown was shot and killed in Ferguson, Missouri two police officers were assassinated in New York while they were sitting in their patrol car. The person who murdered the two officers then killed himself. He left behind a note that claimed the police were the real criminals in our society and were really the ones who deserved to die not “innocent” people like Michael Brown. I want you to think about that carefully. The moment criminals are considered innocent and police officers are considered criminals, with all evidence to the contrary, civilized society is at a tipping point of falling into anarchy. Anarchy by its very nature is defined by disorder, which is completely at odds with a God of order. If Michael Brown had simply done what the police officer asked him to do, he would be alive today; he might be in jail but he wouldn’t be dead. The police officer was doing his job as a public servant and Michael Brown would still be alive had he learned the lesson that you must Submit To Authority For Your Own Good.

            Most of you don’t know this story but before I got married, I wanted to become a police officer. In fact, six months before I asked Laura, who is now my wife, to marry me, I was accepted to the Houston Police Academy. Laura wasn’t overly fond of the idea of being married to a police officer in a city with the highest police officer mortality rate in the nation at that time. So I declined the offer and married Laura instead—in hindsight it was a wise choice. Nevertheless, there was something about caring for and serving those in the community that attracted me to the field of law enforcement. Perhaps it is also what has drawn me now to be a pastor—to care for and serve those in the community. I don’t think it is an accident that governing authorities and pastors are both considered “servants of God.”

            For those of you who are my age or older, you’re probably fairly familiar with Paul Harvey. Harvey was considered a virtual icon in the radio broadcast business from the 1960s through the 1980s. He was a clever wordsmith and his storytelling entertained millions for many years. His stories, however clever and entertaining they may have been, were formed from real life, personal experiences. One of those stories was born out a traumatic experience that involved his father who was a policeman that was killed in the line of duty in 1921 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. I want to share one particular story he prepared for one of his programs in 1970. It is call What Are Policemen Made Of?

            “What is a policeman made of? He, of all men, is once the most needed and the most unwanted. He’s a strangely nameless creature who is “sir” to his face and “fuzz” to his back. He must be such a diplomat that he can settle differences between individuals so that each will think he won. But . . . if the policeman is neat, he’s conceited; if he’s careless, he’s a bum. If he’s pleasant, he’s flirting; if not, he’s a grouch. He must make an instant decision which would require months for a lawyer to make. But . . . if he hurries, he’s careless; if he’s deliberate, he’s lazy. He must be first to an accident and infallible with his diagnosis. He must be able to start breathing, stop bleeding, tie splints and, above all, be sure the victim goes home without a limp. Or expect to be sued. The police officer must know every gun, draw on the run, and hit where it doesn’t hurt. He must be able to whip two men twice his size and half his age without damaging his uniform and without being “brutal.” If you hit him, he’s a coward. If he hits you, he’s a bully. A policeman must know everything—and not tell. He must know where all the sin is and not partake. A policeman must, from a single strand of hair, be able to describe the crime, the weapon and the criminal—and tell you where the criminal is hiding. But...if he catches the criminal, he’s lucky; if he doesn’t, he’s a dunce. If he gets promoted, he has political pull; if he doesn’t, he’s a dullard. The policeman must chase a bum lead to a dead-end, stake out ten nights to tag one witness who saw it happen—but refused to remember. The policeman must be a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy and a gentleman. And, of course, he’d have to be genius . . . for he will have to feed a family on a policeman’s salary.”[7]

When Harvey describes a policeman as “a minister, a social worker, a diplomat, a tough guy and a gentleman,” is there any doubt that he is describing a servant of God? It sure sounds like it to me and I think I’m probably qualified to make that assessment given the responsibilities of my own calling.

            The word “submit” is practically a dirty word at least here in the west. Children struggle to submit to the authority of their parents, wives struggle to submit to the authority of their husbands, and husbands struggle to submit to the authority of the Scriptures. And the struggle doesn’t end in our homes. Employees struggle to submit to the authority of their employer, students struggle to submit to the authority of their teacher, congregants struggle to submit to the authority of their church leader, and citizens struggle to submit to the authority of their government. However, submission is the model that Jesus demonstrated during His earthly ministry. In fact, Paul, in his letter to the Church in Philippi, said that Jesus, in complete obedience, submitted Himself to God’s plan of salvation and gave up His heavenly throne, became a man and allowed Himself to be put to death (Phil 2:1-11). With Christ as your model for submission, you must be committed to the biblical command to Submit To Authority For Your Own Good.

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[1] “Roman Road System,” Encyclopaedia Britannica, last updated December 4, 2014, accessed March 15, 2015, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/508316/Roman-road-system.

[2] David A. deSilva, An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods & Ministry Formation, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2004), p. 69.

[3] Bruce Barton, Philip Comfort, Grant Osborne, Linda K. Taylor, and Dave Veerman, Life Application New Testament Commentary, (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), pp. 626-627.

[4] Thomas R. Schreiner, Romans—Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1998), pp. 683-684.

[5] Colin Brown, gen. ed., New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, Vol. 1, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1986), pp. 352-353.

[6] Robert H. Mounce, Romans—The New American Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 1995), p. 245.

[7] Stephen Mansfield & David A. Holland, Paul Harvey’s America, (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2009), pp. 5-6.