A Perspective From Inside The Fish

(Audio version; Music: "Big Fish" by FFH & "Something In The Water" by Carrie Underwood)

Introduction

            I had a wonderful conversation this week with an amazing young friend. We talked about the complexities of doing life and how God’s plan for being in relationship with Him and with others is so much better than our own plans. Nevertheless, we are constantly trying out our own plan to see if there is a possibility that it might somehow be better. We laughed at the idea that created beings constantly think their plan for doing life is better than the plan of the Creator of life. But I know that I’m not immune to thinking that my way might be better even though I know deep down that refusing to be fully obedient to God always ends badly for me and those around me. God has a specific plan for the way humanity is intended to be in relationship with him and with others and He expects all of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus Christ to advance that plan for ourselves in personal devotion to Him and service to others; for other believers through encouragement to persevere and discipleship to greater faithfulness; but especially for those who do not yet believe in Him through the preaching of the Gospel. When faithful followers of Jesus Christ neglect their call to advance God’s plan of relationship for humanity, something is bound to go wrong; someone is bound to get hurt. The consequences of our disobedience are what we would really like to avoid. We’d like to try our way when we don’t like God’s way and when our way doesn’t work, we’d like to jump back to God’s way as though nothing happened. But it doesn’t work that way. If it did, we’d constantly revert to trying to do things our way and then jump back to God’s way when our way burns to the ground. The only problem is that when our way burns to the ground, someone else burns to the ground along with our way and God won’t stand for that. Therefore, in order to get our attention, God allows something into our life to reorient us toward His plan for relationship. It’s usually very painful and can push us to the point of desperation. However, it usually serves its intended purpose of shaking us awake to the truth that we are off course and need to make some changes in the way we think and act.

            We see this pattern play out in the life of Jonah. Jonah was fully committed to following God and doing things God’s way. That is until he didn’t like something God asked him to do and then Jonah seemed to think that his way of doing things was better than God’s way of doing things. The only problems was that Jonah’s way was going to leave an entire nation separated from relationship with God and God wouldn’t stand for that. So God sent something to shake Jonah awake—a violent storm and a big fish. The disobedience to God’s plan and a violent storm put Jonah on a collision course with a big fish. The reality of Jonah’s disobedience came to life in the belly of a fish God sent to reorient Jonah back toward His perfect plan. For Jonah, life quickly went from snubbing his nose at God’s plan and doing life his way to sitting in the dark belly of a fish; cold, wet, scared and no doubt wondering what just happened. Jonah learned the hard way that God’s way is the only way and now that God has his attention, Jonah gives us A Perspective From Inside The Fish.

Subject Text

Jonah 2:1-10

            ¹From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. ²He said: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. ³You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. ⁴I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’ ⁵The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. ⁶To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God. ⁷When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple. ⁸Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. ⁹But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.” ¹⁰And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

Context

            Jonah prophesied during the reign of Israel’s king Jeroboam II between 793-753 BC. God wanted Jonah to go to the city of Nineveh to preach against its sinful behavior. No small matter when you realize that Nineveh was the capital of the mighty Assyrian Empire. The Assyrian Empire was not to be trifled with. Their brutality in war was renown. The Assyrians weren’t just proficient in physical warfare, they were proficient in psychological warfare as well. They used sheer brutality to intimidate their opponents. The Assyrians were not just guilty of gratuitous cruelty in war, they were also guilty of exploiting the helpless, idolatry, prostitution, and witchcraft. And this is where God wanted Jonah to go and preach the message of repentance for their sinful lives. So what did Jonah do, he started running in the opposite direction. Jonah boarded a ship headed for Tarshish but God had a plan for Jonah and running away to Tarshish wasn’t part of that plan. When the ship Jonah boarded in the port city of Joppa was well out onto the Mediterranean Sea, God sent a violent storm that threatened to destroy the ship and all those on board. The crew took to casting lots to determine who might have been at fault for their unfortunate circumstance. But Jonah didn’t need to cast lots, he knew full well who was at fault. Jonah confessed to the crew that God had a plan that included Jonah but Jonah had his own plan and it didn’t include God. Jonah convinced the crew that unless they threw him overboard, they would all be doomed to a watery grave. Reluctantly, the sailors tossed Jonah into the sea. The first step of reorienting Jonah back toward God’s plan was accomplished and as soon as Jonah hit the water, the sea grew calm. The sailors and the ship were safe. But Jonah was in the middle of the sea with no chance of reaching dry land. God still had a plan for Jonah to go to Nineveh but how would that be accomplished now that Jonah was drowning in the Mediterranean Sea? God would send the answer to that question in the form of a large fish that swallowed Jonah to keep him safe. Strange? Maybe. But that “strange” way is going to reorient Jonah back toward God’s plan. Jonah has stopped running, not just physically but spiritually as well, and he’s ready to do what God expected him to do from the start. Jonah thought his plan was better than God’s plan but I’m pretty sure Jonah’s plan didn’t include a violent storm or a big fish so now Jonah is ready to give us A Perspective From Inside The Fish.

Text Analysis

¹From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the LORD his God. ²He said: “In my distress I called to the LORD, and he answered me. From the depths of the grave I called for help, and you listened to my cry. ³You hurled me into the deep, into the very heart of the seas, and the currents swirled about me; all your waves and breakers swept over me. ⁴I said, ‘I have been banished from your sight; yet I will look again toward your holy temple.’

            We pick up our lesson in vv. 1-4 with Jonah praying to God in the belly the fish. How far will God go to get our attention? Well it took dropping Jonah into the middle of the Mediterranean Sea with no rescue in sight. So he prayed—he was trying not to drown. For you it might be a miserable, dead-end job with no prospects of something better, so you pray—you’re trying not to drown. Or maybe you’re married to someone who has lost interest in you. But you’re committed to being faithful to your vow of “until death do you part” so you’re only choice is to pray—you’re trying not to drown. You could be a student trying to succeed but no matter how hard you work or how much you study, you never feel prepared and your grades don’t reflect your hard work. You’re always tired, stressed out, and anxious but failure isn’t an option; it’s not in you to quit so you pray—you’re trying not to drown.

            Do you ever wonder what God wants to hear from us? Is it, “God I believe in you?” Maybe. Is it, “God I love you?” Maybe. But there’s something very important missing in both of these statements. Neither of these statements acknowledge that God’s way is the only way. As important as both of these statements are in our relationship to God, there’s one thing I think God wants to hear more than anything else—“Help!” In that one word, we convey something very important about God: God is sovereign. God is all-powerful. God is all-knowing. God’s way isn’t just a better way or even the best way—it is the only way. Jonah’s reference to the grave (or Sheol, which is the subterranean realm of the dead) implies that the circumstances of his life represented the end of the line for him and the only thing left for him to do was to make a desperate plea to God for help. Jonah was alone and in trouble tangled in seaweed while fighting the waves and the currents in the middle of the vast Mediterranean Sea. But God heard Jonah’s cry for help and sent a fish to the rescue. And though Jonah is still praying from the belly of the fish, he is safe. Jonah has been restored and looks forward to the opportunity to offer his sincere praises to God. “Jonah’s self-willed flight from Yahweh’s presence in ch. 1 had been ratified by Yahweh’s ‘so be it’ in banishment from life. The alternative to saying to God ‘Thy will be done’ is to hear him say eventually, ‘Your will be done.’ The awful significance of being rejected by God had dawned upon him. Jonah can voice his despair as the prelude to an expression of confidence, for now he is safe. He has the sure prospect of renewed fellowship with God in the sanctuary. This is a new Jonah. He is soon to demonstrate a willing spirit by accepting the commission he formerly had rejected.”[1]

⁵The engulfing waters threatened me, the deep surrounded me; seaweed was wrapped around my head. ⁶To the roots of the mountains I sank down; the earth beneath barred me in forever. But you brought my life up from the pit, O LORD my God. ⁷When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you, LORD, and my prayer rose to you, to your holy temple.

            Jonah adds detail in vv. 5-7 to the gravity of his circumstances prior to being rescued by God. Why does Jonah offer this additional detail? It certainly could have been included in order to highlight Jonah’s dire circumstances. However, you have to remember that Jonah has changed course. Jonah wants everyone to know just how bad life can get when we refuse to live according to God’s plan—we might just pay the price for our disobedience with our lives. However, it is more likely that our disobedience will cost us something else; something even worse than physical death—relational death and spiritual death. This is usually the fallout for attempting to do life according to our plan instead of God’s plan. There’s also something else that happens when Jonah adds more detail to the depth of his despair, it demonstrates the extent of God’s reach. The more dire the circumstances; the more hopeless the circumstances; the more desperate the circumstances; the more we are lost; the more we are helpless; the more confused we are; the more hurt we are; the more pain we are in, the bigger God becomes in our lives and the more likely we are to tell others about the things God has done in our lives. Ask the addict who loved the booze or the drugs more than life itself what it was like to live for the next drink or the next high and then have God reach past their addiction to rescue them. Ask any sinner what it’s like to be gripped by the power of sin and what it’s like to be delivered from sin’s death grip on their lives. Without God’s help, Jonah was doomed. But God still had a plan and Jonah was still part of that plan and now Jonah was properly motivated to fulfill God’s plan—not out of fear of punishment but out of awe for God’s power to save.

            “While it is obvious from a reading of the entire Book of Jonah that the prophet had not reached spiritual maturity, there were some significant advances in his life. This prayer clearly shows him turning back to the Lord…It is accurate to call Jonah an Old Testament prodigal…‘Now the prodigal returns, drawn closer to him than ever before by the cords of redemptive love. Just as dire physical extremity forced the prodigal son [in the story told by Jesus in Luke 15:11-32] to return home in penitence, so Jonah in his last moments thought of the one who alone could help him as Creator and controller of the sea.’”[2]

⁸Those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs. ⁹But I, with a song of thanksgiving, will sacrifice to you. What I have vowed I will make good. Salvation comes from the LORD.”

            We make what seems like an odd transition when we come to vv. 8-9 with a reference to idolatry. There hasn’t really been any mention of idolatry to this point so it seems a little out of place. “Idolatry” in v. 8 is likely a reference to the Assyrians he will eventually go to visit. Jonah reestablishes his commitment to be obedient to God’s call in v. 9 and that means going to preach the message of repentance to the Assyrians who were guilty of idolatry among their many other offenses against God. But I want you to understand Jonah’s reference to idolatry on a more personal level. From a theological perspective, “Idolatry” is valuing something or someone else above God. Which means that one form of idolatry is loving our way of doing things more than we love God’s way of doing things. Ouch! I happen to know this mistake very well. I have often forfeited God’s grace because I loved my way more than I loved His way. But grace has always been God’s way of dealing with humanity. How often have you heard anyone in the Old Testament talk about God’s grace? It’s a common theme of the New Testament but less prevalent in the Old. Nevertheless, it was because of God’s grace that Jonah was commissioned to go to Nineveh to preach the message of repentance in the first place. God could have easily just destroyed the people of Nineveh but His plan was then and still is now, a plan of redemption and salvation not condemnation and destruction.

            Jonah came full circle from being willfully disobedient to God to recommitting his life to be obedient to God. Jonah’s encounter with the raging sea and three days in the belly of a fish is a stark reminder that following our plan leads to death but following God’s plan leads to salvation. What a beautiful illustration of God’s salvation by grace alone. There was absolutely nothing Jonah could do to save himself. All he could do was pray, “Help!” and God acted purely out of His mercy and grace. “Faith in Yahweh is never as simple as pure obedience versus pure rebellion, Jonah helps us to see the complexity of faith…In the end, Jonah’s prayer of thanksgiving is a witness of hope to believers. This hope has integrity and richness when his thanks are seen in the narrative context of his situation. He gives thanks in spite of the uncertainty of still being at sea. He gives thanks knowing he did not deserve rescue. He gives thanks for a haven in an unlikely place. He gives thanks in spite of deep discomfort. Jonah gives thanks in spite of his unresolved questions and issues. His is a real and hopeful faith.

            “In ‘A Sermon on Preparing to Die,’ Martin Luther compared the death/resurrection of a believer to the birth of a child who moves from the confines of the womb into a broad new world. ‘Just as an infant is born with peril and pain from the small abode of its mother’s womb into this immense heaven and earth, that is, into this world, so man departs this life through the narrow gate of death. And although the heavens and the earth in which we dwell at present seem large and wide to us, they are nevertheless much narrower and smaller than the mother’s womb in comparison with the future heaven. Therefore the death of the dear saints is called a new birth.’ Jonah, like all believers called by Yahweh, must be reborn by God’s grace.”[3]

Application

¹⁰And the LORD commanded the fish, and it vomited Jonah onto dry land.

            After three days inside the fish, God commanded the fish to “vomit” Jonah out onto the dry land according to v. 10. Nasty! Right? But isn’t that what we feel like when we finally get around to admitting that our plan has failed? Whether we are faithful followers of God or not, when we refuse to acknowledge that God’s way is the only way, life, in one way or another, manages to chew us up. And when we finally commit or recommit our lives to God’s way, it feels like life has spit us out. Disobedience to God, regardless of what form it takes has a profound impact on us and those around us even after we have changed course. Hurtful actions can’t be undone and hurtful words can’t be unsaid. Nevertheless, God gives us the opportunity to move forward with a renewed commitment to be obedient to His way of doing things. Sins are forgiven and reconciliation with God and with people is possible. And with reconciliation the wounds caused as a result of disobedience can begin to heal.

            The amazing young friend I referenced at the beginning was intimately familiar with the pain and dysfunction that results when people either don’t know or reject God’s way of doing life. Her experience is all too familiar for all of us to some extent. Whether your spouse is abusive or your father is always absent or your mother drinks too much or your employer is oppressive or your teacher is unfair, we’ve all been wounded by someone’s disobedience to God or we have wounded someone by our own disobedience to God. But like Jonah, there’s a way back for us; a way toward reconciliation—reconciliation with God and with people. However, unlike Jonah, we aren’t destined to spend three days in the belly of a fish because Jesus, in a way, did that for us. Spin the clock forward 700+ years and Matthew records an interaction between Jesus and the Pharisees. Here’s how it reads:

Matthew 12:38-41

            ³⁸Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, “Teacher, we want to see a miraculous sign from you.” ³⁹He answered, “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ⁴⁰For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.

            God had a specific plan for salvation and Jesus was that plan. The Pharisees didn’t want that plan, they wanted their own plan. But Jesus wasn’t having any of it. Jesus’ way wasn’t a better way or even the best way. Jesus’ way was the only way! However, this time God wouldn’t send a fish to the rescue, Jesus would be the one to come to the rescue. Instead of spending three days inside a fish, Jesus would spend three days inside a grave and after three days, Jesus would emerge from the grave much like Jonah emerged from the fish. Salvation for the Ninevites would come through Jonah’s message of repentance. Salvation would be available for all humanity through the message of Jesus’ death on the cross and resurrection from the dead. God has a plan and that plan is for humanity to be in relationship with Himself and with people and that plan begin and ends with Jesus. In between, God has given us the Scriptures which detail His plan for the way we are to live. We can embrace it and live life to the fullest as opposed to just surviving life or we can ignore God’s plan or reject God’s plan or run from God’s plan but don’t be surprised if you find yourself screaming for help and trying to keep from drowning in the consequences of your choices. But don’t worry, it’s never too late to change course and reorient your life toward God’s plan. Who knows, with God in the mix, you might get your very own fish and you might even be able to give us A Perspective From Inside The Fish.

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[1] Leslie C. Allen, The Books of Joel, Obadiah, Jonah, and Micah—The New International Commentary on the Old Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1976), pp. 216-217.

[2] Billy K. Smith and Frank S. Page, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah—The New American Commentary, (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 1995), p. 250.

[3] James Bruckner, Jonah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah—The NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), p. 87.

No Strings Attached

(Audio version; Music--"From The Inside Out" by: Hillsong)

Introduction

            Giving something to someone or doing something for someone out of pure love is one of the most beautiful things one person can do for another. I think the reason it is so beautiful is because it is so rare. I have tried to teach my daughters and model for them a very important financial principle—“Use money to love people. Don’t use people because you love money.” Ignore this principle and someone is bound to get hurt. Unfortunately, my youngest daughter Elizabeth was on the hurting end of that principle last week. Elizabeth is a young college student who, when she is not in classes and studying, is making rounds in the hospital as part of a medical internship program. However, with the few extra hours she has left over during the week, she is employed as a nanny for a wealthy family with four small children. Until recently, she has been treated with great kindness and generosity. The family owns an athletic facility and has allowed Elizabeth to train there at no charge. They have also been generous with her at Christmas and her birthday. However, this past week while she was caring for the children, Elizabeth bought all the children dinner out of her own pocket as she had done many times in the past. Usually, the parents would reimburse her along with paying her for her time to watch over the children. However, this past week, they neglected to reimburse her. Now it may seem like no big deal unless you’re a college student and then you’ll know exactly how big of a deal it is. There are certainly some college students who don’t seem to be lacking financial resources but we’re not wealthy so my girls don’t have the luxury of living on daddy’s money. In short, Elizabeth doesn’t have a lot of money. So it shouldn’t have been unreasonable for her to ask the parents of the four children about being reimbursed for the money she spent out of her own pocket to feed their children. That’s when Elizabeth learned a valuable lesson about what happens when people don’t practice the lesson of using money to love people and not using people because you love money. She was chastised by one of the parents for asking to be reimbursed considering how generous they had been in giving her things she never asked for in the first place. They thought she was somehow being ungrateful for asking to be reimbursed for feeding their children! She had no idea that their generosity somehow put her in their debt. She was hurt and I can understand why.

            I raised my daughters to use money to love people and not use people because they love money. Obviously not everyone was raised on that principle. We see this at play at work where someone is expected to work long hours without additional compensation to prove he or she is worthy of the position they hold. We see it in our homes when a wife will give herself physically to her husband only if he provides her with a certain lifestyle. We see it in our churches when a man gives a large some of money and then expects to have a say in the way the church does things and what is preached from the pulpit. We see it from our government with countless welfare programs ranging from free phones to free food, all of which become tools in the hands of power-mad politicians to leverage more votes at election time. The practice of using people in some way for financial gain or recognition is so prevalent that people have become cynical when someone offers another person a generous gift with no expected return. Cynics would proclaim, “There’s no such thing as a free lunch. You’re going to have to pay that back in some way.” However, this was never what God intended. Instead, God has always intended that we would be generous to one another and especially to those in need without any expectations of reciprocity or without the expectation of any fanfare that can often accompany an act of generosity. God knows that the only way relationships are not damaged by a gift of some kind is when there are No Strings Attached.

Subject Text

Matthew 6:1-4

¹“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. ²So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. ³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Context

Our Subject Text falls right in the middle of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount recorded in Matthew’s gospel from chapter 5 through chapter 7. Contained in these three chapters are teachings that would revolutionize the way the Jews (and by extension all of us) were expected to relate to one another and to God. The Sermon on the Mount turned everything upside down. Jesus used the “You have heard it said…But I tell you” formula to reorient humanity’s way of thinking and relating toward God’s relational ideal. For the Jews, it was normal to hate their enemies. But Jesus taught them that the new normal was to love their enemies and to pray for them. It was normal for them to accumulate wealth because wealth represented God’s favor. But the new normal was to divest themselves of earthly wealth in order to serve and care for others and thereby accumulate heavenly wealth that would last for all eternity. It was normal for them to hold a grudge against whomever offended them until there was proper recompense for the offense. But Jesus taught them that the new normal was to forgive those who sin against them if they hoped to be forgiven for their own sins. Jesus taught about the sovereignty of God and that not all those who are confident in their eternal destiny will actually be saved but those who sincerely sought after God would be found by God and saved. Much of the Sermon on the Mount revolves around interpersonal relationship, community relationships, the sovereignty of God, the road to salvation, a guide for holy and righteous living, and the proper use of money. At the heart of our Subject Text Jesus is teaching about the proper attitude when it comes to giving and the need to avoid an attitude of self-importance.

Text Analysis

¹“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

            What do you suppose Jesus meant by “acts of righteousness” in v. 1? Very simply, righteousness is doing what is right. The Bible describes righteousness both in positive and in negative terms. For example, “The righteous do__________________” or “The righteous do not__________________.”

Here’s a broad cross-section of what the Bible says about righteousness:

·      A righteous person is careful who his or her friends are. Proverbs 12:26—“A righteous man [or woman] is cautious in friendship, but the way of the wicked leads them astray.”

·      The speech and words of a righteous person are encouraging, edifying and life-giving. Proverbs 10:11; 20-21; 31—“The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked…The tongue of the righteous is choice silver, but the heart of the wicked is of little value. The lips of the righteous nourish many, but fools die for lack of judgment…The mouth of the righteous brings forth wisdom, but a perverse tongue will be cut out.”

·      A righteous person is not ungodly or a sinner. 1 Peter 4:18—And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”

·      The righteous person does what is right. 1 John 3:7—“Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.”

·      The righteous have a different perspective on money and are generous. Psalm 37:21—“The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously.”

·      A righteous person lives by faith in and obedience to God. Romans 1:17—“For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith.’”

·      The righteous care for those who are in need. Matthew 25:34-40—“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’”

The only stipulation for a person’s righteousness according to Jesus is that it’s not displayed publicly. That seems like a difficult instruction since we happen to live in and among people on a daily basis. Additionally, it can be difficult to care for someone in need without them knowing it. So what does Jesus mean here? What Jesus expects is sincerity in a righteous person’s actions without ulterior motivation or the need for public recognition. More specifically, “righteousness” is less about what a person does than it is about who a person is. Righteousness is a way of living in relationship with God and with people that creates and nurtures relationship. Righteousness isn’t something that is artificially manufactured. Sincere righteousness cares little about being recognized by other people because sincere righteousness knows it will one day receive eternal rewards from God. Righteousness is characterized by selflessness.

There seems to be just one problem here. In the previous chapter, still part of the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus tells His hearers that they are to let their light shine before men who witness their righteous deeds (Mt 5:16). That certainly seems like a contradiction, except that Jesus includes the purpose for doing so and it’s not so that the person performing the deeds can receive the applause of people but so that people will instead praise God for the person’s righteous deeds. “One of human religion’s greatest temptations is to act piously to elicit the praise of others. A secret atheist could practice religion in that form without the slightest element of faith. Such temptations were part and parcel of ancient religion; for instance, when some first-century Jewish leaders called a fast for unrighteous reasons, others feared not to observe it, lest anyone question their piety. Yet the same temptation is no less real today. Jesus reminds us that true piety means impressing God alone—living our lives in recognition that God knows every thought and deed, and it is his approval alone that matters. Matthew again praises the meek, whose only hope is in God not in others’ opinions of them…Public righteousness, even when carried out in the knowledge that such acts will draw attention, is not wrong so long as we seek to be seen for God’s glory rather than our own…We should do everything for God; the repentant person who lives in view of the coming kingdom is concerned more with God’s evaluation than with that of others. Many people practice religion without paying attention to God, and this warns us to search our motives.”[1]

²So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.

            Verse 2 was a direct assault on the practices of the religious leaders who paraded their righteous acts for everyone to see. In fact, they expected everyone to see because they craved the attention that the people lavished on them. The more they did to gain the attention and applause of the people the more they wanted it. Craving the applause of people is like a ferocious monster that is always hungry. The more you receive applause, the more you want applause. I can assure you that I speak from experience. I’ve heard the words, “That was a great sermon pastor.” I’ve heard the “Ooo’s” and “Ahh’s” sitting around the campfire when everyone went around the circle and it was my turn to say how many years I had done missions work. I know what’s it’s like to receive letters gushing over some charitable contribution I made. I know the feeling of superiority and euphoria and you know what? I wanted more! I’m convinced that this is precisely why God picked this particular ministry for me. I have no idea what most of you think about my lessons except the vocal few who hate them. I grew up in a home filled with harsh, hate-filled, and angry words; words of praise and encouragement were rare. Consequently, you can imagine what happens when I hear those words now—that’s right, an insatiable monster comes to life inside me and never gets enough. The problem for those of us who chase after the approval of people, we better enjoy it while we can because there will be no applause in heaven waiting for us.

Jesus has a favorite word for those who pretend to be something they’re not—hypocrites. Hypocrites preach an attitude or behavior that they themselves don’t practice. Hypocrites pretend to be something they really aren’t. Hypocrites go through the motions of piety and selflessness but really what they want is for people to recognize and appreciate their piety and selflessness. “[‘Hypocrite’ in the Bible] carries the sense of insincerity, of consciously acting a part, which is close to what ‘hypocrite’ means today. But in general…the focus is not so much on a conscious attempt to deceive as on a false perspective or sense of values which prevents the ‘hypocrites’ from seeing things as God sees them; they are not so much deceivers as disastrously self-deceived. In this passage there is no necessary allegation of deceit as such—they presumably did give alms [monetary offering], pray, and fast; the problem was that they wanted everyone to know it. These religious show-offs are ‘actors’ in that they aim to impress others, but at the same time their behavior demonstrates how far they are out of touch with God’s understanding of ‘righteousness.’”[2]

³But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.

            This is such a strange verse when we first read it. However, before I dig into what exactly Jesus is saying in v. 3, let me reiterate something obvious. Jesus didn’t say “if” you give to the needy or “in case” you give to the needy. Jesus said “when” you give to the needy. Our Subject Text isn’t teaching or even implying that we shouldn’t give or serve those who are in need. Instead, v. 3 assumes that those who are in an obedient relationship with God; those who call themselves followers of Jesus Christ will give to and serve those who are in need. However, Jesus wants to make sure that their motivations are pure or else their “righteousness” will be self-imposed instead of righteousness that is credited as coming from God.

            I’m fairly proficient with both my feet from years of playing soccer; probably as close to ambidextrous as I’m ever going to get with my feet. My hands are a different story altogether. I am right-hand dominant. In fact, I am convinced my left hand responds to a language I am completely unfamiliar with. So, how we use our hands might seem to be what Jesus had in mind but it isn’t. Jesus had in mind that regardless of how you give, it should be completely natural and not require a conscious effort. For me, using my left hand requires tacit approval from a remote and little used part of my brain and I’m keenly focused on what I’m doing and how I’m doing it. That doesn’t happen when I use my right hand; I do what I need to do and don’t think twice about what I’m doing or how I’m doing it—it just comes natural. This is what Jesus expects when we give to or serve others. It should come natural without a second thought to what we are doing or how we are doing it. Jesus realizes that people are often going to witness our attitudes and/or our actions. But Jesus wants people to witness those things as a result of who we are not in the context of what we do. Let me try to say it this way—Jesus wants us to be righteous not do righteous. Being righteous means we will act righteously but doing righteous acts doesn’t make us righteous. Jesus wants our righteous attitude and actions to become so natural and common that it seldom attracts any attention. “Jesus’ language again is figurative (v. 3 is literally possible only for those who undergo a lobotomy!) and does not imply the we must not keep track of giving or that we be irresponsible in stewardship of finances or refuse to disclose how we spend our money for the sake of demonstrating financial accountability. Jesus was simply explaining that the motive for charity must not be the desire for praise from others. In striking contrast stands the common approach to fund raising [sp] in many churches and Christian organizations in which lists of benefactors are published, often as incentive for people to give. This kind of motive for giving or soliciting reflects hypocrisy, pretending to honor God when in fact one is distracting attention from him.”[3]

⁴So that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

            I saw a meme recently with a chubby little boy and his father. The boy walked up to his father with his pants unbuttoned and said, “I haven’t had any cookies or candy or cake and my pants still won’t button.” His dad looked down at the boy with his hands on his hips and said, “Well son, it’s only been three hours.” It seems that the art of delayed gratification is becoming more and more rare with each passing generation. In my parents’ generation, people saved money before they spent money. If they didn’t have the cash to buy something (except maybe houses and cars), they simply did without it. However, this attitude is rare in our current culture, especially here in the west. A lack of cash never seems to be a deterrent to acquiring whatever we want, whenever we want it—all we have to do is borrow the money and we can have it all. This is the attitude that Jesus is warning us about in v. 4. For some, the heavenly rewards that are promised in the Bible are so nebulous and seem so remote that they’d rather get their rewards now because they at least know what those are. Who knows, they rationalize, this might be as good as it gets so they better not pass up getting now what they may not get later. I want you to think about for a minute. Does that describe you?

Have you ever scaled a mountain peak and witnessed the sheer magnitude and beauty of a vast mountain range? Have you ever sat on the sandy shore of an ocean and tried to grasp the wonder contained in its unknown depths? Have you ever experienced the awe of a tropical rain forest or the ferocious extremes of a desert wilderness? Have you ever witnessed the miracle of a child being born? What’s my point? My point is that God created all these magnificent wonders and yet we doubt that the rewards that await us in the life to come could somehow be better than the rewards we desire and pursue in this life that we create ourselves. I know that sounds ridiculous but doesn’t this reflect the actions and attitudes of people we know; maybe even some of us? We crave recognition and applause in this life because we’re afraid we won’t get noticed among the masses in heaven. We want to be noticed in this life because we’re afraid we won’t be noticed in the next. As a result, we settle for crumbs in this life when a banquet in our honor awaits us in the next. The problem is that too often we don’t want our efforts of giving and service to be secret. We want to know that what we give and what we do has value but we don’t want to wait until the next life to realize what that value is. We want to know now! So we go out of our way to make sure nothing we do is in secret because we’ll settle for the known rewards of now from people than wait from the unknown rewards from God that will come later. “The tragic irony is that [those who seek the approval of people] will ‘receive in full’ the reward of public and professional acclaim for their pious activities, but they will receive no reward from God. Unless prompted by the right motives, religious activities, including doing good deeds to others, are of no real spiritual value and receive no commendation from God. It does matter greatly why we do what we do. Jesus then contrasts the way his disciples are to perform acts of righteousness with the way of the religious leaders. They are to go to the opposite extreme and keep secret their acts of piety. They are to have such pure motives of concern for the poor that when giving, they should have no self-awareness and no self-servingness at all. Don’t even praise yourself for your giving, Jesus advises. It doesn’t matter whether anyone ever knows what good deed has been done, because the Father sees the most secret action…God will reward Jesus’ disciples with inner righteousness in this life and complete perfection in the afterlife. Human acclaim for giving to the needy cannot be compared to the value of being recognized by God for secret giving.”[4]

Application

            Unfortunately for my daughter, she found out how painful it can be when someone gets my financial advice backwards and uses people because they love money instead of using money to demonstrate their love for people. This can be such a hard lesson because it seems so natural to expect something in return for doing something good for someone. However, this was not the plan for humanity from the very beginning. Instead, humanity was simply expected to invest its efforts and energy into God’s created order without the primary motivation of receiving something in return. It was only after sin was introduced into our world that motivations for giving and serving became distorted. There is, however, another and perhaps more tragic consequence of sin’s distortion to humanity’s motivation for giving to and serving others. Because people have been wounded by the distorted motivations of some people, they have become cynical about receiving help or being served, always wondering if there is a hidden agenda. Many find it impossible to accept anything they didn’t earn (Of course here in America, there are many people who happily accept whatever they are given and have absolutely no interest in earning anything). Sadly, this attitude isn’t limited to accepting something from people, it extends to accepting anything from God as well. Because people can’t trust other people to have pure motives when they want to give to or serve them, they find it difficult to trust God’s motives as well. Why do you think people have such a hard time accepting Jesus’ free gift of salvation and instead constantly think they have to do something to earn it? They’ve been conditioned to believe that nothing is free; everything comes with a price. This is a sad consequence of being wounded by the impure motives of someone else’s generosity and service.

            What a mess! People give and serve with selfish motivation so people refuse to accept generosity for fear that it is offered with impure motives. So how do we fix it? Our Subject Text is the model for our attitude and behavior with respect to giving to and serving others. Give and serve without any expectation of reciprocity or recognition. Whenever possible, give or serve without the knowledge of the recipient or anyone else for that matter. Give and serve in such a way that people will never, ever question that your motivation is nothing but the pursuit of what is right and good. Condition yourself to give and to serve until it ceases to be something you do and becomes who you are. Give your money, your possessions, your time, and your talents until people are convinced that your love for them is what motivates you. Jesus gave us the perfect model when he offered us the free gift of salvation. There is nothing we can do to earn our salvation, all we have to do is believe—No Strings Attached. This should be our attitude as well when we give to and serve others. We should do so out of motivation for love of people and because we want others to see in us the righteousness that comes from God. Our desire should be to give and to serve because that’s what God expects and we should do so without condition—Generosity and service with No Strings Attached.

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[1] Craig S. Keener, Matthew—The IVP New Testament Commentary Series, (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), pp. 135-136.

[2] R. T. France, The Gospel of Matthew—The New International Commentary of the New Testament, (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 2007), pp. 236-237.

[3] Craig L. Blomberg, Matthew—The New American Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1992), p. 117.

[4] Michael J. Wilkins, Matthew—The NIV Application Commentary, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2004), pp. 272-273.