Faithfulness in Little Things

Okay, let's pray together. The reason we do this is because we don't just come to hear a message about God, we come to encounter God on Sundays.

And so will you join me as we pray together?

Heavenly Father, gracious Lord, loving Savior, we come before you this morning, as we said earlier, to worship and adore you, God, because it is right and fitting to adore you and worship you.

But God, not because you need it, but because we need it, God.

Our hearts, Lord, are so often dragged away by other false gods, by the promises of hope.

And yet, God, you, Christ, have the words of life. You, Christ, life is found in you.

And God, we've come to fix our eyes on you this morning, God.

We've come to rightly orientate our hearts to you this morning.

We've come again, God, to be reminded of the hope of Jesus and for our hearts to be stirred in adoration and affection for you, God.

Christ, there really is no one and none like you in all the world.

There's no one as faithful as you.

There's no one as forgiving as you.

There's no one as gracious as you.

God, we all come here with all sorts of baggage, all sorts of hang-ups, God.

And yet, God, you are so incredibly good and faithful, God.

And we really do worship you and adore you for that.

We honor you for that this morning, God.

Father, receive our worship this morning, we pray.

We pray that, God, it will not only be good for us, it will be pleasing in your sight, Lord.

Father, we pray that as a church, God, that the wonderful good news of Jesus really will get deeper into our hearts and will start to shape our hearts.

Father, I confess how much I need that, Lord.

Christ, I need you to shape my heart.

And I pray for us as a church, God, that you, by your Spirit, will be at work in us, God.

Father, let the good news of Christ drop from our heads to our hearts, God.

Let it shape us, God.

I pray that as a church, we really will, this will be the culture of our church, God.

Christ, come and help us, we pray, Lord.

Come and help us, we pray, Father.

Father, this morning, as Ryuta opens up your word, we pray that you will speak to us.

God, as we so often say, we don't just need to be encouraged or inspired.

We want to meet with you in your word, Lord.

We want your word to come alive and to penetrate our hearts.

God, we pray that as your word is opened up, that, God, we will encounter you in your word.

And so we pray for Ryuta, God, as he preaches.

We pray, Lord, that you'll be guiding his words and what to say.

Spirit of God, be anointing that time, Father, and speak to us, we pray.

May we discover more of you in your word this morning, God.

God, this morning we want to pray for Jeremy and Angie and Bernard that are in Chiang Mai.

And God, we pray for us as a church that you will lead us in where you want us to go with regards to fostering and adoption, God.

I pray for families in this church that you're calling to adopt children without families.

God, I pray that we as a church will respond to the need and foster those that need families for a short period.

God, we pray that as a church this won't just be a strategy or an idea, but it really will be spirit-led.

We'll be following your leading of us this morning.

And so, Christ, we pray for that time.

Come and speak to us, Lord.

Speak to them that are away and lead and guide us, God, as a church about where you're wanting us to go in this regard.

Father, this morning we want to pray also, God, for those that are sick in Watermark.

Pray for those that are struggling with sickness.

Pray for Hannah Farrell, God, who really has struggled for months, God, with sickness.

We bring her before you this morning, even as she's away.

Lord, we pray for a breakthrough in her life.

We pray for healing, God.

We pray for those in our congregation that we don't know are sick, but, God, whose health is not good.

And we ask you, God, to come and strengthen them and encourage them.

We pray restore their bodies, but we also pray that you'll minister to them in the midst of this time, Father.

We bring our congregation before you this morning.

And, Lord, finally we want to, again, just pray for our resound brothers and sisters across Asia.

We want to pray for those in India, New Delhi and Bangalore, those in Japan and Australia and Singapore and Hong Kong, God.

We pray, Christ, that you will do a profound work in our churches, that the gospel really will sound forth.

God, we pray all these things in your wonderful and your powerful name.

Amen.

Amen.

Rhoda is going to come and read God's word to us this morning.

Is this on?

Yeah.

The scripture reading from today is from Luke 19, 11 to 27.

Please follow along in your bulletin or on the screen.

As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable because he was near to Jerusalem

and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.

He said, therefore, a nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.

Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minutes and said to them,

Engage in business until I come.

But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying,

We do not want this man to reign over us.

When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him,

and that he might know what they had gained by doing business.

The first came before him, saying,

Lord, your minute has made ten minutes more.

And he said to him,

Well done, good servant, because you have been faithful in the very little.

You shall have authority over ten cities.

And the second came, saying,

Lord, your minute has made five minutes.

And he said to him,

And you are to be over five cities.

Then another came, saying,

Lord,

Here is your minute,

which I kept laid away in a handkerchief,

for I was afraid of you,

because you are a severe man.

You take what you did not deposit

and reap what you did not sow.

He said to him,

I will condemn you with your own words.

You were a good servant.

You knew that I was a severe man,

taking what I did not deposit

and reaping what I did not sow.

Why then did you not put my money,

sorry,

in the bank?

And at my coming,

I might have collected it with interest.

And he said to those who stood by,

Take the minute from him

and give it to the one who has the ten minutes.

And they said to him,

Lord, he has ten minutes.

I tell you that to everyone who has,

more will be given.

But from the one who has not,

even what he has will be taken away.

But as for these enemies of mine,

who did not want me to reign over them,

bring them here and slaughter them before me.

This is the word of God.

Amen.

Amen.

Good morning, everyone.

Good morning.

It's good to see you.

Actually, I was here in 2013

when Tim Keller came to Hong Kong.

I did a conference.

That was actually a life-changing moment in my life.

That's the first time that I heard Tim Keller.

Changed my life.

Almost like a born again.

Of course, I was a Christian at the time.

But I rediscovered the gospel.

Then, following year,

I actually visited this church in 2014

with a city-to-city crew of guys

with church planters.

So, I'm sure I met you already, some of you.

And I think, yeah, you remember me.

And maybe if you don't, then that's fine.

My name is Ryuta.

Ryuta.

It's the name from Street Fighter.

The Hadoken thing.

The Ryuu.

It's the same pronunciation.

So, it's not Ryuta.

It's Ryuta.

Okay?

So, anyway.

No, it's okay, Kevin.

You're forgiven.

No, it's okay.

Seriously, it's okay.

You can call me Ru or Ryuu.

Yeah, so I just really want to thank you, first of all,

for your prayers and support

and also partnership through Resound.

Thank you, Kevin and Claire, for hosting us.

And really, I feel the brotherhood together,

the relationship, like a family of churches together.

So, on behalf of the Resound guys,

I feel love, and I'm sure all of us feel love here,

and strengthened, encouraged, and empowered

through this meeting.

So, I heard that you are going through

the book of Revelation.

And the original plan was that I was supposed to preach

from the book of Revelation.

But I'm glad that he told me that I don't have to

because I know it's a challenging book.

So, I picked this passage

because it kind of relates to the end times.

You know, maybe you noticed.

So, I thought it will be easier.

But, as I re-looked at the scripture,

no, it's not easy.

It's not easy.

I mean, scripture, any part,

it's actually not easy.

It has to challenge us

because it's the Word of God.

Because we are sinful,

we need to be reshaped

by the gospel and the Word of God.

So, I hope I can share with you,

unpacking this parable,

what it really means.

So, I have three headings today.

But before we go to these headings,

the points,

we have to look at a few historical background

or context first, I would say.

Because when Jesus shares these parables,

which was a lot in the Gospel of Luke,

he shares a lot of parables.

Luke is quite kind,

using intentionally these words

to hint what really it means.

For example,

it starts in verse 11

that as they were talking about these things,

as they're hearing these things, right?

So, what was the context before?

It was actually Jesus was talking to Zacchaeus

and his friend.

And Jesus was saying,

hey, today salvation has come to this house.

I came to seek the lost

and save the lost.

And in that context,

some people are grumbling

because Zacchaeus was a sinner,

was a tax collector,

wasn't popular.

And having in his mind,

Jesus went on to share.

And then even Luke gives another reason.

He says,

because they were approaching Jerusalem.

Okay, this is very important information

because why?

The parable starts.

This noble man goes to her country

to receive kingship, right?

And Jesus is kind of similar situation,

going to Jerusalem.

And everybody was thinking

that he's going to be enthroned

as the king of Israel, right?

So, exactly kind of similar situation.

But another reason,

two because there, right?

And second reason,

because they thought

that this kingdom of God

will arrive,

will come immediately.

And that was wrong thinking.

Disciples were thinking,

hey, now,

this is the time.

I'm sure.

They were seeing the situation

with Zacchaeus

and salvation has come to this house.

And they're thinking,

Amos, I'm sure.

Or something,

some Old Testament prophet.

This is the day of the Lord.

Jesus is going to destroy the Romans,

kill everyone,

and conquer,

and we will be the great ones

because they were discussing, right?

Who will be the greatest?

So,

Jesus wanted to correct

their wrong view,

wrong assumption.

Wrong view about their lives,

future,

and the kingdom of God.

So,

three things

I want to talk about today.

First thing is expectation.

Expectation from God.

Second,

assumption

that we make.

And third,

solution

to our wrong

thinking

or assumption

or attitude

towards life.

All right.

So,

you can see,

now,

Jesus,

we know that

Jesus wants to

correct

disciples' thinking

and people's thinking

that kingdom will come.

So,

that means that

Jesus wants to tell them

that,

well,

it's actually not the case.

Kingdom is here,

but it actually

still takes time

to be fulfilled,

right?

So,

it's already

there's a sense

of already.

Yes,

already salvation is here.

Already there's hope.

Already there's a future promised

through Jesus,

but not yet

completed.

We still suffer.

We still have to be patient.

We still have to be faithful.

And that's what we are experiencing,

right?

In Hong Kong.

We're still going through suffering.

The city is still not

as we hoped

it to be.

That kind of thing

hit us in Japan, too,

in 2011

when we experienced

the earthquake.

We were literally

shaken.

But actually,

I can tell you,

last

80 years,

a lot of people

started to think

about their lives.

especially in North,

where the earthquake

was affected,

people started to open up

their hearts

and think about their life,

death,

and many people

started to become Christians.

More church planting

last five years

started happening

around Tokyo

and all the cities.

And it is true,

as you heard this morning,

that God shakes

us,

our hearts,

through using these

tragedies

or hard times.

And,

Jesus wants to remind us

how we have to live

in this

between

the alreadyness

and not yetness.

Okay?

So,

first thing,

Jesus starts with

talking about

this noble man,

went into

a far country

and received

for himself

a kingdom

and then returned.

And I already

have a question,

why does he have to

go to a far country

to do this?

And this is

quite important information

because historically,

in a time around

4 BC

before Christ,

the Herod the Great

went to Rome

and received,

actually,

the kingship

and returned.

And people hated Herod.

And,

40 BC,

a little bit later on,

his son,

Archelaus,

also went to Rome,

but this time

he protested

about his,

another brother

was about to

kind of

to be chosen

and what happened

was he got

banished.

He didn't become king.

People hated it.

So,

you can see already

as he starts

the parable,

many people

are already engaged.

What?

He's using this

kind of

intense situation

that who's going

to be king

and we don't want

this evil king

to rule us.

And Jesus

is relating

to the kingdom

of God.

Then,

he talks about

this noble man

calls

these three servants

and gave them

out of blue

no reason

that he should

do this.

Probably.

It's a gracious

thing,

generous thing.

This noble man

gives gifts,

10 minutes,

which is about

maybe three months

wages,

which is not a lot,

but it's enough

money to invest,

right,

to business.

So,

when we hear

like this,

we feel,

okay,

this parable

is all about

our performance.

It's all about

God asking us

to be faithful

in our money

and reproduce,

start creating

Christian business

and then,

you know,

look God,

I did something

for you

so that God

will give us

favor.

But it's

actually not.

I was quite

surprised.

That's what I

used to think

because

there's the details

that,

in verse 14,

but citizens

hate it.

His citizens

hate it

and they didn't

want him to be

king.

what's going

on here?

I think we

have to look

at these

details.

Imagine,

this king

is going

away,

he's about

to be

chosen

as a king,

return,

and people

hate him.

Isn't this

similar to

the political

election

thing?

And here,

this is

interesting,

verse 13,

he uses

this word,

I mean,

they invest

into the

business

until I

return.

But that

word,

until,

can be

actually

translated

in three

ways.

In which

I return

or because

I return.

A few

scholars

actually

suggest

that actually

in Greek

because

is appropriate

here.

If it is

because,

it changes

the entire

meaning of

this.

Right?

So,

if it's

like until

I return,

it's like,

okay,

I want

money,

and I

want to

have a

return,

and,

you know,

I want

to have

more money,

that's what

the nobleman

might be

asking.

But it

is because

I return.

What do

you think

he will

ask of

you?

What kind

of business?

Is it for

yourself or

is it for

the king?

What do

you think?

Okay,

let's look

further here.

Verse 15,

says this,

when he

returned,

having received

the kingdom,

he ordered

the servants

to whom

he had

given the

money to

be called

to him

that he

might know

what they

had gained

by doing

business.

Again,

this seems

like he's

asking for

money,

right?

But actually,

original Greek

translation says

to be,

so they're

called to

him so

that they

might know

what business

had done,

what business

has

trans,

is that

it you

say?

Yeah,

transpired,

yeah.

So actually,

it's not

about money,

but it's

more about

what kind

of business

you invested

into.

Okay?

Okay?

And this

is important

because if

you follow

the scripture,

the nobleman

is asking

about

faithfulness.

It's not

fruitfulness.

It's not

about

successfulness.

It's about

faithfulness,

isn't it?

What was

the reward

for them?

Was that

more privilege?

Hey,

you earn so

much,

now you

can go

and spend

money on

your cloth

and you

can live

happy

ever after?

No.

More

responsibility,

right?

So faithfulness

and reward

is more

responsibility

and authority

over the

cities.

So,

what is

master

asking

his servants

to do?

I can put

it this way.

I'm sure

he's asking

to campaign

for his

political

election.

Right?

he's asking

to promote

him

while he's

gone.

And

quite

difficult

because

many

people

against

him,

many

people

hate

him,

but in

that

tension,

in that

heat,

in that

difficulty,

he wants

his servants

to be

faithful

promoting

his name.

So,

when we

look at

our lives,

do we

do this?

If God

gave you

a lot

of money,

how would

you spend

it?

Probably

I'm thinking

I will

start my

own

clothes

shop.

Reuters

second

hand

store.

Right?

That's

a natural

thing.

And I

still,

of course,

because I'm

a Christian,

still thinking

back in my

head,

but this

is for

God.

That's

how I

excuse

myself.

Right?

Or maybe

you start,

maybe a

famous

scholar,

famous

person,

you can

say,

hey,

kevinisgreat.com.

Something like

that.

I don't

know.

I'm not

saying that

you will

do that.

Okay?

Or even

church.

It's almost

like you

can name

your church

Luther is

at the

center church

or something

like that

instead of

gospel center

church.

And this

was actually

a challenge

for me

when I

started

church.

Because I

was afraid

of what

people would

think.

I had

actually

many

so-called

enemies or

people who

didn't like

me because

I left

quite a sad

way,

my former

church.

So I

was worried

what if I

plant this

church,

what do

other people

think of

me?

What if I

fail?

Maybe they

will laugh

at me.

Huh?

See?

He wasn't

great.

He wasn't

capable of

doing this.

I was

worried about

this.

But through

actually this

scripture

challenged me,

is it really

about you?

Is that

your name

that you

want to

promote

through this

church

planting?

Or is

it God's

name that

you want to

promote in

your life?

So I

think this is

the first

challenge.

What are

you promoting

in your

life?

I'm not

just talking

about again

starting a

business but

in your

workplace.

do you

talk about

God?

Do you

talk more

about your

success?

How you

want to be

famous?

How you

want to be

popular?

What are

you promoting

not just in

the workplace

but maybe at

your home to

your children?

Daily life.

What else

we can learn

here?

It's actually

the master

is asking

about love

towards the

master.

Because this

attention again

people don't

like him,

hate him,

and you

have to be

the servant

that you

actually love

him and

want him

to become

king.

Right?

So that has

to show

through whatever

you do it

should display

our love.

And also it's

a faith because

for these

servants you

actually don't

know if the

king will be

enthroned and

can't come

back.

What if he

didn't?

Like actually

the son of

the Herod,

the Achilles,

he got

banished.

And that was

a happy thing

for the people

because people

didn't like him.

But what if

these servants

invest everything,

risk their

life for this

noble man,

and if this

noble man

didn't come

back?

So it's

actually

faith thing,

not just

faithfulness,

but faith

is required.

God is

asking to

believe in

him that

he will

return,

he will

come back

as a

king.

So it's

also hope.

The master

is asking

us to

have hope.

And these

first two

servants

had these

qualities.

That's why

they are

faithful.

that's why

it wasn't

about how

much

minerals

they

produced

because

first one

produced

more than

second one.

It didn't

matter

for the

king.

And as

we look at

like this,

we know

right away,

okay,

we are not

that faithful.

Right?

I can see

myself,

I'm not

that faithful.

I actually

fail.

I was

about to

fail when

I started

church.

So,

let's look

at the

second point

from verse

20 to

27.

I'm going

to look

at this

third

servants.

We need

to understand

what's going

on with

this

third

servants

because

it

reflects

our

heart.

So,

assumption,

that's my

second point.

the first

thing that

is quite

shocking

to see

that

he's

servant

and he

has exactly

the same

privilege

as other

servants.

He had the

same amount

of money

given,

10 minutes.

It's a

little bit

different

parable from

the Matthew

one,

okay?

This is

actually

different

detail.

So,

he had

the same

privilege,

he was

in the

same

position,

he was

the same

opportunity,

he actually

had the

same access

to the

nobleman.

But how

come

that he

couldn't

be faithful

like two

other

servants?

So,

verse 20

says,

then another

came saying,

Lord,

here's your

mina which

I kept

laid away

in handkerchief,

for I was

afraid of

you.

So,

now you

can see

already,

he's

afraid of

the

nobleman.

Okay?

Because you

are a

severe man,

you take

what you

did not

deposit

and reap

what you

did not

so.

And I

again

wonder,

where has

he got

this idea

about the

nobleman?

Because

other two

servants

seemed that

they didn't

have this

problem.

But particularly

this man

had the

problem.

And it

almost sounds

like it's

an excuse,

isn't it?

Hey,

because you

are like

this,

I could

not perform.

Because you

are like

this,

or circumstances

like this,

I could

not do

my best.

Have you

ever done

that kind

of thing?

I do

this all

the time

with my

wife.

It's

your fault.

Right?

I often do

it with my

church people.

I attempted

to do that.

Okay.

It's

interesting.

But then,

more

interestingly,

verse 22.

It says

this,

the master

hears this,

and of

course,

the assumption

that this

third servant

has,

or image

that he

has towards

his master,

is not

true.

Right?

It's

actually,

basically,

he's telling,

the third servant

is telling

the master

or king,

you are

a thief.

You are

a bad

guy.

That's

why.

It's a

very rude

thing to

say.

But

master,

I can see

a little

bit of

graciousness.

He says,

well,

okay,

all right,

let's

accept.

Let's

suppose

that you

are right.

Let's

suppose

that you

are right,

but I

can still

prove you

are wrong.

So he

goes on to

say,

what does

he say?

Okay,

you knew,

you knew

that I'm

a mean

man,

the kind

of person

who steals

from

other

people.

Okay,

but he

goes on

to say,

but then

why didn't

you put

the money

in the

bank?

This is

quite

interesting

because

it was

not

allowed

for

Israelites

to put

money,

not in

the bank,

but to

have

the

interest

from

fellow

Israelites.

How do

you know

that?

You know

because

this

language

echoes

Exodus

22,

25,

or

Leviticus

25,

36,

37,

even

Deuteronomy

23,

it's

mentioned

about

do not

take the

interest

from

the

fellow

brother

in

the

Israelites.

So basically

this

noble man

was saying,

hey,

it was

maybe,

actually it

was better

to put

or render

money

to

non-Jews

and get

interest

than

doing

nothing.

So he's

saying this,

if you

knew that

I'm a

severe man,

if this

is your

image,

you could

have not

done this,

but you

didn't.

So there's

an inconsistency

in your

words and

action.

Even

you are

right,

I can

prove

that you

are not

faithful.

And this

is quite

amazing,

this is

quite painful

because we

all have

wrong

image of

God,

wrong

image of

a master.

Right?

So how

come that we

have these

wrong images

or wrong

idea about

God?

Some of

us we

think God

is very

harsh and

not loving.

And some

of us think

God is just

loving.

He accepts

anything and

doesn't punish

anyone.

But Bible

says no.

God is a

judge.

He punishes

evil.

He's just

God.

But at the

same time,

He's a

gracious

God,

merciful

God,

loving

God.

This too

somehow has

to fit in.

Right?

But then

how come?

And it's

actually if you

dig deeper,

I can see

almost this

master saying,

it's not

because you

had a wrong

image of

me that

you are

faithful.

faithful.

It's

actually

rather

opposite.

Because you

are unfaithful

already,

in your

heart,

you start

to see

me.

Wrong

way.

This is

interesting

scripture

here.

Psalm,

sorry,

I'm trying

to,

Psalm 18,

25 to

26,

says this,

with the

merciful you

show,

I'm talking

about God,

you show

yourself

merciful.

With the

blameless

man,

you show

yourself

blameless.

With the

purified,

you show

yourself

pure.

And with

the croaked,

you make

yourself seem

torturous.

You say

torturous?

Yeah,

or croaked.

So it is

interesting,

for those

people who

already have

a right

image of God,

already hearts

are right

towards God,

God is

always pure,

right,

righteous,

but when

our hearts

are croaked,

bent,

de-shaped,

we already

see everything,

not just

I think

God,

but everything

else is

de-shaped.

And this

actually reminds

me of this

concept in

Genesis,

isn't it?

Adam and

Eve,

why did

they sin?

Because they

believed the

lie,

the twisted

word of

Satan.

and Satan

twisted basically

the image of

God,

God cannot

be trusted.

God cannot

be trusted

and he's

hiding something

from you,

he doesn't

want to give

you the best.

That's why,

don't worry,

you can eat

and it's

okay.

It all

started from

there.

And you

know this

word that

the master

used,

you know,

you knew

that I'm a

severe man.

the word

is quite

interesting,

this is my

personal opinion,

it means to

experience,

to know or

to perceive,

and the word

origin is

idol,

it's the

original word

that diverts

into

idols.

It's the

idols that we

are creating

by having a

wrong image

of our

master.

that's the

original issue

or deep

problem of

this third

servant.

It's nothing

to do with

the performance,

it's nothing

to do with

how he

sees God,

I mean,

it's to do

with how he

sees God,

but originally

with a deep

hard issue

that we

have.

and I

had to

correct myself

with my

life too,

because I

brought up

in a

non-Christian

family,

my family

was single

parented,

I had

always wrong

image of

my father,

that my

father left

when I was

young,

and so

that carried

constantly

that image,

okay,

father who

just are

not responsible

leaves the

family,

so when I

got to know,

I mean,

started believing

God as a

father in

heaven,

I just

could not

see God

as my

father in

heaven.

I somehow

had back

on my

head,

I cannot

trust him.

So what

I decided

to do is

instead of

trust him,

I started

to trust

someone who

can be the

father figure

in my

life.

And I

started to

try to

please these

people rather

than pleasing

God himself,

and be

faithful to

God himself.

I always

had a fear,

and that

basically

shaped my

life in

the wrong

way.

But through

the gospel,

I had to

learn who

truly

who the

father is.

So now

you can

see,

master

says,

faithful in

little things.

What does

that really

mean?

It's

faithful

with a

heart

condition

every day.

Heart

condition,

how we

see God,

how we

apply everything

and relate

to our

heart,

perception,

worldview.

view.

Why did

Jesus say,

hey, you

need to

correct your

view about

the kingdom

of God

coming right

away?

Why?

Because if

you think

kingdom of

God coming

right away,

you think

this way,

oh, God

has to

bless me

right now.

Right?

God has

to give me

solution right

now.

God has

to heal me

right now.

Or God

has to

change the

situation of

Hong Kong

right now.

But sometimes

it's not the

case.

It takes

time.

So again,

our wrong

perception of

God and

the world

and kingdom

affects how

we live

our lives.

We become

impatient.

We start

excusing our

lives when

it's our

whole fault.

It's a deep

issue of our

heart.

So,

where is the

hope?

Where is the

hope?

Because the

end of this

parable seems

very scary.

Isn't it?

I mean,

when I first

read this,

I said,

well,

third servant,

it's not that

bad.

He didn't

kill anyone.

Right?

Did he steal?

He just was

a little bit

unfaithful.

Right?

He was a

little bit

fearful.

He didn't

do any

major mistake.

Now he

needs to be

killed.

A little bit

harsh here.

Isn't it?

And this

is shocking

for the

people,

the audience

because they

knew this

was the

reality of

the Roman

system.

This is

how the

heralds,

the great

treated

people in

reality.

So now,

is that the

kingdom of

God,

same as

the herald,

the king,

the great?

No.

I'm glad

that Jesus

does not

add the

sentence

saying,

okay,

bring them

here,

slaughter them,

so king

killed them.

He didn't

add that

sentence.

He left

it open.

So there's

actually no

conclusion to

this parable

at this

point.

And Luke

does very

similar things

with all

other

parables.

Many of

the parables,

the famous

ones, of

course,

the prodigal

son.

Right?

There's no

happy ending.

You don't

know what

happened.

But actually,

it's not just

Luke.

It's in

the Bible.

For example,

Abraham,

God tells

him to

kill his

son,

sacrifice,

but God

says,

you don't

have to.

Right?

For Abraham,

he was

hopeless,

but I'm

glad that

God comes

and works

and provides

different

ending and

solution to

our lives.

Yes,

we are

destined

originally

to be

killed,

punished,

casted

out,

sent into

hell.

We are

sinners.

So,

what's the

solution?

We know