Three Others: Faithful to the End

So this morning we're wrapping up our series on the twelve disciples and after having looked at Andrew, Simon Peter, Matthew, James, Philip, John, Thomas, Nathaniel, and Judas Iscariot.

This morning we're looking at the other three. And I'll admit when I was preparing for this morning I did have to take a moment to work out who the other three were.

The thing is each of them share their name with another one of the disciples. So we have Judas, the son of James though, not the traitor.

We have Simon, the zealot, the political one. We have James, the lesser, not to be confused with James the greater.

And I wonder how it felt for Judas, James, and Simon to be one of the other twelve disciples who were less known in comparison to the other nine.

To be so unknown that they had to clarify which one they were.

You know, I've met so many Emilies. That happens when you have the most popular name of your birth year.

Thanks mum and dad. I've met so many other Emilies in my time that I'll often find myself in the street hearing my name being called only to turn around and it's not me that's being called.

Or it's not me who's being spoken about.

And I imagine Simon overhearing a conversation between the disciples.

Have you heard Jesus is going to build his church on Simon?

Only for Simon to go, ooh, I've got a glimpse of my future.

And then they go, no, not you Simon, it's Simon Peter.

Or Judas hearing whispers of, did you hear? It was Judas who betrayed Jesus.

Only for him to have to pipe up and go, no, no, no, no, not me.

It was Judas Iscariot, not me. I'm innocent. I'm loyal.

But these three disciples, they aren't so well known in comparison to the other better known comrades.

In the story for today, we can gather that all 12 disciples were there when the rich ruler approached Jesus to find out what he must do to inherit eternal life.

In the passage, the man comes to Jesus with his question.

You see, he's been following the Ten Commandments for all of his life.

So what else must he do?

And I find it interesting that he recognizes something about Jesus that moves him to a realization that walking with God, faith, isn't just about following rules.

There has to be something else.

He sees that Jesus is offering the eternal life, not based on how well we keep the rules, which is something that the Pharisees have been teaching,

but that there was something else required of them, of us.

And Jesus tells the ruler that whilst he's been following all of the commandments, he still lacked one thing.

He needed to sell all he had, give to the poor, and then he would have treasure in heaven.

And Jesus says, then come follow me.

In other words, stop being so preoccupied with possession and earthly gains.

Only when you live by kingdom economy will you find true wealth.

Sort your priorities, then come and follow me.

And I wonder, and I'm talking to myself here too, when we look at our own lives and ask a similar question, what would Jesus' response to us be?

I wonder if you'd be up for trying something with me this morning.

See, I've been reading and learning about some of the old saints of the church.

And St. Ignatius gives us this really wonderful meditative way of reading the Bible, dwelling in scripture.

It's really simple and I'll lead us through it.

But all you need to do is start by closing your eyes.

And if you think you might fall asleep, then maybe just cast your eyes down to your lap, if that's a risk.

So I'm going to read part of the passage again.

And I want you to imagine yourself in the scene.

Notice where you are in the story.

Notice where you're sitting or standing.

What you see, feel, hear.

A certain ruler asked him,

Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?

Why do you call me good?

Jesus answered.

No one is good except God.

You know the commandments.

You shall not commit adultery.

You shall not murder.

You shall not steal.

You shall not give false testimony.

Honor your father and mother.

All these I have kept since I was a boy, he said.

When Jesus heard this, he said to him,

You still lack one thing.

Sell everything you have and give to the poor.

And you will have treasure in heaven.

Then come, follow me.

When he heard this, he became very sad.

Because he was very wealthy.

Jesus looked at him and said,

How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God.

Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle

than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.

And with your eyes still closed, I wonder where you are in the scene.

I wonder what you see.

I wonder where you are in the gathered crowd.

Notice what you see.

Where is Jesus in proximity to you?

What does the crowd look like?

What are people wearing?

How do your clothes feel on your skin?

Notice what you smell.

Is the air hot, dusty, arid?

Notice what you feel.

Can you feel bodies close up beside you,

peering together, look at this radical teacher.

Can you feel the breeze on your skin?

Can you feel the sun on your face?

Notice what you hear.

Can you hear the birds,

the hubbub of conversation,

the outrage that Jesus told the man

to sell everything he had to give to the poor?

I wonder what Jesus' voice sounds like to you.

Notice the gentleness in his voice,

the love in his eyes as he looks at each person gathered around him.

And I want you to imagine for a moment

that Jesus now turns to you with a gentle yet serious look on his face.

And he looks you in the eyes and says your name.

Let's talk about your priorities.

I ask just one more thing of you.

What's he asking?

What's he saying?

If you're unsure,

maybe it's the first thing that popped into your head.

But notice how that makes you feel.

When you're ready, open your eyes again.

I wonder what the Lord might have been speaking to you about.

What might he have asked you to do?

Maybe, like the ruler,

it was to give up everything you own

and give it to the poor.

Maybe it was to give up one thing.

Or to take up one thing.

Maybe there's some misaligned priorities in our lives

that he wants to speak to us about.

And what a joy it is

that God loves to work with us

to make our lives reflect him more and more clearly every day.

Something the rich young ruler got wrong

was that he thought that he could do something

to inherit the eternal life.

But that's not Jesus' way.

That's not his purpose.

In fact, we can all inherit eternal life.

We all have inherited it when we gave our lives to Jesus.

Or if we haven't yet, we will.

And it's a wonderful gift.

And that is the good news of the gospel.

The grace and mercy of his death and resurrection

that it's not by works,

but by grace through faith.

But this discipleship journey is a whole life thing.

And it requires our everything.

And sometimes, like the man,

that will require giving up our worldly wealth.

Whatever that wealth might be.

And I'd like to point out here,

before I carry on talking about wealth,

that giving up everything you own,

giving up, giving financially to charity,

might not be Jesus' call for everybody in the room.

Although, please do consider your giving to Christchurch.

I know so many people who have wonderfully full,

healthy bank accounts,

yet that facilitates their ministry of generosity.

And there are people who maybe can't give financially right now.

And that's okay.

Perhaps with these people giving in time,

or hospitality, or service,

or some other way,

is something that they can do.

My point is that this specific call,

when we read it in the Bible,

of giving up everything you have,

and selling it,

and giving to the poor,

in that particular way,

isn't for everyone,

but perhaps there is something to consider in it.

In our own lives,

in our own ministries,

and walks with the Lord.

I won't make assumptions about bank accounts,

about education,

and qualifications,

and home situations,

and the things that we have access to.

What God asks of us,

is between us and him.

However,

in comparison to millions of people around the world,

we have so much in the world,

in the way of worldly wealth.

Swish Goswami,

a Canadian entrepreneur,

says,

if you have food in your fridge,

clothes on your body,

and a roof over your head,

a place to sleep,

you're richer than 75% of the entire world.

If you have money in your wallet,

and can go anywhere you want,

you're among 18% of the world's most wealthy people.

If you're alive and healthy,

you're more blessed than millions of people,

who will not survive this week.

And if you actually can read this message,

and understand it,

you're more fortunate than 3 billion people around the world,

who are blind, deaf, or illiterate.

But he ends by saying,

count your blessings,

view your problems with perspective,

most importantly,

be grateful and happy.

And that makes me think about what we define as wealth.

Because we have so much stuff, don't we?

We strive for this worldly view of success,

and status, and riches, and significance.

But what is real, true wealth?

Is it money in our bank account?

Or is it what God offers us?

Because when the rich man is sad,

because he doesn't want to give up his wealth,

the riches that he'd stored up for himself,

Jesus says it's easier

for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle

than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

And it doesn't take a genius to know

that it's impossible for a camel

to go through the eye of a needle.

But I personally struggle

to even thread a needle sometimes.

So Jesus' disciples were perhaps very reasonable

in asking Jesus,

then who can enter the kingdom of heaven?

To whom is eternal life even accessible?

When I was reflecting on this

in preparation for this morning,

I had this kind of picture come to mind.

You know when you go to a train station,

you have to beep your ticket

so that you can go through those electric gates?

I had this picture of someone

trying to go through the gates

with all their backpacks and their suitcases

and their shopping bags and everything.

Except when you try and go through

with much more than a backpack,

it's quite difficult.

In fact, sometimes it can be impossible

to go through with all your stuff.

You can't manipulate your way

through one of those gates.

Not even a first class ticket

would get you through one of those gates.

So you have to lay down your stuff.

You need someone to come along

and help you with your stuff

so you can go through.

And Jesus is saying the same thing to the man

trying to enter the kingdom of God.

That if he's got all his stuff,

all his stored up wealth,

then no kind of special benefit

is going to be given to him

just because he kept some rules.

He needs to lay down his stuff

in order to enter the pearly gates.

He needs to work out

whether his riches on earth

that he'd gained for himself

now are more important

than the eternal riches

of eternal life with God.

Our sights should be set on Jesus

and what he offers us

in the eternal life

with his eternal riches

beyond anything

that we could ever store up for ourselves.

Jesus, in his grace,

reminds us that what's impossible

for man and woman

is made possible for us by God.

He has made a way for all of us.

As Paul writes in Ephesians,

not by works,

but by grace through faith.

But there is this cost,

just as there was a cost

for those 12 disciples.

We've heard about the disciples

who left their jobs,

their families,

their homes to follow Jesus

because they knew

that life and faith

wasn't just about following Jesus.

It wasn't just about following rules,

just like Jesus has pointed out

to the rich ruler.

Important though,

those rules were.

Following Jesus

is a whole life choice,

a complete way of life.

It's not just about coming to church

on a Sunday

or saying grace before a meal.

It's about being willing

to lay our lives down,

our whole lives,

for him,

for his kingdom.

Being willing to leave behind comfort

and wealth

in order to follow him

and to go where he sends us

and do what he asks of us.

As we've said,

the rich ruler,

he was really sad

because he didn't want

to give up his wealth.

He didn't want to lose it.

But the sad thing is

that the ruler's response

was that Jesus was promising

something even greater.

An inheritance of real riches in heaven.

Endless joy,

perfect peace,

eternal presence of the Father.

An end to suffering and shame.

A world without grief and sadness.

The ruler didn't want to give up

what he had now

for the sake of God

or even for the sake

of what he could gain through God.

And I wonder if sometimes

we can relate to that.

Do we live in this world

of instant gratification

where we skip a song

five seconds in on Spotify

if it hasn't grabbed our attention?

Or we're ordering next day delivery

on the expense

of somebody else's Sabbath.

And I'll put my hand up

and say that I am rubbish.

When I decide

that I want something,

I struggle to wait

and buy it

and I want it now.

But I remember this study

that we did

in my psychology degree

where children were given

a marshmallow.

And they all knew the rules,

they all understood the rules

that they could eat

the marshmallow now

but if they waited,

they could get

two marshmallows later.

Despite knowing the rules,

mostly all of them

ate the marshmallow straight away

because they couldn't see

that the delayed gratification

was far greater

than the instant gratification.

And we live in a world

where despite the consequences,

so often don't we just want

that marshmallow right now?

We want the riches,

the blessings,

the good stuff now

but what if we were willing

to wait,

surrender everything

because he asks us to?

What if we trusted

that the great stuff,

the real stuff,

is to come

even if it means

laying down something now?

Even if it means

living slightly less comfortably?

Trusting that God

has something

far better for us

than we could possibly

create or store up

for ourselves.

And this is the way

of life that Jesus

is inviting us into.

To live by

his kingdom principles.

He's inviting us

to give it up,

to lay it down

so that he can show us

the real deal.

And as well as living

in this way

of instant gratification,

our culture tells us

that we need to be

significant,

that making a name

for ourselves

by being seen

and acknowledged

for what we do

is of utmost importance.

But it's not.

See, our actions

won't always be recognized

in this world.

Our choices

and our sacrifices

very often

won't be seen

for what they are

by other people.

See,

those three disciples,

James,

Simon,

and Judas,

they were listed

at the beginning

of the gospel

under Jesus'

twelve disciples

but we don't really

hear of them again.

We don't read

their names as often

as some of the others.

But they were willing

to give up

everything

they had.

Family,

comfortable lifestyles,

work,

reputation.

all of it

so that they could

follow Jesus'

call.

Because that call

to come and follow

him was so

compelling.

Because that they

could see the way

of life

of Jesus,

following him

was just too good

to be missed.

I wonder if you know,

I recently learned

this,

that all the twelve

disciples,

except for one,

were martyred.

all of them

killed for their

faith.

All but one.

So John,

who wasn't killed

for his faith,

actually survived

an attempt

and then he was

exiled to Ephesus

where he wrote

Revelation.

But that means

that even our

other three

today were martyred.

They were willing

to die for Jesus,

clubbed to death,

sawn in half,

thrown off a temple

and then stoned

to death.

But they gave up

everything they had,

including their

very lives

for the sake

of the kingdom.

Even though

their names

aren't well recorded

amongst the others.

Even though

they weren't so

recognized as others.

Even though

we don't really

remember what

they did

as well as

the others.

Because it's not

about what other

people think.

It's not about

gathering up

riches and success

and significance

for ourselves.

themselves.

And so I guess

we land with

a couple of

questions.

Even if people

don't get it,

don't recognize it,

don't thank us

for it,

are we willing

to give it all

over to Jesus

anyway?

Are we willing

to give up

everything

to follow Jesus,

even if it means

being criticized

or being unpopular

or leaving behind

our kushti lifestyles?

It's easier

for a camel

to pass through

the eye of a needle

than for a rich person

to enter the kingdom

of heaven.

So are we

ready

and willing

to give up

a life?

Are we ready

and willing

to live a life

of surrender

and obedience

to God

so that we

can serve him

fully,

body,

mind and spirit

in obedience

here on earth

until we receive

the fullness

of his wonderful

glorious riches

in the eternal life?

Shall we pray?

Amen.

Thank you Lord

that you have

so much

more for us

than we could

possibly

ask or imagine.

Thank you

that you invite

us to your

radical

way of living

in this world

of instant

gratification,

of searching

for significance,

of storing up

wealth for ourselves.

Would you teach

us to lay

down that

urge for fame

and fortune

in order

to build

with you

your kingdom

on earth

as it is

in heaven?

Would you

teach us

to live

a life

of surrender

not for our

glory

but for yours?

Amen.