1 00:00:00,540 --> 00:00:03,790 Hey everyone, welcome to another episode of the Sunday Sit down 2 00:00:03,800 --> 00:00:08,370 and here I'm here with Pastor Grant and we are going to be 3 00:00:08,820 --> 00:00:15,950 diving a little deeper into passage from Luke chapter 12 4 00:00:15,960 --> 00:00:19,580 that it's a little bit odd. I mean, we've had some odd 5 00:00:19,590 --> 00:00:22,620 passages. This one is like the the 6 00:00:22,630 --> 00:00:27,820 parables are, are just they're a little bit less obvious than 7 00:00:27,870 --> 00:00:29,230 some of the others, it feels like. 8 00:00:29,240 --> 00:00:34,310 And so I know we all had some lingering questions coming out 9 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:40,130 of yesterday, but, you know, I think it's worth just looking a 10 00:00:40,140 --> 00:00:41,710 little deeper at a couple of these things. 11 00:00:41,720 --> 00:00:43,830 And so I don't know if there's anything you wanted to say 12 00:00:43,840 --> 00:00:47,910 following up from yesterday before we before we dive in, 13 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:50,470 but. Yeah, I think, I think the main 14 00:00:50,480 --> 00:00:52,910 thing to remember is that Jesus is teaching in parables. 15 00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:55,760 And so we're going to get more into that obviously in in our 16 00:00:55,770 --> 00:01:00,510 conversation today. And what, what you don't always 17 00:01:00,520 --> 00:01:02,920 have time for in a sermon when you're trying to preach, when 18 00:01:02,930 --> 00:01:07,350 that's reasonably lengthed, like, like it's not, you know, 19 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:12,650 not into the 50, whatever, 6 minute, the time frame. 20 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:14,650 You can't do everything. Yeah. 21 00:01:14,660 --> 00:01:18,770 So one of the things that that we had played with, like an idea 22 00:01:18,780 --> 00:01:22,590 that we had played with for the sermon on Sunday was how much, 23 00:01:22,740 --> 00:01:27,130 how much teaching about parables should we do at this point? 24 00:01:27,380 --> 00:01:29,430 We're going to go into more parables in Luke. 25 00:01:29,440 --> 00:01:32,450 Luke, we're into a section really that in the Gospel of 26 00:01:32,460 --> 00:01:35,360 Matthew, a lot of this is included in the Sermon on the 27 00:01:35,370 --> 00:01:38,190 Mount section. And so Jesus is teaching in 28 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:40,350 parables. He's using parables to teach 29 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:42,320 about what? The Kingdom of heaven is like, 30 00:01:42,330 --> 00:01:47,020 so the Kingdom of heaven is like a is language that's more 31 00:01:47,030 --> 00:01:48,520 commonly found in Matthew, right? 32 00:01:48,530 --> 00:01:52,780 So he says the Kingdom of heaven is like in this parable case, 33 00:01:52,830 --> 00:01:56,220 like a master who went away to a wedding feast and then when he 34 00:01:56,230 --> 00:01:58,760 returned. So Jesus is trying to give us 35 00:01:58,770 --> 00:02:02,780 snippets or like a vision of what the Kingdom of heaven is 36 00:02:02,790 --> 00:02:08,120 like by using for his day modern day analogies, modern day 37 00:02:08,130 --> 00:02:12,460 stories, modern day examples that everybody would be familiar 38 00:02:12,470 --> 00:02:14,410 with. Yeah, so I think that's a 39 00:02:14,420 --> 00:02:19,180 helpful place to start, just to say that Jesus is not, he's not 40 00:02:19,190 --> 00:02:23,830 drawing like literal 1 to one connections all the time with 41 00:02:23,840 --> 00:02:25,890 his parables. In fact, you kind of have to 42 00:02:25,900 --> 00:02:30,050 zoom out and try to take like there's a nugget of truth here. 43 00:02:30,440 --> 00:02:32,770 There's something very profoundly true about the 44 00:02:32,780 --> 00:02:34,730 Kingdom that Jesus is trying to communicate. 45 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:38,990 But if you get too into the weeds on each parable and each 46 00:02:39,000 --> 00:02:43,110 person and how do they line up, it can be really complicated or 47 00:02:43,120 --> 00:02:46,870 really difficult, I should say, to then walk away with what 48 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:50,320 actually is that nugget of truth about the Kingdom. 49 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:55,750 So one really good example of that is you have this opening 50 00:02:55,760 --> 00:02:59,530 parable where Jesus says, you know, be dressed and ready for 51 00:02:59,540 --> 00:03:01,610 service, keep your lamps burning. 52 00:03:02,180 --> 00:03:06,090 We talked about the imagery there calling back to Israel and 53 00:03:06,100 --> 00:03:09,670 God's command to keep your loins girded about like your, your 54 00:03:09,680 --> 00:03:13,070 cloak kind of wrapped up around your waist, tied in a belt, 55 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:17,270 ready to run, ready for action. Because then he says, because 56 00:03:17,340 --> 00:03:20,360 the master is returning to the house at an unknown hour, like 57 00:03:20,370 --> 00:03:22,970 that's, that's the, the So what the why. 58 00:03:22,980 --> 00:03:28,140 And and so he's saying, OK, be like a servant who's ready for 59 00:03:28,150 --> 00:03:32,780 his master to return in the night so that you servant can 60 00:03:32,790 --> 00:03:36,730 open the door. O in that in that parable, are 61 00:03:36,740 --> 00:03:40,240 we to think, OK, is Jesus, Jesus is the master, right? 62 00:03:40,330 --> 00:03:43,320 And well, like the answer is yes and no. 63 00:03:43,360 --> 00:03:51,520 Like Jesus is not a master of slaves in exactly A1 to 1 way 64 00:03:51,530 --> 00:03:53,160 that the people would have been thinking. 65 00:03:53,170 --> 00:03:55,900 But they can picture him though. So the reason I start off by 66 00:03:55,910 --> 00:04:01,280 saying that is then if you hop down a bit, then it that it 67 00:04:01,290 --> 00:04:07,810 turns and says, well, you know, if the master knew that what 68 00:04:07,820 --> 00:04:11,530 hour at what hour the thief was coming, then he wouldn't have 69 00:04:11,540 --> 00:04:15,460 left his house unguarded. So is Jesus the thief like other 70 00:04:15,470 --> 00:04:17,579 verses talk about you, what Jesus is like, you know, deep in 71 00:04:17,589 --> 00:04:18,880 the thief in the night. Yeah. 72 00:04:18,890 --> 00:04:21,790 So like, what's going on? Is Jesus the master? 73 00:04:21,800 --> 00:04:24,500 Is he the thief? Is he makes he metaphors? 74 00:04:24,510 --> 00:04:26,800 Yes. So, so no, no. 75 00:04:26,810 --> 00:04:29,060 And the answer is yes and no, right? 76 00:04:29,070 --> 00:04:32,660 Because what he's trying to communicate is that they're So 77 00:04:32,670 --> 00:04:37,460 what is certain that Jesus is returning, the Kingdom is 78 00:04:37,470 --> 00:04:39,820 coming, right? That that the Son of Man is 79 00:04:39,830 --> 00:04:45,360 arriving, that that is a already and not yet reality. 80 00:04:45,970 --> 00:04:48,500 That's there's certainty. Jesus wants us to think, OK, 81 00:04:48,510 --> 00:04:51,660 there's certainty to the fact that he is arriving, that the 82 00:04:51,670 --> 00:04:55,700 Kingdom is coming, that the Son of Man is here and will yet also 83 00:04:55,710 --> 00:04:58,960 come. But there's also uncertainty. 84 00:04:59,150 --> 00:05:03,700 There's not uncertainty whether or not it will happen, but only 85 00:05:03,710 --> 00:05:07,320 about the time. And, and, and Christians, I 86 00:05:07,330 --> 00:05:12,350 would say, especially modern Christians can tend to fixate on 87 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:14,750 some of those things. Not, not all branches of 88 00:05:14,760 --> 00:05:16,200 Christianity. I think there are some branches 89 00:05:16,210 --> 00:05:20,110 that perhaps focus a little bit more than others, but fixate 90 00:05:20,180 --> 00:05:21,790 perhaps even in an unhealthy way. 91 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:24,110 And, you know, it's a little bit more of a caricature, but you 92 00:05:24,120 --> 00:05:29,630 even think about like that this past fall, we had a incorrect 93 00:05:29,900 --> 00:05:34,010 rapture prediction yet again, you know, and but people get 94 00:05:34,020 --> 00:05:37,050 really like, you know, I think there was like a book in like 95 00:05:37,060 --> 00:05:41,030 the 80s was like 88 reasons why Jesus will return in 1988, you 96 00:05:41,040 --> 00:05:43,190 know, like, and it was like they continued, right? 97 00:05:43,200 --> 00:05:47,100 And people have been been like obsessed with this for decades, 98 00:05:47,110 --> 00:05:49,880 centuries. And yet, like when even when you 99 00:05:49,890 --> 00:05:54,440 go back into the Scriptures, there there is at least some 100 00:05:54,450 --> 00:05:59,260 theories from from biblical scholars that like Paul, thought 101 00:05:59,270 --> 00:06:02,140 that the the return of Christ was imminent in in his. 102 00:06:02,150 --> 00:06:04,720 Day in his. Life in his lifetime, right? 103 00:06:04,810 --> 00:06:09,750 And, and so like that is very, you know, like we here we are 104 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:15,220 2000 years later, right? And it's, it's just, um, we can 105 00:06:15,230 --> 00:06:19,930 lose, we can lose the, the broader point, which things were 106 00:06:19,940 --> 00:06:22,080 trying to say is like we can lose the broader point of what 107 00:06:22,090 --> 00:06:25,820 Jesus is trying to say by fixating on one aspect or one 108 00:06:25,870 --> 00:06:29,940 small portion. Yeah, so if you zoom too far in, 109 00:06:29,950 --> 00:06:33,120 like too close to a parable, it starts to fall apart just like 110 00:06:33,130 --> 00:06:38,380 any, like any metaphor, any analogy stretched beyond its 111 00:06:38,390 --> 00:06:43,060 capacity is going to break. And so, yeah, I think really 112 00:06:43,070 --> 00:06:45,600 what Jesus is trying to do is communicate truths about the 113 00:06:45,610 --> 00:06:49,810 Kingdom using modern day to the to them, you know, modern day 114 00:06:50,060 --> 00:06:53,670 stories and examples that people go, Oh yeah, OK, we know what 115 00:06:53,680 --> 00:06:54,990 that's like. Alright. 116 00:06:55,000 --> 00:06:57,200 He's saying there's there's it's this is important. 117 00:06:57,210 --> 00:06:58,670 There's something important for us to do. 118 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:02,720 There's urgency here, right? OK, we don't know. 119 00:07:02,730 --> 00:07:05,430 Like a servant wouldn't know exactly when the master was 120 00:07:05,440 --> 00:07:08,960 coming back, but that kind of that adds to the urgency of it. 121 00:07:09,010 --> 00:07:10,260 Yeah, right. Do your job. 122 00:07:10,270 --> 00:07:12,220 Like do the right thing. Do the thing that, you know, to 123 00:07:12,230 --> 00:07:17,180 be the good and right thing inside of the ecosystem. 124 00:07:17,190 --> 00:07:21,670 And I think that one of the harder things to tease out is 125 00:07:21,680 --> 00:07:23,590 and you will be rewarded. Like there's, there's some 126 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:26,120 measure of reward and punishment we can get to that, you know, a 127 00:07:26,130 --> 00:07:27,490 little later. On and we will. 128 00:07:27,560 --> 00:07:33,430 Yeah, but the, you know, I, I do think that this is a, a good 129 00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:37,750 pause to remind ourselves that parables aren't meant to teach 130 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:43,100 us everything about the Kingdom, but they are meant to teach us 131 00:07:43,110 --> 00:07:46,990 profound truths about the Kingdom and about our place 132 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:53,180 within it and role and responsibility about who God is 133 00:07:53,190 --> 00:07:56,320 and how God is acting in the world. 134 00:07:56,770 --> 00:07:59,440 But again, like, if you zoom too close in, you can start to go, 135 00:07:59,450 --> 00:08:02,740 OK, well, what's like, is he, is he the master? 136 00:08:02,790 --> 00:08:05,280 Is he the thief? Yes. 137 00:08:05,810 --> 00:08:07,680 OK, what's that like? Can it be both? 138 00:08:07,690 --> 00:08:08,450 Sure. All right. 139 00:08:08,460 --> 00:08:12,020 But it's only both if you really kind of zoom out and go, yeah, 140 00:08:12,070 --> 00:08:14,880 what's really what is Jesus trying to communicate here? 141 00:08:14,950 --> 00:08:18,500 And I know for me, one of the, one of the tensions that I felt 142 00:08:18,510 --> 00:08:22,960 as we were running through this text was even the, the imagery 143 00:08:22,970 --> 00:08:24,960 of, of the master and slave, right? 144 00:08:24,970 --> 00:08:28,710 Because a servant is in, in other translation translations, 145 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:33,260 it will say slave, right, which is a servant was a slave, right? 146 00:08:33,270 --> 00:08:36,700 And, and, and I think that servants you can have a picture 147 00:08:36,710 --> 00:08:39,039 of, I think what we talked about, we talked about like you 148 00:08:39,049 --> 00:08:41,860 could have you have the picture potentially of like a, a Butler 149 00:08:41,870 --> 00:08:46,470 or a house servant of some kind who's like a it was not that, 150 00:08:46,540 --> 00:08:47,390 right? Yeah. 151 00:08:47,440 --> 00:08:51,150 This was the, it was the institution of slavery that was 152 00:08:51,220 --> 00:08:55,670 normative in Jesus's day. That was an assumed reality. 153 00:08:55,720 --> 00:08:58,230 Yeah, yeah. Yeah, with with the caveat and 154 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:02,330 not not to explain it away or just say, well, it's fine, but 155 00:09:02,340 --> 00:09:07,150 with the caveat that it looks or looked very different than what 156 00:09:07,160 --> 00:09:13,710 we tend to picture as slavery in like the post transatlantic 157 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:18,490 slave trade era, right. So indentured servitude, 158 00:09:19,740 --> 00:09:27,200 elective servitude, um, all of those were different options 159 00:09:27,210 --> 00:09:28,790 within. I think the thing that is 160 00:09:28,800 --> 00:09:34,610 important to notice about the way the household was viewed in 161 00:09:34,620 --> 00:09:36,860 Jesus's day. And again, not to say this is 162 00:09:36,870 --> 00:09:43,420 right or wrong, but to say that servants were considered part of 163 00:09:43,430 --> 00:09:46,070 the same household as their master. 164 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:49,470 So yes, and, and it's important to remember, yes, they were 165 00:09:49,480 --> 00:09:53,850 polar opposites, yeah, of that household, but they were 166 00:09:53,860 --> 00:09:59,970 considered part of the household and part of its management and 167 00:09:59,980 --> 00:10:03,510 part of its proper management was to take care of these 168 00:10:03,520 --> 00:10:06,900 people. So no, yeah, we, we have a, we 169 00:10:06,910 --> 00:10:09,990 have a really hard time with, with like the master and slave 170 00:10:10,040 --> 00:10:14,090 language and tend to either like hyper spiritualize it or throw 171 00:10:14,100 --> 00:10:15,970 it out. And it's like, well, you just 172 00:10:15,980 --> 00:10:21,680 have to, you've got to face it. And again, I do think there's a 173 00:10:22,230 --> 00:10:27,470 similar to the parables realize that Jesus is trying to 174 00:10:27,480 --> 00:10:34,060 communicate something truer than even the the household. 175 00:10:34,070 --> 00:10:39,200 Like Jesus topples a lot of the household norms in in his day 176 00:10:39,310 --> 00:10:42,160 without actually going in and like wiping it all out and 177 00:10:42,170 --> 00:10:43,880 saying like abandon all these things. 178 00:10:43,890 --> 00:10:47,580 But he does like that. I think the most important line 179 00:10:47,590 --> 00:10:52,240 is that the master dresses himself as a servant and serves 180 00:10:52,650 --> 00:10:57,380 the servants like So what Jesus does is he acknowledge like he 181 00:10:57,390 --> 00:11:00,120 uses this institution, this household imagery. 182 00:11:01,020 --> 00:11:04,110 He acknowledges the polar opposite ends that a master and 183 00:11:04,120 --> 00:11:07,570 servant would be on. And they were, and for very real 184 00:11:07,580 --> 00:11:13,560 and, and complicated reasons. But then he flips it. 185 00:11:13,610 --> 00:11:15,030 Yeah. And he says, actually, at the 186 00:11:15,040 --> 00:11:17,120 end of the day, what the Kingdom does is flip. 187 00:11:17,130 --> 00:11:23,360 This flips this entire thing on its head so that the master is 188 00:11:23,430 --> 00:11:27,110 the one who serves and the servant is the one who is placed 189 00:11:27,120 --> 00:11:29,030 at the table and who reclines at the table. 190 00:11:29,040 --> 00:11:31,850 Like that's the language. So I think the challenge for us, 191 00:11:31,860 --> 00:11:38,070 and I just want to name this, I get the temptation to either 192 00:11:38,080 --> 00:11:42,950 like hyper spiritualize it and and also the temptation to throw 193 00:11:42,960 --> 00:11:47,040 it out. I think the you don't fully. 194 00:11:47,150 --> 00:11:53,210 We can't comprehend that flip of like the master taking the role 195 00:11:53,220 --> 00:11:59,550 of the servant without embracing the hard reality of the master 196 00:11:59,560 --> 00:12:02,390 and servant power dynamic that existed. 197 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:06,270 And just leaning into that rather than rather than shying 198 00:12:06,280 --> 00:12:08,410 away. And that's what I'm, I'm trying 199 00:12:08,420 --> 00:12:10,500 to sort of like become better at. 200 00:12:10,510 --> 00:12:12,770 That's just personally, I'm like, you know what? 201 00:12:12,820 --> 00:12:15,950 There's a part of me that really does not like when we start 202 00:12:15,960 --> 00:12:20,410 talking about those difficult institutions like slavery and 203 00:12:20,420 --> 00:12:24,400 whatnot. And, and so I, I contend to want 204 00:12:24,410 --> 00:12:28,310 to shy away from them and, and, and, but I think that we can 205 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:31,640 miss out. I can miss out on the beauty of 206 00:12:31,650 --> 00:12:37,360 the flip of that image if I don't feel the the weight of of 207 00:12:37,370 --> 00:12:40,690 the of the of the inverse, right? 208 00:12:40,700 --> 00:12:41,450 Yeah, right. Yeah. 209 00:12:41,460 --> 00:12:45,350 And and what it like what a way to say so for, you know, I don't 210 00:12:45,360 --> 00:12:51,020 know if this is I don't think this is that, you know, happy 211 00:12:51,110 --> 00:12:53,800 podcast feels on a Monday morning. 212 00:12:54,650 --> 00:12:58,380 But like the reality is that the and and I don't have stats 213 00:12:58,390 --> 00:13:02,260 immediately in front of me, but I believe it's true and we can 214 00:13:02,270 --> 00:13:05,840 Fact Check this and put it in the edit if it's not. 215 00:13:05,910 --> 00:13:12,530 But there are more people in slavery today then have been not 216 00:13:12,540 --> 00:13:16,910 cumulatively throughout human history, but more today than 217 00:13:17,180 --> 00:13:20,930 than many other generations previously. 218 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:25,230 And I almost want to say more period than there has been 219 00:13:25,520 --> 00:13:28,470 again, not cumulatively over the years, but in each kind of era. 220 00:13:28,580 --> 00:13:34,130 We just slavery looks very different now and it is masked 221 00:13:34,140 --> 00:13:38,790 and hidden and, you know, hidden, hidden behind supply 222 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:44,480 chain management and a whole lot of different economic and I'm 223 00:13:44,490 --> 00:13:47,280 using air quotes here like economic realities that we would 224 00:13:47,290 --> 00:13:50,180 say, well, you know, do we know where our clothing comes from? 225 00:13:50,190 --> 00:13:52,900 Do we know where our goods and services come from? 226 00:13:53,190 --> 00:13:55,580 Coffee, the coffee that we drink, chocolate. 227 00:13:55,590 --> 00:14:00,000 So, so two of the most unethically produced and traded 228 00:14:00,050 --> 00:14:03,280 goods in the world right now are coffee and chocolate. 229 00:14:03,350 --> 00:14:05,990 And I eat that pretty much every day. 230 00:14:07,150 --> 00:14:11,280 So, you know, I think that what a beautiful way to be able to 231 00:14:11,330 --> 00:14:15,160 say definitively no Christian follower of Jesus. 232 00:14:15,370 --> 00:14:18,600 You need to live your way, your life in a way that pushes 233 00:14:18,610 --> 00:14:23,500 against and firmly, like renounces any institution of 234 00:14:23,510 --> 00:14:27,060 slavery, modern or ancient like that. 235 00:14:27,150 --> 00:14:29,980 That is the reality. So to read this and to go, yeah, 236 00:14:29,990 --> 00:14:32,440 well, there there was a there was a slave master relationship. 237 00:14:32,450 --> 00:14:35,820 And that's just the way it was. That's not to condone slavery. 238 00:14:35,870 --> 00:14:37,970 No. No, that's not to done the 239 00:14:37,980 --> 00:14:40,510 relationship. It's to acknowledge the hard 240 00:14:40,520 --> 00:14:42,430 truth that this is the way it was. 241 00:14:42,500 --> 00:14:46,470 And here's the beauty like the beautiful turn that Jesus makes 242 00:14:46,480 --> 00:14:49,270 is that the master will serve will take the place of a 243 00:14:49,280 --> 00:14:52,930 servant. So how like how else are we 244 00:14:52,940 --> 00:14:55,990 supposed to live now as followers of Jesus other than to 245 00:14:56,000 --> 00:14:59,470 say those institutions categorically wrong? 246 00:14:59,700 --> 00:15:02,410 We need to live our lives in a way that flips them on their 247 00:15:02,420 --> 00:15:05,770 head in that, you know, if you've got power and authority 248 00:15:05,780 --> 00:15:09,010 and you do feel like if you're listening to this podcast, you 249 00:15:09,020 --> 00:15:13,020 have a level of, of power and authority, like of authority or 250 00:15:13,140 --> 00:15:18,780 ability of financial ability would do something proactive 251 00:15:18,790 --> 00:15:20,010 with your money. Yeah. 252 00:15:20,060 --> 00:15:22,390 Yeah. So how are you living in a way 253 00:15:22,480 --> 00:15:27,650 that works to flip the current institutions of slavery on its 254 00:15:27,660 --> 00:15:28,900 head? So one of the changes that we 255 00:15:28,910 --> 00:15:32,920 made at the church, and this is like a very simple change and 256 00:15:32,930 --> 00:15:34,880 it's like. We could do so much. 257 00:15:34,890 --> 00:15:37,110 More, we could do a whole lot more, but a very simple thing 258 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:42,340 that we did was we said, hey, we are going to be very intentional 259 00:15:42,450 --> 00:15:45,860 about where we're sourcing our coffee from because we know that 260 00:15:45,870 --> 00:15:50,040 this is one of the worst traded goods in the world right now. 261 00:15:50,110 --> 00:15:54,420 So we are going to go direct trade through a a Christian 262 00:15:54,470 --> 00:15:59,240 organization that works directly with the farmers, that elevates 263 00:15:59,250 --> 00:16:05,870 women to the level of like ownership of coffee farming and 264 00:16:05,920 --> 00:16:11,070 we buy from ironically Justin. Different. 265 00:16:11,080 --> 00:16:14,850 Buffet coffee. Justin has been to many of the 266 00:16:14,860 --> 00:16:19,590 farms where we source our coffee beans from and that has just 267 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:23,930 been a really cool part of the last year that I think is a 268 00:16:23,940 --> 00:16:28,050 simple for us, very simple. Yes, we can do more, but it is a 269 00:16:28,060 --> 00:16:32,220 definitive like line in the sand or saying, OK, we know these 270 00:16:32,230 --> 00:16:35,520 things to be true. We're going to work our hardest 271 00:16:35,530 --> 00:16:38,700 to make sure that we are doing this in as ethical and 272 00:16:38,770 --> 00:16:43,020 responsible a way as possible. And so I, I just think that it's 273 00:16:43,030 --> 00:16:45,070 a good opportunity to say that as well. 274 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:47,480 That's great. And it also, I think when when 275 00:16:47,490 --> 00:16:54,080 you look at, you know, Jesus flipping the script on, on the 276 00:16:54,090 --> 00:16:59,820 power dynamic of of master and slave and as we seek to lean 277 00:16:59,830 --> 00:17:05,109 into greater Christ likeness that we thought to use whatever, 278 00:17:05,119 --> 00:17:09,630 yeah, whatever power we have, whatever authority we have to do 279 00:17:09,640 --> 00:17:13,230 the same, right? I often just go, I go back to 280 00:17:13,300 --> 00:17:16,119 Philippians 2 all the time where where it talks about Jesus 281 00:17:16,130 --> 00:17:20,609 emptying his, his authority and power and and it's like, how can 282 00:17:20,619 --> 00:17:22,290 we do the same? And I mean, there are other 283 00:17:22,300 --> 00:17:27,329 great organizations that are not just doing, not just doing 284 00:17:27,339 --> 00:17:31,140 things like creating, you know, sustainable coffee streams, but 285 00:17:31,150 --> 00:17:33,590 also like, you know, like, I think of international justice 286 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:38,250 mission and like the work that they do to literally release 287 00:17:38,260 --> 00:17:43,830 slaves, slavery and like wonderful Christian people that 288 00:17:43,840 --> 00:17:47,230 do that, that good work. And, and so like, there's there, 289 00:17:47,240 --> 00:17:52,510 there are indirect things and then like there are direct paths 290 00:17:52,520 --> 00:17:53,930 toward that sort of thing as well. 291 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:56,250 I know we're slightly on a tangent here, but it's, it's 292 00:17:56,260 --> 00:17:57,110 good. It's. 293 00:17:57,390 --> 00:18:02,310 Yeah, but but I do think just to say I get so yes, tangent, but 294 00:18:02,870 --> 00:18:08,410 this is part of part of what we're naming is I think for many 295 00:18:08,420 --> 00:18:10,910 people would be the difficulty in this language. 296 00:18:10,920 --> 00:18:11,810 Like. Stumbling block. 297 00:18:11,820 --> 00:18:14,690 It can be a barrier, right? It's instantly you read it and 298 00:18:14,700 --> 00:18:16,610 you're like, well, I'm out, I'm out. 299 00:18:16,620 --> 00:18:20,250 Like I'm let's skip this part. Yeah. 300 00:18:20,290 --> 00:18:26,490 Well, and, and equally as we get further into this passage, like 301 00:18:26,500 --> 00:18:29,440 the language gets difficult again. 302 00:18:29,650 --> 00:18:33,340 And, and and so, you know, Peter asks, he kind of leans in. 303 00:18:33,350 --> 00:18:35,710 He's like, Lord, are you telling this parable to us or to 304 00:18:35,720 --> 00:18:38,220 everyone? And Jesus kind of side skirts it 305 00:18:38,230 --> 00:18:43,360 and and goes, goes with a different, you know, kind of a 306 00:18:43,370 --> 00:18:47,900 different parable in some ways and toward the end. 307 00:18:48,330 --> 00:18:51,980 So I'm just trying to pull this up here. 308 00:18:54,470 --> 00:18:58,160 So if we go to like verse 45. But suppose the service has to 309 00:18:58,170 --> 00:19:00,320 itself. My master is taking a long time 310 00:19:00,330 --> 00:19:02,300 in coming. And then he begins to beat the 311 00:19:02,310 --> 00:19:05,090 other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and 312 00:19:05,100 --> 00:19:07,930 get drunk. So obviously not, you know, 313 00:19:08,320 --> 00:19:10,880 exercising the authority that's been bestowed to him. 314 00:19:10,890 --> 00:19:12,620 Very well. And then the master of the 315 00:19:12,630 --> 00:19:16,480 servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and add 316 00:19:16,490 --> 00:19:20,640 an hour he is not aware of, and he will cut him to pieces and 317 00:19:20,650 --> 00:19:23,360 assign him a place with the unbelievers. 318 00:19:23,840 --> 00:19:30,270 So it's like who like very intense, and I mean not like, 319 00:19:30,620 --> 00:19:34,320 not dissimilar from some of Jesus's other parables, like, 320 00:19:34,330 --> 00:19:38,680 you know, you think about like the, the like Lazarus and the 321 00:19:38,690 --> 00:19:41,670 rich man and like some of these like that have very intense, 322 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:45,610 very harsh imagery. And this one in particular, he 323 00:19:45,620 --> 00:19:48,870 will cut him to pieces. And and you made a couple 324 00:19:49,800 --> 00:19:53,150 linguistic discoveries as you were looking, you know, at 325 00:19:53,160 --> 00:19:55,460 commentaries and and and. Yeah. 326 00:19:55,530 --> 00:19:57,780 Yeah, again, like this doesn't make the sermon. 327 00:19:58,010 --> 00:20:00,090 Not necessarily right. Because it would it would be a 328 00:20:00,100 --> 00:20:02,600 distraction. I think yeah, yeah, I think so. 329 00:20:02,610 --> 00:20:04,440 OK, I think it's helpful to back up. 330 00:20:04,810 --> 00:20:09,080 So Jesus starts by saying a faithful and sensible servant is 331 00:20:09,090 --> 00:20:12,040 1 whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his 332 00:20:12,050 --> 00:20:15,040 other household servants. So here's the one who has put in 333 00:20:15,050 --> 00:20:17,480 charge. So so it's it's the master 334 00:20:17,790 --> 00:20:19,990 elevates one again, this is household. 335 00:20:20,000 --> 00:20:23,320 The role of household manager would be the language and yes 336 00:20:23,330 --> 00:20:27,310 would be a servant, but would be in charge of all of the other 337 00:20:27,320 --> 00:20:29,230 servants. Now, like Joseph from, yeah, 338 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:32,620 from the, you know, when he's put into slavery in Egypt. 339 00:20:32,630 --> 00:20:35,730 And yes, yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, that's that's a really 340 00:20:35,740 --> 00:20:40,420 good example. So he, you know, the the servant 341 00:20:40,430 --> 00:20:43,540 is put in charge. He's the one responsible for, 342 00:20:43,550 --> 00:20:48,700 and I think this is important, the daily provision of food for 343 00:20:48,770 --> 00:20:51,750 for the other servants like so his responsibility is actually 344 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:54,140 the well-being of the other service. 345 00:20:54,150 --> 00:20:59,020 Not so again, like it yes, it's, it's a level of authority, but 346 00:20:59,030 --> 00:21:03,060 what Jesus constantly does is challenge the idea of authority 347 00:21:03,370 --> 00:21:09,420 and elevate it beyond just power and influence over people, but 348 00:21:09,430 --> 00:21:13,940 responsibility for their care. And so that's the piece that is 349 00:21:13,950 --> 00:21:19,500 so I, I think it's easy for us to jump to the punishment piece, 350 00:21:19,630 --> 00:21:24,820 but we have to realize that what Jesus is saying here in some way 351 00:21:25,190 --> 00:21:27,920 is that this is not, you know, this isn't, this isn't the 352 00:21:27,930 --> 00:21:30,190 punishment for the servant who fell asleep. 353 00:21:30,360 --> 00:21:33,090 And I was like, oh, buddy fell asleep, couldn't stay awake. 354 00:21:33,100 --> 00:21:35,590 Yeah. And the master came home and had 355 00:21:35,600 --> 00:21:38,050 to, you know, knock on the door and extra three times and the 356 00:21:38,100 --> 00:21:40,390 serum woke up. Like it's not, that's not the, 357 00:21:40,520 --> 00:21:43,830 the the part of the parable that we're at. 358 00:21:44,100 --> 00:21:47,650 We're at a very different part where which is, no, I am as a 359 00:21:47,660 --> 00:21:50,420 like I'm giving you authority. I'm giving you responsibility to 360 00:21:50,430 --> 00:21:52,710 take care of these people. And this that serving goes out 361 00:21:52,720 --> 00:21:55,230 and does the exact literal opposite. 362 00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:59,190 Instead of taking care of them and their needs, he indulges in 363 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:04,000 his own like desires and over and like over indulges. 364 00:22:04,010 --> 00:22:07,280 So he eats extra portions. That's the implication here. 365 00:22:07,350 --> 00:22:10,440 He gets drunk. So he takes what was. 366 00:22:10,450 --> 00:22:11,900 Here's here's the way I read this. 367 00:22:11,910 --> 00:22:18,140 He takes what was intended for others well-being and uses it 368 00:22:18,150 --> 00:22:22,650 for his own personal overindulgence. 369 00:22:22,660 --> 00:22:27,640 Yeah, yeah. And so that's not only is he not 370 00:22:27,650 --> 00:22:31,460 taking care of the people who have been placed in his charge, 371 00:22:31,570 --> 00:22:37,580 but he is living in a way that actually is selfish and 372 00:22:37,590 --> 00:22:42,500 self-serving to their detriment. Is the way I read this not only 373 00:22:42,510 --> 00:22:45,030 just to their like, OK, all forgetfulness. 374 00:22:45,040 --> 00:22:47,010 I'm going to go over here like I'm gonna go off into town and 375 00:22:47,020 --> 00:22:48,870 do my thing and you guys still have what you need. 376 00:22:48,880 --> 00:22:52,510 It's like the the implication here is that he's doing it. 377 00:22:52,940 --> 00:22:56,760 What it what he is doing is actually harming those other 378 00:22:56,770 --> 00:22:59,750 servants, not just neglecting them, like not just forgetting 379 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:02,050 about them I should say. Actively. 380 00:23:02,400 --> 00:23:07,960 Actively hurting, yeah. So that is what Jesus commenting 381 00:23:07,970 --> 00:23:12,400 on when then he comes back and says no, that that servant who 382 00:23:12,410 --> 00:23:16,860 was given responsibility and trust over these people, the 383 00:23:16,870 --> 00:23:20,900 punishment for that servant will be greater than for others who 384 00:23:20,910 --> 00:23:24,140 just didn't do what was right because they didn't know. 385 00:23:24,150 --> 00:23:27,230 Hmm. Or who, you know, we're trying 386 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:32,240 to do the right thing and like, no, if you willfully harm other 387 00:23:32,250 --> 00:23:38,210 people, Jesus saying like that, that that is to an extra 388 00:23:38,220 --> 00:23:41,600 measure, not the way of the Kingdom of God. 389 00:23:41,830 --> 00:23:46,780 And there will be a reckoning for that now. 390 00:23:47,490 --> 00:23:50,360 OK, what is that reckoning? So Jesus uses language that was 391 00:23:50,370 --> 00:23:53,400 very common in the day. And here's the like, so we go, 392 00:23:53,410 --> 00:23:55,980 oh, cut up into pieces. Like, I don't know if you 393 00:23:55,990 --> 00:23:59,740 watched Dexter, but like, it's like don't, don't watch Dexter. 394 00:23:59,750 --> 00:24:01,820 But like, that's like, like that's the kind of thing that 395 00:24:01,830 --> 00:24:03,440 make documentaries about. Right. 396 00:24:03,450 --> 00:24:07,080 Yeah, right. Curbing, I mean, yeah, my, my 397 00:24:07,090 --> 00:24:11,340 mind went to, I think it's like toward the end of the book of 398 00:24:11,350 --> 00:24:15,160 Judges and that, that, that that awful, awful story where like 399 00:24:15,170 --> 00:24:17,940 the, the body gets cut up into multiple pieces. 400 00:24:17,950 --> 00:24:21,300 And now that we're in like PG13 territory for this podcast, 401 00:24:21,350 --> 00:24:23,620 yeah. And and gets like sense to the 402 00:24:23,630 --> 00:24:26,560 12 tribes of Israel and like it. It was like, I don't know, it's 403 00:24:26,570 --> 00:24:28,740 just it's gruesome. However you cut. 404 00:24:28,750 --> 00:24:31,020 It so? So is it literal? 405 00:24:31,030 --> 00:24:35,830 Is it? Is it not it? 406 00:24:37,430 --> 00:24:40,660 Yes and no, right? Here's another example where I 407 00:24:40,670 --> 00:24:44,680 think if you zoom too far in, you go, well, like what? 408 00:24:44,690 --> 00:24:46,680 Like really? Like he's gonna, who's gonna get 409 00:24:46,690 --> 00:24:48,580 caught up? Like that's brutal. 410 00:24:48,650 --> 00:24:53,050 What does Jesus mean? Well, for starters, he says cut 411 00:24:53,110 --> 00:24:59,240 up or cut to pieces and given a place with the unbelievers. 412 00:24:59,370 --> 00:25:02,510 So that's a qualifying statement and given a place with the 413 00:25:02,550 --> 00:25:07,180 unbelievers is qualifying what it means to be cut up or cut to 414 00:25:07,190 --> 00:25:09,260 pieces. When you look a little 415 00:25:09,270 --> 00:25:12,520 different, look like a little deeper in that to that like the 416 00:25:12,530 --> 00:25:15,980 Greek word cut to pieces. What we translate cut to pieces, 417 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:23,780 it literally means bisect, cut off or cut away. 418 00:25:24,370 --> 00:25:28,370 And so, you know, there is, this is still harsh language. 419 00:25:28,380 --> 00:25:30,900 Yeah. I think about somebody who has 420 00:25:30,910 --> 00:25:36,120 surgery to remove a tumor. You wanna cut off that dead like 421 00:25:36,190 --> 00:25:42,340 tumor, cancerous cell mass so that everything else can live, 422 00:25:43,270 --> 00:25:46,400 which is I don't think what Jesus is saying is that, hey, 423 00:25:46,410 --> 00:25:48,690 you got to be worried that, you know, if you don't exercise your 424 00:25:48,700 --> 00:25:51,840 authority properly, like when the Son of Man returns, he's 425 00:25:51,850 --> 00:25:53,860 going to cut you up into little pieces in like 30 in a ditch. 426 00:25:53,950 --> 00:25:57,200 That's not, that's not literally what he's saying. 427 00:25:57,390 --> 00:26:02,170 Actually, I think what he's saying is a, in some ways a 428 00:26:02,180 --> 00:26:06,370 harsher punishment, which is what Jesus is saying is, you 429 00:26:06,380 --> 00:26:11,510 know, that that servant ought to be cut out of the household 430 00:26:11,520 --> 00:26:17,030 entirely and banished, cut out and removed for the sake of 431 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:20,750 everybody else, for the sake of the other servants and their 432 00:26:20,760 --> 00:26:23,030 well-being, for the sake of that household management. 433 00:26:23,040 --> 00:26:28,570 You need to cut that one manager off and away so that they like, 434 00:26:28,580 --> 00:26:33,770 for their protection. And so it's it's, it's cut off, 435 00:26:33,820 --> 00:26:38,900 cut away, remove, bisect. But it's really this implication 436 00:26:38,910 --> 00:26:44,740 of, you know, that that one will be cut away and removed for the 437 00:26:44,750 --> 00:26:47,240 health of these other individuals. 438 00:26:47,250 --> 00:26:51,480 So you think about it more holistically as opposed to like 439 00:26:51,490 --> 00:26:54,560 the human being, like the single human being being the whole 440 00:26:54,630 --> 00:26:56,560 thing about the household as being the whole. 441 00:26:56,570 --> 00:26:59,020 So that household gets cut to pieces, right? 442 00:26:59,070 --> 00:27:02,010 Right. And certainly, yeah, it 443 00:27:02,020 --> 00:27:07,010 certainly makes it less gruesome, but obviously the the 444 00:27:07,020 --> 00:27:10,610 reality is still harsh. And that the, the thing that I'm 445 00:27:10,620 --> 00:27:15,680 thinking about, because this is a person who has abused what 446 00:27:15,690 --> 00:27:21,070 authority they've been given and they have, they've harmed people 447 00:27:21,120 --> 00:27:24,290 in their household. They've neglected their, their 448 00:27:24,300 --> 00:27:29,410 responsibilities and duties. I, I think about, you know, and 449 00:27:29,420 --> 00:27:35,560 I think we can look at our profession as, as pastors and, 450 00:27:35,570 --> 00:27:39,410 and we all know stories. You don't have to look very hard 451 00:27:39,420 --> 00:27:43,230 to see them whether they're in the news or whether they are, 452 00:27:43,700 --> 00:27:47,690 you know, just anecdotes that you are aware of, like of people 453 00:27:47,700 --> 00:27:51,820 who have pastors who have abused their authority in, in some. 454 00:27:51,830 --> 00:27:53,460 Way. And then the question is always 455 00:27:53,470 --> 00:27:54,680 what do you do with what do you do? 456 00:27:54,690 --> 00:27:57,460 Like, should you throw out all the books that they wrote? 457 00:27:57,470 --> 00:28:01,000 Should you like, yeah, should you continue reading them? 458 00:28:01,010 --> 00:28:03,660 Like she listened to sermons? Like should we remove all the 459 00:28:03,670 --> 00:28:07,340 sermons from a website? Can they be brought back into 460 00:28:07,350 --> 00:28:10,260 ministry? Like, we wrestle all this stuff 461 00:28:10,270 --> 00:28:13,800 out, like, in real time. Yeah. 462 00:28:13,870 --> 00:28:18,220 And you don't need to look beyond, like, a month ago in the 463 00:28:18,230 --> 00:28:21,450 news, yeah, to start to see some of these things. 464 00:28:21,490 --> 00:28:25,460 Hmm. But the thing that I I'm 465 00:28:25,470 --> 00:28:30,260 thinking about is that Jesus certainly seems to have a 466 00:28:30,350 --> 00:28:35,600 there's an intensity toward the, the person who has been given 467 00:28:35,610 --> 00:28:38,820 that responsibility, which you know, which lines up with for 468 00:28:38,830 --> 00:28:43,170 everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded. 469 00:28:44,250 --> 00:28:47,440 Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think it is proportionate to 470 00:28:47,450 --> 00:28:49,960 your authority. Yeah. 471 00:28:50,020 --> 00:28:53,020 And responsibility. Yeah, which is why it feels so 472 00:28:53,030 --> 00:28:56,650 heinous when when someone who has been given this great deal 473 00:28:56,660 --> 00:28:59,800 of authority and responsibility, when they when they abuse that 474 00:28:59,810 --> 00:29:01,980 in in a profound. Way yeah. 475 00:29:02,050 --> 00:29:08,020 So I like I do think that this is an extra warning to leaders 476 00:29:08,110 --> 00:29:09,960 and especially leaders within the church. 477 00:29:10,540 --> 00:29:15,980 So I, I like, I, I do also think that this is universally 478 00:29:15,990 --> 00:29:18,020 applicable to all followers of Jesus. 479 00:29:18,430 --> 00:29:22,540 So it, it can be both of those. I think this is an extra warning 480 00:29:22,550 --> 00:29:27,780 to those of us who are in ministry and who have a level of 481 00:29:28,350 --> 00:29:35,050 responsibility for a group of people like within the church. 482 00:29:35,060 --> 00:29:38,410 I think this is an extra measure call to us. 483 00:29:39,210 --> 00:29:44,940 I also think that you can say to yourself, who have I been placed 484 00:29:45,010 --> 00:29:50,020 in authority over? I think this is parents to your 485 00:29:50,030 --> 00:29:51,380 children. Yeah, I think this is 486 00:29:51,390 --> 00:29:55,280 grandparents to your children and grandchildren. 487 00:29:55,290 --> 00:30:01,620 Like I I do think that this is, you know, if you're a manager at 488 00:30:01,630 --> 00:30:10,790 work, if you are in any type of leadership authority and I I 489 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:15,230 would almost argue that everybody has influence over or 490 00:30:15,240 --> 00:30:19,870 towards influence over. Somebody maybe has some 491 00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:24,590 challenging dynamics to it, but everybody has influence in their 492 00:30:24,600 --> 00:30:30,540 life and I think any type of authority or influence that you 493 00:30:30,550 --> 00:30:34,600 have, this is a warning for you. Yeah, well, and you could even 494 00:30:34,650 --> 00:30:38,640 maybe this is a little silly, but like, even if you are 495 00:30:38,650 --> 00:30:44,020 someone who you may not have authority in a, in a job or in 496 00:30:44,030 --> 00:30:47,260 your household, but like, goodness, if you have a, if you 497 00:30:47,270 --> 00:30:52,070 have a cat, like like if you, if, if all that you've got is a 498 00:30:52,080 --> 00:30:56,610 cat, like how are you exerting your authority kindly over that 499 00:30:56,620 --> 00:30:59,830 little creature that you know, is dependent on you? 500 00:30:59,890 --> 00:31:03,010 You know, like that's silly. But I think that like just to 501 00:31:03,020 --> 00:31:07,600 say like it can go from all the way from that to the the CEO of 502 00:31:07,610 --> 00:31:09,310 an organization. Right, right. 503 00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:15,610 And I mean also think that it has in some way something to say 504 00:31:15,620 --> 00:31:18,190 to the way you lead yourself. Yeah, right. 505 00:31:18,200 --> 00:31:24,700 The way you are toward yourself, hand toward, um, your own, your 506 00:31:24,710 --> 00:31:27,650 own person. And, you know, we all know that 507 00:31:27,660 --> 00:31:33,540 we can get into horribly negative cycles of like self 508 00:31:33,590 --> 00:31:37,410 talk. So I think if, if yeah, if all 509 00:31:37,420 --> 00:31:40,850 you have is authority over your own self, this, this is a 510 00:31:40,860 --> 00:31:43,220 warning to you. I do think, and I wanna circle 511 00:31:43,230 --> 00:31:46,550 back to this. I do think that it is an extra 512 00:31:46,560 --> 00:31:51,130 warning to those of us in leadership within the church 513 00:31:51,180 --> 00:31:55,610 specifically. And that is something that I 514 00:31:55,620 --> 00:32:04,240 think you and I have talked about and like wrestle out every 515 00:32:04,250 --> 00:32:10,950 single time you see somebody within the church either make a 516 00:32:10,960 --> 00:32:16,390 confession about something or have charges brought up against 517 00:32:16,400 --> 00:32:20,850 them for some abuse of authority and power. 518 00:32:22,680 --> 00:32:25,490 But we all know, like the, the abuse of authority and power is 519 00:32:25,500 --> 00:32:35,330 one of the like gravest, um, harms that one person can 520 00:32:35,380 --> 00:32:40,250 exercise over another. So an extra warning, an extra 521 00:32:40,260 --> 00:32:44,010 somber warning probably to those who have institutional power. 522 00:32:44,080 --> 00:32:46,270 Yeah, over, yeah, people. Yeah. 523 00:32:46,280 --> 00:32:48,450 So whether that's within the church, whether that's within 524 00:32:48,460 --> 00:32:50,880 politics, whether that's within a school system, whether that's 525 00:32:50,890 --> 00:32:54,130 within, you know, medical systems, any type of 526 00:32:54,140 --> 00:32:57,470 institutional power where like an organization has given you 527 00:32:57,480 --> 00:33:02,660 authority and power, this is this is a warning for you, for 528 00:33:02,670 --> 00:33:03,860 us. Yeah. 529 00:33:05,540 --> 00:33:08,670 So that feels like a bad place to end. 530 00:33:08,800 --> 00:33:11,370 Sure. Here's one of the questions that 531 00:33:11,380 --> 00:33:14,610 I think you could have. Yeah, reading this this parable. 532 00:33:14,880 --> 00:33:19,790 Does that mean that if you mess up Justin that not you if you 533 00:33:19,800 --> 00:33:22,070 mess up, but if if listener messes up? 534 00:33:22,120 --> 00:33:27,530 You could ask me, it's fine. That that you are cut off from 535 00:33:27,580 --> 00:33:32,870 the Kingdom of God, That this is salvation at stake that Jesus is 536 00:33:32,880 --> 00:33:35,210 talking about? Because I think that's a logical 537 00:33:35,220 --> 00:33:38,270 fear, which might not also be a great place to end. 538 00:33:38,340 --> 00:33:45,810 But you know, is is Jesus, is Jesus saying that if you are in 539 00:33:45,820 --> 00:33:53,760 leadership and exercise your power poorly to the extent of 540 00:33:53,830 --> 00:33:57,420 abusing and harming others, that your salvation is at stake? 541 00:33:58,700 --> 00:34:02,790 It it, I mean, it it what's hard is that it does say assign him a 542 00:34:02,800 --> 00:34:05,250 place with the unbelievers, right? 543 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:07,390 Yeah, Like that's that's a hard one, right? 544 00:34:07,740 --> 00:34:10,900 But but I have to, I have to imagine it, you know, again, 545 00:34:10,909 --> 00:34:16,000 this is where you can go too far down the weeds of exploring 546 00:34:16,010 --> 00:34:20,540 everything because it's really gotta be about, you know, is, is 547 00:34:20,550 --> 00:34:26,040 the person repentant? Is the person going to going to 548 00:34:26,050 --> 00:34:28,260 seek reconciliation as the person? 549 00:34:28,270 --> 00:34:32,860 Like there's, there are so many questions we ought to ask in in 550 00:34:32,870 --> 00:34:36,800 each scenario as it comes up. I I, I think in general, though, 551 00:34:36,810 --> 00:34:40,389 like, I think one thing I would feel comfortable inferring from 552 00:34:40,400 --> 00:34:44,949 this is that like, hey, that person that, that the, the 553 00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:49,440 servant leader, whatever we want to call them, they're not gonna 554 00:34:49,449 --> 00:34:53,050 be in that servant leader role again, even if they've reformed. 555 00:34:53,120 --> 00:34:55,210 Yeah. Like that, that master is not 556 00:34:55,219 --> 00:34:56,750 going to put them in that role. Yeah. 557 00:34:56,760 --> 00:35:02,670 And to me, that is, you know, a sober warning for those of us in 558 00:35:02,680 --> 00:35:07,170 leadership where, where if we have abused that authority, we 559 00:35:07,180 --> 00:35:11,090 should never presume that we are going to be put in a position of 560 00:35:11,100 --> 00:35:13,150 that authority again. Right. 561 00:35:13,220 --> 00:35:18,250 And I've often that, you know, when I've been unpacking 562 00:35:18,630 --> 00:35:23,020 certain, you know, like clergy abuse situations with people and 563 00:35:23,030 --> 00:35:24,500 and someone will say, well, where's the grace? 564 00:35:24,510 --> 00:35:27,020 Where is the great. Like there grace abounds. 565 00:35:27,030 --> 00:35:29,480 There is grace, there is forgiveness, there is grace, 566 00:35:29,550 --> 00:35:33,440 there is reconciliation. All of those things are true. 567 00:35:33,450 --> 00:35:35,590 And I, I can feel myself getting very passionate about this. 568 00:35:35,600 --> 00:35:37,180 This is something I feel very strongly about. 569 00:35:37,190 --> 00:35:39,390 Yeah. Like all of those things are 570 00:35:39,400 --> 00:35:44,880 true, and yet there is no reason why that person, if they feel 571 00:35:44,950 --> 00:35:49,680 still called to ministry in some way, they can get a job at an 572 00:35:49,690 --> 00:35:53,060 Amazon factory, an Amazon warehouse and they can and they 573 00:35:53,070 --> 00:35:56,200 can, you know, minister to his coworkers or whomever. 574 00:35:56,210 --> 00:35:58,940 You know. Like, there are so many ways in 575 00:35:58,950 --> 00:36:04,000 which someone may be called to be participants in the Kingdom 576 00:36:04,010 --> 00:36:09,080 after they've fallen as a leader in some way, but they're 577 00:36:09,090 --> 00:36:11,820 probably not going to be in vocational, They ought not to be 578 00:36:11,830 --> 00:36:14,510 in vocational ministry again. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 579 00:36:14,520 --> 00:36:17,730 I, I think it's about leadership and authority, yeah. 580 00:36:17,820 --> 00:36:22,230 So I would say, and I, I, I this didn't make the sermon because 581 00:36:22,280 --> 00:36:27,300 again, you, you gotta go too far down a rabbit hole to even make 582 00:36:27,310 --> 00:36:30,630 the point. And then sometimes making the 583 00:36:30,640 --> 00:36:35,930 point leaves people more at like a place of unease or disease 584 00:36:36,240 --> 00:36:40,750 then then just not making it. I don't think it's about 585 00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:43,380 salvation. Even though Jesus has a place 586 00:36:43,390 --> 00:36:45,490 with the unbelievers. I think he's using very harsh 587 00:36:45,500 --> 00:36:54,580 language to show just how egregious the the the authority 588 00:36:54,590 --> 00:36:59,280 and abuse of is. So I I think he is Jesus is 589 00:36:59,290 --> 00:37:06,310 using language that shows very clearly just how far removed 590 00:37:08,050 --> 00:37:15,250 this makes you or this sort of just how far the division is 591 00:37:15,690 --> 00:37:21,900 that this servant manager has created with his actions. 592 00:37:23,290 --> 00:37:29,220 But just like unbelievers for whom the door of salvation is 593 00:37:29,230 --> 00:37:33,210 open constantly, it's not a salvation thing. 594 00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:36,210 It's it's a, it's an authority thing. 595 00:37:36,220 --> 00:37:39,080 So that's good. I yeah, I don't think that's 596 00:37:39,090 --> 00:37:44,090 somebody needs to live in fear of if I mess up, does that mean 597 00:37:44,100 --> 00:37:45,830 that I'm gonna lose my salvation? 598 00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:48,110 Like, I don't think that's what Jesus is talking about here. 599 00:37:48,160 --> 00:37:50,320 I think what he is talking about specifically is no. 600 00:37:50,330 --> 00:37:54,070 For those of you who have been placed in authority, more will 601 00:37:54,080 --> 00:37:56,400 be demanded of you. More accountability will be 602 00:37:56,410 --> 00:37:59,950 demanded of you because you were given more authority. 603 00:38:00,300 --> 00:38:05,130 And the, the one to whom more responsibility is given, the 604 00:38:05,140 --> 00:38:09,050 more is asked of you. And, you know, I think everybody 605 00:38:09,060 --> 00:38:11,350 feels that, you know, you know, the weight of, of, of 606 00:38:11,360 --> 00:38:13,950 responsibility, right? The weight of be like everybody 607 00:38:13,960 --> 00:38:15,890 who's yeah. And and, you know, I know this 608 00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:20,460 touches on nerves, but everybody who's brought a child home from 609 00:38:20,470 --> 00:38:25,760 the hospital knows like. You, you sit there. 610 00:38:25,770 --> 00:38:27,720 Just. Like, like, Oh my gosh. 611 00:38:27,970 --> 00:38:30,320 I remember being in the. Hospital for this child now. 612 00:38:30,410 --> 00:38:32,500 Absolutely. I remember being in the elevator 613 00:38:32,510 --> 00:38:35,690 in the hospital. It was me and it was one of our 614 00:38:35,700 --> 00:38:37,760 kids. It was our first kid, but it was 615 00:38:37,770 --> 00:38:40,520 me and one of our kids. And like I had her in the thing 616 00:38:40,530 --> 00:38:43,640 and I'm like, and is anybody going to check this seat belt? 617 00:38:43,690 --> 00:38:48,060 Like right. Like you who put me in charge. 618 00:38:48,070 --> 00:38:49,940 Are you going to leave me alone with like? 619 00:38:50,050 --> 00:38:53,760 Are you certain that I can like, walk, just walk her out to the 620 00:38:53,770 --> 00:38:57,240 parking lot? Like this feels like stealing. 621 00:38:58,670 --> 00:39:01,620 Is nobody paying attention to what's happening right now? 622 00:39:02,130 --> 00:39:04,060 But you grow into that responsibility. 623 00:39:04,070 --> 00:39:07,840 I think you feel everybody can feel that weight of 624 00:39:07,850 --> 00:39:09,940 responsibility. And I think what Jesus is saying 625 00:39:09,950 --> 00:39:12,830 is, hey, take that seriously, take the weight of 626 00:39:12,840 --> 00:39:16,060 responsibility seriously. And so you follower of Jesus, 627 00:39:16,070 --> 00:39:18,300 you have responsibility inside the Kingdom. 628 00:39:18,350 --> 00:39:22,330 And what Jesus is saying is take it seriously, like be like that 629 00:39:22,340 --> 00:39:27,920 dad in the elevator who's like, actually, I feel a little, you 630 00:39:27,930 --> 00:39:32,730 know, over my head here, right? I'm, I'm a little bit off into 631 00:39:32,740 --> 00:39:42,080 the deep end like that level of, of, of thoughtfulness or pause I 632 00:39:42,090 --> 00:39:43,260 think is healthy. Yeah. 633 00:39:43,270 --> 00:39:46,360 To go ohk OK, yeah, there's something significant here. 634 00:39:46,370 --> 00:39:48,280 I've been entrusted with some. Big deal. 635 00:39:48,290 --> 00:39:50,210 Let me take it seriously. Let me. 636 00:39:50,220 --> 00:39:51,790 Yeah. So Jesus is saying, hey, take 637 00:39:51,800 --> 00:39:54,660 the Kingdom seriously, take your place within the Kingdom 638 00:39:54,670 --> 00:39:56,680 seriously. You've been given responsibility 639 00:39:58,120 --> 00:40:00,780 regardless of the level of responsibility that is. 640 00:40:02,210 --> 00:40:05,220 Do the thing that you've been called to do and, and take that 641 00:40:05,230 --> 00:40:10,000 seriously and then enjoy it. Find life in it, give life 642 00:40:10,010 --> 00:40:12,260 through it. Don't take life from others. 643 00:40:12,670 --> 00:40:15,860 Yeah, be one who pours life into people. 644 00:40:15,950 --> 00:40:19,110 So I think for all of our roundabout conversation today, 645 00:40:19,120 --> 00:40:21,320 like that's that's what I want people walking away with is not 646 00:40:21,330 --> 00:40:25,920 fear, but this this deep sort of challenge to take it seriously 647 00:40:25,930 --> 00:40:28,860 in a way that breathes life into other people. 648 00:40:28,950 --> 00:40:30,780 That feels like a better place to end. 649 00:40:30,830 --> 00:40:32,100 Agree. That's good. 650 00:40:32,380 --> 00:40:37,620 Well, if you are, if you are joining us over these weeks, we 651 00:40:37,630 --> 00:40:41,780 hope that you'll continue to check us out on Sundays and also 652 00:40:42,030 --> 00:40:45,800 the podcast as we go a little deeper into some of the things 653 00:40:45,810 --> 00:40:48,880 we couldn't get to that were left off the the cutting floor, 654 00:40:48,890 --> 00:40:52,080 so to speak, no pun intended from the actual passage. 655 00:40:52,550 --> 00:40:56,940 But we hope that you'll continue to lean into some of the 656 00:40:57,050 --> 00:40:59,940 challenges and joys that we find in these passages. 657 00:40:59,950 --> 00:41:01,910 And so we'll catch you next time.