Wednesday Evening Bible Study

October 25, 2000

Introduction

Tonight’s verses are all about obedience.

In the Bible, we get lots of pictures of what it’s like to be a follower of Jesus Christ.

:39  And he spake a parable unto them, Can the blind lead the blind? shall they not both fall into the ditch?

can – dunamai – to be able, have power whether by virtue of one’s own ability and resources, or of a state of mind, or through favourable circumstances, or by permission of law or custom; to be able to do something; to be capable, strong and powerful

blind – tuphlos – blind; mentally blind

lead – hodegeo – to be a guide, lead on one’s way, to guide; to be a guide or a teacher; to give guidance to

ditch – bothunos – a pit, ditch

In Matthew, Jesus described the Pharisees as “blind”.

(Mat 15:1-14 KJV)  Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying, {2} Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread. {3} But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition? {4} For God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death. {5} But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; {6} And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition. {7} Ye hypocrites, well did Esaias prophesy of you, saying, {8} This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me. {9} But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. {10} And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand: {11} Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man. {12} Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying? {13} But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up. {14} Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.

He rebuked them for not completely doing the things that God wanted of them.  They put their own traditions above God’s desires for them.  Their “religion” was only on the outside and not on the inside.  They could say the right things and do things that impressed other people, but God saw that their hearts weren’t right and their obedience wasn’t complete.

They were blind.

Lesson

Setting an example.

If you’re going to lead others, you are going to need to set the example.

Illustration

Steve Winger (Leadership, Vol. 15, no. 2.) writes,

On a recent ski trip, I saw to my surprise a blind person skiing. The blind skier, wearing a bright pink vest, stayed directly behind an instructor, listening for directions on how and when to turn. Over the next several days I saw many blind skiers, invariably following the person who gave them the information they needed to make it safely down the mountain.

If you are going to talk to others about the change that Jesus can make in their lives, you ought to be one who has been changed.

:40 The disciple is not above his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as his master.

disciple – mathetes – a learner, pupil, disciple

master – didaskalos – a teacher

one that is perfect – katartizo – to render, i.e. to fit, sound, complete; to mend (what has been broken or rent), to repair; to complete; to fit out, equip, put in order, arrange, adjust; to fit or frame for one’s self, prepare; ethically: to strengthen, perfect, complete, make one what he ought to be.

You aren’t going to be greater than Jesus.  He’s perfect.  But if you are mature, then you’ll be more like Jesus.

:41 And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but perceivest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

beholdest – blepo – to see, discern, of the bodily eye; metaph. to see with the mind’s eye

mote – karphos – a dry stalk or twig, a straw; chaff.  Splinter.

perceivest – katanoeo – to perceive, remark, observe, understand; to consider attentively, fix one’s eyes or mind upon

beam – dokos – a beam (something that holds things up).  Think of a 4x4, or one of these big wooden beams here in the Ice-House.

Humor.  Jesus used humor.

Lesson

What you see could be what you’ve got.

When you begin to notice faults in another person, it’s very possible that you might have the very same faults.

I think there’s tendency in us to find fault in others when they start doing the very same things that we have trouble with.

Someone once said,

“Faults are like the headlights of a car; those of others seem more glaring than your own.”

Another person said,

“My sins always look worse on you”.

We can be kind and gracious about our own faults, but when others are doing the same thing, we can tend to get upset.

:42 Either how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me pull out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself beholdest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine own eye, and then shalt thou see clearly to pull out the mote that is in thy brother's eye.

let me – aphiemi – to send away; to permit, allow, not to hinder, to give up a thing to a person

pull out – ekballo – to cast out, drive out, to send out; with notion of violence; to drive out (cast out); to draw out with force, tear out; with implication of force overcoming opposite force

I get the idea of ripping the splinter out of the other person’s eye.

hypocrite – hupokrites – one who answers, an interpreter; an actor, stage player; a dissembler, pretender, hypocrite

cast out – ekballo (same word as translated “pull out”) – to cast out, drive out, to send out; with notion of violence; to drive out (cast out); to draw out with force, tear out; with implication of force overcoming opposite force

see clearly – diablepo – to look through, penetrate by vision; to look fixedly, stare straight before one; to see clearly

pull out – ekballo (same word as translated “pull out”, “cast out”) – to cast out, drive out, to send out; with notion of violence; to drive out (cast out); to draw out with force, tear out; with implication of force overcoming opposite force

Lesson

Deal with yourself first.

This isn’t saying that we should never criticize other people. But before we should ever try to do something about other people’s faults, we should be busy about taking care of our own.

When you find something that irritates you about someone else, spend some time looking in the mirror.  If you really want to get serious, try asking your spouse if they see the same quality in you.

:43 For a good tree bringeth not forth corrupt fruit; neither doth a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

good – kalos – beautiful, handsome, excellent, eminent, choice, surpassing, precious, useful, suitable, commendable, admirable; beautiful to look at, shapely, magnificent; good, excellent in its nature and characteristics, and therefore well adapted to its ends

corrupt – sapros – rotten, putrefied; corrupted by one and no longer fit for use, worn out; of poor quality, bad, unfit for use, worthless

You can tell a lot about a person by what comes out of their life.

We tend to just listen to a person’s words, but neglect the rest of their life.

:44 For every tree is known by his own fruit. For of thorns men do not gather figs, nor of a bramble bush gather they grapes.

:45 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.

good – agathos – of good constitution or nature; useful, salutary; good, pleasant, agreeable, joyful, happy; excellent, distinguished; upright, honourable

evil – poneros – full of labours, annoyances, hardships; bad, of a bad nature or condition; in an ethical sense: evil wicked, bad

Lesson

Listen to what they say

You can tell a lot about a person by what kinds of things come out of their mouth.

Not just what they say about themselves, but how they talk about stuff.

Which set of characteristics does a person’s language fall into?

(Col 3:8-9 NLT)  But now is the time to get rid of anger, rage, malicious behavior, slander, and dirty language. {9} Don't lie to each other, for you have stripped off your old evil nature and all its wicked deeds.

or

(Col 3:12-13 NLT)  Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. {13} You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Illustration

Pastor Mark used to talk about the heart being like a cup.  It’s full of something.  When you’re driving on the freeway and have to make a sudden stop, what’s in the cup will spill over.  What comes out of the cup?

It will simply tell you what has been in the heart all along.

:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?

Lord – kurios – he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has power of deciding; master, lord; the possessor and disposer of a thing; the owner; one who has control of the person, the master

Lesson

“Lord” defined.

I think in this verse we have the ultimate definition of what “Lord” means.

If someone is your “Lord”, then you will obey him.

We can see some of the inconsistency in the lives of the apostles.  At the Last Supper, Jesus began to wash the feet of the disciples,

(John 13:6-9 KJV)  Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet? {7} Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter. {8} Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me. {9} Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

When Peter was staying at Simon the Tanner’s house, he was up on the roof when he saw a vision,

(Acts 10:13-14 KJV)  And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. {14} But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean.

If Jesus is your “Lord”, how can you say “not so”?

Illustration

A blonde guy wanted to go ice fishing.  He’d seen many books on the subject, and finally, after getting all the necessary “tools” together, he made for the nearest frozen lake.  After positioning his comfy footstool, he started to make a circular cut in the ice. Suddenly ---from the sky---  a voice boomed, “THERE ARE NO FISH UNDER THE ICE! Startled, the blonde moved further down the ice, poured a Thermos of cappuccino, and began to cut yet another hole. Again, from the heavens, the voice bellowed, “THERE ARE NO FISH UNDER THE ICE!” The Blonde, now quite worried, moved way down to the opposite end of the ice, set up his stool, and tried again to cut his a hole. The voice came once more: “THERE ARE NO FISH UNDER THE ICE!” He stopped, looked skyward, and said, “Is that you, Lord?” The voice replied, “NO, I AM THE ICE-RINK MANAGER!”

In actuality, there is something in our culture that makes this very difficult.  We as Americans are VERY independent.  We don’t like ANYONE telling us what to do.  In a way, this isn’t that bad, it keeps us from letting tyrants rule over us.  But on the other hand, we don’t have a good concept of what it means to have a Lord.

The bottom line is, if Jesus is your “Lord”, then you must do what He commands.

I’ve known people who like to pick and choose which things in Scripture they’ll obey.  You can’t do that and still call Him “Lord”.

Note:  Some people like to call Jesus a “good teacher”.  He’s much more than just an ordinary teacher.  What do you call a person who demands that you do EVERYTHING He says?  You call Him “Lord”.

Jesus is going to give an illustration about how important it is to obey what He says.

:47 Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like:

:48 He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.

digged – skapto – to dig

deep – bathuno –  ‘the deep’ sea (the ‘high seas’); deep, extreme poverty, the deep things of God, things hidden and above man’s scrutiny, especially divine counsels; to make deep

laid – tithemi – to set, put, place

foundation – themelios – laid down as a foundation, the foundation (of a building, wall, city)

rock – petra – a rock, cliff or ledge; a projecting rock, crag, rocky ground; a rock, a large stone

flood – plemmura – a flood, whether of sea or of a river

beat vehemently – prosregnumi – to break against, break by dashing against

shake – saleuo – a motion produced by winds, storms, waves, etc; to agitate or shake; to cause to totter; to shake thoroughly, of a measure filled by shaking its contents together

founded – themelioo – to lay the foundation, to found; to make stable, establish

:49 But he that heareth, and doeth not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.

ruin – rhegma – that which has been broken or rent asunder; a fracture, breach, cleft; rent clothes; fall, ruin

Lesson

Obedience for survival

Jesus tells a story about two men. Both have something in common, both have something different.

In common: 

They both built a house

I think this is talking about life.  Everyone has a life.  Everyone builds something.

They both went through storms.

These are the troubles of life.  Everyone is going to go through them.  When we go through tough times, we think that something unusual is happening.  It’s actually just the norm.

The difference:

One built on Rock, the other built on “earth” (Matt. says “sand”)

Building your life on the “rock” can only be done when you are doing what Jesus says.  It’s whether or not He’s your “Lord”.

Sometimes we can deceive ourselves by thinking that we’re “building on the rock” when we go to a lot of Bible Studies. 

Don’t get me wrong, it’s wonderful that you go to a lot of Bible Studies.  God can do a lot to wash your thoughts and cleanse your heart as you spend time in the Word.  But in the long run, going to Bible Studies isn’t going to keep your house from falling apart in the storms if you don’t put into practice the things you learn.

You have a choice as to how you’re going to survive the storms of life.

Illustration

Remember the old story of the “Three Little Pigs”?  The first pig wanted to spend his time playing rather than building, so he built his house out of straw.  The Big Bad Wolf came and huffed and puffed and blew in the house.  The second pig built his house out of wood, and the Big Bad Wolf came and huffed and puffed and blew in that house too.  But the third pig was willing to put in the extra hard work at building his house out of bricks, and when the Big Bad Wolf came, he huffed and he puffed, but he couldn’t blow in that house.

How are you going to choose to build your life?

James writes,

(James 1:21-25 NLT)  So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the message God has planted in your hearts, for it is strong enough to save your souls. {22} And remember, it is a message to obey, not just to listen to. If you don't obey, you are only fooling yourself. {23} For if you just listen and don't obey, it is like looking at your face in a mirror but doing nothing to improve your appearance. {24} You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. {25} But if you keep looking steadily into God's perfect law--the law that sets you free--and if you do what it says and don't forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

What has God been asking you to do lately?  What are the issues on the front lines of your growing in the Lord?  Are you say, “Not so, Lord”, or “Yes, Lord”?