Open the Door and See All the People

Open the Doors and See All the People

Sermon text: Romans 10:23-48 and Luke 6:46 – 7:10

The scriptures that I chose for this morning are two examples of the way God reaches out to people of all races, ethnic groups, and stations. It does not matter to God whether you’re a fisherman, a tax collector, rich or poor, young or old. It only matters to God that you put your faith in him.
The reading from Luke is an example of such a faith, not from Jesus own people, the Jews, but from a centurion. I checked the dictionary and a Centurion is commander from the Roman army, a leader of 100 soldiers. So this is a man who is used to giving orders and having people follow them. He would be in Israel to help the Roman empire enforce Roman law and to support the Roman government over the people of Israel. We do not have his name here but this centurion is probably very different from most Roman officers in Israel. He is not there to oppress the people, he has apparently learned about the Hebrews and grown to love and respect them. He has heard of Jesus and his teachings. It even says that he built a synagogue for the Jews in his area.
So when this officer of the Roman empire and leader of Roman soldiers has highly valued servant that is is sick and about to die and he hears that Jesus is nearby in Capernaum, he first sends some of the elders of the Jews to plead on his behalf, to ask Jesus to come and heal the servant. The elders told Jesus about how this man had built a synagogue for them. This information peaked Jesus’ interest enough for him to go with them. Then as Jesus was approaching the house the centurion sent some of his friends to carry this message, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.” This is a Roman centurion, a leader among men, one who has the power and authority to tell his soldiers to go and they go or come and they come, but he says, “Lord, don’t trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof.” He knows that Jesus has the power and authority of God. Jesus is so amazed at this man’s faith that her turns to the crowd that is following him as he goes and says, I tell you I have not found such great faith even in Israel.” When the men returned to the house they found that the centurion’s servant had been healed due to the faith of the centurion.
The second reading, from Acts is a portion of the episode recorded in Acts chapter 10 and 11 involving Cornelius, a Roman centurion in the Italian regiment, and Peter the former disciple of Jesus and leader of the early Christian movement. If that was all we knew of them we would expect that Cornelius would be an oppressor of Peter and the other Christians in the early church. That might be what we would have expected, but our God works in mysterious ways. The scripture tells us that Cornelius and all his family were devout and God-fearing. At this early stage in the growth of the Christian movement the apostles had aimed their teaching and preaching toward their Hebrew brethren. So Cornelius had not heard about the Christian movement, and the last thing on Peter’s mind would be going to teach and preach in the home of a Gentile, let alone a Roman soldier.
Now let’s take a look at what happens when you insert the moving of the Holy Spirit into Cornelius’ and Peter’s lives. At the beginning of Chapter 10 you can read the account of Cornelius’ encounter with an angel of God. The angel tells Cornelius to send some men to Joppa to the house where Simon Peter is staying. In faith Cornelius sends two of his servants and one of his attendants, another devout soldier to seek out Peter.
Now we turn to Peter. He is staying in Joppa with other early Christians. Peter has been a devout Jew following the laws and traditions of the covenant made between God and Abraham, and Moses, and Joshua. He is a devoted disciple of Jesus, and a strong leader and speaker in the early Christian movement filled with the Holy Spirit. God prepares him for his encounter with Cornelius with a vision as he is praying on the roof of the house where he has been staying. God shows him this large sheet filled with all kinds of animals, birds, and reptiles. Peter is hungry and God tells him to kill and eat, but Peter says, “Surely not Lord!”
Under Jewish law a devout Jew would not eat anything that was not considered kosher or ceremonially clean. God tells him, “Do not call anything impure that God has made clean.” This vision was repeated to Peter three times and then while Peter is wondering about it the men sent by Cornelius arrive. God tells Peter about the men and tells him not to hesitate to go with them.
Let’s think about that for a moment. The early Christians were persecuted by both the Romans and the Jewish elite. They had been locked up and stoned because they were teaching about Jesus as the Savior and Son of God. So what would you have expected them to do when a soldier and two other men come to the house where they are staying especially if they knew that they had been sent by a Roman centurion? Lock the front door and run out the back? Well once the men stated their purpose, Peter invited them in as guests and then the next day he went with them from Joppa to Caesarea to the home of Cornelius.
Peter went to Cornelius’ house even though it was against Jewish law for him to associate with or visit a gentile, but God had shown Peter, through the vision that he had given him, that he should not call any man impure or unclean.
Cornelius told of the vision that God had given to him about Peter. Peter proceeds to teach Cornelius and his whole household about Jesus Christ, Lord and Savior of all. He told them of the power and Spirit of Jesus and the movement that had started in Judea. He told them of how the Jews killed Jesus but God raised him from the dead on the third day. Peter told them the whole story of salvation and something else unheard of to that date happened. In the same way that the Holy Spirit had come in to the disciples when they were praying at the temple at the time we remember as Pentecost; the Holy Spirit filled that house and the people, these gentile people, Roman citizens and soldiers, were baptized by the spirit. They began speaking in tongues and praising God.
Then Peter said, ‘Can anyone keep these people from being baptized with water? They received the Holy Spirit just as we have.’ So he ordered that they should be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
No matter who we are, where we are, or what we are, these two stories show us that when we put our faith in God, and ask Jesus Christ to be our Savior the Holy Spirit will find us. It does not matter whether we are young or old, black or white, rich or poor. It does not matter whether we are in a church or in our homes, or offices, or factories, or at work on a farm. God knows where we live, and work, and play, and worship. God hears us wherever we are when we pray and praise him. God’s presence is with us wherever we are. No matter where we gather to worship and fellowship with God, wherever two or more gather in God’s name, the Holy Spirit will be there also.

Message from August 20 2006

This is a re-worked sermon that I first used when I was filling the pulpit at the UMC church in the town where I live. I have re-used three times over now in three other churches. I have re-fined it each time, but I still do not have a title for it.

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When I researched commentaries for our gospel lesson from John 10.22-30, I read that the Feast of Dedication is the same thing as Hanukah and that Solomon’s Colonnade ran along the eastern wall of Herod’s temple in an area that gentiles were allowed to enter. The inner areas of the temple were reserved for the Jews. I thought this was interesting because it shows that Jesus was walking and teaching in an area where Jews and gentiles alike could hear him. Jesus probably was teaching in the temple at least in part because it was wintertime and he wanted to have some shelter from the cold. The Jews in the temple used this occasion as an opportunity to try to “get dirt” on Jesus. They were looking for evidence to take to the Sanhedrin to charge Jesus with breaking Jewish law. This was about two years before they would arrest and eventually crucify Jesus.
In the Psalm, and the readings from John and Revelation for today there is a recurring theme of God as the shepherd and the body of believers as His flock or sheep. The theme of Jesus as the shepherd spoke to me. In the book of John, Jesus refers to himself as the shepherd of his people three times, and there are 24 references throughout the Bible about God being the shepherd of believers. This reminds me of the lesson we studied during Vacation Bible School about shepherds and their flocks. When a thief comes to steal the sheep they do not recognize his voice and would not follow him, but the shepherd knows his sheep by name. They know his voice, so when the Good Shepherd calls to them they follow his voice. A hired man does not care for the sheep as the Good Shepherd does, so when the wolf comes around to attach the sheep, the hired man will run off. The Good Shepherd stands and defends his sheep. He protects his sheep and lays down his life for the sheep. What better way could there be to describe the way that Jesus died for our sins to save us from the power and attacks of the devil.
Verses 9 through 12 of Revelation Chapter 7 remind me of the verses in the gospels that talk of Jesus’ Triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday before that first Easter. There are similarities: the people with palm branches singing out praises to Jesus, but there are very important differences. On Palm Sunday some of the people were true believers in Christ as the Son of God and Savior of all and some were just people in celebratory mood as they made their way to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. Many of them were Jews looking for a man that would lead them to rise up and throw off the Roman rulers and establish an earthly kingdom. Almost none of them were there to stand up for Jesus on Maundy Thursday or when he was crucified. But the “great multitude that no one can count” are “from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They are standing before the throne of God and singing praises and proclaiming His eternal heavenly kingdom.
If you were a fly on the wall witnessing such an amazing scene you might ask, “Who are these people?” and “How did they get there? The writer of Revelation asks and answers the question for us in verses 13 and 14. These are true believers in God the Father, God the Son, our Savior Jesus Christ, and God the Holy Spirit! We should be those people. I am just a man, I cannot see as God sees and do not know what God knows, but I believe that we can and will be part of that Great Multitude. If you are not sure that you are going to be there you need to pray to God today and ask him to forgive you of your sins and ask Jesus to come into your heart. For all Christians I see a challenge in today’s scriptures. You and I know if we have accepted Jesus as our Savior and Redeemer. We know when we have been washed and made clean in the blood of the Lamb, but we also know people: friends, neighbors, relatives that do not know God as we do. They do not know that Jesus died for them. That Jesus died for their sins. They do not know God loves them so much that he gave his one and only son, to die so that they might be washed clean of their sins and reconciled to Him. For the sake of God’s church we need to step out in faith and reach out to them. We need to invite them to come to church with us. We need to share the story of our salvation with them.
The words of Jesus in John 10:25-30 are a prophesy that all believers will see fulfilled at the second coming of the Lamb. The message in Revelation 7:9-17 paints a picture in words of the fulfillment of Jesus promise. I know that I will be there and that I will see your faces there, but we cannot be satisfied with that. While we are here on this earth we need to be sure that we do everything that we can, through Jesus Christ, to reach out to our brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. We want to see them when we are before the throne of God. We know that it is not easy to speak to non-Christians about God, but we can be assured that when we do, Jesus will be right there with us. In Matthew 28:19 and 20 Jesus said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Amen!