Twelve
Ordinary Men: The Disciple of Passion
Pastor Mathew Magera – 2/25/18 – Sermon 272
St. Thomas Lutheran Church, Trufant, MI
To God be the Glory!
Grace and peace to you from
God our Father, from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
James was passionate man. I
like to imagine James as a child at a birthday party playing piñata. When it's
James' turn to try to hit the piñata hanging from the tree, he is blindfolded,
given the stick and immediately begins swinging in every which direction
causing other children and parents to duck and cover for their lives. It would
take one brave parent to step in, grab James and redirect him toward the tree
where his passionate swings could be taken out on the unlucky piñata with hopes
of spilling the candy on the ground. James was a very passionate man.
James was one of the top
foursome of Jesus' disciples. The only time he is mentioned on his own is in
the book of Acts where we hear of him being executed. James was the older
brother of John. We know this because of how he is introduced with his brother.
James always comes first and this writing style typically identifies importance
or age. Being the oldest, we might expect to hear more about him, but we don't.
We can infer that James' family was very well to do. Both his father, Zebedee, and
his mother, Salome, are mentioned in the Bible. This mention in the Bible is a
good clue that their family had some importance. It is believed that James'
father is a descendent of the Levite tribe which historically held high
priestly positions in the Jewish religion. This could have meant that Zebedee
had some sort of relationship with the current priests in Jerusalem. Because of
this potential close relationship, James may have felt this qualified him to be
Jesus' most important disciple. He's got an in with the religious leaders so he
has to be important to Jesus, he thinks. This might have been one of the
reasons Peter, Andrew, James and John often argued about who was the best. They
all had their reasons. Peter was the loudest, Andrew always did the right
thing, John was the disciple Jesus loved and James, being the oldest in his
family, had the closest link to a priestly family.
James seemed quiet, much
like Andrew, but James was always included in many of the more private
encounters with Jesus. James was at the transfiguration. He was with Jairus'
daughter. He went with Jesus to the Garden of Gethsemane after the Last Supper.
Though he doesn't speak nearly as much as Peter does, James is described by
passion. Jesus even nicknamed him and his brother John, Sons of Thunder. Unlike
where Peter may have gotten his nickname of Rock so that he could live into it
and as a source of encouragement, it appears James got his nickname as a Son of
Thunder as a means to slow him down and caution him when things got out of
hand. Just by the fact that he was the first of the disciples to be executed
and by Herod of all people shows us that James was not a quiet person by any
means. You might have thought that Peter, with his loud mouth, would have been
the first to become a martyr but, behold, it was James. But, it was James'
death that showed the complete transformation on his life that Jesus intended
to make. James was passionate but he was passionate in the wrong way. Jesus'
influence on James' life was meant to help him reflect on all possible
reactions and redirect his passion toward grace and servanthood.
Once there were three burly
fellows on larger than life motorcycles that pulled up to a highway café where
a truck driver, just a little guy, was perched on a stool quietly eating his
lunch. As the three fellows came in, they spotted him, grabbed his food away
from him and laughed in his face. The truck driver was silent. Time passed and
the truck driver got up, paid for his food, and walked out of the café. One of
the three cyclists wasn’t happy that they had not succeeded in provoking the
little guy into a fight and he commented to the waitress, “Boy, he sure wasn’t
much of a man, was he?” The waitress replied, “Well, I guess not.” Then, as she
looked out the window she said, “I guess he’s not much of a truck driver,
either. He just ran over three motorcycles.”[1]
Fighting wasn’t the answer for the truck driver but decimating motorcycles
wasn’t exactly the right path either. His passion needed to be redirected. This
describes James’ need for reflection.
Have you ever wondered about
your passion for Jesus? Have you ever thought you might be like that truck
driver or like James, being passionate about what you are doing and thinking
and believing with every ounce in you that you are doing the right thing, only
to find out that you also need to be redirected? I think it is very easy to get
caught up in being servants of Christ in our congregation, our community, and
our would and believe that what we are doing is exactly what Jesus would want
us to be doing, doing the most good. This can be challenging to see. Other
times, however, when faced with a decision to act in grace or act in vengeance,
we might know exactly how Jesus would want us to act and we might deliberately
force our passion and our zeal in the wrong direction. We know the stick is
supposed to be used to hit the pinata but standing not five feet away from me
is that kid who stole the dessert out of my lunchbox. We need to be redirected
like James was. There are two main instances in the Gospels where Jesus works
on that redirection of James' passion.
From Vengeance
to Grace
In Luke 9, Jesus is on his
way to Jerusalem and he decides to take the shorter way to Jerusalem which goes
through Samaria. He was on his way to celebrate the Passover, ultimately headed
toward his death on the cross. If you know anything about Samaria you probably
know that it was a place not well liked by the rest of Israel. The feelings
were mutual on both sides. Back when Israel was taken into captivity, other
people began to inhabit the land that God had given them. Upon being released
many years later, Israel came back to their land only to find that other people
had set up shop and taken upon themselves to create their own pagan religions.
While re-establishing their land as their own, some Jews began intermarrying
with these other inhabitants and began to follow their pagan traditions while
still worshipping God. Over time they consolidated into the area now known as
Samaria. They worshiped God on a high mountain within that region and felt that
was the only place God could be worshipped. They followed pagan traditions but
considered themselves Jewish.
With that said, here is
Jesus walking through Samaria with his face set toward Jerusalem. He's on his
way to celebrate the Passover and the Jewish festival. The Samaritans know his
intentions, being a Jew, and since they believe the only place to properly observe
festivals and worship are on the mountain within their region, they are going
to make things difficult for him. When his disciples go ahead of him to try to
secure a place in Samaria for him to stay, they are repeatedly turned down not
because there was no room in the inn but because they knew he was only passing
through with the intention to worship in Jerusalem. Why should we house you if
you aren’t going to worship the right way, they thought? James is ticked off,
offended. With his brother John, he says to Jesus, "Lord, do you want us
to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?" Can you just feel the
intensity going on between Jews and Samaritans right now?
James may have also thought
he was doing the right thing because Elijah did something similar to this in
the Old Testament very close to the same exact spot. At the time, Elijah's
response to what was going on was the appropriate response. In this case,
James' motives were not correct. He didn't have the power to call down fire
from heaven. Jesus was the only one with them who had that power and if he had
wanted to do it, it would've been done already. James was arrogant, wanting to
take things into his own hands. He was suggesting that Jesus give him the power
to do this so it could be done and they could be on their way without any more interruptions.
He wanted Jesus to give him power to do what he knew Jesus would not.
Obviously, Jesus turned and
rebuked James and his brother John. He was, of course, on a mission to save,
not destroy. James, caught up in the moment, forgot that he was following a man
of grace and not a man of vengeance. Perhaps we could say James was noble in
that his motives declared an interest to defend Christ's honor. He wasn't happy
to see Jesus getting tossed aside like yesterday's garbage and he wanted to do
something about it. Unfortunately, his motives were not of grace and, in being
rebuked, he probably learned a little bit about acting gracefully. Jesus taught
James that loving-kindness and mercy are virtues that are to be built up just
as much as righteous zeal. James took a deep breath and they moved on.
Sometime after Jesus'
resurrection, Philip preached in this area and converted many to Christianity.
It's quite possible that some of the converted Samaritans were also some of the
ones that James here wanted to incinerate because of their lack of hospitality.
Jesus taught James that the only thing he should be calling down from heaven is
grace, not fire.
From First To
Last
Another way that James'
passion is misplaced is shown in an encounter in Matthew 20 where his
overconfidence comes out in the wrong way. Jesus had just told the disciples
that when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, they also would sit on
twelve thrones of their own. He also said that many who are first will be last
and many who are last will be first. But, James didn't keep his attention to
the last part. He was already daydreaming of his precious throne. He was already
planning on his own how he could get the thrones closest to Jesus.
Instead of bringing this to
Jesus himself, he and his brother John enlist their mother to ask Jesus on
their behalf. The plan wasn't all that bad either. For James, he was already in
Jesus' closest circle. He also could rely on him being older than John or his
family lineage. The Bible seems to indicate that their mother also followed
with Jesus and the disciples, being a financial support to the group and
possibly as one who prepared meals for them. Confident that Jesus couldn't
possibly say not to their mother, James and John stand right behind her and
wait for Jesus' answer. It was not what they expected.
Jesus seems to gently move their
mother to the side and addresses them directly saying that they did not know
what they were asking for. He asked if they could drink the cup he was about to
drink, that is the suffering and death he would endure. James and John speak up
and say they can. James is overconfident and unsure about what he wants. Even
after this encounter, Jesus never promised him one of those top thrones because
it was not his right to give.
James’ problem was that he
saw the twelve thrones as positions of honor that would be granted to the greatest
of the twelve. What he missed out on was the fact that the last will be first.
Jesus had to teach James that the way to glory is the way of suffering. "James
wanted a crown of glory; Jesus gave him a cup of suffering. He wanted power;
Jesus gave him servanthood. He wanted a place of prominence; Jesus gave him a
martyr's grave. He wanted to rule; Jesus gave him a sword - not to wield, but
to be the instrument of his own execution."[2]
* * *
These two lessons in
directing James’ passion toward being a grace filled servant ultimately did him
well as we find in our second reading from Acts 12. James was clearly a man of
passion. But now his passion was under the control of the Holy Spirit. His passion
was so instrumental in the spread of the Gospel that it had attracted the
attention and the wrath of Herod. James, whether he realized it or not, was
right where he had always hoped to be, on the front line, and in a situation in
which he could show either vengeance or grace.
A man named Clement of
Alexandria wrote about James' death. It is not in the Bible, however. He says
that the one who led James to the judgment seat to be tried, when he saw James
giving his testimony, was moved and confessed that he was also a Christian.
They were both led away together and he begged James to forgive him for giving
him over to death. James responded by saying, "peace be with you" and
he kissed him. They are recorded to have been beheaded together. It appears
that James had learned the grace and mercy and forgiveness that Jesus was
trying to teach him after all instead of itching to execute judgment on others.
James "had been
mentored by Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and shaped by those means
into a man whose zeal and ambition were useful instruments in the hands of God
for spreading of the kingdom. Still courageous, zealous, and committed to the
truth, he had apparently learned to use those qualities for the Lord's service,
rather than for his own self-aggrandizement. And now his strength was so great
that when Herod decided it was time to stop the church, James was the first man
who had to die. He thus drank the cup Christ gave him to drink. His life was
short, but his influence continues to this day."[3]
James was now graceful when
he used to be vengeful. He was now submitting as a servant when his
overconfidence had once led him down an earthly path to greatness. Jesus taught him to control his anger, bridle
his tongue, redirect his zeal, eliminate his thirst for revenge and completely
lose his selfish ambition. Jesus' ultimate example to James and to us about the
direction of our passion, was his death on the cross, full submission and
servanthood giving one’s life for another. We deserved that fire that James
wanted to call down on the Samaritans but thanks be to God for Jesus Christ,
our Savior and Lord, who by suffering for us secured our freedom and a place in
glory. And perhaps James' story of being shaped by Jesus could be a motivation
for us, assured that just as Jesus would love and die for a passionate man like
James that he would likewise love and die for each and every one of us. God be
the glory, now and always. Amen.[4]
[1]
Hodgin, Michael. "1001 Humorous
Illustrations for Public Speaking" Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994.
Pg. 87
[2] MacArthur,
John. Twelve Ordinary Men. Nashville,
TN: Thomas Nelson, 2002. Pg. 91.
[3] MacArthur,
John. Twelve Ordinary Men. Nashville,
TN: Thomas Nelson, 2002. Pg. 93.
[4]
Some content from: MacArthur, John. Twelve
Ordinary Men. Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2002.