By Pastor Greg
A minister dies and is waiting in line at the Pearly Gates. Ahead of him is a guy dressed in sunglasses, a loud shirt, leather jacket, and jeans. Saint Peter says to this guy, "Who are you, so that I may know whether to admit you to the Kingdom of Heaven?" The guy replies, "I'm Joe Cohen, taxi driver, of Noo Yawk City." Saint Peter consults his list. He smiles and says to the taxi driver, "Take this silken robe and golden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven." The taxi driver goes into Heaven with his robe and staff, and it's the minister's turn. He stands erect and booms out, "I am Joseph Snow, pastor of Saint Mary's for the last 43 years." Saint Peter consults his list. He says to the minister, "Take this cotton robe and wooden staff and enter the Kingdom of Heaven." "Just a minute!" says the minister. "That man was a taxi driver, and he gets a silken robe and golden staff. How can this be?" "Up here, we work by results," says Saint Peter. "While you preached, people slept. While he drove, people prayed."
Interesting point; a point I think the Church sometimes misses. God is not just looking for faith, but works as well.
As we’ve been reading the opening chapter of Paul’s letter to the Colossian Church, its apparent these people had heard of Jesus, had been presented with the Gospel message (that in Christ they will find life), had confessed their sin, and called Jesus Lord. But it seems they had taken that relationship and simply grown inward. I get the impression that they were more interested in figuring out who Jesus is rather than doing anything with this new-found knowledge. This is why Paul reminds them how a believer should respond to their new relationship with Christ.
“25 God has given me the responsibility of serving his church by proclaiming his entire message to you. 26 This message was kept secret for centuries and generations past, but now it has been revealed to God’s people. 27 For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you Gentiles, too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. 28 So we tell others about Christ, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all the wisdom God has given us. We want to present them to God, perfect in their relationship to Christ. 29 That’s why I work and struggle so hard, depending on Christ’s mighty power that works within me.” (Colossians 1:25-29).
These Colossian Christians had been led astray by the notion that a mystery was some secret teaching that would be known only to an exclusive group of people. And they felt this secret knowledge set them apart from the rest of the world. So Paul attempts to correct that belief. Sure, the idea of the Church had been unknown in Old Testament times, but God revealed His plan through Christ’s death on the cross. Jesus didn’t come exclusively for the Jews. He didn’t re-establish them as the dominant political power in the world. Jesus came to set captives free; to offer His life as a ransom for many. But somehow the same selfishness that plagued the first Jewish followers of Christ was now plaguing these Gentile believers; that Jesus was their own personal Messiah.
Look closely at what Paul says in this section. After presenting a bigger Messiah to these Christians, he points out that he (Paul) had been called by God with the task of proclaiming the Word of God, and that he was to preach God’s plan of salvation (verse 25). God had not revealed this plan in the past, but now His plan has been made known, and it is being revealed through the teachings of the Apostles (verse 26). God has finally revealed that His plan all along was to offer redemption to not only Jews but to Gentiles as well. God provided Jesus to be a ransom for all people (verse 27).
When this mystery was first revealed to the Apostles, it was shocking. Keep in mind that at first the Church was almost entirely Jewish. But when Gentiles (non-Jews) were coming to God through faith in Jesus, these Jewish Christians were shocked. They had figured this offer of salvation was made only to the Jewish community. This is why God had to intervene; why He had to reveal even more of His mysterious plan. After the message of Jesus began to spread outside of Israel, Gentiles, who had never once followed the Old Testament Laws, were becoming believers. And God authenticated their faith by giving them the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 10:44-48).
It seems God had to intervene so the Jewish Christians would understand that His plan of redemption belonged to both Jew and Gentile. The message of salvation was not exclusively for Jewish ears. Well, just as the Jews needed to get a bigger view of God’s plan, so too did these Colossian Christians. And Paul reminds them that believers have a responsibility to tell others about Jesus as well. He needed to remind them that a Christian’s responsibility is not to keep the message of Jesus a mystery, but to reveal it to all people. But for some reason the Colossians felt the Church was a select group filled with special knowledge. Notice the emphasis he makes in verses 28 and 29. Paul says a believer must labor to tell others about Jesus so that all will hear. And all who respond will find freedom and restoration in Christ.
The wake-up call for the first group of Jewish believers was that Christ did not just die for them. He came so that all might believe and find life. And in pursuit of a bigger Messiah this early Church needed to understand this. Jesus was not just their own personal Savior. He did not come so a select few of the enlightened might find life. He came to offer His life as a ransom for all who will believe. This was a lesson the Jewish Christians needed to learn, and apparently the Colossian Christians needed to learn. And I’m wondering if this is a lesson today’s Church needs to learn as well.
Like the woman at the well who knew that Jews separated themselves from Samaritans (John 4:9), It seems the world has the notion that the Church stands between them and God; holding some secret key that is reserved for only good people. I get that impression because I have met far too many people who believe they are beyond hope. I meet so many people who believe their lives are beyond redemption; that Jesus would never forgive the things they have done. And I wonder what role the Church has played in promoting that lie. In our own self-righteous piety, have we told the world to stay away? Do we expect lost sinners to clean up their act before they come to Christ or come to church? At some point in our pursuit of a bigger Messiah, will we need to change our view of who Jesus came to save?
If the people of this world feel it is beyond the Savior’s ability to forgive their sin, is it because we, the Church, have led them to believe this? If we have, then perhaps we do not fully understand the mystery of God, and God’s plan of redemption is not being revealed by the Church.
Like the Jewish Christians and the Colossian Christians, we need to realize that Jesus died for everyone, not just a select group of people. Today’s Church needs to stop being so selfish with Jesus and His offer of redemption to everyone and anyone. Jesus did not offer eternal life only to Americans. His offer of salvation is not limited to tax-paying conservative Republicans. Today the Church needs to realize that Jesus came to offer salvation to those who grew up in a church and those who did not; to grant eternal life to anyone who repents of their sin, even the adulterer, the liar, the homosexual, the child-molester, and any other crime or sin we might believe separates someone from God. No one is beyond the grace of God that is found in Christ the Lord.
Sometimes, like these Colossian Christians, we become so self-focused. We fix our eyes on Jesus and never imagine that His eyes might be fixed on someone else. When our eyes and hearts are opened to who Jesus is, what he has created, and what He has done (canceling the debt of sin held against us), we think “Wow, Jesus did this for me!” But we, the redeemed, need to keep in mind that He did this for our neighbor as well. And that neighbor just might be a Samaritan.
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