One feature of life in our modern world is that human opinion is generally regarded as the highest authority. Down the High Street there are always canvassers with clipboards seeking to waylay members of the public in order to engage in market research. The world of commerce wants to know what people want, in order to know how to supply those wants and therefore to profit from people’s spending.

Politicians set great store by the opinion polls. One of the depressing features of political life is that politicians now seem to formulate their policies, not by what they believe to be good and noble and right, but by what will pleases the electorate, what will gain them votes. Like Pontius Pilate, the demands of the crowd cloud their judgement.

One of the ironies of modern life is that with all the advancement in human knowledge, most people have only a vague, shadowy idea of the basic realities of God, and his place in the universe, instead of putting him at the centre of our thinking; we regard changing human opinion as the highest authority. When our society does this, it makes a big mistake. Justice, and truth and right and wrong are not things that can be altered to suit the current fashion, or public opinion.

One result of the way that we elevate human opinion is that our society is divided. We are divided over fox hunting, we are divided over immigration, and we are divided over Europe and over Iraq. And if human opinion is the highest authority, who is to say who is right and who is wrong? That is our predicament.

But yet division and disagreement are nothing new; they often feature in the bible. The bible does however make it quite clear, that not all opinions are equally valid. In fact the bible sets out quite clearly God’s revelation to the human race. It gives us the Ten Commandments based on love for God and neighbour. But above all, it reveals God’s love for the world in Jesus. Jesus came to reveal the light and truth by which all men and women should live.

He did not offer himself as just one of many suitable alternatives. Jesus said I am the way, and the truth and the life. Jesus was himself surrounded by controversy. There were division regarding him. But Matthew leaves us in no doubt that Jesus brought light and direction. He shows us what is right. In chapter 9 we see five scenes being played out in the earthly life of Jesus. There is opposition to Jesus in each of these scenes, but as each scene is played out, we are left in no doubt that Jesus brings direction and light. Our world would do well to pay rather more attention to that light and direction as we live out life in 2005.

The first scene occurs as Jesus arrives back in Capernaum. His friends bring a paralysed man to Jesus. These men had faith. Jesus says to the paralytic ‘take heart son, your sins are forgiven’. Straight away there is controversy. The teachers of the law think Jesus has blasphemed. He has no right to forgive sins. Forgiveness is still controversial today. There has been arguments this week as to whether Peter Sutcliffe, the Yorkshire ripper should have been allowed out of prison to see the place where his mother’s ashes were scattered. Sometimes, well meaning people trivialise the seriousness of human sin. Maybe the scribes thought Jesus was doing that. Forgiveness is not something that can be pronounced lightly. Ultimately God must forgive sin. There is also a sense in which the one who has been sinned against has the right to forgive. But for some busybody to come along who has not suffered the consequences of that sin and pronounce forgiveness, that is out of order.

There is a cost to be borne in relation to sin. If someone steals £20 from you somebody has to stand that loss of £20. For other sins the loss is not necessarily financial, but is none the less real in terms of hurt and distress. But Jesus could pronounce forgiveness for two reasons. Firstly because he was going to pay the price, he was going to bear the cost of all human sin through his death on the cross.

Secondly Jesus could forgive because he had God’s authority. He left all those present in no doubt of that fact, when he commands the man to stand up and carry his mat home. Our world today needs to be led by Jesus’ example of forgiveness. He taught quite clearly that those who benefit from his forgiveness should be willing to show that forgiveness to others. Not just a cheap and shallow forgiveness that bears no share of the cost of the sin, rather forgiveness that bears the appropriate cost. I suspect this teaching has some bearing on the issue on the writing off of third world debt.

The second scene is of Jesus’ encounter with Matthew the tax collector. Jesus calls Matthew to follow him. This would have raised eyebrows among the religious people. But the fact that Jesus was willing to go into Matthews house and eat with him and his friends, really shocks the Pharisees. They regarded tax collectors and their associates as outside of God’s care, people to be avoided. So they ask Jesus’ disciples why he mixes with such company.

Jesus points out that God’s attitude is somewhat different from theirs. Like some folk today, the Pharisees were obsessed with keeping themselves pure and avoiding anything that might blot their copybook. They were very concerned to offer the sacrifices that would atone for their sins and maintain their personal status. Jesus quotes a verse from the scriptures: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’

Whereas sacrifice was prescribed in the Old Testament and had an appropriate place in the lives of God’s people, it was no substitutes for love and compassion for your neighbour. Jesus had come to reach out to fallen men and women, to restore them to a right relationship with God. It is the sort of compassionate attitude that is appropriate for all God’s people. Jesus shows us his grace that reaches out to help and heal and restore.

The third scene in chapter 9 is a controversy with John the Baptist’s disciples. They, like the Pharisees practiced fasting. They were quite surprised that Jesus’ disciples did not fast, and they wanted to know why not. Jesus answers their question by telling them there is a time for everything. There is a time when fasting will be appropriate for his followers, but that time is not now.
Jesus has come to bring in a new age. It is an age of joy and gladness. Jesus likens it to new wine in new wine skins. In those days, animal skins were used to keep wine, and fresh, supple skins were used for new wine that was still fermenting, so that the skins would stretch to allow for fermentation. There’s an important lesson for us here. Sometimes we get in rather a rut in our Christian life. We think one mood is right all the time.

But the reality is that there is a time and place for different moods and different actions. There is a time to laugh and a time to cry. The disciples will have times of joy, but times of loneliness and sorrow will also come as well. We should not seek to impose our moods or stances on others when they are not appropriate.

In the fourth scene we find people seeking Jesus’ help to heal. A ruler, Mark tells us he was a ruler of the synagogue comes and kneels before Jesus. He begs Jesus to come and touch his daughter and restore her to life. He was a man of faith. A woman also seeks Jesus. She has been ill for twelve years, but she pins her hopes on Jesus. She just attempts to touch his cloak, in the hope that she will be healed. She too had faith.

But this scene too is controversial. There are others who do not have faith. The crowd who are there mourning the death of the young girl do not think that Jesus has anything to offer. They do not think that he can bring life and hope. They laugh at Jesus. There are many like them today, the cynics who want to mock everything, those who look for scandal and ulterior motives. They are those who see no hope. We may not see the dead raised, but where God’s people display faith and Christ’s love, then life and hope can come to the worst of situations. The cynics can be confounded.

The fifth and final scene occurs as Jesus returns home. Two blind men call out to Jesus for help. They come into the house. Jesus asks them if they believe he can heal them. ‘Yes’ they say. Jesus heals them. Time and again Matthew points out the fact that Jesus responds to faith. When people have faith, then they are healed. Faith is what God still requires of us today. But there are also exceptions to that. One group of which no initial faith is asked are those who are demon possessed.

Matthew tells us that when these were brought to Jesus, he drove out the demon or demons and the individual was restored to health. The crowds were amazed. Casting out demons is a controversial subject in our day; although I have no doubt that on occasion demon possession occurs still. But in this last scene there is once again controversy. The Pharisees accuse Jesus of using the Devil’s power to drive out the demons. What a perverse view. Yet today there are those who out of jealousy will misrepresent the truth of the gospel. They will refuse to recognise God’s truth and spread cynical lies instead. Faith in Jesus, a knowledge of his words as revealed in scripture are the thing that can help people discern the truth from the conflicting opinions we hear today.

Matthew concludes his chapter by telling us that as Jesus travelled around teaching and preaching the gospel and healing people, he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd.

Controversy is nothing new; in our world of human opinions there are many today who are just as much sheep without a shepherd, wandering off into lostness. Jesus had compassion on them, and so should we. His comment that ‘the harvest is plentiful but the workers few’ is still true today.

We too should ask the Lord to send out workers. If we are followers of Jesus we should be numbered among the workers too.
 

Amen.

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