The Work of God
In his gospel John loves to insert dialogues that Jesus had with a wide variety of people to show that Jesus’ greatest concern was to win people for his kingdom, the Kingdom of God. In John chapter 3 we read of the remarkable encounter with Nicodemus who, although he was a highly regarded member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, came to Jesus ‘at night’. He was still ‘in the dark’ and Jesus explained to him what it means to be ‘born again’. In the next chapter Jesus went out of his way to spend time with and to persuade a somewhat immoral Samaritan woman that he is the Messiah of the world and that the worship he requires is spiritual and not outward.
Luke also records that Jesus ambition was to save lost people. He said to the immoral tax collector Zacchaeus:
“Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.’” Luke 19:9-10
John chapter 9 is all about ‘spiritual blindness’. Jesus and his disciples were walking through Jerusalem when they came across a man who had been blind since birth. This led the disciples too ask Jesus a theological question. The rabbis taught that disease is the result of sin, which is described in Hinduism as the Law of Karma. They asked:
““Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” John 9:2
Jesus explains that it is not that simple. Yes, the rejection of God’s rule is the cause of disease in the world but this is usually a corporate problem and not just an individual ‘cause and effect’. Jesus explained:
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.” John 9:3
Work to be done
Note that Jesus uses the plural for ‘works’. One obvious ‘work’ is that the man’s vision was miraculously restored. Jesus firstly healed his blindness:
“ After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes. “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.” John 9:6-7
Such miracles were part of the evidence proving that Jesus is God’s Messiah. The other ‘works’ concern the main purpose of Jesus coming, that this man and others should receive eternal life and be admitted into God’s Kingdom. They can achieve this by becoming followers of Jesus. Jesus continued:
“As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:4-5
It would be so easy to miss what Jesus is saying to his followers. It is not only Jesus who is to do these works, it is to be the responsibility of all the followers of Jesus to continue his work. We cannot do the miracles Jesus did but we can and should be winning others for Christ.
The work of God is to pass on the message about Jesus, and that he said,
“I am the light of the world.” John 9:5
Like Nicodemus, the world is in darkness if it rejects Christ’s loving rule, he is the light everybody needs. As the prophet Isaiah said,
“Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy. Water will gush forth in the wilderness and streams in the desert.” Isaiah 35:5-6
What a vivd picture this is of the effect of seeing that God’s Messiah has come to give joy, purpose and security.
In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said to his disciples:
“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16
The Great commission emphasises that this is the ‘greater work’ that all Christians are called to be involved with:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20
This is a major role of the Holy Spirit:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8
This also explains why Jesus emphasised that the man had to go to wash the mud off his eyes in the Pool of Siloam. John helpfully emphasises that Siloam means ‘Sent’, with the clear meaning that receiving spiritual sight is linked to being ‘Sent’ to share the glory of Jesus.
The Parable of the Minas
This parable of Jesus in often not well understood. Jesus significantly told this story after the account of his meeting Zacchaeus when, as previously quoted, he explained his purpose in life:
“Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:9-10
The parable then starts:
“A man of noble birth went to a distant country to have himself appointed king and then to return. So he called ten of his servants and gave them ten minas. “But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’ “He was made king, however, and returned home.” Luke 19:12-15
Story was probably derived from the actual history of Archelaus, the son of Herod the Great. He was a most unpopular man. After his father's death, he went to Rome to receive the king ship over part of his father's kingdom, in accordance with his father's will it's confirmation by the Roman Emperor was necessary, because Harrod Empire formed part of the Roman empire. A deputation of 50 senior Jews also went at the same time to oppose Archelaus’ claim to the kingship. In spite of this, the Emperor appointed him as a ruler over half of his father's kingdom, though not as a fully sovereign King. When he returned many opposed him.
Jesus is clearly talking about himself. He would shortly be returning to his Father in heaven be be crowned with glory but who will again return after a long and indefinite time. The Jewish leaders and many people rejected Jesus, refusing to have him as their king. When he does return he will demand that his servants give an account of how they have used what he gave them.
Ten ‘minas’ was worth only about three months of a working man’s pay and note that each of the servants received the same. The question needs to be answered,
“What, in this parable, does the mina represent?”
Each Christian has been given the gospel, the news of salvation that is available to all through Christ and this is available for us to share. Each Christian is expected to make grow, to spread the news about Jesus throughout the world. Every believer must be faithfully employed in this work for the extension of His rule on earth until He returns.
One servant was faithful:
“The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’ ‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’” Luke 19:17
Whoever has faithfully and diligently made the best of the opportunities given him by Jesus to serve his cause will be richly rewarded in the everlasting kingdom. Note the good servant does not receive the ten cities as his own possession that has authority over them in order to administer their affairs on behalf of his master.
Whoever has been faithful to a lesser degree will also be rewarded but to a smaller extent.
The believer who proves to be unfaithful in his service, will be rebuked and will take no part in the privilege of reigning in the heavenly Kingdom or of sharing the authority of the eternal king. Although no believer can perish, the unfaithful and those who forsake their calling will meet with disgrace and loss. Whoever makes use of the opportunities for fruitfulness in the Lord Service will receive further opportunities of working for Christ and will be more richly blessed in eternity. Whoever neglect his opportunities and is unfaithful in the Lord’s Service will become spiritually impoverished.
The Scottish preacher, Alexander Maclaren (1826-1910) often talked about the Judgment seat of Christ, saying:
“It is meant for us professing Christians, real and imperfect Christians; and it tells us that there are degrees in that future blessedness proportioned to present faithfulness
After 10 years of’ rule Archelaus was removed from power by the Emperor. The rebellion of the Jews against Rome reached a climax in the rebellion of 66-70 AD which resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of Jews and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. At the second coming of Jesus all who have rejected Jesus will fave his eternal judgment.
The parable only reports on three of the servants. Presumably we are meant to see ourselves as one of the other seven and answer for ourselves how we are using the gospel we have neem entrusted and empowered with.
There are so many spiritually blind people around us. We have work to do.
The ‘sent ones’
The concept of being "sent" has a profound, specialised theological meaning in the New Testament. It represents a divine commissioning where the person sent acts as a fully authorised legal representative of the one who sent them.
The English word ‘apostle’ is derived directly from the Greek verb apostello and its noun form apostolos, which literally means "one who is sent forth”. In the ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish legal worlds, an apostolos was a delegate or ambassador. The legal principle of Shaliah in Jewish tradition dictated that ‘a man's agent is like the man himself.’
When Jesus sends someone, they do not just carry information; they carry His personal authority, presence, and power.
The first apostle
The Gospel of John emphasises that Jesus is the ultimate ‘Sent One’, using ‘sent’ language nearly 60 times to establish Jesus’ identity as God’s Messiah. Jesus continuously refers to God as ‘the Father who sent me’ to emphasise his relationship with his heavenly Father and his submission to his Father's will.
Jesus is God’s ultimate representative sent from heaven to earth.
”. . . the Apostle and High Priest of our confession” Hebrews 3:1
The church consists of ‘sent ones’
The New Testament transitions the identity of Jesus' followers from ‘disciples’ (learners) to ‘apostles’ (sent ones) to establish the mission of the Church. Jesus said to his disciples after his resurrection
“As the Father has sent me, I also send you”. John 20:21
Christians are expected to live as active, deployed ambassadors of the Kingdom of God rather than passive consumers of religion.
The New Testament writers, especially John, alternate between two primary Greek verbs for ‘sent’, each carrying a slightly different shade of meaning:
Apostello means to send out on a specific, official mission with delegated authority. It emphasises the official status, the commission, and the specific task of the messenger. The messenger represents the sender's very person.
Pempo is a more general term for sending. It focuses on the act of sending itself or the relationship between the sender and the sent, emphasising that the sender remains the source of authority.
When Jesus uses both words in the Gospel of John, He underscores that He is not acting on His own, but is fully backed by the authority of the Father who sent Him.
The New Testament distinguishes between a specific office and a general identity when it comes to being ‘sent’.
The Twelve (capital "A" Apostles) were men like Peter and John who held a unique, unrepeatable historical office. They were eyewitnesses to the resurrected Christ, personally chosen by Him, and given unique authority to establish the foundational doctrine of the Church.
All Christians (small "a" apostles) share in the mission of Christ, of being sent. While believers do not hold the governing office of the original Twelve, we are all called to be ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). Every Christian is ‘sent’ into their workplace, family, and community to represent the Lord Jesus and share his message.
Jesus is the model that all Christians should emulate:
“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.’” John 20:21
In Jesus' final prayer, he emphasised that believers are sent into the culture and should not be isolated from it:
“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” John 17:18
Our calling as Christians is to be like Jesus, the ultimate ‘sent one’.
“Therefore, holy brothers, you who share in a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession. . . .” Hebrews 3:1
What a privilege it is to know that we are sent into the world as Christ’s ambassadors and therefore have God’s authority:
“And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!’” Romans 10:14-15
Just as Jesus has put us right with God, so we have the responsibility and his authority to pass on the Christian message to others.
“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.” 2 Corinthians 5:18-19
The message all Christians have to share is simple:
“We implore you on Christ’s behalf:' ‘Be reconciled to God’.” 2 Corinthians 5:20
BVP
