Philippians 2:1-13
Matthew 21:23-32

Jesus had not in their mind experienced the proper laying on of hands, their hands, so in their opinion He had no authority. They were unaware that God had given Him the authority He needed at His baptism. A more accurate contemporary paraphrase of their question would be, "Who do you think you are?" or "Where do you get off acting this way?"

In good rabbinic fashion Jesus answers their question with a question. "Why have you not paid attention to the teaching of John the Baptist?" The authorities knew that any answer they gave would get them in trouble so they gave a stock response many give when they don't wish to tell the truth, "We don't know!"

Their response causes Jesus to share a series of parables about how people respond to God. These parable stories ought to challenge us to think about our own response today. We can say "No!" We can say "Yes!" We can say "Maybe!" or "Not now!" or we can say "We will wait and see how things unfold!" In truth there are only two responses "Yes" or "No." Anything other than "Yes" is "No!"

However, as we see in the first parable "Yes!" does not always mean "Yes!" and "No!" doesn't always mean "No!"

My dad always told me actions speak louder than words. We can say we will do something, but our words mean very little unless we back them up with our actions. In His parable Jesus is telling the Pharisees, scribes and anyone else who professes to believe in God that their profession of faith means very little if their actions are not supportive of it. The so-called righteous religious leaders could not see the logs in their own eyes but were quick to point out the specks in others' eyes. Jesus goes on to say that the most sinful people in society who admit their situation and accept God's grace and forgiveness will be the first to enter the Kingdom of God which is intended to be both an immediate and future experience.

Dr. Douglas Hare was my seminary instructor for both Greek and New Testament. He writes, "Obedience is a problem for God's people in every time and place. How easily church work degenerates into little more than simply maintaining the institution. We say we are going to work in the vineyard, but instead of harvesting the grapes we spend our time rearranging the stones along the path!" (Interpretation: Matthew, Louisville:John Knox Press, 1993, p. 248). "The faithful are always in danger of becoming complacent—but the GOOD NEWS is that sinners are always candidates for repentance and salvation" (Donovan-SermonWriter, September 25, 2005).

The apostle Paul understood this long ago and wrote letters to new and struggling congregations to encourage them. At one point Paul was in prison and had received a monetary gift from the people at Philippi. He was most grateful. In love for this generous group of new Christians he wrote and asked them to make his joy complete by each of them looking not to their own interests but to the interests of others (Philippians 2:4). He goes on to ask something of them which I believe is remarkable: "Have the same mind within you that was in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 2:5).

Paul reminds his readers that Jesus gave up everything He had in order to do the will of God because Jesus realized the only thing He had that truly mattered was His relationship with God. Jesus understood that His relationship with God called Him to love others and to be concerned about bringing them to a saving relationship with God. For tax collectors and prostitutes this was made possible by offering them forgiveness and a new way of life. For scribes and Pharisees the task was more difficult in trying to help them accept the fact they could not save themselves through attempting to follow the letter of the Law.

A few years ago one of the many companies that used basketball star Michael Jordan as a spokesperson used the slogan, "Be like Mike!" The idea was to get aspiring basketball stars to buy the product Michael used. The apostle Paul was saying to the early Christians, "Be like Christ!"

• Have as your first priority discerning and doing the will of God.
• Love God with everything you have and with all that you are.
• Put God's will for your life above everything else including your own will.
• Seek constantly to help others.
• Offer peace and reconciliation.
• Work for justice.
• Offer hospitality, mercy and kindness.

What would it mean for each of you to have the same mind within you that was in Christ Jesus? How would it be possible to attain this? Using a story Scott Peck used in one of his books it would involve treating every other person as if they were the Christ while also behaving as if you yourself might be the Christ.

This would involve having to be in God's Presence through constant prayer and meditation on God's Holy Word. It would include working to overcome injustice. You would have to constantly be asking yourself, "What would Jesus do in this situation?" Then you would need to have the courage and willingness to act upon it.

It would be an interesting experiment and experience to live in a community where every member was doing their best to have the mind of Christ within them. My guess is life and relationships would greatly change.

Jesus once told Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews, that "no one can experience the Kingdom of God without being born from above" (John 3:3). One way of understanding this is to realize we must have the same spirit within us that was within Jesus, the Spirit Jesus asked God to give us after His death and resurrection. Jesus once told His followers that having this Spirit would enable them to do greater works than the ones He accomplished.

Today we are in a process called sanctification which means we who desire it are being made holy by the power of God's love working through the Holy Spirit. God has promised that a time will come when this will be made complete. We read in Jeremiah 31:34, "No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the Lord" for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity and remember their sin no more."

What is your response to that? "No thank you!" or "Yes, Lord. I could not ask for anything more."