Teach by Example

 OT Lesson: Joshua 3:7-17 (NLT)

The Lord told Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses. Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.’”

So Joshua told the Israelites, “Come and listen to what the Lord your God says. Today you will know that the living God is among you. He will surely drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites ahead of you. Look, the Ark of the Covenant, which belongs to the Lord of the whole earth, will lead you across the Jordan River! Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall.”

So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho.

Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground.

NT Lesson: Matthew 23:1-12 (NRSV)

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to His disciples, ‘The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practise what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long. They love to have the place of honour at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the market-places, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students. And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. All who exalt themselves will be humbled, and all who humble themselves will be exalted.

Sermon

Introduction

Good morning. Did you all get one more hour of sleep this morning? I am not a big fan of changing times, especially in March, but in November, I think it is quite good to get extra sleep. Wow. It is already November. Soon we will eat turkeys and then without noticing, Advent begins, then Christmas, and then this year will end in a blink of eyes. Speaking of the time, there are a few house keeping announcements related to the timings and schedules. The monthly Gourmet seekers is on the fourth Friday, which is the day after Thanksgiving, commonly called Black Friday. Many of us will have family time. So we will combine the November and December Gourmet Seekers, on Friday, December 1st at Parky’s Smokehouse. Coming Friday, November 10th is BYOB—Bring Your Own Burger. We resumed the Saturday Bible Study from yesterday. Next Sunday is Live for Life Sunday. And the following Sunday, November 19th, Michelle Standeford, the founder of Live for Life Indiana will come and speak. After the service, we will have the Harvest Dinner in the fellowship hall. Two bacon wrapped turkeys will be served, and you may want to bring appetisers or desserts. Now, here is an important thing. Advent begins this year on Sunday, December 3rd. But we at this church of First Presbyterian in Lebanon will begin the Advent one week earlier on Sunday, November 26th. It is to solve the conflict of Christmas Eve and the last Advent Sunday. Both of them fall on Sunday, December 24th. On that Sunday, there will be no in-person Sunday morning service, but Christmas Eve Service in the evening. 

Joshua

As you know, for now, we are following the Revised Common Lectionary. In the OT lesson, we have been seeing Moses for several weeks, and today, we have Joshua, a new leader of Israelites. You all know Moses and Joshua very well, but let me remind you of Joshua. Moses was the first leader of Israelites, and Joshua was his successor. Moses led the people out of the bondage and slavery in Egypt but he was not able to cross the Jordan river and into the promised land. But Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land by crossing the Jordan river. And today’s OT lesson is the very moment of crossing the Jordan river.

And in today’s NT lesson, we have Jesus who does not need an introduction. Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the church in Colossae, that the things in the OT such as diet regulations, calendars and traditions are a shadow of the things that were to come, which is the actual true thing. So OT is the shadow of NT, and in the same way many great people of God in the OT are also the shadow of the Messiah who was to come. For example, Samuel was a shadow of Christ, symbolically representing Him. Samuel was the only person having all three anointing offices—a priest, a prophet, and a judge instead of a king because a shadow cannot be same as the actual thing. And Jesus is also the only other one having all those three offices—the eternal priest, the true prophet, and the king of kings. In the same way, Joshua is also a shadow of Jesus, symbolically representing Him. To begin with, Joshua and Jesus share the same name. In English, we distinguish Joshua from Jesus, but in Hebrew those two names are identical. Joshua was from Hebrew, into Latin, and then English. Jesus was from Aramaic, into Greek, into Latin, and then English. It is like the name ‘John’ in English is in other languages Hans (Danish), Ivan (Russian), Jean (French), Juan (Spanish), Yohan (Korean), and Ian (Gaelic). But these are all same name. Anyway, Joshua and Jesus share a same name which means, “YHWH is salvation.” So Joshua saved his people by leading them into the promised land, and Jesus also saves His people as an angel to Joseph said that, “name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”

The first leader Moses could not cross the Jordan river. He was only permitted to see it. But his successor Joshua crossed the Jordan river into the promised land. Likewise, the law of Moses could not lead us to heaven but its successor, the gospel of Jesus Christ can lead us into heaven. And also Jesus is the Son of a virgin, who knew no man, while Joshua is the son of Nun. I assume a nun probably is a virgin. Of course it is a joke. And actual Hebrew pronunciation is not nun but noon. Nun is a name of Joshua’s father, and the meaning is eternity. So Nun is Joshua’s eternal father, and Joshua is a son of an eternal father by the meaning of the name. And Jesus is the only son of the true Eternal Father in heaven. So in many ways, Joshua is really a shadow of Jesus Christ the Messiah who was to come. Just like Joshua led the Israelites into the promised land, Jesus delivers His people into heaven. But in Joshua’s story of leading people into the promised land, there is a catch. He was leading twelve tribes, but two and half tribes did not go into the promised land because they refused to settle there. Likewise even though Jesus Christ offers us the salvation, the forgiveness, the eternal life, we will not go into heaven if we refuse the offer from Jesus Christ our Saviour.

Crossing the River

So this Joshua who is the shadow of Christ to come was leading the Israelites to the other side of the river. Today’s OT lesson says that the river was overflowing because it was the harvest season. During the dry season, the river gets quite narrow and shallow but in the rain or harvest season it gets more than at least hundred feet wide and ten feet deep. The other problem is that the water flow is crazy fast at the time of flood that even Michael Phelps may not be able to swim across. But to go into the promised land, you have to cross the river. In such case quite many leaders just tell their followers to go while they sit back at a safe place. For example, there is still a war on-going in Ukraine which nobody cares now. While the Russian soldiers are fighting and many of them being killed, president Putin is enjoying his safety at Kremlin palace. That is what most leaders do. Joshua and other leadership of Israel could have done the same. The priests could have said to the people, “We have the precious Ark of the covenant. We must keep it safe. So we will stay back. You people go first into the raging river.” But that was not what God wanted. So God commanded Joshua to let the priests and Joshua himself as well go first into the crazy angry sweeping water of the flooding river. Instead of just verbally preaching and teaching that God will help Israel, Joshua and other leadership taught the people by showing them the real example. Joshua and other priests might be fearful at the sight of the mighty water, I assume. But when they chose not to be cowards, when they chose to be the real leaders, there was a miracle. The water stopped and backed up. Joshua and other leadership of Israel taught the people by example. I pray that all the political and religious leaders in the United States to be like Joshua and his leadership team.

Carrying Boulders

But Joshua’s teaching by example did not stop there. It is after today’s OT lesson, but let me say it any way. God commanded Joshua to let the Israelites pick up some boulders in the middle of the river while they are crossing the river by walking on the bottom of it, one boulder for each tribe of Israel. And of course that is for the educational purpose. God is all about education, and so is Presbyterians. The twelve tribes of Israel are supposed to carry those boulders wherever they may go, which is not easy and may look funny. Then the little children will ask them why they are doing it. Then it is the opportunity for teaching the little children by showing them the real boulders from the bottom of the Jordan river which they picked up while crossing. So God wanted Joshua and the Israelite leadership to teach not only the current generation but also the generations to come in future by showing the real example, not just words.

Jesus Teaching by Example

Now, let us see what and how Jesus did who shares the same name with Joshua. On the night Jesus was betrayed, He presided the first communion ever. Or it was possibly just a festival dinner just like our harvest dinner on the Sunday before Thanksgiving day. In that party, even Judas Iscariot, the betrayer, was also invited. After the dinner, Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, all of them except Judas Iscariot. This feet washing was a shocking and breaking news because it was a slave’s job. Jesus is their lord and master, not their slave. When I was in Israel in 2014, I walked almost every corner and street in old city Jerusalem. I left the hotel early in the morning, and came back at dinner time because breakfast and dinner were all included in that Palestinian owned hotel. I walked in my sandals and shoes, and because my feet were sweating, in the late afternoon, I was able to smell the disgusting smell from my feet while I was walking upstanding. So the feet of the disciples were very probably way smellier than mine. Nonetheless Jesus washed their feet. But the timing was a bit weird because washing was supposed to be before the meal. Here Jesus washed the feet of His disciples after the meal. I’ve been thought about it for a while, and came with two possible reasons. First, Jesus did not want to smell the feet before the meal because it would surely kill the appetite. Second, Jesus was not supposed to wash the feet of Judas Iscariot, which symbolically means that his sin was not washed clean or forgiven. Anyway, after washing the feet, Jesus said to His disciples: “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord—and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have set you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.” Jesus made it clear that it was for the educational purpose. Of course Jesus taught His disciples and preached to the people a lot verbally. We all know His great sermons like the Sermon on the Mountain and all of His brilliant parables. But Jesus was not all about mouth and lips. Jesus taught them by His examples. Not only this time after the first communion, but all the days with His disciples for three and half years, Jesus taught them by showing His own examples.

Do Not Be a Teacher

Being a leader is a great thing. Being a teacher is a wonderful thing. Leaders and teachers deserve respect. But James, the brother of Jesus, urged us that we’d better not be teachers because God will judge the teachers with greater strictness. Teachers will be judged according to what they teach. Preachers will be judged according to what they preach. If the teachers and preachers are all about the mouth and lips, they will including myself surely be judged much more harshly and strictly. In today’s NT lesson, Jesus condemns the Pharisees who were the scholars and teachers of the law and OT. Jesus said to His disciples, ‘Do what the Scribes and Pharisees teach and say, but don’t do what they do, for they do not practise what they teach.’ To make the clear contrast, Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour had set up an example on the night of His arrest. And as the followers of Jesus, we who are the teachers and leaders should do the same. If we cannot be examples for others to see and follow, then we’d better not be teachers and leaders. But the thing is, Christians are naturally leaders. It is ex officio.

Conclusion

Friends, Jesus says that we are the light of the world, and urged us to let our light shine before others, so that they may see our good works and give glory to our Father in heaven. When teachers at school teaching students by example, they do not hide it but show it intentionally. It is not boasting like ‘I am doing so well, much better than you guys,’ but teaching by example. So we also should do the same. When we help the Caring Centre, we need to make the people know. When we help the Live for Life Indiana, we should make the community know. When we support other people or ministries such as Malawi project etc, we must make it known. If we do not show, how can other people see? If they do not see, how can they glorify our Father in heaven? So as Christians and as leaders in the community, let us teach our neighbours by showing and announcing our good works and lead them to Christ our Saviour. Amen.