Every person who has ever lived was born into a cognitive environment. A cognitive environment is the sum total of all the things a person understands and recognizes and knows intuitively. One does not need to be a football fan to recognize what the Super Bowl is—provided one lives in America. A Maasai woman in Kenya would probably think of a large dish as “Super Bowl” would not be part of her cognitive environment. In the same way, an American cattle rancher would not take kindly to a neighboring rancher “reclaiming” the former’s cattle, simply because his neighbor believes God had given all cattle to his people, yet this practice would be readily understood—and accepted—by the Maasai people. It is part of how they understand the world.

The disciples of Jesus were born into a world whose cognitive environment was very different from ours. To understand their writings better we must have some awareness of how they understood the world and how they perceived words. Take the word “salvation,” for example. When we hear the word we tend to think of a future rescue from divine condemnation. How did Paul understand the word? How was it used among first-century Romans?

In the first century many men were called “savior” and brought “salvation” to others. An ancient decree from the Roman governor of Asia (issued in 9 BC) proclaims the “gospel” (good news) of Caesar’s birthday and expresses gratitude for the emperor’s salvation. In this context salvation referred to his benefactions. Caesar gave gifts and performed good deeds. These were the salvation he offered, and therefore he was a savior and was praised as such.

Salvation also meant deliverance or rescue from danger. In a letter from the second century a man named Apion described how the god Serapis saved him when he was in danger in a boat at sea. He then asked of his recipient’s own “salvation”—his present well-being.

When Paul wrote of salvation, this was his cognitive environment. This was part of his understanding of the world that shaped his use of language. A savior brought salvation, which included gifts and benefits and perhaps even rescue of some sort. With this in mind, consider his words to Titus.

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one disregard you.

Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

Titus 2:11–3:7 ESV

More than any other New Testament author, Paul frequently uses the words “Savior” and “salvation”. He certainly speaks of salvation as a future event, a future rescue from death, but it is also clear that he understands the present effects and benefits of salvation. He says our hope is the appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ who has saved us. Notice the present benefaction in mind. He writes that we were once foolish and disobedient, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another (and they didn’t have social media back then!) yet we receive present benefaction—gifts and good deeds performed for us. This salvation comes from our Savior who rescues us in this life from our own sin. While there is a future element involved (“hope of eternal life”) we also receive gifts now, namely, we are no longer foolish and disobedient, etc.

Let us not limit our understanding of salvation to heaven-and-not-hell. Let us recognize that God our Savior has brought us salvation, which includes our present deliverance from our sin. Let us live as those renounce ungodliness and worldly passions. Let us live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, even as we wait for the return of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let’s also recognize Paul’s implication. If Jesus Christ has saved us, this means he has rescued us from our danger, which is God’s wrath. It also means he has given us gifts and benefits in the present time. These gifts and benefits are freedom from slavery to sin. When we speak of living holy lives, we cannot do so thinking that holy living will result in our salvation, for salvation is what enables us to live holy lives. We show that we have received our Savior’s gifts by living in the freedom bestowed by those gifts.

My wife loves deleted scenes. Every movie has them. Not all material that is filmed makes it into the final movie. Sometimes it’s clear why a scene was “deleted”; it added nothing to the story. Sometimes, though, a deleted scene offers a bit of insight into the story, but was cut solely for the sake of time. I find a similar thing happens with a sermon.

Every text of Scripture is rich with meaning, rich with references and allusions to other Scriptures. Every text could be a word study and could be a biblical theology and all sorts of rich truths could be brought out—but not in a single sermon. For this reason my sermon prep involves three questions.

1. What does the text say?
2. What is God saying to us through this text?
3. What is the best way to say it?

Because a text can (and usually does) say multiple things, I must pray and seek God for the message he has for this church. A text says lots of things and so God could say something different through it to one group than he does to another group. Lots of good stuff, then, ends up on the “editing room floor”.

Consider last Sunday’s sermon. (If you were not able to assemble with us you may watch it or listen to it here.) In this text Jesus is sharing a meal with his twelve disciples. He has washed their feet, illustrating for them the servitude necessary for him to go to the cross. He calls them to wash one another’s feet, to be willing to serve one another. He then quoted Psalm 41 and declared that one of them will betray him. The disciple “whom Jesus loved” asked him which one of them would do this. Jesus told him that it was the one to whom he gave a bit of bread. He proceeded to dip the bread in a common dish and then handed the bread “to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot”. It is as this point we read,

Then after he had taken the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”

John 13:27 ESV

Because God’s focus was on loving one another in Sunday’s sermon, there was not time to address this verse in greater detail. What is happening here? It’s important to understand what has been occurring. Jesus had known from the beginning who would betray him (see John 6:64). This means Jesus knew Judas would betray him before he ever called Judas to be one of his disciples! When Jesus traveled with and taught the disciples and when he performed miracles and gave them authority over demons, he knew that Judas would betray him. Yet Jesus pursued Judas. When Jesus called the people to faith and repentance, he was also calling Judas to faith and repentance. When Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, he was also showing Judas his power to save even one as spiritually dead as Judas. When Jesus washed his disciples’ feet he declared that they were truly clean for having been washed by Jesus—but that not all of them were—he was telling Judas that a complete and thorough washing was available even to him, if he were just willing.

Jesus knew that Judas was not willing, yet he continued to show him kindness. At the Last Supper—yes, that Last Supper—Jesus gave Judas a position of honor right next to him. When he was asked which disciple would betray him, Jesus honored Judas yet again by offering him a bit of bread. Such an act by a host at an important feast was a sign of great honor. Jesus knew Judas would betray him, yet he honored him as a final appeal to him through his act of kindness. It was at this point that John tells us Judas took the act of kindness, receiving the honor Jesus gave to him, and “Satan entered into him”.

The “disciple whom Jesus loved” was probably John, and he was to the right of Jesus. This means Judas must have been to his left. Since Jesus was reclining on his left arm he would not have been able to reach any farther to hand someone bread. This also means Judas likely heard both John’s question and Jesus’ answer. Instead of responding to Jesus’ repeated service to him and Jesus’ acts of kindness and appeals to him to repent and believe, Judas fully and completely surrenders to his own sinful desires, and therefore to Satan himself. When he received the bread from Jesus he was resolved to go ahead with his betrayal, thus rejecting Jesus’ final appeal to him.

It isn’t reflected the English Standard Version, but the Greek text of John 13:27 says, “Therefore Jesus said to him, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly.'” Because of Judas’ final, decisive rejection of Jesus, Jesus tells him to get on with it. The time for appeals was over.

So what does it mean that “Satan entered into him”? It means that Judas had completely and utterly surrendered himself to evil and so Satan had full and complete sway over him. Satan was not making Judas do anything; Judas has surrendered his will to Satan. He was fully engaged in following Satan’s guidance. Nothing would stop Judas’ treachery now. No amount of love and patience and kindness from Jesus would change his mind. He would follow Satan’s leading. Satan had “entered into him”.

There is both encouragement and a warning here. It is encouraging that Jesus continued to pursue Judas, calling him to faith and repentance, granting him time to do so. He showed him great kindness even though he knew the outcome of it all. We should be encouraged to show kindness to even the worst of sinners, and we should be encouraged to pursue them by calling them to faith and repentance. However, we should also recognize that the time for believing is limited. The time will come when God offers his final appeal. After this time is up, the individual will be completely given over to Satan and will only face judgment.

God’s greatness is seen in his justice and holiness. This means his glory will be revealed through judgment. But God’s greatness is also seen in his mercy and grace and patience. This means he is willing to save all who will come to him. As Jesus himself declared in John 6,

All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

John 6:37 ESV

We don’t know those whom the Father has given him, but even if we did we should continue to pursue all people, for Jesus pursued Judas until the very end. The promise we cling to is that Jesus would never turn away any who comes to him. No matter how great a person’s evil is, Jesus’ offer to Judas for full and complete forgiveness was a real and genuine offer. Our God is a great Savior.

The prophet Amos proclaimed God’s word against the nations surrounding Israel and Judah. When pronouncing judgment against Tyre and Gaza and Damascus and Edom, etc., those hearing him would have cheered. What person wouldn’t want to hear how angry God is with his enemies? If nothing else, hearing of God’s anger and judgment on those enemies affirms the animosity felt toward those enemies. But then Amos turns his focus onto Judah and Israel, and especially Israel.

Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals—those who trample the head of the poor into the dust of the earth and turn aside the way of the afflicted; a man and his father go in to the same girl, so that my holy name is profaned; they lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge, and in the house of their God they drink the wine of those who have been fined.”

Amos 2:6–8 ESV

Amos uses the Ancient Near Eastern pattern of “not only this, but also that” to highlight Israel’s sins. We know the “for three…and for four” is idiomatic as he lists seven sins. Each of these seven is an oppression of the weak.

The righteous were sold for silver. By referencing those oppressed as “righteous” Amos is indicating that the issue is money lenders were abusing those who had committed no wrong, but were unable to pay for their loans. The law of Moses regulated how Israel was to care for those in need. Instead of caring for them as people, they were being forced into slavery as a result of being unable to pay their debts. Even those with insignificant debts (“the needy for a pair of sandals”) were being exploited instead of being given time to pay back what was owed—or better, have their insignificant debts forgiven.

The powerless were being abused and “trample[d]…into the dust of the earth”. Those with power, whether social or political, were humiliating those without. We don’t know the exact issue but it’s clear that the power imbalance was being used against the weak. The powerless were being ground into dust.

Those with power would “turn aside the way of the afflicted”. In 5:12 Amos uses this phrase to refer to court cases. Those with power easily manipulate and push around those without power, and often use the legal system to do so.

Amos mentions a man and his father going “in to the same girl”. Sexual abuse has been rampant throughout human history and female employees are especially at risk. Powerful and wealthy men have often used their resources—which they could easily withhold—to exploit those in particular need. In this case father and son are complicit in their evil exploitation of the weak.

Amos identifies two more ways in which the powerless were being exploited. He says they—the powerful—”lay themselves down beside every altar on garments taken in pledge”. The law of Moses required that when the destitute gave their clothing as collateral on a loan, that clothing had to be returned by nightfall as it would be the only thing keeping them warm at night (Exodus 22:25–27). Here the rich were sleeping next to altars on those garments, indicating they had not returned them. They took the garments in pledge and then went to a worship celebration of some sort, as if God would be impressed at their ability to exploit others. This mockery of right worship is further demonstrated as they would “drink the wine of those who have been fined” at these worship festivals. If a civil fine were charged the guilty party could pay the fine with wine. Judges were using their civil power for their own gain, and doing so while worshiping God.

God’s response to these seven ways the powerful were exploiting the powerless was to remind them of what he had done for them all those centuries before.

“Yet it was I who destroyed the Amorite before them, whose height was like the height of the cedars and who was as strong as the oaks; I destroyed his fruit above and his roots beneath. Also it was I who brought you up out of the land of Egypt and led you forty years in the wilderness, to possess the land of the Amorite.”

Amos 2:9–10 ESV

When Israel was powerless, God took down the powerful. He did this when he brought them out of Egypt and he did it again when he conquered the land of Canaan for them. Just as God had brought down the oppressor and fought for the oppressed, so should they. God’s anger was directed at the injustices perpetrated by the powerful. His anger was compounded by the fact that Israel had forgotten what it was to be oppressed and had become the oppressor. Rather than reflect the character of the God who had fought those who had exploited them in Egypt, they had begun reflecting the character of the very people who had exploited them. The oppressed had become the oppressor.

The simple truth is we must treat others as God has treated us. God has shown us mercy and grace and is patient with us. God seeks our good and desires that we begin to look and act like him. Not all of us are rich and powerful, yet each one of us has been given a measure of influence and social capital. We must use whatever resources God has given us to stand up for the weak and the powerless and to fight oppression. We do not stand against social injustices because it is the cool thing or because it is the current spirit of the age, but because God in Christ has rescued us from our oppression and fought for us when we were completely and utterly powerless. As the apostle Paul wrote in Romans,

For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 5:6 ESV

Let us use our influence to fight against injustice. Let us speak up for those being oppressed and harassed by the powerful. Let us care for the poor and protect the vulnerable among us. Let us show the world who our God is and what he is like. Let us fight for justice, for our God has done so for us.

Amos was a shepherd. He did not aspire to any great position. He was quite content looking after his sheep. More technically, he was a sheep-breeder. He did not merely look after sheep as they grazed; he bred them so that they would be bigger or stronger or they would produce better wool. We know this because he describes himself this way in the opening verse to his book of prophecy. He also describes himself as “a dresser of sycamore trees” (Amos 7:14). This means he would tend to the figs that grew so as to protect them from insects and to cause them to grow. Given that he was from a town called Tekoah, which is about ten miles south of Jerusalem, and given that sycamore trees grew primarily in the Jordan Valley, he was either a migrant worker who traveled between dressing sycamore trees (in season) and breeding sheep (also in season), or he owned land in at least two locations. Regardless of which, he was a regular guy who worked with his hands and who had no problem getting dirty. He was not the sort of guy who would have even heard of GQ Magazine.

God called him away from this work to be a prophet (Amos 7:15). Though he aspired to nothing greater than his life’s work, God chose him for something other than breeding animals and caring for figs. From his humble life of manual labor God called him to prophesy to the nations, to proclaim God’s words to those in power. Being a man accustomed to sweat and hard work and dirt and callouses, it is interesting how he begins his proclamation of God’s word.

And he said: “The LORD roars from Zion and utters his voice from Jerusalem; the pastures of the shepherds mourn, and the top of Carmel withers.”

Amos 1:2 ESV

There is no fancy language here. The Lord does not merely speak; he roars. God’s first word to the nations about to receive his rebuke is not an eloquent declaration of judgment, but a lion’s roar. A blood-curdling scream, if you will. It is not hard to imagine a snarling and ferocious dog straining at his chain to get at the passer-by who dares get too close to his master’s property. That’s the image here. The Lord roars; he makes a guttural scream that destroys the land. This roar causes the green pastures across the land to “mourn”—they wither and die under the intensity of the roar.

The reader is immediately alerted to the reality of God’s anger. Amos then speaks to the nations surrounding his own nation with a common Ancient Near Eastern formula of “n and n+1”. In the ANE, writers would often cite a number and then add one to emphasize their point. This happens repeatedly in the first couple chapters:

Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have threshed Gilead with threshing sledges of iron.”

Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Gaza, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they carried into exile a whole people to deliver them up to Edom.”

Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Tyre, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they delivered up a whole people to Edom, and did not remember the covenant of brotherhood.”

Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Edom, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he pursued his brother with the sword and cast off all pity, and his anger tore perpetually, and he kept his wrath forever.”

Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of the Ammonites, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have ripped open pregnant women in Gilead, that they might enlarge their border.

Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Moab, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because he burned to lime the bones of the king of Edom.”

Amos 1:2–3, 6, 9, 11, 13, 2:1 ESV

This pattern of “for three…and for four” is an idiomatic way to say something like “as if these weren’t enough, there’s this other thing” or “not only this, but that, too”. The point is God had plenty of reason for pronouncing judgment on these nations. What is also interesting is another pattern Amos uses. Damascus was in the northeast. Then rather than move in order either clockwise or counterclockwise, he crisscrosses the nation to the southwest, to Gaza. Tyre was in the northwest and Edom, Ammon, and Moab were in the southeast. His prophecy against these nations formed crosshairs (to use an anachronistic reference) over the land of Israel and Judah. This makes sense since his prophecy of judgment is for these nations as well:

“Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Judah, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they have rejected the law of the LORD, and have not kept his statutes, but their lies have led them astray, those after which their fathers walked.”

Thus says the LORD: “For three transgressions of Israel, and for four, I will not revoke the punishment, because they sell the righteous for silver, and the needy for a pair of sandals—”

Amos 2:4, 6 ESV

Though Israel and Judah were God’s people, they were not exempt from God’s demand of holiness. All humans should reflect his holiness, as all humans are his image-bearers. God will not tolerate a distortion of himself by anyone, even those who claim to belong to him!

Whether kings or migrant workers, whether white collar or blue collar, whether from a family with a long legacy of faith or from a family with a legacy of sin and depravity, whether our hands are covered in callouses or are used to lighter work, whether young or old, whether rich or poor, each one of us is created in God’s image. Any sin we tolerate in ourselves is a distortion of the One we represent. How much more important this is for us, for those who know the Lord and even more, are known by the Lord! We must live as the transformed people we are, for the Lord has transformed us that we might be a light to those around us. Israel and Judah failed to do this, and they were judged for it. God is still holy. We must reflect this in our lives.

So often when we hear of “prophecy” we think “predicting the future.” While the prophets often spoke of the future, revealing the future was never their primary purpose. The prophets were messengers of God. When we read the prophetic books we often read the phrase, “Thus says the LORD.” This indicates that their primary responsibility was to speak God’s words. God often spoke of the future for his people, yet even a cursory reading of the prophets reveals that God’s message was usually something akin to “Stop sinning so that I may bless you.”

It is the very nature of God to seek to bless. This is the reason for which he created the world: that he might bless his creatures with himself. The greatest gift God can give is himself, for there is nothing greater than God. In Christ the fullness of God is available to all who will believe. A significant barrier to this blessing is sin, for God is holy. This is why the prophets cried out against Israel and the other nations. Their sin and rebellion against God only led to their downfall. The path of blessing was humble submission to the one true God. We looked at the prophet Jonah a few weeks ago and saw that God intended to save the city of Nineveh and the means of doing so was to call them to repentance for their many sins. (Jonah, as you know, left out the part about God’s offer of mercy.) When the king and all his subjects repented, God spared them and granted them mercy and grace.

The prophetic role is one of proclaiming God’s holiness and the need to repent and believe, and of proclaiming God’s promise of salvation, of mercy and grace. This was the role the nation of Israel was supposed to perform in the ancient world. This was why God promised to make them a “kingdom of priests,” for priests brought people to God through their sacrifices. Israel failed in their priestly role and in God’s wisdom he fulfilled his plan anyway by building his church, his true Israel, his true kingdom of priests.

The role of the church is prophetic. We are to proclaim God’s holiness and his incredible offer of mercy and grace in Christ. As we proclaim God’s holiness we must speak to issues of justice and of good governance. We must never be partisan, for partisanship obscures the truth of God in Christ, making repentance and faith in Jesus equal to voting for a particular party. By refusing to participate in partisanship, we are free to speak prophetically, to call out sin and injustice and unrighteousness while also pointing the world to Jesus, the only King worthy of our total allegiance.

In our politically divided world we often see Christians make the claim that to stand up for Jesus, to stand for truth and righteousness, is to vote a particular way—as if Jesus needs an electoral college victory to accomplish his mission! This is not prophetic. This is partisan, and has no business in the church. By refusing to participate in partisanship, we are free to speak prophetically, which necessarily requires that we speak out against injustice and unrighteousness in our world, regardless of which party is in the wrong. (If at this point you can only think of injustice and unrighteousness in the “other party,” you’re partisan, not prophetic.)

Consider the wisdom of Solomon:

Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint…

Proverbs 29:18a ESV

If we are to be salt and light in this world, we must embrace our prophetic role. This requires we leave behind partisanship, for the church has one Lord and his name is Jesus. Our hope is never in electoral victories, Supreme Court justices, House or Senate majorities. Our hope is in Jesus Christ and him crucified, risen, and coming again. When he comes he will establish true and everlasting peace among the nations. As we saw last Sunday, we must proclaim the excellencies—God’s mighty acts of salvation—of the very one who called us out of darkness and into his marvelous light.

We must be the prophetic voice in our nation, calling all to faith and repentance. Notice closely what the Scripture says. Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint. That is, they become lawless. They dive deeper into sin and depravity. This is part of the reason Jesus calls us to be salt in this world. Salt offers many benefits, and while we could point to some of them (salt preserves, salt is essential to life, etc.) it is likely that Jesus’ point is simply that we must be beneficial to the world.

Partisanship benefits no one. There is no partisanship in the kingdom of God, for there is no struggle for power. Jesus is Lord. Period. Living as the people of God in the midst of a hostile and broken world offers the world hope. We must be our nation’s prophetic vision. We must show the world what life is like under the authority of King Jesus. To truly love our nation we must refuse partisanship and we must offer our neighbors God’s prophetic vision, a vision of a world in submission to Jesus. We must demonstrate what his kingdom is like by living as his citizens right here and now. God seeks to bless this world; let’s tell the world how to participate in that blessing.