The Messiah’s Secret – The Tower of  Babel and the Gift of Tongues

Matthew  records Jesus telling his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. God gave them the ability to speak with people from all over the known world without learning their language

At the time of Noah the Bible informs us that Noah and his family only spoke one language probably Hebrew.

 God had given instructions to Noah and his sons, “Go and be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.” Genesis 9: 1,7.

 However, they did not move very far after the flood, they went to a place on the plain of Shinar with their families and decided to settle there and they started to build a city and in the city they built a tower.

Children with the boxes build the tower 

They built the city and tower of bricks, these were made out of clay and straw and then hardened in a fire which made them strong.
                            

But they had forgotten what God had called them to do, to go and live to different places to populate the earth.

So God confused their language so they had to learn how to speak different languages so they left the city some went to the North, some to the East, and South and West. Some members of congregation spoke in various languages, without giving the meaning.

There is someone in this house. (look inside the house remove Oleg the mere cat) (Read note) "This is baby Oleg, he needs a good home and is hungry for grubs, please look after him." We will give him a home at St. Mary's.

Matthew records that Jesus told his disciples to go and make disciples of all nations. How amazed the disciples must have been when these foreign words came from their lips and the people around them knew what they were saying. (Go back to those who spoke earlier and ask for their interpretation of what they had said.)

Only the God who had confused the language of Noah’s family who gave them different languages could enable the disciples at Pentecost to speak with people from all over the known world without learning their language in order to tell them about Jesus.

Some hearing the disciples were amazed and confused, other mocking said, “They were filled with new wine,” saying they were drunk. Acts 2: 13, 15.

But in fact those who commented were making a connection with Isaiah 28 “These also reel with wine and stagger with strong drink; the priest and the prophet reel with strong drink, they are confused with wine.” Isaiah 28: 7

Peter said they were not drunk as they supposed, Isaiah prophesied in same chapter verse 11, 12 “Nay, but by men of strange lips and with an alien tongue the Lord will speak to his people.” And in the following verse, “Yet they would not hear.” RSV Bible

What a tremendous sign that God was in their presence, yet we read in Matthews Gospel that as they stood with Jesus on the mountain in Galilee some doubted. 

St Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians Chapter 14 he quoted from Isaiah 28 to explain the Holy Spirit’s gift of tongues. The Spirit gives a message to a person in any one of the approximately 2,700 languages in the world. 
In verse 10 he wrote, “There are doubtless many different languages in the world, and none is without meaning,” so the message is given in a language either with the interpretation from the same person speaking in tongues or by another person who has the gift of interpretation of a message given in tongues.                                                                                                                        

Paul makes point that the Holy Spirit’s gift of speaking in a foreign language it is so that the unbeliever hearing will be blessed by the interpretation of the message, he says,  “The secrets of his heart is disclosed; and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among them.” The Lord touching the point of need.

In the time of Noah and his sons, God gave them a directive, “Go and be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.”  Gen 9: 1,7 But we read that they were reluctant to go and be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth with their descendants.  

Under the leadership of Nimrod the mighty warrior they only managed to go as far as the plain of Shinar (Babylonia) or modern day Irac.  We read in Genesis 10: 10 that Babel was the beginning of Nimrod’s kingdom. 

In Babylon they decided to stay and build a city and tower. The tower being a monument to their achievement, their pride and ambition.

Stepping out in faith is not easy like Noah’s son’s families felt secure being together in their city, it took the confusion of tongues to fulfil God’s command for them to go and fill the earth.

In the days of Peleg the earth was divided. 
"To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg (for in his days the earth was divided." 1 Chronicles 1: 19

Some translations translate that this was at the time when the languages were given. 
Amplified Bible "To Eber were born two sons: the name of one was Peleg, because in his days (the population of the earth was divided(according to its languages), and his brother's name was Joktan." 
When the Hebrew scribe wrote that the earth was divided surely it means that it was the time when the earth's plates separated to form continents and islands.

The Bible confirms the existence of dinosaurs.
In the Book of Job there is a description of a dinosaur,"Who can strip off his garment? Who can penetrate his double coat of mail? Who can open the doors of his face? Round about his teeth is terror. His back is made of rows of shields, shut up closely as with a seal . . . . . when he raises himself up the mighty are afraid."Job 41                                              

Jesus words to his disciples, “Go and make disciples of all nations.”  

There are varying views as to how long the church community remained in Jerusalem. After due consideration I estimate it would be approximately 4 years. The church met daily in the temple and broke bread in their homes, many thousands of people came to faith. But it took the start of persecution against the church to fulfil Jesus’ command for them to go from Jerusalem and make disciples of all nations.

It was after Stephen was brought to trial and later stoned to death that the persecution of the church began. “On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.”  Acts 1: 8,  8: 1.

The Messiah’s Secret – The Apostles remained in Jerusalem. 

“The apostles remained in Jerusalem as they were expecting Jesus to return. The evidence for this is clear in Mark’s Gospel Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the kingdom of God come with power.” Mark 9: 1 After the lame man was healed Peter and John witnessed that they had acted in ignorance when they had Jesus crucified and if they repented God would send Jesus to establish the throne and kingdom of King David. (The times of refreshing)” Acts 3: 17 -26. 

The leaders of the nation had been given the opportunity of accepting Jesus as their Messiah when they heard for the first time Peter publicly proclaim that Jesus was the Christ. Caiaphas the Chief Priest could not discern the prophecy that God had given to him ‘that one man had to die to save the nation.’ John 11: 49-53. 

In the plan of God the Messiah’s death was hidden from their understanding so that the Christ would die to save not just Israel but become the Saviour of the world and that one man  was Jesus.”

The same commission for the church today.

For us today to fulfil Jesus’ same commission to go and make disciples of all nations, it is not easy to step out of our comfort zone, for every Christian there is a cost involved, Jesus told the parable of the cost of being a disciple in Luke 14 Jesus spoke of ‘Taking up your cross.’

1. Taking up your cross  it speaks of suffering and dying to self in order serve the needs of others  

The Lord calls us to serve others in their need Isaiah wrote that the Lord strengthens the weak, he brings hope were there is none. and so God uses us to bring God’s  love  to help those who are desperately in need  of the Lord to give them hope for the future. 

On Thursday Jane and I went to a church in Oldham where they have a Christian Job's Club, there they hold courses for the long-term unemployed. 

At the meeting on Thurs they had a speaker from Greater Manchester Transport and he explained the various help that is available to assist a person to arrive at their interview for a job on time. For many unemployed making that journey is a momentous thing to do.  

2.    Jesus went on and gave the example of building a tower. Before starting to build  the tower at the planning stage to make sure he has enough funds to complete it. 

The Jobs Club is something that we are looking into at our next Pastoral Committee. On the practical side of running a Job’s Club there is a financial outlay, which for us ties in with our ‘Jigsaw Stewardship Campaign’ in two weeks time. It is an opportunity to take afresh look at our financial giving to the work of making Christ known in our community and of our commitment to the building up of our church. 

The blessings that the church at Oldham have received.  Within a short period of 8 months 11 people have started in full time employment and 3 are currently on a training programme. 19 people have come to faith and have joined their church. 

St Mary’s has never been an inward looking church, it has always been outgoing with the Gospel, and on many occasions in mission working together in serving our Jesus our Lord and God.