Elder Brother Issues

The sermon today is titled, Elder Brother Issues. Elder Brother Issues. Is anybody here an elder brother? One, two, three, four, five, six, quite a few. Did you get along with your younger brothers and sisters? No. How did I not see that coming? Neil? Growing up, I didn't have an older brother and an older sister. But the question always comes back to, did you have a good relationship? What was it like growing up with your older brother?

Did you play games together? Did you have this time that you would go and explore new lands that you thought were new lands? You had sports events you might have taken in. Most of us remember those times and we reflect back on them as you grow up, or especially if you've had an older brother or something like that that passes away. You reflect back on a lot of times the good things, the good times. But, as you can probably say there, there isn't always good times.

Sometimes the older brothers are put in charge of the younger ones and that doesn't always go well, as I see some people shaking their head and obviously had that. But it is a unique relationship between brothers. Sometimes there's a struggle, there's jealousy, there's envy, there's various things that cause us to resent each other. And with boys sometimes it ends up really getting physical. I want you to think about that because that is the basis for my sermon today, which may sound a little strange, but whenever there's a older brother or older sister in my wife's case that's left to take care of the younger ones, right Joshua?

And sometimes that's met with some reason. And sometimes it means that perhaps they're favored. They're treated differently than the others. Bring this up because for those who are younger than I am, you may not remember a musical comedy group of twins duets. Name the Smothers Brothers. Any of the older ones probably remember the Smothers Brothers? Anybody remember that? Comedians. Yes, they played different musicians. They had a show called The Smothers Brothers Hour, and they had an album that my parents got when I was very young.

I remember this very cover, and it shows Dickie and Tommy Smothers. Dickie here was the older son, and he was the favorite. As it says, Mom always liked you best. Maybe you could feel that sometimes, so maybe you felt that way, but this really brought it out because that's what they talked about. And that was part of their act because here it shows as they were growing up, Dickie got everything. He got the bike, he got the dog, he got all the toys, he got anything you could want as he was growing up, but Tommy, he got a chicken, and that's what he always brought up that mother liked you best.

Perhaps you have thought about that because we even see from Scripture, right? Rebecca liked who? Jacob. Better. Rebecca liked Jacob better. And how about Isaac? How about Isaac? He liked Esau. It's laid out for us in Scripture, isn't it? And you would think, well, wait a minute, here's some righteous people, but they play favorites, which can also mean if they did. Maybe we do too sometimes.

Or maybe our parents did. Have you ever had a sibling that in your parents' eyes could do no wrong? Yes? All right, we got one. One yes. Sibling rivalry is as ancient as Cain and Abel, isn't it? And they, more or less, Cain had hostility towards his younger brother. There was jealousy that ended, what? In death. Taken to the extreme, sibling rivalry can really have some serious ramifications. They make TV shows about it. They make movies about brother relationships.

Remember, the old TV show used to be on Dallas. It was J.R. Ewing, the older one, who was not a nice guy. And then there was a younger, Bobby, I think, was his name. It's been quite a few years.

And Bobby always seemed to do things right. J.R. seems to do them everything wrong. We look at Ishmael. Remember the study? No, I mean the story. Thirteen to fourteen years older than Isaac. And he was even taunting him when Isaac got to be a few years older.

It even caused such problems that Ishmael had to go. Ishmael had to go. So, this is not anything new. We know from Scripture that even Jacob and Esau, being Esau was the older by just a few minutes. But the brothers just didn't see eye to eye, and the parents didn't help much.

But I want to show that it's all through the Scripture. Sibling rivalry.

Is it that way with you? Did any of you have an elder brother that to your parents could do no wrong? Or a sister? No hands on that one. Humans. Humans make mistakes. Humans. We sometimes cause our own problems.

But I must ask you that question because Scripture tells us now that we, you, we have an elder brother, and his name is Jesus Christ. Do you accept that?

Yes. Do you have any issues with an elder brother by the name of Jesus who can do no wrong? That may raise the expectations of the Father, because we're supposed to be what? Like Christ. We're supposed to be developing that mind. Is there some jealousy there? Or do you look at it as an elder brother who's trying to help, who sets a pattern for us, who gives us a pattern through the pages of this Bible, and also gave the ultimate sacrifice for us? Are there issues and expectations from being a younger sibling of God, so we all are called the children of God? Are there expectations and issues that you can't live up to? If any of you have been examining yourself this week, and you came up with the issue that you're not perfect yet, welcome to the club, because we all have that. And hopefully you have come to that decision. I want to touch on today an elder brother issue, in fact, in a story in Scripture, because this elder brother never told a lie, never stole one single thing, not even a piece of gum laying on a counter somewhere. He was perfect!

Even in his mother's eyes.

The elder brother was Yeshua. The elder brother was Yahshua. As he was referred to, we know him as the Greek calls him Jesus. Jesus was the elder brother in physical life to a younger brother named James. To a brother named James. And I want to look at that story today, because I think all of us can kind of relate to it, but also it's a very good time to look at it as we go through the days of Unleavened Bread. As we go through this further, examining ourselves in this life that we're trying to, you said, emulate Christ. We've been given the example to live by. But let's look at this story, this very personal story today.

Because many of you know it, but do you know just how deep that story goes? Turn to Matthew 13 in verse 55. Matthew 13 in verse 55. Here we have scriptures telling us about the family of Jesus. Telling us that Jesus had brothers. We know of Thor. And he also had at least two sisters. But it says, is this not the carpenter's son and not his mother called Mary? And his brothers here are what? James. Joseph or Joseph.

But it lists four brothers here. And as most theologians will tell you, or historians, the oldest brother is listed first. So here, according to this, Jesus Christ had a brother who was closest to him, born after him, named James. The same James who wrote a book in the Bible. But James wasn't always an ideal brother. I think we'll see that. Because you can see in Scripture that there's hostility there. I'll let you read later on a little bit about it yourself. Do some research. But imagine most theologians think James came two to three years after the birth of Christ, which would have made him two or three years younger. And then, of course, the other brothers came and the sisters. But imagine growing up like James with a brother like that. Can you imagine?

Hard to. A brother that you would have to grow up and your mother and even your father would say, why can't you be more like Jesus? I think other people have heard that here today. You sound familiar? Why can't you be more like him? Why are you always getting into things? Why are you always causing problems? Jesus, look after him. Jesus, make sure he doesn't go off and do what he did yesterday. Jesus, please help this boy. Help your brother. And would he have? Yes. Yes. James, whispering to one of his brothers, Simon, Simon, don't tell anybody. Don't tell anybody. Because if Jesus hears, he's going to tell. And they're going to ask him, who did that? And he's going to be a tattletale. And he's going to tell. Every time he does that. I try to do something. I go out of my way. And what happens? Well, you know, that's nice, but your brother, Jesus already took care of that. Year after year after year. Till Jesus finally was having to look after the younger ones, as typically the older ones do. You're given responsibility. And so he would have to hear, just do what Jesus tells you to do. Don't argue it. Just do what Jesus. He's responsible for you. He's going to take care of you. And pretty soon after a decade or so of this, you're pretty tired of it. You're tired of perfection. You're tired of someone that doesn't lose their temper, like you do if you're James. You're tired of hearing, boy, that yeah, that was amazing. What Jesus brought up in Bible study the other night, isn't it? Wow! Look at that. I really thought you were hurt, and your older brother prayed for you. And all of a sudden, you just got oil, like that. Aren't you so glad he's your brother? Yeah. Sure. Sure. Year after year after year. Until you finally, you are so glad because one day, one day, the elder brother Jesus comes home and says, I'm starting my ministry. I'll be leaving the house. I've got to go do the work of my father. To which James sang good riddance. I'm glad you're out of the house. Now, mother doesn't have to turn to you every time something goes wrong, every time she needs an answer when I'm right here. But no, Jesus. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. He's finally gone. And I can finally be the head of the house. Our father died many years ago. And now, it's my time. It's my time to be the head of the house. Except it didn't last long. Turn to John chapter 2. John chapter 2, very start of Christ's ministry. And there's a wedding, and the whole family is invited, which is a rarity. So, this is a large family. Could it possibly have been one of Jesus' own sisters? Did he marry? Interesting speculation. That's all it is. But for them to all be there, invited there, it's interesting. But all of a sudden, James is there with the rest of the family, as the scriptures tell us in the story. And then Jesus shows up. And then what does he do? He shows up with 12 other guys. And James is looking at his brothers and go, well, there goes some of our food. We were going to eat at this wedding. Some of that wine we were going to be able to drink. Jesus shows up with 12 wannabes. 12 hangers on. Had his own posse, as they would say today. His entourage. He shows up at this wedding. And everything's going okay, but then all of a sudden they run out of wine. Typical weddings were a seven-day event at the time. It's an embarrassment to many people, and especially to Jesus and James' mother, Mary. And so she goes, and she goes to Jesus and says, here, we need you to take care of this.

And James thinks she didn't come to me. He's been gone! And he's, she's going to him and says, take care of it. And next thing you know, James is looking at his brother, and Mary's bringing in some servants with these big containers of water that they wash their hands and wash their feet with. And Mary turns to the servants and says, oh boy, did this sound familiar to James? Just do whatever he asks.

And the next thing you know, there's 200 gallons of wine! And not just average wine, some of the best you've ever had in your life.

Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! Everywhere he goes, he's an event. If you're James, it's very frustrating. It's something that he's not anticipated. Thought once he left, he would be gone. James could then be, get a little attention himself.

But as they go back in the coming months, they go back to Galilee. And what did James have to hear? Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! Did you hear he started the ministry? Did you just outside of Galilee, did you hear what he did? Hey, your brother, your brother, did you know he's got this going over here? Did you see what Jesus did? Did you hear what happened there? And James is saying, not again. Not again. I'm getting a little tired of this.

And then, it not only grows to the 12 who are following him, but to dozens of people who began to go and sit and want to listen to James' brother talk about scripture and talk about God. And James is saying, man, I heard all this before. I grew up. That's what I just talked about. Matter of fact, the only time he got in trouble that I had to snicker and laugh at was when he was 12 years old, when he skipped out on the family and went and spent time at the temple, questioning and trying to answer questions from the leaders.

That was about the highlight of my life. Because, finally, he wasn't perfect. But now, all I'm doing is hearing all about Jesus.

Mark 3. You'll turn with me to Mark 3. Mark chapter 3. Mark chapter 3, verse 20 from the New King James version, starting of his ministry. And then it said, And the multitude came together again so that they could not so much as eat bread. Not dozens of dozens of dozens of people, but hundreds and hundreds and hundreds. And now it's getting into a thousand or more people showing up to hear what Jesus has to say. And people are following him and he's saying some strange things and he's downing the religious leaders who are there every week to teach us all about God. And Jesus is doing this. And he didn't go to any seminary. Jesus didn't do it. He grew up just like we did.

Verse 20, And the multitude came together again so that they could not so much as eat bread. But when his own people, family, heard about this, they went out to lay hold of him and they said, He is out of his mind. He's not right. He used to talk about this stuff. Now it's everything. Now it's passionate. Now he's standing before these thousands of people, getting them revved up, getting them powered up.

He was so much like me growing up. And now he thinks he is this big prophet. People are calling him a prophet. They're calling him all these things. And he's out of his mind. Because he doesn't think like we did growing up, like I did, like all the other people out there. And he's causing people to just leave their jobs and come and listen to him.

Two thousand, three thousand. So many people that Roman soldiers are having to come from the city just to find out what this mob was about, what this group was about. Go down to verse 31. Verse 31. Then his brothers and his mother came. Standing outside, they sent to him, calling him. Come on, stop this foolishness. Come on! Enough of this. It's beginning to be an embarrassment.

And a multitude was sitting around him and said, look! Your mother and your brothers are outside seeking you. But he answered them saying, who is my mother or my brothers? You imagine what went through James's mind at that time? Why, you ingrate. Why, you selfish, fame-seeking, want to be prophet. And he looked around in the circle of those who said about him, his disciples, people who had followed him, and said, here are my mother and my brothers. And James, oh yeah, now you don't want anything to do with us. Now you're too good for us. For whoever does the will of God is my brother and my sister and my mother. Hmm. That had to cut.

All those looking after him when he's younger, I guess it doesn't matter anymore. I guess it's just not important. Then James sees these 12 young guys a few years younger than Jesus sitting around. And all of a sudden, they now have become his brothers. He is now talking to them, and they're looking at him, and they're hanging on every word that he says. In James' mind, just 12 fools.

Embarrassment. Embarrassment to them, some or even his relatives. His cousins. Were following him around. Doing whatever he asked to do, they would just... Yes, Lord. All of a sudden, he became a Lord.

All of a sudden, there were 12 men who just did whatever he wanted. If you need to get a boat, we can get a boat. Oh, wait a minute. We need to get some food. We can get some food. We can even find some bread and some fish, because we got to feed these people. And James would look around, and there's thousands of people, thousands of people, hordes of people. And he said, feed them. And they were fool enough to try, according to James. And I don't know. People said they were fool afterwards, but you know how people lie.

Everyone, it's just a cult. They're just following him. And people would talk in every village and Galilee, wherever they went, they'd talk about this healing.

Like, it really healed people. That people just, basically, it was in their head anyway. But he gave them something to believe on. He talked about his God all the time.

Even hurt that he raised this widow's son. And now I walk by and touch the casket and the guy raised up. Yeah. Wasn't even dead three days. How do they know?

I probably could have done the same thing, James, just thinking. Well, yeah, everybody talked about it. Like, it was really... I'm just plain sick of hearing. Did you hear what your brother did? Did you hear what your brother did?

Miracle after miracle after miracle. Story after story after story. To where it almost didn't... it seemed impossible. There were as many stories as there were, you know, people following him. Just thousands.

It did make sense.

And then about six months before the final Passover of Jesus Christ's ministry, or just before, six months before the last Feast of Tabernacles, Christ kept, he... James heard the story of feeding these people. And he said there were over 5,000 men with women and children, over 10,000 people that he fed. And people believed the stories.

Because, you know, some people just will believe anything. Even about an older brother who, I don't know if he faked it, James would say, but he had a following. And I think that's what he wanted all the time anyway. Because for three years it was Jesus, Jesus, Jesus.

But then we had the Feast. The Feast of Tabernacles six months before the final Passover. Like he turned to John. He turned over to John. We get to see that story. John chapter 7.

A three-year ministry had gone on.

All about Jesus. And then, John 7, verse 1, said, after these things, what things? Things that happened six months before feeding the 10,000 people. Giving a sermon where it was so ridiculous that people even had to laugh at it. Because they said, eat my flesh and drink my blood. How ridiculous is that? James must have thought. And no wonder quite a few of his disciples turned away and left him at that time.

But it says, after these things, Jesus walked in Galilee. For he did not want to walk in Judea because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews, Feast of Tabernacles, was at hand. His brothers therefore said to him, depart. They're in Galilee. Depart. From here and go into Judea. That your disciples also may see the works that you were doing. Right? With a little snicker. You know, what are you doing here? I'll let you want to be down with everybody else. Feast of Tabernacles. So everybody could see you. See you and your entourage. Jesus in the righteous twelve. Verse four. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world. You got all this? Go ahead. Go on down. Mocking. Just mocking. Why mock? Jealousy. Envy. Who of his brothers, as it mentions here, who do you think led the verbal abuse? Led the verbal tirade. But the older brother, chances are. We heard all this!

I don't have it here, but let me read you what verse five says. Verse five says, take this into your hearts, brethren. For even his brothers did not believe in him.

Even his brothers, the family, didn't believe in him. So if they did not believe in him, what did they believe? Had to be that he was a fake. That all these things that he told was just weaving stories and making things up.

Perhaps, maybe even happened to you. That your family, they think you're a little wacky for following this Jesus character. For wanting to go and sit in services. For wanting to obey what's written in these books. Because that's what Jesus was teaching. That's what he was telling his disciples. That's what he was telling the thousands. But not his brothers. His brothers. Now, isn't that amazing that this would be preserved in scripture? Except for one reason. For us. For us. So that we could know the story of elder brother issues.

Interesting that decades later, the same brother James. Could you hear his voice mocking Christ? Pushing him, belittling him. In front of those 12 wannabes. Can you imagine that? But decades later, the same James wrote a book. And you know what he said in the book, time and time again?

Talked about the tongue. He talks about the tongue in almost every chapter. He can be a fire. It's so dangerous. Do you think he learned that incredible lesson? You think that hit home? That as you read the book of James, it's so inspiring. When you think about the man who wrote it.

But let's go on. Finish this story today. Because it's an incredible story. About an elder brother and his younger sibling. And so you can read through the story and find that after the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus Christ continued his ministry the last six months. Till he came to the Passover. And the Passover, every year in the days of Unleavened Bread, everyone would go down from Galilee. Everyone would come from these places to come to Jerusalem to keep the feast.

And then, Christ and his disciples headed down early. They would have been there. And then James, his brothers and sisters would have come in with their mother. Housing was always short this time of the year at the feast. Most brought tents so they could set them up and spend a good week together. As they were there for this feast. And so you can imagine James being now who he got to be, the head of the family. Being one to want to set up the tent. And get everything ready for that opening Passover. And when everything would be done. And making sure they had all the provisions laid out as he got the chance to be the man he always dreamed he could be. And his mother comes in. And she says, James, look after everything you've got. And after everything your brother's been arrested. Look at James and said, I knew it. I knew it. Start in trouble again. It's all he's been for the last three or four years is a problem. Now he's going to embarrass the entire family here at the feast. Everybody's going to know he's from Galilee and everybody in Galilee is going to have to hang their head. Because of this wannabe. And so he's taken that night. And Mary comes back and she's crying. He'd never seen his mother so upset. Even after his father died, Joseph died. They said they are beating him to death. They are beating your brother to death. They're going to kill him. He's going to be crucified. For a minute, James takes a second, thinks, well, no, not really. And then he realizes it's going to take place. He's hearing the stories he's seeing his mother.

And he goes. And he runs down and sees where they are beating his brother. And all of a sudden, his mind changes. Because he realizes as your mind reflects back on the good things.

And there's nothing he can do. He can't stop it. And he thinks of the many times when he was a child and caught up in a tree or couldn't get down, how Jesus would climb up and help him down. Time when he was injured and Christ prayed over him and he got well. What's he going to do? How can I help? I didn't mean all those things. And then he goes and sees a crucifixion. The worst torture that any man could even go through at the time. After he had been beaten with a cat of nine tails by a Roman soldier called a lyctor, where he had this strap of leather and they tied a man to a prop and he was beaten and beaten. And at the end of these leather straps were pieces of bone and metal that would just flay the skin right off of you. And this was going to happen to his brother. This was happening to his brother. This did, in the reality, happen to his brother.

And the bad part, and I don't mean to be gross, but it's a reality. You can find it in history. The people who were beaten with this cat of nine tails to the inch of their life and then they had to carry their own cross up to Gogatha. But he was actually beaten twice, beaten all through the night. And then he was beaten the next day and then he was beaten and taken up to Gogatha. And the bad thing about these things is that when they whipped you, those straps would just pull with flesh. They would wrap around your face and pull half your nose, your lips, your ears, and just shred your face. I want to read this because of elder brother Gary of mine. And the faith sent me this because he was studying it. In Isaiah 52, verse 14, from the Living Translation, you don't have to turn there, you can just listen.

Said, But many were amazed when they saw him, his face was so disfigured, he seemed hardly human, and his appearance one could scarcely know he was a man. Oh, you see other translations where he says his face was so marred, so marred that you couldn't even tell who he was. Can you imagine that? Brown driver in Briggs, lexicon. Said, The depth of this scripture is he was beaten beyond recognition, and hence unrecognizable as even a human being.

Luke 23 and verse 48 from the CEV version. Says, A crowd had gathered to see the terrible sight. Then after they had seen it, they felt heartbroken, and they turned away and went home, shocked, appalled, sickened at the sight of James elder brother.

To a point where he died. Finally, he breathed no more. And James had to get this, try to get this thought out of his head, as much as the beating and the torture as brother went through, there was one thing that hit him worse. One thing that he couldn't get out of his mind. Is his older brother's last words as he was hanging there. Some of his last words, he's hanging there on that piece of wood. A dying man looks over at James's mother, and James was there. And he looks over to his cousin John, and he says, Take care of your mother. She now becomes your mother. Jesus didn't even have the faith in him to tell him to take care of his mother. Ripped his very soul.

Then he talks to the man about being in the tomb, sees the tomb, and wonders.

Why didn't I recognize him? Why didn't I see? And all of a sudden he prays to God as he's never prayed before. He is touched. He is touched to the very core by the blood of his brother. Aren't we? Shouldn't we be? So much that it's revealed in 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 7 that after Jesus Christ was resurrected, who did he come to? Not Simon, not Joseph, but James. One of the first persons after his disciples, he came to appear to him. Why? Because he always knew that brother had a heart. He always knew no matter what abuse James tried to give him, there was a heart, a heart that God could use.

And that incredible story continues. Can you imagine after going through what he had gone through and then seeing his brother back, life full of the tears that would have rolled down his face? He's alive. He's alive.

So much so that even 50 days later, who's there at Pentecost? Who's there to help start the church? That Jesus built on Pentecost day. Acts 1 and verse 14. James, he's there. And not only was he there, it was more than that because you can see through the scripture, you can see in Acts 15 that later on, a decade or so after this, that the disciples are all meeting and having this joint meeting in Jerusalem and it's all disciples and Peter's there and Paul's there and all the disciples are there and so they're asking for someone to make a decision and they turn to James. They turn to the man who once mocked and rejected his brother. So have you ever felt a day that you really weren't not that connected to God? James had quite a few, but he repented and so can we. The incredible story. That's why in Galatians 1 verse 18-19, the apostle Paul calls James an apostle. Not just a disciple, but he was an apostle. You think James then reflected back on those stories? Those stories that his older brother had told him growing up, even the parables.

How he wanted to go see those 12 men that he made fun of. Now he was part of the team. Part of the team that would grow a church, build one that the gates of hell could not stand against.

He later became known as James the Just because of his righteousness. And he was also known as they used to talk about him. Old camel knees. One of the things that they referred to him. Say he spent so much time on his knees that his knees looked like a camel's knees. Old, weathered. Spent so much time on his knees. And did he die? Well, according to historians, he was killed. He was killed because of his amazing work he did in Jerusalem. As the head minister of the church in Jerusalem.

And James' elder brother's death turned his life around. It was a defining moment when he realized who his brother was. That his brother was God. How about us? James Stott, famous Christian writer and theologian, said a Christian is, in essence, somebody personally related to Jesus Christ. Does that describe you? Describe me? I hope so. Should we take it personal? James did. James did.

James had to look back and realize all through his life. As he died when he was about 60-something years old, they said. About an elder brother who continues to look after him. How about us? Are we? Are we going to take the time, even this week, to reflect back on an incredible elder brother who gave it all. He gave everything for us to the point of death, to the point of beating a person beyond even recognition. And why did he do it? Because, like James, he said to us, you're worth it.