 |
To download the text and/or audio file for this week's sermon, please go to the "Sermon Archive" page and follow the instructions you'll find there. To subcribe to our sermon podcast in iTunes please click here.
STRONG HANDS
February 17, 2008
Brent James 
Jean Masel had a beloved concrete statue of Jesus which stood in her front lawn, but one cold and snowy Thursday morning, Jean was horrified to discover that Jesus was gone. The pedestal on which Jesus stood was there, but Jesus was nowhere to be found. Jean then received an ominous phone call; a dark anonymous voice said, "Check your mailbox." Inside Jean's mailbox was a ransom note that read, "we are holding Jesus hostage until you clean up the poopie from your wieners (Jean has four dachshund dogs). We watch you take your wieners on long walks and notice that you don't pick up the poopie they leave in our yards. So please pick up the wiener poopie if you want to see Jesus unharmed." A 100% true story – if you want to watch a news report of the event, you can search wiener poopie on Youtube. God bless Youtube, a preacher's best friend. I think that story is pretty indicative of a theological view that many people hold of Jesus. So many people see Jesus as a weak figure; they see Him as someone they can take hostage, someone on whom they can impose their own agenda. They want to highjack Jesus to bring their will to bear upon their community, on their nation, and upon the church. But that's not the Jesus of the Bible. The Jesus of the Bible is a strong and wild man, a carpenter's son who doesn't back down from a fight, a Shepherd with calloused and rough hands who literally holds a grip upon the souls of all humanity.
At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Jesus answered, “I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one." The Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these are you going to stone me?" The Jews answered, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you, but for blasphemy, because you, though only a human being, are making yourself God." Jesus answered, “Is it not written in your law, 'I said, you are gods'? If those to whom the word of God came were called 'gods' – and the scripture cannot be annulled – can you say that the one whom the Father has sanctified and sent into the world is blaspheming because I said, 'I am God's Son'? If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me. But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father." Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands.
It is a cold wintery day in Jerusalem, and Jesus has sheltered himself in Solomon's Porch – the only enclosed gateway of the temple square. It is the Feast of Dedication, more commonly known to us as Hanukkah. Now, to understand Hanukkah you have to know about a guy named Antiochus Epiphanes. Antiochus was Seleucid ruler of Judea (175 BC), and a big promoter of Hellenistic culture. He wanted his kingdom to reflect the example of Greece. He expected his peoples to worship Zeus as well as other gods; in fact, he encouraged people to worship his own image as the form of Zeus, and took up the name Theos Epiphanes, “the manifest God,” (as my Auntie Dot would say, he had a strong ego). It was his way of saying that he and God were one. He laid siege to the city of Jerusalem and conquered it. He prohibited the act of circumcision, he ordered all copies of the Torah destroyed, and he sent his general, Apollonius, to erect an idol of Zeus (probably in his own image) inside the Jewish Temple, and to sacrifice a pig upon a Greek altar – utter blasphemy, anathema for the Jews. The Jews didn't take too kindly to this, and Judas "the hammer" Maccabee (I'm not making this up) led a revolt and took back the city of Jerusalem and the temple from Antiochus. He cleansed the temple, set up a new altar, and rededicated it with an eight–day celebration which came to be known as the Feast of Dedication, or Hanukkah. It was the Jews' 4th of July – a day of freedom from the oppression of Epiphanes. The Kingdom of Judea had been snatched from Epiphanes' hands; this truth lies at the heart of the celebration of the Dedication, that which Jesus has come to Jerusalem to celebrate.
These Jerusalem guys ask Jesus, “How long will you keep us in suspense?" Some have translated, “How long will you agonize us? Tell us plainly, tell us boldly, Jesus, are you the Messiah?" I think there's a point in all of our lives where we're confronted with Jesus and we say to him, “Who are you really, Jesus? Stop antagonizing me, are you really God? Tell me plainly, who are you?" Now look at that word Messiah – it is the Greek word christos, literally translated anointed. Now to me anointed is a pretty interesting term, given this setting of Hannukah. I imagine, one day in my life, the reign of Queen Elizabeth II of England will come to an end, and her successor will be crowned in Westminster Abbey, and Handel's glorious coronation anthem will ring throughout the rafters. Zadok the Priest and Nathan the prophet anointed Solomon King. The Jews are asking Jesus, “Tell us plainly, are you the anointed one? Are you the king?" Now, I don't think these guys have pure motives; you see, if Jesus says it plainly, “I am the anointed one,” he can be brought up on charges of sedition, of rebellion against the Roman Empire. It's the perfect set-up, isn't it? The Jewish 4th of July, the fireworks are going off, what more perfect setting for Jesus to launch into a populist message, “Let's throw these Roman monkeys off our backs, let's reestablish David's Kingdom. I am he, I am the messiah, I am the anointed king." I think they're baiting Jesus. They want to highjack Jesus, push him into a corner. More so, I think they've come ready to physically intimidate Jesus. Notice in vs. 31 they .again took stones – this isn't the first time they've wanted to stone Jesus, and here they are in an enclosed colonnade in one of the nicest areas of the temple mount, and my question is, where do these stones come from? It's like saying they were in Washington Square Mall, and they took up stones. I'm inclined to believe that these Jews came packing, guns loaded. This was a chance to take Jesus out. Have you ever been attacked by a bunch of bullies? Ever been physically intimidated by crowd of people not friendly to you? What do your instincts tell you to do?
Take a look at how Jesus deals with these bullies. They ask Jesus, "Tell us straight up, are you the king?" And Jesus says, “You know what you know; you just don't want to believe it. You guys who claim to be the paragon of holy wisdom, you who claim to have the inside track on God, you do not belong to my sheep because God has not placed you in my hand, and if God would have placed you in my hand then you would be safe, because no one, NO ONE, can snatch my sheep from my hand, because, get ready for it, not only am I the anointed (that's the subtext), but I and God are one." Now I don't know about you, I might choose some more nuanced words if I were standing before a group of Jews during the celebration of Hanukkah who are looking for a way to off me. You can almost see the disciples in the background (motioning), Ixnay on the onway with odgay. Claiming to be one with God on Hanukkah, given the background of Epiphanes, takes bravado; as the Jews say, “That takes chutzpah.” This is no fearful, no intimidated man. Jesus will be not highjacked; he is a strong man ready to save.
You know, there are times in our lives when we are confronted by our culture and we can become embarrassed by Jesus' audacity, by who Jesus claims himself to be. Come on, you really think Jesus is God? Wow, how 19th century of you. Other times Jesus puts us in uncomfortable places, places that feel dangerous. It might mean losing a promotion because you unwilling to do something unethical, perhaps it's putting your life or your livelihood on the line to witness in a culture that is hostile to the Christian message. These disciples are now facing a mob of angry Jews with weapons locked and loaded, safeties off. But Jesus makes this incredible promise in the midst of the danger – "my sheep are safe, they will never perish, and no one can snatch them out of my hands. My hands are strong hands, secure hands, hands that are willing to save." No matter what you're going through this morning, take comfort; take rest in the knowledge that you are safe within the hands of God.
Some of you might read that same text and don't find safety – you find it absolutely terrifying. Maybe you read those words, “you don't believe me because you are not part of my sheep,” and you've struggled for years wondering, “Am I in or am out in the salvation game? If God wills the gift of salvation, what if He doesn't will it for me? You don't understand – I've had doubts, concerns, maybe at times, I've acted to hurt the cause of Christ. Brent, if you only knew half of the sick, sinful things that I've done in my life, even what I did last night, you'd know I'm not chosen." I want you to see something in this text – God's strong hands stay open. Here these guys stand ready to kill this healer, this protector, this God come in flesh. Jesus pleads not for his own life, but so that his attackers might believe. Jesus engages them – "if you don't believe in me, look at the works I've done, ask yourself, how can the blind see, how can lepers be cleansed, how can the lame walk?" These men stand ready to kill Jesus, and he pleads for their belief in him. This doesn't sound like an arbitrary God who willy–nilly hands out salvation – "you know, Libby I like, but Brent I'm not so fond of." No, this is a God who is willing that none should perish but that all may have eternal life – a God who came not to condemn the world but to save it.
Finally Jesus asked, “For what noble work do you intend to stone me?" They answer, “This isn't about a miracle, Jesus – it's that you claim to be God." And Jesus points them to Psalm 82, one of the most unique songs in the book of the psalms. God takes his place in the divine counsel, and chastises these unjust judges, to whom he refers to as gods. In vs.6, you see, there was a sense that if God was the giver of the law, then the judges as the interpreters of that law were God's representation. In the psalm, God declares his will to these earthly judges – Give justice to the weak and the orphan, maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute, rescue the weak and the needy, deliver them from the hand of the wicked, and if you’ve been reading John you know this is Jesus’ story – the blind can see, the lame walk, the hungry are fed, fishermen are made rabbinical disciples. Jesus says, “Now if the book of psalms can refer to the unjust judges of Israel’s history as lower case “g” gods, how much more should He who was in the beginning with God – the eternal Word of God sanctified, chosen and sent by God into the world – how much more should He have the right to be called God. Jesus is basically saying, “Look, the proof is in the pudding; taste and see. The weak and the needy have been rescued from the hands of the wicked and they’ve been placed in the strong and secure hands of God.” Jesus is pleading for their salvation; the kingdom of God is at their doorstep, it is literally in front of their eyes.
See, God’s kingdom is not like Antiochus’ kingdom where power is used to crush, where fear is used to intimidate, where the whims of a tyrant humiliates and taunts the marginalized, nor is it a spiritually exclusive kingdom where the odd man is out, where the deformed and the sick (spiritually as well as physically) are chalked up as the rejected of God. No, God comes to rescue us out of those kinds of kingdoms. God’s kingdom is a place where the weak and the needy, the dirt poor and the kids without dads or moms are looked after and cared for by the community of God. God’s kingdom is a place where miracles happen, where blind people see, where prostitutes find self worth. God’s kingdom is a place in which the rejected and the oppressed can find safety and security within the strong and secure hands of God, if we will only believe, if we will only follow after our Shepherd Jesus Christ. Storms make come, sea-billows may roll, but rest assured that no one, NO ONE can snatch us away from our Father’s hand. No one can keep us from spreading the Kingdom of God.
Maybe you’re here today and you’re not sure about Jesus – you want to grab him, and say, “Stop antagonizing me, tell me plainly who you are; what’s up with you, Jesus?” If that’s you, find a God who says, “Believe in me; if you can’t believe in me, believe in my works that you may know I came from God. Maybe you’ve struggled for a long time with doubts as to whether God could love someone like you, and you need to hear today that those doubts are, they’re, well they’re wiener poopie straight from the pit of Hell. God loves you and he has a plan for you, and he wants to use you to build his Kingdom. God didn’t come to condemn you, but to save you.
Maybe you’re a disciple and the cost for following Christ has ratcheted up a bit and you find yourself in a rough or dangerous situation and you’re saying, “Whoa Jesus, this ain’t what I signed up for.” If that’s you this morning, hear the voice of a strong savior who says to you, “You will never be snatched out of my hand, you will never perish; my gift to you is everlasting life. Be not afraid, I, the Lord Your God, neither slumber nor sleep.”
Maybe you’ve been struggling with wanting to highjack Jesus; you want to make Jesus conform to your ideals and rather than praying Thy will be done, you’ve been praying, my will be done on earth, and at work, and at home, and at my church, as it will be in heaven, and you’ve forgotten what it means to be a sheep who follows after the voice of your Shepherd. Perhaps it’s been a long time since you’ve even listened for the voice of God. If that’s you, take some time this morning to listen, and feel the strong hands of Jesus grab you and bring you back to the flock of God.
I know that all of us still live in a world where the weak need justice, where fatherless and motherless children still need love and care, where people trapped in the cycle of poverty still need rescue from the forces that oppose them. The kingdom of God still stands at our doorstep, and our Savior is still about doing miraculous works. Will you follow? Will you listen? Will you let the hands of God work miracles through you? Will you put your life in the strong and secure hands of Christ? Martin Luther once said, “I have held many things in my hands, and I have lost them all; but whatever I have placed in God’s hands that I still possess.” I beseech you, I beg you, put your life in the hands of Christ and find safety, find true security, find eternal life, find the Kingdom of God.
Works that influenced the writing of this sermon:
- Beasley-Murray, George. John. Word Biblical Commentary: Thomas Nelson, 1999.
- Brown, Raymond et.al. The Gospel According to John XIII-XXI (Vol 29, Part A)
- Anchor Bible. Garden City: Doubleday, 1970.
- Lancaster, Jerry R., Overstreet, R. Larry. Jesus’ Celebration of Hanukkah in John 10.
- Bibliotheca Sacra 152 (July-September 1995). pgs 318-333.
- Morris, Leon. The Gospel According to John. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co, 1995.
- Neyrey, Jerome H. (S.J.) The “Noble Shepherd” in John 10: Cultural and Rhetorical Background. Journal of Biblical Literature 120/2 (2001). pgs 267-291.
|
|
