Sunday 01/27/13 RWJ/Pottersville UMC
Sermon: “Teacher” (The
Natures of Christ Series, Part 4 of 5)
Scripture Lesson: 1 Corinthians 12:12-31a
Gospel Lesson: Luke 4:14-21
Good
morning and welcome brothers and sisters! I greet in you the name of our Lord
and savior Jesus Christ! I hope and pray that you have all had good and blessed
weeks, and I am happy to be worshipping with you all here this morning!
This morning
we continue to move forward in our study of the different natures of Jesus
Christ. For Jesus came and continues to come to us in many forms. Jesus comes to
us in scripture as a baby, as a child, as a man, as a miracle worker, as the messiah,
as the king on earth, and today I want to talk about how Jesus comes to us as a
teacher. While Jesus is the Messiah, while Jesus performed mighty acts, he was
also and still is a teacher. Some saw Jesus’ mighty acts and came to faith,
some saw Jesus’ nature and came to faith, but for many the words of Jesus
Christ were different, and were the very thing that brought them to faith in
Christ. His words were piercing, powerful, and like nothing they had ever heard
before. You might remember that in the gospels Jesus did not reveal the fullness
of who he was immediately. Yet the people whom encountered him were captivated
by him. Perhaps some came to faith because they saw him bring someone back to
life, make a life-long blind man see, or because he had full control over nature
itself.
For some
though, if you can believe it, these acts were not enough. It is important to
remember that even the apostles at times doubted Jesus, even though they saw
his signs, wonders, and miracles. That the majority of his followers scattered
when Jesus was being crucified was on cross. When he spoke though, when spoke
brothers and sisters, crowds stopped, they stood, and in silence, they watched
and they listened. For he said in the gospel of John 8:7 "If any one of you is without sin, let him be
the first to throw a stone at her." He is the one who drew a line
in the sand. He is the one who asked that God forgive the very people who were
crucifying him, as they were doing so. Surely this was no ordinary teacher!
Surely this was and is a great teacher!
Often
times in scripture the Apostles referred to Jesus as “Rabbi”. Many of us know
that a Rabbi is the leader or the pastor if you will, of a Jewish temple or a
Jewish Synagogue. Since Jesus often debated and challenged the religious
leaders though, why would his followers often call him “Rabbi”? Well the
translation of the Hebrew word Rabbi, translates to a “teacher of scripture,” or
“master,” or “great one”. You see for the Apostles then, they viewed Jesus in
many ways as a teacher. For a teacher is charged with bringing forth wisdom, a
teacher is supposed to have more answers than the student, and a teacher is
expected to have a degree of wisdom.
You
see many saw Jesus as a teacher, as a Rabbi. While Jesus taught us many things
in scripture, I want to just highlight some of what Jesus taught us. Of the
highest importance, Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as
yourself.” These two simple teachings of Jesus are the very bedrock of our
faith. Love God, love Jesus, with all you have, give him all you have, and love
your neighbor as yourself.
Understand that many people just didn’t
think this way back then. For Jesus taught us to “turn the other cheek,” in a time
period when many people believed in the philosophy of an “Eye for eye, or a
tooth for a tooth”. Jesus said, turn the other cheek, and do not seek revenge,
but instead forgive and love your enemy. Truly this teacher was and is truly great!
Jesus taught us to get rid of anything
that causes us to sin. I don’t think that Jesus literally, as scripture says,
wants to pluck out our eyes if they cause us to sin, but he was making a point
I think. Put your faith in Christ and turn from darkness, towards certain and
lasting light and life. Jesus taught us to not hide our light and love under a
basket, but to be different in a world of hurt, of pain, and of division. Jesus
taught us and teaches us still, to be different. We are to be salt and light,
we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. Imagine what the fullness of the
kingdom of God here on earth would like if we all did all of these things.
Jesus taught us to love our enemies,
to not worry about are material needs, about “what we eat or what we will wear”.
Jesus said, “Are you of not more worth than the birds?”. Jesus taught us his
prayer that we recite every Sunday. Jesus taught us is Mathew 7:3 "And why
worry about a speck in your friend's eye when you have a log in your own”?
This is the same Jesus where we get all of our parables, like the parable of
the sower, and the Sermon on the Mount.
You
see Jesus does not just want us to put our faith and trust in him, but he wants
us to live out the fullness of his gospel. He wants us to not just stop at
salvation, or stop at getting a “fire insurance policy,” but rather he wants
and expects that we will build his kingdom here on earth. Perhaps one teachings
of Jesus that many of struggle with, is when Jesus said in Mathew 6:34, “Therefore
do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own.” I’m glad all of us have this teaching of
Jesus mastered!
Jesus said in
Mathew 25:37-40, “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see
you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and
invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you
sick or in prison and go to visit you?’ “The King will reply, ‘Truly I
tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters
of mine, you did for me.’
One
of my newer students in my teaching job told me this week, “you know Paul, you’re
a good teacher, and I bet you’re a good pastor to. My grandma goes to church
every Sunday, and working with you makes want to go back to church, and take my
faith in Jesus more seriously.” I said, “well why is this”. He said, “because
when you teach me, you teach me differently, you teach me with truth, and I
need more of that.”
We
are not all called to be teachers though, as our scripture reading in 1
Corinthians said this morning, but just as Christ comes to us in many ways, his
gifts are given to all of us differently so that me reach all people for him.
In the gospel reading from this morning, Jesus was teaching in the Jewish
Synagogue, out of a scroll or the book of Isaiah. Jesus said in our Gospel of
Luke reading this morning that, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he
has anointed me to bring the good news to the poor. He sent me to proclaim the
release of the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the
oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.
So
what do we do then with all these teaching from our great Rabbi? What do we do
with all that Jesus taught us, asked and still asks of us, and all that he has challenged
us to do?
Let me close with
a story that I think will bring this home. This story I think, is also one of
the reasons that so much young people are not in the Christian Church like they
used to be. Here is the story. Many years ago, a believer who had become discouraged from the weight of
great sorrow and adversity in his life, gradually quit attending church,
withdrew to himself and even avoided visits from concerned friends and family
members. He began becoming defensive when anyone suggested he should come back
into fellowship, responding that the last thing he needed was people judging
him. He began to feel like Job, with suffering he felt was undeserved, and
rebuffed efforts by his Pastor and members of his congregation to talk about
the problems.
One day, his Pastor paid a visit, and
because he respected him, the man reluctantly let him in, though warning him he
would not be very good company. During the visit, the Pastor said very little,
mainly keeping him company, as they sat before the man's fireplace, letting him
know he was loved, was being prayed for, and that a lot of people were there
for him. The Pastor knew that he had to avoid sounding "preachy," yet
desperately desired to see his friend realize how far he was slipping away from
the Lord--and the inevitable consequences that could bring. Finally, the Lord
spoke to the Pastor, and told him what to do.
As the two men sat in silence before
the crackling fire, the Pastor slowly reached out, and picked up the tongs next
to the fireplace. He reached into the embers, and took out a single glowing
coal, setting it on the stone floor. Puzzled, but remaining silent, the man sat
staring at the coal. Gradually, the coal began to lose its color, finally
growing dark and cold until it died. The effect was not lost on the man, and he
looked up at the Pastor with tear-filled eyes, realizing he was that coal. He was back in church
the very next Sunday.
Without a single word, the Lord had communicated
a deep spiritual truth that touched the man to his very soul, and brought him
out of his spiritual alienation. Sometimes the Lord does some amazing things,
knowing exactly what we need--exactly when we need it. Sometimes His Spirit
works through words, and sometimes His Word works through our Spirit. His ways
truly are often beyond understanding, and past finding out.
You see brothers and sisters, Jesus
did not come just to save us. He first and foremost did come to save us from
our sin, and restore with us the path to almighty God, but I fear that for many
Christians, that is as far as they even go. What of all of Jesus’ teachings
then? What of all that this great Rabbi said? What of what he called and still
calls us all to do? For if we believe in him we will not taste death. I ask you
though, why would if we had Super Bowl tickets, to sit on the field at the
50-yard line, would we stand at the top of the bleachers entrance way up high and
watch the game from way up there. Sure we would be there at the big event, and sure
we would have met the minimum qualifications of being at the Super Bowl, but
imagine if we really on the 50-yard line. Imagine if we really lived the gospel
more fully. I have seen so many people come to Christ, and become like that hot
fire place coal, and burn out. So let us love him with all that we have, and
treat our neighbors and all people as we would treat ourselves. If we do this,
watch as this church continues to grow, and watch as the fires of young people
in particular stay light. For most want not just faith, they want faith lived
out in community, which is why we have this thing called the church. So let us
be the fullness of the church this week brothers and sisters. Amen and praise
God!
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