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"OPPOSITION GROWS"
GOSPEL SCRIPTURE TEXT: JOHN 7:14-26

DR. DAVE RING, PASTOR
LOS ALAMOS 1ST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
SUNDAY MORNING, MARCH 25, 2007

SCRIPTURE TEXT: 14Not until halfway through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. 15The Jews were amazed and asked, "How did this man get such learning without having studied?" 16Jesus answered, "My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. 17If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him. 19Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?" 20"You are demon-possessed," the crowd answered. "Who is trying to kill you?" 21Jesus said to them, "I did one miracle, and you are all astonished. 22Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath. 23Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath? 24Stop judging by mere appearances, and make a right judgment." 25At that point some of the people of Jerusalem began to ask, "Isn't this the man they are trying to kill? 26Here he is, speaking publicly, and they are not saying a word to him. Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ?"

MESSAGE: Every once in a while, throughout my nearly three decades of ministry thus far, someone will call to my attention books and writings about the life of Jesus that aren't in the Bible. There are many such, some of them written during, or shortly after, the time period when the Gospels were being written. I've got some of them with me today - a collection called the "Lost Books of the Bible." The stories told therein are somewhat intriguing, but they are very different from the standard Biblical accounts of Jesus' life.

For example, in one of these narratives, called the "gospel of the infancy of Jesus," our Lord is pictured as a boy, playing with children his own age. When a childish argument arises and the other children begin to taunt Jesus, he simply claps his hands and "poof!" His tormentors are turned into blackbirds who fly away, noisily cawing and pecking at one another. In another "lost book" account, Jesus as a young man is arguing with a Jewish teacher of the law. The argument grows heated, and the rabbi slaps Jesus on the cheek. Immediately, the Lord employs his godly power to strike the offender dead on the spot. These "lost books" make fascinating reading to some folks, but to me, it's plainly obvious why they aren't included in the Bible. Such fanciful stories bear little or no relation to the Jesus of the Bible - or the Christ of Calvary.

On the other hand, though, I'm convinced that there really are some "lost books of the Bible." There are many narratives that are in God's Word, but lost to most of God's people - because we either don't bother to read them or, if we do read, we do so without spiritual understanding - especially if the passage being read doesn't accord with what our preconceptions make us think ought to be in the Bible. So many of us have been raised on a handful of carefully selected and often-repeated passages of scripture - the milk of the Gospel - that the meat, the tougher parts of the Biblical narrative, almost chokes us.

We all know and love the babe in the manger - but what about the young man in the temple, heatedly arguing with the Pharisees and teachers of the law, calling them names which some of our English translations rather politely render as "sons of illegitimate birth?" A "gentle Jesus meek and mild" we can accept, but how about any angry prophet who takes a horsewhip to merchants selling trinkets in front of a house of worship? Or a bringer of peace on earth who clearly says, "I come not to bring peace, but a sword?"

One thing we might fairly say about the Lord Jesus, whether or not we are able to agree as to how "tough" or how "gentle" he might have been, he was never naïve. No one ever "pulled the wool" over Jesus' eyes. He might be the Son of God from heavenly realms, but in human form he had an understanding of our earthly nature that cut right through all façade or false pretense anyone dared to bring to him. Even though his outward actions were pure and harmless as a dove's, his words revealed a mind that was razor-sharp, wise as any serpent's.

Many of us tend to look down upon those whose major claim to fame comes through their use of words - lawyers, politicians and preachers are prime examples of such. But it was in the spoken words of Jesus that his inner nature was most clearly revealed. His teachings had a ring of power - of authority - about them. Several times the Gospels note that the Jewish leaders sent soldiers and policemen out to arrest Jesus as he spoke, but these returned both empty-handed and dumbfounded. "Why did you not arrest him?" they were asked. "No man ever spoke like this man!" they replied. Jesus definitely wasn't naïve - he knew human nature through and through, and he let people know it, straight out - and with authority.

It was Jesus' forthright, no-holds-barred style of speaking that got him into trouble more than once. His mother, his brothers, even his disciples repeatedly cautioned him not to unnecessarily make enemies. They counseled Jesus to "tone it down" a bit, to back off, especially when addressing the leaders and rulers of the Jewish people.

Jesus ignored their warnings - not because he was stubborn or foolish, but because he knew beyond all doubt what he had to do. God had given him a task to complete, and he would carry it out. He was assigned by the Father to reveal God's word, God's nature - God's will - to a world uninterested and unconcerned, to people determined to go their own way, not God's.

Certainly, this would be a difficult task for anyone. To accomplish it without the usual humanly-recognized means of force and coercion, and yet to communicate plainly and forthrightly, would be even more difficult. There would be opposition: Forces of evil and darkness would seek to stifle the godly message he bore. Men in high places would attempt to silence him - permanently.

Jesus wasn't oblivious to any of this. He knew what he was facing. As the passage from John 7 which we read as scripture text today reveals, Jesus was clearly aware of the opposition he faced. Even before the Jewish leaders had clearly sorted out in their own minds how they would ultimately deal with Jesus, he sensed the inevitable outcome of their plotting.

At first, Jesus' opponents simply questioned him, seeking to find flaws in his message, his teachings. There were none. Later they engaged him in open debate, hoping to make him look foolish before the people. But they, not Jesus, were made the fools. Then came threats and intimidation. Jesus didn't scare easily. He might leave town for a while, but he always came back - and each successive time was bolder in his speech than previously.

And so, eventually, there was nothing else to be done but order him eliminated. At least six months before the actual Crucifixion, the gospels reveal that the authorities of his day had begun to plan his murder. At first, even they weren't sure of how or when they would do the deed - but Jesus was on top of their plans every step of the way. When he began to confront them with their own murderous thoughts, they denied such vehemently. "You're crazy, paranoid!" they shouted. "Who would want to kill you? You're imagining things!"

But Jesus wasn't imagining things. He knew the hearts of men. And he also knew the path he must travel. A hundred times he could have turned aside and avoided what lay ahead. He could have softened his tongue, compromised his message, cooperated with the worldly powers of that day and time. Or, in a spectacular display of God's power, he could have eliminated the entire lot of his detractors. He could have turned Pharisees into blackbirds, stopped teachers of the law dead.
Jesus did none of those things. Instead, with eyes wide open, he walked right into the traps laid for him by his opponents. And they killed him - on a cross!

Most certainly, Jesus could have avoided the cross. He could have walked away from it - away from his opponents and enemies. But if he had, he would also have walked away from you - and from me. And that he would not do. For Jesus had a task to perform - a message to communicate. He brought to earth a "love note" from God - a letter that must be delivered, no matter what the cost.

Three years ago, during the Lenten season of 2004, as a result of Mel Gibson's "Passion" movie, there was a great deal of renewed discussion in our land concerning an old question: "Who killed Christ?" Gibson's portrayal of the Passion of our Lord seemed, to some, anti-Semitic, for it placed much of the blame on the Jews. But the fact is that no one took the life of Jesus from him. Instead, he gave it up, willingly, for you and for me. During the remaining days of this Lenten season, as we continue to ponder the meaning of Christ's sacrifice on our behalf, I ask each of you to spend significant time thinking - and praying - concerning the meaning of Jesus' death on the Cross - for you.

The Bible tells us that there is a way in life that "seems right" to a man or woman. It is a broad way, traveled by many. It may include self-realization, the indulgence of one's passions, accumulation of wealth and power, achievement of personal goals. It may even encompass some of humanity's highest ideals and aspirations. And the Bible also reveals that there is another way of life. It is a rarely traveled road, a path which may involve self-denial, control of one's passions, a lack of worldly goods and power, even the possibility of being deemed a failure - an outcast - by one's peers. And yet, paradoxically, this second way leads to far greater ends than the broad, easy road chosen by most in this world.

That path is the way of the Cross - of Jesus Christ. In this world, its end may be a premature, frustrating death without recognition. But it is the way - the only way - unto eternal life. Jesus walked that road - He invites us to follow Him. And I, on his behalf, invite you as well - to follow the way of the Cross. Amen.

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