Cancel Culture

Introduction:

Cancel culture is not anything new.

Key Points:

1. There is an effort to cancel Jesus and make his claims seem irrelevant and irrational.

-The Jews have run out of ways to confront Jesus. They start hitting below the belt.

-Jesus lived in a shame culture which is different than the guilt culture we live in.

Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes: Removing Cultural Blinders to Better Understand the Bible Defining Honor/Shame

in an innocence/guilt culture (which includes most Western societies), the laws of society, the rules of the church, local mores and the code of the home are all internalized in the person. The goal is that when a person breaks one of these, her or his conscience will be pricked. In fact, it is hoped that the conscience will discourage the person from breaking the rule in the first place. The battle is fought on the inside. In an honor/shame society, such as that of the Bible and much of the non-Western world today, the driving force is to not bring shame upon yourself, your family, your church, your village, your tribe or even your faith. The determining force is the expectations of your significant others (primarily your family). Their expectations don’t override morals or right/wrong; they actually are the ethical standards

-By calling Jesus a Samaritan was to attack the honor of his family.

-Isn’t it normal for us any any time of culture to start taking pot shots. In this case they try to convince others he must be a Samaritan.

-To go one step further to discredit and cancel Jesus, he must be demon possessed.

-Are we all on the same page when it comes to what a demon is? An evil spiritual being; the opposite of an angel.

-Again in our honor culture to accuse someone of being demon possessed would dishonor them. “Unclean spirit”

-It is also a dig at his claim that God is his father.

-There reaction is as childish as I’ve ever seen, but let’s be honest we’ve all been there.

-They cannot imagine that they are wrong when they’ve used up all their reasoning and such they resort to name calling.

-It’s how our modern cancel culture works, often times bypassing any sense of logical argument and going right to the name calling.

2. What they do not realize, Jesus cannot be cancelled.

-His response to demon possession, “I’m not”

-He doesn’t directly respond to the Samaritan jab but once again refers to his father, God.

-Jesus cannot be cancelled because his word his word is truth and life.

-The cancel culture will come after the things they don’t want to hear. But what Jesus offers is absolute truth.

-Spoiler alert, the Jews took this as far as they could take it and they got Jesus killed. You don’t get any more cancelled than that. But what happened? Three days later he rose from the dead.

-Why? Because he is can’t be cancelled.

-Jesus makes a point here, if you obey my words you can’t be cancelled either

John 8:51 NIV

Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”

-This really gets them riled up. You are demon possessed.

-And then they set up one of the greatest moments in all of the NT. Are you greater than Abraham? Who do you think you are?

-Jesus reviews all the things he’s said so far, that is all the points he’s already made

I don’t glorify myself

My father, your God, glorifies me

You don’t know him as well as you think you do

I do know him and I obey him

This brings him to a point that will knock everyone’s socks off—you are so proud of being the children of Abraham

John 8:56 NIV

Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”

-Jesus is claiming to have personal and intimate knowledge about the patriarch Abraham.

John 8:57 NIV

“You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”

-Jesus begins with “Very truly I tell you” then

3. Jesus hits them with the ultimate mic drop; “Before Abraham was born, I am.”

-Jesus is using 2 of the Jews most sacred events and making a point about himself.

-Let’s review what we know about Abraham

Called out of Ur Genesis 12:1-3

Genesis 12:1–3 NIV

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

Nations would be blessed through him (he is the start, the first, the prime) Genesis 15:1-6

Genesis 15:1–6 NIV

After this, the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision: “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward.” But Abram said, “Sovereign Lord, what can you give me since I remain childless and the one who will inherit my estate is Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “You have given me no children; so a servant in my household will be my heir.” Then the word of the Lord came to him: “This man will not be your heir, but a son who is your own flesh and blood will be your heir.” He took him outside and said, “Look up at the sky and count the stars—if indeed you can count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your offspring be.” Abram believed the Lord, and he credited it to him as righteousness.

-Let’s review what we know about the phrase “I am”

Exodus 3:11–15 NIV

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.” Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ Then what shall I tell them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ” God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ “This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.

DO NOT ALLOW THIS MOMENT TO BE LOST ON YOU.

My name is the same name that was given to Moses, I was the voice in the bush and they knew that the voice in the bush was the same person who made a covenant with The top of their family tree.

-You want to cancel Jesus, it is the same thing as canceling God, so good luck with that.

Application/Implication

1. We need to ask ourselves, “What excuses am I coming up with for not keeping God’s word.”

-for the Jewish leaders it was pride. They could not imagine being wrong. Nor could they imagine that those who had gone before them were wrong either.

-For others maybe the bible is an inconvenience, getting in the way of what we want to do. (selfishness)

-Willful ignorance—If I don’t know I can’t be held accountable

-May not an excuse per say but we forget the principle of “Grace and Truth”

Without the fullness of each we are not keeping God’s word.

2. We have talked about Jesus Messianic claims, this claim, “before Abraham...I am”, is next level.

-There is blasphemy and then there is BLASPHEMY.

lev 24:16

Leviticus 24:16 NIV

anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death.

-Refute the idea or claim that Jesus never said he was God.

-It transforms how we read and understand scripture

-…how we understand the gospel

-It sets Christianity apart from all other religions