Offended by Jesus

Claim - Those most familiar with Jesus are most likely to reject him (as the Israelites did to the prophets of the OT so they do now with Jesus in his own town).

Focus - This micro example ripples out (Nazareth to Galilee, Galilee to the Israelites nations all reject and kill Jesus - it is the ‘nations’ who will respond). Ripples are felt to day as the ‘christianised world now rejects Jesus and the ‘spiritually poor’ are responding in glourious number!

Function - Personally: Don’t let familiarity with Jesus allow you to miss being amazed by his wisdom and power! As a nation: In a culture that is built on but rapidly rejecting Jesus - an oppertunity stands before us. As we proclaim the teaching and gospel power of Jesus - people might believe in who he is again!

General Rejection of Jesus (Matthew 10-13)

We’ve reached the end of a major section of Matthew’s gospel.

And this whole section that started in chapter 10 has been charting varying responses to Jesus.

Chapter 10 Jesus sends out the 12 disciples to the Jews.

Matthew 10:5–8 NIV 2011

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: ‘Do not go among the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel. As you go, proclaim this message: “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Heal those who are ill, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

And how are they and the message of the ‘Kingdom being near’ received?

Well there will be a few people - who listen and respond - but on the whole - they will be persecuted, aressted, called to account, threatened.

In fact Jesus promises the disciples that in time - they will face death itself.

Matthew 10:28 NIV 2011

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Even John the baptist isn’t exactly sure how to respond to Jesus in Chapter 11 as he sends his own disciples to find out if Jesus is the one.

Matthew 11:2–3 NIV 2011

When John, who was in prison, heard about the deeds of the Messiah, he sent his disciples to ask him, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?’

They are sent back to John reassured by Jesus that they only need

to see his actions and deeds of miracles,

to know that Jesus

has to be the one promised in the OT

- who would come and save us from our sin and rebelion towards God.

We trust John the baptist then responds rightly to Jesus,

but Jesus continues to condemn the majority of Israel for her rejection of Him as the saviour of the world.

Matthew 11:20 NIV 2011

Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.

And we get at the end of chapter 12 what appears to be a book end when paired with todays passage.

Jesus’ own family are ‘outside’ and want Jesus to come to them - it seems they, his own flesh and blood think he’s an embarrassment.

And so Jesus says - well actually.

Matthew 12:50 NIV 2011

For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.’

We then have a chapter of parables - which we’ve been thinking about over the past weeks

where JEsus is explaining that His Kingdom - where he is King,

is coming in 2 stages.

It is a now but also not yet Kingdom.

Now - JEsus has come as the suffering servant - to represent humanity before God - to live a perfectly obedient life becasue he is also fully God.

And so then die in our place - take the full wrath of God for us - if we repent and believe and so follow him as disciples.

If we do that - then NOW,

we have joy, as we await Jesus'’ second coming - when judgement upon all will take place.

The weeds and wheat will be separated, the fish in the net will be sorted.

The wicked - those who have refused Jesus as King, failed to repent of their sin will be thrown into the buring fire where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth,

And the righteous - those who have been made righteous by humbling themselves and repenting of their sin and accepting Jesus as Lord

- they will inherit a perfected eternity with Jesus - a great treasure -the finest pearl.

And then Matthew ends his section on Jesus' parables by returning to those who ought to have been closest to Jesus.

His home town - his flesh and blood.

Has anything changed now they have been warned of the judgement at the end times?

Matthew 13:54 NIV 2011

Coming to his home town, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’ they asked.

It’s looking hopeful!

They are

Amazed By Jesus

In a small town like Nazereth- the synagog would be the true hub of the town. Everyone would have heard Jesus was back and gone to listen!

This is incredible! How did he get so wise and impressive! Where is this power coming from - he can even heal people and do miracles!

MAybe he did one or 2 there and then - maybe they just heard all the reports coming from around Galilee.

But you can imagine it can’t you.

Particularly if you are from a small town or village - you all grew up together - everyone knows everyone.

We used to live in a small village in South Africa and one of the cafes had a sign outside saying:

‘The good thing about living in a small village is that if you don’t know what you’re doing tomorrow everyone else does’

There’s no hiding, no privacy - everyone knows everything - and no-one knows how Jesus gained such wisdom.

This is not just a solid understanding of the Torah - the religious Jewish texts - the first 5 books of the OT.

People are constantly amazed by Jesus wisdom, authority, power when he preaches.

Where did Jesus get this wisdom and power from?

That’s their question.

They don’t question that he has it - they question His source.

It’s sad today that despite the overwhelming evidence of Jesus exisitence -

the overwhelming eveidence that by the nature of his teachings still being in existence today they were wise and powerful,

depsite even non-biblical historical texts confirming that people saw miracles,

despite all that - people are not amazed by Him today,

many doubt his wisdom and power was even a reality.

Atleast the people of his time did not and could not deny that.

Even if sadly - despite his wisdom and power - they are too famliar with HIM, and so too proud to accept him as their Lord.

Matthew 13:53–57 (NIV 2011)

When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his home town, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. ‘Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?’ they asked. ‘Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?’ And they took offence at him.

So Familiar with Jesus they are Offended

Those most familiar with Jesus - appear to be the most resistant here to his message about the kingdom.

His offer of salavtion.

His call to repent and believe so that they might be spared the wrath of God and be saved.

Who does this guy think he is telling us this and that about the kingdom. Coming with this wisdom and power.

He’s just that kid from down the road.

We all know his mother Mary, and his brothers James, he’s over there - look. JOspeh, Simon and Judas. Look here are some of his sisters!

I wont have this young man lecture me and claim some sort of authority over us.

We don’t know what Jesus taught in the synagog on this occaison in his home town? No doubt he would do what was typically done, he’d have opened God’s Word - for them the OT,

and then explained it

- but of course Jesus would have explained it in a way that would have pointed to himself as it’s fulfilment.

So the listeners would need to humble - for they are sinners who need a saviour.

Sinners who deserve judgement and God’s wrath,

Sinners who must repent and believe in the Messiah who can save them.

And here I am says Jesus - repent and believe.

Perhpas he repeated a similar sermon recorded in Luke’s gospel on what was probably an earlier visit he made to his home town.

Luke 4:16–21 NIV 2011

He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’ Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.’

Here I am he says - Your messiah and king is here.

And, Jesus would have called for repentance before God.

As Matthew records the beginning of Jesus’ preaching ministry he set’s up the standard formula for all of Jesus', and Christian preaching moving forward:

Matthew 4:17 NIV 2011

From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’

Forget that they say. He might be a wise and powerful man

- but we’re too proud - to repent of our sin,

He’s just a carpenter boy.

as if I owe God an apology - we’re the chosen ones - we’re famliar with God,

and we;re too familiar with JEsus to bow donw and worship him.

And so Jesus ends by comparing them to an all too familiar pattern within humanity:

Matthew 13:57 NIV 2011

And they took offence at him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour except in his own town and in his own home.’

All through the OT, prophets are given by God to call the people back to himself. Repent, turn from your ways - come back to me pleads God.

But the overwhelming pattern is that the People, humanity - from whom the prophet himself comes - reject the message and the messenger.

Jermiah, abused and attacked,

Ezekiel ridiculed.

Prophet after prophet ignored.

Becasue they are too familiar with the messenger!

Who are you to tell us.

pause -

But each and every time - they have failed to answer their own question.

The people listening to JEsus failed to answer their own question.

Where did he get this wisdom and pwoer from.

They jump straiught to dismissing him - but had to they only given time to their question.

Perhaps they would have realised the wisdom and pwer is God himself - in human form

- loving them enough to call them to repentance and faith

- loving them enough to come as a suffering servant to die in their place

- satisfiying the wrath of God for them in their place,

offering them eternity in the glorious kingdom of God.

Are we in the same danger today?

Of being amazed by Jesus - but in our overfamliarity - not actually listen to his message.

The whole Galilean district will do that.

The whole Jewsih nation will - on the whole - do that.

They will put him to death on a cross even!

We don’t need God’s messenger - we’re too proud.

And so they missed not just the messenger - but the message it’s self! The messih - the saviour.

I know it’s not popular to keep going on about our sinfulness and rebelion against God.

I know we don’t like to hear that we are detestable, evil, sin ridden, dry bones before God.

But the parrables we have been looking at over the last weeks do not pull any punches!

Burning, weeping, gnashing of teeth - awaits those who refuse to repent and follow Jesus.

This is the message Jesus must have delivered at places like Nazereth!

They didn’t just go - that was a nice message rabbie - thank you - and move on with their day!

NO - they v57 - took offence!

Jesus offends with his preaching - his gospel!

You are sinners - deserving of God’s judgement and wrath! - Repent before it’s too late.

We ought to find that uncomfortable - it ought to unsettle us - it ought to make us reevaluate our lifes and lifsstyles each day.

Don’t let overfamiliraity with Jesus casue us to not hear his message.

Perhaps we’ve grown up hearing much about JEsus - and we just can’t bring ourself to bow down to this King who lived 2000 years ago and died on a cross!

I’m better than Him we might think - I know his stories and I’m not going to bow.

And so, just like Jesus then stops performing physical miracles in his home town - so too he will not be performing spiritual miracles of forgiveness and new life in their town or our lives.

Rather - we should be amazed at his wisdom and power -and rather than letting over familiarity with the Bible mean we are offened when called to repentnace and reinded of our sin

- we instead are overcome with joy -

A Joyful Repentance

Despite what we are like - despite our sin, evil, weakness, brokenness, undeserving nature

- The God of the entire universe came to our world as a man like us.

He loved us enough to offer himself in our place!

So that - His true home town in the glory of heaven. might become our true home town!

Where with the disciples we become the very mother, brother and sister of Jesus for all eternity!

What a king we have, do not be offered - be joyfully grateful.

Go and give up your sin, change your lives, cast off anything that hinders you so that we may inherit the prize for which he came to freely give.

We’re so busy concerned about the unfairness of life,

our pursuit of nice things, or a better life,

or just the busyiness of life and family,

or the draw of friends, or speical friends.

we are actually offended when we hear JEsus demand our attention!

But we are only offended becasue we think too highly of ourselves! - and subconsciously are so familiar with Jesus - we think he’s too demanding in calling us to repent and follow him, to take up our cross daily.

When only the opposite is true!

The more we remeber our desperate state before him - the more we realise he’s offering us nothing but love, joy, hope, reward, blessing, glory!

What a king he is.

We can joyfully repent and follow.

And what a joy he is to proclaim to all those around us.

You see our culture is now not very familiar with Jesus at all!

They have no or very little concept of him.

So, just like in JEsus time - it is the non-Jews, the gentiles that will respond in great numbers to his gospel after his death and resurection - so it is in our world today.

IN fact we began with JEsus sending the disciples out ONLY to the Jews - and we end this secton of Matthew - with it clear it’s going to ONLY be the GEntiles who will ‘en mass’ respond.

Those who are humble enough and not blinded by their familiarity of who they ‘think’ God is.

And so It is not the Christianised countries that are responding to Jesus today - but the countries where Jesus has been unheard of!

Muslim majority countries finding JEsus in their droves,

China with the fastest growing church in history!

And so maybe - the loss of CHristain teaching, and principles in our own context - is actually a great opportunity.

People are lost - and they have forgotten any form of religion that can help!

And so, just maybe - as you talk to your frineds about the judgemnt to come, of Jesus who loves to forgive -

We will find people start to believe again.

Pray