The Jesus Scandal
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good morning, brothers and sisters. We are continuing with our series on Luke today. We have come to Luke 7:18-35 this morning, the third sermon on our series on Luke.
When we start on a new series of sermons, I think it is always good to get certain background information clear to help us to understand the overall theme; the overarching message of the book or series.
Now we all know that this gospel is written by Luke, a physician and co-worker of the apostle Paul. Luke wrote the gospel that is named after him and the book of the Acts of the Apostles.
Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the word have delivered them to us,
And Luke wrote his gospel and Acts like a historian writing a historical account, emphasizing that what he wrote is based on eyewitness account, as in Luke 1:1–2
He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance.
Luke probably wrote both the Gospel and Acts in close succession, and since Acts ends with Paul’s imprisonment in Rome in Acts 28:30–31 and tradition holds that the Emperor Nero had Paul beheaded after the great fire of Rome in AD64; both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostle must have been written before that. That is, probably sometimes around AD60-62. This is within a generation of the life and minstry of Jesus - therefore, he could not have written something that is untrue, since there were still eyewitnesses around of the events when the books were completed.
it seemed good to me also, having followed all things closely for some time past, to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you may have certainty concerning the things you have been taught.
The gospel of Luke is written to a believing gentile - someone like you and me. We know this from the introduction portion of Luke 1:3–4 And it is not written to any believing gentile, but to someone who has been taught; who knew his Bible, that is the Old Testament well. The New Testament was in the process of being written; so Luke must be referring to the Old Testament here. This is an important point. Luke assumes his reader knows the Old Testament well, and he quotes and alludes to portions of the Old Testament without any explanation. To follow what Luke writes, therefore, we would have to turn back to the Old Testament and fill in the background information.
Now with that in mind, let us start with a word of prayer before diving into Luke 7:18-35.
Jesus the Stumbling Stone
Jesus the Stumbling Stone
The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to the Lord, saying, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’ ” In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
Our story, or passage, this morning, starts with John the Baptist, who baptised Jesus, sending 2 of his disciples to Jesus. Now, why would John suddenly send 2 disciples to Jesus. It says in Luke 7:18
The disciples of John reported all these things to him. And John,
What are “all these things”? This “things” refer to the 2 miracles reported at the start of chapter 7. In Luke 7:1-10, Jesus healed the centurion’s servant without setting sight or touching him. In Luke 7:11-17, he raised the widow’s only son who was dead in a coffin. In Luke 7:16-17 we read,
Fear seized them all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” And this report about him spread through the whole of Judea and all the surrounding country.
So, when John’s disciples reported all these miracles to John, John sent 2 of his disciples to ask if Jesus is “the one who is to come”; the one whom the Jews were waiting for hundreds of years; the one who was to be sent by God to rescue, to save the Jews.
Even though John baptised Jesus and saw the heaven opened in Matthew 3:17
and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
he was not certain if Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, perhaps because Jesus was hanging with the wrong crowd - tax collectors and sinners; or may be because Jesus does not observe the purity laws; he touches lepers and dead people. Whatever the reason, which we probably would never find out, but John has his doubts. So he sent 2 of his disciples to find out because he himself was in prison, according to Matthew 11:2
Now when John heard in prison about the deeds of the Christ, he sent word by his disciples
The reason is recorded in Matthew 14:3-4
For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”
When John the baptist’s disciples asked Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come”, by “the one who is to come”, they are referring to Malachi 3:1
Malachi 3:1 (ESV)
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
How did Jesus answer John? He points to the miracles and healings that he performed and asks John to judge for himself, as in Luke 7:22–23
Luke 7:22–23 (ESV)
And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”
But how does this prove who Jesus is? What is Jesus saying here? Jesus is alluding to Isaiah 35:3-4 and Isaiah 61:1-2. The first is the Promise of the Second Exodus, the second, the Year of the Lord’s favour. What do these passages in Isaiah say?
Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn;
What Jesus saying is this - look at the Scriptures and you will know that He is the Messiah, the one who is coming. Don’t be stumbled by the things he says and does, and don’t be offended by what he preaches. The religious orders of the day - the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Scribes, who knew the Bible - again, let us remind ourselves, the Old Testament - better than anyone else were scandalized by Jesus. The reason that they were stumbled and scandalized by Jesus is because they thought they knew the Scriptures well, they thought they knew what the Messiah would do when he comes. But Jesus came and did not do what they expected. Instead, doing things that seems to scandalized them - pardoning the adulterous woman, touching lepers, dining with tax collectors and sinners, chit-chatting with a loose Samaritan woman, breaking Sabbath traditions, and many more. Now, Jesus did not break any of the Scriptures - in fact he fulfils them. Where Jesus stumbled them is when Jesus seemingly breaks religious rules and laws; therefore, they reasoned that Jesus could not have been sent by God. Jesus’ defence is this - that he may break man’s tradition, but not God’s laws; in fact, he comes to fulfil them; he says this in Mark 7:8-9
You leave the commandment of God and hold to the tradition of men.”
And he said to them, “You have a fine way of rejecting the commandment of God in order to establish your tradition!
and Matthew 5:17
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
The problem Jesus had with the Pharisees is that they added their traditions to the Laws of Moses, albeit with the good motive of safeguarding the keeping of the Laws.
Application - What is the application for us today? What are the things that stumble us? How do we deal with them? Do we add our Brethren tradition, or our interpretation to God’s Word? Jesus challenges us to look into Scriptures and do not go beyond what it says; not to add on to what it says. What could stumble us today here at EDGE? Women elders? Women pastors? Even though we have all the confidence that we know the Bible well, because of our Brethren tradition, are we willing to be challenged in the ways we read the Bible? Are we open to listening to how others interpret the Bible?
Jesus is God
Jesus is God
When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written, “ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ I tell you, among those born of women none is greater than John. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.” (When all the people heard this, and the tax collectors too, they declared God just, having been baptized with the baptism of John, but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the purpose of God for themselves, not having been baptized by him.)
Reed - Herod Antipas (Luke 3:1) employed the reed on the coin he minted till AD 26. He was the one who married Herodias, his half-brother, Phillip’s wife. And when John the baptist condemned him, he imprisoned John (Luke 3:19-20) and later executed him (Mark 6:18-28). When Jesus talks about the “reed” and “a man dressed in soft clothing” in Luke 7:24
When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
He is poking fun at Herod Antipas, the word Jesus used hinted that he is a soft and weak; like a reed, blown back and forth by the wind.
In Luke 7:27 Luke is quoting from Malachi 3:1
This is he of whom it is written, “ ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
Let us look again carefully at the verses that Jesus quoted in answering John the Baptist and the crowd.
Going back to Isaiah 35:3-4, but let us start from Isaiah 35:1-4
The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom like the crocus; it shall blossom abundantly and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord, the majesty of our God. Strengthen the weak hands, and make firm the feeble knees. Say to those who have an anxious heart, “Be strong; fear not! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God. He will come and save you.”
What Isaiah proclaimed, and what Jesus quoted, is not the the healing of the sick, the strengthening of the weak, the preaching of the good news to the poor is a sign of the coming of the Messiah - but the coming of God himself!
And the same in Malachi 3:1
“Behold, I send my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. And the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple; and the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight, behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts.
The messenger, John the baptist, did not go before the Messiah, but God Almighty himself.
Let us take a moment to let this sink in. Jesus, by quoting Isaiah 35:3-4 and Malachi 3:1 here is not claiming to be the Messiah. He claims to be God Almighty himself.
This is obviously the biggest scandal to the Pharisees, Scribes and Sadducees - a man claims to be the Almighty Creator God himself!
Application - And this really is the crux of Luke’s message. That Jesus is the Messiah; but more that the Messiah - he is God himself; the God who, through Malachi, promises that he will make a surprise visit to the Temple. Because He is God, he gets to decide what is right or wrong, and how to go about doing things; not us. Church governance, roles of elders, pastors etc.
How Do We Respond?
How Do We Respond?
Luke 7:31–35 ““To what then shall I compare the people of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children sitting in the marketplace and calling to one another, “ ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by all her children.””
When Luke uses the term “this generation”, he is alluding to Deuteronomy 1:35 “‘Not one of these men of this evil generation shall see the good land that I swore to give to your fathers,”
Luke 7:34 “The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’”
According to Deut 21:20-21
Deuteronomy 21:20–21 (ESV)
and they shall say to the elders of his city, ‘This our son is stubborn and rebellious; he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton and a drunkard.’ Then all the men of the city shall stone him to death with stones. So you shall purge the evil from your midst, and all Israel shall hear, and fear.
Application - Be open minded; be ready to be surprised by God; accept God on His terms; not ours.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Notes:
Use of the OT by Luke
a. LXX
b. Direct quotations 25, allusions 439; probably written as biblical history for synagogue going gentiles and hellenized Jews.
c. ὀ έρχὀμενος (v19): Mal 3:1, Ps 118:26 (117:26 in the LXX)
d. v22: Isa 35:3-4, 61:1-2, ?29:18-19, ?42:7-8, ?26:19; 1 Ki 17:17-21 (Elijah raising the dead) and 2 Ki 5:1-16 (Elisha cleansing leper).
e. v27: Ex 23:20, Mal 3:1
f. v31: τῆς γενεᾶς τούτης Deu 23:4b-5, 32:20 - reference to rebellion in the wilderness during Exodus.
2. God’s characters
3. Applications: A call to believe and accept Jesus as the Messiah who fulfils the Old Testament prophecies.
Notes:
Written by Luke
Written as history, not propaganda
Written to Gentile believers, who are familiar with the OT
Purpose of writing -
not evangelism, but to assure Christians the truth of their belief
to clarify the relationship between Judaism and Christianity especially with Jewish rejection of the Gospel - that Christianity is not a new religion; but the fulfilment of the promises made by God in the OT
Written very early on, around AD 60-62, before Paul’s martyrdom.
