The Danger of Misconceptions

We just finished the advent season and talking about the good news of great joy. But why is it that Luke 2 has become the favored Christmas story to read? Why not read Matthew’s account?

We always highlight the good news and wonderful things about Christianity. It’s no wonder why some churches started preaching that if you just believe in Jesus your life will be perfectly rosy and wonderful. I believe some of the reason for this is because we don’t want to look at or talk about the horrors and evil in this world.

We don’t want to admit that deep down each one of us is capable of the darkest evil and we definitely don’t want to be reminded of that fact. There are many reasons this evil could surface and one of the most common is from misconceptions.

It’s so easy for that to surface so we would rather not look at or talk about the evil in the world. We want to pretend either it doesn’t exist or that it’s not as bad as it is.

But we can’t ignore it. We can read about it on the pages of the Bible. And one of the most gruesome episodes is found in the Christmas story. We find it in Matthew 2:13-18.

It tells of the murderous paranoia of an earthly ruler. On the surface it appears to simply be about a tyrant not unlike many that are still around today. But it goes much deeper than that.

It’s also the story of the sovereignty of God. God protecting the Messiah and not allowing humans to interfere with His plan of redemption of us.

There’s more to it still, as if that wasn’t enough, and it is, but this morning I want to look at how the world operates on some misconceptions about Jesus Christ.

Let’s look at our passage for today.

Matthew 2:13–14 CSB

13 After they were gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.” 14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt.

Matthew 2:15–16 CSB

15 He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called my Son. 16 Then Herod, when he realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men.

Matthew 2:17–18 CSB

17 Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: 18 A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children; and she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.

In Herod’s case, his misconceptions were a devastating impact on the little town of Bethlehem. These same misconceptions are the basis of why many people reject Christ today.

We’re going to look at a couple facts about Herod’s misconceptions about Christ. Then we’re going to bring it into our current time and look at how people’s misconceptions affect and impact not just their destiny but also the impact on our culture.

We can’t look at ancient historical stories like this and just pass them off as ancient history. The basic attitude of Herod is still alive today and we need to deal with it.

We need to learn to recognize it and learn how to respond. That’s what I hope to help us all with today. So we’re going to look at these aspects of the misconceptions about Jesus.

Herod was threatened by a misconception

Herod’s misconception had an impact

People still have misconceptions

Peoples’ misconceptions have an impact

Our job is to correct those misconceptions

Let’s start by looking at Herod’s misconceptions.

Herod was Threatened by a Misconception

When the magi asked where to find the King of the Jews, Herod thought they were talking about an earthly political king who would remove him from his role as the puppet king for Rome.

Being the power hungry kind of guy he was, and most earthly kings were and are, this posed a threat.

It was a falsely perceived threat. Jesus could have become earthly king if He wanted and in fact after feeding the 5,000, the crowd wanted to force Him to become king and He had to make a hasty departure before they could do it.

During Pilate’s questioning, He admitted He was a king, just not an earthly political king. His kingdom was not of this world.

But that was around 30-33 years after Herod decided He posed a threat and gave a horrific and evil order. Which takes us to the next aspect of misconceptions.

Herod’s Misconception had an Impact

You might be thinking no duh Bill! That’s a massive understatement.

Herod ordered that all the innocent male children be slaughtered. All because he was operating under a misconception about Jesus.

Matthew 2:16 CSB

16 Then Herod, when he realized that he had been outwitted by the wise men, flew into a rage. He gave orders to massacre all the boys in and around Bethlehem who were two years old and under, in keeping with the time he had learned from the wise men.

We sing a song “O Little Town of Bethlehem” and as the song title suggests, Bethlehem was a very small place. Scholars estimate, due to the size of Bethlehem, that the number of innocent male children would have been around 25-30.

Does that make any difference in the barbaric and ugly nature of Herod’s order? Absolutely not. Just one is too many!

Herod would have diligently studied the Scriptures given to the Jews by the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David. He could have and very well should have come to the conclusion that the child, the king, the wise men asked about was the Messiah.

The Jews weren’t supposed to fear the Messiah, they were supposed to welcome Him. Instead, Herod’s paranoia caused him to react in an evil murderous manner.

Bethlehem is only about 5 miles from Jerusalem so it didn’t take long for Herod’s soldiers to make good on his commands. And we see in Ps 2:2

Psalm 2:2 CSB

2 The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers conspire together against the Lord and his Anointed One:

Furious at being outwitted King Herod flew into a rage against God and His Anointed One. However, this was no narrow escape like we see in the Chosen. God the Father in heaven laughs at the Herod’s of this world.

Herod’s misconception, then rage filled order, had a horrific impact on the world around him, but not on God’s plan of redemption.

As Ecclesiastes says, nothing has changed in this world.

People Still have Misconceptions

While the vast majority of these misconceptions might not lead to murdering innocent people and children, people still have them and we need to recognize them.

It would be impossible to cover all the misconceptions people have abut Jesus. I want to look at just three of them today.

The first one is Jesus was a good teacher and a wise man, but He is not divine.

Good Teacher, Wise Man, Not Divine

It’s amazing how many people are willing to admit Jesus lived. That He was a good man and a wise teacher. Some may even say he was a prophet of God. But none will say He’s divine.

The second one is even far too common among Christian.

Concerned about Kindness Not Judgment

They say Jesus was more concerned about kindness than He was judgment.

I’ve even heard many say Jesus would never cast the first stone. I find it interesting that, He’s the only one qualified to throw a stone in the first place. But nobody wants to talk about that. Nobody wants to admit that they’re not worthy.

Those same people say Jesus is more concerned with peace, love and harmony than anything else. He’s excessively lenient toward sin and would never send anyone to hell.

Gee I wonder why this might be a common misconception!!

Any guesses?

Maybe it’s because they would have to admit that there is a place called hell. And they would have to admit that either their not sure what their destination is or that they know they’re destined to hell.

Better pack your shorts and flip flops I hear it’s a mighty warm place.

We don’t really know exactly what eternal punishment awaits in hell.

Just envision a realm devoid of good, completely stripped of joy, goodness, and love. Then understand that whatever punishment awaits unrepentant sinners, it’s no doubt far worse than we could imagine.

The idea that Jesus is somehow more concerned with what’s good than what’s just is a big misconception. If God is love then God must also be perfectly just.

And the third misconception is that Jesus may have been innocent and wrongfully crucified but He is still dead.

Wrongfully Crucified and Still Dead

Most people will agree that Jesus was wrongfully put to death. Sure He rocked the religious establishment of His day, but that’s the only reason He was crucified.

He’s not God so there’s no reason to believe He rose from the dead. The empty tomb doesn’t make any difference.

There’s no reason to believe He rose again.

How do people get these misconceptions?

They get information from their parents or friends who possess erroneous information and pass it on. Those people may sincerely believe the information they’re passing on to be true.

Or people watch movies and/or read books like The Da Vinci Code claiming Jesus married and had a baby with Mary Magdalene.

Organizations like The Jesus Seminar, which has been intentionally trying to change scholarly opinion of Jesus with false information about Jesus. And they have immensely used the news media and social media to try and accomplish their goal.

Maybe it’s people who believe their Christians but aren’t or sometimes purposefully lie about their faith to distort Christianity.

I know this may come as a surprise to you but a person who claims to be a Christian but refuses to obey Christ, is not an authentic Christian.

People will either jump on the bandwagon with them and push the same false Christianity or they will call them hypocrites, so all Christians are hypocrites.

People claim to love Christ while being hateful to others, especially across racial boundaries.

They may see or hear about churches that beg for or even demand poor people give their money, while the pastors and leaders of the church have more wealth than third world nations.

Misconceptions about Jesus and His church are abundant even within the church. We’re going to look at how to correct those misconceptions a little later because those misconceptions have an impact.

People’s Misconceptions Have an Impact

People naturally respond to Jesus Christ based on their perception of Him. So let’s take a look at what just a few of the impacts lead to.

The first is a Negative reaction to the good news of great joy for all the people. I know, I know it’s very obvious that if a person hears a perception of Jesus that contradicts what they know or want, they’re going to react very negatively.

One of the most common is the fact that Jesus doesn’t just represent loving kindness. He also brings judgment and condemnation. People today, especially our youth, don’t want to take responsibility. They don’t want to hear about nor accept judgment.

Another common misconception is rooted in the failure of the church itself. They view Christianity based on the “Christians” they have seen who are, shall we say, inauthentic. They want nothing to do with what they perceive to be a hypocritical cult.

With these misconceptions they are completely closed off from even hearing about the Redeemer.

Another misconception is their disbelief in the gospels and/or the Bible as a whole.

They attend secular liberal colleges or hear about the Bible from those colleges nonChristian “atheist” theologians. I’m still not sure how someone who doesn’t believe God exists can be an expert in the study of God. They come to their natural presupposed conclusion that the Bible isn’t true.

So when we talk about the truth of Jesus, especially the miracles and the resurrection, it goes completely against their intellectual reasoning and the conclusions they’ve already come to by the “atheist” scholars they have come to trust. They won’t listen to the gospel.

Many people believe in a false Jesus. Yes cults play a part in this, but our main concern should be that salvation comes from the Jesus of the Bible. Not the Jesus of society or majority opinion.

He’s not a perfect Jesus. He’s THE perfect moral standard and Redeemer. He is God, who entered His creation as man, died a horrible and painful death satisfying the righteous justice of God, rose again bodily and ascended to heaven so we might be reconciled to God and eternal salvation.

The Jesus of the Bible demands total allegiance above all others and all things. He doesn’t invite the spiritual wimpy. He calls us to pick up our cross and follow Him daily. He tells us we’re going to suffer and be persecuted.

That makes you want to jump up and shout I’m in, right? People think why would I want that?

The truth is He deserves my allegiance, and He deserve all of yours as well.

But people don’t want to believe in that Jesus. Much like the Jews, especially the Pharisees, people want the social liberator, the political liberator, not the Messiah who came to liberate the world from sin and death.

They want the namby-pamby Jesus, meek and mild, who goes on an apology tour for upsetting the money changers tables. Because this Jesus doesn’t challenge, doesn’t threaten the status quo. Sex before marriage, I can be whatever sex I want to be, I can use abortions as birth control, etc…

I could go on about how misconceptions of Jesus impact our society, but I’ve been on that soapbox long enough I really need to move on.

Our Job is to Correct Misconceptions

We need to stop complaining and/or being a reason for the misconceptions and start being a solution.

How do we do that?

Well we can start by correcting misconceptions by living and presenting the truth.

When you come across some misconception, you might agree with the underlying truth, then gently correct the misconception. Far too many people calling themselves Christians argue, yell and scream at the people whom they disagree with.

We don’t sugar coat our faith, yes there are hard times, yes we still mess up, yes we still experience heartaches, we’re not perfect, but because of our faith in Jesus we have an experienced joy that surpasses all understanding.

We express this not just with words, but with deed. An authentic Christian naturally lives out their faith in God and His Word, even when we don’t understand it.

An authentic Christian naturally goes through a character change. A change that allows us to love others the way God loves them. And it builds a faith so deep that even when we ask tough questions of God and we don’t receive an answer we still trust He’s in control.

That’s just a tiny part of it. An authentic Christian life basically boils down to this: A life lived in love for Christ, in gratitude for the salvation He purchased with His own blood and extending His love for us to others. And a heart that continually hungers for God and His Word.

Why is authenticity important?

Because when people outside of Christ see and feel an authentic love for them in us, and watch us living for Christ in a broken world, not pretending to be perfect or making excuses for our mistakes, yet also not living according to societal norms and agendas, the people with a softened heart begin to wonder what we have that makes us so different. They see the joy and love we have even in the hardest of times and they want to experience the same joy.

If we want to make an impact on those who have misconceptions about Jesus Christ, then we have to live a natural, life transforming, authentic Christian life.

Herod had misconceptions about Jesus Christ and murdered innocent children.

People today have misconceptions about Christ. Some may murder innocent children through Planned Parenthood, what a stupid name, they should call it planned nonparenthood. Others may live good lives but just reject the Jesus of the Bible. No matter what the case they all still face the same judgment, eternal separation from God.

Jesus says it’s up to us when He says, Matt 28:18-20

Matthew 28:18–20 CSB

18 “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We can’t aggressively confront their views and argue with them. But when they ask, it’s not enough to just say they’ve got it wrong. We must bring the truth, in both words and deed, to combat and take the veil of misconception off so God might shine the light of truth into their dark souls and bring them understanding.

God promises to use us to make the difference in people’s lives. God uses us as His tool to bring others salvation. Let’s start being that tool today!!