When Jesus Came to Church...
Notes
Transcript
Today’s lectionary passage comes straight after last weeks...
Where Jesus preached gospel message for 1st time
Message about coming of God’s kingdom & to be part of it required repentance and faith
& Jesus called His first disciples to believe in message & to follow Him as God’s King
So clear Jesus reputation of being a teacher of scripture was already spreading around Galilee
So as Jesus & his new disciples arrive in next town on Lake shore - Capernaum
Jesus is invited to come & teach in local Synagogue on Sabbath… (Slide)
Jesus Preaching in Church
Jesus Preaching in Church
So as look at first few verses - few things need to understand about what’s going on
On Sabbath everyone went to local synagogue or church to worship God
Synagogue was central place in community like church was last century in Western society
Synagogue place where held court, have political discussions, store archives like library
Also where kids educated, & public reading & teaching of scripture & prayer… (slide)
14 “ ‘Observe the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Anyone who desecrates it must be put to death; whoever does any work on that day must be cut off from his people. 15 For six days, work is to be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day must be put to death. 16 The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. 17 It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.’ ”
So you’d think everyone naturally went to synagogue because it was community hub??
Well it was also because OT Law of Moses commanded Jewish people
1st on Sabbath had to stop working - no work at all was allowed - complete rest from work
& then you had to attend synagogue & spend time worshipping God
If you did anything else then rest or go to synagogue - you’d be put to death!!!
That’s major incentive to go to church isn’t it!!
So everyone was at this synagogue & was teachers of law / scribes job to lead services
They were like Jewish ministers - professionals & experts on OT & on Jewish Law
Constantly studying, explaining, & applying OT to make judgements in court & in service
But way they interpreted & used scripture more often dictated by past scribes writing
They thought what past scribes /Rabbis/teachers had written about scripture (slide)
Was as important & had same authority as scriptures & would often quote them
21 They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.
So when Jesus got up and taught from scripture he didn’t refer to any past Rabbis / teachers
He spoke confidently explaining God’s will & plan for humanity without reference to anyone
Jesus authority wasn’t in way he spoke - He wasn’t super charismatic, or preaching loudly
Wasn’t sharing personal anecdotes or collection encouraging ideas & hopeful thoughts
Jesus preaching was voice of God speaking God’s truth directly to God’s people
When God speaks through his Word - His presence & power is released
Jesus presence & words confronted & challenged powers of darkness
& Inevitably provoked response
That’s reality about gospel / God’s Word - it’s confrontational
When gospel is preached something will happen - it will confront not only evil but sin too
When we hear God speak through His Word - it will provoke response in us
We’ll either embrace message; respond in repentance, humility, & obedience;
Or we’ll resist / reject message; respond with hard hearts, disobedience, & rebellion
We can either experience God’s power to change, heal, set free from sin & evil or
We remain unchanged & continue to be broken, hurting, suffering from sin (slide)
One Scholar put’s it another way;
“Kingdom of God is not a prop for the status quo it is the power of God at work in history to bring wholeness and healing to people and the structures of power and culture in which they live.” (Kernaghan)
Illus - George Whitefield 18th C evangelist known for his preaching on repentance & holy living
Popular with people drawing crowds of thousands often meeting in open fields (Slide)
He was once asked “How do you know if you’ve preached a good sermon”
Whitefield answered “that’s easy - either someone get’s saved or someone get’s angry” (slide)
Jesus Miracle in Church
Jesus Miracle in Church
So Jesus preaching confronted powers of darkness present in synagogue & provoked response
Don’t like think about things like demon possession - thankfully don’t see a lot today
But this demon spirit taken over man’s personality - one scholar - swallowed him up (slide)
23 Just then a man in their synagogue who was possessed by an evil spirit cried out, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
Spirit knows who Jesus really is; refers to him with name used exclusively of God in OT - Holy One
It also either knows or senses what Jesus true mission / what God’s plan consisted of ...
At some point in future God will destroy all evil & demonic power in creation (slide)
This plan of God’s wasn’t secret - been revealed through multiple prophecies in OT
2 “And on that day, declares the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more. And also I will remove from the land the prophets and the spirit of uncleanness.
Evil spirits were associated with idol worship or ceremonies conducted in name of other gods
In Jewish law any connection with idols, false gods, evil spirts made them spiritual unclean
So prophet Zechariah proclaiming day when God would rid creation of all influence evil
When this spirit sensed Jesus presence - it knew God’s all powerful reign had arrived
That God wouldn’t allow any room for opposition by satan & his minions (slide)
25 “Be quiet!” said Jesus sternly. “Come out of him!” 26 The evil spirit shook the man violently and came out of him with a shriek.
There was no contest between spirit & Jesus - he commands it to be silent
Jesus wanted to avoid anything spirit might say to disrupt or distract from God’s plan
He then commands spirit to leave man - with great violence & scream it leaves
Jesus demonstrating His power & authority - superior in every way
Compared to destructive evil in world - Jesus Words bring evil into submission
& for all evil entities Jesus command must & will be obeyed even by them (slide)
illus - You probably remember 2011 earthquake & tsunami in Japan (slide)
It was horrific - many of their sea wall defences built at 10m high weren’t enough to stop it
Except in town of Fudai - where years earlier mayor who’d lived through tsunami in 1918
knew if he wanted save town had to build higher seawalls; so built walls in Fudai 15m
Many in town hated walls & fought mayor to stop wall being built - ruined sea view
but mayor went ahead built them - 2011 Fudai remained untouched by tsunami
At times evil, our own sin, past failures, fear of dying, or anxiety from change… like tsunami
These things can make us feel we’re being overwhelmed, helpless, can’t be stopped (slide)
When things spiral down - thinking sinks into despairs - because we’ve lost sight of Jesus
Congregation’s Response to Jesus in Church
Congregation’s Response to Jesus in Church
So through Jesus words - gospel message - provokes, confronts, & calls into submission evil
Naturally people in synagogue just in awe - 1 translation = amazement gripped them (slide)
And they naturally started telling everyone they knew about Jesus - word, presence, power
27 The people were all so amazed that they asked each other, “What is this? A new teaching—and with authority! He even gives orders to evil spirits and they obey him.” 28 News about him spread quickly over the whole region of Galilee.
People couldn’t help talk about powerfully compelling insight & understanding heard
Jesus taught with very words of God & people heard God’s voice & authority through Him
& they got excited, wanted to tell others about what heard & seen
Jesus message - God’s kingdom had arrived & if want to be part of it - repent & believe
Jesus demonstration raw power = evidence to people God’s Kingdom had arrived
& reign of evil & demonic forces was coming to end…
Of course God’s Kingdom reign over creation has only partly begun - now waiting Jesus return
When he does then evil, death, sickness, suffering, injustice will be destroyed
& creation will be renewed, restored, made whole - there will be true peace forever
So we wait until then…
Illus - Who remembers when VHS tape players came out - check out this advert [play video]
Having power to set record & watch TV at our own convenience was amazing!!
Then we got to rent movies we want watch & watch them in our homes when we wanted
We could watch them multiple times over & over…
I remember excitement when Mum & Dad final bought our first VHS around 1987
But now - 34 years later - VHS players junk; antiques; collectors items, useless!!
So I wonder about the Church today - have we lost ability be amazed by Jesus?
When we hear God’s word read & preached - are we excited, amazed… (slide)
Or are we bored, just wanting to hear positive thoughts of hope & positivity?
2 “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. 3 I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. 4 But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.
Jesus gave apostle John message for church in Ephesus in book of Revelation
He commended church community for not tolerating false teachers or people
held up name of Jesus - not giving up even when persecuted by others, all good stuff
But Jesus warned them - they’d lost their love of God & His word
Stopped being amazed & excited at Jesus & His teaching...
So busy looking for wrong in others they believed they were right, holy, spiritual
lost sight of heart of Christian faith - we’re all same - sinful, broken, imperfect
All of us need God’s mercy, grace, forgiveness, love & acceptance...
Word of God, scriptures, bibles sit on dusty shelves, or as apps don’t use on phones
It contains very Words of God & has power to give us God’s truth & understanding
It contains power to bring God’s presence into our lives, to confront evil & sin & crush it
It has power to set us free from evil & sin, to change us into new person - more like Jesus
Scripture has power to draw us closer to God - so why aren’t we reading it?
Why aren’t we excited about Jesus? Why aren’t we hungering to hear from God?
Perhaps we too are more concerned about being right & looking for error…
Perhaps we don’t like being confronted with God’s presence & God’s truth?
(slide) So my challenge to you today is this;
Does God’s Word provoke you to face your sin, to repent, obey God, & trust in Jesus?
Does God’s Word provoke you to anger, to resist & disobey God, & trust in something else?
Let’s spend a moment of silence as you talk to God about how you feel about this…
Loving Father
You are one who loved all creation & willingly sent your most precious Son to suffer & die on cross
So we could be set free from power of evil & instead receive new life in You, with knowledge we’re forgiven, accepted, & loved
But we acknowledge that we find Your Word challenging, disturbing, confronting… & we feel like running away
We acknowledge that at times we feel your Word is boring, uninteresting, irrelevant, or even unnecessary
We’re sorry for losing our love for you, for Jesus, for your word
Forgive us & set us free from any sin, rebellion, & disobedience that has gripped our minds & hearts
Please give us back our amazement, excitement, & love for Jesus & Your Word through power of Holy Spirit
In our Saviour name we pray, Amen