Jesus on Himself
About this series
Jesus was God-in-flesh. He was (and is) the purest, most loving and truth-filled human being the world has ever known. And yet what he taught, how he lived and the kingdom he inaugurated directly confronted the human culture in which he spent his years on earth. He was truly counter-cultural. And he is no less counter-cultural in every part of the world today.
To follow Jesus is to embark on a lifelong journey of counter-cultural transformation in which we can expect that being a disciple will lead us towards challenge, temptation and costly decisions at every turn. It’s to this that he calls every single person who follows him.
It’s a lifestyle:
That requires obedience to him above all else.
That will lead us into conflict with the world, the flesh and the devil.
That witnesses to the world of his greatness.
The goal of the first series this year - Just Jesus - was to spend time specifically focussed on the person and work of Jesus. And the goal this time is again to look at Jesus - how he was (and is) counter-cultural. So we’ll be speaking about Jesus - showing how his teaching and actions were counter-cultural in his day and then applying it to our day.
About this talk
Matthew 7:24-29; cf Matt 16:13-17
The Jews were monotheists - they believed there was only one God. Christianity, arising from Jewish roots, is also a monotheistic faith. Which means that in both Jesus’ day and our day, what he stood for and taught clashed head-on with much of the surrounding culture.
At so many points Jesus was unequivocal on the matter of his identity, that he was the full and final revelation from God and that faith in him alone was required. For example, just in Matthew’s gospel:
Matthew 7: it is only by building our lives on his teaching that we will stand.
Matthew 9:2-8: he forgives sins, something everyone knew only God could do.
Matthew 12:2-8: he is Lord of the Sabbath, equating himself with God who established the Sabbath.
Matthew 8:23-27 & 14:22-32: acts that Jews would associate with God who alone is in control of the wind and waves.
Matthew 24:30 & 26:64: quoting a familiar Messianic passage and attributing it to himself.
The challenge of this to every culture in every time is that exclusivity is not a popular message. For anyone to claim the truth, rather than just a part of the truth or a version of the truth is deeply uncomfortable. The more tolerant, palatable version of these things is often pictured as a mountain or an elephant:
Mountain: different belief systems are the various routes up a mountain, all of which reach the same goal, the summit.
Elephant: each faith is represented by a blind man, all of whom are interpreting the part of the elephant they can feel.
The inconsistencies of such views are obvious, as is their own exclusivity (their view of things is said to be the truth). Yet they represent the way the majority of the world has seen - and sees - things.
In Jesus’ day
There were no atheists in the ancient world. In the Old Testament, Abraham was called out from a polytheistic world and monotheistic Israel lived as neighbours of many polytheistic nations. In the New Testament the Romans and Greeks had many gods, each responsible for different aspects of life and the natural world. While Caesar claimed primary allegiance, any number of gods could be worshipped and sacrificed to as well.
Into this world Jesus’ message of primacy and exclusivity was very jarring - both to the Jews, most of whom could not believe he was God-in-flesh, and to the pagans, for whom his call was to give up their other gods.
In our day
Today, exclusive beliefs are seen as bigotted, narrow-minded and arrogant. And yet, every belief system is by necessity exclusive - even those who claim to be completely inclusive, such as the Bahai’i faith, exclude anyone who doesn’t accept their position. So, given that Jesus was so clear about his identity and that trust in him alone is the way to salvation, the big question is whether the Bible’s record of his life and teaching is credible - which is a whole other subject.
While tolerance is the order of the modern day, Christians can show a confidence in their beliefs that is clothed with humility and compassion. It is entirely possible to listen openly, to respectfully disagree and to befriend people of other faiths without any hint of arrogance or judgmentalism. Sadly, the world has not seen enough of that in the church.
Audio only
