Rev. David Holwick ZJ The Quest for the Real Jesus, #9
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
November 16, 2008
Luke 9:57-62
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I. We live in a radical age.
A. Fanatics are all over.
1) Muslim extremists killed two Christian girls in Iraq this
week; their mom was wounded, and their house was blown up.
2) In Somalia, a 23-year-old woman went to authorities to
report she had been raped.
They interpreted this as an admission of adultery and
sentenced her with death.
She was buried in the ground up to her neck and 50 citizens
stoned her for twenty minutes.
(They dug her up three times to see if she was dead yet.)
When her family tried to intervene, guards shot at them and
killed a 6-year-old child.
3) Rampaging Hindu mobs have killed dozens of Christians in
India.
B. Americans have a natural aversion to fanaticism and extremism.
1) We began as a bold experiment where all religions were
welcome to live side by side.
2) Thanksgiving provides some of our most sacred images:
Indians and Pilgrims in big black hats join hands and
eat lots of turkey.
Everyone is happy and well-fed and getting along.
a) But have you ever read what the Pilgrims really believed?
b) They were not timid souls.
1> Baptists were tied to wagon wheels and whipped, or
exiled into the wilderness in the dead of winter.
2> Baptists, of course, have never done anything
extreme...
C. But what about Jesus?
1) He said some pretty extreme things.
2) What do they mean, and what should we do with them?
II. Jesus the radical.
A. His radicalness is widely popular.
1) Comedian Bill Maher, who had a Jewish mom and a Catholic
father who took him to church, loathes religion.
He has even said that "religion must die for mankind to
live."
His movie "Religulous" does a pretty good job of skewering
religious people.
He pokes fun at the weird religious beliefs of Jews,
Mormons, Moslems and especially Christians.
It's a consistent theme for the comedian.
Back in 2005 he said on a cable channel,
"We are a nation that is unenlightened because of religion.
I think that religion stops people from thinking.
I think it justifies crazies. ...
I think religion is a neurological disorder."
Yet what does Bill Maher think about Jesus?
He loves what Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount.
He doesn't think Jesus is God or that he's coming again,
but Maher seems to respect the man who gave the most
radical sermon of all time.
#29193
2) A young person in our church told me she loves Jesus and
his teachings.
It's the church she's not too crazy about.
That's a common theme with many modern people - they are
fascinated by the way Jesus said we should live.
Let's take a closer look at those teachings.
B. Jesus was radical in his ethical demands.
1) Dismember yourself rather than go to hell. Matt 5:28-30
a) Rather drastic, but not unreasonable if you consider
the length of eternity and the horror of hell.
b) But no one seems to take it literally.
2) Give everything to the poor. Luke 12:33
a) True, for the rich young ruler it can be seen as a
special request.
b) But here, Jesus makes it a general instruction.
c) Once again, he compares eternal blessing with momentary
discomfort.
3) Do not defend yourself. Luke 6:29
a) "Turning the other cheek" is well-known saying of
Jesus.
b) How many Christians actually follow it, even in a
non-literal way?
4) Lend and expect nothing back. Luke 6:35
a) Goes along with our current credit crunch.
b) It is certainly do-able, to some extent, but I can tell
you as a pastor who runs the deacons' fund, once you
get a reputation for giving, the requests pile up.
5) Go and sin no more. John 8:11
a) Another specific command for an individual.
b) Yet would it be possible for anyone to do this?
c) Is he limiting sin to just her practice of adultery?
C. Jesus was radical in his religious demands.
1) Leave your parents.
a) Don't bury them but preach the kingdom instead. Lk 9:59
b) Don't even look back. Lk 9:61
c) The disciples thought they had done this. Matt 19:27
1> Though their motives seem somewhat mercenary...
2) Go on a mission with nothing. Luke 9:3
3) Die for the faith, on a cross if necessary. Luke 14:27
III. What if everyone took Jesus literally?
A. A few individuals and groups have taken his words at face value.
1) Origen (c. A.D. 250) is said to have castrated himself.
2) Some have given up a large portion of their wealth.
a) Henry Crowell, who founded Quaker Oats, gave away 60%.
b) R.G. LeTourneau, who founded Caterpillar Corporation,
tithed at a 90% level.
c) Chuck Feeney, who was born in Elizabeth, New Jersey,
made a fortune through duty-free shops at airports.
In 1988, Forbes magazine listed him as the 23rd richest
man in America.
But he wasn't - a few years previous to this, he gave
all his money to a charitable foundation.
He did it secretly.
He lives modestly - he doesn't even own a house or
a car.
His foundation gives away $400 million a year.
#35581
3) Amish forgave schoolhouse slaughterer.
4) Some have give all for their faith.
Karen Watson had a ministry restoring schools in El Salvador,
Mexico, Macedonia and Kosovo.
In 2003 the California Baptist went to Iraq to provide
humanitarian assistance - a water purification plant.
She left a letter with her pastor that said,
"You're only reading this if I died."
It included gracious words to her family and friends, and
ended with this:
"To obey was my objective, to suffer was expected, his
glory my reward."
She and two others were gunned down in March of 2004.
#34956
B. Society would certainly be very different.
1) We would save a lot on police and military, and banks
would be very popular (for a short while).
2) Many would be transformed by the awesome acts of love and
grace they would see.
3) But then human nature would send us in a downward spiral.
4) Perhaps godly people would all end up crucified like their
Lord.
IV. How should these teachings be understood?
A. Jesus was exaggerating for effect.
1) Example of hating your parents. Luke 14:26
a) But Matthew 10:37 speaks of "loving more."
b) Obviously Jesus is using harsh language to make
a strong point.
1> Otherwise, he would be contradicting himself.
2) Many did not give up all their wealth and still
remained disciples.
a) But most early disciples DID give up a lot.
b) ((response by apostles at giving up all.
3) Jesus wants us to take discipleship seriously.
a) Probably more seriously than we do.
B. Jesus is giving the perfect ethic for heaven, not here.
1) It is a distant ideal that shows us how sinful we are
in comparison, so it drives us to accept Jesus.
2) Catholic variation - only professionally religious people
(monks, nuns) need to live this strictly.
C. Jesus was a true fanatic.
1) He thought his kingdom would arrive shortly.
a) Therefore he didn't have to worry about normal life.
b) The end is near!
c) He wanted everyone to show their devotion by dying.
2) From a heavenly perspective, this is not far-fetched.
V. How far does Jesus want ME to go?
A. Decent Christians struggle over these issues.
1) I got an email from a church where a young family wants to
go as missionaries to a very dangerous country.
a) They are open to being martyrs.
b) But what about their young children?
B. Early Christians had a reputation.
1) Lots of love, incredible courage.
a) They loved so well, they were accused of incest!
b) Martyrs and saints.
c) They were not perfect, but they took Jesus' words
seriously.
2) We have a reputation too.
a) Cranky, judgmental and wanton hypocrites.
b) Minimal giving, much ignorance.
1> Recent article on how low the commitment (and
knowledge) of most Evangelicals is.
C. Jesus probably expects a lot more of us than we give him.
1) Would he want you to do something dangerous, foolish or
impossible? Maybe...
a) Even today, Christians die for the sake of Jesus.
2) Take his commands seriously.
a) The beauty of discipleship is that it is open-ended.
b) This is also its danger...
3) It will not always make you feel good, or get rich, or get
better. Radical faith can hurt.
D. What does Jesus expect of you?
1) Consistent church attendance is not enough.
2) Have you identified yourself with Jesus publicly?
3) Do you care about his teachings and priorities?
4) If heaven stood open right here, what would you change
in your life?
The British writer G.K. Chesterton once said:
"The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting; it
has been found difficult and left untried."
#29502
Have you tried him?
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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#29193 "The Evangelical Identity Crisis," by Erich Bridges, Baptist Press,
http://www.baptistpress.org, February 25, 2005.
#29502 "G. K. Chesterton: Prince of Paradox," by Jill Carattini, A Slice
of Infinity: Ravi Zacharias International Ministries;
http://www.gospelcom.net/slice/, May 25, 2005. She is quoting
from G.K. Chesterton, "What's Wrong with the World?" (Dodd, Mead
and Company, 1910. Reprinted, San Francisco: Ignatius Press,
1994), p. 37.
#34956 "You're Only Reading This If I Died," Preaching Now,
www.preaching.com, January 8, 2008; via Leadership email
newsletter. Original source is the article "Missionary Slain
in Iraq Mourned," in the Los Angeles Times, March 17, 2004.
#35581 "He Wasn't Rich After All," by David Holwick, drawn from facts
in the article "The Secret Billionaire Giveaway," by Paul
Gallagher, www.reuters.com, September 21, 2007.
These and 30,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
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