The sermons of Rev. Dr. John Luoma and Rev. Laurel Bobb enrich our worship life with clear explanations, penetrating insights and personal challenges.
"Sure or Skeptical?"
August 25, 2002
Sermon by Rev. Laurel Bobb
The
climax of our Gospel text is Peter’s statement, "You are the Messiah, the
Son of the living God." That has been the climactic statement of the Church
throughout the centuries. But what does it mean to say that Jesus is the
Messiah and the Son of the living God? Are you sure this is true or are
you skeptical? Today I’d like to look at this claim to help each of us
decide what we believe about Jesus; then we will decide what that means
in our lives.
Our first question probably is, "What exactly is a messiah?" The term messiah literally means the anointed one. Anointing was typically done for those who were to be prophets, priests or kings, therefore, Jesus was a prophet, a priest or a king of something. Scriptures allude to Jesus being all 3--prophet, priest, and king.
A prophet is one who speaks for God. When Jesus was preaching his sermon on the mount he began his statements with the words, "You have heard it said to those of ancient times...but I say to you...." Jesus spoke with God’s authority, so he was a prophet.
Now let’s look at what a priest does. A priest would make atonement and sacrifice for others’ sin, and plead with God on their behalf. The Christian claim is that Jesus took the penalty of our sin upon himself by sacrificing himself on the cross. That’s a good thing for those of us who admit we are sinners, but what about those of us who think we’re pretty good, and while we may make mistakes we definitely aren’t sinners. That would be fine if humans were the ones judging, then all we would have to do is be better than the majority--kind of like being in the top part of the bell curve in school.
Unfortunately God operates on a pass-fail system, and we need to get 100% or we fail. St. Paul reminds us in his letter to the Romans that we should not think of ourselves more highly than we ought but to think with sober judgment. Either we’ve never lied, cheated, hurt anybody’s feelings, had a lewd thought, misused our time, failed to help someone when it was in our power to do so, or we’ve sinned. I can’t speak for you, but I certainly can tell you that I’ve done all of those things and more at one time or another in my life. I’m also confident that if you truthfully examine your lives, you will have to admit that you’ve done at least one of those things; so you are a sinner just like me. I thank God Jesus is our priest.
Now we come to the part about a king. What most Americans know about royalty we read in the scandal sheets or watch on E-T.V.. That gives the distorted impression that kings and queens can do pretty much what they want with impunity and that they’re out to live the high life simply for their entertainment and ours. This is not the kind of king that Jesus is. A king in the Old Testament was God’s representative, leading the people in the way that God would have them go. It was to be a servant-leadership role. Still, the king’s word was law, and all were expected to obey and give them the honor due their station in life. This is what people mean by calling Jesus "Lord."
Next we come to the term "the Son of the living God." Jesus was God’s Son in a unique way. The king and people of Israel were called sons of God, but Jesus was referred to as the Son of God. He was indeed beloved by God as the people of Israel were, but he had a special relationship to God as the perfectly obedient, pre-existent son. He calls God "my Father" which was considered blasphemous by the religious leaders of the day.
The phrase "the Son of the living God" also says something about the God Jesus called Father; this God was living. This God was not an inanimate object or a God long past his prime. This God was still alive and involved in the world just as he is today according to his followers.
Are you one of those followers or are you a skeptic who wonders if Scripture can be trusted? I hope to help you see Jesus as exactly who the Church claims him to be, but if you still need convincing after this sermon, I hope you will take the time to read The Case for Christ by Lee Strobel. Lee was an agnostic who goes through a very thorough investigation of the Church’s claims, as well as the claims of those who don’t believe. He was a reporter hoping to disprove Christianity, but instead found the arguments so compelling that he became a Christian himself.
Maybe you’re just beginning to think about needing a Savior since you’ve realized that you’re not perfect, or maybe you’ve been a Christian all your life, yet never really had it impact you at all. Today I’d like to challenge you to make the jump from a head knowledge about Jesus to a heart knowledge of our Lord and Savior.
Once we acknowledge Jesus as our Savior, he also wants to become our Lord and king. That means he wants to be in control. He wants to transform us by renewing our minds so we can discern what God’s will is. He reminds us how very valuable we are in God’s eyes, how very much he loves us, and how he wants us to live our lives in total dependence on him. That is something that sticks in our craws as Americans. We celebrate our independence. We are self-made men and women. Submitting to God is a difficult concept to grasp.
We are like teen-agers who chafe under their parents’ rules. Now those of you who are parents realize the rules are only there to keep the teen safe and assure them a good quality of life, but to the teen the rules are intrusive and down-right intolerable. They must learn obedience so that when they are on their own they will know how to live; they will aslo learn how to submit to God. We too, must learn obedience until Christ so transforms our mind that we delight in doing what God wants us to do. Our wills are only going to be perfected when we get to heaven, however, just as our teens will not always do everything we tell them and never do anything to show their ignorance of the way of the world.
God knows how we, his children, can be safe and fulfilled. God knows that we can only find meaning, peace and joy--those traits that people seek--when we are in relationship with him. It seems that God loves us so much that he has made a hole in every human heart that nothing can fill except him. It is only as we allow ourselves to be loved by God that we can become the people God intended us to be. Contrary to popular opinion God is not a spoil-sport or kill-joy. Those who have a true relationship with God in Jesus Christ can have the greatest peace and joy imaginable because our peace and joy is not dependent on outward circumstances.
I can also have as much fun singing and dancing to the Lord as others can at a secular music concert. I can enjoy a healthy physical relationship with my husband because God designed men and women to enjoy each other without the worry of abandonment, or spreading disease, or children born without a complete set of parents. I can have just as much fun telling clean jokes as those who tell off-color ones. I can enjoy the simple things of life because I know that God has put them there for me to enjoy. I have a healthy self-esteem because I see myself through God’s eyes. I am a child of the king therefore I am royalty. I am valuable; so are you. You only have to realize it. You can enjoy God’s gifts as well. God wants you to enjoy them.
You were so very dear to God that Jesus gave his life so you might be brought back into a right relationship with God. He was raised to prove that what he did was enough and he ascended to heaven so that his power might no longer be confined to a localized human body, but unleashed in the world.
God wants us to latch onto this power. He wants our faith to be growing through daily Bible study and prayer. He wants us to look at the Christian life as a great adventure. We can be enthusiastic; this word literally means God within.
I’d like to conclude with a passage from Brennan Manning’s book, The Ragamuffin Gospel. "In faith there is movement and development. Each day is something new. ... If our faith is going to be criticized, let it be for the right reasons. Not because we are too emotional but because we are not emotional enough; not because our passions are so powerful but because they are so puny; not because we are too affectionate but because we lack a deep, passionate, uncompromising affection for Jesus Christ." [ Brennan Manning, The Ragamuffin Gospel
(Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah, 1990) pp. 167-68.]
God invites us to live with him and for him. God wants us to have life to the full. This life is a life of total surrender, however. It’s scary, but it’s also exciting. God can take us on adventures we’ve never dreamed. It will not always be easy, because Satan wants to put stumbling blocks in our way, but it will be the most rewarding. Becoming a part of God’s family is a gift freely given, but once we accept the gift we are called to live the life that accompanies our royal station.
I can’t tell you what God has in store for you, but I do know that it
will never be boring and that it will be better than you can ever imagine.
It has been for me, and I’m looking forward to that time when I will perfectly
know and do God’s will. I hope you are too.
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