WEBVTT 00:00:00.810 --> 00:00:04.730 Good morning, everyone. I just want you to know 00:00:04.730 --> 00:00:07.889 I found in the pocket of my jacket a caramel 00:00:07.889 --> 00:00:13.490 chocolate lint bunny from Sunday, and I forgot 00:00:13.490 --> 00:00:15.089 it was there, and that tells me today's going 00:00:15.089 --> 00:00:19.230 to be a good day. I just found it, and I was 00:00:19.230 --> 00:00:25.850 like, what a good find. What a good find. I was 00:00:25.850 --> 00:00:29.039 very excited about it. Hope everybody's enjoying 00:00:29.039 --> 00:00:31.699 the weather that we had yesterday and you were 00:00:31.699 --> 00:00:35.280 able to get outdoors and do something in it. 00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:39.700 It's so nice to be able to open your door to 00:00:39.700 --> 00:00:41.740 walk outside and not have to like brace yourself, 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:44.679 which is like what you get so used to doing through 00:00:44.679 --> 00:00:49.719 the Midwest winters. So it's nice. So we're in 00:00:49.719 --> 00:00:52.140 a series, a short little series called Jesus 00:00:52.140 --> 00:00:58.359 Is. Nice opportunity to narrow in on some of 00:00:58.359 --> 00:01:01.219 the aspects of Jesus that we want to take a closer 00:01:01.219 --> 00:01:04.060 look at. Greg shared with us last week about 00:01:04.060 --> 00:01:07.319 Jesus as the good shepherd, and there's really 00:01:07.319 --> 00:01:15.439 some great insightful pieces to the way that 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:18.840 shepherding looks, sitting in front of the gate, 00:01:18.939 --> 00:01:23.319 the voices that we tune into, even just understanding 00:01:23.319 --> 00:01:26.319 that the sheep... recognize each other's faces 00:01:26.319 --> 00:01:30.239 and know each other was some very interesting 00:01:30.239 --> 00:01:32.180 aspects to hear about them. I appreciate it. 00:01:33.420 --> 00:01:37.239 So next week, Greg will preach again on a different 00:01:37.239 --> 00:01:39.680 perspective of Jesus, a different sort of narrow 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:43.120 view. And then this week, we're looking at Jesus 00:01:43.120 --> 00:01:46.599 and some of the things that he said. Jesus, the 00:01:46.599 --> 00:01:52.560 sharp -tongued but soft -hearted one that walked 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:56.099 among us here. I think we all have an understanding 00:01:56.099 --> 00:01:59.000 of how harsh words land and the things that we 00:01:59.000 --> 00:02:02.180 can say, what they can do. But when someone is 00:02:02.180 --> 00:02:05.620 described as having a sharp tongue, that's a 00:02:05.620 --> 00:02:08.240 characteristic. And I think we get a specific 00:02:08.240 --> 00:02:11.460 sense of what that means. That those are words 00:02:11.460 --> 00:02:14.240 that can cut, that they make not just an impact, 00:02:14.360 --> 00:02:17.020 but they can leave a mark and perhaps even scars 00:02:17.020 --> 00:02:21.280 that remind us of how we've been hurt. The impression... 00:02:22.030 --> 00:02:25.250 at that phrasing is that these words can leave 00:02:25.250 --> 00:02:27.689 wounds, but I want to play with the words for 00:02:27.689 --> 00:02:30.430 this message and consider that the words Jesus 00:02:30.430 --> 00:02:34.750 used, the sharp tongue aspect, the things that 00:02:34.750 --> 00:02:38.009 he said were perhaps sharp, but be considered 00:02:38.009 --> 00:02:41.409 more like surgical, that they could slice with 00:02:41.409 --> 00:02:44.189 precision, leaving clean cuts that heal well 00:02:44.189 --> 00:02:50.039 after the deep work in us is done. And I think 00:02:50.039 --> 00:02:53.240 one of the challenges for those that walked alongside 00:02:53.240 --> 00:02:58.180 Jesus and being near him is that he was always 00:02:58.180 --> 00:03:01.000 going to be speaking truth. And I think that 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:03.240 that could have possibly been difficult to be 00:03:03.240 --> 00:03:06.900 around sometimes, if I'm honest. However, the 00:03:06.900 --> 00:03:09.419 words were not just spoken with a clinical approach. 00:03:09.520 --> 00:03:11.840 He didn't just say things for the sake of being 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:15.740 truthful when Jesus spoke. The words carried 00:03:15.740 --> 00:03:18.659 truth, but they did not overlook the person to 00:03:18.659 --> 00:03:22.419 whom they were being delivered. I'm often amazed 00:03:22.419 --> 00:03:25.879 when reading the various and many accounts of 00:03:25.879 --> 00:03:27.879 the interactions that Jesus had with people. 00:03:28.199 --> 00:03:30.759 And some of them were people he knew very well, 00:03:30.840 --> 00:03:33.620 and others he literally met while he was turning 00:03:33.620 --> 00:03:36.840 to see who had touched his robe. He always spoke 00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:39.780 to them and with them with great clarity of who 00:03:39.780 --> 00:03:43.069 it was that was before him. The rich young ruler, 00:03:43.229 --> 00:03:45.490 the woman caught in adultery, the woman at the 00:03:45.490 --> 00:03:47.990 well, each of the disciples as he called them, 00:03:48.169 --> 00:03:51.530 Peter after he was violent with the guard, Pilate 00:03:51.530 --> 00:03:54.310 himself, and the man being crucified next to 00:03:54.310 --> 00:03:59.229 him and his mother. Jesus seems to be unfailingly 00:03:59.229 --> 00:04:01.949 Jesus in each of those encounters. characteristically 00:04:01.949 --> 00:04:05.270 himself. He did not change himself. He did not 00:04:05.270 --> 00:04:07.949 code switch based on who he was talking to and 00:04:07.949 --> 00:04:10.110 what their status was or what their race was. 00:04:10.289 --> 00:04:13.129 He, being himself, always seemed to understand 00:04:13.129 --> 00:04:17.850 who they were for their own sake, speaking with 00:04:17.850 --> 00:04:20.209 each one of them in a way that was specific not 00:04:20.209 --> 00:04:22.870 to the way that they were in society, but the 00:04:22.870 --> 00:04:25.970 person he knew them to be from the inside out. 00:04:27.149 --> 00:04:31.339 And so sometimes the things he'd say... The disciples, 00:04:31.500 --> 00:04:36.120 not knowing or seeing what Jesus saw, would sometimes 00:04:36.120 --> 00:04:40.339 be quite unsettled and maybe even a little embarrassed 00:04:40.339 --> 00:04:45.220 and confused and perhaps shocked. Those present 00:04:45.220 --> 00:04:48.160 were sometimes left not knowing what to do with 00:04:48.160 --> 00:04:51.740 him or what he said. And truthfully, I think 00:04:51.740 --> 00:04:56.279 we can feel that sometimes too. But words, when 00:04:56.279 --> 00:04:58.939 carefully chosen to go deeper than the surface, 00:04:59.829 --> 00:05:01.930 you think about the words of Jesus, they had 00:05:01.930 --> 00:05:05.170 work to do. And they needed to go deep into us. 00:05:05.269 --> 00:05:07.250 And they needed to shake things up in us. And 00:05:07.250 --> 00:05:12.490 they needed to adjust things. So today, we're 00:05:12.490 --> 00:05:15.310 going to look, we're going to use the book, the 00:05:15.310 --> 00:05:18.389 sixth book of John, as sort of a home base for 00:05:18.389 --> 00:05:21.370 this idea. And we're going to read from verse 00:05:21.370 --> 00:05:23.269 60 to the end of the chapter. But I need to do 00:05:23.269 --> 00:05:27.009 some setup. Because a lot precedes this, and 00:05:27.009 --> 00:05:30.720 it's important to know. It had been a very busy 00:05:30.720 --> 00:05:34.019 stretch for Jesus. This was early on in his ministry. 00:05:34.220 --> 00:05:37.540 But here on this particular day where we meet 00:05:37.540 --> 00:05:41.120 him in chapter 6, it appears that Jesus was really 00:05:41.120 --> 00:05:44.740 starting to feel perhaps some of the stress and 00:05:44.740 --> 00:05:50.439 the load of the last several weeks, days, particularly 00:05:50.439 --> 00:05:54.500 that day. So chapter 1, this chapter rather, 00:05:54.560 --> 00:05:57.480 chapter 6, opens with the feeding of those that 00:05:57.480 --> 00:05:59.949 had come to hear him. And they had come looking 00:05:59.949 --> 00:06:03.610 for him. 6, 1, and 2 says Jesus went to the other 00:06:03.610 --> 00:06:05.769 side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea 00:06:05.769 --> 00:06:08.110 of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him 00:06:08.110 --> 00:06:10.389 because they saw the signs that he was doing 00:06:10.389 --> 00:06:12.750 for the sick. And so they had found him. They 00:06:12.750 --> 00:06:15.269 had all come looking for him and thus became 00:06:15.269 --> 00:06:17.209 the account commonly identified as the feeding 00:06:17.209 --> 00:06:20.129 of the 5 ,000. But it states that that's about 00:06:20.129 --> 00:06:21.889 how many men there were. It does not account 00:06:21.889 --> 00:06:23.949 for the women and children. But the bread came 00:06:23.949 --> 00:06:25.870 from a boy, so we know that there was one child 00:06:25.870 --> 00:06:29.290 at least. So 5 ,000 and a boy and the unaccounted 00:06:29.290 --> 00:06:31.870 women. But there were many other women and children. 00:06:32.009 --> 00:06:35.310 So you think, how many people was that? That's 00:06:35.310 --> 00:06:37.930 a lot of people that were like, it says that 00:06:37.930 --> 00:06:40.230 he was up on the hill looking and seeing the 00:06:40.230 --> 00:06:43.709 crowds approaching. Like, they found me. Gosh. 00:06:44.490 --> 00:06:47.209 That's how I would react. I don't think that 00:06:47.209 --> 00:06:49.430 that's how Jesus reacted. But he did watch them 00:06:49.430 --> 00:06:53.149 and observe them coming. And they had, in fact, 00:06:53.149 --> 00:06:57.230 been looking for him. And so after Jesus fed 00:06:57.230 --> 00:07:00.850 everyone, he did need some time alone. And I'm 00:07:00.850 --> 00:07:03.449 like, same Jesus. If that had been me, I would 00:07:03.449 --> 00:07:07.050 have been like, oh, boy, see you in a week. But 00:07:07.050 --> 00:07:10.889 in the chapters before, he had just got done 00:07:10.889 --> 00:07:16.470 explaining to a bunch of others, I do not accept 00:07:16.470 --> 00:07:20.290 glory from humans. So he's feeling some stress 00:07:20.290 --> 00:07:23.129 by these crowds because in John 6, 14, it says, 00:07:23.389 --> 00:07:26.509 after the people saw the sign Jesus performed 00:07:26.509 --> 00:07:31.290 with the bread there, they began to say, surely 00:07:31.290 --> 00:07:34.310 this is the prophet who has come into the world. 00:07:34.610 --> 00:07:36.889 And Jesus, knowing that they had intended to 00:07:36.889 --> 00:07:40.189 come and make him king by force, withdrew again 00:07:40.189 --> 00:07:44.509 to a mountain by himself. So he's like, this 00:07:44.509 --> 00:07:47.889 is not what I am trying to be about. Meanwhile, 00:07:47.990 --> 00:07:49.829 the disciples headed out in the water when Jesus 00:07:49.829 --> 00:07:51.910 went off to the mountain by himself. And then 00:07:51.910 --> 00:07:54.410 Jesus just casually walks out to meet them on 00:07:54.410 --> 00:07:57.310 the water. No big deal. It's not weird at all. 00:07:58.029 --> 00:08:00.850 And so the next day, that same crowd still pursuing 00:08:00.850 --> 00:08:04.389 Jesus is like, we got to still find him. He disappeared. 00:08:04.449 --> 00:08:05.850 We didn't know where he went, but we're not done. 00:08:06.689 --> 00:08:10.889 And so they went looking after him. And so Jesus 00:08:10.889 --> 00:08:13.850 meets up with them again and says, very truly, 00:08:13.990 --> 00:08:17.240 I tell you, you are looking for me. Not because 00:08:17.240 --> 00:08:19.399 you saw the signs that I performed, but because 00:08:19.399 --> 00:08:21.800 you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not 00:08:21.800 --> 00:08:24.060 work for food that spoils, but for food that 00:08:24.060 --> 00:08:26.639 endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man 00:08:26.639 --> 00:08:29.480 will give you. For on him God the Father has 00:08:29.480 --> 00:08:31.420 placed the seal of approval. And he goes on to 00:08:31.420 --> 00:08:33.700 tell them about the bread of life, which is himself. 00:08:35.200 --> 00:08:37.360 And the people aren't sure what to do with it. 00:08:38.539 --> 00:08:40.320 It's a teaching a little out of the ordinary 00:08:40.320 --> 00:08:42.100 for them, but ultimately we begin to discover 00:08:42.100 --> 00:08:44.779 what Jesus already knew. By and large, they just 00:08:44.779 --> 00:08:47.070 wanted the goods. They wanted the bread that 00:08:47.070 --> 00:08:49.009 never goes away. They wanted to be healed. They 00:08:49.009 --> 00:08:51.789 wanted absolution. And Jesus is like, listen, 00:08:51.929 --> 00:08:55.230 to get that stuff, you get me. I am it. There's 00:08:55.230 --> 00:08:58.389 no other way about it. And that's the truth of 00:08:58.389 --> 00:08:59.750 it, isn't it? We can't just pick and choose. 00:08:59.850 --> 00:09:03.230 So we got to have Jesus with the Jesus stuff. 00:09:03.549 --> 00:09:06.149 And so here we find ourselves with people that 00:09:06.149 --> 00:09:09.970 aren't sure if they actually want Jesus. And 00:09:09.970 --> 00:09:14.289 Jesus seems maybe a little frustrated. The perceived 00:09:14.289 --> 00:09:16.509 tone might suggest so, but perhaps more so, I 00:09:16.509 --> 00:09:19.269 think, downhearted. That the people don't seem 00:09:19.269 --> 00:09:22.269 to get it. He can see that they want his product. 00:09:22.590 --> 00:09:24.909 They want to make him a leader that will care 00:09:24.909 --> 00:09:27.809 for their needs and represent them, but that 00:09:27.809 --> 00:09:30.309 they don't necessarily want him. They don't want 00:09:30.309 --> 00:09:33.009 to know him. They don't want to be close to him 00:09:33.009 --> 00:09:36.210 in that way. They want the idea of what they 00:09:36.210 --> 00:09:38.450 think he is, and so he has something to say about 00:09:38.450 --> 00:09:40.590 this. And so this is where I want to give the 00:09:40.590 --> 00:09:42.870 scriptures our full attention. I'm going to invite 00:09:42.870 --> 00:09:45.070 you to take a posture of attention, whether that's 00:09:45.070 --> 00:09:48.269 standing or however that is. We're going to read 00:09:48.269 --> 00:09:53.850 John 6, 60 through 69. There are Bibles on your 00:09:53.850 --> 00:09:57.269 table if you need one. You can also look it up 00:09:57.269 --> 00:10:00.610 online. There are digital Bibles as well. But 00:10:00.610 --> 00:10:06.570 I'm reading from John 6, 60 through 69, and I 00:10:06.570 --> 00:10:08.730 am reading out of the New Revised Standard Edition 00:10:08.730 --> 00:10:15.639 updated. So on hearing this, what Jesus was saying, 00:10:15.740 --> 00:10:18.299 many of his disciples said, this is a hard teaching. 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:23.139 Who can accept it? And aware that his disciples 00:10:23.139 --> 00:10:25.220 were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, 00:10:25.259 --> 00:10:29.759 does this offend you? Then what if you see the 00:10:29.759 --> 00:10:31.700 Son of Man ascend to where he was before? The 00:10:31.700 --> 00:10:34.259 Spirit gives life. The flesh counts for nothing. 00:10:34.539 --> 00:10:37.940 The words I have spoken to you, they are full 00:10:37.940 --> 00:10:41.049 of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of 00:10:41.049 --> 00:10:44.190 you who do not believe. For Jesus had known from 00:10:44.190 --> 00:10:46.669 the beginning which of them did not believe and 00:10:46.669 --> 00:10:49.169 who would betray him. And he went on to say, 00:10:49.250 --> 00:10:51.389 this is why I told you that no one can come to 00:10:51.389 --> 00:10:54.090 me unless the Father has enabled them. And from 00:10:54.090 --> 00:10:58.210 this time, many of his disciples turned back 00:10:58.210 --> 00:11:01.330 and no longer followed him. So we know the 12 00:11:01.330 --> 00:11:03.799 disciples, but there were others that were. following 00:11:03.799 --> 00:11:07.559 along with a dedicated interest, following the 00:11:07.559 --> 00:11:10.220 rabbi. And so it's from this time many of his 00:11:10.220 --> 00:11:12.039 disciples turned back and no longer followed 00:11:12.039 --> 00:11:15.919 him. And so he turns and he says, you do not 00:11:15.919 --> 00:11:18.120 want to leave too, do you? Jesus asked the twelve, 00:11:18.279 --> 00:11:21.159 and Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall 00:11:21.159 --> 00:11:25.200 we go? You have the words of eternal life. We've 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:27.240 come to believe and to know that you are the 00:11:27.240 --> 00:11:32.080 Holy One of God. Let's pray. Lord, we don't get 00:11:32.080 --> 00:11:34.779 to pick and choose. what from you we are comfortable 00:11:34.779 --> 00:11:38.000 with and what we are not. It is all or nothing. 00:11:38.259 --> 00:11:40.820 And there have been plenty of times that I have 00:11:40.820 --> 00:11:44.440 often thought this is a hard teaching and that 00:11:44.440 --> 00:11:49.460 your words have landed in a difficult way. But 00:11:49.460 --> 00:11:53.019 to have life through you, I need to have you 00:11:53.019 --> 00:11:56.960 fully. And so I don't get to separate you out 00:11:56.960 --> 00:12:00.820 from the hard teachings and the things that you 00:12:00.820 --> 00:12:04.990 share with me. And so give us wisdom when we 00:12:04.990 --> 00:12:07.970 are uncomfortable with your words to see that 00:12:07.970 --> 00:12:10.590 you have good work to do in us and that it is 00:12:10.590 --> 00:12:13.889 in fact done with not just care but love and 00:12:13.889 --> 00:12:16.350 that when the hard teachings come our way that 00:12:16.350 --> 00:12:19.730 we learn how to receive them with wisdom and 00:12:19.730 --> 00:12:24.009 with the love that they are meant to be seen 00:12:24.009 --> 00:12:30.330 from. We pray this in your name. Amen. So those 00:12:30.330 --> 00:12:34.460 words, this is a hard teaching. Who has experienced 00:12:34.460 --> 00:12:38.559 that before? This is a hard lesson. And y 'all, 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:41.860 they didn't even know. They about to find out. 00:12:42.019 --> 00:12:44.200 Here they are early in their time with Jesus 00:12:44.200 --> 00:12:47.000 and they're like, this is a hard teaching. Oh 00:12:47.000 --> 00:12:50.519 gosh, if you even knew it was coming. But I think 00:12:50.519 --> 00:12:52.500 this is what it comes down to. The idea of Jesus, 00:12:52.620 --> 00:12:54.879 the one we construct in our minds, is always 00:12:54.879 --> 00:12:57.379 on our side. That Jesus is always on our side, 00:12:57.480 --> 00:12:59.340 wants what we want, wants to give us what we 00:12:59.340 --> 00:13:03.519 think is good, lets us get by with things. So 00:13:03.519 --> 00:13:07.019 Jesus puts the same words to us. Does this offend 00:13:07.019 --> 00:13:11.600 you? The words I've spoken to you, they are full 00:13:11.600 --> 00:13:16.440 of the spirit and life. Do my words offend you? 00:13:18.600 --> 00:13:21.340 And this is where the disciples, and often we, 00:13:21.480 --> 00:13:24.340 had to decide if they were going to stay or go. 00:13:25.580 --> 00:13:30.090 And we see that many did, in fact, leave. And 00:13:30.090 --> 00:13:32.370 again, this is the same for us. The choice to 00:13:32.370 --> 00:13:36.470 stay is the choice to sit with some hard teachings, 00:13:36.570 --> 00:13:39.889 but the reality that the words are full of life 00:13:39.889 --> 00:13:43.990 for us, and they have work to do. And so yes, 00:13:44.149 --> 00:13:47.129 Jesus does have a sharp tongue, a surgical scalpel 00:13:47.129 --> 00:13:49.990 that will cut into us so that the words can travel 00:13:49.990 --> 00:13:53.429 deep and go where they need to go and fix in 00:13:53.429 --> 00:13:57.500 us what they need to fix. and rewire and work 00:13:57.500 --> 00:14:00.320 and reconnect things and do good works in us. 00:14:01.279 --> 00:14:05.720 But as I said, this is not just clinical. Everyone's 00:14:05.720 --> 00:14:07.940 had a doctor's appointment where they have felt 00:14:07.940 --> 00:14:09.740 like the doctor never looked up from the chart, 00:14:09.899 --> 00:14:13.080 or they asked a couple general questions, prescribed 00:14:13.080 --> 00:14:15.000 some medicine, and they never felt like a person. 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:17.700 And let me be clear, this is not an indictment 00:14:17.700 --> 00:14:19.399 on medical professionals. We have medical professionals 00:14:19.399 --> 00:14:21.559 in this community that I think are doing incredible 00:14:21.559 --> 00:14:23.659 work, and they are up against some tough odds 00:14:23.659 --> 00:14:27.379 in a very tough... But we have had those experiences 00:14:27.379 --> 00:14:31.159 where we have felt like the doctor is strictly 00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:34.039 being clinical with us and is forgetting that 00:14:34.039 --> 00:14:37.460 they are encountering a live flesh and blood 00:14:37.460 --> 00:14:42.360 person. Jesus did not come to us to mince words, 00:14:42.500 --> 00:14:44.840 though. He did not come to dance around our brokenness 00:14:44.840 --> 00:14:47.240 and our sin. He came to heal it from within, 00:14:47.539 --> 00:14:50.139 set systems right, and bring about the kingdom 00:14:50.139 --> 00:14:53.519 here and now through Christ. And so the words 00:14:53.519 --> 00:14:55.440 may be strong and the teachings difficult, but 00:14:55.440 --> 00:14:59.279 the Savior is good. And his love for us is great. 00:15:00.059 --> 00:15:04.500 And we are not clinical to him. We are not a 00:15:04.500 --> 00:15:09.360 job to do. And so along with the hard teachings, 00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:12.279 we realize that these words, because of who they 00:15:12.279 --> 00:15:15.759 are coming from, aren't intended to be quick 00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:20.860 fixes that would be actually cruel to just handle 00:15:20.860 --> 00:15:23.990 us that way. They are meant to renew our lives 00:15:23.990 --> 00:15:26.149 entirely because they are connected to the source 00:15:26.149 --> 00:15:30.190 of life. So I want to look at some examples from 00:15:30.190 --> 00:15:33.269 scripture where we see some hard teachings, where 00:15:33.269 --> 00:15:36.409 the words may cut deep, but they have good work 00:15:36.409 --> 00:15:40.769 to do. And so I'm going to look at Mark 10, 17 00:15:40.769 --> 00:15:46.580 through 22. As Jesus was setting out on a journey, 00:15:46.639 --> 00:15:49.220 a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him, 00:15:49.259 --> 00:15:51.639 good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal 00:15:51.639 --> 00:15:54.820 life? And Jesus said to him, why do you call 00:15:54.820 --> 00:15:58.320 me good? No one is good but God alone. You know 00:15:58.320 --> 00:16:00.179 the commandments. You shall not murder. You shall 00:16:00.179 --> 00:16:02.539 not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You 00:16:02.539 --> 00:16:04.600 shall not bear false witness. You shall not defraud 00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:07.139 and honor your father and mother. And he said 00:16:07.139 --> 00:16:08.740 to him, teacher, I've kept all these things since 00:16:08.740 --> 00:16:12.700 my youth. And Jesus, looking at him, loved him. 00:16:13.639 --> 00:16:17.779 and said, you lack one thing. Go sell what you 00:16:17.779 --> 00:16:19.980 own and give the money to the poor, and you will 00:16:19.980 --> 00:16:22.539 have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me. 00:16:23.159 --> 00:16:25.299 And when he heard this, he was shocked and went 00:16:25.299 --> 00:16:29.139 away, grieving, for he had many possessions. 00:16:30.919 --> 00:16:35.240 This is a hard teaching. And much like the crowds 00:16:35.240 --> 00:16:37.500 that had been following Jesus, this man was hoping 00:16:37.500 --> 00:16:40.500 for something Jesus could offer, but not Jesus 00:16:40.500 --> 00:16:44.610 himself. He wanted to be justified. He wanted 00:16:44.610 --> 00:16:47.590 to be approved by someone he saw as good. He 00:16:47.590 --> 00:16:50.250 wanted assurances that eternal life would be 00:16:50.250 --> 00:16:54.210 his. That the keeping of the commands, the doing 00:16:54.210 --> 00:16:58.470 of the right things, was in fact enough. The 00:16:58.470 --> 00:17:02.169 man did not want Jesus. The man did not want 00:17:02.169 --> 00:17:06.309 the life Jesus was offering through him. This 00:17:06.309 --> 00:17:09.240 was a hard teaching for him. And much like the 00:17:09.240 --> 00:17:11.200 crowds that were chasing down Jesus all over 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:14.359 the countryside, many of the disciples turned 00:17:14.359 --> 00:17:17.839 back and no longer followed him. The man walked 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:23.359 away grieving because Jesus was too much for 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:33.359 him. Matthew 17, 14 through 21. Matthew 17, 14 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:37.700 through 21. When they came to the crowd, a man 00:17:37.700 --> 00:17:40.559 came to him and knelt before him and said, Lord, 00:17:40.759 --> 00:17:43.920 have mercy on my son for he has epilepsy and 00:17:43.920 --> 00:17:46.759 suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire 00:17:46.759 --> 00:17:49.460 and often into the water. And I brought him to 00:17:49.460 --> 00:17:51.220 your disciples, but they could not cure him. 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:54.579 And Jesus answered, you faithful, faithless, 00:17:54.579 --> 00:17:57.660 and perverse generation, how much longer must 00:17:57.660 --> 00:18:01.220 I be with you? How much longer must I put up 00:18:01.220 --> 00:18:08.180 with you? I would shrivel. Bring him here to 00:18:08.180 --> 00:18:10.619 me. And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came 00:18:10.619 --> 00:18:12.400 out of him, and the boy was cured from that moment. 00:18:12.539 --> 00:18:14.539 And then the disciples came to Jesus privately 00:18:14.539 --> 00:18:17.339 and said, why could we not cast it out? And he 00:18:17.339 --> 00:18:20.460 said to them, because of your little faith. For 00:18:20.460 --> 00:18:22.380 truly, I tell you, you have the faith the size 00:18:22.380 --> 00:18:24.200 of a mustard seed. You will say to this mountain, 00:18:24.380 --> 00:18:26.839 move from here to there, and it will move, and 00:18:26.839 --> 00:18:29.940 nothing will be impossible to you. I mean, to 00:18:29.940 --> 00:18:31.720 say that your faith was smaller than a mustard 00:18:31.720 --> 00:18:33.339 seed and you couldn't do it because it was too 00:18:33.339 --> 00:18:36.279 small, like, again, I would shrivel. But I hear 00:18:36.279 --> 00:18:38.940 this, actually, when I hear this statement, I 00:18:38.940 --> 00:18:42.200 hear it in Gandalf's voice. When he's like, you 00:18:42.200 --> 00:18:50.859 fools. Move. But it may feel like a scathing 00:18:50.859 --> 00:18:54.359 indictment. The way I hear it, it is. How could 00:18:54.359 --> 00:18:56.319 you have such little faith that you couldn't 00:18:56.319 --> 00:18:59.519 help this boy? Until you realize that in the 00:18:59.519 --> 00:19:02.779 verses before this account, Jesus stood with 00:19:02.779 --> 00:19:05.240 Peter, James, and John on a mountain and watched 00:19:05.240 --> 00:19:08.079 the transfiguration of Jesus happen before their 00:19:08.079 --> 00:19:11.839 eyes. He saw Moses and Elijah show up and manifest 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:14.119 in front of them and heard the voice of God say, 00:19:14.460 --> 00:19:17.940 this is my son, the beloved, with him I am well 00:19:17.940 --> 00:19:21.980 pleased. Listen to him. So it may make a bit 00:19:21.980 --> 00:19:23.859 more sense as to why Jesus was like, are you 00:19:23.859 --> 00:19:28.720 kidding? Did you just regress? Did you not just 00:19:28.720 --> 00:19:32.279 witness? Did you not just experience? You heard 00:19:32.279 --> 00:19:36.839 my dad. But further than that, I don't think 00:19:36.839 --> 00:19:40.220 Jesus is sarcastic like that. That's me being 00:19:40.220 --> 00:19:43.920 like, you idiots. But further than that, it is 00:19:43.920 --> 00:19:47.400 not, I don't think, a wild extrapolation based 00:19:47.400 --> 00:19:50.500 on what we read in a number of places. 1 Corinthians 00:19:50.500 --> 00:19:53.700 13, 1 John 4, the book of James, to recognize 00:19:53.700 --> 00:19:56.140 that faith and love have a direct relationship. 00:19:57.279 --> 00:20:00.599 That as faith increases, there is a correlation 00:20:00.599 --> 00:20:02.680 with the increase of love in our lives as well. 00:20:02.819 --> 00:20:05.380 That the two have this movement that goes along 00:20:05.380 --> 00:20:08.500 with each other. You don't grow in your faith 00:20:08.500 --> 00:20:11.200 in God and experience no movement on the meter 00:20:11.200 --> 00:20:15.960 that gauges our love for God and others. So I 00:20:15.960 --> 00:20:18.420 don't think it's a stretch for Jesus in his rebuke, 00:20:18.460 --> 00:20:20.099 how could you have such little faith that you 00:20:20.099 --> 00:20:24.240 couldn't help this boy? to be implying where 00:20:24.240 --> 00:20:26.920 is your love for this boy and his compassion 00:20:26.920 --> 00:20:30.259 and his condition. It's not a stretch to consider 00:20:30.259 --> 00:20:31.940 that as the disciples were growing, becoming 00:20:31.940 --> 00:20:33.900 more like Jesus, that they were learning that 00:20:33.900 --> 00:20:36.339 it wasn't just the plain actions that were needed, 00:20:36.480 --> 00:20:39.940 that a heart disconnected from the person before 00:20:39.940 --> 00:20:44.180 them could not produce the miraculous. And I 00:20:44.180 --> 00:20:45.480 can't believe I'm about to make this reference. 00:20:46.900 --> 00:20:48.920 And I really needed Eric Rowell here for this. 00:20:49.700 --> 00:20:51.460 But you know this scene. You know I'm about to 00:20:51.460 --> 00:20:53.970 talk about Marvel. You know the scene in Spider 00:20:53.970 --> 00:20:58.549 -Man No Way Home when Ned is trying to open the 00:20:58.549 --> 00:21:00.869 right portal to bring back their Peter Parker? 00:21:01.470 --> 00:21:03.670 Are you with me on this? Sweetie is. Thank you, 00:21:03.690 --> 00:21:07.069 sweetie. She is tracking with me. And so he tries 00:21:07.069 --> 00:21:08.609 a second time, and it doesn't work, and it doesn't 00:21:08.609 --> 00:21:11.210 work, and he has to want it. He has to really 00:21:11.210 --> 00:21:13.450 miss and want to bring his friend through. It 00:21:13.450 --> 00:21:16.049 is, dare I say, ultimately his love for his friend 00:21:16.049 --> 00:21:19.849 that gets the portal opened. This is an imperfect 00:21:19.849 --> 00:21:26.390 example, of course. And it also brings through 00:21:26.390 --> 00:21:28.170 the wrong Peter Parker. Or, depending on your 00:21:28.170 --> 00:21:31.549 love of Spider -Man, does it? Depending on which 00:21:31.549 --> 00:21:34.970 Spider -Man you really love. What Spider -Man 00:21:34.970 --> 00:21:41.069 team are you on, by the way? No one? Eric's not 00:21:41.069 --> 00:21:46.630 here. That's why it is. So, and also this is 00:21:46.630 --> 00:21:48.670 the kind of squirrel detour you get from me in 00:21:48.670 --> 00:21:52.240 ADHD, but you get my point. That, like, The action 00:21:52.240 --> 00:21:58.019 has to be generated with a want, a love, a heart 00:21:58.019 --> 00:22:01.359 that is behind it. Saying the words and doing 00:22:01.359 --> 00:22:06.299 the actions don't get you very far, right? And 00:22:06.299 --> 00:22:07.720 so faith and love are connected, and I think 00:22:07.720 --> 00:22:09.880 Jesus' frustration here, I believe, is less about 00:22:09.880 --> 00:22:12.200 the disciples' lack of faith, though it's connected, 00:22:12.299 --> 00:22:14.519 and more connected to the heart from which they 00:22:14.519 --> 00:22:17.960 were acting. They were constantly trying to figure 00:22:17.960 --> 00:22:21.279 out that balance of, like, Well, we're here to 00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:24.940 do what Jesus does, but it's not just the doing 00:22:24.940 --> 00:22:27.480 of the things, right? It is the heart behind 00:22:27.480 --> 00:22:32.720 it that is actually the motivating factor. And 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:35.400 they would run into this a few times, that their 00:22:35.400 --> 00:22:40.339 actions were unmet because they did not have 00:22:40.339 --> 00:22:45.569 the love behind it. And lastly, and perhaps one 00:22:45.569 --> 00:22:47.190 of the most specific accounts of the correlation 00:22:47.190 --> 00:22:49.569 of words and the heart they spring from, we visit 00:22:49.569 --> 00:22:54.190 the story in Matthew 12. So Matthew 12, 22 through 00:22:54.190 --> 00:23:01.049 37. Matthew 12, 22 through 37. So it says, then 00:23:01.049 --> 00:23:03.450 they brought to him a demon -possessed man who 00:23:03.450 --> 00:23:06.730 was blind and mute, and Jesus cured him so that 00:23:06.730 --> 00:23:09.430 the one who had been mute could speak and see. 00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:12.059 And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, 00:23:12.200 --> 00:23:15.720 can this be the son of David? But when the Pharisees 00:23:15.720 --> 00:23:18.119 heard it, they said, it is only Beelzebub, the 00:23:18.119 --> 00:23:19.880 ruler of the demons, that this man cast out the 00:23:19.880 --> 00:23:22.160 demons. He knew what they were thinking, and 00:23:22.160 --> 00:23:25.200 he said to them, every kingdom divided against 00:23:25.200 --> 00:23:28.539 itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided 00:23:28.539 --> 00:23:30.660 against itself will stand. If Satan casts out 00:23:30.660 --> 00:23:32.859 Satan, he is divided against himself. How then? 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:35.720 will this kingdom stand? If I cast out demons 00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:38.420 by Abel's above, by whom do your own exorcists 00:23:38.420 --> 00:23:40.660 cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. 00:23:40.960 --> 00:23:45.839 But if it is by the spirit of God that I cast 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:47.960 out demons, then the kingdom of God has come 00:23:47.960 --> 00:23:52.359 upon you. And jumping to verse 33, either make 00:23:52.359 --> 00:23:54.660 the tree good and its fruit good or make the 00:23:54.660 --> 00:23:57.480 tree bad and its fruit bad. For the tree is known 00:23:57.480 --> 00:24:01.220 by its fruit. Essentially, you know the heart. 00:24:02.029 --> 00:24:06.769 By the actions. So he says, you brood of vipers. 00:24:07.630 --> 00:24:10.230 How can you speak good things when you are evil? 00:24:10.309 --> 00:24:13.150 For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth 00:24:13.150 --> 00:24:16.750 speaks. The good person brings good things out 00:24:16.750 --> 00:24:19.309 of a good treasure. And the evil person brings 00:24:19.309 --> 00:24:22.009 evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you, 00:24:22.009 --> 00:24:24.509 on the day of judgment, you will have to give 00:24:24.509 --> 00:24:27.430 an account for every careless word you utter. 00:24:28.839 --> 00:24:31.059 For by your words you will be justified and by 00:24:31.059 --> 00:24:34.460 your words you will be condemned. Jesus was calling 00:24:34.460 --> 00:24:37.440 them out because their words, careless as they 00:24:37.440 --> 00:24:42.359 were, were heartless. Jesus, seeing their brokenness, 00:24:42.359 --> 00:24:45.400 seeing the brokenness of the situation, those 00:24:45.400 --> 00:24:48.019 that were religious but heartless, they couldn't 00:24:48.019 --> 00:24:51.740 care for people. They themselves, as religious 00:24:51.740 --> 00:24:55.180 leaders, were dangerous. A man had been healed 00:24:55.180 --> 00:24:57.740 in front of them. And they could only assume 00:24:57.740 --> 00:25:02.019 that there was evil behind it. It is indeed a 00:25:02.019 --> 00:25:04.500 difficult teaching when it is being revealed 00:25:04.500 --> 00:25:07.200 that you are on the wrong side of the good work 00:25:07.200 --> 00:25:11.480 of God. And their own words, their own words 00:25:11.480 --> 00:25:16.779 revealed their hearts. So hard teachings. This 00:25:16.779 --> 00:25:18.759 is a hard teaching and these words are difficult. 00:25:20.119 --> 00:25:23.359 Being sharp -tongued and direct is not the point. 00:25:24.079 --> 00:25:26.940 Jesus was not a shock and awe guy, right? Even 00:25:26.940 --> 00:25:30.039 the signs and wonders were sometimes like, hey, 00:25:30.059 --> 00:25:33.519 let's keep this quiet. This here was just for 00:25:33.519 --> 00:25:38.099 this. It's just for you. To understand Jesus 00:25:38.099 --> 00:25:41.119 at all, though, one must first take into account 00:25:41.119 --> 00:25:45.400 his heart at all times. Specifically, his love 00:25:45.400 --> 00:25:49.000 for the Father and his love for his people. This 00:25:49.000 --> 00:25:53.640 is foundational to all of it. Every word he says, 00:25:53.819 --> 00:25:59.019 this is what brought him to us. And something 00:25:59.019 --> 00:26:01.220 we must take into account ourselves, not only 00:26:01.220 --> 00:26:03.359 when the words of Jesus come to us, but when 00:26:03.359 --> 00:26:06.539 we believe we are replicating Jesus in our speaking 00:26:06.539 --> 00:26:09.960 of the truth. Because as Jesus himself said, 00:26:10.140 --> 00:26:13.579 paraphrasing, your heart is revealed in your 00:26:13.579 --> 00:26:16.730 words. In order to speak truth and for it to 00:26:16.730 --> 00:26:19.390 be the truth that does the good work it is meant 00:26:19.390 --> 00:26:23.029 to, we too must be motivated not just by our 00:26:23.029 --> 00:26:25.750 love of God, but for God's people as well. This 00:26:25.750 --> 00:26:29.150 is critical, lest we become dangerous ourselves, 00:26:29.509 --> 00:26:32.789 weaponizing God's word, becoming our own brood 00:26:32.789 --> 00:26:36.789 of vipers. And how many times have we either 00:26:36.789 --> 00:26:39.269 heard or even said ourselves, well, I'm just 00:26:39.269 --> 00:26:41.130 speaking the truth. It's not my fault that they 00:26:41.130 --> 00:26:44.299 didn't like it. Well, Sheila, I think that they 00:26:44.299 --> 00:26:47.019 just don't like your smug attitude and the fact 00:26:47.019 --> 00:26:50.839 that you're being a jerk. They knew you didn't 00:26:50.839 --> 00:26:54.500 care an ounce about them. Guys, we don't have 00:26:54.500 --> 00:26:58.019 to be jerks. We don't have to be smug. And I'd 00:26:58.019 --> 00:27:01.039 say, unless you are genuinely in your heart speaking 00:27:01.039 --> 00:27:07.180 with love, don't. Because we all know when I'm 00:27:07.180 --> 00:27:10.519 just speaking the truth in love is not actually 00:27:10.519 --> 00:27:16.140 being spoken in love. We know. We know. We know. 00:27:16.960 --> 00:27:21.900 Love must be sincere. And as the deliverer, we 00:27:21.900 --> 00:27:24.200 know when we're lying to ourselves. I was just 00:27:24.200 --> 00:27:30.220 speaking the truth in love. Were you? I don't 00:27:30.220 --> 00:27:33.059 get a sense that you love that person. This is 00:27:33.059 --> 00:27:35.339 a bit of an aside that is applicable, but I remember 00:27:35.339 --> 00:27:37.599 coming up in youth group and hearing my youth 00:27:37.599 --> 00:27:41.190 pastor, who I do love a great deal. I speak in 00:27:41.190 --> 00:27:42.950 the present tense even because I still consider 00:27:42.950 --> 00:27:46.990 him my youth pastor. I remember hearing coming 00:27:46.990 --> 00:27:49.069 up in youth group that sharing the gospel would 00:27:49.069 --> 00:27:52.089 be hard and that you would encounter hostility 00:27:52.089 --> 00:27:54.410 and that people didn't want to hear the gospel. 00:27:54.930 --> 00:28:00.890 And I think overall I disagree almost entirely 00:28:00.890 --> 00:28:06.130 with that statement because it is not hard to 00:28:06.130 --> 00:28:08.750 share the gospel. Or the things that Jesus said. 00:28:08.829 --> 00:28:13.890 It is hard to love people. And if I love people, 00:28:13.930 --> 00:28:20.650 or when I have found myself most connected to 00:28:20.650 --> 00:28:23.609 the love that God has for people, talking about 00:28:23.609 --> 00:28:26.210 Jesus and sharing the gospel and saying the things 00:28:26.210 --> 00:28:30.150 that Jesus said is not hard to share. But loving 00:28:30.150 --> 00:28:33.690 people is. And I think that's where we get caught 00:28:33.690 --> 00:28:40.089 up. In my experience, and so just speaking experientially, 00:28:40.250 --> 00:28:43.349 I think rarely does anyone hate hearing anyone 00:28:43.349 --> 00:28:45.509 else talk about something that they love, that 00:28:45.509 --> 00:28:48.230 they genuinely love when it's clear that love 00:28:48.230 --> 00:28:51.210 is sincere. I think we're attracted to that because 00:28:51.210 --> 00:28:53.890 we want to believe that love can be sincere and 00:28:53.890 --> 00:28:57.769 is being sincere from somebody, right? And we'll 00:28:57.769 --> 00:29:00.210 listen to a whole lot, somebody says, if we know 00:29:00.210 --> 00:29:03.809 that they genuinely love it and we also feel 00:29:03.809 --> 00:29:08.819 that love coming towards us. Sharing the gospel 00:29:08.819 --> 00:29:11.019 is not hard. Speaking the truth is not explicitly 00:29:11.019 --> 00:29:13.240 hard. I think our challenge is in loving others 00:29:13.240 --> 00:29:16.599 and loving our neighbor and being so embattled 00:29:16.599 --> 00:29:19.359 with ourselves, parsing out exactly who our neighbor 00:29:19.359 --> 00:29:24.500 is. That's what seems to be tripping us up. This 00:29:24.500 --> 00:29:27.259 is often where our struggle lies. Jesus did not 00:29:27.259 --> 00:29:29.299 have any question about who his neighbor was 00:29:29.299 --> 00:29:32.869 and who he loved and who the Father loved. He 00:29:32.869 --> 00:29:34.670 did not have any trouble loving people. And so 00:29:34.670 --> 00:29:37.430 for him, he did not go soft on words. He didn't 00:29:37.430 --> 00:29:41.849 need to because his love was great. And I think 00:29:41.849 --> 00:29:46.089 people knew that. I mean, even for the rich man 00:29:46.089 --> 00:29:49.809 who asked his questions and Jesus countered his 00:29:49.809 --> 00:29:53.289 questions and then the phrases, and Jesus loved 00:29:53.289 --> 00:29:58.650 him. I think that man knew. How could you not 00:29:58.650 --> 00:30:03.440 when Jesus looks at you with love? And so for 00:30:03.440 --> 00:30:05.759 Jesus and those who heard him, for those that 00:30:05.759 --> 00:30:09.519 received what he said, and for those that let 00:30:09.519 --> 00:30:12.259 those words do their good work, and similarly 00:30:12.259 --> 00:30:15.619 for us, when we hear them, when we receive them, 00:30:15.859 --> 00:30:19.819 when the teachings are in fact hard, but understood 00:30:19.819 --> 00:30:22.880 with the love that they are spoken with, and 00:30:22.880 --> 00:30:25.940 we see the love that is directed at us, the response 00:30:25.940 --> 00:30:32.019 is, Lord, to who else would we go? You have the 00:30:32.019 --> 00:30:35.119 words of eternal life. We have come to believe 00:30:35.119 --> 00:30:37.420 and to know that you are the Holy One of God. 00:30:40.039 --> 00:30:45.500 Let's pray. Jesus, it is true that some of the 00:30:45.500 --> 00:30:49.220 things, many of the things that you have said 00:30:49.220 --> 00:30:55.599 are hard teachings. But I don't think we could 00:30:55.599 --> 00:30:58.859 ever doubt your love, the love that is behind 00:30:58.859 --> 00:31:05.690 them. When we really, truly shed the stuff around 00:31:05.690 --> 00:31:10.809 the way your words have been broadcast through 00:31:10.809 --> 00:31:13.849 the centuries, when we take them at their face 00:31:13.849 --> 00:31:16.710 value in the moments that they are happening, 00:31:16.809 --> 00:31:21.210 I don't think it's possible to see them as anything 00:31:21.210 --> 00:31:25.269 else but generated from your love of the Father 00:31:25.269 --> 00:31:29.769 and your love for us. and your desire so deeply 00:31:29.769 --> 00:31:35.609 to see us become whole and healed in our lives. 00:31:36.410 --> 00:31:41.569 And that the words that you give to us, the words 00:31:41.569 --> 00:31:44.309 that you say to us, the words that come to us 00:31:44.309 --> 00:31:50.190 of you, yeah, they are hard teachings sometimes. 00:31:51.970 --> 00:31:56.130 But I pray that you would continue to help us 00:31:56.130 --> 00:32:00.460 gain wisdom and openness into the good work those 00:32:00.460 --> 00:32:04.519 things are meant to do in us that you are in 00:32:04.519 --> 00:32:12.799 fact taking care of brokenness and wounds that 00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:16.759 are deep deep deep in us and it's only when those 00:32:16.759 --> 00:32:19.039 words go deep that those things can be healed 00:32:19.039 --> 00:32:24.279 so we are asking for the love of the father and 00:32:24.279 --> 00:32:27.819 the good work of the spirit In the words of Jesus, 00:32:27.880 --> 00:32:31.140 to be not just present but active in our lives, 00:32:31.180 --> 00:32:34.180 that we would say yes to them. Because we have 00:32:34.180 --> 00:32:35.759 come to believe and know that you are the Holy 00:32:35.759 --> 00:32:38.019 One of God and you have the words of eternal 00:32:38.019 --> 00:32:42.839 life. And you are the only one that does. I pray 00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:44.339 this in your name. Amen.