"Jesus' Amazing, Ordinary Language"

Sermon Transcript for July 9, 2000

By Rev. Dan Sinkhorn

Scripture Reading: Matthew 7:1-12

 

I’ve been running to catch up with you on your Spiritual Adventure. You’ve got a few weeks head start on me; so I hope you don’t mind if I take a few minutes, if only for my own benefit, to review where we have been so far. Now I understand that we are "Celebrating Jesus". We’re trying to discover what it is and was that made Him so attractive to so many countless, millions of people over these 2000 years. Now we’ve learned so far that Jesus stayed spiritually connected and directed; that Jesus shattered the stereotypes of "us and them". That Jesus liked people and He brought out the best in them. Thank goodness for that. And last week we learned that Jesus knew His identity yet He served with humility. This week we will discuss how Jesus spoke to people in everyday language.

It’s important to speak the right language, isn’t it? Have you ever been in a situation where you didn’t know the language? That you didn’t understand the terminology? Rev. Mike often teases me about the computer terminology that I’ll throw about. He doesn’t know what I’m talking about so it doesn’t benefit him very much. A week from today I’ll leave to go to Chicago; a place of many languages. And I’ll attend school at Garret Evangelical along with, at least for the first two weeks, about 180 Spanish-speaking students who come to that school for a

Spanish-speaking version that goes along at the same time as the one I attend. And I will find myself, no doubt, again amidst some of them and totally lost because I don’t know the language. It’s important to know the language, isn’t it?

My brother Dave was telling me a couple of weeks ago when I visited with him about a recent trip to Germany that he made. And how he was the passenger in a car and they were going down one of Germany’s highways or byways. He noticed that every off ramp that he passed on his short trip had a sign that said "ausgang". And it had an arrow pointing in that direction. And he decided that city must be a really large city. He was sure that the German word for exit would have been much shorter. He didn’t know "ausgang" was the word for exit.

It helps to know the language. It could put you at a tremendous disadvantage. At least a couple of times over the next few weeks I’ll find myself waiting for the dinner bell to ring for the people to call us into the cafeteria. And I’ll be amongst the Spanish-speaking students and they’ll start talking about how it’s time to get in line and get your food and I’m likely to miss the boat because I didn’t know what they were talking about. And then I will figure it out when I see them eating.

It reminds me of the story that Chuck Swindoll tells. You may know that Chuck Swindoll is a popular author and radio preacher. He tells the story of the day when he was at a McDonalds and he noticed that some children were holding back some of their french fries to feed to the birds. They were going to go out into the play yard and give the birds some french fries. Well, he noticed that there weren’t any birds in the play yard at all. And so he watched with some interest how they proceeded to go out into the play yard and throw a few french fries on to the ground. Within a few minutes a single bird came and began to eat french fries; and within seconds hundreds of birds came and ate the french fries. Somehow that first bird who found the food, who was able to get something good to eat, spread the news in a language that people don’t understand; and the rest of the birds caught on very quickly and came to be fed.

Jesus was like that, wasn’t he? Jesus had a message that was good news for hungry and hurting people. Sorrowful and sad people who were struggling with sin and many other social problems. And they were people who needed some good news. And they weren’t getting it from the sources that they had been going to. And they spoke of their amazement at Jesus’ words. Each of the gospels takes a few minutes of our time and study to remind us of how amazed people were of the words that Jesus used and how clearly He spoke. It’s as thought they were hearing it for the first time.

This example from the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 1, is the story at the beginning of Verse 21 where Jesus is teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum and the people were amazed at His teaching because He taught them as One who had authority, not as the teachers of the law. That’s Verse 22. And shortly after that statement there is an incident where a demon-possessed man burst in to the synagogue and disrupts the service among other things proclaiming who Jesus truly is. And when Jesus subdues the demon and caste it out of the man, again the people say in Verse 27, "The people were also amazed that they asked each other, ‘What is this, a new teaching? And with authority!" The Gospel of Matthew tells us in Chapter 7, "After Jesus finished speaking the crowds were amazed at His teaching for He taught as One with real authority quite unlike the teachers of religious law." The Gospel of Luke affirms this too in Chapter 7; "After Jesus finished speaking the crowds were amazed at His teaching for He taught as One who had real authority, quite unlike the teachers of the law."

Isn’t it interesting that each of the gospel writers points out the amazement of the people and how utterly different it was from the teachings of the local synagogues--the teachers, the rabbis, the Pharisees, the Sadducees. These were the experts and for some reason, with all of their knowledge, they weren’t getting through to the people. Why was that? How is it that they who knew the scriptures inside and out kept getting it wrong as least as far as the ordinary people were concerned? And Jesus got it right and people were amazed at what they heard.

I think that we can find some evidence of what the problem was in the Gospel of John which says in Chapter 7 now where we are in the midst of that sham of a trial that led to the execution of Jesus. The temple guards are being questioned and one of them says, "We have never heard anyone talk like this." To which the Pharisees and other teachers responded, "You’ve been led astray too? Is there a single one of a ruler or Pharisees who believes in Him? These ignorant crowds do, but what do they know? A curse on them anyway." I think that last verse reveals the nature of Jesus’ success and the failure of the teachers of that day. A true, sincere lack of respect for the people that they were sent to serve.

You see, the people notice the difference right away because they were being treated with respect and love. They were being dignified by having the language of God, the message of God reduced down to a simple kind of terminology that couldn’t be missed. Ordinary, ignorant people, like me, got it because Jesus loved and respected them enough to bring it down to their level. The Pharisees and other teachers of the law, they were engaged in a process of impressing one another. They used the authority that came from the most popular and well-known scholars of their day. They never spoke of their own knowledge or their own experience with God. They quoted a lot. They read their sermons, I suppose. And when people heard them talking they just didn’t get it. They just didn’t get it.

And suddenly, as though for the first time in their lives, as if a veil had been removed from their faces, they heard what God had to say to them through Jesus. And why? Because He loved them enough to make it easy for them to understand. His witness of love actually preceded the Word that He spoke. The mere fact that Jesus went to people where they were, engaged them in whatever level of life and existence that they were in, and then spoke to them on their level. And what did He speak to them of? The love of God which he had already demonstrated by His presence and His bearing. Steve read to us from one of my favorite scriptures as well because it simply states what God is all about. God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to die for our sake.

One of the examples that we draw from today’s reading is the place where Jesus says, "Why do you worry about the speck in your brother’s eye when you have a log sticking out of your own eye?" I bet he got a few laughs out of that. Can you picture a log sticking out of somebody’s eye? I think He was trying to make a pretty vivid point there in very simple terminology, with very vivid imagery. But there’s something hidden in what He said that I don’t want us to miss. It is a very loving gesture to reach out to someone who has a speck in their eye and try to help them, isn’t it? He was not accusing or condemning the Pharisees for their intentions. The Pharisees and other teachers of the law wanted to help the people achieve a kind of holiness that would assure them of their eternal life and would assure them of a good life blessed by God. They wanted the best for these people. But they had become arrogant. They had become self-righteous and began to think that they were too good for the crowds and that they didn’t have any specks in their eye. So Jesus said very simply, "If you want to help people, that’s great. But don’t forget, you’ve probably got plenty of junk in your closet too."

Jesus speaks of God’s love in very simple terms easy for us to grasp. He says to the people around Him on that particular occasion, "You parents, if your children asked you for a loaf of bread, would you give them a rock? Of course not. And if your son asked you for a fish would you give him a snake? Of course not. And don’t you understand that God loves you as His children, as His sons and daughters. And He will not do that to you either." Jesus came to simply proclaim that God loves us so much that Jesus would ultimately pay a debt that was ours, so that we might be totally and completely reunited with God, at one with God. Saved by God’s grace. That’s how much God loves us. And Jesus spoke and lived that love in simplicity.

The fact of the gospel is that it is a very simple thing. The truth of the gospel good news is that it isn’t complicated and that it doesn’t have to be enhanced or improved. It’s really not complicated. That’s the problem so many people have with it. God’s ways are not that complicated. It just requires a tremendous amount of faith to enjoy God’s ways and to experience God’s ways. It can be spoken in any language, this gospel good news of ours, and it can be brought down to any level. The only thing we can’t do with it is make people accept it with faith.

It’s like the little boy who went to his first Sunday School class ever. After the Sunday School class was over his father questioned him about what he had learned. And the little boy said, "Well, we heard the story about Moses and the Israelites." He said, "About the time they were being chased across the desert by Pharaoh’s army, the Egyptians had them cornered against the ocean. And so the Israelites called in the Israeli army and they bombed the Egyptian army into submission and the Egyptian army fled and Pharaoh was defeated." And the father kind of scratched his head and said, "Son, are you sure you’ve got that story right?" And he says, "Well, that’s not the way they told it in class, Dad, but you wouldn’t have believed it either."

It requires a lot of faith to accept God’s simple truth. God loves us. God is the creator of all that is. And God has power over all of it. He’s given Jesus authority over all of it. And Jesus has said to us, "Just relax. God loves you. And I love you so much I’ll die for you. And the authority that I use to preach is the authority that God has given me and I’ll validate that by my death and resurrection." And Jesus ascended to Heaven and He sits there to this day waiting to come again to retrieve us and to rebuild the world in peace and without the sorrows. That’s good news! And it’s not very complicated, is it?

We have a responsibility, we believers. And I want to discuss that with you right now. We are the latest witnesses of the good news of the gospel. But hear for a moment about the first witnesses of the good news. From the second chapter of Acts we learn of the day of Pentecost when the believers who were there with Christ witnessed to one another by the power of the Holy Spirit in every language of the land to every person willing to hear. They set the example for us as the first church. The beginning of the church which we belong to. They spoke to every nation in every language. And because they did what God called them to do we are here today in this place speaking the gospel of good news in our own language.

Listen to what Peter said to them, and they all understood it in their own native tongue. Chapter 2, Verse 36, "Therefore, let all Israel be assured of this. God has made this Jesus who you crucified both Lord and Christ. When the people heard this they were cut to the heart. They said to Peter and the other Apostles, ‘Brothers what shall we do?’ Peter replied, ‘Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off. For all whom the Lord our God will call."

And it was meant to be heard in every language, at every level, for the glory of God and the salvation of God’s people. And we, who are the latest witnesses, are just as obliged to obey God’s command and to share that good news in every nation and every land beginning right here in Franklin, Indiana. To every hungry, hurting, dying, suffering person. Every person who is drowning in their sin and needs to be saved. We are obligated, those of us who have received that good news for our own salvation, to share it. To be willing to reach out and reach down, if need be, to every level. And may God add His blessing to the hearing of His Word.