Sunday's Message: "Come and See"
I’d like to introduce you to a fascinating group of people, people with whom you may already be familiar. I wonder: can you guess their identity?
As a whole, this group of people takes spiritual life very seriously. They are widely known for their attention to the details of their religion. They are scrupulous about attendance at religious events. They give generously. They fast regularly. They pray faithfully.
These people also care very deeply about living a good life. They are models of personal purity. They are extremely careful to live above reproach, and would be considered among the most respected persons in the community. They’re honest, hardworking, and conscientious. Any employer would be delighted to have them working in their company.
Yes, they are well known for the integrity of their lives and the sincerity of their religion. In addition, they have an extremely high regard for their holy scriptures. They study them, memorize them, and diligently seek to apply them to their lives. They often gather in groups to discuss the meaning and scripture and its application to the daily life.
Finally, they are known among their peers for their strong belief in the supernatural work of God. They don’t just believe that God worked in the past; they hold to the conviction that God can and does work supernaturally in the present, and that he will in the future. They have a strong belief in the existence of the miraculous, in the hope of eternal life, in the resurrection of the dead.
Do you recognize these people?
Who am I describing? I could be talking about contemporary Christians, couldn’t I? After all, Christians take their faith very seriously, are deeply concerned for personal piety, hold the scriptures in high regard, and are strongly committed to God’s supernatural in the world not only yesterday, but today and tomorrow.
Yes, I could be talking about Christians – but I’m not. I could also be talking about Mormons, Muslims, and many alternative religious groups of today – but I’m not. In fact, I’m not talking about any present-day group.
I’m talking about a religious group known as Pharisees. These men were among the most prominent religious sects of Judaism in Jesus’ day. They were precisely as I described them to you earlier, distinguished from their peers by their religious sincerity, their personal purity, their regard for Scripture, and their belief in the supernatural. They were considered by most people to be the most “on-target” religious group of their day.
Which brings to mind a thought-provoking question: How is it that these deeply devoted, sincere people missed – even rejected – the one that had been the object of their devotion?
After all, they were actively looking for the Messiah. Why didn’t they recognize him when he came? And they didn’t just fail to recognize him; they felt were threatened by him. They actively persecuted him. How could such a tragedy as this have happened? Why did they miss the very one for whom they were waiting? Have you ever wondered about that? I have.
Here’s part of the answer: they missed him because they were more committed to their preconceived notions about God than they were to God himself. They had a view of God which was so rigidly defined that when God acted outside the box of their understanding they missed him.
They were students of Scripture. Couldn’t they see that Jesus was the fulfillment of the very scripture they studied? Why not?
Perhaps it was this: their well defined systems of belief were intended to shield the truth from heresy. But they became so deeply entrenched that they had the opposite effect: their beliefs shielded them from truth. Like Colonel Nicholsen in Bridge on the River Kwai, their commitment to their agenda caused them to lose their perspective, had caused them to miss the bigger picture.
Do you remember that famous story? Nicholsen and his troops were prisoners of war to the Japanese. He was so intent on proving to his captors the superiority of the British approach to life that he ended up actually thwarting the British agenda in the war. He’d unwittingly become an accomplice for the enemy.
So it was with these well-meaning but misguided religious people of Jesus’ day, to whom he once said,
You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life (John 5:39-40).
One of the truly surprising things in the New Testament is that those who should have been the most ready for Jesus’ coming were in fact generally blind to him when he came. Jesus called them “blind fools.”
Why do I tell you all of this?
I tell you all of this as an invitation and a warning.
We begin today a provocative series of messages called “Rediscovering Jesus: A fresh look at a friendly face.”
Have you ever noticed how you can become so familiar with something that you almost don’t see it anymore?
For many years our family lived in Fountain Hills, home of the world’s tallest fountain. When we first moved there we were enamored with that gigantic spurt of water. We couldn’t help but notice it, for it was visible from virtually anywhere in town. We’d take special trips to watch it start and stop.
But after a while it became common place, easy to ignore. We almost didn’t even notice it, except when the wind blew it so that water droplets formed on our windshield.
For many people, the person of Jesus has become something like that world famous fountain. We’re so sure we know what he’s like that we hardly pay attention any more.
I tell you the story about the Pharisees, first of all, as a warning. The similarities between them and the Christ-followers of today are nothing short of astounding.
They were intensely devoted to their religious pursuits. So are we.
They were eager to live an upright and God-pleasing life. So are we.
They were intent to protect the integrity of the Scriptures. So are we.
They believed in the present-day power of God at work in the world. So do we.
Despite all these things, they seriously misunderstood Jesus. How did this happen, and how can we avoid making the same mistake?
They had God figured out so well that they crucified Jesus. We must learn from their mistake, or else we may deny the very Jesus whose resurrection we just celebrated. What was he really like? What did he really care about? What if we looked at him without our preconceived notions? What would we see?
“The only people who don’t believe Jesus was a pacifist,” Gandhi was once reported to have said, “are Christians.”
Whether he was right in his assessment of Jesus or not, Gandhi illustrated something which should give us pause: we who know Jesus best may misunderstand him most.
They had the Scriptures so neatly categorized that when Jesus didn’t fit in their systematic theology book, they threw him out. We must learn from their mistake, or else we will see in Jesus only what fits our white, middle class American approach to life – totally ignoring essential elements of his teaching, his character, his personality, and his values.
Finally, while believing in the theory that God was at work supernaturally in the world, they had a hard time accepting it when it actually happened. They would argue tooth and nail about their belief in the resurrection and in life beyond the grave, but when it occurred right in their midst they wouldn’t believe it. Likewise, Christians of today can fall into the same error. We affirm the miraculous work of God yesterday and tomorrow, but rarely expect it today. Perhaps, like them, we want a God we can control.
Yes, I tell you this story about the Pharisees partly as a warning.
But I also tell it to you as an invitation. For in this series we will, as I say, “take a fresh look at a friendly face.”
The face of Jesus is, I am convinced, a compelling face. It is a friendly face. An understanding, compassionate face. A face of joy. A face full of the promises of God. A face with life transforming possibilities. I invite you to take a careful look at him with me.
One of the most affecting books I’ve ever read is called The Return of the Prodigal, by a priest named Henri Nouwen. It is simply a meditation on a painting, the famous Rembrandt by that name. Nouwen spent considerable time in a Russian museum merely contemplating that painting: the kneeling, tattered son returning home, the embracing father with two differently shaped hands, the distant brother unwilling to look on the scene.
As Henri Nouwen observed these three characters he saw powerful lessons in what he called the repentant younger brother, the compassionate father, and the resentful elder brother. As a result, his life was changed, and in turn my own life was impacted in profound and meaningful ways.
I want to invite you to take a similar journey with me. Put aside your preconceived notions about Jesus. Take a careful look at him within his social context. Watch him with fresh eyes as he interacts with people. Listen without prejudice to what he really taught. What was his message? What was he like?
There is no doubt: Jesus is the single most compelling figure to have ever walked this earth. His influence in history is unparalleled.
People outside the realm of Christian faith, virtually without exception, hold Jesus in high regard. Many Buddhists consider him enlightened. Muslims consider him a great prophet, as do, in fact, a growing number within the Jewish tradition. Alternative religions and belief systems today universally respect the life and teachings of Jesus. In fact, I cannot think of any religious or spiritual system which does not hold a high view of the person of Jesus.
Consider, for example, the current fascination with Jesus. What do these three books have in common? The Gospel of Judas, The Jesus Papers, and The Lost Gospel. Yes, they’re about Jesus, but did you also know they’re on the NY Times bestseller list for nonfiction – all in the top fifteen.
Surely you know that in a few weeks our nation will be buzzing about the release of the film The DaVinci Code. The worldwide best selling book (on the Times fiction top ten for three years running) will likely become a blockbuster movie in 2006.
What is the appeal of this wildly successful story? Is it the great writing in the book? Certainly not. I’ve read it and in my view it is mediocre writing at best. Unbelievable plot twists and coincidences weaken an already shaky premise: the idea that for nearly two millennia the church has covered up the fact that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, had secret children by her, and that their lineage is secretly alive today.
It is a book of pure fiction, yet people flock to read it. Why? In part because Jesus is still a fascinating figure, whatever one’s conclusions about him. In part, too, because everyone loves a conspiracy, and the idea that the church would cover up the truth about Jesus is like an irresistible piece of gossip.
I can’t help but think there’s another reason, though. I can’t help but think that many people are longing to believe there’s something more about him than what they learned in Sunday School. They instinctively know that Jesus must have been more than that blue-eyed picture on the wall. They’re not satisfied with the conventional wisdom offered them by the churches they’ve attended; they’re looking for more.
So this morning I offer you an invitation. Won’t you join me in a fresh look at the person of Jesus? Will you allow yourself to see him in a fresh way? Will you open yourself to the idea that some of your preconceived notions about him may be more influenced by American capitalism than by the Scriptures themselves? Will you set aside, just for a moment, your concern for protecting a certain theology about Jesus, and instead look at him in his own cultural context? What was he really like? Why was he such a threat to the establishment? What was his message? We’ll examine these and many other questions along the way.
At the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, before he’d done any public teaching, any miracles – before anyone knew anything about him, he went looking for a man named Philip. When he found him, he said, “Follow me.” We don’t know what compelled Philip to follow Jesus, only that he became one of the twelve disciples.
Philip immediately found his friend Nathanael and tried to persuade him to follow Jesus, too. Nathanael was nonplussed. Jesus was from Nazareth; no prophet would come from there.
Philip was one of the first followers of Jesus. As soon as he began to follow him he sought out his friend Nathanael. “We have found the one,” he told him. Nathanael was unimpressed. “Nazareth!” he said, naming Jesus’ home town. “Can anything good come from there?”
Philip didn’t argue with his friend. He didn’t try to prove his convictions. He merely said this: “Come and see.” Nathanael did and soon he, too, committed his life to following Jesus.
I feel a little like Philip this morning. I don’t really know Jesus that well. There’s still a lot I have to learn. But won’t you join me as I seek to know him better? Perhaps you already think you’ve got him figured out, just as Nathanael did. Or maybe, like the poor reputation of Nazareth, you find Jesus guilty by association.
No matter. Let me tug at your sleeve a little and say what Philip said: “Come and see.” It just might change your life. I know it will mine. It’s a good day for an adventure. “Come and see.”
Rediscovering Jesus:
A Fresh Look at a Friendly Face
Message No. 1
As a whole, this group of people takes spiritual life very seriously. They are widely known for their attention to the details of their religion. They are scrupulous about attendance at religious events. They give generously. They fast regularly. They pray faithfully.
These people also care very deeply about living a good life. They are models of personal purity. They are extremely careful to live above reproach, and would be considered among the most respected persons in the community. They’re honest, hardworking, and conscientious. Any employer would be delighted to have them working in their company.
Yes, they are well known for the integrity of their lives and the sincerity of their religion. In addition, they have an extremely high regard for their holy scriptures. They study them, memorize them, and diligently seek to apply them to their lives. They often gather in groups to discuss the meaning and scripture and its application to the daily life.
Finally, they are known among their peers for their strong belief in the supernatural work of God. They don’t just believe that God worked in the past; they hold to the conviction that God can and does work supernaturally in the present, and that he will in the future. They have a strong belief in the existence of the miraculous, in the hope of eternal life, in the resurrection of the dead.
Do you recognize these people?
Who am I describing? I could be talking about contemporary Christians, couldn’t I? After all, Christians take their faith very seriously, are deeply concerned for personal piety, hold the scriptures in high regard, and are strongly committed to God’s supernatural in the world not only yesterday, but today and tomorrow.
Yes, I could be talking about Christians – but I’m not. I could also be talking about Mormons, Muslims, and many alternative religious groups of today – but I’m not. In fact, I’m not talking about any present-day group.
I’m talking about a religious group known as Pharisees. These men were among the most prominent religious sects of Judaism in Jesus’ day. They were precisely as I described them to you earlier, distinguished from their peers by their religious sincerity, their personal purity, their regard for Scripture, and their belief in the supernatural. They were considered by most people to be the most “on-target” religious group of their day.
Which brings to mind a thought-provoking question: How is it that these deeply devoted, sincere people missed – even rejected – the one that had been the object of their devotion?
After all, they were actively looking for the Messiah. Why didn’t they recognize him when he came? And they didn’t just fail to recognize him; they felt were threatened by him. They actively persecuted him. How could such a tragedy as this have happened? Why did they miss the very one for whom they were waiting? Have you ever wondered about that? I have.
Here’s part of the answer: they missed him because they were more committed to their preconceived notions about God than they were to God himself. They had a view of God which was so rigidly defined that when God acted outside the box of their understanding they missed him.
They were students of Scripture. Couldn’t they see that Jesus was the fulfillment of the very scripture they studied? Why not?
Perhaps it was this: their well defined systems of belief were intended to shield the truth from heresy. But they became so deeply entrenched that they had the opposite effect: their beliefs shielded them from truth. Like Colonel Nicholsen in Bridge on the River Kwai, their commitment to their agenda caused them to lose their perspective, had caused them to miss the bigger picture.
Do you remember that famous story? Nicholsen and his troops were prisoners of war to the Japanese. He was so intent on proving to his captors the superiority of the British approach to life that he ended up actually thwarting the British agenda in the war. He’d unwittingly become an accomplice for the enemy.
So it was with these well-meaning but misguided religious people of Jesus’ day, to whom he once said,
You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me, yet you refuse to come to me to have life (John 5:39-40).
One of the truly surprising things in the New Testament is that those who should have been the most ready for Jesus’ coming were in fact generally blind to him when he came. Jesus called them “blind fools.”
Why do I tell you all of this?
I tell you all of this as an invitation and a warning.
We begin today a provocative series of messages called “Rediscovering Jesus: A fresh look at a friendly face.”
Have you ever noticed how you can become so familiar with something that you almost don’t see it anymore?
For many years our family lived in Fountain Hills, home of the world’s tallest fountain. When we first moved there we were enamored with that gigantic spurt of water. We couldn’t help but notice it, for it was visible from virtually anywhere in town. We’d take special trips to watch it start and stop.
But after a while it became common place, easy to ignore. We almost didn’t even notice it, except when the wind blew it so that water droplets formed on our windshield.
For many people, the person of Jesus has become something like that world famous fountain. We’re so sure we know what he’s like that we hardly pay attention any more.
I tell you the story about the Pharisees, first of all, as a warning. The similarities between them and the Christ-followers of today are nothing short of astounding.
They were intensely devoted to their religious pursuits. So are we.
They were eager to live an upright and God-pleasing life. So are we.
They were intent to protect the integrity of the Scriptures. So are we.
They believed in the present-day power of God at work in the world. So do we.
Despite all these things, they seriously misunderstood Jesus. How did this happen, and how can we avoid making the same mistake?
They had God figured out so well that they crucified Jesus. We must learn from their mistake, or else we may deny the very Jesus whose resurrection we just celebrated. What was he really like? What did he really care about? What if we looked at him without our preconceived notions? What would we see?
“The only people who don’t believe Jesus was a pacifist,” Gandhi was once reported to have said, “are Christians.”
Whether he was right in his assessment of Jesus or not, Gandhi illustrated something which should give us pause: we who know Jesus best may misunderstand him most.
They had the Scriptures so neatly categorized that when Jesus didn’t fit in their systematic theology book, they threw him out. We must learn from their mistake, or else we will see in Jesus only what fits our white, middle class American approach to life – totally ignoring essential elements of his teaching, his character, his personality, and his values.
Finally, while believing in the theory that God was at work supernaturally in the world, they had a hard time accepting it when it actually happened. They would argue tooth and nail about their belief in the resurrection and in life beyond the grave, but when it occurred right in their midst they wouldn’t believe it. Likewise, Christians of today can fall into the same error. We affirm the miraculous work of God yesterday and tomorrow, but rarely expect it today. Perhaps, like them, we want a God we can control.
Yes, I tell you this story about the Pharisees partly as a warning.
But I also tell it to you as an invitation. For in this series we will, as I say, “take a fresh look at a friendly face.”
The face of Jesus is, I am convinced, a compelling face. It is a friendly face. An understanding, compassionate face. A face of joy. A face full of the promises of God. A face with life transforming possibilities. I invite you to take a careful look at him with me.
One of the most affecting books I’ve ever read is called The Return of the Prodigal, by a priest named Henri Nouwen. It is simply a meditation on a painting, the famous Rembrandt by that name. Nouwen spent considerable time in a Russian museum merely contemplating that painting: the kneeling, tattered son returning home, the embracing father with two differently shaped hands, the distant brother unwilling to look on the scene.
As Henri Nouwen observed these three characters he saw powerful lessons in what he called the repentant younger brother, the compassionate father, and the resentful elder brother. As a result, his life was changed, and in turn my own life was impacted in profound and meaningful ways.
I want to invite you to take a similar journey with me. Put aside your preconceived notions about Jesus. Take a careful look at him within his social context. Watch him with fresh eyes as he interacts with people. Listen without prejudice to what he really taught. What was his message? What was he like?
There is no doubt: Jesus is the single most compelling figure to have ever walked this earth. His influence in history is unparalleled.
People outside the realm of Christian faith, virtually without exception, hold Jesus in high regard. Many Buddhists consider him enlightened. Muslims consider him a great prophet, as do, in fact, a growing number within the Jewish tradition. Alternative religions and belief systems today universally respect the life and teachings of Jesus. In fact, I cannot think of any religious or spiritual system which does not hold a high view of the person of Jesus.
Consider, for example, the current fascination with Jesus. What do these three books have in common? The Gospel of Judas, The Jesus Papers, and The Lost Gospel. Yes, they’re about Jesus, but did you also know they’re on the NY Times bestseller list for nonfiction – all in the top fifteen.
Surely you know that in a few weeks our nation will be buzzing about the release of the film The DaVinci Code. The worldwide best selling book (on the Times fiction top ten for three years running) will likely become a blockbuster movie in 2006.
What is the appeal of this wildly successful story? Is it the great writing in the book? Certainly not. I’ve read it and in my view it is mediocre writing at best. Unbelievable plot twists and coincidences weaken an already shaky premise: the idea that for nearly two millennia the church has covered up the fact that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, had secret children by her, and that their lineage is secretly alive today.
It is a book of pure fiction, yet people flock to read it. Why? In part because Jesus is still a fascinating figure, whatever one’s conclusions about him. In part, too, because everyone loves a conspiracy, and the idea that the church would cover up the truth about Jesus is like an irresistible piece of gossip.
I can’t help but think there’s another reason, though. I can’t help but think that many people are longing to believe there’s something more about him than what they learned in Sunday School. They instinctively know that Jesus must have been more than that blue-eyed picture on the wall. They’re not satisfied with the conventional wisdom offered them by the churches they’ve attended; they’re looking for more.
So this morning I offer you an invitation. Won’t you join me in a fresh look at the person of Jesus? Will you allow yourself to see him in a fresh way? Will you open yourself to the idea that some of your preconceived notions about him may be more influenced by American capitalism than by the Scriptures themselves? Will you set aside, just for a moment, your concern for protecting a certain theology about Jesus, and instead look at him in his own cultural context? What was he really like? Why was he such a threat to the establishment? What was his message? We’ll examine these and many other questions along the way.
At the very beginning of Jesus’ ministry, before he’d done any public teaching, any miracles – before anyone knew anything about him, he went looking for a man named Philip. When he found him, he said, “Follow me.” We don’t know what compelled Philip to follow Jesus, only that he became one of the twelve disciples.
Philip immediately found his friend Nathanael and tried to persuade him to follow Jesus, too. Nathanael was nonplussed. Jesus was from Nazareth; no prophet would come from there.
Philip was one of the first followers of Jesus. As soon as he began to follow him he sought out his friend Nathanael. “We have found the one,” he told him. Nathanael was unimpressed. “Nazareth!” he said, naming Jesus’ home town. “Can anything good come from there?”
Philip didn’t argue with his friend. He didn’t try to prove his convictions. He merely said this: “Come and see.” Nathanael did and soon he, too, committed his life to following Jesus.
I feel a little like Philip this morning. I don’t really know Jesus that well. There’s still a lot I have to learn. But won’t you join me as I seek to know him better? Perhaps you already think you’ve got him figured out, just as Nathanael did. Or maybe, like the poor reputation of Nazareth, you find Jesus guilty by association.
No matter. Let me tug at your sleeve a little and say what Philip said: “Come and see.” It just might change your life. I know it will mine. It’s a good day for an adventure. “Come and see.”
Rediscovering Jesus:
A Fresh Look at a Friendly Face
Message No. 1