"JESUS CAME TO STRAIGHTEN IT OUT. HOW 'BOUT YOU?"
PRETEXT:
Jesus came during an emotionally fraught religious time. Because of Israels sin and their neglect in obeying Gods word, God allowed them to be exiled by the Babylonians. Upon several hundreds of years later upon their return to Israel, the Jewish leaders of the day vowed to make sure that everyone in Israel obeyed the commands of God so that Gods wrath would not come upon them ever again. What started out as a noble conviction quickly turned into a legalistic society. For Example:
Jesus came to seek and save the lost! He also came to straighten things out! No surprise that he confronted the Jewish leaders daily and was not afraid to debate with them on these highly sensitive and controversial topics of that day. He spoke with authority and with major impact!
- God gave Moses 10 commandments and the Jewish leaders turned them into 613 laws.... 613!
- 33 related to work
- 27 on what and how to eat
- 23 on giving
- 101 on sacrifice
- Times then were intense and chaotic. The Jews had 'schools of thought,' as we do today.
- 9 basic sets of theology existed during that time - ultra conservative to highly liberal
- Shumei was the ultra conservative
- Hillel was far more liberal
- There were 8 controversial topics during Jesus time by the Jewish leaders
- What was greatest command
- Divorce
- Washing of hands
- Purpose of Sabbath
- Who is my neighbor
- Healing on the Sabbath
- The afterlife
- Salvation for the Gentiles
Jesus came to seek and save the lost! He also came to straighten things out! No surprise that he confronted the Jewish leaders daily and was not afraid to debate with them on these highly sensitive and controversial topics of that day. He spoke with authority and with major impact!
- Galilee was more Hillel. Jerusalem was Shumei.
- In the scriptures we read that, 'the Jews from Jerusalem...' the conservatives did not play around. When Jesus went to Jerusalem the others assumed he could die - it was a BIG DEAL!
THE LESSON:
The religion scholars and Pharisees led in a woman who had been caught in an act of adultery. They stood her in plain sight of everyone and said, "Teacher, this woman was caught red-handed in the act of adultery. Moses, in the Law, gives orders to stone such persons. What do you say?" (John 8:3-5 MSG)
The question was a trap-
They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone." Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt. Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. "Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?" "No one, Master." "Neither do I," said Jesus. "Go on your way. From now on, don't sin." You're Missing God in All This (John 8:7-11 MSG)
The leaders were not attempting to be more righteous. They were trying to hurt Jesus and his teachings. They hoped to find an excuse to have the Romans execute Jesus.
Where did the law of Moses come from? From God - from Mt. Sinai
They come to question Jesus about the laws HE WROTE!! How could they possibly figure they would win?!!?
He actually had an obligation to see that she WAS stoned! However, according to the law, she needed to have witnesses and accusers and a host of other protocols - see Deuteronomy - but they were not able to produce this and, thus, she was able to keep her life. Don't forget - God hates son and sinful acts, but he is just and fair... Not a teddy bear.
We must make a difference and make Jesus known to them ... Like Jesus did.
Lots of garbage out there - repentance is not some fuzzy feeling - we don't want to offend folks - etc...
Pray Jesus into your heart... Bogus claim. "they accepted Jesus" ... Where is that in the bible???? The practice of praying Jesus into your heart started in the 1800's... 2 thousand years later.
I have gotten away from straightening things out... A meaningful and powerful discourse.
A 5 week series ... Using first principles. Be real and let people pick their own fate and path.
Preaching is what we were made to do. Invitations to church are nice... Not what we were meant to do.
Make no mistake - God NEEDS AND WANTS us to preach
Jesus once again addressed them: "I am the world's Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in." The Pharisees objected, "All we have is your word on this. We need more than this to go on." Jesus replied, "You're right that you only have my word. But you can depend on it being true. I know where I've come from and where I go next. You don't know where I'm from or where I'm headed. You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don't make judgments like that. But even if I did, my judgment would be true because I wouldn't make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father. (John 8:12-16MSG)
That fulfills the conditions set down in God's Law: that you can count on the testimony of two witnesses. And that is what you have: You have my word and you have the word of the Father who sent me." They said, "Where is this so-called Father of yours?" Jesus said, "You're looking right at me and you don't see me. How do you expect to see the Father? If you knew me, you would at the same time know the Father." He gave this speech in the Treasury while teaching in the Temple. No one arrested him because his time wasn't yet up. Then he went over the same ground again. "I'm leaving and you are going to look for me, but you're missing God in this and are headed for a dead end. There is no way you can come with me." The Jews said, "So, is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by 'You can't come with me'?" Jesus said, "You're tied down to the mundane; I'm in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I'm living on other terms. I told you that you were missing God in all this. You're at a dead end. If you won't believe I am who I say I am, you're at the dead end of sins. You're missing God in your lives." (John 8:17-24 MSG)
They said to him, "Just who are you anyway?" I have so many things to say that concern you, judgments to make that affect you, but if you don't accept the trustworthiness of the One who commanded my words and acts, none of it matters. That is who you are questioning-not me but the One who sent me." They still didn't get it, didn't realize that he was referring to the Father. So Jesus tried again. "When you raise up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am-that I'm not making this up, but speaking only what the Father taught me. The One who sent me stays with me. He doesn't abandon me. He sees how much joy I take in pleasing him." When he put it in these terms, many people decided to believe. (John 8:25-30 MSG)
God forgives and God loves us 100% completely. However, the world needs us to saturate our neighborhoods with the word of God. It must be heard. We need to do this. It is not some extra, a sticky note, or something trivial... We need to do it all the time and with obvious passion.
The question was a trap-
They kept at him, badgering him. He straightened up and said, "The sinless one among you, go first: Throw the stone." Bending down again, he wrote some more in the dirt. Hearing that, they walked away, one after another, beginning with the oldest. The woman was left alone. Jesus stood up and spoke to her. "Woman, where are they? Does no one condemn you?" "No one, Master." "Neither do I," said Jesus. "Go on your way. From now on, don't sin." You're Missing God in All This (John 8:7-11 MSG)
The leaders were not attempting to be more righteous. They were trying to hurt Jesus and his teachings. They hoped to find an excuse to have the Romans execute Jesus.
Where did the law of Moses come from? From God - from Mt. Sinai
They come to question Jesus about the laws HE WROTE!! How could they possibly figure they would win?!!?
He actually had an obligation to see that she WAS stoned! However, according to the law, she needed to have witnesses and accusers and a host of other protocols - see Deuteronomy - but they were not able to produce this and, thus, she was able to keep her life. Don't forget - God hates son and sinful acts, but he is just and fair... Not a teddy bear.
We must make a difference and make Jesus known to them ... Like Jesus did.
Lots of garbage out there - repentance is not some fuzzy feeling - we don't want to offend folks - etc...
Pray Jesus into your heart... Bogus claim. "they accepted Jesus" ... Where is that in the bible???? The practice of praying Jesus into your heart started in the 1800's... 2 thousand years later.
I have gotten away from straightening things out... A meaningful and powerful discourse.
A 5 week series ... Using first principles. Be real and let people pick their own fate and path.
Preaching is what we were made to do. Invitations to church are nice... Not what we were meant to do.
Make no mistake - God NEEDS AND WANTS us to preach
Jesus once again addressed them: "I am the world's Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in." The Pharisees objected, "All we have is your word on this. We need more than this to go on." Jesus replied, "You're right that you only have my word. But you can depend on it being true. I know where I've come from and where I go next. You don't know where I'm from or where I'm headed. You decide according to what you can see and touch. I don't make judgments like that. But even if I did, my judgment would be true because I wouldn't make it out of the narrowness of my experience but in the largeness of the One who sent me, the Father. (John 8:12-16MSG)
That fulfills the conditions set down in God's Law: that you can count on the testimony of two witnesses. And that is what you have: You have my word and you have the word of the Father who sent me." They said, "Where is this so-called Father of yours?" Jesus said, "You're looking right at me and you don't see me. How do you expect to see the Father? If you knew me, you would at the same time know the Father." He gave this speech in the Treasury while teaching in the Temple. No one arrested him because his time wasn't yet up. Then he went over the same ground again. "I'm leaving and you are going to look for me, but you're missing God in this and are headed for a dead end. There is no way you can come with me." The Jews said, "So, is he going to kill himself? Is that what he means by 'You can't come with me'?" Jesus said, "You're tied down to the mundane; I'm in touch with what is beyond your horizons. You live in terms of what you see and touch. I'm living on other terms. I told you that you were missing God in all this. You're at a dead end. If you won't believe I am who I say I am, you're at the dead end of sins. You're missing God in your lives." (John 8:17-24 MSG)
They said to him, "Just who are you anyway?" I have so many things to say that concern you, judgments to make that affect you, but if you don't accept the trustworthiness of the One who commanded my words and acts, none of it matters. That is who you are questioning-not me but the One who sent me." They still didn't get it, didn't realize that he was referring to the Father. So Jesus tried again. "When you raise up the Son of Man, then you will know who I am-that I'm not making this up, but speaking only what the Father taught me. The One who sent me stays with me. He doesn't abandon me. He sees how much joy I take in pleasing him." When he put it in these terms, many people decided to believe. (John 8:25-30 MSG)
God forgives and God loves us 100% completely. However, the world needs us to saturate our neighborhoods with the word of God. It must be heard. We need to do this. It is not some extra, a sticky note, or something trivial... We need to do it all the time and with obvious passion.
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