There's this awkward situation that seems to come up over and over again... You're sitting amongst family, particularly your mother or father, and for whatever reason they decide to recollect the story of your birth. June 17th, 1990 – Father's Day – the day that I was born. I could give you a play by play analysis of everything that happened that day, and I wasn't even born for the majority of it!
The line that sticks out in my head are the words of the doctor who delivered me that day. When this nearly 9 pound child was born from my tiny 4 foot 10 mother, the doctor held me upside down from ankle yelling. "Oh my, what a big boy! Oh my, what a big boy!" And so I was born.
Isn't it interesting how babies have a way of making us all go bonkers? It's like we have a certain level of enthusiasm about life, but when a baby is born, particularly those in our own families, we nearly freak out! Just take a look at the Facebook feeds of any new mother. All of a sudden the profile picture is this alien-lookalike newborn. Your baby could be the weirdest looking baby in the history of humanity and it wouldn't even matter. When it's your child, you can't help but tell the whole world.
No matter what way you slice it, the holiday represented by December 25th is still called Christmas; CHRIST-mas. I get the impression that the grand majority of educated adults understand that Jesus and Christmas have some connectivity. Most people "know" about this Gospel story. And by know about it, I mean it's a point of knowledge.
But this hope has the capacity to truly change everything. Let's just assume for a moment that the ramifications of the Gospel story are valid and trustworthy. If Jesus is who He says He is, then Jesus has the capacity to give us life without limit. He has the capacity to restore us to the original goodness that was intended for humanity according to scripture. He has the capacity to give us peace and fullness of life both now and forevermore. That's at least worth a status update.
We have this hope in Jesus that reminds us of the hope of a newborn. In Jesus, God has won the ultimate victory. Death no longer has a grip upon those who are in Christ. Nothing can separate them from the love of Christ. God wins. This is our hope. If God wins, we proclaim it. This is hope fully lived. Will you pray with me as we begin today?
Go ahead and turn to Luke Chapter 4. We'll be spending a good part of our morning there.
I was lying in bed the other day when my alarm went off... A lot of the time a grab my phone and start scrolling through my Facebook timeline as I'm exiting deep sleep zombie mode. This day I saw something that totally woke me up. My friends Bethany and Kyle Alt are pregnant with twins! I literally fist pumped in my bed and sprung awake right at that moment. Hope has a way of bringing life in the midst of weariness and tiredness.
In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus begins his teaching ministry by showing that He Himself is the hope for Salvation to all who believe in Him. It is an incredible moment. Go ahead and find verse 18 and follow along from there. He said 18 "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." 20 And he rolled up the scroll and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. 21 And he began to say to them, "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." 22 And all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth. (Luke 14:18-22a)
There's a ton going on here worth noting, but I'm going to just hit a few essential points. For starters, Jesus is hanging out in a traditional Jewish Sabbath service. And he's reading from the prophet of Isaiah. The significance of this cannot be overlooked. Additionally, Jesus is in Nazareth, his hometown. His audience knows Him. They know His backstory, and they know his family. Lastly, and perhaps most significantly He's making a direct Messianic claim, according to the prophecy of a highly regarded Old Testament prophet. He's saying that He has the power and authority to save.
Coming from a guy who is working in his home church in his hometown, people can see right through your garbage. For many of you, you don't just see the 24 year old man reading from the Gospel of Luke... you see the 8 year-old who got kicked out of children's church for pulling a young girls chair out from under her. You see the child who had to wear pull-ups at the kid's sleepover party. You see the high school student with hair down past his shoulders.
The fact that Jesus starts by telling people who He is in his hometown is simply incredible. And even more incredible perhaps is the fact that they actually listen to Him! It says "the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him," and "all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth.
The point is this: The Gospel is good news for everyone - Far and near, home and away. The circumstance where Jesus first proclaimed the Gospel was extraordinary in and of itself, but the message is even more powerful. Once we have heard, we must decide. (X2)
I wrestled with my faith countless times as I was growing up – from a very young age. So you mean to tell me that a man, fully man, but fully God, has come to earth, lived a perfect life, and died on my behalf. That's a pretty long shot...If you're like me, or even if you think your faith is rock solid, listen to these profound words from Hebrews 11: 1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (Hebrews 11:1-3)
The Gospel grants us permission to hope in what is unseen. At the core, blind faith – certainty in the unseen – is what underlies our entire faith. The choice is up to you. If we truly believe in what is unseen, and rest assured in the truth of the Gospel, we will not be able to help but proclaim the story to all who can hear.
Imagine your friend or a close family member just had a child... You have yet to speak to them or see them, but you are so eager to see them and meet their newborn baby. So you set a time to get together, and head to the house. As soon as you get there, the mother lays the child down in the crib, shuts the door to the nursery and proudly exclaims... "Just listen to all that has happened recently! I lost 12 pounds last week... goodness that kid was work to carry around... look how many inches I lost around my stomach. A few more weeks and I'll be back in my old jeans! Thank goodness for weight loss!"
I am the only one who would feel strange? I think you may be a bit concerned if said mother was more concerned with her weight loss than showing off her new baby. This seems ridiculous – but isn't it so easy to lose sight of what's most important?
We have this hope of the Gospel, but what exactly are we proclaiming? Much of the time, I'm befuddled by what's being articulated as the hope of the Gospel. We have the very life of Jesus, given for us, for our redemption... yet so often we are stuck in the peripherals of the story. When God wins, we proclaim the Good News! But it must be the Gospel itself and nothing else.
This has actually been an issue for a really long time. The Gospel in its purity has the power to bring life where there is no life; redemption where there was death; hope where there was despair... But for as long as there has been a church, people have lost sight of what is most important. Listen to the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 15: 1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you--unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, (1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Anything other than the Gospel in its purity is truly vanity. When we proclaim, it must be Christ died, Christ was buried, Christ is Risen! This message has been shaking the pillars of the earth for the last two millennia and has utterly transformed the lives of countless men and women. This is Hope. In this hope we have been completely set free from the death that once held us. Listen to Paul describe it in 2 Corinthians 3: 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:17-18)
Have you taken a moment to wrap your mind around the reality of our Hope? If the Gospel is true, We have truly been set free! Even in the muck of our sin, we have already retained the glory of being created in God's image...how incredible is that? But beyond that, through our Hope in Christ, we are being transformed from our current glorious state, to an even more glorious state by the Spirit of the living God working in us who believe! The Israelite King David said it this way: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. (Psalm 23:6)
Now it would have been easy for Jesus to listen to the praises of those men at the synagogue in Nazareth. He had captivated them. They spoke so fondly of Him. But Jesus knew their hearts. From the very beginning He knew who was actually hoping in the purity of the Gospel. We need to look at the second half of the story in Luke 4 starting in verse 22:
And they said, "Is not this Joseph's son?" 23 And he said to them, "Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.' What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well." 24 And he said, "Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. 25 But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, 26 and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. 27 And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." 28 When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. 29 And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. 30 But passing through their midst, he went away. (Luke 4:22b-30)
Jesus, cuts straight to the heart -- it's apparent that his hometown kindred want a miracle. They've been wowed by the words of Jesus, and now they want to show to follow. So Jesus reminds them of a time long ago, where their ancestors remained unhealed and destitute in a time of famine during the ministries of the prophets Elijah and Elisha. If you're reading between the lines, Jesus is saying just as your ancestors rejected the prophets, so have you rejected me.
So they try to throw Jesus of the local cliff. Sounds like a really calm, cool and collected bunch of folks huh?
This is the crux of proclaiming the Gospel? When you boldly proclaim the Gospel in its purity you will be met with opposition. This is only natural.
In this season – the emotional highs and lows, and the financial hardships of the holidays – what we're all looking for is hope and peace. In Christ, the peace and provision of God is certainly ours. Jesus himself said: 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (Matthew 6:26) There is no way to quantify how much the Father loves us, cares for us, and provides for us.
Yet as we share in the peace and provision of Christ, we must share in all things with Him. Namely, we must share in His opposition and suffering. The Apostle Peter said it this way: (Slide 13) 12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. (1 Peter 4:12-13) The Hope of the Gospel is that we get to share all things with Christ – His life and His death, His glory and His suffering.
The Hope of parenthood is something that I haven't quite wrapped my brain around, yet. Parenthood and long-suffering seem to have a lot in common. First you give birth – a pain I will NEVER know personally, praise Jesus. Then you forego normal sleeping patterns for the next several months, potentially longer. Moving forward, you teach your child how to appropriately use the bathroom... ideally this potty training occurs early on. Then you devote the next sixteen or so years to preadolescent, and adolescent development (no drama there I promise). Then kids have to learn how to function in the world, how to learn right from wrong, how to take care of themselves... they even have to learn how to learn – to be self-disciplined, to have principles... And then just when you get emotionally attached enough, ideally they grow up and start their own lives. And you have to deal with the heartache of them no longer being directly under your care. Although I'm told parenthood never ends.
The hope of parenthood is distinctively different. You share in everything with your children. Your life is inextricably tied to their life. This is how it is with the Gospel. We share in the entire hope of the Gospel. The joy and the provision. The opposition and the suffering.
Jesus' call is distinctively different. The Gospel is a different kind of hope. Listen to the words of Jesus from Luke 14: 25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Notice, Jesus didn't say this in a private meeting – when Jesus made this profound call He was in the midst of a great crowd. You can almost hear his disciples muttering under their breath... NO JESUS. DON'T GO THERE! THE CROWD WON'T RESPOND TOT THIS CROSS STUFF...THIS IS YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A BUNCH OF PEOPLE. HOPE AND SUFFERING DON'T GO TOGETHER...PLEASE!
The application is simple... If you want to proclaim this Hope, you have to bear the cross of Hope as well. It is a beautiful thing. The late Christian Author Dallas Willard spoke of the call of Jesus in this way: "Those who are not genuinely convinced that the only real bargain in life is surrendering ourselves to Jesus and his cause, abandoning all that we love to him and for him, cannot learn the other lessons Jesus has to teach us."
What we mean to say is that the purity and beauty of the Gospel is that Christ truly is our all. He is everything. He is our Hope, and it is He who we proclaim. Nothing else in the world has a hold on us. We are in Christ and in Christ alone.
The Hope of the Gospel led one German pastor, Dietrich Bonhoeffer to oppose the Nazi regime and Adolf Hitler himself in the face of horrendous atrocities perpetuated against his fellow man. His insight into the hope and supremacy of Christ is invaluable. He says "The cross is not the terrible end to an otherwise God-fearing and happy life, but it meets us at the beginning of our communion with Christ. When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die."
Only in Christ, can suffering and Hope be tied together in perfect unity.
[What a beautiful victory song we sing in Christ. As the Apostle Paul said... "O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?" (But) thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.]
Oh, that we would proclaim the Gospel in its purity. It is the hope of life to all who believe.