Sermon Jesus is the One (who brings Joy) 

[SLIDE] “Jesus the One”

Uniting Church - Bible based - When the Church preaches Jesus Christ, her message is controlled by the Biblical witnesses.

In other words our speaking about, life for, and worship of Jesus must be based on the Bible. Jesus must be first of all  the Jesus of the Bible, not the Jesus of our experience, or the Jesus of our expectations - 

In today’s reading from the Gospel - we hear that Jesus didn’t fit John’s expectations.

 

[SLIDE] Jesus did not fit John’s experctations.

He sends some of his disciples to Jesus and they ask

“Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?”

It could be that John is just afraid because he is in jail - discouraged - things have gone wrong for him personally - perhaps he is just having doubts.

 

It’s more likely however that John has heard the reports about Jesus and is surprised that Jesus doesn’t fit the pattern of the sort of Messiah he had expected.

 

Remember last week- bapt. water/fire.

Picture of Jesus: 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and will gather his wheat into the granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire. Is this your picture of Jesus?

 

It’s not mine!  But it was John’s and John seems to be disappointed. 

 

Jesus reply is to point to the wonderful things that are happening.

the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor have good news brought to them. 

In each of these things there are echoes of the OT. - Isa LK

61 The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,

because the Lord has anointed me;

he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,

to bind up the brokenhearted,

to proclaim liberty to the captives,

and release to the prisoners;

2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor,

[and the day of vengeance of our God;

to comfort all who mourn;]

Or Listen to today’s reading from Isaiah

“Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then the lame shall leap like a deer, and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy. For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; ” (Isaiah 35:5–6, NRSV)

 

Or listen to Mary’s wonderful Hymn:

Luke 1:46–47 (NCV)

46Then Mary said, “My soul praises the Lord; 

47my heart rejoices in God my Saviour,

Luke 1:52–53 (NCV)

52He has brought down rulers from their thrones and raised up the humble. 

53He has filled the hungry with good things and sent the rich away with nothing.

 

BUT this healing of the broken and renewal of the earth, this joy sweeping hearts the nation and the world, wasn’t John’s main focus, John was expecting a severe judge - not someone judgmental - someone who would bring and enforce justice. Sort out the chaff from the wheat. John is in Jail exactly because he is insisting on the sort of Justice that he expects the Messiah will bring.

What happens - does Jesus overthrow the Romans? Does Jesus fix up the temple corruption? Does Jesus Bring people to a proper following of the law - no!! Instead John stays stuck in jail. Not only does he stay stuck in Jail - he is later beheaded without a proper trial. Herod and the Romans still rule.

 

[SLIDE] John vs Jesus

In fact Jesus is doing some things which might be offensive to John. He mixes with people who do not obey the Law, the lowly and the downcast - Prostitutes, tax collectors, and he touches lepers. He works on the Sabbath. There is a real contrast between John and Jesus in their personal life styles:- In verse 19 Jesus makes the contrast between them “John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; 19 the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’”

John was a tea-totaler,- perhaps even a bit of a wowser. Jesus drank wine and enjoyed a meal. He joined in joyful celebtrations like wedding featss and he ate with any one who was willing to share their table.

 

What is your picture of Jesus. Are you really comfortable that he ate with prostitutes and corrupt government officials. What would you say about a politician known to visit prostitutes who says that he only shares a meals with prostitutes so that he could share christian hope or discuss government policyu? Would you believe him? What would you say about me if reports were getting about that I was regularly eating meals with prostitutes at one of the rougher pubs in Rockhampton or Mt Morgan or at one of the brothels?

 

It’s not comfortable is it? But this is the way Jesus behaved. Are we any more comfortable with Jesus than John is?

 

The truth is that we have a lot in common with John. We live in difficult times. The world seems to be in terrible turmoil. We have our own personal struggles and difficulties. Despite the blind seeing..... we find it hard to rejoice.

It is easy to abandon hope as like john we feel we are imprisoned.

 

[SLIDE] joy in the future & right now

BUT Jesus knows this and promises us that when the Kingdom of God comes in its fullness we will be greater than the last and most important of the prophets. We will be greater than John the Baptist - the greatest man ever born of woman. There will be a time when all is put right and real justice comes. A time filled with joy or celebration.

 

That’s all very well for that life - but what about this life. Jesus doesn’t abandon us here. Sometimes the blind do see - miracles do happen but as well as that Jesus travels with us through our difficulties. In Fact consider the story of Mary and the joy she felt...

He doesn’t make everything perfect. And as Christmas approaches - whatever we do - we mustn’t pretend he does turning him into a goody-two shoes forgetting about the shadow of the cross. Just like John and us, Jesus also suffered. He was born in pain as we are. He was ridiculed. Abandoned by his friends. Knew rejection and even tasted death. All so that we can be part of his wonderful joyful Kingdom. Of course he also caused and experienced joy...

 

This sort of Jesus won’t always make us comfortable and do what we want or expect but he will always love us. He won’t fit into the box we make for him - he’ll break it and re-make it. But this is the God, and for most of us, the Jesus, we worship - the Jesus of the Bible.