Saving the Skeptic
John 7:1 After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him.
2 Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand.
3 His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judæa, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest.
4 For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world.
5 For neither did his brethren believe in him.
The brothers of Jesus.
The Scripture openly states that they were not believers.
Was it casual indifference or was it a true resentment of all that Jesus did and spoke?
To what extent did their unbelief go?
Who were these brothers?
Some teach that Jesus had no brothers.
Some teach that Mary was Joseph’s second wife.
Some teach that Jospeh had children of another woman, thus the “brothers”.
Matthew 13:53 ¶And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
54 And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
One can well imagine the perils of being the brother of Jesus Christ.
One can even more imagine the tensions of being linked to this preacher / prophet as he challenged his world.
There is enough without this specter of “divinity” hanging overhead.
Several weeks ago I referenced Mark 3:21
21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
There’s a nut in every family...
These were real frictions.
These were real family issues.
These were real emotions running on high octane.
“What’s Jesus doing now?”
“Where’s Jesus preaching now?”
“Who has Jesus called out now?”
“Who wants to kill Jesus now?”
One can easily see that this was a two way road.
One can even note that Jesus did not help matters out... Jesus may have even added fuel to the fire.
Mark 3:31 There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.
32 And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
33 And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
34 And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
35 For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
This was a life long struggle within this household.
What could be a more powerful slap in the face to these men, and even to Mary, than for Jesus to state to the crowd, “Here’s who my family REALLY is...”
The brothers became hard & indifferent to Jesus.
Perhaps there was an honest effort to protect the family name.
Perhaps there was an effort to protect Jesus “from Himself”.
Yet deep down, there was most likely some jealousy, some pride and a whole lot of skepticism.
It is worth repeating that the Scriptures make this adamant declaration: His brothers did not believe in him.
In fact it was far more serious than this:
I am convinced that they wanted to see him “eliminated”...
John 7:1 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him.
2 Now the Jews' Feast of Booths was at hand.
3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing.
WOW!!
A skeptic is one who is not thoroughly convinced.
Perhaps we can talk about a healthy skepticism...
I don’t believe every email or story I read online. (Not even from preachers)...
Yesterday was the story of the troll caught in the closet.
Sometimes we are so close to certain people / things that we fail to appreciate who and what they really are.
(Peter in the garden. He struck off the ear of Malchus, the servant of the high priest. If he really wanted to be a hero, why not kill Judas, the Betrayer. Malchus was the victim, in all likelihood, because Malchus happened to be the person closest to Peter)
We see people on a daily basis.
We see the good and the bad...
We see far more than others do.
History is replete with the testimonies of people that in public appeared to be saints, but in reality were horrific people in their behavior.
These things breed skepticism.
If anyone was in contention for being a skeptic - it was this group of family members who lived, on a daily basis, under the pressures of the Jesus “aura”.
If there could have been a breeding ground for resentment and anger and lifelong bitterness, it was in these family members.
Yet in Acts 1, we read something profound.
Acts 1:13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.
There was a profound change in these men.
There is only one thing that can be found as the cause of this transformation:
The reality of the resurrected Messiah.
An encounter with the Resurrected Messiah
This was not just our brother.
This was not just a family member.
This was our Savior.
James:
He became the Bishop of the Jerusalem Church.
Some traditions hold that he lived to be into his 90’s and was beaten to death by Jews for his courageous, life long stand for the Gospel.
He wrote such words as:
1:2 My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations;
3 Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
9 Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted:
4:11 Speak not evil one of another, brethren. He that speaketh evil of his brother, and judgeth his brother, speaketh evil of the law, and judgeth the law: but if thou judge the law, thou art not a doer of the law, but a judge.
Jude, another brother of Jesus, became a great leader in the church.
He too died a horrible death, being crucified at Edessa in AD 72.
These men, and many others, went from being skeptics to those willing to lay their lives down for the Lord.
One can scarcely think of the impact that the resurrection had on these brothers, yet it forever altered their life, their character and their faith system.
Saving the Skeptic
The Church is the “odd brother” that some of us have lived with all of our lives.
We’ve put up with it, but from a safe distance.
There have been times we’ve wanted nothing more to do with it, because we did not like the attention that it brought upon us.
There have been times we were hurt by the words spoken by those who supposedly “knew better”.
There were times we hoped that someone would just get rid of it.
There’s only one thing that will save the skeptic - An encounter with Jesus!
If there was ever a time we need an encounter with the living and resurrected Savior, it is TODAY.
What could God do with some young men and women who moved from the place of skepticism to the place of evangelism?
What could God do if the critic became the proponent?
What could happen if the energies spent at trying to avoid the church was spent in pursuit of the kingdom of God?
What could happen if those who were embarrassed by the church were suddenly not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
We need to pray - that Jesus will show Himself to someone!!
