I’m not sure how many of you have seen the most recent Star Wars release that came out a couple of years ago now, Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. If you did, I have no doubt that one of the supporting characters caught your attention. His name was Jar Jar Binks, and he was, in my eyes the most irritating character in the movie. Many adults and critics complained about Jar Jar because it gave a somewhat racist charicature and was at times over the top in the category of annoying and obnoxious.
At the 1999 Visual Effects Society seminar, the movie’s effect supervisor, Rob Coleman, was asked about his reaction to the character. He explained that George Lucas intended Jar Jar to appeal to children under age 15, and the character hit its target audience perfectly. When my son Trent saw the movie, of course Jar Jar was his favorite part. He dressed up like Jar Jar for Halloween and wound up buying a Jar Jar Binks t-shirt. Coleman went on to say, “When I first read the script, I had a reaction similar to what many of you had when you saw the movie.” The crowd laughed, but Coleman ended with these words: “I only had one audience member to please, and that was George Lucas. If he were happy with what we were doing with Jar Jar, then I was happy.”
In the gospel of Luke there is no question about who the star of the show is. The entire book is written to promote one primary character, Jesus the Son of God. He is a man with a mission, to save the world from the consequences of sin. Throughout his gospel, Luke records Jesus doing many great things, like healing the sick and raising the dead, teaching incredible lessons and meeting all kinds of other needs. Jesus is always in the spotlight of Luke’s gospel. However there are some supporting characters that are particularly noteworthy. Among my favorites is a guy who was pretty over the top in his own right.
The guy was a nazirite from birth, which meant he lived according to some pretty strict rules including the food he ate and the drinks he could have. It also meant he couldn’t have his hair cut, so by the time he was in his mid-30’s you can imagine what he looked like. He lived out in the desert by himself. For supper he enjoyed fresh locusts dipped in wild honey. He wore clothes made out of animal skins, and he preached fiery sermons about repentance and the wrath of God. And the amazing thing is that though his messages were harsh and his manner wasn’t refined, people flocked to hear what he had to say.
But you know the thing I like most about John the Baptist? It didn’t matter how many people came to hear what he had to say, he realized that he was playing to an audience of one. It didn’t matter how large his crowd, or how much pressure he got for preaching his message. He never forgot that there was only one audience member he had to please, and that was his boss, the God who called him to live such a profound life. Let’s take a look at what Jesus thinks about John in Luke 7:24-33.
Background. (John is in prison, expressing a little doubt because Jesus isn’t doing what he expects. Maybe he’s wondering why Jesus isn’t getting him out of prison. Anyway he sends a couple of guys to ask Jesus to confirm that He is the Messiah. When they ask Jesus a couple of questions, he takes them out to watch him perform several miracles, then sends them back to tell John what they saw. As he sends them back, he offers an encouragement to John to remain steadfast, “Blessed is the man who does not fall away on account of me.”)
(Read Luke 7:24-33)
Those last verses really struck me in light of the times in which we live. Jesus points us to a profound truth that will completely change your life if you recognize it. When you live your life to please an audience of one, some people will hate your performance. If your sole motivation for living is to please God, there will always be detractors who think that you have lost your marbles.
You see, back in first century Israel there couldn’t have been two people more different in their personality than John and Jesus. Even though they were cousins, their lifestyles were night and day. If you wanted to find John you had to take a trip to the desert. He fasted and lived a very ascetic lifestyle. Nobody ever considered putting John on the guest list to their party, because he was just too weird. John’s ministry called him to live outside the culture and shout at it from the fringes.
On the other hand, Jesus lived right in the middle of the culture. If you were looking for Jesus, you might go to town and find out where a party was going on and more than likely there you would find Him. Jesus lived his life in the middle of people, he loved them passionately and they loved him back. His ministry called him to interact with as many people as possible, and to touch them right where they lived.
But as you can imagine, both Jesus and John were criticized for the way they lived. When the religious leaders heard about the simple yet offbeat lifestyle of John they said he was a crazy person. Why else would he live out in the desert and look like some kind of Tarzan guy? But the same people who criticized John for being so abnormal, pointed their finger at Jesus and said, "Why He’s just like everybody else, there’s nothing special about him! He hangs out with normal people and does normal stuff.” From what Luke tells us in verse 30 it is obvious that the ones who are leveling these charges were the Pharisees. They saw themselves as the sole possessors of holiness, and from their perspective anyone who wasn’t like them must be corrupt.
So Jesus tells them a little parable. (Read vv. 31-32) Jesus challenged the Pharisees by saying, “You guys want to choose the song to decide how we dance.” The problem was that the Pharisees were not the audience that Jesus and John were dancing to please. They performed to please an audience of one and the result was a performance that ticked some people off immensely.
Have you ever felt that pressure? You know what I mean, the pressure to change the way you think and act because of the way other people might look at you.
You might feel it when an off color joke is told and you have to decide if you think it is funny or not. Do you risk being thought of as a prude or do you just go along with it and blend into the crowd?
It’s possible that you feel the pressure when you make lifestyle choices about your family. Will both spouses work or will one stay home? Can the family afford this luxury or will it stretch us so thin that it adds stress and constricts our ability to be generous? The culture we live in pushes us to have more and more, but a legitimate question we must ask is “What does it mean to dance to God’s tune?”
Sometimes the pressure intensifies concerning political issues. This morning we celebrate “Sanctity of Human Life” Sunday, and close to the heart of what we celebrate this morning is that God values every human being equally, even those who have yet to be born. That’s not a popular understanding in many circles, and the pressure is to keep your convictions to yourself. But really, who decides your deeply held convictions, popular culture or God?
Woven through the Biblical story is an unbreakable thread of people who refused to conform to the culture in which they lived.
Noah found God’s favor because he was a righteous man living in the middle of a corrupt society. That couldn’t have been easy!
Jeremiah was a prophet who refused to keep his mouth shut, even though it meant he was rejected and ostracized by his family and friends.
Shadrack, Meshack and Abednego faced the flames of a scorching hot furnace and Daniel slept with the hungry lions because of their conviction not to compromise their faith.
Peter and John were called before the government officials and commanded not to preach their message, but they said, “You decide for yourself whether we should obey God or you, but as for us we can’t help but tell what we know!”
Paul was criticized because of his actions and beliefs by both Christians and non-Christians, but he wrote in 1 Corinthians 4:3-4, ”I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself…. It is the Lord who judges me.”
Now sometimes we think, “Well yeah, those were Bible people, of course they could do those great things.” But realize that they were human beings just like you and me. They messed up and failed sometimes too, but they made an impact, an eternal difference because they realized that profound reality that Jesus and John recognized. When you make the commitment to be a follower of Jesus Christ, you determine to live your life to please an audience of one. The only thing that matters is what He thinks about your performance.
Now in order to do that you have to be willing to do a couple of things.
1. You have to be willing and able to determine God’s Will for your life.
God has revealed His will in an unchanging form through His Word. He has offered guidance and direction through the examples and precepts handed down in the Bible. If you want to know what will please God, then know His Word. Don’t just know what the preacher says, know His Word for yourself. It’s well worth the effort.
The interesting thing though, is that God’s will in your life is going to look different than it does in somebody else’s. Both Jesus and John were right in the middle of God’s will, but their lives looked very different. God does not operate a Christian cookie cutter operation, where he produces disciples that all look the same. Instead, He gives us unique personalities and dispositions, different life situations and circumstances, and then He utilizes our uniqueness to accomplish His tasks throughout the world. That’s why every person must know God’s Word for themselves. If all you know of God’s will is the version you get from one particular preacher or teacher, you will wind up looking too much like them, and your unique disposition will be covered up by their personality.
If you have given your life to Christ, you have the Spirit of God living inside of you. He will guide you personally to accomplish His will, if you will take the time and put forth the effort to find it out. Paul warned in Romans 12:2, “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is -- His good, pleasing and perfect will.” If you want to live your life to please an audience of one, you need to know what satisfies His taste.
2. You have to be willing to take criticism and move on.
One of the things that marks those who stand out as God’s followers is the fact that they refuse to be defined by the criticism they receive. It is a real temptation to mold your persona based upon the pathway of least resistance. Some people live their life by the creed “I will do that which brings me the least criticism.” Those people never accomplish much of any consequence.
This past week much criticism has been leveled at John Ashcroft as a nominee for Attorney General. He has always been a man of steadfast Christian convictions, and his open faith has been roundly criticized and he is suspect because of it. It’s too early to say, but I pray that his staunch convictions will not be compromised by the position he aspires to attain. If you are convinced that you live to please an audience of one, no criticism from anyone else should sway your convictions.
There was probably no president that received more criticism than Abraham Lincoln. However, Lincoln once stated, “I am not at all concerned if the Lord is on our side; but only that we should be on the side of the Lord.” This morning hear the Word of the Lord that is spoken through the lives of Jesus and John and countless others who have followed in the footsteps of Christ. No matter what anybody else says, make sure you are on the side of the Lord. He is the only audience that matters.
