Ancient Secrets of the Bible
#3
The Not So Gentle Jesus
What is the first thought that comes to your mind at the name of Jesus? How would you describe his character or emotional makeup? What is your image of Jesus as a man? Isn’t He sort of meek and mild? One man said “I mean the pictures I have of him show a gentle guy with children all around. Kind of like Mother Teresa.” They are predominantly the kind of pictures we find in our churches and homes. They leave us with the impression that Jesus was the world’s nicest guy. Like Mister Rogers with a beard. From Sunday School on we see a gentle, meek, Savior, well-groomed and tidy man wearing a shining white dress. In these paintings He taps gently on a door, plays with children, or stares lovingly into the eyes of a lamb nestled in His arm. Although these images are comforting, they do little to suggest masculine strength and resolve. Jesuit priest Patrick Arnold laments Christ’s frequent portrayal as a bearded lady.
The typical American churchgoer is a woman. The US Congregational Life Survey pegged her as a fifty-year-old, married, well-educated, employed female. An ABC News/Beliefnet poll found that a worshiper is most likely an older, black female who lives in the south. P 53 Men hate church.
Dr Woody Davis asked one hundred men why they didn’t go to church. Their number one response “Church is for women, children, and wimps.”
A common fear among men is that Christianity will turn them into a nerd or a nut.
Lee Strobel p118 Men hate church
Lee Strobel before he was a believer would look at the church and think, "Boy, I never want to end up like that." If Christianity requires a person to become a social misfit who has no social life except church services and prayer meetings, count me out. He said, "I saw Christianity as being boring, out of touch, and living a plain vanilla lifestyle that’s devoid of excitement, challenge, or fun.
No man wants to be a "Ned Flanders" Bart Simpsons Christian neighbor on the Simpsons.
Of all the world’s great religions, only Christianity has a consistent, nagging shortage of male practitioners. What is it about modern Christianity that is driving men away?
This is scary. Islam is growing in the US, and has made its strongest inroads into the African -American community. More than 90% of the converts to Islam in the US are African-American males. They seen Christianity is for women and Islam is for men.
Rick Warren says 80% of American Churches are family reunion churches. The greatest commandment is to be nice. The pastor’s job is to keep the peace. Keep’em happy and in the pews. It’s velvet coffin Christianity. Everything is so easy, so sweet, so nice.
It hasn’t always been this way. Jesus began with 12 men. According to Dr Leon Podles men began to withdraw from church life during the 13th century when a new bridal mysticism began to sweep the church. A call to weakness and passivity replaced the churches historical emphasis on struggle and self-sacrifice. The Virgin Mary took center stage. Mother church took care of everything spiritual. Medieval men simply attended Mass, took the sacraments, and paid tithes and indulgences.
The great evangelist Charles Finney wrote in the 1830’s: “Women composed the great majority of members in all churches.”
Apparently, Jesus is so nice he prefers to lose. P134 Why men hate church.
Kevin Leman tells the story of a mother who caught her two boys arguing over who would get the first pancake. Mom thought she had a teachable moment so she said, "If Jesus was sitting here, He would say, Let my brother have the first pancake, I can wait." The older boy turned to the younger and said, Ryan you be Jesus."
Liberal Churches have re-created Christ as a benevolent Teacher who is always gentle, tender, and accepting. This Christ would never offend anyone, judge anyone, and of course, never send anyone to hell. If Christ were a radio station, His slogan would be "all tenderness all the time."
pp134 Why Men hate church
There are two problems with this view of Jesus: (1) it’s not accurate (2) no man wants to follow a feminized man. P134 Men are looking for a real man to follow:
Is Jesus More like Mother Teresa or William Wallace? p24 Wild at heart
If you remember William Wallace is the hero of the movie Braveheart. He was the warrior poet who cam as the liberator of Scotland in the early 1300’s. When Wallace arrives on the scene Scotland had been under the heel of England for centuries. Without a leader the rebellion was failing. At this point Wallace rides in with his band of warriors, blue warpaint on there faces and ready for battle. Wallace challenged the fearful men with "Sons of Scotland.. you have come to fight as free men, and free men you are. And goes on to say "Dying in your bed, many years from now, would you be willing to trade all the days from this day to that to come back here and tell our enemies that they may take our lives, but they will never take our freedom!" He goes out to pick a fight with the English army and leads Scotland to freedom.
Does he sound like Jesus? Or do we see Jesus more like mother teresa?
The answer is - that depends. The Bible shows both sides of Jesus. If you are a leper, an outcast of society whom no one has every touched because you are unclean, if all you have longed for is just one kind word, than Christ is the incarnation of tender mercy. He reaches out and touches you. On the other hand, if you are a Pharisee, one of those self-appointed doctrine police...watch out. One more than one occasion Jesus picks a fight with those notorious hypocrites. Lets look at a few biblical clips
The Jesus of the Bible was this kind of man:
A. He was fearsome: the bible says the disciples were “terrified” of Him. Mark 4:41 NIV
“They were terrified and asked each other, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!"
-and “no one dared to ask him any more questions” Mark 12:34 NIV
B. He was abrasive: He had no qualms about offending people (Matthew 15:12)
1 Some Pharisees and teachers of religious law now arrived from Jerusalem to interview Jesus. 2 "Why do your disciples disobey our age-old traditions?" they demanded. "They ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat." 3 Jesus replied, "And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God? 4 For instance, God says, ’Honor your father and mother,’ and ’Anyone who speaks evil of father or mother must be put to death.’ 5 But you say, ’You don’t need to honor your parents by caring for their needs if you give the money to God instead.’ 6 And so, by your own tradition, you nullify the direct commandment of God. 7 You hypocrites! Isaiah was prophesying about you when he said, 8 ’These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away. 9 Their worship is a farce, for they replace God’s commands with their own man-made teachings.’
Verse 12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?" 13 Jesus replied, "Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will be rooted up, 14 so ignore them. They are blind guides leading the blind, and if one blind person guides another, they will both fall into a ditch."
-and regularly ridiculed His disciples for their thickheadedness (Matthew 15:16) KJV
C. He was ill mannered: He walked into a dinner party and immediately began insulting His host.
(Luke 11:37-53)
37 As Jesus was speaking, one of the Pharisees invited him home for a meal. So he went in and took his place at the table. 38 His host was amazed to see that he sat down to eat without first performing the ceremonial washing required by Jewish custom. 39 Then the Lord said to him, "You Pharisees are so careful to clean the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are still filthy – full of greed and wickedness! 40 Fools! Didn’t God make the inside as well as the outside? 41 So give to the needy what you greedily possess, and you will be clean all over. 42 "But how terrible it will be for you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest part of your income, but you completely forget about justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but you should not leave undone the more important things. 43 "How terrible it will be for you Pharisees! For how you love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the respectful greetings from everyone as you walk through the markets! 44 Yes, how terrible it will be for you. For you are like hidden graves in a field. People walk over them without knowing the corruption they are stepping on." 45 "Teacher," said an expert in religious law, "you have insulted us, too, in what you just said." 46 "Yes," said Jesus, "how terrible it will be for you experts in religious law! For you crush people beneath impossible religious demands, and you never lift a finger to help ease the burden. 47 How terrible it will be for you! For you build tombs for the very prophets your ancestors killed long ago. 48 Murderers! You agree with your ancestors that what they did was right. You would have done the same yourselves. 49 This is what God in his wisdom said about you: ’I will send prophets and apostles to them, and they will kill some and persecute the others.’ 50 "And you of this generation will be held responsible for the murder of all God’s prophets from the creation of the world – 51 from the murder of Abel to the murder of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, it will surely be charged against you. 52 "How terrible it will be for you experts in religious law! For you hide the key to knowledge from the people. You don’t enter the Kingdom yourselves, and you prevent others from entering." 53 As Jesus finished speaking, the Pharisees and teachers of religious law were furious. From that time on they grilled him with many hostile questions, 54 trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him.
Truth is, the Jesus of Scripture is more General Patton than Mister Rogers. P135.
TEDDY ROOSEVELT p 144 Why MEN HATE CHURCH
Before becoming president Teddy Roosevelt was a Sunday School teacher. One day a boy came in with shiner, and Teddy asked him what had happened. He said another boy was tormenting his sister so he took a swing at him. Teddy gave him a silver dollar as a reward. Teddy was asked not to teach anymore. You see the church valued turning the other cheek, but not defending the weak. Teddy valued the other biblical value.
Pictures of Jesus
1. Cleaning the Temple - Twice John 2:
John 2:13
13 Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 And He found in the temple those who sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers doing business. 15 When He had made a whip of cords, He drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and the oxen, and poured out the changers’ money and overturned the tables. 16 And He said to those who sold doves, "Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!" 17 Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up
Mark 11: 16
So they came to Jerusalem. Then Jesus went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in the temple, and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. 16 And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. 17 Then He taught, saying to them, "Is it not written, ’My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it a ’den of thieves.’ "
2. Confronting King Herod - Luke 13:32
31 A few minutes later some Pharisees said to him, "Get out of here if you want to live, because Herod Antipas wants to kill you!" 32 Jesus replied, "Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and doing miracles of healing today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose. Luke 13
3. Confronting Enemies - Luke 13
Did Jesus Tiptoe around the issue to keep from rocking the boat???
10 One Sabbath day as Jesus was teaching in a synagogue, 11 he saw a woman who had been crippled by an evil spirit. She had been bent double for eighteen years and was unable to stand up straight. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said, "Woman, you are healed of your sickness!" 13 Then he touched her, and instantly she could stand straight. How she praised and thanked God! 14 But the leader in charge of the synagogue was indignant that Jesus had healed her on the Sabbath day. "There are six days of the week for working," he said to the crowd. "Come on those days to be healed, not on the Sabbath." 15 But the Lord replied, "You hypocrite! You work on the Sabbath day! Don’t you untie your ox or your donkey from their stalls on the Sabbath and lead them out for water? 16 Wasn’t it necessary for me, even on the Sabbath day, to free this dear woman from the bondage in which Satan has held her for eighteen years?" 17 This shamed his enemies. And all the people rejoiced at the wonderful things he did.
Is the Lord a gentleman? Not if you’re in the service of his enemy. God has a battle to fight for our freedom. P25 Wild at heart
4. Confronting the Pharisees - Matthew 23:24, 33, 27
Matthew 23
1 Then Jesus spoke to the multitudes and to His disciples, 2 saying: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 Therefore whatever they tell you to observe, that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do. 4 For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers. 5 But all their works they do to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad and enlarge the borders of their garments. 6 They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, 7 greetings in the marketplaces, and to be called by men, ’Rabbi, Rabbi.’ 8 But you, do not be called ’Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ, and you are all brethren. 9 Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 And do not be called teachers; for One is your Teacher, the Christ. 11 But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
13 But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves. 16 Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ’Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it.’ 17 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 And, ’Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obliged to perform it.’ 19 Fools and blind! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 Therefore he who swears by the altar, swears by it and by all things on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. 23 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel! 25 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you cleanse the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of extortion and self-indulgence. 26 Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also. 27 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30 and say, ’If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. 33 Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?
5. He returns as a Warrior .
He is the Lord of Hosts, the captain of angel armies. And when Jesus returns, he is at the head of a dreadful company, mounted on a white horse, with a double-edged sword, his robe dipped in blood (Rev 19). Now that sounds a lot more like William Wallace than it does Mother Teresa. No question-there is something fierce in the heart of God.
