The Fool’s Rejection Of Jesus Series

Proverbs 14:12

P: There is a way that seems right to a man,

C: but its end is the way to death.

Do we ever think that our thoughts or our actions will actually bring death?

--death upon ourselves

or death upon others?

I’d imagine,

we don’t live in a community

were we are planning to bring death upon others.

Sure we might have some grudges

but killing attempts don’t seem to be the common conversations that people seem to be having.

Sure even political conversations can be heated

but generally,

most people don’t seem to wish death upon someone

… nor do people seem to wish death upon themselves.

But Proverbs 14:12 reminds us,

There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way to death.

Well good thing we aren’t spending time with criminal organizations

with people who plan to use death as a mean for gain.

As the saying goes,

“live by the sword, die by the sword.”

We don’t want to be murdered

so we aren’t going to murder others.

It seems that in our community

murder is generally considered unacceptable.

And Christians enjoy teaching

do unto others

as you would have others do unto you.

These things sound good and noble.

But,

when difficult times come

it seems being good and noble is quite a challenge.

The Book of Proverbs also reminds us that God pours his wisdom into the streets.

God shares his words freely for everyone to hear and yet

not everyone wants what is good.

They are so captivated and driven by their sinful nature

that there is no room for Jesus to take root.

And this drive is more than a desire that comes from hanging around the wrong group of people

it’s something so deep in our corrupt nature

that as Peter says

it wages war on our soul.

The sinful nature desires the ways of death.

It desires for us to live like fools.

God’s Word says repent

and our sinful nature says,

“I won’t.”

“I can outsmart God’s ways.”

And we refuse to listen.

The God who created this world

pours his good knowledge and wisdom into our lives

and we laugh.

And we ignore his counsel.

So then the blame is off of God.

For, it’s not like he didn’t try.

Proverbs 14:12

There is a way that seems right to a man,

but its end is the way to death.

Jesus

on one Thursday night

2000 years ago

was preparing himself to be rejected.

Jesus has shared God’s displeasure with people manipulating things that had intended for good

and using it for selfish gain.

And as he was praying

people were planning to bring Jesus to death

so that they could gain order and leadership in Israel

and not have Jesus be disrupting their sinful agenda.

They were so determined

they used one of Jesus’ closest disciples

to reveal where Jesus was at

and have him be arrested.

Yes,

even those who were closest to Jesus

rejected the good and loving knowledge and wisdom Jesus poured into him.

Jesus being captured,

the disciples move from being faithful disciples

to becoming runaways.

They go into hiding

thinking that everything Jesus had taught them

no longer has lifesaving value.

They go into hiding

trying to save their lives as if

their own strength and might could save them from death.

Even when someone calls them out for being a disciple of Jesus,

especially Peter,

he denies it.

Those who have been given the authority to keep order in the land mock Jesus.

If Jesus is so great

then how is it that he has been captured?

And they mock all the things he ever said and did.

Jesus never fully revealed himself to the whole world at the time

not even the disciples.

He new no one could handle the full truth.

No one could handle

that Jesus is God in the flesh.

For the people wanted a God

who would be a military leader.

Not someone who is walking around as some miracle guru.

But as Jesus was under arrest

and as a group of Jewish leaders demanded Jesus reveal who he is,

Jesus quoted scripture.

Jesus quoted the prophecy of what God said he was going to.

And Jesus said that

…he is the guy

He is the one who will fulfill the coming prophecy

of one day

putting all things under his order

where judgment will happen

where sin will be punished.

These Jewish leaders used all their scholarly wisdom

to determine for themselves

… that Jesus was a hoax.

So they bring Jesus to Pilate

claiming to be a king.

They twist Jesus words

to make it sound like Jesus is beginning a new political revolution.

So Pilate questions Jesus