August 15, 2010 — Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
“Jesus: The Divider” — Pastor Lassman
Listen to the sermon with the player below, or, download. (Right Click)
My Fellow Redeemed in Christ,
There is a temptation for many people to focus on and emphasize only one aspect of Jesus, namely, his gentle, forgiving side. There is a temptation to make Jesus into a politically correct, tolerant, nice guy who will accept anyone and anything. In this caricature of Jesus it is forgotten that Jesus overturned the tables of money changers in the temple and chased them out with a whip. Forgotten is the Jesus who called the Pharisees a “brood of vipers”; “hypocrites”; blind fools”; and “son of hell”, who had the Devil as their father (Matthew 23: 33, 23, 17, 15.) I don’t think the real Jesus of the scriptures would be seen as politically correct and tolerant when he said such things as “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14: 6, NIV) Hmm. I wonder how all the other religions in the world feel about that? And we hear our Gospel lesson for this morning and it is a little hard on the ears isn’t it? Yes, it is for in our Gospel lesson for this morning we learn about: “Jesus: The Divider.”
I. The ministry of Jesus Christ was filled with controversy, conflict and division.
A. When Jesus came on the scene it was like throwing fire down on the floor of a dry forrest. He got everyone’s attention. He made a sudden and overwhelming impact. You had to deal with him one way or another. Who was this guy? Inquiring minds wanted to know. And so people were either for him or against him. He came to say and do what his Father wanted him to say and he didn’t care what people thought. In other words, he wasn’t a politician. And this led to controversy and division. He was constantly arguing with many of the religious leaders who were against him. People were either for Jesus...or against him. There was no middle ground. And so instead of looking like a “unifier” of people, Jesus looked more and more like a trouble maker, a “divider”. And Jesus would agree: “Do you think that I have come to bring peace on the earth? No, I till you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” (vv. 52.53)
B. And finally this division, this conflict, this opposition led to his death on the cross. The cross is the constant reminder to us that Jesus is not about political correctness and being nice and tolerant. If he had been all those things he would not have been crucified...he would have been elected to some office. Jesus is referring to his death on the cross when he says: “I have a baptism to be baptized with and how great is my distress until it is accomplished!” Here Jesus is referring to his death on the cross. Even though Jesus had no sin, he had come to John to be baptized. He did this to identify with sinful human beings, you and me, and to take our place as our representative before God. Everything he did he did for us and as our substitute. He lived a holy, sinless life for us as our substitute before God. And finally he died for our sins to cancel our debt to God. This is why he was born on that first Christmas. And he knew what would happen to him. This knowledge of dying on the cross and having God’s wrath poured out on him hung over him like a dark cloud. He wanted to get it done as soon as possible as he says: “And how great is my distress until it is accomplished!” And that stress showed in the Garden of Gethsemane as Luke tells us “And being in anguish he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” (22: 44, NIV) And finally he was crucified. Feeling the full weight of God’s wrath against our sin: “My God, my God why have forsaken me?” (Matt. 27: 46, NIV) And finally, he “accomplished” what the Father sent him to do. Just as he said on the cross: “It is finished!” (John 19: 30, NIV) And three days later...he was raised from the dead to ascend into heaven where he now sits at the right hand of his Father.
II. What he did is now over. But not so the conflict and division. That continues right down to our own day. Jesus has told us to “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them.” (Matt. 28: 19, 20 NIV) And whenever and where ever this is done...division follows. Jesus’ words are still true today:
A. Of course, it’s true that Jesus was born to bring peace. That’s what the angels told the shepherds on the night of his birth. And in his letter to the Ephesians, Paul refers to the message of Jesus Christ as “the Gospel of peace.” (6:15, NIV) And because he died for our sins and canceled our debt to God, Jesus does bring peace...peace with God. And this peace with God is offered and given in the Gospel word, baptism and his supper. Here is where we receive God’s peace through the forgiveness of our sins. And this peace becomes ours through faith in Jesus Christ as Paul says in his letter to the Romans: “Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (5:1, NIV) And this is the message that I bring to you each and every Sunday. And this is the message you believe.
B. Then why does this Gospel of peace bring division and conflict? There are two reasons: the first reason is because not everyone believes this Gospel. And this is where the division and conflict comes in. Jesus said: “He who is not with me is against me and he who does not gather with me scatters.” (Matt. 12: 30) You see, there is no “neutrality” with Jesus. He divides people. You are either for him or against him. Those without faith in Jesus Christ are hostile to him and oppose him. And because they are opposed to Jesus Christ they are also opposed to those who believe in him, to you and me, as Jesus said: “all men will hate you because of me.” (Luke 21: 17 NIV) and again, “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.” (John 15: 18, NIV) This is shown in many ways in our own culture. I don’t have time to mention all of them. But society makes it pretty clear that we Christians are supposed to keep our religious convictions to ourselves. And every Christmas we are reminded of this hostility when manger scenes are not welcome and we are encouraged to say “happy holidays” rather than “merry Christmas.”
C. But there is a second reason why the Gospel brings division and conflict...even among Christians...and that’s due to false teachings that are in the church. This is nothing new. If you were listening carefully to our Old Testament lesson God is complaining through Jeremiah about people teaching things they were not supposed to be teaching and passing it off as God’s word. And God was not happy. And Jesus says the same thing in the Sermon on the Mount: “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.” (Matt. 7: 15, ESV) “Sheep’s clothing” - these are people who say they are Christian and sound like Christians...but they preach and teach things that are not Christian. They are false teachers: “wolves”. This division among those who call themselves Christian started already in the days of the Apostles. Listen to what Paul tells a group of pastors as recorded in the book of Acts: “I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves (remember: his is talking to pastors) will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them.” (20: 29, 30, ESV) What is the source of all the divisions among Christians? Why do we have so many different denominations? Because they teach different things. And they all can’t be right. Someone has to be wrong. Our Lutheran Confessions claim to faithfully and accurately teach the word of God: “We consider this confession a genuinely Christian symbol which all true Christians ought to accept next to the word of God....” (FC. SD. 504. 4. Tappert) And again: “It is furthermore to be hoped that when they are rightly instructed in this doctrine they will, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, turn to the infallible truth of the divine word and unite with us and our churches and schools.” (PF. BC. 12. 22. Tappert)
Conclusion: This morning Jesus has told us something rather shocking: he brings division among people. You are either for him or against him. You either believe in him or you don’t. And even among those who believe in him there are divisions. And these divisions exist because there are people who teach things that God does not want taught in his church, just like in the days of the prophet Jeremiah. And so the only way to overcome these divisions in the church is to agree on what God’s word says---that we preach, teach, and confess the same doctrine. And that is something that we should all pray for. But there will always be a division between those who are for Jesus and those who are against him; those who believe in him and those who do not. There is no neutral ground. There can never be unity with the unbelieving world. Here there must always be conflict and division...just as Jesus says. Amen.
