Simeon on the Polarizing Effects of Jesus Christ

Sermon Transcript

Well, this week with my family, we came across a picture of those graffiti-clad cement walls and pylons with the beach and the ocean in the background. And one of my kids chimed in and said, “Dad, is that— is that Venice Beach?” And I said, “Oh, yeah, that’s— that’s Venice Beach, all right.” With a little parental concern in my voice— that place is crazy. I said, “Where the 10 freeway hits the ocean, you can hear and see just about anything at Venice Beach.”

Well, I reflected on those comments a little bit later, and I laughed to myself and I said, “Yeah, of course this year— except for the baby Jesus, right?” If you’ve been following some of that, I know you hear it every year, but a new ban there in Santa Monica— you can’t have baby Jesus publicly displayed on public property. And of course the churches got together, they fought that, appealed it to the federal judges— they sided with the City Council. “Yeah, you can’t have that.”

And I thought, you know, though we hear a lot of that, this one kind of caught me by surprise. I thought, well, you know, anybody in that town— these free-thinking, open-minded— this little enclave here in Southern California— you can say and do anything you want; get a spray can and paint whatever you want. I thought, what an irony, right? That somehow you’re threatened by a picture of the Nativity, you know? And I thought, what a contrast that is. And yet my mind went to this text that we’re studying today. This is precisely the battle, the controversy that shouldn’t surprise any of us, and it’s only going to get worse, as the first Noel, if you will, actually predicted it— forecasted by a prophet in two verses here in our text in Luke chapter two that tells us this baby is going to be controversial, because Christ and all that he represents is really going to polarize the world.

Now, if you haven’t opened your Bibles yet to Luke 2, please do so. What I want to point out today is major implications on that one simple truth— the polarizing effects of Christ in this world. It goes far beyond lawsuits and rulings from City Councils.

Now, if you found your worksheet, which I hope that you did in the worship packet today, you’ll find more stuff there before we ever get to the first point. What’s he doing now? Listen, here’s what you need to understand about this particular text. And maybe you’ll see this as an apologetic for it, or rationale for it. We’re only going to look closely at two verses in our passage today— verses 34 and 35. “Why are we skipping so much?” We’re not skipping it. Here’s what we’re doing: we’re surveying verses 22— actually starting in verse 21— all the way through verse 40, as to what Luke is trying to accomplish.

So keep a bookmark in this whole polarizing, controversial baby idea. And just for a second, let’s do a kind of an extended sidebar by way of introduction as to what Luke is trying to accomplish in this passage. Now, we didn’t do this in Romans— very different kind of literary genre— but when we study narrative text, what we have is Luke writing what happened, right? Under the direction of the Spirit, he’s researched this and he’s putting down on paper the facts of it all. Sometimes what we’ll find is, while we can spend years going through all the interesting details in some of these sections of the Scripture— these narrative sections of the Scripture— we need to ask ourselves, if we’re going to be good exegetes, and if I’m going to be a good expositor, we need to say, “What’s the purpose here? What’s being accomplished?”

And as we do that in this particular text, we’ll see some very specific and clear reasons— I believe, I’ll contend— that Luke has provided the information that he has. And to understand that, what we’ll do is have to get a little historical background based on the Old Testament and a little theological context. So to do that— that will help us understand a lot of the information there— and then allow us to focus in on some of the most startling words and the prophetic truth that is new to this text. Because that’s what’s new— verses 34 and 35. Much of what’s going on there is either for the future in the argument of the book, or in the past, something we’ve already connected with. So let’s make sense of it.

You see two sections there— one on Jewish ceremonies— do you see that? Let’s start in verse 21. I know that’s not technically a part of our text today, but last week we ended with this. Verse 21. Let’s look at verse 21— a familiar Jewish custom you’re familiar with— and let’s just read that, and then let’s make sense of the four things— arguably four things, certainly three— that are happening in verses 21 through 24. Okay, you’re ready? Here we go.

Verse 21: “And at the end of eight days”— this is Luke 2:21— “when he,” that is, Jesus, “was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given to him by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” Now jot that down as number one: the first ceremony there is circumcision. When did that happen? Eighth day of the baby boy’s life. What was that all about? I put references to the Old Testament next to each of these— Genesis 17. Well, there’s a lot in the Old Testament about circumcision. There’s our first reference to God commanding the lineage of Abraham, the national identity of Abraham, to be marked by circumcision, which is really bizarre and weird if you think about it— don’t think about it too long— but if you think about it: “If you wonder and I need more information on that,” then you can go to our Focal Point website, focalpointministries.org. You can look— I think I’ve done three or four messages on this over the years as to why such a strange thing was used as this marker for the covenant people of God. You can look that up on your own time. All we’re noting here is that Jesus, in verse 21, was circumcised.

Now, if you read in verse 22, you may kind of miss that we’ve left that scene, and we’re on a new scene and a new day and a new period of time, when it says this— verse number 22— and let’s read through verse 24 to get all of it, then we’ll untangle it: “And when the time came for their purification according to the Law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem”— that’s Jesus— “to present him”— that’s Christ— “to the Lord.” Parenthetically, verse 23, “as it is written in the Law of the Lord, ‘Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord,’” verse 24, “and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, ‘a pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons.’”

Okay. Now, if you’re not careful— I mean, if we don’t, if we’re not even thinking about what’s happening here— we may still think Christ is on the Temple Mount here as an infant, eight days old, being circumcised. That’s not what’s happening here. Let’s take our first cue from verse 22. What we know is this is different. This is not the circumcision of the baby. This is “for their purification.” Number two: purification. We have some ceremony of purification according to the Law of Moses— purification. “Their purification”— this is not the baby and the mother— this is the mother, and we assume here the father, who is also in need of ceremonial purification, because the Levitical law— the Old Testament, as I put there next to this one, Leviticus 12— says that when you have a child, you are ceremonially unclean. This is not biological; this is not about disease; it’s not about nutrition. This is about when you’re worshiping God— there were certain symbols that gave you this external, symbolic, ceremonial sense that you are ready and worthy— to put it strongly— to worship God. And a lot of these things were beyond your control. You could have a skin disease, or you could have a problem, or you could be disabled— there are a lot of things— and you wouldn’t be ceremonially clean. Well, one of these was childbirth.

When you were having a child— if you had a male child— 33 days beyond the circumcision, you were ceremonially unclean. To come out of that uncleanness, you came— this is now on the 40th day of the child’s life— and you presented the sacrifice. Now, at the end of this, verse 24, we see the connection to what the sacrifice is, and we know this is connected to the purification ceremony. And that is, verse 24, “the offering according to what is said in the Law of the Lord, a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.” Now, if you were to look up later Leviticus chapter 12— I jotted down verses 6 through 8 for you— in verse number 8 it tells you that there is a secondary sacrifice that you can give if you’re really poor. The sacrifice for purification after the 40 days of your child’s life was a lamb. But if you couldn’t afford the lamb, you could bring, as it says here, either a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons. That was the sacrifice of the poor. So that’s what’s going on here. That’s the second thing that’s going on here, and it comes six weeks into the child’s life, not one week. So this is a different time. They’ve gone six miles back to Bethlehem; they’ve come back now— now we’re on the 40th day— and we have the purification custom.

Keep reading. I’m going to contend there’s a different thing in view at the end of verse 22— a different ceremony. “According to the Law of the Lord, they brought him”— Christ— “up to Jerusalem to”— now underline this phrase— “present him to the Lord.” Jot that down, number three: presentation. Now, some would argue that this is connected with the fourth one we’re going to list— and perhaps it is— but he uses a word that doesn’t really make sense if it is the fourth one (which we haven’t even talked about yet), and it doesn’t match the first one— circumcision— and it doesn’t match the second one— purification. Purification isn’t about presenting a baby; purification is about the mother— and in this case the father because we assume he’s ceremonially unclean because of his connection with his wife. We’re assuming now that what we’re talking about is the presentation of the child.

Now, that word comes from that picture— as I put now, by way of example— 1 Samuel chapter 1, verses 21 through 28. You Sunday School grads know what’s going on there. This is where Hannah prays for this child— she has this child, unlikely mother, right?— and she brings the child to the tabernacle at Shiloh, and she presents Samuel to the Lord. There’s a play on words in Hebrew, and it’s translated funny in English, but she says, “I lend him to the Lord. As long as he lives he’s lent to the Lord.” It was the presentation of the baby— as the Hebrew text does say, “in the presence of the Lord.” The baby was dropped off. (A lot of parents want to drop their kids off at church forever sometimes here— but it wasn’t because she was mad at the kid, right?) It was because Samuel, she knew, was a special child— was going to serve the Lord in a special way. Mary had been told her child was the Messiah. She— we assume here, I’m assuming and contending— I mean, with a small “c,” I’m not going to die on this hill— but it seems like this is very different than what’s coming forth in the next line of our text. And that is, as he quotes in verse 23 something written in the Law of the Lord: “Every male who first opens the womb shall be called holy to the Lord.” I understand that makes us think, “Well, there’s the presentation— it’s connected with this verse,” and perhaps it is, but something different is going on there. It’s not called the presentation in the Bible. Jot this down— it’s called the redemption of the firstborn.

So we have four ceremonies: circumcision; purification of the mother— in this case, by default, the father; the presentation (which I think is at least in the tradition of Hannah and Samuel); and the redemption— where you came and part of your sacrifice was to be received because everything— as you see there in the passage in Exodus 13 that I jotted down— that’s the Exodus text where after the death of the firstborn and all that— God says, “Your firstborn male— whether it’s the animals or the people— those are holy to me, and you have to redeem them with a sacrifice, so that then you raise them, but they’re really in God’s mind given over to God.”

Now, those are the four ceremonies taking place there. Drop down to verse 39. In verse 39— I mean, to kind of show you the borders of this story, or the pericope, as we sometimes call it— this section of Scripture, this literary chunk of Scripture— take a look at verse 39: “And when they had performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.” Now, “everything according to the Law of the Lord”— the point of this whole section is that all of these things— starting with circumcision, purification, perhaps presentation, and redemption— were all done according to the Law of the Lord. That’s why I put that next line there for you. Our text is trying to prove: “Everything surrounding Jesus’s birth was done”— here’s the last phrase— “according to the law.” This section is there for that literary purpose. That’s the rhetorical purpose for this text— at least one of them.

Why is that important? Put a bookmark in that— later in the book we’ll learn why. What’s important is that we remember that everything about this child and how he came into the world was carefully done according to the devout, righteous responses of the parents, to do everything according to what the Bible had said in the Old Testament. That’s important, and it will be important not only in Luke but throughout the New Testament epistles. We need to know he’s done everything according to the Law of the Lord. So now we know why that’s there.

But there’s more. I mean, why is it so long? What are all these verses in between, starting in verse 25 and going all the way to verse 38? Well, we meet two people here in this text. They’re going to do something to affirm the Messianic claims of Christ. Okay— more by way of introduction. You’ve got a section there that says “Messianic claims.” Do you see that on your worksheet? We need to go back now and see why these two people are important. Why is Luke even recording these two people?

Okay, here’s what we’ve got so far. Let’s go back in our minds and on the list there to chapter one, verse 17— don’t need to turn there, I printed it for you. Someone says to Zechariah, “He— your son, Zechariah, John— will go before the Lord in the spirit of Elijah.” Now, you were here for this. Fill that in for me— who said that to Zechariah? Gabriel. You got that one right. See, this is easy. No tricks. Gabriel— you were here, you studied that. Gabriel comes; he says, “You, Zechariah, are going to have a son, and that son is going to go before the Lord.” The Lord— the Lord is coming. Yes, the Messiah is coming. Matter of fact, he’s going to fill that role of the Elijah figure, and that Elijah figure— clearly, as we study analogous prophecy— he is going to be the forerunner to the coming of Messiah. So clearly, albeit indirect, here’s a Messianic claim given to Zechariah regarding the birth of Christ.

Number two: someone says to Mary, “You’re going to have a child— the Son of the Most High— and he’ll occupy the throne of his father David.” Now who said that? Number two— Gabriel. Jot that down. So Gabriel says it. So far, I’ve got two angels— one talking to the mom, one talking to Zechariah, who is a relative— and the angel is saying to them, “It’s going to be the Messiah.”

Number three: somebody, according to Luke chapter 1, verse 41, is filled with the Holy Spirit when they say to Mary, “The mother of my Lord— why should I be so privileged to have the mother of my Lord come to me?” Right? Says that, verse 43. Who said that to Mary? Elizabeth. So Elizabeth now says, “Hey, you, Mary— why should I be so privileged to have the mother of my Lord?” Wow— she’s bearing the Lord. This old lady Elizabeth is saying to this young teenage girl, “You are going to give birth to my Lord.” That’s a Messianic claim.

Number four: somebody else, according to Luke 1:67, is filled with the Holy Spirit and sings a song saying, “He— God— has raised up a horn of salvation in the house of David.” Who said that? Zechariah. Okay, so Zechariah sings the song. Now think about that— “the horn of salvation”— these Isaiah references to the horn of salvation coming in the house of David— clearly a Messianic claim coming from Zechariah, who’s said very carefully to be “filled with the Holy Spirit.”

Number five: we’ve got shepherds out in the field, and someone says to them, “A Savior has been born, and he is Christ— Messiah— the Lord.” Who said that? Angel. (Hey, you said Gabriel, some of you, but we don’t know that. The text doesn’t tell us that. Perhaps it is— he’s working overtime— but it doesn’t say. It just says an angel of the Lord says that.)

So look what you’ve got so far: Gabriel to Zechariah, Gabriel to Mary, Elizabeth to Mary, Zechariah singing to the crowds— whoever— he’s just singing— and an angel to the shepherds. So I’m thinking here, what do I have to affirm the Messianic claim of Christ so far? Well, I’ve got angels. Sometimes when you’re having babies, you think you’re hearing from angels. You’ve got relatives— and what proud relative doesn’t think your baby’s going to be the greatest thing ever? Right? You’ve got close familial personal experience. It’s all what I’ve seen from God and what my relatives are saying.

Now, chapter two— we have here in our text, in verses 25 through 38, two more figures that aren’t family. There’s no familial connection here. They are here to give another voice, another layer of affirmation regarding the baby— now six weeks into life— that that baby is the Messiah. So I’m making the case that the reason for this section of Scripture— literarily, rhetorically— is that we’re now understanding that everything regarding his birth was done according to the law, and that there are two more people that affirm that this baby is the Messiah even before he can walk.

Okay, who are those two people? Let’s read it, starting in verse number 25. We can fill it in if you haven’t already. Verse 25: “Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon”— there’s number six— “Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout,” here’s kind of a poetic way to say it, “waiting for the consolation of Israel.” (“Comfort, my people”— if Handel’s Messiah rang out somewhere in your life this December, that sounds familiar.) This is a Messianic reference— the consolation of Israel— and Luke is careful to point out, “the Holy Spirit was upon him.” Okay, so this isn’t his idea, isn’t his feeling, “I want to wait for this, I just can’t”— it’s not his own idea. God had impressed this upon him.

Verse 26— even further— “And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ”— Messiah, right? That’s the Hellenized form of the word— Christ— or Messiah— Mashiach— the Anointed One. “And he came in the Spirit into the temple.” The timing now was providential— guided by God’s Spirit. “And when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law”— that’s the ceremony there that we talked about, which we think is threefold at this point: the purification, the presentation, and the redemption of the child— “he took the baby up in his arms.” Now picture this— we picture an old man, although the text— if you look at it carefully— it doesn’t tell us how old he is. He just doesn’t want to die until he sees the Lord’s Christ. And he has this child in his arms, and he says this, verse 29: “Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word, for my eyes”— now, these are the words of his mouth (why I’m quoting that in number six there)— “for my eyes have seen your salvation.” He’s looking at— how bizarre is that?— a guy you don’t know, who takes up your baby while you’re doing the thing required in the law, and he says, as he prays to God, “My eyes have now seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples”— that’s the picture of the end of Isaiah 52— “a light for revelation to the Gentiles”— repeated theme in Isaiah, particularly Isaiah 42— “and for glory to your people Israel.” “And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him.” And why? Because this was new information? No— not that. But applying some of those Messianic passages to Jesus wouldn’t be a surprise. But here’s somebody who’s not family, right, who’s having the same revelatory experience from God that the baby— that they’ve never met— that he now holds in his arms is the Messiah— the Christ child— the one who will, according to this text, save the people.

Okay, now, let’s get verses 34 and 35— we’ll get to those in a minute. That’s our preaching portion for the morning.

Verse 36: “And there was a prophetess,” right— a female prophet— “whose name was Anna.” Don’t miss the irony there, right? If this is the presentation— he’s being presented before the Lord in the custom, the pattern, of Hannah— Hannah is the Hebrew form of this word; Hellenized form, Anna. That’s kind of ironic, right? Providential, of course, that we have a gal there named after the mother of Samuel, and she’s a prophetess— “the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher,” which is also an interesting thing (which, again, we could spend a lot of time digressing on all these interesting points— spend weeks doing it). If you know anything about the Old Testament, in 721 B.C. the Assyrians come in and wipe out the ten northern tribes of Israel. Most of them intermarry— they become what we know in the New Testament as Samaritans. The Jews of the south who went off to Babylon in 586 and came back seventy years later— they hated the intermarried northern tribes they called Samaritans. People now today even call them the “lost tribes of Israel”— the ten lost tribes. Well, tell that to Anna— she’s pretty clear about where she came from— one of the northern tribes of Asher. Which is an interesting story— how did she know that? What’s that all about? Don’t have time for that.

“She was advanced in years”— verse 36— “having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin,” so we have this picture of, customarily, seeing these gals married mid-teens, so maybe she’s 14–15 years old; she has a husband for seven years; “and then as a widow until she was 84.” So she lives here as a widow for all these years. Now, she’s 84 years old. “She did not depart from the temple,” verse 37, “worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.” So here’s this weird person— I mean, frankly— right? Somebody at church all the time. (That didn’t come out right. I’m at the church all the time.) But anyway— here’s somebody at the church all the time— every time the doors are open and they can go in— here’s Anna, praying and fasting and all these things and worshiping God. “And she”— now it says, verse 38— “coming up at that very hour,” when all this drama is going on— where the stranger is holding your baby and talking about the fact that he’s now seeing the salvation of God— this text says, “she began to give thanks to God,” gets attention from the people, “and to speak of him”— Christ— “to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem.”

Here’s another person we don’t know, right? And this isn’t Simeon and it isn’t Simeon’s wife— some random lady who’s godly and has been there on the Temple Mount for years, every time the doors are open— and now she starts talking about your baby and saying, “Hey, to everybody who’s been waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem— let me tell you about this child.” Amazing. Now, it doesn’t tell us what she said. Would you like to know what she said? Get used to disappointment— because we don’t know what she said. We’re stuck. But again, what does that prove to me? The rhetorical purpose— the literary purpose— of this particular section of Scripture is what? It’s that we need to understand that it wasn’t just family. It wasn’t just angelic visions. It was independent people— in touch with God and the Holy Spirit— who came upon the Temple Mount six weeks into the baby’s life, saying, “Your baby is the Messiah.” That’s the point of this text. And it’s so much the point that we don’t even get what she said— we’re not learning from her statements— all we know is she spoke of him. Then, “after they performed everything according to the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth. And the child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.”

By the way, I should make a little quick sidebar that I’ve missed in some other services here. So, those of you that are looking at this text, saying, “Returned to Nazareth— that doesn’t seem to add up because I’ve read Matthew,” and in Matthew, by the time the Magi get there, they were still living in Bethlehem, right? The Magi come to Bethlehem, and then Herod dies, and what do they do? They go to Egypt. They flee to Egypt. They come back, Archelaus is there reigning in his place, and they say, “Well, we’ve got to get out of here,” and they go back to Nazareth. So what do we do with this? “They returned to Nazareth”— we’ll have this issue; we’ll have to harmonize this at several points throughout the Gospel of Luke to find out what he’s saying. He’s saying one of two things. Okay, this is— these are your two options.

Number one, what he’s saying is, in a broad sense, after all of this took place, they end up back in Nazareth because that’s where he was raised and everybody knew that, so he doesn’t give us all the detour to Egypt and the death of Herod and all that. We just don’t get all that because that’s not the literary purpose of this section of the Scripture. Perhaps that’s the case.

Others have speculated that it seems like immediately— at least that’s the way it reads— they go back to Nazareth. And a lot of people speculate they went back to Nazareth having all this confirmation that the baby that they bore was the Messiah; therefore they said, “We’re raising our child in the city of David.” They went back to Nazareth to grab their things and to pack up and finish their affairs— or whatever they had going on up there— and to come back the other 90 miles back down to Bethlehem and raise the child in Bethlehem, because we know they’re there almost two years later when the Magi show up— then take a detour into Egypt, come back, and then make their way back up to Nazareth. God got him to be raised where he wanted him to. So anyway, that’s a footnote on that, because I know that’s how it reads, and that may be a question if you’re thinking about Matthew 2 at this point.

What did we skip? Verses 34 and 35. That was a long introduction to say— here we are. Let’s talk about these two verses— polarizing effects of Christ.

Now notice what a startling thing this is that he’s saying. Because what do you know so far? “Your child is the Lord”— I mean that was said indirectly and directly. “Your child is the Son of the Most High; your child’s going to sit on the throne of his father David; your child is the important successor of everything that was looked for in the child of David— the Son of David— the Messiah.” That’s all good news, right? Thumbs up. That’s something— put your bumper sticker on the back of your camel: “My son is the Messiah.” That is something you’re proud of. Is it all good news so far? Yes.

This is the first news that would shake your world, would it not? Look at this. The only one positive thing here said— and that is that he is appointed for— let’s read the verse. “And Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Behold, this child is appointed for the fall of many in Israel’”— oh— “also the rising— for the fall and rising of many in Israel— ‘and for a sign that is opposed.’” “Cheered”? Is that what it says? No— “to be opposed.” Parenthetically, “a sword will pierce through your own soul also.” Yikes. Right? That’s not a baby-shower blessing on a card. “This child is going to hurt your heart bad.” “So that”— to get back to the original statement, the rise and fall of many— “so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

That’s a consistent pattern in the Scripture— the division that takes place when the real Christ confronts people. It either lets them rise (spiritually speaking) or fall (spiritually speaking) because it’s revealing something about who they are. In this case, it says the hearts of many will be revealed. When Christ comes and really gets in front of somebody— then and today— you either loved him or hated him. It was either the cause of advancement for you in being reconciled to God, or the condemnation for you in your rejection. It was either something you delighted in and desired because it was the solution to your problem, or something you disdained and despised because it revealed your sin and your wickedness. It was either— to put it in biblical terms used seven times over in the New Testament— it was either the cornerstone now in your life and thinking, or it was the— what?— stumbling block that you tripped over. Christ has the polarizing effect of either turning people to God and gratefully rejoicing in the forgiveness we have because of our sin, or it makes us mad and angry and defensive. It makes us hate the fact that Christ would dare to say I’ve got a problem I can’t fix on my own. Cornerstone or stumbling block. Desire and delight, or disdain and despise. Either love him or hate him.

Now, I’ve got an idea. I like the fact when people love him. I like it when they promote him. I like when they say he’s the cornerstone— I love that. That’s great. What I don’t like is when they hate him— when it’s the fall, right?— when it causes people to— I don’t like that. So here’s the thing— I’ve got an idea. All the things that make people mad and polarized— all the things that make people reject him— all these things about Christ and what he said and what he did that people don’t like— let’s just not lead with that, okay? Let’s kind of leave that behind. Let’s kind of extract out the facts. If you really want a church and a ministry that’s going to really appeal to the crowds, there are some things about Christ’s ministry, and what he said and what he did and who he is, I just don’t think we should be talking so much about. Right? We should just be more favorable with people by presenting the side of Christ that we really think will appeal to them. That would be good— good idea.

What’s wrong with that? Well, you can present a “Christ” like that— A Christ like that. But it won’t be the Christ. Because the Christ that we have here in the text is the Christ who has a couple of sides to him. He leads to an effect: the rising of many, but also the fall of many. He is— as we see over there in 2 Corinthians— he is the smell of life to many, from life to life, and he’s also the stench of death for some. And if I take away the thing that torques people and offends people, I’m also taking away the totality of who Christ is and his message, and I’m presenting to you someone who’s not the Christ. I’m presenting a distortion of Christ. And my job— and your job— is to be a representative and ambassador of Christ.

The last thing I want when I come home from work and the mailman is out there at the end of my block with the mailbox— right, especially on trash day— what I don’t want to see him doing is flipping over my trash can and taking my mail— into the trash, trash, mailbox— trash, trash, mailbox. I’d be happy to report that guy. Why? I don’t want you doing that. I’d say, “What are you doing?” “Well, I’m sorting some of this mail out.” “What are you doing that for?” “Well, I got angry letters from parishioners here, I got a gas bill that’s through the roof— you don’t want that. I threw your electric bill away too because that was really high. Got some other things that I just don’t think really would make you very happy. But I found some good stuff— a couple belated Christmas cards, a thank-you note here— I put those all in there because, you know what, I really like you. I want all your mail to make you happy. I want your mail to encourage you. I want you to like the mail service. I want you to like your mailman. I want you to look in that mailbox and say, ‘Man, I like the Postal Service— they’re always bringing me good news. They make me feel so good.’”

“Oh— I didn’t know that.” “Well, that’s fine.” No, it’s not fine. Why is it not fine? Because it is not your job to sort through my mail to figure out what I’m going to like and what I don’t like. Your job is to deliver the mail. Right? I don’t care if I don’t like my electric bill— which, frankly, I don’t like— and I don’t like all the mail that I get, but it doesn’t matter— not your job.

You don’t want to go to the doctor and have your doctor say, “I just want to give you the good news. Okay? Good news and bad news— but let’s just stick with the good news.” Right? I’m not paying you to give me just the good news. Give me the bad news too, because I need to know everything that was delivered— everything that you found— everything that was diagnosed.

Now, John 3— we don’t have time to look at this, but you need to jot it down. Start with your most famous verse you learned as a kid— John 3:16— and then read the next six verses, and understand this: The reason people don’t want the real Jesus Christ is because it exposes something about their heart. And if they’re not ready, they’re not contrite; if they don’t see sin for what it is, they’re going to rebel against that.

I’m saying this: you and I need to be ready— number one on your outline, let’s work them all this way— you and I need to sacrifice a few things. And this is the first thing we need to sacrifice: Number one— appeal. I need to sacrifice the appeal that I want to have with people regarding my religion and my Christ and my leader and my theology and my philosophy of life. I want to sacrifice some of the appeal for accuracy about Christ. Because that’s all that matters— accuracy. Am I presenting you the whole picture of who Christ is? Paul sits there at the end of his ministry in Ephesus, and he makes it clear— there is no blood on my head. What is that? That’s a big way to say it: “I have no guilt when I think about you because I delivered to you the whole counsel of God.”

My fear is that we will have blood on our head— we will be responsible for the condemnation of some. In one sense, we have to confess that. If Paul’s concerned about his message being the whole message so that he’s not in trouble with God, I think we’re in trouble with God if we don’t give the whole message to people. Now, I understand it’s not popular. And I also understand the temptation.

Now, here’s the thing— these are all biblical points— but this all comes from Pastor Mike, chapter 16. Okay? And that is five things that we do to truncate Christ to make our message more appealing— and you and I need to avoid this list. Now again, I could have come up with 55— I’ve got five. I mean, I could have come up with 55 had I spent enough time thinking about it. But here are the top five, in my book, in my mind, watching this from my perspective from the front in the ministry— here are the things that we want to avoid because we want Christ to be more appealing.

Number one: we want no hell. I want a Christ who didn’t talk about hell. I want a Christ who doesn’t threaten us with that, who doesn’t make us afraid of that, who doesn’t say that’s what’s at stake. Every one of these points I’m going to make, I’ll give you one red-letter verse, which represents dozens of others. Let me give you this one— jot it down if you would— Matthew 10:28. “Don’t fear the thugs that can kill you— after that they can’t do anything else. I’ll tell you whom to fear: fear him who, after he kills the body, can toss you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.” Now listen, if you want your ministry to do well, and your evangelism to “work”— don’t bring stuff up like that. Right? Don’t threaten people with hell. Don’t scare anybody into the kingdom. You don’t want to do that. Have I said it enough from this platform? Jesus spoke more about the harsh reality of hell than he ever did about the blessing of heaven. He wanted to make sure that we knew what was at stake. He continually talked about it.

On the radio show this week— if some of you listen— I don’t know if you’re my Facebook friend (which I know some of you are underground— you don’t want to be my friend— I don’t understand at all— I’ll deal with that), but I put on there, whenever I’m hosting that show— that national show— I do a call-in show sometimes; they ask me to co-host that. I had one this week. Smile at me if you heard this caller this week who said, “I’ve been studying on hell, and I find there’s not a lot about it in the Bible.” If you heard my response to the guy, I said, “Listen, if you’re just looking up the word in your concordance— ‘hell’— or your Bible software, I can see where you’re only coming up with a list that’s this long.” I said, “Hey, try this: ‘destruction,’ ‘fire,’ ‘lake of fire,’ ‘brimstone,’ talk about ‘punishment,’ talk about being ‘cast into outer darkness, where there’s weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.’” I could give you a whole variety of phrases to look up where Jesus continually talks about what’s at stake. You want to say, “He didn’t talk about hell”— he talked about hell on every other page of the Gospels. I thought this was good news— always predicated on bad news. If you just want to present the good news to your friend— you want to “stand with Christ” because you want a greater appeal and your appeal is going to be, “Jesus will improve your life,” and let’s not talk about any scary stuff like hell— you’re not presenting the whole counsel of God. You’re not presenting Christ. You’re presenting half of Christ, and half of Christ isn’t enough. Your job is to present the whole message— and Christ was concerned about hell.

Number two: if you really want your message to go further— you want to improve the appeal of Christ— don’t talk about exclusivity. No exclusivity. “I don’t talk about exclusivity— I mean, Oprah doesn’t like it,” right? Most people don’t like it. They don’t want to talk about Jesus being the only way. And yet— another red-letter verse— you know this passage from the time you were in Sunday School as a child, I hope— John 14:6. Jesus said— you can finish it— “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father”— oh man, don’t lead with that. I mean, matter of fact, as much as you can, get your pastor on a stage with Buddhist monks and, you know, Muslim imams, and we can all just sway up here— “We are the world”— that would be great, because you know what? They would like that Christ. A “Christ” that’s just kind of— we’re all kind of conglomerate together, and if you’re just sincere— that would be awesome. Now, watch the trends in the church that want to so be accepted by our world. They’re not going to talk about hell— matter of fact, they’ll write books to tell you it doesn’t even exist— and they’re also going to cease this whole discussion about the exclusivity of Christ. Jesus said it over and over again: “It is about me. I am the door. You want to get through here and find pasture? I’m the only way to get there. I’m the true shepherd— I’m the only one that can lead you in this. You want to see the Father? I’m the only option for you. You want to live after you die in the blessing of God? I am the resurrection and the life— no one else. Trust in me.” Exclusivity.

You want to improve your appeal with non-Christians— you want people to like the religion that you’re a part of— don’t talk about hell, and do not talk about exclusivity.

Number three: don’t talk about obedience. Please— not required obedience. Okay, you can talk about, “If you ever have a green fuzzy in your belly and goosebumps and you want to kind of obey Christ— let’s just not call it that— we can just feel moved to love God,” but don’t talk about obedience, and certainly don’t ever make it sound like it’s required. I quoted briefly John 3, but here’s how that ends in verse 36: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life”— this is John 3:36— “whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” Did you catch that? If you don’t “obey the Son,” you don’t see life— and the wrath of God. Don’t make it sound like that. Avoid those verses if at all possible. Well, you want to improve your appeal: no hell, no exclusivity, and no obedience.

How about this one? No sacrifice. Let’s not talk about signing up for Christ and making life difficult. Let’s talk about being the best “you” you can be— maybe that’ll sell. (Let me write that down— that’s a good book title.) That will sell— it’s just not the message of the New Testament. Jot this one down, if you would— another red-letter verse here— Luke 9:23: “He said to everyone”— this is the whole crowd— “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself”— all the little pleasures and things you think you want— “and take up his cross and follow me.” Now, cross— today we picture some nice walnut cross over the pulpit, or your wife’s got a little gilded one around her neck and you see that— that’s not— we don’t have the death of Christ on a cross yet. This is the middle of Christ’s ministry, and he says, “Hey, you want to follow me? Deny yourself and take up your cross.” The only reference point in their minds for that picture— you must think contextually and historically— is what? “I’m seeing people who are criminals— insurrectionists, murderers, rapists. They’re condemned by the state. They have to carry their cross, stripped naked after beatings and whipping, through the town to get outside the city gate so that they can be crucified.” Now, if you have young kids, when the procession of the guy carrying his cross comes by, you cover their eyes— you don’t want them to see it. Maybe if you have a teenager who’s got his license to drive camels or whatever— or donkeys— “Look, now— you get into trouble— this is where it ends, right here”— and you want to teach them a lesson about the crucified guys carrying their cross. But the last thing you want for anybody in your life is “carrying a cross.” You don’t want that— that’s terrible. That’s suffering, that’s sacrifice, that’s self-denial, that’s being maligned and ridiculed by people.

Well, if you want to increase the appeal of your message, you better exclude hell, exclusivity, obedience, and sacrifice.

How about this one— one more— accountability at the end of your life. Accountability— call it judgment if you want. “Oh, that’s a non-Christian thing.” Listen, throughout the Bible, from beginning to end— including the statements of Christ— all of us will give an account. That’s why so many of his sermons and parables are about stewardship— the stewards must step forward at the end and give an account of their lives. To put it in one verse, in terms of the power of that— very specific— Matthew 12:36: “I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account even for every careless word they speak.” “Oh— non-Christian— no, listen.” Go from beginning to end. Is there any condemnation for us? No. Are we going to hell? No. Purgatory? No. Can’t make up make-believe places. This is not about that. What are we talking about? We’re talking about the fact that we stand at the bema seat of Christ, and we give an account— an answer— for our lives. Right? Paul said— knowing that— “I’m out there persuading people, recognizing that we all must stand before the judgment seat of Christ and give an account for the deeds done in the flesh.” That is something that, if you want to sell books, or get sermons played on more radio stations, or you want to be invited to go do some great ministry or speak at something— don’t bring up these things.

Have I helped you now? Hell, exclusivity, obedience, sacrifice, and accountability— don’t do it. And if you don’t do it, by the way, you’ll be betraying the Christ you say you follow, because that is part and parcel of the message of this person. And it is the reason some people rise and some people fall— because those are the topics that reveal the hearts of people. I would plead with you— obviously I’m being sarcastic— for you to be willing to sacrifice some of the appeal for the thing you’ve signed up for— Christianity— so that you can be accurate about the message of who Christ was.

Verse 34, second half— Luke 2: he says not only is he appointed for the rise and fall of many— which is caused by the thoughts of many hearts being revealed through his ministry and his life and all that he taught— but he’s also appointed, second part of verse 34, as “a sign that is opposed.” He’s appointed to be a sign that is opposed. Think about that— a sign that is opposed. Now you can understand— if you’re really causing that much polarization of the people, people aren’t going to like you. I think about them picking up stones to stone him. Here’s the person— never did wrong— and in John 10 he asks them, dripping with sarcasm, he says, “I’ve done a lot of good works in my Father’s name— for which of these do you stone me?” Right? Obviously, there’s no justification in this. And their answer— my Crowbar’s paraphrase— is, “It’s not for what you did— it’s for what you said,” right? Because they say, “We don’t like who you’re passing yourself off to be. You keep passing yourself off to be the grand authority of the universe— we’re not accepting that.” As Jesus said in his parables, they would say— as Psalm 2 so poetically says— “We don’t want this man to rule over us. The nations rage— let’s break apart the fetters.” “We don’t want that.” And that makes Christ— the real Christ— the object of hostility.

Now, here’s the thing. If we go— there are certain things being attacked. Let’s just think— I don’t know— we’re not living in the middle of a war zone— but let’s say we all go to On-Target, the pistol range, after church. (I brought up politics and guns now in the same sermon— it’s going quite well.) So we’re there, right? We all walk in, and you’re not even— you’re not into that, whatever— but we all go there. And we see everybody, and there’s not a bunch of targets— your lanes— if some of you have been there— there’s just one target in the middle lane, and it’s one of those cutouts of the guy with his gun and he’s— all right— and everybody from every lane is shooting at that target— p-p-p. And we’re all standing there. Now, some of you didn’t even want to be part of that— you don’t even want to shoot at that— and I say, “Oh, well, here’s the deal: everybody’s shooting at that target down there. The object of everybody’s shooting— why don’t you go stand by the target?” I don’t recommend that. How are you going to respond? “No. I don’t want to stand with the thing that everybody’s shooting at.” And you may say, “Well, I don’t want to shoot at it either, but I certainly don’t want to stand by it.” That’s how a lot of us go undercover. And we don’t want to jump on the bandwagon of being mad at Jesus— who’s so narrow-minded, talks about hell, or demands sacrifice and obedience, and is going to hold us all accountable. “I don’t want to attack that, but I certainly don’t want to stand with it— visually be by that.” And so we become these undercover Christians.

This Christ that you say that you love— that saved you— is a sign that is opposed. He’s the target. And Christ calls you to not be ashamed of him, and to stand with him in solidarity with Christ, and be willing to take the hit that he takes from the world. That is something that will not make you popular at work. That is something that really is going to cost you in relationships. That’s something, unfortunately, that isn’t going to make your reputation— in your extended family, or wherever you hang out— your kid’s soccer team or whatever— it’s not going to make you the popular one when they find out you’re with the real Christ— who is all of those things. All those things we just talked about that polarize people.

But here’s what I’m asking you to do— number two on your outline: you and I need to be willing to sacrifice our popularity. Sacrifice popularity for solidarity with Christ. Go ahead and stand with him— because that’s what God requires that you do. That’s going to be hard— I understand that.

Let’s get back to the big picture. Why such startling words about the baby Christ? Because that’s what’s going to happen. I wish we could have had that nice serene scene of everybody saying, “He’s the son of David— going to sit on the throne— the extent of his government no one’s going to know— it’s going to be the greatest”— but here’s the negative news. Why is that so important? This is— it’s the same reason it’s important when the guy gets on the intercom— the captain— as you’re flying across the country— “Ladies and gentlemen, we’re going to be flying into some unstable air here for the next few minutes, so…” (I won’t repeat the rest.) But why does he say that? What’s the whole point of the captain telling us “unstable air is on the way”? He doesn’t want us to start screaming, thinking that the plane is falling apart when we actually hit the turbulence. Right? At least when we hit it, we think, “Okay, we were warned.” And we know everything’s right on schedule— everything’s the way it was anticipated to be— the captain told us it was going to be like this.

It would have been terrible had this baby been born and Mary never would have been warned: “Your son is going to be opposed. And when you stand with him, there’s a lot of collateral opposition you’re going to get in this thing.” We need to know. Unfortunately, the kind of “Christ” that’s positive in the world— that doesn’t have any of these things— isn’t hell, isn’t exclusivity, isn’t obedience, isn’t sacrifice, isn’t accountability— that’s the kind of Christ everyone thinks is out there. And we think, “Wow.” We start studying the Bible, we start picking up the truth of Christ, and then we stand with him, and we’re surprised that we’re opposed. We shouldn’t be.

One passage on this— John 15, real quick. John chapter 15, verse 18: “If the world hates you,”— John 15:18— “know that it has hated me before it hated you.” And there’s just a great, simple insight. How did Christ’s ministry go? Well, the promise— the forecast— was: he’s a sign to be opposed. What was the reality? They opposed him. How bad did they oppose him? Well, they picked up stones to stone him several times. “Yeah, but they didn’t.” Well, no— they didn’t— it was even worse— they had him crucified. How did the ministry of Christ go? Not so well with the sinful, rebellious world— they crucified him. “If the world hated me— just know this— it’s nothing new.” “It hates you— it hated me.”

“Remember”— verse 19— “if you were of the world”— and this is an important line, and it’s good for us to think about this— “if you were of the world— if you loved what the world loved, if you valued what the world valued, if you were entertained by the things the world’s entertained by, if you laughed at the jokes the world tells, if you’re part of all the stinking, hellbound world is all about— then the world would love you as its own. You’d make no waves at work. Everyone would see you as one of the boys. It would all be just fine— no waves caused by you. But because I chose you out of the world— you’re not of the world— therefore the world hates you.” “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master,’” verse 20. “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”

I have people all the time— they start coming to church— they say, “Well, I don’t have any of that.” And I think, “Well, give it some time.” All you have to do is stand up for Christ and speak up for Christ— and it’s coming. Right? I’m not reveling in that. I don’t like to be persecuted. I’d like to be popular. I’d like to have people like me. I get all that. But if I’m going to stand with the one that the world hates so vehemently, I’m going to get collateral opposition. Verse 20— oh, I shouldn’t finish verse 20 without the positive part: “If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.” Also, know there are some that will see your life and what you bring as the aroma of life— but it’s a small percentage of the whole. Most, unfortunately, don’t care for it. Most of them are hostile and have an enmity toward this Christ that we care for and stand with.

Verse 21: “But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.” That little phrase there— “they do not know him who sent me.” If they knew God, they would like the messenger. Let’s extend that one more time in our lives: if they know God and love God— the real God— and they know and love and accept the real Christ— then there’s an extension of that in that there are people that stand up for him— in solidarity with him— and speak up for him— that we should also recognize we need to find solidarity with.

Let me put it this way in biblical terms— 2 Timothy chapter 1. Would you please turn there? 2 Timothy, chapter 1. (That was too wordy— let me clarify that.) There are people in your sphere of life who have a bigger platform— they speak up more often— more of their Christian life has been exposed on the table in terms of what they believe, what they stand for— and therefore people you know really don’t like them. Your non-Christian friends really don’t like them. You have a decision to make. You can, in your mind, say, “Well, I stand with Christ, but I don’t know that I want to be associated with that person.” Why? Is it really because they’re doing something wrong? Or to your friends and the co-workers that you know— do they not like that person because they’re standing with Christ, and they know more about that person’s stand with Christ than they know about you? Look what Paul says— it’s so telling here in 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 8: “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord”— clear, we’ve been dealing with that— “nor of me”— now that’s an extension— “his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God.”

Strongly: “Stand and suffer with me and suffer for the gospel.” If you are not ashamed of Christ— here’s the point— you should not be ashamed of his messengers. I’m not talking about every crackpot that names the name of Christ. I’m not talking about people that are doing ministry the wrong way. I’m talking about people that you would stand back and say, “Well, what they’re saying is true. It’s right. What they’re saying is right, and I believe that”— but you still are tempted to disassociate with them— you’re ashamed of the messenger.

Keep reading— drop down to verse 11. After he talks about the gospel, and he goes off on that, he then says in verse 11, “I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher.” Now, Timothy had his sphere there in Ephesus where he was teaching and preaching, but this is bigger— he’s an apostle, he’s preaching to the masses, traveling all over the place. His platform was big, his exposure was great. And that’s why, verse 12, “I suffer as I do,” Paul says. “But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me,”— verse 13— “in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”

Why? We’re still thinking about abandoning Paul because he says this in verse 15: “You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.” Now, these two guys— Timothy apparently knows— apparently people that you wouldn’t expect to turn away from Paul— they did. Why? “Man, he’s just too harsh. He’s always too much. He’s going too far. He’s saying too many things.” Whatever. They didn’t want the collateral opposition of the one that they saw speaking up for Christ the most. And all I’m telling you is this: there are people in your sphere of life saying the right things about Christ— maybe with opportunity to speak in places you haven’t spoken— in your workplace, in your family, or whatever— stand with them. Do not be ashamed of them. To be ashamed of them is to be ashamed of the gospel.

I’d say that, too, for our church. It’s not a self-serving point, but I do say that here, because I know what I hear: “Oh, that church— their Mike guy must have had a rough childhood. He sure is angry all the time. Bible-thumper— and he’s way too severe.” Autobiographical moment: when I go home tonight, I crawl into my bed and I put my head on my pillow and I look up at the ceiling and it’s dark, and I think about my life and I think about my job, my ministry— what I do for a living and how I serve God and how one day I’m going to meet God— here’s what you can be sure of: I don’t ever sit there, laying in bed, thinking about my life, thinking, “Wow, you know what? I’m afraid I’ve been too harsh. I’m afraid I’ve been too serious— too severe. I really laid it on ‘em too thick today.” I don’t ever have that fear when I think about standing before the bema seat of Christ. You know what I’m afraid of? “I wasn’t severe enough. I wasn’t harsh enough. I wasn’t clear enough with people about the realities that God has asked me to express to you through the pages of the Bible.”

And so— here’s what I mean— I’ll say it secondarily: don’t be ashamed of your church. Don’t be ashamed when they call us Bible-thumpers or whatever. Do not be ashamed of this place. And don’t be ashamed unless we’re saying something unbiblical or something wrong. I’m just telling you— I’m not an angry person. Right? This church is not filled with angry preachers. But what we are concerned about, though, is— in a culture that is continually, seemingly— and I think you can make this— yeah, I can argue this point— has moved away from the totality of the whole counsel of God— it may sound like a dissonant message when we just seem to bring up these issues as the text does. But listen— don’t be ashamed of us, or anybody else in your life who’s willing to speak up for the truth of the gospel. Don’t be ashamed of the message of Christ. Don’t be ashamed of the messengers of Christ. Guard the sound words in your own life.

This sounds so negative, but maybe I can redeem this with a homework assignment. Listen— here’s the thing— I don’t want to be negative, because often when Christ talked to us about suffering for him— think of the Sermon on the Mount— when they say all kinds of evil things about you because of me— here’s what he said: “Cry, weep…”— no. He said, “Rejoice and be glad in that day.” Two reasons: perspective. One, because this is how they treated the prophets of the Old Testament. And secondly, because great is your reward in heaven.

You know this: when you take a pot-shot for standing with a messenger of Christ, or you take a pot-shot for standing with Christ— when someone calls you a name, or you get turned down for some client, or somebody passes you over for advancement— I get that. I experience it. I know what it’s like— I mean, how many places I’ve been invited to speak only once? I mean, a lot. All I’m saying is, when that happens to you— whatever it is— when that happens to you, the Bible says: rejoice. Number one— you need to recognize you stand in a long line of people that were opposed. And number two— God rewards you.

I don’t have time to get into this, but you want a homework assignment: jot down, if you would, Hebrews chapter 10, starting in verse 32. And then end that with Hebrews 12, verse 4. “Wow, that’s a big section of Scripture.” I don’t want you to have to read every verse in this homework assignment— in chapter 11 of Hebrews, just skim that chapter. And then what you’ll see is, sandwiched in between all of this big, exciting chapter— chapter 11, which we call the “heroes of faith,” or whatever you want to call them— all these great people who stood up in the face of opposition— notice how the passage starts at the end of chapter 10 and ends in chapter 12, verse 4. What you’ll see there is the call of these people to not lose heart when they encounter difficulty, and to stand with those who are persecuted— to be as though you’re being persecuted with them— and that you don’t grow weary. And then, after quoting all these people in chapter 11, saying, “Look at what they suffered, but they stood in faith, confidently, and bore it all with endurance”— and the word there is hupomonē— we love that word around here— to bear up under the difficulty of it all— “they rejoiced even at the confiscation of their property.” They were willing to say, “Great— I’ve got an enduring possession in heaven.” And then it ends with this: after you’ve thought of all the “great cloud of witnesses,” remember Christ— here, I’ll quote for you verse 2— “who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame.” Why remember him? Because if you remember him— who looked past the cross (kataphronēsa)— he looked down upon and despised the shame of the cross— and he looked forward to the joy, past the scoffing, to the reward on the other side. “Consider him who endured such hostility from sinners,”— verse 3— “so that you yourself may not grow weary or fainthearted.”

So you can take a few hits this week. Maybe, if you stand in solidarity with Christ, you won’t be as popular— I get that. But be willing to stand with some sense of joy that God has something prepared for you at the other end.

Now, I think of this all the time, especially as our society slouches— as, quote the book title, “toward Sodom and Gomorrah.” I think of everyone saying in these discussions about immorality and all the things people are pushing us— they say, “Well, you don’t want to be on the wrong side of history, do you? You don’t want to be on the wrong side of history on this matter. We’re going to get there again, so you might as well get on board with us now and affirm these things that are immoral and sinful and unbiblical. Come on with us— you don’t want to be on the wrong side of it.”

I love that line. Because every time I hear it, I think to myself, “You’re darn right— I don’t want to be on the wrong side of history.” Right? Because one day, “the kingdoms of the world” become “the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ.” He’s going to reign, and guess whose standard will be applied forever? The losers are not the people who advance the “progressive morality” of our society. That may be the history in this little period between the Advents. But when the second Advent comes, that’s the right side of history I want to be on. And that means I’m willing to take the pot-shots because— guess what— hell’s a reality. Guess what— there is only one way. Here’s the news— God does require us to be obedient. He does ask us to sacrifice, and one day we’ll stand before him and be accountable. That’s the Christ of the Bible. I stand with him. I’ll promote him. I don’t care how appealing that may be or not appealing to you. I don’t care how popular that’s going to make me with you. I really— I don’t do this for you, and you don’t live your life for other people— I hope. We wouldn’t be called servants of Christ if all we cared about was what people thought of us. (I’m sounding almost like, you know, Galatians chapter one— because I was quoting it.) We are servants of Christ. So, care less about popularity.

One more thing— verse 35. A parenthetical statement to Mary— looking right in her eyes— using a feminine pronoun here— we’re talking to her: “A sword will pierce through your own soul also.” “A sword will pierce through your own soul also.” There are two Greek words for sword— well, there’s more than that— but there are two primary words that are used. One is this word, which is a large sword. It is such a big statement of a large sword that you would see in some kind of, you know, movie or something, that we don’t even see it in any narrative text in the New Testament— it only shows up in the book of Revelation— where, out of Christ’s mouth, comes a big two-edged sword, where he comes back and he judges with the sword. This is the only time we see it outside of the book of Revelation. Every other time we have the normal word for sword— the swords of the Roman soldiers, the sword that Peter pulled out to cut off the ear of the guy in the garden— the sword that even metaphorically he’s talking about where Christ comes to bring a sword and divide people that we talked about last week— all of that is the other word for sword— the regular word for sword. He’s making a statement with this word— I mean the big sword. It would be like us saying— not a sword, a machete. This is a huge, piercing thing that’s going to cut into your soul. Look at how he puts it here: “your own soul”— it’s going to pierce your own life.

Now, this is not the pain that Mary is going to feel as she stands in solidarity with Christ. This is different. This is the pain she feels because she loves Jesus Christ. Think about it— she’s now standing there with a man who’s got her baby in his arms, saying, “This baby— rise and fall of a lot of people, exposing a lot of people’s thoughts and real lives and hearts— he’s going to be a controversial baby. And you know what— he’s going to be a sign that’s going to be opposed. Anybody who’s going to stand with him, they’re going to get collateral opposition. Oh, and then, by the way, Mary— it would be hard to find someone on the planet who loves this baby more than you do— and I’ve got to tell you, it’s going to hurt you to love this guy. Because he is going to be so abused by the world. He’s going to be so rejected, maligned, and mocked by the world. This is going to kill you internally.” That’s a tough word from Simeon on this— that comes from the Holy Spirit. I’m glad I’m not Mary.

One passage on this, please— Hebrews chapter 6. I get that you’re not going to have to watch him be crucified— literally— outside the gates of Jerusalem, although Mary did. As John records, she stood there at the foot of the cross while they were gambling for his clothing— there she was. Can you imagine that? I mean, think about that, Orange County mom. It’s hard enough when you’re watching the soccer game and your kid gets in a tussle with another kid— you want to run out there and rip that other kid’s head off. I understand how you feel when someone picks on your kid. Can you imagine being helpless and watching your child have his skin ripped off his back by a cat-of-nine-tails, being punched by big, gigantic 250-pound Roman soldiers, and then have nails go through his hands and his feet and hoisted up— naked, completely naked— on a cross, bleeding to death and suffocating— helplessly watching your own child die like that? How would that feel? Talk about a sword through my soul— yikes.

Now, I know you’re not Mary watching that done. But there is a sense in which Christ is “crucified” today by the behaviors of people, even in the church, that if you become insensitive to it, it shows something about the way you love Christ, and it’s not a very good way to love Christ.

Hebrews 6:4— now, if you haven’t gotten my take on this passage (which I think is the right one), go to our website— you can look up my exposition of Hebrews 6. This is not “people that get salvation and lose it.” These are people that are hanging out with us, getting all the overflow of all the good stuff that comes by being a part of the community of the redeemed, but not being redeemed themselves— they’re not sealed by the Holy Spirit— they’re getting a lot of splash effect from the church and from God’s work. Then, verse 6, “and then have fallen away”— supply the word that came in verse 4— “it is impossible to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God”— think that through. They’re purposefully and willfully now sinning against the thing they know— they have been taught— had hung Christ on a cross. “They do that to their own harm”— and that’s usually what we think, “Ooh, that’s bad for them. That’s bad for them— you’re in trouble now.” I get that— but read the rest. Underline it: “and holding him up to contempt.” There’s the part that ought to sting our hearts. Think this through now— there are people that either, in our case, walk away from this— their lives— they sit here and sing songs with us, and then they go out and they cheat or they steal or they commit adultery— or whatever they’re doing— and they flagrantly sin, willfully, against this thing they say they’re with us on. And we always think, “Ooh, you’re in big trouble.” The Bible says here it’s as though they’re “crucifying” Christ and, by their lives, “holding him up for mockery and contempt.” How do you feel when you see Christ crucified? Do you have any empathy for that? Do you feel that in your own heart?

Number three on your outline: you need to sacrifice some of your happiness. Sacrifice happiness for empathy for Christ. Did you follow the logic of that statement? Sacrifice some of your desire to be perpetually and endlessly “happy,” because in the world the Christ that you say you love is being mocked and maligned by people’s behavior. Think even of the rejection of Christ for salvation. What does Paul say? Romans 9: “I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish.” Why? Because these people reject Christ. How do you feel about that? “Well, it’s bad for them.” I get it— it is bad for them. But isn’t it an offense to you because you so value the honor of Christ that you watch someone mocking and maligning the person you say you love? Or are you so insensitive now that you don’t even feel that anymore? How about if someone mocks your child— how do you feel? Does that hurt you more than someone mocking Christ? That’s wrong. Where’s your concern and your empathy for Christ?

Here’s what David said— we studied this briefly. You couldn’t believe I could preach through Psalm 119 in less than two hours— but remember, we went through Psalm 119, one of the verses that we underscored for you— Psalm 119:136. David says this in the song: “My eyes shed streams of tears;” why? “Because people do not keep your law.” How do you feel when you watch the news at night? You throw things at the television? I hope so— occasionally— maybe you need a little guard or shield in front of it, so you don’t destroy it. But when you read the paper, when you hear what’s going on in the Supreme Court, in our society, in our country, around the world— does the injustice against the truth of the gospel or the Christ that we say we love— does it ever affect you in your soul and your heart? That’s what was promised for Mary.

Jesus couldn’t even hang out with the disciples without really earning the title— the prophetic title from 700 years earlier— when they said he’d be a “man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” You just want to have a sandwich with Christ and, according to Matthew 23, he’s looking across the valley at Jerusalem and he starts to lament: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often I would have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.” “See, your house is left to you desolate.” You can’t even look at the skyline without getting torn that people reject the truth of God. That’s pain.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t value happiness. I mean, I’d rather be happy than sad. I vote for happiness. All in favor? Aye. Motion passes. Let’s be happy. I get that. Joy is a part of that— knickers like, “Absolutely, I want as much of that as I can get.” But as long as Satan is active in our world, and our culture continues to shine on, mock, ridicule, and reject Christ, I can’t have unending happiness and joy in my heart. I’m going to have, as Paul said, “unceasing anguish.”

Paul said this about the church. He said, besides all the opposition of the non-Christian world, “I carry around the concern”— that word is merimnaō— “I have all this anxiety, this concern in my heart for the church.” He says, “Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?” I love the way the ESV translates it— “and I am not indignant.” I can’t handle it. It bums me out. It makes me angry. It’s disheartening to me. Don’t think so simplistically about the Christian life— it’s not all smiles and happiness. It’s us recognizing that if you really do love Christ, you’re hurt in your own heart when he’s maligned and rejected.

I, like you, don’t like controversy. I don’t like opposition. And I don’t like sorrow— all the things I preached on this morning— I don’t like any of them. But even if there is controversy for what we uphold, I’m willing to encounter it. I’m willing to lose some of the appeal for the sake of accuracy. Even though I don’t like opposition— I’d like people to like me; I’d like to be friends with everybody; I’d like everybody to think I’m a nice guy— I’m willing to sacrifice some of my popularity for the sake of standing with Christ that the world doesn’t care for— and a lot of Christians don’t seem to like these days. And while I don’t like sorrow— I’d rather be happy every day of my life— I’m willing to sacrifice some of my happiness— and I hope you are too— because I see the dishonor that comes to Christ every day by the lives of Christians and non-Christians. So don’t distort the truth. Don’t go undercover. Don’t be ashamed of Christ. And don’t be apathetic to his honor.

I know it’s not a “happy” sermon. But I suppose that if we think clearly about what God has called us to be and teach, we’ll recognize the importance of not selling out for some cheap invitation.

Would you stand with me, please, as we close in prayer?

Let’s pray.

God, as Tozer said— A. W. Tozer— of all that we’ve got going on in this world— sin, the flesh, the devil, our world system— it’s appropriate for us to postpone our thoughts of being perpetually happy for another time. Because, in this world— Christ said it rightly, as appropriately as any captain on an airplane— “In this world you’ll have tribulation. But take heart— I’ve overcome the world,” he said to us.

Thanks for the words of your Son that reassured us that, if we’re having some bumps here with the message— with our co-workers and even in our own heart— that everything’s right on schedule. It’s the way it ought to be. It’s the way he said it would be. This Christ-figure was predicted from six weeks old that he would be a controversial baby— polarizing the people, sparking hostility, and hurting our own hearts when he’s rejected. So God, help us to be prepared— to think rightly about these things— and even be encouraged, in a sense, that we recognize that our sorrow is, at least for those who are godly and have walked with you for centuries— or through the centuries, I should say— men who are, I suppose, walking with you now in heaven for centuries— have all felt this pain.

God, even if no one ever did, we understand this— that Christ feels these things. And because of our love for him— our loyalty and devotion to him— we’ll stand gladly with him. And as he taught us, even when this gets really hard, we’ll rejoice and be glad. We understand that you’re a God who rewards even the smallest sacrifice.

So thanks for this team— this crowd— I know it’s a holiday weekend— who come here to really lift some heavy truths off the page of your word. But give them a heart of encouragement and fuel to live for you with the right mindset and the right values and the right gospel.

In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.