Saturday, June 22, 2013

Scandal!

Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed" (Luke 2:34-35).

It’s sad to say, but scandals are almost commonplace.  They become the lead story in the evening news.  They get first page treatment in newspapers.  They are what everyone talks about at work.  Scandals are quick to grab hold of the public’s attention.

On any given day, you hear plenty of bad news.  But a scandal is something special—it is an event so shocking that it makes people sit up and take notice.  A school bus crash that kills several children is tragic but if it comes out that the bus driver was drunk at the wheel, the crash becomes a scandal.  A radio talk show making fun of others can be unpleasant to listen to, but if the host makes racial slurs the comments will trigger a scandal.  We can grudgingly accept that accidents happen and people often make fools of themselves, but we cannot accept behavior that is dangerously irresponsible or patently offensive. 

A forest fire is not a scandal—not unless it was the result of arson.  It is not a scandal if a building collapses during an earthquake—unless it turns out that the structure was not built up to code.  No one really expects a politician to keep all of his campaign promises, but we have no tolerance for someone who is shown to be a bald-faced liar.  No one expects a late night comedian to always be funny, but the public will respond in anger if a joke is offensive.

Scandals provoke strong feelings in people. What was that judge thinking, letting a murderer go free on a technicality?  How could a man with a criminal history be elected to a position of public trust?  Scandals challenge our sense of right and wrong, of fairness and common sense.

Scandal is a funny thing—it makes us angry, but it also fascinates us.  When you check out at the grocery store, the papers on display are covered with lurid headlines.  The publishers know that scandal sells.  The more shocking the story, the better the chance that someone will buy the paper out of curiosity.  In the news business, scandal equals profit. 

In all of history, no one has been at the center of more scandal than our Lord Jesus Christ.  Many people have criticized Him.  Others have been shocked at the events of His life.  He has been the source of controversy for two thousand years, and there is no sign of the turbulence letting up.  As His followers, we sometimes get caught up in the criticism as well.  But what is all the fuss about?  Let’s take a look.

The first scandal swirling around Jesus involved His birth among us.  Jesus is both Son of God and Son of Man.  When Mary got pregnant, it was a miracle worked by the Holy Spirit.  Of course, you have to have faith in God to accept Mary’s story of an immaculate conception.  What would unbelievers think?  Maybe Mary and Joseph couldn’t wait until their wedding night, and this pregnancy was the result of their lack of control.  Perhaps Mary cheated on her finance with another man.  Regardless, it was shameful that Mary hid the truth behind an obvious lie—claiming that God made her pregnant, of all things!  Then again, maybe she was just delusional.  Regardless, unbelievers were sure that Jesus was born under a cloud.

St. Luke tells us that Jesus was well thought of by the citizens of Nazareth as He grew up.  But when our Lord reached age 30, things changed.  He gave up His first career as a carpenter and went to the notorious John to be baptized.  John was a scandal in himself; he dared to criticize the religious establishment and claimed that he was sent to prepare the way for the coming Messiah.  People came from all over to see John and listen to his message; but he also made some powerful enemies, enemies that would end his life in a gruesome manner.

Once Jesus was baptized, scandal started to surround Him once more.  He drew crowds, crowds that got bigger and bigger.  Some came to hear His words.  Others came for miraculous healing.  As His popularity grew, Jesus started attracting enemies too, enemies who opposed His teaching and tried to discredit Him publicly.  Jesus became the center of an escalating scandal; the religious hard-liners were infuriated by what Jesus had to say, while others were fascinated by the growing debate.

One of the scandals involved Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God.  The religious scholars called this blasphemy, a lie told in God’s name.  After all, Moses had said that our God, the Lord is one (Deuteronomy 6:4); Isaiah had said there is no other God (45:14).  Jesus spoke of God as a Trinity, one God consisting of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Although the Old Testament spoke of God’s Spirit and the Angel of the Lord who represented God to mortal man, scholars could not accept the idea of the Trinity or that Jesus could possibly be God’s Son.  Harder to explain were His miracles; if God were not with Him, how could Jesus give sight to the blind and raise the dead?  Their answer—Jesus must be an agent of the devil.  Of course, modern day skeptics don’t have to refute Jesus’ miracles—they just claim that the miracles never happened at all.  They say that the church invented the miracles as the New Testament was written, in order to sell Jesus more effectively to the ignorant and the desperate.

Jesus angered the religious elite by attacking them head-on.  The Pharisees pushed obedience to the Law as the way to win God’s approval.  God has high expectations for humanity—be holy, because I the Lord your God am holy (Leviticus 19:2).  To be holy is to live a perfect life in thought, word and deed.  Not even one sin is permitted.  Of course, no one can live up to God’s exacting standards.  Who could live their entire life and never lie, never say a hateful word, never treat Mom or Dad with disrespect?  This is why forgiveness is necessary; without forgiveness, we would be condemned to hell for being sinners unworthy of citizenship in heaven. 

The Pharisees believed in earning God’s favor by working hard to please Him.  They thought that God will reward those who dedicate their lives to the pursuit of perfection.  But Jesus challenged their views as unbiblical.  After all, through the prophet Hosea God said, I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and acknowledgment of God rather than burnt offerings.  In Psalm 51 David wrote, You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.  Jesus taught that first and foremost God wants us to bring our sinful selves to Him, fearful of God’s justice but also confident in His merciful love.  When we tell God that we’re sorry and ask for a new start, the Lord will forgive us.  Jesus illustrated this point with a little story:

Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.  The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: `God, I thank you that I am not like other men—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'  But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, `God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'  I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted (Luke 18:10-14).

Jesus criticized the religious elite for being self-righteous, instead of seeking righteousness from God.  Jesus came to offer that righteousness as a gift—not earned but freely given.  These words of Christ are scandalous to many—they challenge our sense of right and wrong.  We think that good behavior should be rewarded; we don’t think that God should send anyone to hell if they were doing the best they could.  We don’t like being told how we should behave, and we don’t like being told when we come up short.  But that’s the effect of sin within us; it makes us reject the hard truths of God as wrong.

Jesus also scandalized people of other faiths.  He said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6).  Jesus put Himself squarely in the center of the universe—God on one side, humanity on the other.  He told the Jews that they could not approach God except through Him.  By extension, He tells the followers of Mohammed that they cannot enter paradise except through Him.  He is saying that Hindus cannot find eternal happiness except through Him.  He is warning atheists and agnostics that a life of faithlessness is the worst mistake you can possibly make.

Jesus said, I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved (John 10:9).  These words have become increasingly scandalous since the day Jesus spoke them.  These words enrage the Muslim world.  These words provoke violent attacks by atheists.  These words are shocking to those who want political correctness to govern our dialogue with each other.  Christians who repeat these words are called unloving, narrow-minded, even hateful.  We live in a world of many religions and personal philosophies, all of which want to be accorded the same respect as the Way of Jesus Christ.  But Jesus is the only Son of God.  It was Jesus alone who suffered and died for our sins, shedding His blood on the cross so that we can be forgiven.  Jesus is the only gate into heaven, because He alone paid the price for our admission.

Which brings us to the ultimate scandal—the scandal of the cross.  All other scandals pale in comparison to this one.  Some are shocked at the Father’s conduct—how could a loving God allow His own Son to be treated so horribly?  Others find no justice in the cross—they don’t see how punishing Jesus makes up for the sins committed by anyone else.  Some question why the cross was even necessary—if God wanted to forgive us, then why not wave His hand and cause those sins to just go away?  The cross is a scandal that provokes vigorous debate.

But God will not just wave His hand and make sins disappear.  He is holy and just.  Justice demands punishment for lawbreaking.  Fairness requires that debts be paid.  To wave away our sins without corrective action would only sanction them, not deter them.

The cross of Calvary proves that God is committed to justice.  On that cross, sin was punished.  Every sin, committed by every human being from Adam and Eve to you and me, was punished by God on that bloodstained wood.   But the person who served the sentence for breaking God’s law was Jesus.  The person who paid the debt incurred by our sin was the sinless Son of God.  Jesus came to earth to take our place on the cross.  He was the only person capable handling such an enormous task.

That cross is proof of God’s incredible love for us.  On that cursed tree, Jesus suffered the hell we deserve and it cost Him His life—but He was willing to suffer in order to spare us.  That’s what love is—commitment to the welfare of others, no matter what the cost.  Jesus is God’s love made known to us in human form, a love that will do what it takes to replace sin and death with forgiveness and life. 

In all of history, no one has provoked more scandal than Jesus Christ.  He angered the Jews by saying that He was the Son of God, a claim they could not accept.  His death on a cross freed us from sin, a teaching that many educated people find ridiculous—they cannot embrace the idea that weakness and suffering give rise to strength and happiness.  The apostle Paul says that we are so tainted with evil that it is impossible to please God—only faith in Jesus can save us.  This angers folks who believe that they are basically good people who deserve God’s blessings.  And Jesus claimed that salvation is found exclusively through Him; many people resent these words, claiming that Christians are narrow-minded and judgmental of other faiths.

Jesus and the cross—they have always provoked strong reactions among the public.  Some have even been scandalized.  But the sensationalism of such controversy can serve God’s purpose when it draws the curious to the Savior of Mankind.  Jesus withstood the criticism out of love for the misguided and the lost; may you share in His steadfast commitment to the truth that saves.

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