Jesus: The Blasphemer Pastor Fred Kingman - January 28th, 2024 Question this month: What did people say about Jesus? Answer: That he was a blasphemer. “It takes 21 days to form a habit, and 90 days to form a lifestyle.” anonymous Raiders fan Jesus is not: Your pet Your bud Your boss Jesus is: More significant than parents More powerful than the president More transcendent than Taylor Swift Heidelberg Catechism "No sin is greater or provokes God's wrath more than the blaspheming of His Name". What others said about Jesus is important not because it’s true but because it reveals the reaction he caused in people. The far and away main reason Jesus died is because he claimed to be your and my Creator. We can’t handle the truth. Jesus is my Judge Jesus is my Shepherd Jesus is my Master Matthew 9:1-8 So he got into a boat, crossed over, and came to his own town. Just then some men brought to him a paralytic lying on a stretcher. Seeing their faith, Jesus told the paralytic, “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven.” At this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “He’s blaspheming!” Perceiving their thoughts, Jesus said, “Why are you thinking evil things in your hearts? For which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk’? 6 But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—then he told the paralytic, “Get up, take your stretcher, and go home.” So he got up and went home. When the crowds saw this, they were awestruck and gave glory to God, who had given such authority to men. Judge Jesus: Claims divine authority Shows perfect knowledge Reveals impossible mercy John 10:23-33 Jesus was walking in the temple in Solomon’s Colonnade. The Jews surrounded him and asked, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” “I did tell you and you don’t believe,” Jesus answered them. “The works that I do in my Father’s name testify about me. But you don’t believe because you are not of my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all. No one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” Again the Jews picked up rocks to stone him. Jesus replied, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these works are you stoning me?” “We aren’t stoning you for a good work,” the Jews answered, “but for blasphemy, because you—being a man—make yourself God.” Shepherd Jesus: Calls out goats Grants eternal life Leads in God’s place Mark 14:60-64 Then the high priest stood up before them all and questioned Jesus, “Don’t you have an answer to what these men are testifying against you?” But he kept silent and did not answer. Again the high priest questioned him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” “I am,” said Jesus, “and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “Why do we still need witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What is your decision?” They all condemned him as deserving death. King Jesus: Tortures with silence Towers over creation Takes our punishment Jesus is the Judge who forgives sin, the Shepherd who leads in God’s place and the King who takes our Punishment . And.. he does it all in loving compassion. Brennan Manning “The compassion of Jesus is the compassion of Almighty God.. when you read in the Gospels that Jesus was moved with compassion, it is saying that His gut was wrenched, His heart torn open and the most vulnerable part of his being laid bare. The ground of all being shook, the source of all life trembled, the heart of all love burst open and the unfathomable depths of the relentless tenderness was laid bare. Your Christian life and mine don’t make any sense unless in the depth of our beings we believe that Jesus not only knows what hurts us, but knowing, seeks us out whatever our poverty, whatever our pain. His plea to His people is, ‘Come now, wounded, frightened, angry, lonely, empty, and I’ll meet you where you live. And I’ll love you as you are, not as you should be, because you’re never going to be as you should be.’ Do you really believe this? With all the wrong turns you made in your past… the mistakes, the moments of selfishness, dishonesty and degraded love? Do you really believe that Jesus Christ loves you? Not the Person next to you, not the church, not the world. But that He loves you—beyond worthiness and unworthiness, beyond fidelity and infidelity. That he loves you in the morning sun and in the evening rain. Without caution, regret, boundary, limit. No matter what’s gone down, He can’t stop loving you. This is the Jesus of the Gospels.” Next Steps: 1. Upgrade Jesus 2. Downgrade Yourself 3. Experience Communion Small Group Questions 1. What attributes of God does Jesus seem to exemplify in the Gospels? What are some attributes people praised him for? Note: Leaders consider defining ‘Trinity’ or reading Athanasian Creed. 2. What are some attributes of Jesus that some people didn't like? 3. If you had to guess, why were people offended that Jesus compares himself to, and claims to be, God? Note: Theologians call Jesus being 100% man and 100% God the ‘hypostatic union’. Spend time pointing out the absurdity but also reality of this idea 4. Jesus was called a blasphemer 3x in the Gospels (see above). Which of these is the most serious to the Pharisees/Scribes, and which is the most important for you? 5. The religious leaders struggle to upgrade Jesus to being God, but also to downgrade themselves. How do you think they viewed themselves better than they should? 6. Why is Jesus being God important if he died for our sin? In other words, why did a divine being have to die to forgive us? 7. What does this say about the compassion of God? Do you think He loves you? Do you think He can stop loving you?