Hoover Church of Christ Sermons

Three weeks ago I introduced a short sermon series (click here to view) about the importance of seeing Jesus as he is portrayed in the Bible, and not just in the way that makes us most comfortable. We all like to think about the Jesus who held babies and forgave sinners and ate dinner at tax collectors’ houses. We may not be as comfortable with “that other side of Jesus”: the one who turns over tables, talks about “weeping and gnashing of teeth,” and excoriates the “scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.”

But in order to read the Bible faithfully, we need to see Jesus as he is, not necessarily as we wish him to be. Tomorrow we’ll look at one of the stories he told, and this one has this interesting and quite scary language: “fiery furnace . . . [where] there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

A fiery furnace? Weeping and gnashing of teeth? Do these words actually come from the mouth of Jesus, the “Prince of Peace”?

Yes, they do, and you may be surprised (or not) to know that he spoke fairly often of a frightening judgment that awaits those who reject him.

What do we do with this side of Jesus? What do we do with our loving Savior when speaks in such negative ways?

It might challenge us, but one option that is not available is to dismiss him. To accept only the version of Jesus that makes us feel good isn’t really accepting him at all, because he comes to us as one who is both loving and holy, a God of both mercy and judgment.

Two weeks ago I introduced a short sermon series about the importance of seeing Jesus as he is portrayed in the Bible, and not just in the way that makes us most comfortable. We all like to think about the Jesus who held babies and forgave sinners and ate dinner at tax collectors’ houses. We may not be as comfortable with “that other side of Jesus”: the one who turns over tables, talks about “weeping and gnashing of teeth” and excoriates the “scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites.”

But in order to read the Bible faithfully, we need to see Jesus as he is, not necessarily as we wish him to be. This Sunday we’ll look at one of the more famous stories about “that other side of Jesus”–the one where he goes into the temple and drives the money-changers out and turns over their tables.

It’s fascinating to consider: what would make Jesus angry enough to engage in such uncharacteristically violent behavior? What was going through his mind? And what does this teach us today?

I ran across an article that was published back in February, and it inspired the sermon for this Sunday (as well as a few to follow). If you’d like to read the article, it’s here.

All of us like to think about the Jesus who welcomes sinners and speaks words of compassion to those who are hurting. And people need to see that Jesus because some of them never have.

But there’s another side of Jesus that’s presented in the gospel accounts as well. It’s the Jesus who turns over tables, talks about “weeping and gnashing of teeth,” and calls people “hypocrites.” These two “sides” of Jesus don’t contradict each other; rather, they present Jesus as he was–a complicated Being who shows us what God is like.

This Sunday morning we will reflect on these two presentations of Jesus and think about how followers (and would-be followers) of Jesus need to think about him from different vantage points so that we learn him as he is. He is the epitome of love, and he’s also someone who makes us squirm in our seats.

And then later this month we’re going to look at a few specific examples that illustrate this “other side of Jesus.”