Meeting the Real Jesus: the goodie goods
This past weekend Dandelion Ministries led the annual Teen Retreat for the Anglican Diocese in New England up in southern New Hampshire. It was an amazing time with 75 teens and 23 volunteer leaders. The Spirit of the Lord moved powerfully throughout the weekend. We will give you a full write-up soon, but in the meantime we thought we’d share our talks from the weekend with you. Our theme was “Meeting the Real Jesus.” Below is my opening talk on Friday night. Enjoy!
We might think that we know a lot about Jesus, but there is a difference between knowing a lot about someone and actually knowing that person. Take your favorite celebrity. If you’re a soccer fan like me and you’re getting fired up for the World Cup this year…you might be thinking of your favorite player. Is it Dembele? Yamal? Mbappe? My favorite player right now is Mbappe. And I know some about Mbappe. I’ve casually followed his career…I love watching him play. Of course I’ll be cheering for the US in the Cup, but I will also keep my eye on France. Anyhow, knowing about Mbappe and knowing Mbappe are two totally different things. I would so much rather get to know him…to be his friend. Be able to kick the ball around together. Wouldn’t you? Or think of music. I’m a musician, and I have a lot of favorite musical artists…most of them are people that you either wouldn’t know or probably wouldn’t care much about because they’re probably really old to you. You know I actually got to meet and hang out with one of my old man musical heroes. His name is Don Chaffer of the band Waterdeep, which I’m sure most of you don’t know. But I got to hang out with him in New York City for a weekend and even take a music theory class from him on zoom during the pandemic. It was awesome! He’s an amazing guy, and we actually ended up having a very similar sense of humor, which was a lot of fun.
But you have your own. Who is your favorite singer right now? Would you like to meet them some day? What if you could actually become their best friend? Wouldn’t that be amazing? It is such a different thing to know about someone and to actually know someone.
We want to actually meet Jesus, and we want to get to know Jesus more together. The awesome thing is that Jesus wants us to know him as he knows us and made sure to give us his word, the Bible, so that we might really know him. The Bible is his great big letter to you…a personal message of how he loves you. And on top of that he promised to give us his Holy Spirit so that we might be able to understand what he says to us through his word…so that we might really know him as a friend on a heart level.
In order to get to know Jesus more, we are going to look at what happened when some people just like us met him. We’re going to see and hear how he engages people…how he handles people just like me…just like you. And I think it’s going to help us get rid of some inaccurate beliefs and thoughts about Jesus. If you’re like me when I was a teenager then you probably have some formed ideas about Jesus. You may have been told he loves you…have you ever been told Jesus loves you? That’s very true…Jesus loves you. He loves you more than life itself! And we’re gonna hear more on that. The funny thing is we often say Jesus loves us, but then we spend a lot of time in our day thinking more about Jesus as someone who is always watching us and is focused on our behavior all the time. He almost feels more like a parent or a teacher that just wants us to be good all of the time. Kind of like the American idea of Santa Claus…he’s supposed to be a friendly good guy, but he only gives you gifts when you’re nice. If you’re bad you get a lump of coal. You’ve got to perform for him for him to really be pleased with you. When I was your age my understanding of Jesus was very clouded with these thoughts…that he loved me, but was more like a parent or a divine Santa Claus. “You better watch out, you better not cry, you better not pout, I’m telling you why Jesus is coming to town!”
But I think we’ll be surprised to see how Jesus actually interacts with and what he says to the people that are the goodie-goods. The ones that are obsessed with behaving all the time. And we’ll be surprised at how he handles the people that have completely disregarded the rules or have failed miserably at keeping them. The ones that Santa says should get a lump of coal or a parent might discipline or a teacher might send to the principal’s office. Jesus handles these people very differently from how we normally think.
Now, I said we’re gonna see how he handles people just like you and me, so let’s consider somebody who thinks they’re doing everything right first. The good person. The person that follows the rules really well. I won’t have you raise your hands, but I know there are some good rule followers in here. I know there are some of you who feel really good about yourselves because you do what you’re told, you do your homework, you get good grades, you do your chores, you listen to your parents and pastors and teachers, at least most of the time. You’re a good person, right? The unfortunate thing about thinking we’re good all of the time is that we often determine this by comparing ourselves to others. We often size ourselves up by looking at our friends and family members and judging who’s is doing better. So, the unintended consequence here is that we good rule followers often end up thinking we’re better than everybody else. Even when we don’t say it or bring attention to it…we like when we get praise for doing things right and this is especially so when someone else is doing it wrong.
Luke tells us about a time when Jesus met a person just like that in the 18th chapter of his gospel. Luke calls him the rich ruler. This title is important for us to know because it tells us something about his goodness. Old Testament times were not very different from ours in terms of our perspectives on money and wealth. They thought back then that if you were wealthy, it was a sign of blessing. We think similar things today. If you have a lot of wealth or material possessions today you may say that you are blessed. God has favored you. That is certainly the way they thought in Jesus’ day.
Matthew tells the same story in his gospel and lets us know that this guy is young man as well. That means he has done well for himself in a short period of time. It speaks to his capability, and it adds to his impressiveness. Add to that the fact that he is a ruler as well. He has authority. He has respect in the community. So, at face value this guy seems quite good as far as society is concerned. He is a success story…the type of person held up as an example. He’s like Lebron James or Beyonce…someone that in general everyone respects and agrees is the best at what they do.
But what do this rich young ruler and Jesus actually talk about? He asks Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” And we get an even clearer picture of him. He respects Jesus as a teacher, and he is concerned with eternal life. He is religious to boot. So he’s not some amoral criminal. He’s successful and his priorities are in the right place, we would say. This is where we start to meet the real Jesus. His response to this impressive successful young man is not what we’d expect. He first questions him calling Jesus “good.” He says only God alone is good. We’re getting a hint here at how Jesus handles people that are super focused on being good all the time. He tells us right off the bat that no one is truly good except for God. So, the whole idea of trying to earn your way by following all of the rules doesn’t even work because it can’t make you like God. We’ll see why that’s important in just a minute. Jesus then tells the young man: ”You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’” He gives him a list of the rules, and it sounds like Jesus actually is just a divine Santa Claus…maybe he is just like our teachers and parents and only wants us to try to behave all of the time…try to be good.
The rich young ruler responds to Jesus saying, ““All these I have kept from my youth.” I’ve done all of that. I’ve been really good. Not only is he good from society’s point of view, but he is also very good morally. He keeps all the rules all the time…and has worked hard to do so since he was a kid…at least that’s how he sees himself. Jesus’ response is quite stunning. He doesn’t argue with the ruler at all on whether or not he’s kept the commandments. He certainly could have questioned him here, which we know from the fact that Jesus just said no one is good except for God alone. Jesus teaches very clearly elsewhere in his Sermon on the Mount that goodness is not a matter of outward behavior, but rather is a state of your heart. He says, if you’ve ever just been angry with someone and called them a fool it’s the same as murdering them in your heart. You’re devaluing them., thinking they are lesser than. Jesus takes all of these rules he just reminded the young ruler of and in his Sermon on the Mount he shows that they all have to do with our heart motivations and in that light, we are all guilty of breaking them. SO, Jesus could have argued with the young man about thinking he’s kept all the rules, but he doesn’t. Because he’s not interested in arguing about behavior. It is NOT his main concern at all. He is NOT Santa Claus, and he is not your parent or teacher. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost. He is the Savior. He is actually interested in meeting this young ruler right where he needs love and grace the most…where he is lost. So, he says the one thing that would go right to the heart of the matter in this rich young ruler’s life. He said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” And Luke tells us the response. The rich young ruler who at first was quite confident in himself…he thought he was doing very well as did everyone else around him. You could say he believed his own press…his own reputation. But when he heard what Jesus said, “he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.”
Jesus knew this young man better than the young man knew himself, and he asked the one thing that would cut through all of the other noise of being a good guy. All the noise of rule following and performing for everyone’s approval, of earning your way to eternal life and trying to earn favor with God. Jesus knew that this young man loved his wealth more than anything else, and it was the main barrier between his heart and Jesus. It’s important to note that Jesus was doing this out of love. Mark says as much in his version of this story in his gospel. He says, “And Jesus, look[ed] at him, [and] loved him…” Then he tells him to give away his wealth. He loves him and goes right after the one thing standing between them. He does this because he came to save us from the impossible things in our lives. This young man’s faith was in his wealth and reputation…You can read between the lines and see that he attached his value and his sense of importance to his wealth and success…to give it up was too much for him; it was impossible. He loved his wealth and success, and he was sad at the thought of letting it go. Who would be without it? I’m literally labeled the rich young ruler…if you take away my wealth, my success and power, then who am I??!!
Jesus sums this interaction up for his disciples who are watching the whole interchange saying, “How difficult it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.” The disciples are bewildered by this because of everything we said at the beginning…they thought very highly of this young ruler. They thought he was a shoe in for the kingdom of heaven…he was so good in their minds. If he can’t get in, then who can? That’s their question…what hope is there for any of us if that guy’s not good enough? They were doing what we said at the beginning…comparing. Measuring their goodness against others. And this guy was way better than them. They were just a rag tag group of fisherman and common workers with a tax collector sprinkled in there. If this guy can’t get in, then there’s no hope for any of us.
That is exactly the effect Jesus wanted to have both on this young man and on all those watching them. He wanted to bring an end to the performance game. He answered the initial question, “What must I DO to inherit eternal life?” Jesus drives home the answer: nothing. There is nothing you can do to get eternal life. He wants to the rich young ruler, his disciples, and us to all come face to face with the truth that only God is truly good and none of us can ever be good enough through our effort to earn our way to him…we can never be rich enough, powerful enough, respected enough, impressive enough, morally good enough. It is impossible for us. Truly impossible.
BUT Jesus doesn’t leave it there. He doesn’t leave the rich young ruler there or his disciples or us. He says, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”
This is how Jesus handles us good rule followers. This is how he handles us when we think we’re better than others. This is how he handles us when we base our value on our performance…when we think he cares about our behavior…when our faith is in our own goodness. Jesus, the real Jesus, revealed to us in his word always goes right to the heart of the matter with us. He puts his finger on those places in us where we know it’s impossible. He ignores all our posturing or arguing about all the ways we prove ourselves…all those places where we think we deserve a reward for our goodness. He doesn’t care about all that…he’s not interested in arguing about behavior. He came to seek and save the lost, and those of us who do not think we’re lost are the most lost. . . .and Jesus goes right to the places in your heart where you are lost…right to the places where you need him the most. We often don’t want to talk about those places because we don’t like being faced with the impossible. We don’t like the truth that there are things we cannot control…that we can’t fix about ourselves. We’d rather focus on where we think we succeed. Jesus stops all of that. Instead, he loves us and goes right to where we need to be saved.
That’s the great news for you tonight…Jesus came to save you. Your performance won’t save you. No amount of your effort will be able to do the impossible. You can’t fix your heart. But Jesus can and does. He is for you. Jesus loves you. Jesus forgives you. He knows you better than you know yourself, and he knows the impossible places for you. Instead of you trying to earn the impossible, instead of you trying so hard all the time to be perfect, instead of you trying to constantly prove your worth…that you matter, that you’re valuable…Jesus loves you just as you are right now. And he gives you his grace. He gives you himself. And he gives you a new heart to believe in him. Jesus took all the impossible with him and put it to death on the cross for us. He died for our sins and then did the impossible by rising from the dead. He did the work for you to inherit eternal life. And He gives it to you as a gift…the thing you could never earn…he gives it to you as a gift for free. And he sets you free from all the rule following. He gives you his own goodness…God’s goodness. You are good because he says you are good. And no one can change that. Amen.
