Embracing Christ: Overcoming Doubt and Misplaced Expectations

Now here in this incident we have focused what is in many ways the great picture which is presented to us by the four gospels and the picture presented by the gospels is one of great tragedy it is the tragedy of course of the way in which the world reacted to the Son of God our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. [00:01:17]

It means to be scandalized and that means of course to be astonished in a bad sense, scandalized regarded as something offensive blessed he says is he whosoever shall not be scandalized by me and by what he sees in me now that is I say the great thing unfortunately which is revealed to us in the page of the Gospel. [00:02:30]

There were many who were scandalized by his very person I mean by that that the fact that he'd been born in such lonly circumstances born in such utter poverty born in a stable and that he was a man who had been brought up in Nazareth up in Galilee not in Jerusalem and that he was only a carpenter man working with his hands an ordinary Workman. [00:06:46]

There were many who were scandalized I say by what he didn't do they thought he was going to do certain things he didn't do them and they were offended by him there were others who were equally scandalized by what he did do you know it's an extraordinary thing our Lord himself puts it here so perfectly. [00:07:44]

The Pharisees and scribes were infuriated by it and the more he taught the more they were offended and the more they were scandalized at his searching preaching concerning the law at the way he examined the very depth of their hearts and exposed the iniquity and the foulness they hated him there were those who were offended by his gentleness. [00:09:14]

Even the disciples were offended by that our Lord prophesied it he said you know this night shall have not passed until you all shall be offended in me and they were they didn't understand that they said but oh he's apparently weak and helpless we've seen him coming the storm on the Seas stopping the Raging of the Gale. [00:10:06]

The natural thing for the natural men to do is to be offended in him so the man who is a Christian is an exception and he is an exception by not doing the natural thing he's not reacting to Christ as everybody does by nature Everybody by Nature reacts against Christ rejects him he came unto his own and his own received him not. [00:14:39]

People are stumbled by the Lord Jesus Christ as the result of sin because it makes them expect the wrong things from him art thou he that should come or do we look for another why did John ask the question John would said these great things about him well there's no trouble about answering this at all. [00:17:20]

John of course as a Jew had fallen victim to the common Jewish error with regard to the Messiah they were all expecting the Messiah John above all that prophets had written they had found it in their Psalms it was everywhere Moses had said God's going to raise up a man like unto me that's the one to listen to The Prophet that is to come. [00:18:42]

These very things that I'm doing are the very things that the Old Testament prophets prophesied that I would do what did they prophesy well go and read Isaiah 35 go and read Isaiah 55 what does the prophet say about the day of Messiah he says when he comes the blind will have sight the lame men will leap like a heart and so on. [00:29:23]

The trouble is still the same I'll tell you why men and women are in trouble about Jesus Christ tonight it is because they've painted their own picture of him instead of going to the Bible and looking at him he is here he is presented ah but you say I read my Bible yes I know you do but like John the Baptist and the Jews. [00:34:48]

He didn't die because he was weak he died because he came to die he could have been carried to Heaven by a legion of angels He could have been protected by the Heavenly hosts he didn't he came to die I it is his mission he didn't come to reform the world he has come to save men and women out of the world and he came to die in order to do so. [00:44:29]