Our Two Dads
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Greg: [00:00:00] Hi, this is Greg for the Rebuilding Faith Online Community. I joined the community because I was burned out on the way the churches we had attended were being led. They were close-minded, too much church politics, and it seemed the American church was getting away from the teachings of Jesus and they had other agenda ballot jury through Rebuilding Faith offers new insights.
And a more open way of learning about Jesus and living out our faith. The best part about my experience in the community has been finding out there are more folks that have had similar experiences within the organized church.
Welcome to another episode of Rebuilding Faith. These are 10 minute Bible messages for people with questions and doubts, and today we're going to continue in. We've been looking at this ongoing argument that Jesus has with religious leaders. He was at odds with the religious people of his day or to quote a [00:01:00] conservative ad campaign right?
Now he gets us, which is not exactly what they're intending with that ad, but you see that Jesus was fed up as well. Jesus looked around him at what people thought was a normal way. Of understanding God, and he said, this is bonkers, and we've been looking at it in John chapter eight. So today we're gonna pick up in verse 37, and we're gonna see where this argument goes.
Jesus says, yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham, and yet some of you are trying to kill me because there's no room in your hearts. For my message. I'm telling you what I saw when I was with my father, but you are following the advice of your father. Okay, interesting little twist here. Jesus is setting up a parental conflict here, and any parent knows this trap, right?
When your kids pick [00:02:00] one parent versus the other parent to try and get. What they want. And so Jesus is playing a little bit into that image of there are different parents here and different parenting styles. Each style has different outcomes, one parent lets you have more cookies than the other parent, so you go to that parent whenever it's time for dessert. And so people had started to do this. They had started to pick and choose what they actually wanted and then figure out who's going to allow me to have that now.
I think we're seeing the same exact split in Christianity today. Much of the momentum, the movement, the growth. Of Christianity, certainly in America, is toward Christian nationalism which I would argue as would many others.
That this is actually antithetical to the actual gospel of Jesus. This is antithetical to everything Jesus taught and Jesus modeled, [00:03:00] and yet this belief, this movement calls itself by the same name and refers to itself as Christianity as the Christian ethicist. Dr. David Gushy has argued. He has said it is not fundamentalist Muslims who today are serious candidates for federal and statewide offices in the United States.
It is Christians who are positioning themselves to remake our 200 and 40-year-old Democratic and church and state arrangements. If you're paying attention, the people rewriting our government, changing everything, trying to rebuild something new are not foreigners from another country. These are Christians within our own country.
They are the ones trying to create something different. Our Christianity Today has very different parents to use. The the analogy here that Jesus is using. [00:04:00] And so we keep reading in verse 39, our father is Abraham. They declared No. Jesus replied for if you really were the children of Abraham, you would follow his example.
Instead, you are trying to kill me because I told you the truth, which I heard from God. Abraham never did such a thing. No, you are imitating your real father. They replied, we aren't illegitimate children. God himself is our true father. Shockingly, they disagree with Jesus's assessment of what they believe, and then they even offer a not so subtle insult back at Jesus, which you may have missed, but let me make sure you don't.
They say that they are not illegitimate. Children, why are they using that? Because Jesus was often considered an illegitimate child. [00:05:00] He, he had a father named Joseph, who it was commonly understood was not his biological father. So you can imagine the jokes that would've been made at Jesus' expense. And here they say, look, we are not the ones.
Who are illegitimate children, and I can just imagine the sneering happening. The chuckling happening when they make this response to Jesus. And Jesus points out that they are literally threatening his life, like Their version of Faith has come to equate into a threat.
Which is helpful for us. We should take note whenever a version of Christianity tells you who is your enemy and then tells you to threaten them. Or they threaten them and they put you at odds with someone else. That is not a Christianity that Jesus would be a part of. Then finally we get to verse 42.
Jesus told them, if God were your [00:06:00] father, you would love me because I have come to you from God. I'm not here on my own, but he sent me, why can't you understand what I am saying? It's because you can't even hear me. For you are children of your father, the devil, and you love to do the evil things that he does.
He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth because there is no truth. In him when he lies, it is consistent with his character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. So when I tell the truth, you just naturally don't believe me. Which of you can truthfully accuse me of sin? And since I am telling you the truth, why don't you believe me?
Anyone who belongs to God listens gladly to the words of God, but you don't listen because you don't belong to God. I feel like Jesus says a line here that could be said every day right now, [00:07:00] and the line is verse 43. Why can't you understand what I am saying? It's because you can't even hear me. Have you had a conversation, my friends with someone and maybe you felt this.
Why can't you understand what I'm saying to you? It's like you can't even hear me. This passage shows us that although our outward expressions of religion can look similar, they can come from radically different.
Places, and I believe that Jesus would indeed call out much of the church today that bears his name in the same way the scientist and Christian Catherine, Hahoye has said it like this, for most of us, the value of belonging far outweighs the value of attaining new. Information, especially if publicly [00:08:00] accepting that information and speaking up might lead to a negative outcome an argument, the cold shoulder, or even ostracism from your social group. And so instead of figuring out Jesus, what are you calling us to? How do we live that out? We have instead gone into these tribes where we have these identities and they're often political identities and we say, this is who I am, and then we try to fit our faith inside that identity.
But the moment you sense, Hey, Jesus is, is telling me something that doesn't fit with what my group is saying, you are at odds with your group and as Catherine points out, you have to make a decision. Are you going to be willing to receive whatever pushback you might receive from actually following Jesus?
Or will you go along with your tribe, which is always the easier thing to do. So let me give you this takeaway from this passage today that lineage isn't claimed. It's [00:09:00] displayed We can quote all the Bible verses we want. We can say all the right things about our beliefs. We can attach it to whatever doctrines and, and, and institutions.
We want to make it sound valid, but if it doesn't look like the person of Jesus, then it's actually coming from a different parent. And as Jesus saw with the religious leaders of his day, just because someone can claim all the right things and claim the same source, doesn't mean it is actually of God. So the challenge before you and I always is rather than going to a tribe, going to a group, is say, Jesus, what are you actually inviting us to believe and to do?
And how can I follow you in a way where my faith actually looks like you? I'll see you next week on Rebuilding Faith.
