You’ll need:
- CD with Slapped Video on it
Jesus The Revolutionary
When you think of the word revolutionary, what person comes to mind? Why?
Well, Fidel Castro, Samuel Adams, Joseph Stalin, Joan of Arc, Jesus, Martin Luther King Jr. Wait, was that Jesus? Does Jesus fit along side those revolutionaries?
So often our image of Christ is shaped by our childhood memories of gentle Jesus, meek and mild Jesus, sitting in a green pasture in a long flowing robe. But to the people of Palestine in the time of Christ, He was a rebellious revolutionary. Has the revolutionary message of Christ grown dim with familiarity? In today’s lesson, we are going to attempt to recapture the revolutionary nature of the message of Jesus.
The Opening Act:
How would you define the word revolutionary?
Well, the dictionary defines a revolutionary as, “…an instigator of a political or a social revolution.” So, do you think this definition is a good description of Jesus?
Well, I would venture to say that many of us have been use to the images of Jesus that we see on the screen right now. We have had the image of a meek, and mild Jesus engraved into our minds. When we thing of Jesus, we have this silent, submissive view of Jesus at times. However, there is another view of Christ that we tend to overlook. Let me show you a couple more pictures of Jesus that are in a different light.
Now I would assume that for most of us, we relate better with the first set of pictures of Jesus as opposed to the second set. However, these pictures stand in stark contrast to each other. In the first, we have the peaceable Jesus. But in the second, we have the Jesus that was a revolutionary.
In Matthew 10:34-39 it says, “1”
In that passage, Jesus said, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace.” Now does that sound like “gentle Jesus, meek and mild Jesus?”
Was Jesus gentle? Yes He was. Was Jesus meek? Absolutely. Was Jesus mild? Sometimes. But was He also a rebellious revolutionary who challenged the religious, political, and economic institutions of His time? Most certainly. And that is what we are going to take a look at today.
But before we begin, let me open our time with a word of prayer. Let’s Pray!
The Main Event:
1. Jesus revolutionized our understanding of love.
Jesus was born into a very violent and dangerous time. The Romans, who ruled a good chunk of the known world at the time, were in control of Palestine. For hundreds of years Israel had been subject to the foreign rule of one power or another. Violence committed against the Jewish people during this time were gruesome. The Jewish expectations for the messiah was that He would lead His people in a glorious victory against those who had done so much injustice in the past. Jesus, however, had a different message to share with them.
In the midst of this hate and rebellion, Jesus came with a new message, a message of love. In Matthew 5:38-45 Jesus shares an amazing message with us. Matthew 5:38-45 says, “2”
When everyone is wanting revenge on their enemies, Jesus comes along and He tells them to, “…love your enemies…” This new message Jesus preached was revolutionary. The centuries-old message of hate and unforgiving-ness was being replaced with a message of love and grace.
When Jesus said to turn the other cheek, what do you think He meant? (Literally/Symbolically)
At this time, I want to show you a video clip. Some people believe that Jesus meant that we never stand up for ourselves and that we allow others to run all over us. If that is the case, then this clip would be an example of turning the other cheek I guess.
Now in contrast to that, in the movie Gandhi, Gandhi was once confronted by a huge mob of people while he was on a march. He was with a Presbyterian missionary who asked Gandhi what he was going to do. Gandhi turned around and said, “What did Jesus say about turning the other cheek?” And the missionary said that Jesus meant it symbolically?
So Gandhi turned to him again and said, “I suspect He meant you must show courage, be willing to take a blow, several blows, to show that you will not strike back, nor will you be turned aside. And when you do that, it calls on something in human nature, something that makes his hatred decrease and his respect increase. I think Christ grasped that, and I have seen it work.”
You know, what Christ brought to this world was a different kind of love. Jesus knew that the only way to reach deep inside people was to show them a new and revolutionary kind of love.
2. Jesus revolutionized our understanding of God.
Have you ever watched the film Jesus or one like it? One thing coming across clearly in these movies is the more unsavory the character, the more at ease they seem around Christ.
In his book, The Jesus I Never Knew, Philip Yancey tells a tragic story of a young homeless woman who came to a Christian-based urban ministry to beg for some food. When she sat down with a counselor, the homeless woman told him she had been renting out her 2 year old daughter to sick men to get money for drugs. She was so disgusted with herself, but she didn’t know where to turn for help. He asked her if she had ever gone to the church for help and she replied, “The church…the church! Why would I ever go there? They would just make me feel worse than I already do.”
Why is it the church is more known for judging and condemning people than for loving and accepting those in desperate need of God’s message?
In Matthew 9:9-13 it says, “3”
Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” You see, Jesus came to revolutionize our understanding of God and deepen our understanding of the people God wants to have a relationship with. And in that, Jesus made a new rule for the religious institution of His day, in God’s kingdom there are no undesirables.
In his book, God Came Near, Max Lucado writes about a Brazilian girl who left home and ended up becoming a prostitute. He writes, “Throughout the streets of Rio literally hundreds of thousands of teenagers wander the streets homeless. When one teenage girl left her home in the country for the big city, her mother followed her there. Unable to locate her daughter, this mother went throughout the city putting up hundreds of pictures of her daughter. The girl’s mother had written faithfully on the back of each flier, “Whatever you have done, whatever you have become, it doesn’t matter. Please come home.” And the amazing part about that story is this, she did come home!”
That is the way that it is with God as well. When we have gone off on our own and done things that we are ashamed of, God is there welcoming us back. This was something that was totally opposite of what others though of God. And so Jesus came along and revolutionized people’s view of God.
3. Jesus revolutionized our understanding of sacrifice.
In II Corinthians 5:21 it says, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us.” Perhaps the most revolutionary thing Christ did was become sin so that we might have a relationship with God. Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross allows us to see the depth of God’s love for us. And Jesus also expects us to live lives of sacrifice.
This next illustration has been used a lot in the last several years, but what better story is there to tell about a high school student who was willing to sacrifice her life for God. A normal Christian girl who attended youth group on a regular basis had her life turned around one morning in her school library when a boy held a gun to her head and asked her if she believed in God. By saying yes, Cassie Bernall was willing to sacrifice everything, even her very life, to be a revolutionary with Jesus.
Here is a quote that I would like to share with you form Martin Luther King. Martin Luther King once said, “Christianity has always insisted that the cross we bear precedes the crown we wear. To be a Christian one must take up that cross and carry it until it leaves its mark upon us and redeems us to that more excellent way which only comes through suffering.”
You see, Jesus modeled sacrifice on Calvary. In doing so He demonstrated a revolutionary understanding of sacrifice. The question is, “Are we willing to follow His lead?”
The Grand Finale:
So, are you ready to become a revolutionary? Someone who shares the love of God, someone who spreads the message of a compassionate and graceful God, someone who’s willing to model revolutionary sacrifice like Christ. Are you ready? We always see the bracelets that say, W.W.J.D? which mean, what would Jesus do? And so I would challenge you to put that idea into action and really become a revolutionary with Jesus.
Encore:
Get It?
· What did Jesus mean when He said to turn the other cheek? Would this be a hard thing for you?
· Why does God have a special place in His heart for sinners and unrighteous people?
· What are some of the tough sacrifices people make by becoming Christians? Are those sacrifices worth it?
· What did Jesus mean when He said anyone who loves his father more than Him wasn’t worthy of Him?
· Why is it so many people view the church as a place of condemnation and judgment rather than a place of love and grace?
What If? The Big Picture
· Why did Jesus attract so many people the society of His day rejected, tax collectors, prostitutes, lepers, the physically handicapped, just to name a few?
· Do you think our church or youth group is attracting people who need Jesus? Why or why not?
· Why is the word sacrifice so foreign to the way we live today? What would happen if we could live the life of sacrifice and unconditional love that Jesus did?
· If the call to a revolutionary life in Jesus is a valid one, what are some of the things stopping us from becoming revolutionaries for Jesus?
So What? It’s Your Life
· What are some of the things that would change in your life if you were to become a revolutionary?
· What are some of the things that we can do to show the revolutionary love of God?
· How can you show others what it means to have a proper understanding of the grace and forgiveness of God?
· What do you need to sacrifice so that you can become a true revolutionary for Jesus?
· Talking about living like a revolutionary may sound well and good, but what changes are required to live a revolutionary life with Christ?
Now, before we close, does anyone have anything that they would like to add?
Well, if there is nothing else, I want to leave you with this last challenge. Some of you are going to be going on our mission trip this summer. If that is you, I would encourage you to be that way with the people that we come in contact with. As you are helping them, give them a new look at love. Give them a different view of God than what they may have. And show them what sacrifice is all about as you serve them in the week of our mission trip.
If you are not going on that trip, perhaps you could do something on your own, or you could show these same revolutionary ideas as you make it your goal to help fund that trip. Whatever you decide, just keep in mind that Jesus came and He had a revolutionary message to share with everyone. Jesus showed us all a new love that was beyond what we previously knew. He brought a new understand of God to a group of people who didn’t truly know God. And He showed us what sacrifice was all about.
Let’s Pray!
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