By The Rev. Dr. Paul A. Leggett
Sunday, March 8, 2009 · Second Sunday of Lent
Sermon Text: John 12:20-32
Sermon Theme
The most serious crisis faced by the early church was their response to the Gentiles who were coming to Christ. The earliest disciples saw Jesus as the Messiah, the Son of God, the promised King of Israel. However, all their lives they had been taught to believe that Gentiles were not included in this promise. Gentiles, in fact, were unclean, like dogs. Jesus himself had seemingly embraced this view (Matthew 15:21-28). Yet Jesus makes clear that the purpose of his going to the cross is to bring “all people” to himself. This is a major change from what Jesus’ disciples expected. Following Christ requires us to change in ways that may seem very challenging. We need to realize that whatever exalts Jesus Christ brings us closer to God’s final plan of salvation.
Sermon Outline
- Change. The coming of Gentiles to faith in Christ is an essential part of God’s plan of salvation. The new creation revealed in the cross and resurrection of the Lord Jesus involves all people, all nations, all tribes and languages. Yet the acceptance of Gentiles into the early church was a long and difficult process for the Jewish Christians who thought of Gentiles as “unclean” and even “dogs.” Change is always demanding. The early Christian leaders had to struggle with their own prejudice and racism. We face the same struggle.
- Challenge. When Jesus learns that there are Greeks looking for him, he responds with the statement, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Jesus’ early disciples saw him as the Messiah, the King of Israel. What did this have to do with the Greeks? This led to the question of how the new life in the Gospel was related to the earlier life of Israel. Jesus had said that he had not come to destroy the law but to fulfill it. The challenge in facing new events is to know how to embrace the new without losing the old. This was true of the early church and it’s true of us as well. We at Grace Church have a long history of emphasizing Bible study, missions and youth. While we may all embrace the same goals, we do not necessarily share the same views of how to reach those goals. The early church faced the same problem.
- Complete. Jesus’ death on the cross will complete his mission. Yet while the essential task is complete, the application of it is still in progress. Even as we all struggle with the imperfections of our lives, we need to hold on to the completed work of Jesus Christ. In seeking his completion we must look to those things that confess that “Jesus is Lord,” and also build up his church. We are neither complete without Christ nor without each other. We need to resist false gospels and false divisions based on culture, race or personal experience. In the cross of Christ alone we find help and wholeness. We need to make Christ, and him alone, the sole focus of our lives. Only then will our joy be complete.
Questions for Us
- Why do you think change is so hard for us? What can we learn from the New Testament struggle to accept Gentiles into the church?
- How do we recognize the difference between holding on to things that cannot change and adapting to the changes that God may be presenting to us? What are some examples of things that can’t change and things that can?
- Why is it so easy to think that we are right and that people who differ with us are wrong? How do we struggle with the incompleteness of our own faith? How do we keep Christ the center of our thoughts and actions?
