Jesus The - Sharp-Tongued and Soft-Hearted

Good morning, everyone. I just want you to know

I found in the pocket of my jacket a caramel

chocolate lint bunny from Sunday, and I forgot

it was there, and that tells me today's going

to be a good day. I just found it, and I was

like, what a good find. What a good find. I was

very excited about it. Hope everybody's enjoying

the weather that we had yesterday and you were

able to get outdoors and do something in it.

It's so nice to be able to open your door to

walk outside and not have to like brace yourself,

which is like what you get so used to doing through

the Midwest winters. So it's nice. So we're in

a series, a short little series called Jesus

Is. Nice opportunity to narrow in on some of

the aspects of Jesus that we want to take a closer

look at. Greg shared with us last week about

Jesus as the good shepherd, and there's really

some great insightful pieces to the way that

shepherding looks, sitting in front of the gate,

the voices that we tune into, even just understanding

that the sheep... recognize each other's faces

and know each other was some very interesting

aspects to hear about them. I appreciate it.

So next week, Greg will preach again on a different

perspective of Jesus, a different sort of narrow

view. And then this week, we're looking at Jesus

and some of the things that he said. Jesus, the

sharp -tongued but soft -hearted one that walked

among us here. I think we all have an understanding

of how harsh words land and the things that we

can say, what they can do. But when someone is

described as having a sharp tongue, that's a

characteristic. And I think we get a specific

sense of what that means. That those are words

that can cut, that they make not just an impact,

but they can leave a mark and perhaps even scars

that remind us of how we've been hurt. The impression...

at that phrasing is that these words can leave

wounds, but I want to play with the words for

this message and consider that the words Jesus

used, the sharp tongue aspect, the things that

he said were perhaps sharp, but be considered

more like surgical, that they could slice with

precision, leaving clean cuts that heal well

after the deep work in us is done. And I think

one of the challenges for those that walked alongside

Jesus and being near him is that he was always

going to be speaking truth. And I think that

that could have possibly been difficult to be

around sometimes, if I'm honest. However, the

words were not just spoken with a clinical approach.

He didn't just say things for the sake of being

truthful when Jesus spoke. The words carried

truth, but they did not overlook the person to

whom they were being delivered. I'm often amazed

when reading the various and many accounts of

the interactions that Jesus had with people.

And some of them were people he knew very well,

and others he literally met while he was turning

to see who had touched his robe. He always spoke

to them and with them with great clarity of who

it was that was before him. The rich young ruler,

the woman caught in adultery, the woman at the

well, each of the disciples as he called them,

Peter after he was violent with the guard, Pilate

himself, and the man being crucified next to

him and his mother. Jesus seems to be unfailingly

Jesus in each of those encounters. characteristically

himself. He did not change himself. He did not

code switch based on who he was talking to and

what their status was or what their race was.

He, being himself, always seemed to understand

who they were for their own sake, speaking with

each one of them in a way that was specific not

to the way that they were in society, but the

person he knew them to be from the inside out.

And so sometimes the things he'd say... The disciples,

not knowing or seeing what Jesus saw, would sometimes

be quite unsettled and maybe even a little embarrassed

and confused and perhaps shocked. Those present

were sometimes left not knowing what to do with

him or what he said. And truthfully, I think

we can feel that sometimes too. But words, when

carefully chosen to go deeper than the surface,

you think about the words of Jesus, they had

work to do. And they needed to go deep into us.

And they needed to shake things up in us. And

they needed to adjust things. So today, we're

going to look, we're going to use the book, the

sixth book of John, as sort of a home base for

this idea. And we're going to read from verse

60 to the end of the chapter. But I need to do

some setup. Because a lot precedes this, and

it's important to know. It had been a very busy

stretch for Jesus. This was early on in his ministry.

But here on this particular day where we meet

him in chapter 6, it appears that Jesus was really

starting to feel perhaps some of the stress and

the load of the last several weeks, days, particularly

that day. So chapter 1, this chapter rather,

chapter 6, opens with the feeding of those that

had come to hear him. And they had come looking

for him. 6, 1, and 2 says Jesus went to the other

side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea

of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him

because they saw the signs that he was doing

for the sick. And so they had found him. They

had all come looking for him and thus became

the account commonly identified as the feeding

of the 5 ,000. But it states that that's about

how many men there were. It does not account

for the women and children. But the bread came

from a boy, so we know that there was one child

at least. So 5 ,000 and a boy and the unaccounted

women. But there were many other women and children.

So you think, how many people was that? That's

a lot of people that were like, it says that

he was up on the hill looking and seeing the

crowds approaching. Like, they found me. Gosh.

That's how I would react. I don't think that

that's how Jesus reacted. But he did watch them

and observe them coming. And they had, in fact,

been looking for him. And so after Jesus fed

everyone, he did need some time alone. And I'm

like, same Jesus. If that had been me, I would

have been like, oh, boy, see you in a week. But

in the chapters before, he had just got done

explaining to a bunch of others, I do not accept

glory from humans. So he's feeling some stress

by these crowds because in John 6, 14, it says,

after the people saw the sign Jesus performed

with the bread there, they began to say, surely

this is the prophet who has come into the world.

And Jesus, knowing that they had intended to

come and make him king by force, withdrew again

to a mountain by himself. So he's like, this

is not what I am trying to be about. Meanwhile,

the disciples headed out in the water when Jesus

went off to the mountain by himself. And then

Jesus just casually walks out to meet them on

the water. No big deal. It's not weird at all.

And so the next day, that same crowd still pursuing

Jesus is like, we got to still find him. He disappeared.

We didn't know where he went, but we're not done.

And so they went looking after him. And so Jesus

meets up with them again and says, very truly,

I tell you, you are looking for me. Not because

you saw the signs that I performed, but because

you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not

work for food that spoils, but for food that

endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man

will give you. For on him God the Father has

placed the seal of approval. And he goes on to

tell them about the bread of life, which is himself.

And the people aren't sure what to do with it.

It's a teaching a little out of the ordinary

for them, but ultimately we begin to discover

what Jesus already knew. By and large, they just

wanted the goods. They wanted the bread that

never goes away. They wanted to be healed. They

wanted absolution. And Jesus is like, listen,

to get that stuff, you get me. I am it. There's

no other way about it. And that's the truth of

it, isn't it? We can't just pick and choose.

So we got to have Jesus with the Jesus stuff.

And so here we find ourselves with people that

aren't sure if they actually want Jesus. And

Jesus seems maybe a little frustrated. The perceived

tone might suggest so, but perhaps more so, I

think, downhearted. That the people don't seem

to get it. He can see that they want his product.

They want to make him a leader that will care

for their needs and represent them, but that

they don't necessarily want him. They don't want

to know him. They don't want to be close to him

in that way. They want the idea of what they

think he is, and so he has something to say about

this. And so this is where I want to give the

scriptures our full attention. I'm going to invite

you to take a posture of attention, whether that's

standing or however that is. We're going to read

John 6, 60 through 69. There are Bibles on your

table if you need one. You can also look it up

online. There are digital Bibles as well. But

I'm reading from John 6, 60 through 69, and I

am reading out of the New Revised Standard Edition

updated. So on hearing this, what Jesus was saying,

many of his disciples said, this is a hard teaching.

Who can accept it? And aware that his disciples

were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them,

does this offend you? Then what if you see the

Son of Man ascend to where he was before? The

Spirit gives life. The flesh counts for nothing.

The words I have spoken to you, they are full

of the Spirit and life. Yet there are some of

you who do not believe. For Jesus had known from

the beginning which of them did not believe and

who would betray him. And he went on to say,

this is why I told you that no one can come to

me unless the Father has enabled them. And from

this time, many of his disciples turned back

and no longer followed him. So we know the 12

disciples, but there were others that were. following

along with a dedicated interest, following the

rabbi. And so it's from this time many of his

disciples turned back and no longer followed

him. And so he turns and he says, you do not

want to leave too, do you? Jesus asked the twelve,

and Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall

we go? You have the words of eternal life. We've

come to believe and to know that you are the

Holy One of God. Let's pray. Lord, we don't get

to pick and choose. what from you we are comfortable

with and what we are not. It is all or nothing.

And there have been plenty of times that I have

often thought this is a hard teaching and that

your words have landed in a difficult way. But

to have life through you, I need to have you

fully. And so I don't get to separate you out

from the hard teachings and the things that you

share with me. And so give us wisdom when we

are uncomfortable with your words to see that

you have good work to do in us and that it is

in fact done with not just care but love and

that when the hard teachings come our way that

we learn how to receive them with wisdom and

with the love that they are meant to be seen

from. We pray this in your name. Amen. So those

words, this is a hard teaching. Who has experienced

that before? This is a hard lesson. And y 'all,

they didn't even know. They about to find out.

Here they are early in their time with Jesus

and they're like, this is a hard teaching. Oh

gosh, if you even knew it was coming. But I think

this is what it comes down to. The idea of Jesus,

the one we construct in our minds, is always

on our side. That Jesus is always on our side,

wants what we want, wants to give us what we

think is good, lets us get by with things. So

Jesus puts the same words to us. Does this offend

you? The words I've spoken to you, they are full

of the spirit and life. Do my words offend you?

And this is where the disciples, and often we,

had to decide if they were going to stay or go.

And we see that many did, in fact, leave. And

again, this is the same for us. The choice to

stay is the choice to sit with some hard teachings,

but the reality that the words are full of life

for us, and they have work to do. And so yes,

Jesus does have a sharp tongue, a surgical scalpel

that will cut into us so that the words can travel

deep and go where they need to go and fix in

us what they need to fix. and rewire and work

and reconnect things and do good works in us.

But as I said, this is not just clinical. Everyone's

had a doctor's appointment where they have felt

like the doctor never looked up from the chart,

or they asked a couple general questions, prescribed

some medicine, and they never felt like a person.

And let me be clear, this is not an indictment

on medical professionals. We have medical professionals

in this community that I think are doing incredible

work, and they are up against some tough odds

in a very tough... But we have had those experiences

where we have felt like the doctor is strictly

being clinical with us and is forgetting that

they are encountering a live flesh and blood

person. Jesus did not come to us to mince words,

though. He did not come to dance around our brokenness

and our sin. He came to heal it from within,

set systems right, and bring about the kingdom

here and now through Christ. And so the words

may be strong and the teachings difficult, but

the Savior is good. And his love for us is great.

And we are not clinical to him. We are not a

job to do. And so along with the hard teachings,

we realize that these words, because of who they

are coming from, aren't intended to be quick

fixes that would be actually cruel to just handle

us that way. They are meant to renew our lives

entirely because they are connected to the source

of life. So I want to look at some examples from

scripture where we see some hard teachings, where

the words may cut deep, but they have good work

to do. And so I'm going to look at Mark 10, 17

through 22. As Jesus was setting out on a journey,

a man ran up and knelt before him and asked him,

good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal

life? And Jesus said to him, why do you call

me good? No one is good but God alone. You know

the commandments. You shall not murder. You shall

not commit adultery. You shall not steal. You

shall not bear false witness. You shall not defraud

and honor your father and mother. And he said

to him, teacher, I've kept all these things since

my youth. And Jesus, looking at him, loved him.

and said, you lack one thing. Go sell what you

own and give the money to the poor, and you will

have treasure in heaven. Then come follow me.

And when he heard this, he was shocked and went

away, grieving, for he had many possessions.

This is a hard teaching. And much like the crowds

that had been following Jesus, this man was hoping

for something Jesus could offer, but not Jesus

himself. He wanted to be justified. He wanted

to be approved by someone he saw as good. He

wanted assurances that eternal life would be

his. That the keeping of the commands, the doing

of the right things, was in fact enough. The

man did not want Jesus. The man did not want

the life Jesus was offering through him. This

was a hard teaching for him. And much like the

crowds that were chasing down Jesus all over

the countryside, many of the disciples turned

back and no longer followed him. The man walked

away grieving because Jesus was too much for

him. Matthew 17, 14 through 21. Matthew 17, 14

through 21. When they came to the crowd, a man

came to him and knelt before him and said, Lord,

have mercy on my son for he has epilepsy and

suffers terribly. He often falls into the fire

and often into the water. And I brought him to

your disciples, but they could not cure him.

And Jesus answered, you faithful, faithless,

and perverse generation, how much longer must

I be with you? How much longer must I put up

with you? I would shrivel. Bring him here to

me. And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came

out of him, and the boy was cured from that moment.

And then the disciples came to Jesus privately

and said, why could we not cast it out? And he

said to them, because of your little faith. For

truly, I tell you, you have the faith the size

of a mustard seed. You will say to this mountain,

move from here to there, and it will move, and

nothing will be impossible to you. I mean, to

say that your faith was smaller than a mustard

seed and you couldn't do it because it was too

small, like, again, I would shrivel. But I hear

this, actually, when I hear this statement, I

hear it in Gandalf's voice. When he's like, you

fools. Move. But it may feel like a scathing

indictment. The way I hear it, it is. How could

you have such little faith that you couldn't

help this boy? Until you realize that in the

verses before this account, Jesus stood with

Peter, James, and John on a mountain and watched

the transfiguration of Jesus happen before their

eyes. He saw Moses and Elijah show up and manifest

in front of them and heard the voice of God say,

this is my son, the beloved, with him I am well

pleased. Listen to him. So it may make a bit

more sense as to why Jesus was like, are you

kidding? Did you just regress? Did you not just

witness? Did you not just experience? You heard

my dad. But further than that, I don't think

Jesus is sarcastic like that. That's me being

like, you idiots. But further than that, it is

not, I don't think, a wild extrapolation based

on what we read in a number of places. 1 Corinthians

13, 1 John 4, the book of James, to recognize

that faith and love have a direct relationship.

That as faith increases, there is a correlation

with the increase of love in our lives as well.

That the two have this movement that goes along

with each other. You don't grow in your faith

in God and experience no movement on the meter

that gauges our love for God and others. So I

don't think it's a stretch for Jesus in his rebuke,

how could you have such little faith that you

couldn't help this boy? to be implying where

is your love for this boy and his compassion

and his condition. It's not a stretch to consider

that as the disciples were growing, becoming

more like Jesus, that they were learning that

it wasn't just the plain actions that were needed,

that a heart disconnected from the person before

them could not produce the miraculous. And I

can't believe I'm about to make this reference.

And I really needed Eric Rowell here for this.

But you know this scene. You know I'm about to

talk about Marvel. You know the scene in Spider

-Man No Way Home when Ned is trying to open the

right portal to bring back their Peter Parker?

Are you with me on this? Sweetie is. Thank you,

sweetie. She is tracking with me. And so he tries

a second time, and it doesn't work, and it doesn't

work, and he has to want it. He has to really

miss and want to bring his friend through. It

is, dare I say, ultimately his love for his friend

that gets the portal opened. This is an imperfect

example, of course. And it also brings through

the wrong Peter Parker. Or, depending on your

love of Spider -Man, does it? Depending on which

Spider -Man you really love. What Spider -Man

team are you on, by the way? No one? Eric's not

here. That's why it is. So, and also this is

the kind of squirrel detour you get from me in

ADHD, but you get my point. That, like, The action

has to be generated with a want, a love, a heart

that is behind it. Saying the words and doing

the actions don't get you very far, right? And

so faith and love are connected, and I think

Jesus' frustration here, I believe, is less about

the disciples' lack of faith, though it's connected,

and more connected to the heart from which they

were acting. They were constantly trying to figure

out that balance of, like, Well, we're here to

do what Jesus does, but it's not just the doing

of the things, right? It is the heart behind

it that is actually the motivating factor. And

they would run into this a few times, that their

actions were unmet because they did not have

the love behind it. And lastly, and perhaps one

of the most specific accounts of the correlation

of words and the heart they spring from, we visit

the story in Matthew 12. So Matthew 12, 22 through

37. Matthew 12, 22 through 37. So it says, then

they brought to him a demon -possessed man who

was blind and mute, and Jesus cured him so that

the one who had been mute could speak and see.

And all the crowds were amazed and were saying,

can this be the son of David? But when the Pharisees

heard it, they said, it is only Beelzebub, the

ruler of the demons, that this man cast out the

demons. He knew what they were thinking, and

he said to them, every kingdom divided against

itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided

against itself will stand. If Satan casts out

Satan, he is divided against himself. How then?

will this kingdom stand? If I cast out demons

by Abel's above, by whom do your own exorcists

cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges.

But if it is by the spirit of God that I cast

out demons, then the kingdom of God has come

upon you. And jumping to verse 33, either make

the tree good and its fruit good or make the

tree bad and its fruit bad. For the tree is known

by its fruit. Essentially, you know the heart.

By the actions. So he says, you brood of vipers.

How can you speak good things when you are evil?

For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth

speaks. The good person brings good things out

of a good treasure. And the evil person brings

evil things out of an evil treasure. I tell you,

on the day of judgment, you will have to give

an account for every careless word you utter.

For by your words you will be justified and by

your words you will be condemned. Jesus was calling

them out because their words, careless as they

were, were heartless. Jesus, seeing their brokenness,

seeing the brokenness of the situation, those

that were religious but heartless, they couldn't

care for people. They themselves, as religious

leaders, were dangerous. A man had been healed

in front of them. And they could only assume

that there was evil behind it. It is indeed a

difficult teaching when it is being revealed

that you are on the wrong side of the good work

of God. And their own words, their own words

revealed their hearts. So hard teachings. This

is a hard teaching and these words are difficult.

Being sharp -tongued and direct is not the point.

Jesus was not a shock and awe guy, right? Even

the signs and wonders were sometimes like, hey,

let's keep this quiet. This here was just for

this. It's just for you. To understand Jesus

at all, though, one must first take into account

his heart at all times. Specifically, his love

for the Father and his love for his people. This

is foundational to all of it. Every word he says,

this is what brought him to us. And something

we must take into account ourselves, not only

when the words of Jesus come to us, but when

we believe we are replicating Jesus in our speaking

of the truth. Because as Jesus himself said,

paraphrasing, your heart is revealed in your

words. In order to speak truth and for it to

be the truth that does the good work it is meant

to, we too must be motivated not just by our

love of God, but for God's people as well. This

is critical, lest we become dangerous ourselves,

weaponizing God's word, becoming our own brood

of vipers. And how many times have we either

heard or even said ourselves, well, I'm just

speaking the truth. It's not my fault that they

didn't like it. Well, Sheila, I think that they

just don't like your smug attitude and the fact

that you're being a jerk. They knew you didn't

care an ounce about them. Guys, we don't have

to be jerks. We don't have to be smug. And I'd

say, unless you are genuinely in your heart speaking

with love, don't. Because we all know when I'm

just speaking the truth in love is not actually

being spoken in love. We know. We know. We know.

Love must be sincere. And as the deliverer, we

know when we're lying to ourselves. I was just

speaking the truth in love. Were you? I don't

get a sense that you love that person. This is

a bit of an aside that is applicable, but I remember

coming up in youth group and hearing my youth

pastor, who I do love a great deal. I speak in

the present tense even because I still consider

him my youth pastor. I remember hearing coming

up in youth group that sharing the gospel would

be hard and that you would encounter hostility

and that people didn't want to hear the gospel.

And I think overall I disagree almost entirely

with that statement because it is not hard to

share the gospel. Or the things that Jesus said.

It is hard to love people. And if I love people,

or when I have found myself most connected to

the love that God has for people, talking about

Jesus and sharing the gospel and saying the things

that Jesus said is not hard to share. But loving

people is. And I think that's where we get caught

up. In my experience, and so just speaking experientially,

I think rarely does anyone hate hearing anyone

else talk about something that they love, that

they genuinely love when it's clear that love

is sincere. I think we're attracted to that because

we want to believe that love can be sincere and

is being sincere from somebody, right? And we'll

listen to a whole lot, somebody says, if we know

that they genuinely love it and we also feel

that love coming towards us. Sharing the gospel

is not hard. Speaking the truth is not explicitly

hard. I think our challenge is in loving others

and loving our neighbor and being so embattled

with ourselves, parsing out exactly who our neighbor

is. That's what seems to be tripping us up. This

is often where our struggle lies. Jesus did not

have any question about who his neighbor was

and who he loved and who the Father loved. He

did not have any trouble loving people. And so

for him, he did not go soft on words. He didn't

need to because his love was great. And I think

people knew that. I mean, even for the rich man

who asked his questions and Jesus countered his

questions and then the phrases, and Jesus loved

him. I think that man knew. How could you not

when Jesus looks at you with love? And so for

Jesus and those who heard him, for those that

received what he said, and for those that let

those words do their good work, and similarly

for us, when we hear them, when we receive them,

when the teachings are in fact hard, but understood

with the love that they are spoken with, and

we see the love that is directed at us, the response

is, Lord, to who else would we go? You have the

words of eternal life. We have come to believe

and to know that you are the Holy One of God.

Let's pray. Jesus, it is true that some of the

things, many of the things that you have said

are hard teachings. But I don't think we could

ever doubt your love, the love that is behind

them. When we really, truly shed the stuff around

the way your words have been broadcast through

the centuries, when we take them at their face

value in the moments that they are happening,

I don't think it's possible to see them as anything

else but generated from your love of the Father

and your love for us. and your desire so deeply

to see us become whole and healed in our lives.

And that the words that you give to us, the words

that you say to us, the words that come to us

of you, yeah, they are hard teachings sometimes.

But I pray that you would continue to help us

gain wisdom and openness into the good work those

things are meant to do in us that you are in

fact taking care of brokenness and wounds that

are deep deep deep in us and it's only when those

words go deep that those things can be healed

so we are asking for the love of the father and

the good work of the spirit In the words of Jesus,

to be not just present but active in our lives,

that we would say yes to them. Because we have

come to believe and know that you are the Holy

One of God and you have the words of eternal

life. And you are the only one that does. I pray

this in your name. Amen.