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It seems the world is full of people who don't want Jesus. They say "Why wouldn't I want to believe though?" and that
we have all to gain by being a Christian. Now we do have life eternal in Heaven to gain but until it becomes a reality faith
keeps us going. What happens here though that might make someone NOT want Jesus? Matthew 5:3-12 Sermon on the Mount
3"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 6Blessed
are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8Blessed
are the pure in heart, for they will see God. 9Blessed are
the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God. 10Blessed
are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. 11"Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because
of me. 12Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who
were before you. Jesus reverses our roles. Not the successful but the sufferers and the less fortunate are well off.
He also does't say if you are insulted or persecuted but WHEN! 21"You have heard that it was said to the people long
ago, 'Do not murder,[ 1]
and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' 22But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother[2]
will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, 'Raca,[3]
' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, 'You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.
27"You have
heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.'[5]
28But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29If your
right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your
whole body to be thrown into hell. 30And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better
for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to go into hell.
These two are hard teachings to accept.
Christians WANT to be under them?
Matthew 8:18-22
18When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to
cross to the other side of the lake. 19Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever
you go."
20Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his
head."
21Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."
22But Jesus told him, "Follow me,
and let the dead bury their own dead."
Christians WANT this?
Matthew 10:17-22
17"Be on your guard against
men; they will hand you over to the local councils and flog you in their synagogues. 18On my account you will be brought before
governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles. 19But when they arrest you, do not worry about what to say or
how to say it. At that time you will be given what to say, 20for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father
speaking through you.
21"Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their
parents and have them put to death. 22All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Matthew 10:37-39
37"Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves
his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy
of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
Matthew 16:24-26
24Then
Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For
whoever wants to save his life[1]
will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world,
yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?
Matthew 18:7-9
7"Woe to the world because
of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! 8If your hand or
your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have
two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Matthew
20:25-28
25Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their
high officials exercise authority over them. 26Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your
servant, 27and whoever wants to be first must be your slave-- 28just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Mark 9:35
Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone
wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."
Mark 9:42-49
42"And if anyone causes
one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone
tied around his neck. 43If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two
hands to go into hell, where the fire never goes out.[3]
45And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be
thrown into hell.[4]
47And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have
two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48where
" 'their worm does not die,
and the fire is not quenched.'[5]
49Everyone will be salted with fire.
Mark 10:42-45
42Jesus called them together and said, "You know that those
who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 43Not
so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44and whoever wants to be first must be
slave of all. 45For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Mark 13:9-13
9"You must be on your guard. You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the
synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. 10And the gospel must first be
preached to all nations. 11Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just
say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.
12"Brother will betray brother
to death, and a father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. 13All men will hate
you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Luke 6:17-49
This whole section is filled
with things that go against our nature and are hard to accept.
17He went down with them and stood on a level place.
A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast
of Tyre and Sidon, 18who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil[1]
spirits were cured, 19and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
20Looking
at his disciples, he said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours
is the kingdom of God.
21Blessed are you who hunger now,
for
you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will
laugh.
22Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude
you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
23"Rejoice
in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
24"But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received
your comfort.
25Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will
go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how
their fathers treated the false prophets.
Love for Enemies
27"But I tell you who hear me: Love your
enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. 29If someone strikes
you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic. 30Give
to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31Do to others as you would have
them do to you.
32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them.
33And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' do that. 34And if you lend to
those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' lend to 'sinners,' expecting to be repaid
in full. 35But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward
will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36Be merciful, just
as your Father is merciful.
Judging Others
37"Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn,
and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed
down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to
you."
39He also told them this parable: "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? 40A student
is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher.
41"Why do you look at the speck
of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 42How can you say to your brother, 'Brother,
let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take
the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
A Tree and
Its Fruit
43"No good tree bears bad fruit, nor does a bad tree bear good fruit. 44Each tree is recognized by its
own fruit. People do not pick figs from thornbushes, or grapes from briers. 45The good man brings good things out of the good
stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow
of his heart his mouth speaks.
The Wise and Foolish Builders
46"Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and
do not do what I say? 47I will show you what he is like who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice. 48He
is like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that
house but could not shake it, because it was well built. 49But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice
is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed
and its destruction was complete."
Luke 9:57-62
57As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, "I
will follow you wherever you go."
58Jesus replied, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man
has no place to lay his head."
59He said to another man, "Follow me."
But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go
and bury my father."
60Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."
61Still another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family."
62Jesus replied,
"No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."
Luke 12:49-53
49"I
have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed
I am until it is completed! 51Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52From now on there
will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53They will be divided, father
against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law
and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."
Luke 14:26-27
26"If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father
and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life--he cannot be my disciple. 27And anyone
who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
Luke 18
14"I tell you that this man, rather
than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself
will be exalted."
Luke 21:12-19
12"But before all this, they will lay hands on you and persecute you. They
will deliver you to synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors, and all on account of my name.
13This will result in your being witnesses to them. 14But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.
15For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. 16You will be betrayed
even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. 17All men will hate you because
of me. 18But not a hair of your head will perish. 19By standing firm you will gain life.
John 6:53-60
This
selection even ends with the disciples saying this is a hard teaching and who can accept it. Verse 66 not mentioned says that
many left and no longer followed him. Jesus's call is hard
53Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you
eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever
eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the
Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers
ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." 59He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
Many Disciples Desert Jesus
60On hearing it, many of his disciples said, "This is a hard teaching.
Who can accept it?"
John 7:17-18
17If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching
comes from God or whether I speak on my own. 18He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works
for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; there is nothing false about him.
John 15:18-John 16:3
18"If
the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As
it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. 20Remember
the words I spoke to you: 'No servant is greater than his master.'[1]
If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21They will treat
you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me. 22If I had not come and spoken to them, they would
not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin. 23He who hates me hates my Father as well. 24If I had
not done among them what no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. But now they have seen these miracles, and yet
they have hated both me and my Father. 25But this is to fulfill what is written in their Law: 'They hated me without reason.'[2]
26"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father,
he will testify about me. 27And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
John 16
1"All
this I have told you so that you will not go astray. 2They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when
anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. 3They will do such things because they have not known the
Father or me.
John 16:33
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you
will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world."
Jesus's call is a call to die to yourself and live
a life in submission to him. Who really like to bow to another? No one. The skeptic is wrong. He has all reason to not want
to believe.
God bless
Nick
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