The Lutheran Hour
-
"Writing Him Off"
- Download MP3 No bonus material MP3
-
Text: Luke 4:21-32
-
Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! You can write off the angel’s resurrection words, but they are still real. You can ignore those words, but your ignorance will not make a difference. You can try to forget them, disregard them, discount them, and disbelieve them, but they are no less real. Christ is risen, and for those who believe, these words are life and light and hope.
In the 1800’s, there was a European violinist who garnered considerable praise. With his priceless Stradivarius violin, he gave one impressive performance after another. During his concerts the patrons would whisper; the next day the critics would review: “This is something wonderful. We have heard the music from the Stradivarius.” It didn’t make any difference where he played, church, concert halls or command performance before royalty, the comment was consistent: “This is something wonderful. We have heard the music from the Stradivarius.” It didn’t take all that long before the violinist got tired of having all the accolades go to his violin.
Frustrated, one afternoon he set out from his hotel with a purpose. Going to a musical pawnshop, he picked out and paid for an old weathered worn out violin. It sold for something like five dollars. He took the instrument to his room, gave it a few coats of polish, replaced the strings, and gave it a good tuning. That night he took the five-dollar fiddle, not his Stradivarius, to the sold-out concert. Standing in front of the rich and famous, he placed the five-dollar fiddle, not his Stradivarius, under his chin. For two hours, his fingers flew across the strings of the five-dollar fiddle, not his Stradivarius. Finally he finished. The last note of the concert echoed through the hall and as one, the crowd jumped to its feet. The violinist basked in the applause that came from ten thousand clapping hands. In his dressing room he waited impatiently, for the glowing reports that he knew his manager would bring. The manager arrived. The violinist asked, “Well, what is it they said?” The manager replied, “The concert is a success. Everyone said, “This is something wonderful. We have heard the music from the Stradivarius.”
I feel sorry for that violinist. After all, nobody likes to be ignored; nobody likes to be written off. I remember a pastor telling me about a church picnic his congregation put on. One of the senior members of his church had been out of town when the plans were being made, and she hadn’t been informed about the festivities. Only the night before did the pastor realize the oversight and he quickly gave the lady an apologetic call. Brushing aside his regrets with a cold reception, the lady replied, “Don’t say you’re sorry to me, Reverend. It won’t do any good. I’ve already prayed for rain.” I feel sorry for that minister. I feel sorrier for that lady. The truth is though, nobody likes to be ignored, nobody likes to be written off. If you doubt me ask your minister; when he’s saying “thank you” to people for a job well done he doesn’t like to list names. Why? Most ministers live in fear of leaving somebody off the list. They know nobody likes to be written off.
Were you ever, when your school classmates were choosing up sides for a game, picked last? Were you ever consistently picked last? It’s a terrible feeling isn’t it, to be considered the worst player possible? Nobody likes to be written off. Gentlemen, did you ever ask a girl out for a date, and have her look at you like you were some slimy thing that had just crawled out from under a rock? Nobody likes to be written off. Ladies, did you ever sit by the phone and wait for someone to call and ask you out to an important occasion? The silence of the phone was deafening. Nobody likes to be written off.
Things don’t change all that much as we grow older. The wife of twenty years doesn’t want the date of her birthday or their anniversary to be forgotten; the husband of two decades still has an ego which demands he be told he is still giving Brad Pitt a run for his money. Nobody likes to be written off. We don’t like it when somebody is promoted over us. Seniors don’t like it when the kids forget to call them or visit them. Nobody likes to be written off. Nobody likes to be ignored or forgotten. It’s bad for those who do the forgetting and for those who are forgotten. Nobody likes to be written off.
Especially God. Maybe that’s why He keeps reminding humanity that they should remember Him, and what He has done for them. In the Old Testament book of Deuteronomy, no less than fifteen times, the Lord tells His people they should remember. “Remember the day you stood before the Lord.” (Dt. 4:10) “Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the Lord your God brought you out of there…” (Dt. 5:15) “Remember well what the Lord your God did to Pharaoh.” (Dt. 7:18) “Remember how the Lord your God led you through the desert these forty years.” (Dt. 8:2) “Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you. (Dt. 32:7) Remember, remember, remember. It sounds like a broken record. It sounds like a broken record, because humanity’s history is a broken record. We sin; we are punished; we confess our error; God delivers us; we are restored; we forget and the process begins all over. It’s so sad. No, God doesn’t like to be written off. God doesn’t like to be forgotten.
I can’t imagine a sadder example of God being written off than when Jesus returned to His boyhood home of Nazareth. Maybe when Jesus hit town, He walked around the old neighborhoods and reminisced about the good old days; recalled events from His growing up. Homecomings should give a person a chance to remember the people and places that have shaped him. Homecomings should give folks a chance to catch up with the local guy or gal who has made good, to see “how they came out,” and “what they’ve been doing.” When a hometown hero comes home, there should be a celebration; possibly a parade and the opportunity for somebody boring to say a few words.
That’s the cue for folks to give each other a nudge, smile knowingly and confess, “I always knew he was going to be somebody special.” Some of them proudly proclaim, “I changed his diaper when he was a baby.” Somebody is sure to say, “I taught him everything he knows.” Everybody is supposed to glow and beam and boast. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. But that’s not the way it was when Jesus came home. Oh yes, they were excited. They had heard that He had been doing some pretty miraculous things. A miracle here, a healing there, water turned into wine. That might be OK. Who wouldn’t like a miracle like that? Yes, they were pleased when Jesus came home. In the synagogue, they let Him read the Scriptures. They even noticed that He taught as Someone with authority; like Somebody special. But then Jesus made a claim: He said He was the Fulfiller of the prophetic promises concerning a Divinely sent Deliverer.
And that was too much for His old friends. At that moment they wrote Jesus off. “Who does He think He is? I know Who He is. He grew up here. He played with my son. He wasn’t so big back then. He was Joseph the carpenter’s Son. He started out apprenticing here. I have a plow that they made together. They may have been good carpenters, but being a carpenter is a far cry from being the Christ. It will be a cold day you know where, before I’m going to believe that bunk.” And they didn’t believe Jesus. They wrote Him off. They wanted their local boy to perform miracles, not proclaim Himself Messiah. They wrote Him off so strongly that they did their best to shut Him up permanently. They wrote Him off by trying to throw Him off the town cliff. And that’s when Jesus gave them the miracle they had wanted. No, He didn’t bring somebody back from the dead or restore vision to a blind person. He didn’t cure a leper, nor did He restore hearing to a deaf person. He walked through their midst, walked down the road, and as far as we know, out of the lives of His childhood companions forever.
I wish I could tell you that when Jesus escaped from the Nazareth mob it was the last time He was written off. I wish I could, but I can’t. Truth is, Jesus spent most of His ministry being written off. When He refused to provide miraculous food for the masses, they wrote Him off. So many of the masses wrote Jesus off, that finally He turned to His disciples and asked them, “You don’t want to leave too, do you?” (John 6:67) The Pharisees wrote Him off as a man empowered by the devil. (Matthew 12:27) The priests wrote Him off as a destroyer of the nation. (John 11:48-51) Pilate wrote Him off at His trial, and washed His hands of Jesus’ innocent blood. (John 19:12ff)
Even today, people are still trying to do their best to erase Jesus; to write Him off; to ignore Him. History books are, even as we speak, being rewritten so the name of the Savior no longer appears. Yes, they will still point out those times when the church has been mistaken or ignorant. Those stories are told in living color and with crystal clarity. But you will have to look hard to find any mention of the fact that it was the power of Christian pulpits that struck the first blows for freedom. In the 1850’s and 60’s, it was the preaching of Christian pastors that rallied farm boy and city slicker to fight against slavery. In the name of Jesus, hospitals have been built, medicines discovered, colleges constructed. Those things are forgotten. America, Canada, and countless other countries have been shaped by the Savior, dedicated to the Triune God. Still, educators try to eradicate the Savior from curriculum and classroom.
Many courts in subtle and silent ways, are trying to write off the Savior. Freedom of speech can be provided for the pornographer but may be denied the student who wishes to lead a study of Scripture. Comics try to write off the Savior. Their blasphemous blather in which the name of the Savior is used as a comma or an exclamation mark, makes a mockery of the Messiah Who came to bring true joy and happiness. The news media gladly gives greater coverage to the pastor or priest who sins, than they will anyone from any other vocation or position. Look where you will, millions today like the people of Nazareth, are doing the best they can to cast away the Christ.
Individuals armed with misinformation and a minimum of doctrine, make sweeping statements that dismiss the Savior and His act of salvation. Parents who would never miss their child’s soccer game, who never flinch at chauffeuring their kids from one activity to another, never think of taking their children to church; nor do they ever consider of value the eternal destiny of their babies’ souls. The common person will spend hours searching for the right restaurant, the perfect automobile, a good butcher, a gentle dentist, an understanding doctor, a high-powered lawyer; but that same person will never spend a moment considering the Savior, salvation, or their soul. Look where you will, people are still trying to write off the Savior, and God doesn’t like it. He doesn’t like it, not one bit.
Let me tell you a secret, which should be no secret: you can’t write off God or His Son, your Savior. Oh, maybe for a little while you can. Maybe for a few years you can pretend He’s not important. But the time will come; it comes for everyone, when you will no longer be able to ignore the Lord. Even if right this moment you don’t know that truth, He does. God is fully aware that the soul which sins will die. God knows that there is not a just person on this earth that does good all the time and never transgresses. And because God knows these things, because the Lord knows that Judgment Day is coming, He sent beyond human understanding, He sent His only Son into this sad, sorry, sinful world. Born in Bethlehem, Jesus the living Light came. Into an enslaved world, Jesus was born so that all who believe on Him as Savior might be free.
Let me tell you a secret, which should be no secret: you can’t write off God or His Son, your Savior. You will either acknowledge Jesus as Savior now, or Jesus as your Judge later on. Jesus cannot, will not be ignored. Turn off this broadcast, you can do it; but you can’t turn off the inevitable end which is coming for you, as it has for all humanity. I’m not threatening here. I’m holding out to you, the Holy Spirit is calling you, to the greatest piece of news you will ever hear: Jesus wants to save you; has died on the cross to save you; has taken your place to save you; has risen to save you; is reaching out to save you.
Look at the many believers all around you who have been called by God’s Gospel. They have been changed. For them, in Jesus they will never be alone again; in Jesus they can never be lost again; with Jesus they will never be without someone to talk to again. Even death, inevitable death, because of Jesus has lost its sting. Look at the Scriptures. No, I mean really look in the Bible. You will see most clearly that when a person meets Jesus, knows Him and believes in Him, a miraculous transformation takes place. Matthew, a one-time social outcast who had been changed by Jesus, recorded what he saw in others: “The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor. Blessed is the man who does not fall away…” (Matthew 11: 5-6a)
And that is what this message is all about. God wants you to be saved. God sent His Son so you might have life. It costs you nothing. It is absolutely free to you. Believe in the Son of God Who takes away the sins of the world. If you need to know more about the Savior, call us, we can help. Believe in Jesus. Jesus came to forgive you of your sins, and by His blood, give you a new life here and in eternity. Nobody likes to be ignored. Nobody likes to be written off. Not me. Not you. Not God.
Let me tell you a story. It comes from India in the 1850’s. At the home of the British Governor General, a three-year-old child wandered into a group of adults. There was nothing extraordinary in that, other than the child was clutching a small, poisonous snake: a Russell’s viper. The child’s father with as calm a voice as he could muster, said, “John, put that down right this minute.” John could have thought his father’s words were designed to ruin his fun. John could have written off his father’s words, and kept on doing what he was doing. John could have done that and John would have died. Thankfully John listened to the words of a loving father and lived. I pray you do not write off your Father’s words of life. Listen to Him. He is calling you from death to life in Jesus. Amen.
Lutheran Hour Mailbox (Questions & Answers) for February 1, 2004
Topic: Will God Forgive Me if I’m Not Willing to Forgive Others?ANNOUNCER: Will God forgive me if I’m not willing to forgive others? That’s the question from a listener and we’ll discuss it today with Pastor Ken Klaus. I’m Mark Eischer.
KLAUS: That’s what I’d call a question with baggage. It sounds like a question that somebody who did something wrong to somebody would ask.
ANNOUNCER: Probably. KLAUS: More than probably – most likely. You know Mark, the Bible is clear that all of us have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory. When we sin, we go against God’s will in our lives; but we also, very often, sin against each other too.
ANNOUNCER: And I think that’s the kind of thing our listener is talking about. Somebody apparently had sinned against them, and now they want to know … do they have to forgive that person and that sin, before they can receive forgiveness from God?
KLAUS: It’s an honest question. I’ve known quite a few people in the course of my life who really love holding a grudge against someone. They relished it, they savored their grudge like a fine wine.
ANNOUNCER: But that’s not how the Lord wants us to live.
KLAUS: Absolutely not. When Jesus gave the Lord’s Prayer to His disciples, He said we should pray, asking the Father to “forgive our trespasses, our sins, as we forgive the trespasses, or sins, of those who sin against us.” Jesus is telling us that even as God gladly, because of Jesus, forgives the sins of the repentant, so we should gladly, in gratitude, forgive others.
ANNOUNCER: But it’s not our forgiveness that motivates God to forgive, is it?
KLAUS: No, not at all. God forgives because we are His children, and because the Savior took our sins to the cross. The interesting thing is Mark, after Jesus gave that prayer to His people, He added, “If you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:14-15)
ANNOUNCER: So that sounds like the answer, if Christians don’t forgive, they won’t be forgiven.
KLAUS: Indeed. But the question is, Mark, “Why should we forgive? So we can be saved?”
ANNOUNCER: I’m not sure I understand where you’re going on that.
KLAUS: How many times Mark, have we said that we don’t earn salvation, that is something Jesus has done for us?
ANNOUNCER: All the time. The Bible says, “By grace we are saved, through faith, it’s a gift of God, and it’s not given to us because of anything we do.” (paraphrase Eph. 2:8) But it almost sounds here like when we forgive, we’re earning God’s forgiveness.
KLAUS: Exactly. And that isn’t so. We know from the Bible that we can’t do anything to earn our salvation or forgiveness. They are both very clearly God’s gracious gifts.
ANNOUNCER: I agree, so what does Jesus mean when he says, “If you don’t forgive people their sins, the Father won’t forgive you?”
KLAUS: I think it can be understood this way Mark. Jesus was telling His people that He came into this world to pay the price our sins deserved. It’s a wonderful gift. It was one that cost Him dearly. All of that Jesus suffered so that we might be forgiven. Now what does it say if we, who are forgiven of countless sins, decide we won’t forgive somebody else?
ANNOUNCER: It would say we are ungrateful.
KLAUS: It certainly would. It would say that when we stubbornly refuse to forgive somebody the sins they’ve committed against us, we really don’t understand or believe in what Jesus has done for us. If a person says, “I want God to forgive me, but I’m not going to forgive others” we’re saying, “we don’t get it.” By such an action, we’re removing ourselves from the very heart and soul of the faith. Jesus once talked about a servant who owed his master an enormous debt. Although he, and according to the custom of the day, his family could have been thrown into prison, the king forgave the man all he owed. Rather than being grateful and appreciative, that man when out and confronted a fellow servant who owed him the smallest of amounts. Although the man who owed this pittance begged for patience in the payment of his debt, his words fell on deaf ears, he was thrown into prison. Eventually the king heard about the injustice, called the big debtor in, chewed him out, had him locked away. Jesus concluded His story with the words, “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” (Matt. 18:35)
ANNOUNCER: But suppose you can’t give that kind of heartfelt forgiveness. What then?
KLAUS: Then you need to take a look at just how much God has forgiven you. An honest evaluation will lead you to conclude, you do not have the right to hold onto your small grudges when God has forgiven His great and just judgments against you.
ANNOUNCER: Thank you Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.