The Lutheran Hour
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"Snake-Oil Salesmen"
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Text: Jeremiah 28:9
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! You and I live in a world which is filled with half-truths, impossible exaggerations, and full-fledged lies. We are bombarded by so many falsehoods we sometimes despair of finding something, anything in which we can believe. If that is how you feel, rejoice, for today we speak of God’s Truth: the salvation which comes through the Savior. God grant you hear and believe what He has done. God grant such faith to us all. Amen.
Hurry, hurry, hurry! Ladies and Gentlemen let me introduce you to DR. RICHMOND’S SAMARITAN NERVINE. A quality product sold to the crowned heads of Europe, but inexpensive enough to be used by the common man who values his pennies. This preparation is intended to cure not only fits and all nervous diseases, but also the defects of moral character. Dr. Richmond’s Samaritan Nervine has proven a bad temper can be treated just as successfully with a dose of medicine as a cough or a headache. Dishonesty in a servant need not be punished by discharging him; you have only to give him some of this marvelous medicine. If your son will not study his lessons, do not send him to bed early or threaten him with more severe correction, but give him Dr. Richmond’s Samaritan Nervine for one week and he will become the most studious and diligent child in school.
There is certainly no end to the benefits which this specific has conferred upon mankind.
Ladies and gentlemen, hurry, hurry, hurry. I shall not be coming this way again. Now is the time to buy… now is the time to try this wonderful and blessed elixir. Only $1.50 for a four-ounce bottle. Generous in size, generous in what it can accomplish, the Samaritan Nervine is the one medicine you cannot afford to do without.
If you had lived in the Midwest during the 1880s you might well have come upon an ad showcasing Dr. Richmond’s Samaritan Nervine. The product was a real one and the claims I’ve shared with you are taken directly from the company’s promotions. When this wondrous product’s contents were analyzed, it was found to contain: potash, bromide, sugar, caramel, and water, which means that while Dr. Richmond’s Samaritan Nervine made great claims for itself, it was a humbug and did little to help those folks who were hoodwinked into buying the product.
In our semi-sophisticated world, in our age of antibiotics, transplants, and designer drugs most of us laugh at any of our ancestors who were so gullible and naïve as to believe such unsupported and unverified assertions. We know that medicines, like anything else which claim to be too good to be true, probably ARE too good to be true. It is not the first time that has happened. More than 500 years before Christ was born, a prophet, a snake-oil salesman kind of prophet, came to God’s chosen people and tried to sell them a fake message. Contradicting Jeremiah, the Lord’s man who was calling for repentance, this prophet said everything was fine. The people were fine, the future was rosy and Jeremiah was just a gloom-and-doom, sad-sack sort of guy who could safely be ignored. Back then the people ended up buying the snake-oil and ignoring God. Not unlike what is happening today.
I suppose that’s not entirely surprising when a person considers some of the unbelievable claims which are being made by many TV and radio evangelists — claims which are just as overstated as those made by Dr. Richmond’s Samaritan Nervine. How often have you not turned on the TV and heard someone say the Lord wants His people to be cured of any and all illnesses? If it sounds too good to be true, it is. After all, the Lord left the praying Apostle Paul with an unhealed thorn in the flesh — and the Apostles were martyred in ways both terrible and cruel. The truth is, God doesn’t heal everybody — including many of these TV and radio superstars who wear glasses, contact lenses, toupees, wigs, and have high-blood pressure, and undergo surgeries.
Similarly, are these modern day preachers right when they tell their audiences: “God wants you rich; He will make you rich if you give to this or pledge to that”? But I wonder, if they are correct, then why were so many of the New Testament churches founded in poverty? If God really does bestow piles of cash on the faithful, then why do these ministries always seem to be asking for money? If these present-day preachers are right, then why did St. Paul admit, “I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” (Philippians 4:11b-13 – excerpts) So, who’s right — the apostle — today’s preachers? Somebody doesn’t have it right; somebody isn’t telling the truth. Is that what you’re thinking, or are you among the growing numbers of people who find it easier to believe nobody is telling the truth and everybody is a religious snake-oil salesman.
It’s not hard for that opinion to find considerable support. There are a lot of critics, critics of Christianity out there, who will be glad to encourage a belief that God’s message and messengers are snake-oil salesmen. “The church,” they say, “is responsible for all the wars, all the worries, all the hatred, all the horrors, all the sins, sorrows, and sadnesses which have befallen the family of humankind.” Then, having labeled the Savior and His church as being nothing more than sinister snake-oil salesmen, these critics of the Christ invite you to join them and sit back in smug, self-satisfaction.
Which leads me to ask, “Are we? Is the church composed of snake-oil sellers who are trying to pull a flim-flam on the unsuspecting and unenlightened?” Honesty compels me to confess any sinful institution run by sinful people will do sinful things. That confession continues with an admission that the church has done, and continues to do, things which are an embarrassment and a disgrace to the Christ. There have been times, too many times, when we have been cold, callous, and cruel. There have been times we have put words into Jesus’ mouth which He never said; there have been times when we have turned, twisted, and tweaked His teachings, wishes, and commands beyond all recognition. Yes, those things are all true.
But I would also like to point out there are plenty of preachers out there who say what the Bible says and then they shut up. They don’t add to God’s Word, they don’t take away from it. Clearly, completely, concisely they point to Jesus Christ the One and Only Savior of the world. I would like to point out the tens and hundreds of millions of Christian men and women who, touched by the sacrifice Jesus has made for them through His life, death, and resurrection, do their best, their very best to be loving people and raise good, responsible, civic-minded, self-sacrificing children. Are we all snake-oil salesmen? If that’s what you believe, I would speak about the universities, the charities, the hospitals founded and maintained by the followers of the Christ. I could speak about the medicines which have been discovered and distributed by Christians; of the warmth and welcoming spirits of those who are trying to reflect the love which Christ has so generously bestowed upon them.
But this message is not about the church, her critics, her sins, or her shortcomings. This message is about Jesus. It must be about Jesus for He is the only Individual this world has ever produced who doesn’t have a drop of snake-oil salesman in Him. That is because, my friend, He is the only Person who has ever lived Who wasn’t living, at least in part, for Himself. That’s because Jesus, from start to finish, from beginning to end was living for others, He was living for you. Indeed, He is so unique, so wonderfully One-of-a-kind that people almost always found it easy to misunderstand and misinterpret Him.
Do you doubt me? Then let’s take a look at the Scriptural record. Shortly after Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the man who was ruler of that ancient country tried to have Him killed. Why would he do such a thing; why would he dirty his hands with the blood of infants? No other reason can be given other than the mad monarch thought the newborn Lord would be some kind of competition. You see, right from the start Jesus was misunderstood and His mission was misinterpreted. Decades later, at His trial, He admitted He had been born into this world as a King, but not as a Ruler of an earthly kingdom. Jesus had, according to His Father’s will and promise, left heaven’s high throne and been born into this world to reestablish a Godly kingdom, a kingdom of grace which reclaimed the territory which had been lost to sin, Satan, and death, many years before in the Garden of Eden.
In order for Jesus to perform this wonderful work, He had to live His life differently than we; He had to live His life perfectly. While you have undoubtedly met some good people in your life, Jesus was better, infinitely better than they. Every moment of every day of every year of His life had to be lived without sin — something only God’s Son could do. As He lived that life, Jesus spoke honestly and fairly. He didn’t use the snake-oil lines; He didn’t use the spin which has become so much a part of our advertising and political world. At every and on all occasions Jesus spoke the truth. And, as you know, anytime somebody speaks the truth, anytime somebody lives the truth it’s going to get that individual into trouble.
It certainly got Jesus into trouble as He lived out His days. For example, back then there was a group of people called Pharisees. At one time, these Pharisees had been the great defenders of the Jewish laws and way of life. They were respected, they were honored, they were held in high regard. Even so, by the time Jesus entered this world, the Pharisees enjoyed looking down on others; they relished speaking on God’s behalf and they ended up saying things God had never said or wanted. Now most people, when they came into contact with these Pharisees and their I’m-better-than-you attitude, felt pretty insecure. The Pharisees overwhelmed these folks with their knowledge and razzle-dazzled them with their good works — good works which they believed were going to earn them a place in heaven.
Well, Jesus wasn’t “most folks” and He most definitely wasn’t impressed. That’s why, in the 23rd chapter of Matthew there is recorded a passage in which Jesus labels these fake-fine-fellows as being “snakes, vipers” and “hypocrites.” He condemns their manufactured laws, their made-up doctrines and their self-promoting good works. Then He asked them, “How are you going to escape being sentenced to hell?” In case you missed it, Jesus’ words aren’t those of a snake-oil salesman trying to make a deal. Those are the words of the Savior Who always spoke the truth in love. Since other methods had failed, Jesus used strong words to try and get these fellows to see their lostness, their helplessness, their need for a Savior. It was just one of His ways of trying to call those Pharisee-fellows from darkness into the light He was providing. It hardly needs be said the Pharisees misunderstood and misinterpreted the Christ. Instead of being given new hearts filled with repentance of their sins, the Pharisees got their feelings hurt and began setting traps to try and discredit Jesus. They asked questions which were designed to make the Savior’s answer look foolish, or wrong, or both. Those Pharisees were so outraged they started calling Jesus names. They called Him every bad name they could think of. They said He was a devil, a blasphemer, a liar, a Samaritan. Then, since name calling hardly gave them the satisfaction their offended and overly large egos demanded, they plotted His murder.
Yes, people misinterpreted and misunderstood Jesus. They said He was a Friend of sinners. It was meant as an insult, but it rightly defined His work. As the only One who could save us from the damnation which awaited us, Jesus was the best, the only Friend we would ever have… or need. But that’s not how many of the folks in power saw Him. Looking upon Him as a snake-oil salesman, misunderstanding and misinterpreting Him, the High Priest Caiaphas said it was right for one Man to die so the nation might live. Although Caiaphas didn’t know it, dying for people, all people, is exactly why Jesus had been born into this world. Which is why, at the end of His life, having resisted all temptations placed before Him; having kept every commandment perfectly, Jesus was nailed to the cruel cross of Calvary.
Still, even there, in His last hours, Jesus was unable to escape being misunderstood and misinterpreted. One of the thieves crucified with Him called out, “Aren’t You the Messiah, save Yourself and us.” Crowds that had gathered to see the spectacle laughed at Him, poked fun at Him, called out and said, “He saved others, He cannot save Himself.” Both the criminal and the folks who were watching the tragic scene were certain Jesus had been a snake-oil salesman, bent on deceiving all who listened to Him.
They were wrong. Jesus not only spoke the truth, He embraced it. Even if that truth were painful; even if that truth were to call for His death. That day, as Jesus died for you, the gathered spectators were sure it was the great Roman nails which kept Jesus suspended on the cross, hanging there between earth and heaven. They were wrong. If Jesus had wanted it, legions of angels would have whisked Him away from that bloody upright; if He had requested it, not a hateful soul on that hill would have been left alive. No, it wasn’t the nails which kept Him there, it was His love, It was His love which stopped Himself from saving Himself; it was His love which caused Him to be sacrificed for our salvation. It was His love which caused Him to stay on that cross, carry our sins, and pay the bloody price which justice demanded for our transgressions.
Misunderstood and misinterpreted. That was the story of Jesus’ life; that is the story of His death. Some time before His death Jesus had spoken about how He would be crucified in Jerusalem and three days later rise again. For the most part His words fell on closed ears. Most certainly His closest friends and disciples didn’t understand Him. That is why, when Resurrection Sunday dawned, Jesus’ women supporters made their way through the darkness to anoint His dead body. His closest male followers, the disciples, cowered in fear behind locked and bolted doors. Not one of them had understood Jesus’ prophecy about His death and His resurrection. Quite frankly, whether He was understood or not made no difference to what happened that wonderful dawning. The earth shook, the guards at the tomb were knocked off their feet, and the great stone before the tomb’s entrance was rolled away. Understand, it was not rolled away so Jesus could get out. The Son of God who had defeated death for you could not have been held back by a carved piece of Jerusalem limestone. That stone was rolled away so the women could look in, so the disciples could look in, so people in every generation could see for themselves that the Son of God had defeated our enemies; had conquered sin, death, and devil. That stone was rolled away so you could understand and rightly recognize what God had done. He had given His Son’s life for your salvation.
Do you remember how this message began? Do you remember the words of the snake-oil salesman? Hurry, hurry, hurry! Ladies and Gentlemen let me introduce you to DR. RICHMOND’S SAMARITAN NERVINE. A quality product sold to the crowned heads of Europe, but inexpensive enough for the common man who values his pennies. Do you remember the many incredible false claims that elixir made for itself? Well, today what you are hearing is 180-degrees opposite that bit of chicanery. What you are hearing is not a truth, or a partial truth, or my truth. It is God’s truth. And you may have a hard time wrapping your mind around that idea. That’s because you’re not used to the truth. Each year we are exposed to thousands of ads, commercials produced by the best and brightest minds which a public relations firm can hire. But what I am sharing today is not an advertisement; it is a gift, a gift of truth and salvation which comes from the Triune God. I make no false claims, hollow boasts, or foolish exaggerations. If you trust nothing else, trust the Words of Holy Scripture which say that Jesus loves you and has given His life to call you from hell to heaven, from loneliness to family, and from condemnation to salvation.
Yes, it’s true, I may say, “Hurry, hurry, hurry, ladies and gentlemen let me introduce you to your Savior,” but I only speak in such a way because I have no idea how much time you have. If I tell you, He is the Savior for the rich and famous and the Redeemer for the lonely and lost,” it is true. He has done for you what nobody else can do. He has saved the souls of all who are given faith; who have their sins washed away. Now if the Lord has already called you to faith, I give thanks. But if this day finds you doubting the existence of truth and despairing of ever being able to find it, I have good news for you: Jesus saves. You can believe these words, you can cling to them and trust them with every fiber of your being. You can do so because the Triune God is calling you to trust in the truest thing you will ever hear: Jesus gave His life so you may have life. Hurry, hurry, hurry, ladies and gentlemen. Don’t believe in me; believe in the Word of God and the empty tomb of God’s Son, your Savior, the Savior of the world.
To that end, if we can help, please do not hesitate. We are ready to help you to the truth. Please, call us at The Lutheran Hour. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for JUNE 26, 2011
Topic: Beer and BibleAnnouncer: And now, Pastor Ken Klaus responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer.
Klaus: Hi, Mark.
Announcer: You know you must get a lot of really interesting mail.
Klaus: I already know that that has something to do with our Question and Answer segment for today?
Announcer: It does. We never seem to run out of topics and some of them go to places I never thought we’d go.
Klaus: And that certainly applies to our topic for today.
Announcer: It does. A long-time listener in Watertown, Wisconsin, sent us a clipping from the local paper. It’s a story about a local church that’s holding church services in a tavern where alcohol was being served. And the article quotes someone as saying, “You know, Jesus met people right where they were.” But still, does it make sense to have church in a bar?
Klaus: I have to admit, it is an interesting article. It talks about a ministry which began in Wisconsin — a ministry where one can literally “hold a Bible in one hand and nurse a beer in the other….”
Announcer: Some of our listeners might find that highly offensive. I understand this Beer Church started out with the idea of reaching those turned off by traditional religion.
Klaus: If being untraditional was their goal, I think having a service where people drink beers, and Bloody Marys and smoke has managed to reach that goal.
Announcer: So all those guys who claimed they could worship God on the golf course can now say they’re worshipping Him in a bar and for once they’d be telling the truth.
Klaus: From what I’m picking up here, I think you’re pretty much against the idea of tavern worship.
Announcer: Well, are you in favor of it?
Klaus: I don’t think I said that exactly, either.
Announcer: What do you think about it?
Klaus: Mark, I remember Matthew 11: 18-19a. Jesus said, “For John (the Baptist) came neither eating nor drinking, and they said, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'”
You know, Jesus’ words are applicable today. His church can’t win. If people worship in a stately building on the street corner with great choirs and grand organ music, people say, “Look at how removed and remote the church is from the average person.” If the church meets in a tavern, the world says, “Look, they have to bribe people with beer and booze and get folks snookered in order to get them to go to worship.”
Announcer: So, the church gets caught either way?
Klaus: The church gets criticized whatever they do. But that’s our problem. You asked what I thought. I think this: Lord Jesus lost points with His critics because He went into places and visited with people who were not socially acceptable. The Savior did that because He was searching for the sick, the lost, the folks in darkness. You know, for almost 80 years this broadcast has been doing the same thing. It has brought the Savior’s story to all kinds of places where the traditional church cannot go. No, I can’t fault this person for trying to reach those who are turned off by traditional worship and worshippers, or who don’t understand a normal worship service.
Announcer: However, nowadays I think you’d have to put those words normal worship service into quotes.
Klaus: Yeah, I would agree with that, too. But, we’d have to go one step further in answering this question. It is true that the Savior went anywhere and everywhere in His search for lost and sinful souls. It’s also true that He would visit with anyone and everyone, no matter that individual’s rank or social standing.
Announcer: Or even their lack of social standing.
Klaus: Right. But it should be noted that Jesus tried not to leave those sinners as He had found them. Jesus went after the sick because He had, He was the medicine which would make them whole; He went searching for the lost so He could bring them back to the family of faith; He went into the darkness so He could rescue and bring redeemed souls into the light. And while that may be the purpose of this ministry, I didn’t see that in this article.
Announcer: Would that make a difference?
Klaus: If a ministry is trying to call sinners to repentance, forgiveness, and faith, that is a good thing. But if a ministry is going for the sensational alone; if it is centered on the leaders saying, “Look at how cool and unjudgmental we are, then that church has lost its moorings. If it promotes acceptance of sin rather than repentance from sin, it’s not a church, it’s a bad joke.
It’s not by accident Lutheran Hour Ministries says, “Bringing Christ to the Nations — and the Nations to the Church.” We want to reach the lost for Jesus, but then we want to move those lost into a family of faith where they can find the support, the fellowship, friendship, the guidance they need.
Announcer: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House/SESAC)
“Creator Spirit, By Whose Aid” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House/SESAC)