Sunday, August 29, 2010: Presenting Jesus

Presenting Jesus
John 14: 15 – 24.


I. Introduction.

“Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.” Don’t you think that is a great term? If you use it at your next dinner party, everyone will think you are really smart…Or, perhaps they will think you are a theological church nerd.

Morality is a word we often associate with people who are “good people.” People who avoid public sins and sometimes demonstrate a “holier-than-thou” attitude toward others.

Therapeutic is a word that comes to us directly from the Greek word for “healing.” However, our culture often associates therapeutic with psychotherapy. As such, therapeutic makes us think about “feeling good.”

Deism is a word associated with God.

Moralistic Therapeutic Deism, therefore, is a form of the Christian faith that emphasizes two things: Doing Good and Feeling Good. What do you think? Is this the ultimate goal God has for your life? Some people think it is. In fact, according to an article on CNN.com, the Christian church has reared an entire generation of teenagers who subscribe to this view of faith. The ultimate expression of Christianity is to Do Good and to Feel Good.[1]

When teenagers are interviewed about their faith, many are unable to articulate what they believe…much less why they believe. Some people attribute this to immaturity and claim that teens cannot speak of anything in depth. However, I disagree. I believe our teens (and young adults) have a lot to offer both the church and the world. The problem is, we have failed our own children, teens and young adults.

I do not believe teens have created “Moralistic Therapeutic Deism.” Instead, I think they have learned it by observing their own parents and the other people in our churches. We come to church to “feel good.” Then, we leave the church to “do good.” When we can’t “do good,” we come back to church to get some more “feel good.”

We have demonstrated for our teens and young adults that our faith is harmless. It really does not make much of a difference in our lives. It should not surprise us that young adults in their 20's are leaving our churches in droves.

THAT is not what the Christian life is all about. THAT is not God’s ultimate plan for your life—to feel good and to do good. God is calling each of us to a radically transformed life…A life that involves more than feeling good and doing good. God’s plan for your life is to do the kinds of things Jesus did in his life…Sharing the Good News about the Kingdom of God…Reaching out to the poor and overlooked…Stepping outside of your comfort zone to offer hope to people who are physically and spiritually unclean.


Read John 14: 15 – 24.

Jesus first said these words to his disciples in their greatest moment of grief and stress. They had just shared the Passover meal with Jesus. They did not enjoy a light dinnertime conversation with Jesus that night. Instead, Jesus prepared them for what would happen in the coming days. Jesus would be handed over to the Jewish leaders to be crucified by the Romans. His crucifixion would result in death. But, death would not be able to hold Jesus. He was the virgin-born Son of God. He would conquer the grave and rise again. However, he would not remain with them forever. He would eventually return to his Father in Heaven.

For the past three years, these twelve disciples had abandoned everything comfortable in their lives to follow Jesus. They left their families and friends. They walked away from their jobs as tax collectors and fishermen. They had even abandoned their traditional Jewish religion. And now, Jesus was going to leave them. I’m sure some of their stress was the personal offense that they had given up so much and they thought Jesus didn’t WANT to be with them anymore.

The past three years had not been the easiest years of their lives. But, at least they had Jesus. They had listened to his teachings about repentance, the Kingdom of God and a new kind of ethical behavior. At least they had Jesus as their example. He demonstrated a radical lifestyle. He spent his time with sinners. He confronted the self-professed saints. He showed compassion for the sick and the poor. He showed them how to pray—how to depend on God’s power for the everyday struggles of life. And now, it seemed like they were going to have to go it alone…without a daily example of faith.


II. Disciples Would Not Be Alone.

This is why it was so important for Jesus to say what he said in John 14: 18, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

These words imply that Jesus and his disciples had a very special, intimate relationship. His absence from them would leave them feeling abandoned, like a child who has lost both parents. I think the King James Version translates this with the word “desolate.” That is certainly one word to describe loneliness and abandonment, but the Greek word is actually the word “orphanos.” It is the root word for our English word “orphan.” So, Jesus literally acknowledged that his disciples would feel like “orphans” without him. BUT, Jesus was not going to allow that to happen.

The disciples would not be like orphans, because Jesus was coming again. Yet, once again, we can learn a lot from the Greek text. The Greek verb here is a present, active verb. It does NOT say that Jesus “will come” to his disciples. It says that Jesus “is coming” to his disciples. We ought to read this as, “I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.”

Jesus is not telling his disciples to wait and hope for the Second Coming! Jesus is offering present, immediate help for his disciples. They will NEVER be left alone as orphans. You and I will NEVER be left alone as orphans. We have a present, active, immediate help in the form of Another Counselor.

Look at John 14: 16 – 17, “(Jesus said,) And I will ask the father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever—the Spirit of Truth…”

The words “the Spirit of Truth” tell me this is an obvious reference to the Holy Spirit. Jesus would not abandon his disciples, because they would have the Holy Spirit forever.

The phrase “another Counselor” is a very difficult phrase to translate from Greek to English. We know it is difficult by comparing the various ways it is translated in different versions of the Bible. The King James Version says “another Comforter.” The New International Version says “another Counselor.” The New American Standard Bible says “another Helper.” The New Revised Standard Version says “another Advocate.” So, which is it? Comforter, Counselor, Helper or Advocate? Truthfully, all of these are correct. But none of these is perfect.

The Greek word here is “parakl­etos.” John is the only New Testament author who uses the word. Paul never uses it. It shows up in John 14 – 17 and in 1 John 2: 1. In John 14 – 17, it refers to the Holy Spirit. In 1 John 2: 1, it refers to Jesus’ role in heaven. Jesus does for us in heaven what the Holy Spirit does for us on earth. The Holy Spirit does for us on earth what Jesus does for us in heaven.

We can derive meaning from the word “parakletos” by looking to the meanings of the two words that build it. “Para” is a preposition which means alongside. “Kaleo” is a verb which means to call. Therefore, “parakletos” literally means “one who is called to be alongside.”

We can also derive meaning from the ways “parakletos” is used in secular Greek. Outside the New Testament, “parakletos” usually refers to the defense attorney in a court of law. The defense attorney is the “one who is called to be alongside” the accused person. In this light, Jesus is the defense attorney who stands alongside us before the throne of God. The Holy Spirit is the defense attorney who stands alongside us before the world.

It is also significant that Jesus used this term in the same context as the word orphan. An orphan is a child without a parent—not a child with a single parent…a child with no one. Orphans were some of the most vulnerable people in the ancient world. The child could not work to provide for her or his own needs. The child did not have an advocate to protect her or him from the harsh forces in the world.

We will never be orphans, because we will have the internal presence of the Holy Spirit with us forever.


III. The Commands of Jesus.

All Christians have the internal guidance of the Holy Spirit. Since this is an internal guidance, we could also say it is subjective. Following the leadership of the Holy Spirit relies on our experience with the Spirit in our lives.

Some people don’t like to talk about subjective experience. They prefer to appeal to something objective. Something that can be seen or heard…Something that is outside of us. Good news. Jesus does not ask us to rely on subjective experience alone. Yes, the subjective experience of the Holy Spirit in our lives is an important part of following Jesus. But, that is not all. Jesus also drew our attention to an objective reality…The Commands of Jesus.

John 14: 15, “If you love me, you will obey what I command.”

John 14: 21, “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.”

I think there are at least three ways we can define the “commands of Jesus.”

First, we can go back to places where Jesus gives ethical teachings and make a list of every instruction Jesus gave us. The Sermon on the Mount might be a good place to begin making such a list. But, this seems rather legalistic and could only end up looking more like the religion of the Pharisees.

Second, we can look for all the places where Jesus himself used the words “command” or “commandment.” Here are a couple of examples:

John 15: 10 – 12, “If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

Matthew 22: 36 – 40, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Third, we can say that the commands of Jesus include the entire life and teaching of Jesus. In other words, Jesus is the teacher, Jesus is the subject, and Jesus is the example. Everything Jesus said and everything Jesus did serve as the objective standard for our lives.


IV. Conclusion.

My college roommate during my junior and senior years was a guy named Andy. This was back in the days before cell phones, so we shared an old fashioned landline telephone. It was interesting every time the phone rang, “Can I speak to Andy?” Or my favorite, “Hello, is this Andy?”

Andy and I both played on the soccer team. But, Andy also had a job. He made a decent living performing as an Elvis impersonator. He made a decent living, because he was very good. He didn’t dress up in the gold jumpsuits of the 1970’s. He wore a white shirt, black pants, black shoes and white socks. He was the 1950’s Elvis—or as Andy liked to say, “the skinny Elvis.”

Andy had Elvis sideburns, before sideburns made their comeback. He could sing all the old Elvis songs, and sounded just like Elvis. He could even dance like Elvis.

One summer, my family just happened to go visit my parents in Tupelo, Mississippi on the weekend of the Elvis Presley Festival. My brother was building a new house and didn’t have enough room for us to stay with them. My parents don’t have enough room in their house either, so we stayed in a downtown hotel. The weekend we were there, the hotel was filled with Elvis impersonators. We saw Skinny Elvis, Fat Elvis, Short Elvis, Tall Elvis and the Japanese Elvis.

I can only speak about Elvis impersonators, but I have heard that there is a similar phenomenon with Michael Jackson impersonators. I understand why someone would want to impersonate Elvis. But, I think it’s a little strange to impersonate Michael Jackson.

Ultimately, this is what we are supposed to do as Christians. We are supposed to be an imitation of Jesus.

Imitation does not mean we are supposed to be “fake” Christians. It means we are supposed to present Jesus to the world.

Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to us so that we can see Jesus and follow his example. The world cannot see the Holy Spirit…But, the world can see us.

And, what exactly does the world see when it looks at us? Does it see a Moralistic Therapeutic Deism that is all about doing good and feeling good? Or does it see individual men and women living a radically transformed life? If the world sees moralism and therapy, they will never want to be a part of the church. If the world sees Jesus in us, they will want to become a part of God’s people. Even people who despise the institutional church find Jesus to be interesting and appealing.


[1] http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/08/27/almost.christian/index.html?hpt=T2