God's Good Scandal :: John 16:1

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[And Jesus said] these things I have said to you in order that you may not be scandalized.

The world loves a good scandal. Scandals make us feel good about ourselves. 

The most prominent scandal making rounds on the Internet seems to be one about Bill and Melinda Gates. The word on the street is that two of the richest people in the world are getting a divorce. Until I put a stop to it, my newsfeed was flooded with he said this, and she said that; he did this, and she did that. Oh, the scandal of it all! It’s terrible how we scandalize each other. 

Not all scandals are created equal. I saw one opinion that said the most prominent scandals of our time ... in no particular order ... involved OJ Simpson, Michael Jackson, the Royal Family, and anything one of our presidents said or did. It’s terrible how we scandalize each other. 

Society’s scandal scale, though, is always sliding. Twenty five years ago, teen pregnancy was derided as our most serious social scandal. That issue barely registers a blip on today’s scandal scale. That’s because the media won’t tell you about the scandal of abortion. 

5. What is it about scandals that capture our interest so strongly? 

Well, the more we hear about scandals, the better we feel about ourselves. See, I’m not like them, we tell ourselves. See, I am a good person! The world loves to tell themselves this because scandals always take the focus off us; it always shines a light on “them” ... on their tragedy ... on their scandal. If I focus on their scandal, I don’t have to think about my own. 

Our Lord Jesus warned us of this on the night before he was scandalized. Today, in the Gospel According to John ... as Jesus prepares to embrace the Scandal of Scandals ... his trial; his crucifixion; the curse he faced alone; trading the death you deserve for the life he has ... Jesus reminds his disciples that the world loves a scandal so much, they will scandalize you simply because you love him.

Jesus says, Remember all that I’ve told you. It will prepare you for the hour when the world bends over backward to try to take away your peace, your comfort, your knowledge of the forgiveness of sins, your hope of the resurrection, your faith in all that God in Christ has done for you. 

I have said these things to keep you from being scandalized. ... Remember them (vv. 1, 4). There is peace in his remembrance (1 Cor 11:24). 

4. Do you recognize the scandals swirling in your life today? 

Maybe you don’t. The definition of being scandalized changes all the time. Today we might say being scandalized means being shocked or horrified by a violation of morality. 

Jesus, though, gives us a deeper meaning. Instead of being horrified by the world, Jesus turns it in on ourselves. He is warning us that the world is going to try to cause you to doubt him ... his work, his life, his death, his resurrection ... to cause you to question everything he says, he does ... to cause you to accept false teaching from other churches or even other religions. 

Karma, anyone? 

The world will tempt you to ignore what God really says about your sin and his Gospel ... all so that you will leave the church or change denominations. Christians have been so scandalized people are fleeing! This is kind of why the English Standard Version, which we use in our readings, renders the word σκανδαλίζω as to fall away. These things I have said to you in order that you may not fall away ... you know, from the faith. This is the ultimate scandal in our lives.

3. There is no personal scandal that is bigger than giving up your faith in Christ. 

As we were reminded in Bible study, there is no other name under heaven given to men by which it is necessary to be saved (Acts 4:12). Only Jesus saves. Salvation comes through his name alone, because as he told us right before this reading, if you don’t know who the Son is, then you don’t know who the Father is, and you don’t know who God is. If you don’t know who God is, you are loving yourself more than anything.

The world hates admitting that. They hate admitting that Jesus is more than just a good man with a good word about good living. So they will call you out for breaking that word ... to scandalize you. They hate admitting that Jesus is God in the flesh, that God died on a cross. They hate admitting it so much they will scandalize you in order to feel better about themselves.

As Luther said, the world will throttle you as heretics. Yes, throttle you ... as in, strangle you or choke you to silence you, to prevent you from sharing the Way, the Truth, and the Life (14:6). If Jesus is God, then their gods are false. If Jesus is true God and true man, then all scripture has to be true. If all scripture is true, then my life is a living scandal in my own image. 

But I want to define myself, we say! 

Brothers and sisters in Christ, that is one of the terrible scandals of idolatry. 

Are you willing to admit the truth about yourself? Are you willing to confess your scandals ... of adultery, abortion, rage? Of pride, lust, greed? Are you willing to admit you love yourself more than God? Are you willing to admit you pay lip service in confession, scandalizing yourself in thought, word, and deed by what you DON’T DO ... that you turn a blind eye to the needs of your own community, convincing yourself that if you just throw money at the causes you deem noble, it will make you feel better about yourself?


Brothers and sisters in Christ, your sin is scandalizing you. So in the name of Jesus, repent, everyone of you. Mourn your sin and turn to Christ in word and sacrament knowing that ...

2. God forgives all your scandals. 

Just hours after hearing this truth ... just hours after receiving the Lord’s Supper no less ... the disciples witnessed how God accomplished this. In the midst of his prayers, Jesus was arrested, beaten, mocked, scorned, scandalized for the sin of the world. This truth that your sin crucified Jesus is horrifying. But like the disciples you need to see it. 

Our Lord ... who knew no sin ... became sin for the specific purpose of being scandalized on the cross. He did this so that you don’t have to be scandalized by your own thought, word, or deed, by what you have done or left undone ... so that you can see your sin dead on a cross.

By actively living a life without sin, Jesus was able to do what we can’t do for ourselves ... obey the law in its fullest sense, thus exposing your scandal. Because of God’s good scandal, he is now able to proclaim to you the forgiveness of all your sins ... yesterdays, todays, and tomorrows. You are now scandal free. He gave his life for yours. God has given you peace on account of Christ.

Sadly, the world hates that news. The world hates it because this truth convicts them of their own scandal brought on by refusing to believe that Jesus is in fact the only true God, God in the flesh, our Immanuel, who has defeated sin, death, and the devil without your help. The world hates it because this truth convicts them of believing false doctrine that they can save themselves by giving their heart to Jesus, by dedicating themselves to God ... ignoring what God tells us through the prophet Ezekiel. Behold, I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. I will give you a new heart ... a heart of flesh ... I will put my Spirit within you. And I will cause you to walk in my statutes. ... You will be my people, and I will be your God.


Brothers and sisters in Christ, Jesus has reminded us of these things to strengthen and nourish your faith in him. 

GOD’S GOOD SCANDAL HAS COVERED YOURS TO ENSURE YOUR SALVATION.

What is not to love about knowing that his scandal gives us peace, that in him we have died to sin and scandal, and will rise to new life, that death is not the end of our lives? 

What is not to love about knowing he forgives us, that he has reconciled himself to us, that he has restored order and beauty? 

With God’s good gifts of word and sacrament, you have no need to fear the world when it tries to scandalize you into giving up your faith that all scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, reproof, and for training in righteousness (2 Tim 3:16) and that your Lutheran confessions are true expositions because they are in agreement with scripture.

1. God has said these things to keep you from falling away. 

So return to his word and sacrament as often as you can with joy. In these means of grace ... baptism, absolution, communion ... God protects you from scandal. His baptism does indeed wash you clean so you can stand scandal free before the father. His body and his blood given and shed for you do indeed impart the forgiveness of our sins, life and salvation. 

The devil, the world, and your sinful nature will certainly intimidate you, frighten you, and scandalize you. But the Holy Spirit will awaken you, inspire you, and call you back to Christ. He won’t give you temporal riches of this world necessarily, but God will continue bearing witness that the eternal riches in the kingdom of God are your forever and ever. 

In Jesus’ name.

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