The Joshua Victor Theory

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Jesus and John the Baptist are talking through messengers in our reading. John, like many others in history, “played second fiddle” to someone more famous, namely Jesus. But John took pains to show that he was content with this role—he wasn’t seeking attention for himself. His proper focus was on elevating Jesus. As Jesus first publicly took the scene, John announced: “ He must increase, I must decrease” (John 3:30). But even though John knew his secondary role—Jesus shows how great this role was. John was more than a prophet , he is the very messenger prophesied seven centuries earlier by Isaiah and four centuries earlier by Malachi. The one to “prepare the way of the Lord”. Just think that faithful Israelites had been anticipating John’s coming for 7 centuries! That’s more than twice the history of the USA! And by waiting for his coming, they were ultimately waiting for the Messiah whom he would announce. ...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Today we come to the 3 rd and last part of Jesus’ Bread of Life sermon, that began with a challenge from Jesus to stop working for the bread that perishes—i.e. our everyday food, but to seek the food that endures to eternal life. He is that Bread of Life, He says, and eating Him do not leave us hungry and thirsty, but we find full satisfaction and eternal life in Him. Last week He pushed the point further, to unsettle or disturb the crowds who did not grasp His meaning. He drives them to see that He is the Bread of Life come down from heaven. He is from God. The bread that He gives for the life of the world is His flesh. We, on the other hand, find these words deeply marvelous, that God has come down from heaven in Jesus to feed us, to save us, and give us eternal life. Jesus was clearly driving the crowds to crave more than just physical bread, that would leave them empty the n...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, Amen. Our Gospel reading shows a surprising show of doubt or uncertainty, from one we might expect to be above such things—John the Baptist, the greatest prophet and greatest among men. As someone who experienced direct revelation from God, shouldn’t he have been immune to doubts? Don’t we often imagine that would be the sure ticket to certainty of faith for us? But John sends his disciples with a message to Jesus, “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” Of course it’s not hard to guess why John might have experienced doubts. He was in prison for teaching the word of God, unwilling to back down from a tyrant like Herod Antipas. In prison for that? He might have expected. But did he expect something more, or different from Jesus? What made John ask? While I thank God that none of you are locked up in prison for your faith, or for your confession of Jesus Christ—does ...

Sermon Outline:  1.       Jesus’ visit to His hometown wasn’t what you might expect. Family visit, warm welcome, reunion of friends and neighbors. Left a young man, a carpenter; returned grown, now a teacher (!) filled with astonishing wisdom, and performing mighty works! Same guy? Little kid from down the street? Now with a band of disciples, teaching in the synagogue about the kingdom of God, and repentance. Sizing Him up against the little kid they remembered, wondering who does He think He is? The Son of God? Well, yes, He is! They took offense at Him. Scandalized . Stumbled over. 2.       As one author put it: “The people were also scandalized by Jesus’ lowly origin. They found it difficult to believe he was any better than they or his family were. In their opinion he was nothing more than an ordinary craftsman. Their physical knowledge of Jesus prevented them from having a spiritual knowledge of him” (J.A. Brooks). So it...