In today’s scripture reading Jesus is in the Holy City of Jerusalem, during a religious festival, teaching on the Temple grounds in an outside porch open to the Courtyard of the Gentiles.  The non-Jew could come to this area of the Temple grounds and watch.

The festival was in celebration of the liberation of Jerusalem.  When the Jews regained the Temple, it was found that there was no oil left to light the candelabra in worship of the one true God.  A one-day supply of oil, which had been sealed by the High Priest prior to the desecration of the Temple, was found.  When it was lit it burned for eight days, which permitted the dedication of the Temple to proceed while more oil could be made to keep the flame lit during worship.  

The Jews saw this as a miracle and decided to commemorate the event each year at that same time, remembering the liberation of Jerusalem and rededication of the Temple.    

Today the Festival is called Hanukkah, which means “dedication.”

It was during this Festival that Jesus came to the Temple grounds and stood on Solomon’s Porch to teach.  The Temple was regarded as the place where forgiveness of sins took place and the place where God could be met.

Unlike other teachers, Jesus was not there to praise the Temple and its system of religion.  Jesus was at the Temple complex because he felt it was there he could meet those who were hungry to learn more about God. 

In the scripture for today, his listeners have asked for clarity.  They want to know if he is the Messiah.  Is he the one who is going to give the signal and call down the angel armies and conquer Rome and set up Israel as the supreme ruler of the earth? 

Jesus said, “I have told you and you weren’t listening.  Haven’t you seen what I have been doing?  Don’t you understand that I can do these things because I am acting on my Father’s authority?  But you won’t believe.  You won’t see it.  You think you know what you want from a Messiah.  You simply aren’t from my flock.  My sheep understand and they follow me.  No one can snatch them out of my hand.”

It is at the Feast of the Dedication of the Temple; Jesus says he is there to gather up his sheep.  He said his sheep would hear his voice and follow.  They would be securely in his keeping for eternity.  Those the Father had given him would be focused on what he was saying.  Jesus and the Father operated as one.

They picked up stones to kill Jesus, and he calmly talked to them about their decision to do that.  He wanted them to rethink their response to what God was doing among them.  Jesus asked them, “For which of the amazing deeds that you have seen me do are you going to stone me?”

“You have made yourself out to be God,” they shouted. 

Jesus said, “Haven’t you heard the scholars quote to those who receive the law that they are gods?”  

The Jewish religion taught, when the laws of God came to the Jews, they moved from being just humans to being able to have a relationship with the Almighty God.  With the law of God as the standard, now they could judge what was good and bad, what pleased God and displeased God.

When Jesus calls them gods, he refers to Psalm 82, in which the Lord God condemns Israel’s judges for not giving justice to the widow and orphan, rescuing the weak and delivering them from the hand of the wicked.

The leaders of Israel are called “gods,” in that they have the laws of God with power to judge others.  The Psalm reminds even those in high places that they too will be judged and will die like all mortals, whether prince or pauper.  Referring to Psalm 82 was an attempt to remind them that God expected more out of the religious leaders as they sat in judgment.

Jesus is reminding the Jewish leaders of their responsibility in judging him.  The Lord God may call them “gods,” setting them above other humans in responsibility.  Jesus is reminding them that just as surely as they have received a responsibility from God, so has he and he is only fulfilling that responsibility.

Jesus said, “Are you going to stone me for doing what God has called me to do?   Can’t you see?  I have been doing the unbelievable, awesome deeds God sent me to do.  Can’t you recognize that?”

Then they tried to arrest him, “But he escaped from their hands.”  Jesus left.

These Jewish leaders had a long history of being religious.  Their fathers and grandfathers and many great-grandfathers had come to Jerusalem for this festival.  Religion was important and they were not going to let Jesus tell them about what God was doing.  They knew.

For generations and generations the Jews had been praying for the day when God would intervene in history and send the Messiah.  They expected someone one to take their troubles away and make them superior to every other nation.

The religious should have studied the scriptures more and seen that God does not operate within the limits of human expectation.  Only God exercises total freedom and always works for the good of what and whom God has created.

When we pray, we cannot tell God what God should do.  We can only tell God the situation from our point of view and then trust God.  God sees the whole picture clearly and wants to do what is best for what God is doing.  We must accept the fact that we are not God.  We cannot see the situation as clearly as God sees it. 

The religious Jews had been praying that God’s Messiah would come.  When Jesus came, even though his miracles were more than any had ever seen, they looked past what God was doing to complain that their expectations had not been met.

They were praying for a donkey-cart Messiah, and God sent them the Rolls-Royce Messiah.  They were complaining that Jesus did not fit their expectations, when in reality he went way beyond their expectations.
 
God was doing something so awesome that they could not and would not see it.  They preferred not to step into the flock of the Good Shepherd, secure, where no one could pluck them from his hand.

And as a result Jesus slipped through their hands and they missed the Messiah.

One hundred sixty-five years ago the congregation of the First Presbyterian Church of Oskaloosa was formed.  Each generation has had to decide for itself if it wants to be more than just a part of the denomination called Presbyterian.  It has had to decide what to do with Jesus.

All those who saw him as the Son of God, the Savior whose death was payment for our sins and whose resurrection promises us eternal life, were a part of his flock.  No one was able to pluck them out of his hand.  Even when death came, Jesus was ready and he welcomed them into his Father’s house.

You and I, in this generation, have to decide who Jesus is.  If we are a part of his flock, where no one can pluck us from his hand, then we believe he is the Messiah that God sent, the Son of God, our savior.  His death is payment for our sins.  His resurrection from the dead has opened heaven’s doors to anyone who will place their faith in him.  Because we are part of his flock, no one can pluck us from his hands.

There was a time in the history of this congregation when things were going downhill.  We decided not to give those lame excuses such as, “All the mainline denominations are declining, these are just the times”; “We don’t have any young people so we can expect to decline”;  “There isn’t a great influx of professionals to our town, so the Presbyterian Church is outliving its usefulness.”

Instead we decided deliberately to choose to put Christ at the center of our reason for being.  We studied God’s word and made a purpose statement that is printed on every newsletter, every letterhead, and every Sunday bulletin.  Let’s read it together.  Do you see it there on the front of the bulletin in the center of the box?
 
“OUR PURPOSE:  to teach the Love of God, in Christ Jesus, touching hearts, transforming lives and transmitting this love to the world for the glory of God.” 

You see those x’s in “teach,” “touching,” “transforming,” and “transmitting” are all crosses reminding us that it is Christ working among us and through us that accomplishes our ultimate goal of giving God the glory.
 
Several years ago, I challenged you at the beginning of Lent to consider the third chapter of Malachi and begin giving to God what belongs to God.  Several members of this congregation accepted the challenge to begin tithing.  Several of you began and shared wonderful stories of how God had blessed you.  The giving every year has grown as more and more of you take seriously Malachi 3:9-10:

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.  Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.”  (Malachi 3:9b-10, New International Version)
 
Our Session decided that 10 percent of the Sunday tithes and offerings of the congregation would go to mission outside our walls.  A committed Mission Committee meets regularly to make sure those mission projects are funded.  Several groups within the congregation have taken on a mission project and they give 10 percent of their income from that group to mission. 

Our membership has continued to grow.  God is drawing people to this congregation who want to serve the Kingdom of God with us.  In this congregation, God is doing some mighty work.  Remember a few years ago I told you that God was about to do something beyond our wildest imagination among us? 

Every year now we have dozens of children go to summer camp when we used to think there would never be enough money in the budget to cover such a wild dream.
 
We were praying for it.  Together we read that book by Jim Cymbala, Breakthrough Prayer and some of us became really serious about praying for the next step God had for us.
 
We had a prayer retreat at Camp Wyoming.  Some in our leadership attended conferences and listened to what God was doing in other congregations. 

Leadership has stepped up and bloomed.  The youth groups have grown, we have a young people’s praise band capable of leading worship and the adult leadership needed to help it succeed, and we still maintain an excellent chancel choir and handbell choir.   

The spiritual depth of our membership has caused us to start another adult Bible study on Sunday mornings.  Then more people gather to study God’s word together. 
 
God has been pouring out blessings and resources on us so we can continue to become the church God has in mind.  We have continued to be challenged to use the resources God has entrusted to us personally and we have seen the total giving increase beyond what we dreamed could happen.

This past week has been really busy.  God is giving us many opportunities to work together.  A PW tea.  Two PW-served dinners.  The Out and About Group enjoying fellowship, going to Pella and seeing the tulips.  A regular Session meeting.  A Presbytery-wide youth retreat involving not only our youth and their music but the Men’s Breakfast group, who cooked for them Saturday morning.  There have been many adults planning for a year.  I couldn’t be with the retreat overnight because I was involved in a meeting in Marshalltown Saturday morning, preparing to be a commissioner for our Presbytery to the General Assembly of our denomination in July.

Today following worship we are gathering to hear about the work of the Long Range Planning Committee’s plans for a new kitchen and redecorated fellowship hall project.
 
Well, I’d better wind down.  There are still a congregational meeting and more exciting things yet to happen.
 
My point is, we have believed in the Messiah God has sent, and God has blessed us.  The Messiah has not slipped through our hands, and there is nothing that can snatch us from his.  What a privilege it is to be a part of what God is doing.

                                                          Amen.

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