New Covenant Presbyterian Church
Sermon John 1:12 “Who Am I?”
October 7, 2018
Listen to this sermon.
I am continuing today with my sermon series based on our church-wide study of Believe, Living the Story of the Bible to Become Like Jesus. We worship the God of the Bible who is one in essence and three persons living in community. This God loves us very much. And this God reveals himself to us in the Bible. So we know who God is. Now that we know that our next question is “Who Are We?”. We will get to this, but first, let’s pray.
“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy Heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)
When I was born I was given an identity. I was the son of Jim and Betty Howard. I was also a grandson and a nephew. This remains my identity today. My parents called me Jeffrey Thomas, and I still have that name.
But over the years my identity has changed. The first big change I remember was when my grandfather walked me to my first day in kindergarten. On that day my identity changed. I became a student.
My identity as a student lasted for a number of years. Eventually, my identity changed to employee and then business owner. This lasted until I resumed my identity as student when I went to seminary. And now I have the identity of husband and pastor.
We all have identities. We have names given to us by our parents. And we are identified by what we do.
These are all positive identities. But we also have some negative identities. You know them: You’re too short. You’re too tall. You’re not pretty enough. You’re not smart enough. You’re not fast enough. You’re too fat. You’re too skinny. You’re just not good enough.
We have all heard these words one time or another. Maybe we have said these things to someone else. Words have power and these negative words hurt.
The devil wants us to say these negative thoughts to ourselves. Satan keeps whispering them in our ears. And he wants us to repeat them to ourselves over and over again. And we do this. We tell ourselves over and over again that we are not good enough.
For some people, this gets so bad that they cannot sleep at night. And for some people, negative thoughts are so debilitating that they can’t get out of bed in the morning. When this happens we call it “Depression”. Some people will go to a doctor to get a prescription for antidepressive medications. Some people will go for therapy to understand the roots of these negative thoughts. And some people will drink alcohol excessively to try to make the thoughts go away.
But the bad thoughts hang on. And we say to ourselves: I am too short. I am too fat. I am too skinny. I am not fast enough. I am not smart enough. I am not good enough. And as we say these things over and over to ourselves they become our identity.
Let’s look at scripture and someone with a real identity problem.
Luke 19:1 Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. 3 He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. 4 So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.
Zacchaeus grew up being too short. He must have heard the words “you’re not tall enough.” over and over again. He must have heard “you’re too short” even more. And I guess people called him “Shorty”.
I suppose that one day Shorty had a conversation with his father. His father might have told Shorty that since he was too small he would not inherit the farm. The land would go to his brothers who had the size and strength to farm it. Shorty had to make a living another way.
So Shorty became a Tax Collector. All the Romans wanted from Tax Collectors was money, so much per head. How this was collected and how much was collected, was up to the Tax Collector. And Tax Collector figured out that extortion was a good way to raise lots of money. So my guess is that Shorty became a thug. Shorty may have said something like this, “Give me my money or I’ll break your legs.” Or maybe he said this, “I want my money by this afternoon or the barley in your threshing room will go up in flames.” Shorty must have made a fortune. He extorted so much money he paid the Romans their taxes and kept the rest. People must have hated Shorty. He was not only short, but he was also an unethical thug.
One day Jesus was passing through Jerico, Shorty’s hometown. The people had heard about Jesus’ teaching and healing. Great crowds developed as Jesus passed Jerico on his way to Jerusalem. Shorty wanted to see Jesus, but he couldn't because he was too short. And the people hated him so much they wouldn’t help. In fact, they probably wanted to trample him under their feet. But Shorty was determined to get what he wanted so he climbed a tree hoping to get a glimpse of Jesus. Then this happened:
5 When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” 6 So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.
Shorty got all that he hoped for and much more. Not only did he get a glimpse of Jesus, but Jesus also noticed him, called to him, and invited himself to Shorty’s house for dinner.
But look closely at what Jesus did. Jesus called the man in the tree not by what he looked like, Shorty, nor by what he did, Tax Collector, but by name Zacchaeus. “Zacchaeus” is the Hebrew word for “clean, pure”. So Jesus gave Shorty a new identity. He would no longer be Shorty. He would no longer be a tax collecting thug. From now on his identity, as a follower of Jesus, would be Zacchaeus, “clean, pure”.
But the people of Jerico did not understand. When they looked up at the man in the tree they saw the short man who oppressed them and said this:
7 All the people saw this and began to mutter, “[Jesus] has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”
So Jesus had to do something that would be a sign to everyone of Shorty’s new identity as Zacchaeus, clean, pure. And Jesus had to seal this new identity on Shorty’s heart. Jesus wanted Shorty to stop telling himself that he was too short. Jesus wanted Shorty to stop thinking of himself as a thug. Rather Jesus wanted Shorty to become Zacchaeus, clean, pure. As a sign and seal of Zacchaeus’ new identity, Jesus went to his house for dinner.
Like Shorty, we all have internalized all kinds of negative thoughts. We are too short. We are too tall. We are not fast enough. We are not pretty enough. We are too fat. We are too skinny. We are not smart enough. We are not good enough. These negative thoughts have become our identities. But like Shorty, Jesus sees us and offers us a new identity.
John 1:12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.
Jesus has changed your identity. You are no longer what you thought you were when you walked in here today. You are now a new person because Jesus calls you a Child of God.
13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
You are born of God. You are Children of God. This is your new identity. When you wake up in the morning, as you live your day, when you go to sleep at night always have these words on your lips and in your mind: “I am a Child of God.
Of course, Jesus will provide a sign for all to see that you are a Child of God. And Jesus will seal this new identity on your hearts. He will do this, just like Jesus did for Zacchaeus, he will come here for dinner.
And that is what this table is all about. As we gather around the communion table today Jesus is here with us. This meal is a sign and seal of our new identities as Children of God. Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus thank you for calling us Children of God. Thank you for giving us this new identity and sealing it in our hearts through the sacrament of your supper. Purge from our minds all negative thoughts that have defined us for so long. Help us to remember, each waking moment, our new identities as Children of God. Amen.
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