Would Jesus Stretch The Truth?
Preaching
Lions And Cows Dining Together
And 111 Other Sermon Ideas
Object:
Purpose Statement: Jesus used exaggeration in his teaching and for good reason.
There are some cultural differences that we must understand when trying to appreciate some of the stories in our Bible. Even Jesus used stratagems and techniques that were popular in his day. One such cultural technique was the style of emphatic exaggeration when teaching. Jesus was a master at teaching and used a great deal of exaggeration. He spoke about selling everything and giving it to the poor (Matthew 19:21), told his followers to buy a sword (Luke 22:36), said we must lose our lives in order to save them (Luke 9:24), we could drink poison (Mark 16:18), we could move mountains (Mark 11:23), he could rebuild the temple in three days (John 2:19), and many more. His listeners did not consider what he said as lying or deceit. They could understand his use of exaggeration. Important: If we don't understand his method, we may misunderstand his message! When we think about it, his reasons for exaggeration were obvious and helpful:
a. Get our attention. Passages such as the stars falling from heaven and the sun dying (Matthew 24:29) or our being cast into a burning hell (Matthew 13:50) were certainly uses of imagery that would catch the attention of his listeners. Anyone versed in astronomy knows today that stars moving even at the speed of light would never be observed to move through the heavens due to their great distances from us. But using such descriptions causes us to perk up and listen.
b. Stress importance. The lessons Jesus taught were so valuable, exaggeration was used to drive the idea home with great emphasis. Camels passing through the eye of needles (Matthew 19:24) and having logs in our eyes (Matthew 7:3) lends dramatic poignancy to the ideas being considered. It is saying, "I am trying to be as emphatic as I can to tell you how important these ideas are."
c. Help us remember. When Jesus uses such visualization as swallowing camels (Matthew 23:25), plucking out our eyes or cutting our hands off (Matthew 18:8-9), or telling us he came to bring a sword and cause dissention instead of peace (Matthew 10:34-36), his rationalization was to help us retain these important ideas. Very few of his listeners could read, or had access to, written material. It was an age when history was preserved by oral tradition. By exaggeration, his teachings became vivid and unforgettable.
There are some cultural differences that we must understand when trying to appreciate some of the stories in our Bible. Even Jesus used stratagems and techniques that were popular in his day. One such cultural technique was the style of emphatic exaggeration when teaching. Jesus was a master at teaching and used a great deal of exaggeration. He spoke about selling everything and giving it to the poor (Matthew 19:21), told his followers to buy a sword (Luke 22:36), said we must lose our lives in order to save them (Luke 9:24), we could drink poison (Mark 16:18), we could move mountains (Mark 11:23), he could rebuild the temple in three days (John 2:19), and many more. His listeners did not consider what he said as lying or deceit. They could understand his use of exaggeration. Important: If we don't understand his method, we may misunderstand his message! When we think about it, his reasons for exaggeration were obvious and helpful:
a. Get our attention. Passages such as the stars falling from heaven and the sun dying (Matthew 24:29) or our being cast into a burning hell (Matthew 13:50) were certainly uses of imagery that would catch the attention of his listeners. Anyone versed in astronomy knows today that stars moving even at the speed of light would never be observed to move through the heavens due to their great distances from us. But using such descriptions causes us to perk up and listen.
b. Stress importance. The lessons Jesus taught were so valuable, exaggeration was used to drive the idea home with great emphasis. Camels passing through the eye of needles (Matthew 19:24) and having logs in our eyes (Matthew 7:3) lends dramatic poignancy to the ideas being considered. It is saying, "I am trying to be as emphatic as I can to tell you how important these ideas are."
c. Help us remember. When Jesus uses such visualization as swallowing camels (Matthew 23:25), plucking out our eyes or cutting our hands off (Matthew 18:8-9), or telling us he came to bring a sword and cause dissention instead of peace (Matthew 10:34-36), his rationalization was to help us retain these important ideas. Very few of his listeners could read, or had access to, written material. It was an age when history was preserved by oral tradition. By exaggeration, his teachings became vivid and unforgettable.
