Because He Said So

By Rev. Heidi L. Barham |  January 23, 2022

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Read
Luke 4:14 – 21
 
How many of us can recall asking a parent that most innocent of questions, “Why?” as in, “Why do I have to go to bed now?” or “Why do I have to eat my vegetables?” or “Why do I have to finish my homework?”  As children, we asked the question “why?” usually with the hope of worming out of doing whatever it was we did not want to do. 
 
But instead, what we usually got was an answer that was not at all appeasing and left no room for argument or discussion, “Because I said so…”
 
And perhaps, as we got older and found ourselves in the role of parent or grandparent or someone with responsibility for a child, we ended up reaching the point of frustration when asked that question, “Why?” just one too many times and responded with that same sense of exasperation, “Because I said so, that’s why.”
 
But ironically, just as children look for ways to get around doing what they would rather not do, we grownups have been known to do the same thing.  We look for some loophole or fine print that will get us out of doing what we know to be the right thing to do, like being the bigger person in an argument; but we rarely, if ever, are we let off the hook so easily.
 
Let me just say that while the Bible may not have been written directly to us, it was written for us as a reference and a guide for how we are to live.  And we need to continue to read and study the Scriptures, as we seek to learn and understand what God would have us to do BECAUSE HE SAID SO.
 
Jesus used the Scriptures often as He taught the disciples and the crowds that gathered around Him.  And as we look at our text for today, that is exactly what we find Jesus doing, teaching in the synagogue… reading from the scroll that contained the words of the Prophet Isaiah
 
Now, just to give us some background, the book of Isaiah is actually the first of the prophetic writings that are found in the Old Testament.  Generally, Isaiah is considered to be the greatest of the prophets.  The words that God spoke through him are some of the most often quoted Old Testament passages that we find in the New Testament. 
 
In Isaiah’s time, the role of the prophet was to speak for God… and that often meant confronting the people and their leaders with God’s commands, but it also meant encouraging them with God’s promises. 
 
Now, because the words that God gave the prophets to speak were often a call to accountability and a call to live lives that were holy, acceptable and pleasing to God… let’s just say, the prophets were not always the most popular people in the room.
 
After all, who wants to be constantly reminded that they are not living according to the ways that God would have them to live?  And if by chance the people dared to ask why God wanted them to do things a certain way, I can almost hear the prophet giving them one of those typical parental responses, “BECAUSE HE SAID SO…”
 
Such was the life of a prophet like Isaiah.  For 60 years, Isaiah served as God’s special messenger, calling people to turn from their lives of sin and warning of God’s judgment and punishment.  But he did not only speak words of correction, he also offered words of hope and consolation.
 
Perhaps you may be aware that the book of Isaiah is laid out in a fashion that is similar to the Bible itself.  The first 39 chapters of Isaiah, much like the 39 books of the Old Testament, are filled with pronouncements to Judah, Israel and the surrounding nations to repent of their sins to avoid God’s judgment and punishment.
 
The remaining 27 chapters of Isaiah, like the 27 books of the New Testament contain words of forgiveness and comfort that are found in the promise of the coming Messiah… the One who brings us hope and consolation.
 
Now, you may also be aware that the children of Israel made it somewhat of a habit to ignore the words of the prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Joel among others.  The Israelites would have to be reprimanded and reminded time and time again to repent and turn their lives around…  and I can almost hear them whining and asking “why?”  BECAUSE HE SAID SO.
 
In Isaiah 30:15 we read, “This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: ‘In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it…’”
 
While in Jeremiah 8:5 – 7 we find these words of admonishment:
 

Why then have these people turned away?  Why does Jerusalem always turn away?  They cling to deceit; they refuse to return.  I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right.  None of them repent of their wickedness, saying, “What have I done?” Each pursues their own course like a horse charging into battle.  Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove, the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration.  But my people do not know the requirements of the Lord.
 
And in Ezekiel 18:30 we hear this pronouncement, “Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.”
 
It would seem that the Israelites needed more than a few reminders if they were ever going to learn their lesson… but thankfully all hope was not lost for them. 
 
And despite what things may look like around us in the present age, all hope is not lost for us either.  We serve a God who is gracious, loving, and compassionate, even when we, like the Israelites, have gone astray.
 
How can I say that with any certainty?  BECAUSE HE SAID SO.
 
In Exodus 34 (6 – 7a), we read, “…The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”
 
And in Nehemiah 9:17, we find, “But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.”
 
The Psalmist David wrote, “But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness” (Psalm 86:15).
 
And the Prophet Joel wrote, “Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity” (Joel 2:13).
 
Throughout the Old Testament, we find reminders that God is compassionate, gracious and forgiving.  It is why God gave us His Son to be our Savior… to fulfill the words of prophecy that were spoken by the prophets like Isaiah. 
 
In our text this morning, Jesus was reading from the scroll written by the Prophet Isaiah.  It is a passage that comes from Isaiah 61:1 – 2 and it reads:
 
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
 
And according to the text, after Jesus finished reading, He rolled the scroll back up, gave it to the attendant and sat back down before telling those who were gathered, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
 
In other words, Jesus was basically saying, “God spoke through Isaiah to tell you about the Messiah who was coming and what He was going to do, I am Him and I am here…”  That was really good news.
 
But just as the good news of Jesus’ coming was promised by God and foretold by the prophets of old, Jesus would go on to tell the disciples about His death and His resurrection which was also foretold by Isaiah (Isaiah 53) as well as the Psalmist David (Psalm 16, 22, 69 and 110). 
 
If we were to keep reading down to Luke 9 (22), we would find Jesus telling His disciples, “The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
 
And in case they didn’t hear Him the first time, several verses later in that same chapter He said (45), “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men.”
 
And then over in chapter 18 (31 – 33) He said: 
 
Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written of the Son of man by the prophets will be accomplished. For he will be delivered to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and shamefully treated and spit upon; they will scourge him and kill him, and on the third day he will rise.
 
But thankfully, there is more to the story.  If we continue reading down to chapter 24, we read about Jesus appearing to the women at the tomb, to the men on the road to Emmaus and then to a larger gathering of disciples. 
 
It was at this gathering that He told them (44 – 48):
 
“These are my words which I spoke to you, while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the law of Moses and the prophets and the psalms must be fulfilled.”  Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”
 
Then if we look over at the Gospel of John (20:19 – 29), we read about Jesus appearing to the disciples who were locked behind closed doors out of fear of the Jews.  Now, for some unknown reason, Thomas was not with them that day.  And after hearing that Jesus had appeared to the other disciples, Thomas told them, “Unless I see in his hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in his side, I will not believe” (20:25b).
 
And then about a week later when the disciples were gathered together again, Jesus appeared among them and said, “Peace be with you.”  Then He turned to Thomas and said:
 
“Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” [And] Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” (20:26 – 29). 
 
In hindsight, Thomas and all of the disciples should have taken Jesus at His word back when He was still with them.  They should have believed that He was who He said He was and that what He said was going to happen, really was going to happen BECAUSE HE SAID SO.
 
But during their ministry together, Jesus called the disciples to task for exhibiting little or no faith on more than one occasion.  And I would dare say He has probably had to call each of us to task as well.
 
Maybe it’s just the nature of who we are as mere mortals, but thankfully, even when our faith is minimal or even non-existent… God remains faithful.  He gives us gentle reminders that we can and should trust Him in any and all circumstances BECAUSE HE SAID SO.
 
It doesn’t matter whether we are faced with health challenges, relationship issues or financial crises, the Lord has promised to never leave us nor forsake us. 
 
Even if we are worried about things going on at our jobs or difficulties in our homes or challenges in the church, God still promises to be an ever-present help in times of trouble (Psalm 46:1).
 
And we can trust that when we come through on the other side of the trial, God will still there with us, BECAUSE HE SAID SO.   
 
It’s like we read in Isaiah 43:2:
 
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you.  When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 
 
Now that is not to say that every situation is going to turn out the way we want it to, but it does mean that whatever the outcome, the Lord will be right there with us.
 
And how do we know that for sure?  BECAUSE HE SAID SO.
 
In Deuteronomy 31, Joshua 1, 1 Chronicles 28 and Hebrews 13 we find the same reminder that God will NEVER leave us nor forsake us.  And the beautiful thing about God’s never is that it is certain and true.
 
However, our version of never can be a lot less certain. 
 
For example, after a particularly upsetting customer service experience, I made the declaration, “I will never go into Walmart again.”  Well never lasted up until the point that I needed something at an inconvenient hour and they were the closest store that was open…
 
How many times have we made statements to the effect of I will never eat that many sweets at one time again… or I will never let my car go that long without an oil change again… or I will never wait that long to talk to that person again… or I will never do… you can fill in the blank.
 
Always and never are two extremes of a spectrum that we find ourselves trying to navigate.  And yet, it is pretty safe to say that we probably NEVER fully live up to the things that we say we will ALWAYS do.  Why?  Because we are human.
 
But the Good News is that the Lord ALWAYS lives up to His promises including His promise to NEVER leave us nor forsake us and to be with us ALWAYS, even to the end of the age.
 
We can believe it BECAUSE HE SAID SO in His Word and He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23). 
 
Now, Jesus told the disciples that He would be crucified and that He would rise again and that is exactly what happened.  He came back just as He said He would.  He sat with them and ate with them and gave them words of encouragement to keep going. And He gave them the promise of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, who would come to help them and to help us as well (John 14:16; Acts 1:3 – 5).
 
And there is more Good News for us today, because that is not where the promises end.  Jesus has promised that He will come back for His church, His bride, one day.  And although we do not know the day nor the hour, we know He will come back again, BECAUSE HE SAID SO.
 
And because we know that we can take the Lord at His word, we can live in hope in spite of what people and circumstances around us might have us believe to the contrary.   Even in the face of trial and tribulation, we can find peace and consolation in the Lord, BECAUSE HE SAID SO.
 
You have heard me quote John 16:33 more times than I can count but it is a verse that serves as a reminder for why we can hold onto hope even in the midst of difficult circumstances.  Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
 
And isn’t it good to know that no matter what it looks like we can have peace BECAUSE HE SAID SO?
 
Amen.
 
 

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