Jesus - Problem Child

So the title of my sermon today is Jesus, Problem Child. Yes. I have many of you mothers and fathers out here. Did you have any problem children? Yes. Yes. Jeff's raising his hand back there. You didn't. It was you. Okay, well. Oh, okay. It was her. Yes. So she was a problem child. Maybe still is. Okay. I love that. I'm sure some of us. I've talked to somebody before. He definitely said he was a problem child in his family. He's sitting here. I won't tell you his name, but he's sitting in the very back.

But I grew up in Indiana, and I knew a young boy there by my age. And he had an older sister. And I remember a man telling his parents one time, said, You know, that little girl's just fine, but that boy, he needs some attention.

And I thought about him because there was a movie out quite a few years ago called Problem Child. Anybody ever see that? John Ritter and whatever, and they couldn't have kids, so they adopted and went and got this child, and he was a problem child. And so forth. As a matter of fact, they held such a big party when they adopted him that all the nuns were jumping up and down because he was gone. That's what I remember, the movie. They were so excited because he was such a problem.

Well, I knew this young man, and it's a problem even from the day he was born. Because the day he was born, there was an ice storm in Indiana, ice and snow storm. So bad that his parents couldn't get their car out of the driveway. And the doctor who lived in the local town happened to have a big station wagon that was loaded with block. And so he was able to come over and take the mother to the hospital, and they got there 16 minutes before he was born. So before the child was born. So it just barely got in there. So to the mother, he was a problem.

And then, at four years of age, this young lad had a hernia.

Had to have a hernia operation as his hernia ruptured one side. They had to rush him to the hospital in the middle of the night. And so that was a problem for his parents. Not only for him, but for his parents, mostly. And then at age five, he started having serious nosebleeds. That would just bleed like tremendous amounts. So they finally had to take him to a doctor again, and they had to, as they said, cauterize the vessels inside of his nose to keep him from having these nosebleeds.

And then, to beat all, he was locked in a room, in an upstairs room one time, and there happened to be yellow jackets. And he was trying to get out and banging on the door. That his older sister, who everybody thought was the great one, had locked him in. And that stirred up the yellow jackets, so he was stung about 16 times. And he developed almost a problem with getting stung by yellow jackets. And this was age five. At age six, his parents, for his birthday, bought him a rocking chair, a little child's rocking chair. They also bought him a Superman suit. Remember when Superman used to be big? And it had on the suit, it said this thing that read, Remember, only Superman can fly. Well, he was six years old. He couldn't read yet. And so he was carried because he used to have these antennas that were square, and you could actually walk up to get on top and adjust your antennas, if anybody remembers that. And so somehow he figured at six years of age how to get his rocking chair up there. And he climbed up there and was rocking on the roof, deciding, as he told his parents later, where to jump from as he was going to fly, to which one of the neighbors called his parents and said, Do you realize your child is sitting or rocking on top of your roof and he's about to jump? At which time the father had to leave work and go home because the mother was out somewhere else. And if that wasn't enough, when he was still age six, his parents took him out to eat somewhere and he was eating fish, and he swallowed a fish bone that got caught in his throat. They couldn't get him out, so they had to take him to the hospital to remove that fish bone that got caught in his throat. That wasn't enough. At age 19, he was then in Indiana, was in a snowstorm, the storm of 1978. It was actually called one of the worst blizzards in the last 50 years. Anybody in Ohio? You remember that you had to hit the New England too? And you guys were? And Ontario and so forth.

And he was driving in that and he got caught out, and he barely made it to a hotel. And in that city of Kokomo, Indiana, where he was at the time, three people froze to death trying to find a hotel. And he was three days without food and just water to drink. As a matter of fact, they said there was a temperature reached, wind temperature of 51 degrees below zero. And had snowdrifts up to six and eight feet on the roads.

So, but he survived. Later, in his work, he fell from a three-story building, which knocked himself out. Had to go to the hospital and recover. To which, later on, he then was electrocuted in an electrical box. Because somebody was supposed to have turned it off and they didn't. Which, he lost his memory and stuff for about six months. Who he was and had some health problems. At which, a later time, he had two heat strokes from being out in the sun. And at age 20, he had three car wrecks totaling two of the cars. So, to his parents, he was a problem child.

And I'd say if you were his parents, you would say he's a problem child, too. Not the focus of my story today. The focus is that that happens. And parents deal with quite a bit.

And that also includes Jesus Christ's parents. And I want to go through that because what did the angel tell Mary? You are most blessed above all women on earth.

It also tells us, as we're going to look through some of the problems, that Jesus Christ's physical parents had to endure. So, maybe all these problem children that you pointed out in the audience today didn't have it so bad. Maybe God understands that he may even prefer, or like, or call problem children. So, let's look at this example today. I know it's a little different. But if you will follow me over to the book of Matthew. Matthew 1. I'll just be going through some scriptures here. I'll be reading from the New King James Version. Matthew 1, verse 18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. After his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit. Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. The reason he had to put her away secretly is if it became public, she could be stoned. Because that's what happened to a young lady that might get pregnant at that time and been called illegitimate. Can you imagine the trauma that was involved with Mary not understanding, even though an angel appeared to her, told her this, she had to be a very, what, righteous woman? A young lady, because it was believed girls got married between 13 and 15 at the time, where her betrothed husband would have been possibly in his early 20s because you typically had to already have a house built and you had to have a profession before you really got married. And it was very common for older young men to marry younger ladies.

But here she became pregnant with this child by the Holy Spirit. And yet, you would think that's enough to deal with that pressure, but that pressure was even applied 30 years later when her son was grown and the religious leaders at that time pointed out to her son that at least we were not born of fornication. They still remembered. She still wore that badge of having an illegitimate child.

So even before Jesus Christ was born, he was a problem. He was a problem because of the way it was done. Now, I'd like to move on to Luke 2, if you will join me in Luke 2. Luke 2, verse 6. So it was that while they were there, the days were completed for her to be delivered. And she brought forth her first child, Jesus, his son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because there was no room for them in the inn. We know that. So basically, he was born in a barn. She had to deliver her son in a, as my margin says, a feed trough.

Not exactly what you would plan for your first child. Can you imagine her trauma delivering for a child? Many of you have had children. I can't tell you what that's like. But the women that delivered it, I can't imagine being in a barn and doing it. I know women have given birth in hospitals, even at home. And I knew one lady I worked for one time that was born in a car because they didn't make it to. You were born in an elevator, so we have one. And your mother's there. Was that a problem, Mom?

So I guess so. So I guess you are a problem, child.

Bring him back memories, right? But imagine Mary being a young lady, even if she was 15 or 16. First births are usually traumatic, as it is, from what I've heard.

So imagine this young teenage girl having to deliver in a barn.

It makes it for a very interesting story. No room in the end. Matter of fact, I saw a hotel that was named that. No room in the end. So stay at our hotel. I guess it's biblical. Go back with me to Matthew, Matthew 2, as we see continuing the story of this problem, child. Matthew 2, verse 13, So now, when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, take the young child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring word to you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him. Baby's just born. And now, angels having to say, you gotta get out of here, because Herod the king, one of the most powerful men in the land at that time, was going to kill the child. We know I won't go into the big story there, because most of you know it. I just want to point out what Joseph and Mary went through. The child didn't know anything at that time.

But you also must understand that they would have had the understanding that if Herod's men had caught up to them, they weren't just going to kill the child. They would have killed them, too. That's just wiped out! Don't know. Nobody knew what happened to them. But an angel warned them. In verse 14, when he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt. So they had to pick up from their home, whatever he was doing, macarpenter, whatever he was doing, he had to go and leave because of this child. Leave whatever profession, maybe he could go, but he had to go to another country. Had to leave their families. Think about that. I mean, we know she was close to her aunt.

She knew, you knew, she was young enough, she would have still had attachments to her family. Sorry, you got to get up and go. You can't go telling people where you live. Think about it. They couldn't because if they found out, they would go hunt them down. They would kill them if they didn't kill the people who told them where they were going. So sometimes we think our life may be a little tough.

When you look back all these years ago, pretty, pretty rough. Rough, they had it. So let's go in verse 15, and they were there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet saying, out of Egypt I called my son. Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, and we know the story the wise men didn't tell, was exceedingly angel, and he sent forth and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem. Do you think Mary and Joseph had friends or relatives that had children, maybe somewhere around that age? All killed, every male child, because of your child, because of this. Imagine the weight that was carried when they heard about it. The one that Herod was looking for had escaped, so they wouldn't kill them all. Killed every child they could get, under the age of two. And in all the districts, from two years and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men, that's a lot to bear in your society, especially if you grew up in there. Perhaps your hometown, you go back to there, and what do you find out? There's no male children your age, his age, because they were all killed. Very traumatic, as they were on the run from Herod, but they were able to come back after two years. But before they did, I'd like you to go over with me to Luke. Back to Luke 2, if you will. Luke 2, because it kind of gives us a little story here, that I don't know if you thought about before. Luke 2 and verse 23. Before they went to after the birth, before they went to Egypt, which would have been pretty close after the birth, the child, the male child must be presented at the temple, and they were to pay a tribute or offering to, for every male child, as they said, that opened the womb, which was a firstborn male, which he did. Well, let's look at that in verse 23. It says, as it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male who opens a womb shall be called holy to the Lord, set apart, sacred, and to offer a sacrifice according to what is said in the law of the Lord. Do you know what is said in the law of the Lord? In Leviticus, you don't have to turn there, Leviticus 12, it tells that what you should do is offer a new lamb, a lamb, before the priest, as a sacrifice.

But notice what it says in Scripture. A pair of turtledoves are two young pigeons. If you go back and look at the law, the pigeons, the two turtledoves were given, if you couldn't even afford a lamb. So the poorest of poor gave two turtledoves are two pigeons. Which one does that tell us? They were poor. They were poor. They didn't have any money at that time. Didn't have enough so they could barely scrape together to do this. Kind of tough because I know when I was born the first few years, my parents didn't have a lot of money. My dad worked 70, 80 hours a week in the factory. And a lot of people didn't have a lot. But here, they knew they had to make this. They were godly people. So they had to scrape enough together just to do this. Now, what I find interesting is that it is a pair of turtledoves. And this took place just after his birth. It would have been circumcised eight days after his birth. Then there would have been this dedication. But what's interesting is, it was only two years later that didn't we have the wise men who traveled and gave all those gifts.

Gold, silver, frankincense, myrrh, all this stuff of value. But before that, they really didn't have that, did they?

Had to be tough. But imagine you leave your hometown, where you grew up very poor, and then you come back. You're no longer poor. And you have this beautiful child, two years, just a little over two years of age. And everybody looks at him and, you know, they would say, that's a beautiful child.

Why? Because there's no boys his age anywhere around. They've all been killed. Hmm. How do you carry that? Very tough. Very tough. Life for Mary and for Joseph. And let's go with me. Back to Luke, if you will. As we're seeing, these are the only scriptures that tell us before he was 30 years of age. So I wanted to cover that because I think it's important. A lot of times we don't cover it. And in Luke 2, verse 41, Here he's grown and he's twelve years old. At twelve years old at that time you were considered on the threshold of manhood, and you were also starting to work in the trade of your father. You were to be taught that trade. You were not really educated. They weren't at that time, they were not really schools except for rabbis.

And so the mothers would do a lot of the training of memorizing scripture. Most couldn't afford any scripture, but they would memorize them and teach like the Psalms to the young children. And so Jesus would have learned that the foot of his mother's chair, probably teaching him all the things that she knew, all the things that probably God inspired. But we also know that she had other children.

So she would have had the time with Jesus as much as she probably wanted, with four other sons and at least two other daughters. Pretty tough life that she would have had. So let's see now Luke 2 and verse 41. Said, his parents... Oh, let's go up to 39. I didn't give this to David, but I just think it's important. 39. So when he had performed all these things to the law of the Lord and returned to Galilee, to the own city of Nazareth where they went to live, and the child grew and became strong in the spirit, filled with wisdom. The grace of God was upon him, as you would expect. But then, in verse 41, his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the Passover, in Days of Unleavened Bread. And when he was 12 years old, they went up to Jerusalem according to the custom of the feast. And when they had finished the days, which would have been eight days, because then they had to go back to Nazareth. And you can imagine that was a pretty good little jaunt, because that was in Galilee. This was down in Judah. And when they had finished the days as they returned, the boy Jesus lingered behind in Jerusalem. And Joseph and his mother did not know it. They had, what? Four, six, seven other kids to look after, and they moved kind of as a family, and they would leave there and go up to their home.

But Joseph and his mother did not know it, but supposing him to have been in the company, they went a day's journey and sought him among their relatives and acquaintances. So, who would have been his relatives? Elizabeth. John. James. First cousins. Been traveling with them. Sisters. He would have been, you know, with his relatives as they were traveling together. Verse 45, So when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem. They had already traveled a day.

Now they've gone another day. And I know how upset my father was one time when I went to the Indiana State Fair, and I got off a ride on the other side, and I was five, I think, at that time. Got off, and I wandered away. And I wandered around. Had some money in my pocket, so I just went and saw these exhibits until a policeman found me. And took me after him watching me for a while. And so then I found out that was the best thing about the day, because he took me to this little courtyard, and there was a bunch of other kids about my age all eating ice cream.

So we ate ice cream as they called out your name over there, to which my father came, and he wasn't too excited about me or the ice cream.

So I do remember that. So you can imagine being the whole day they had to stop now and go find him. Where's Jesus?

Verse 46, Now, so it was that after three days they found him in the temple. And you imagine three days wandering around. I've been lost in a car one time for most of a day trying to find my way before there was GPS. I can't imagine walking around Jerusalem, all of Jerusalem, for three days trying to find your 12-year-old son.

If they never thought he was a problem child then, they definitely thought he was one now. But did they fully understand who he was? If they had, they would have gone where? To the temple. They would have known, would have been intrigued. His questions, his understanding. Why?

I said in verse 46, Now they found him after three days they found him in the temple sitting in the midst of the teachers.

The scholars. Both listening to them and asking them questions. Probably questions that they thought, how in the world could 12-year-old boy find this out? Which only makes me reflect at 12 years of age. If you were one of those teachers, how many 12-year-olds are going to be there with you for three days? Listening and asking questions. After already having attended the days of Unleavened Bread, hearing messages every single day. And then, after that, this young man comes to the temple and he's sitting there for three days.

Wow. Wouldn't? Wouldn't? If you were a scholar, if you were a teacher, a scribe at that time sitting there, would that stick with you for a very long time? Would it stick with you 18 years?

Wouldn't you think when he started his ministry that there were those same scholars who would have remembered, was that that young man? What an incredible, incredible story. Let's get to the end of this, though. And they all, and all who heard him were astonished at his understanding and get the, what's it say? Answers.

You know what this telling us? He's answering their questions. He's not only asking questions, he's answering theirs. So when they saw him, they were amazed. I would say probably ticked off. And his mother said, Son, why have you done this to us? Look, your father and I have sought you anxiously. And he said to them, Why did you seek me? Did you not know that I must be about my father's business?

Which I'm sure didn't really settle them, but maybe the Spirit did. But then 50-50, it said, but they did not understand the statement which he spoke to them. So they wouldn't have understood. So they were upset! And they had to think, wait a minute, you never lie, you never steal, you never cause us problems, you take care of everything, you work and everything, and then you go and do this! Out of character? Not for Jesus. But then it actually said in verse 51, Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them. But his mother kept all these things in her heart.

She knew there was something. She couldn't get that out of her head. Lost for three days. Now let's move along. And Luke, let's go over about this problem child. Because even today she's your child, and we're not going to say how old she is, but she is your child. So no matter what age your children grow up to be, they're still your child. And your parents can understand that. And so you never stop worrying about them. It never stops. I don't know, you're kind of smiling like that.

She goes all over the world, what can I do about it? But let's go to Luke 4 and verse 16. Because Jesus has grown now. And then verse 16, so he came to Nazareth where he had been brought up. Hometown boy! Let's go to hometown. And as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read, because they would actually allow you to read. They would read certain parts, and they said, does anybody want to read? And there were not that many who could read. Formerly educated, but he could. Verse 17, he was handed the book of Isaiah, and when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to sit at liberty those who have been oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. Then he closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. And all the eyes of the synagogue were upon him. The boy had come home. The boy could read.

The young man could preach. And he began to say to them, so he stepped down and went on, and went back to his chair. Today, the Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. And then he went on to preach a little more. And they were offended. I'll let you read about the preaching, because he talked about Elijah and the widow, Zarephath. And she was...she wasn't a Jew. But yet God worked with her. And they were offended, and then the lepers, and the Naaman. But then we come down to verse 28. So all those in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath. He offended them.

I guess he got above his raising, they were probably thinking. Verse 29, And they rose up and thrust him out of the city, Welcome home. And they led him to the brow of the hill, on which their city was built. Some experts say it was about 300 feet down to the low end. That they might throw him down over the cliff. Who would have been in the synagogue? Uh-huh. Who else? His family. Those brothers, sisters. His mother would have been there.

And I imagine she was very proud when he walked up and grabbed... They handed him the book and he read it. But then, he had to go preaching. And he offended all her neighbors. All the people they knew, even the relatives that were in there. Because they just said, well, let's just take him out, we'll just throw him over the cliff.

Let's just kill him. Mob rule. How do you think Mary felt at that time? Not just embarrassed, but scared. That they were going to do it. And verse 30, then passing through the midst of them, he went on his way. How did he do that? Only God knows how he did that, as he was there. Follow me back as I finish this up. Follow me back to Matthew 13. Matthew 13, verse 53. Now, it came to pass when Jesus had finished these parables, that he departed from there. And when he had come into his own country back home, he taught them in the synagogue, so they were astonished and said, where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?

Is this not the carpenter's son? Is this not his mother Mary? Is this not his mother called Mary? And his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? And his sister, are they not with us? Where did this man get these things? So, they were offended at him. Where does he get off doing this? Wait a minute. He's just like one of us.

He grew up like us. Where did he get this knowledge? Why is he so bold? Makes you think. But Jesus said to them, my prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, in his own house. Now, he did not do many mighty works there because of their belief, unbelief. Imagine that. Imagine how his family did feel again as we look at those stories. Go with me to two more accounts in John.

So perhaps, I don't know, have you ever had a relative embarrass you? Jeff goes, yeah, sure have. I see some. I've had some that embarrassed me. I guess, oh, there we go. I've got one of those up here on the front row. A close relative, huh? Sure. So, you see, this was a problem for her. Let's go to Matthew 13. Wait a minute, I already did that one.

John 7. Sorry, John 7, verse 1. After these things, Jesus walked in Galilee. For he did not want to walk in Judea, because the Jews sought to kill him. So, wait a minute, they tried to kill him in his own Nazareth, and he was down in Jerusalem, and he wanted to kill him there, so he goes back up to Galilee. Now, the Jews, feasts of Tabernacles, was at hand. His brothers therefore said to him, He is far from here, and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works that you are doing. Sounds like nice brothers, huh? For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly.

If you do these things, show yourself to the world. That was not kind. That was sarcastic. They are mocking him. His brothers, his flesh and blood, brothers mocking him. You have to realize this is starting the last year of Jesus' life. So they had known he had preached, he had healed, he had done all these things for two and a half years. But now they are having to. But it says, even his brothers did not believe in him. So there was a family divide. Imagine Mary caught in this. A problem child? Yes! Definitely because all your other children, they are saying the same thing.

There is something wrong with him. He is not who we grew up with him. We know and these people are following him. And look what the leaders, they don't even want him in the synagogues. And look at the Pharisees and the scribes and the Sadducees who sat in these things. They don't want him and he keeps getting this following. He is such an embarrassment. All of our friends are talking about it. Isn't that your brother? No. Kind of embarrassing. So then it takes off. Let's go to Mark. As we'll wrap up this story of the problem child.

In Mark 3. Mark 3 and we read verse 20. Then the multitude came again so they could not so much as eat bread. Why? Because there were a lot of them there. Verse 21. But when his own people heard about this, about what? All these people gathering around him. Not hundreds but thousands. Thousands that came around. Thousands that he fed. Thousands that wait around and hear his words for three days. Yes. About this. They went to lay hold of him. For they said to him, what? He is out of his mind. Out of his mind. He needs a straight jacket. That's what we'd call it today. His family said he's out of his mind.

He's crazy. He's nuts. How did his mother feel? She was with him. She thought he was crazy too. Did she change her mind? Yes. When they took him out to kill him. She was there, wasn't she?

Where were the brothers? They weren't there. Even the disciples, other than John. John was the only one we really saw at the foot of the cross. He was there. So what an amazing, amazing story. For Mary. But then again, who was there? Did you hear about them? They were just there. Who was there? Mary. Mary. All the brothers were there. Why? Because God was moving. He was no longer the problem child.

He was the savior of the world and savior of them. But God used a problem child. To his parents, he may have seen that way. But he was their salvation. See, God is vested in us. That's what Pentecost is going to be about. The Holy Spirit. He says that so many of you problem children out there, that are sitting out here now, are so worth it because he's used to working with problem children.

It seems to work. You seem to be of a little different edge to you than normal people. Right? As a matter of fact, you're even called peculiar people. Yes. Where's... Well, let's see. Let's see if Bill Gates shows up next week. Elon Musk, Warren Buffett. Let's see if any of the great and mighty show up on Pentecost.

Now, go with me to one last scripture. Because it talks about us. God talks about us. If you'll join me in Romans 8, verses 27 and 28. Many of you know this. So, it says in verse 27, Now, he who searches a heart knows what the... knows the mind of the Spirit is. Because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. For we know that all things work together for good to those who love God. To those who are called according to... What? His purpose. He needs. He needs people who, sometimes, aren't afraid to defy the odds.

They aren't afraid to climb a roof at age 6. If anybody's watching this on the video later and you're 6, don't climb the roof. And how do I know? I was that child. And yet, I put my parents through tremendous amount. I was a problem. Every one of those things. And God still called. God still had a purpose. I didn't understand at the time. I just knew what it was to get a whipping.

Quite a few times. And thought there, well... So if you've got problems, God's used to it. You've got problems, you have issues, you have a past. He's got a future for you. He's got a future for me. And I kind of think about that old TV show, Hee Haw.

Anybody remember Hee Haw? And they had this guy sitting in this chair cutting hair. They would always go and they would start this thing about, tell what happened. Well, you know, my car broke down. Oh, that's bad. Well, no, that's good. Because I got a new car. Well, that's good. No, that's bad because the car payment's really high. That is how I kind of view many of our lives. We've had bad. But they turned out good because God says, I'm not done with you.

There's a purpose for you. And I want you. I want you in my kingdom. And you're going to have to go through some things. And I'm going to have to go through them with you. But you know what He says? You're worth it. You made Mary cry.