When I was in school, no one messed with the class bully. No one talked to him, no one touched him and no one ever thought of saying anything bad about him. He was feared and respected. No one messed with the class bully.

No one messes with Abraham either. No one talks bad about him and no one degrades his good and faithful name. He is respected and revered. He is the father of the people Israel. And yet Jesus seemed to be doing just that. But Jesus wasn’t messing with Abraham. He was messing with Abraham’s “so-called” descendants.

Right in the middle of all these texts from Scripture that began the message this morning is the text appointed for this 5th Sunday in Lent. Right in the middle of all this bickering back and forth between Jesus and the people Jesus says, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here.” In other words, if you were truly of Abraham that means you are truly a part of His faith as well. Abraham’s father was The Father in Heaven. If you are truly a part of Him then you truly love the Father in heaven. If you truly love the Father in heaven then you will truly love His only begotten Son, Jesus. And they did not truly love Jesus. They didn’t love Him at all. In fact, they have grown to hate Him. This means they hated their father Abraham and therefore hated his Father, the Heavenly Father who has a son – Abraham and a Son in the Lord Jesus. Confused?

Don’t be. It’s simple really. The people didn’t love Jesus so they didn’t really love the Father of Jesus either. Jesus was stating the obvious for us but for the Jews, they didn’t see it. And the truth hurts. So, after hearing what Jesus had to say, they picked up stones and were ready to strike this man and His demeaning words down. They were insulted by the Savior. They were insulted by the truth. The truth hurts.

When I was a kid I spent many days on the baseball diamond. I enjoyed the outdoors in the summer time and loved the competition. I enjoyed winning and I hated to lose. One of things I liked best about being outside with a team was meeting new people. I know that sounds strange and when I was young that wasn’t so much the case. But as I grew older, in high school and even during a couple of my college years, I had the opportunity to play baseball with people my own age that I didn’t go to school with. I loved meeting new people, talking to them, finding out what they are all about.

When I was in college, I still had the opportunity to play ball with this same group of kids that I got to know during the summers. By that time they knew that I was pursuing the ministry and was taking classes to do so. Some of them would talk about their faith to me. Some of them would even admit that they didn’t have much of a faith at all. One said, “I’m an agnostic.” Then he asked, “Do you know what an agnostic is?” I said, “Yes, you doubt the existence of God.” He said, “That’s right. I don’t think anyone could ever prove to me that God exists.”

Now, I will admit, I probably did a pretty poor job at witnessing directly to the comment that particular boy made. But I did try. And I also tried to set an example for my teammates in the way I acted as well. I pray He got the message.

I do remember, though, when I did speak about Jesus to this fellow teammate who doubted that God exists, he would get a tad agitated. He didn’t want to hear it. He didn’t want to hear the truth. The truth hurt.

On that same team there was a boy who had a problem. He drank alcohol heavily. He would come to games usually quite ill from a drinking binge the night before. He abused alcohol and didn’t take his problem too seriously. Neither did his parents. Neither did his fellow teammates.

Our coach sat us down and talked about the dangers of drinking too much and drug abuse. We were young and needed these reminders on a daily basis. He then turned to this one boy on our team and told him straight up that he had a problem with drinking and that he needed help. The boy didn’t think so. He thought he had it all under control. When the coach became more and more insistent that he should get help, he got more and more animated and raised his voice, “I don’t have a problem and I don’t need help. I have it all under control.” He didn’t want to hear the truth.

The coach then went to his parents who really didn’t take all this drinking too seriously either. They started to get upset at the coach for making a big deal out of this to their son. They didn’t think he had a problem. They didn’t think that it was an issue at all. They got angry with the coach and even threatened to encourage their teen-aged son to quit the team. They didn’t like to hear the truth. The truth hurt.

We don’t always like the truth. Not when it puts us in a bad light or exposes our sins. We might not get so offended by the truth that comes from the Bible because we are Christ centered, cross focused believers. But what if the truth about us comes out? That’s when that most dreaded emotion rears its ugly head – shame.

I am ashamed of my sins. So much so, I don’t want anyone to know of the sins I have committed. How have we tried to bury so deep our wrong doings so that no one will know about them? How have we tried to put on a pleasant facade so that others can’t see what we are really like inside? Sometimes these sins of old haunt us and we are still ashamed. Sometimes these same sins still strangle us and tend to entrap us every now and again – and we hope no one finds out. We hope no one will ever know.

But our Lord knows. He knows every sin you have ever committed. He knows what causes you the greatest distress and what causes you the most shame. Our Lord knows – and He still loves you. And He still looks at you as His very own Child. He still takes each one of those sins upon Himself and washes you clean with the blood of His Son. Our Father knows the sins of His children. And our Father knows that you, by grace through faith, are one of His precious children. Our Father knows you and wants so badly for you to know Him. He wants to be your Heavenly Father through thick and thin. He desires to keep you close to Himself and show you the way to walk.

Those that Jesus was speaking to that day in John chapter eight had forgotten about their Father. They had forgotten the truth of their father Abraham as well. He was not only the father of the nation in a parental way – He was the father of the nation in a spiritual way. They forgot about the spiritual. Don’t forget who your Father is.

Our beloved brother Jesus came and did what no other brother could. He took all our transgressions to the cross. And through that message of truth we can share the Good News – even when it’s not popular. We can share the truth when the truth doesn’t want to be heard but needs to be spoken. We dare not mess with the Lord – that is, we dare not mess up His Word. The Father of us all, our Heavenly Father – God of all creation messed with us. When He gave His Son – He messed with our lives. And thank God He did. Now we have life eternal. Lord, please continue to mess with our lives. Amen.

The peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.