Our God is a Scandalous God – Steve Orr
Why did God wait until it was much too late for Sarah to get pregnant?
Why did God Make Jacob wait fourteen years to marry the love of his life?
Why did God let the patriarchs and kings have multiple wives?
Why did God punish David for his dalliance with Bathsheba by letting the child die only to have a subsequent child be in the lineage that led to Christ, the Messiah?
Why did God let a young Jewish girl participate in a beauty contest under a pagan king? And how is it that she won the contest and became the queen of the largest empire of her time?
Adding scandal to scandal, why did God secretly get a young, unmarried girl pregnant by the mystery of the Holy Spirit? She was only about fourteen years old at the time, and she married a much older man. Then, this fourteen-year-old Jewish girl gave birth to the Son of God and the Son of Man! Why?
Why was the Son of God hunted like a criminal when he was just a babe?
On earth, the obscurity of Jesus’ arrival speaks volumes. In heaven, all hell broke loose. There was open warfare. The dragon was out to devour the Christ child. Satan and his evil angels were cast out of heaven. Then, on earth, Satan’s rage was directed at Jesus’ disciples under the power of the Beast, the politically supported operations of the mighty, pagan Roman Empire.
Then, the Almighty God humbled Himself!
[This child of God] who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8 NIV)
God stooped low to pick us up, even to the depths of hell.
Our God Is a Scandalous God!
Why did the Son of God begin as a mere ovum cell barely visible to the naked eye? He was an egg so small that it had to multiply many times just to become a fetus.
Why was the Son of God not born with the fanfare of a great king? Why was he born in obscurity?
This helpless newborn baby was placed in an unhygienic feeding trough filled with straw, animal feed, and their slobber. Through his nostrils came the stench of animal dung for his first breaths of life. In Jesus’ time, infant mortality was high, and only two-thirds of newborns survived.
Here is part of Jesus’ ignoble lineage:
- Two offspring of an incestuous affair between Judah and his prostitute daughter Tamar.
- Ruth, a Moabite, the fruit of incest between Lot and his daughter.
- Rahab, a Canaanite prostitute.
Because Joseph and Mary were too poor to pay for the Lamb of God’s circumcision with an actual lamb, they paid with a pair of pigeons.
Jesus did not grow up in a nice neighborhood. People mocked Nazareth, asking, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Why did Christ choose mostly blue-collar workers to be his disciples?
When he grew up, why did the Son of God work as a humble carpenter for his earthly dad?
Yes, the God over all eternity humbled Himself for a moment in time!
He humbled Himself far beyond the imagination of any created being!
Why did the Father God allow his only son to die the most excruciating, ignominious death of all time?
Why were the eyes of Jesus’ disciples seemingly cloaked from seeing their master for who he was?
Why was the first person who recognized the risen Christ a former demon-possessed prostitute?
Why did Jesus walk with two of his disciples under disguise on the road to Emmaus, only to disappear the moment they recognized him?
How and why did this Jesus sneak into a locked room where his disciples were hiding for their lives?
Why did he allow Thomas to doubt without reprimand?
Why were all but one of the apostles sentenced to torturous death as common criminals?
God’s Grace Is Scandalous
Jesus’ meeting with the woman at the well was scandalous. She was a woman of ill repute. Why did Jesus deliberately go out of his way to arrange an encounter with her?
Why did the guilty criminal on the cross next to Jesus get off scot-free? The criminal knew he was receiving his just reward with his execution on the cross (Luke 23:41). It was a scandalous affront to the criminal justice system.
All have sinned, but everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved (Romans 10:13). Grace is freely offered to everyone who deserves condemnation. We are justified by grace alone, through Christ alone. Christ died for us while we were yet sinners.
Why?
This humbling of the Almighty bears witness to the undeniable nature of God. God Is Love!
What is this Jesus like now? To this day, Jesus sits in the flesh at the right hand of God the Father.
The prior article in “Matters of the Heart” covered this passage:
If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (Matthew 6:14-15)
Let us ponder this passage in the light of God’s scandalous grace. Selah.
Could it be that the root of the sin of unforgiveness is our unconscious disdain for God’s grace or our taking our sins lightly? With honest self-introspection, what offenses have we not yet forgiven? If so, have we demeaned Christ’s finished work on the cross?
As I consider the extent of God’s demonstrated love for us all, I can’t help but fall deeply in love with him with all my heart, mind, and soul. This is the eternal love we were predestined to before the beginning of time. And we don’t have to wait. Today is the day. The Kingdom is at hand. We are the Bride of Christ. Now is the time to step into eternity in this life and the life hereafter.
Author’s note…
I asked my close friends to help me with this article. We call ourselves the “Friday Morning Brothers,” we have been meeting for breakfast starting at 6:00 AM for 24 years. We also call ourselves the 2AM Brothers because we know we can call each other anytime we’re in trouble. Sometimes, we read books together. When we meet, we sometimes talk too much about camping, hunting, and fishing, but mostly, we talk about Jesus.
We began walking through eternity together several years ago, and we’re never going back. We ask your prayers for our continuing journey as we pray for yours.
Here are some additional comments from my Brothers:
“Our Friday morning conversations have been beyond words. This has been instrumental and crucial for my transformation. I feel privileged for being ‘a fly on the wall’ all these years.” – Richard
“Our meetings provide a rare opportunity for ecumenical brotherhood, that is, the coming together of diverse Christian traditions in the pursuit of brotherly love and unity of faith.” – Ryan
“It’s good to know that I can count on my Brothers anytime.” – Randy
“Let’s add Bob Dylan’s Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door to our RocknRoll Theology playlist.” – Brandon
“Hey, gents, just wanted to share God’s providence over the weekend. Had a major leak in our basement in the water line coming into our house. PTL.” Long story made short: It would have been a complete disaster had not a very improbable sequence of events come together in a very short time. – Rick
“Sorry, I can’t make the meeting because I’m up to my armpits with my latest project.” – Ron
“Sorry, I can’t make it, gotta hockey game.” – Gregg
“For everyone not present at our last gathering, Steve was explaining to Rick and me a mind-blowing theological study he’s doing on the connection between Quantum Physics and the Hesed Love of God. It contains an explanation of how all things work in our universe.” – RB
“You old guys need some new blood, that’s why I’m here.” – Matt
To give credit where credit is due, the brothers who helped me with this article are Richard, Randy, Ron, Rick, Brandon, Greg, and his son Ryan, and when he’s in town, my son, Matt.
Note: The title of this article was inspired by the book “The Scandal of the Kingdom” by Dallas Willard, a book in the Friday Morning Brothers’ recommended reading list.
We are a scandalous bunch.
We gather at a round table, no one is at the head of the table, no one is in charge because everyone is in charge and charged with and by the gentle Holy Spirit who whispers through us all.
We are all vagabonds from religion; that’s why we practice Christianity without the religion.
For valuable fellowship and personal growth, I highly recommend the reader form their own “Scandalous Bunch.” You’ll be glad you did because the rewards are greater than our imagination.
Steve Orr writes to us from Montana. After working in the mecca of technology, Steve traded the rat race of Silicon Valley for the adventures of High Tech in Big Sky Country. Steve has an MBA with experience in accounting, finance, technology, and management. He occasionally writes a little software code, but mostly he likes writing about Matters of the Heart.
Plain Truth Ministries | Box 300 | Pasadena, CA 91129-0300
