The Power of Prejudice
When we read and hear Scripture,
we are to allow the Holy Spirit to
penetrate our subjective and prejudicial thinking.
Here's Gene:
We see this principle illustrated in just a beautiful way
in an old man who's about ready to die.
His name was Simeon. And this happened after Jesus Christ was born.
Luke described this situation and described him as a devout and righteous person.
Similar to Zechariah:
A man that was justified by faith because of his belief in what he knew about the Messiah.
But also lived a godly life.
And we know that he lived a godly life. And we know that he was related to God
because he was led by the Holy Spirit.
And we see that in the text. And he understood. He understood the three promises that God
made to Abraham.
Earlier we pointed out in another principle that Zechariah didn't understand that.
They understood--and Mary too. They understood that God called Abraham to a land.
They understood that he promised a people. Israel.
But they didn't understand the blessing to the whole world through the seed of Abraham.
But Simeon did.
And we see this. Notice Simeon's declaration:
"Guided by the Spirit..."
Now, I just mentioned this man knew God.
He was related to God. And it had to be by faith
in what he knew about the promises.
You see, that's the way Abraham was saved. He believed even though he didn't understand everything.
He believed and God counted it to him for righteousness
because God made a promise of a Savior.
And even though he didn't understand it, that was his point of conversion.
He was justified by faith.
Simeon certainly was one of these men.
Many, many centuries later.
"Guided by the Spirit, he entered the temple.
When the parents brought in the child Jesus to
perform for him what was customary
under the law, Simeon took him up
in his arms, praised God..."
Significant statement: praised God.
"...and said, Now, Master, you can
dismiss your servant in peace,
as you promised.
For my eyes have seen your salvation."
But notice how he concluded this:
"You have prepared it in the presence
of all peoples--a light for revelation to
[Whom?] the Gentiles and glory to your people Israel."
He understood, as others did not in Israel, the very significant promise in the Abrahamic covenant.
That Jesus Christ would be born in this world.
And because of his birth, because of the seed of Abraham, Jesus Christ would be a blessing
to all of us.
The salvation that we have in Jesus Christ.
And he was unusual. Simeon was unusual among the Jews.
Because even the apostles had a really hard time with this. After they had been with Jesus
for quite some time,
they didn't understand what Jesus meant in John 10:16, when he said:
"But I have other sheep that are not from
this sheep pen; I must bring them also..."
Who are these other sheep?
That's us. The Gentiles.
"...and they will listen to my voice.
Then there will be one flock, one shepherd."
Not Jew and Gentile. But believers.
Children of God. One body.
One family in the Lord.
The apostle Peter. To me this is one of the most amazing things.
Peter didn't understand that Gentiles could be saved until about 5 years after the
church was born.
Think about that. Five years after hearing Jesus say: other sheep I have which are not of this fold.
And he experienced the coming of the Holy Spirit.
The birth of the church.
God used him in miraculous ways to proclaim the Messiah has come.
But he didn't really understand, even at that point, that the Messiah Jesus had come for all of us.
And he didn't understand that until he had that dream one day there in Joppa [Acts chap.10-11].
Sitting on the roof. Actually he was sleeping or in a trance.
This sheet came down 3 times.
Unclean animals. He rejected, said: I can't eat. Because a voice said: arise and eat.
He said: I can't eat unclean animals.
And finally God spoke and said: Don't call unclean what I call clean.
And he woke up and there was a knock at the door.
Because you see, God had also revealed himself to Cornelius, a Gentile, in Caesarea.
And told him to send representatives to Joppa to meet Peter and to bring him back to his household.
Because in this particular situation, this man had been seeking God.
And really asking God to reveal himself.
And so consequently, Peter went down to this man's home.
And what happened? The Holy Spirit came and he saw this whole household come to Christ.
And notice what Luke recorded about Peter five years after Pentecost:
"Peter began to speak:
"Now I truly understand that God
doesn't show favoritism..."
What does that mean?
What that means is that Peter believed that God showed favoritism even after the Holy
Spirit came and the church was born.
And even after God was working miracles through his life as he was proclaiming the Messiah
to the Jews.
I now know that "God doesn't show favoritism."
My thinking was changed in the household of Cornelius.
Because I saw this Gentile, and his household,
have the same experience as we had at Pentecost.
And then he goes on to say:
"[Yes,] I truly understand that God
doesn't show favoritism, but in every
nation the person who fears him and
does what is right is acceptable to him."
And what is right?
To acknowledge our sins and turn to Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world.
"He sent the message to the Israelites,
[yes to us,] proclaiming the good news
of peace through Jesus Christ--
he is Lord of all."
Why did Jesus come?
Why did God choose the Jews?
Yes, to be his chosen people, but with a particular purpose.
Not to just be particularistic. But to reveal through the nation Israel,
the Messiah Jesus Christ.
And that was the Abrahamic covenant that God made to Abraham and included all of us.
Reflection and Response question.
Why is prejudice sometimes difficult
to discern in our lives?
Well, I think one reason is: it's definitely self-deception.
We do not realize that we are prejudice.
Peter did not realize the extent to which he was prejudice and deceived.
It's a form of brain washing.
And so consequently people who grow up in those kinds of communities are taught to hate
other people.
Children: they just develop a hatred.
They do not know why. But it's a form of that kind of deception.
And so consequently, it takes time to work through that.
It took time for Peter.
And I think about my own experience growing up in a religious system.
By the time I was born, I was taught that we were special.
That somehow we had a corner on God.
We were his particular people. And they defined that word particular in a very strange way.
In the way they dressed and the way they acted.
And it certainly doesn't mean the outward form. It has to do [with]: we are a special people.
Yes. But as a group growing up, we believed that we were just the chosen few, as it were.
If I could use that word.
And so I grew up believing that.
And that became a part of my psyche. A part of my personality.
And even when I began to understand that we were not just a special group of people.
God came for the whole world. And there were believers out there all over the place that
were far more mature than we were.
Still, down deep in my heart, without my even realizing it, that prejudice was there.
A form of a subtle pride that's built into you.
Peter had that.
And then God allowed me to go through a crisis.
And I believe the crisis came because God wanted to deal with my prejudice.
That I didn't even realize.
And you know, it's interesting. I've calculated:
I really came to that insight of prejudice about five years after I became a believer.
It's interesting.
It took Peter 5 years.
I'm not saying that it always takes five years, but it shows how deep prejudice runs.
And to realize how it's controlling our lives.
So let's remember this principle. That grows out of this story.
In relationship to a very positive story.
And it involves Simeon, who realized-- even as an old man--just before he was ready to
depart and be with God.
He was free, relatively speaking, from prejudice.
He understood Jesus came for the whole word.
When we read and hear Scripture,
we are to allow the Holy Spirit to
penetrate our subjective and prejudicial thinking.