Last Wednesday I asked the question “Would Jesus burn a Koran?” I was responding to recent events in the news regarding Terry Jones and his Gainesville, FL church. Jones and company will be hosting Burn a Koran Day on September 11th, marking the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001.
That post was somewhat stream of conscience as I worked through the issues and hoped we would all arrive at the same conclusion. I have worked those ideas into a sermon, with more focus on exactly what Jesus would do and why. The major points are:
- In his Sermon on the Mount Jesus teaches us to live counter-culturally. He speaks on anger, retaliation, going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, and the golden rule.
- When the Samaritan woman at the well asks about where to worship, Jesus tells her that the day is coming when God’s followers will not worship in this temple or on that mountain, but in spirit and truth. He ignores her “religion” question and instead shares the Gospel.
- When Jesus is arrested and tried, and ultimately crucified, he is silent like a lamb led to slaughter. He tells Peter in the garden to put away his sword, does not answer his false accusers, and even prays for those hanging him on the cross.
In Jesus sermons, teachings, and most importantly his actions, he is humble and has the heart of a servant. Jesus is not cowardly or timid. We are told not to have a spirit of fear, but to boldly proclaim the Gospel. But Christians are not to be instigaters; we don’t start things. Vengence belongs to the Lord. You can’t share the Gospel with a Muslim (or Jew, or atheist, or non believer) after you have purposefully offended him greatly. Jesus would not burn a Koran, and a follower that is Christ-like will not either.
Hear the sermon now:
Or right click Jesus would not burn a Koran to download mp3 file.
The Master's Table 
Good post.
Imagine this as an outreach technique:
1. Find a random stranger.
2. Spit in their face.
3. Say, “Hi, I’d like to share with you about Jesus!”
Somehow, I don’t think it’s a winning strategy.
“He speaks on anger, retaliation, going the extra mile, turning the other cheek, and the golden rule.” I agree fully. There’s a really fascinating debate that I thought would be of interest on evolution vs. intelligent design going on at http://intelligentdesignfacts.com
Note: the link did not work the way it was presented (http:// followed by www) so I fixed it. I hope the site that Cammie intended is still being linked. If not please let me know. -Clark
Jesus always built bridges to people who were otherwise rejected by the separatists of His day. And He was saddened & got down right angry with the insensitivity of the religious hypocrites who shunned the “bad people”. The religious leaders responsible for representing God’s loving heart to the people were instead – building walls. And in their actions, they were giving God a bad name.
Times, and our need for grace (to receive and give it) haven’t changed. And as much as I would like to wash my hands of these characters, they nevertheless, represent to the same world I live in, a very sad and ugly picture of Christianity. I see nothing in their actions that represents the true heart of God for his lost sheep.
May God help us to be all the more committed to humbly loving our Muslim brother and sister. And praying for those who would hate them.
The so-called “Rev.” Terry Jones is a threat to national security and a fruitcake of the first order. He’s certainly not a follower of Christ’s teachings. He’s probably not read either the Quran or the Bible.