I.
Introduction: Cynicism and Real Life

In the brief video, we heard a number of common views today concerning God and Jesus. Notice that concerning Jesus, he is regarded as a holy man, a prophet, a teacher, or a good example. Some also believe that He did great miracles. But when a Christian says Jesus is the only Saviour, people often object.  Are Christians being unreasonable, even bigoted?  With all these different opinions, it is easy to get cynical.

 Cynicism is a mark of our day. Popular culture is full of it. Cynicism develops from confusion over competing options, and also from the hurt we feel when significant people fail us, and unfortunately, we too often see failure in our politicians, religious leaders, our parents and friends, and even ourselves. 

This cynicism can take very different forms.  A few years ago I was talking to a roof repairman and I asked him why people in our town were so hesitant to talk about religion.  He put his hand to his throat and said, “Because they’re fed-up to the back teeth with it.”  He was disillusioned with organized religion in general, and he also didn’t want anyone telling him how he ought to live his life.  He had seen little reality in religion and lots of rules, and it repelled him.

Another example is of a woman who pursued a very successful academic career.  She earned her PhD. Her first book was a best seller.  She became a respected professor in New Testament studies.  She was inducted into the most prestigious societies related to her field, and yet, with everything going for her, she found that she was empty inside and became addicted to watching television and drinking alcohol.  Then, a bitter personal experience showed up her inner bankruptcy. She realized that all she thought was true was wrong and that it could not satisfy her heart, or solve her problems.[1]

I think a lot of people are in these kinds of situations today and it leads to cynicism. But cynicism does not bring peace. Rather, it makes us feel more deeply the need for an anchor of the soul- something or someone that is sure and steadfast that will not move when the hard things in life hit us. We want certainty; we want assurance; we want stability.  We want a life that satisfies.

In the midst of this situation, Jesus stands out in many people’s search for contentment. How does one get an accurate view of Jesus? Does He have anything to do with the kind of life we all want? The best way to answer that is to look at Jesus’ own words.