The Cross: A Confident Committal - Apr 18, 2014

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SERMON:

The Passion History According to the Four Gospels (NIV)

      At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour, for the sun stopped shining. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” – which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

      When some of those standing near heard this, they said, “Listen, he’s calling Elijah.”

      Later knowing that all was now completed, and so that the scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.”

      Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.”

      With that, he bowed his head and gave up his life.

      At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks spilt. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.

      When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God.’ When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breast and went away.

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Grace and peace to you, from God our Father, and from our self-sacrificing King, Jesus Christ.

Our meditation for this Good Friday focuses on the last words of our Savior. Knowing that his life was coming quickly to its end, Jesus spoke one final time from the cross.

What would you say if you knew your last breath was only seconds away? Some might use those precious final moments to say goodbye. To say, “I love you” one last time to some cherished person. Others would turn to God in prayer, calling on the Lord for mercy and forgiveness.

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When Jesus spoke his final sentence from the cross, he spoke TO GOD, but he also spoke FOR US to hear. 

The Bible says,

“Jesus called out with a loud voice, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit’” (Luke 23:46 NIV).

Crucifixion was an exhausting mode of execution. It usually  ended with a whimper, not a yell. After many, many hours of suffering, utterly exhausted, physically demolished, the crucified would fade away into death.

We might imagine a crucified man yelling out in agony and despair, but only at the beginning. Not at the moment of death. But Jesus’ final yell was not an expression of agony, or of despair. It was a confident cry of victory.

Jesus knew he didn’t have to speak loudly so his heavenly Father could hear him. Remember what Jesus said before he raised Lazarus from the dead? He prayed to his heavenly Father saying...

“Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me” (John 11:41-42 NIV).

Outside the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus spoke TO GOD, but FOR OTHERS to hear. When Jesus spoke his final words on the cross, he was also speaking TO GOD, but FOR US to hear. The people at the foot of the cross heard his yell. They marked his words, and recorded those words. And so, down through the centuries countless millions have heard that cry of victory reechoed in the pages of Scripture.

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Companies today like to have tag lines.  A short phrase to put underneath their name that sums them up. If we were to put a tag line under Christ’s name, a good one would be, “Jesus Christ. A life lived to God, but a life lived for us.”

Jesus gave his life completely to his heavenly Father by living each minute in perfect sync with the Father’s will. He remained sinless from the cradle to the tomb.  

And when Jesus came to the cross, he gave not just the minutes of his life, he gave his actual life. He voluntarily died in the place of sinners.

As he hung suspended above the dusty soil of Palestine, Jesus felt the full and terrible weight of God’s hand come crashing down on his soul. He suffered hell on that cross, because hell was what our sins deserved. You’ve heard the cry, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” In that moment Jesus was experiencing the unthinkable terror of being separated completely from his heavenly Father. Jesus gave himself over to God’s wrath, so that you would never have to feel that unthinkable horror.

And when it was done, Jesus asked for something to drink. Something to wet his parched mouth so he could make an announcement to the world. Upon receiving that drink Jesus said, “It is finished.”

He wasn’t being polite. Oh, the drink is done. He was telling the world that the suffering for their sins at its end. He had LIVED his life TO GOD, FOR US. Now he would give his life TO GOD, FOR US, that we might live at peace with our Creator, forever. Jesus’ willing death was the final piece of the puzzle. The final step in our redemption.

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Earlier I said that Jesus spoke TO GOD, but FOR US to hear. But it was more than that. Jesus didn’t just speak loudly so we would HEAR. He spoke loudly so we would hear and BELIEVE. He spoke with confidence TO GOD, so that we also might have confidence IN GOD.

Jesus knew that his death was immanent. Seconds from now he would experience the rending of body and spirit. But he doesn’t cry out in agony, or despair. He knows the mission has been successful. He has done it! The price for your sins, and my sins, and the sins of the world has been paid.

And so Jesus gladly lays his spirit in his Father’s hands for safekeeping. Those hands were now safe. The wrath had been spent. And Jesus was fully confident that in three days his Father would send his spirit back to his body. That he would be raised from the dead, and glorified to show the world that his sacrifice had been accepted.

And so those last words of Jesus, were a confident committal. A joyful and expectant final testimony.

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And Jesus also spoke those words for us, so that we might take as our own confident committal.

Jesus taught his followers to pray to God by addressing him as “Our Father in heaven.” With his final words from the cross Jesus teaches us to rest our souls in the Father’s forgiving hands. Jesus has made those hands welcoming by his cross. Like it says in the book of Romans...

“Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1-2 NIV).

We may not be cognizant when we die. We may be sleeping, or in a coma, or unaware of our approaching end. But by faith in Christ, our hearts can even NOW say, “Father, in your hands I rest my spirit.”

This was Christ’s confident committal. Let it be ours now also. Let this be our confident committal today, tomorrow, each and every day—until we see the one who suffered the hell of the cross for us, in person.

Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts, and your minds, in Christ Jesus.

Part of a Much Bigger Plan - Apr 13, 2014

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SERMON:

Do you remember who taught you how to read? Sadly, I don’t. I’m not sure if it was my mom teaching me at home, or if it was my kindergarten teacher at school. But, oddly enough, I do remember the moment when I understood how reading works. You mean you just put the letter sounds together, and that makes a word? That’s easy!

When we start teaching little kids to recognize letters, and the different sounds that they make, those kids can’t possibly  understand how important reading is going to be in their lives. How could they? Little eyes have a hard time seeing the big picture.

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On the first Palm Sunday, the disciples of Jesus were like little children learning to read. They were seeing important things happening around them, but they didn’t understand. They saw the letters, but not the words. They knew their Savior, but they didn’t comprehend how big his mission really was.

Many of Jesus’ followers suspected that he was going up to Jerusalem to establish some kind of an earthly kingdom. But when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, the way he arrived was part of a much bigger plan. In fact, Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem was part of a plan so big that it touches every human being who has ever lived, or will ever live.

Matthew 21:1-11 (NASB)

    1   When they had approached Jerusalem and had come to Bethphage, at the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples,

    2   saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with her; untie them and bring them to Me.

    3   “If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord has need of them,’ and immediately he will send them.”

    4   This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

    5         “Say to the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold your King is coming to you,

Gentle, and mounted on a donkey,

Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.’ ”

    6   The disciples went and did just as Jesus had instructed them,

    7   and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their coats on them; and He sat on the coats.

    8   Most of the crowd spread their coats in the road, and others were cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in the road.

    9   The crowds going ahead of Him, and those who followed, were shouting,

“Hosanna to the Son of David;

Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord;

Hosanna in the highest!”

  10   When He had entered Jerusalem, all the city was stirred, saying, “Who is this?”

  11   And the crowds were saying, “This is the prophet Jesus, from Nazareth in Galilee.” 

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The city of Jerusalem is located on high plateau. To the east is the steep-sided Kidron Valley. Then the Mount of Olives rises up, and on the other side of the Mount of Olives is the tiny village of Bethany.

Bethany is where Jesus stayed during the final week before his crucifixion. Each day of holy week Jesus and his disciples would get up and take the 55 minute walk up over the Mount of Olives, down through the Kidron Valley, and up into Jerusalem.

But their first journey into the city that week, the one on Palm Sunday, that journey was unique.

Jesus had been staying away from Jerusalem lately because his enemies there were plotting to take his life. But now Jesus had deliberately come to Judea, and Jerusalem, one final time.

But he would not enter the city as he had many times before, on foot. No, today he would ride into Jerusalem. The disciples were probably surprised when Jesus  sent two of them to the next village to fetch a donkey and her colt. They listened well enough, but they didn’t really understand why Jesus made this request.

The Gospel of John also records the Palm Sunday entrance into Jerusalem. There it says…

“These things His disciples did not understand at the first; but when Jesus was glorified, then they remembered that these things were written of Him, and that they had done these things to Him” (John 12:16 NASB).

Why did the master request to ride on a little donkey? On a colt, the foal of a donkey? Was this some new parable that the teacher was acting out? Was he simply tired? They didn’t know. Only later would they come to realize that Jesus had entered Jerusalem in this way to fulfill an ancient prophecy concerning the Messiah.

There are many prophecies about the Messiah found in the Old Testament. Some were written thousands of years before Jesus lived. Some of these prophecies were fulfilled because God the Father arranged time and circumstances in just the right way. Like when God put it in the head of Caesar Augustus to command a census be taken. A census which caused Jesus to be born in Bethlehem, and not in Nazareth where his parents had grown up. Other prophesies, like the one about the donkey, Jesus himself consciously and deliberately fulfilled.

Whether by the Father’s hand, or the Son’s deliberate action, it was inevitable that the prophecies concerning the Savior of the world be fulfilled. One by one, Jesus fulfilled them, showing beyond a doubt that he was the divinely promised Savior.

The disciples couldn’t see the big picture. But Jesus did. And we can still trace the prophecy and fulfillment that proves him to be the Savior sent from God.

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The people of Israel were just as clueless as the disciples when it came to prophecy and fulfillment. At least they were on Palm Sunday. But they had come to believe that Jesus was some sort of a great Savior. What exactly that meant to each person we don’t know. But we do know that they certainly welcomed him like a conquering king on that first Palm Sunday.

Bethany was somewhere around 2 miles from Jerusalem. The crowd of people that thronged around Jesus on that morning was busy. They carpeted the dusty path in front of Jesus with their coats. When that wasn’t enough, they resorted to cutting down palm branches and laying those in front of the little ambling donkey. Even Hollywood stars don’t get a two-mile-long red carpet treatment like Jesus did!

And it wasn’t just the path before Christ that they filled to honor him. They also filled the air with their praises. The fact that many of these people believed Jesus was the Messiah sent from God is obvious from the things they shouted.

They called him the “Son of David.” This didn’t just mean he was descendant of David. Many could claim that. When they called Jesus the “Son of David” they were referring to the fact that God had promised King David that one of his descendants would rule over an eternal kingdom (see 2 Samuel 7). This is what they meant when they called Jesus the “Son of David”. They meant, “Jesus, you are the eternal king we’ve been waiting for!”

This is why the Pharisees were so angry when they heard the crowds calling him the “Son of David”. The Pharisees asked Jesus,

“Do you hear what these children are saying?” (Matthew 21:16 NIV).

But Jesus knew very well what they were saying. And he didn’t stop them because what they said was true. Even if the crowds didn’t fully understand the mission of the Messiah—he was, and is, that King. He was that Messiah, and he accepted their praise as such.

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We’re told that the crowds also shouted,

“Blessed is He who comes in the name o f the Lord” (Matthew 21:9b NASB).

In other words, they recognized that Jesus was sent from God to proclaim God’s message to the people. In addition to being the eternal King, he was also God’s prophet.

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Lastly, Matthew records that they people shouted,

“Hosanna in the highest!” (Matthew 21:9c NASB).

In the Hebrew, the word “Hosanna” means “Save now!”

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The people following Jesus, and those who met them from the city shouted these things joyfully. They believed him to be a King sent from God, with God’s words to say, one who would rescue Israel from Rome’s tyrannical rule!

How ironic it was. Jesus was these things: King, prophet, rescuer. But not in the little way the people thought. Jesus was not just a political leader. He was so much more than an earthly king. His coming to Jerusalem was part of a much bigger plan.

He was here to rescue the whole human race, not just the Jews. He was here to be king, that was for sure, just not the little king they wanted.

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Look again at the prophecy that Matthew quotes from Zechariah. Look at verse 5…

               “Say to the daughter of Zion,

‘Behold your King is coming to you,

Gentle, and mounted on a donkey,

Even on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden’” (Matthew 21:5 NASB).

This prophecy helps us to see what kind of a king Jesus came to be. A gentle king. A humble king—seated on a little donkey. This king doesn’t come on a war elephant like Hannibal. Nor on a swift war-horse like Alexander the Great. This king comes on a beast associated with bearing burdens. A beast whose primary occupation was carrying things for others. What a fitting emblem for our Savior. This is the king we have. A king who comes to serve, and to redeem the souls of the guilty sinners like you and me.

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I’m pretty sure that Jesus could have used his power and wisdom to carve out quite an amazing empire if he had chosen to. Rome wouldn’t have stood a chance. No other nation either, for that matter. But his life was part of a much bigger plan. His kingdom would be a much bigger kingdom. His glory, more enduring than the stars. Literally.

In 1 Peter it says…

“²⁴ He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. ²⁵ For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls” (1 Peter 2:23-25 ESV).

And in 1 John 2, it says…

“¹ My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ² He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2 NIV).

This was the bigger plan. The Son of God takes the sins of the world on himself, suffers hell, and dies. And sinners? We get forgiveness and eternal life, as a free gift from God.

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It was inevitable that the prophecies would be fulfilled. God had said they would be.

It was inevitable that the people wouldn’t understand by themselves.

It was inevitable that the Messiah would triumph, giving sinners sure hope, peace, and joy—through the gift of cancelled sin.

That was Gods plan, and God never fails.

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Maybe you’re in a place in your life right now where you can’t see the big picture. You can’t see why things are happening like they are. You don’t know what God it up to. Or what direction you’re supposed to go.

On this Palm Sunday, remember Jesus. Remember him riding into Jerusalem in glory. He did that for you. One more required prophesy fulfilled on the way to YOUR cross. One more step closer to suffering for YOUR sins, and dying YOUR death. One step closer to earning YOUR redemption.  

Whatever confusion or pain we might go through in this life, we can rest secure knowing that in Christ our debt of sin has been paid. And the same God who came up with that plan, he has a plan for our lives as well. We just have to open his Word to find it.  

PRAYER: Father in heaven, we’re so short-sighted and self-interested. Forgive us. Help us to see that we’ve been redeemed. Help us to see that this redemption came by Christ. Help us to really live our lives with the Gospel of peace as our greatest source of strength. Clear out the cobwebs of worries and anxiety—with a renewed prayer life. We’ve come to see our salvation, and that we are part of your bigger plan. Give us the wisdom through your word, to be strong and joyful followers of Jesus our Savior. Worthy servants of the King. Amen.

The Cross: Our Only Glory - Apr 9, 2014

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-Pastor Caleb Schaller

Jesus Proves His Power to Save - Apr 6, 2014

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SERMON:

Do you know anyone who is prone to exaggerating facts? You know, someone who always follows your story with an even more amazing story, one that sounds very similar to your story, but everything is on a grander scale?

Or maybe you find yourself doing this? I know I’ve been guilty of telling a story or two in an inflated way. I suppose we’re all guilty of exaggerating things to some degree.

But exaggerators the world over must beware. For there are lurking among us people who are just waiting to call our bluff. People waiting to say, “Prove it.”

You’re not afraid to jump off the high dive? Prove it.

You can dunk a basketball? Prove it.

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When Jesus walked this earth, he made some pretty astounding claims about himself. He claimed that he was the Son of God. That he had existed from eternity with the Father and the Holy Spirit. That he had been made man in order to be the world’s Savior from sin and hell.

When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, one of the things Satan did was ask Jesus to “prove it.” If you’re the Son of God, make these stones into bread. Let’s see it right now. If you’re the Son of God, jump off the top of the Temple. God will send his angels to catch you right? Prove it.

Jesus wouldn’t do it. He wouldn’t take Satan’s bait. Not because he wasn’t the Son of God. Not because he was exaggerating. Jesus told Satan “no” because he would prove his identity in his own way, and in his own time.

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One of the ways that Jesus proved that he was from heaven, was through his teaching. As the eternal Son of God, he perceived and understood spiritual things like no one else. He knew the Word of God, because it was HIS Word.

When he taught crowds of people about spiritual topics, he often used things that the people could see, to educate them about things they couldn’t see. He told stories about farmers planting seeds to teach about faith, and how it grows. He told stories about fishing to teach about the kingdom of God and how people are gathered into it. He told stories about shepherds, to teach people about how God tends and cares for his people. Jesus used things the people had seen, to teach them about things they couldn’t see.

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Jesus used his miracles in the same way. One day Jesus was teaching, and a huge crowd had gathered around the house where he was. All the sudden, the ceiling tiles overhead were removed, and a group of men lowered a paralyzed man down in front of Jesus.

Jesus could see that this man had come out of faith in him. He trusted that Jesus could make him walk again. So, the first thing Jesus said was, “Son, your sins are forgiven you” (Mark 2:5 NKJV).

But there were certain men in the crowd who took offense to this statement by Jesus. They thought, “Only GOD can forgive sins. This man is blaspheming.”

Jesus knew what they were thinking. So, he turned and said to them…

“…Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? ⁹ Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise, take up your bed and walk’? ¹⁰ But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic, ¹¹  “I say to you, arise, take up your bed, and go to your house” (Mark 2:8-11 NKJV).

The paralyzed man immediately got up, picked up his mat, and went home. Jesus used the VISIBLE miracle of healing this man, to prove the INVISIBLE miracle of forgiving his sins before God.

Now, miracles can stand as PROOF of things, but miracles in themselves cannot create faith. Only the Holy Spirit can create faith, and he does so through the Word of God. Specifically through the message of sins forgiven through Jesus. So, the doubting men of the crowd, even though they saw the miracle, refused to believe. But others got the message, and trusted in Jesus as their Savior from sin.

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In our sermon reading for today, Jesus once again uses what the people could SEE, to reveal things they COULDN’T see. Here Jesus uses the miracle of raising a man from the dead, so that sinners might believe that he is the resurrection and the life—the way to forgiveness, the way to peace, the way to eternal life with God.

John 11:1-7, 17-27, 38-45 (NKJV)

11      Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. ² It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. ³ Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

⁴ When Jesus heard that, He said,  “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. ⁷ Then after this He said to the disciples,  “Let us go to Judea again.”

¹⁷ So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days. ¹⁸ Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles away. ¹⁹ And many of the Jews had joined the women around Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother.

²⁰ Now Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met Him, but Mary was sitting in the house. ²¹ Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. ²² But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.”

²³ Jesus said to her,  “Your brother will rise again.”

²⁴ Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.”

²⁵ Jesus said to her,  “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

²⁷ She said to Him, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.”

³⁸ Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it. ³⁹ Jesus said,  “Take away the stone.”

Martha, the sister of him who was dead, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

⁴⁰ Jesus said to her,  “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead man was lying. And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said,  “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. ⁴² And I know that You always hear Me, but because of the people who are standing by I said this, that they may believe that You sent Me.” ⁴³ Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice,  “Lazarus, come forth!” ⁴⁴ And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with graveclothes, and his face was wrapped with a cloth. Jesus said to them,  “Loose him, and let him go.”

⁴⁵ Then many of the Jews who had come to Mary, and had seen the things Jesus did, believed in Him.

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Look at verses 4-7 once again. These verse show how Jesus deliberately set up for this miracle. It says…

“⁴ When Jesus heard that, He said,  “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”

⁵ Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. ⁶ So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was. ⁷ Then after this He said to the disciples,  “Let us go to Judea again” (John 11:4-7 NKJV).

Jesus knew what was going to happen. He knew his friend Lazarus would die of this sickness. He deliberately stayed away so that nature would take its course, and Lazarus would die. Jesus did this BECAUSE he loved Martha and her sister Mary. He also did this because he loved all people, and wanted the people of the city of Bethany to have saving faith in him. The miracle of raising Lazarus from the dead would show that Jesus was from God beyond a doubt. And with that door open, the Gospel of Jesus could be heard, and believed.

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The apostle John records details for us that establish the definite nature of this miracle. When a stage magician wows the crowds, he depends on distraction to make the ordinary seem miraculous. Birds tucked into your sleeves and a bunny under your hat aren’t really that amazing. But a good stage magician makes the ordinary look magical.

Jesus was the opposite of a stage magician. There was no slight of hand here, no trick.

First of all, Lazarus had been dead for four days. His sickness had been well known, and that he was close to death was also well known. The situation was so desperate for Lazarus that they had sent someone to go and get Jesus to help.

But he had died. They and mourned and wept. They had prepared his body for burial. They had wrapped his lifeless corpse in scented linen, and covered his face one last time with a cloth. They had carried his lifeless corpse to the burial caves outside of town. They had sealed the tomb against scavenging animals.

The people who saw Lazarus come out of the tomb at Jesus’ command remembered all these things. They had witnessed a miracle on this day. The dead raised to life. There was no questioning their mind how this had happened. Jesus was who he said he was—the very Son of God. Only God could raise the dead like this.

And even Jesus’ enemies agreed. They admitted the validity of his miracles—but they did not put their faith in Jesus. Just a couple verses after our reading, the Pharisees find out  what Jesus had done. So, they call a meeting to discuss this newest development. And at that meeting someone says…

“What shall we do? For this Man works many signs. ⁴⁸ If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation” (John 11:47-48 NKJV).

Instead of trusting in Jesus and becoming HIS followers, the scribes and Pharisees made the decision that they would silence this Galilean prophet by murdering him. John 12 informs us that many people were believing in Jesus because of Lazarus. And so the scribes and Pharisees also decided that Lazarus would need to die also.

That Jesus had performed this astounding miracle was fully admitted, but sadly, many refused the truth that it pointed to.

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The key passage in this account is found in verse 25-26. There Jesus tells Lazarus’ sister Martha the following. He says…

“…I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. ²⁶ And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25b-26 NKJV).

Remember how I said that when Jesus walked this earth, he made some pretty astounding claims about himself? Well this is one of those claims. He says that there is a resurrection from the dead, and that HE is that resurrection. He says that there is LIFE beyond this one, and that HE is that life.

Jesus says, if you believe in him, don’t worry about death, because he has the power to raise you from the dead.

On the same day that Jesus made this claim, he proved it. He raised Lazarus from the dead. And Jesus did this visible miracle, so that people might believe the invisible one. Jesus talks about that one next. In verse 26 Jesus says that if you have faith in him, you’re spiritually alive, that is, you are united to God in a restored relationship. And no one will be able to take that away from you.

We can’t SEE this miracle. The miracle of full forgiveness before God, and restored unity with Him. But we can BELIEVE it.

The people who saw Jesus raise Lazarus couldn’t see their sins lifted. But they trusted in Jesus all the same. And by the grace of God, so do we.

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Out in the wilderness so long ago, Satan told Jesus to “prove it.” Prove you are the Son of God. And in his teaching, Jesus did. In his miracles, Jesus did. At the tomb of his beloved friend Lazarus, Jesus did. And Jesus would prove that he is the Son of God and the Savior of the world in the grandest fashion with his own crucifixion, death, and resurrection. He predicted his suffering, death, and resurrection, and then he made it all happen.

What else does he really need to do to prove who he is?

Nothing for us. We believe. This is the God we worship. The loving God who became one of us to remove the stains of sin from our lives forever. This is the God we depend upon. The God who has proven again and again that he WILL NOT LEAVE US nor forsake us. This is the God that we now LIVE to serve.

He has proven his power to save, let us continue to trust in him.

Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts, and your minds, in Christ Jesus.

The Cross: A Lesson in Obedience - Apr 2, 2014

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SERMON:

For most of our country, this year has been the year of snow. For the past few months it’s been pretty commonplace to see videos of people pushing cars out of the white stuff. But one snow related video caught a lot of people’s attention this past December.

King Abdullah II, the king of Jordan, was on his way to Amman, when he noticed some people trying to push a blue car out of the snow. Instead of passing by, the king stopped. Shoulder to shoulder with his subjects, the king helped get the car out of the drift, and back onto the road.

Someone caught this act of kindness with his phone, and posted the video to the web, where it went viral. It wasn’t huge news, but it was unusual enough to get a few stories circulated. King Abdullah was hailed by many as a “man of the people.”

Our sermon reading for today tells how Jesus Christ humbled himself in a way no human king could ever hope to surpass. In obedience to the Father’s plan of salvation, the Son of God lowered himself in order to raise up the entire sinful human race.

Philippians 2:5-8 (NASB)

    5   Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,

    6   who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,

    7   but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men.

    8   Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

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Obedience is not exactly a trait that most people want to cultivate in themselves. It’s dogs that go to “obedience training” right? Not people. Our culture values self-respect, self-importance, individuality, and pride far more than humble obedience.

Even when we’re faced with some command that we SHOULD obey, there are countless reasons we choose not to.

We might feel above the commands we receive. Come on, I’m more important than that. We might feel that something we’re expected to do is gross. Ugh, shouldn’t someone else do that?

Sometimes the things we’re told to do are difficult. We see that they will end up costing us something. They might even be dangerous. And so our sense of self-preservation lead us to disobey instead.

We might even see a certain command as an insult to our person. Really, you expect ME to do THAT?

Or, we might simply disobey a command because we think we know better.

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When we look at how God commands us to live in the Bible, and how we actually live, it’s clear to see that we’ve all been disobedient to God. We’ve all sinfully chosen our own way instead of God’s way. Like Isaiah says,

“⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way; ” (Isaiah 53:6 NIV).

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But in Christ, and in his cross, we see a lesson in obedience. An example far different than our own.

Verse 6 says that Christ Jesus…

“…although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men…” (Philippians 2:6-7 NASB).

We exist in the form of “man.” That is to say, we’re human beings. But this verse says that Christ existed in a different form. He was God. And yet, when the Father told him to become human, Christ didn’t try to clutch his form as God. He didn’t resist the Father’s will. Instead, he obediently took on a new form—the form of a servant. He went from being God, whom all should serve, to being One who would serve all.

And when Christ became a human being to carry out his service to God and Man, we’re told he humbled himself. That is, he listened intently to the Father’s direction, and accepted everything the Father wanted him to do as a human. He even accepted death as part of his service. And it wasn’t just any death that Christ suffered. He suffered the most humiliating form of execution—crucifixion.

Jesus didn’t let his high rank as God get in the way of his obedience. He emptied himself of his glory, setting aside his power as the eternal God. He allowed the roles to be flipped completely—from king to servant. He even took on human flesh, going from being spirit, to being body and spirit united. He became truly human. And he even submitted to a shameful and horrific death—all in obedience to his heavenly Father’s plan to save sinners.

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This is a little more newsworthy than a king helping someone push their car out of the snow. And it was harder for Jesus too. You see, when Christ became human, he was made to feel all the same things we feel. And knowing all that he would have to suffer to redeem sinners weighed heavily on his soul the night before he was crucified. It was far more than just physical suffering that would be required of him. To pay the full price for our sins, Jesus would have to feel the full wrath of God’s anger. Jesus would have to feel HELL on that cross—for every sin we have ever committed. That’s what it would take to pay off our debt.

That’s why we find Jesus nearly overcome with sorrow in the Garden of Gethsemane. He prays…

“My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39 ESV).

Even in this moment of deep sorrow and mental anguish, the obedience of Christ Jesus shines through in those words, “as YOU will.”

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As you know, the Father’s will was that Christ would go to that cross, that he would suffer for all your sins, and mine, and that he would die in our place. And because he did this, we’re forgiven. Because Jesus obeyed perfectly to the end, the Father raised him from the dead three days later, and restored him to divine glory.

And because Jesus obeyed perfectly to the end, we are now declared OBEDIENT—holy before the God we’ve so often failed to obey. The obedience that cost Christ everything, has gained us everything. This is the lesson in obedience that Christ’s cross lays before our eyes.

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The cross of Christ does indeed serve as an example of how we should obey God in our own lives. In our reading for tonight, Paul holds up Christ’s example as one that we should follow. We shouldn’t let our own “rank” in life get in the way. We should be willing to give up what we have, to follow the Father’s direction. We should be willing to have our roles flipped, serving people stationed lower than ourselves. We should be willing to give up everything to serve God, even if in doing so we have to experience shame, pain, and death.

But the most valuable lesson here isn’t what we SHOULD DO. The most valuable lesson here is what CHRIST DID. What we SHOULD do, is never done. We always fall short of perfect obedience to God’s commands. But what CHRIST DID, is done. And it is in HIS perfect obedience that ensures our forgiveness.

In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul wrote…

“¹⁸ For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. ²⁰ Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me.

²¹ So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. ²² For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, ²³ but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. ²⁴ Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? ²⁵ Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:18-25a NKJV).

Paul’s whole point here isn’t to excuse his sin. Oh, the devil made me do it! Oh, my sinful nature made me do it! Paul doesn’t excuse his disobedience, but he recognizes that when it comes to obeying the Lord, he’s always failing. Personal obedience to God is important to Paul, but he knows that it’s only through CHRIST’S PERFECT obedience that he’ll be delivered in the end.

It’s the same for us. Try as we may, we’ll always fail to perfectly obey our heavenly Father’s will. But by faith in Christ’s perfect obedience, we will remain safe. Redeemed, restored, forgiven.

Let this remain the first lesson of obedience you see on the cross: He was obedient, so I am saved. Only then, with this greatest truth held precious in our hearts, can we move forward to follow Christ’s example of obedience in our daily actions.

Amen.

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts, and your minds, in Christ Jesus.