The Anointed One

Series: Vantage Point
Sermon: The Anointed One
George J. Saylor
March 23, 2008

You probably do not remember the name Nikolai Ivanovich Bukharin. A Russian Communist leader, he took part in the Bolshevik Revolution 1917, was editor of the Soviet newspaper Pravda and was a full member of the Politburo. His works on economics and political science are still read today. The story is told that in Kiev in 1930 he addressed a huge assembly on the subject of atheism. He aimed his heavy artillery at Christianity hurling insult, argument, and proof against it and especially the resurrection. For he knew to take away the resurrection was to take away all the power of Christianity.

An hour later he was finished. He looked out at what seemed to be the
smoldering ashes of men's faith. "Are there any questions?" Bukharin
demanded. Deafening silence filled the auditorium but then one man
approached the platform and mounted the lectern standing near the communist leader. He surveyed the crowd first to the left then to the right. Finally he shouted the ancient greeting known well in the Russian Orthodox Church:

"CHRIST IS RISEN!"

En masse the crowd arose as one and the response came crashing like the sound of thunder:

"HE IS RISEN INDEED!"

I hold that there is no sweeter sentence in the whole of language. Three little words say it all. So of you here already believe he is the Christ, and he is risen. Some of you are here because you’re trying to figure it out. But I invite all of us to say together those words that capture the promise of our faith- CHRIST IS RISEN…HE IS RISEN INDEED.

I think there is an unwritten rule in advertising that states that all perfume ads have to be totally bizarre. Maybe some have you have noticed this too. Doesn’t it seem that perfume ads are without exception…strange. I think it all started with the Calvin Klein ads from a few years back, but from there is has only gotten worse. Now I can hardly think of an actress or singer that doesn’t have her own perfume- Brittany Spears, Paris Hilton, pretty soon Hillary Clinton is gonna have her own perfume. It’s even seeped into men’s ads- have you seen some of these ads for AX cologne? Talk about feeding men’s’ fantasies- put on some cologne and women will throw themselves at you- what a lie- I know, I’ve tried, it doesn’t happen. I finally realized the genius of these ads- the weirder they are, the better I remember them.

Well if the goal and standard of perfume advertising is making it memorable, one perfume ad stands out above all the rest. It is so memorable it has endured to some 2000 years, capturing the attention of men, women, and children. More than just capturing attention, it has even capture the affections, the hearts and minds and devotion of millions.

I want to read this “ad” for you from John 12:1-7.

1Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2Here a dinner was given in Jesus' honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3Then Mary took about a pint^[a] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.

4But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5"Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages.^[b]" 6He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

7"Leave her alone," Jesus replied. " It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me."

The anointing of Jesus takes place the week before Easter, the Passion Week as the church has called it. A surface reading of this text makes it sound like Jesus’ anointing begins Passion Week. But what we see is that John is really highlighting the anointing, which takes place later in the week, at the beginning of his narrative on the last week of Jesus’ life. Apparently, it seems, the anointing was so important to John, so vital to understanding the events of this last week, that he brings it forward to the beginning of the story. Now, the anointing highlights everything that week read about the Passion Week in John. It shades our glasses in reading and understanding the text. So let’s take a closer look now at this anointing, why it is so important, and really, what it is telling us about Jesus, and Easter.

First we take note of who is hosting this dinner party- Lazarus, Martha and Mary. Jesus is in the home of a man he raised from the dead. We talked about that last Sunday. The mere presence of Lazarus, being a guest in his home, underscores the fact that Jesus has the power to raise people from the dead. Whether you love him or hate him, and there were both sides, his power was undeniable.

Here also is Martha, who is remembered from another story as being the sister who busies herself with being a hostess. Here we find her serving once again in verse 2. It seems that old habits diehard. But Jesus doesn’t chastise her, and neither should we. It was a party; someone had to serve, she was happy to do it, in fact it would seem it was her gift.

And we also find Mary, who as the story unfolds, come tso Jesus, anoints his feet with about a pint of nard, an expensive perfume, and she wipes them with her own hair.

Today I want you to understand deeply what it means that we call Jesus the Christ, the anointed one. Our first week of the Vantage point series we talked about Jesus being the Christ, a title given to him. When Jesus asked who do you say I am, his friend Peter said you are the Christ. That is what Christ means: the anointed one. It’s something we say so often, but few grasp or understand what it really means. But if we’re going to call Jesus the Christ, if we’re going to call this a Christian church, if we’re going to call ourselves Christians or you today are going to consider embracing the Christian faith and world view, and I’m primarily going to speak with you this morning, then I think its pretty important to fully understand what being the Christ, being the anointed one, is really all about.

Anointing was a common practice in ancient Israel, and it was done for a varied of reasons- common purposes for cleanliness, medicinal purposes for healing, sacred purposes like the installation of a king. And the word has worked its way into our common language. We talk about Christening babies and Christening ships, though the two should not be confused because it wouldn’t be a good idea to whack babies with bottles of champagne. Anyways, Christening served many purposes in ancient times.

IN our text we read that Jesus was the honored guest of the dinner party. As such it would have been customary, it would have been expected, that he would be anointed with perfume. Guests would have travel miles on the dusty roads, working up a sweat most likely, and they didn’t have the soaps and deodorants like we do today. But they did have perfumes, and it would have been expected to anoint the guests, especially the guest of honor, to help them freshen up. Well Jesus is clearly the guest of honor, but surprisingly this is not why he was anointed, or why we call him the Christ.

Well we also find in scripture that anointing was a common practice in the installation of a person to the offices of prophet, priest and king. We know that the people understood Jesus to be a prophet. We know from the story of Jesus entry into Jerusalem that the people were ready and willing to crown him king if he would lead a rebellion against the roman oppressors. The crowds had gathered for the Passover and went out to meet Jesus. They spread out palm branches before Jesus’ feet. This was a symbol of victory. They shouted “Hosanna” which means to save us, because they through Jesus would be the one to save them. They shouted, “Blessed is the King of Israel!” The people were still convinced, after all the rotten kings of Israel and Judah, that they needed another earthly King to save them from oppression. Well Jesus would be King, Scripture is very clear on this. But not in this way, not in the earthly sense that the crowds imagined. This is not why Jesus was anointed either.

This anointing also gives us a special foreshadowing of Judas betrayal. John give us more insight into Judas’ character than any of the Gospels, and he ads a vital note on Judas’ response to the anointing. When Mary anointed her she did so with about a pint of nard, and expensive perfume that had to be imported from India. That small pint was worth about a year’s wages for a common laborer. It was probably a family heirloom, or something Mary had worked a long time to save up for herself. To give some perspective, the average income for Canadian family households was over $65,000.

Judas complains about this extravagant waste. He says the perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor. Doesn’t that sound so good, so Christian? I can just hear myself saying something like that. But Judas’ intentions were not noble. John tells us that Judas was a thief and a traitor. And when the opportunity would present itself, Judas would betray Jesus for not even a year’s wages, not even half a year’s wages, but for 30 pieces of silver, worth a few thousand dollars by today’s standards. In this passage John reveals Judas’ true character as a thief and a traitor, but again, that is not why this story is told, or why Jesus was anointed.

SO why was Jesus anointed? It wasn’t for his place of honor, or to coronate him as king, or to reveal Judas’ character. In Jesus’ own words, he was anointed for his burial.

If the band was still up here this is the spot where we’d have the keyboard come in with some tense music. For his burial?! Jesus wasn’t even sick, and this is a party, Jesus is the honored guest, the crowds adore him, he has demonstrated he ability to turn water into wine, heal the sick, give sight to the blind, free the captives, feed the multitudes and even, even raise the dead, as underscored by his presence in Lazarus’ home. Jesus is the most alive man the people have ever known. This was his hour!

But Jesus had not been keeping his immanent death a secret. He had told them on numerous occasions that he was going to die. His followers knew that the religious leaders of Israel were trying to kill him. The word was out that if anyone should find out where Jesus was they were to report it so he could be arrested. The disciples were even moving about in secret so they wouldn’t be discovered.

Jesus had predicted his death and told them his hour was about to come- the hour of his crucifixion. Yet no one put this together, no one except maybe Mary. WE can’t say for sure that Mary knew Jesus was going to be killed, for the text never says that. It merely says that she anointed him. It says that Mary sat at the feet of Jesus and listened and learned. This is the same Mary, who had buried her own brother, only to see him raised from the dead by Jesus, and to now sit and eat with him again. This is Mary who calls Jesus her teacher, her Lord. Now Mary takes a pint of nard, anointed Jesus’ feet, and wipes them with her own hair.

This was the kind of thing that ruins men’s careers and women’s reputations. But that doesn’t seem to matter to Mary now. She lavishes on Jesus what is perhaps her life savings, maybe a family heirloom. The text says that the whole room was immediately filled with the fragrance. There was no exchanging or returning this gift to Jesus. Mary offered it completely and unabashedly.

Then she takes her own hair, a woman’s glory, and wipes Jesus’ feet, the part of a person. What humility. Her glory was nothing compared even to his dirty feet. This would have been completely scandalous. You see, in Jewish culture, women were never so forward, and more, women never let their hair down in public. A woman’s hair was her glory; it was a sign of her womanhood. To let it down showed complete intimacy and vulnerability. It showed absolute love and commitment.

I’ve read that of all the senses, the sense of smell is the strongest trigger for memories. I have no idea how they would study that, but I’m sure that no one in that room would ever smell the aroma of that perfume without immediately remembering this moment. This moment where Jesus is prepared for his burial.

Mark and Matthew add a final remark in their accounts that wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what Mary did would be told in memory of her? John doesn’t repeat the command, he simply follows it. He tells Mary’s story. And now, once again, we have too.

But I thing there is another way that we tell Mary’s story. Every time we speak of Jesus as the Christ we proclaim him the anointed one? Every time we say “Jesus Christ” we give him the title the anointed one. Every time we bestow on him that title we remember that he was anointed to die. And Jesus’ death and burial are central to his mission. In fact, so central, so vital, so important is to grasp the significance of Easter that the nearly one quarter of the gospels, these stories about Jesus, talk about this last week of Jesus’ life. They breeze over the birth, the completely skip his childhood and coming of age except for one verse. Three years of ministry and teaching comprise only about half of what they wrote, a few chapters pick up the week just after Easter, but more than anything else, they pour over the significance of this week, and this day. If we are going to understand the biblical vantage of Jesus, then we have to understand the centrality of Jesus death and burial.

The first song of the church is found in Philippians chapter 2 and it talks about of Jesus’ death and burial. Jesus, who being in very nature God, did not consider remaining equally God something to hold on to, and so he humbled himself, he became flesh and blood. He lived among us and ministered to us. He was obedient even to death, death on a cross. This is called the atoning sacrifice of Jesus, and it is the very climax of his earthly ministry.

Atonement is when someone or something steps in for another to right a wrong. Jesus stepped in to set us right with God, and to begin setting to right all the world in the grand sweeping plan of renewing the creation. The work of Jesus death on the cross is to put us at one again with God- to renew and restore the relationship we were created for. On that cross Jesus did something more than just take on humanity, he took on himself all our sins- all the evil, all the wrong, all the injustice, all the sin that we’ve done and that we will do. In him is buried everything wrong in the world and in our lives.

And when Jesus rose from the grave on Easter morning he left behind all that separates us from the love and life of God. Easter morning is the great cosmic I told you so” of Jesus. Not an “In your face- I told you so.” But the open arms of our gracious God saying I told you I so- I told you I was the resurrection and the life. I told you I would come back to you. And I promise I will come again to you. This is promise and hope of Easter.

My first year as a campus minister I became very close with a student named Dan. He was a committed Christian and decided he would be a Resident Hall advisor. We decided together that this would be our in to start a bible study. So we agreed together that we would pray for the men of his dorm all summer, and when the school year began we would start a bible study.

When you arrive on campus it is a madhouse. There is electricity in the air, especially with the freshmen. They are thrilled and terrified at the same time. And to their surprise, everyone is vying for their attention: student groups, athletics, fraternities and sororities, student affair and administration. Dan and I knew we had to strike fast. Students make their commitments fast on a college campus, and early decisions can form and shape the rest of the college experience. If the church was going to play any role in these students’ lives, we knew our best bet was to hook them fast. Life has a way to building inertia, so we were going to make Christian worship, fellowship, and ministry a central part from the beginning.

The first day Dan and I were prowling his halls. We were having a bible study that night in his room. We met a number of students who genuinely expressed interest. We met a lot who genuine didn’t. It should not surprise you that many who did not express interest gave the reason that they had grown up in the church, basically knew what it was all about, and were interested in other things. One such guy was Brian Grogan. He grew up in the Catholic Church and figured he knew the deal. But he showed up that night anyways since his roommate was coming.

That night we packed out the room. It was amazing. And of course in the first few weeks many guys quickly dropped out. But we had a core group of about ten guys, and Brian was one of them. We went through the gospel of John. Brian kept coming and asking questions, kept getting drawn in more and more. He came to bible study, to our Friday night fellowship, he even signed up of our mission trip to Jamaica. It didn’t hurt that there were some really good-looking girls in our fellowship.

Towards the middle of the school year Brian comes to my office and tells me he accepted Christ. You could see the joy on his face. It was a genuine conversion experience. He was now a Christian and wanted to grow in his faith. He said he needed more, could I meet with him and talk to him more. I thought about it for about one second and said of course. SO we talked. He said he wanted more. We started to meet every week. Brian grew in his faith by leaps and bounds. He became a leader in our ministry. He became the president of his fraternity. He would bring guys to our fellowship meetings on Friday nights, before the frat parties would begin. Brian’s life was transformed, and he was working to transform his fraternity and he fellow students. Brian planned on going into campus ministry because of the impact it made on his life.

But Brian was also a computer science major in debt. And in 1999 computer science majors were a hot commodity. Brian decided he would work for a while with computers, pay off debts, then become a poor campus minister like me. In 1999 Robin and I decided it was time for me to follow the cal to seminary. The day we left Brian was one of the last persons we saw. We hugged, joked around, promised to keep in touch, and said “See you later.”

Six months later, on an icy road at night in New York, Brian’s car went into a spin. He was hit by and oncoming truck and went through his window. He held on for two weeks in a coma, but finally died of massive head trauma.

My last words to Brian were “See you later.” Had I known that was the last time I’d see Brian, what would I have said? I’m not sure. I would have hugged him, held on to him, encourgaged him to make a difference while he could, life life to the fullest, all that stuff. But as I’ve thought about those last words many times, I have no regrets. Because that is the promise of Easter- that all who give their lives to Jesus will see one another later and forever.

But the promise is not just for the great beyond. It’s to begin to taste and experience the resurrection of Jesus here and now. We don’t know how to life until we give our lives to one who conquered death.

If Only...

Series: Vantage Point
Sermon: If Only...
George J. Saylor
March 16, 2008

We’ve been having some fun with vantage points the past two weeks. Now the real test begins. Let’s see what your vantage point really is- what do you see?



A bunny, or a duck, or both?

Our vantage point determines how we see something, or someone. Sometimes what we first see, or believe, changes. Sometimes we get to a place we can see a person or situation from several vantages points. In pictures liek these we often see one thing right away. But after time or closer inspection, we see something else, we see something more.

Our vantage point on Jesus can often go through the same transformations. We see him one way at one stage, we encounter him in other way at other stage. It’s like looking at those pictures. The picture doesn’t change, but how we see it can. SO with Jesus, he is unchanging the bible teaches us, the same yesterday today and tomorrow. But through our life, as our faith grows, as our experiences shape and shift us, so the way we encounter the unchanging Jesus. In our youth we are captivated by Jesus mission as we seek mission, purpose, and passion. At another stage we seek faithfulness and a closer walk with Jesus, so his friendship with us, and his Lordship over all, rises to the utmost importance. We get sick, and Jesus’ healing touch becomes our greatest comfort. With every step and stage or transition or trial in our lives, our vantage point on Jesus grows and gains clarity.

I thought I knew Robin, and then we got engaged. I thought I knew my fiancée, and then she became my wife. I thought I knew my wife, and then she became the mother of my children. At each stage I knew Robin, but at each stage there’s still so much more to learn. Nearly eleven years into marriage now and my vantage point is still growing. I’m still enamored with her, learning to love her, learning who she is.

One vantage point is very clear, and was our starting point- Jesus is a historical figure who changed the world. But what is more important for us now is examining what we personally make of this historical figure- a great teacher, a moral leader, a deeply spiritual man, or maybe something more.

What we are being completely up front about is our vantage point on Jesus and where we inform our vantage point on Jesus. We look to the bible, and it teaches us that Jesus was the Christ, the Messiah, the promised one sent from God. More than that, we saw last week that Jesus really believed he was God. He got into a discussion with some of the other church types of his day. They said he was demon possessed or mad. But he really seemed coherent in his thinking and teaching. So they said maybe he’s just a liar. But Jesus said, actually, I’m God. More specifically, he used the very name of God revealed to the nation of Israel- I am who I am. Christians have boiled that down to an apologetic that says when you look at the claims of Jesus, and examine them on there own terms, Jesus comes across as a lunatic that thought he was God but really wasn’t. A liar that knew he wasn’t God but still claimed it. Or that Jesus said he was God, and really was God, thus making him the true Lord.

Now the question I want to ask is, if there was one vantage point that would remove all questions on who Jesus really was, what would it be, and can we get there? Is there a vantage point that could prove to us that Jesus really is who he said he was- the Christ, the Son of god, the great I am? Well there is. There is a vantage point, I believe, that answers all the questions about Jesus. But we don’t want to go there.

You don’t want to see Jesus from this vantage point because it costs too much. You don’t want to see Jesus from this vantage point because there’s no coming back. You don’t want to see Jesus from this vantage point because once you do, you’ll never be the same again. You don’t want to see Jesus from this vantage point because after you do you can’t live your comfortable life any more. You won’t be able to say Jesus was just a great teacher. You won’t be able to look at life the way you used too. You won’t look at people the way you used too. You won’t be able to look at your work and your studies and your hopes and your dreams the way you used to. Because once you see Jesus from this vantage point, nothing, nothing could ever be the same again. No friends, you don’t want to see Jesus from this vantage point because it’s gonna cost you too much.

But maybe we can see this vantage point through the eyes of someone who has gone there.

The gospel of John, chapter 11, tells one story- the story of a man named Lazarus, and the vantage point of the grave, looking from the inside out. A vantage point, that if we are willing to embrace it, if we have the faith to take it as truth, can give a vantage point on Jesus like nothing else. Lazarus was sick. Actually, he was in palliative care. He was in his last moments. He was so bad that the family sent for Jesus. When Jesus got the message he simply said, this sickness won’t end in death. He didn’t say that death wouldn’t be a part of the story, just that it wouldn’t end in death. He told them that what was about to unfold would bring glory to God, and to him. Then he laid low for two days.

But Jesus loved Lazarus, and he loved his two sisters, Mary and Martha. So he decided that it was time to go and see them. Now the disciples protested, because they knew Jesus was heading right into enemy territory where his life was literally truly in jeopardy. But Jesus said that Lazarus was dead- and he was going to wake him up. In fact, the only reason Jesus waited around a few days was so that Lazarus would be good and dead. Remember the movie the Princess Bride- there’s dead, then there’s dead dead? That’s what Jesus was waiting for. Lazarus was dead, but he wanted to wait long enough that he was dead dead. Dead, buried, and done. There was an old superstition in ancient times that believed that after three days a person’s soul completely left the body. After three days there was no coming back. Maybe that’s why Jesus waited four days.

As Jesus arrived in Bethany word was sent to the sisters that he was on the way. Martha ran out to meet him, She called out to him,

“Lord, if you would have been here, my brother would have lived.”

Now that is faith. That is faith to believe that Jesus could have come to a man on the verge of death and brought him back from the edge. She saw it happen before. She’d seen him heal the sick. She’d seen him give a lame man his legs. She’d seen him give sight to the blind. She’d seen him cast out demons. She’d seen him feed the multitudes. She knows he’s the Lord. She believed Jesus could do it again. She believed Jesus has the power. But of course, Jesus didn’t show up. Jesus wasn’t there, and Lazarus died.

We don’t talk about it much in the church, but a lot of have been there. A lot of us have been in that place, in that situation, in those circumstances where we believe that if only Jesus had shown up, if only God would have answered our prayers, then things would have turned out differently. If only God would have heard that prayer for so and so who had cancer. But it seems he didn’t, and the cancer spread, and your friend died. If only God would answer your prayer for that special guy, and in the mean time every one of your friends has met Mr. Right and fell in love and got hitched. If only God would have answered your prayers for your spouse, but he keeps drinking and doesn’t get any help. If only God would answer your prayers for you kids, but they keep going down a road of self destruction. If only God would take away the eating disorder, or the addiction, or the temptation, or the road block, or whatever.

John Whittier wrote,

For of all sad words of tongue or pen, the saddest are these: ‘It might have been!’

In each of our lives we have some “It might have been.” In 1875, while experimenting with the idea of transmitting speech by electrical means, Alexander Graham Bell discovered the basic principle that made the telephone possible. The next year, on March 7, 1876, Elisha Gray of Oberlin, Ohio, applied for a patent for a telephone – two hours after Bell patented his invention! If only...

“If only” is a hard place to live. It’s a hard place to have hope. We have lots of “if only’s” in our lives. If only my boss wasn’t against me. If only I had been given the opportunity. If only I could get another shot. If only I’d been given this. If only I’d been given that. If only my wife would…If only my husband could … If only God would…you fill in your blank.

There are all sorts of “if only’s,” but they all lead to the same place. That place is the past, and you can’t change the past. All “if only’s” only take us back to a place where we are powerless to do anything, or allow God to do anything. All of the "if only’s" don’t amount to a hill of beans because we can’t go anywhere when we are stuck in “if only” ville. It’s a dead end.

We all want to go there sometimes. We are all tempted to go back to that same place, that cross road, that moment of decision, or indecision, that moment we got the news, that moment things didn’t go our way, the way we wanted. And then just rehearse the "if only’s." We can’t conceive of a different future. We are afraid to move on.

We need to change our “if only’s” to “what if.” Saying if only you’d been here Jesus, things would have turned out better takes a lot of faith. But saying what if you have something even better in store takes more.
What if God has something better in store?
What if God can do something even more than we can ask or imagine?
What if God can meet us right here, right now?
What if God has a greater good planned?
What if God has a perfect plan that we’re a part of?
What if God can use this for His glory and our good?
What if I can grow in faith, what if I can grow in love, what if I can become stronger, more mature, more patient, more humble, more compassionate, more aware, more Christ like?

Martha has faith. If only you would have been here my brother would have lived. But even now, I know that God will give you what ever you ask.
Jesus says your brother will rise.
I know he will, she says, at the last day.
I am the resurrection and the life, Jesus says. Whoever believes in me will live, even though he dies. And whoever lives and believes in me will never die. It says that Martha believed.

Word is sent to her sister Mary, she comes out to meet Jesus now, and she is in the same place as well. IF only you would have been here Jesus. Jesus meets here where she’s at. Jesus even weeps with her. Jesus feels her pain! But Jesus doesn’t stay in the if only place, but moves on to the what if.

38Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39"Take away the stone," he said.
"But, Lord," said Martha, the sister of the dead man, "by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days."

40Then Jesus said, "Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?"

41So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42I 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."

43When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, "Lazarus, come out!" 44The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, "Take off the grave clothes and let him go."

Jesus doesn’t say if only I would have come earlier, he asks, what if you decided to believe? What if you take me to the place where you laid his body? What if you take the chance to move the stone?

Martha says but Jesus, it’s been four days, by now there is a bad odor. I still love how the old time KJV puts this verse,

”Lord, by this time he stinketh!”

I know you don’t believe me, but honestly, I don’t stink. I usually smell like roses! Ask my wife. I am a remarkable unstinky guy- it’s genetic. I can’t take any credit for it, I was just made unstinky. But I do work out. I came home after a cross country ski the other day, and I was overdressed. I worked up a major sweat. My kids ran up to me, jumped on me, we started wrestling, And then she said it. My daughter Eden just looked at me, and you could tell this was a profound revelation for her, a brand new experience- she said dad, you stink!

Sometimes I stink. Sometimes you stink. Sometimes life stinks. Sometimes our marriage stinks. Sometimes our job stinks. Sometimes our parenting stinks, our kids stink, our finances stink, our situations and circumstance stink. Some of us are there right now. We stinketh. Our life stinketh. Our vantage point really is from the inside of a grave looking out. We are afraid to role away the stone because we know, we know deep down we stink. We want to keep it covered, or just cover it up. We cover up the stench with perfume and nice clothes, with oust and odor eaters and febreeze! We stink and we are stuck in this if only kind of place in life.

But Jesus comes to us and says what if you move the stone, what if you let me in? What if I call you out. And Jesus wants us to role away the stone, to let him in, to hear him call us out.

Jesus said I am the resurrection and the life- but the only was we are going to experience his resurrection and life is if we hear him call us out of those if only places, those stinky places of our lives.

The only cure for coming out of the if only’s in our life is to step into the adventure of asking what if. What if Jesus really is the resurrection and the life? What if Jesus really meant it when he said whoever wants to find his life will lose it for my sake, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it? What if Jesus really did come that we might have life, and have it to the full? What if we keep all the words that Jesus commanded, will we really live forever?

What if we risk the faith to believe that Jesus might have something better in store for his glory, and our lives? What if we invite him to come to the stinkiest parts of our lives? What if we roll away the stone? What if we hear Jesus calling us out? What if he really is the resurrection and the life? What if we embrace that vantage point, experience that resurrection, begin living that life today?

iamwhoiam

Series: Vantage Point
Sermon: iamwhoiam
George J. Saylor
March 9, 2008

Last week I made a bet with my wife that if I called Jesus the "Che Guevara of Israel," folks would catch the reference. I lost. But you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about when you see the pictures:





Now it all makes sense doesn’t it!

The point is that we don’t have to look too deeply into culture to see that this man named Jesus who lived 2000 years ago transformed our world and continues to transform lives. There are as many vantage points on Jesus as their are people in the world. People have turned him into just about anything they want.

Walk through the mall and you’ll find this shirt.

Walk into a library and you’ll find countless books.
Glance over a magazine rack and you’ll find him on a cover.
Walk into a video store and you’ll find everything from Mel Gibson’s “The Passion,” to “Jesus of Montreal,” and even “Jesus Christ Vampire Hunter,” a proudly made Canadian film! (You just know that some group of students are going to rent that movie tonight!)

Last week we began with the vantage point of Peter’s confession. "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus asked his closest friends. You are the Christ, Peter said. As we look at the life of Jesus through the bible we found this one particular vantage point that dominates the view of Jesus. It is the vantage point of the Christ- that Jesus is the Christ, the anointed one, the king. And all the vantage points of Jesus revolved around this title. Some said he was a political Christ bringing a revolution. Some said he was a false Christ bringing nothing but trouble. Others began to understand him as a different kind of Christ entirely.

Last week I ended the service with what I called the “anti-altar call.” I feel the need to explain a bit more. In the strictest sense of the word, we don't believe in the need for "altars" here- as we believe Jesus is the once and for all atoning sacrifice for our sins. But, we are all about altars here in a generic sense-altars being a place where people go to meet God and give offerings- our resources, our gifts, our talents, even our lives. Sometimes we want to leave things, like pain, hurt, bitterness, anger, addiction.

What I really emphasized last week was that if you are going to lay your life down before God it ultimately has to be between you and God. It may happen at Connections, it may happen through the words we sing, or the bible stories we talk about, or in the prayers we say, but in the end it’s really between you and God, and God has to work that in you. In fact, the story last week told us that if you are going to confess in Jesus as the Christ, the son of Son, if you are going to believe in him in your heart that he died on the cross and rose from the grave to conquer sin and death, then God has to reveal himself to you. I’ve said before, we don’t want to manipulate or cajole you into faith, but we pray that you will come to faith, that God will meet you here, that God will reveal himself to you, and that you in turn will know and embrace Jesus as your Lord.

Our job as a church, our mission in this series, is to present as clearly and compellingly as we can our vantage point on Jesus. Jesus, simply put, is the best vantage point we have of the God. Our vantage point as a church is that Jesus is the Son of God, fully human and fully God. Our vantage point is that God reveals himself as a Trinitarian being- the loving Father who gave himself to us in Jesus Son, who gives himself to us in the Holy Spirit. Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Our vantage point on Jesus is well summarized in the words of the Apostle’s creed, and ancient declaration of the faith which states-

I believe in go the father almighty and in Jesus Christ his only son, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose from the dead. He ascended in to heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come again to judge the living and the dead.

This is the academic treatment of a very personal revelation of God. A favorite theologian of mine, and the one who’s writings more than any other have helped me to grasp this triune God of grace, is Thomas Torrance. Thomas served as a chaplain in northern Italy during WW2 and was called upon by a soldier who was mortally wounded. The soldier knew he was about to die and asked Thomas, “When I meet God, will he be like Jesus? Will he be like the Jesus I learned about as a child, or will he be someone different?” Thomas comforted the young man by simply assuring him- “Yes, God will be just like Jesus.” The more clearly we see Jesus, the more clearly we see God. This is our vantage point, and the vantage point of the Bible.

In the gospel of John we read about an encounter with Jesus and the other religious leaders of his day. In chapter 8 Jesus finishes preaching to a crowd of people, while the dissertation board sat in the back critiquing everything he said. Here’s the exchange…John 8:48-59

48The Jews answered him, "Aren't we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?"

49"I am not possessed by a demon," said Jesus, "but I honor my Father and you dishonor me. 50I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge. 51I tell you the truth, if anyone keeps my word, he will never see death."

52At this the Jews exclaimed, "Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that if anyone keeps your word, he will never taste death. 53Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?"

54Jesus replied, "If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me. 55Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and keep his word. 56Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad."

57"You are not yet fifty years old," the Jews said to him, "and you have seen Abraham!"

58"I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!" 59At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.

In this passage we see three vantage points on Jesus.
Jesus claims that anyone who keeps his words will never see death. At this the people respond pretty much like we’d respond to anyone who would make such a claim- you are demon possessed or just plain mad! The people think he’s a lunatic, a nut job, he’s got a couple of loose screws, his elevator doesn’t go to the top floor, he’s a few cards short of a full deck. You get the point. They think he’s crazy- crazy but not harmless.

Then to make the point they go right back to the father of their faith- Abraham. Abraham was basically the greatest guy in the world that ever lived. If there was anyone who was close to God, or God like, it was Abraham. But even Abraham never made such a claim. Neither did the prophets that followed him, and it’s a good thing they didn’t- because they all died!

SO Jesus goes on. Jesus says hey guys, I know Abraham, and I know you, and you are no Abraham. Actually, he says that he would be a liar if he didn’t say that he knew Abraham. And at that the people simply agree. OK then Jesus, maybe you’re not crazy, you’re just a liar. Because you are not even fifty years old, let alone 2000 years old.

But Jesus turns the table with two words. His response to being accused of being a liar- “Before Abraham was born, I AM.” At this the crowd literally tried to kill him. Can you blame them, he said I AM.

To understand this claim, and this response, we have to rewind the clock and look at this through the vantage point of a man named Moses some 1500 years earlier. Through a crazy string of events the children of Abraham, his descendants, ended up in Egypt, and ended up in slavery. But all this was part of God’s plan. The pharaoh of Egypt decides to enact a population control program because he’s concerned about the environmental degradation of the greater Nile river basin due in part to the prolific expansion of the people of God. In other words, he decides to kill their babies. One mom can’t bear the thought of killing her own son, and through an amazing course of events, that baby ends up being raised in pharaohs own household. He ends up discovering his true identity, gets himself in a heap of trouble, and runs away. He lives his life as a shepherd until God reveals his plans to free his people, and to use Moses to get it done. Moses is a bit taken off guard, he protests a bit, and comes to ask this question,

“Who shall I say sent me- what’s you name?”

Never before in the history of God’s people did they ask for a name, or did god offer a name. Until then there was God. God was God, and that’s the way it was. But in Egypt, they encountered a pantheon of Gods! The first divine buffet- river gods, rain gods, fertility gods, war gods, death gods, animal gods. The more gods the merrier they said. One pharaoh did try to convert the nation to monotheism, but it didn’t stick. Sidebar- if you know where the story goes, and the 10 plagues God sends on Egypt, it’s amazing how each one reveals a god of Egypt to be impotent over the power of our God. But I digress.

When God says his name to Moses, it is “I AM WHO I AM.” This was the most profound and personal revelation of God that rocked the world of people of God. So holy, so revered, so wonderful this name of God, that they actually stopped saying it. When thy were making handwritten copies of the Old Testament and they came upon the name of God, they would stop, pray, wash their hands, take a special brush and ink, write the name of God, wash their hands again, and then move on. In Greek, instead of saying the name of God, they would just refer to it as the “tetragrammaton,” “the four letters.” We are not even 100% sure how it would have been originally pronounced, our best guess is that it would have been “Yahweh” or “Jehovah.”

And so when Jesus is accused of being a lunatic, or at least a liar, he makes a play on words, and he says, “Before Abraham was, I am.” “Before Abraham was, Yahweh.”

Sometimes in the battle over the right vantage point of Jesus you’ll hear the argument, “Well, Jesus never actually claimed to be God.” You’ll not hear this from folks that have actually read the gospels. In fact, Jesus doesn’t just claim to be divine; he doesn’t just generically say he’s a god. Here, and elsewhere, Jesus claims in the most specific of terms possible just what God he his- he is the one who revealed himself to Moses, he is the tetragrammaton, he is the great I AM. It was the most intimate way Jesus could define himself. It was a crime punishable by death.

By the way, did you know that Christians shouldn’t watch Popeye the Sailor- yep, he was a blasphemer, saying, “I am what I am.” If I could I’d stone him!

For years now followers of Jesus, folks that believe and accept Jesus as the Christ, have loved making this argument. It was stated brilliantly by C.S. Lewis. They love it so much that they even have a title for it- the trilemma- it’s not a dilemma, two opposing views, but a trilemma, three different views. We’ve used this to draw a line in the sand- what do you make of Jesus- lunatic, Liar, or the Lord? Jesus went around saying he was I AM, he was God. That leaves us with three options- he said he was God, he believed he was God, but he wasn’t God- so he was a lunatic. Or he said he was God, but knew he wasn’t God, and so he was just a liar. Or there is a third option. He said he was God, and he really was God. He is the Lord. A lunatic to be laughed at, a liar to be loathed, or the Lord to be loved and worshipped.

Often this trillema is given as an argument or apologetic for Christianity. Personally, I don’t know anyone who came to faith through this apologetic, or even through logic for that matter. But this helps clarify our vantage point on who Jesus was, who Jesus claimed to be. This is simply, and clearly, who Jesus thought himself to be. This is who billions of Christ-followers understand him to be. This is who I believe Jesus to be.

I was raised in a Christian home where going to church, prayer, and Jesus talk was a regular thing. I really have no idea when I became a Christian. Honestly, I just kind of always was. Sorry, I didn’t do drugs and kill folks, I didn’t have a blinding light shine down from heaven, I was actually quite the momma’s boy. I remember coming in Kindergarten discovering that not all families, not all people, went to church or even believed in God. I remember being baptized in middle school when the whole Jesus thing started to makes sense. I remember some very specific prayers being answered in miraculous ways. I also remember when I got this whole idea of Jesus being the Lord. This goes beyond the logic of saying, Jesus is Lord, to really starting to understand what it means to say he’s my Lord. Because up until this point I would have said without a doubt that I believe Jesus is Lord. But I hadn’t yet got what it meant to make him my Lord.

I was a freshman in college studying art and environmental science. I was having dinner with two girls (pretty much the norm for me!) They started to talk about Jesus in a way that I really didn’t get. They started to talk about Jesus in more personal terms, they started talking about the joy of knowing Jesus. They talked about the sense of direction they had in life. The sense of purpose. This sense of peace. They started to talk in very practical terms about the difference that Jesus made in their life.

Then one of them said, and I’ll never forget it, “You know, even if I didn’t believe in eternity and heaven, Jesus is so good I’d still follow him, I’d still give my life to him.” I must have looked at that girl like she was the one who was totally nuts, or just a liar. I said, “You mean to tell me that being a Christian, following Jesus, is worth it, even if there’s no heaven?” And she said that’s exactly what I’m saying. I said you are crazy. If there’s no afterlife and no consequence to my life here and now, I’m going to start living very differently. I said if there’s no afterlife then it’s about time and that I start living it up way more than I am right now, because I’ve been the good guy my whole 17 years of life (I can’t believe that was half my life ago). I said if it wasn’t for my belief in an eternity, I’d party like a rock star!

I’m so thankful those girls didn’t ridicule me. But gently challenged me to say, you know George, that’s kind of sad, because you are missing out. They encouraged me to look deeper into Jesus, to look deeper into his life and love. They didn’t have the theological training to put the words on it, but what they were saying is that I needed to learn, or more importantly experience, what it means to make Jesus not just a savior, but my Lord.

And once I did that, things started to fall into place. Not over night, and not even now do I have it all figured out. Because when you go from thinking of Jesus just as your "get out of hell free card," when you get past just the comfort of thinking, I have a savior, once you start making him your Lord, you enter into the life long relationship with him, into the relationship that makes it all worth while right here, right now, no matter what.

I can stand before you now and tell you with complete sincerity- Jesus is worth Lordship over your life. Jesus is worthy of giving your entire life to right here, right now. Jesus is worth your career. He is worth your money. He is worth your family. He is worth your hopes and dreams. He is worth everything. Once you get a taste of him, once you get a sense of him, once you get to start knowing him, you can’t get enough of him.

A pastor named John Piper coined the phrase, “Christian Hedonism.” Meaning that because knowing God through Jesus Christ is what we were made to do, because Jesus is the true Lord of all, choosing to make him Lord isn’t just the best thing to do with your life, it’s the most pleasurable thing to do. We end up being the most joyful, the most fulfilled, and the most purposeful people on the planet!

Jesus said whoever loses his life for my sake will gain it. Jesus said I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly. Jesus says, as he started our passage, if you keep my word you will never see death. The fact is we get the best of both worlds in Jesus, and we don’t have the right vantage point until we start to get this in sight- Jesus is Lord now, and always. Jesus wants you life now, and always. Jesus is worthy now, and always. And it really comes down to this-

If Jesus is not worth it here and now, he's not worth it for eternity?

If you don't want to make him your Lord for the few years we spend on earth, would you really want to make him your Lord for all eternity?

Is he worth it? From my vantage point- yes. From the vantage point of millions- yes. From the vantage point of the bible- yes.

whatsyourvantagepoint?

Series: Vantage Point
Sermon: whatsyourvantagepoint
George J. Saylor
March 2, 2008

Our vantage point makes all the difference. When I was on my ski trip out west two weeks ago I learned this lesson every day. On the second day at Alta we were in a back country section and I came upon a cliff with no tracks and fresh powder. When my brother and I were at the top of that cliff, it looked like an endless fall. My brother, who really is every bit the skier that I am, chickened out! He said no way; but I’ll ski around and film you. Of course once he said that I had no choice- I had to jump. I took a deep a breath and sent myself off that cliff thinking this is gonna be awesome, this video is gonna go viral. I crested the edge of that cliff and felt like I was just suspended there in midair forever. I thought how high is this? 20 ft? 30 ft? 50 ft! In my head I had just made the new world record. But the thing is, my brother did get a video if of it- here it is...




And after watching that yet again I have to say, that's really not very impressive. I paused the video and sized up my jump and I estimate, roughly, that I plummeted a mind boggling 1o ft.

I suspect in today’s digital age we’ve all had our vantage point corrected. I thought I was an extreme skier, until I saw the video. You thought you were a great dancer, until your friend posted it on you tube. You thought you looked really cool in that outfit, until you saw the pictures.

And our vantage point of things we’ve seen or experienced is very subjective to our perspective and point of view. Honestly, if you listened to guys watching sports on TV you’d be convinced that every single referee in professional sports should be branded as legally blind. Not only that, every overweight armchair athlete would make a way better goalie, way better quarterback, way better whatever. Our vantage point from the comfort of our living room affords us the luxury of calling the plays and carrying them out way better than those guys getting paid millions!

Did you hear the one about the three umpires? They were talking about all the flak and ridicule they receive on a daily basis and were trying to justify some of their calls to with one another. The first umpire finally says, "Well, there are balls, and there are fouls, and I call them when I see them." The second umpire took a slight different view and says, "Well, there are balls, and there are fouls, and I call them as I see them." But the third umpire says, "The way I see it is that there may be balls, and there may be fouls, but they ain’t nothing until I call them!"

The joke is told as a description of our worldview, our vantage point of reality. The first umpire is kind of the pre-modern mind. He sees and knows reality as it truly is. The second umpire is kind of the modern mind- a little more enlightened, he believes there is a reality, but he can only see it from his limited perspective. The third umpire is the post-modern. Reality is what he makes of it. Reality is his call. Reality is his vantage point.

Over the past 20 years folks suspect that this has been the predominant worldview. We live and breathe this postmodern culture that often reduces reality to our own life experience. One of the most quoted stories to try and justify this vantage point is "The Blind Men and the Elephant,” as told by American poet John Godfrey Saxe. It came from a fable that was told in India many years ago. It basically tells the story of six blind men of Indostan who went to see an Elephant. The first feels the elephant’s mighty side and declares that the animal is like an impenetrable wall. The second feels the tusk and declares it’s like a warriors spear. The third feels its tusk and says it’s just like a mighty snake. The fourth takes hold of its leg and says it’s grounded like tree. The fifth feels its ear and says it’s must be able to fly like a bird. The sixth feels its tail and says it’s slight like a rope.

The poem concludes,

“And so these men of Indostan disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion, exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right, And all were in the wrong!

So oft in theologic wars, The disputants, I ween,
Rail on in utter ignorance Of what each other mean,
And prate about an Elephant Not one of them has seen!”

And so, the argument goes, all religions are the same because they only see part of the truth. All of us are like those poor blind men grasping for the truth- limited by sight, by senses, by time, by whatever.

However, the fact still remains- there really is an elephant, and it really can be seen and known. The problem of misunderstanding and misinterpreting the elephant is in no way the elephant’s fault. If the blind men could have had there eyes opened, if someone could have taken them by the hand, they could know the elephant for what it really is. And we we have now moved beyond the intellectual short-sightedness of relativism, recognizing that relativism itse;f is an exclusively held worldview- that any view we hold by definition is exclusive.

But I digress. And now, if I may mix my metaphors a bit, Jesus is the elephant in the room that first, we want to acknowledge, that he really did exist, then second, get ourselves to a vantage point where we really can see him and understand him and know him for who he truly is. That Jesus was is undisputable. Who Jesus was has been answered from a multitude of vantage points.

H.G. Wells wrote,

“More than 1900 years later a historian like myself, who doesn’t even call himself a Christian, finds the picture centering irresistibly around the life and character of this most significant man…The historian’s test of an individual’s greatness is ‘What did he leave to grow? Did he start people thinking along fresh new lines with a vigor that persisted after him?’ By this test Jesus stands first.”

It has long been understood that even if the bible didn’t exist we still have historical documentation from other sources that verify there was a man named Jesus who called Nazareth his home, he gained a following as a teacher and the reputation of being a miracle worker. At the height of his popularity he has a following of hundreds. But he ended up dying a criminal’s death on a cross. His followers then, instead of moving on, claimed that Jesus rose from the grave, and then the movement that Jesus started began to truly take traction, and has, without exception, continued to grow with each successive generation.

When we add the bible as the most reliable ancient document known to humanity into the mix the picture begins to grow come into focus. And the story begins as the almighty God becomes an all-vulnerable baby. He was born in obscurity and under a shroud of controversy- an illegitimate child of a teenage Jewish girl. Aside from his escape to Egypt as a baby, he never traveled more than 100 kilometers from his hometown. To his mother Mary and her fiancé Joseph Jesus is the miracle child, conceived miraculously by the Holy Spirit of God. Shepherds come to his birth and worship him as savior. Mysterious kings from the east come to hail him as king. One paranoid king named Herod sees him as a threat to the throne and sends death squads to clean up the situation. And then some thirty years later this baby is a man, and when he is baptized in the Jordon by his older cousin John, the heavens open and we see from the vantage point of heaven who Jesus was- a voice calls out, “This is my son, whom I love, with him I am pleased.” And the Spirit descended upon him like a dove, resting on his head. We see in perhaps the clearest way of all the vantage point of the triune God of grace and love- the Son in the flesh, the voice of the Father, the manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

He was trained as a carpenter, but learned the Old Testament word for word. For thirty years he was an unknown figure, but for the last three years he became a lightening rod of activity. He was a homeless preacher traveling from town to town. He called on men to follow him, and they left everything to do so. Some said he was a rabbi. Some said he was a prophet. Some said a miracle worker. Some said he was demon possessed.

He drew cords to himself, teaching them about the love and mercy and grace of God. The next day he drove them away when he told them to count to cost of following him. He worked healing wonders in one town, and was powerless in another. He was un-swayed by public opinion or his families own urging, but moved to compassion by aliens and outcasts. He was a man of peace who made a whip cleared the temple. He told his followers to take up there swords, and when one did he rebuked him. He taught the law of God while simultaneously being accused of breaking it. He lived a perfect life but was called a drunkard and party animal. He had uncompromising views on wealth and morality, but enjoyed the company of the rich and immoral. He seemed to know all things about everything one moment, then seemed just a perplexed as you and I. He fled from arrest on one occasion, then walked willingly into a trap. He was betrayed by a friend, deserted in his darkest hour. He did not open his mouth when accused, beaten and hung on a cross, but when he died the earth railed out in anguish. He was buried in hast and under the eyes of the state. And despite his enemies best efforts, his body was never found, his followers re-banded, and they claimed to have meet the risen and very much alive Jesus.

Today if you walk across the street and into Chapters you’ll find more books on Jesus than any other person or topic in literary history. You’ll find every conceivable vantage point- Jesus the political revolutionary, the Che Guevara of Israel, a magician, a mystic, a charismatic, a teacher, a preacher, a leader and a loser. You name the vantage point you want to see Jesus from, and you can find a book to back it up.

But now let’s take ourselves to a better vantage point to see the truth. And let’s look at Jesus’ from the vantage point of the man himself. It’s usually a pretty good practice to start with the source. Near the height of controversy in Jesus’ own life he gathers with his disciples and asks, what’s the word on the street?

Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, "Who do people say I am?"
They replied, "Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets."
"But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?"
Peter answered, "You are the Christ.”
Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. Mark 8:27-30

The vantage points of Jesus, while many, boil down to one of three main positions. All revolve around this affirmation of Jesus as the Christ (like we often need to be reminded, Christ was not his last name, it was his title). It meant the Messiah, the chosen one, most literally, the anointed one- anointed to be the Lord. Some saw him as a
political Christ,
some a false Christ,
and others, a different kind of Christ entirely.

The first vantage point was that he was the Christ the king. Many of the people of Israel, long captive in their own land by Roman imperialism and rule, were looking for the Christ that would come and claim the throne in the tradition of David- the golden days of the Israel, like the era of Kim Cambell. These folks wanted a political leader. They wanted power. But their real vantage point on Jesus- what can we get from Him, what can he do for us. They would be ready to ride his coat tails, as long as it took them to the throne.

Today, many still approach Jesus in this way. What can I get out of Jesus, out of faith? It’s not always a bad thing. There are many things we get and gain from a relationship with Jesus. But there is still, what I believe, a fundamental flaw in this vantage point- it’s a relationship of convenience and of selfishness where we are still the centre, a relationship based on taking, on getting, on using, and leveraging Jesus.

The second vantage point is fundamentally tied into the first. They're the folks on the other side of the equation, the folks in power. They saw Jesus as a false Christ, a political revolutionary, but they didn’t want the revolution. They liked the balance of power. And they would do whatever it took to keep the scales tipped in their favor. Some were his own countrymen, religious leaders who conspired to kill him, others were of the state, the Romans who actually carried out his execution.

And likewise, today, many find Jesus a threat. To truly commit to Jesus and follow him they know will disrupt the balance of their lives. They don’t like this idea of Lordship, or having a king, of giving over their lives, of laying it all down before him. They want to keep the scale of their life tipped toward themselves. From their vantage point, the cost of calling Jesus the Christ costs them too much.

There is a third vantage point. The vantage point that begins to come into focus for Peter and the other disciples. Jesus was in fact the Christ, the chosen one, the anointed one- but that meant something entirely different than any of them could have ever dreamed or imagined.

It meant that he really was the king, but one who lead through service.
It meant he really was a revolutionary, but one that came to revolutionize the way we approached God, the way we related to other people, the way we look at our own lives, and at the world itself.
It meant he really was God himself in the flesh.
It meant he really was anointed by the Holy Spirit.
It meant he really is our savior, saving us from our sin, and from ourselves.
It meant he really is our Lord, the one who we were made to give our lives too.
It meant he really is our brother, that as we give our lives to him, he does not lord it over us, but enters into a relationship with us.

You are the Christ, Peter says, and Jesus did not protest. In fact, we read in another account in, in Matthew’s gospel, that Jesus says you, Peter, learned this not from man, but it was revealed to you by my heavenly Father. Today Jesus still reveals himself through the power of God the Father. And to this day people give testimony of all sorts of wonderful ways that they come to know Him.

Some people just always seemed to have faith revealed to them, and they spend their lives growing in belief. Some people look for the most logically and intellectually honest world view, and discover it revealed in the Christ. Some people go through the dark night of the soul, and come to see the light of Christ revealed to them in crisis. Some people wrestle with pain, and come to find healing in the Christ. Some struggle with addiction, and find release in the Christ. Some wrestle with questions, and find answers in Christ. Some face their death, and find life in the Christ. Some struggle with emptiness, and find purpose in Christ. Some struggle with loneliness, and find communion in Christ. Some people look into the eyes of the poor, and find the eyes of Christ. Some people lay the turmoil of their life at the cross, and find the peace of Christ.

You know, or need to know where we stand as a church. We stand in the vantage point of belief, belief in this other kind of Christ. We believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, who lived, who died, who rose from the grave, who ascended to heaven, who sits on right side of God the father, who is coming again, and who offers all who call on him as savior and Lord the blessing of life in him, life in God. That is our vantage point.

And if you are here today and you do not come from the vantage point of belief, but are here in an honest search, we think it’s the most awesome thing that you are here. In fact, you are why we’re here. We want you to come, to listen, to ask questions, to challenge what you hear, to wrestle with these claims. Because believing in Jesus as the Christ is not something you are born into. It’s not something that’s passed down from generation to generation. It’s not something that any of us can give or force on you. Believing in Jesus as the Christ is something that is revealed to us. And when it’s revealed to us, we can’t help but believe. In the next four weeks we are going to look at Jesus from different vantage points- four people who saw Jesus in very different ways. Some came to believe in Him as the Christ. Some didn’t. But all of their lives were changed forever. And for those of us who have had our eyes opened to see and know the Christ, we can’t help, but hope and pray that he will be revealed to you as well.