“Where there is no vision, the people perish” Proverbs 29:18
When Robin and I moved our family here from North Carolina we had little more than a dream and the shirt on our back. And the car we drove. We had nothing but our dream and our cars, oh, and our kids. Then the moving truck arrived the next day and we had all our stuff again. Oh yeah, by then I had bought a house so we did have that too. OK, so we had our dream, our car, our minivan, our house, and then all our stuff to fill the house. We had nobody to help us settle in- except Robin’s parents and some other family in the area.
Ok, to recap, we had nothing except a dream, our family, Robin’s family, a house, and all our stuff. Wait, we also had a group of people praying for us an committed to do whatever it took to get a new church started in a growing city. But aside from that, they were tough times for the Saylors. We really didn’t know where our next meal was coming from. Sometimes we’d cook, other times our neighbors brought stuff over, something we’d go out to eat as we explored this strange new city. It was all an adventure!
OK, all joking aside, we came up here with a support system and did a lot of planning and preparation in advance. We had family and friends, prayer and financial support.
But as far as the church is concerned- all we had was a vision. No people, no place, no real plan. Just a vision- to launch a new church in growing city that would draw people far from God into Christian community. As it turns out, having little more than vision and few people standing with you is enough to get a movement started. It’s especially enough if God is behind that dream with that group of people, and if those people learn to depend entirely on God. And you know what- few things, if anything, is as powerful, as compelling, as transforming than God-given vision.
The bible is a book about God of vision filled who filled people with vision. It is a book about movement. Some people move towards God and their calling in life, there they find great things. They find challenges, they suffer, the sacrifice, but they are so compelled to follow their vision that nothing else seems to matter. The bible includes stories about many who don’t move towards God, but away from God. They followed a vision of their own creation, or false visions offered to them by the world.
Story after story, page after page, God works through people to bring about his vision for His relationship with us and His plan for creation- Abram had a vision to to become a nation. Joseph had visions to his greatness and saving the world. Moses had a vision to lead the people out of captivity. David had a vision to build God a temple. Nehemiah had a vision to rebuild Jerusalem. Prophet after prophet had a vision to see the people turn back towards God, to be faithful and to follow him. Jesus, as we spent the last two weeks talking about, had a vision to do his Father’s will, to be the passover lamb and become our atoning sacrifice for sin, to defeat death, to rise to life, and now stands on the hem of heaven waiting to fully inaugurate teh final heavens and the new earth. Vision. It’s all about vision.
One of most quoted verses about vision in our verse today, and the verse guiding our Double Vision ministry plan. “Where there is no vision, the people perish” Proverbs 29:18. (KJV!)
Is it really that extreme? Well, yes. Little known fact about me- I wore glasses from the time I was a kid. I was the kid who never wanted to wear his glasses and kept getting in trouble with the teachers because I couldn’t see the green board (they were always green in my school). My vision was so bad I was one of those folks who had all the little routines to keep from being helpless or killed. At night I’d set my glasses not just on the bedside table- I’d place them on top of the digital clock, because while everything was a complete blur, I could make out the glow of the clock to find my glasses. Honestly, if I had been born in a time without glasses I would have been eaten by a bear or would have fallen off a cliff and died. I didn’t wear bottle cap glasses, I wore bottle cap contact lenses!
Until a few years ago when I made one of the best decisions of my life- lasic eye surgery. Not only will I never forget the morning after the surgery when the first time in over twenty years I did not have to stumble for those glasses, I remember the moment the lasic machine pulled away, and when the doctor told me to blink, I saw the ceiling. I mean I saw it- I saw every little nock and cranny of that drop ceiling tile. It was amazing! I literally saw the world with new eyes. And really, because I wore corrective lenses for so long, I don’t think a day goes by that I don’t have that moment or recognition that I have vision, and I am so grateful. Honestly I’m so grateful I could shout for joy.
My wife who has always had and still has perfect vision (I mean, is there anything about her that isn’t perfect?) has no idea. No idea. And if you haven’t had glasses, or the surgery, you really have no idea what’s it’s like to be given the gift of vision. Vision changes everything.
Without vision, we are in danger of perishing. This is true in the physical realm, but more importantly, it is true in the bigger picture of our lives- we were made to be people of vision, and without vision, without a vision from God, we are lost, we are in the dark, we are in danger of perishing. And some people have been in that dark so long, some people have gone so long without a vision for their lives, they have begun to think that the darkness is their friend. That being lost is normal, or at least, the norm for men and women. But I’m here today to tell you that we need vision.
Vision next to our life in Christ, is everything.
Vision brings direction- you will know where to go and where to focus your energies. If we are going to have direction we need to total vision- we need to be both near sighted and far sighted. We need to understand what lays right in front of us, and we also need to know what lays ahead on the horizon.
We need to see what is right in front of us with clarity. When we have a vision for our lives, the things around us come into focus. WE better understand what is beneficial, and what is not. What is a distraction, and what would send us off track. We will be faced with thousands upon thousands of ads, of decisions, of options, of possibilities. We have so many things, so much right in front of us, that many people experience a kind of vision paralysis. They don’t where to go, what to do, how to make sense of it all. Too much is there. Sensory overload, and vision ceases. But if we have a vision for our lives from God, He will bring those things into focus, and help us to find our path through the maze of life right before our eyes.
We will also find direction because we will be farsighted as well- we will see with clarity the direction of our lives, and nothing helps us through the immediate when we have the perspective of the future as well. Problems wont; seem so big, obstacles won;t seem insurmountable. In fact, with far sighted vision those things will simple become opportunities for us. Direction is everything.
How many guys here don’t stop and ask for directions? Stop being an idiot. Life is too short, and you’re too dumb to figure everything out on your own. Stop and ask for directions, because direction, and moving in the right direction, is everything.
Vision also gives us endurance. It gives us endurance. This ties in directly with the direction part- with vision, with direction, comes amazing endurance. When I go biking, if I know exactly where I’m going and how far it is, it’s amazing how much focus and energy I have, and how fast the time goes by- I’ll crank out 50k and it will feel like nothing because i know exactly where I’m going. But if I’m lost, and I’m constantly thinking about my direction- where am, how close am I, will that road appear up ahead- it’s amazing to me how much energy that suck out of my ride. I’ll be lost for half an hour, and I’ll actually feel more physically spent. Every biker of runner or whatever I talk to has experienced this- the incredible drain of energy of not have a vision, a focus, a direction to follow.
Vision brings peace- peace that passes all understanding. Few people say they have a real vision for their life. Few people describe themselves as peaceful people. Many people openly say they are longing to find peace. Vision brig peace because we are no longer afraid of an unknown future and things lurking in the shadows. We many not know how it’s all gonna go down, but we have peace because we see and understand with clarity.
Vision brings excitement- you will love the life God has called you to. When you have vision, when you know that vision comes out of your relationship and walk with God. When you know God loves and is there with you and will never forsake you- dag- that’s exciting! It’s way better than just riding circles on a bike. When you really get on track with God’s vision for your life- it’s so much bigger, it’s so much better, it has so much more meaning a purpose and blessing for you and for your neighbors and for the world.
Do you see how all of this flows together? When we have vision we understand what’s around us. WE see the horizon. We know our direction. We know our direction, we have endurance. We have endurance, we have peace to know we’re going make the destination. We have peace, we can get on with excitement, with enjoying the adventure.
God has a vision for your life and like a surgeon he is precisely cutting, shaping your vision. Sometimes it gets worse before it gets better, but when it comes into focus, it is amazing. There will be moments when we’ll open our eyes, and suddenly everything makes sense. We will see the ceiling tile and the writing on the wall...
God, that’s why you made me this way.
That’s why I like this...
That why I hate that...
This is why that relationship fell apart...
This is why I didn’t get that job...
God made you the way you are because he made you for a vision that is a unique as your likes and dislikes, your joys and disappointments, you experiences, your desires, your abilities, your limitations.
Just as God has a vision for your life, he has a vision for his church. The church is the body of Christ, the bride of Christ. In the end we see that the church is the one eternal thing in this world, as it not so much a thing, but a living, breathing, organic and spiritual reality. Double vision is abotu that place where God's vision for your life, and his vision for his church, intersect. It’s about the truth that God has a plan for you, God has a plan for his church,
and when the too meet- BAM! It can be amazing! It’s exponential It’s synergistic. It’s the place to be!
If you’ve been with Connections from the start you know a lot of our vision and our story already. But many of you, maybe most of you, do not. Connections was born out of a vision in a way that I think has surprised, delighted, humbled and awed everyone who has worked on the inside of this mission.
There is so much I could say about how and why this church got start- nuts and bolts and prayers and hard work. But what I want to say comes from my heart. Few people I’m afraid, I fear, every really follow their vision. many people, perhaps most people, die with a vision bottled up inside of them. They never pursued it, and the pain of not pursing that vision actually ate them up from the inside and plagued them with doubts, fears, regrets. The world was never blessed by them living their vision- a vision that would have changed their family, changed their business, changed their community. I think the saddest thing in the world is a life disconnected from Jesus Christ, and perhaps next to that, the saddest thing, is someone who never embraced, understood, or even attempted to live out of a vision for their life.
I have been given the chance to follow my vision and what I believe is my calling- to build the church. The closest correlation that I can compare it with is being artist or an author who gets a grant to do their art or write their book. And while they are ultimately accountable to the muses of art and literature to judge whether their work stinks, or is inspired, they are functionally free to do their art in any manner they wish. That is what it’s been like for me- while I am accountable to God, this church comes out of my heart, my dream, my vision to make a difference in the world. It’s a vision that many have staked their time, their energies, their talents, their money even.
Now, with a little water under the bridge, I want to talk to you about where this vision is going, and how we hope you’ll be a part....
Read the Double Vision ministry plan at my blog, georgesaylor.blogspot.com
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Blood, Bath & Beyond- Easter
(Alternative title: It's Sunday, but Friday happened!)
Blood, Bath and Beyond. That’s what Easter is all about. It’ s about the promise of a world and a life beyond what we see here on earth. It’s about life beyond the grave. It’s about coming into that life through the bathing and cleansing that happen in Jesus Christ- we are made pure, righteous, and right in relationship with God through Jesus. It’s about blood. There is a bloody, violent reality to Easter that some do not like admit, some do not understand, and some, well some simply don’t know anything about it. But we want you to understand what it’s all about.
Last week I said that if we are going to understand who Jesus was, why he became fully human as one of us, what he did for us that we could not do for ourselves- And if there’s anything we want you to get at Connections it’s Jesus Christ. More than just a historical figure, we want you to get him, to get him in your heart and get him in your life- then we are going to have to understand this past week, this last week, in Jesus’ ministry on earth. Fully 1/3 of all we have written in the gospels, Matthew Mark Luke and John, are from the past week: his entrance into Jerusalem to celebrate the passover feast, his final teachings, miracles and encouragements. His betrayal. His trial. His beating. His crucifixion, death and burial.
Here’s the thing about this past week- it leads inevitably to the cross. That is undeniable. Jesus was historical figure. And he got himself crucified and killed. We would know this even if the bible didn’t exist. What remains is what came after his crucifixion and death. Some say nothing at all. The world keeps turning as it always has. Jesus died, the dream is over. The followers disperse and get on with their lives. It all pointed to a grave.
But others among us say something else did happen. Jesus did not just die, but he rose from the dead. He appeared to the women, and the the disciples, to men walking along a road, to doubters and worshipers who began to believe, even to one who was persecuting and killing those who said Jesus was risen from the grave. The few became many, the many became millions. And therefore, the world has never again simply kept on turning as it always had. the world began to spin in a new direction. A direction that began to undo what had always been. The world began to revolved around a new life, a resurrected life, and resurrected Jesus, and the invitation to step into that life and resurrection.
You see, death became undone because of the resurrection, but first, to get to that resurrection, to turn in that new direction, to have a conversion on such a monumental, metaphysical, and deeply personal level, you first have to go to that death. You have to go into that grave.
And that’s where we’re going today- fun stuff, right! Maybe not fun, how about, fundamentally earth shattering, live changing, everything is different now kind of stuff!
Just as you cannot have Christianity without Christ, you cannot know or begin to understand the life, ministry, and mission of Jesus Christ without the cross. The cross was traditionally a sign of offensiveness, and we should not forget that. It’s a symbol of torture and death. It is the equivalent of putting a gallows or electric chair on our churches and around our necks. Some scholars know all too well this reality of the cross, and reject it.
In a recent book, “Proverbs of Ashes,” the writers find the death of Jesus repellent and hold that it sanctifies violence and submission to evil. They write “To say that Jesus’ executioners did what was historically necessary for salvation is to say that state terrorism is a good thing, that torture and murder are the will of God.” John Crossan adds that he sees the cross as the most unfortunately successful idea in the history of Christian thought. A few years ago it was even suggested that the cross be replaced as the preeminent symbol of Christianity. In its place was suggested a manger. This was offered because it depicted God as serene and vulnerable, and was simply more attractive to people. Even Will Ferrel’s character in “Taladega Nights” said he preferred to pray to little baby Jesus.
Well I agree that the manger is a wonderful symbol of our faith and think that there is certainly room for symbols other than the cross in the church. The manger wonderfully pictures his incarnation and birth. A star declares him the one who fashioned the universe. A fish embodies so much of what Jesus was about and what we are to be about as fishers of men. A cup and loaf of bread would help us to remember the last supper, that Jesus is the bread of life, that his blood is the cup of redemption and our cleaning. You could take an one of the many “I AM” statement of Jesus and use that to tell something about who he was- the vine, the shepherd, the spring of living water, the way the truth and the life, and more.
But the rejection of the cross is a sad misunderstanding of its meaning. Without the cross, without the shedding of blood, we don’t have a savior, without his resurrection, we don’t have a Lord. We have a great teacher, a miracle worker, a leader and a hero, we have so much to celebrate. But, without the cross and the resurrection we have another so called messiah, we have another charlatan who promised a better way, but didn’t follow through. Without the cross we still have the real problem of sin and evil and death in our world and in our lives. We still have a disconnect between us and God.
Perhaps some what to deny or clean up the cross so quickly because none the gospels dwell on a description of the crucifixion. But the absence of detail is not neglect, but rather, it is simply unnecessary. All that was needed were the words, “Jesus was crucified,” and the writers of the gospels conveyed to their first readers all they needed to know. They had heard the screams, they had watched men die, they had seen the bodies taken down and buried. This was a public event, and the public was all too familiar with the sign of the cross as one of rejection, pain, scorn, and shame. It was the lowliest death possible. To us seems like an off-handed remark to be skimmed over, was a reality of life Jesus’ day. And we know in shocking detail the reality of this death sentence.
Crucifixion was widely known throughout the ancient world. It’s practice stems back so far that some 1500 years earlier the book of Deuteronomy taught that crucifixion was such a heinous death that anyone who was crucified was cursed of God. The logic went that if anyone was crucified they must have been so evil, so wicked, their crimes so unforgivable, that they deserved this type of torture and death.
By the time of Jesus the Roman empire had begun to employ crucifixion widely. We are told such account as the 800 Pharisees who were crucified by Alexander Janneus in 76BC. The rebellions of Sparticus literally lined the Appian way with crosses.
Crucifixion was not done behind closed doors, that would betray the whole point of sending a message to the masses. No, this was the most public display. A man sentenced to crucifixion would be stripped down naked and beaten. A man would have his arms shackled above is head, helpless to move or protect himself in any way. The crucifier, one who job was to execute criminals in this fashion, would beat them with a whip fashioned of leather straps, weighted and lined with metal and bone fragments. The whip would come down across the victims shoulders, back, buttox and legs. The weights would literally tenderize the man like a chunk of dead meat. The straps would be drug across the flesh, stripping skin, then muscle, and even bone, until the victim was flayed while alive. They developed such skill at this that a phrase was coined, the 39 lashes. 40 would kill a person, so they could get them as close as possible to death with actually killing them. It is written that Jesus didn’t even look like a man after his flogging, that he was unrecognizable.
As if this wasn’t enough we know of the special treatment Jesus received. the mocking, the ridicule, the crown of thorns, pulling out his beard, covering his wounds with a robe, only to rip the robe off again.
The victim was then to carry their cross through the streets- again, a ritual of public humiliation and shame. One to the place of crucifixion the victim would be ropes and nailed to the cross. The spikes were driven through the hands, or more commonly the wrists, so the the flesh would not just tear away and allow the victim to fall from the cross. the cross was then dropped into a hole. The full weight of the victim hanging on those nails. Then, slowly, death would come. From blood lose, from coronary failure, most often from suffocation. If things were taking too long the legs would be broken, and the victim would lose their ability to support their weight, and to breath, and they would die.
In the case of Jesus, and in the fulfillment of prophesy, just at no bone was ever broken in the passover lamb, his legs were not broken. Instead, a spear was trust into his side, releasing a flow of blood and water, evidence that his heart and lungs had been run through.
When we endure the worst thing we can imagine, we call it excruciating It is from the word to crucify. There was nothing else like crucifixion. No other adjective would suffice to describe the pain. Many of you have seen the movie the passion. Many protested it a glorification of violence. it went too far, it showed too much. I’m into saying you need to see, but if you did see it, it doesn’t go too far. In fact, it doesn’t go far enough. For what he showed to us on a movie screen, we know, in it’s basic movements and presentation, actually happened.
You will occasionally hear stories that perhaps Jesus passed out, and in any case, he wasn’t really dead. This is simply unthinkable. If there was anything the Romans did well, they killed people. If the beating didn’t do it, the crucifixion would. If the crucifixion for some reason didn’t do it, being run through with a spear would finish the job. If being run through with a spear didn’t do it, try being wrapped up in a suffocating burial cloth, laid in a tomb, and shut off from the world. Although it certainly sounds odd to say this, you can rest assure that on Good Friday, Jesus was dead. He was really, truly, physically dead.
I remember in high school the first time I heard the story of the cross spelled out in great detail, sparing none of the blood, betrayal, or brutal honestly of the event. As a Christian listening to that I began to get very angry with all the people who participated in the crucifixion. I was mad at Judas for betraying Jesus. I was mad at Peter for deny him. I was mad at Herod, and Pilate, and the religious leaders. Why did they kill my Lord? I found myself even being to get mad at Jesus. Why didn’t you call down those legions of angels, I thought to myself, those people deserved it. Why did you have to die, those people deserved to die!
But as I grow in my faith, in my understanding of myself and the human condition, I’ve come to understand more and more: I’m those people. How often have I betrayed my savior with my words and actions? How often have I denied Him when I should have spoken boldly? How often have I tried to pass the buck of responsibility? The truth is, my sins put Jesus on that cross every bit as much as those peoples did. I needed something that I couldn’t provide for myself. I needed a savior.
We don’t like to admit that we need a savior. It goes against our nature, and it really goes against our Western ideals. We do not like to believe that we deserve condemnation. We don’t think our sins are all that bad. We hold on to the hope that somehow we’ll be good enough. Somehow we’ll earn God’s favor. And yet all of us, in our rare moments of honesty with ourselves, admit that we are helpless.
The story of the cross isn’t one of those people and the things they did to Jesus. It’s the story of Jesus, and what he did for us people. Paul puts it this way in Ephesians:
In his blood we are washed clean and our sins atoned for. In his blood, we, who were far from God, have been brought near. We, who were strangers to God because of our sin, can be called the children of God.
Easter isn’t primarily about believing in Jesus and the cross.
You see, Easter is about Jesus believing in you!
It’s about Jesus believing in the good plan of his Father in heaven.
Believing that there really is a penalty to be paid.
Believing the world was worth it and shouldn’t go to hell.
Believing in the ones who would put their faith in him!
You need to understand this. The cross is not a cosmic crap shoot. It is not the sad sacrifice of a God who was at his wits end and did not know what to do with people who kept turning from him, who kept turning to sin, who kept messing everything up. It is not the pitiable death of a disillusioned deity whose real plan for redemption backfired. Jesus is not at the mercy of his betrayer and deserters and captors and accusers and crucifiers! Jesus did not go the cross hoping maybe this would do something about sin. Jesus did not go to the cross hoping maybe this will somehow fix death.
The cross was not an accident! His death did not mess up the plan. This is not plan B. You see, sin messed up the plan! Death messed up the plan! A broken relationship with God messed up the plan. The plan was for a life in communion with God. The plan was for a life that never tasted death.
All of this, all that we’ve looked at, is part of the plan to get us back on that track. Jesus prayed to the Father in preparation for the cross. Jesus prayed for those he said would believe in Him. Jesus told Peter to put down his sword. Jesus let himself be handed over to the soldiers. Jesus did not defend his rights when he was wrongly accused. Jesus said in no uncertain terms that he laid down his life on his own terms.
He declared that no one took his life from him but that he gave it willingly.
He died knowing he was going to battle the gates of hell.
He died knowing he would rise from the grave before he was dead.
He did knowing his followers would launch his church and change the world.
If you are here today, if you are hearing these words, if you have been on this journey of faith, then I can only conclude that Jesus died believing in you. Believing that his death would actually bring you life. He died knowing you.
Knowing you inside and out, from before your birth, to this very moment, to what you will be one day. He knows you better than you know yourself. He died believing in you.
He died as the passover lamb, the perfect one. The one who would fulfill the plan for redemption and reconciliation with God. He died as the lamb to pay the price of our sins and to begin righting all the wrongs of the world. he died to conquer the grave and conquer death so we would have life. He goes where we could not go to do what we could not do to be what we could not be but what all of us need.
To be our savior, and to be our Lord.
Jeremy Riddle - Sweetly Broken
To the cross I look, to the cross I cling
Of its suffering I do drink
Of its work I do sing
For on it my Savior both bruised and crushed
Showed that God is love
And God is just
Chorus:
At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered
What a priceless gift, undeserved life
Have I been given
Through Christ crucified
You’ve called me out of death
You’ve called me into life
And I was under Your wrath
Now through the cross I’m reconciled
Chorus:
In awe of the cross I must confess
How wondrous Your redeeming love and
How great is Your faithfulness
Blood, Bath and Beyond. That’s what Easter is all about. It’ s about the promise of a world and a life beyond what we see here on earth. It’s about life beyond the grave. It’s about coming into that life through the bathing and cleansing that happen in Jesus Christ- we are made pure, righteous, and right in relationship with God through Jesus. It’s about blood. There is a bloody, violent reality to Easter that some do not like admit, some do not understand, and some, well some simply don’t know anything about it. But we want you to understand what it’s all about.
Last week I said that if we are going to understand who Jesus was, why he became fully human as one of us, what he did for us that we could not do for ourselves- And if there’s anything we want you to get at Connections it’s Jesus Christ. More than just a historical figure, we want you to get him, to get him in your heart and get him in your life- then we are going to have to understand this past week, this last week, in Jesus’ ministry on earth. Fully 1/3 of all we have written in the gospels, Matthew Mark Luke and John, are from the past week: his entrance into Jerusalem to celebrate the passover feast, his final teachings, miracles and encouragements. His betrayal. His trial. His beating. His crucifixion, death and burial.
Here’s the thing about this past week- it leads inevitably to the cross. That is undeniable. Jesus was historical figure. And he got himself crucified and killed. We would know this even if the bible didn’t exist. What remains is what came after his crucifixion and death. Some say nothing at all. The world keeps turning as it always has. Jesus died, the dream is over. The followers disperse and get on with their lives. It all pointed to a grave.
But others among us say something else did happen. Jesus did not just die, but he rose from the dead. He appeared to the women, and the the disciples, to men walking along a road, to doubters and worshipers who began to believe, even to one who was persecuting and killing those who said Jesus was risen from the grave. The few became many, the many became millions. And therefore, the world has never again simply kept on turning as it always had. the world began to spin in a new direction. A direction that began to undo what had always been. The world began to revolved around a new life, a resurrected life, and resurrected Jesus, and the invitation to step into that life and resurrection.
You see, death became undone because of the resurrection, but first, to get to that resurrection, to turn in that new direction, to have a conversion on such a monumental, metaphysical, and deeply personal level, you first have to go to that death. You have to go into that grave.
And that’s where we’re going today- fun stuff, right! Maybe not fun, how about, fundamentally earth shattering, live changing, everything is different now kind of stuff!
Just as you cannot have Christianity without Christ, you cannot know or begin to understand the life, ministry, and mission of Jesus Christ without the cross. The cross was traditionally a sign of offensiveness, and we should not forget that. It’s a symbol of torture and death. It is the equivalent of putting a gallows or electric chair on our churches and around our necks. Some scholars know all too well this reality of the cross, and reject it.
In a recent book, “Proverbs of Ashes,” the writers find the death of Jesus repellent and hold that it sanctifies violence and submission to evil. They write “To say that Jesus’ executioners did what was historically necessary for salvation is to say that state terrorism is a good thing, that torture and murder are the will of God.” John Crossan adds that he sees the cross as the most unfortunately successful idea in the history of Christian thought. A few years ago it was even suggested that the cross be replaced as the preeminent symbol of Christianity. In its place was suggested a manger. This was offered because it depicted God as serene and vulnerable, and was simply more attractive to people. Even Will Ferrel’s character in “Taladega Nights” said he preferred to pray to little baby Jesus.
Well I agree that the manger is a wonderful symbol of our faith and think that there is certainly room for symbols other than the cross in the church. The manger wonderfully pictures his incarnation and birth. A star declares him the one who fashioned the universe. A fish embodies so much of what Jesus was about and what we are to be about as fishers of men. A cup and loaf of bread would help us to remember the last supper, that Jesus is the bread of life, that his blood is the cup of redemption and our cleaning. You could take an one of the many “I AM” statement of Jesus and use that to tell something about who he was- the vine, the shepherd, the spring of living water, the way the truth and the life, and more.
But the rejection of the cross is a sad misunderstanding of its meaning. Without the cross, without the shedding of blood, we don’t have a savior, without his resurrection, we don’t have a Lord. We have a great teacher, a miracle worker, a leader and a hero, we have so much to celebrate. But, without the cross and the resurrection we have another so called messiah, we have another charlatan who promised a better way, but didn’t follow through. Without the cross we still have the real problem of sin and evil and death in our world and in our lives. We still have a disconnect between us and God.
Perhaps some what to deny or clean up the cross so quickly because none the gospels dwell on a description of the crucifixion. But the absence of detail is not neglect, but rather, it is simply unnecessary. All that was needed were the words, “Jesus was crucified,” and the writers of the gospels conveyed to their first readers all they needed to know. They had heard the screams, they had watched men die, they had seen the bodies taken down and buried. This was a public event, and the public was all too familiar with the sign of the cross as one of rejection, pain, scorn, and shame. It was the lowliest death possible. To us seems like an off-handed remark to be skimmed over, was a reality of life Jesus’ day. And we know in shocking detail the reality of this death sentence.
Crucifixion was widely known throughout the ancient world. It’s practice stems back so far that some 1500 years earlier the book of Deuteronomy taught that crucifixion was such a heinous death that anyone who was crucified was cursed of God. The logic went that if anyone was crucified they must have been so evil, so wicked, their crimes so unforgivable, that they deserved this type of torture and death.
By the time of Jesus the Roman empire had begun to employ crucifixion widely. We are told such account as the 800 Pharisees who were crucified by Alexander Janneus in 76BC. The rebellions of Sparticus literally lined the Appian way with crosses.
Crucifixion was not done behind closed doors, that would betray the whole point of sending a message to the masses. No, this was the most public display. A man sentenced to crucifixion would be stripped down naked and beaten. A man would have his arms shackled above is head, helpless to move or protect himself in any way. The crucifier, one who job was to execute criminals in this fashion, would beat them with a whip fashioned of leather straps, weighted and lined with metal and bone fragments. The whip would come down across the victims shoulders, back, buttox and legs. The weights would literally tenderize the man like a chunk of dead meat. The straps would be drug across the flesh, stripping skin, then muscle, and even bone, until the victim was flayed while alive. They developed such skill at this that a phrase was coined, the 39 lashes. 40 would kill a person, so they could get them as close as possible to death with actually killing them. It is written that Jesus didn’t even look like a man after his flogging, that he was unrecognizable.
As if this wasn’t enough we know of the special treatment Jesus received. the mocking, the ridicule, the crown of thorns, pulling out his beard, covering his wounds with a robe, only to rip the robe off again.
The victim was then to carry their cross through the streets- again, a ritual of public humiliation and shame. One to the place of crucifixion the victim would be ropes and nailed to the cross. The spikes were driven through the hands, or more commonly the wrists, so the the flesh would not just tear away and allow the victim to fall from the cross. the cross was then dropped into a hole. The full weight of the victim hanging on those nails. Then, slowly, death would come. From blood lose, from coronary failure, most often from suffocation. If things were taking too long the legs would be broken, and the victim would lose their ability to support their weight, and to breath, and they would die.
In the case of Jesus, and in the fulfillment of prophesy, just at no bone was ever broken in the passover lamb, his legs were not broken. Instead, a spear was trust into his side, releasing a flow of blood and water, evidence that his heart and lungs had been run through.
When we endure the worst thing we can imagine, we call it excruciating It is from the word to crucify. There was nothing else like crucifixion. No other adjective would suffice to describe the pain. Many of you have seen the movie the passion. Many protested it a glorification of violence. it went too far, it showed too much. I’m into saying you need to see, but if you did see it, it doesn’t go too far. In fact, it doesn’t go far enough. For what he showed to us on a movie screen, we know, in it’s basic movements and presentation, actually happened.
You will occasionally hear stories that perhaps Jesus passed out, and in any case, he wasn’t really dead. This is simply unthinkable. If there was anything the Romans did well, they killed people. If the beating didn’t do it, the crucifixion would. If the crucifixion for some reason didn’t do it, being run through with a spear would finish the job. If being run through with a spear didn’t do it, try being wrapped up in a suffocating burial cloth, laid in a tomb, and shut off from the world. Although it certainly sounds odd to say this, you can rest assure that on Good Friday, Jesus was dead. He was really, truly, physically dead.
I remember in high school the first time I heard the story of the cross spelled out in great detail, sparing none of the blood, betrayal, or brutal honestly of the event. As a Christian listening to that I began to get very angry with all the people who participated in the crucifixion. I was mad at Judas for betraying Jesus. I was mad at Peter for deny him. I was mad at Herod, and Pilate, and the religious leaders. Why did they kill my Lord? I found myself even being to get mad at Jesus. Why didn’t you call down those legions of angels, I thought to myself, those people deserved it. Why did you have to die, those people deserved to die!
But as I grow in my faith, in my understanding of myself and the human condition, I’ve come to understand more and more: I’m those people. How often have I betrayed my savior with my words and actions? How often have I denied Him when I should have spoken boldly? How often have I tried to pass the buck of responsibility? The truth is, my sins put Jesus on that cross every bit as much as those peoples did. I needed something that I couldn’t provide for myself. I needed a savior.
We don’t like to admit that we need a savior. It goes against our nature, and it really goes against our Western ideals. We do not like to believe that we deserve condemnation. We don’t think our sins are all that bad. We hold on to the hope that somehow we’ll be good enough. Somehow we’ll earn God’s favor. And yet all of us, in our rare moments of honesty with ourselves, admit that we are helpless.
The story of the cross isn’t one of those people and the things they did to Jesus. It’s the story of Jesus, and what he did for us people. Paul puts it this way in Ephesians:
“God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us, even though we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ so that you who were once far off have been brought near in the blood of Christ.”
In his blood we are washed clean and our sins atoned for. In his blood, we, who were far from God, have been brought near. We, who were strangers to God because of our sin, can be called the children of God.
Easter isn’t primarily about believing in Jesus and the cross.
You see, Easter is about Jesus believing in you!
It’s about Jesus believing in the good plan of his Father in heaven.
Believing that there really is a penalty to be paid.
Believing the world was worth it and shouldn’t go to hell.
Believing in the ones who would put their faith in him!
You need to understand this. The cross is not a cosmic crap shoot. It is not the sad sacrifice of a God who was at his wits end and did not know what to do with people who kept turning from him, who kept turning to sin, who kept messing everything up. It is not the pitiable death of a disillusioned deity whose real plan for redemption backfired. Jesus is not at the mercy of his betrayer and deserters and captors and accusers and crucifiers! Jesus did not go the cross hoping maybe this would do something about sin. Jesus did not go to the cross hoping maybe this will somehow fix death.
The cross was not an accident! His death did not mess up the plan. This is not plan B. You see, sin messed up the plan! Death messed up the plan! A broken relationship with God messed up the plan. The plan was for a life in communion with God. The plan was for a life that never tasted death.
All of this, all that we’ve looked at, is part of the plan to get us back on that track. Jesus prayed to the Father in preparation for the cross. Jesus prayed for those he said would believe in Him. Jesus told Peter to put down his sword. Jesus let himself be handed over to the soldiers. Jesus did not defend his rights when he was wrongly accused. Jesus said in no uncertain terms that he laid down his life on his own terms.
He declared that no one took his life from him but that he gave it willingly.
He died knowing he was going to battle the gates of hell.
He died knowing he would rise from the grave before he was dead.
He did knowing his followers would launch his church and change the world.
If you are here today, if you are hearing these words, if you have been on this journey of faith, then I can only conclude that Jesus died believing in you. Believing that his death would actually bring you life. He died knowing you.
Knowing you inside and out, from before your birth, to this very moment, to what you will be one day. He knows you better than you know yourself. He died believing in you.
He died as the passover lamb, the perfect one. The one who would fulfill the plan for redemption and reconciliation with God. He died as the lamb to pay the price of our sins and to begin righting all the wrongs of the world. he died to conquer the grave and conquer death so we would have life. He goes where we could not go to do what we could not do to be what we could not be but what all of us need.
To be our savior, and to be our Lord.
Jeremy Riddle - Sweetly Broken
To the cross I look, to the cross I cling
Of its suffering I do drink
Of its work I do sing
For on it my Savior both bruised and crushed
Showed that God is love
And God is just
Chorus:
At the cross You beckon me
You draw me gently to my knees, and I am
Lost for words, so lost in love,
I’m sweetly broken, wholly surrendered
What a priceless gift, undeserved life
Have I been given
Through Christ crucified
You’ve called me out of death
You’ve called me into life
And I was under Your wrath
Now through the cross I’m reconciled
Chorus:
In awe of the cross I must confess
How wondrous Your redeeming love and
How great is Your faithfulness
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Blood, Bath & Beyond: Palm Sunday
This series is all about the great beyond- the promise of Ester, which is nothing less than life after death. Eternal life. Life with God through Jesus Christ. To get there we have to go through a bath. We need to get washed clean of our sins and the sins that have been committed against us. We have to get washed and made right with God. To get there, to get clean, we have to go through the blood. We have to get bloody, and nasty and honest and real. Folks, this is going to be one awesome adventure! It about blood, a bath, and even beyond.
We are going with Jesus through the last week in his life and ministry. We will walk with him as his ministry came to a head, to the pivotal point of his life, and the history of our world. We will go with him through his entry in the Holy city of Jerusalem to celebrate the passover week. There he cleansed the temple. There is taught the final lessons and gave his last instructions and shared his final encouragement's. There he was anointed for his death. He celebrated passover but infused it with new meaning as he was about to fulfill the promise of passover. He began to talk about himself as the lamb, sacrificed so that other might live. He talk about his blood washing the people clean from their sins. Then there was his betrayal. His trial. His torture. His crucifixion. He death and burial. And finally, his resurrection. That’s where we’re going, but to get there, we have to go through the blood.
Let's start with the entry into the Holy City. Matthew 21:1-11
I used to lead an outreach to an inner city school where we, as a church, were invited to run an after school program once a week. We got to play, do crafts and teach the kids a bible story. I was the bible story guy. It was tons of fun. Every year at Christmas I’d involve the kids in telling the story. At first I ask they what Christmas is and it was all Santa and reindeer and presents and stuff. But I’d ask them what it’s REALLY about, they they got it. Oh, the Jesus stuff- Mary and Joseph and a manger and a baby and shepherds and angels and wise men and gifts and a star... They got it. They would start telling all the parts, and I’d help them put it all together. Tons of fun.
Then we got to Easter. Same thing. Tell me about it. Bunnies and eggs. That was pretty much all it was about. But don’t forget the all you can eat brunch at the Cracker Barrel- note to everyone- go to the cracker barrel next time you travel through the states. Then come back and just tell me thanks you- that will be enough. But, then I’d ask what’s Easter really about. They didn’t really get what I was asking. They didn’t really know there was another story, a deeper story, a story not based in fantasy and superstition, but on historical fact. They didn’t really make the connection of Easter to Jesus. And, so it is now for most of the world, that we don’t really make the connection.
Now I’m not going to gripe about this, it is what it is. But it’s vital that we understand this- even if we get Christmas right, even if we remember all the parts and put the whole story together, we still don’t even have half the picture of Jesus.
Let me explain. Today we celebrate what we call Palm Sunday, or Passion Sunday, in the church. This marks the beginning of the last week of Jesus’ life as the Bible tells it. And get this- all four of the gospels, the four books that teach about the life of Jesus, Matthew Mark Luke and John, all four spend at least 25 %, one quarter of their books talking about the events that happened in the last week of Jesus’ life. John, the last Gospel, spends more than half of his book the last week of Jesus’ life. All together, we could say that nearly a third of what we know about Jesus- what happened to him, what he taught, what others said about him, what he did- comes from the final week of his life.
If we want to get the real Jesus right, we have to get this week right. Without this week, we have a lot, don;t be mistaken. Jesus is as a great teacher, a miracle worker with a miraculous birth, a great leader with a great following, a man of compassion who healed the sick and fed the poor and comforted the afflicted. A man who began to change an entire nation. You could take his life so far and you would have a real role model, a hero. You could legitimately ask the question, what would Jesus do? IN fact, it really only makes sense to ask that question if we remove the miraculous birth and this last week. We don;t have the option of being born fully God, fully human. We’re just fully human. And as for this last week, well, we don;t want to do what Jesus did the last week of his life. We can’t do what Jesus did the last week of his life. We could go through the motions I suppose, we could end up dead. But our death would not pay the price of our sins, let alone the sins of the world. Our death would not lead us to resurrection.
No, this last week truly, definitely, once and for all, sets Jesus apart for the mission only he could fulfill. Take away this last week, and you don’t have a savior. You don;t have a resurrection. You don;t have life after death. And if you take that stuff away, well, you lose the engine that drives our faith, the hope that sustains is, the love that God offers to us.
This week begin with a Jesus’ journey into the Holy city of Jerusalem. The city was beginning to swarm with Jews and God-fearers from around the known world. Not only would the nation gather, but people from other nations would make their pilgrimage to celebrate the Passover and the week of unleavened bread. There much that can be said to fully grasp what is happening- Israel in under house arrest with Rome as the power. The natives are restless, revolution is in the air. The crowd that gathered was not some ticker-tack parade, but was more like a swarming mob. A mob ready for blood. A mob ready to make Jesus their leader if he would lead them to victory. They have come together to celebrate the passover.
And when we understand the passover, it makes perfect sense why there is electricity in the air and revolution on everyone's lips. For the passover is all about justice, revolution, deliverance, it’s about coming into a Promised Land. It’s bloody. It’s gross. But underneath it all it points to a cleansing, and it points to something beyond the horizon. Blood, bath, and beyond- that’s what Passover is about. And that’s what Easter is about.
The Passover Celebration was the most Holy of all the Jewish festivals. Centuries earlier God’s chosen people ended up in Egypt. At first they were the welcomed guests, the toast of the town even. But things change over time. They wore out their welcome. The guests grew in number and just their presence became a threat to the religion and government of the nation. It was all part of God’s greater plan for the redemption of the world. In Egypt the nation of Israel would learn what was to be the greatest lesson of their lives- the horrors of slavery and oppression, and God’s promise to bring freedom and life.
After 430 years the captors began killing the slave babies. The people cried out, and God heard their cry for a savior. He sent them the most unlikely of characters. He sent them Moses. After a great escape from the holocaust of baby boys, Moses was raised sleeping in the enemies house. In time he found himself torn- despised by his own people, rejected by the powers, he lashed out, he murdered, and he fled to the desert. To the land where he would eventually lead his people.
God called him to deliver Israel. And so, Moses returned. After performing wonders and miracles through the power of God, it was time for the final performance. It was going to be a bloodbath. And angel of death was going to pass over the land, looking for blood, taking every first born male from every family. The only way to save the children was to make a sacrifice in advance. Each family was to take a lamb without blemish or flaw, to sacrifice it, to paint the doorposts of their house in blood, to roast the meat and eat it in haste. Than night, when the angel came over the land, he would not visit any home where he saw the blood over the door frame. When he passed by he would simple pass over those homes. But wherever they was no blood...well, you know what they say about payback, right?
That night all of Egypt cried out with weeping and wailing and loud laments. Now they no longer worked to keep Israel their slaves, now they wanted them out of the land- the sooner the better. And so, Moses began their journey back into freedom, back into the Promised land. There they would worship God, and they would be his people. A Holy nation, a nation of priests, a nation of people in relationship with God. A nation who would always remember this, what was to be the pivotal moment, the pivotal experience of their lives. A season they were to never forget, always remember, teach to their children. This was the passover.
It was part of God’s plan. But all of this was pointing towards a better way. A way God had been pointing to ever since the moment Adam and Even sinned against God and brought sin into the world and into every human life to follow. God said I’ve been pointing this way since I called Abram back to the Promised land. I’ve been pointing this way since I lead you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery and oppression. I’ve been pointing this way even when you messed up in the Promised Land and you went into exile in Babylon. I’ve been pointing you this way year after year, sacrifice after sacrifice, priest after priest, prophet after prophet, king after king. I’ve been pointing you this way, preparing you this way, leading you this way, and it all points to Jesus.
And all of Jesus’ life points to what is about to unfold this week. The prophesies fulfilled and the parallels with the Exodus story are uncanny, and unmistakable. His birth- he was saved from a holocaust when his parents fled to Egypt. He came out of egypt and back into the Promised land. He was baptized in the Jordan river. His cousin John called him the lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. He was going to become the atoning sacrifice for our sins. He had to. He was the only one who could. He, perfect and blameless, would step in on our behalf. Only someone without sin could be qualified to make such an audacious claim- to be the sacrifice for the world. Only Jesus could make that claim. Only Jesus. The savior. That is what we are going to talk about next Sunday- how does Jesus, on the cross, become our atoning sacrifice?
Jesus- the very name means, The Lord Saves. He will save us- he will save us from this dead end religious system that repeats year after year, sin after sin. He will be the one to point us in a new direction, a new relationship. He will be the one who will make the sacrifice once and for all that will make us right with God.
What do we do with Palm Sunday? Palm Sunday is about Jesus coming into the fulfillment of his mission- to become the savior of the world.
Holy Week is about our need for a savior. It’s about crying our to God, Hossana, save us. It’s about examining what our hopes are, what we believe, what we desire, and from what do we need saved?
Because we all need saved. What do you need saved from?
Guilt and shame...
Sadness...
Boredom...
Lost...
Sin and Death! What we all ultimately need.
Today we want to give you guide for reading through Holy Week. If you have never read the bible before, if you have never prayed before or done devotions before, I challenge you, this week, give this a try. See what this can do for you and your family. Experience what happens when everyday we put our focus on Jesus.
This week we want to walk you through the last week of Jesus. We walk to walk you through each major event. We want to walk you through the last night Jesus has with his disciples. We want to walk you through his betrayal, his trial, his torture, his crucifixion, his burial, his death. We don’t want you to skip to the good stuff, don’t jump all the way to Easter and the resurrection. The good stuff is coming. Victory is coming. Freedom is coming. Life is coming. New light is coming.
We are going with Jesus through the last week in his life and ministry. We will walk with him as his ministry came to a head, to the pivotal point of his life, and the history of our world. We will go with him through his entry in the Holy city of Jerusalem to celebrate the passover week. There he cleansed the temple. There is taught the final lessons and gave his last instructions and shared his final encouragement's. There he was anointed for his death. He celebrated passover but infused it with new meaning as he was about to fulfill the promise of passover. He began to talk about himself as the lamb, sacrificed so that other might live. He talk about his blood washing the people clean from their sins. Then there was his betrayal. His trial. His torture. His crucifixion. He death and burial. And finally, his resurrection. That’s where we’re going, but to get there, we have to go through the blood.
Let's start with the entry into the Holy City. Matthew 21:1-11
1As they approached Jerusalem and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, 2saying to them, "Go to the village ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied there, with her colt by her. Untie them and bring them to me. 3If anyone says anything to you, tell him that the Lord needs them, and he will send them right away."4This took place to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
5"Say to the Daughter of Zion,
'See, your king comes to you,
gentle and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.' "6The disciples went and did as Jesus had instructed them. 7They brought the donkey and the colt, placed their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. 8A very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted,
"Hosanna to the Son of David!"
"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"
"Hosanna in the highest!"10When Jesus entered Jerusalem, the whole city was stirred and asked, "Who is this?"
11The crowds answered, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee."
I used to lead an outreach to an inner city school where we, as a church, were invited to run an after school program once a week. We got to play, do crafts and teach the kids a bible story. I was the bible story guy. It was tons of fun. Every year at Christmas I’d involve the kids in telling the story. At first I ask they what Christmas is and it was all Santa and reindeer and presents and stuff. But I’d ask them what it’s REALLY about, they they got it. Oh, the Jesus stuff- Mary and Joseph and a manger and a baby and shepherds and angels and wise men and gifts and a star... They got it. They would start telling all the parts, and I’d help them put it all together. Tons of fun.
Then we got to Easter. Same thing. Tell me about it. Bunnies and eggs. That was pretty much all it was about. But don’t forget the all you can eat brunch at the Cracker Barrel- note to everyone- go to the cracker barrel next time you travel through the states. Then come back and just tell me thanks you- that will be enough. But, then I’d ask what’s Easter really about. They didn’t really get what I was asking. They didn’t really know there was another story, a deeper story, a story not based in fantasy and superstition, but on historical fact. They didn’t really make the connection of Easter to Jesus. And, so it is now for most of the world, that we don’t really make the connection.
Now I’m not going to gripe about this, it is what it is. But it’s vital that we understand this- even if we get Christmas right, even if we remember all the parts and put the whole story together, we still don’t even have half the picture of Jesus.
Let me explain. Today we celebrate what we call Palm Sunday, or Passion Sunday, in the church. This marks the beginning of the last week of Jesus’ life as the Bible tells it. And get this- all four of the gospels, the four books that teach about the life of Jesus, Matthew Mark Luke and John, all four spend at least 25 %, one quarter of their books talking about the events that happened in the last week of Jesus’ life. John, the last Gospel, spends more than half of his book the last week of Jesus’ life. All together, we could say that nearly a third of what we know about Jesus- what happened to him, what he taught, what others said about him, what he did- comes from the final week of his life.
If we want to get the real Jesus right, we have to get this week right. Without this week, we have a lot, don;t be mistaken. Jesus is as a great teacher, a miracle worker with a miraculous birth, a great leader with a great following, a man of compassion who healed the sick and fed the poor and comforted the afflicted. A man who began to change an entire nation. You could take his life so far and you would have a real role model, a hero. You could legitimately ask the question, what would Jesus do? IN fact, it really only makes sense to ask that question if we remove the miraculous birth and this last week. We don;t have the option of being born fully God, fully human. We’re just fully human. And as for this last week, well, we don;t want to do what Jesus did the last week of his life. We can’t do what Jesus did the last week of his life. We could go through the motions I suppose, we could end up dead. But our death would not pay the price of our sins, let alone the sins of the world. Our death would not lead us to resurrection.
No, this last week truly, definitely, once and for all, sets Jesus apart for the mission only he could fulfill. Take away this last week, and you don’t have a savior. You don;t have a resurrection. You don;t have life after death. And if you take that stuff away, well, you lose the engine that drives our faith, the hope that sustains is, the love that God offers to us.
This week begin with a Jesus’ journey into the Holy city of Jerusalem. The city was beginning to swarm with Jews and God-fearers from around the known world. Not only would the nation gather, but people from other nations would make their pilgrimage to celebrate the Passover and the week of unleavened bread. There much that can be said to fully grasp what is happening- Israel in under house arrest with Rome as the power. The natives are restless, revolution is in the air. The crowd that gathered was not some ticker-tack parade, but was more like a swarming mob. A mob ready for blood. A mob ready to make Jesus their leader if he would lead them to victory. They have come together to celebrate the passover.
And when we understand the passover, it makes perfect sense why there is electricity in the air and revolution on everyone's lips. For the passover is all about justice, revolution, deliverance, it’s about coming into a Promised Land. It’s bloody. It’s gross. But underneath it all it points to a cleansing, and it points to something beyond the horizon. Blood, bath, and beyond- that’s what Passover is about. And that’s what Easter is about.
The Passover Celebration was the most Holy of all the Jewish festivals. Centuries earlier God’s chosen people ended up in Egypt. At first they were the welcomed guests, the toast of the town even. But things change over time. They wore out their welcome. The guests grew in number and just their presence became a threat to the religion and government of the nation. It was all part of God’s greater plan for the redemption of the world. In Egypt the nation of Israel would learn what was to be the greatest lesson of their lives- the horrors of slavery and oppression, and God’s promise to bring freedom and life.
After 430 years the captors began killing the slave babies. The people cried out, and God heard their cry for a savior. He sent them the most unlikely of characters. He sent them Moses. After a great escape from the holocaust of baby boys, Moses was raised sleeping in the enemies house. In time he found himself torn- despised by his own people, rejected by the powers, he lashed out, he murdered, and he fled to the desert. To the land where he would eventually lead his people.
God called him to deliver Israel. And so, Moses returned. After performing wonders and miracles through the power of God, it was time for the final performance. It was going to be a bloodbath. And angel of death was going to pass over the land, looking for blood, taking every first born male from every family. The only way to save the children was to make a sacrifice in advance. Each family was to take a lamb without blemish or flaw, to sacrifice it, to paint the doorposts of their house in blood, to roast the meat and eat it in haste. Than night, when the angel came over the land, he would not visit any home where he saw the blood over the door frame. When he passed by he would simple pass over those homes. But wherever they was no blood...well, you know what they say about payback, right?
That night all of Egypt cried out with weeping and wailing and loud laments. Now they no longer worked to keep Israel their slaves, now they wanted them out of the land- the sooner the better. And so, Moses began their journey back into freedom, back into the Promised land. There they would worship God, and they would be his people. A Holy nation, a nation of priests, a nation of people in relationship with God. A nation who would always remember this, what was to be the pivotal moment, the pivotal experience of their lives. A season they were to never forget, always remember, teach to their children. This was the passover.
It was part of God’s plan. But all of this was pointing towards a better way. A way God had been pointing to ever since the moment Adam and Even sinned against God and brought sin into the world and into every human life to follow. God said I’ve been pointing this way since I called Abram back to the Promised land. I’ve been pointing this way since I lead you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery and oppression. I’ve been pointing this way even when you messed up in the Promised Land and you went into exile in Babylon. I’ve been pointing you this way year after year, sacrifice after sacrifice, priest after priest, prophet after prophet, king after king. I’ve been pointing you this way, preparing you this way, leading you this way, and it all points to Jesus.
And all of Jesus’ life points to what is about to unfold this week. The prophesies fulfilled and the parallels with the Exodus story are uncanny, and unmistakable. His birth- he was saved from a holocaust when his parents fled to Egypt. He came out of egypt and back into the Promised land. He was baptized in the Jordan river. His cousin John called him the lamb of God who would take away the sins of the world. He was going to become the atoning sacrifice for our sins. He had to. He was the only one who could. He, perfect and blameless, would step in on our behalf. Only someone without sin could be qualified to make such an audacious claim- to be the sacrifice for the world. Only Jesus could make that claim. Only Jesus. The savior. That is what we are going to talk about next Sunday- how does Jesus, on the cross, become our atoning sacrifice?
Jesus- the very name means, The Lord Saves. He will save us- he will save us from this dead end religious system that repeats year after year, sin after sin. He will be the one to point us in a new direction, a new relationship. He will be the one who will make the sacrifice once and for all that will make us right with God.
What do we do with Palm Sunday? Palm Sunday is about Jesus coming into the fulfillment of his mission- to become the savior of the world.
Holy Week is about our need for a savior. It’s about crying our to God, Hossana, save us. It’s about examining what our hopes are, what we believe, what we desire, and from what do we need saved?
Because we all need saved. What do you need saved from?
Guilt and shame...
Sadness...
Boredom...
Lost...
Sin and Death! What we all ultimately need.
Today we want to give you guide for reading through Holy Week. If you have never read the bible before, if you have never prayed before or done devotions before, I challenge you, this week, give this a try. See what this can do for you and your family. Experience what happens when everyday we put our focus on Jesus.
This week we want to walk you through the last week of Jesus. We walk to walk you through each major event. We want to walk you through the last night Jesus has with his disciples. We want to walk you through his betrayal, his trial, his torture, his crucifixion, his burial, his death. We don’t want you to skip to the good stuff, don’t jump all the way to Easter and the resurrection. The good stuff is coming. Victory is coming. Freedom is coming. Life is coming. New light is coming.
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