Whenever I begin teaching my confirmation students the Bible, I always start with Genesis chapter 1 verse 1. That verse reads, “In the beginning when God created the heaven and the earth...” I ask them, “Who is the subject of this sentence?” Immediately, someone will yell out, “God!”
And I say, “That’s right. God is the subject of the first sentence of the Bible. The first sentence of the Bible tells us who the entire book is about. The Bible is about God. Now, are we the subject of the Bible?”
The kids usually have to think about this for a moment or two, but the general consensus then becomes, “No.”
And I say, “That’s right. We are not the subject of the Bible. Now, we can certainly find ourselves in the story of the Bible. We can certainly relate to things in the Bible. There are certain things in the Bible that apply to us, but at the end of all of this, the Bible is not about us. The Bible is about God.”
As Paul finishes out his letter to the Romans, he wants to bring everyone back to this basic fact. When all is said and done; when all the chips are laid on the table; when all the facts are made known, ultimately anything and everything about the Christian life comes back to God. Anything and everything about the Christian proclamation is about God and his wonderful, marvelous, overwhelming, action in and through Jesus Christ.
Paul finishes with a sentence that would have made his grammar teacher turn over in her grave. Paul runs things on and on and on as he seeks to bring folks to a place where they will give honor and glory to God. Listen to the words once again: “25 Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages 26but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith— 27to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory for ever! Amen.”
Paul indicates that God is working to strengthen us according to the Gospel and the proclamation of Jesus. There are those who would like to say that Christianity is simply about enduring this life for a little while so that we can experience the true life of the world to come. They accuse Christians of ignoring the here and now and simply focusing on heaven, but this is not what Paul is indicating here. Paul is not talking about heavenly strength. He is talking about a strength that takes place here and now; a strength that can embolden us in this world; a strength that empowers us to truly live a life of freedom and joy. How is such a thing possible? I mean, when you look at much of the world today–including the Christian world, do we see such freedom? Do we see such joy? Do we see such strength? Maybe. But mostly not. Perhaps we need constant reminder of how the gospel of Jesus Christ strengthens us.
First, it says that we are sinners. This is the fundamental, basic starting point of the Gospel. We are all broken. We all fall short of the glory of God. We are all in need of a savior. This doesn’t quite seem like it is a position of strength. How can admitting that we are sinful be a position of strength? It seems like we are admitting weakness. It seems like we are admitting that we are flawed. It seems like we are admitting that we are in need.
And, indeed we are. But this is actually a point of strength. How? I remember watching “Spiderman” long ago, and the main villain in the movie has a potent line. The villain says, “The one thing people love more than a hero is to watch that hero fall, fail, die trying.” There is some truth to that statement. We admire someone who rises to the top, but we also become enamored in the drama of watching others trying to displace the person at the top. Why do you think we become so enamored with what goes on in politics? Why do you think we get so wrapped up in our candidates? Who will become strongest? Who will last? And who will find your opponent’s fatal flaw? Who will find the unforgivable sin? What story of brokenness will be used to topple the king of the hill?
But what if you are unafraid of your brokenness? What if you are unafraid of your flaws? What if you admit, honestly admit that you are a broken, flawed, sinful individual? What if someone comes up to you and says, “Aha! I heard you cuss the other day, and you shouldn’t do that! I’m going to tell everyone about what you did!” And you respond, “Yes, you are right. I have failed. I am flawed. I acknowledge this beyond a shadow of a doubt. Go ahead, tell everyone that I miss the mark.” What does anyone have over you then? What can anyone use against you? You’ve already admitted your weakness. You’ve already admitted your sin. No one can use it against you! When we admit that we are flawed, broken, sinful beings, we are free from the tyranny of having to be perfect people living perfect lives. We are freed from spending time, energy, and money trying to hide our imperfections. We are freed from hypocrisy for we readily admit that we do not do that which we ought to do. There is great freedom in admitting that one is flawed and imperfect.
Yet, one must be careful–so very careful. Because if you spend all of your time thinking that you are imperfect and flawed, you can become very, very depressed. You can become so wrapped up in your weakness that you grovel and wallow in sorrow. You can become so caught up in the doom and gloom that you think of yourself as a victim of karma, cosmic justice, or pure, bad luck. You are like Charlie Brown having just hung that ornament on that scrawny little tree and watching that tree bend over unable to bear the weight of that glass ball. You look up and say, “I broke it. I’ve ruined Christmas.”
Ah, but the gospel offers a strong corrective here. It reminds you that in spite of your brokenness; in spite of your flaws; in spite of your failures; in spite of the fact that you have fallen short of the glory of God, you are deeply, wonderfully, marvelously loved. For the God of the universe came down to earth to die for you. The God of the universe took on human flesh and gave Himself in your place so that you would not receive punishment for your sin. The God of the universe braved the fires of hell; braved the wrath of God on your behalf–certainly not because you were perfect and good, but because He is good. When you remember this amazing grace, you ascend from the depths of depression, sorrow, and victim-hood to claim your status as a beloved child of God–a daughter or son of the Most High. To know this status indeed brings strength!
Oh, and when you know that your worth and value comes from God and God alone, you find freedom. You find glorious freedom. I know that a lot of you Astros fans are still riding high from their first World Series win. It’s an awesome feeling when the team that you support wins the championship. But do you remember what it was like only a few short years ago? Do you remember what it was like when the Astros were in last place? What if you got your self-worth and value from how the Astros did? What if your every emotion hinged upon whether or not they won or lost? Sure, it feels good now, but what about when the cycle reverses? You see, when your value and self worth is tied to anything, you stand a very good chance of finding yourself high one minute and down low the next minute. If your value is tied to your stock portfolio, right now, you are feeling very good about yourself, but in 2009, you probably weren’t feeling very great. And if you really, really think about it, you are enslaved to where you get your value. You are completely dependent upon it for your satisfaction and worth. But when you get your value from God–you are freed from such things. Nothing in this world has control over you anymore. Talk about amazing strength!!
And so, your ego finds itself going neither too high–because you know that you are flawed–nor too low–because you are deeply loved. The good news of Jesus Christ makes you humble and strong all at the same time, and it brings you incredible freedom.
But we are not done yet! For there is more to the story that must be told. There is even more strength that comes! For we also know that we have a sure and certain hope! We know that God has an ultimate destination for our lives! This is very important to realize because, as C3PO said in Star Wars, “It seems to be our lot in life to suffer.” Indeed, it is. It is our lot in life to suffer. Everyone sooner or later suffers. We suffer the pain of broken relationships. We suffer the pain of betrayal. We suffer the pain of illness. We suffer the pain of job loss. We suffer the pain of broken expectations. We suffer the pain of injury. We suffer the pain of our bodies breaking down. We suffer the pain of death. Life is full of suffering. Life is full of injustice. Life is full of things that sometimes do not make any sense to us.
But God strengthens us through the power of the resurrection! God strengthens us by showing that His kingdom is breaking into the world. Jesus is the first fruits of that kingdom raised from death to life. For the resurrection shows that God will unmake all the evil that has ever befallen us. God will reverse all injustice, pain, suffering, and even death. When God’s kingdom arrives in its fullness, we will have a new heaven and a new earth and a new body. We will be in the presence of God, and He will wipe every tear from every eye. Suffering no longer leads us to despair. We may question it. We may raise our fist in anger against it. We will work to alleviate it, but it no longer devastates us for we now know God’s ultimate plan for our lives. We know that God’s plan is to make all things new. We have a sure and certain hope, and that hope gives us strength!
Put all of those things together. Know that this mystery remained hidden for a long, long time, but now it has been revealed. Now it has been made known to all the world. It has now been passed down to us through the writings of scripture, and it comes to us–to our very hearts. This is what God has done. This is what God does for us through Jesus Christ. It is nothing less than amazing. It is nothing less than wonderful. It is nothing less than fantastic! This is the God we come together to serve and worship and give glory and honor to. This is the one God who saves by grace. This is the one God who reveals true wisdom–a wisdom that is so contrary to the way the world works! This is the God revealed to us in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.
Have you been grasped by this Gospel? Has this good news sunk deep down into your soul? If it has, you know that there is only one thing to do. Give glory to God! Raise your voice in song to God! Tell everyone what God has done!! So ends the book of Romans–with a call for all of us to give such glory, praise and worship to our God. May His work in Jesus Christ grasp us through and through. Amen.
Showing posts with label freedom. Show all posts
Showing posts with label freedom. Show all posts
Monday, December 11, 2017
Monday, February 1, 2016
Submitting to Authority
I remember working for the YMCA afterschool program during two of my years at seminary. I was part of a staff that supervised children until their parents got off work and picked the kids up. Inevitably, once a month or so, a kid would look me in the eye after I told them to do something and say, “You can’t tell me what to do. You are not my parent!”
If you’ve ever worked in a situation with kids, you’ve probably been told the same thing. It’s a question of authority. The kid is basically saying, “You don’t have authority over me. You don’t have the authority to tell me what to do.”
My response was pretty simple. I’d look that kid straight in the eye and say, “Yep, you are right. I am not your parent, but your parents paid me a lot of money to look after you and make sure you are safe. Therefore, you will listen to me, and if you don’t like it, we will go and call your parents right now.” That response always did the trick. Never even had to pick up the phone.
Jesus didn’t necessarily have that luxury. When His authority was questioned, He had to resort to quite a different method, but it was a method that worked.
Jesus and His disciples returned to the temple the day after Jesus upset the apple cart by turning over the tables of the money changers and those selling sacrificial animals. Remember, in the last two weeks, I explained how the chief priests had sought to tap into the lucrative market for selling such animals. They had allowed merchants to set up in the only available space in the temple–the courtyard of the Gentiles thereby excluding the Gentiles from worshiping the one, true God. Jesus exposed them for their blatant disregard of the commandments of God, their greed, and their desire to have the safety, security, and freedom that money can buy. Jesus showed how the deepest desire of their hearts was not to introduce people to the God of Israel, but the god of wealth and riches. But in exposing this, Jesus had crossed several man-made boundaries.
You see, when it came to activities done within the Temple, everything was cleared or sanctioned by the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. This group collectively was called the Sanhedrin. Craig Evans says this about them in his biblical commentary, “The Sanhedrin had a broader legislative and judicial jurisdiction but the high priest and his ranking priestly associates possessed ultimate authority on the Temple Mount, an authority to which in many respects even the Romans deferred.” Think about that for a second. The Sanhedrin exercised such control over the temple grounds that even the Roman occupying forces generally left them alone. That’s quite a bit of power. That’s a lot of power, actually.
And the Sanhedrin exercised that power to the extent that they could literally take another person’s life for violating the temple rules. Remember a couple of weeks ago, I spoke about a sign that was hung on the wall separating the Gentiles area of worship from the Jewish areas of worship. That sign was printed in Greek, Aramaic, and Latin, and it read, “No foreigner may enter within the railing and enclosure that surround the Temple. Anyone apprehended shall have himself to blame for his consequent death.” Nowhere that I know of in our nation is such a thing practiced. I mean, I’ve known of situations in churches where people got really upset for moving a baptismal font or scandalized because someone suggested changing the color scheme or what have you, but I know of no church where someone was put to death for stepping on a particular rule. The Sanhedrin could do exactly that!!
And Jesus didn’t exactly consult with the Sanhedrin when He entered into the temple and upset the marketplace. Jesus didn’t consult with the Sanhedrin when He walked around the temple and taught people in the temple. Jesus wasn’t following the proper procedures. He hadn’t gotten permission. So, a contingent from the Sanhdrin confronted Him. “By what authority are you doing these things? By whose authority are you doing these things?”
At this point, you might wonder why the Sanhedrin was even asking these questions. I mean, if they wielded so much power, why didn’t they just arrest Jesus and get it over with. Remember, this was the festival of the Passover. The city of Jerusalem was crowded with pilgrims there to celebrate. Jesus had endeared Himself to that crowd by his actions, so the Sanhedrin was afraid of the crowd. They were afraid that if they did arrest Jesus, a riot would ensue. If a riot ensued, then the Romans, who usually stayed out of temple business, would make it their business and perhaps remove them from power. Fear is a tremendous motivator, and it causes you to be cautious. The Sanhedrin was being very cautious hoping to trap Jesus with this question. Again, we turn to Craig Evans for some insight here. Evans says, “Either Jesus admitted his conduct was unauthorized, which would have made him publically vulnerable, or he claimed a right superseding that of the ruling priests, a claim that would have made him politically vulnerable. In either case, his conduct would then have provided a basis for a more formal proceeding against him, without fear of the crowd.”
Jesus, of course, sees through the trap. He knows the game. But Jesus is a rabbi. He is a teacher. Everyone knows that, so in true rabbinic fashion, Jesus sets up a counterquestion. “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.” Jesus actually assumes a position of power when He asks this question. The question itself is bad enough, but when Jesus says, “Answer me!!” it really comes across as borderline disrespectful. It’s almost as though Jesus holds the Sanhedrin in contempt. But there is a method to Jesus’ madness. There is a reason behind what He says, and we will see that momentarily.
The representatives from the Sanhedrin begin arguing amongst themselves. This is a very interesting comment that Mark includes. I mean, think about this for just a second. How would Mark know the inner discussions and inner arguments of this group of people? They would not have argued this aloud because it would have been quite embarrassing. How did Mark know what was said? I want you to understand that Jesus did gain a following amongst those who had been on the Sanhedrin. Mark tells us at the end of his Gospel that a respected member of the council, Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus after the crucifixion and put it in his tomb. Mark reports that Joseph of Arimathea was a secret follower of Jesus. In all likelihood, we have the testimony of Joseph or another like him about these deliberations. That’s kind of a side note, but I think a rather neat one.
These deliberations are important though. They show us what the Sanhedrin is really concerned about. We will actually deal with what they deliberate backwards because the former needs a little bit more attention than the latter. The Sanhedrin does not want to say that John the Baptist was not from God because everyone believed John was a prophet. The entire crowd would have stoned this group in a heart beat if they would have denied John’s calling. Fear kept them from going down that route.
Which only left them one other alternative. They would have had to admit that John’s teaching was indeed from divine origin. They don’t want to do that because they know Jesus will respond, “Well, then why didn’t you believe him?” This is where we must take a little bit of time because we need to understand what John the Baptist was proclaiming. John the Baptist was not just proclaiming, “Turn your life around. Get right with God.” That’s only part of what John was about. Let’s turn back several chapters in the book of Mark and hear once again the proclamation of John the Baptist:
From Mark chapter 1: 4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
John’s proclamation centered on Jesus as the promised Messiah. John’s proclamation pointed to Jesus!!! If the Sanhedrin admitted that John’s ministry came from God, then they must admit that Jesus is from God as well!! They must admit that Jesus is the Messiah!! They must admit that Jesus’ authority supersedes their authority and that everything Jesus did in the Temple was by divine right!!!
And there was no way on God’s, green earth they were going to do that. There was no way they were going to admit that this Jesus who had just exposed them for the frauds they were, was indeed from God. Their pride was too full. Their self-righteousness was too great. They were not going to allow this upstart to dethrone them from their positions of power and prestige and wealth. They were not going to admit that Jesus had more authority than they did.
And so they copped out. They took the easy way out. They came back with the answer that is not an answer. “We don’t know.” That is a load of B.S. They knew. They just didn’t want to admit. And they would rather face a bit of public embarrassment than submit themselves to Jesus. Evans once again puts it this way:
Ostensibly there to protect the temple as God’s house from arbitrary acts of unauthorized persons and to take action against such persons, these representatives of the Sanhedrin and the ranking priests show their true colors. Rather than defend the temple, they protect themselves. In doing so they betray their own selfish concerns and their inability to respond to and for God, who confronts them in the persons of John and Jesus. Their answer demonstrates their unbelief. At the very least, their admission “we do not know” if taken at face value is an embarrassing surrender of the field. If their admission is not taken at face value but is recognized for the dodge that it is, then it is an embarrassing public display of cowardice.
So Jesus responds appropriately to such cowardice, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” You know, I heard several comments about what Jesus says here, and most of them leave me with a deep sense of dissatisfaction. Several folks spoke about how Jesus washes His hands of the Sanhedrin. They talked about how Jesus reached the limits of His desire to bring them over to faith. I’m not sure these folks are correct. I think this comment is simply Jesus not giving the Sanhedrin what they desire–He’s not going to fall into their trap this easily and give them an out. I believe that Jesus still desires to bring the members of the Sanhedrin to faith. I believe that Jesus still desires to bring these folks into a relationship with Himself. I believe that Jesus wants to help them submit to His authority–the same authority He wants you and I to submit to as well.
You see, we all submit to some sort of authority. Whether we like it or not, we all answer to something greater than we are. Oh, we like to think that we are free–that no one or nothing tells us what to do or how to do it. We like to think that we make our own way that we have nothing putting limits on what we can achieve. We like to think that we are our own bosses. But it is nothing more than a delusion. We are enslaved to authority, and many times we don’t even recognize it.
You might think me daft, but let’s think this through for a moment or two, shall we.
If you believe you have complete freedom and submit to no authority, walk away from your job tomorrow. Just quit. Take some time to enjoy life. How many of you would actually do that? Probably very few. Why? Because you have bills to pay. You need the income. You might get your house taken away. Or your car. Or your future. You might be able to do okay for a while, but things would change very fast after that. You know you cant just quit. You are under the authority of the money you make to keep the lifestyle you have. You are submitting to the authority of your lifestyle.
If you believe you have complete freedom and submit to no authority in your life, refuse to pay your taxes this April. You are submitting to the authority of the federal government.
If you believe you have complete freedom and submit to no authority in your life, go slap the other political candidate that is running for office and tell him or her they have no business doing what they are doing. You are submitting to the laws of this land.
If you believe you have complete freedom and submit to no authority, throw your cell phone away. Need I say more about that one?
If you believe you have complete freedom and submit to no authority, go stand up in downtown Houston and announce that you are either for or against gay marriage. Not going to? Afraid you will get confronted by one side or the other? You are submitting to the authority of societal pressures.
Need I go on? Need I continue to lay out how we submit to authority all over the place? Need I tell you that you are not free? The only question that we must answer as we go through life is which authority we will end up submitting to. The only question that we must answer is which authority we will give our ultimate allegiance to.
And Jesus wants that authority. Jesus wanted that authority from the chief priests, the scribes and the elders. Jesus wants that authority from us. But like those chief priests, scribes and elders, we believe we have too much at stake. We believe we are better off not fully submitting to Jesus. We believe we are freer as we are now that we would be with all those rules and regulations Jesus will impose upon us. And so we pridefully make up all kinds of excuses. We decide to reserve judgement. We put ourselves in embarrassing situations because we think submitting to Jesus is the worst thing we could possibly do.
But here is one thing that Jesus will do for you that no other authority will. Here is one thing Jesus will freely take upon Himself when every other authority will reject you. You see, of all the authorities that are out there, Jesus will die for you even if you hate Him. Jesus will die for you even if you reject Him. Jesus will take your place and face your punishment without a smidgen of regret. In fact, that’s exactly what He did for you on the cross nearly 2000 years ago. Every other authority will turn its back on you, punish you, or leave you high and dry because those authorities demand absolute allegiance from you. They demand you honor them at great cost to you. But if you reject Jesus’ authority, He will continue to love you and wait patiently for the day you turn to Him. He does this because He wants you to freely choose Him; to freely take upon yourself His burden; to freely submit to His authority without regret. And to earn that, He doesn’t make empty promises. He says, “I have already done for you everything. I have already died for you. I have already been raised for you. I have already redeemed you. I have already loved you, and that love will never fail. I have paid a great price for you, and when you submit to me, all the other authorities in your life will have no hold over you. Sure, you will live in this world. You will need money and a home and food and clothing and a cell phone and law and order and government, but these things will no longer rule your heart. I will. And you will find that under me, you have freedom, and peace and security and safety because you know my great love.”
For love is central to Jesus’ authority–a deep and abiding love that is poured out for you and for me. This is why the Gospel in a nutshell is summed up by John 3:16-17. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but to save it.” May your heart be moved to submit to Jesus’ authority, for in it you will find freedom. Amen.
If you’ve ever worked in a situation with kids, you’ve probably been told the same thing. It’s a question of authority. The kid is basically saying, “You don’t have authority over me. You don’t have the authority to tell me what to do.”
My response was pretty simple. I’d look that kid straight in the eye and say, “Yep, you are right. I am not your parent, but your parents paid me a lot of money to look after you and make sure you are safe. Therefore, you will listen to me, and if you don’t like it, we will go and call your parents right now.” That response always did the trick. Never even had to pick up the phone.
Jesus didn’t necessarily have that luxury. When His authority was questioned, He had to resort to quite a different method, but it was a method that worked.
Jesus and His disciples returned to the temple the day after Jesus upset the apple cart by turning over the tables of the money changers and those selling sacrificial animals. Remember, in the last two weeks, I explained how the chief priests had sought to tap into the lucrative market for selling such animals. They had allowed merchants to set up in the only available space in the temple–the courtyard of the Gentiles thereby excluding the Gentiles from worshiping the one, true God. Jesus exposed them for their blatant disregard of the commandments of God, their greed, and their desire to have the safety, security, and freedom that money can buy. Jesus showed how the deepest desire of their hearts was not to introduce people to the God of Israel, but the god of wealth and riches. But in exposing this, Jesus had crossed several man-made boundaries.
You see, when it came to activities done within the Temple, everything was cleared or sanctioned by the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders. This group collectively was called the Sanhedrin. Craig Evans says this about them in his biblical commentary, “The Sanhedrin had a broader legislative and judicial jurisdiction but the high priest and his ranking priestly associates possessed ultimate authority on the Temple Mount, an authority to which in many respects even the Romans deferred.” Think about that for a second. The Sanhedrin exercised such control over the temple grounds that even the Roman occupying forces generally left them alone. That’s quite a bit of power. That’s a lot of power, actually.
And the Sanhedrin exercised that power to the extent that they could literally take another person’s life for violating the temple rules. Remember a couple of weeks ago, I spoke about a sign that was hung on the wall separating the Gentiles area of worship from the Jewish areas of worship. That sign was printed in Greek, Aramaic, and Latin, and it read, “No foreigner may enter within the railing and enclosure that surround the Temple. Anyone apprehended shall have himself to blame for his consequent death.” Nowhere that I know of in our nation is such a thing practiced. I mean, I’ve known of situations in churches where people got really upset for moving a baptismal font or scandalized because someone suggested changing the color scheme or what have you, but I know of no church where someone was put to death for stepping on a particular rule. The Sanhedrin could do exactly that!!
And Jesus didn’t exactly consult with the Sanhedrin when He entered into the temple and upset the marketplace. Jesus didn’t consult with the Sanhedrin when He walked around the temple and taught people in the temple. Jesus wasn’t following the proper procedures. He hadn’t gotten permission. So, a contingent from the Sanhdrin confronted Him. “By what authority are you doing these things? By whose authority are you doing these things?”
At this point, you might wonder why the Sanhedrin was even asking these questions. I mean, if they wielded so much power, why didn’t they just arrest Jesus and get it over with. Remember, this was the festival of the Passover. The city of Jerusalem was crowded with pilgrims there to celebrate. Jesus had endeared Himself to that crowd by his actions, so the Sanhedrin was afraid of the crowd. They were afraid that if they did arrest Jesus, a riot would ensue. If a riot ensued, then the Romans, who usually stayed out of temple business, would make it their business and perhaps remove them from power. Fear is a tremendous motivator, and it causes you to be cautious. The Sanhedrin was being very cautious hoping to trap Jesus with this question. Again, we turn to Craig Evans for some insight here. Evans says, “Either Jesus admitted his conduct was unauthorized, which would have made him publically vulnerable, or he claimed a right superseding that of the ruling priests, a claim that would have made him politically vulnerable. In either case, his conduct would then have provided a basis for a more formal proceeding against him, without fear of the crowd.”
Jesus, of course, sees through the trap. He knows the game. But Jesus is a rabbi. He is a teacher. Everyone knows that, so in true rabbinic fashion, Jesus sets up a counterquestion. “I will ask you one question; answer me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things. Did the baptism of John come from heaven, or was it of human origin? Answer me.” Jesus actually assumes a position of power when He asks this question. The question itself is bad enough, but when Jesus says, “Answer me!!” it really comes across as borderline disrespectful. It’s almost as though Jesus holds the Sanhedrin in contempt. But there is a method to Jesus’ madness. There is a reason behind what He says, and we will see that momentarily.
The representatives from the Sanhedrin begin arguing amongst themselves. This is a very interesting comment that Mark includes. I mean, think about this for just a second. How would Mark know the inner discussions and inner arguments of this group of people? They would not have argued this aloud because it would have been quite embarrassing. How did Mark know what was said? I want you to understand that Jesus did gain a following amongst those who had been on the Sanhedrin. Mark tells us at the end of his Gospel that a respected member of the council, Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus after the crucifixion and put it in his tomb. Mark reports that Joseph of Arimathea was a secret follower of Jesus. In all likelihood, we have the testimony of Joseph or another like him about these deliberations. That’s kind of a side note, but I think a rather neat one.
These deliberations are important though. They show us what the Sanhedrin is really concerned about. We will actually deal with what they deliberate backwards because the former needs a little bit more attention than the latter. The Sanhedrin does not want to say that John the Baptist was not from God because everyone believed John was a prophet. The entire crowd would have stoned this group in a heart beat if they would have denied John’s calling. Fear kept them from going down that route.
Which only left them one other alternative. They would have had to admit that John’s teaching was indeed from divine origin. They don’t want to do that because they know Jesus will respond, “Well, then why didn’t you believe him?” This is where we must take a little bit of time because we need to understand what John the Baptist was proclaiming. John the Baptist was not just proclaiming, “Turn your life around. Get right with God.” That’s only part of what John was about. Let’s turn back several chapters in the book of Mark and hear once again the proclamation of John the Baptist:
From Mark chapter 1: 4John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. 7He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. 8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’
John’s proclamation centered on Jesus as the promised Messiah. John’s proclamation pointed to Jesus!!! If the Sanhedrin admitted that John’s ministry came from God, then they must admit that Jesus is from God as well!! They must admit that Jesus is the Messiah!! They must admit that Jesus’ authority supersedes their authority and that everything Jesus did in the Temple was by divine right!!!
And there was no way on God’s, green earth they were going to do that. There was no way they were going to admit that this Jesus who had just exposed them for the frauds they were, was indeed from God. Their pride was too full. Their self-righteousness was too great. They were not going to allow this upstart to dethrone them from their positions of power and prestige and wealth. They were not going to admit that Jesus had more authority than they did.
And so they copped out. They took the easy way out. They came back with the answer that is not an answer. “We don’t know.” That is a load of B.S. They knew. They just didn’t want to admit. And they would rather face a bit of public embarrassment than submit themselves to Jesus. Evans once again puts it this way:
Ostensibly there to protect the temple as God’s house from arbitrary acts of unauthorized persons and to take action against such persons, these representatives of the Sanhedrin and the ranking priests show their true colors. Rather than defend the temple, they protect themselves. In doing so they betray their own selfish concerns and their inability to respond to and for God, who confronts them in the persons of John and Jesus. Their answer demonstrates their unbelief. At the very least, their admission “we do not know” if taken at face value is an embarrassing surrender of the field. If their admission is not taken at face value but is recognized for the dodge that it is, then it is an embarrassing public display of cowardice.
So Jesus responds appropriately to such cowardice, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things.” You know, I heard several comments about what Jesus says here, and most of them leave me with a deep sense of dissatisfaction. Several folks spoke about how Jesus washes His hands of the Sanhedrin. They talked about how Jesus reached the limits of His desire to bring them over to faith. I’m not sure these folks are correct. I think this comment is simply Jesus not giving the Sanhedrin what they desire–He’s not going to fall into their trap this easily and give them an out. I believe that Jesus still desires to bring the members of the Sanhedrin to faith. I believe that Jesus still desires to bring these folks into a relationship with Himself. I believe that Jesus wants to help them submit to His authority–the same authority He wants you and I to submit to as well.
You see, we all submit to some sort of authority. Whether we like it or not, we all answer to something greater than we are. Oh, we like to think that we are free–that no one or nothing tells us what to do or how to do it. We like to think that we make our own way that we have nothing putting limits on what we can achieve. We like to think that we are our own bosses. But it is nothing more than a delusion. We are enslaved to authority, and many times we don’t even recognize it.
You might think me daft, but let’s think this through for a moment or two, shall we.
If you believe you have complete freedom and submit to no authority, walk away from your job tomorrow. Just quit. Take some time to enjoy life. How many of you would actually do that? Probably very few. Why? Because you have bills to pay. You need the income. You might get your house taken away. Or your car. Or your future. You might be able to do okay for a while, but things would change very fast after that. You know you cant just quit. You are under the authority of the money you make to keep the lifestyle you have. You are submitting to the authority of your lifestyle.
If you believe you have complete freedom and submit to no authority in your life, refuse to pay your taxes this April. You are submitting to the authority of the federal government.
If you believe you have complete freedom and submit to no authority in your life, go slap the other political candidate that is running for office and tell him or her they have no business doing what they are doing. You are submitting to the laws of this land.
If you believe you have complete freedom and submit to no authority, throw your cell phone away. Need I say more about that one?
If you believe you have complete freedom and submit to no authority, go stand up in downtown Houston and announce that you are either for or against gay marriage. Not going to? Afraid you will get confronted by one side or the other? You are submitting to the authority of societal pressures.
Need I go on? Need I continue to lay out how we submit to authority all over the place? Need I tell you that you are not free? The only question that we must answer as we go through life is which authority we will end up submitting to. The only question that we must answer is which authority we will give our ultimate allegiance to.
And Jesus wants that authority. Jesus wanted that authority from the chief priests, the scribes and the elders. Jesus wants that authority from us. But like those chief priests, scribes and elders, we believe we have too much at stake. We believe we are better off not fully submitting to Jesus. We believe we are freer as we are now that we would be with all those rules and regulations Jesus will impose upon us. And so we pridefully make up all kinds of excuses. We decide to reserve judgement. We put ourselves in embarrassing situations because we think submitting to Jesus is the worst thing we could possibly do.
But here is one thing that Jesus will do for you that no other authority will. Here is one thing Jesus will freely take upon Himself when every other authority will reject you. You see, of all the authorities that are out there, Jesus will die for you even if you hate Him. Jesus will die for you even if you reject Him. Jesus will take your place and face your punishment without a smidgen of regret. In fact, that’s exactly what He did for you on the cross nearly 2000 years ago. Every other authority will turn its back on you, punish you, or leave you high and dry because those authorities demand absolute allegiance from you. They demand you honor them at great cost to you. But if you reject Jesus’ authority, He will continue to love you and wait patiently for the day you turn to Him. He does this because He wants you to freely choose Him; to freely take upon yourself His burden; to freely submit to His authority without regret. And to earn that, He doesn’t make empty promises. He says, “I have already done for you everything. I have already died for you. I have already been raised for you. I have already redeemed you. I have already loved you, and that love will never fail. I have paid a great price for you, and when you submit to me, all the other authorities in your life will have no hold over you. Sure, you will live in this world. You will need money and a home and food and clothing and a cell phone and law and order and government, but these things will no longer rule your heart. I will. And you will find that under me, you have freedom, and peace and security and safety because you know my great love.”
For love is central to Jesus’ authority–a deep and abiding love that is poured out for you and for me. This is why the Gospel in a nutshell is summed up by John 3:16-17. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but to save it.” May your heart be moved to submit to Jesus’ authority, for in it you will find freedom. Amen.
Tuesday, March 24, 2015
Guns in College?
While on Spring Break this past week, I managed to stay away from Facebook and much of the internet. Instead, I got the news a day late by reading the Dallas Morning News.
One thing caught my attention and made me ponder for a few: the Texas Legislature allowing conceal carry handguns on public college campuses. Now, I have spoken about guns on this blog several times (here, here, and here). I am an avid sportsman and outdoors man. I use guns regularly and am teaching my children to use them. I have a healthy respect for guns, but I do not fear them.
I do not believe banning "assault weapons" like AR-15's is a good idea.
I fully support the 2nd Amendment.
I do think background checks to purchase guns is a very good idea.
I don't think we have a gun problem in the U.S.
I don't think concealed carry is a bad idea. I don't think open carry is a bad idea.
I don't believe concealed carry or open carry will lead to a revisiting of the Wild West.
I don't believe concealed carry or open carry will solve the problem of crime.
Maybe those bullet points will sufficiently tick off both sides of the aisle. Maybe not. Here's something I don't support: concealed carry on college campuses by students.
It's not that I don't think many of them are responsible. I think they are. I believe I certainly was. It's not that I don't think they can't handle weapons. I could shoot at that age with no problem. It's deeper. I don't support concealed carry on college campuses for the same reason I don't support banning assault rifles. The stats.
The FBI numbers for people killed with assault rifles or other rifles is miniscule compared to the real killer: handguns. The numbers are overwhelming on that one.
The numbers are also overwhelming when it comes to who commits mass shootings. The vast, vast majority are committed by males under the age of 25. Why? Because the male brain doesn't fully develop until that age. Furthermore, there is a certain beverage which is consumed in large quantities on college campus which further inhibits clear thinking.
So, let's put this stuff together: guns + alcohol + an age group within which most mass shooters fall. To me, that equals a very bad idea.
Now, I know there are those who argue for safety. I know there are those who argue we are limiting safety by implementing such laws, but again, look at the numbers. How safe are you on a college campus? How safe are you on any public school campus?
The fact of the matter is: we are extremely safe on school campuses. We are extremely safe on college campuses. In fact, if you really want to break it down, we know which communities experience the highest levels of crime. We know where most shootings occur. The demographics are published. It is no mystery.
The problem is fear is pumped into our lives daily by the media, by the government, and by others who try to either 1) make you depend only upon yourself for your safety or 2) depend upon the government to make you safe and secure.
It's really a false set of alternatives with several false gods competing for your allegiance. There is the false god of safety and security preying upon your fears of harm--telling you that around every corner is a boogy man; a murderer; a rapist; someone who is intent to do you physical or mental harm. Holding safety's leash is the fear of death which can consume even the strongest intellect. The false god of safety whispers in our ears, depending upon what he can prey upon, either to look to one's self for salvation (Carry a gun. It will make you safe and secure. You can defeat your enemies. You will have a new sense of confidence in yourself!) or to look to the authorities (They are trained to handle things. They will arrive at a moment's notice. They will handle the bad guys more efficiently and better than you can. They will minimize the risk to others.). The truth is we need both individual vigilance and governmental agencies working together to minimize crime and maximize safety AND, more than that, I am convinced, we need to put the false god of safety in its place by refusing to bow to him.
I mean, when you make safety your god, you give up freedom and you live in fear, and if there is one thing I have come to understand about the Gospel, is that the perfect love of Jesus for us drives away fear.
One thing caught my attention and made me ponder for a few: the Texas Legislature allowing conceal carry handguns on public college campuses. Now, I have spoken about guns on this blog several times (here, here, and here). I am an avid sportsman and outdoors man. I use guns regularly and am teaching my children to use them. I have a healthy respect for guns, but I do not fear them.
I do not believe banning "assault weapons" like AR-15's is a good idea.
I fully support the 2nd Amendment.
I do think background checks to purchase guns is a very good idea.
I don't think we have a gun problem in the U.S.
I don't think concealed carry is a bad idea. I don't think open carry is a bad idea.
I don't believe concealed carry or open carry will lead to a revisiting of the Wild West.
I don't believe concealed carry or open carry will solve the problem of crime.
Maybe those bullet points will sufficiently tick off both sides of the aisle. Maybe not. Here's something I don't support: concealed carry on college campuses by students.
It's not that I don't think many of them are responsible. I think they are. I believe I certainly was. It's not that I don't think they can't handle weapons. I could shoot at that age with no problem. It's deeper. I don't support concealed carry on college campuses for the same reason I don't support banning assault rifles. The stats.
The FBI numbers for people killed with assault rifles or other rifles is miniscule compared to the real killer: handguns. The numbers are overwhelming on that one.
The numbers are also overwhelming when it comes to who commits mass shootings. The vast, vast majority are committed by males under the age of 25. Why? Because the male brain doesn't fully develop until that age. Furthermore, there is a certain beverage which is consumed in large quantities on college campus which further inhibits clear thinking.
So, let's put this stuff together: guns + alcohol + an age group within which most mass shooters fall. To me, that equals a very bad idea.
Now, I know there are those who argue for safety. I know there are those who argue we are limiting safety by implementing such laws, but again, look at the numbers. How safe are you on a college campus? How safe are you on any public school campus?
The fact of the matter is: we are extremely safe on school campuses. We are extremely safe on college campuses. In fact, if you really want to break it down, we know which communities experience the highest levels of crime. We know where most shootings occur. The demographics are published. It is no mystery.
The problem is fear is pumped into our lives daily by the media, by the government, and by others who try to either 1) make you depend only upon yourself for your safety or 2) depend upon the government to make you safe and secure.
It's really a false set of alternatives with several false gods competing for your allegiance. There is the false god of safety and security preying upon your fears of harm--telling you that around every corner is a boogy man; a murderer; a rapist; someone who is intent to do you physical or mental harm. Holding safety's leash is the fear of death which can consume even the strongest intellect. The false god of safety whispers in our ears, depending upon what he can prey upon, either to look to one's self for salvation (Carry a gun. It will make you safe and secure. You can defeat your enemies. You will have a new sense of confidence in yourself!) or to look to the authorities (They are trained to handle things. They will arrive at a moment's notice. They will handle the bad guys more efficiently and better than you can. They will minimize the risk to others.). The truth is we need both individual vigilance and governmental agencies working together to minimize crime and maximize safety AND, more than that, I am convinced, we need to put the false god of safety in its place by refusing to bow to him.
I mean, when you make safety your god, you give up freedom and you live in fear, and if there is one thing I have come to understand about the Gospel, is that the perfect love of Jesus for us drives away fear.
Thursday, December 25, 2014
Freedom Beckons
Why do we tend to get stressed out around Christmas?
I mean, I know that many of you who are here this evening know “the reason for the season.” You know Christmas is about Jesus. You know this is a time to proclaim peace on earth and goodwill to all. You know the reason the angels proclaimed the message to the shepherds on the hillside long ago. You know the reason the shepherds ran to Bethlehem to see these things which have taken place. You know why Mary pondered these things in her heart. You know all of this. Many of you have heard this story year after year after year.
And even if this is one of your first times to hear this story, you have perhaps an inkling about what it is about. You have an inkling about this Jesus character. Christianity is the world’s largest religion after all. You’ve probably heard a little something about Him. And Christmas is the time when we celebrate His birth. You probably know this fact about Christians–at the very least. And you may wonder why it is many, many Christians become very worked up about this holiday. You may wonder why Christians say with one breath, “Peace on earth!” and then complain about all the stuff they have to do to prepare for Christmas!
There is a reason for this. There is a reason that even though we know what this day is about, we still find ourselves stressed out and worried. There is a reason that even though we know Christmas is about Jesus, we still wonder whether or not our relatives will appreciate the gifts we give them. There is a reason that even though we know the main point of Christmas is to announce the birth of Jesus, we still get caught up in the frenzy and commercialization of this society. There indeed is a reason, and it is one we do not like to hear. No, we don’t like to hear it at all.
We did not do it tonight because of the festive nature of Christmas Eve, but just about every other Sunday in this congregation, we begin our service with a confession. We say publically and in unison, “We confess that we are in bondage to sin and cannot free ourselves.” I told you, we don’t like to hear the reason. We don’t like to think we are in bondage to anything. We don’t like to think we are controlled by anything. We like to think that we are free and in charge of our own lives. We like to think that we do a pretty good job of being decent people. Sure, we might make a few mistakes along the way, but mostly we don’t hurt anyone or anything. Surely, I am not a sinner–I am not in bondage to sin; that cannot be! I am free to make my own choices and my own decisions! No one or no thing has a hold on me!
Really?
If that is the case, then tomorrow, or tonight, when all the family is gathered together for your Christmas meal, make your plate and refuse to join them the rest of the day. Lock yourself in your room and refuse to take part in the celebration going on around you. Or, when you return to work, walk in and announce, “I am not going to do any work today! I am free! I can do what I want, and I choose to do no work today!” Or, on the 26th of December, walk into the bank and walk behind the counter and take as much money as you want. After all, you are free, remember? You can choose to do whatever you want, remember? No one has a hold on you or can tell you what to do!
Do I have your attention yet?
Why wouldn’t you do any of those things I just said? Why wouldn’t you close yourself off from your family Christmas celebrations, or refuse to do your job at work, or take money from a bank? Why would you refuse to do such things? Well, you probably know the consequences. You know that if you did such things, you would end up in a heap of trouble–either from your family, from your boss, or from law enforcement. You wouldn’t do any of these things because you would be adversely affected–having to sleep in the dog house, losing your job, or ending up in jail. And who of us wants to face those consequences? Do any of you want to end up on the receiving end of your family’s wrath; your bosses anger; or in incarceration? No. I didn’t think so. None of us want to end up in those positions.
Now, here’s the question: why? Why don’t we want to end up in those positions? What is our reason for avoiding such situations?
Well, obviously, most of us don’t like making our family members angry. We don’t want to deal with their ire at us.
We obviously don’t want to tick off our bosses and end up unemployed.
And we don’t want to end up with a criminal record.
In each of these cases, the consequences reflect very poorly on us. And we don’t do such things because it hurts us. Think about this for just a second. Our motivation for avoiding such things is to save ourselves from any sort of grief, trouble, or danger. Our motivation for avoiding such things is pure, self-interest.
Which is why even though we know what Christmas is supposed to be all about, we still get stressed out and upset. There is still a very deep seeded part of us that wants to avoid people getting angry and upset with us. There is a very deep seeded part of us that wants everyone to be happy with us and embrace us. There is still a very deep seeded part of us that wants to wow our spouses and our kids and our grandkids and our nieces and nephews and aunts and uncles so that they will like us and love us and not be angry or disappointed with us. And so we run all over the place going to Christmas programs and buying presents and baking cookies and making dinners and decorating to the nth degree–all to make sure we look good and are admired by others.
And when we are trying our best to impress others; to maintain our image; to keep them happy with us, are we truly free? No. None of us are. We are constantly having to look out for our own interests. We are constantly having to preserve ourselves. It’s almost a requirement because of the way the world works and operates. We cannot escape looking out for ourselves at some point and time. We just can’t.
And one of the classic definitions of sin is to turn inward toward one’s self–to act in one’s self interest–to consider how things reflect upon one’s self and one’s identity. Sin is looking out for me, and not doing things strictly for the benefit of another person–and certainly not doing things for God’s benefit.
So, if we are forced to look out for ourselves and act with self preservation in mind, then we are focused on ourselves. If we are focused on ourselves, we are not focused on serving others, and we are not focused on serving God. We become the center of our own lives, and we live those lives out trying to please everyone else. We are not only in bondage to everyone else, we are also in bondage to our own self-interest!
And how can we escape this reality? How can we get out of this? Is it possible? Is it possible to cast aside self-preservation? Is it possible to escape trying to please everyone?
Let me ask you this: have you ever met someone in life who loves you no matter what you do? Have you ever met someone who will continue to interact with you and be with you even when you are at your worst? Have you ever met someone who will patiently sit through your outbursts of anger; endure your yelling and screaming; hug you when you are in a state of anger and frustration; stay by you when you are even trying to push them away? Have you ever met someone who shows you such love and compassion when you do not deserve it? Has a love like this entered into your life and melted your heart so that you do not feel like you have to walk on egg shells around them? Have you ever been with such a person where you can feel almost totally and completely like yourself?
And have you ever felt yourself saying, “I want to be a part of this person’s life. I want to do things for them, not because I have to, not because I know it will make them love me more–for they already love me–I want to do these things because I know it pleases them. I know it brings joy to their life.”
I will submit to you, that when you did such things, then you escaped the cycle of self-preservation, not because of your action, but because you have experienced a deep, deep sense of love–a love that has caused you to want to be the best that you can be, not for your own sake, but for the sake of the other. In a very real way, then you have experienced a taste of freedom.
Now, imagine if you could have that kind of love infect your entire life and entire being. Imagine you could have that kind of love overwhelm each and every relationship you are a part of. Imagine that kind of love played out to the point where you became the type of person who actually showed that love to others. Can you imagine how life changing it could be? Could you imagine how it could change the world?
But it all starts with being loved by someone outside of one’s self. It all starts with being loved when we were unlovable. It all starts with someone seeing us at our worst and still giving us their best. Freedom only beckons when we receive such love.
2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness—on them light has shined. 4 For the yoke of their burden, and the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, you have broken as on the day of Midian. 5 For all the boots of the tramping warriors and all the garments rolled in blood shall be burned as fuel for the fire. 6 For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. -- Isaiah 9:2, 47
‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for all the people: 11to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. 12This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ 13And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, 14 ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!’ --Luke 2:11-14
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world, but that the world may be saved through Him. --John 3:16-17
My brothers and sisters, tonight we remember the God who loved us with that kind of love. We remember the God who, when we were unlovable sent His Son to love us deeply enough to die for us. We remember the God who breaks our shackles and saves us from ourselves that we do not need to live trying to save our selves and act with self preservation, but we can freely love and do for others as He has done for us. Merry Christmas. Amen.
Monday, July 7, 2014
Resting While Burdened: Sermon On "Take My Yoke"
Have you ever noticed that we as human beings seem to be caught in a constant struggle between freedom and being burdened? Perhaps you have. Perhaps you’ve never thought of it in such a fashion. Let me try to explain.
First the freedom part. Perhaps this is easiest to explain since we have just come through the Fourth of July holiday and our nation celebrated its independence. There is something about the human spirit which does not like to be contained. It does not like to be told what to do. It does not like to have any sort of burden placed upon it. As Elsa from the movie Frozen sings in the song “Let it Go”, “No right, no wrong. No rules for me. I’m free.” We long for such freedom.
People who work cannot wait to be free from the responsibility of their job. There are more than a few who are workin’ for the weekend as Loverboy once sang. Most modern music that you hear today is all about finding a party–escaping reality–finding freedom from the daily grind. We long for those times of vacation. We count down the years until retirement. We gripe about government intrusion into our lives. We quip to others who would impose their values upon us, “What works for you, works for you, but don’t tell me how to live my life!” We want to set our own agendas. We want to call our own shots. We want to have complete freedom to do so.
And if we find ourselves overburdened. If we find ourselves with too many rules and regulations. If we find ourselves constrained as if someone kept pushing down on us, eventually, we will snap. It’s like a pressure cooker. If the pressure keeps building and building and building with no release, something bad will eventually happen. We will fight for freedom. Historically, this has taken place over and over and over again. There is a part of human nature that longs for freedom.
But here is an interesting twist to this phenomenon of freedom. We do not want complete freedom for anyone and everyone. We want some sort of system of rules that govern us as well. Why? Think about it a moment. Even those in our culture now who believe in relativism–the idea there are no universal truths say something interesting, “Believe whatever you want to believe and do whatever you want to do–as long as you don’t hurt anyone else.” Do you see the qualifier? Relativists don’t believe in true relativism. They don’t believe anything goes. Because we know what happens when anything goes. We know what it is like when there are no rules. We’ve seen this happen historically over and over and over again. When there are no rules, the strongest take over. The strongest surge to power and authority, and they prey upon the weak; they prey upon those who do not give obedience to them; they prey upon those whom they do not like. Various factions arise centered upon the powerful, and open warfare reigns. Many, many innocent people get hurt. Anarchy is not a beautiful thing.
We know this. We know this deep at the bottom of our souls. Somehow it is built into us–the need for freedom and the need for rule. We keep swinging back and forth back and forth along this pendulum in society and in our individual lives.
At this point, you might raise a question: Pastor, I see how this happens in society. I see how this happens historically, but what do you mean by saying this happens in our individual lives? Are you talking about working and wanting to be free from work like you spoke about earlier, or is it something else?
Let me expand this point a little. In each and every one of us, there is a desire to be free. We don’t like having a whole lot of responsibility. We want to enjoy living our lives in a carefree manner. We want to be at peace. We want to be at rest. And being at rest means being at a place of fulfillment–a place of peace–a place of joy. We want to be unburdened so that we can rest, and so we think about all those things that burden us. What are the burdens in our lives?
• Work.
• School.
• Family.
• Housework.
• Social responsibilities including church.
These are some of the ones we immediately think about. The obligations we feel toward these things give us a sense of burden. They seemingly weigh us down, and so we look to cut them off. They do not seem to give us a sense of peace, and so we look to something else.
• Vacation time.
• Sports.
• Partying.
• Music.
• Television.
• Drinking.
• Sex.
And the list could go on and on. We believe that such things give us freedom, but you know what actually happens? Do you know what truly happens when you start looking to all of these things for freedom? Do you know what they start doing to you? They begin to demand your time and energy. They begin to demand your allegiance. They begin to demand your heart and soul. The things which once gave you some sense of pleasure and peace now begin to dominate your time. They begin to consume your thoughts. You become a slave to them. It’s easy to see this in the lives of others. It’s easy to see this in the alcoholic who is a slave to the alcohol. It’s easy to see this in the pastor who devotes all his time to the church. It’s easy to see this in the person who sits, chomping at the bit to leave work as soon as the clock hits 5 so that she can get home to watch her favorite shows. It’s easy to see this in the person who cranks the radio up as loudly as possible without regard to what anyone else thinks. It’s easy to see this in the person who doesn’t miss a single baseball practice or game while skipping work and other social obligations.
The reality is, when we think we are escaping from one thing, we simply replace it with another. Whenever we think we are free from one particular aspect in life, we are simply trading it for something else. Never are we truly free. We are always bound. We are always in a constant sense of rebellion because of this. We are always have a constant sense of unease. We are never at rest. We are never at peace. We are never fulfilled. Why?
It’s because we keep burdening ourselves with the wrong burdens. We keep burdening ourselves with those things which will always put demands upon us without truly giving us freedom. So what is the answer? Is it possible to be at rest and still be burdened at the same time? Is it possible to be free and still have rules?
The answer Christianity gives is yes. Listen to Jesus’ words from our Gospel lesson once again, “28 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
How can Jesus say this? How can Jesus say that if we take His yoke upon us–being burdened–we will be at rest? This seems like a contradiction in terms, but it’s not. Not at all. In fact, when you think it through, it makes perfect sense.
You have to remember where it all begins, though. You have to remember that it all begins with the gospel. You know the gospel: for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son not to condemn the world but so that the world may be saved through Him. And this was done not by any work you or I did. This reconciliation was carried out by Jesus and Jesus alone–not because we were loveable or good or holy, but precisely because we were not good; we were not lovable; we were not holy. Jesus died for us when we were still sinners.
Think about that for just a moment. Jesus died for you when you were still broken–when you were still breaking God’s commandments–when you were not loving your neighbor as yourself. You were still in the midst of your sin–your disobedience, and God died for you anyway. In just about every case in this world, if you are disobedient; if you are not following the rules, you get punished. You do not receive a reward. Yet, when you were not following God, He took on flesh and died for you to give you eternal life. This is an amazing act of love–an act that is beyond comprehension–an act that many would deem foolish. Why say that?
Because, if you are a parent, you know doggone why it’s foolish. If your children are misbehaving and you give them cookies, they will just keep misbehaving. They won’t change their ways. You’ve got to punish them to make them get in line! But what if their behavior led to them being arrested and convicted and sentenced to death. As a parent, what would you do? Would you gladly take your child’s place and suffer their punishment? Would you die so that they might live? And if upon seeing your love for them, what do you think your children would do? If your loving parent stepped in and died for you when you deserved death, how would you respond? Would you keep doing the things you had always done, or would you be profoundly changed by their love? You would, of course, be free to continue in the path you had always walked. You could still do the destructive things you had done before. You could still rebel against all the rules and regulations. You would be free to do so. Your parents had kept you from the punishment. But at great cost. Would you let their sacrifice go for naught?
I hope not. I hope that having such love shown to you would radically transform your life. I hope it would completely change the way you operated as you realized the extent of what it cost your parents to step in and save you from your disobedience. Not because of guilt or obligation but because of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving for your undeserved life at their expense. It would seem like foolishness to some, but to a parent, it would be worth it.
If what Jesus did for us on the cross is anything like a parent willing to die for his or her child–and I think it is–then we too can be transformed by that kind of love. We too can be transformed by that kind of good news. We know we are free because of what Christ did for us, but at the same time, we freely choose to be obedient to Him. We freely choose to take His yoke upon us. We freely say, “I will follow you and your commands, Jesus because of what you have done for me.” At one and the same time we are obedient and we are free. At one and the same time we are burdened and at rest. We are no longer bound by all the things that once put demands upon us in this world. We have freely turned to another yoke–the yoke of Jesus–the only burden that can bring us rest. Amen.
First the freedom part. Perhaps this is easiest to explain since we have just come through the Fourth of July holiday and our nation celebrated its independence. There is something about the human spirit which does not like to be contained. It does not like to be told what to do. It does not like to have any sort of burden placed upon it. As Elsa from the movie Frozen sings in the song “Let it Go”, “No right, no wrong. No rules for me. I’m free.” We long for such freedom.
People who work cannot wait to be free from the responsibility of their job. There are more than a few who are workin’ for the weekend as Loverboy once sang. Most modern music that you hear today is all about finding a party–escaping reality–finding freedom from the daily grind. We long for those times of vacation. We count down the years until retirement. We gripe about government intrusion into our lives. We quip to others who would impose their values upon us, “What works for you, works for you, but don’t tell me how to live my life!” We want to set our own agendas. We want to call our own shots. We want to have complete freedom to do so.
And if we find ourselves overburdened. If we find ourselves with too many rules and regulations. If we find ourselves constrained as if someone kept pushing down on us, eventually, we will snap. It’s like a pressure cooker. If the pressure keeps building and building and building with no release, something bad will eventually happen. We will fight for freedom. Historically, this has taken place over and over and over again. There is a part of human nature that longs for freedom.
But here is an interesting twist to this phenomenon of freedom. We do not want complete freedom for anyone and everyone. We want some sort of system of rules that govern us as well. Why? Think about it a moment. Even those in our culture now who believe in relativism–the idea there are no universal truths say something interesting, “Believe whatever you want to believe and do whatever you want to do–as long as you don’t hurt anyone else.” Do you see the qualifier? Relativists don’t believe in true relativism. They don’t believe anything goes. Because we know what happens when anything goes. We know what it is like when there are no rules. We’ve seen this happen historically over and over and over again. When there are no rules, the strongest take over. The strongest surge to power and authority, and they prey upon the weak; they prey upon those who do not give obedience to them; they prey upon those whom they do not like. Various factions arise centered upon the powerful, and open warfare reigns. Many, many innocent people get hurt. Anarchy is not a beautiful thing.
We know this. We know this deep at the bottom of our souls. Somehow it is built into us–the need for freedom and the need for rule. We keep swinging back and forth back and forth along this pendulum in society and in our individual lives.
At this point, you might raise a question: Pastor, I see how this happens in society. I see how this happens historically, but what do you mean by saying this happens in our individual lives? Are you talking about working and wanting to be free from work like you spoke about earlier, or is it something else?
Let me expand this point a little. In each and every one of us, there is a desire to be free. We don’t like having a whole lot of responsibility. We want to enjoy living our lives in a carefree manner. We want to be at peace. We want to be at rest. And being at rest means being at a place of fulfillment–a place of peace–a place of joy. We want to be unburdened so that we can rest, and so we think about all those things that burden us. What are the burdens in our lives?
• Work.
• School.
• Family.
• Housework.
• Social responsibilities including church.
These are some of the ones we immediately think about. The obligations we feel toward these things give us a sense of burden. They seemingly weigh us down, and so we look to cut them off. They do not seem to give us a sense of peace, and so we look to something else.
• Vacation time.
• Sports.
• Partying.
• Music.
• Television.
• Drinking.
• Sex.
And the list could go on and on. We believe that such things give us freedom, but you know what actually happens? Do you know what truly happens when you start looking to all of these things for freedom? Do you know what they start doing to you? They begin to demand your time and energy. They begin to demand your allegiance. They begin to demand your heart and soul. The things which once gave you some sense of pleasure and peace now begin to dominate your time. They begin to consume your thoughts. You become a slave to them. It’s easy to see this in the lives of others. It’s easy to see this in the alcoholic who is a slave to the alcohol. It’s easy to see this in the pastor who devotes all his time to the church. It’s easy to see this in the person who sits, chomping at the bit to leave work as soon as the clock hits 5 so that she can get home to watch her favorite shows. It’s easy to see this in the person who cranks the radio up as loudly as possible without regard to what anyone else thinks. It’s easy to see this in the person who doesn’t miss a single baseball practice or game while skipping work and other social obligations.
The reality is, when we think we are escaping from one thing, we simply replace it with another. Whenever we think we are free from one particular aspect in life, we are simply trading it for something else. Never are we truly free. We are always bound. We are always in a constant sense of rebellion because of this. We are always have a constant sense of unease. We are never at rest. We are never at peace. We are never fulfilled. Why?
It’s because we keep burdening ourselves with the wrong burdens. We keep burdening ourselves with those things which will always put demands upon us without truly giving us freedom. So what is the answer? Is it possible to be at rest and still be burdened at the same time? Is it possible to be free and still have rules?
The answer Christianity gives is yes. Listen to Jesus’ words from our Gospel lesson once again, “28 ‘Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
How can Jesus say this? How can Jesus say that if we take His yoke upon us–being burdened–we will be at rest? This seems like a contradiction in terms, but it’s not. Not at all. In fact, when you think it through, it makes perfect sense.
You have to remember where it all begins, though. You have to remember that it all begins with the gospel. You know the gospel: for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son so that all those who believe in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son not to condemn the world but so that the world may be saved through Him. And this was done not by any work you or I did. This reconciliation was carried out by Jesus and Jesus alone–not because we were loveable or good or holy, but precisely because we were not good; we were not lovable; we were not holy. Jesus died for us when we were still sinners.
Think about that for just a moment. Jesus died for you when you were still broken–when you were still breaking God’s commandments–when you were not loving your neighbor as yourself. You were still in the midst of your sin–your disobedience, and God died for you anyway. In just about every case in this world, if you are disobedient; if you are not following the rules, you get punished. You do not receive a reward. Yet, when you were not following God, He took on flesh and died for you to give you eternal life. This is an amazing act of love–an act that is beyond comprehension–an act that many would deem foolish. Why say that?
Because, if you are a parent, you know doggone why it’s foolish. If your children are misbehaving and you give them cookies, they will just keep misbehaving. They won’t change their ways. You’ve got to punish them to make them get in line! But what if their behavior led to them being arrested and convicted and sentenced to death. As a parent, what would you do? Would you gladly take your child’s place and suffer their punishment? Would you die so that they might live? And if upon seeing your love for them, what do you think your children would do? If your loving parent stepped in and died for you when you deserved death, how would you respond? Would you keep doing the things you had always done, or would you be profoundly changed by their love? You would, of course, be free to continue in the path you had always walked. You could still do the destructive things you had done before. You could still rebel against all the rules and regulations. You would be free to do so. Your parents had kept you from the punishment. But at great cost. Would you let their sacrifice go for naught?
I hope not. I hope that having such love shown to you would radically transform your life. I hope it would completely change the way you operated as you realized the extent of what it cost your parents to step in and save you from your disobedience. Not because of guilt or obligation but because of thanksgiving. Thanksgiving for your undeserved life at their expense. It would seem like foolishness to some, but to a parent, it would be worth it.
If what Jesus did for us on the cross is anything like a parent willing to die for his or her child–and I think it is–then we too can be transformed by that kind of love. We too can be transformed by that kind of good news. We know we are free because of what Christ did for us, but at the same time, we freely choose to be obedient to Him. We freely choose to take His yoke upon us. We freely say, “I will follow you and your commands, Jesus because of what you have done for me.” At one and the same time we are obedient and we are free. At one and the same time we are burdened and at rest. We are no longer bound by all the things that once put demands upon us in this world. We have freely turned to another yoke–the yoke of Jesus–the only burden that can bring us rest. Amen.
Monday, April 7, 2014
Set Free from Our Modern Masters
I know we cherish the thought that we are free. I phrased that sentence very carefully. Listen to it again. I know we cherish the thought that we are free. I mean, no one wants to be told or to think that one is shackled. No one wants to be told or think that one is a prisoner. No one wants to be told or think that one isn’t in control of his or her own life or destiny. “I govern my own thoughts and my own life and no one tells me what to do! I AM FREE!” Or so we like to think.
But are we really free?
A couple of chapters before this story, Jesus confronts a group of Pharisees, and he tells them, “Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ They answered him, ‘We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, “You will be made free”?’
Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there for ever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”
Now, you may say to me, “Well, pastor, I know that I sin, but I’m hardly a slave to it. It doesn’t control me. I ask God for forgiveness, and I continue on in doing the things that make me happy.”
And so I ask you, “Are you then a slave to happiness? By your own words are you not a slave to your desires?” I do the things that make me happy.
And I am sure you are happy–for a time. But do you have joy? Do you have peace? Do you have a sense of fulfillment about you? If you do, then congratulations, but do you think this is what I hear most people say about their lives? Do you think when I ask people about how their lives are going, they say they are at peace and have contentment? Not a chance. In fact, I cannot think of anyone who has ever answered me that they are at peace. Of course, everyone first says that they are doing fine, but in a matter of moments, if you really engage them in conversation, they begin telling you how busy they are. They begin telling you how they are chasing after their kids, or their commitments, or after volunteer opportunities, or at work or what have you. Our conversations constantly revolve around all the stuff we have to do or get done, and time and again I hear the stress and the strain. “I’m tired.” “I’m stressed.” “I don’t want to deal with all of this stuff anymore.”
And if I got up here this morning and said, “Just walk away from it then,” what would you tell me? Many would say, “I can’t.” Others might say, “Well, I’ll just stop coming to church because that’s a place where I can cut some time.” Let me offer you this. First, if you say you can’t stop doing the things you are doing, then I submit to you, you are not free. You are a prisoner. Second, I submit to you that if you decide to cut out going to church and coming into contact with the living God, then you are actually leaving the one place where you can be assured to encounter the one who can make you free.
Let’s turn to our gospel lesson this morning from the 11th chapter of the book of John. It’s the story of Jesus’ raising of Lazarus. We see how Jesus is made aware early on that Lazarus is very ill. Jesus purposely procrastinates in going to his friend’s side knowing full well Lazarus will die. When Jesus does finally head to Bethany, He is confronted with the human condition–our bondage to sin and death.
Upon His arrival, Martha runs out to meet him. Martha tells Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Interestingly enough, this is not the first time we will hear this statement. It will be spoken again later. “Lord, if only you had been here...but nevertheless, I know that God will grant you what you ask.”
Jesus responds, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha says, “Of course he will at the resurrection.”
And Jesus snaps back, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Do you believe this? Jesus confronts Martha with the Truth. In the midst of our struggles and stresses and anxieties, we usually become so overwhelmed that we leave the Truth behind. We focus on all the stuff of the world, but neglect the source of our strength and hope. We neglect the source of true freedom. “I am the resurrection and the life!” Jesus says, “Do you believe this?”
Martha says, “Yes. I believe you are the Messiah.” Are we so bold as to say the same thing?
It’s interesting that the story doesn’t progress from here straight to Lazarus’ tomb. There is more, and this time, Martha’s sister Mary is involved. Mary now comes to Jesus, and she says the exact same phrase Martha said earlier. “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.”
But this time, Jesus’ response is vastly different. This time, instead of appealing to the Truth, Jesus responds with tears. Seeing Mary’s grief and the grief of those surrounding her, Jesus is troubled deeply. Actually, that’s not the proper term. The proper term is brought to a place of roiling anger. It’s an anger that causes Jesus to weep. Why? Why does Jesus weep?
Let’s take in three more sentences of the text. 36So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ 37But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’ Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed (billowing with anger!), came to the tomb.
Remember when I said Jesus was confronted with the human condition? Jesus is confronted with the reality of death, and His first encounter is with Martha who says, “Lord if only you had been here, this stuff wouldn’t have happened.” There is both a statement of trust and condemnation in that statement. Martha trusts that Jesus would have healed Lazarus, but she also has a hint of chastisement, I think. Not just if you would have been here, you should have been here. How often do we think the same things of God–you should make my life better. You should take away my problems. You should take away my anxiety, my fear, my guilt, my shame–if only you were here!
Mary offers another aspect of the human condition to Jesus. She falls on her feet in front of Jesus and with tears says, “Lord if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” She is consumed with grief; with pain; with frustration; with agony. Jesus sees this pain–pain brought on by death and suffering. And He gets angry about it.
Finally, Jesus knows the hearts of those who are saying, “Well, He opened the eyes of the guy born blind. Surely taking care of a cold would have been pretty easy.” They are doubting Jesus. They are doubting that He is the Messiah. Confronted with death, grief, illness, and suffering, they doubt that Jesus is who He says He is. And Jesus gets angry once again.
What is He angry at? Is He angry at Martha and Mary? No. I don’t think so. Is He angry at those who were expressing doubt? No. I don’t think so again. He was getting angry before their statement. Is He angry with Himself for not getting there? No. He engineered this situation from the get-go. If He’s not angry with any of the players in the play, then who or what is Jesus angry at?
The human condition. He’s angry at the whole situation of brokenness that we face when it comes to facing death. And where did that brokenness come from? Where did it all start?
Long ago, in the garden when man and woman chose to be like God instead of depending on God. The sin of Adam once again rears its head. Selfish desire strikes out showing just how we are trapped. We are in chains. Death holds sway, and many of our pursuits of life are efforts to deal with the fact or to avoid the fact that we will die. We rush and hurry and scurry to get as much in as we can because we are going to die. We enslave ourselves to our jobs and our possessions and our plans and our desires so that we can die having done and seen as much as we possibly can. We end up stressed out burning the candles at both ends with no peace and no joy because we are afraid of death. And Jesus sees this. He’s angry about it. Deeply and passionately angry about it because He knows, He knows this is not the way it is supposed to be.
He knows that we are meant to have peace.
He knows we are meant to have fulfillment.
He knows we are meant to have joy.
But we will not find them pursuing all the stuff we think will give it to us. We will only find such things in Jesus. He knows He must show us, and in the raising of Lazarus, we get a foreshadowing of why Jesus came into the world.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but so that the world may be saved through Him.
“Show me where you buried him!” Jesus exclaims. “Roll the stone away!”
“LAZARUS, COME FORTH!”
Lazarus is raised from the dead to the astonishment of all. Jesus shows that He has power over death. “I am the resurrection and the life.” Abundant life. Fulfilled life.
And Jesus’ last words in our lesson today are, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Unbind him, and let him go. On Calvary, Jesus stretched out His arms and died to reconcile the world unto God. Three days later, another stone was rolled away and another tomb became empty, and the freedom released wasn’t just for one man. It was for the world. It was for you. It was for me. By grace, you have been set free, and it was and is through Christ alone. Amen.
But are we really free?
A couple of chapters before this story, Jesus confronts a group of Pharisees, and he tells them, “Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, ‘If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.’ They answered him, ‘We are descendants of Abraham and have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean by saying, “You will be made free”?’
Jesus answered them, ‘Very truly, I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not have a permanent place in the household; the son has a place there for ever. So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.”
Now, you may say to me, “Well, pastor, I know that I sin, but I’m hardly a slave to it. It doesn’t control me. I ask God for forgiveness, and I continue on in doing the things that make me happy.”
And so I ask you, “Are you then a slave to happiness? By your own words are you not a slave to your desires?” I do the things that make me happy.
And I am sure you are happy–for a time. But do you have joy? Do you have peace? Do you have a sense of fulfillment about you? If you do, then congratulations, but do you think this is what I hear most people say about their lives? Do you think when I ask people about how their lives are going, they say they are at peace and have contentment? Not a chance. In fact, I cannot think of anyone who has ever answered me that they are at peace. Of course, everyone first says that they are doing fine, but in a matter of moments, if you really engage them in conversation, they begin telling you how busy they are. They begin telling you how they are chasing after their kids, or their commitments, or after volunteer opportunities, or at work or what have you. Our conversations constantly revolve around all the stuff we have to do or get done, and time and again I hear the stress and the strain. “I’m tired.” “I’m stressed.” “I don’t want to deal with all of this stuff anymore.”
And if I got up here this morning and said, “Just walk away from it then,” what would you tell me? Many would say, “I can’t.” Others might say, “Well, I’ll just stop coming to church because that’s a place where I can cut some time.” Let me offer you this. First, if you say you can’t stop doing the things you are doing, then I submit to you, you are not free. You are a prisoner. Second, I submit to you that if you decide to cut out going to church and coming into contact with the living God, then you are actually leaving the one place where you can be assured to encounter the one who can make you free.
Let’s turn to our gospel lesson this morning from the 11th chapter of the book of John. It’s the story of Jesus’ raising of Lazarus. We see how Jesus is made aware early on that Lazarus is very ill. Jesus purposely procrastinates in going to his friend’s side knowing full well Lazarus will die. When Jesus does finally head to Bethany, He is confronted with the human condition–our bondage to sin and death.
Upon His arrival, Martha runs out to meet him. Martha tells Jesus, “Lord, if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Interestingly enough, this is not the first time we will hear this statement. It will be spoken again later. “Lord, if only you had been here...but nevertheless, I know that God will grant you what you ask.”
Jesus responds, “Your brother will rise again.”
Martha says, “Of course he will at the resurrection.”
And Jesus snaps back, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
Do you believe this? Jesus confronts Martha with the Truth. In the midst of our struggles and stresses and anxieties, we usually become so overwhelmed that we leave the Truth behind. We focus on all the stuff of the world, but neglect the source of our strength and hope. We neglect the source of true freedom. “I am the resurrection and the life!” Jesus says, “Do you believe this?”
Martha says, “Yes. I believe you are the Messiah.” Are we so bold as to say the same thing?
It’s interesting that the story doesn’t progress from here straight to Lazarus’ tomb. There is more, and this time, Martha’s sister Mary is involved. Mary now comes to Jesus, and she says the exact same phrase Martha said earlier. “Lord, if you had been here my brother would not have died.”
But this time, Jesus’ response is vastly different. This time, instead of appealing to the Truth, Jesus responds with tears. Seeing Mary’s grief and the grief of those surrounding her, Jesus is troubled deeply. Actually, that’s not the proper term. The proper term is brought to a place of roiling anger. It’s an anger that causes Jesus to weep. Why? Why does Jesus weep?
Let’s take in three more sentences of the text. 36So the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him!’ 37But some of them said, ‘Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying?’ Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed (billowing with anger!), came to the tomb.
Remember when I said Jesus was confronted with the human condition? Jesus is confronted with the reality of death, and His first encounter is with Martha who says, “Lord if only you had been here, this stuff wouldn’t have happened.” There is both a statement of trust and condemnation in that statement. Martha trusts that Jesus would have healed Lazarus, but she also has a hint of chastisement, I think. Not just if you would have been here, you should have been here. How often do we think the same things of God–you should make my life better. You should take away my problems. You should take away my anxiety, my fear, my guilt, my shame–if only you were here!
Mary offers another aspect of the human condition to Jesus. She falls on her feet in front of Jesus and with tears says, “Lord if only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” She is consumed with grief; with pain; with frustration; with agony. Jesus sees this pain–pain brought on by death and suffering. And He gets angry about it.
Finally, Jesus knows the hearts of those who are saying, “Well, He opened the eyes of the guy born blind. Surely taking care of a cold would have been pretty easy.” They are doubting Jesus. They are doubting that He is the Messiah. Confronted with death, grief, illness, and suffering, they doubt that Jesus is who He says He is. And Jesus gets angry once again.
What is He angry at? Is He angry at Martha and Mary? No. I don’t think so. Is He angry at those who were expressing doubt? No. I don’t think so again. He was getting angry before their statement. Is He angry with Himself for not getting there? No. He engineered this situation from the get-go. If He’s not angry with any of the players in the play, then who or what is Jesus angry at?
The human condition. He’s angry at the whole situation of brokenness that we face when it comes to facing death. And where did that brokenness come from? Where did it all start?
Long ago, in the garden when man and woman chose to be like God instead of depending on God. The sin of Adam once again rears its head. Selfish desire strikes out showing just how we are trapped. We are in chains. Death holds sway, and many of our pursuits of life are efforts to deal with the fact or to avoid the fact that we will die. We rush and hurry and scurry to get as much in as we can because we are going to die. We enslave ourselves to our jobs and our possessions and our plans and our desires so that we can die having done and seen as much as we possibly can. We end up stressed out burning the candles at both ends with no peace and no joy because we are afraid of death. And Jesus sees this. He’s angry about it. Deeply and passionately angry about it because He knows, He knows this is not the way it is supposed to be.
He knows that we are meant to have peace.
He knows we are meant to have fulfillment.
He knows we are meant to have joy.
But we will not find them pursuing all the stuff we think will give it to us. We will only find such things in Jesus. He knows He must show us, and in the raising of Lazarus, we get a foreshadowing of why Jesus came into the world.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son so that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world not to condemn the world but so that the world may be saved through Him.
“Show me where you buried him!” Jesus exclaims. “Roll the stone away!”
“LAZARUS, COME FORTH!”
Lazarus is raised from the dead to the astonishment of all. Jesus shows that He has power over death. “I am the resurrection and the life.” Abundant life. Fulfilled life.
And Jesus’ last words in our lesson today are, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
Unbind him, and let him go. On Calvary, Jesus stretched out His arms and died to reconcile the world unto God. Three days later, another stone was rolled away and another tomb became empty, and the freedom released wasn’t just for one man. It was for the world. It was for you. It was for me. By grace, you have been set free, and it was and is through Christ alone. Amen.
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