JESUS FOLLOWERS
#002 JESUS FOLLOWERS
Scripture Luke 5:27-39 Orig. 7/14/63
- Rewr. 4/10/85
Passage: 27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him. 29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” 33 They said to him, “John’s disciples often fast and pray, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours go on eating and drinking.” 34 Jesus answered, “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while he is with them? 35 But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; in those days they will fast.” 36 He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. 38 No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. 39 And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’”
Purpose: Continuing a study from Luke, calling attention to some who early came to be followers of Jesus
Keywords: Bible Study
Timeline/Series: Luke
Introduction
The first part of our study has to do with the call of a tax-collector to be a Christ-follower. The scripture makes clear that they were a hated breed, and the reason is clear. The Romans didn’t have an IRS. There were no computers to foul up, and there were no refunds to grant.
They assessed a certain district the amount of taxes that were to be paid, and then sold the collecting rights to the highest bidder. The officials didn’t care how much or how little money has actually collected, just so long as they got their assessed gross.
It is easy to see how such a program could be abused, and how thieves with strong-armed tactics would tend to become the tax-collectors; and how they could become hated by the people.
U.S.A. Today did a piece this week on numbers of assaults on IRS agents. It’s up 50% in the last five years. The article centered around a citizen’s going after some agents with his unregistered AR-15 rifle as they were about to seize his Cherokee in lieu of payment.
The point is that tax people still are not all that popular, especially this time of the year. We all know that it has to be done, and that our system, while not perfect, is the best available. Yet tax people are not popular folks.
I. The Selection of Matthew. V27 “After these things He went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, ‘Follow me.’”
At this point there were only four who were followers of Jesus—Simon, Andrew, James, and John (Matthew 4 and Luke 5). Jesus already envisioned calling more. But He must teach even these four. A lesson they need to learn is based on human worth and repentance. These were simple men, and thus were easily teachable. Both Mark and Matthew include the disciples at the feast.
Jesus’ method was to reach out to people who needed Him. It had nothing to do with “who” they were, or “what” they had. It had to do with “how” the perceived themselves in relation to God. There are down-and-outers and up-and-outers, but chances are the ones walking alone are more open to spiritual profferings.
A major purpose here is to communicate the need for repentance. Remember, his link with John in Matthew 3:1: “John, preaching, saying ‘Repent ye, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.’” Matthew 4:17: Jesus said “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.”
At the feast Jesus will have occasion to illustrate repentance. Levi the publican becomes Matthew. Many publicans are at the feast to hear Jesus. They need repentance. Many religious leaders are contemptuously looking on. They need repentance also.
There is a terrible danger in the lives of many contemporary religious folk, that their religion becomes a shield against repentance.
II. Secondly, A Question to Jesus About Why His Followers Are Different. V33 “Why do the disciples of John fast, likewise those of the Pharisees, but Yours eat and drink?” We need to try to get to the real question. Why don’t your followers fast? Why don’t your people commiserate rather than celebrate?
Don’t disdain fasting. I don’t know but one other thing that would more for the pastor and people of Transylvania Baptist Church—That’s prayer.
The time comes when Christians ought to fast. Isaiah 58:6 “Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke.”
“Yoke” is used to gain advantage. Orthodox Jews like orthodox religionists of today believed that religion was supposed to make one appear uncomfortable. They endured the Sabbath. We take it in two hour units. They fasted on Monday and Thursday (6a.m. to 6p.m.). They put ash on their faces to show their fasting.
Anytime we are in such stricture of soul that our time with God is not interrupted for nourishment, whether by design or by forgetfulness, it is fasting.
Jesus uses the occasion of the question to share three parables:
(1) The true spirit life is like a wedding feast. V34: “Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them?” We are not compelled to do what we wish not to do. We are not denied things because they are pleasurable. We are simply promised that living life in faith based on the Word of God is what brings true happiness.
(2) The true spirit life is like a piece of new cloth. V36 “No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one. It will tear, and they do not match.” The Greek word for “tear,” pronounced “sxisma,” is our word for “schism.” The first three usages are about religious division. There is a present struggle in the Convention. Jesus is not demeaning of the Old Testament but, rather, the way they looked at it. They could not repair it by attaching some new ideology over an old error. Jesus was certainly not certifying that the new is better than the old. He wanted to get to the heart of truth and build thereon.
(3) The true spirit life is like fermenting juice. The life situation is that these were not bottles but goatskins. The Greek word pronounced “bota” is our word for “boot.” Old skins are weak, cracked. Fermentation will penetrate. What Jesus is teaching is that people who know will not choose the new wine over old. The value is in the aging, the changing. The good comes from the new in the process of change. Work through a new thought for it to become truth. Leave room for repentance to be contained in your vessel of speculation until it ferments into truth.
Closing
George Whitefield, 1700’s, said in one of his sermons, “You see, brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, what great blessings are treasured up for you in Jesus Christ and what you are entitled to by believing on His name. Take heed, therefore, that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called. Think often how highly you are favored; and remember, you have not chosen Christ, He has chosen you.” (Whitefield’s Sermon Outlines, Eerdman’s Publishing 1956, p.122)
THE PARABLE OF TWOS
#005 THE PARABLE OF TWOS
Scripture Matthew 7:13-14 Orig. 12-08-63
Rewr. 10-81; 5-9-91
Passage: 13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.”
Purpose: Sharing a message from this early parable of Jesus reminding us all that choices all around us need to be based on both reason and faith.
Keywords: Decision New Birth Eternal Life Judgment
Timeline/Series: Parables
Introduction
We call this “The Parable of Twos” because herein are two gates, two avenues, two companies, and two destinies. We are told that they are not alike in any eventuality. One almost compels us to choose it, the other beckons only under the circumstance of privation and struggle. But the advice of Jesus is to think the matter over carefully, and choose for eternity, not for the here and now.
We have few songs that testify of “wide gate and broad way.” Many, however, instruct us about the “way” we need to follow.
Listen as they are sung. Footsteps of Jesus: “Tho’ they lead o’er the cold dark mountain.” I Have Decided to Follow Jesus: “Tho’ none go with me, I still will follow; Tho’ none go with me, I still will follow; Tho’ none go with me, I still will follow; No turning back, no turning back.” O Master Let Me Walk with Thee: “O Master let me walk with thee In lowly paths of service free; Tell me Thy secret, help me bear The strain of toil, the fret of care.” The Master Hath Come: “The Master hath called us, the road may be dreary, And dangers and sorrows are strewn on the track; But God’s Holy Spirit shall comfort the weary; We follow the Saviour and can not turn back. The Master hath called us, though doubt and temptation May compass our journey, we cheerfully sing: ‘Press onward, Look upward,” through much tribulation The children of Zion must follow their King.”
This parable came at the end of a lengthy discourse known today as “The Sermon on the Mount.” People were hearing Jesus for the first time. They were told, in effect, that “life is hard.” It certainly was not going to be easy to follow Jesus. They were told in that sermon of the need for “meekness,” of the tribute of those that “hunger for righteousness.” He spoke to them of the clear mandate of the law opposing killing, but of a higher law that addressed hatred. Jesus said that prayer was a sacred trust, and forgiveness, a spiritual necessity. 7:12 “All things ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them.”
I. The Parable of Twos Shows Us First that There are Two Gates. V13 “Wide is the gate,” v14 “strait is the gate.” The words themselves help us. “Wide” gives us our word “plateau,” platys. “Narrow” is the word stenos from which we get “stenography,” or narrow, lined writing. Luke 13:24 “Strive (agonize) to enter through the strait gate.”
It is brought down to choice in its simplest form. If I am buying shoes and only two pair fit, I take one pair and leave the other. But if there are a dozen possibilities, it is more difficult. When I was a boy, ice cream was available only in vanilla and chocolate. When I take my grandson to Baskin-Robbins, it will be different.
We can set this simplicity in religious context as well. There were those who heard Jesus, and believed. There were others who did not. Some listened to His message. Others rejected it. It is the application of two gates, one identified with Jesus, the other, not. The gate imagery piles up on us. One is colorful, filled with boisterous people; a refreshment stand interrupts. The other is inconvenient, and must be carefully approached; people seem serious to the point of foreboding.
It really should not surprise us that there are only two choices. Deuteronomy 30:15 “See, I have set before you this day, life and good, and death and evil.” I Kings 18:21 “And Elijah said, . . . if the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal . . . .”
II. The Parable of Twos Goes on to Affirm Two Ways. “Wide is the gate . . . that leadeth to destruction . . . Strait is the gate . . . which leadeth unto life.” No doubt, all of us have measured life in terms of broad ways and back roads. I haven’t been east or west on Highway 80 for more than a few miles in years. Remember how glad we were to get back in this auditorium from the confinement of the Fellowship Hall?
It was our good fortune to live in New Orleans while old Tulane Stadium was around. The word “concourse” was reserved for airports. At Tulane Stadium everything was jammed tightly together. After the game, you squeezed through the aisle, then the gates, then it got difficult. You had to get your car out of someone’s yard.
Now, we have the Louisiana Superdome.
While the two gates refer to broad and narrow, the two ways are destruction and life. This is encroaching on two destinies. We will look at that last.
III. The Parable of Twos Tells Us Also of Two Companies. There is a consortium of “many,” and another of “few.” The gate through which the two companies have passed is symbolic. John 14:6 “Jesus said, . . . I am the way, . . . no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” John 10:7 “Then said Jesus . . . , Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door . . . .” It is interesting that there is no other differentiation. They don’t come from different districts. They have no specific nationality. Wealth, education, physical status seem to offer no criteria of involvement.
The ONE thing that separates them is Jesus. He has taught them about God’s Kingdom. He described a religious value system.
In this sermon, He has so spoken. Matthew 6:1 “Do not announce your alms before men.” 6:7 “When you pray, use not vain repetitions.” 6:17 “Fast . . . not unto men, but God.” 6:21 “Where your treasure is, so is your heart.” 6:24 “No man can serve two masters.” 7:24 “A wise man who built his house upon a rock, . . . [another] built . . . on sand.”
IV. In Conclusion, It Is the Parable of Two Destinies. Some are passing through the gate and along the way to destruction. Those who have rightly chosen, are passing through to life. It is so easy to become enthralled with the “broad” way.
The things with which we occupy ourselves are not necessarily bad things. Ann and I attended some Mardi Gras activities while in New Orleans. Locals were there in droves. Revelers came from around the country. Money was spent irretrievably on junk. There were excesses of flesh jeopardizing health. Bad disposition remained for weeks. It took weeks to clean up the clutter. Too often there was a dead child who had taken too big a risk chasing a doubloon.
Having seen Canal Street under these circumstances left an indelible view of this text. Canal was dubbed “the world’s widest thoroughfare.”
Those things may do nothing more than keep our eye off of the main things in life. Let this “broad” way remind us that there is a “narrow” way. This narrow way leads to “life.”
There is a final thought from the word’s meaning. Two Greek words define “life.” Bios (biography) means duration, manner of life. Zoe (zoology) is life in its absolute sense. 1 John 1:2 “. . . We . . . show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.” John 1:4 “In Him was life; and that life was the light of men.”
About destruction, several words contain the idea of loss: Luke 15 parables (sheep, coin, son). The idea is that of loss of well-being.
The idea here, in Matthew 7:13, is more. It is the impact on everything worthwhile.
WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT
#858 WHEN THE WINE RUNS OUT
Scripture John 2:1-12 Orig. October 17, 1989
Passage: On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.” 4 “Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” 5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.” 6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[b] 7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. 8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.” They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” 11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. 12 After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days.
Purpose: Continuing a study of the gospel, here calling attention to Jesus’ beginning of appeals to his disciples for their faith.
Keywords: Bible Study Miracle Series, John Christ, Glory
Timeline/Series: Bible Study/John
Introduction
This is not to be a treatise on or against the use of beverage alcohol. If it were, I would use some other text. This passage has a much deeper, much more lucid meaning for us to grasp.
But I will give you a testimony. I will remind you that alcohol remains the true nemesis of our times. I grew up in a home where it was the principal source of strife. The absence of it frustrated my father, the presence of it was my mother’s strongest antagonist. I can still remember times in young childhood when my dad was picked up for public drunkenness. It was not a difficult decision for me to make to decide that my children would not have to struggle with that, nor their mother. I contend, to this day, that leaving the use of beverage alcohol out of my life has cost me nothing, and gained me much. That’s all I have to say on the subject.
Let us now get back to what the text does say. Let’s see that when Jesus and his disciples (Andrew, James, Simon Peter, Phillip, Nathaniel, and John) arrived, Mary was already there. She may have been an official part of the proceedings, a hostess, if you please. It could well have been a kinsman who was the groom. Some say John himself. For instance, the women who come to the garden tomb to prepare the body of Jesus are identified. One is called Salome (in Mark). Matthew mentions another woman, without naming Salome, and calls her the mother of Zebedee’s children. They say, then, that Mary and Salome were sisters.
Mary’s responsibility in the household was certainly official. She saw that the refreshments were gone, and that embarrassment was ahead.
I. So, Jesus Has Begun His Earthly Ministry. V1 “The third day was a marriage in Cana, of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there.” The form of the verb “to be” suggests station. It is imperfect—she has been there all along. Jesus came at her request. Six extra guests didn’t deplete the wine. His purpose was to define his role for the disciples.
The groom made his choice, makes arrangements, and has come to his father’s home, or to his new home. His guests waited there. Her guests entered after their return.
Mary reports to Jesus the embarrassment of having run out of wine. This is fermented juice of the vine. Without refrigeration, it’s the only alternative. I remember when Ann opened Welch’s grape juice out of an unplugged refrigerator.
Mary’s direct comment to the servants suggest some official position. Wealthy or poor cannot be derived. It is important that we note Jesus’ presence at ordinary events. Jesus was not an ascetic like John the Baptist. Luke 7:34 “The son of man came eating and drinking, . . . a friend of publicans and sinners.”
A comment must be made relative to the miraculous in Jesus’ ministry. Remember, John calls it a “sign” (sémeion) as he does throughout. John also uses numbers with significance. “And the third day” concludes a description of the first week. He has revealed six disciples, a number for incompleteness. Interestingly, there will be mentioned six waterpots.
Also, John selects only seven miracles. There were 35-40 in the gospels. Several are reported by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Five of the seven only John records. Here; healing the nobleman’s son (John 4); making the lame man walk (John 5); feeding the 5,000 (John 6); calming the storm (John 6); restoring sight to the blind man (John 9); and raising Lazarus (John 11).
II. He Begins This Earthly Ministry Coming to the Rescue of a Bridegroom in Distress. Undoubtedly, he has put his seal on the institution of marriage. Nearly every marriage ceremony affirms this. I would remind you that marriage is of divine, not Christian, origin. The institution preempts expensive ritualism and legal documents. Marriage is commitment to another person and to a divine mandate.
Mary calls upon Jesus to offer aid. Remember the status of her faith. She was chosen. She is celebrated in the Magnificat (Luke 1:47), “My spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.”
The aid he has come to offer is to define his Messiahship. He “manifested forth His glory” (v 11), that “his disciples believed.” The answer given to Mary is not as sharp a rebuke as it sounds. She is already called “mother of Jesus,” though this is the FIRST sign Mary knew her son. She may well have known John the Baptist’s identification of Jesus. She would conclude that “His time had come.” The hour of public assertiveness is on hold in concern for the disciples.
By the way, “woman” (gynaika) is exactly what he called her from the cross in John 19:26.
III. There Is a Spiritual Meaning Here Open to Each of Us.
V3 “They have no wine.” When the wine runs out, when that upon which all else depends is gone, what do we do? When life’s exhilaration vanishes, where do we go? He decided to provide the wine, but the true miracle is the message delivered to his disciples. To the six: “What will you do when the exhilaration turns to exhaustion, execution?” To all of us: “To whom (what) do you turn ‘When the wine runs out’?” Surely you have experienced it. The sun hides, birds hush, songs die. Life’s elixir becomes tainted. What do you do “when the wine runs out”?
It is in this context, then, that Jesus works a miracle. He instructs the workers to fill the six waterpots. 2-3 firkins would be 25-30 gallons. Water was always identified with purification (i.e., salvation). Isaiah 44:3 “I will pour water upon him that is thirsty.” 53:12 “he poured out his soul unto death.” 55:1 “He poured out his soul unto death.”
When the waterpots were filled to the neck, to the brim, it was not enough. Stone pots filled represent law. Filled, they suggest that now the law has been filled full. There was a stone pot for each of the six disciples. Six means “not enough,” incomplete. What do you do when the wine runs out? When all else comes up short? A hundred gallons of wine makes for a happy wedding, but who can make it happen?
F.W. Boreham (T47.8p209) quotes the old violinmaster to his pupil “before you have finished the world will do one of three things with you. It will make your heart very hard, it will make it very soft, or else it will break it.” When exhilaration becomes exhaustion, when the wine is gone, what do you intend to do? Jesus still holds the answer.
A final comment must be made on verse 10. “Thou hast kept the good wine until now.” Where but in Christ does exhilaration follow exhaustion? The world insists the best be used first. Beauty spends itself for maturity. Youth surrenders in time to age. And the world counts them losses.
The believer who stands by his faith sees it become. Jesus said to Nathaniel in John 1:51 “Hereafter.”
The choicest blessings of marriage await the exhaustions of time.
A WORD OF PERCEPTION (Fourth Word from the Cross)
#075 A WORD OF PERCEPTION (Fourth Word from the Cross)
Scripture Matthew 27:45-46 NIV Orig. Date 4/1/62 (3/80)
Rewr. Dates 3/25/87
Passage: 45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lama sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).[b]
Purpose: Continuing the Words from the Cross series with a special emphasis placed upon the sovereignty of God in behalf of His Son and His people.
Keywords: Christ, Death Sovereignty, God Commitment
Judgment Suffering
Timeline/Series: Words from the Cross
Introductions
Somewhere, Thornton Wilder has a significant line that declares “In love’s service, only wounded soldiers will do.” In that context, then, it should not seem unusual to us, or unreasonable, that Jesus became a “wounded soldier.” It was to that end that Old Testament prophecies foresaw Him as “man of sorrows.” But we must interpret that correctly.
Here we discover the degree to which Christ would go as a “wounded soldier.” More, it testifies that there is no degree to which He would not go “in love’s service.”
Eli, Eli; lama sabachthani? That is, My God, My God; Why hast Thou forsaken me?
What pain hurts more than aloneness? What hurt weighs more heavily on us than that of feeling forsaken, especially unjustly forsaken? Off-beat theologians have emerged, and in their effort to explain, have explained away this text. Jesus, they say, had lapsed into delirium. Others, that though conscious, the pain rendered Him verbally out-of-control. Yet others suggest that He was not forsaken but simply felt so.
Jesus did not ever give in to the flesh. Why should we think it is happening here? There was neither unconsciousness, uncontrolled delirium, nor mistaken anguish. Jesus felt forsaken because he was forsaken. For sin to be effectively dealt with, it was necessary for God’s complete disposition of it to take place. Christ was the instrument through which that disposition took place.
After having seen the great dancer, Pavlova, perform, someone asked her to explain the artistic meaning of her dance. She stood there drained of the last bit of her energy and replied, “Do you think I would have danced it if I could have said it?” For Jesus, words are an inarticulate description of God’s intent to save. The cross must be endured if we are to have perception of God’s love.
I. It is Perception, First, of Supernatural Covenant. Luke 24:44 “. . . all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, . . . , concerning me.”
Surely, this is not the only time that Jesus questioned the strange events of His life. Perhaps, as a small boy, He wondered of the unique events of His birth. Luke 2:19, “She pondered these things.” Perhaps, as an adolescent, He questioned why things of interest to others His age, did not interest Him. Luke 2:49, “. . . Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?” Even as an adult, it shouldn’t surprise us if He wondered, despaired of unbelief all around. Matthew 22:5, “They made light of it and went . . . away.” Mark 3:5, “Being grieved for the hardness of their hearts.”
And whenever such times had enveloped Him, He always before had felt the deeper wealth of assurance. Boyish questions were answered with meaning of His name—Jesus: “He would save His people.” Adolescent wonderings were assuaged by His own love for the Father, and the Father’s house.
As an adult, little could have been more obvious than the signs of God’s presence. At His baptism, there had been the voice boldly declaring “Thou art my beloved son.” During the temptation in the wilderness “angels came and ministered unto Him.”
Starting at Cana one day at a wedding: John 2:11, “This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.”
On a mountain side one day: Matthew 17:1f, “. . . There appeared . . . Moses and Elijah talking with Him.”
Toward the end of His ministry, at Bethany: John 11:41f, “Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard me. And I knew that Thou hearest me always: but because of the people . . . that they may believe . . . Lazarus, come forth.”
Even with all of this, His plea is the plea of a man alone. Not over-wrought psyche playing tricks; not low pain-threshold binding reason. It is divine covenant being completed with all of its wretched consequences.
There had likewise been 3 words to the cross. “If Thou be the Christ, come down,” was the one thing He could not do. “He saved others, Himself He cannot save,” was a true saying. “Remember me, when. . .” was a reminder that we, too, have our crosses in following.
II. It is Perception of Superhuman Commitment. John 12:46 “I am come a light into the world.” There are, of course, those who argue that Jesus was not forsaken. They claim some physical distress, that Jesus simply quoted Psalm 22 in its present context. Psalm 22:23: “Praise Him ye who fear the Lord; . . . do Him honor; stand in awe of Him. . . For He has not scorned the downtrodden, . . . but gave heed to him when he cried out.”
But the point is, here at Calvary, was commitment in the flesh. Luke 22:44 “Being in agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat were as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” It was the kind of commitment forever an example to us. John 11:42, “. . . because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that Thou has sent me.” Luther and Calvin (233T20p139) say that these were hours spent in the torments of the damned.
Rambach said in Meditations On the Sufferings of Christ, “God was now dealing with Him not as a loving and merciful Father with His child, but as an offended and righteous judge of an evildoer. The heavenly Father now regards His Son to be the greatest sinner to be found beneath the sun, and discharges on Him the whole weight of His wrath.”
It is time, then, to pursue the measure of our own commitment. Isaiah 53:9f “He made His grave with the wicked . . . He was numbered with the transgressors. Galatians 3:13 “. . . redeemed us from the curse . . . being made a curse for us.” Philippians 2:8 “He became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”
What kind of commitment do we offer to compare with that? We expect to be painless Christians. An hour or two on Sunday morning is as near to Calvary as we intend to go. I forgot my checkbook so I’ll rattle some change God’s way. We plan our commitment around mediocrity.
III. That Brings Us to Consider Superficial Circumstance (Uncircumstantial) “Why hast Thou forsaken me?” Jesus surrenders to the high cost of God’s will. So are such times when we likewise must.
As Gideon (Judges 6:13) “If the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? As Elijah (I Kings 19:2) under Jezebel’s threat he “arose and went for his life,” As Job (Job 30:20) “I cry unto Thee, and Thou dost not hear me.” The psalmist (Psalm 73:13) “. . . Verily I have cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocence.” All would stand before us to declare faithlessness on their part, faithfulness on God’s part.
So often, that that is real in our experience is to become the circumstance of God’s blessing. Yes, Jesus was separated from the Father, forsaken even. But to remain as companions of sin is to remain separated from the Father. Our hope of restoration was fulfilled by Christ on the Cross.
Conclusion
Back in the early part of this decade the USS Hope made the newspapers for the last time. That ship, having brought medical aid to tens of thousands in third world nations, was trapped on a sand-bar on its way to the scrap yard.
There are too many people who have given up on hope. But we Christians must be the first to proclaim it. Because of God’s covenant, and Christ’s commitment to it, I can find reason to trust even in the most circumspect of circumstances. Ships of the sea, even ships of state, may flounder, but Christ gives me reason to believe through every consequence of my life.
A WORD OF PROVISION (Third Word from the Cross)
#074 A WORD OF PROVISION (Third Word from the Cross)
Scripture John 19:25-27 NIV Orig. Date 3/21/1965 (3/1980)
Rewr. Dates 3/19/1987
Passage: 25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman,[a] here is your son,” 27 and to the disciple, “Here is your mother.” From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.
Purpose: Continuing a series of Words from the Cross, directing our thoughts to the salvation accomplished on the cross by the means of Christ’s gift of Himself
Keywords: Biography, Mary Crucifixion Salvation Blood Christ, Death
Easter
Timeline/Series: Words from the Cross
Introduction
How often, when attempting to console a friend who has lost a loved one are we moved to say, “I know how you feel!”? But we know that unless we have ourselves walked through that “lonesome valley,” we cannot know how they feel.
Even so is any word that reflects on Mary’s feelings here. How do we contemplate the feelings of Mary as she watched Jesus die? Recalling Simeon’s prophecy (Luke 2:35), “a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also,” can we comprehend her feeling? Do you suppose she recalled those words as she looked on?
Hebrew women depended on sibling caretakers just as elderly mothers do today. Perhaps more so. Joseph was surely dead. There were other children, four sons, at least two daughters. But there was only one like her first born. Now she can only stand by and watch.
Jesus is dying; and he is dying the shameful death of a criminal. She had to watch. She felt the same pain that He felt. His blood coursing down the cross was as it were her own. She could see the gaping wound, the trickling blood, the wounded hands and feet, the parched lips and tongue, yet she could do nothing. She remembered, perhaps, a child’s feet, ever-present near her own. She saw in her mind’s eye, the boyhood hands, skillfully learning from Joseph, the trade of carpenter. And every taunt, from the indifferent crowd, tore through her heart like a dagger.
Perhaps she remembered the angel (Luke 2:10), “I bring you good tidings of great joy.” She recalled the shepherds (Luke 2:20), “return[ing], glorifying and praising God.” Were the shepherds deceived, the angel a deceiver? How else to explain this now? The word here spoken was an intimately personal one spoken to His mother, but with deep meaning for all of us.
I. Consider, First, a Provision Centered in Human Need. John 19:26, “He said to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son.” We hear Jesus address an apparent need, the care of his mother in her senescence. She is left in the care of a son of the cross. She was 45, perhaps 50. There were 6-7 siblings (Matthew 13:55-56). Galatians 1:19 speaks of James “the Lord’s brother.” John 7:5: ”5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.” At this time, none of the others are followers, and Jesus wants her under redemptive care.
Not only is this a testament to God’s providence, but His foreknowledge as well. John probably outlived all others. Mary will know comparative ease in the distant confines of Ephesus.
It must also be noted that there is spiritual need here as well. It is not as son, but as Saviour, that Jesus reaches out in her behalf. There were those deep forebodings.
Shepherds were already mentioned, as were the angels. The wise men (Matthew 2:11f) were learned astrologers from the distant east, worshiping, gifting. Luke 1:42 is Elisabeth’s Magnificat—“Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.”
There were spectacular displays in His life: The Passover pilgrimage when He was twelve; manifestations of healing, teaching. There are stranger forebodings to beset her now. We must see her humanity, so unique, yet still one of us. It is disparaging and dishonest to see her as other than sinner. Jesus must gently remove Himself as son, that she might see Him as Saviour. Ephesians 2:16, “That He might reconcile both [Jew and Greek] unto God in one body on the cross.”
Fine, deeply religious, God-honoring woman that she was, needed not a son, but a Saviour.
II. A Provision Consummated in Manly Compliance. John 19:27, “Then saith He to the disciple, Behold
Thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto His . . . home.” Thus, we concluded Jesus’s intent to see her under the care of a believer.
John had given evidence of the change in his own life. He had been “Boanerges”--son of thunder. He would become “the disciple Jesus loved.” From fisherman to fisher of men. From net mender to knee bender. I John 1:1-2, “1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2 (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you . . . .)”
John would be the one, the only one (?), able to help her keep the perspective of Saviour. Not even His own mother must cloud the issue of who He really is: Son of God, Saviour. Multiple references show John’s insight. John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
Where John could make such a difference for Mary was in the good news of salvation through the cross. John undauntedly proclaimed Christ as Lord. John only records the interview with Nicodemus. John 3:17, “God sent not His son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved.”
Again, only John tells of the woman at the well. John 4:13f, “Whoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again, but who drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst.”
He tells of the lame man in Jerusalem. John 5:39f, “Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life . . . . And ye will not come unto me that ye might have life.”
As the family of Christ in the world today, how vital that we proclaim Him Lord, nothing else. John 9:4, “I must work the works of Him that sent me while it is yet day, for the night cometh.” The time comes when the mind is closed against the Lord. Satan works his doom-saying work through sin that clouds the heart to faith. Those who show themselves as Christ’s, show of their Lord.
Throughout history, those times when our Churches have been strongest was when Christ was most clearly enthroned. Mary must not be a detriment by beholding Him as son. How much clearer is our compulsion to proclaim Him Lord?
Church/Lives/Work/Pleasure
Around the world people seek to maintain their status quo, even with guns and tanks.
We are taught to pursue truth. Too many are pathetically like the blind men in the children’s story describing an elephant. One at side, trunk, leg, ear. God’s purpose remains to reveal truth through Christ.
We are facing the corruption of power on a world scale. A historian wrote of the corruption in NYC a hundred years ago. “The good people got tired of being good before the bad people got tired of being bad.”
The Real in our world today is Jesus. The Truth is Jesus. The Power capable of confronting corruption is Jesus. What are we doing about it? He is God’s Son, Saviour, who made provision for the sin of Mary and the Jews, but not for the Jew only and, as well, not only for us WASPS.
Conclusion
A businessman made an appointment to meet with his banker friend. His purpose was to share with his friend of the great estate of Christ to save. As he shared Christ’s love in that He died on the cross to save us, the banker became quite annoyed. “His destiny was in His own hands,” said the banker. “How could Christ’s death redeem me? If I am to be saved, it will be through my efforts.”
The businessman called attention to another man, known to them both waiting to see the banker. “He is coming to tell you of some need. He will press for a loan to meet that need. Will you grant him the right to set the conditions of the loan?” “Absolutely not! I will determine the conditions!” said the banker. “You stand in the same relationship to God. He is the great BANKER. We the poor, helpless sinner. We come to Him for mercy, pardon. Do we presume to set conditions, or do we accept His own?” (251T43p188)
A WORD OF PROMISE (Second Word from the Cross)
#069 A WORD OF PROMISE (Second Word from the Cross)
Scripture Luke 23:39-43, NIV Orig. Date 3/18/62 (3/80)
Rewr. Dates 3/12/87
Passage: 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[a]”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
Purpose: The second of a seven part series with an emphasis on the meaning of the crucifixion.
Keywords: Christ, Redeemer Easter Cross God, Word of
Timeline/Series: Words from the Cross
Introduction
It is interesting that the antagonism faced by Jesus was the antagonism of the religious. Oh, there was some of the other kind, but Jesus had been friend to sinners. He was on the cross now to die for sinners. He has taken His place between two thieves.
The religious leaders had been careful to create an atmosphere of suspicion relative to Jesus, and many of the people were afraid to look with openness at what He was doing.
Mark 15:31 “the chief priests . . .said . . . with the scribes ‘he saved others; himself he cannot save.’”
Luke 23:35 “. . .the rulers also scoffed at him.”
Matthew 27:41 “. . . the chief priests mocking him.”
Of these two men with whom Jesus is dying, one “railed” v39 blasphémeó —"to speak evil of.” The other “rebuked” v40 epitimaó—charged.
It was not by accident that Jesus came to die between these two. Two nameless souls, they, who were suddenly thrust into the gaze of eternity. All of Jesus life He had been the friend of sinners. He would not be separated from them in death.
Who they were, no one knows. Bandits perhaps, like those in Jesus’ story of the Samaritan. It has been put forth that they were associates of Barabbas. Insurrectionists, like him. He was the one released by Pilate (Matthew 27:15). The insurrectionist movement was begun to oppose Roman domination but it had degenerated into a habitat for thieves and criminals.
In this context, one suddenly faced up to himself, and then his accomplice. This man between them was also dying. But He was doing so courageously. There was even something regal about His bearing. He prayed for the soldiers “Father, forgive them.” For His antagonists among the leaders and on-lookers, “Father, forgive them.” He suddenly perceived Jesus to be, not an enemy, but a friend. It is that awakening that has brought untold millions to the awakening of faith over the centuries. He no longer saw a cross, but a throne; not thorns about His brow, but a crown; the blood he saw no longer meant death, but life.
I. In This Context, We Must Note First a Promise Defied. V39 “And one of these criminals blasphemed him saying, ‘Are you not the Christ? Save yourself, and us.”
This man seems almost to believe. We know that Jesus could have done so. Could relieve them of this dying sting. But this man! Can he believe this of Jesus? Like so many, his first thought is of his fleshly body, not his eternal soul.
His anger at being here confuses the promise.
Anger is not of itself a bad thing.
James 1:19 “be slow to anger.”
Ephesians 4:26 “Be angry and sin not.”
Matthew 5:22 “Whoever is angry without cause.”
Anger, and the anguish it espouses, can be a good thing for the believer. Emily Brontë wrote in Remembrance—“Once drinking of that divinest anguish, how could I seek the empty world again?” Anguish, you see, can be an ally leading to honesty, and faith, and Christ. And not that only, it is the truest friend of repentance.
But this man’s anger and anguish turn to arrogance. He stands ready to sacrifice everything to his own self-interest. Proverbs 26:12, “Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him.”
Anguish, born of arrogance, will find no relief. Not unlike Oscar Wilde in his poem Ballad of Reading Gaol,
“The vilest deeds like poison weeds bloom well in prison air;
It is only what is good in man that wastes and withers there:
Pale anguish—anguish—keeps the heavy gate, the warder of despair.”
I Peter 5:5 “. . . All of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud and giveth grace to the humble.”
II. Notice Now a Promise Subscribed. V40 “But the other answered . . . 42 Jesus, Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom.”
Some who had approached Jesus, and some at the cross now, insisted on some sign of power. Just a sign, Jesus, and we will believe: Many in the world today, some in this room today.
But Jesus had spoken all that there is to say. “The only sign that you will be given is that of Jonas”: a sign of death, a sign of submergence and submission, a sign of dependence and selflessness. And too many of us, like too many of them, will have none of it.
“Give us something to help us remember Golgotha.” Give us proof or forget it. Write out a check for the bottom line.
Here was one man who needed no further sign. I remind you, it was not death that converted him. It was life, Jesus’ life. He saw through new eyes. In fact, he saw through no eyes at all, but through his heart. John 6:40, “This is the will of him that sent me, that everyone that seeth the Son, and believeth on Him, may have everlasting life.” John 4:42 (Samaritans) “We have heard him ourselves and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.”
He, here and forever, makes himself accountable to Christ. Have we done so? You and I? “Well, no,” you say, “But I am not a thief.” When you keep for yourself, what belongs to another, you are a thief. This has nothing to do with possessions. It has to do with us. We belong to another. But we selfishly, greedily withhold what He desires the most: ourselves, our friendship, or time and presence and growth.
III. There Is a Final Element to the Promise. It Is a Promise Supplied. V43 “And He said unto him, Truly I say to you that today you will be with me in paradise.” It was a promise of compassion. Without hesitation the promise is made for Jesus recognizes faith. He opens Himself to the hurting offender. The one who sincerely seeks will always find. He will find all that he wants and more.
But it is essential to see Himself as He is. If we would know Jesus, we would, as well, know our sin, our need. In that comprehension of self, Jesus stands the more revealed. Matthew 11:28 “Come unto me, all ye that labour, and I will give you rest.”
As it was a promise of compassion, it was also a promise of comprehension. Jesus meant every word that He spoke. It was a promise of God’s blessing. He didn’t have much of that left. For us, it is a promise of life purpose.
It was a promise of forgiveness. Story of adoptive parents who used an old, tattered, dirty pair of shoes to remind the child from what he came as discipline. Our heavenly Father does not bring out the tattered memories of the past, but promises that through Jesus “our iniquities He will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34).
It was a promise of death-watch. Jesus has already told them to weep not for Him. He will next “commend” His spirit. He has spoken to the thief urging upon him this new life.
It was finally, then, a promise of salvation. Heaven is a place. It is immediately accessible. It is presided over by Christ. It is a place for sinners.
Conclusion
Thus, Jesus herein sets His final seal of satisfaction on what He had given His life to fulfill and declare: “This day thou shalt be with me.” It is not fantasy, but reality.
As declared by James S. Stewart, “The Life and Teaching of Jesus” (p. 170), “. . . that in a single moment from the dust heaps and cinder heaps of life any ruined, hopeless soul, bound in affliction and iron, may pass straight to the perfect release of forgiveness, and wear the white robes of a saint.”
A WORD OF PRAYER (First Word from the Cross)
#068 A WORD OF PRAYER (First Word from the Cross)
Scripture Luke 23:33-34 NIV Orig. 3/11/62 (2/80)
Rewr. March 4, 1987
Passage: 33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”[a] And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
Purpose: Beginning a series on the words of Christ from the cross, and therein to speak to my people about the prayer of Jesus, and his role as intercessor.
Keywords: Christ Mediator Easter Prayer
Timeline/Series: Words from the Cross
Introduction
There is no better place to begin a study of Jesus’ intercessory prayer on the cross than to examine other places where we find Jesus engaging in prayer. Clearly, his prayer-life and his spiritual purpose are tied strongly together.
Go, in your mind’s eye, and take a position where you can view Jesus at prayer. Go first to the Jordan and watch His baptism. Luke 3:21f “As Jesus was baptized and prayed, heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit came in the bodily form of a dove.” God crowns Christ’s surrender in death with the dove which is the symbol of peace.
Then in the wilderness view him praying and fasting. In Matthew 4:1f the devil sought to tempt Jesus to find a less painful way, and less effective, to work at the objective of God. It was through prayer and fasting that Jesus achieved.
Observe occasions when Jesus was beset by weariness. He sought a place of prayer. Mark 1:32f “And at even . . . they brought unto him all that were diseased, . . . and all the city was gathered at the door. . . . And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.” We have different ideas today about “resorting,” but for Jesus it meant “to pray.” When Jesus ministered to the needs around Him, He gave of his spiritual vitality and strength. It could only be reclaimed in communion with God the Father.
On the occasion when the apostles were called, Luke 6:12f, “ . . . he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day . . . he chose twelve.” How much of this dependence and helplessness on the part of Jesus must we see revealed before we reckon with our own dependence?”
So, now at Calvary, the crowning achievement of Jesus’ life, and again, we find Him at prayer.
I. The Word of Prayer Speaks First of Priority. V34 “Father, forgive them.” This crisis hour requires strong intervention. Pain seems to bring out the best in people who are the more oriented to it. We who seldom experience it are more taken with self-pity. Too easily accepting sin likewise creates a fantasy of rationalization.
There is a correlation between suffering and sin. It is not always the sinner who suffers. The sufferer is not necessarily the one who has sinned. Behind it all is grace, pointing us through the crisis to forgiveness and peace. Here is Jesus, suffering unto death. His suffering is sin-related, but it is not His crime being exorcised on the cross. He chooses to submit to the will of God that we, you and I, might know His strong intervention in our behalf.
Such suffering, related to the will of God, has eternal consequence. Philippians 3:10 “That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His suffering, being made conformable to His death.”
The priority of the moment is that this historical event must express the ultimate will of God. We betray ourselves doctrinally by over-zealous denominationalism. Christ died for our sin is priority. Satan tricks us morally with issues: equality; sexuality; drugs. Being morally right delivers not from sin.
Thus, in prayer on the cross, Jesus teaches us this tremendously important lesson of priority: His determination to do the will of God. Luke 22:42 “Not my will, but Thine.” John 1:13 “Born, not of blood, or of the will of the flesh, nor . . . man, but of God.” Jesus sought for all to know that the Father was to be trusted.
Paul admonished Ephesians (6:4) fathers, and Christians in general, that they were to be related to their children in trust.
The means of forgiveness is set forth. We must know of “the more excellent way.” We must know that it is attainable: by whom, through whom. We must know the cross is the means.
II. The Word of Prayer Speaks Next of Persistence. V34 “Father, forgive them.” Here is a beautiful illustration of the expressiveness of the Greek language. The English translates, “Then said Jesus.” The Greek, however, contains intense repetition. “He kept on saying, over and over, ‘Father, forgive them.’” As He completes this death-dealing passage through Jerusalem: “Father, forgive them.” His hands and feet are nailed: “Father, forgive them.” The Cross is roughly seated, “Father, forgive them.” Of the jeering crowd, “Father, forgive them.” Of the gambling soldiers, “Father, forgive them.” And the disciples would never be able to forget this scene at Calvary.
Such persistence is typified by His fellowship with the Father. Jesus was content to do the will of God. In Deuteronomy 3:25f, Moses sought to go over the Jordan—God said to Moses, “Speak no more unto me of this matter” (wroth). In Jeremiah 20:7, Jeremiah’s dreams of awakening were quashed. “I have been made a laughing stock all day long.”
Jesus encourages us to this same fellowship with the Father. Samson is an Old Testament example. Judges 16:28 “Give me strength only this once, O God, and let me at one stroke be avenged on the Philistines for my eyes.” A New Testament example is Stephen: “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Acts 7:60.
We must also note here for whom Jesus prayed: those believers with breaking heart who accompanied Him here; but as well, the soldiers, the temple police, gloating Sadducee, and grimacing Pharisee; Roman and Jew alike; and for us today, South African of Cape Town or Soweto, Lebanese, of whatever extraction. God seeks our forgiveness and Christ arranged it. The them is us, and we must pursue it.
III. The Word of Prayer Speaks Lastly of Performance. “Father, forgive them. We are guilty beyond measure.” Our guilt is multiplied. We are guilty of sin as charged. Matthew 15:18 “Those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.”
We are made twice guilty when we pay only lip service to the Christ of the cross. I Peter 4:13 “Rejoice inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that when His glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy.”
The real performance of our lives revolves around the cross of Jesus. Do you understand why He went to the cross? Do you understand it was with your sin (not sins) in mind? Can you grasp that unless you allow His death to cover your sin, nothing else ever will?
Marvelous grace of our loving Lord, Grace that exceeds our sin and our guilt,
Yonder on Calvary’s mount outpoured, There where the blood of the Lamb is spilt.
Dark is the stain that we cannot hide, What can avail to wash it away?
Look! There is flowing a crimson tide; Whiter than snow you may be today.
Grace Greater than Our Sin, #164
The prayer of Jesus performed one thing more. It eased the agony through which He was going. It was not the agony of raw nerves, untended wounds, or insult, or indifferent masses, then and now. It was the agony of separation from the Father.
Sweet hour of prayer, sweet hour of prayer, That calls me from a world of care,
And bids me at my Father’s throne, Make all my wants and wishes known.
In seasons of distress and grief, My soul has often found relief,
And oft escaped the tempter’s snare, By thy return, sweet hour of prayer.
Sweet Hour of Prayer
Lest we forget, nothing shows His consciousness of His Sonship like this prayer: God’s will first, and dealing with man’s sin effectively.
What remains is obedience on our part.
***THE REMAINDER OF THIS SERMON HAS BEEN LOST***