revmattil.org

On this Maundy Thursday, the day Jesus celebrated the Passover with His disciples, instituted the Lord’s Supper, and was betrayed by Judas, I am looking forward to attending worship. Holy Week is ramping up, and today we commemorate how Jesus gave us a special meal. By the power of God’s Word and promise, we receive the very body and blood Jesus used to pay for our sins with the bread and the wine, which He said was to help us REMEMBER what He did. More than that, in this Sacrament, He assures us that our sins are forgiven.

As we remember, I encourage you to consider something else Jesus did on this day. Read through John 13. It begins with Jesus and His disciples gathering for the Passover meal, and Jesus washes the feet of His disciples.

 John 13:12–17 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

Jesus drove home that He came as a servant, and those who follow Him are to follow His example. He drives that point home again later in the chapter.

John 13:34–35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

This is first and foremost an admonition of how the followers of Jesus are to treat each other. Love one another. Serve each other. But Jesus did not intend for His disciples to keep it to themselves. His life was a testimony of that. He was rightly accused of hanging out with sinners and outcasts. He directed His efforts to all people who needed saving, including those outside the chosen nation of Israel. He stated plainly that He came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).

Ask yourself how you can serve others in your community to follow the example of Jesus. Doing so will give you the chance to share the good news of what Jesus did for all people so that they could have forgiveness and life, too.

Cheryl and I were traveling yesterday to attend a funeral. When I turned on the news in the morning, I saw the footage of a cargo ship hitting the Francis Scott Key bridge in Baltimore, causing it to collapse.

What do we do with a tragedy like this? Not only was there a tragic loss of life for those construction workers, but this will cause hardships for thousands of workers in that port and no doubt have a detrimental impact on our economy and supply chain.

Jesus warned us that in this world we would have trouble. The last few years have given us plenty of evidence that this is true. But don’t forget what He said right after that.

John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

We grieve and mourn with those families who lost loved ones. We pray for those whose livelihood will be adversely affected. But we live in the certainty that Jesus has overcome the world. He spoke these words just before He was betrayed, put on trial, beaten, crucified and buried. The events we remember this week are the evidence and proclamation of His victory. Knowing that He has paid for sin and gives that freely to all who trust in Him is what gives us peace. Hold on to that.

Lord, have mercy.

John 12:34–37 The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?” Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.

On this Wednesday of Holy Week we look again to what John recorded in chapter 12 of his Gospel. There were those in the crowd that were simply asking questions, others who were challenging Jesus. Some were already His followers, others wanted to be but did not want to do so openly for fear of the Pharisees and the Jewish authorities. And there were those who were looking for holes in His story, trying to discredit Him. So how does Jesus respond? He knows better than to try to argue with them. He simply affirms who He is and why He had come.

“You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.”

This was not the first time Jesus used this imagery.

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

And John the writer of this Gospel, used the same language in his introduction of Jesus as the beginning of his account:

John 1:4–5 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

Jesus came to shine the light of God’s Word, which tells us of His love and mercy and grace and forgiveness. That light is still shining today, pointing us to the one who was lifted up to pay for the sins of the world, offering life and salvation to anyone who will believe in Him.

This reading ends by telling us there were many who would not believe in Him. The same is true today. But there is still time. That is why we must continue to let His light shine through us. Jesus told us as much:

Matthew 5:14–16 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

John 12:34–37 The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?” Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him.

On this Wednesday of Holy Week we look again to what John recorded in chapter 12 of his Gospel. There were those in the crowd that were simply asking questions, others who were challenging Jesus. Some were already His followers, others wanted to be but did not want to do so openly for fear of the Pharisees and the Jewish authorities. And there were those who were looking for holes in His story, trying to discredit Him. So how does Jesus respond? He knows better than to try to argue with them. He simply affirms who He is and why He had come.

“You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.”

This was not the first time Jesus used this imagery.

John 8:12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

And John the writer of this Gospel, used the same language in his introduction of Jesus as the beginning of his account:

John 1:4–5 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.

Jesus came to shine the light of God’s Word, which tells us of His love and mercy and grace and forgiveness. That light is still shining today, pointing us to the one who was lifted up to pay for the sins of the world, offering life and salvation to anyone who will believe in Him.

This reading ends by telling us there were many who would not believe in Him. The same is true today. But there is still time. That is why we must continue to let His light shine through us. Jesus told us as much:

Matthew 5:14–16 “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

John 12:27–33 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.

As we continue in John 12 this Holy Week, we hear Jesus thinking out loud. Here is my paraphrase of what Jesus said:

“The time has come to do what I came here to do. Should I ask my Father and your Father to change His mind and let me off the hook?  No! This is why I came, to accomplish the payment for the sins of the world so that anyone who wants it can be forgiven. I came to save, and this is how it will be done.”

Jesus was resolute about the task He had been given. He knew that by offering Himself, He was doing the will of His Father and reconciling the world to Himself. So He says,

“Father, glorify your name!” And the Father responds by saying, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.”  All the glory belongs to God because of who He is and what He has done and what He continues to do and what He will do for us all. The name of the one whose voice thundered on that day is glorified whether we say so or not, but those of us who have been led to faith in what Jesus did for us are happy to join with the heavenly host to affirm what they said at the birth of our Savior:

Luke 2:14 “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

The one born as one of us to be our substitute, the one who allowed Himself to be our sacrificial Lamb as payment for our iniquity, the one who conquered the prince of this world and death and the grave for all people is the one who was lifted up and wants to draw all men, all people, to Himself. Keep your eyes fixed on Him.

John 12:20–26 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

John records this event immediately after Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. He had arrived in Jerusalem and says “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” When we hear those words or think of seeing someone “in all their glory,” we imagine an awesome display of power and majesty and might. And that is precisely what Jesus was about to do, but it was not like anything the people in Jerusalem or anywhere else in this world could possibly have imagined.

Jesus being glorified included these things: His betrayal and arrest, being tried and beaten and mocked, denied by Peter, led out to the place of execution, and hung on a cross until He was dead. That was all part of Jesus being glorified. It was truly a majestic display of power and strength.

But that was not all. We know the rest of the story, how He rose on the third day, victorious over death and the grave, and then ascended into heaven where He was exalted to the highest place. That was also part of Jesus being glorified. An even more impressive display of the power of our King.

Let’s remember that there would not have been a resurrection if Jesus had not first died. And He died that horrible death so that He could pay the price our sins deserved and demanded. The season of Lent, and especially Holy Week, are designed for the purpose of jogging our memories to this fact.

The kernel of wheat fell to the ground and died in order to produce our forgiveness, life and salvation. This week we see Jesus being glorified.

Today is Palm Sunday, the start of Holy Week, when Jesus entered Jerusalem to a royal welcome.

Matthew 21:5 “Say to the Daughter of Zion, ‘See, your king comes to you, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.’ ”

Jesus was certainly the King of the universe, but He was not the kind of king the Jews were expecting. It was prophesied that God would give a king to His people, a descendant of the royal line of David.

Isaiah 9:6–7  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.

God repeated that promise to His people throughout the Old Testament. And when the time was right, God sent His angel Gabriel to a Mary with an important announcement.

Luke 1:30-33 …the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. ³¹ You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. ³² He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, ³³ and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

This was part of the Jewish expectation. They were awaiting their King. But it was not limited to the descendants of Abraham.

Matthew 2:1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem ² and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star in the east and have come to worship him.”

The recognition of Jesus as the King may have been widely known, but it was not universally popular. Herod tried to have Him killed to eliminate any competition. He sent soldiers to slaughter the male babies in Bethlehem, but he was unsuccessful. Joseph was warned to flee, and Jesus lived. He grew up. He didn’t look like a king, but He was fulfilling the role. He spoke the Word of His Father in order to bring people back to God. And He said He would come again.

Matthew 25:31–34 ³¹ “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. ³² All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. ³³ He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. ³⁴ “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world.

Jesus, prophesied as a king before His birth, welcomed as a king when He was born, hailed as a king on Palm Sunday, coming back again as a king. But that is not the whole story. This king came to accomplish your forgiveness. He would do that by living a life free from sin and then offer that life to pay for your sin. Our King was betrayed by one of his disciples, after which Jesus was on trial before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate.

Matthew 27:11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” “Yes, it is as you say,” Jesus replied.

Jesus did not deny His position. He knew who He was, but He did not use His position to escape what He had come to do. He let those soldiers mock and beat and ridicule and torment Him as a king.

Matthew 27:28–31 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. ³⁰ They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. ³¹ After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.

They led Him our to Golgotha, carrying His cross so they could carry out the death sentence. And when He was crucified, they placed a sign above His head.

John 19:19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews.

Nailed to a cross. Bleeding. Dying for the sins of the world, including yours and mine. Behold, your king. This is God’s love in action.

Isaiah 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Jesus did that for you. This is what you should reflect on and contemplate as we go through this Holy Week and prepare to celebrate the Festival of the Resurrection next Sunday.

Years ago I visited a large church and walked into the restroom. It had those old hot air hand dryers instead of paper towels, the ones where you pushed a button to start the dryer. Someone had taped a note on one that said, “Push this button for a pre-recorded message from our Pastor.” It made me laugh. It also humbled me a bit and was a reminder to make sure the messages I shared with my congregation were timely, relevant expositions of God’s Truth.

John 4:24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

For almost three years in retirement, Cheryl and I did not worship in the congregation that we served for over thirty years. We waited until they had a new full-time called pastor. We went to his installation, and then stayed away for a while longer so he could settle in to his new calling. In the time we were not attending Grace, we visited over 75 different congregations around the country. I led worship and preached at a few of those, but mostly we were there to be fed and worship.

We encountered a lot of different preaching styles, and a wide variety of messages. Most of them were good public speakers, engaging their listeners with stories and persuasive speech. But in over half the services we attended, they didn’t preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified. There was nothing wrong with what they did say, but they left out the message that should be shared in every worship service. If there were people there that day who did not know that forgiveness is a free gift from God for Jesus sake, they would still not know it when they left.  If a believer came to worship needing to be assured of his or her forgiveness, they would not have heard it in that message. It would be like getting a blast of hot air and nothing more.

This is a reminder to those who occupy a pulpit – myself included – that people need to hear the message of God’s grace in Jesus Christ clearly proclaimed every week. I was taught that the Gospel message of God reconciling the world to Himself through Jesus, not counting men’s sins against them, should predominate in every message I preached. We are to be all about sharing this Good News.

This is true for all followers of Jesus, not just preachers. We live in the certainty of forgiveness and life and salvation for Jesus’ sake. We know His death paid our debt, His resurrection opened heaven for us, and our eternal life has already begun. What can you do to share that with the people you meet today?

I’m going to share some more thoughts on the promise God made to Abram in Genesis 12:1-3.  You may have noticed that it has three parts, which were repeated to Abraham over the years.

Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you.

You’ve all heard reference to “The Promised Land,” that property they are still fighting over in the Middle East. God told Abraham it would be his. That was the promise his descendants rallied around in the Exodus from Egypt. The land flowing with milk and honey would be theirs.

I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing

When God spoke this promise, Abram was already old and had no children. This was quite a promise, yet God was able to accomplish it. Isaac was the child of promise. Jacob continued that promise. His twelve sons grew into the people of Israel, a mighty nation, a people who were blessed by God. Their name was made great among the nations, so much so that when David was king, Israel was the superpower of the world. Yet it all started with God making a promise to a childless old man.

I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.

The third part of the promise was that everyone would be blessed through Abraham and his descendants. This is the most important part of the promise, because this is where we get something from God. We are part of the “all peoples” that are blessed through Abraham’s descendants, one descendant in particular: Jesus Christ. It was through the vehicle of the Jewish nation that God would bring His plan for the salvation of the world. Into a world of broken promises, God sent His promise made flesh. In spite of all the times that Israel had been disobedient and failed to live as God’s people, God remained steadfast and faithful. He kept His promise. He sent the one who would bring blessing to all peoples. Jesus came to do that. He would pay the penalty for all our sins, even broken promises, and through Him we are blessed.

When some people look at the three parts of the promise made to Abraham, they wonder about the first two parts. Why do we say that the Land of Canaan is no longer important, or that Jewish lineage is no longer significant. We spend all our time talking about the last part of the promise being what it is all about. How can we do that? Because that is what Jesus told us. He came as the fulfillment and completion of all God’s promises. In John 4, the woman at the well spoke of the Promised One, the “Messiah”  and Jesus stated, “I who speak to you am he.”

Everything in the Old Testament, the “Old Promise” was preparing the way for and pointing to Him, whether it be a specific land, an ethnic heritage or a system of laws. Listen to how the New Testament writers addressed this issue.

Hebrews 10:1 The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming–not the realities themselves.

Colossians 2: 16-17 Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.

The reality is found in Christ. God’s promise to bless all peoples came in the form of His Son entering this world to be our Redeemer. His spotless life was the fulfillment of all those sacrificial lambs without spot or defect. His death on the cross, shedding his blood was the completion of all the sacrifices that had been offered for sin. And His victory over death brought the promise to its culmination by securing forgiveness and life for all people. All you have to do is believe the promise. And the promise is still good, because God is the one who made the promise.

While people will disappoint us by breaking their promises, God does not. And He promises that all who believe that Jesus is their Savior will have forgiveness and life.

Imagine a child who repeatedly fails to clean her room. You try not to lose your temper, and you sit down to calmly discuss the matter with her. After listening to a variety of excuses, you tell her that she has until tomorrow afternoon to complete the task. She leaves saying, “Okay, I will, I promise.” Then tomorrow afternoon arrives and the room is in worse condition that before your conversation.

Imagine your father promising that he will take you fishing this Saturday. You can hardly wait. You spend all your time making mental and physical preparations. Your anticipation keeps you from concentrating on your school work. You get all your poles and hooks gathered up. You spend time on Friday digging worms. You get up early Saturday morning to pack a lunch. You hardly even notice when the telephone rings, until your dad comes and tells you that his boss has just called him into work.

Imagine a politician who promises things will be different if he is elected, but everything remains the same.

Those situations are not too difficult to imagine. We all know what it means to have someone make a promise only to break it. That is the way people are. All kinds of promises are broken everyday. It may be the promise the guy made when he sold you that car that it “was in great shape” or the promise she made when she said she would be faithful “till death do us part.” Breaking promises is what people do. I am not condoning or approving of this behavior, but simply stating the reality. People make promises in order to get us to do something, and more often than not they break them. That is a reflection of our fallen sinful nature. You may have the best of intentions when you make a promise, but you are not always able to carry it out.

Wouldn’t it be nice if you had a promise you could count on, absolutely, positively? There is.

 Genesis 12:1-3 The LORD had said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. [2] “I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. [3] I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

It may be stating the obvious, but the “I” that is speaking here, the one making all the promises and doing it all is God. In fact, it may be so obvious that we overlook it. How often have you read this account and thought, “It must have been a great hardship on Abraham to move his household not even knowing where he was going!” When you read through this, do you place the emphasis on the inconvenience imposed on Abraham or that God went out of His way to accomplish something for all men through Abraham and his descendants?

This passage is pure grace, God is giving and man is receiving. Mankind, and Abraham in particular, had done nothing to merit or deserve what God was doing, but God wants to give it so God gives it. All Abraham had to do was take what God was giving. And he did.

By believing God’s promise, Abraham was counted as righteous. The promise was good not because of anything Abraham did, but because of the one making the promise: God!

The same is true for us today. When you and I believe the promises that were made and fulfilled in Jesus, we get what He earned for us through His life and death and resurrection: forgiveness for all our sin, life and salvation.

When He makes a promise, you will not be disappointed.