Basic Recap of Sunday’s Sermon: “Look Up at Jesus” John 12:27-36

We praise certain people because of what they do, with the expectation that they will do even great things for which we will give them more praise. So for instance, a star athlete will get glorified and become even more glorified by society as he does further athletic feats. When Jesus entered into Jerusalem he came with much fanfare and attention. People were already praising him and expecting him to do great things. Jesus however doesn't accommodate those expectations. Instead he challenges their notion of what it will mean for him to be glorified. Indeed, Jesus' concern was not to gain glory from the crowd but to make sure that glory would be given to God. And stunningly, this would happen through his death on the cross.

The passage begins with Jesus looking ahead to what was in store with him at the cross and being understandably anxious but also committed to this purpose for the sake of God's glory (v.27-28). He then unpacks for us exactly how God is glorified in and through his death. First, the cross is shown to be glorious because it brings judgment (v.31). While the world would think that they were judging Jesus, in fact they would be judged by God through Jesus. Second, the cross is shown to be glorious because it means that Satan's unstoppable reign over the world has ended. The death of Jesus meant to the end of Satan's dominion over the world. No longer could Satan keep human hearts enslaved. He must step aside every time anyone looks to Jesus and puts their faith in him and what he accomplished on the cross. Third and lastly, the cross is shown to be glorious because it means all kinds of people will be drawn to Jesus and in him find life and hope. Jesus was lifted up to death on a cross, but this in turn was but a stepping stone to Jesus being enthroned in heaven at the right hand of God (cf Philippians 2:8-9). In so doing Jesus would make it possible for people of all types – no matter the race or background or social status – to be drawn together around Jesus. The cross strips away all pretensions and illusions, puts you there before Jesus, and says, "Look what he did for you. Now live for God through what he did!"

The crowd gathered around Jesus as he said these things unfortunately did not understand what he was saying or simply did not want to understand because they were too tied to their preconceived notions about what kind of person the Messiah should be. Nevertheless, Jesus presses them to believe in him, while they have the time. This remains true today. Jesus is presented before us and we have two choices. We can step closer to him and let his light flood into our lives so that we can see and understand life as we should, being transformed by this encounter so that we are forever connected to that light as "sons of light" (v. 36). Or we can step back from him, retreating further into the darkness and remain confined to the old ways in which we've been living our lives, forever wandering in darkness. These are the choices, and today is the day to make your choice and live forever by it.

Basic Recap of Sunday’s Sermon: “Here Comes the King” John 11:45-12:19

The attention on Jesus only grows in the wake of his raising Lazarus from the dead. It all culminates with the arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem amid shouts from gathered crowds proclaiming him to be the king of Israel. Jesus clearly had some authority to him. He was every much a king. Indeed, he was the king that God promised to send to the world back in the Old Testament. However, not everyone rightly understood what it meant for Jesus to be king nor responded to him as they should. In John 11:45-12:19 we can note three different episodes involving three different reactions to Jesus and his kingship.

The first episode is found in John 11:45-57 and involves the religious authorities of that day. They saw Jesus as someone to resist and kill as soon as possible. Jesus was a threat to their established position. The temple and the nation belonged to them (v.48 – "The Romans will come and take away our place and our nation") and there was no way they would let Jesus threaten this. This is a basic human tendency – to view our lives as if they are completely our own, and to then get upset and hostile if our sense of control over our lives gets threatened in any way. We operate our days like mini kings believing we have the right to rule over them as we see fit, and woe to anyone that challenges any part of our rule in any given day.

Jesus comes in order to rule our lives. He has the right to do so by his very nature. However, he secures his rule first by giving up his life for the sake of his subjects. He is a king unlike any we could imagine.

The second episode is found in John 12:1-11 and involves Mary, the sister of Martha and Lazarus. She saw Jesus as someone to worship and serve. In the midst of a banquet honoring Jesus Mary uses a pound of extremely expensive perfume to anoint the feet of Jesus and then wipes his feet with her hair. All those gathered there were shocked by her act. It was improper for a woman to let down her hair in public back then, and what made it even worse was that she seemingly wasted this perfume on Jesus' feet.

Jesus however recognizes and affirms what Mary does. It was an extravagant but completely appropriate way to honor Jesus. Jesus is a king worthy of such absolute devotion. And again in this episode we see the unique nature of his kingship, for Jesus connects what Mary does to his upcoming death and burial (see John 12:7). What we are reminded of is that Jesus comes as a king who first seeks to serve us by giving up his life for us.

The third episode is found in John 12:12-19 and it involves the Passover crowds in Jerusalem. They saw Jesus as someone who would set them free from their enemies and prosper their nation. As Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey huge crowds gathered to meet him and praise him. Their praises showed their expectations - they believed Jesus was the promised Messianic king who would lead the Jewish nation in a successful revolt against the Roman empire and would reestablish the Jewish nation on the world scene. Jesus for them was all about power. Indeed, for many people, life is about gaining more power and control over life. The goal in life is always to get more. And Christianity sadly is often presented like this – become a Christian and you'll be able to get for yourself a better life.

Jesus however undercuts all this, simply by riding into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey. This act was a fulfillment of prophecies found in Zechariah 9. They speak of a king who comes humble and mounted on a donkey who will cut down chariots and warhorses and bring salvation and peace to the nations. So the crowds were right to acknowledge Jesus as a king. However, he came not to be their political warrior king. He came to be a savior king, who would battle sin and death and give up his life so that by his sacrifice we might find peace and salvation.

All of these episodes give us different ways to respond to Jesus. There is though only one real response to Jesus. It's a response initially modeled by Mary and a response that becomes especially necessary for us as we look back and see who he really was and all of what he did. It comes down to this – Jesus is king, and he is a king who we must respond to in faith and humble devotion. This humble devotion means committing ourselves to Jesus and serving him by giving up our lives for others like he did. The only real cure for us would be kings futilely trying to rule over and gain more control over our lives is to give up our meager kingdoms to God and submit ourselves to his appointed king, Jesus Christ. This is the only way we can be set free to serve others and so experience the full blessings and riches of his divine kingdom.

Basic Recap of Sunday’s Sermon: “Jesus = New Life" John 11:1-44

In the town of Bethany lived a family with whom Jesus was particularly close. One of the members of this family, Lazarus, gets a life threatening illness. And so the family sends a message to Jesus, knowing that if he can come see Lazarus he can heal him. Jesus however delays in coming. Why would Jesus do this? Jesus knew that his delay in dealing with Lazarus' illness would result in God's glory being displayed through Jesus, in a way that would change everyone's understanding about life and death.

When Jesus finally arrived in Bethany, Lazarus was already dead. Martha and Mary, his sisters, had been mourning him for four days. From their perspective, there was nothing else to be done, for death ultimately has the final word on all human beings. We all must pass through the valley of the shadow of death at some point. In many respects we make decisions in life with death operating as the subconscious influence on us. Consider for example how we pursue our various desires and dreams for our lives. We try very hard to shape and control our lives in order to achieve these things. And this is certainly pretty normal human behavior. The problem arises when we fail to fulfill those desires and dreams in the time or manner in which think we should. We end up becoming anxious, depressed, angry. Why? Well, if all of us must eventually die, and leave everything we have behind, then the whole point of life must be to control it and get as much out of it as quickly as we can. If we fail to do that, then our lives will seem like a total waste. We risk coming to the end of lives with a sense that we missed out on everything.

These desperate efforts to control lives that will eventually completely vanish into the grave led the writer of Ecclesiastes to say, "Vanity of vanities! All is vanity." He's not wrong to say that, if this life really is all that there is. But Jesus offers something different and better. What he offers is a way to be free from the power of death. What Jesus offers to give to all who believe in him is the one thing that can beat death – resurrection and life! (John 11:25-26). If you have this, then death is nothing to you. Your mortal life will end someday, yes, but the life you gain in Jesus Christ will never end.

Jesus knew this, and he went to Bethany to give Martha and Mary and the others gathered there early evidence that he would be able to give this kind of life to all who believe in him. Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus and with a simple command orders Lazarus out from the tomb. And Lazarus comes out, alive. Jesus' actions here would set the stage for what he would later do – experience death himself by giving up his own life on the cross. In so doing Jesus was able to confront death face to face and bring the divine power of God down upon its neck, forever crushing it and providing the means by which now all who follow after Jesus might also crush death.

How does this new life that Jesus gives believers play out? I would suggest at least two ways:

1. Everything you do now has meaning. Every part of your life resonates with eternal significance.

Faith in Jesus means living a life that will never end. Death is just a door we go through, not a cage we fear will lock us away forever. This means then that the friendships we enjoy within Christian community will never end. They will only get deeper and richer, running all the way through eternity. The worship we offer up to the Lord will never end. It will get more passionate and vigorous until the day we join together into a multiethnic choir spanning across the centuries, dancing and singing together before the Lord forever. Most importantly, our relationship with God will never end. We gain an intimate connection with God when we believe in Jesus and what he accomplished at the cross. This connection with God will never end, it will only grow in increasing love and grace.

2. Everything you do now has hope. Every part of your life looks forward with eternal expectation.

All the things that degrade and deteriorate human life - things like illness, pain, fear, selfishness, envy, bitterness, and worst of all death - all such things can no longer do lasting damage. We now have the promise of forever life with God, which means that all of these things are just momentary afflictions, just minor speed bumps, that God will lead us through until all these things no longer exist. This gives us great hope and confidence as we live right now.

This is what life with Jesus is about. The key here of course is faith. To experience this life means believing that Jesus is truly the one and only Son of God who came into the world to save the world from the power of death.

Some parting questions: Do you have this faith in Jesus? If so, how can you live your life with more eternal significance and expectation? What choices and decisions should be influenced by the fact that Jesus has given you resurrection and life?