Ironies at the Foot of the Cross

In Mark 15 verses 21-32, and see that God’s ironies tell us what Jesus will do. God’s ironies tell us what Jesus will do. What is irony? Mark uses a form of dramatic irony in these verses as he records people speaking better than they knew. The three voices we hear in these verses think they are mocking Jesus, but actually, they’re telling the truth about Him. These ironies show us what Jesus will do. We hear the first voice in verse 26, read that with me.  When someone was crucified they had a sign hung above their head detailing what their crimes where. It might have said ‘murder,’ or ‘treason.’ Jesus crime according to Pilate was that He was the King of the Jews. No doubt Pilate put this sign up to embarrass the Jews. The Jews themselves, those who arrested Jesus would have hated this. But Jesus really was the King of the Jews, the King of the new Kingdom. The King that David had been promised, the King that Judah had been promised, the King that the Jewish leaders should have been looking for. The King they needed but didn't want. The King that would have set them free from themselves. The King of the Jews, hung on a cross, cursed by God. 

We hear the second voice in verse 29. Remember all the way though Mark’s Gospel, the claim that Jesus made early in His ministry, recorded in John 2 that if the temple was destroyed He would rebuild it in three days was something that people used against Him. People now insulted Him by saying, in effect, if you’re so clever that you can rebuild the Temple in three days, you ought to be able to get yourself off the cross. But again, this is irony. Jesus is The Temple, the real temple, the real place where man can meet with God. He is the Temple, the meeting place because He died. Mark shows us this truth again in the immediate aftermath of Jesus death . In verse 38, just after Jesus breathes His last Mark cuts away from Golgotha and takes us into the Temple. There he shows us the curtain, the thick, richly-woven, heavy curtain the symbolized mans separating from God being torn in two. Now if you want to meet with God where do you need to go? To Jesus? And when? Whenever you need to. You're invited by His nailed scarred hands. 

We hear the final voice in this section in verse 31. They admit that He saved others. He gave sight to the blind and legs to the lame. But now look at Him. Naked and nailed to the cross, totally hopeless. He can not save Himself they joke. What a fraud Jesus is. Except, there’s more irony here isn’t there.  It’s simply because He saved others that He can not save Himself. It’s because He’s dying on the cross for sin that He can save others from sin.

Mark uses the ironic comments of the passers-by to teach us that Jesus will be the King of a renewed Kingdom, the Kingdom of God. This has been Mark's message since the first verse of his Gospel. That he brings good news about the Son of God. This is how the King is crowned, and this is how the Kingdom works. IN the darkest of nights, there is light, in the worst circumstances there is hope, though the King wears a crown of thorns, He really is the King. There are mysteries in the Christian life, and ironies. But the King makes everything beautiful in it's time...

A Change of Status

Looking for treasure in the Bible is like looking for a needle in a stack of needles.

Looking for treasure in the Bible is like looking for sand on a beach, it's like looking for diamonds in a diamond mind. You only fail to see treasure, life giving, heart warming treasure in the Bible if you're failing to look. It's everywhere.

Some of these treasures are big and obvious. Romans 8 and Isaiah 53 for example. Some are smaller diamonds, but when you hold them up to the light, they take your breath away. Colossians 3:1-2 falls into this latter category.

Colossians 3:1-2 tells us our status has changed. It's graduation time in schools in North Carolina, so status change is something we see happening all around us. The seniors that walked across a stage in their cap and gown this week can't come back when the new school, year starts. Their status has changed, they need to go somewhere else. The new seniors can't take 11th grade classes, their status has changed. Life is different.

I recently applied for and was given a Green Card. This literal green piece of plastic changes my status. When Rachel and I showed up at customs and immigration on Friday, we got to stand in the same line. I presented my Green Card, and the customs officer barely even looked at me. I still had to be finger printed and photographed, and tell him how long i'd been out of the country but that was it. No secondary inspection, no long wait in line, no proving, to the nth degree, that everything i said about myself was true. I'd done all that, my Green Card had changed my status from visitor to resident.

Something fundamental happens when you graduate, and when you get a Green Card, and something fundamental happens when you're saved. Your status changes. You're now seated next to the Father in Christ, you're seating in the Heavenly realm in Christ. We've been raised with Him, and we are, in Him, where He is.

Salvation is not a small thing. It's a total change. It's not just a 'decision,' it's a change in location. And it has to be done. High school seniors can't just want to graduate, they have to follow the requirements, and so do we. By faith in Jesus, we are joined to Him, and seated with Him.

And with a change in status comes a change in responsibility. I challenged my sunday school class this weekend not to fall in love with summer, but to use summer to fall more in love with Jesus. Summer is a signpost, it's not the beach. It's a picture, it's not the reality, it's the mailman, not the wife. So set your minds on the things that are above, and love the reality.

Loving summer, or any good gift, more than Christ, is as backwards as a high school senior going back to grade school, or a Green Card holder standing in the visitors line. It doesn't make any sense, it's a mind not set on reality.

Let's set our minds on what's real, true and beautiful. On Christ, and our changed status in Him.

Psalm 40

I'm all for singing the Psalms, so without further ado, here's Newsong's interpretation of Psalm 40.

We Know Christ is the True God

Finally, we know that Jesus is the true God. As Jesus Himself tells Peter, flesh and blood did not reveal this to us, we didn’t work it out ourselves, but God showed us. Remember my favourite verses in the Bible, the light of the glory of God in the face of Christ has shone into your hearts. We know Jesus is the true God, this is supernatural knowledge. John says that He has come, and that He has given understanding. He doesn’t leave us ignorant but He helps us grow. He was and He is. Christianity is practical, helpful and real, because Jesus was real! Why did Jesus come? So that we might know. Isn’t that good. Jesus came to eradicate doubt, to stop us doubting our salvation, to give us assurance. And we can trust Him, because He is true. That Jesus us true, and The Truth is vitally important in a world filled with the lies of the devil. Who can you trust in a world filled with distrust?

Jesus. Because Jesus is true, and we know He is the true God. To know these things, to have assurance of our salvation is the greatest gift that God can give us.

John finishes with the command, ‘little children, keep yourselves from idols.’ Why does he end with this? Well, partly because Ephesus was filled with idols, just like Greenville, but partly for another reason, All through the letter John has painted this black and white picture. There’s no middle ground, it’s either Jesus, or idols. It’s not whether you’ll worship, it’s what you worship. Anything we think more of in our heart than Jesus is an idol. Keep yourselves from idols.

We live in an uncertain world, but Jesus gives us the gift of certainty. If we’re saved, we know that Jesus is the true God, we know that we belong to God, and we know that we have victory over sin. As we live and grow as Christians, God gives these things to encourage us, assure us, and light our path.

We Know We Belong To God

Look at 1 John 5:19. We know that we belong to God. We are in the world, for the world, not of the world. We know that we are from God. A Christian is someone who has been miraculously , spiritually reborn. We were born the first time of the world, and the second time of God. Guys, we know that if we have been saved, we are God’s child, by birth and then adoption. We know that God loves us as a Father, we know that Jesus loves us a brother, we know that the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, and that He is the greatest gift God can give. If you’re saved, you belong to God, there’s no reason to doubt His love, no reason to fear that He will turn His back on you. You are His and He is yours.

It’s a different story for the world. Again, world here means the corrupt and sinful world system that is hostile to God. Not the people in the world, but it’s culture, it’s philosophy, it’s atmosphere. All of it is hostile to God because they lie in the power of the evil one, in the power of the devil. Again, John is tough, and black and white. It’s either the power of Jesus, or of the devil. You’re either born of God, or born of the devil. There’s no middle ground or third option. It’s not whether we worship, but what we worship.

But we know we belong to God. We don’t need to fear the devil, we don’t need to be seduced by his power, we don’t need to worry about his attacks or lies. We know that we belong to God.

Hope Filled Risk

⁴² And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the council, who was also himself looking for the kingdom of God, took courage and went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 

Have you ever wondered what Joseph was up to?

It was the day of preparation, the day before the Sabbath. And not just any Sabbath, the Sabbath after Passover. It would have been some time after 3pm, and the Sabbath started at sundown, maybe 6pm. He had at most three hours to gain Pilate's permission to take Jesus body down, work out a way to take it down, wrap it up and deliver it to the tomb he had ready. He couldn't handle a corpse on the Sabbath without becoming unclean, and he knew that. he'd have to work quickly. It was risky.

Joseph was a respected member of the council. He was risking more than being unclean on the Sabbath, he was risking his very life. He'd either kept his mouth shut in the night time trial, or perhaps more likely, they'd not included him in the plans, as a known Jesus sympathizer. But he knew that the scorn of men was worth less than the scorn of God. He'd been looking for the Kingdom of God and he was pretty sure he'd found it. He was going to take care of Jesus body, he was going to identify with the Nazarene. It was risky.

But why take the risk?

Joseph would have known his scriptures. He would have known Psalm 22. He'd have known the hope of the God forsaken, and would have known the ultimate hope of the ultimate God forsaken. He'd have known that all the ends of the earth would come and worship the Lord, he'd have known that Jesus righteousness would be proclaimed to a people as yet unborn, that He has done it. He knew, perhaps through a glass darkly, the hope of the resurrection. So filled with this hope, he took probably the greatest risk of his life.

When we know the One who holds time, when  we know the One who sustains the universe, risk is right. In fact, there's not even really such a thing as risk. He knew that a life lived without hope filled risk in the resurrected Saviour was a life not really worth living.

Joseph, filled with hope went to get Jesus, and gave Him the burial He deserved. What might we achieve, filled with the same resurrection filled risky hope?

We Know Victory Over Sin

John finishes his first letter, by telling us what we, as Christians, know. Four times in these four verses Jesus uses the phrase, we know. We know we have victory over sin. We know that we belong to God. We know that Jesus is the true God. There’s an idea in some Christian circles that doubt is a virtue, doubt is a good thing. That the more we doubt, and the less we know, the better it is. That’s a pretty stupid idea, and John smashes it here. We know, we know, we know.

So, look at verse 18 with me. We know we have victory over sin. Why? Because Christians can not keep living in an unbroken pattern of sin. When I say ‘unbroken pattern’ I mean sin that is never repented of, a sin you’re happy to indulge in, a sin you keep going back to with no battle or remorse. Christians don’t live with sin in this way, because Christians love God’s law and can not live, and don’t want to live in violation of it. Christians look like Jesus, and Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, came to destroy sin. Christian’s don’t continue in unbroken sin because the Holy Spirit lives in us, and slowly but surely gains more and more control over our heart.

That’s not to say that Christians ever get to the point where they never sin. That’s why John tells us to confess our sin, and that Jesus advocates for us when we sin. We still sin, but we are not slaves to sin, sin does not own us. Jesus owns us.

So that’s what victory is, how do we know we have it? Look at the rest of verse 8 with me, ‘He who was born of God protects Him, and the evil one does not touch Him.’ Who is the one who has been born of God? Jesus! If you’re a Christian, Jesus protects you! Isn’t that an incredible truth! Jesus protects you. He prays for you, advocates for you, represents you, and He protects you from the devil. Remember what Jesus told Peter, the devil has demanded to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail. That’s Luke 22:31-32. Jesus protects us so that the devil can not get his claws into us. This is an amazing thing to know. NO matter how weak you feel, no matter how insignificant you feel, your faith will not fail, because Jesus protects you. Paul wrote in Phil 1:6 that ‘He who began a good work in you will perfect it.’ Wow!

The Greatly Afflicted One

The story of the Bible is a story of the affliction of God's people. The faithful by the unfaithful.

Cain kills Abel. Noah is mocked. Abraham wanders homeless. Moses was opposed. The prophets were killed. The Kingdom was exiled. And Jesus suffered it all, and more.

Psalm 129:1-2 sums this up. Greatly they have afflicted me from my youth, let Israel now say, greatly they have afflicted me from my youth. This Psalm is put with the songs of ascent, sung by faithful pilgrims on the way to Jerusalem to celebrate. maybe the psalmist was reflecting on his own difficulties,  when it struck him that his people, God's nation, had been afflicted from the very beginning. And so Psalm 129 is born, and the pilgrims reflect as they sing.

Israel was afflicted by enemies. As soon as David died there was war, and even though that didn't split the Kingdom, David's grandson's foolishness soon did. They were afflicted, they were persecuted, they were sent far from home. Remember these things Israel, and sing of them as you go. 

Then comes Jesus, standing in Israel's place. Surely the tenants will respect the son? But no, the perfect Son of God was arrested, mocked, beaten and killed. He was afflicted, just as God's people have always been. The Bible teaches us these things for our good. It shows us a parade of imperfect man bring used by a perfect God. Imperfect men, afflicted by other imperfect men. And then the perfect man is afflicted too. The Bible can not be all ice cream and sunshine, because the life isn't all ice cream and sunshine. The Bible prepares us for life by showing us the reality of the affliction of God's people.

But verse 2 continues. 'Yet they have no prevailed against me...' From the very beginning God's people have been afflicted, set against, but here is the church, thousands of years later. The hammer of the world smashes itself on the anvil of the church. God's people are afflicted, but God's enemies do not prevail, and they never will.

Sing this, Israel, sing the end of verse two. Remember the affliction, and sing of the victory. Maybe, in Luke 24, Jesus taught His disciples from this Psalm. God's enemies have never prevailed over God's people, just like death did not prevail over Jesus. And we can know, for sure, forever, that God's enemies will not have the final say, because they did not have the final say, they did not prevail over The Afflicted One.

Beholding Is Becoming

I joked the other week that the best thing a young preacher can do is get married, because married life opens up a plethora of new sermon illustrations. I was joking, of course, in some ways. You really should get married, to a woman who loves Jesus more than you, and doesn't complain when you construct the world's busiest calendar for the first half of 2013 but off all the wonders of married life, sermon illustrations come well down the list, but on they are on the list.

Last week, after a girls 'soccer' game (I coach our high school team) I came home, and the very first thing I did was put on a load of laundry. It was a tough game against a team we should have beaten easily, but only scraped by with a goal about thirty seconds from time, occasioning a 20 yard sprint and fist pump display from yours truly. I needed a shower, I wanted some time to process the win and what it meant for our season - we've since lost in the play offs - but instead I was doing laundry.

Why?

Because beholding is becoming. As I've lived with Rachel for the last nearly four years, my priorities have changed. I can see the benefit in hovering, laundering and washing up. I load the dishwasher when it's time, I make sure Rachel's clothes are clean, folded and out away. Now, none of this may last beyond the first week of the summer holidays, when Rachel is freed from third grade, but the point remains, it happening now. As I have beheld, as I have loved, I have become.

And we behold Jesus in the Bible, as we love Him in His perfections, in His condescension and in His life, death and resurrection, we become. God's voice changes our categories, it changes our priorities, it changes our desires. We want to go the church, we want to give our money, we want to live the good life of obedience. The light of the Gospel has shone in our hearts, and chased away, destroyed, the darkness.

This is part of the mystery of discipleship. This is part of the exposure of discipleship. Even though discipleship must never be reduced to meeting and mechanics, discipleship does happen in meetings, whether 250-1 or 1-1. As we're exposed to our wives, we become like them, as we're exposed to our saviour we become like Him.

Sadly, it's not just good things that in beholding we become. It's also idols. Psalm 115 tells us that idols have eyes but do not hear, hands but do not feel, feet but do not walk. They are deaf, dumb and insensitive to the beauties of Christ. And those who worship them will become like them. Isn't that what happened to Israel in exile? A kind of living death, cut off from the land and the promises? Isn't that life today without Jesus? Cut off from anything worthy of the name of love, life and hope?

One way or another, for better or worse, we behold, and we become.

On Discipleship

All Christians are disciples.

All people are disciples because everyone follows someone.

Discipleship is following Christ, because disciples follow their Lord. So how best to think about Christian discipleship? I think there are two words that capture it, mystery, and exposure.

Discipleship is all about exposure, Christian growth is all about exposure. 2 Corinthians 4:4-6 teaches us this. We all with unveiled face are being change as we look on the glory of God in the face of Christ. That verses teaches us the goal of discipleship, change, and the route to that goal, beholding the glory of God in the face of Christ. Christians become what they behold, we really are what we eat. If the goal of discipleship is change, incremental, lifelong, change, then the mechanics of discipleship must involve getting people to look at Jesus.

This must happen individually. We can wander round aimlessly hoping that God will speak through a song, or a sunset, or a waterfall, or we can open the Bible and actually listen to Him! And see His glory in the face of His Son, and be changed. If Christianity really is a relationship, then this is where the relationship happens. We speak to God in prayer, He speaks to us, and changes us through His Word.

This must also happen corporately. When the church is gathered the Word must be preached, or whatever just happened wasn't church. The word must be preached and sung, and eaten and drunk. Meetings doesn't equal discipleship, but discipleship happens in meetings.

If you really want to be disciple, you must be looking at Jesus, and looking at Him so hard and so long that eventually you see the whole world through Him. And if we want people to be disciple, we must be setting up these encounters.

And discipleship is a mystery. We can't just 'do it.' It doesn't just happen, mostly. Jesus tells Nicodemus that the wind blows wherever it wishes, and we hear it's sound, but we do not know where it comes from, or where it goes. So it is with everyone who has been born of the Spirit. We don't see the Holy Spirit, but we see His effects. John 3:8 is a death knell to anyone who believes that discipleship can be programmed, it can't be. As we're exposed we expect to see growth, but it doesn't always follow.

The mystery is sometimes this growth is incremental. It's slow, and you see it over a number of years. And if we accept that discipleship is for life, we're ok with this. Incremental growth won't please those who are looking for the thunder and lightening, for the microwave effect, but this is how it happens most of the time. You look over a course of two years, and see you've changed, but there was no lightbulb moment, it just happened.

Sometimes it happens in a flash, and sometimes it doesn't happen at all, because the Holy Spirit blows where He wishes.

We need to be exposed. We need to be looking at the light. And as we're exposed, we need to trust in that gradual, lifelong growth. We need to trust that results will come as the Spirit has His way. This is counter cultural, because it's slow. But it's Biblical, and it should be happening in our churches.