Sermon Notes - March 24, 2005
"Thinking Clearly About Jesus"
Thinking Clearly, part 6
Maundy
Thursday
Maundy Thursday is
a celebration of Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples on the night he
was betrayed and arrested. It
typically focuses on the events of that last meal: communion and the
washing of the disciples’ feet. Maundy
comes from the Latin word “mandatum” which is translated
“commandment.” It recalls
Jesus words during communion as recorded by the Apostle Paul, “do this
in remembrance of me. {1
Corinthians 11:25}”
Continuing our
Lenten theme of “Clear Thinking,” tonight we are “thinking
clearly about Jesus.” Who
is Jesus? What does His life
mean? Why does it matter?
Our answers to these questions will dictate whether Easter is
simply another holiday to share with family and friends or whether it is
the seminal event in all of human history.
The Gospel of John
has been called “a pool in which an infant can wade and an elephant can
swim.” In John the basic
notions of the Christian life are presented side by side with the deepest
mysteries of the faith. It is
for this reason that new followers of Jesus are often directed to John as
they begin their Bible reading. It
is also the reason that scholars and mystics have plumbed the depths of
this Gospel for millennia and have yet to unearth all its treasures.
Such is the nature of a God-breathed
scripture. It is simple, yet profound.
It is easy for us to understand; yet we struggle to apply it.
Jesus’ words seem so appropriate to his time and also timeless.
Each time we return to it we discover something new, not because
Scripture has changed, but because we have changed and come to God’s
Word anew with each reading.
The Gospel of John contains the most
developed Christology in all of the New Testament.
It is in John that Jesus says, “I and the Father are one. {John
10:30}” It is only
here that Jesus says, “no one comes to the Father except through me. {John 14:6}” Only
in John, of all the Gospels, is Jesus called Son of God without derision
or question.
One of the unique features of the Gospel of
John is Jesus’ repeated use of “I am sayings” in his teachings.
Seven times he begins by saying, “I am.”
These sayings are significant because they reveal exactly who Jesus
is. They tell us in no
uncertain terms what his life, death, and resurrection mean.
There can be no doubt remaining why all of this matters.
Spend as much time as you need to prepare
your heart before you begin. Ask
God to speak to you specifically through his word.
When you reach the end take some time to bring closure to your
experience. Allow extra time
for God to speak before returning to the busy-ness and congestion of your
life.
Therefore Jesus said again, “I
tell you the truth. I am the
gate for the sheep. All who
ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen
to them. I am the gate;
whoever enters through me will be saved.”
~John
8:12
Here Jesus makes his boldest claim.
He is the one entrance into the sheepfold.
He is the one path to the salvation and protection of God.
He alone provides a way. No
statements of Jesus cause more consternation and more confusion than those
where He is proclaimed the sole way of salvation for all of humanity.
It doesn’t seem fair that God would be so restrictive and so
exclusionary in His provision for a creation that he loves.
Sheep cannot create a safe haven for
themselves because of their natural limitations.
It would be impossible for the sheep, individually or as a whole,
to provide safety and security from predators and death.
They need a shepherd. Likewise,
human beings cannot provide salvation and eternal security for themselves.
They too are hampered by their natural limitations.
They need a savior. They
need someone to provide for their safety, to give them a sense of rest,
and to intercede on their behalf.
Now imagine that the sheepfold has been
prepared. All is ready, but
the sheep have yet to discover its location.
More importantly if they have wandered close to its low stonewall;
they have yet to discover its entrance.
They need a shepherd who will guide them to the entrance and lead
them into the protection of the fold.
Likewise, human beings are easily distractible and perpetually
lost. We need a shepherd who
will show us the way to salvation and usher us into eternal peace.
Just as it would be hard to imagine sheep
ignoring the shepherd’s directions, it is difficult to imagine why we
would ignore Jesus’ invitation to life eternal.
The sheep would not waste time looking for another entrance to
safety when one is made so readily available.
Yet we spend an inordinate amount of time looking for an entrance
of our choosing and our design rather than taking advantage of the one
Christ made by the sacrifice of His life.
Have you entered into the salvation that has
been prepared for you? Have
you entered the fold by the only gate that God has made?
If not, why not do so right now?
Pray: “Lord Jesus, I am a sinner lost without you.
I’m like a sheep wandering without the safety of shepherd.
Allow me through the door you made through Jesus Christ so that I
may become part of your flock. Forgive
my sin. Be my guide and
Savior. Amen”
Rejoice, that God cared enough to prepare a
place for you and to open a way for you to enter His joy!
“I am the true
vine and my Father is the gardener.”
~John
15:1
Jesus has one pre-eminent desire for his children; their growth.
He wants each one who follows Him to grow and mature in their faith
so that they can bear fruit and by that fruit bear witness of Him to the
world. Growth and fruit are so
important the gardener (God) will prune an unfruitful branch so that it
grows back stronger and healthier than before.
The process is painful for the plant because
it only grows and matures as a direct result of an injury or a setback.
Likewise the process is painful for us as God uses the setbacks and
difficulties of our lives to bring out our fruit.
The end result is glorious and pleasing, but the process is often
painful and frustrating.
The true vine is Jesus.
God’s church is the branches of the vine.
The fruit is God’s activity in the lives of believers.
Never forget the importance of this picture.
We are not the branches; we are not the vines.
We are the fruit. We
exist and bear fruit only when connected to the vine by a strong and
healthy branch.
The church is not the vine nor is it the
fruit. The church of God
exists not for its own sake but for the sake of its members.
The church’s role is to nurture believers so that they bear
fruit. The fruit gives witness to the vitality of the vine.
The testimony that the branches are healthy and connected to the
vine is the presence of the fruit. When
the gardener comes to inspect the fruit, He knows that the vine is
healthy. The true vine is His
Son. He prunes the branches
because He knows that what is lacking in the fruit finds its cause in the
branches.
If the vine and the branches are healthy
only one question remains. Why
is there no fruit? Simply put,
what needs to be pruned from your life before you are ready to bear the
fruit that God intends? The
process isn’t always pleasant, but it is necessary for healthy growth to
emerge. Is there pruning that
needs to be done? The sooner
you allow God to do it, the sooner the fruit will spring forth.
Anything that stands in the way of growth and fruitfulness must be
pruned away. The object is not
a healthy vine and branches, but fruit that is nourishing and
tempting to the soul.
Use this time to offer up to the Lord all of
those things in your life that need to be pruned from you so that you can
bear fruit. Allow God to
suggest some things Himself. As
the gardener, He may be aware of things that you have overlooked.
Commit yourself to fruitfulness.
Submit yourself to God’s sovereign will, even if it means
you’re headed for the uncertainty of a time of pruning.
God’s desire is not to punish you or make you feel guilty.
God’s desire is that each branch on the vine bring forth an
abundant yield of fruit.
Therefore Jesus said again, “I
am the good shepherd. The good
shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
~John10:11
He who was the gate to the sheepfold, now
presents himself to us as the “good shepherd.”
He not only provides a way and ushers the sheep to safety, but He
remains with them providing protection.
During Jesus’ time it was common for
wealthy men to hire shepherds to care for their sheep.
A shepherd’s job was usually the last resort for a day laborer or
debtor. The pay was minimal in
exchange for long hours of work outdoors and often at night.
For Jesus to use such an image shows the degree to which he relates
to the humblest and lowest of us. He
is not a God who stands detached and apart from His creation.
Instead He is a God who is intimately involved and cares deeply for
each of us. Even at the cost
of His own life.
Christ comes as the Good Shepherd; ready and
willing to give His life for the sheep.
For any flock of sheep, the death of the shepherd was hardly a good
thing. Without the protection
and guidance of the shepherd the entire flock was in danger.
For the sheep in the flock of the Good Shepherd, the exact opposite
is true. It is only through
the death of the shepherd that the sheep can experience peace and safety.
Jesus does the unexpected. He
gives His life for the sheep; a sacrifice that no hired hand would make.
But Jesus is so much more than a hired hand.
He is the good shepherd. He
cares for the sheep of His flock like no other.
He gives himself to them because that is His purpose.
The death of the Good Shepherd is not an accident, but God’s
design.
Jesus said, “Greater love has no man
than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
This supreme expression of love separates Jesus from all others.
He cares for His sheep so deeply, so genuinely, that His life is
not too high a price to pay for their provision and safety.
His death means life to His sheep.
No one cares for you like Jesus.
No one watches over you more closely than the Good Shepherd.
Jesus leads you to salvation and then offers you His protection,
even to the laying down of His life. There
could be no greater sacrifice.
So great was his love, “while we were yet
sinners, he died for us.” It’s
not a love that we have earned, deserved, or merited.
It is a love borne of grace. Take
a moment to remain here quietly and accept (without excuse or reservation)
God’s incredible love for you.
Jesus said to her, “I am
the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even
though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die.”
~John
11:25
Lazarus was one of Jesus’ closest friends.
Upon Lazarus’ death, Jesus travels to Bethany to offer comfort to
his sisters Mary and Martha. They
are devastated by his death, but cling to the hope that Jesus can still
work a miracle. They know His
power, they have seen His ministry, and they know that He is the Messiah.
“I am the resurrection and the life.”
With these words Jesus makes a clear statement that physical death
is not the important thing. It
is far from the final word. Limited
by our human understanding, death seems formidable.
It is the intractable enemy that claims us all.
Yet Jesus claims power even over death through the power of the
resurrection.
Incredibly, Jesus doesn’t claim to provide
resurrection for those who follow Him.
He claims to be resurrection. He
claims to be life. He not just
a conduit through which this power flows, He is this power.
It’s not some foreign force, but comes straight from His being.
He is resurrection.
He is life. Apart
from Him we can find neither.
This is Good News indeed.
So why does Jesus weep? One
explanation may be that it causes Him sadness to call Lazarus back to this
life. After just the small
taste of eternal glory that Lazarus had experienced, returning to this
life would be little more than a cruel joke.
How can the trials, tribulations and frailties of this life compare
to the paradise of heaven?
Another explanation may be that Jesus is
more distressed by the unbelief and doubt of Mary and Martha than the
death of His friend. As the
resurrection and the life, Lazarus’ death can be put right.
Mary and Martha’s hearts cannot be changed so easily.
After all they had seen Him do, after all they had heard Him teach,
they misunderstood much about who He was.
Jesus comes to each of us and reveals His
power. Do we truly understand
who He is? Do we truly
understand the power and majesty he possesses?
If we did, would the problems of this life seem so formidable?
In the face of “the resurrection and the life” even death loses
its power! The final enemy is
made impotent. Can there be
any doubt that Jesus has the ability to meet all our needs, now and
forever?
Cast off worry and doubt.
Accept the power of “the resurrection and the life.”
Cast yourself at His feet with reckless abandon.
Take off your grave clothes and be loosed!
One way the Church represents the power of resurrection is by the
cleansing and purifying waters of baptism.
Use the water before you to remind of your own baptism and draw
strength from the power of the resurrection.
Jesus answered,
“I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me”
~John
14:6
Jesus is not saying that He is acquainted
with the way. He says He is
the way. He and He alone is
the sole link between God and man. He
is the only bridge across the great divide that separates God from
humanity. The deepest yearning
of the human heart is to know God. That
yearning can only be satisfied as we walk in “the way.”
The earliest followers of Jesus were called
“people of the way.” Their
enemies recognized that the distinctive feature of this growing group of
believers was the one they followed, Jesus.
He had an authority they could not question.
He had a power they could not match.
He had a mission they could not understand.
Rather than obedience to the rules, or faithfulness to ritual
observances, this community was founded on something more intimate and
intense – a relationship with God through Christ.
It was not based on obligation, or appeasement, or a social
contract. It was based on
gratitude, grace and a commitment to love.
Jesus is not saying that He knows the truth.
He says He is the truth.
Truth is reliable and trustworthy.
Jesus is reliable and trustworthy.
His word is sure. His
yes is yes, and His no is no. He
is the source of all human wisdom and understanding.
He is the One worth knowing and the One who knows all things.
Any search for meaning, for significance, for truth begins and ends
with Jesus.
“The truth will set you free.”
Sin is rooted in deception and lies.
The serpent in the Garden twisted the words of God and through that
act of deceit sin entered the world. The
antidote to sin is truth. Not
knowledge of the truth, but the truth itself.
Jesus is not saying the He knows the way to
life. He says He is
the life. John 1:3 says,
“Through him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has
been made.” Nothing that
exists was brought to life without the direct involvement of Jesus.
He is the prime mover, “the uncaused cause.”
He is Alpha and Omega, beginning and end, first and last.
What we understand as physical existence fades to nothing in
comparison to the life we find in Jesus.
Commit your way unto the Lord and He will
direct your paths. Cast all
your cares upon Him because He cares for you.
Rededicate yourself right now to “walking in the way that leads
to life.” Resolve yourself
to be a follower of The Way. In
Him is life. Turn again to
Jesus as the author and finisher of your faith.
Acknowledge Him as life and truth.
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.”
~John
8:12
Recall the words of God at the moment of
Creation; “Let there be light.” And
there was light. God saw that
the light was good, and he separated the light from the darkness {Genesis 1:3-4}.
During their time of greatest need, God
delivered his people from slavery in Egypt and led them through the
wilderness by the light of a pillar of fire.
Light is a common symbol in both the Old
Testament and the New. It
universally symbolizes God’s presence and activity in the midst of his
people. Further, God proclaims
himself as the fundamental source of illumination for the world.
Jesus is the light of the world – not just for Israel, not just
for His followers, but for every human being in the world.
John 1:4 says, “In him was life, and that life was the light of
men.”
Jesus is the light of the world, and that
light banishes darkness. Though
darkness continues to have influence in the world the final victory and
outcome is not in doubt. We
experience pain, grief, and loss because the consummation of Christ’s
victory has not yet come. But
we know that when Christ comes in final victory, the light will overcome
the darkness. In Christ there
is no darkness at all.
Jesus is the light of the world, and that
light gives us truth. Now we
see through a glass darkly, but then face to face.
Now we know only in part, then we shall be fully known.
Jesus brings us truth in a world full of falsehood, deception, and
lies. Jesus brings us truth so
that we can be whole in a world full of dissension, hatred, and betrayal.
Jesus is the light of the world, and that
light gives us power. Power to endure hardships.
Power to be faithful in spite of our doubts and questions.
Power to overcome evil with good.
Jesus is the light of the world, and that
light gives us life. There is
no life apart from a right relationship with Jesus Christ.
In relationship with Him all of life is illuminated, all of life is
brought into clear focus. What
hidden parts of your life need to be illuminated by the light of the
world? What are you trying to
keep in darkness, that God wants to expose to the light?
Jesus has come so that the people who live in darkness can see a
great light.
Light of the world, who came down into
darkness, open our eyes. Let
us see.
Then Jesus declared, “I
am the bread of life. He who
comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be
thirsty.”
~John
6:35
After the feeding of the five thousand and the dramatic episode of
walking on water, the crowds follow Jesus looking for another amazing
sign. Especially, they come
looking for another free meal. Jesus
uses this occasion to turn their physical longings for food toward the
spiritual longings of their souls.
“I am the bread of life.”
With these words Jesus links life in the closest possible fashion
with himself. Life apart from
Jesus Christ is really no life at all.
The abundance that God promises his followers can only be found in
one place. Jesus reveals that
He is that place, that One. As
disciples we often get distracted from the spiritual nature of our
struggles by the very real physical problems that we encounter everyday.
The immediate and urgent take precedence over the eternal and
significant. Like the crowd
following Jesus we become preoccupied by our next meal and neglect the
true sustenance of a long spiritual life.
Just as our bodies cannot sustain themselves
without the constant nourishment of food and water, our spiritual being
cannot sustain itself without constant nourishment.
That nourishment is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Jesus doesn’t say that he provides the bread of life.
He says that he is the bread of life.
He is the very source of a spiritually vital life.
Apart from this bread, there is only constant hunger.
The disciples shouldn’t have been
surprised when they gathered for their final meal with Jesus and he took
the bread, blessed it and said, “This is my body given for you; do this
in remembrance of me.” Jesus
was telling them again, in another dramatic fashion, that he was the only
way to obtain true and lasting life. In
Jesus, his disciples find a source of nourishment and life that cannot be
replaced by anything of earthly origin.
Only God himself, in the person of Jesus, can sustain life.
Just as only God himself, the creator of life, can bring life into
being.
What keeps you from recognizing your need
for the bread that only Jesus can give?
What holds you back from accepting the free gift of life that he
offers? Do you hold onto your
own sufficiency or are you ready to trust without reserve in the
providence of God? As you
share communion, reflect anew on Jesus’ words.
“I am the bread of life.” Claim
Jesus as your life-giver. Turn
to him completely. He will
meet all your needs.