Tag: sermon

Victorious Over Grief

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(John 16:16-24)

Agree or disagree? Christians are better off than non-Christians. You might presume that how a person answers that question depends on whether or he or she is a Christian. If you are not a Christian, you would likely disagree with the statement (otherwise you’d have become a Christian, right?). If you are a Christian, then you might either agree or disagree. One Christian might have a number of unbelieving friends who appear to have great lives, while another Christian might completely agree on the basis of God’s promises in Jesus, he is always better off. 

Either way, the point is not to nail down who is better off, but rather to nudge us to think about exactly what criteria we’d consider to determine our stance. If the criteria is based on circumstances or situations, then disappointment will always follow. At that same time, how is it that some Christians who have endured exhausting lives are some of the most joy-filled people you’ll ever meet?

That would seem to go against the flow of conventional thinking. We tend to think that joy and happiness exist in the absence of adversity, not in the presence of it. How then does one explain it? How can some who have had a very rough life still be so full of joy? Let Jesus explain for us this morning. 

Be ready, though, because his words might catch you off guard. “Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve… A woman giving birth to a child has pain  because her time has come; So with you: Now is your time of grief…” (v.20-22a). Jesus plainly states that life right now will be painful and hard! So for those who aren’t Christians, after reading that, let me try to read your mind. I’m guessing you hear those words and say to yourself, “Where do I sign up??? This whole Christian thing sounds like a blast!”

Now you can be turned off by that, embittered by that, resentful of Jesus for that… or you can be comforted, because as it turns out, Jesus was a straight-shooter with us. He didn’t paint some pretend pollyanna promise for us, but gave it to us like it is.

If you’ve ever watched the WandaVision series, it’s based on a main super-hero character who has gone through some heavy trauma. In response, she fabricates an ideal “Leave it to Beaver”-type life. Her husband and family are perfect. Her neighbors are perfect and the neighborhood is perfect. Everything is perfect.

Jesus didn’t pretend. He said, “Life will stink. Life will be hard.” And he told us this not to embitter us, but to prepare us, so that when we encounter that reality, we aren’t shocked, we aren’t surprised or taken aback. Rather, we conclude, “Huh, it’s just like Jesus said it would be.” 

Now some may take issue with this because they’ve been sold on the idea that if there’s really something to this whole God thing, then nothing bad should ever happen in the world. However, that starts with a the false premise that the world could even come to an agreement on what is good (e.g., is the right to have an abortion good or not?)! All we have to do is ask opinions on hot-button issues and we see very quickly that no two people agree on what “good” is. Therefore, how could God possibly satisfy every individual’s idea of good in the face of so much contradiction?

Another thought presumes that if the world is good and bad things happen, then those bad things stand as evidence against God. But what if, on the basis of all-too-common atrocities like church and store shootings we flip that thought around: the world actually isn’t a good place – it’s a bad one! Then any good experience at all in such a bad world would be evidence of a good God!

Friends, if Jesus tells us what to expect now, and it plays out just like he said it would, doesn’t that grab our attention? If it’s just like Jesus said it would be now, doesn’t that give Jesus more credibility when he also tells us what it’s going to be like later? Doesn’t that make us think twice before dismissing what he says about our future as well?

If a year ago your financial advisor predicted accurately exactly where your tanking investments would be today, as tough a pill as it might be to swallow, wouldn’t you have more faith in him, not less, despite a plummeting portfolio? Wouldn’t you feel more confident with someone like that managing your retirement than an advisor who predicted earth-shattering gains, only to have to come up with some excuse or explanation for why he was so horribly mistaken? 

So let’s look at what else Jesus promises in these words, for they are far from all gloom and doom! “Your grief will turn to joy” (v.20)… “you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy” (v.22)… “your joy will be complete” (v.24). That’s Jesus repeating himself quite a bit in just these few verses – you think maybe there is a point he’s trying to get across? What was to be the source of all this joy?

In this case, it was Jesus promising his disciples that death wouldn’t have the last word, but that he would return to them from the grave. In his first words of this section, “Jesus went on to say, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’” (v.16). In a few days, Jesus would die and his disciples would not see him. Three days after that, however, they would see him again after he rose from the dead. He would vacate his tomb and through his victorious resurrection restore their joy. He would permanently rewrite the story so that death would not be the end. Gut-wrenching grief would give birth to the most jubilant joy!

For us that joy doubles, for not only do we have the benefit of looking back to see that Jesus made good on his promise to the disciples, but we also have the joy of looking ahead to his return on the last day when he ushers in eternal victory! Even before that, the assurance of Jesus’ resurrection and undoing of death makes a world of difference in the face of the ultimate grief of losing a loved one. 

It has not escaped my notice over the course of my life that there is a drastic difference in how people of other religions or no religion speak in the face of death compared to how Christians speak at the death of fellow Christians. I have observed others speak of a hope or an optimism that their loved one is in a better place, but noticeably lacking in that hope and optimism is any confidence. The Christian, though, even through countless tears, is able to confidently find peace not in hoping or being optimistic, but in knowing their loved one is in heaven. 

And before one writes off such confidence as misguided arrogance, realize that the difference comes from the founder himself. The best every other religion or religious figure or book ever promises is a chance at eternal life if the individual has been good enough.

Not so with Jesus! Jesus promises eternal life to all who are in him. So call him a liar, dismiss his promise, but at least acknowledge that the Christian’s confidence in the face of death is based on a very real and very clear promise, and not possibility, which is the best every other religion claims. And being fully confident of what the future holds is why many a Christian is so filled with joy in the present, right now. Yes, even in the face of grieving. Even in the face of adversity. 

We have an elementary school at my church, and in the morning I am there to greet kids an parents as they arrive at school. I think if you were to ask the students and parents how many times they’ve seen me in a bad or bitter mood, they wouldn’t likely recall any. But if you think that’s becuase I’ve never had a bad day or had anything go wrong on any of those mornings, you’d be wrong! Of course I have! We all have!

But still there is joy – every single day there is joy. Why? Jesus. My joy comes as a result of confidence of knowing exactly who I am in Jesus Christ, and the joy of knowing exactly what my future in Jesus Christ holds. In Jesus I am forgiven. In Jesus I am loved. In Jesus my reservation and home in heaven has already been secured. So there is joy. Always joy.

Yes, troubles will come. But Jesus overcomes trouble. In fact he said that very thing! At the end of this same chapter from John, Jesus said, “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” (v.33).

Jesus’ words this morning are profound. They aren’t what we might expect. They’re profound in part, at least, because they’re… normal. Average. Real. He’s not the helicopter parent who pretends that nothing bad will ever happen to us in this world. It will, because it’s not the world he created, but a broken knock-off. Of course it will let us down! 

But that trouble won’t last. While I can’t personally relate to the comparison Jesus makes, the mothers gathered here this morning can. In referring to the temporary grief of this world that will be followed by the permanent joy of the next, Jesus compared it to a woman in childbirth. “A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world” (v.21). That moment when a mother first holds in her arms the very baby that she has been holding in her womb for 9 months is a moment of elated joy that eclipses the pain of childbirth. Gone is the grief; it has been overshadowed by overwhelming joy!

Yet even that joy will eventually fade. All of this world’s joy is short-lived and fleeting. It is quickly countered by discouragement and disappointment. The quick expiration date on the world’s joy means that it has such a short shelf-life! It spoils so soon! 

But you know what joy will not fade? The joy of Jesus, a joy that can never be taken away. That joy will lack nothing, but will “complete” and “no one will take [it] away.” That joy permeates our school – students and teachers alike! That joy is evident in our church congregation and compels us to gather together in an often joyless world. Because we know that here, in this place, where Jesus is the center of all that we do, his resurrection promises us joy; it is the promise that in him we are victorious over grief!

Victory Over Lovelessness

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(1 Corinthians 13:1-13)

You could write this post. Help me out here. It goes something like this. We read this description of love from 1 Corinthians 13 and are moved by it. These are the kinds of poetic verses young couples want to include in their marriage ceremony. These are the kinds of words we want bursting out of the greeting card we give to that special someone. We are drawn to the beautiful depiction of love in these verses.

We are also conflicted. Beautiful as they are, they serve a dual purpose. They do not only show us what ideal love looks like; they expose quite clearly what our love does not look like.

You’ve seen the side-by-side pictures comparing the frame-worthy picturesque Pinterest project right next to the real-life cringe-worthy attempts at those projects. It’s laughable how drastically different the ideal is from the real-life attempt. By comparison, the DIY attempt looks as if a toddler tried it (no offense, toddlers). That’s how we feel about this description of love. It is a breathtakingly beautiful, awe-inspiring ideal. But it also makes our attempts at love look like a disastrous DIY fail. 

Then we return back to these verses again to see the perfect love of Jesus. Thank goodness in his perfect love he forgives our lovelessness. Phew! The end.

Then what? What changes? Eventually, we’ll come across the same section of Scripture again, but what will have changed? Anything? Or have we become so accustomed to the same pattern that we haven’t even bothered to notice how little our love changes from one “love sermon” to the next?

As we consider these words yet again, let’s do so in light of Paul’s reasoning in verse 11. “When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me.” While Paul is making the point that our Christian lives on this side of heaven will never measure up to our perfect knowledge and understanding on the other side, his words force us to deal with the question of whether we’re still babes in the faith. Are we children or are we maturing and developing into adult Christians? More specific to these verses from 1 Corinthians, how is that reflected in the way that we love others?

Let’s start with revisiting how instrumental love is to God. Consider where love ranks in God’s eyes, based on what the Holy Spirit led Paul to write in chapters 12 & 13 of 1 Corinthians. The chapter right before this one covers what is an extremely popular topic among Christians: spiritual gifts.

Read through it and you’ll see Paul mention all of these super cool gifts that the Holy Spirit poured out on all believers to serve each other and build up the early church. He refers to stuff like the ability to heal sick people and perform miracles and speak in tongues and prophesy – all kinds of awesome gifts, and all of them important! As Paul wraps up the section encouraging the believers to put their respective gifts to work, he writes something that catches our attention: “But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way” (1 Corinthians 12:31).

What? Does Paul mean to say that as amazing as stuff like the ability to heal sick people and perform miracles and speak in tongues and prophesy are, there is something greater??? An even more excellent way??? Something even more worthwhile to pursue???

You might understandably expect that Paul would be talking about faith. After all, it’s one of his favorite themes in so many of his letters in the New Testament of the Bible: righteousness by faith; faith, not works; saved by faith; the gift of faith, etc. Paul covers the topic of faith so much that it would be a relatively safe bet to presume that’s where he was going with this, that surely faith would be the greatest gift, the most excellent way. 

And indeed Paul does mention faith, but not to stress it in the way we might have expected. He writes, “and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing” (v.2).

Whoa. Is that a typo? Did Paul – the fanboy of faith – really just write that a person who has a mountain-moving faith but is devoid of love is nothing??? Yes, he did. Yikes!

And that’s not all! It isn’t just faith that love leaves in its dust, but hope as well. Check out the last verse of the whole love chapter and see what Paul says. “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love” (13:13). So love does not merely trump all of those outstanding spiritual gifts, but also tops even faith and hope! Is Paul being clear enough here for us? Love is apparently a big deal – like, the biggest deal of all! 

For that reason, this description of love in these verses ought to trouble us mightily, because if love is such a big deal to God, these verses clearly cry out against us that we’re a long way away from it!

There’s an exercise you can follow that really brings this point home. In verses 4 through the beginning of verse 8, replace the word “love” – or reference to it – with your name. So for me it would read like this: “Aaron is patient, Aaron is kind. Aaron does not envy, Aaron does not boast, Aaron is not proud. Aaron does not dishonor others, Aaron is not self-seeking, Aaron is not easily angered, Aaron keeps no record of wrongs. Aaron does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Aaron always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Aaron never fails.” Now that may have a nice ring to it, but if I actually rejoice with the truth, as the verses state, then the painful truth is that none of those statements is true! Not even close! Not for any one of us!

But that’s not the worst part. We all know our love falls short – that part’s plain as day. And we know that alone is more than enough for God to turn away from us. But it’s worse than that. I’m talking about the true barometer of our lovelessness in 12:31: “But eagerly desire the greater gifts.” It’s one thing to be willing to admit that our love falls short, to walk away confident in our forgiveness, then presume that all is good. 

But are we as willing to admit that we don’t eagerly desire to get better at it? Let’s be upfront and honest with each other: most of us really don’t want to change that much. We don’t mind admitting how loveless we often are, but it’s painful to admit the other reality of how little we desire to get any better at loving others. That might just be the hardest thing of all in the Christian faith. 

We can talk all day long about faith and hope – delightful spiritual topics, and topics that deal primarily with our personal relationship with God. And how convenient for us! After all, no one can really measure how much faith or hope I have in my heart in terms of my relationship with God. Those aren’t visible.

But love… that one can be seen. It can be felt. And so can the lack of it. And that stings us. 

We avoid becoming better at loving others because it involves real sacrifice. It involves inconvenience. It doesn’t just mean talk of putting others first, but actually loving them enough to do it. And we’d simply rather not. It’s much easier for us just to confess our love falls short, thank goodness we’re forgiven, and move on. So can’t we just confess we’re no good at it and be forgiven and call it good?

No. No, we cannot. The forgiven child of God is a changed child of God. We desire to get better at loving others. We take very seriously Paul’s charge in Romans: “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law” (13:8). Loving others isn’t only a debt that we cannot pay off, but a debt that we don’t want to ever pay off.

Do you suppose Paul has any Spirit-inspired opinions on how best to put love into action? He does. Read what Paul writes after chapter 13 and it is quite clear that the highest expression of love is to speak God’s Word. Love your brothers and sisters in Christ by speaking the Word of God to them. Love those outside the church by speaking the Word of God to them. Love expresses itself best through lips that speak of God’s love for us in Christ and through his cross.  

There alone do we see the perfect expression of love. There we come to know what love is (1 John 3:16). There we come to appreciate how deep, how wide, and how high Christ’s love is for us (Ephesians 3:18). There we will come to see that our desire and ability to grow in loving others always flows from a deeper understanding of knowing Jesus’ love for us.

Let’s repeat that exercise from earlier and fill in the only name that works. “Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind. Jesus does not envy, Jesus does not boast, Jesus is not proud. Jesus does not dishonor others, Jesus is not self-seeking, Jesus is not easily angered, Jesus keeps no record of wrongs. Jesus does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Jesus always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Jesus never fails.”

Jesus is all of those things for us, and that is the driving force behind our desire to eagerly pursue great love, a radical love, a Christ-like love. That’s the kind of thing Paul was talking about when he wrote elsewhere, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died” (2 Corinthians 5:14).

Jesus’ love for us does not yield stagnant hearts, but servant hearts – hearts that are eager to get better at loving others. Jesus’ love for us begs to be displayed to others in a loveless world. When a loveless world sees how radical Jesus’ love is – radical enough to forgive and transform loveless you and me! – that’s how Jesus’ love changes the world, one soul at a time. 

Victorious Over Falling

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(John 10:22-30)

It’s an exciting time for parents when a child transitions from the crawling stage to starting to take those first steps. But that exciting time comes with a catch: the fear of falling. Once crawling gives way to walking, gravity suddenly becomes a much more significant concern. Parents are faced with the newfound fear of their child possibly being injured as a result of falling.

Fast-forward to the other end of life, the season of life that might find canes, walkers, or wheelchairs either welcome friends or necessary evils, depending on how one views them. Regardless, they serve a very important purpose: to help us keep our balance to avoid falling. A fall at that stage of life can result in critical injury or require surgery, and since our bodies don’t heal or recover as effectively or as quickly as they used to, falling is a legitimate fear.

But during the time in-between those two stages where, frankly, most of our lives takes place, falling isn’t as much on our radar. It’s during that time that we’re beyond the stage of those first shaky steps but not yet to the stage where our muscle strength and balance have deteriorated notably, increasing the risk of taking even the smallest steps. During that time in-between there just isn’t that much risk of falling. 

At least physically, anyway. But what about spiritually? If you think about it, the risk of falling spiritually is almost inversely proportionate to the risk of falling physically. We tend to give the most attention to spiritual things at both the early and the end stages of life, but not always as much in-between.

Look at what often happens when adults for whom spiritual matters have not been on the radar suddenly have children. Now they are thinking about baptism and what to teach their children when it comes to spirituality. We make a big deal about confirmation and are concerned about how our kids are doing spiritually in middle school and high school. Then, at some point, it becomes their responsibility and we carry on with life.

Then, as the reminder of our mortality sneaks up on us in the final stages of life, spiritual concerns bubble up to the surface once again. A family member is diagnosed with a terminal illness and we realize we don’t know what they believe. A friend of a friend asks for prayers for her elderly parents, and we don’t know where they stand spiritually. The health of a dear friend is slowly declining and, as it takes a turn for the worse, we regret not having talked more about Jesus and find ourselves worrying about what will happen when death arrives.

But in the middle, in-between those two stages, well, we get busy and life happens. So many things going on. So much to do. We have so many responsibilities and obligations for others that we shelf the spiritual stuff for ourselves for a time, promising we’ll get back to it later, when we have more time. And we know how that plays out. 

As we give our attention to where we stand spiritually, let’s be aware that perhaps the season of life that poses for us the greatest risk of falling away might just be the season of life during which we are least concerned about it. Nevertheless, it is one thing to be aware of it, and another to be worried by it. The Word of God does warn us frequently about being aware of it – no doubt about it. However, Jesus himself speaks to us words of safety and security in the face of uncertainty so that we are not unsettled or overwhwelmed by worry.

That’s the difference between believers and the unbelieving Jewish group crowding around Jesus in the Colonnade during Hannukah. Jesus couldn’t provide them with any hope.

If we were recreating the scene from John 10 today, there would be a van nearby with individuals monitoring the situation and recording the conversation. Those gathered around Jesus would have wire taps hidden on them to make sure they catch Jesus’ response. In other words, their inquiries were not coming from a place of curious, inquisitive exploration, as if they were genuinely seeking spiritual truth and yearning to know the way to salvation. No, those were things they were already convinced they knew. 

The real intent of their question was to hear Jesus make what they had already concluded were blasphemous claims that he was in fact God. In their minds, their question was an open door for Jesus to incriminate himself by his response. “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly” (v.24). If he had told them plainly what they wanted to hear they would have had enough witnesses to convict him of blasphemy. 

Instead of giving them the response they hoped for, Jesus called them out with a blunt, straightforward condemnation. “Jesus answered, ‘I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep’” (v. 25-26). Ouch. “You do not believe. You are not my sheep.” Jesus very pointedly stressed what was lacking in their spiritual lives, and the problem was not on his end; it was on theirs. It didn’t matter who he was if they refused to believe it. 

After Jesus called them out in their unbelief, he then offered some of the greatest comfort possible for believers. Jesus’ describes the relationship he has with his sheep. When the devil raises question marks in your mind over whether or not salvation or forgiveness are really yours, replace those doubts and that despair with the confidence that you are numbered among the sheep of Jesus’ flock. But how can you ever really be sure? Listen to – and believe – the words of Jesus, our Good Shepherd.

When you get into a car, there are a number of features that provide assurance that you’ll be safe while driving. You buckle your seat belt. Air bags will deploy in the case of an accident. Even before any of that happens, there are cameras and sensors and beeps and dings that alert you if you are too close to another vehicle or object.

Just as all of these safety features work together to help you feel secure while driving, so Jesus provides a number of descriptions that apply to believers that help you feel secure as sheep of his flock. “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand” (v.27-28).

In contrast to those individuals challenging Jesus in the temple, the ones who don’t believe because they aren’t Jesus’ sheep (v.26), Jesus states, “My sheep listen to my voice… and they follow me” (v.27). Jesus is reassuring us by reminding us that doubts about whether or not we’re really his sheep can be put to rest by the fact that we long to hear his voice and follow him.

While no flawed sheep will ever demonstrate a round-the clock perfect desire to listen to Jesus’ voice at every moment, any desire whatsoever to listen to his voice is a reflection that we are his sheep. While sheep may from time to time ignore the voice of their shepherd and may wander off, that doesn’t discount that his is the only voice they will follow when they do listen.

Jesus even spells out why his sheep will listen and follow when he says, “I give them eternal life” (v.28a). The shepherd speaks words of life and forgiveness and his sheep listen and believe. As one of Jesus’ imperfect sheep, Peter explained why he listened to and followed Jesus: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (John 6:68). Only Jesus gives away for free what every other religious teaching demands must be earned. So who else would we listen to? Who else would we follow?

Even more comforting is the flip-side of that relationship: the familiarity that Jesus has with his sheep. “I know them, ” he says (v.27b). Jesus does not know of you. Yours is not merely a name that has passed by his ears. He hasn’t simply heard your name come up here or there in conversation. You aren’t to him a friend of a friend of a friend.

He knows you.

He knows you better than you know you. He anticipates your needs before you express them. He plans to meet your needs even before you’ve worried about them. Even though our knowledge of him is so limited, his knowledge of us lacks nothing. Our knowledge of Jesus will always be lacking; his knowledge of us never will.

And speaking of “never,” there are two promises Jesus makes about his sheep that offer more security than anything else. Jesus promises that his sheep will “never perish” and that “no one will snatch them out of [his] hand” (v.28).

Do not allow the skeptic inside you spring up to cast doubt on these words of Jesus! They are words of rich gospel comfort for wandering and wondering sheep! If you are a sheep who has wandered, straying for a time, hear these words of Jesus and take them to heart! If you wonder if you have met the necessary requirements for being included as a sheep of Jesus’ flock, drop those doubts and believe these words of your Good Shepherd! There is no requirement you or I could ever meet – nor is there a need to, because our Good Shepherd has met them all.    

At the cross, we see the Good Shepherd double as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29). The price he paid is how we know we are his sheep – sheep who will never perish or be snatched away! These words of Jesus this morning are not a “how to” primer on what is required in order to be Jesus’ sheep; they are so much more! They are the blessed assurance that what the Good Shepherd has already done is what alone qualifies us to be his sheep. 

Notice that of all that Jesus says about his sheep, he only mentions two actions on the part of his sheep – listening and following (and even those are only to direct us to the source of eternal life!); the rest is all on the Good Shepherd, Jesus.

So he consoles concerned sheep not by emphasizing the need to act more like good sheep or behave more like sheep should so you can be sure, but by pointing out what he has done and who he is. It’s what the Good Shepherd has done – and not the sheep – that lets us know where we stand before him! Let these words of Jesus be what they are: comforting assurances for shy sheep unsure of where they stand before God. 

Don’t let Jesus’ promises here be stripped of their power and peace! Do not immediately ask yourself, “Well how can I be sure of this? How can I know that this promise applies to me, that I will never perish or that I will never be snatched out of his hand?” Stop the self-evaluation that insists on tying the confidence of our salvation to what good sheep we are! Stop evaluating whether or not this truly applies to other Christians on the basis of what good sheep they are (or aren’t)!

Jesus says nothing about the sheep being good enough or too bad to be his sheep; he is simply describing his sheep, the ones he redeemed, the sheep he brought into his flock by his grace – not because they were “good enough” sheep!

We rob ourselves of the comfort and peace that are so unique to Christianity when we insist on twisting Scripture into a metric or a gauge which has as its sole purpose to help us determine who’s in and who’s out! 

The Scriptures were not given for that purpose, but rather to point us to Christ, to the Good Shepherd, so that if we truly want to know if we are his sheep, then we don’t look in the mirror; we look to the cross and to the tomb. There alone will we see all the proof we need that Jesus’ promises are true: we – his sheep – will never perish or be snatched away. Thank God for our Good Shepherd! 

Victorious Over Failure

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(John 21:1-14)

Have you gotten used to it yet? Being a failure? Wait, am I not supposed to say that? Is it not OK for me to say that about you? Why not?

After all, you say it to yourself more than anyone else, don’t you? Where would you like to start? How about relationships? Single? You can try to convince yourself that it’s because you’re picky or have high standards or that there are too many jerks in the world, but the whole reason you try to convince yourself of that in the first place is to counter the much louder voice in the back of your mind contending that you’re single because you’re not good enough and you’re a failure when it comes to relationships. Married? The same voice calls you a failure as a spouse when compared to that other wife or husband. Would you prefer to talk about your job? Why are you still stuck at the same job or haven’t advanced at all? Try to convince yourself it’s because you like it or that it’s good enough to pay the bills, but the reason you have to convince yourself of that is to counter the louder voice inside your head that is constantly murmuring what a failure you are. Would you like to talk about how you rate as a Christian? That might be the loudest voice of all: “Failure.”

Failure, or more accurately, our fear of failure, is crippling. Have you ever stopped to think about how many absolutely amazing advancements, how much progress, and how many good things have never happened simply because people with great ideas and the ability to back them up were afraid of failure? How many times have we let past failures predetermine future failures and give up? And how many times have we legitimately been crushed by failure?

I don’t know that they were crushed by it. Perhaps they were used to it and realized it went hand-in-hand with the profession of fishing, but the disciples who made a living by it had just experienced it again. John tells us, “It happened this way: Simon Peter, Thomas (also known as Didymus), Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together. ‘I’m going out to fish,’ Simon Peter told them, and they said, ‘We’ll go with you.’ So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing” (v.1b-3). Again, it not an uncommon experience as fisherman to come up empty-handed. But any way you look at it, they failed at catching anything all night.  

While this definition of insanity has repeatedly been misattributed to Albert Einstein, you’ve likely heard someone share it: the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and expecting different results. The point of the expression is to state the foolishness of continuing to take the same actions or make the same choices that haven’t worked, but expecting that eventually, you’ll get different results. The intent is to encourage a person to stop wasting time doing what isn’t working and try something else. Change it up. If doing the same thing over isn’t netting you any result, then do something different.

So how do you suppose it sounded to the disciples to hear a voice from the shoreline engage them: “‘Friends, haven’t you any fish?’ ‘No,’ they answered. He said, ‘Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some’” (v.5-6). Basically then, what Jesus was saying to them was, “You know that thing you’ve been doing all night that hasn’t worked yet? Do it again and this time it will work.” Remember that they didn’t know this was Jesus speaking to them, so it would have made perfect sense for them to respond by saying, “Thanks for the advice, but we’ve been at it all night and haven’t caught anything, so we’re gonna call it a day.” 

But they didn’t. Perhaps they were compelled by the fact that they had nothing to lose – after all, what’s the worst that could happen? Their empty nets would remain empty? Or maybe they reasoned that the man from the shore had seen evidence of a school of fish on the other side of the boat. Or, maybe they recalled a previous miraculous experience when Jesus had told them to do something similar and the haul of fish nearly sunk not one, but two boats (cf. Luke 5)! 

Whatever it was that compelled them to follow the advice, the results were far different from the experience they had had all night: “When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish” (v.6). Where they had failed, Jesus blessed them with success. Throw out whatever definition of insanity you have – Jesus changed the rules. 

Doing the same things over and over, spiritually speaking, is not insanity at all. It is in fact the recipe for spiritual growth. And when we don’t tap into it, we don’t grow. Or, when we tap out of it too soon, we miss out on the benefits.

Jesus’ parable of the sower and the seed illustrates this. The new believer who is overjoyed by the good news of the gospel suddenly shifts the focus to the cares and concerns of the world and away from the Word, and what happens? Shallow roots. Weeds. Growth is stunted because the new believer stopped doing the same thing – feeding that newfound faith with the Word. 

We pray… once. Twice. Nothing happens, so we stop praying for that thing. We commit to worship for a couple of weeks. Nothing happens, so we fall back into old routines of not worshipping. We give a little bit more in our offerings, but don’t see any return on my “investment,” so we resort to giving what we were previously. I do the devotional thing for a time, but it doesn’t immediately fix all of my problems, so I go back to neglecting it.

If there is one area of life in which that definition of insanity does not apply, it is in the realm of spiritual things. Our problem is not doing the same thing over and over and not getting any results; our problem is a lack of committing long-term to doing the same things over and over. Or, we give up doing the same thing before we ever see the results. We quit too soon. In that regard, in these spiritual applications, in our faith life, let’s fess up: we truly are failures. Yes, in that regard we are failures.

No, actually we’re not. The Resurrection changed that. We were failures, but Jesus’ victory over sin means our sin no longer counts against us as failures. But in order for that to all take place, Jesus had to first appear as a failure. 

There was not a single person witnessing the Crucifixion on Good Friday who would have come to any other conclusion than that Jesus had failed. Some, certainly his disciples and followers, must have put the best construction on it and concluded that his failure was no fault of his own, but the fault of a corrupt trial system and government that ensured Jesus would not get a fair shot. But still, there Jesus was, hanging on the cross, a failure.

To others, the cross was seen as the exclamation point of Jesus’ failure. Those harboring hatred and animosity toward Jesus, who had maliciously plotted his demise, were undoubtedly delighted to claim responsibility for Jesus’ failure – that was their goal all along! 

It was not only earthly opponents rejoicing in what appeared to be Jesus’ failure, but also the hoards of hell, the demons, the evil angels, collaborating to bring down the Son of Man and Son of God. They viewed Good Friday as their crowning achievement, their revenge on the God who had cast them out of heaven for their rebellion. The failure fixed to the cross was to them the view of victory.

How right they were! The cross was the symbol of victory! The death he died was the sacrifice necessary to cement certain victory! Yes, everything had gone according to Satan’s plan.

But remember that Satan is not omniscient. He had come up woefully short in his estimation of God’s almighty power and eternal plan. Satan did not even know that he and his plans were merely putty in the hands of the Designer of the universe and every living thing, and that just as he had shaped everything out of nothing, so also had the infinite God shaped his purposes out of the devil’s deplorably defiant act of rebellion.

Jesus hadn’t failed. Jesus wasn’t a failure. Not once during his lifetime, and not even in his death! Rather death meant victory! In crucifying Christ, in the ultimate act of irony, Satan was responsible for offering up the very thing sacrifice that would be his undoing. By hammering nails into Jesus on the cross, Satan effectively hammered the nails in his own coffin. 

This is all true because Jesus is gone from the grave. This is all true because the tomb is empty. This is all true because Jesus Christ has been raised from the dead! For that reason, seemingly insignificant accounts like the one before us this morning are so significant. With each resurrection appearance, Jesus rubbed his victory in Satan’s face. He turned the tables on Satan and made it abundantly clear that it was not Jesus, but the father of lies who had failed. Satan had failed. Satan is a failure.

Do you remember to remind him of that when he whispers words of failure in your ears? Do you remind him of that in the thick of the battle when he presses his hardest against you in the heat of temptation? Do you remind him even then that he has failed, that he is a failure, and that in Jesus Christ and the power of his resurrection you are a victor who refuses to be his victim? Do you remind him that even in the moments when your sin appears to hand the victory trophy over to him, he still has no right to it because grace and forgiveness flow from the tomb with such a force that not even his successful temptations can withstand it?

Brothers and sisters in Christ, Easter Sunday means that grace wins! Forgiveness wins! Jesus has won – and his victory frees us to live in the supreme confidence that we are victorious over failure. Now then, dear friends, do just this one thing: live like it! 

This wasn’t the first miraculous catch of fish for the disciples. The disciples had previously had an experience with Jesus nearly swamping their boats with a huge haul of fish.

But the outcome this time was different. Peter previously was wrought with fear at his realization of who Jesus was in that former experience, pleading that the Lord depart from his presence, for he was a miserable sinner. Now we see Peter behave quite differently! He doesn’t shy away from the Savior in fear, but rather jumps out of the boat in an effort to get to him as quickly as he possibly can. “Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.” (v.7). He can’t get to his risen Savior soon enough! And notice, even though John is very specific about how abundant their catch of fish was, the disciples are hardly distracted by the fish because they’re so focused on Jesus!

What accounts for the totally different reactions from the disciples in these otherwise somewhat similar miraculous events? The Resurrection. Jesus lives, and the impact, the difference it makes, is shown in how changed their reactions and their lives are. 

The Resurrection has really changed your life, too. It turned failures into followers. It took us from failure to faithful. So be unafraid to do the same thing over and over and over – to put your faith into practice again and again, because the result will not be failure, but fruit – fruit in your own life and fruit that the living Jesus will use to build up his church. 

His Humility, Our Hope

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(Philippians 2:5-11)

Experience has probably taught you why it’s unwise to grocery shop while you’re hungry. Your stomach will steer your purchases and convince you to fill your grocery cart with unnecessary items that were not on your list. When that happens, you’re far more likely to end up busting the grocery budget! Not only that, but if you happen to be doing the shopping according to a list that your spouse put together, sometimes we end up neglecting to grab a number of items on the list! Being so focused on satisfying a grumbling stomach leads to forgetting to fully carry out what we set out to do in the first place: bring home all the grocery items on the list. Hunger compels the starving shopper to focus on satisfying self.

If only the desire to satisfy self was limited to the grocery store on occasion! But we know better. The whole world view of our culture is to look at everything through a selfish lens. We have sold ourselves on the lie that tolerating anything and permitting everything is the absolute most loving thing one can do for his fellow man. While we celebrate such “progress” on the surface, framed as genuine concern for the welfare of others, what really drives such thinking is complete and utter selfishness.

Letting anything and everything go for others is really all about me. If I refuse to judge or condemn something in someone else – no matter how absurd or outlandish it may be – then I have just paved the way for me to serve myself in any way imaginable, fully expecting that others won’t condemn me just as I have chosen not to condemn them. We all mind our own business, and we call it tolerance for the greater good when in reality it is merely permission for me to serve myself.

It might sound like I am just ragging on our culture. It might sound like one of those “the world is really awful, but we Christians are really good, so be careful out there good Christians” messages. But it isn’t. It isn’t because you know better. We aren’t so naive as to pretend we want nothing of that sort of world, but know that our sinful selfish nature delights in being a part of such a self-serving world! From that first self-serving bite of fruit in Eden, our self-serving nature has been at war with the saint inside each of us, and that self-serving nature has gotten sneakier and sneakier at slipping his own self-serving purposes in here and there! So the world is only the problem as much as I am a part of the world – ripe with the same self-seeking desires.

Paul addressed it in the verses just before the ones in our Philippians Reading this morning. He wrote, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (2:3-4).

Considering the number of letters Paul authored in the New Testament, it’s fascinating that we find these words in his letter to the Philippians, referred to as the letter of joy due to the significant references to joy or rejoicing throughout the letter. It turns our idea of joy on its head, as our warped minds tend to think that joy is tied to getting what we want. But if that’s the case, then why would Paul stress the importance of seeking the interests of others and not self? If joy is found in service to self, then in this letter more than any other, we’d expect Paul to be writing, “Do whatever makes you happy. Life is too short. Don’t worry about other people who drag down your dreams and desires. Look out for number one and ignore the haters.” But in this letter of joy, Paul encourages the exact opposite! Don’t serve yourself; serve others. Then you’ll find joy!

So what follows in the verses from Philippians is no shock at all, for it falls in line beautifully with what the writer to the Hebrews wrote about Jesus, who “for the joy set before him  [he] endured the cross” (12:2). Joy drove Jesus to die, but that joy did not stem from self-serving motives at all; rather, his joy was tied directly to serving the interests of others, and that path collided at the cross. So his joy didn’t come from somehow circumventing the cross in service to self, but in enduring the cross in the best interest of you and me and every last sinner.

That was the ultimate expression of humility, which is what Paul described so magnificently in the verses of our text this morning: “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God  something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:6-8).

What a breath of fresh air we see in Jesus! Paul encouraged us to do something radical, something that we’ve never seen nor been able to carry out when he wrote that we are to put the kibosh on selfish ambition and look to the interests of others. This is an entirely foreign concept to us, so we would have no idea what it looks like – were it not for Jesus Christ, who literally demonstrated humility perfectly for us!

That theme of humility was certainly evident from the Savior whose entire life and ministry were about serving other people. That humility was reflected in his humble entrance into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey to fulfill Scripture. That humility would be highlighted later that same week on the day we call Good Friday, when the very One who created life would sacrifice his own – for the interest of others. Never will we behold a greater example of humility, not only because Jesus was willing to sink to the lowest depths of death by crucifixion – the innocent dying a criminal’s death for a world of criminals who actually deserved it! But what makes his humility so exemplary was knowing the heights of heaven from which he came to stoop so low to such a death!

When we consider the words of Paul here in Philippians 2, 6-11, can you imagine how very real the temptation must have been for Jesus to flip these verses upside down? He surely could have exalted himself first as he entered Jerusalem. He could have demanded on Palm Sunday that every knee bow and every tongue confess him as Lord and Savior. He would have had every right to humble the crowds and exalt himself first and only after that die a death of humility. 

After all, that’s so often how our acts of humility are carried out, aren’t they? Sure, we’ll clean this or wash that, we’ll carry out this or that act of service, but not without making sure that at least someone else knows about it. How ironic is it that we want to be exalted even for our humility?!? Our pride demands that we are noticed, and it will grab hold of anything it can get its hands on to exalt self – even humility!

How often when we are engaged in conversation are we simply listening long enough to make sure the topic of conversation comes back to us and something we’ve done or someone we’ve known? And even on the other end of the spectrum, when we claim that we don’t want to be acknowledged, we make sure that others know that we don’t want to be acknowledged – so our pride is satisfied by knowing that others know we don’t want to be known! What great and amazing humility we have! Ah, quite the opposite: what damning pride lurks in each of us, which explains why humility and the interests of others are so unnatural for us!

So be comforted that the One individual who walked this planet and actually had every right to exalt himself chose to do exactly the opposite. His perfectly obedient humility could satisfy our Holy Father in a way that our pride-filled humility never could! Jesus both perfected humility for us and paid for our lack of it, for our sinful pride, for our propensity to care about ourselves far more than anyone else. It was as if Jesus not only perfectly obeyed the speed limit every time he drove, but he also paid for every one of our speeding tickets (and just to point out how natural our pride is, how many of you just filled up with pride inside because you’ve never gotten a speeding ticket?). 

So let me be clear. During Holy Week, on Palm Sunday, your Savior’s perfect humility attained for you before God what your pride never could. The price paid on the cross was the price paid for your pride. God doesn’t see us for what we are on our own, but rather through faith in Jesus he sees what his Son was for us. We are free. Pride has been forgiven. Humble obedience has been offered up and accepted by the Father through the Son. 

Now we are free to go back to Paul’s encouragement that preceded these powerful verses. We can revisit his encouragement and as forgiven saints, no longer condemned for pride, and strive to show it. We can find genuine joy in seeking to carry out what Paul calls us to: “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others” (2:3-4). We can prick the balloon of pride as often as we need to and deflate ourselves, not hoping to earn something by it, but because we’ve already received everything through Jesus – forgiveness, salvation, eternal life, and freedom from bondage to our pride. 

And the more we empty ourselves of ourselves, the more room there is for Jesus to fill us up. And the more filled up with Jesus we are, the more natural it becomes to set aside selfish ambition. The more realistic it is to value others above ourselves. The easier it becomes to look to the interests of others. When we have deflated ourselves and come back down to earth, we see the cross from a different perspective – not a high altitude view looking down on it, but up close and personal, looking up to it, so that more of Jesus fills my frame of view and I see the cross as not just one event for a lot of people, but THE event necessary for me.

Notice how small something looks from an airplane. That’s how Jesus looks to us when pride is allowed to reside inside. But on the ground, things are much larger. As the pride is let out, we come back down to earth and see things differently. I can make out more clearly not just a Saviour, but my Savior. This shifts our view from “Yes, he’s the Savior of all, and me, too,” to “Yes, he’s my Savior first and foremost, but also the Savior for all.” 

This leads to evangelism so that we can address the foremost need others have. After all, the second half of these verses will be true – all will know who he is. Let us use this week, this time that we have on earth, to do all we can so that others confess him by faith rather than by force on the last day, when even unbelievers will experience the regret of knowing they rejected the Savior.

If you shop while you’re hungry, your stomach will steer your purchases and you might ignore the list. So eat first, so that your own self-interest doesn’t get in the way. When you are full, then you can focus on the list. When we are filled up with Jesus, then we can focus on the other stuff. Fill up with as much Jesus as you can during Holy Week and Easter season and always, and be ready to find the true joy that will follow.

Crushing Rejection

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(Luke 20:9-19)

You’ve probably heard a list of books and movie scripts that were rejected numerous times before going on to be published or produced and become some of the most successful of all time. In fact, few and far between are the success stories that were not preceded by some level of rejection. Chicken Soup for the Soul, anyone? It was reportedly rejected 144 times before being published and developed into multiple series and even a cookbook. Authors like James Patterson, Stephen King, John Grisham, and even Dr. Seuss were all repeatedly rejected before their first book was ever published. The Help was rejected 60 times before being published and then eventually developed into a popular movie. The same is true of a good number of initially unpopular movie scripts that went on to enjoy wild success: Back to the Future, Star Wars, and Raiders of the Lost Ark, to name a few.

If only book manuscripts and movie scripts were all that ever got rejected! Unfortunately, every one of us knows that isn’t the case. We’ve all faced rejection. We’ve faced it in our relationships in general and even within our own families. We’ve faced rejection in the workplace. We’ve faced rejection in athletic competition, in the classroom – sadly, we may even have experienced it in one way or another in the church. Rejection is everywhere. And while it may be common, that doesn’t make it sting any less when we experience it. Rejection can be crushing.

Jesus told a parable about rejection in the Gospel of Luke. In that parable, one by one, each of the three servants sent to the vineyard was rejected. Then, as a last resort, even the son himself was rejected – and on a much more serious level, even being murdered by the tenants! After that, the final act of rejection was the vineyard owner, who turned the table on the tenants and rejected them, the very same tenants who had previously rejected his servants and his son.  

The meaning of the parable was quite clear to the religious know-it-alls hearing Jesus tell it, which Luke described. “The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately because they knew he had spoken this parable against them” (v.19). A student of the Scriptures familiar with Israelite history naturally sees how Jesus’ parable played out in the Old Testament. Throughout various stages of Israel’s history, the Lord sent prophet after prophet to his people to turn their eyes and hearts away from the distractions of the world and back to him. And prophet after prophet was rejected. Finally, the Lord sent his own Son into the world; the irony of course being that he was the very one speaking the words of this parable to them. Ultimately that very week, no less, they would put him to death. Jesus made sure the point of the parable hit home by forcing his listeners to see in him the fulfillment of the very well-known Psalm 118, “The stone the builder rejected has become the cornerstone.” The theme of rejection dominates Jesus’ parable on this occasion. 

Question: who is the one being rejected? Yes, Psalm 118 is an obvious reference to Jesus, who is clearly the Son in the parable. But, if we go back to the parable, who is it who really bore the brunt of rejection from the outset? Isn’t it the vineyard owner? Remember it was his vineyard, his servants, and his son who were rejected. Ultimately then, the rejection was aimed at the Lord, God the Father.

And no one has ever or will ever face more rejection than the Lord God. Fresh off the finish of his flawless creation, what was God faced with? Rejection from Adam & Eve, who opted for the serpent’s deception over grateful obedience. Fast forward to the Flood, where rejection of God had become so widespread that only Noah and his family were spared from its consequences. The escape from Egypt and entrance into the land of milk and honey prepared for them was a journey marked by rebellion and rejection of God and his chosen leaders. Kings were then raised up, the majority of whom rejected the Lord who had established them. Prophets were then sent on rescue mission after rescue mission and were repeatedly rejected, just as Jesus depicted in his parable. Finally, Jesus himself was rejected in the most shocking manner imaginable, which we focus on more acutely next week during Holy Week. The One again on the receiving end of all of this rejection? The Lord God himself! 

Thankfully all that rejection has finally come to a close in this New Testament era of the Church’s history! What a relief it must be for God to finally get a break from a history riddled with rejection; for his people, for Christians, for you and me, to finally move beyond that and blaze a new path – one of rejoicing instead of rejection! After all, we are believers – we are not like the ones Jesus was rebuking in his parable, for we have not rejected him and turned away from him in unbelief!

But… is unbelief a requirement for rejection, or can believers reject him, too? You know the answer because your guilty heart turns you in. The bigger question is whether or not we can actually even come close to keeping track of the number of times we have rejected him! When I am faced with a choice to do this or that, I not only choose the one option, but I am also rejecting the other! Every Sunday morning you wake up and you have a choice to do an endless number of things… or you can choose to gather for worship. When you choose the other options, what, or rather who are you rejecting? When you are faced with the choice of the social media scroll or quiet time in the Word and the Word remains closed, what, or rather who was rejected? When you are accepting of sin for the sake of keeping the peace instead of lovingly, patiently, gently – or firmly – pointing out what God’s Word says about it, what, or rather who was rejected? See how frequently we are the tenants in the vineyard, rejecting the owner, rejecting the Lord!

Do not think those little rejections don’t add up over time. Did you suppose the tenants had an easy time of it when they beat up the first servant sent to them? Perhaps not, but I suppose it got easier and easier each time. Look at the end result of the workers in the vineyard. Prudence was gone. All reluctance went out the window. There was no voice among them saying, “Hey guys, maybe we should think twice about this.” At that point, they were so far removed from a proper sense of right and wrong that murdering the son seemed to be an entirely justifiable action to feed their entitlement and greed.

One instance of rejection cracks open the door just a bit, making it a little easier to push on the door some more until eventually it’s all the way open and walking through it is the next natural step. So one missed Sunday cracks open the door to another missed Sunday, then two missed Sundays pushes the door open a bit more so that not being in church is actually more natural and normalized than being in church. But what did we think was going to happen when all those rejections of Jesus here and there added up over time?

Here’s another reason it’s so dangerous: rejecting isn’t just rejecting; it’s replacing. Another influence or interest will fill that vacuum left by our rejection of the Lord in one way or another. So it isn’t just about what we’re missing when we reject the Lord so easily in so many ways; it’s also realizing that we’re replacing him with something else. 

And guess who’s prowling like a lion ready to pounce into his place? The evil one. Not only are we not being filled with the Spirit, but we are being filled with the unspiritual. We are providing the evil one with an added opportunity to cement his influence and thinking on us. 

Don’t miss the terrifying outcome of that scenario! Jesus asked his listeners what the owner would do to those tenants, and then he answered his own question: “He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!” (v.16). God forbid, indeed! God, the Vineyard Owner, finally turned over his vineyard to others. The Jewish people rejected the Lord enough and he turned it over to the Gentiles. 

The warning for us? We have no right to Christ and Church, to God and his grace, so mishandle it, abuse it, ignore it – all at your own risk, for what has been entrusted to us can just as easily be taken away and given to another. We Christians are not immune to the long-term impact of a life filled with repeated rejections of the Lord. That is why Jesus quoted Psalm 118 to warn us: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” (v.17b-18).  

However, brothers and sisters in Christ, do not be surprised at the ease and regularity with which we reject the Lord; rather, be surprised at how he decided to respond in the face of that rejection. Appreciate even more that he gave his Son to a world ripe with rejection. He gave his Son for everyone who rejected him. He gave his Son for you and me. 

And then he rejected his Son. For you and me. He turned away from the Son, removing his grace and favor from him while he endured the crushing weight of our sinful rejection and our hellish suffering. He rejected the Son while he suffered hell so that he wouldn’t have to reject us while we suffer hell. He crushed rejection and all of its damning consequences. 

The rebellious mistreatment and rejection that the Lord and his representatives endured was not enough to deter him from sending his Son; neither was a lack of remorse or repentance! He sent Jesus anyway, not hoping he would live, but knowing full well that he would not. That he had to die.

Next week is holy week, where the Church has the opportunity to focus acutely on the Father’s rejection of his Son. Next week we see how determined Jesus was to crush our rejection. Stay tuned for the most holy week of the year! Process once again into Jerusalem with Jesus on Palm Sunday. Step into the upper room with him for the Last Supper, where he gave his body and blood to promise he hadn’t rejected us. Follow him to the cross with humble and repentant hearts to see what rejection looks like, to see the price he paid on Good Friday to crush sin, to crush death, to crush Satan, and to crush rejection.

Crushing Condemnation

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(Romans 8:1-10)

Though we may not readily admit it, we care what other people think of us. Their opinion, their judgment of us, matters to us. Now, while we try to manage their opinions in such a way that maintains a healthy balance between not caring too much or too little of what others think of us, we often end up tipping the scale to one extreme or the other: we either place far too much emphasis on how others feel about us, or far too little. 

Putting too much emphasis on what others think of us leaves us with a people-pleasing anxiety. That often means that our mood or the way we feel about ourselves rises and falls with the tide of positive or negative feedback we receive from others. We can be elated when receiving praise or commendation from others or deflated when hit with cruel words or criticism. The problem is, we have absolutely zero control over the words or actions of others toward us on any given day. We therefore enslave ourselves to feedback from others that, upon further inspection, may not have much to do with us at all, but instead may simply be the result of a good or bad day they’re having. So this does not leave us in an emotionally healthy place.

On the other hand, we can also become too indifferent to the impression others have of us that we come across as pompous or self-absorbed. Then we come across as always having a chip on our shoulder and resenting anyone else’s opinion of us, being completely unwelcoming of any commentary at all on our life. When that’s the case, we are perceived as prickly and rude, only looking out for number one. So caring too little about others’ opinions of us has its own problems! 

As if not enough of a challenge for us to handle other peoples’ opinions and judgment of us, perhaps the judgment that causes us the most consternation is the judgment we place on ourselves. We might do a good job of masking it behind bravado or overconfidence, but our low opinion of ourselves, our self-criticisms often leave us believing the absolute worst about ourselves, judging ourselves far more harshly than anyone else. You become aware of this as you pay attention to how you talk to yourself in your own mind. “I could never be good at that.” “I did a horrible job of this.” “He or she would not like someone like me.” “Surprise, surprise, I messed up again.” We are often our own worst critics.

Check that – there may be one more critic that hits us harder than even our own self-criticism and judgment: the way God’s law exposes us for who we really are. Then, to cap it all off, the more we know God’s Word, the more acutely aware we become of how impossible it will ever be to measure up to God’s standard of perfection. We have all come across one Scripture verse or another that describes in detail the kind of person we want to be, exuding this quality or that quality. We then commit to making the effort to be that very kind of person, demonstrating those very qualities, and it goes well… until the first time it doesn’t. And then the second. And the third. 

Suddenly the verse that we felt such a strong pull toward actually pushes us away and we’re relieved to let go of it because it was too hard to keep. Those experiences with God’s Word and the judgment we feel as a result make us acutely aware that the Bible is absolutely not a series of self-help steps to follow in order to get in good with God; rather, it shows us how far out of touch with his holiness we truly are. Along with that, it shows how deserving we are of the judgment God’s law declares!

How refreshing then, dear friends, are Paul’s words to us this morning! Writing to hearts that are heavy with judgment from others, judgment from self, and the awareness of the very well-deserved judgment from God’s law itself, Paul writes, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). 

Hear him again: “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” I ask you, is that a complicated statement? Does it require a theological expert or Bible academic to explain it to you? It doesn’t, because it really doesn’t get much simpler than that. “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). 

To worn-out souls living in what’s been called the “age of outrage,” a cancel-culture filled with judgment and anger, God himself has an entirely different declaration: “no condemnation.”  Not only is this such a refreshing, uncharacteristic verdict in our day and age, but it’s even more impactful as we consider the source. This verdict comes from the One whose judgment matters most. In fact, of all the judgments, his is the only one really worth paying attention to. 

Why? Jesus himself warned, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell” (Mt. 10:28). God is finally the One who determines where we spend eternity. He alone is able to sentence anyone to an eternity of distress in hell or delight in heaven. And friends, his verdict is not a secret! He has already revealed it! There is no condemnation!

I suppose we should mention the fine print, the little disclaimer you often find at the bottom of the page, the one that says “certain restrictions apply.” There is a restriction – this declaration of no condemnation applies to those who are in Christ Jesus. 

Exactly what does it mean to be “in Christ Jesus”? Paul wrote earlier in this same letter to the Romans, “This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (3:22). So God has not, as some falsely claim, declared that everyone automatically goes to heaven and no one goes to hell. No, this guaranteed assurance of no condemnation belongs only to those with faith in Christ Jesus. The righteousness – just a way of saying, “being right with God” – belongs only to those who are in Christ Jesus, because he alone was perfectly right before God in our place. So only if we are “in” him – have faith in him, does God’s declaration stand. Only “in Christ Jesus” is there no condemnation. 

Think of it like the umbrella you might be wise to have on hand the next day or two. If the forecast holds true and you’ve got your trusty umbrella with you when you’re out and about, the rain shouldn’t be a problem – provided you stay under the umbrella. If you don’t bother to open the umbrella and then stay under it, however, there’s no assurance you’ll stay dry. Stay under the umbrella, stay dry; step out from under it, get wet. 

So it is with God’s condemnation. Stay in Christ Jesus, no condemnation; step away from him and outside of the faith, and there is condemnation. 

But remember that condemnation was not the reason Jesus came! Jesus himself really expressed that truth long before Paul even wrote Romans. Jesus said it like this: “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned” (John 3:17-18a). It’s interesting to hear others label Christians as judgmental, seeing as judgment – condemnation – overlooks the important truth that Jesus came for the very opposite purpose: to save, not to condemn! 

While it’s one thing for an obstinate, hardened unbeliever to characterize us as judgmental simply because he refuses to acknowledge the gravity and consequence of his impenitent sin, let us not relish that label or wear it as a badge of honor if the world never sees in us the reflection of the Son who came to save and not to condemn. 

Instead, may we reflect on an ongoing basis one of the most powerful words of Paul in verse one and let that ring true in our daily lives: the word “Now.” At this very moment. Right now. And when you leave here this morning. And when you are hit with the next wave of judgment this week. And… “Now” always applies. It’s always in the present. There is never a moment outside of now – it’s the only moment you constantly live in. Now. And in that very moment, every moment, for those who are in Christ Jesus, right now there is no condemnation. 

Does that reality impact how you live? How could it not?!? “Now” then, how do we live? “Those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires” (v.5). And that, dear friends, is how the world will come to know that we’ve been set apart for God’s special purpose. When our minds are set on what the Holy Spirit desires, and not self, we will stick out to the rest of the world. Sometimes that will make us awkward to the world, yes.

But in truth, it also makes us very attractive. When you live in the joy of knowing that right now you are not condemned because you are in Christ Jesus, you look different to the world. When the way that you carry out your job at work is in line with what the Spirit desires, your coworkers are attracted to you as an employee. When your neighborhood sees that you are a neighbor who treats others in the neighborhood in a way that is in line with what the Spirit desires, they are attracted to you as a neighbor. When others see in your marriage a husband and wife who have their mindset on what the Spirit desires, your marriage becomes very attractive. No, this isn’t rocket science – the world is used to seeing plenty of people living according to fleshly desires, so whenever the world sees us living in accordance with what the Spirit desires, we look very different. It attracts attention.

Let us then make the most of that attention not for self-promotion or to puff up ourselves, but to clearly point out what makes us different, which is simply this: we know and believe “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1). Then, when we’ve got their ear, in a world characterized by criticism and judgment, tell them that they, too, have a Savior who has crushed condemnation. 

His Faithfulness Crushes Self-Security

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(1 Corinthians 10:1-13)

If you have a driver’s license, you’ve experienced it. You catch a glimpse in your rearview mirror of a car accelerating rapidly. As it gets closer, you realize it’s a police car and you start to get nervous, realizing you were going over the speed limit. You tense up, hoping he doesn’t pull up behind you, ride your bumper, and turn on his lights to pull you over.

But suddenly he simply zips by you and you are flooded with relief. What do you do next? Do you slow down, vowing never to exceed the speed limit again because you’re grateful you got away with it that time? Or… do you maintain the same speed – or even speed up! – because you reason that you’ll be in good shape just as long as you stay behind the police car?!? 

We do something similar at work when we’re taking an extended break or a longer-than-allowed lunch. The boss or manager comes along and we panic… until they continue along without a rebuke or a write-up – or they even sit down and join us! After that, do you vow to never do it again, or do you reason that it must be permissible since you didn’t get in trouble? 

Children draw the same conclusion when mom or dad don’t enforce the rules. If they aren’t enforced, then it must be OK to break them, they figure.

Today, though, Paul wants to make sure that we don’t approach our relationship with God the same way we tend to handle situations like those just mentioned. He doesn’t want us to mistake God’s patience for permission. Simply because we didn’t get caught or avoided consequences for some wrongdoing does not translate into God being okay with it. 

These thirteen verses from 1 Corinthians 10 almost break down into nice even thirds, with each third serving as a crescendo into a glorious final faith-building chord. First, Paul identifies the source of self-security. Second, he highlights the “success” of self-security. Third, he points to the only solution to self-security. 

Before we dig into those verses a bit more, let’s just focus on the concept of self-security for a moment. When a term like that hits our religious ears, we likely think of those who don’t practice any religion or feel any need whatsoever to do so. They are confident in themselves, self-assured, and certain that in the grand scheme of things, they have nothing to worry about if there does in fact turn out to be a God. They’re pretty good people (at least better than plenty of others…). They are not drawn to be religious because they don’t perceive it as having anything to offer that they don’t already have or can’t figure out on their own. But self-security isn’t just an issue for the non-religious; it’s a danger that needs to be on our radar, too.

Doing the right religious things can also be a source of self-security. That’s when the practice of religion becomes a means to an end; when a relationship with the divine is viewed more as a transactional relationship. I simply deposit my religious acts for the purpose of being able to withdraw security or some other expected favor when I need it. It may simply be that my security comes from the structure and routine of doing the right religious things or having the right religious connections. It might appear externally to look a lot like what the Israelites had. 

Take note of the source of the Israelites’ self-security, to which Paul pointed in the first four verses. There was no doubt about God’s presence in their midst – he made it very visible, from the pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night as they traversed the wilderness. There was no doubt about God’s divine hand in parting the waters of the Red Sea as they escaped Egypt. There was no doubt about God’s role in providing the miraculous manna and means by which he satisfied their hunger and thirst in the desert. And there was no doubt that God had appointed Moses as his leader and representative through whom he delivered and prospered his people. There was no doubt that God was with them!

And then in the very next verse, Paul absolutely shatters this rosy perspective of the Israelites’ relationship with the Lord using these words: “Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert” (v.5). You can almost hear the sound of the vinyl record scratching to a screeching halt as these words were read for the first time – what an attention grabber! What a shocking image to cap off what appeared to be shaping up as an “And they lived happily ever after” ending! There was no doubt that God himself was with them, yet the trail of dead bodies strewn about in their rear-view mirror as they made their way to the promised land was evidence that things were not as they seemed! 

Assuming Paul now has our undivided attention, perhaps it’s prudent to assess whether or not we’re looking to the same source of self-security. The Israelites presumed they had all their bases covered. They had God’s right-hand man in Moses leading them, God himself guiding them with his visible presence and making miracles wherever necessary to provide for their needs. 

Where do we presume to have all of our bases covered? What is the source of our own spiritual self-security? Is it found in the emphasis on doctrine and teaching in our Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS)? Is the way that we worship (the “right” way) the source of our self-security, or our nearly spotless church attendance or Bible class attendance record (choose the better of the two, of course)? Is it having graduated from either one of our elementary schools or high schools (bonus points for both!) or having kids who have done so (even if it’s been years since they’ve set foot in God’s house again for worship)? Does the reassurance that a loved one “believes,” provide self-security, without bothering with the finer details of exactly who or what is “believed”? If we look to such things for the source of self-security, then we’re in for the kind of rude awakening the Israelites experienced!

Paul didn’t just leave us hanging after touching on the source of self-security for the Israelites; he also highlighted the grisly examples of the “success” of self-security. Where did their idolatry, sexual immorality, testing God, and grumbling get them? What kind of success did they enjoy from their self-security? One day 23,000 died, another day venomous snakes struck, and still another day a destroying angel took out the complainers. If that’s the kind of “success” that self-security brings, I’ll take a hard pass!

And herein lies the problem: the fact that we don’t experience those sorts of obvious judgments leads us to falsely conclude that our self-security is sufficient! Since I managed to avoid the poisonous snakes and the destroying angel, then God must be OK with me, right? I can have it both ways, looking to all the wrong things for self-security, while concluding that my idolatry, sexual immorality, testing God, and complaining clearly get a pass, since God hasn’t judged me. We are lulled into the false sense of security, thinking that we can manage to balance what the Israelites couldn’t – we can have it both ways. God is clearly with us, evidenced by all of our religious acts of righteousness, which provides the assurance he’s not really all that concerned about my idolatry, my sexual immorality, my testing, or my complaining. 

Paul says to wake up and smell the coffee! “These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (v.11-12). In the initial examples at the beginning, we see how relaxed we become about breaking the rules if they aren’t enforced. Don’t make the same mistake with God! Just because our sin appears to go along unchecked, sometimes without consequences, do not reason that God is OK with it! Paul warns us to learn from the Israelites’ example! Just as God’s vivid presence in the midst of his people was not an indicator of relaxed expectations of his people, so your consistent Christian obedience does not grease the skids to permit self-serving sin! There is no success to be found in self-security!

So what is the solution? We know the source of self-security and we know the “success” of self-security (or lack thereof!). The real concern, then, is the solution to self-security. That’s what we need to know, because it’s only a matter of time before each of us slips in and out of that same self-security. So how do we solve it?

We don’t, as Paul assures us. God does. The solution is tucked right there in the three words of verse 13: “God is faithful.” God is faithful. While Paul didn’t hesitate to use the example of the Israelite death count in the desert wilderness as a warning, we also know this: Israelites still ended up in the Promised Land! They made it to the land God had promised his people. Not because of their faithfulness – clearly! – but because of God’s faithfulness. Then Israel established itself as a nation in the special land, only to endure far more downs than ups during the time of the kings and ultimately the exile. But even though he was deserted by his people, did God ever desert them in return? No, because God is faithful and keeps his promises.

The manger in Bethlehem was proof that God is faithful. The cross on Calvary was proof that God is faithful. The empty tomb of Joseph of Arimathea was proof that God is faithful. All served as proof of God’s faithfulness then and God’s faithfulness now!

Even when it comes to the temptation to rely on self-security – or any other temptation, for that matter – God doesn’t dismiss the struggle of temptation. He doesn’t deny that it will happen. He simply promises that he is the solution. He is the solution not only to standing up in the face of temptation, but also the solution for when we faceplant in the heat of temptation. 

While God’s faithful patience is not permission – remember the snakes and the destroying angel! – his faithful patience does mean limitless forgiveness and grace. And with that grace and forgiveness comes a resolve, a resiliency, not from ourselves, but from him, to find our security in him alone. He will not fail us – even when we fail in temptation. He will not forget us – even when we forget about him in our seasons of self-security. He will always forgive, for God is faithful. And his faithfulness crushes all self-security every time.

Shortcuts Crushed by Determination

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(Luke 13:31-35)

We are no strangers to the many advantages shortcuts can provide. Books and websites are filled with shortcuts and hacks that promise an easier way for just about anything. We have experienced the benefits of shortcuts in a lot of different ways. When we’re scrambling to be on time getting from Point A to Point B and a passenger in the vehicle shares knowledge of a shortcut, no one complains – that’s a good thing. Keyboard shortcuts when typing can save a lot of headaches and unnecessary keystrokes. Other shortcuts promise endless ways to help you get more done in less time, whether at work, cleaning the house, or in the kitchen. We know how valuable shortcuts can be. 

In the verses from Luke 13, we see a shortcut proposed to our Savior. It wasn’t a shortcut that merely offered to shave some time off his busy schedule so he could get more done. No, it promised substantially more than that. Would he take the shortcut? Could he take the shortcut? What would it mean for him? What would it mean for us?   

There were others seeking a shortcut in our verses from Luke today, too. We don’t know if what the Pharisees were passing along was the truth or not. Had Herod really threatened Jesus’ life, or had the Pharisees constructed a lie themselves in hopes that such a threat would be enough to scare him off when they told Jesus, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you” (v.31). While we can’t be certain of the origin of this information, what we do know is that the Pharisees did not make it a habit of having Jesus’ best interest in mind, so in sharing this information with Jesus, the desired outcome they were hoping for is clear: they wanted Jesus to skip town and get as far away from Jerusalem – their turf! – as possible. Consider how much time and trouble it would have saved the Pharisees if Jesus had simply left town! What an alluring shortcut that could have been for them to not have to plot and scheme in order to devise a solution for the problem of Jesus! This shortcut could have made it so much easier for them!

But… is easier always better? Is the tradeoff always worth it? Do shortcuts end up delivering on the promises they make? It probably shouldn’t bother me as much as it does, but when I’m hiking and see another hiker take a shortcut, either cutting through a switch-back or just straying from the trail, the cranky old curmudgeon inside my head shouts, “You’re only cheating yourself!” A coach or a trainer is going to be less than thrilled to hear about shortcuts being taken in practice or in the gym. Any runner or cyclist in any sort of long-distance race is going to be disqualified for taking a shortcut. And, if you’ve ever dabbled in any DIY projects, you know that shortcuts can end up being very expensive in the long run, either requiring more time, more work, or more money down the road (or all three!).

Unhealthy shortcuts can also actually leave us worse off than when we started. We’ll take just about any shortcut in our culture today that avoids pain or suffering. In terms of our health, for just about any negative symptom one could experience, there is a drug that promises relief. So rather than changing eating habits or exercising, we opt for the pharmaceutical shortcut. When work is a challenge or a relationship is hurting, we can resort to unhealthy shortcuts to feeling better, like drinking or binge-watching. Even suicide, as much as it shatters the lives of those it affects, is viewed increasingly by our culture as an acceptable shortcut to avoid some element of suffering.

If shortcuts are not always what they’re cracked up to be, then it’s probably good to evaluate some of those spiritual shortcuts that have also slipped into the church. Sometimes we have to confess the reason behind them is our own spiritual immaturity – we want to have the strong faith we see in someone else, but without all the time they’ve spent in Word and worship and prayer over the years. We want patience, but without having to endure the trials that someone else went through to grow it. 

Other times, spiritual shortcuts can start out with good intentions, but end up having less than desirable results. Being able to give offerings to the Lord online has been a huge blessing for churches throughout COVID, and a convenient way to set up a shortcut by setting up recurring offerings and not having to take the time to write out a check (ask your parents if you don’t know…). However, if the end result is that I never give my offerings a second thought, is the shortcut worth it? Recorded and streaming video online has allowed worship to be accessible when we were not able to meet in person. But, if that medium has completely replaced meeting in person when we’re perfectly healthy enough to do so, is that shortcut worth it to sacrifice the Supper and many other blessings of people in pews that will never be accessible via video? 

We have to be real and clear about why we’re taking the shortcut. If we don’t know why we’re doing it, then we run the risk of enslaving ourselves to shortcuts without considering if we’ve actually gained anything from them! What we often fail to do is consider the opportunity cost of our shortcuts. If you aren’t familiar with that phrase, it simply refers to the practice of being aware of how much something really costs.

For example, if you have been saving up for a trip for some time, but then some shiny new kitchen appliance comes on the market that you “must” have, if you take the money from what you’ve been saving for your trip, then that means you’ll either have to put off the trip longer or maybe not go. So the opportunity cost was not just the price tag of the kitchen appliance, but also realizing what you’re giving up or going without when you decide to make that purchase.

Shortcuts are the same way. When we seek to take a shortcut, we don’t always consider the tradeoff or sacrifice. Maybe a simple question to ask ourselves: with this shortcut what am I giving up and what do I gain, and is it worth it? What am I avoiding and what do I attain, and is it worth it? A shortcut that gets a person from point A to point B faster might be worth it to one person because of the time it saves, but to another, it might not if that shortcut requires driving through what feels like an unsafe part of town. One person may determine the opportunity cost of a shortcut is worth it, while another may not.

Let’s now return back to Jesus and to the course of action the Pharisees proposed. What exactly was the potential shortcut for Jesus, and how would he weigh the opportunity cost of the temptation to take it? What would he be giving up and what would he gain? What would he be avoiding and what would he attain? It seemed pretty clear that the shortcut the Pharisees were offering Jesus was to avoid something: death! The choice must have seemed a no-brainer in their minds as they pointed it out to Jesus – leave town and avoid dying! If you value your life, just keep your distance from Herod and you’ll be just fine. Give up going to Jerusalem and what you stand to gain is your life!

So… shortcut or no shortcut for Jesus? His answer was quite clear. “He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!” (v.32-33). Jesus wasn’t taking the bait. He wasn’t interested in the shortcut. In fact, he knew the shortcut wasn’t even an option, insisting that he “must” press on. This is a word Jesus uses elsewhere in the Gospels when explaining why he has to take a certain course of action. There is so much more wrapped up in it than how we use it. We take it to mean that we have to do something to avoid consequences. I “must” do this or I’ll get fired, I “must” do that or I’ll lose screen time, I “must” complete this or I’ll get a bad grade, I “must” file taxes on time or I’ll have to pay a penalty. Our “must” is to avoid a negative.

Not so with Jesus. His “must” is to ensure a positive: our salvation. The opportunity cost of the shortcut Jesus was offered was simply not worth it. Jesus “must” press on because souls are at stake. He must press on because eternity hangs in the balance. He must press on because Jesus’ perfect and holy heart cares more about completing his Father’s will than even his own personal well-being. He must press on because there was no other acceptable payment plan for covering the cost of sin – only the shedding of his priceless blood would serve as payment. He must press on to die, so that through his death we might live. 

Jesus could not take the shortcut, not when it served only to allow him to give up or avoid something; he was more interested in what his suffering and death would gain, what they would attain for mankind. So he was resolutely determined to do what he “must” do to make it happen. No shortcut would allow him to succeed in carrying out that goal. And he was determined to carry it out for everyone – even the very enemies trying to talk him out of it. 

In one last-ditch effort, Jesus threw out to them the life-line of repentance, warning them not to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’” (v. 34-35). The invitation to repentance is an open-ended one for you and for me, too. Confess the spiritual shortcuts that we’re all too willing to take. Repent for all the times we have opted out of the burden of carrying our cross and following Jesus in favor of the cross-less shortcut. 

Then turn to the cross that Jesus not only carried but also died on… because he willingly chose to crush any shortcut that would sidestep your salvation. The opportunity cost of saving his own life and losing yours for eternity wasn’t worth it. So he died. And now we get to live. And he promises to give to you and to me the strength to bear the crosses that come up in our lives as Christians. We can face the difficult and the demanding without searching for the nearest exit or shortcut, for we have a Savior who with dogged determination not only secured our salvation by his own cross, but who also promises that he’ll always be right there with us to help us carry our crosses as well.

Crushing Temptation

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(Hebrews 4:14-16)

We’ve all done our share of daydreaming about what our lives would be like if we had certain things in life. Yes, it can be a very fine line between simply letting our imaginations entertain such possibilities for a time and having an unhealthy preoccupation with something that amounts to what is essentially coveting or envy, but a little bit of “If I won the lottery…” or “If I had a vacation home…” or “If I could travel to…” on occasion can be done in a healthy, harmless way. While most of us probably don’t need to be reminded to daydream or wonder about such imaginary scenarios, what we may need to be reminded of on occasion is to remember and appreciate the people and the things that we do have. But when the bulk of our time is given to thinking about what it would be like “if” we had this or what we don’t have and we give precious little time to acknowledging what we do have that can find us in a not so great place. 

Under the current circumstances, as we read reports of evacuations and shelters and lives turned upside down for people living in Ukraine, it can make us a little more appreciative than normal of what we have. It’s really hard to complain about rising gas prices when you pit that against the concern about whether or not your home or apartment building will still be standing when you come out of shelter. It seems pretty silly to be irritated by the indecision of where to go out to eat when thinking about those who are just praying for anything to eat. So it’s a good time for us to take inventory of all that we do have and be appreciative of it.

The writer of Hebrews gives us one such example of what we do have. “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God…” (v.14). There is no daydreaming necessary, no need to imagine “what would it be like if…” – we have a great high priest. We’re not talking in hypotheticals here; this is the reality. This is what we have: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is our high priest.    

And how do we know? He ascended. In addition to the disciples who were present at Jesus’ ascension, the writer to the Hebrews also shares his confidence in the Ascension. This added evidence provides even more credence to the belief that Jesus actually is the Son of God he claimed to be. And if he ascended, that would put him in position to continue carrying out the work of a high priest for us. We’ll come back to that role and responsibility of the high priest shortly, but for now simply appreciate how the reality of his Ascension validates that in Jesus Christ, we do in fact have a high priest. 

The rest of verse 14 shows us one of the reasons that matters. “Since we have a great high priest… Jesus… let us hold firmly to the faith we profess” (v.14). It encourages us to hold on to our faith. At times that is what we need most: assurance that our faith is not in vain, that we aren’t wasting our time or being played for fools with all of this Christianity stuff. That’s necessary because we have all had seasons of going through some pretty heavy stuff in life, whether self-inflicted wounds or those caused by others. It’s in the heat of those moments when our old adam seems to find fresh confidence to raise doubts and question if God is really there or if our faith in him is foolishness. Since Jesus, our high priest, really did ascend into heaven, let your faith cling even tighter to the promises of God and the words of Scripture. God never promised that our road would be without potholes, but he did promise us that staying the course in faith and navigating those potholes would find the greatest reward when we reach the destination. So stay the course and stay buckled in with that seatbelt of faith.  

One of those potholes we face on a daily basis can leave us discouraged and debilitated if we don’t know how to handle it: temptation. It may very well be the same sin over and over that calls to us, entices us, lures us. Different sins on different days may expose our weaknesses on multiple fronts. Temptation hits us differently, but what we all have in common is that it hits us. It isn’t that we don’t know any better. It isn’t that it doesn’t bother us. It’s simply that we are not as strong as we like to think we are when the devil goes to work on us. 

Remember also that his tempter’s toolbox is not limited to just trying to get us to do bad things (we call those sins of commission); he tempts us just as effectively to ignore doing the good things we’re called to do (we call those sins of omission). “I can skip out on meeting the needs of the less fortunate – someone else will take care of that.” “I can press pause on loving my enemy while I am working on loving my neighbor first.” “Seek first his kingdom and righteousness? Maybe after I’m more comfortable in my own kingdom.” Whether stumbling into what is bad or avoiding doing what is good, Satan and those on his side are constantly collaborating to tempt us from all sides.

Why? Do you ever ask why he is so desperate to tempt us and lead us into sin? After all, we know we’re forgiven, right? What does it matter if we stumble here and there in temptation if we are confident of our forgiveness? I would suggest at least two possible outcomes, either of which would delight the devil. One, we stumble into the same sin so repeatedly that it ceases to trouble us, that we become so comfortable with it, that we no longer see it as sin. Then there comes a point where we fail to see the great wall that we have constructed between God and us putting blocking ourselves off from God with that sin. We become so accustomed to that sin that we are deaf to the warnings of others who clearly see that it has blocked us off from God, no matter how much we might convince ourselves otherwise.

The second possible outcome is that we sin the same sin so repeatedly that we get to the point of failing to believe that God could still forgive it any longer. One time, sure. Two or three times, OK. We’ll even grant that God is really patient and forgiving, so he’ll cover even above and beyond two or three times. But when we hit that breaking point, whatever it may be for us individually, the same point that Judas did when he despaired of forgiveness and plunged into unbelief, then we are so racked with guilt and shame that we, too, cannot conceive of even abundant grace allowing God to forgive that sin of ours any longer. So Satan tempts us, and will continue to do so until he hits his goal of driving an eternal wedge between God and us. 

That’s why the devil doesn’t want you to know what you have. Remember what you already have: a high priest. Jesus. So why a high priest? Why not a battle-hardened general or some mighty warrior like the one the Philistines put forth in Goliath? Why not give himself to us as something along those lines?

Because a high priest is better. A hardened general can lead an army to victory with a well-thought-out strategy. A mighty warrior can drop his opponent. But we don’t just need victory. We don’t just need to take down the enemy. We need access to the Father. No battlefield success or knocked down enemy ensures that we’re any closer to being able to approach God. Only a high priest grants that kind of access.

That was the role he played in the OT. The high priest was the one to offer sacrifices on behalf of the people. The priest offered up prayers on behalf of the people. The high priest represented God before the people, illustrating that no one had direct access to a holy, righteous God without someone to go between and intervene. 

We still default to this idea today. People tend to think that a pastor or a priest is somehow further up on a higher rung of some ladder that they imagine reaching up to heaven. So they ask the clergy to say the prayer, as if God is more likely to bend his ear to the pastor or priest. They want a visit from the pastor, as if another brother or sister who cares enough to share comfort from the Word of God is not enough. The confessional booth in the Catholic Church will never be completely vacant because of the belief that the penance prescribed by the priest somehow certifies grace and forgiveness. Still today we perceive others as serving as a sort of go-between to soften up God a bit for us. 

So having Jesus as our high priest is spectacular, because it means that we will always have access to God; we don’t need another human being to serve as our go-between; in Jesus Christ, we have our go-between! We have the one who guarantees that the prayers that leave our lips hit the ears of the Father. His one-time sacrifice – himself the perfect lamb – satisfied what all the blood of bulls and goats and sheep never could. His holy precious blood was the price necessary to cover the complete cost of our sin. There is nothing left to pay. The debt of our sin has been paid in full.

While this is all true – and not at all a small thing! – this isn’t even what the writer to the Hebrews is highlighting about our high priest, Jesus, in these verses. Yes, he paid for our sin, but he did something else that blows our mind: he had no sin himself to pay for. He never sinned. His life was marked by obedience. He perfected righteousness for us. He hit the mark we all miss – an entire life of perfect bullseyes in thought, word, and deed. Someone like that must be far beyond relatable to us, right?

Wrong. He knows exactly what you’ve been through and what you’re going through. In that regard, he’s just like you. He hurt. His heart dropped in seeing the suffering of others. He experienced being physically depleted and having Satan throw his best shot at him in temptation, as we saw in the Gospel (Luke 4) today. So he’s like us. He gets us. 

There’s just one difference, and it’s a HUGE difference – just five words: “yet he did not sin” (v.15). No sin. None. Just like you… except for the sin part! “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (v.15). 

This is why Paul could write what he did in Romans 5:19: “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” He didn’t sin. He was righteous. And because he is our high priest – no “if only’s” – he is our high priest, then you have all that you need to stand up in the face of temptation and crush it. 

What fear of sin remains? Do not make little of it, but there is no need to be mastered by it – your high priest paid for it and crushed sin on the cross. He crushed temptation by sending Satan packing every single time he tried to tempt him. Throw Scripture at Satan, just as your Savior did, and send him packing, just as your Savior did. You can fearlessly crush temptation as well, confident that when you fail, when you fall short, his perfect obedience has already met the standard for you.

Oh, and one more thing: your high priest allows you to level up in crushing temptation. He gives you this invitation: “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (v.16). He holds out help to you. Whenever you need it. It’s yours. Just ask. Do so with the confidence that Jesus’ perfect obedience offers you. It’s been done. Now get after it and get it done yourself in the face of temptation. Crush it, as Jesus already crushed it for you.