3/31/13 - Easter Sunday - Luke 24:1-8

IT WAS ALL PART OF THE PLAN

Death was Part of the Plan

            Are you ready to die?  Is that a weird question to ask on Easter Sunday?  But I’m serious: Are you ready to die?  Are you prepared for death to come at any time?  Because it will.  It’s inevitable: one day you will die.  Whether it’s tomorrow or next year or in 50 years, chances are you are not going to avoid death.  Are you ready for it?

            Some of you may have made plans for that event already.  Some of you have probably picked out the plot of ground you’d like to be buried in.  Some of you may have even chosen your casket and have paid all of the mortuary fees.  But even then, it’s still hard to plan for death, isn’t it?  Because you usually don’t know when you are going to die and you usually don’t know how you are going to die.  And so it’s hard to plan for something like that.  You can make preparations to some extent, but are you ever really ready for the moment your life ends?

            Jesus was ready to die.  Not only because he was expecting it, but because he knew exactly when he was going to die and exactly how he was going to die!  In fact, he predicted it!  Time and time again in the months leading up to his death, he told his disciples and his followers exactly what would happen to him, exactly who would do it, and exactly what he would accomplish.  It was all part of the plan.  It was all part of God’s plan of salvation to win forgiveness for the sins of the people of this world.  And so Jesus was ready to die because his death was the plan!

Death is a Consequence

            Which is a little bit strange, isn’t it?  Death usually isn’t the part of anyone’s plan.  A doctor’s plan is not that his patient dies on the operating table; he’s planning to avoid death at all costs!  A child’s plan is not that his cousin is going to die that afternoon; death is not even going to cross his mind.  A woman does not plan to get into a car wreck in which her passengers suffer fatal injuries; instead she drives safely and alertly so that nothing as bad as death will happen.  The death of someone you care about is never part of the plan.  It is not something we want to happen because death is not only the end of life, it is the enemy of life.

            Death isn’t a pleasant experience to deal with.  It’s sad and scary and depressing.  Death can be frightening when someone is on the verge of it themselves and horrifying when witnessed by someone else.  Death isn’t naturally good because death, when it comes right down to it, is a consequence of sin. 

            At first, there was no death.  When God created this world and everything in it, death did not exist.  Adam and Eve and all of their descendants were supposed to live forever in this perfect world.  But then, of course, Adam and Eve sinned.  They disobeyed God and infected themselves and this entire creation with the effects of sin.  And suddenly there were pains and difficulties, troubles and disasters.  And in place of eternal life there was inevitable death.  Plants died, animals died, people died.  And up until this day that is still the way it is.  Death was not part of the original plan, but now it has become a normal part of this sinful world.  And the fact that you and I are going to die is proof that we are completely filled with sin - by our own fault - and must face the consequences.  Death is a direct result of sin.

            But if that’s true, then why did Jesus die?  If death is a consequence of sin and Jesus didn’t sin, then why did he have to face death?  Jesus had to face death because that was part of the plan!  Jesus came to this earth as true God in the form of a human being to take our place, to be our substitute.  Jesus wasn’t here to have a nice life or to gain fame and popularity; Jesus wasn’t here as a good example for us to try to follow; Jesus was here to step in front of the bullet for us.  Jesus was here to do what we could not.  Jesus was here so that he would be treated like the sinner.  He was here to shoulder the full effects of sin.  And so Jesus was here to die.  It was all part of the plan.  He came to die in a specific way at a specific time for a specific reason.  But his plan wasn’t just to face death; his plan was also to defeat death.  Jesus had always planned to rise from the dead.  Because not only had he predicted it, that’s what we needed him to do.

Life was Part of the Plan

            Life was part of the plan.  Life again.  And so on that first Easter Sunday morning, that’s exactly what happened.   On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb.  They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.  While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them.  In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee:  ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’”  Then they remembered his words.

            Jesus wasn’t there!  He had risen!  Just like he said!  He had planned to suffer, he had planned to die, he had planned to be buried, he had planned to rise.  But the women who went to the tomb that morning had forgotten the plan!  They didn’t realize that was what Jesus had to do for our salvation.  Because if they had found Jesus body lying in the tomb that morning, if Jesus body remained in that grave on Easter Sunday, then we wouldn’t be here today.  We wouldn’t be gathering together as believers at all because we would not have anything to believe in.  Our God would still be dead, the predictions he made would have proven false, and the promises he had given to us could never come true.  Jesus had to rise from the dead.  Jesus had to beat death, because if he didn’t, we wouldn’t.  But because he did, we will. 

Your Life is the Only Plan

            Jesus didn’t just rise from the dead just for himself.  This was not simply an act of self-preservation.  In a very real way he took your life with him down into death and back again so that when you have to face the day death, your life is waiting on the other side.  Jesus has already conquered that enemy; your substitute has already defeated that adversary; and he gives you the victory.  And that was always the plan.  Your life was always the only plan.

            The only reason Jesus came to this earth, lived a perfect life, died a horrible death, and then rose from the grave three days later was to win eternal life for you in heaven.  You were the plan!  You were the reason why Jesus did what he did, suffered what he suffered, and accomplished what he accomplished!  He died so that you could be with him when you die.  He lives so that you can live with him forever in heaven.  He reigns so that you can be right there beside his throne for the rest of eternity.  Everything that Jesus did, everything that he does, and everything that he will do is all for you.  Your life is part of the plan.  Your death is part of the plan.  Your life again is part of the plan.  You were the plan the entire time.

            So are you ready to die?  Are you prepared to face death whenever it may come and however it may be?  Maybe I should ask you this: Are you ready to live?  Because that’s what will happen when you die: you will live!  Death is life to a Christian because death was life to Christ.  And because “he lives, you also will live.”  Because he rose from the dead, you also will rise from the dead.  Because he enjoys perfection and majesty and glory in heaven right now, so will you forever.  Because of Easter Sunday, you will have your own Easter Sunday one day soon.  And that has always been part of the plan.  Amen.

3/29/13 - Good Friday - Matthew 27:45-46

THERE IS NO COMPARISON

The Load of Sin Was the Heaviest

            Christ carried everything for us.  During these past six weeks of the season of Lent we have talked about how Christ carried rejection for us, pain, hatred, loneliness, injustice, and guilt.  Last night we looked at how Jesus carried sorrow for us in the Garden of Gethsemane.  And tonight we once again focus our attention on something that Jesus carried on our behalf.  But tonight what Jesus took on his shoulders is far more devastating and a whole lot heavier than anything we have talked about so far.  In fact, there is really no comparison.  Because tonight he carries our sins.

            That is something difficult to picture in our minds though, isn’t it?  How do we comprehend Jesus carrying our sins?  Even the movie “The Passion of the Christ” doesn’t cover that topic.  I know that most of you have seen that movie about the suffering Jesus had to undergo at the hands of his enemies during the last hours of his life.  And it’s brutal, isn’t it?  It’s bloody and gory and horrifying.  In fact, it’s so graphic that you might not even like watching it.  The beating that Jesus received and the scourging and the crowning… it’s not a pleasant thing to think about your Savior having to go through.  But no matter how bad that physical torture was for him, no matter how excruciating the suffering Jesus experienced in those hours, no matter how heavy that cross was on his back as he trudged up the hill of Calvary, it was nothing compared to the sins he would carry while he hung on that cross.

            That movie just touches the tip of the iceberg.  It certainly shows some very explicit scenes of Jesus’ suffering, but that isn’t even close to the kind of pain Jesus underwent in the end.  Because the pain Jesus carried for us in the end was the punishment for sins of all people of all time on the cross; and that eternal sentence poured out on him by his own Father completely overwhelmed any cut or bruise or puncture leading up to it.  And how do we know it was that bad?  We know because of what Jesus said while he was hanging there on the cross: From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.  About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

            Jesus hadn’t cried out in pain when the Jewish leaders blindfolded him and struck him in the face.  Jesus hadn’t cried out in agony when the Roman soldiers tortured him.  Jesus hadn’t even cried out in terror when being nailed to the cross.  But once on the cross and after hanging there for hours, only then did Jesus cry out in misery: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  Because that is when he truly suffered.  That is when he really went through something that no one else could.  That was the point he was carrying our sins.  The punches and the beatings and the scourges and the nails certainly wasn’t pleasant; but they were nothing compared to the wrath of his Father.

            Wrath is what his Father had promised after all.  God promised that every sin had to be punished, every sin had to be accounted for, every sin deserved an eternal torture in hell.  And if Jesus was going to take our place, if Jesus really wanted to be our substitute, then the punishment was his too.  And so his Father left him on the cross.  His Father abandoned him in his darkest hour.  His Father turned his back on the Son he loved so that Jesus was forced to suffer the eternal torments of hell for every single sin ever committed all within the span of a few hours.  And so does it surprise you that Jesus cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” at that point?  We may know pain; we may know misery; we may know what it’s like to go through some intense suffering for a long period of time, but when we consider the wrath of God that Jesus went through because of what we deserved, there is no comparison.

This Act of Love was the Greatest

            There is no comparison to what happened on Good Friday.  Not only because of what Christ carried for us, but also because of the extent of his love.

            Now there are plenty of ways that great amounts of love are shown by people to others in this world.  A husband and wife exchange rings on their wedding day as symbols of their life-long love; heart-felt gifts are given at various times for various reasons; kind words are said; time is spent; efforts are made to express love for another.  But rarely are those actions of love self-sacrificing.  On occasion you will hear of a woman spending every last ounce of energy and every last second of time and every last penny in their savings account just to care for her dying husband; that’s a self-sacrificing kind of love in a way.  Every once in a while you might hear of a relative offering one of their kidneys to a family member who needs a transplant; that’s a self-sacrificing kind of love in a way.  Every once in a while you will hear of a fireman or a soldier or an ordinary citizen who puts their life on the line to save the life of someone else; that’s a self-sacrificing kind of love in way too.  But when you consider the self-sacrificing kind of love that Jesus showed to us, there is no comparison.

            Because think of what he did: he hung on that cross and carried those sins not only for those who loved him, but for those who hated him.  He hung on that cross and carried those sins not for those who had earned it, but for those who didn’t even know him yet.  He hung on that cross and carried those sins not for those who had done something for him, but for those who had not done a thing and could not and would not - including us.  Jesus went into it knowing that the pain would be more intense than anything any person would ever have to experience; and he did it anyway.  Jesus went into it knowing that most people would despise him for what he would do; and he did it anyway.  Jesus went into it knowing that he didn’t have to do it; and he did it anyway.  Jesus was willing to put himself into the eternal torture chambers of hell - the place he prepared for those who disobeyed him - so that those who disobeyed him wouldn’t have to go there!  Try to wrap your mind around that act of love...  Do you realize what Jesus gave up for you?  Do you realize the sacrifice he made for you?  Do you realize how much Jesus loved you and how much he still does?

            We talk about Jesus’ suffering and death every Sunday.  We go back to his crucifixion and his sacrifice every single week to be reassured of our forgiveness.  But there is no comparison to tonight.  There is no comparison to the day on which our Savior died.  There is no comparison to the afternoon he carried our sins.  There is no comparison to the hour in which he was buried.  There is no comparison to the very moment of our forgiveness.  There is no comparison to Good Friday because there is no comparison to this single act of love. 

            But this night will pass.  Morning will come.  Weeks will roll by.  And if the Lord allows it: spring will turn to summer, summer to fall, fall to winter, and another year will come and go just like they always do.  And you will have ups and downs.  You will have moments of joy and periods of sorrow.  You will undoubtedly go through a range of emotions and a spectrum of experiences just like everyone does.  But no matter what happens - no matter how bad, no matter how good - Good Friday is the most important night in your life.  Because this night was the lowest point in the life of Christ, which means it is the highest point in yours.  This is it.  This night changes everything.  It is the night Jesus carried your sins.  It is the night he showed you the full extent of his love.  This is the night of your forgiveness.  And there is no comparison.

            Amen.

3/28/13 - Maundy Thursday - Mark 14:32-34

JESUS CARED SO MUCH

Overwhelmed with Sorrow

            Jesus cared a lot.  He cared for people - both good and bad - children, elderly, the sick, the suffering, the dying...  Jesus cared for everyone on this earth.  He cared for them so much, in fact, that he didn’t care about anything else.  He loved them with a love that only a perfect God could muster.  He took care of them with a passion that was deeper and more profound than any emotion that any person could ever experience.  He longed for them.  He ached for them.  He yearned for them because he wanted so badly to see them in heaven.

            And so when those he cared about so much rejected him and ignored him and even hated him, it broke his heart.  He wasn’t overwhelmed with anger when they didn’t believe him; he wasn’t overwhelmed with disgust when they turned his back on him; instead, he was overwhelmed sorrow.  A thick, dark, all-encompassing sorrow that penetrated to his very core.  And so he couldn’t just walk away.  He couldn’t simply brush it off and move on.  He had put too much time and too much effort into saving them.  He just cared for sinners too much.

            That sorrow of Jesus is never more vivid than on that infamous Thursday evening after he and his disciples had eaten supper together in an upstairs room.  Jesus was leading his faithful followers outside of Jerusalem that night as he had done many times before, but this time it was different.  This time Jesus’ mood was a little more somber and his temperament was a bit more restrained - not because of what had already happened but because of what was about to.  “They went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here while I pray.”  He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled.  “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay here and keep watch.”

            Jesus was deeply distressed and troubled because he knew what was about to happen.  Jesus knew that one of his own disciples was in the process of gathering a mob of men to meet him in the Garden.  Jesus knew that he was about to be betrayed.  Jesus knew that all of his disciples would run away from him.  Jesus knew that his own countrymen would condemn him, that the government under which he lived with crucify him, and that his own Father in heaven would abandon him to the horrors of hell.  If you knew those things were about to happen to you, wouldn’t you be deeply distressed and troubled?  But Jesus wasn’t deeply distressed and troubled simply because he didn’t want to go through that physical pain; Jesus was deeply distressed and troubled because he cared so much for those people who would do it to him and for those he would do it for!  He was overwhelmed with sorrow because he cared so much for sinners.

Why Should Jesus Care about Us?

            Which must have been an item of interest to someone like the devil.  The devil was certainly there that night, undoubtedly tempting Jesus.  And I wouldn’t put it past him to have whispered into Jesus’ ear that evening: “Why do you care about them, Jesus?  They aren’t worth it!  You are about to be betrayed by one of your own and you know that your so-called children in the future will betray you countless times throughout their lives!  You are about to stand before corrupt courtrooms already set against you and you know that those you are doing it for will fail to stand up for you time and time again!  You are about to be scourged, beaten, mocked, hit, spit upon, and crucified!  Do you really think that those who will claim to believe in you someday would actually do that for you?  Come on, Jesus!  You’re smarter than that!  Those sinners aren’t going to be worth it!  Just walk away.  You don’t have to do this.  You don’t have to go through all of this pain.  Just walk away.  You don’t have to care for people like that because you know that they aren’t going to care for you.”

            If they devil would have said something like that, I would have a hard time arguing with his logic.  Because I do turn my back on God’s Word on a regular basis!  I do fail to stand up for Jesus time and time again!  I don’t sacrifice much of anything on behalf of my Lord!  I don’t always care for my God and what he wants!  I’m not worth it!  I’m not worth his efforts and time and love.  There isn’t really any reason why Jesus should care for me like that.  And so there is nothing I would have been able to say to convince him to go through with it that evening.  In fact, I might have agreed with Satan: “He’s right, Jesus!  I’m not worth it!  Don’t do this for me.  I don’t want you to go through all of that pain for someone who isn’t going to live up to your love.  I wish I could tell you that I’ll always be faithful and loyal and true, but I can’t.  There’s no way I can.  You shouldn’t care so much for me.  You’ll just end up being disappointed and overwhelmed with sorrow all over again.  You should probably just walk away now before Judas shows up and it’s too late.”

Jesus Cared to the Point of Death

            But Jesus didn’t walk away, did he?  He knew what was coming, but he didn’t leave.  Instead he knelt down in that garden and he prayed.  He prayed hard.  He prayed passionately.  And he waited.  He waited for Judas to arrive and to give him that hypocritical kiss on the cheek.  And he waited there because wasn’t there in that garden for himself in the first place; he was there in that garden for us.  And he stayed there even though his soul was “overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.” 

            What an interesting thing for Jesus to say.  This wasn’t mere hyperbole; this ended up being prophecy.  “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”  Jesus knew where he was headed.  Jesus knew what was inevitably going to occur.  He was going to die.  And it was going to be a gruesome, bloody, horrific way to die.  But he was not going to shy away.  He was not going to back down.  He was not going to try to get rid of that deep, dark sorrow that was weighing on him in the Garden of Gethsemane; he was going to carry it all the way up to the cross and beyond.  Because he cared for sinners so much.  He cared for you so much.

            He had to care about you if he was willing to undergo all of that nastiness!  He had to care about you if he voluntarily shouldered that kind of sorrow!  Because that’s not a pleasant thing, is it?  To be immersed in a sadness and a depression that affects your entire way of being is not a fun thing to go through.  It’s miserable.  It’s almost insufferable.  Many of you know that kind of sorrow.  Many of you have gone through it.  Many of you may even be going through it right now.  But that is exactly what your Lord went through for you - and to a degree that even you can’t understand.  But that’s how much Jesus loved you.  It wasn’t just the physical pain; it was the emotional, the psychological, the mental, the inner agony of sorrow that no one else can see and no one else can truly know expect the person who is in the middle of experiencing it.  And Jesus experienced it in full.  And he did it because he loved you.  Because he cared for you.  Because he wanted to take you to a place where you will never have to feel that sorrow ever again.  And he will.  That’s what you have to look forward to.  While Jesus looked ahead to being surrounded by an angry mob that Thursday night; you get to look forward to being surrounded by believers and angels in heaven.  While Jesus looked ahead to his arms being stretched out on a cross; you get to look forward to being wrapped up in your Savior’s arms.  While Jesus looked ahead to death; you get to look forward to life.  And it’s all because he cared for you.  He cared for you so much.  Amen.