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'It is Better for One Man to Die' (John 11:49-53)

2/26/2020

 
(from the Wednesday night Lent 2020 series: The Truth Opposed)

            He ranked highest in authority second only to Adolf Hitler. He helped orchestrate the ‘Night of the Long Knives,’ a night when Nazi police forces murdered political rivals. He approved torching Jewish businesses and synagogues, arresting tens of thousands of Jews, and imposing massive financial penalties on Jewish communities. He even helped craft the ‘Final Solution to the Jewish Question’ by establishing and feeding concentration camps. As Reichsmarschall of the Luftwaffe, he led bombing missions against Poland, Austria, France, and Britain. Now, he stood trial in Nuremberg, Germany, accused of committing crimes against humanity, war crimes, and waging a war of aggression. When asked ‘How does the defendant plead?’ Herman Goering barked at the judge: ‘Nein! Not Guilty!’
            You see, according to Goering, the Third Reich achieved much. The Nazis reunified Germany. Massive unemployment became massive employment. The standard of living improved. Germany’s flourishing economy gained worldwide respect. Goering even claimed to have served as a peace-promoting diplomat. So, the reason for his plea of innocence? As a Nazi officer of an organized government, he simply obeyed orders. That, Goering claimed, is not illegal. His perceived criminal activity must be permitted because the one who gave the orders committed the crime.
 
           His flimsy defense fell flat.

          Goering’s rationale may get some chuckles— but, for a moment, dig into his logic. What drives him to spew out such worthless excuses? The question is easier to answer than you might think.
            For the next six Wednesdays we will meet opponents of truth. Each adversary confronts undeniable truth, but still denies accountability. A man named Caiaphas tries covering over evil with seemingly innocent advice: ‘It is Better for One Man to Die.’
 
            Listen to his argument: Then one of them, named Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, spoke up, “You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish.”
 
            Caiaphas (and the rest of the Jewish council) battle a crisis! Jesus just raised a dead man to life! Lazarus had died. Doctors declare him dead. Morticians prepared a body. The undertaker set a lifeless body inside the tomb. Relatives mourn for three days. Still, Jesus commands: ‘Lazarus, Come out!’— and Lazarus walks out alive! (read John 11:17-44)
            No one can deny these events! Attentions zip from Lazarus to Jesus. That powerful miracle demonstrates that Jesus holds power over life and death, just like God does! If God controls life and death and Jesus controls life and death, then you reach this conclusion: Jesus is God. So, many put their faith in him (11:45). Many clung to his teachings, relied on his Words, and set their hearts around his forgiveness.
            The Jewish council watches this wave of support wash over to Jesus. Instead of joining Jesus, they complain: ‘If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation’ (11:48). Do you see the reason for their hesitation? Not only do these leaders lose the support of people, but if Jesus is truly God, then they must obey him. Caiaphas and everyone else must submit to Jesus’ teachings and his authority.
            They resent that! Jesus does not meet their preconceived notions of what they want from a Messiah. Catch that? The leaders already had their minds made up as to what they expect from God. They want a politician, not a teacher who exposes their proud, corrupt hearts. They want power and respect, not accusations targeting their greed for wealth and power. They want influence, not submission to God’s condemning Law. Every single opponent confronts this undeniable truth: Jesus is God. Still, every stubborn heart rejects that truth. Personal desires sit on top of God. As for Jesus, he interferes with their quest for pleasure. So, out comes Caiaphas’ foolish defense: ‘It is Better for One Man to Die.’
 
            It sounds innocent. Kill Jesus and save the nation! Protect the people! Yet, really, it is far more convenient to kill what you do not wish to hear. It seems an effective way to silence undeniable truth!
            After all, God’s truth stands quite clear: ‘Live self-controlled.’ Confront that undeniable truth and out comes flimsy excuses: ‘Yes, I know, I’m not perfect, but God, you should see my alcoholic neighbor. You should visit the meth-head. My parents fight. My brother really loses his temper. God, there’s a lot worse people than me.’ God’s Word convicts hearts, but the heart tries to squirm out from under that crushing law. We may actually believe that God is happier with us because others have more noticeable weaknesses— and because of that, God suddenly should overlook our failures.
            We can silence God’s convicting Word by fabricating seemingly-acceptable reasons as to why we had to break God’s commands. ‘Yes, God, you want marriage, but …we don’t much money …our arrangement works the same as marriage …our parents divorced.’ ‘Yes, God, I should rely on you to provide, but I just don’t have the money I think I should.’ ‘Yes, God, you want gentle words, but my kids are to blame for fueling my anger.’ What about this? Are you here tonight because it is Ash Wednesday, a significant day in the Lenten season? Do you feel as though this day is very important to God? Do you feel you fulfill some religious obligation? No? Then, will you be here again next week (and the week after, and so on)? Or, are you making excuses as to why that is not possible? The heart actually thinks God accepts excuses— he accepts excuses because we want that to be true! Since we have determined this is how God functions! Then, we can keep doing evil and still look morally good!
            The heart fights to remove an inconvenient Jesus from our lifestyles. It feels as though he interferes with our fleshly pursuit for pleasure. We do not like hearing that we are wrong. We do not like hearing Jesus condemn us. We do not want consequences for our foolish choices. Our stubborn hearts heart refuse to bow under our undeniable shortcomings. It refuses to accept God’s accurate accusations. Instead, we want God to conform to our list of demands.
 
            Like Caiaphas, the heart cries: ‘It is Better for One Man to Die!’ How foolish! Get rid of Jesus and live however you wish in this world. Get rid of Jesus and you remove the only One able to bring life with God! The foolish rebel removes Jesus.
            Denial does not make truth go away. God knows about this secret meeting. He controls this secret meeting. He even put his words in Caiaphas’ mouth: ‘It is Better for One Man to Die.’ The willing Substitute gathers his children.
 
            [Caiaphas] did not say this on his own, but as high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation, and not only for that nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one. So from that day on they plotted to take his life.
            God’s plan always involved Jesus. That’s the reason Jesus comes. From Adam and Eve up to this very moment, hearts have wandered from their heavenly Father. Just like sheep, each of us has gone astray, even believing our disobedience carries no consequences. Just like sheep, each of us has turned to his own way, even thinking that God takes orders from us! This way of life brings a terrible reality: separation from God! That’s an undeniable truth.
            That’s the undeniable truth from which Jesus rescues us. He allows himself arrested, falsely accused, and sentenced. He allows himself rejected, thrown away, crucified. He willingly sets himself under God’s angry fury in our place. He absorbs the entire punishment, hanging forsaken and cut off from God. He is thrown into death, laid in a tomb with a stone sealing the door shut.
            Caiaphas wanted Jesus dead for the good of many. In his mind, he is willing to extinguish the Light of the world for his own self-interests. In reality, Jesus dying means our freedom. Because here’s another undeniable truth: Jesus is God. He powerfully dominates death, he rises to life. Jesus even powerfully dominates our death, making our lives eternal. Even more, he gathers our once-scattered hearts into his one believing nation.
 
            Although rejected, the willing Substitute gathers his children. Us gathering tonight is evidence of God’s kept promise. The Holy Spirit has brought our hearts into one united trust that Jesus alone cleanses moral filth and makes us acceptable before the Father. That same Holy Spirit creates in us a new heart. Not a heart chasing self-centered pursuits, but a heart that pursues God’s commands. Not a heart excusing actions, but a heart broken over sin and rejoicing in God’s healing pardon. Not a heart making up what it wants from God, but a heart which loves listening to the Lord of love.
            What a reason to be here tonight! To once again be reminded that God does not accept excuses. He does not accept ‘close enough.’ He accepts Jesus. He accepts you (and me) because of Jesus. The willing Substitute gathers his children.
 
            For the next five Wednesdays we will continue meeting opponents of truth. Each adversary confronts undeniable truth, but still denies accountability. A man named Caiaphas tries covering over evil with seemingly innocent advice: ‘It is Better for One Man to Die.’
            Only the foolish rebel removes Jesus. This is the purpose for Lent; this is the reason we are here. We, too, were once those foolish rebels, but now, everything has changed. The willing Substitute gathers his children. Ash Wednesday might be behind us, but Lent is not. As those gathered to Jesus, we keep gathering to thank our God! What a wonderful truth God has us hear: ‘It is Better for One Man to Die.’

Does Your Light Shine? (Isaiah 58:5-9)

2/9/2020

 
            Today I brought… a light bulb! Pretty helpful invention, right? A light bulb emits light; I can see objects and obstacles once hidden. During these short days and long nights, a light bulb extends daylight long after sunset. A light bulb outside illuminates the front of your house, chasing away shadows (and any burglars lurking in those shadows). A light bulb can be quite useful.
            Yet, this light bulb (in my hand) offers no help. It has no power source! Without power, it cannot push darkness away. It cannot reveal the unknown. It cannot chase away evil. A light bulb must have a power source to emit light. Disconnected from power a light bulb offers nothing.
            Jesus makes the same point when he says: ‘You are the light of the world… Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven’ (Matthew 5:14, 16). Jesus calls you (and me) light bulbs— and not just light existing for its own benefit, but light showcasing God’s Word in action. Our faith shines only when connected to the right power-source. So, Does Your Light Shine?
 
            In Isaiah chapter 58, the Israelite nation does reveal an attitude. You find them fasting (they stop eating food) and they wear sackcloth— this scratchy, burlap-sack-kind-of-clothing.
            Now, fasting had a purpose. It expresses sorrow. For example, King David committed adultery. Guilt crushed him. Shame ripped him up. His crime ate away at him. He sinned against God! (Psalm 32, 51) His soul hungered for God’s soul-quenching, heart-satisfying pardon. He craves spiritual relief. Or, when the nation sinned against God, the king might exchange cushy royal robes for grungy, scratchy sackcloth. That clothing expresses contrition (or remorse). The king visibly demonstrates his standing underneath God and that the nation depends on God. Every itch and scratch only yearned for the relief of God’s forgiveness, his love, his favor.
            You realize these outward actions of fasting and sackcloth flow from a broken heart. A reason stands behind each action.
            The Israelites go through these motions. That is it. They give no thought to the change of heart God wants. Instead, they expect God satisfied by a mere mindless routine, as though they deserve a reward for fulfilling a requirement (Isaiah 58:3).
 
            God is not fooled! His eyes penetrate the motives of the heart! He sees through the farce! God exposes empty-minded actions. Is such the fast that I choose, a day for a person to humble himself? Is it to bow down his head like a reed, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Will you call this a fast, and a day acceptable to the Lord?
            What answer do you think God expects? Not action without care. God craves actions flowing from a changed heart— and not just any action, but action shaped by his Word.
 
            Yes, some worship Christmas and Easter only. Others think if you worship on Sunday, then you will have a week free from accident and frustration. Still others think they will go heaven if their name is in a church record-book. Even others treat baptism like a good luck charm and refuse to feed that newly-created faith. Is that what God wants? A habit? A routine? A felt obligation? No!
            Before we point fingers at others, dig into your own heart. When confessing your sins do specific wrongs reappear, or do you mindlessly rattle off those words? How long does the sermon stick with you? Five days?… Two days?… Eight hours? … The end of service? …  Do you ponder exactly what you ask in the Lord’s Prayer, or do those words just tumble out of the mouth?
            It may seem like that behavior carries no consequence, but if you do not take God’s Word in, then your actions will show it!
            What do your actions reveal? Does God’s boundless forgiveness steer you away from revenge? That you choose your words carefully?… That you avoid unnecessary tense situations? Get angry last week? Did you lash out because your brother cursed God and your mom mocked Jesus? Or, was it because someone interfered with your pursuit for pleasure? As a congregation, we want people to know Jesus, right? Like God, we want no one in hell, but all to have eternal life (1 Timothy 2:3-4). So, did you reach out to those who have not worshipped for a while? Before we say, ‘Well, they still believe in Jesus,’ remember: actions reveal the attitude of the heart. Those who love God love hearing his Word. In fact, God makes a Commandment about worship (Exodus 20:8-11). Jesus himself worships each week (Luke 4:16). The Bible says: ‘Let us not give up meeting together’ (Hebrews 10:25). Do you take those words to heart? Do you reach out to the spiritual stray, or do you just let them stray out of your mind?
            You know, Israel thinks God somehow depends on their existence. That God needs their obedience. That without people, God shrivels away. That God is honored by their action. That is sheer, utter arrogance. Thinking that God has no choice but to love us because of a ritual, a tradition, a church membership book is arrogant. Thinking that God does not care about the words spilling from our mouths is arrogant. It claims that you are so special that God needs you. God saves you because of your behavior, your character.
 
            God exposes that corrupt heart. He says, ‘I do not want that!’ In fact, he looks down and sees the Israelites lying scattered across the desert floor like mere light bulbs. No power. No light. No life. Nothing and no one could change that awful reality— except for God. It takes God to energize fruitful living.
 
            He sets the Light of the world into our world. Jesus chases away the darkened thinking that God somehow exists for us. For three years he hammers that truth home. Worship exists for weary hearts to find rest, not as a checkmark on the spiritual scorecard (Mark 2:27). People may speak and sing, but if done with an empty mind, then God only sees a whitewashed tomb— pleasing to look at, but contains something stinky (Matthew 23:27). Jesus lights up this truth: ‘You(!) follow me(!) and live!’ (John 8:12)
            Jesus shines so brightly that we cannot help but notice him. We see Someone whose heart is pure. We see Someone who gives so much. Look at the cross and what do you see? [Y]our light [shall] break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily… Jesus’ selfless life heals our self-centered arrogance. His full and complete pardon cheers us just like sunshine cheers us up!
            God promises: [Y]our righteousness shall go before you… Understand, that is not your righteousness (as though you did something morally pleasing). God says, ‘Jesus, the One who lived morally right, clothes you in his righteousness’ (read Jeremiah 23:6). When you approach God, that is the first thing he sees: Hearts completely dedicated to him. You stand so wrapped in Jesus’ life that the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard. When the Israelites left Egypt and walked ahead to a new land, God not only led them, but also protected their rear. Jesus keeps any past guilt from overwhelming you. How? [Y]ou shall call, and the Lord will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ Yes, you regret the argument last week. Failing to speak up haunts us. We shudder how the heart became so loveless. The devil will poke the past and screech: ‘But God, he is not perfect! She failed!’ The Lord will answer: ‘But Jesus paid for that crime.’ His payment became yours in baptism.
            Do you see? God takes you, this light bulb, and connects you to himself. He gives you a new identity: ‘Light!’ He gives you a new purpose: ‘Shine!’ God energizes fruitful living.
 
            That’s where Christian living starts: Focusing on what God has done for you. The reason you (and I) want to demonstrate compassion is not because someone deserves it or because we stand to benefit. We love, because Christ first loved us (1 John 4:19). We love Jesus, which means we also love his teachings. We love putting those teachings into practice (2 John 1:6).
            That’s why God says: [L]oose the bonds of wickedness… Conduct fair trials, let the innocent go free, avoid lawsuits! [U]ndo the straps of the yoke. [L]et the oppressed go free, [b]reak every yoke[.] If a friend repays a loan with work, release him when the debt is repaid. Untie him from the obligation! Yes, families, children, parents are tremendous blessings, but they can pierce your heart. How can you move past that blow-up? He took advantage of your generosity. She never calls or cares! How can you let that wrong go free? How do you forgive when everything seems so unforgiveable? Start with Christ.
            Start with Christ. What has he done for you? When we took his blessings for granted, when we treated him like some genie, when we argued with his Word, Jesus cancelled the debt we owed.  He changed our future! No longer do we wallow as distant from God, but live as God’s children now! Once you were darkness— but now you’re different; you are light! (Ephesians 5:8) A lights connected to the source of love, you shine that love.
            Do not dwell on the past. Holding onto the past will not change your future. If you want peace, then aim for peace by leaving the past in the past and by looking forward to the future. [S]hare your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and [do] not to hide yourself from your own [family]. Do not hide from the family of believers. Connect with them! Write cards. Give a call. Stop by the house. No, not because Jesus will love you less. Because Jesus died for your soul. He suffered for that soul. Because Jesus wants that soul in heaven, and wants to keep feeding that heart with the peace of his forgiveness. Like God, we want no one to perish.
            The life we live now is drastically different! God’s love impacts behavior. The love he has for you will be seen through you. Like a light bulb powered by a source. You cannot help, but shine his Word through your actions.
 
            That is why Jesus calls us ‘the light of the world’ (Matthew 5:14). You (and I) are light bulbs— and light bulbs have a purpose. They reveal the unknown. They chase away evil. They fulfill their purpose when connected to power.
            God illuminates our purpose. In fact, God exposes empty-minded actions. He teaches our dependence on him. He connected us to his forgiving love. His Word inside our hearts will shape our actions for others to see. God energizes fruitful living.
            So, think about it. What you hear today. What you spoke earlier. What you will pray in a few minutes. What forgiving love God has again assured you of. How he has changed your heart. How he has changed your actions. Does Your Light Shine?

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1004 N. McEwan St.
Clare, Michigan
(989) 386-7216


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