Mark 14:1-26 Jesus, our amazing rescuer!

Mark 14:1-26

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How many of you watched Usain Bolt win the 100m sprint in the Olympics. Imagine all the preparation that went into those a little less than 10 seconds. Hours and hours of practice, of discipline. Carefully planning your food, your training. Keeping yourself healthy. All for a sub-10 second burst.

That’s what we’re seeing here. Everything has lead up to these moments. And so just like in the Olympics when the race is broadcast again in slow motion so we can capture all the details, so Mark slows down his gospel. Chapters 1-13 cover about 3 years of Jesus life. These next 3 capture the last 3 days. Mark goes into (for him) slow motion so we can capture all the detail of these last couple of days of Jesus’ life here on earth. From his anointing for burial to his last meal with his disciples, to his sham (fake) trials, and to then the reason he came, his 100 metre sprint: his display of Kingly service on the cross as he dies for sinners like us. And then to the shock revelation when the tomb is found empty. This is what Mark wants us to hear, to understand, to believe, and in believing, have life. Remember how he began: This is the Good News (gospel) about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God.

Three points tonight:

1. Jesus is our Messiah

2. Jesus is our Passover Lamb

3. Jesus is our Sovereign Lord

1. Jesus is our Messiah (anointed one)

3 Meanwhile, Jesus was in Bethany at the home of Simon, a man who had previously had leprosy. While he was eating, a woman came in with a beautiful alabaster jar of expensive perfume made from essence of nard. She broke open the jar and poured the perfume over his head.

Three days before his death Jesus has an alabaster jar of perfume poured on his head. This is called “anointing” – you see the word there in v8 She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time.

To anoint something means to pour oil on it to set it apart for special or holy use. It was an Old Testament symbol, a sign that this person or this thing was holy, given over to God. Three types of people were anointed in the Old Testament: Kings (2 Sam 2:4 “the men of Judah anointed David king over the people”), Priests were anointed (Ex 29:7 “Then anoint [Aaron as priest] by pouring the anointing oil over his head”), and Prophets were anointed (1 Kings 19:16 “anoint Elisha ...to replace you as my prophet”).
The anointing symbolised being equipped for service by the Holy Spirit. King, priests and prophets were anointed, set apart to serve God in the power of the Spirit.

Now there might be a little question ringing in your head – wasn’t Jesus already anointed? And yes he was.
Mk 1:9–11 One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. 10 As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. 11 And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.”

At his baptism Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit as King, Prophet and Priest. Revealed to be the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed One. King – remember Jesus says 1:15 “The time promised by God has come at last!” he announced. “The Kingdom of God is near! Repent of your sins and believe the Good News!”. The Kingdom is near because the King is here.
Prophet – the one who brings God’s word. 1:38 “We must go on to other towns as well, and I will preach to them, too. That is why I came.”
And he is Priest – the one who represents the people to God. Remember that’s why he was baptised. Baptism was for sinners – so why did Jesus with no sin need to be baptised? In order to be one of us. To identify fully with us as sinners as he prepares to take our sin upon himself.

7 You will always have the poor among you, and you can help them whenever you want to. But you will not always have me. 8 She has done what she could and has anointed my body for burial ahead of time.

The role of the priest was to offer sacrifices to God, to mediate (make clear the way) between sinful man and holy God. Jesus is not just the priest, but also the sacrifice. He himself will pay the price for sinful people like you and me to come to God. Did you notice his words: she has anointed his body for burial. He is preparing to die. This is why he came.

And to tie in to last week, this is the reason why the Temple will fall. Because of Christ it is no longer necessary. The stone Temple will fall because Jesus is now the true meeting place between man and God. He is priest, sacrifice and temple!

9 I tell you the truth, wherever the Good News is preached throughout the world, this woman’s deed will be remembered and discussed.”

And so it is. Here we discuss what she did: reminding us and those with him that Jesus is the Messiah, the Christ. He is King, prophet, and Priest. He is sacrifice and temple. It reminds us of his baptism: only sinners need to be baptised - for baptism is a washing away of sin, dying to sin under the water and rising again to new life out of the water – and just as Jesus identified with our sin in his baptism, so now he completes that work of baptism by taking the penalty of our sin upon himself. His body will be broken, his blood shed, to break the power of sin over us, to set us free, to achieve the real Exodus: bringing his people from slavery to sin under the power of Satan to a new freedom in (ultimately) a new earth under his good kingly rule.

Jesus is the Messiah, the anointed one, God’s promised rescuer, and our King, our Prophet, and our Priest. Amen!

And he is our sacrifice, indeed, our Passover Lamb.

2. Jesus is our Passover Lamb

12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go to prepare the Passover meal for you?”

Mark reminds us of the PASSOVER and the threat of Jesus death immediately in v1 It was now two days before Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread. The leading priests and the teachers of religious law were still looking for an opportunity to capture Jesus secretly and kill him. Then he is anointed for his burial. Then v12 On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed
v14 where shall I eat the Passover meal, v16 Passover meal

Ok, ok Mark, we get it! Remember that there was no bold or underline in the original manuscripts. So the way the authors could get our attention is to repeat things! So quite clearly the Lord God, through Mark, is saying we need to pay attention to the Passover.

It is just two days before the Passover, just two days before the Jews remembered God’s incredible rescue of them from slavery in Egypt, where the angel of death came over the whole country – but everyone who sacrificed a perfect lamb and put its blood on their doorposts were saved. When death saw the blood he passed over.

And Jesus deliberately echoes the Passover so that we can understand what is going on here.
22 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take it, for this is my body.” 23 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And he said to them, “This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice for many.

He takes the bread and breaks it. The bread would have been unleavened bread, that is flat bread, bread without yeast. It is bread you can make in a hurry, if you have to leave quickly. The Israelites were to make flat bread in preparation of the sudden call to leave Egypt, that very night. Judgment would fall on the Egyptians, and the Israelites would be set free.

And Jesus takes this flat bread and says “this bread, this symbol of God’s great rescue from slavery – this is my body.”
It is an outrageous statement to make.

And he follows it up with an even bigger one: “this wine, this is my blood, poured out as a sacrifice”. I am the sacrifice. I will be poured out. For I am the one who will rescue you from death. I am the true Lamb, leading the true Exodus. Not rescue from slavery in Egypt, but slavery from sin. Not just salvation to the promised land of Israel, but salvation to heaven itself. And not just rescue from physical death, but rescue from spiritual death. This is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people.

Jesus is about to be sacrificed in order to fulfil the covenant (promise) God has made with mankind.
First with Adam: Jesus is the second Adam, the perfect son of God, righteous, sinless human. As Adam sinned and so condemned us – so Jesus will die in our place and save us.
Then Noah: Jesus is the Ark of rescue from the flood of judgement to come. On the last Day we will be safe from God’s judgement in Christ.
Then the promise to Abraham: Jesus is the descendant of Abraham come to bless all nations. Just look around! We’re from many nations.
And Moses: Jesus is the perfect Law-keeper, and the Prophet like Moses, bringing God’s life-giving wor.
And David: Jesus is the righteous, eternal, King. Just as was promised David: your descendant shall rule forever.

Jesus is the YES! to all God’s promises.

He is the Passover Lamb. He is our saviour.

In fact, he has always been the saviour. We’ll be reminded of Exodus again and again through the coming weeks as we look at these final chapters of Mark. The Exodus, the great miraculous rescue of a million people from slavery to a new home, was a mere shadow compared to what Jesus is achieving here. This is the real Exodus. Throughout time and history Jesus’ blood powers his mercy. Each time God relents from judgement: Jesus’ blood is there. Each time we see God meeting with sinful people: Jesus’ blood is there. Even the Exodus itself is only possible because of the blood of Jesus. The blood of lambs could not take away the guilt of the people! No, it was the blood of the true Passover Lamb, Jesus, shed 1500 years later, that washed away their guilt and spared them from the judgement on the Egyptians. God had told them what they needed to do to be rescued, and they placed their faith in his word, acting accordingly, sacrificing the lambs – and God saw their faith, and counted it to them as righteousness, covering their sins through the blood of the Son.

So the disciples meet to celebrate the passover, while the real Passover is taking place at that moment. Interestingly, the Passover meal consists of bread, wine…and a lamb. But there is no lamb mentioned here in this passage. Perhaps it is to make clear that the sacrificial lamb who will be slain is seated in front of them.

Jesus is our Passover Lamb.

3. Jesus is our Sovereign Lord

25 I tell you the truth, I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new in the Kingdom of God.” 26 Then they sang a hymn and went out to the Mount of Olives. 27 On the way, Jesus told them, “All of you will desert me. For the Scriptures say, ‘God will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’ 28 But after I am raised from the dead, I will go ahead of you to Galilee and meet you there.”

Jesus was not some poor victim of circumstances outside of his control! He himself had planned this, with his Father and Spirit, united in purpose and love to rescue sinful humanity, and bring glory to the Godhead. All praise be to God! Such love that drives Jesus willingly to the cross.
We’re reminded time and again that Jesus is doing this by choice. Did you notice verse 16? 16 So the two disciples went into the city and found everything just as Jesus had said

And 18 As they were at the table eating, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, one of you eating with me here will betray me.” 19 Greatly distressed, each one asked in turn, “Am I the one?” 20 He replied, “It is one of you twelve who is eating from this bowl with me. 21 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

All is prepared beforehand. God is sovereign over all things, all events – even Judas. 21 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. Whatever motivated Judas to act: greed, frustration, hatred - we don’t know. But even he in his evil is serving God’s purposes. Jesus must be betrayed. Jesus must die. But does God’s sovereign purpose mean that Judas has no free will – that he is not respinsble for what he’s done. Can Judas say “without my betrayal, there would be no cross. You needed me, you made me do it, therefore you owe me”. No! 21 For the Son of Man must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago. But how terrible it will be for the one who betrays him. It would be far better for that man if he had never been born!”

Judas is responsible for his decision – as are we responsible for the decisions we make. God is fully sovereign, knowing our thoughts before we think them, preparing the way of the Son before the dawn of time – and our decisions are real decisions, with real consequences. So beware how you respond to Jesus. Don’t be like Judas, rejecting the King, for you too will hear “woe to you, it would be better if you were never born”.
Instead, fall at his feet like the woman 2000 years ago, worshipping him with costly worship. Because we have been rescued, set free, by him. Jesus bore our sin on the cross. It is gone.

Respond rightly. Because Jesus is the sovereign King.

And Be comforted, for Jesus is the SOVEREIGN King. Evil cannot thwart God’s plans. You cannot jump out of His hands. Nothing would stop Jesus from his great work on the Cross. He completed that work. Our Passover Lamb dying in our place, his blood covering all who place their faith in him. Hallelujah!

And now history moves deliberately toward his return. The Return of the King, the great day when the veil over our eyes will be torn away, and we will see reality as it truly is, the great King Jesus upon the eternal glorious throne.

Jesus is the Sovereign king.

There are two impossible applications, one for non-Christians, the other for Christians

One is to reject Jesus. To say that’s fine, Jesus did all that, but I’ll take my chances by myself. That’s the impossible application from this passage. This should drive you to repent, not to follow Judas. It ended badly for him – he hanged himself, and his insides burst open. Not a great end – but the spiritual end is even worse. Be warned.

The other impossible application – for Christians - is to live like I am the Passover Lamb. To live like I bear my sin. To live in guilt and fear. To believe that I can fall out of God’s hands at any moment, that his sacrifice was not sufficient to bring me to glory. That’s the impossible application.

Instead, let us rejoice and sing. Let us thank God. Let us shout aloud to the God of our salvation! Let us praise him in our hearts and minds every minute of every day. We are set free! He has rescued us! All praise to the Christ, King!

All praise to our Messiah, our rescuer, our Passover Lamb, and our Sovereign King. Praise Jesus, Lord of All! Amen.

The story of Easter: the Death of God and the gift of Eternal life.

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The meal was over. Jesus looked with love at his disciples, his companions, his friends. “Brothers, it is time,” he said. “The hour has come.”

Then he looked at Judas and said: “Do what you must.”

Judas, troubled, got up abruptly from the table, and fled out into the night towards the Temple.

Then Jesus rose from the table, and asked the eleven to follow him. They went up to a grove just outside Jerusalem called the Mount of Olives, and there Jesus asked them to wait for him and keep him company as he prayed, for he was deeply troubled in spirit.

In the grove Jesus knelt to pray. It was a dark night, the moon pale and faded. The shadows were dark and foreboding. The trees were gnarled and knotted, and seemed somehow to be grasping at the frightened and confused band of disciples. An evil presence filled the grove.

Jesus looked up towards heaven, his face a picture of agony, and cried out “Father!”

The cry of anguish echoed in the night sky.

“Is there another way?”

There was silence.

Then he bowed his head and whispered “Your will be done”, as the soldiers emerged from the shadows to arrest him.

Jesus stood up to meet the traitor Judas and the soldiers who followed him.

“Are you Jesus of Nazareth?” shouted the captain of the guard.

“I am,” said Jesus.

As he said this, the soldiers and all those with them fell backward, struck by the power inherent in this solitary man.

Encouraged, Peter lunged with his sword at one of the men closest to him and cut off his ear.
I can imagine a cheer rising up in the heavenly realms amongst the angels, as they stood poised to strike down the enemy! The Host of Heaven rising up with one voice “For the Lamb!”. And then they hear Jesus, the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world, the Lion of Judah, rebuke Peter. “Put away your sword!”

There would be no rescue tonight. Because this is God’s great plan of salvation. Jesus was led away, chained, alone.

Why?

Well, Jesus had explained this time and time again in the months and years before his arrest. Because he looks upon us with compassion, he told us about the stain of sin that grips the heart of every human.

“All men have turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there are none who do good, not even one.”

He said this to the Jews, God Holy people. People shifted uncomfortably, recognising the quote from the 14th Psalm. But surely Jesus was not implicating them? This was not what they were accustomed to hearing in the marketplace or the synagogue!

Then Jesus spoke again “The Pharisees tell you to perform ceremonial washing rituals in order to make yourself clean before God. But I tell you that it is not what is outside a man that makes him unclean, but what is inside a man.”

The crowd began to murmur and stir restlessly.

“Indeed, it is what comes out of the heart of man that defiles him. For from within, out of your heart, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, and folly. All these evil things come from within, and they defile a person.”

There was silence, as each stood and pondered the words of Jesus. What he was saying was true! And if even they as God’s people were not safe from judgement, then who is?

“Repent and believe in the one that he sent!” said Jesus!

And then he continued, warning about the reality of Hell - separation from God. There will come a time when God will give people what they want! For we say to him “I do not want you”.
And that is Hell. We are cut off forever from God, the source of all light, all happiness, all joy.
So Jesus warned of the terrors of hell – but at the same time told them the way out “trust in me, follow me and you will live!” He held out the hope of redemption, in hands that would soon be pierced to pay the cost of that redemption.

And that is why he was lead away. That is why he said to Peter “put away your sword”. Because every one of us is facing Hell. Every one of us is in deep, deep trouble, and none of us can save ourselves because what makes us unclean comes from within. Our sin comes from within us, and condemns us to death.

And the only way to save us is to swap places with us. It is to die our death in our place, so that we can live, and then remake us from the inside out. So that is what Jesus did. That is why Jesus died. That is why he came. For you and for me.

First he appeared before the Pharisee council, then before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. The trials were full of false accusations, fake witnesses, lies, deceit and cowardice.
Yet, amidst all this, Jesus’ innocence shone out all the brighter - so much so that even the Roman governor declared “This man has done nothing wrong.”

But the priests, the leaders of Israel, those who should have been saying “there is the Messiah”, instead shouted “Crucify him!” And the crowd followed their lead. “Crucify him”! And Pilate bowed to their will, instead of to the truth, and condemned Jesus to death.

Pilate had him whipped to the point of death. Then beaten and torn, Jesus was forced to carry the cross from the Roman palace to the place of execution. There he was stripped naked, and strapped to the cross - the shorn lamb awaiting the sacrifice.

Then the Roman soldier picked up a hammer and some nails. He grabbed Jesus’ arm, held the nail in place, and lifted the hammer.

Bang!

The nails pierced His skin, and He cried out in agony.

Then the soldier nailed his other arm to the cross, and then his feet.

There was no respite from the pain - and then with a shout and a heave, the cross was lifted into the air. Jesus’ tendons in his arms and feet began to tear as they took the full weight of his broken body. And as the cross of wood slammed into the ground He shuddered and shook. “Father, forgive them” He cried out as He paid the price so that He could forgive them.

And the sky grew dark, and the sun gave no light.

Creation mourned, and God the Father turned His head.

For a brief moment, the Universe stood still....

And then all of the sins from all of the people in all of time – all who were and who are and who will be covered by the blood of the Innocent One – all their sins, all our sins, were poured out on one concentrated spot: the Lamb Himself on the Cross of Death.

A dreadful cry was heard of “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” as Jesus felt the unbearable pain of facing the wrath of God. His body trembled and shook. Then he prayed: “Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit”, the prayer of the innocent dying for the guilty. And then raising himself up he took a deep breath and shouted “It is FINISHED!”. His body slumped down. And he was dead.

God the Father looked towards the Temple and tore down the curtain of the Most Holy Place, the symbol of the barrier between God and Man. The barrier was broken! The way to God was open. In Jesus we have access to God.

But at what a cost! The Lamb - the Lamb of God, the Lion of Judah, the King of Israel, Jesus, the Christ... was dead.

Creation mourned, the skies were black, and the sun was dead. The curtain was torn, but the Lamb was gone. Heaven waited for a sign from the Father....

But none was given.

Dusk was approaching. The women wept as Jesus’ broken body was taken down from the Cross. He was wrapped in linen cloths and laid gently in a tomb. A great stone was rolled in front of the tomb, and a guard of four placed outside the door.

The stars came out. The night was quiet. And the tomb was empty, but for the corpse of Jesus.

The Lamb’s broken body lay sadly on the floor: a testament to sin. A testament to a world in rebellion. And a testament to the love and mercy of the Father, who would slay the Lamb to rescue the many... even us here today.

The tomb was cold and devoid of life. The body of the Lamb lay alone.

His body lay broken, and the sun rose. Saturday dawned. Sabbath. A holy day. But Israel had killed their Messiah.

His body lay pierced, and dusk encroached on the day and consumed it.

His body lay fallen, and the second day passed away in silence.

The Lamb was dead.

Yet we know that death is a result of sin. And we know, too, that Jesus had never sinned. How could death hold him?

The King is dead. Long live the King. Is what they shout when a king dies, and the new king is crowned. But in Jesus’ case, it really was The King is dead, long live the King. For death could not hold him. Death had no right to hold him. And so Jesus broke the bonds of death. We pick up the story in John 20.

Jn 20:1–18 Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone had been rolled away from the entrance. 2 She ran and found Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one whom Jesus loved. She said, “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” 3 Peter and the other disciple started out for the tomb. 4 They were both running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. 5 He stooped and looked in and saw the linen wrappings lying there, but he didn’t go in. 6 Then Simon Peter arrived and went inside. He also noticed the linen wrappings lying there, 7 while the cloth that had covered Jesus’ head was folded up and lying apart from the other wrappings. 8 Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed—9 for until then they still hadn’t understood the Scriptures that said Jesus must rise from the dead. 10 Then they went home. 11 Mary was standing outside the tomb crying, and as she wept, she stooped and looked in. 12 She saw two white-robed angels, one sitting at the head and the other at the foot of the place where the body of Jesus had been lying. 13 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” the angels asked her. “Because they have taken away my Lord,” she replied, “and I don’t know where they have put him.” 14 She turned to leave and saw someone standing there. It was Jesus, but she didn’t recognize him. 15 “Dear woman, why are you crying?” Jesus asked her. “Who are you looking for?” She thought he was the gardener. “Sir,” she said, “if you have taken him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will go and get him.” 16 “Mary!” Jesus said. She turned to him and cried out, “Rabboni!” (which is Hebrew for “Teacher”). 17 “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father. But go find my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ” 18 Mary Magdalene found the disciples and told them, “I have seen the Lord!” Then she gave them his message.

That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said. 20 As he spoke, he showed them the wounds in his hands and his side. They were filled with joy when they saw the Lord! 21 Again he said, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” 22 Then he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” 24 One of the twelve disciples, Thomas (nicknamed the Twin), was not with the others when Jesus came. 25 They told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he replied, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side.” 26 Eight days later the disciples were together again, and this time Thomas was with them. The doors were locked; but suddenly, as before, Jesus was standing among them. “Peace be with you,” he said. 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” 28 “My Lord and my God!” Thomas exclaimed. 29 Then Jesus told him, “You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.” 30 The disciples saw Jesus do many other miraculous signs in addition to the ones recorded in this book. 31 But these are written so that you may continue to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life by the power of his name.

Death is gone! He was defeated. And the Lamb, Jesus, is alive! As if a star had fallen to the earth and was burning with joy! His great work was finished.

I can imagine on that Easter Sunday the whole of Heaven exploding into a chorus of praise and joy: The Lamb, the Son of God, the Master - He was alive! How would the angels celebrate? Speeding through the heavens in great joy, weaving their way through the galaxies and the stars and planets and moons. Blurs of clean light, weaving an intricate tapestry of praise to our Lord.

Don’t you want to join in? Don’t you want to feel the power of God, the joy of Heaven flowing through you? He is alive! He is alive! I want to praise Him with my whole body, with my whole life!

One day we will see him face to face. He is alive. One day we will see him and dance a cosmic dance of joy like the angles danced on that first Easter Sunday so many years ago. We will speed through the heavens, past cosmic wonders, our bodies leaving a trail of pure delight, dancing to the praise of the Lamb. And even those of us who can’t dance will dance! And above all, we will hear the pure rich laughter of the Father, a laughter that speaks of a holy joy, a laughter that makes all who hear it giddy with delight. His laughter rings out through the Universe, making every atom tingle, every star burn brighter, every galaxy turn faster out of sheer joy. The Lamb is alive! Death is defeated! Creation will be restored. Satan is defeated, and his plague will be destroyed. Hope is won!
Praise God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit! Praise Him for His grace and power and wisdom and love. He is worthy of the praise of all Creation!

Praise Him!

So let’s do it. Let’s praise him with everything we are right here and right now. If you don’t know him – get to know him. Say God, I need to know you. If you do know him, live for him. Delight in him. Let he be your joy and heartbeat. Love him! Do everything for him. He is our all in all. He is our great delight! He is our joy! He is all, for he was dead, he died for us, he died to make us whole, to restore us, to bring us into relationship with him. And today he rose again from the dead. Today he lives! And we live for him. Amen.

Mark 12:13-44 Give to God what is his

Mark 12:13-44

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What do you owe God?

It’s a funny question isn’t it? What do I owe God?

We often think about what God owes us. We get angry because life doesn’t go our way. We lash out at God when we suffer. Why me, Lord. We say.

But the truth is that God doesn’t owe us anything. And we owe him everything.

He made us. He owns us. His imprint is on us. That is, we are made in His image. He is the original, the first, the source. He is the Emperor on the coin. He is Supreme. And we are derivative, secondary, the created. Our life is dependent on him. Every breath we take is a gift from Him. Without Him, we cease to exist. We are utterly dependent.

How then should we live?

How then should we think about God our Father? How should we approach His Word, the Bible? If we are God’s image-bearers, if his mark is on us, what should we do? Give to God what belongs to God.

1. We belong to God

2. We must listen to God’s word

3. Listening to God’s Word is not enough!

4. Give everything (because Jesus has given everything)

1. We belong to God

Render unto Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s. is how the old translation puts v17.

And it’s a brilliant answer to a tricky question.

You see, Jesus has just publicly taken on the leaders of Israel, and called them out for ignoring God’s Word. They’re busy pretending to be servants of God, but they are only serving themselves.

This whole event started when Jesus entered the Temple and started flipping tables and chasing everyone away. “How dare you turn my Father’s house, a house of prayer, into a den of thieves” he shouted. The leaders marched in all in a huff “How dare you do this!” they say “what right have you?”.

“No, how dare YOU” responds Jesus. “How dare you ignore the words of God.” They are acting as if Israel belongs to them, and that they do not have to give an account to God. They are the evil tenant farmers who try to steal the vineyard in the story Jesus tells in 12:1-12. There is no fruit of obedience to God, no love for the Lord. The fig tree, Israel, has no fruit. And will be cursed. For the LORD, Yahweh, God himself, has come to his Temple in fulfilment of prophecy in Malachi 3, and has found… what? Corruption and evil. What will the owner do? Asked Jesus. Mk 12:9 “I’ll tell you—he will come and kill those farmers and lease the vineyard to others.

When God appears and asks “what have you done” what can you answer? We’re all in deep trouble! All we can do is say “I’m sorry”.

But the leaders, oh they don’t repent, they don’t say sorry. Even though v12 they realized he was telling the story against them—they were the wicked farmers. They still don’t repent. No. Instead they wanted to arrest Jesus (v12) and want to kill him (11:18).

What should they do? Recognise their sin! “Oh, I ran my life as if it were mine. I forgot I had to give an account to you, O Lord. I am so ashamed at what I have done, how I have ignored you. Please forgive me because of your mercy.”
That is what they should have done, that is what we must do. Otherwise we will find that we are locked in a war against God for all eternity, a war that we cannot win. We will be killed for all eternity for we belong to God.

This is serious business. We belong to God!

And this is the point of Jesus’ response to them in v17. It is a clear warning to repent. They, of course are trying to trap him. They are afraid of the people – so they try and turn the people against Jesus. That’s what they fear! They don’t fear God! But Jesus, he is not afraid.
So just listen to their slithering snake-like, oily, disgusting, question. 14 “Teacher,” they said, “we know how honest you are. You are impartial and don’t play favourites. You teach the way of God truthfully. They are being obsequious, sucking up, flattering to deceive. But what they say, ironically, is true. He is everything they should be, but aren’t! They, by contrast v12 are afraid of the crowd.

So they spring their trap: Now tell us—is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not? 15 Should we pay them, or shouldn’t we?”

Hehehe. We’ve got him! If he says “don’t pay Caesar” then we can get him arrested by the Romans. If he says “pay Caesar” then all the people will hate him. Haha!

Then Jesus says “Why are you trying to trap me? Show me a Roman coin, and I’ll tell you.” 16 When they handed it to him, he asked, “Whose picture and title are stamped on it?”

Oh drat! You can imagine their hearts sinking as this brilliant trap totally backfires. Jesus is not afraid of the people. He’s not afraid of them. He fears no-one but his Father.
Imagine if we could stop being afraid of people – imagine what we could do! As we’ve been reading in Proverbs – the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the LORD.

“Whose picture and title are stamped on it?” “Caesar’s,” they replied. 17 “Well, then,” Jesus said, “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God.”

We bear the imprint of our Creator, just like a coin bears the imprint of the emperor. We belong to God.

And that’s what the leaders had forgotten. They had forgotten God! We see this pattern again and again in religious leaders, where the organisation becomes the goal, maintaining power and status is the aim, where serving God gets pushed aside and serving self becomes the thing. And then the church becomes a political organisation, throwing out the difficult and inconvenient truths in God’s Word and replacing them with our own. But our church belongs to God, not to us. We belong to God, not to us. These religious leaders were reminded that they, and Israel, the vineyard, belong to God!

Oh Lord help us to remember that we are not our own, that we are bought with a price. Let us never presume that just because we go to church, or even serve in the church, or are leaders in the church, that we are Someone Important. You are the only great God! And we belong to you. May you be our highest goal, our great vision. May we live only for you! Save us from our foolish sin, putting ourselves at the centre. When we see you face to face, let us be filled with joy, not horror and hatred because it’s not us sitting on the throne.

You (and I) belong to God. So give to God what is his. All of you. All of me. We belong to God. So

2. We must listen to God’s word

24 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.

Revealing words. Aimed at a group called the Sadducees. They were basically secular Jews, like most of Israel today. They were concerned with life now, and how to use God to secure blessing. As v18 points out, they did not believe in the resurrection. So they were focussed on material blessings. The American Dream group. A bit like the prosperity gospel. God is the great vending machine in the sky, and if you can figure out the right combination of words and actions then he has to bless you. And they come to put Jesus in his place.

“Ah-ha, Jesus, now listen here to this foolish example we’ve just made up about one poor woman being married multiple times.” Their proposal is simple: resurrection is foolish because if you’ve been married, then widowed, then marry again – at the resurrection, who are you married to? All of them?! How foolish to think that we will be resurrected! It’s illogical. We are right. You are dumb.

But, of course, they take this question to the extreme, milking it for all its worth. You can imagine them telling this story to the crowd, people laughing as the seeecond husband dies, then the thiiiiird. They were probably rolling their eyes in scorn as they bring home the argument “whose wife will she be”, to the enjoyment of the crowd.

All eyes are then on Jesus. What will he do? What will he say?

His answer is brutally honest: 24 Jesus replied, “Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.

Wow. The Sadducees were a rich and powerful group. And Jesus is totally unafraid. You don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God.

How often is that us? How often are we wrong because we do not know the Scriptures, and do not know the power of God.

Just as Jesus exposed the Pharisees and Herodians - they would not give to God what is his – Jesus now exposes the Sadducees: they don’t even know God! For them the Scriptures are a means to an end – their end. The Bible gave them power, respectability, moral authority – but it was beneath them, a tool to be used, not over them, words to be listened to and obeyed. They have read the words but they do not KNOW them. And because they reject God’s Word, they do not know God. They do not know his power.

The way of the Sadducee lies very, very close. It is so easy. What of God’s Word do you refuse to believe?
In our society I can tell you what we find difficult to believe: 1. That God is sovereign over all things. “No, I have free will!” we bleat, as we are manipulated by every advertisement and jingle and shiny new gadget our eyes fall on.
2. That God will judge.
3. That we are sinners.

These are all linked. We like to think of ourselves as good people, moral people – maybe with a couple of failings, but if we try a bit we can sort them out and then God will like us. But the truth is we are “depraved”. That means sinful through and through. Like poison in a glass of water, the poison of sin runs through all of us. Not all of the water is poison – but all the water is poisoned.

Because if we could be just a little bit better and then be acceptable to God, why would Jesus have had to come and die?
No it is because we are helpless in our sin, facing eternal judgment, and because he is sovereign over all things, that he, in his great mercy, decides to do something about that, and save people who don’t deserve to be saved and who don’t want to be saved.

Guard your heart when you read the Bible, or hear it preached, and your heart says “I don’t believe that” and you gloss over it, skip over it, push it aside. You do not want to hear Jesus say to you “Do you not know the Scriptures”. We belong to God. He is God. He decides what is true and what is not. Let us humble ourselves before him!

We must listen to God.

But

3. Listening to God’s Word is not enough! (Understanding the Law (Scriptures) can get us close)

Now, after the failures of the power-hungry religious leaders, and the running-after-money Sadducees, enter the teacher of religious law. This is a “good” man. He is one of the best of us. He has understanding and insight. He sees the spirit of the Law. Listen again to his brilliant answer to Jesus: 32 The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. 33 And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbour as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”

He gets it! The Law is about love, not about rules. The Law says put God first. Love God. Love your neighbour.

But Jesus’ response deflates us. Ruins us. No-one asked him any more questions. Everyone fell silent in dismay. 34 Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.”

Not far? Not faaaar?
But, but, who then can be saved? This man knows the path of salvation! How can he be “not far”? Why not “in”?

Because who loves God like he should? This man understood the law – but he lacked the power to actually do it. And that is what he did not see. And that is what Jesus points out. “Dear friend, you have not done what you know you should.”

Just think about the second commandment. Love your neighbour as yourself. Have any of us done that like we should? How often does a careless word slip out? An angry glare? Harsh words. Or we just don’t do something we should have done.

And that’s the second. We break it all the time. What about the first. Love God with all out heart, soul, and mind. We’re doomed.

Because how far can the law take you, even properly understood? “Not far” from the Kingdom.

But it cannot take you in. Only the King of the Kingdom, only Jesus, can grant you access.
This man has understood the Law in part. He knows that it’s not external that’s important, but the heart. The heart that must love God.
And that’s the problem. He’s outside. Because he’s not understood that HIS heart too does not love God. That he too is a sinner. This is the difficult doctrine. A difficult truth. We are all sinners.
He had certainly read the Scriptures – but probably also glossed over, did not think they applied to him. Like Genesis 6:5 The LORD observed the extent of human wickedness on the earth, and he saw that everything they thought or imagined was consistently and totally evil.

He does not yet believe that the only way to love God and love his fellow men properly is if Jesus has first loved him, and transformed him from the inside out. He needs a Messiah, a saviour. He needs the Lord. Just knowing Scripture is not enough. That just shows us that we’re in trouble, like a man on a dark night, who in a flash of lightning suddenly sees that he’s on the thin edge of a cliff face, with a mud slide bearing down on him – but the other side is too far to jump, and the chasm is deep.
We need to be saved. We need someone from the other side to swing across and pull us to safety!

35 Later, as Jesus was teaching the people in the Temple, he asked, “Why do the teachers of religious law claim that the Messiah is the son of David? 36 For David himself, speaking under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, said, ‘The LORD said to my Lord, Sit in the place of honour at my right hand until I humble your enemies beneath your feet.’ 37 Since David himself called the Messiah ‘my Lord,’ how can the Messiah be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with great delight.

What Jesus is pointing out is why the Messiah, the Promised Rescuer, is the thing that matters. He is the key to understanding the law. He is the door to the Kingdom of God. The law tells us there is a gap, a chasm, a huge pit, between us and God. It tells us our sin has cut us off. And no amount of being good or moral will ever be enough to bridge the gap. The most we can hope for is to be “not far”.

But the Messiah. He can bridge the gap. Why? Because he is a man AND he is God.

Jesus is the Messiah. A man, born of Mary, descended in a long line from King David. Jesus is David’s son.

But, Jesus points out, David himself calls the Messiah, his son, “Lord”. The Lord who is honoured by the LORD, Yahweh, the personal name of God, Israel’s God, the Promise Keeper. David looks and sees the Messiah, the great coming King of Israel, seated at the right hand of God Almighty. The Son of God, seated on the throne. Jesus, the Son of God, shown in power time and time again to be God Almighty, raising the dead, healing the sick, with power over Creation. Who is this man?

The bridge.

The arrogant leaders miss it. They could not conceive of the Almighty God making himself as nothing, as a human being. The incarnation (God becoming man) is mind-blowing. That he should walk on earth, limited and frail. That he should be a baby, dependant on his mother and father. Incredible. What love the King has!

But those hungry for power could never imagine giving up that power for any reason, even those they love, never mind their enemies. But God does that. For us.

They are too busy walking around in flowing robes and sitting at the heads of tables, pretending to be pious but serving themselves. They will be severely punished says Jesus!

Even the best of them is too proud of his own morality, and so is “not far”.

Listening to God’s Word is not enough. We must throw ourselves on his mercy. We must give up everything, in order to gain him, and in Him, gain everything.

4. Give everything (because Jesus has given everything)

41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. 42 Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins. 43 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has given more than all the others who are making contributions. 44 For they gave a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she had to live on.”

It is not enough to pretend to serve God. It is not enough to give to God some of what we have. It is not enough to understand the Bible. It is not enough to go to church. It is not enough to be sexually pure, or to give our money away to gospel work, or to serve tirelessly in the church, or whatever you think will really impress God.

Oh yes, it is all good stuff – but it is not enough. We must give it all. Everything we have. We must give ourselves. There’s a mime of a man singing at church and the collection plate comes around. He gives some money. It comes around again. Annoyed he gives some more. Carry’s on singing and praising, but with a slight frown. Then the plate comes again. Now he’s angry! But the demand is unavoidable. He throws his wallet in. Sings. And it comes again. Now he’s really angry! Empty’s out his pockets. LOOK! I have nothing. The demand comes again. Then suddenly he understands.
And he climbs onto the offering plate.

Think this is unreasonable? It’s nothing less than what Jesus himself did. The great King of Israel, descendant of David, God Almighty, Ruler of Heaven and earth – shrinks himself down to become a human, one of us. And a servant. A poor preacher from a poor oppressed people. Suffering hunger and cold and want and rejection. The Suffering servant. And finally death. Why? Why does he give everything?

To be the bridge. Arms outstretched on the cross, bridging heaven and earth. Cross over! But to cross over we too must die. Die to ourselves. Be crucified. And then live for Christ!

I began with asking us the question “What do I owe God?”

What do I owe God?

Everything.

Isaiah 7:1-9:7 The Messiah: the promised child who brings judgement – and salvation

Isaiah 7:1-9:7

God! Vast, powerful, enthroned in glory. We saw Him in chapter 6 on the throne, surrounding by massive powerful burning angels. He was in the Temple and his glory filled it. Here is the true King of Israel.

And in this chapter this great King, this being of Ultimate Power in the Universe promises a sign. A sign that he is in control. A sign of his power and his sovereign rule. A sign that will show the world God is in charge.

What kind of sign would you expect? 10 plagues? Sea opening up? Worldwide flood?

The sign God promises? A baby.
A baby?!
Yes, a baby.

That’s probably what King Ahaz thought as well! Seriously? That’s the big sign? A young woman will have a baby? A virgin will get married and have a baby. Wow.

And in Isaiah and Ahaz’s time, yes, the sign of the baby wasn’t that impressive – although it did come true. By the time the baby was a child, the two nations threatening Judah had been wiped out just as God had said. But the baby, well, the baby didn’t seem that important – at least not then. Not until a young unmarried woman – a virgin – called Mary - became pregnant without having sexual intercourse. And suddenly Isaiah’s prophecy became a lot more interesting.

Let’s have a look. Remember what I said about prophecy often working on two or more levels, in two or more time periods. This week’s chapters find their partial fulfilment in Isaiah’s time, and their full fulfilment in Jesus’ time.

We’ll follow Isaiah and Ahaz’s story first, then look at Jesus, and then apply it to us.

1. The child: a sign of judgement for Ahaz

The scene is set in v1-2: Ahaz, King of Judah, the Southern Kingdom of Israel, is being threatened by Syria and the Northern Kingdom of Israel (in some translations called “Ephraim”). This is bad! V2 the hearts of the king and his people trembled with fear, like trees shaking in a storm.

So, Isaiah is told in 7:3 to go and meet Ahaz and tell Ahaz not to fear, but to trust God. Stop looking at the problem. Look up! But just as God had said in chapter 6, Ahaz will not listen. God says don’t worry? Are you blind God? Look at Syria’s armies! Look at Israel’s armies! How can you say this invasion will never happen? V7

Ahaz does not believe because what God is saying through Isaiah was just unbelievable. God says their enemies are nothing – that in fact, Israel (the North) will be no more in just sixty-five years (v8). Pff. No. They’re Jews like us. We are Israel, God’s people! God would never abandon his people like that. Shut up Isaiah, you speak lies.
Isaiah’s message ends at the end of v9 with a warning, translated a bit weirdly in the NLT. Unless your faith is firm, I cannot make you stand firm. This almighty God “cannot”? The ESV has a better translation, as does the Norwegian bible: “If you are not firm in faith, you will not be firm at all”.
Literally: If not believe / established then not believe / established. It is the idea of a secure foundation. Ahaz – be warned: the only secure foundation, the only safe path through this terrible time is the Lord. If you will not stand on Him, then you will not stand. A few weeks ago back in chapter 2 we saw how all the world will be shaken, our lives will be shaken – and only Christ is unshakeable. And I asked us this question “When my life is shaken, what will stand?”

That is the question for Ahaz. Stand or fall on me. Says the Lord. But Ahaz, we know, will not listen, so in v11 God tells him to ask God for a sign! Very interesting.
But Ahaz refuses! Why? He uses religion “I will not put God to the test” but actually he doesn’t want to be convinced. He does not want a sign from God because he does not want to obey God.
We’re good at that – coming up with reasons for why we shouldn’t obey God. Sometimes, and these are really good, we come up with spiritual, religious reasons for disobeying.
We only fool ourselves. Not God. Not ever.

Look at God’s response: 13 Then Isaiah said, “Listen well, you royal family of David! Isn’t it enough to exhaust human patience? Must you exhaust the patience of my God as well? 14 All right then, the Lord himself will give you the sign. What is the sign? Look! The virgin (or young woman) will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means ‘God is with us’)...16 For before the child is that old, the lands of the two kings you fear so much will both be deserted.
The sign will be a young unmarried woman, a virgin, giving birth to a son. The boy will barely be grown up when the threat of Syria and Northern Israel (in some translations called Ephraim) will be no more.

And in chapter 8 what do we find? Isaiah has sexual intercourse with a young woman - his wife - and she becomes pregnant with their son. And by the time he is ready to eat solid food (yoghurt and honey) – Assyria captured Syria and North Israel. My personal view is that chapter 8 is supposed to be seen as the fulfilment of 7:14. For Isaiah’s time. There are many who would disagree – there are 10 theories on how this is fulfilled! But I think that like in previous chapters we are supposed to be looking beyond the partial fulfilment and waiting on the Lord to do what he promised. Because waiting on the Lord is a major theme of these chapters!

Because a young woman does give birth to a son. But the word Isaiah chooses is not the usual “na’arah” meaning young woman, but “almah” – which means virgin woman, or young unmarried woman. And Isaiah’s wife isn’t exactly a virgin! Also, the boy was to be called Immanuel “God with us”. This boy is called Maher-shalal-hash-baz (called Baz by his mates) – which means “The spoil speeds, the prey hastens”!! Which kind of sounds more like “God has left us” than God with us!

However the sign, was fulfilled in Isaiah’s day, we’re looking beyond to a future day, waiting for God to bring a sign: a virgin who will bear the son Immanuel. The reality of that prophecy was mind-blowing, and we miss it because it’s so familiar. But let’s finish off Isaiah and his son ‘Baz and Ahaz before we get to Jesus…

The Lord promises in 8:5-10 that Assyria will come like a flood. All the human powers that Israel trusted in have come to nothing. Only the Lord can save. And he will. Because Israel is called “Immanuel” (v8), God with us. He is with his people. And for those of us who are slow v10 ends with “God is with us”. And remember Isaiah’s first son’s name? Shear-jashub “a remnant will remain”. That remnant will be like Jerusalem just keeping her head above water in a flood.

Everything else they’ve trusted in will come to nothing – but God will save them. The message is summed up in v11-22 Fear GOD, and nothing else. If not, he will be a stumbling block and a snare. V14 But to Israel and Judah he will be a stone that makes people stumble, a rock that makes them fall. And for the people of Jerusalem he will be a trap and a snare.

Either God is your saviour, or he will be your destruction. You either stand firm on God, or you do not stand at all.

For Israel in Isaiah’s time, for Ahaz, the child was a sign of judgment. They should have listened to God: Isaiah’s plea is clear 18 I and the children the Lord has given me serve as signs and warnings to Israel from the Lord of Heaven’s Armies who dwells in his Temple on Mount Zion… 20 Look to God’s instructions and teachings!
Because looking to anything else, listening to anyone else, will lead to v22 will be trouble and anguish and dark despair. They will be thrown out into the darkness.

The people are blind – looking to the wrong thing to save them. They are deaf, listening to the wrong voices – the voices of the dead instead of God. What hope is there in this darkness?

2. 9:1 – 7 The child. A sign of hope for the world.

9 Nevertheless, that time of darkness and despair will not go on forever. The land of Zebulun and Naphtali will be humbled, but there will be a time in the future when Galilee of the Gentiles, which lies along the road that runs between the Jordan and the sea, will be filled with glory. 2 The people who walk in darkness will see a great light. For those who live in a land of deep darkness, a light will shine. 3 You will enlarge the nation of Israel, and its people will rejoice. They will rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest and like warriors dividing the plunder. 4 For you will break the yoke of their slavery and lift the heavy burden from their shoulders. You will break the oppressor’s rod, just as you did when you destroyed the army of Midian. 5 The boots of the warrior and the uniforms bloodstained by war will all be burned. They will be fuel for the fire. 6 For a child is born to us, a son is given to us. The government will rest on his shoulders. And he will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 His government and its peace will never end. He will rule with fairness and justice from the throne of his ancestor David for all eternity. The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen

There is one coming, oh yes, who will usher in a new age, a golden age. Isaiah and his sons do not offer much hope. A small hope: a remnant will remain. Jerusalem will not be completely destroyed. But this, this is something else. No more slavery, no more war. A child who is called Mighty God. Is this the Immanuel? The God with us.

Yes! And how!

This child is the sign God will give to Ahaz and all like him who walk in darkness (That’s all of us by the way!)
The virgin will give birth, and that child will be Immanuel himself. God, the great God on his throne will come down, shrink himself down and become one of us. A baby, born of a virgin, Mary from Galilee. And from there a great light will shine out across the whole world v2. He will be the King, the King who will rule forever in righteousness and truth for he is the King, the Lord Almighty, our Everlasting Father and Mighty God himself.

Now that’s a sign!

Turn to Matthew 1:18–25 This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. 19 Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly. 20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” 22 All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet: 23 “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’ ” 24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. 25 But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.

Now we see why Isaiah used such a strange word for “young woman”. Because it pointed to Mary. A young woman becoming pregnant is not much of a sign is it. This will be the sign, someone will fall pregnant – and that someone will be a YOUNG WOMAN.

But a virgin falling pregnant – now that’s something else.

The disciples of Isaiah’s day were longing for the day when God would rescue his people - a day when the people now in darkness, now unable to see and hear because the Lord has hidden himself from them – one day they will 9:2 see a great light! Joy as the rescuer will come. This rescuer, this child – yes, the child promised in 7:14, not the child of Isaiah, but the child born to a virgin, the miracle child - he v6 will be called: Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. And we know this will happen because God guarantees it. Look at the end of v7 there The passionate commitment of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will make this happen!

God says: Oh Isaiah, your people are a mess, I know. But I have set in motion my plan to rescue them. And not just them, but all who are in darkness. I will bring them out of the darkness and into the light. I will do this myself. So have patience. Wait upon the Lord.

Mt 4:13–17 [Jesus] went first to Nazareth, then left there and moved to Capernaum, beside the Sea of Galilee, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali. 14 This fulfilled what God said through the prophet Isaiah: 15 “In the land of Zebulun and of Naphtali, beside the sea, beyond the Jordan River, in Galilee where so many Gentiles live, 16 the people who sat in darkness have seen a great light. And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow, a light has shined.” 17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

The Kingdom is near, yes, because the King is standing there in front of you. And friends the kingdom is near now because Jesus is still ruling, and he is here now, calling on you to respond. For his kingdom is eternal and he rules forever. He came to earth to shine a light, the only light, into this world. He died in our place to take away our sins so that we who are blind and deaf can be restored to see and hear. Jesus deals with the problem of our spiritual blindness. Is 32:1–3 (NLT) Look, a righteous king is coming! And honest princes will rule under him. … 3 Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth, and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it.

Jesus is the sign of hope for the world. We walk in darkness, we are blind and deaf – but Jesus, Jesus shines a light into our darkness, and calls us out with power and mercy. So, how should we respond?

3. Our response: to actively wait on the Lord in obedience

King Ahaz is the example of what not to do. When put to the test Ahaz shows his faith is elsewhere: Ahaz has put his faith in Assyria, not God! Chapter 8 shows us why. Because Ahaz is listening to the wrong voices. Not the voice of God, through Isaiah, but to the voices of the dead, the voice of Satan.
What is my trust in? When I am challenged, what do I really put my faith in? In the Lord? Does my life show this?

Let me give two examples:

I know two ladies, both single, both attractive. Both started going out with non-Christian men. Why? Because that is how we are designed. To be in relationship. But we are first designed to be in relationship with God. Both were challenged with whether they trusted God or men. One repented, the other, well, she’s still working it out.

I know two men. Both put under pressure at work to lie. Both were worried about their jobs, having no security net – if they lost their job life would be difficult. One was afraid, and so compromised, and went through a difficult time. The other realised that his salary is provided by God, not by men. He sized up the moment, marched into his bosses office, and told him that he served God, not men, and therefore would not lie and also had to expose the corruption. Oh, things exploded around him – but the Lord was with him and he was at peace.

Who do we serve, God or men? Do we really believe that God is sovereign? That he is in control.

WAIT ON THE LORD

That waiting is not passive, slouched on the couch. We wait like King Hezekiah, we wait like Daniel. Hezekiah went to the Temple and prayed to the Lord, listened to the prophet Isaiah, and obeyed everything he told him. Daniel read again and again the words of God in Scripture and so he knew that the exile would soon be over. He prayed every day to God, even when his life was threatened. That’s waiting on the Lord. That is true faith.
Friends, it is simple to be a Christian: let us read the Bible every day, let’s meet together as a church, let’s love and care for each other, pray together, eat together, encourage each other as the Day of Christ’s return approaches. We keep sharing the gospel, keep holding out the word of life, keep praying for our non-Christian friends and family, and wait patiently for the Lord to work in His time and in His way. We obey the Lord, no matter what the cost. We love instead of take revenge. We tell the truth even when it costs. We are faithful even when it hurts. We forgive, because Christ forgave us.
Do not lose heart. Stay the course. Be obedient and trust God.

The people of Israel had to wait 735 YEARS before they saw the true meaning of the sign “the young woman/virgin will be with child”. But oh my was it worth the wait! Never in our wildest dreams could we have known that God himself would be our saviour, that he really would be Immanuel, God with us. That’s the God we serve.

Take comfort and strength. The Lord is with us.

1 Timothy 3:16-4:5 True Truth

1 Timothy 3:16-4:5

What we believe affects us deeply. It affects how we see and evaluate ourselves, how we see and evaluate others, and how we see and evaluate all that happens in the world. If we believe this is a dog eat dog world where only the cruel survive – that will lead to a certain kind of lifestyle. If we believe that there is a God in heaven to who we are accountable, if we believe that all people are valuable, created in God’s image, if we believe that we are utterly sinful – but amazingly forgiven and loved – that will lead to a certain kind of lifestyle.

That’s why the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write v14 and 15 “14 I am writing these things to you now, even though I hope to be with you soon, 15 so that if I am delayed, you will know how people must conduct themselves in the household of God. This is the church of the living God, which is the pillar and foundation of the truth”.

We looked at this two weeks ago, the key verses of this letter to Timothy, and saw how we need to know the truth, see the truth, and live the truth. But what is the truth?

1. Jesus is the Truth

What is the truth? The truth is the gospel of Christ Jesus as explained in chapter 1: the truth that we are sinners, we have broken God’s good law - but equally that we are forgiven “Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners” (1:11). That is, indeed, a trustworthy saying!
Those are the two dimensions of the gospel: sin, and forgiveness – and we need both to see in 3D, to see the full picture.
If we only have one: forgiveness but not sin, or sin but not forgiveness – it’s like watching a 3D movie with only one eye. You’re not getting the full picture! Forgiveness but not sin is no gospel – people hear “Jesus loves you”, and they think of course he does, why wouldn’t he? There is no repentance, no acceptance of Jesus as Lord, and that leads to many who say “Lord lord”, and Jesus will respond “I do not know you”.
Sin without forgiveness leads to harsh religion – the wagging finger, the great burden you’ve got to carry to earn your salvation. And either leads to Pharisee who think they’re right with God, but aren’t, or depression, because you can’t do it.
You need both eyes – see in 3D: sin PLUS forgiveness. Then we will see that the gospel is not about us oooh I’nm so loveable or I can do it – but about Jesus, the Christ. 16 Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ. (Christ means anointed one – he is the promised rescuer, the redeemer).

Verse 16 seems to be a quote from a hymn that was sung in the early church, and its focus is simply Jesus. He is the mystery of our faith. Not words, not ideas, but him.

The false teachers come with empty words – in chapter 1 we saw power through genealogies, being linked with powerful ancestors. And here we see strict rules to follow to make you acceptable to God. Do not marry. Do not eat. Then you will be acceptable to God. That is teachings from demons says 4:1. False philosophies and empty ideas from the pit of hell.
But the true Gospel is not empty ideas, not power through genealogies, not mere words, it’s not following rules – but a Person, the Living God revealed in the flesh, seen in both heaven and earth.

16 Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory.

16 Christ was revealed in a human body is the miracle of the incarnation, that is, God becoming man. To look at Jesus was to see God himself. As Jesus said to Philip the apostle: if you have seen me, Philip, you have seen the Father. (John 14:9).
Do not be fooled by teachings from demons like that peddled by the Jehovah’s Witnesses and Iglesia ni Christo, who claim that Jesus is not God and that he must not be worshipped. That is not what the Bible says.
Jesus was seen by angels, not the “other” angels, but angels – and therefore he’s not an angel. But he’s not just a man – because he was “revealed” in a human body… greater than man but not an angel – there is only God.
And when we see that Jesus is now in heaven in glory, something that is never spoken of of angels, and when we see that the mystery of our faith is not that Christ reveals “Jehovah” the God behind Jesus, but that he himself is the mystery of our faith, and when the hymn calls us to believe not in Jehovah or the Father or God but in Jesus – I think we can safely say that the apostles, the early church, tell us that Jesus was God revealed in the flesh. That is a mystery indeed! Hallelujah! What a God we serve!

The Apostle John writes in 1 John 4:3 (ESV) ...[E]very spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist.
Our faith is focussed on Jesus. He is our good confession. He is the centre of our faith. Jesus is not a conduit (a pipe through which we flow to the real God). He is not a messenger. He IS the message. Jesus did not just bring the gospel, or just tell us about the gospel – he IS the gospel. Our confession is Jesus, not Jesus said, or even Jesus did. Our confession is Jesus. That’s why this hymn, this confession of faith, is solely focussed on him. He is the mystery of faith.

16 Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. The word vindicated means “to be shown to be right”.
When was Jesus shown to be right? When was all his words and actions vindicated? When was the seeming failure of the Cross revealed to be a great victory over death and salvation for all? That’s right, when he rose from the dead.
His resurrection was his vindication. When suddenly all saw that here was indeed the son of God, the King, the Holy One of Israel. He was indeed the promised Messiah (Christ).

His resurrection changed everything.
It certainly changed the apostles! They were all depressed, huddled in a room in Jerusalem. Other followers were walking home to Emmaus, faces sad, their hopes dashed. “We thought he was the Messiah”, they said in Luke 24. And the women, well, they went to the tomb with burial spices to anoint his body. All of them thought he was dead. None of them expected him to rise from the dead.

But he did. And showed himself to them. And that was the explosive truth that spread so rapidly around the world that within a few years it had reached Rome and within around 25 years was so large, so well-known, and so hated that in 64AD the Emperor himself, Nero, burned parts of Rome to the ground and blamed it on the Christians. It was a world-wide religion, reaching even to the Emperor of Rome, within about 20 years! That is the power of the resurrection life!

Not surprising that the hymn continues that Jesus was announced to the nations and ... believed in throughout the world. It is amazing to think that when 1 Timothy was written, in about 62AD, the gospel had already spread across the whole world. So much so, that singing about Jesus being announced to the nations and believed in throughout the world was a perfectly normal part of church. That is the power of Jesus. As he said in Acts 1:8 (Mia?) “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Jesus is the gospel. Jesus empowers the gospel. And finally, Jesus is seated now in glory, overseeing the gospel.

V16 ends, having taken us through the incarnation, the resurrection, and the spread of the gospel, to lift up our eyes to heaven where Jesus now sits enthroned in glory. He was taken to heaven in glory.

That’s what we’ve just celebrated: Ascension Day (Kristi Himmelfart). After saying “you will be my witnesses” the next verse in Acts continues: After saying this, he was taken up into a cloud while they were watching, and they could no longer see him. 10 As they strained to see him rising into heaven, two white-robed men suddenly stood among them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

This is the glorious saviour we love and serve. Jesus is the gospel. He who knew no sin became sin for us. What love is this when God himself comes to bear our sins, pay the price we deserve, break the power of sin and death over us and set us free. Praise Him! And now to give us His Spirit so that we can share His joy, his forgiveness, this great Gospel with everyone around us.

Now, when you have such a glorious truth to share – why would you settle for anything less?

2. Satanic lies (anything other than Jesus is not the truth)

4:1 Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons. 2 These people are hypocrites and liars, and their consciences are dead.

What does the Apostle Paul mean by writing that the Holy Spirit tells us that people will turn away? How does He tell us?

Well maybe it is a direct revelation from the Holy Spirit, but it’s probably because Paul knows his Bible! That’s where the Spirit’s voice is heard clearly, authoritatively, objectively.
The Holy Spirit reveals quite clearly what the leaders of God’s people are like in the history of Israel. You don’t really have to know the Old Testament that well to be able to say “the Holy Spirit warns us that people will turn away from the true faith”.

As the prophet Jeremiah warns us in Jer 17:9 The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.
And so because of greed, lust for power, a desire to be God, these men have been lured away from the truth by Satanic lies, and now they peddle those same lies. And their method is always the same: appear to be godly, be impressive, have lots of pomp and ceremony around you – maybe flashy clothes and white suits, or big religious hats, collars, cloaks, and a large silver cross – all things that say “I am a representative of God”. And then speak words that seem true, but aren’t.
“Brothers and sisters, we must obey God. He has wiped our past sins away, but now we must earn his trust by obeying his law.” To some of you that will be very familiar – you’ve heard your teachers saying those very same words – words from Satan. We were saved, but now we have to earn our salvation. They are evil words, for they deny the sovereignty of God in salvation, and make our salvation dependant not on the finished work of Christ – but on our own efforts.
It is evil because it’s close to the truth, but it is not true truth. We are called to obey, but our salvation is not dependant on our obedience. It is dependant on Christ’s obedience. We do not obey to be saved – we obey because we are saved,

Satan always wants to tear down Christ from his position of honour. Beware of any teaching which puts man at the centre, and shifts Jesus away to the side. Because that is not the Gospel. Jesus is the gospel – not you, not me, not our efforts, not the church, not even the good of mankind – Jesus. To him be the glory, and no other!

But these men are not satisfied with just taking the focus off Jesus – oh no, they need the focus on them. So then they start making up silly, unbiblical rules – not only saying “you need to follow the law”, but, just like the Pharisees, adding to the law. Do not marry, they say. Do not eat certain foods, they say. That is how you impress God.
Ugh.

They did not care about the gospel. They did not see the church as the pillar and foundation of the truth. They did not care about the lost. All they cared about was themselves, their own power, their prestige. How many leaders in the church today are like that? Twisting the Scriptures to enhance their own popularity...
For example. Have you heard this “Brothers and sisters, the law of God is love. Same sex marriage is an expression of love. Love is not a sin. Same sex marriage is not a sin.” Hooray. I’m sure the fact that homosexuality now so accepted in our society has nothing to do with their change of heart. In fact, I’m sure all the bishops were championing this form of “God’s love” 20 years ago.
What, they weren’t. Oh. How strange.

If I replace the word with adultery we’ll see how deceptive it is. “Brothers and sisters, the law of God is love. Adultery is an expression of love. Love is not a sin. Adultery is not a sin.”
Both adultery (sex with someone other than your spouse) and homosexual sex (sex with someone of the same sex) are sin, just like lying, murder, gossip, and all the other things we do which God would not do!
May I just point out that being attracted to members of the same sex is not sinful. That’s often not something we can control. I’m deeply attracted to my wife – but I can’t stop myself finding certain other women attractive as well – because they are - just like a homosexual man will find certain men attractive – because they are. It becomes a sin when I act on that attraction – either in my head or by actually doing it. When I give in to the attraction.
There are many godly men and women with same-sex attraction serving the Lord. If you need help thinking through this issue, have a chat with me after the service. A website www.livingout.org is a great resource. However, the real problem in the church today is not homosexuality – it is our attitude to God and to his Word.

We are saying yes to things God said no to, and saying no to things God says yes to. And it matters because we are sending people to hell. The church is the pillar of the truth – not a hotbed of lies.

3 They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods. But God created those foods to be eaten with thanks by faithful people who know the truth. 4 Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. 5 For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer.

Where do we say that “in order to be a real Christian you need to accept Christ and... stop smoking, wear the right clothes, not eat meat with blood in it, not get a tattoo, not dance on Sundays, not read Harry Potter, not close your curtains.” The list goes on and on of stupid rules we can make up. And we need to repent.

There is freedom in Christ. Eat your food with thanksgiving. Enjoy life with praise. Ascetism (denying yourself things to impress God) is ungodly. Only Christ impresses God. Trying to impress God without Christ or outside of Christ is trying to impress God with sins!

Dear friends, Jesus is all that matters. Do we proclaim Jesus in the way that we live, eat, entertain, do church? Or do we proclaim Satanic lies? Where have we been guilty of saying to people “you need to do this and that and then Jesus will accept you” – perhaps not with our words but just with our actions. Is our church open to everyone?
Where do we put ourselves in the centre – our own efforts - instead of Jesus? It’s easy to slip into a DIY Christianity, where we’re judging our salvation by our performance, and comparing ourselves to others.

This is the mystery of our faith: Christ was revealed in a human body and vindicated by the Spirit. He was seen by angels and announced to the nations. He was believed in throughout the world and taken to heaven in glory.

Colossians 3:16-21 ALL of life: at home.

Colossians 3:12-4:6

How do we “live in community” together? What does a Christian community look like? What does it mean to be a Christian Dad or Mom? Or a Christian child? Or a Christian worker? Or a Christian boss? How do we relate to each other in the church? Our neighbours? Non-Christians? What about people of other faiths? Muslims? Hindus? Bahai? Christians who don’t know Christ (“churchians” or “religionists”)? Outsiders?

Last week we looked at the answer to some of those questions, particularly about relationships in the church: in vv13-15 we see that we are to make allowance for each others’ faults, be quick to forgive, live in peace – it’s pretty clear that the Lord is not fooled by outward appearance! He knows that there will be conflict. He knows that within the church people will upset each other and offend each other and step on each others’ toes. It’s not all fluffy bunnies and ice cream in the church! So instead of pretending that we’ll never sin against each other (ha!) we’re called to work hard at forgiving each other, making allowance for each others’ faults – basically being thick skinned, not getting easily offended, not looking for ways to cause problems – and to live in peace. Above all LOVE each other.

That’s hard. And that’s why we remember that we are in chapter 3, not chapter 1! How does chapter 3 begin? Since you have been raised to new life with Christ. It’s something that happened. The call to obedience in chapter 3 is because of chapter 1 and 2: we have been saved by God’s power, by God’s grace, alone. He is supreme. He holds us. He gives us his power and strength to serve him. Remember 1:11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father. He enables us to live as Christian people. He gives us his power, his strength to serve him.

And most of all, he gives us his love.

As I said two weeks ago, love can’t be faked. We must be given it by God. Our hard selfish hearts of stone need to be swapped out with hearts of flesh, hearts filled with the love of God. Because, you see, we are called to act like vv12-17 (in fact like ALL of chapter 3), not just for a couple of hours on a Sunday, and maybe the occasional special event where we all dress up nicely and put on our fake smiles, or pitch in for a dugnad and pretend to like it… but all the time.

All. The. Time. Every minute of every day, wherever you are, whatever you are doing: you are to be tender-hearted, full of mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. And so on and so on and so on. The whole chapter!
All the time. Full of love. Full of truth. Full of peace.

“You demand the impossible”, we say to God!
And he replies “now, you’re starting to understand.”
The life of a Christian is impossible…without Christ. Without his Spirit, his power, his heart, we will fall short.

Think about it. Changing nappies – be like Christ. In church – be like Christ. When someone offends you – be like Christ. When your husband or wife wounds you deeply – be like Christ. When your kids are driving you crazy, pushing your buttons and making you MAD – be like Christ. When you’re at work, bored out of your mind – be like Christ.

17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

We’ve looked at our relationships in the church, now Paul briefly turns his attention to our relationships outside the church: wife and husband, children and parents, (both of which we’ll look at today) then slave and master, and outsiders (which we’ll look at next week).

So, how are we to be like Christ at home: in our marriage, with our children and parents?

1. Wives and husbands v18-19

18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord. 19 Husbands, love your wives and never treat them harshly.

What do you feel when you hear v18 Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting for those who belong to the Lord.?
Anger? Approval? Fear? Dismissal?

But this is the word of God, isn’t it? Jesus commissioned his apostles to write his words, to tell people about him and to explain the fullness of his teaching, through his Holy Spirit. Paul was specially commissioned as the Apostle to the Gentiles. Peter speaks of Paul’s letters as Holy Scripture. And what’s written here is certainly not contrary to the created order in Genesis 1 and 2 which Jesus himself quoted as being the very Word of God.

So we cannot just dismiss what we don’t like. So let’s put our initial reaction aside, and examine this more closely.

What’s interesting with this list of wives/husbands, children/parents, slaves/masters is the equality of all. The husband and the wife are to obey the Lord. Masters and slaves are equally addressed, as are parent and children. Those without power (or with less power) (wives, children, slaves) are addressed as equal citizens of heaven, being called to live in a way that pleases the Lord. Those with power (husbands, parents, masters) are reminded that their power is given under God, to be used as HE sees fit: in love, for the good of those under your power. This is no justification for abuse of power – it is the opposite!
It’s very clear that these couplets are to be read together. There is no justification for someone quoting v18 without taking v19 – despite the fact that some have done that in the past to justify their bullying behaviour. Ironically, many “modern” women are doing that today to justify their rejection of God’s word. First of all, who are you to stand in judgement over God? How arrogant! Second of all, why do you not read v19?

In v18 God says, yes, wives, submit. Why? Because it is fitting for those who belong to the Lord. Submission is fitting.
But what is submission? What’s interesting is that the word in the original Greek was not used to describe the marriage relationship in those days. Paul wasn’t just taking something from the old 1^st Century culture and dressing it up a “Christian”. The word for submit here is something uniquely Christian, and has to do with order. We submit because it is the way that God has ordered creation.
The word is also very closely linked to humility. So the mark of a Christian wife is not pride and arrogance, but humility, a glad and willing servant heart. In other words, she is a wife…like Christ.

Likewise the “love” of the husband is not familial love or erotic love but the love of Christ, which is a self-sacrificial love. He is also called not to pride and self-sacrifice, but to deny himself and use his God-given authority for the good of his wife. In other words, he is a husband…like Christ.

Our society is interesting because we have no problem with v19. Of course, we say, husbands should love [their] wives and never treat them harshly. Everybody knows that!
Well, of course everybody knows that because we’ve had the Bible drummed into our heads and affecting our culture for over 1000 years here in Norway. Ask the women in Syria how they are being treated now. Islam gives women very little respect. They are not equal with men. And they are treated as such. The treatment of women in the Islamic world, particularly now under ISIS, is horrific. I was going to share some stories but I decided not to do so, as they were too disturbing.
In Hinduism, women and men are not equal. In traditional African religion the man is the head and the woman his servant, and he is the head for his own good pleasure, not for the good of others.
In feminism the woman is the head, for her own good pleasure. Any thought of serving her husband is ridiculous. It’s all about me, my needs, my wants being met.

Why, then is Christianity so different to every other religion or philosophy? Why the equality of men and women? Why does leadership and headship mean servanthood and selflessness instead of power and glorifying myself?
Because that’s what Jesus is like. Because our relationships are modelled on his.

In the Trinity, the Son lovingly submits (same word) to the Father, and wants to glorify him and magnify his name. The Father loves the Son, and wants to glorify him and magnify his name. There is an order there: the Son submits to the Father, the Father loves the Son. And our marriages are to reflect this. It is joyful voluntary submission, and joyful, servant-hearted headship.

This means, ladies, that if you do not respect your husband, if you are always bossing him about, if you are always pushing for your way to do things, if you are making decisions and controlling everything – you need to repent. You need to apologise to him. You need to say, please, take the lead. I have taken your place.
And husbands, you might need to do the same. Apologise to your wife because you’ve not loved her like you should. You have not taken responsibility for your marriage, for your relationship, for your wife. If you have a bad marriage, it is YOUR responsibility to fix it. It will be painful, it will be hard, it will involve a great deal of confessing sin, and putting yourself, your own interests and desires aside. You will need to spend time with your wife. You will need to talk about feelings, and emotions (!). You will need to listen to her and try to understand her. You will need to confess your sin to her. You will need to read the Bible with her and pray together. You need to watch over her life and show her her sin and help her repent (always easy!) – and listen to her when she points out your sin and repent of your sin (always easy!).

You need to look out for each other, seeking each others’ good, and always pointing each other back to the gospel, back to Christ. We are two sinners, but we will obey the Lord by his grace.
Husband, please lead like Christ. Wife, please submit like Christ. And then as people look at your marriage they will see the gospel pictured. Hey, there’s how Christ loves his church, there’s how the church responds to Christ.

If you want to know more, why not download or read the sermon on Ephesians 5:21-33 “Christ and the church”. And ask those of us with a bit more experience living as a Christian couple “how do you deal with this, or “do you have advice here” and so on. And watch us. And if what we’re doing seems to line up with the Bible, then do that! That’s part of the reason we are in a community together, so that we can show each other how to live. We learn from each other, from those a little further along the road. Oh that’s how to do it. I have learnt a great deal about being a husband and father from two good friends of mine, just by watching them with their wives and children. Seeing Christ at work in people is really helpful.

So, wives, respect your husband’s authority, and husbands, love your wives unselfishly.

2. Children and parents v19-21

20 Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.

What’s fascinating here is that Paul addresses children directly in his letter. Children? Why bother talking to children? Why give them a motivation for obedience? They must obey or be punished.

But, no, our Lord is the one who rebuked his disciples for treating the children as unworthy of coming to him. Children are people, people made in the image of God. And so they are given responsibility just like everyone else. They are to “obey their parents”.

Note the stronger word now. It is not submit, but obey. They are called to listen and obey. That’s what my Dad used to say to my sister and I “you will listen and you will obey”. How I hated those words. They struck right at the heart of my self-centredness and pride. And oh how those words are what I needed to hear. I’m so glad I had a Dad (and Mom!) who called me to OBEY. Because this “pleases the Lord” says v20.

Why? Because the family relationship reflects God’s relationship with us. He is our Father, and we are to obey him. It is much easier to understand our relationship with him if we’ve had a good earthly father who loved us, cared for us, and called us to obedience.

The modern “kids can raise themselves” philosophy is simply an excuse for laziness and uninvolvement. Kids don’t know what’s best. They are not little adults. Their understanding of the world is limited. They don’t understand the dangers in the world, in other people, and in themselves. Their mind, emotion and wills are immature. They need to be protected, nurtured, cared for. Given a safe environment to grow and be who they were created to be. That’s our job as parents. Not to stifle, not to ignore – but to inspire, guide, lead, show, and love.

That’s why v21 says , do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.

As parents we have the power to demand obedience from our children – and that for their good, not for our convenience. Our goal is to model Christ to them, and I think that’s part of the reason v21 says specifically fathers rather than parents. It reminds us that the role we are playing is the role of our Heavenly Father, God Himself. God “parents” us out of his deep love, doing what is best for us. He uses his power for our good. We are to do the same, and the greatest good is to point them to God. We show them that they are sinners who need the gospel of grace. We show them that we are sinners who need the gospel of grace. Debby and I make sure that we apologise to our children when we have sinned against them (maybe by losing our tempers, for example!) – and we call our sin, sin. And we say we need Jesus to forgive us. And when they argue and fight and do the things kids do – we call their sin, sin, and don’t make excuses for it but remind them that the Bible says their hearts are corrupt, so of course they will sin – don’t be surprised or despondent about it – but there is hope: God has made a way to be made right, through Jesus. In Christ we can ask for forgiveness and receive it. So we model both the seriousness of sin and the joy of forgiveness.

Children must obey their parents, for it pleases the Lord. It is part of their obedience to him. Fathers, do not discourage the children by aggravating them.
I think there’s another reason Paul says “fathers” here: it is to remind the father that as the head of the home he has the final responsibility for raising his children. It’s his job. He can’t just delegate to his wife and be done with it! He must be involved! Fathers, you model God to your kids – and he is not absent.

Again, if you want to know more or you got any questions – ask! We are a community. We do life together. And you can download the talk on Ephesians 6:1-4 called, simply “Fathers”.

20 Children, always obey your parents, for this pleases the Lord. 21 Fathers, do not aggravate your children, or they will become discouraged.

17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

As Christians we are not free to live how we please. We belong to the Lord. Our lives belong to the Lord. Our relationships belong to the Lord. And so we are to submit to our husband, for this is fitting. We are to love our wives and never treat them harshly. We are to obey our parents, for this pleases the Lord. And we are to parent our children like our Heavenly Father, with love, with deep involvement, and acting for their good, and always sharing the gospel.

Colossians 1:15-24 Christ is supreme

Colossians 1:15-24

Colossians. What a book! Christ is supreme. What a joy to be focussed on him, our Creator, our head, our saviour, our joy, our life.

So far in chapter 1 we’ve been reminded that the gospel is a GIFT from God, and our lives are lived in gratitude. 6 This same Good News that came to you is going out all over the world. It is bearing fruit everywhere by changing lives, just as it changed your lives from the day you first heard and understood the truth about GOD’s wonderful grace.

Our lives change as we hear and understand the truth. V9 and 10 make the same point: We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 Then the way you live will always honour and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit.

So, you want live a life pleasing to God, producing good fruit? You need to KNOW and UNDERSTAND the truth. If this is new to you, grab the MP3 of the sermon online!

Last week we saw how Paul launches into his hymn of praise about our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 15 Christ is the visible image of the invisible God… 18… He is first in everything. 19 For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ,

We were reminded of the truths that Christ is our all in all, because he is God; and Christ is our all in all, because he is human.

Jesus is the visible image of God, and indeed the fullness of God.
And therefore we need nothing else. In Christ we become who we are born to be. He is the image of God, like we are meant to be – and in Him we too can reflect the glory of God.

Christ is our all in all, because he is God; and Christ is our all in all, because he is human. Again, if you missed last week – well, you missed out! Download the talk, listen to it, and spend time as we did in adoration and admiration of our Saviour!

Now on to this week. More fuel for our adoration! We’ll spend some time thinking about how Christ is our Creator (v15-16), Christ is our destiny (we are made to glorify Christ) (v16-17), Christ is our head, and we are his body (v18-19), Christ has made peace (v20-22), and, finally, our response is to not be moved from Christ (v23).

1. Christ is our Creator (V15-16)

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, 16 for through him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth.

Christ is God, and part of being God is being the Creator.

Christ is not part of creation. God did not create him first, then everything else. v15 says “he existed before anything as created” and v17 says again, for those who are a bit slow: He existed before anything else. If he is pre-existent then he must be God for only God existed before anything else was created.

Everything is created through him, including angels, demons and all other things in the heavens and upon the earth. Many false teachers claim Jesus is just an angel – another spiritual being. Even the Pharisees in their desperation accused Jesus of being the devil. But what does the Bible say? 16 He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see— such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world.

Christ is as superior to the spirit world of angels and demons as a painter is to his painting. That is why 2:18–19 says Don’t let anyone condemn you by insisting on pious self-denial or the worship of angels, saying they have had visions about these things. Their sinful minds have made them proud, 19 and they are not connected to Christ, the head of the body.

Why worship angels instead of the one who made the angels? That’s like trying to talking to this book instead of my Dad. The book is far inferior to knowing the author! Why would you worship what is made (the book) rather than the Maker (my Dad)?

What does this mean for us? Only Christ is worthy of our worship. All other things are idols – mere things made by God. Even great things, powerful things, even angels – these are made by Christ, and he is therefore superior to them. Do not be tempted to worship them, to follow them. Fallen angels, demons, the Devil: they may promise easy power, or a form of religion where you are in control, or a more tame “God” to worship, or a pick-your-own morality. Don’t fall for the lie. Next to Christ they are nothing, a clanging gong, an empty ringing bell, without rhyme or reason. He is the symphony of our soul, the rumbling glorious song of praise throughout the universe.

He is our Creator.

He is our Creator, and he made us for his good pleasure.

2. Christ is our destiny (I am here to glorify Christ)

Ever ask the question “why am I here?” “What is my purpose in life?” “Why was I born?”

My sister did. She asked my Dad: “Daddy, why am I me?”
“Ummm. Well, you see, um, when a man loves a woman, um. Er.... ”
“Daddy, if I wasn’t me, would I be somebody else?”
“Errr. Well, um. You see”
Now he always ends this story by saying “go and ask your mother” – but I think that’s for laughs rather than what he said!
But it’s a good question, isn’t it? “Why am I me?”

And the answer is at the end of v16. See it there? Everything was created through him and...for him.

You were made for Christ. You were made for his good pleasure. You were made to be part of his body, the church over which he is head. You were made to be blameless and holy, without fault, standing in his own presence without a single fault. 2:7 Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. In fact, in chapter 3 Paul goes so far as to say that Christ is our life. Look at 3:2-4  Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. 3 For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.

We were made for him. We are his body. Our lives are built on him. Indeed he is our real life. We live for Christ, and him alone.

And he is the one who holds all things together. Look at v17 He existed before anything else, and he holds all creation together.
Every breath we take is a gift from him. We are totally dependent on him. We remind ourselves of that every time we pray. That’s why prayer is so important – it is a declaration of dependence on Him who holds all things together. We are his.

How often do we forget that? We pursue our own goals, our own desires, our own pleasures, without ever stopping to think: is this what Christ wants? We need to live intentionally – that is, live thinking about how we are living. We do not just let life happen to us, but we challenge ourselves, bringing our lives under the lordship of Christ. How am I serving Christ in my work? How am I serving Christ with my wife? With my kids? How am I serving Christ in my free time, in my holidays, with my friends, in my church?

A little example from my work: why did I think that a job as a Chartered Accountant was more or less secure than, say, starting a church? Why am I tempted to trust in my own abilities rather than the grace of God? As if he does not know what I need, and is unable to provide it. He provides each breath, and I worry and fret about my salary? Foolish boy!

Why am I me? I am me to give glory to Christ.

We were made for him. And one of the ways we show this, is through church. How we care for each other, relate to each other, and reach the lost, reveals what we truly think about Christ. For

3. Christ is our head, and we are his body (v18-19)

Look at v18 Christ is also the head of the church, which is his body. He is the beginning, supreme over all who rise from the dead. So he is first in everything. He is the head of the church. He is supreme over all who rise from the dead – that’s us by the way! Those who rise from the dead. We have been called to life by Christ.

The word translated supreme is the word “firstborn”. This both means first (as in supreme) but also has the idea of the firstborn son in mind: the one who will inherit the family fortune. Christ is not only supreme in the church, but also the inheritor, the owner, of all those raised to life. We belong to him.

He is our Head, our Leader, our Master.

Church is, therefore, not primarily about us, about meeting our needs (even our spiritual needs). Church is about Christ. We are here to honour him, to praise him, to obey him – together.

He is our head, and we are his body. We are joined to each other. There are not many heads, but one head, and every Christian is joined together in one worldwide, universal body. And we here are a reflection of that. We are joined together, united, one body, under one head: Christ. And we are incomplete without each other. Just like a hand cannot be by itself – it must be joined to the rest of the body – so we cannot survive without our Christian brothers and sisters. The church is our lifeline, our connection to each other and to our head.

Further, because we are his body, we are the way Christ works in the world. He works through the church.

It’s not surprising then that the next verse then says: For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him reconcile everything to himself. That is our job as his body: to reveal the fullness of God that is found in Christ, and to proclaim to the world the reconciliation achieved by Christ. As it says in 3:16 Let the message about Christ, in all its richness, fill your lives. Teach and counsel each other with all the wisdom he gives. Sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs to God with thankful hearts. 17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Let this rich message about Christ fill our lives, so whatever we do, we do it as representatives of Christ. That is our job, that is who we are.

Because he, Christ, is our head. We are twice his: we are his because he created us, and we are his because he has called us to new life. Creation and salvation. We are his.

How foolish we are when we talk about “my life” “my job” “my family” “my house” “my car” – all that am is Christ’s. All that I have he has given me. How does that change the way that I live?
I need to see all things, all relationships, as coming from his hands.

We will live forever. This life will be gone in a moment. He is our head. He is our Creator. He is our destiny (we are made for him). Let us live like it.

4. Christ has made peace (v20-22)

Now by this stage some of us might be getting frustrated. It’s been very much about “theology” and about attitudes and ways of thinking. Where’s the “ten steps to a better life” or “How to get God to do what you want” sorry, I mean “5 Power-packed principles to unleash God’s blessing”.
But seriously, these verses are frustrating, though, aren’t they? They are Christ-focussed almost to the exclusion of everything else. They are not about us, but about him. The glory goes to him, not to us. Him, him him. First in everything. First in creation. First in the church.

And we think: but what about me?

Ugh. What an ego we have. What delusions of grandeur that we should share the stage with He who called light into being in the darkness, He who placed the stars in the sky, He who says to the waves “no further” – He who rules all things, sustains all things. And we want to push ourselves forward in front of Him and say “me, meeee, meeeeeeee!”.

20 through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. 21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.

Evil thoughts and actions. Selfishness. Self-obsession. Wanting our own glory. My life. My decisions. All that. Because theology IS important. It uncovers our motivations, uncovers our heart. Why do we do the things we do? It’s quite possible to go to church, be a nice person, even lead people to Christ – without knowing Christ. All done to our praise and glory.

Oh, how I hate that part of me! The self-obsessed ego, purring over his own performance, influence, power. It infects everything, from my relationship with my wife and children, to my view of God. Festering, rotten, self-obsession. Praise God, then, for v22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault

Oh, what relief! He knows my ego. He knows my hatred of him. He knows that I am far from him with my evil thoughts and actions. He knows I want to take his place, take the glory that it is. He knows I keep forgetting that my life belongs to him. And yet he does not simply wipe me out with a word. Instead, He has reconciled me to himself. This is his action, not mine. He has declared me holy, blameless, without a single fault. And if you are his, He has declared you holy, blameless, without a single fault.

Christ has made peace. Praise him!

5. Do not move from Christ (v23)

This then is what we must do. This is our performance, our response: 23 But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.

Grasp hold of Christ like a drowning man on to the lifeguard and DON’T LET GO! Only a fool dives off the rescue boat to get some trinket – but that’s what we are like when we are tempted to abandon Christ for ANYTHING ELSE, however shiny and attractive it may seem.

Christ is our Creator (v15-16), Christ is our destiny (we are made for him, to glorify him) (v16-17), Christ is our head, and we are his body (v18-19) – and if after that we are filled with shame because our lives do not ring out “I belong to Christ!” in every moment – praise him, for Christ has made peace (v20-22), and our response is to grasp hold of that peace, our Saviour’s outstretched hand, and hang on for dear live. Brothers, sisters, do not be moved from Christ (v23).