JOHN 21 v.1/14

 

The scene in our Gospel story is the Sea of Galilee just after the crucifixion.  Seven of the disciples were there feeling probably a little guilty; only John had remained at the Cross leaving the others to feel a sense of betrayal.  The main character in this story however is Peter, the man who denied the Lord and is now devastated with himself, a feeling which many Christians may have passed through.  Now things are going to change as he meets the risen Christ.

There is nothing to induce a feeling of hopelessness so much as a time of tragic failure.  Peter had wept bitterly after denying Jesus; he had been so close to the Lord for three years, and failed Him at the last days.  We may all have experienced a similar feeling when we have succumbed to temptation in a time of weakness.

When the chapter begins, they are all wondering what is going to happen to them, all their plans and hopes for the future have been blown apart, and they have to make their own way of living; no palaces for them, not rich, not able to cash in on their experiences.

In the passage we see the poverty of the men getting into a small boat to fish through the night so as to get food.  Much of the fishing in the Sea of Galilee was done at night in those days as it is yet today. Fishermen used torches to attract the fish to the boat, and then netted them. But although they were expert fishermen, the disciples had laboured throughout the night and had caught nothing. That must have been a rather unusual experience for them. Yet as this account makes clear, it was the Lord's intention that they catch nothing on this occasion

These were the men from whom Church bishops are (falsely)stated to be in a line of succession.  They were the creators who took the gospel to other countries by just telling the story of Jesus, as he commanded, without raising doubts or making amendments.  How simple it must have been in the early Church, where there were no academics to discuss self-made irregularities to cause confusion. 

Those men spoke with conviction and dedication to Christ, taking the gospel to that part of the anceint world, which led eventually, to become the mighty Church of Christ.  This teaches us that when men commit themselves to pure bible doctrine, even when there is full opposition, God will bless their labours and ministry.  The shining example of this was the (late)Billy Graham, the greatest preacher in Christian history, who could cause many thousands  to gather at every meeting, just by devoted bible doctrines. Billy always stated it was God who drew the crowds not him.

God loves all people, and wants them to be saved, but the only way this can be done, is by truly telling the people what God has called for. The biblical illiteracy is momentous, as we have children growing up without any teaching of Christianity, the schools are encouraged to teach explicit sexual activity of every kind to very young children, but Christianity is deemed to be hate speech in many Colleges and schools. If religion is taught, other faiths and atheism must be taught. The consequence is that generations are failing to carry forward the Christian message.

In Western countries, there is only mockery of Christianity, and we need the people we taught to come and teach Christianity here.  The majority are non-believers, and the word ‘Christ’ I nothing more than a swear word. Yet many will delude themselves they are Christians.

Christianity is based on the Cross, the very heart of our faith where Jesus died for the sole purpose of having God forgive us of our sins. God hates sin, and will not have uncleansed sinners in heaven. The cruel and painful death of Jesus enabled God to make us righteous in his sight, the price having been paid by Jesus for our forgiveness. But God demands that people must accept that Jesus did this, and we must accept Jesus as our Saviour and Lord. If we do not do so, God will not accept us.

In the hundreds of funeral services I have taken, this has either not been known or not believed. People will not believe Jesus died and was risen again, because they can’t understand how that could happen.  The same people cannot understand how a mobile phone can connect you to someone far away, or how you can watch events from around the world on a box in your living room, but they readily use both. 

The reason they do not understand the Resurrection, is because Ministers in the Church are reluctant to preach the message.  There is fear of someone complaining, but if a preacher never gets complained, he is likely not preaching the gospel fully.  Of course, some preachers don’t really believe the Resurrection story themselves.

 This is the third and final Resurrection appearance of Jesus.  The Apostles had left Jerusalem and returned to Galilee, there were seven of them. Peter decided to go fishing and the others joined him, but through the night they did not catch any fish. Jesus was standing on the shore and called out to them to ask hoe many they had caught, and then told them to cast out their net on the other side of the boat.  They did not realise it was Jesus calling, but did as he said, and their net was filled with fish.

The Apostle John then realised it who it was calling and said, ‘it is the Lord’.

Peter took off his coat and threw himself into the water to swim ashore as the others followed in the boat. When they were ashore there was a charcoal fire with bread, and Jesus took some fish with the bread and cooked breakfast.

The Apostle John had written his gospel in the first twenty chapters, and it is thought he added this chapter to show once and for all, the reality of the Resurrection.  There have always been people who could not accept the reality, and claimed it was just visions.

All the gospel writers have emphasised this story as the basic fact of Christianity; the tomb was empty, they had seen the scarred body of Jesus, and he was cooking them fish.  John stated there were  153 fish caught, but it has been interpreted as an indication of a large amount of different types of fish.

This story shows the different personalities between John who understands, and Peter who acts. When they got to the tomb on Easter day, it was John first to go into the tomb, although Peter had got there first.  This is an example that the Church is for all kinds of people.  In years past in the Church here in England, there was reluctance to welcome black skinned people, who in turn went and opened their own Churches. 

This was a lost opportunity for it is those people who are truly committed to Christ, and could have been a blessing, but now it is those black Churches which are filling up with people. Indeed, I have been welcomed most warmly by the odd black family in Churches I have visited.   

I find it hypocritical of many people who deny the Resurrection of Jesus. The same people week after week go to services and recite the Creed, which states, ‘I believe…and in Jesus Christ his (God) only Son our Lord, who was conceived of the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, Suffered under Pontius Pilate, Was crucified, dead and buried, on the third day he rose again from the dead. 

There you have the two confessed doctrines which people reject, but have no reluctance in professing, the Virgin Birth, and Resurrection. The real physical tangible body, despite liberal disbelief.  Jesus criticised hypocrites.

The fact Jesus was raised was foretold through the Old Testament, and witnessed by people in the New Testament.  Just as the grave could not contain Jesus, and was raised by God, so one day all the followers of our Lord will also be raised.

 

This morning I want to turn to Paul’s Letter to the Romans, in Chapter 10.   

 Paul was specially and uniquely called by God to be an Apostle to the Gentiles, but he never forgot his own Jewish people.  This Letter was directed to the Jews who were carrying a mistaken belief, but its teaching is equally applicable to us, as all Paul’s Letters are. When Paul speaks, God is speaking through him, and the wonderful thing is we have those very words spoken all those many years ago in our Bibles these days.

 Paul’s greatest desire was to make people Christians, a noble cause and one we could wish all preachers to-day to adopt.  He was concerned the Jews were being misled to follow the wrong way to salvation, which can only be achieved by accepting Jesus Christ as Lord.

 A group of Jews were fully committed to following the law and had a lot of enthusiasm and they believed in seeking God’s favour, but it was based without knowledge. They saw the law representing love, but failed to see that Christ embodied love, in all his life and even death. The Jews who had listened to Paul, were being pressured by to fall back to the rule of law

 Some of the Corinthians were not denying that Jesus was raised from the dead, but did not accept his followers would be raised. Paul emphasizes four times that those who deny the physical and bodily resurrection of believers also deny the resurrection of Christ, even if they claim it to be true.

 The Resurrection is at the very heart of the gospel.  There are people to day in believe in life after death. If Christ had not been raised, the conclusion would be that he wase left dead in the grave in Palestine, and we all wasted our time.  If he had not been raised, then that is the end of Christianity

 Verses 6/8 show the contrast between the righteousness based on faith, and that which comes from the law, now fulfilled in Christ. At one time there was just a written set of Law,  but God caused his Son to go through a cruel death, before bringing Him from the realm of the dead.

 The Jews believed that all that was necessary for salvation was to keep the Ten Commandments, but no one can keep the Commandments for it is like a chain, if you break one link it all falls apart, and the Bible states if you break one you break the lot, and we have all, without exception broken at least one.  Therefore, one cannot be saved by the Commandments.

 The word ‘saved’ does cause an emotional response with a lot of people, as it conjures up an image of being approached by a Charismatic Christian asking are you saved brother (sister).

 God sent Jesus to supplant the Law and make it possible for all people to be saved if they accepted Christ as having died on the Cross to obtain forgiveness for the sins they committed.

 Coming to the heart of this passage, verse 9 states, ‘if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved’. The whole Christian message is on the lips, and in the heart.

 The effect of Christ’s substitutionary sacrifice for sins lies in Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. If in fact Jesus has not been raised, the his death did not pay for sin, and there is no hope of being with God in heaven.

Although Paul believed that those who died went to be with the Lord immediately after death and prior to the resurrection, he also conceived of a believer’s eternal embodied existence. If there is no such existence, then there is no eternal life.

 Christ’s resurrection, grounded in the truth of eye-witness testimony changes everything.  If God raised Christ from the dead, then Christ was the first fruits, the first of many others who would also be raised from the dead. The first fruits represents the first sample of an agricultural crop that indicates the nature and quality of the rest of the crop; therefore Christ’s resurrection body gives a foretaste of what those believers will be like.

 In Adam all die; in Christ all shall be made alive.  By divine appointment Adam represented that whole human race that would follow him, and his sin represented human beings. Similarly Christ represents all who will follow him , and his obedience affects believers.

 Confession that Jesus is Lord, and singing hymns is not an intellectual title or a casual statement, it means much more.  You have to believe fully in your heart this is so, and have no doubt that God raised Him physically from the dead; that is the heart of the Christian message.  So when you do believe and are prepared to confess with your mouth, God accepts you as righteous.

 Think what heaven would be like if you had to earn your way there. People would be trying to outbid each other and probably boasting how important they had been in the world.

  When I was being inducted into a new parish by the Rural Dean, who was a real traditional English gentleman, he introduced me to a man, and mentioned some of the positions he had held in his Church, and the man was really indignant because some obscure committee was omitted. 

Something in us always wants to add to God’s free grace. It’s humbling to admit that we can do nothing to earn our deliverance from sin. Imagine what heaven would be like if we had to earn our way there. People would be trying to outbid each other and probably boasting how important they had been in the world.

There really are people who join the Church for egotistic reasons.     Heaven would be just like that, if you had to earn your way there. But it won’t be like that, when Jesus died on the cross, he paid the full price for your salvation. God alone gets the glory in your salvation. Jesus did all the work when he died on the cross.

The Bible states, ‘by grace you have been saved through faith. We are in fact at the doctrine of justification by faith; ‘by grace you have been saved through faith, it is not your own doing, it is the gift of God and not by your own works.’  God in great mercy is ready to pardon all who accept that Jesus died on the Cross as a penalty payment for all our individual sins, and God raised Him from the dead.  If we confess that we believe this God grants us His righteousness.

 Why do we need God’s grace?; because all men and all women are by nature spiritually dead and separated from God.  Grace is the unmerited favour of God.    Grace saves us through faith; nothing more, nothing less. than salvation is by grace which  must be free, or else it is not grace at all. Three words; grace, saved, and faith.

Grace is the source, Faith is the means, and Salvation freely given and received by faith alone is the result. We are saved by grace through faith:

Some people think they are too good to be saved. That is, they may have such a high opinion of themselves that they think they don’t need God’s grace. They may admit they are sinners, but they don’t admit they are spiritually dead. They may think they’re sick because of sin, but not truly dead. God’s grace cannot help you until you are desperate to receive it.

Salvation is never gained by earning it, or by trying to be good, or by the good outweighing the bad, but simply by acknowledging that Jesus Christ has done it all on your behalf

 I  have been told countless times all one has to do is to be good, be kind and honest, and you will go to heaven; no need to go to Church, sing hymns and read the Bible.  They will learn to regret this belief.

 There was a series on television, in which a young police constable is partnered on duty by an attractive young police woman who is fond of him, but he does not respond. His Sergeant tells him he should make a decision and respond, as one day he will regret not doing so; and then says, ‘the two saddest words in the English language are, if only..’  There are so many people who will one day appear before the Lord and say, ‘if only’.

 I wonder how many people have who have lost someone dear, have thought could I have done more. Since I lost my wife I ask myself that daily, despite nursing her for many years, and I then think ‘if only…. There will be many people when appearing before the Lord will say’ if only (I had trusted Jesus.)

 Jesus himself warned that on the Day of Judgment many will claim to have been His followers, but He will say to them, ‘depart from me. I never knew you.’ Millions have not the slightest idea of what it really meant to be a Christian.

People have been attending church for years, listening to the Bible being read, singing praise to the Lord, and have been very religious, yet have never come to the time when they have acknowledged Jesus as Lord, yet the Bible calls on us to do so.

 They are religious, and even show some outward inclinations toward Christianity. They come from a Christian background. They think that Jesus was a great religious figure. But they have not believed in Christ. Though the gospel is God's power for salvation, because they have not believed, they have not experienced this power nor have they known the gospel for what it truly is. 

Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." It is important that the heart must be involved, that is, the inner consciousness, the deep conviction of the will. When the heart, the seat of all our emotions, is overflowing with sincerity, then the mouth must acknowledge it. There must be a willingness to consciously confess that Jesus is Lord.

 This power is for everyone who believes.  This means more than just believing there is a God, the devil accepts that; believing means making a commitment.  Too many say they believe but do nothing, which is why regular preaching of the gospel is import.

 The reason so many people are not willing to accept the Bible, is because the message is too simple. We know there are many people who are not prepared to accept the Bible story, as they find it too incredible to believe.  They are more ready to listen to the strident outpourings of nauseating, insulting, self- indulgent secularists.  For others, accepting the gospel would mean a change of hedonistic lifestyle.  It means accepting a standard of morality they are not prepared to accept. 

 Verse 11 states that all who believe in Jesus will not be put to shame, but there are too many Christians who are ashamed to admit they follow Jesus. The Bible tells us that God has no favourites, and will accept all who call on Jesus.

 A question often asked is what about those who have never heard of Jesus. If someone is in such a remote place where the Bible has not been taught, they will be judged by how they responded to their conscience, for everyone has a sense of what is right and what is wrong.  However, if it is a case of just not bothering to listen or find out, then the responsibility will be on them.

Behind the message, of course, is the messenger.   The message has to be communicated, and the way that God chooses is through the preaching of the Word and the praying of Christians, the yearning of their hearts over those who are not yet saved.   

People are touched by God by various means, perhaps through a poster, a friend, an occurrence in one’s life, but the principal way is through the preaching of the Bible. This I believe is where we are failing badly, right across the Church.     

We in the Churches must make a greater effort to concentrate on the fundamentals of the faith.  There is too much a willingness to amend Bible teaching to be popular, or ally with society’s standards and beliefs; avoid being called narrow minded or bigoted, and take every opportunity of doing so.

On Easter Sunday one year a service was held in one of our great Cathedrals, and  was televised, offering a wonderful opportunity of getting the message out across the whole country, but instead there was a sermon which completely wasted the chance by an address on climate change, an unproved issue which seems to obsess a lot of people.

On Easter day this year, Archbishop Welby attracted headlines with his sermon (nothing unusual there) and I think criticism of him was justified. The purpose of a sermon is to comment on the lesson or subject of the day, and on the most important day in the Church calendar, that is what he should have spoken on, and left the controversial political scene alone. Every time virtually he speaks, he embarrasses the Church.

 As people have a cause to believe in with an eternal future at issue, one might have thought that would have been a prime issue for him to concentrate his mind on. There are moral matters when the Church should be giving a lead to the country.   

The glory of Christianity is that it has a message that is grounded in history. It is objective truth, not just something that someone has made up.  It is not some feeling that you are following that you hope will work out; it is the story of historic events. The Resurrection is the most outstanding event in history, and needs to be preached upon on Easter Sunday.

There is so much reluctance to believe and accept that a man who died on a Cross 2,000 years ago in a land on the other side of the world was raised from the dead.  More so, that people actually believe he lives on by His Spirit in their lives today and influences their way of life. Even some clergy fail to accept the facts of both His birth and physical resurrection. 

When Christ returns, all his followers from all time will receive resurrection bodies, never again to suffer weakness, illness, ageing or death. Until that time, those who have died will remain in heaven as spirits without bodies.

 Never be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Preach it, believe it, tell it to someone else this week. Amen.

 

    

 

Easter

This week-end is a momentum one in the Church calendar, as we reflect  on the events which took place on the first Easter period.

Jesus was having the Last Supper with his Apostles a few hours before he would be betrayed and taken away to be put on a trial, and then taken to the Cross.  None of this would have been a surprise to him, it was part of the divine plan which had been foretold.  The Chief Priests and Scribes were ready to kill him on any pretext.

Then one of his own Apostles betrayed him.  The lengths people will go to in religion and yet be without sincerity, is far greater than is often realised.  Judas betrayed for cash.

The death of our Lord was at Passover time, the most revered festival to Jews as they remember how God spared his people,  and as a lamb had been sacrificed to Israel in Egypt, Jesus would be a sacrifice to sinners, and be the atonement for our transgressions.  The feast would last a week in April, and the Passover meal held on the first day commemorating the deliverance from Egyptian slavery.

It is estimated there would be  two million people in the city, and Jesus knew what he had to do. He took his Apostles to an upper room, and used the ancient symbols of  bread and wine to give them a whole new meaning.  He foretold them of hi spending departure from them.

In all our lives there are things which have a special significance to us alone, as they cause us to remember someone precious to us, or an occasion bringing a meaning beyond ourselves. The bread represented the body of Jesus, and the wine represents the blood he would shed on the Cross,

 

Jesus was arrested and taken out of Jerusalem, stripped of his clothes, lashed 39 times with a leather belt studded with strips of metal, causing him to be torn horribly.  A crown of thorns was put on his head which cut his brow, and he was spat upon.  He was then taken to the Roman governor Pilate by the Priests, who demanded that he be sentenced to death.

Pilate was anxious to release Jesus if he could, as he had twice examined Jesus and could find no wrong.  He tried to find a way to release Jesus to avoid having to crucify him, but the priests were determined to have Jesus dead.

Pilate went before the crowd and wanted to persuade them to accept the release of Jesus, but they shouted for one of their own criminals to be free instead, so Jesus was handed over to the Roman soldiers.

He was marched through the city and made to carry his own Cross, but due to his physical condition he broke down, and a visitor in the crowd, Simon of Cyrene, took up ,the Cross and carried it to Calvary, a place outside the city  which was called the skull because it was so shaped, where two highways converged upon Jerusalem.

Jesus was put on the Cross, and nails were hammered into his feet and hands, and Mary his mother had to watch this terrible scene.  Jesus could have avoided this death, but he knew his purpose set by God, was to be the way for the sins of all people could be forgiven and made righteous before God, if they accepted Jesus as their Saviour.

 Jesus was mocked by an angry crowd as he hung from the Cross, one thief each side of him. One thief asked Jesus why if he could save others he couldn’t save himself.  The other thief rebuked his fellow thief saying, they deserved to die, but Jesus had done no wrong. He turned to Jesus and said, ‘Lord, remember me when you come into your Kingdom’.  Jesus gave him a promise that he would be with Jesus in paradise.

Paradise comes from a Persian word meaning a walled garden, and when a Persian king wanted to bestow a personal honour on a subject, he made him a companion of the garden, which meant he could walk with the king in the garden. Jesus was promising the thief a place in the garden of heaven, where he could be with Jesus.

Crucifixion was the Roman way of capital punishment in which the victim was nailed to the Cross and left to die. It took time to die, perhaps days, so the victim was in acute agony until death came.

This all happened on Friday, the day of preparation,^* the day before the Sabbath. As evening approached,  Joseph of Arimathea took a risk and went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. (Joseph was an honoured member of the high council, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come.)  

Pilate couldn’t believe that Jesus was already dead, so he called for the Roman officer and asked if he had died yet.  The officer confirmed that Jesus was dead, so Pilate told Joseph he could have the body.  Joseph bought a long sheet of linen cloth. Then he took Jesus’ body down from the cross, wrapped it in the cloth, and laid it in a tomb that had been carved out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone in front of the entrance.  Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where Jesus’ body was laid.

The principal character in our Gospel passage is a woman named Mary Magdalene, who loved Jesus dearly.  Mary came from the village of Magdala on the Sea of Galilee, and was one of a group of women who became followers of Jesus, offering financial support and general help.  Jesus had healed her from demonic problems and she never forgot that.

Early on the Sunday morning Mary went to the tomb, and saw the stone had been rolled away and the body of Jesus had gone.  She ran to tell Peter and John.  According to the other gospel accounts, other women besides Mary went to the tomb early that morning.

It is sometimes claimed that the Bible accounts cannot be true because of variations in the gospels; that in fact only offers credibility.  If everyone here this morning was given a piece of paper, and told to go home and write an account of what happened from the beginning of the service until the time you left, I guarantee when you later compared all the writings, no two would be the same, yet no one could doubt you were here.  Any lawyer will confirm that when two witnesses offer an identical statement, there is an immediate suspicion they have colluded. We all have our own way of expressing something we have witnessed.

 John ran to the tomb, and John being the younger got their first, but he let Peter enter the tomb, being the stronger character. 

We notice here two believers, one gentle and reserved as John, whilst Peter was always more impulsive and decisive, each revealing their devotion in different ways.  There is room for all characters in the Church. 

Peter and John left the scene but Mary stayed; she loved Jesus when He was alive, and then was too grieved to leave.  Mary was the last person to stay with Jesus at the Cross, and first to go to His tomb.  This was a testimony to her loyalty for none of the men stayed.  She remained sobbing, but she was rewarded when she became the first person to meet the risen Lord. We see that those who are loyal to Christ are honoured by Him, and those who are most true will have most communion with Him

As she wept she saw two angels in white, and they asked why she was weeping.  She said it was because they had taken away the Lord, and she did not know where they had laid him. She then turned round and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus asked her, why she was weeping and who was she looking for. Supposing him to be the gardener, she told him she was looking for the Lord and wanted to find his body so she could take it away. Jesus the identified Himself and told her to go and tell His disciples, so making her to become the first Christian witness. 

 In the evening of that first Sunday, the Apostles were gathered together in a locked room. The Apostles were in the Upper Room terrified, in fear for their lives. This was because rumours had been spread around Jerusalem that they must have stolen the body, and they feared the authorities might take action against them.
The doors were firmly shut yet Jesus appeared in the room to their amazement, but also joy. This suggests that His body was a supernatural body, and so if we are to be like Him in heaven, our future bodies will also be supernatural. Jesus was giving a demonstration in confirmation He was alive. This was no animation of a corpse; it was Jesus in a new form of being which could pass through doors.

You can imagine the reaction of the Apostles, who must have thought they were hallucinating, for most people do at some time have visions, especially if you are longing for someone whom you never expected to see. The Apostles were delighted to see the Lord however.

Then Jesus gave them command saying, just as God had sent Him He was now sending them out to preach the gospel in His name. Jesus when parting, He again said ‘peace be with you’ as a form of good-bye, and then breathed on them. He now tells the Apostles as God had given Him the Holy Spirit, He (Jesus) was giving them the power of the Holy Spirit, to go out and tell the world about His offer of eternal salvation for all who accepted and believed in Him. If anyone did not, they were condemned eternally.

Jesus has passed on this mission to the Church all down the ages to go out and speak for His message, so that when people hear that message from us, they are indirectly hearing the words of our Lord.

At this first meeting of Jesus with the Apostles, Thomas was not present but he was told by the other Apostles what had taken place, and Thomas being known for his scepticism, refused to believe them. He stated he would never believe they had seen Jesus, unless he placed his hand and finger in the wounds.
Thomas was just an ordinary fellow who didn’t know the full story, and wanted proof. A week later however he is back with them in the Upper Room when Jesus again appears, and Thomas realises his lack of faith and makes the confession with the deeply committed words, ‘my Lord and my God’. AND he never did put his hand or finger near Jesus’ wounds.

Jesus then said words which resonate powerfully today. ‘Blessed are they who have not seen and yet have believed.’
We must not criticise Thomas, it must have been hard to believe that someone so cruelly put to death should appear alive, it was a unique act in all history and people do have imaginary visions.

Jesus wanted to show the Apostles, and by extension to Christians through the ages, that His was a tangible bodily resurrection, and there was much evidence to prove so. The resurrection has been attested to by witnesses both inside and out of the Church. It has never been doubted there was an empty tomb, so where did the body go. Would men risk their lives without confidence and personal experience?

Our Lord then commissioned them to go and make disciples of all nations, teaching them to obey everything he had commanded, and gave them the power to proclaim absolution to those worthy, and to refuse those who were not. There is nowhere in the Bible however where priestly absolution is authorised.

This is what the church of Jesus Christ is fundamentally and essentially here for; preaching the gospel Jesus left us, abandoning all fancy ideas of pleasing society. We don’t go saying the Bible states, but I have a better idea, we say exactly what Jesus said, so that indirectly what we say is Jesus speaking.
God wants us to be the hands feet and voice of Jesus

 If Easter had not happened; if Jesus had not been raised from the dead, then we have no faith.  Christianity rises and falls on the resurrection of Jesus.  This has been proclaimed down the ages and if not true, the Bible writers would have lied and millions of people would have made great sacrifices in the cause of the faith in vain.  Why would educated men like Paul, and down to earth fishermen, lie when they had nothing to gain by doing so?

     If Jesus had not been raised there would be no forgiveness, we would have no future, but the evidence is overwhelming in favour.  First century witnesses and documents tell.  We have testimony from men present at that time that the resurrection of Jesus was real, objective and physical.  This is what the Church has always believed in over two thousand years of Christian witness that has sustained the hearts of millions.

The Apostles Creed does not say I believe in the forgiveness of sins and the spiritual resurrection of Jesus, it says I believe in the resurrection of the body. The physical, tangible body, and when liberals challenge this, they do so in spite of all the evidence.

 After the resurrection we find the Apostles, who had been timid and frightened men, now ready to go preaching openly and fearlessly, and suffering violently for doing so.  Men do not invent stories to be put in prison and get beaten up, or hung on a cross like Peter, or stoned to death like Stephen.        

Let us always remember that Jesus never changes, He is the same yesterday to today for ever, and will take care of all who believe and put their trust in Him.

As I reflect on that first Easter season, it makes me realise how badly the Church has let God (and Jesus) down. We have Church leaders, Ministers, and members, not accepting the accounts of what took place, challenging the resurrection story, which one eminent lawyer has stated that the evidence was so strong, any jury would believe.

Jesus said, go and preach ALL I have commanded, and we have the teaching from his Apostles in the New Testament as Jesus himself gave. Whilst it is reasonable for us to worship in different ways according to denominational services, there should be no difference in basic doctrine—yet there is.

The first Christian Church, which followed Peter’s Pentecost sermon, was based on Apostolic teaching, accompanied by praise to God. No fancy clothing, no man made ritual, no services to celebrate and deviate from God’s order of creation, marriage and baptism. No Archbishop to excuse people for not accepting the resurrection.  I wonder why some Churches have a bible, they never use or believe it.

How God must weep when he sees the way the Churches have responded to the cruel death Jesus endured- on our behalf.

May God bless his Holy Word to us, and may we joyfully accept it.

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 Luke 22 v 1-23

 This chapter opens to begin Luke’s account of our Lord’s suffering and death. The events take place at the last supper Jesus had with His Apostles.  In a few hours He would be betrayed and taken away to be beaten and put on trial, and then taken to the Cross,

     None of this would come as a surprise to Him, it was all part of the divine plan which had been foretold.  The chief priests and scribes wanted desperately to have Jesus killed.  The very ones who should have welcomed Him as the Messiah were the men who conspired to end His life.  They were supposed to be godly men, some of them in direct line of succession to Aaron. 

     The second step towards our Lord’s crucifixion was the treachery of Judas, one of His own twelve Apostles.  He had been with the Lord during His ministry, heard Him teach, and seen Him perform miracles, and yet he turned out to be a hypocrite betraying his Master. 

     The Jewish authorities were anxious to arrest Jesus, but as there was only a small detachment of troops stationed in Jerusalem, they were afraid that if they tried to arrest Jesus there would be a riot.  Their problem therefore was solved by Judas. 

     Just as God is looking for people to be His servants, so also is the devil.  A person can be an instrument for good or evil, but it needs us to open up a way for the devil.  There is no handle on the outside of the door of the human heart, it must be opened from the inside.  We all have to ask God as the psalmist did, to search us try us and know our hearts. 

     The lengths people will go to in religion and yet be without grace and sincerity, is far greater than many others will recognise. 

     We see the love and lure of money.  Judas did it all for cash.  For love of money Judas was willing to betray His Lord. 

     This passage however is closely associated with the Passover feast.  It was for this feast that Jesus went to Jerusalem.  The death of our Lord took place at the time of the Passover, in accordance with God’s plan to show Jesus was the true sacrifice.  What the sacrifice of a lamb had been to Israel in Egypt, Jesus sacrifice would be to sinners all over the world.  He would be the atonement for all our transgressions.

     The feast of Unleavened bread lasted for a week in April and the Passover meal was held on the first day.  It commemorated the deliverance of the Jews from the tyranny of Egyptian slavery.  Pharaoh had refused to let the Jews leave despite Moses pleas, and after God had delivered nine plagues. 

     Finally after the tenth, the first born son in all Egyptian families died, but the angel of death passed over all the Jewish houses, which as a sign had the blood of a lamb sprayed on, and the Jewish boys were spared. On that night they left so quickly there was no time to bake the bread with leaven, so it was unleavened bread they ate. 

     Every male Jew living within fifteen miles of Jerusalem was expected to attend the celebrations, but it was the ambition of every Jew to attend at least once in their lifetime.

    This feast, one of the most important in the Jewish calendar, was one which every Jewish family would come together to celebrate as one  It was a solemn remembrance for God bringing Israel out of slavery.  .    

     The family would eat bread which was without leaven,  the head of the household retells the Passover story, and prayers of thanksgiving are made and four cups of wine are drunk.   Still the Jews keep the Passover and they pray that next year they will do so in Jerusalem. 

     It is estimated that there were two million people in the city when the last days of Jesus were played out.  Jesus knew what He must do.  The better class houses had two rooms, one on top of the other, and it was common for a Rabbi to meet with his followers to talk things over with them.  Jesus sent Peter and John to look for a man described to book an upper room. 

     The feast went on and Jesus used the ancient symbols of bread and wine to give them a whole new meaning and significance.  He took the bread and said ‘this is my body’.  This is what is meant by a sacrament.  It is something which is normally a very ordinary thing,, which has acquired a meaning far beyond itself. 

      In all our lives there are things which have a special significance for us, but to nobody else, because they bring back to us a special person or occasion bringing a meaning beyond ourselves.  This is often some article which belonged to a loved one no longer with us. 

     The bread which we eat at the Communion service is just common bread, but to the Christian who understands, it represents the very body of Christ. 

     Jesus said the cup is the new covenant made at the price of His blood.  Jesus is saying the ancient Jewish festival will be fulfilled in Him.  His blood will be shed on the Cross, and He will die in our place, and figuratively the angel of death passes over all our lives.   

     This is a gift of God because of God’s amazing grace.  He offers this gift to all, but to benefit and be saved we have to accept that gift.    

     The Jewish system of sacrifice was meant to restore that relationship between man and God by the offering of animal sacrifice to atone for sin.  Jesus offered us an alternative relationship between us and God through His death.  It cost Jesus His life to restore that relationship.     

     The main object of the Lord’s Supper was to remind Christians of Christ’s death for sinners.  Jesus specifically told His Apostles that they were to do what they did in remembrance of Him.  So when we take the bread and wine, we are not taking part in a sacrificial offering, but are commemorating what Jesus did. 

     The bread is to remind us of Jesus body, given on the Cross.  The wine we drink is to remind us of the blood shed. They are to appeal to our minds to keep afresh Jesus once and for all sacrifice.  We are to do this in faith, and our faith is increased by receiving the bread and wine.    

     Jesus however, knew how easily the human mind forgets, so He commanded we do this to remember Him.  He calls us to enter in to the reverence and peace of His house, and do it with other followers of Him.        

     The message of the Cross is the focal point of Christianity.  Billy Graham stated every sermon he ever preached would contain reference to the Cross, but it is not one that every preacher adopts.  In fact, I cannot recall hearing such a sermon

     The observance of Holy Communion, or Eucharist or Mass, is a duty binding on all Christians.  Jesus was quite emphatic on this point, and we are called to obey.

     I sincerely believe the Lord will exonerate us at the present time in this country, for all the main Church denominations have adopted services in contravention of Scripture, which oblige Christians to attend Apostate places of worship.

     Paul said every time we come to take the sacrament we are proclaiming the Lord’s death, and we are to take it worthily.  As we come we are acknowledging our faith that He is our Lord and Saviour, and accept that He died for each one of us.

     Since the service of Holy Communion has become the normal main service of the Churches ,there is always the danger that it is taken too casually or automatically, without recognising it as something very significant.

     Often people in a Church will use the time that is being taken for others to come forward, as a time to chat with others about events in their lives, whereas it should be used as a time for meditation on what is being celebrated.

    We should not consider all who commemorate are true believers.  Judas at the first service obviously wasn’t, yet Jesus accepted him.

     What has often saddened me is that I have seen devoted people, (mainly women I have to say) coming to the Communion rail only for a blessing, because they have not been confirmed.  I know many priests and churches support this action, and whilst I respect that view, I cannot ever imagine Jesus would question whether a person of such faith was confirmed or not.

     If a person has such faith and belief, which motivates them to come forward, and all I have spoken to say they would have liked to take the sacrament, then I have no hesitation whatsoever in offering it to them.   

     Confirmation is desirable and important within the Church, but I believe should not preclude sincere faith being manifested.

     When you take Communion remember the Cross and its message for you and resolve to keep trusting in its power. 

 Luke 19 v 28-40

Before you begin to read this sermon, I want to mention that in recent times My posts through some technical action in the process of publication , appear to have resulted in many views not having been recorded. I have been unable to ascertain why this has happened, and just hope and pray some will still be published, and seen by regular readers..

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On Sunday we remember the first Palm Sunday, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to proclaim Himself as the Messiah and was greeted by cheering crowds waving palm branches, the same crowds who a few days later would be crying ‘crucify Him’.  This is the beginning of Holy Week as we celebrate the events of 2,000 years ago and follow our Lord’s last days before His crucifixion, the heart of the Christian faith

Jesus had been in Jericho, and was now ready to go to Jerusalem on the last stage of His life’s journey.  He was going to walk the way many pilgrims had walked.  The walk from Jericho to Jerusalem was only twenty miles where His end lay.

This was in fact more than a journey into Jerusalem, it was a journey to the Cross, a journey Jesus could have avoided and left the world to perish, but He readily went on to a very brutal and cruel death to take our place on the Cross to pay the penalty for our sins, a penalty we are unable to pay for ourselves.

On reaching Bethphage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two of His disciples ahead to the next village, telling them they would find a colt tied by the side of the road, and they were to untie it and take it to Him.  If anyone should challenge them, they were to say the Lord needs it.  We are not told how Jesus knew this, but did so through the  means of His supernatural knowledge. We could find similar other instances in numerous parts of the Gospels, in which he could foretell of what would take place.

This description of the perfect knowledge of Jesus should be an indication of how necessary prayers of repentance are needed, as He could know the lack of faith of professed Christians, and the sins we all commit.  True faithful believers should be comforted.

All was carefully planned, there was no sudden action, and Jesus did not leave until the last moment.  It was a most brave act of courage, for there was a price on His head.  He did not try to conceal His visit. It was a deliberate claim to be King fulfilling the prophecy of Zechariah in the Old Testament, who foretold of the Messiah entering Jerusalem on a donkey. By His action |He showed His people He came in love and peace. But the hatred of men overtook Him.

So began the fateful journey down the Mount of Olives where He was joined by waiting crowds who greeted Him wildly, laying their cloaks on the road in front of Him and waving palm branches, and singing from Psalm 118 which was a psalm pilgrims sang as a hymn of praise to God.  Palm branches were used to signify joy and celebration.

Jesus would normally have slipped quietly into the city as He usually like to avoid attention, but on this occasion although He knew a price was on His head, chose to ride in triumphantly.  The entry of Jesus into Jerusalem was like a King riding into his capital, with many of His followers and pilgrims who had poured into the city for the festival, rejoicing and praising God with loud voices.  He knew the time had come for Him to die upon the Cross for all sinners.  His ministry and the sacrifice He had to make were over, and He wanted the whole Jewish nation to give their attention.  He had been publicly heard in the city before He was betrayed, and falsely charged and convicted by the Jewish leaders.

The Bible teaches that the joy of Christ’s disciples as He entered the city to be crucified, will be exceeded when He returns for a second time.

Jesus knew a demonstration would happen and further enrage the Jewish leaders, and in fact the Pharisees were annoyed, so making them more eager to plot against Him.  Jesus knew that God had a plan for Him, which made the Jews change their intentions.

Jesus made it clear to the crowds that He was not the kind of Messiah of their dreams; He came in peace not as a conquering warrior.  They did not understand His intention, and were following for the wrong motives.  These same adoring crowds would a few days later, turn equally wildly against Him as He faced the Cross.

As He entered the city Jesus paused on the hill overlooking it and we are told He wept because He knew that within a few years the city would be destroyed by the Romans.

The Pharisees complained to Jesus that his disciples were rejoicing and asked Jesus to stop them from doing so. He rebuked them fo so asking, and said the stones on the ground would cry out, meaning all creation was made to worship the King and Lord of all.                                                                       

What is our response as we remember that journey of Jesus?   We can reject Him as many did in Jerusalem, or treat it with an air of indifference.  But let us remember this story of our Lord’s journey to the Cross was for our forgiveness and it cost Him public mockery, the most cruel of deaths, and spiritual torment.  As Christians we should ask ourselves, are we following Him for the right reasons; do we realise the sacrifice He made for us in the most horrific manner ever devised by man?

It is important for us to understand the lesson we can learn from this event.  It is not enough to think positively about Christ. When we get to the last days, Jesus is not going to say ‘Did you have nice thoughts about me?’  The question is, have we accepted He is the Son of God and Saviour of sinners, and trusted in Him alone for our salvation.

  For so many people to-day, the Cross has little relevance beyond being a fashion accessory; the philosophy is that they are self-sufficient, they may make an odd mistake, but at heart are quite good; to admit they are sinful is a step too far.   The Cross is an event that has been remembered for more than two thousand years, and still is a most recognised one. No one should wear a cross without asking themselves why they wear it.

Not only are we all sinful, (the Bible states ‘we all fall short of the glory of God’), but we cannot save ourselves.  This is something which does not go down well with people, who see it as an interference in their lives.  The intelligentsia mock and see religion as silly and foolish, but are so fearful it might prey on their consciences they try to have it wiped out, and reject the need of any Saviour, not wanting to admit their sin or dependence upon God.

 The message of the Cross is that we must humble ourselves and surrender to God, which is an affront to the proud.  For those who do accept this message, this foolishness becomes the very power of God, for the Bible states that what seems foolish to the world, is in fact the very wisdom of God.

 But that action of our Lord demands a response, if we are to claim the forgiveness offered.  We all need to ask ourselves, if I stood before God today, and He asked me why I should be allowed into heaven, what would I say? 

The Bible is all about commitment. We are reminded of the superficiality of commitment in our own time.  Less than 10% of people think God worthy of one hour per week to visit a Church.  Yet if you were to ask people their religion, the vast majority would reply C of E, and seriously consider they were Christians.  They would be mortally offended if you suggested otherwise. Yet few people seem bothered to think of Jesus, even less to do anything about it.

It is easy to say I am a Christian; easy to profess being a Christian; easy to say I read the Bible. 95% of the population today believe as long as you are honest, kind and helpful to others and do no harm, you are a fully=fledged Christian.

  Muslims in Islamic countries are Muslims in the full sense of the word, and they find difficulty in understanding how people who live in Christian lands, reject their faith so completely.  Why, on the Lord’s birthday so many get drunk and engage in orgies. They will fight and defend their faith, and the men will not feel embarrassed or ashamed to be seen going to worship. Put many Englishmen in a Church and they feel disorientated.

Perhaps there's someone here  who has been thinking through the Christian faith.  Now you need to simply and humbly believe, and trust in Jesus Christ

who died on the Cross.   On this Palm Sunday morning and hail him as your matchless King.

May God bless His Holy Word to us, and His Holy Name be praised.

 

JOHN 12 v 1-8 

This Chapter brings the talks of Jesus to the end, in future only his private conversations will be mentioned in the gospel of John.  It also has a story of love and devotion to the Lord..

Jesus is at the home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus, having been called by Martha and Mary following the death of their brother Lazarus.  Jesus attended with his Apostles, and raised Lazarus to life, after he had been in the grave for four days.

The time was drawing near the end for Jesus. He knew the authorities were waiting for an opportunity to kill him, yet he was on his way to Jerusalem for the Passover festival, so stayed at the home in Bethany, which he was most fond of.

Martha was as usual looking after the house and preparing dinner,  she was a practical woman who gave her best, and she showed her love for Jesus by her busy hands, and was committed to follow him.

The proof of the miracle of Jesus in raising Lazarus from the grave, is at the table, where he is seen eating and drinking; no longer can it be said this was just an optical illusion . This preceded the raising of Jesus which would take place a short time later, when the Apostles would find him by the lake cooking fish for them to join him.

This story is also a story of much love and devotion. Mary was the one above all who loved Jesus, she took the one precious thing she owned and gave it to him. 

 Jesus had helped Mary and she never ceased to be grateful, loving him with utter devotion, On his visit to  their home, she produced a precious bottle of perfumed ointment which she took and anointed the head and feet of Jesus, not randomly but with personal care. We are told there was a pound of ointment, which would mean a large jar.  Pure nard was imported from India, and kept in an alabaster jar.

The house became filled the perfume, administered with full loving gratitude by a woman whose heart was filled with admiration of her friend and Lord, and for all his attention.

A great preacher once stated, while faith makes all things possible, love makes all things easy.  Fellowships in Churches may be happier if there was even just a little of the commitment of Mary.

Mary showed she thought that nothing was too great or too good to bestow on such a Savior, at whose feet she had sat in past  days, hearing words that had given her peace for her conscience, and forgiveness for her sins.  Her brother Lazarus was also in the room, and she would show added gratitude for what Jesus did for him- much ad been given and much given in return.

Mary released her braided hair, something Jewish women would never do in public, and with her hair wiped the feet of Jesus. There were people present who thought she had gone too far, and wasted money which could have been given to the poor by selling the ointment, which would have been almost equal to a year’s wages instead of placing it over Jesus.  She wasn’t concerned what people thought of her.

We are told the room was filled with the perfume of the ointment, it meant the lovely deed created many memories. Love stories are world stories immortalized.

There have been writers whose minds were obviously perverse, who have sought to suggest  a sexual relationship between Jesus and Mary. Such writers are those who can never understand, even at the present time, that it is perfectly normal for a man and woman to be friends, who enjoy the company of each other ,without a need for any sexuality to occur.  We are normal human beings created in the image of God, and we respect God’s teaching.

The extent of love’s giving is shown by the cost of giving. Love does not think how little do I need to spend when giving a present for someone dear to them, but how much will be enough to show one’s feelings. Love is not love id it counts the cost. Love is willing to give all, and how often do we reflect it wasn’t enough.

How much do we men think of the love of our wives and mothers must have, in the way they do so much without grudge or complaint. In the majority, freely because of their love for us, which is not always reciprocated.

One of the prominent objectors was Judas, who had been an Apostle, who by his action showed how little he thought of Jesus. He displayed his character, but Jesus knew of the traitor, and had given him a chance to redeem himself. Jesus had let him be the treasurer for he had a gift in handling money, but he became a thief and pilfered from the funds.

Judas saw the loveliness of Mary, but saw it as an act of extravagance. A person can see what they want to see, and hope to see.

There is still a mass of people who do not believe in the resurrection of Jesus,  and a previous Archbishop of Wales was once quoted as saying, we cannot expect people to believe in the resurrection story.

In 1984, an unbelieving cleric was to be consecrated as a bishop at York Minster, without the approval of many evangelical Christians because of his extreme liberal views, and especially after mocking the resurrection story as being like a bag of tricks.

The Minster at that time had just gone under a refurbishment with new fire sprinklers and fire protection system. After the service had ended there was  a lightning storm, without being accompanied with rain in the city of York, and serious damage was caused to the Minster with the popular rose window being blown out.  The cause was investigated by a collection of meteorologists who were in possession of meteorological maps, which, showed the sky above the Minster was the only place across the Yorkshire county where lightning was revealed. They unanimously concluded it was an act of God, yet the then Archbishop of York rejected that decision as being ridiculous.  I wonder often how such clergy can even be in the Church.

In an age of unbelief we shall continue to find doubt, although that should not be within the Church, but eminent lawyers have stated the evidence for the physical resurrection of Jesus Christ was so strong, that any modern Court would have no difficulty in finding the case proved. The rising of our Lord is there for our faith to accept, all the Lord’s true followers will also be raised, as he has promised.

There are professing Christians today who are ready to fail to display sufficient respect for Jesus, they have other things they allow to take precedence.  If you tell of the need to spread the gospel, you will find little if any response. There are many Church members who will not even disclose they attend Church lest they be frowned upon.

We hold what are called (falsely) services of baptism on demand for babies and children, without the parents having any belief, yet no one seems to think that necessary. We then let them make vows they have not the slightest attention of keeping, and we know so. They then put coppers on a collection plate as a payment.

Those who have much to say about the failing of the Church doing things for the poor, are those who do nothing themselves, and fail to recognize it is usually mostly Christians are who are helping the poor.

A day will come when those who have done things for others, whether a bottle of perfumed ointment or anything else, will have their names recorded in he heavenly books and will be well rewarded

We lastly see the bitter hardness in the hearts of men.  The Chief priests wanted in their unbelief, to put Lazarus back to death again after his  rising. They could bear to see him alive giving proof after being in a grave for four days, which they could not accept and were ready to commit murder.  Jesus marveled at such unbelief, and the refusal, to accept proof by the presence of Lazarus.

The bitterness of Judas has been shown in every age, and will continue to be shown. Judas lived with Jesus and fellow Apostles, saw the miraculous deeds of Jesus, his ready compassion to all, the teaching of Jesus personally, and all he could offer in return was a bitter heart and betrayal.  We still see the hard heartedness of people, who reject all Jesus suffered on the Cross on their behalf, by a cruel death.

In life there are things we can do at any time, and there are things we can never do.  So often we mean to do them, but put off doing so and they then never get done.  Later a time comes when it is too late to do them, and we are full of regret.  Judas who spoke of giving to the poor, could have done so himself, but in fact was a thief.  People will always be poor, but won’t always have Jesus.

In all the way of life, we should pause and ask are we doing all we should do for the faith, for the Church, for God; are we doing all we could for our husbands wives and families, for it will be too late if they die before us, and you will bitterly regret your omissions.

Let this passage inspire you in your faith, and to be true to all those for whom you have love.  Make sure no one is waiting in vain to hear from you.

Let all who claim to have faith thank God with all our hearts, even if we feel a sense of weakness.  Pray for your faith to be true and genuine , sincere and not just a temporary impression.

Especially pray you will not be touched by the way of the world, or the words of false preachers.  Think instead of the words of the Apostle Paul, ‘if you are feeling strong, mind you don’t fall’.

May God bless his Holy Word to us. May we always seek to glorify him.