Tawa Baptist

Bread

Scripture: John 6:25-35 & 47-56

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Material v. spiritual
  • Literal v. metaphorical
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

If you were to ask what bread is, most people would say that it is a staple food, made of flour and water and usually leavened with yeast. That is a literal definition of bread.

In Ireland they have a very specific legal definition for bread, which has to do with their Valued Added Tax (VAT) system (similar to New Zealand’s GST).

Ireland’s Value Added Tax Act of 1972 says, for bread to be tax exempt it cannot have more than 2% sugar in the flour. Other baked goods, like cinnamon scrolls and cream buns and the like, are subject to VAT.

The sandwich making franchise Subway found this out the hard way. They didn’t think they should have to pay VAT on the bread they baked but the court ruled against them. Apparently the flour in Subway’s bread contains 10% sugar (5 times the amount allowed for tax exempt bread). In other words, the court deemed Subway’s bread to be legally closer to cake than bread, which might be why their sandwiches taste so good.

As well as the literal and legal definitions of bread, we also know that the words bread and dough can be used as metaphors for money. We make a crust (we make our income) by working.

Bread is one of those words which is a bit elastic in its meaning, depending on the context in which it is used.

Today we continue our series on the I am sayings of Jesus in the gospel of John. Jesus uses a number of I am statements to describe himself. These sayings tell us about Jesus’ being, his identity. What we notice is how closely Jesus identifies himself with God the Father.

Please turn with me to John chapter 6, verse 25, page 126 toward the back of your pew Bibles. This morning we hear what Jesus means by bread when he says: I am the bread of life. From John 6:25-35, we read… 

25 When the people found Jesus on the other side of the lake, they said to him, “Teacher, when did you get here?”

26 Jesus answered, “I am telling you the truth: you are looking for me because you ate the bread and had all you wanted, not because you understood my miracles. 27 Do not work for food that spoils; instead, work for the food that lasts for eternal life. This is the food which the Son of Man will give you, because God, the Father, has put his mark of approval on him.”

28 So they asked him, “What can we do in order to do what God wants us to do?”

29 Jesus answered, “What God wants you to do is to believe in the one he sent.”

30 They replied, “What miracle will you perform so that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? 31 Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, just as the scripture says, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

32 “I am telling you the truth,” Jesus said. “What Moses gave you was not the bread from heaven; it is my Father who gives you the real bread from heaven. 33 For the bread that God gives is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they asked him, “give us this bread always.”

35 “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

In a nutshell, John chapter 6 is saying that faith in Jesus satisfies our deepest hunger for God. Or said another way, Jesus is the bread that sustains eternal life.

John 6 also acts as a kind of sieve, separating those who major on material things from those who see life in spiritual terms.

Material v. spiritual

Recently I had to replace the tap handles for our kitchen sink. Without handles we aren’t able to get access to the water.

The relationship between that which is material and that which is spiritual is a bit like the relationship between tap handles and the water that comes out of the taps. (And just to be clear, the handles in this analogy represent that which is material and the water represents that which is spiritual.)

We need the handles to turn the taps and release the water but the handles are not the most important part. The most important part, the thing that gives the handles their meaning and fulfils their purpose, is the water itself. It doesn’t matter how fancy your handles are, if they don’t work you are going to be thirsty.  

Now most of us understand what is meant by material things because we deal with material stuff all the time. Material things are physical. You can see, feel, taste or hear material things. Like cars and houses and ice-cream.

Material things are not bad in themselves. We need material things in this life. But if we make material things more important than spiritual things we run into problems. 

Spiritual things are a little harder to think about because that which is spiritual is not usually seen with the naked eye. Spiritual things require the intuition of faith to be sensed.

In practical terms, spirituality has to do with relationships. Our relationship with God, our relationship with the different aspects of our inner self and our relationships with other people.

You can’t physically see a person’s relationship with God but you can get a pretty good idea about the character of their relationship with God (or their spirituality) by the way they handle themselves and treat others.          

Prayer is spiritual because it is about communicating with God. Reading the Bible is spiritual because Holy Scripture shows us how to relate with God. Forgiveness is spiritual because it is part of the process of restoring right relationship. Practicing hospitality is spiritual because eating together helps to create and sustain friendship.   

Earlier in the service we heard a reading from the beginning of John chapter 6, retelling how Jesus multiplied five loaves of barley bread and two fish to miraculously feed a crowd of well over 5,000 people. In doing this Jesus was holding the material and the spiritual together.

The miracles of Jesus are a bit like tap handles. They are not the most important thing but they are material; they are helpful for accessing the water of Jesus’ teaching. The miracles are not the water itself but they do give people a handle on Jesus’ meaning.  Unfortunately, most people seemed more fascinated with the handle (or miracle) than with the water of Jesus himself. 

When Jesus miraculously fed the multitudes in the wilderness, the people could not help but make a connection with Moses and the feeding of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai.

The people find Jesus the next day and are a bit puzzled as to how he got across the lake. We know that Jesus walked on water but Jesus does not draw attention to this fact. Instead he points out they have misunderstood what is most important here. They have focused on the material stuff rather than the spiritual stuff. They have given too much attention to the tap handle of the miracles, and not enough to the spiritual water of Jesus himself.  From verse 26 Jesus says…

“I am telling you the truth: you are looking for me because you ate the bread and had all you wanted, not because you understood my miracles. 27 Do not work for food that spoils; instead, work for the food that lasts for eternal life…”

In a manner of speaking Jesus was basically telling the people they were materialists. A materialist is someone who is blind or insensitive to spiritual things. A materialist is more interested in the physical tap handle (a superficial feature) than they are in the water inside.

If your only tool is a hammer, then every problem looks like a nail. A materialist only has one way of looking at the world. They look at the way Jesus fed the multitudes and think, ‘Wouldn’t it be good if we could get Jesus to do that all the time. We could use that to start a political movement and fix a lot of problems. Right a lot of wrongs.’

Verse 15 of John 6 tells us that is, in fact, what the people wanted to do. They wanted to make Jesus king by force. But Jesus refused to go down that path. The real issues are not physical or political. The real hunger is spiritual. Deep down people need to have a good relationship with God. That is why Jesus came, to satisfy people’s spiritual hunger and thirst for God.

When we attend to spiritual things (and when I say ‘spiritual things’ I mean our relationship with God, our self and others) then we get our priorities right and find that most of the material things work out.

If you know, deep down in your inner most being, that God loves and accepts you, then you are better able to love and accept yourself. And when you can love and accept yourself you find the freedom and energy to love others.

But if you are always feeling guilty, always looking over your shoulder, always fearful of God’s punishment, then you will find you don’t have the same resources to love God, yourself or others and your spirituality (or the quality of your relationships) will suffer.        

Although the people in John 6 are materialists they at least believe in the existence of God and have the perception to realise that Jesus is claiming to be the one sent by God. They just don’t have the faith to trust Jesus. They are not ready to swallow the idea that Jesus is from God, so they ask for a sign (even though Jesus has already given them many signs), suggesting that Jesus replicate the miracle of manna from heaven.

The people’s request for a miracle was based on the Jewish expectation that when the Messiah came he would renew the miracle of the manna. Having tasted the loaves Jesus provided, the multitude challenge Jesus to give them a permanent supply of bread. [1] They figured, since Moses provided a whole nation with manna in the wilderness for 40 years then, if Jesus was the Messiah, he could do the same.

The thoughts of the people are earthbound and materialistic. Jesus tries to get them thinking spiritually or heavenward. From verse 32 Jesus says…

“I am telling you the truth, what Moses gave you was not the bread from heaven; it is my Father who gives you the real bread from heaven. 33 For the bread that God gives is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34 “Sir,” they asked him, “give us this bread always.”

35 “I am the bread of life,” Jesus told them. “Those who come to me will never be hungry; those who believe in me will never be thirsty.

Literal v. metaphorical

One thing we notice here is that God gives the bread from heaven. It is not earned by us. We don’t need to work for it, nor do we need to grovel and beg or try to manipulate the situation to get the bread. Jesus (the bread of heaven) is simply given by God.

Some of you may remember the story of The Little Red Hen from when you were children. It’s an American folk tale which is meant to teach the value of hard work and initiative.

In the story a hen on a farm finds some seed and decides to make bread with it. She asks various other animals on the farm if they will help her. ‘Will you help me plant the seed? Will you help me water the seed? Will you help me harvest the wheat? Will you help me grind the wheat into flour? Will you help me knead the dough? Will you help me make the fire to bake the bread?

And at each stage the animals all say ‘No, we won’t help you.’ Then at the end of the story, when the bread is freshly baked, all the animals are eager to help with the eating.  But the little red hen refuses to share her bread because no one helped her to make it.

That’s capitalism in a nutshell. While it is generally good to teach children to use their initiative and to work, so they don’t grow up with a sense of entitlement, the story of The Little Red Hen is not really the gospel of Jesus.

Unlike the little red hen, Jesus is saying the bread of heaven that God offers, is a gift. Even though we have done nothing to help in the process of making the bread we still get to eat it. All we have to do is believe in the one that God sent. In fact, that is our work, to eat the bread. Eating here is a metaphor for faith.

When we are very young (around 4 or 5 years old) we tend to take things literally. Our brains haven’t developed the cognitive ability to think abstractly and so metaphors like ‘the snow is a white blanket’ are lost on a small child. How can snow be a blanket? Snow is cold and blankets are meant to be warm? 

Psychologists reckon that children don’t develop the ability to understand complex metaphors until somewhere between 9-12 years of age.    

It appears many of Jesus’ listeners could not think in metaphorical terms either. They were locked into a literal interpretation of everything. Perhaps literalism and materialism go hand in hand. Which is unfortunate because at least one third of the Bible is poetry. In fact, the prophets mostly spoke in the language of metaphor.  

Later in John 6, from verse 47, Jesus goes on to say…

“I am telling you the truth: he who believes has eternal life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your ancestors ate manna in the desert, but they died. 50 But the bread that comes down from heaven is of such a kind that whoever eats it will not die. 51 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If you eat this bread, you will live forever.

The ‘bread from heaven’ is a metaphor for Jesus and ‘eating the bread’ is a metaphor for putting your faith in Jesus.

Faith is trust that puts its money where its mouth is. Faith isn’t just looking at the bread on the plate and agreeing that it exists. Faith is putting the bread in your mouth, chewing it over and swallowing it down. In other words, faith isn’t just agreeing that Jesus lived 2000 years ago in Palestine and that he was a good guy. Faith is accepting Jesus, receiving him and his teaching, into the deepest part of yourself. Faith is how we become one with Jesus.

Jesus presses the metaphor even further saying (in verse 51): The bread that I will give you is my flesh, which I give so that the world may live.”

This started an angry argument among them. ‘How can this man give us his flesh to eat?’ But Jesus did not back down. Jesus went on to say…

“I am telling you the truth: if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in yourselves. 54 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood have eternal life, and I will raise them to life on the last day. 55 For my flesh is the real food; my blood is the real drink. 56 Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood live in me, and I live in them.  

Once again the people misunderstand Jesus. They were thinking in purely materialistic terms and take Jesus literally. But Jesus isn’t speaking literally. 

To eat Jesus’ flesh and drink his blood is a metaphor for believing in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. Remember, eating in this context equates to faith. Eating is a personal act of trust, just as faith is a personal act of trust.

When you eat you take food into your person, into your stomach. You do so in good faith that the food will give life and strength to your body. Likewise, when you swallow the words of Jesus, you take them into your inner most being, trusting that they will give life and strength to your soul.

The point is, faith in Jesus satisfies our deepest hunger for God. Faith in Jesus sustains us for eternal life. As I’ve said on other occasions, eternal life isn’t just about existing for an infinite period of time. Eternal life describes a high quality relationship with God.

Keto has become fashionable lately. Keto is a kind of diet where you avoid eating carbohydrates. It is a diet high in fat and low in carbs. So you can’t eat bread. You can have a steak but not a donut. I’m not interested in promoting or condemning keto. I simply mention it by way of metaphor.

To the Jews of Jesus’ day, the idea of eating human flesh and drinking blood was deeply offensive. It was anathema. You just don’t do that. It was like suggesting to someone on a keto diet that they should eat a potato chip sandwich, except far worse. Because a keto diet is a physical thing; it is not done for religious reasons.

Jesus was Jewish and he knew full well how offensive his eating flesh and drinking blood metaphor was. It was like Jesus was sabotaging his own popularity. In fact, many people lost interest in him after that. So why did Jesus use such an offensive metaphor? 

Perhaps Jesus was using this metaphor as a sieve to filter out those who were following him for the wrong reasons. Just a day before the crowd had wanted to make Jesus king by force, to be their political and military leader, so they could get their own way. But that is not spiritual. That is materialistic.

If the reason for our relationship with Jesus is to make him do what we want, then we have got it all wrong. Our reason for following Jesus needs to be doing what God wants. He is the potter. We are the clay. We are his creation, his servants.   

We (in the 21st century) may not be too concerned by Jesus’ metaphor of eating his flesh and drinking his blood. But there are probably other things Jesus said that do offend us. If (or when) we are offended by Christ we need to ask ourselves why that is. Because, at the end of the day, it won’t be him that is wrong. 

Conclusion:

Some people see, in John 6, a reference to holy communion. The people in the synagogue in Capernaum could not have seen a connection with the Christian ritual of communion because the last supper had not happened yet. Jesus had not instituted the Eucharist at that point.

Nevertheless, with the benefit of hindsight, we can see a connection. When we share communion we eat bread which is a symbol (or metaphor) of Christ’s body and we drink grape juice which is symbol (or metaphor) of Christ’s blood.

We don’t believe that the bread and grape juice literally become the flesh and blood of Christ. No. Rather the physical act of eating the bread and drinking the grape juice reminds us that it is through faith in Jesus our sins are forgiven and we have eternal communion with God the Father.

This is not to imply that the death and resurrection of Jesus were just a metaphor. That literally happened. Jesus’ death & resurrection hold the material and the spiritual together in perfect unity.

It is through faith in Jesus’ material death & resurrection that our deepest spiritual needs are met.

May grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Why did Jesus miraculously feed the multitudes in John 6? What did Jesus mean by ‘bread’ in John 6:35?
  • What is spirituality? How would you rate the quality of your relationship with God, with your inner self and with those around you?
  • Where (or how) do you find nourishment for your spiritual life?
  • Discuss/reflect on ‘eating’ as a metaphor for faith. To what extent have you personally swallowed Jesus?
  • Is there anything about Jesus (or anything he said) that offends you? Why is that do you think?
  • Are you aware of any signs (or miracles) in your own life pointing you to Jesus? What are the signs saying?   

[1] Refer Leon Morris, NICT John, page 320.

Tawa Baptist

Light

Scriptures: John 8:12-20; 9:1-39 and 12:44-46

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Jesus guides
  • Jesus creates
  • Jesus reveals
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Today we continue our sermon series on the I am sayings of Jesus in the gospel of John. Jesus uses a number of I am statements to describe himself. These sayings tell us about Jesus’ being, his identity. What we notice is how closely Jesus identifies himself with God the Father.

Please turn with me to John chapter 8, verse 12, page 129 toward the back of your pew Bibles. This morning we hear how Jesus says: I am the light of the world. From John 8:12-20, we read… 

12 Jesus spoke to the Pharisees again. “I am the light of the world,” he said. “Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness.”

13 The Pharisees said to him, “Now you are testifying on your own behalf; what you say proves nothing.”

14 “No,” Jesus answered, “even though I do testify on my own behalf, what I say is true, because I know where I came from and where I am going. You do not know where I came from or where I am going. 15 You make judgments in a purely human way; I pass judgment on no one. 16 But if I were to do so, my judgment would be true, because I am not alone in this; the Father who sent me is with me. 17 It is written in your Law that when two witnesses agree, what they say is true. 18 I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me also testifies on my behalf.”

19 “Where is your father?” they asked him.

“You know neither me nor my Father,” Jesus answered. “If you knew me, you would know my Father also.”

20 Jesus said all this as he taught in the Temple, in the room where the offering boxes were placed. And no one arrested him, because his hour had not come.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

There are many things we could say about light in relation to Jesus. This morning we will focus on just three things: As the light of the world Jesus guides, Jesus creates and Jesus reveals. First let us consider how Jesus guides.

Jesus guides:

A lighthouse guides ships to keep them off the rocks.

Traffic lights guide cars to prevent crashes.

Runway lights guide aeroplanes as they land.

A torch light guides your steps in the dark.

Ancient mariners guided their craft by the light of the stars.

Illuminated exit signs in a picture theatre guide you to the nearest exit.

The light of the sun (with the constant cycle of day and night) is our guide for measuring time. 

And when one of the lights on the dashboard of your car starts flashing, that’s usually a sign to indicate something needs attention. 

Light guides us.  

In the context of John 8, Jesus is sitting in the temple in Jerusalem. More specifically he is in the Court of the Women, which got a great deal of foot traffic. It was the Feast of Tabernacles (also known as the Feast of Shelters).

A ‘tabernacle’ is a tent or temporary shelter such as was used by the Israelites when they journeyed through the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt. God commanded the people of Israel to celebrate the Festival of Tabernacles as a way of remembering the nation’s deliverance from slavery.

One of the traditions associated with the festival of Tabernacles was the lighting of four giant lamps. These lamps burned through the night, illuminating the city. The lamps were a reminder to the people of how God had guided his people through the wilderness with a pillar of cloud by day and pillar of fire by night.

By saying, “I am the light of the world”, during the festival of Tabernacles, Jesus was making an incredible claim. He was essentially saying, I am the physical representation of God’s presence with you on earth.

The motif of guidance is brought out more clearly when Jesus says: “Whoever follows me will have the light of life and will never walk in darkness.”

In other words, look to me and follow me to find freedom from the things that enslave you. I will be your security in the darkness. I will guide you through the wilderness to the Promised Land of God’s kingdom.

That was a huge claim to make in itself but Jesus takes it even further. Jesus says, I am the light of the world. Not just the light of Israel, but the light of the other nations of the world as well.

No wonder the Pharisees reacted against Jesus. To them Jesus was a tall poppy that just had to be cut down. So they said to Jesus:

“Now you are testifying on your own behalf; what you say proves nothing.”

The Pharisees are appealing to a technicality in the law of Moses which required that at least two witnesses needed to agree for their testimony to be substantiated. Basically the Pharisees were saying to Jesus, ‘We don’t believe you are the light of the world. Prove it.’ 

In actual fact Jesus’ claim to be the light of the world was evidenced based. The evidence included, for example, the testimony of John the Baptist, the wisdom of Jesus’ own teaching and the miracles that accompanied Jesus’ teaching, as well as Jesus’ alignment with the things predicted about the Messiah by the prophets of the Old Testament. Jesus’ claim to be light was even seen in the stars, at his birth, by wise men who travelled from the East with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. The proof was there for those who were willing to open their eyes to see it.    

Interestingly, Jesus does not appeal to any of this evidence to support his claim. Instead he points to God the Father as his witness. From verse 17 Jesus says:

“It is written in your Law that when two witnesses agree, what they say is true. 18 I testify on my own behalf, and the Father who sent me also testifies on my behalf.”

It is fitting the way Jesus testifies on his own behalf. You see, light is unique in that it bears witness to itself. Everything else requires light to be seen but light does not require illumination. Light is illumination. The light of the sun in the sky is self-evident. It is its own witness. [1]

God the Father also testifies on Jesus’ behalf. God does this by vindicating Jesus. That is by upholding Jesus’ words so they come true, by enabling Jesus to perform miracles that only God could do and, most significantly, by raising Jesus from the dead. Perhaps too, Jesus is referring to the day of judgement when God the Father will bear witness to Christ His Son.    

In Tolkien’s book, The Fellowship of the Ring, Lady Galadriel gives Frodo a phial of starlight and says to the Hobbit, “a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out”. Frodo uses this light in the darkness of Mordor as he faces the giant spider.

The opposite of light is darkness. Darkness comes in many forms. For example, there is the darkness of confusion. The darkness of grief. The darkness of despair and depression. The darkness of anger and violence. The darkness of ignorance and fear as well as the darkness of deceit and evil. Not to mention the darkness of loneliness and alienation.

All these forms of darkness have one thing in common. They make us blind. They rob of us of our ability to see. And when we can’t see we lose our way.

What darkness are you facing at the moment? Jesus is the light when all other lights go out. He shows us the way through the darkness, both the darkness out there and the darkness inside of us.

Jesus guides and Jesus creates.

Jesus creates:

In many ways light is the foundation of life. Without sunlight there would be no life on planet earth. Light causes plants to grow which feeds the animals and us.

Earlier in the service we heard a reading from John chapter 9, where Jesus healed a man born blind. In verse 5 of John 9 Jesus says, While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

Then Jesus spat on the ground and made some mud with the spittle; he rubbed the mud on the man’s eyes and said, ‘Go and wash your face in the Pool of Siloam’. So the man went, washed his face, and came back seeing.

This is a miracle of creation.

You may remember that when God created the cosmos, the first thing he said was, ‘Let there be light.’ Later he created humankind out of mud. By calling himself the light of the world and healing the man’s blindness with mud, Jesus is making a clear connection with God at creation. It’s like Jesus is creating new eyes for the man, so he can see.  

One curious detail in this miracle is that Jesus tells the man to go and wash in the Pool of Siloam. Jesus gives the man something to do. He invites the man to participate in his own creation of sight.

Perhaps Jesus involves the man in this way to give him a choice in the matter. If the man doesn’t wish to see he doesn’t need to do as Jesus instructed.

Perhaps also we are meant to recognise the connection between faith and seeing. For the man to receive his sight he needed to trust and obey Jesus. That’s what faith is, trust which leads to obedience.

Yes, Jesus is the light of the world but we also have some light to bring. Our faith is the conduit of divine light. Through faith we participate in God’s creative action in the world.       

If we were to read on, in John 9, we would see how the man who was healed was interrogated by the Pharisees. Ironically the Pharisees lacked the faith to see that God was at work in and through Jesus.

The man who received new sight must have been a pretty nuggetty character. He stood up to the establishment saying, I don’t know if he [Jesus] is a sinner or not. One thing I do know: I was blind and now I see.

To the Pharisees this man was an was inconvenient truth. He represented that second witness they had asked for in John 8. Rather than accept the evidence before them, the religious leaders cast the man out of the synagogue.

It was quite sad really. The man’s healing was not meant to aggravate the Pharisees or anyone else. It was actually an invitation to believe in Jesus. But the Pharisees refused the invitation.       

Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus guides, Jesus creates and Jesus reveals.

Jesus reveals:

Plato was a Greek philosopher who lived around 400 years before Christ. One of his many gifts to humanity was the allegory of the cave.

In this allegory Plato asks us to imagine prisoners chained together in a cave. They cannot see out of the cave but are forced to look at the back wall.

Behind the prisoners (and out of sight) is a fire and between the fire and the prisoners are people carrying various objects. In the light of the fire these objects cast shadows on the back wall of the cave. The prisoners see the shadow puppets on the wall and think this is reality. They don’t know anything else.

I suppose in today’s terms it would be like someone whose entire perception of the world was formed through watching TV and playing video games.

One day one of the prisoners is set free. He makes his way out of the cave to broad daylight. Although it takes some time for his eyes to adjust to the brightness of the outside world, he eventually sees that the shadows on the cave wall were not reality at all. In fact, the outside world is far more beautiful and life giving than his miserable existence in the cave.

The free-man decides to go back to the cave to release the other prisoners but when he returns the prisoners kill him. They cannot believe the testimony of the free-man. They think leaving the cave will be harmful to them.

Contemporary movie makers have picked up on Plato’s allegory of the cave with films like The Truman Show, The Village and The Matrix. In each of these movies the main characters find their way out of the darkness of false belief into the light of reality. Light reveals the truth of their situation.    

In some ways, Plato’s allegory of the cave fits with the story in John 9. People generally, at that time, held the false belief that blindness and other disabilities or calamities were a punishment from God for sin. But this belief was just a shadow puppet on the cave wall. It wasn’t real.

Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus is not the fire inside the cave. He is not putting on a shadowy puppet show. No. Jesus is the light of the world outside the cave. The light of Jesus reveals the true situation. The light of Jesus reveals the beauty of God’s kingdom.

The man who received his sight was like a prisoner set free from the cave. Sadly, the Pharisees were like the prisoners inside the cave who could not accept any other reality than the shadows on the wall.

From John 9, verse 28 we read…

The [Pharisees] insulted [the man who had received his sight] and said, “You are that fellow’s disciple; but we are Moses’ disciples. 29 We know that God spoke to Moses; as for that fellow [Jesus], however, we do not even know where he comes from!”

30 The man answered, “What a strange thing that is! You do not know where he comes from, but he cured me of my blindness! 31 We know that God does not listen to sinners; he does listen to people who respect him and do what he wants them to do. 32 Since the beginning of the world nobody has ever heard of anyone giving sight to a person born blind. 33 Unless this man came from God, he would not be able to do a thing.”

34 They answered, “You were born and brought up in sin—and you are trying to teach us?” And they expelled him from the synagogue.

35 When Jesus heard what had happened, he found the man and asked him, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

36 The man answered, “Tell me who he is, sir, so that I can believe in him!”

37 Jesus said to him, “You have already seen him, and he is the one who is talking with you now.”

38 “I believe, Lord!” the man said, and knelt down before Jesus.

39 Jesus said, “I came to this world to judge, so that the blind should see and those who see should become blind.”

When Jesus says, ‘I came to this world to judge’, he does not mean judge in the sense of pass a sentence in condemnation. Jesus is not wagging his finger pronouncing people guilty. He means judge in the sense of reveal the truth. As the light of the world Jesus reveals the contents of a person’s heart. 

Jesus’ presence certainly revealed the truth of the situation in John 9. As it turned out the man who was born physically blind actually had faith and therefore the spiritual sight to see that Jesus is from God. While the Pharisees, who had physical sight, were actually spiritually blind. They did not have the faith to imagine any other reality than the shadows on the wall of their cave.

It may be tempting to look down on the Pharisees or to condemn them for their lack of faith. While many of them got it wrong about Jesus, and we cannot condone their behavior, we need to remember they were like prisoners chained in a cave with only shadows to look at.

We also do well to remember that each of us has a little bit of Pharisee in us. Hopefully we are more disciple than Pharisee but, ultimately, we are all limited in our understanding. We don’t know what we don’t know. We tend to accept the reality we are presented with.

Conclusion:

In John chapter 12 Jesus said to the people in a loud voice…

“Whoever believes in me believes not only in me but also in him who sent me. 45 Whoever sees me sees also him who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me should not remain in the darkness.

Jesus was sent by God and therefore Jesus reveals God. Jesus shows us what it means to be truly human. To be human is to be made in the image of God. By shining a light on what the image of God looks like, Jesus reveals God.

If the world we live in (and the reality we accept) is like a cave, then we are all (at some point at least) like prisoners accepting the shadow puppets as real. The good news is, the cave of this world is not all there is. Outside the cave is the wide open expanse and breath taking beauty of God’s eternal kingdom.

Jesus is the light of the world. Jesus enters the cave not to condemn us but rather to invite us out, into the light. Not the man-made light of the fire in the cave. But the divine light of God’s kingdom, outside the narrow cave of our perception.

Our part is to trust Jesus, to follow him as we make our exodus out of the cave.  Ultimately we pass judgement on ourselves, by the way we respond to Jesus. If we follow Jesus in trust, we are saved. But if we reject Jesus in disbelief and cling instead to our chains and shadows, we condemn ourselves.

Let us pray…

Lord Jesus Christ. You are the light of the world. You guide, you create and you reveal. Shine your light on our way. Set us free from blind unbelief. Guide us in the way of truth. Lead us out of our narrow perception into the light of God’s spacious kingdom. Give us courage and faith to follow you, even though we have never seen and cannot imagine what God has prepared for those who love him. We commit ourselves to you Lord Jesus, in trust. Amen.   

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Why do you think Jesus waited for the festival of Tabernacles before saying, ‘I am the light of the world.’? What meaning (or significance) did the festival of Tabernacles lend to Jesus’ words in John 8:12?
  • What evidence (or witnesses) do we have to substantiate Jesus’ claim to be the light of the world?  
  • Can you think of a time in your own life when Jesus guided you through a dark place? What happened? How did Jesus shed light on your way?
  • Why did Jesus tell the man (in John 9:7) to go and wash in the pool of Siloam? What is the relationship between faith and seeing Jesus?
  • In what ways does Plato’s allegory of the cave connect with John 9? What (and/or who) does Jesus reveal?

[1] Refer Leon Morris, NICT John, page 390.

Tawa Baptist

Eternal Life

Scripture: John 11:1-45

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Freedom
  • Faith
  • Feeling
  • Conclusion – Friendship

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Today we begin a new sermon series on the I am sayings of Jesus in the gospel of John. Jesus uses a number of I am statements to describe himself. These sayings tell us about Jesus’ being, his identity.

Please turn with me to John chapter 11, page 133, toward the back of your pew Bibles. This morning, because we are in the season of Easter, we focus on John 11, where Jesus says: I am the resurrection and the life. From verses 1-45, we read…  

A man named Lazarus, who lived in Bethany, became sick. Bethany was the town where Mary and her sister Martha lived. (2 This Mary was the one who poured the perfume on the Lord’s feet and wiped them with her hair; it was her brother Lazarus who was sick.) 3 The sisters sent Jesus a message: “Lord, your dear friend is sick.”

4 When Jesus heard it, he said, “The final result of this sickness will not be the death of Lazarus; this has happened in order to bring glory to God, and it will be the means by which the Son of God will receive glory.”

5 Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 Yet when he received the news that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days. 7 Then he said to the disciples, “Let us go back to Judea.”

8 “Teacher,” the disciples answered, “just a short time ago the people there wanted to stone you; and are you planning to go back?”

9 Jesus said, “A day has twelve hours, doesn’t it? So those who walk in broad daylight do not stumble, for they see the light of this world. 10 But if they walk during the night they stumble, because they have no light.” 11 Jesus said this and then added, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I will go and wake him up.”

12 The disciples answered, “If he is asleep, Lord, he will get well.”

13 Jesus meant that Lazarus had died, but they thought he meant natural sleep. 14 So Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead, 15 but for your sake I am glad that I was not with him, so that you will believe. Let us go to him.”

16 Thomas (called the Twin) said to his fellow disciples, “Let us all go along with the Teacher, so that we may die with him!”

17 When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus had been buried four days before. 18 Bethany was less than two miles from Jerusalem, 19 and many Judeans had come to see Martha and Mary to comfort them about their brother’s death.

20 When Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she went out to meet him, but Mary stayed in the house. 21 Martha said to Jesus, “If you had been here, Lord, my brother would not have died! 22 But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask him for.”

23 “Your brother will rise to life,” Jesus told her.

24 “I know,” she replied, “that he will rise to life on the last day.”

25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; 26 and those who live and believe in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

27 “Yes, Lord!” she answered. “I do believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who was to come into the world.”

28 After Martha said this, she went back and called her sister Mary privately. “The Teacher is here,” she told her, “and is asking for you.” 29 When Mary heard this, she got up and hurried out to meet him. (30 Jesus had not yet arrived in the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.) 31 The people who were in the house with Mary comforting her followed her when they saw her get up and hurry out. They thought that she was going to the grave to weep there.

32 Mary arrived where Jesus was, and as soon as she saw him, she fell at his feet. “Lord,” she said, “if you had been here, my brother would not have died!”

33 Jesus saw her weeping, and he saw how the people with her were weeping also; his heart was touched, and he was deeply moved. 34 “Where have you buried him?” he asked them.

“Come and see, Lord,” they answered.

35 Jesus wept. 36 “See how much he loved him!” the people said.

37 But some of them said, “He gave sight to the blind man, didn’t he? Could he not have kept Lazarus from dying?”

38 Deeply moved once more, Jesus went to the tomb, which was a cave with a stone placed at the entrance. 39 “Take the stone away!” Jesus ordered.

Martha, the dead man’s sister, answered, “There will be a bad smell, Lord. He has been buried four days!”

40 Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believed?” 41 They took the stone away. Jesus looked up and said, “I thank you, Father, that you listen to me. 42 I know that you always listen to me, but I say this for the sake of the people here, so that they will believe that you sent me.” 43 After he had said this, he called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 He came out, his hands and feet wrapped in grave cloths, and with a cloth around his face. “Untie him,” Jesus told them, “and let him go.”

45 Many of the people who had come to visit Mary saw what Jesus did, and they believed in him. 

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

The main point of today’s message is that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Or to put it another way: Jesus is eternal life.

Eternal life is not the same as this life. In the context of John 11 we note four F’s in relation to eternal life: Freedom, faith, feeling and friendship. First let’s consider the freedom associated with eternal life.

Freedom:

For many of us life is incredibly busy these days. We tend to be time poor. Being short on time creates an internal pressure so that we end up feeling like a pin ball, bouncing back and forth in every direction, with little or no control over our lives. Unfortunately, being time poor lead can lead to poor decision making.

When Jesus learned that his friend Lazarus was sick, we notice he responds with freedom. For most people this would have been a difficult decision. On the one hand, Jesus’ friends needed his help urgently. But on the other hand, helping his friends meant travelling to Judea where people wanted to kill Jesus.

Clearly there was an inherent tension in this decision, a bit like being trapped in a vice of love and fear. But Jesus is no ordinary man. Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Jesus does not make this decision based on temporal concerns. He makes this decision based on God’s glory, which eternal.

Jesus waits two days before deciding to go to Lazarus. In verse 9 Jesus says to his disciples: “A day has twelve hours, doesn’t it? So those who walk in broad daylight do not stumble, for they see the light of this world. 10 But if they walk during the night they stumble, because they have no light.” 

Perhaps Jesus is using daylight here as a metaphor for time. During daylight hours one is free to move about but when darkness falls you lose your freedom. The point is, with Jesus there is light (or time) and therefore freedom.   

In verse 11 Jesus added, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I will go and wake him up.”

Once again the disciples misunderstand. They think Jesus is talking about natural sleep. But Jesus is using sleep as a metaphor for death. By calling Lazarus’ death ‘sleep’, Jesus is saying that Lazarus’ death is not permanent. And if death is not permanent then it is not to be feared. There will be more time (more daylight) after the night of sleep has passed.

Eternal life leads to freedom then. This point is illustrated literally when Lazarus walks out of his tomb wrapped in grave clothes and Jesus tells the people there to untie him and let him go.

When we truly believe that Jesus is the resurrection and the life, when we trust in Jesus, who is eternal life, then the tyranny of time and the fear of death lose their power over us and we enjoy freedom in our inner being.

The key to this sort of freedom though is faith in Jesus.

Faith:

In 1986 David Bowie starred as a Goblin king in a film called the Labyrinth. The Labyrinth is a musical fantasy in which Sarah, a 16-year-old girl, goes searching through a maze to rescue her baby brother Toby.

Toby is being kept in the castle of the Goblin king because Sarah had wished Toby away. Now Sarah regrets what she has done and wants her brother back.

At one point in the film Sarah couldn’t find her way through the maze. Wherever she looked she could only see wall. Sarah couldn’t see the opening right in front of her until a friendly creature pointed it out to her. Sarah had to trust the advice of one of the locals to find her way through.

That is often how we face death. We see death as a wall, a dead end, without any openings. But, with Jesus, we are able to find a way through.

By the time Jesus arrives in the village of Bethany, Lazarus has been dead four days. His body is in a tomb behind a wall of rock (a dead end) and no one (except Jesus) can see a way through. The mourners are trapped too, in the maze of their grief.  

In some ways Jewish mourning rituals were similar to Maori tangihanga (funeral protocol). It was a sacred duty to visit in person to give comfort and support to the grieving family. In Jewish and Maori thought people are connected. 

Another similarity between Jewish and Maori funerals is they last a number of days. Jews put seven days aside for the process. Like a tangi (funeral), people would be coming to visit Martha and Mary throughout the whole week. And it wouldn’t just be a fleeting visit either.   

Jesus turns up half way through the week of mourning. Martha goes out to meet him and says, “If you had been here Lord, my brother would not have died. But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask him for.”  

Martha is not accusing Jesus here. She is not angry. To the contrary she is bravely declaring her faith in Jesus. She is saying, ‘Even though my brother is dead I still trust you. We are still friends. You are welcome here’. Martha does not tell Jesus what to do, like she did in Luke 10. No. Martha lets Jesus be Jesus and she lets God be God.

Jesus says to Martha: “Your brother will rise to life”. Martha thinks Jesus is referring to the general resurrection of the dead at the end of time, sort of like when someone tries to offer comfort at a funeral by saying, ‘We will see them again in heaven one day’.

But Jesus means more than Martha is able to grasp at that moment and he takes the conversation deeper saying: “I am the resurrection and the life. Those who believe in me will live, even though they die; 26 and those who live and believe in me will never die. Do you believe this?”

Jesus doesn’t just say, ‘I can raise Lazarus from the dead’. No. He says, ‘I am the resurrection. I am eternal life’. The very essence of Jesus is resurrection life. Therefore, to enter eternal life, one must be in Christ. And the way to get into Christ is through faith, that is, through believing in him. Not just believing that he exists but actually trusting him.

In verse 15 Jesus indicates that Lazarus’ death is so that his disciples will believe. Likewise, in verse 42, Jesus prays publicly so the people there would believe that God sent him. Lazarus’ death and resurrection serves to inspire and strengthen faith in Jesus, because faith in Jesus creates openings in walls.

Commenting on Jesus’ words to Martha, in verse 25, Leon Morris says: ‘Death is a but a gateway to further life and fellowship with God.’

This means, when we put our faith in Jesus, death is not an end in itself. Rather, faith in Jesus creates an opening in the wall of death, an opening to a new beginning. (Sort of like that line in the song Closing Time: “…every new beginning starts with some other beginning’s end”.)

Martha responds remarkably well when she says: “Yes Lord, I do believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God, who has come into the world.”

That’s an impressive answer. Firstly, Martha agrees that Jesus is the resurrection and the life. Then she goes on to describe Jesus in the highest terms. Martha calls Jesus the Messiah; the anointed one, chosen by God to come into the world and save his people. Martha also calls Jesus the Son of God; which, in this context, meant that Jesus had the closest possible relationship with God that a person could have.  

Although Martha doesn’t fully comprehend what Jesus has just said to her, she is willing to take it on faith. She accepts what Jesus says as true even though she doesn’t fully understand what this means or what Jesus is about to do.

Faith usually precedes understanding. It is only after we have trusted and obeyed the Lord that mental comprehension follows.

With eternal life comes freedom. And the way to enter eternal life is through faith in Jesus. Eternal life involves freedom, faith and feeling. Deep feeling.

Feeling:

It is thought that the world’s largest and possibly oldest living organism is the Pando. (Not to be confused with Panda).

On the surface the Pando looks like a forest of individual aspen trees but scientists have discovered that all the trees have an identical genetic marker. Apparently the trees are connected by the same underground root system.

The Pando covers about 108 acres of land and weighs around 6,600 tons. The root system is thought to be several thousand years old, maybe older.

While the Pando is not eternal, in the same sense that Jesus is eternal, it does offer an analogy for eternal life. The aspen trees seen above the surface may only live for around 100 years or so, but the root system underneath keeps putting up new shoots, so the organism is continually renewing itself.

Eternal life is a deeply connected life, sort of like the Pando is connected.

In John 11:28 Martha goes back to the house and sends Mary out to see Jesus. Like her sister, Mary also says to Jesus, “If you had been here Lord, my brother would not have died.” But Jesus says nothing, at least not straight away. He connected with Martha through a theological conversation, probably because that is what Martha needed. But he connects with Mary on an emotional level.

Verse 33 reads: Jesus saw her weeping, and he saw how the people with her were weeping also; his heart was touched, and he was deeply moved. 

The Greek word translated as weeping here means wailing or crying loudly.[1] This is not just a few stifled tears.

Often in European style funerals people turn the volume down on their emotions. It’s not that we feel any less. We just don’t express our grief as loudly. But in Jewish culture people were more inclined to turn the volume up on their emotions. If a wave of grief sweeps over you, you wail and cry out loud. You let people know how much the deceased means to you.

It’s not that one way is better than the other. It’s just that different cultures handle grief in different ways.

Jesus lets Mary’s grief touch his heart. He makes himself vulnerable, in other words, and is deeply moved. This is an emotionally intimate moment. Verse 5 tells us that Jesus loved Martha, Mary & Lazarus. Love creates a connection. You can’t really love someone without feeling what they feel. Eternal life is a deeply connected life.

We read, in verse 35, that Jesus wept. However, the Greek term translated as wept here is different from Mary’s loud wailing. Jesus’ weeping is quiet. [2]

Why does Jesus weep? He is about to raise Lazarus from the dead so it doesn’t make sense that he is sad for Lazarus. It appears something is going on here which is bigger than Lazarus. Perhaps Jesus is in touch with the ocean of grief caused by death over the millennia. Maybe also he is anticipating his own death on the cross. Raising Lazarus seems to have cost Jesus something.

It is natural to feel sadness and to express grief when someone dies. Jesus’ tears show his connection with humanity. More than that, his tears give permission for us to grieve also. Even though, for Christians, death is a temporary thing (like sleep), it still hurts to be disconnected from the ones we love.

We need to hold on to the fact that death is not in control. Jesus is the resurrection and the life and that means he is in control. Jesus has the power to restore the life connection.

Verse 38 tells us how Jesus was deeply moved once more, only this time he did not weep. This time he was moved to raise his friend from the dead. And Lazarus emerged alive from his tomb.    

Conclusion – Friendship:

You know, when we (in the west) think of eternal life, we tend to think in terms of time. We perceive eternal life, therefore, as a never ending sequence of events; an existence that just keeps going and going and going forever. The idea of never ending time is actually quite terrifying if you think about it.

However, this may not be the best way to think about eternal life. When Jesus said, I am the resurrection and the life he was indicating that eternal life is a relationship – a friendship with him in fact.

This friendship with Jesus, and consequently with God the Father, is of such a high quality that the prospect of never ending life becomes something good to look forward to. This is the Christian hope. 

Now, it’s important to understand that Christian hope is not all pie in the sky, off in the future one day. No. You see, death isn’t just when someone’s heart stops and their brain function ceases. Death happens while we are still breathing, when right relationship breaks down and our connection with God and others is destroyed. 

Eternal life (or reconnection with God) actually begins in this world at the point we put our faith in Jesus. But it isn’t fully felt or realised by us until after our resurrection from physical death.

Last Sunday, at Easter, we celebrated Jesus’ resurrection from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection creates an opening for our resurrection. Through faith in Jesus our friendship with God is restored and we are able enjoy freedom and a deep connection in our relationships with others. 

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.  

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • What do you think Jesus means when he says, “I am the resurrection and the life”? 
  • How would you feel if you heard a good friend of yours was sick and needed your help? Why did Jesus take his time before going to Bethany? What was Jesus’ main consideration in making this decision?
  • How do you view death; as a wall or as a gateway to fellowship with God? Can you think of a time in your life when trusting Jesus helped you to find an opening in the wall you were facing?
  • How does Jesus connect with Martha? How does he connect with Mary? How does Jesus connect with you when you are grieving?
  • What difference does it make thinking of eternal life as a friendship with Jesus (rather than just an unquantifiable amount of time)?  

[1] Refer Leon Morris, page 495.

[2] Ibid.

Tawa Baptist

Symbols

Scripture: John 21:1-14 and Isaiah 25:7-8

Audio Link: https://soundcloud.com/tawabaptist/sermon-recording-4-apr-2021-john-211-14

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Mission
  • Devotion
  • Meal
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

If you have ever been to a Marvel super hero movie (like Guardians of the Galaxy or Thor or the Avengers) then you probably know that, when the movie has finished and the end credits are rolling, there is an extra bonus scene after the credits. Usually this final scene provides some crucial piece of information that sets you up to watch the next movie. It points forward to what’s coming next.

Please turn with me in your Bibles to John chapter 21. John 21 is a bit like the last scene after the end credits in a Marvel movie. It’s a kind of epilogue. This is not to imply that chapter 21 is separate or unrelated to the rest of John’s gospel. It is still very integral to the whole. The point is that John 21 has a special role in pointing forward to what comes next. From John 21, verses 1-14, we read…

After this, Jesus appeared once more to his disciples at Lake Tiberias. This is how it happened. 2 Simon Peter, Thomas (called the Twin), Nathanael (the one from Cana in Galilee), the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples of Jesus were all together. 

3 Simon Peter said to the others, “I am going fishing.”

“We will come with you,” they told him. So they went out in a boat, but all that night they did not catch a thing. 4 As the sun was rising, Jesus stood at the water’s edge, but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

 5 Then he asked them, “Young men, haven’t you caught anything?”

“Not a thing,” they answered.

6 He said to them, “Throw your net out on the right side of the boat, and you will catch some.” So they threw the net out and could not pull it back in, because they had caught so many fish.

7 The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Peter heard that it was the Lord, he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken his clothes off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples came to shore in the boat, pulling the net full of fish. They were not very far from land, about a hundred yards away. 9 When they stepped ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish on it and some bread. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”

11 Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore full of big fish, a hundred and fifty-three in all; even though there were so many, still the net did not tear. 12 Jesus said to them, “Come and eat.” None of the disciples dared ask him, “Who are you?” because they knew it was the Lord. 13 So Jesus went over, took the bread, and gave it to them; he did the same with the fish.

14 This, then, was the third time Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from death.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

This scene, from John 21, did not happen on the first Easter Sunday. It happened some weeks later. According to John’s gospel, on the first Easter Sunday, Jesus appeared to Mary and then, later that evening, to the other disciples in Jerusalem.

A week after that Jesus appeared to the disciples again, this time including Thomas, who wasn’t there for Jesus’ first resurrection appearance. Now, in chapter 21, Jesus appears to his disciples a third time. Only they aren’t in Jerusalem anymore. They are in Galilee, about 70 odd miles north of Jerusalem.

We might think the symbol of Christianity is the cross but it wasn’t our first symbol. For people in the first century a cross was an instrument of torture and execution. It was a painful reminder of the threat they lived under. It was not a comfort.

Instead early Christians identified themselves using the symbol of a fish. If you met someone you didn’t know you might find out if they were a believer by drawing the shape of a fish in the dirt with your toe. At a time when Christians were persecuted it was sort of like a secret handshake. These days the fish symbol is a bumper sticker.

John’s gospel is packed full of symbols. There are two main symbols in today’s reading: one is the miraculous catch of fish and the other is the meal afterwards. Both symbols point beyond themselves to something bigger. First let’s consider the miraculous catch which points to Jesus’ mission for the disciples.

Mission:

Most of you have probably heard of the term succession planning. Succession planning is the process of identifying and developing new leaders who can replace the current leaders when they leave or are promoted to glory.

The British monarchy have a very clear succession plan. When the Queen retires or dies, Prince Charles is next in line for the throne and after him Prince William and then Prince George and so on. In the business world, succession planning involves identifying and developing internal people to fill key positions in the organization as these positions become vacant.

Jesus had a succession plan too. Jesus looked to develop internal people (his disciples) to carry on his work after he had ascended to heaven.

Peter and some of those with him were fishermen by trade. They had been up very early (while it was still dark) trying to catch fish. The miracle of Jesus’ resurrection did not do away with the practicalities of life. They still needed to eat.

A man on the shore, who they couldn’t recognize from a 100 yards in the early dawn light, asked if they had caught anything. They replied, they hadn’t. So the man suggested they try throwing their net on the right side of the boat. Perhaps he could see something they couldn’t.

When they did this, they caught so many fish (153 to be precise) they struggled to pull the net in. Even so, the net did not break.

In verse 7 we read: The disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!”

This ‘disciple whom Jesus loved’ was most likely John, the author of this gospel. Apparently John recognised the miraculous catch as a symbol of Jesus.

In Luke 5, when Jesus called his first disciples (including Simon Peter, James and John) the Lord told the men to throw their net out again, even though they had caught nothing all night. And, on that occasion, the catch was so large the net began to break. This time though (in John 21) the net does not break.

Various commentators throughout the centuries have suggested some symbolic significance in the number of fish caught. But we shouldn’t try to find a symbolic meaning in everything. Most likely the number 153 simply shows us this was an eye witness account. Fishermen had to count the catch in order to divide it equally with everyone involved.

If anything, the large number of fish points to the abundance and blessing given by the risen Jesus. It is the presence of the risen Christ that makes the difference. What’s more, it is as the disciples, lean not on their own understanding, but instead listen to and obey Jesus, that the fish come in.

The miraculous catch is both a historical fact and a parable (or symbol) of Jesus’ mission for the disciples. Right at the beginning of his ministry, when Jesus first called the fishermen to be his followers, the Lord had said ‘I will make you fishers of men.’ Meaning, you will catch people and bring them into God’s kingdom. This post resurrection miraculous catch is Jesus’ way of reminding the disciples that they are his succession plan.

Matthew’s gospel ends on a similar ‘succession plan’ note, only Matthew puts it more plainly, with Jesus saying: Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you…  

Returning to John 21; if the miraculous catch is a parable of Jesus’ mission for the disciples, then the net symbolises the church universal which will not break no matter how much strain it is under. The picture Jesus gives here is full of hope with many entering God’s kingdom, not just a select few.

The image of the disciples catching people to bring them into God’s kingdom shouldn’t be pressed too far though. This is not to imply that new converts are like fish that will be gutted and eaten. No. The point is the fish need to be taken care of. Verse 11 tells us Peter himself dragged the net ashore. We notice that each fish is counted and none are wasted.

We also notice how the metaphor changes to one of shepherding, in the verses that follow, when Jesus takes Peter aside and charges him with responsibility for feeding his lambs. Three times, in verses 15-17 of John 21, Jesus tells Peter to take care of his sheep. This means Jesus wants Peter to look after the people who come into the fold of the church.

Okay, so that’s the first symbol in John 21. The miraculous catch represents Jesus’ mission for the disciples to bring people into God’s kingdom. This catching of people for God’s kingdom happens when the risen Jesus is present and obeyed.

Having said this, it should be noted that as important as Jesus’ mission is, it is not the most important thing. Devotion to Jesus is more important.  

Devotion:

Verse 7 of John 21 gives us an indication of Peter’s devotion. As soon as Peter hears that it is the Lord, he girds his loins, dives into the water and swims ashore to see Jesus. That’s how eager he is to greet Jesus. Peter is more interested in the living Christ than he is in the miraculous catch.

This reminds me of that scene in the movie Forrest Gump, when Forrest is driving his shrimp boat into the harbour and he sees Lieutenant Dan on the wharf. Forrest is so excited to see his old friend he jumps overboard, while the boat is still moving and swims to greet Lieutenant Dan.       

Jump first and deal with the consequences later; that’s classic Peter behaviour. Keen, enthusiastic and committed. The point of application for us is that Jesus doesn’t always choose the best and the brightest to carry out his mission. I think Jesus chose Peter because Peter was devoted to him.

Sometimes in Christian work it can become about us. Maybe we serve in the church to prop up our reputation and make ourselves look good. Or maybe we do outreach work to satisfy some unmet (and unconscious) need within ourselves; to make ourselves feel better. (Like ‘playing Jesus to the lepers in our head’, as Bono would say).

God sees the heart and he knows our true motives, even if we are not fully conscious of this ourselves. For the mahi (work) of mission to be effective our devotion needs to be to Jesus, rather than to the work itself. 

I am thankful for Oswald Chambers who reminds us…

“The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service to Him. It is never ‘Do, do’ with the Lord, but ‘Be, be’ and He will ‘do’ through you.”

This is what Jesus was getting at in John 15 when he said ‘I am the vine. You are the branches. Apart from me you can do nothing.’

The point is: Devotion to Jesus is more important than service to him. Peter may not have been the most skilful or articulate or intelligent of men. But Peter was devoted to Jesus, as his Forrest Gump like dive off the boat to greet Jesus shows. Yes, Peter made some mistakes. He got it wrong sometimes but, because he was devoted to Jesus, he was able to get over himself and move on with Jesus. 

We do well to remember that one day the work of mission will be over but our relationship with Jesus will never end.

If the miraculous catch is a symbol representing Jesus’ mission for the disciples to bring people into God’s kingdom, then the meal that follows points forward to a time when the mission is complete and people of all nations party together with Jesus in the fullness of God’s kingdom.

Meal:

Some of you may have given up something for Lent. Special acts of devotion like this are between you and God.

Maybe you gave up chocolate or coffee or alcohol or swearing or screen time or some other comfort. If you did give up something, then you are probably really looking forward to today, because Easter Sunday is when Lent finishes and you can finally break your fast. Easter Sunday is the day you can finally eat your Easter eggs.

It is significant that the risen Jesus cooks breakfast for the disciples. Breakfast is the first meal of a new day. John 21 describes a new day or a new beginning for the disciples and indeed for the world.

When the disciples step ashore they see that Jesus has already got some bread and fish ready for them. I love the practical thoughtfulness of Jesus here, making a meal for the disciples who were no doubt tired and hungry after a hard day’s night.

This meal of bread and fish reminds us of Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes in John 6, to feed the multitudes. After that miracle Jesus said, ‘I am the bread of life.’ The risen Jesus sustains those who believe in him with the hope of resurrection to eternal life.

At the same time, Jesus preparing a meal, also reminds us of the heavenly banquet that awaits the faithful. In Isaiah 25 the prophet talks about the Lord Almighty preparing a banquet for all the nations of the world – a banquet of the richest food and the finest wine. Here he will suddenly remove the cloud of sorrow that has been hanging over all the nations. 8 The Sovereign Lord will destroy death forever! He will wipe away the tears from everyone’s eyes and take away the disgrace his people have suffered throughout the world. The Lord himself has spoken.  

Isaiah’s vision of a heavenly meal is a parable or a symbol of what God planned to accomplish through Jesus long ago. To be welcomed to dine with a King is to receive a royal pardon. It is a great honour for it means the King considers you his friend.

But Isaiah’s parable of the banquet goes even further, for it is here that death and sorrow and disgrace are removed forever. We might think of the richest food as a symbol of eternal life and the finest wine as a symbol of everlasting joy.

Jesus fulfils this prophecy of Isaiah. Jesus’ resurrection is both a historical fact and a living symbol. Jesus’ resurrection is the first taste, the deposit if you like, guaranteeing God’s promise to destroy death and wipe away every tear.

Now while the breakfast by the Sea of Galilee is not the actual banquet Isaiah had in mind, Jesus preparing a meal for his disciples like this foreshadows Isaiah’s vision of God preparing a meal for humanity in the fullness of His kingdom.

In verse 12 of John 21 Jesus invites the disciples to, ‘Come and eat.’ Apparently the disciples were slow to come for verse 13 tells us Jesus went over, took some bread and gave it to them. Then he did the same with the fish. In other words, Jesus served his disciples.

I wonder if the disciples appreciated what Jesus was doing for them in that moment? Probably not at the time but I imagine afterwards they did. It seems the disciples were all a bit overwhelmed. Verse 12 goes on to say that none of the disciples dared ask, ‘Who are you?’ because they knew it was the Lord.

Perhaps the reality of Jesus’ resurrection was still sinking in. Perhaps also the risen Jesus did not look exactly the same as the pre-risen Jesus. We cannot expect someone to be the same after they have been through death and come out the other side.

Conclusion:

The miraculous catch, in John 21, is a symbol of Jesus’ mission for the disciples to catch an abundance of people and bring them into God’s kingdom.

But to be fruitful in carrying out Jesus’ mission we must be more devoted to Jesus himself than to his work. 

Likewise, the meal of bread and BBQ fish points forward to that day in God’s kingdom when the King Himself will serve the nations of the world with a royal pardon, with honour and with eternal life.  

We are all invited to that banquet. Will you come?     

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Put yourself in the shoes of the disciples in John 21. How do you feel seeing the risen Jesus? What would be going through your mind? What would you like to say to Jesus?
  • What is the meaning of the miraculous catch of fish? What is Jesus communicating to his disciples through this symbol?
  • Where does your greatest devotion lie? Are you more devoted to Jesus or to the work he has given you to do?
  • Why does Jesus prepare breakfast for his disciples? How does this meal connect with the bigger picture of the Biblical story?
  • John 21:1-14 sounds a number of symbols of hope. Discuss / reflect on the hope implied in these verses.  
Tawa Baptist

P.R.A.Y.

Scripture: Luke 22:39-54

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Prepare v panic
  • Request v repress
  • Anguish v assault
  • Yield v betray
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Please turn with me to Luke 22, verse 39, page 111 in your pew Bibles.

In this Scripture passage we hear how Jesus prays the night before his crucifixion and death. From Luke 22, verse 39 we read…

39 Jesus left the city and went, as he usually did, to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples went with him. 40 When he arrived at the place, he said to them, “Pray that you will not fall into temptation.”

41 Then he went off from them about the distance of a stone’s throw and knelt down and prayed. 42 “Father,” he said, “if you will, take this cup of suffering away from me. Not my will, however, but your will be done.” 43 An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44 In great anguish he prayed even more fervently; his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.

45 Rising from his prayer, he went back to the disciples and found them asleep, worn out by their grief. 46 He said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you will not fall into temptation.”

47 Jesus was still speaking when a crowd arrived, led by Judas, one of the twelve disciples. He came up to Jesus to kiss him. 48 But Jesus said, “Judas, is it with a kiss that you betray the Son of Man?”

49 When the disciples who were with Jesus saw what was going to happen, they asked, “Shall we use our swords, Lord?” 50 And one of them struck the High Priest’s slave and cut off his right ear.

51 But Jesus said, “Enough of this!” He touched the man’s ear and healed him.

52 Then Jesus said to the chief priests and the officers of the Temple guard and the elders who had come there to get him, “Did you have to come with swords and clubs, as though I were an outlaw? 53 I was with you in the Temple every day, and you did not try to arrest me. But this is your hour to act, when the power of darkness rules.”

54 They arrested Jesus and took him away into the house of the High Priest; and Peter followed at a distance.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

The night before an exam you prepare by getting a good sleep

The night before a marathon you prepare by eating lots of carbs

The night before your wedding you prepare by learning your vows

The night before a heavy rain you prepare by unblocking your drains

The night before his death Jesus prepared by praying

Twice in our reading Jesus told his disciples to pray so they would not fall into temptation. This tells us prayer is about being prepared. It’s about building a fence at the top of the cliff, so there’s no need for an ambulance at the bottom. 

But the disciples were exhausted from their grief. While the disciples slept, Jesus stayed awake in prayer. Then when the crowd came to arrest Jesus, he was prepared. Jesus was not caught by surprise. He was in control of himself and the situation. In contrast, Jesus’ disciples were in a panic.

We note too that Jesus made a request of God when he prayed. He requested that this cup of suffering be taken away. It may seem obvious that prayer is about asking God for something. But actually making our request is not as simple or straight forward as it sounds.

Before you can make a request of God you have to know what it is you want. And that’s the tricky bit. Making a request requires us to be honest with ourselves and with God. Prayer is not a place to pretend or to say what we think God wants to hear, much less what others want to hear. Prayer is place to be real. 

Jesus was honest with God. He did not hide or repress his truth. But nor did he get what he asked for on this occasion. Instead, God sent an angel to strengthen Jesus for the ordeal that lay ahead.

Perhaps, like Jesus, you have prayed earnestly for something only to be told ‘no’. Your prayer was not wasted. Your honesty is valued by God. Your honesty shows God you trust him and it provides a necessary release for your soul.

Verse 44 tells us that Jesus prayed in great anguish; his sweat falling to the ground like drops of blood. Blood falls heavy and thick.

I don’t pretend to fully comprehend Jesus’ anguish. Was it the anticipation of the physical pain he was about to suffer? Was it the bitter realisation of impending injustice? Was it the thought of being separated from his heavenly Father? Perhaps it was all these things and more besides.

What we do know is that Jesus was alone in a crowd. No one got it. No one (not even his disciples) understood. There is a certain agony in being surrounded by people and yet knowing you are completely alone.  

Everyone suffers, sooner or later. There is no escaping it. Jesus sat with his anguish in prayer. Prayer isn’t just the words we say or think. Prayer is also the pain we hold before God.

Now it is important to understand that sitting with our anguish in prayer is not the same thing as wallowing in self-pity. The point is to face our pain squarely so that we are not afraid of it.

The disciples were not prepared to sit with their pain and who can blame them. But if we don’t face our anguish, as Jesus did, it can ambush us and quickly turn into assault.

One of the disciples lashed out with his sword, striking the servant of the high priest and cutting off his ear. But Jesus put a stop to it and healed the man.

The fourth thing we note about Jesus’ prayer is that it resulted in him yielding to the will of God.  To yield is to give way. Although Jesus did not want to suffer and die, he qualified his request with the words, ‘Not my will, Father, but your will be done’.

Jesus did not hold anything over God’s head. Jesus submitted his request to God’s purpose. To do anything other than God’s will would be a betrayal.

It is difficult to know why Judas betrayed Jesus. Had he become disillusioned? Was he trying to manipulate the situation to force Jesus’ hand? Or was he simply selfish and greedy? We don’t know. Whatever his motive the outcome was the same. Judas yielded to temptation and the evil one led him down the path of betrayal.

Jesus shows us the purpose of prayer.

Jesus prepared for his suffering and death in prayer

Jesus expressed his honest request to God in prayer

Jesus faced his anguish in prayer

And ultimately, Jesus yielded to the will of God in prayer.

Let us pray…

Lord Jesus Christ, help us to be prepared

          Deliver us from the time of trial

Lord Jesus Christ, help us to be honest with you and with ourselves

          We would prefer not to suffer

Lord Jesus Christ, help us to face our anguish without self-pity

          Give us courage and strength equal to the day

Lord Jesus Christ, help us to yield to God’s will and purpose

          Your kingdom come, your will be done. Amen.

Tawa Baptist

Both / And

Scripture: Mark 6:6b-13

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Rejection and expansion
  • Powerful and vulnerable
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Some things in life are both/and, while other things are either/or. Some things go together and other things don’t.

For example: bread and butter, love and marriage, worship and sacrifice, breathing and singing, creativity and mess. These sorts of things are both/and, they go together.   

Then there are those things which are either/or, things that should never really be put together. Like ice-cream and vegemite…

Now, at this point, some of you may be thinking, ‘Wait a second. This sounds familiar. I’m pretty sure we heard this last Sunday.’

Well, fear not. This is not ground hog day. You are not going to get the same message two weeks in a row.

Last week we heard about the either/or of Jesus’ earthly mission. How Jesus’ new way of doing things cannot be patched on to the old Jewish ceremonial law. This morning we hear about the both/and of Jesus’ mission. 

Today marks the third week of the annual Tranzsend prayer and self-denial campaign. Tranzsend is the sending and resourcing arm of the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society. For the three Sundays of the self-denial campaign we have looked at different aspects of Jesus’ mission from the gospel of Mark.

Please turn with me to Mark chapter 6, page 53, near the back of your pew Bibles. In this reading Jesus sends out 12 of his disciples to help him in his mission work of preaching and healing. From Mark 6, verse 6b we read…

Then Jesus went to the villages around there, teaching the people. 7 He called the twelve disciples together and sent them out two by two. He gave them authority over the evil spirits 8 and ordered them, “Don’t take anything with you on the trip except a walking stick—no bread, no beggar’s bag, no money in your pockets. 9 Wear sandals, but don’t carry an extra shirt.” 10 He also said, “Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that place. 11 If you come to a town where people do not welcome you or will not listen to you, leave it and shake the dust off your feet. That will be a warning to them!”

12 So they went out and preached that people should turn away from their sins. 13 They drove out many demons, and rubbed olive oil on many sick people and healed them.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

In this Scripture passage we note two both/ands. Jesus’ mission involves both rejection & expansion and Jesus’ missionaries are both powerful & vulnerable.

Rejection & expansion:

Has anyone here not heard of the name Google? [Wait] That’s what I thought.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin were still studying at Stanford University when they tried to sell their idea for $1,000,000 to George Bell, the CEO of Excite.

George Bell rejected their offer. Five months later two other companies agreed to inject $25,000,000 into Google, not as a buy-out but simply as an investment. The rest is history. Now Google has a market value of over one trillion dollars.   

Van Gogh, a now famous and celebrated painter, faced a lot of rejection in his lifetime. He didn’t start painting until he was 27 years old and, while he was alive, he only sold one piece for very little money.

Van Gogh’s work was often criticised for being too dark but despite the lack of encouragement he kept painting, eventually producing over 900 pieces. His work wasn’t really appreciated until decades after his death. In 2017 a Van Gogh painting sold for $111 million.

In 1919 Walt Disney was fired from one of his first animation jobs. The editor said he lacked imagination and had no good ideas. Walt responded to that rejection by starting his own animation studio. It went bankrupt in 1923. But that did not deter him. Walt and his brother moved to Hollywood and started Disney Brothers Studios which is pretty big now.

Colonel Sanders, the founder of KFC, was fired from a number of jobs before he started cooking chicken at the age of 40. It took him over 10 years to perfect his secret recipe. He was rejected many times before finding a business partner. Now KFC is one of the world’s largest restaurant chains.

Stephen King, the famous author, struggled to write his first novel (Carrie) while living in a caravan and teaching English. That first book was rejected by 30 publishers before it finally went to print. Since then he has published more than 50 novels.

I could go on but the point is, each of these people persevered. They were not deterred by rejection and their work and enterprise eventually flourished. Their stories show us that rejection and expansion are not necessarily either/or, they can be both/and.

Our Bible reading today describes the expansion of Jesus’ mission, as the Lord sends out 12 of his disciples to preach and heal in the surrounding villages of Galilee. But immediately before today’s passage, Jesus was rejected by the people of his home town of Nazareth. From verse 1 of Mark 6 we read…

Jesus left that place and went back to his hometown, followed by his disciples. 2 On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue. Many people were there; and when they heard him, they were all amazed. “Where did he get all this?” they asked. “What wisdom is this that has been given him? How does he perform miracles? 3 Isn’t he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters living here?” And so they rejected him.

4 Jesus said to them, “Prophets are respected everywhere except in their own hometown and by their relatives and their family.”

5 He was not able to perform any miracles there, except that he placed his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 He was greatly surprised, because the people did not have faith.

Despite the rejection he faced, Jesus’ belief in himself and his mission was stronger than the opinion of others and he did not dwell on it or take it too personally. He figured the problem was with their perception, not with him. People are sometimes blind to what is staring them in the face.

In any case, Jesus responded to that rejection by empowering his disciples and expanding his mission.

Verse 12 tells us the disciples went out and preached that people should turn away from their sins. Their message was quite challenging. No one likes to be criticised. It was inevitable that some would reject their word.

With this in mind Jesus tells his disciples, in verse 11, how they should deal with rejection saying,

“If you come to a town where people do not welcome you or will not listen to you, leave it and shake the dust off your feet…”

In other words, don’t let it get to you. Don’t waste your time banging your head against a brick wall. Shake it off and move on without making too much of a fuss. There will be other people and places who do accept the message.

Rosalie Macgeorge, New Zealand’s first Baptist missionary faced some rejection in her work in India. It was tough going. While some did not mind her Bible teaching there were others who asked her, ‘Do you intend to teach that Jesus is the Son of God?’ When she said ‘Yes,’ they said point blank, ‘We don’t want you.’

The men grew noisy and vehement.  But Rosalie quietly and bravely held her ground. She said a Bengali hymn and gave out tracts, offered to come into the homes and talk to the women if they invited her.  During this tense moment, Rosalie asked to be allowed through the crowd and walked away quietly, followed by the children.

Soon she had permission to enter 30 homes weekly where there were about three women in each. God’s Spirit is able to turn rejection into expansion.

All of this is easier said than done. Rejection still hurts. Some personality types can more easily shake it off and move on. Others are more prone to brooding and feeling defeated. This may be one reason why Jesus sent the disciples out in twos, rather than on their own. Having someone beside you helps to remove the sting of rejection and keeps you both on track.

So that’s our first both/and. Jesus’ mission involves both rejection and expansion. Our next both/and seems just as unlikely. The disciples were both powerful and vulnerable at the same time.   

Powerful & vulnerable:

Some of you may be in to superhero movies. The thing with superheroes is they each have a special power, whether that’s x-ray vision or flying or running really fast or invisibility or super strength or whatever.

There’s a scene in the movie Justice League when the Flash asks Bruce Wayne (aka: Batman) what his superpower is and Bruce says, “I’m rich.” Power comes in a variety forms.

Whether you are a DC fan or a Marvel fan, probably at some point you have dreamt of having a superpower.

In verse 7 we read that Jesus gave the twelve authority (or power) over the evil spirits. It was like Jesus shared some of his superpowers with his disciples. Or to use another metaphor, it was like Jesus was the sheriff and he deputised his disciples by giving them a spiritual badge and gun.

Then in verse 13 we are told the disciples drove out many demons and healed many people who were sick. Clearly the disciples were powerful. But it was a power borrowed from Jesus.

Acts of power in mission can come in a variety of forms, not always miraculous. Quite often mission power comes in the form of some special knowledge. Missionaries often serve as teachers or doctors or nurses or builders because these professions carry the power of knowledge to help people.

Rosalie Macgeorge’s main superpower was teaching English. She was also gifted in working with children. But on one occasion she saved a child from a snake bite through her quick thinking and practical first aid.    

Sometimes when I’m at the supermarket buying groceries, I get an electric shock picking canned goods off the shelf. Not sure why that is. I guess there’s some power that needs to be earthed and I’m effectively the earth wire. Happens on trampolines too.

If power is not earthed with a low resistance wire, the one touching the power source is vulnerable to getting a shock. In order for power to be safe it needs to be earthed.     

Jesus’ approach was very down to earth. Jesus’ instructions to his disciples, in verses 8-10, provide an earth. They keep the disciples’ feet on the ground…  

“Don’t take anything with you on the trip except a walking stick—no bread, no beggar’s bag, no money in your pockets. 9 Wear sandals, but don’t carry an extra shirt.” 10 He also said, “Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that place.

Jesus is basically telling his disciples to travel light. Take only what you need and rely on the hospitality of strangers. This is not a rule to be followed for all time irrespective of the circumstances. No. These are specific instructions for a specific situation. This is a short term mission trip in a cultural context quite different from our own. Later, in the gospels Jesus tells his disciples to kit up and be self-reliant because people are not going to be friendly to them. [1] 

Thinking of the context of Mark 6, in that culture it was not the responsibility of the travelers to find their own accommodation, like it is today. Rather, it was the responsibility of the village to find accommodation for the visitor. If the village failed to provide hospitality to those in need, then it brought shame on the people in that village.

Nevertheless, there is a certain powerlessness or vulnerability to Jesus’ approach here. The disciples are being sent out into the world without any money or food or motel bookings.

Jesus wants his disciples to trust themselves to God and to the goodness of those they visit. In this way they are showing faith in humanity. Or said another way, they are modelling the example they want others to follow. Jesus wants people to respond to him and his message with openness and trust.

The disciples are to stay in the same house until they leave. This is about showing respect to the host and not dishonouring them by leaving if you get a better offer.

Living with the locals also helped the missionary disciples to get to know the people of that place and their ways. There is nothing like living with real people (as opposed to staying in a hotel) to keep one earthed and grounded.

Rosalie Macgeorge took a similar approach during her time as a missionary in India. She chose to live with a Hindu family and earned her keep by teaching some of them English and other subjects. This enabled her to understand the culture more.

The word vulnerability is interesting. It derives from the Latin word vulnus which means wound. To be vulnerable is to leave oneself open to injury. It may also mean letting people see our wounds. When you let people see your wounds (your vulnerability) this helps to create trust.

Of course, being vulnerable requires some wisdom. You don’t make yourself vulnerable to everyone and showing people your wounds is not normally the first thing you do in building a relationship. Share, don’t scare.  

Again, Rosalie Macgeorge’s story is instructive. Rosalie’s witness was most powerful when she was vulnerable with an illness and living with a Hindu family. One evening a small boy peered into Rosalie’s room and saw her praying to her God. When Rosalie asked her house owner for some goat’s milk she carefully checked that the woman’s child would not receive less milk because of her. The boy saw this and later, as a grown man, became a Christian.   

Henri Nouwen used to talk about the followers of Jesus being wounded healers.

Nouwen writes: “The great illusion of leadership is to think that humanity can be led out of the desert by someone who has never been there.” When people have seen the scars you got from being in the desert, but also that you survived and found a way out, that speaks volumes.

If we try to separate vulnerability from power, it doesn’t usually end well. Straight after this account of Jesus empowering his disciples and sending them out in vulnerability we read the account of king Herod killing John the Baptist.

Herod had power but he wasn’t prepared to be vulnerable, at least not in the right way. Sadly, as a consequence, John lost his head.    

Conclusion:

What is your superpower? What special gift has Jesus shared with you to help others? And what is your vulnerability? What is the wound that keeps you earthed (grounded) so that others don’t get a shock when they touch your power?

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Have you had an experience of being rejected (perhaps because of your faith)? What happened? How did you feel? How did you respond? Would you do anything differently? How did God expand (or bring good out of) that experience?
  • Why did Jesus instruct his disciples not to take money or food or an extra coat?
  • If you could choose a superpower, what would it be? Why? What power (or special ability/gift) has God given you? How can (or do) you use this power?
  • What is your point of vulnerability? What is the wound that keeps you earthed so that others don’t get a shock when they touch your power?
  • When is it appropriate to make oneself vulnerable? When is it not appropriate?
  • Today’s message touches on two both/ands of Jesus’ mission. What other both/ands can you see in these verses?  

[1] Refer Luke 22:36

Tawa Baptist

Either / Or

Scripture: Mark 2:18-22

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Fasting v feasting
  • Fixed v flexible
  • Ritual v renewal
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Some things in life are both/and, while other things are either/or. Some things go together and other things don’t.

For example: bread and butter, love and marriage, worship and sacrifice, breathing and singing, creativity and mess. These sorts of things are both/and, they go together.   

Then there are those things which are either/or, things that should never really be put together.

Like ice-cream and vegemite, drinking and driving, children and violence, fasting and feasting, love and apathy. These sorts of things are either/or, they don’t go together.   

Today marks the second week of the annual Tranzsend prayer and self-denial campaign. Tranzsend is the sending and resourcing arm of the New Zealand Baptist missionary society. Next week, on the 28 March, we plan to collect a special offering to support the work of New Zealand Baptist missionaries.

Please turn with me to Mark chapter 2, verse 18, page 47 near the back of your pew Bibles. For the three Sundays of the self-denial campaign we plan to look at different aspects of Jesus’ mission from the gospel of Mark. Last Sunday we heard about 24 hours in Jesus’ mission, from Mark 1, where Jesus spent a day communicating and caring for people as well as communing with God.

In this morning’s passage we read about the newness Jesus brings. The new way of Jesus is an either/or thing (not both/and). The newness Jesus brings cannot be mixed with the old ways. From Mark 2, verse 18, we read…

18 On one occasion the followers of John the Baptist and the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came to Jesus and asked him, “Why is it that the disciples of John the Baptist and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but yours do not?”

19 Jesus answered, “Do you expect the guests at a wedding party to go without food? Of course not! As long as the bridegroom is with them, they will not do that. 20 But the day will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

21 “No one uses a piece of new cloth to patch up an old coat, because the new patch will shrink and tear off some of the old cloth, making an even bigger hole. 22 Nor does anyone pour new wine into used wineskins, because the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.”

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

Mark chapter 2 deals with a series of controversies and criticisms Jesus faced as he went about his mission. At the beginning of chapter 2 Jesus is criticized for forgiving a man’s sins. Then he calls Levi (a tax collector) to be one of his disciples and is criticized for eating with sinners and outcasts. In today’s reading Jesus’ disciples get some flack for not fasting. And in the verses that follow Jesus’ disciples are criticized for plucking a handful of grain on the Sabbath.

Clearly Jesus’ approach to life and mission was different to that of his contemporaries. Jesus’ way did not fit with the traditional approach of that time. Jesus’ response is not to criticize the old traditional way. Rather, Jesus defends his disciples by affirming the new way. 

In the passage we just read, Jesus offers three parables or metaphors to make the point that his new way cannot be mixed with the old way. You don’t mix sadness with a wedding. You don’t patch an old garment with new cloth and you don’t put new wine into old wineskins. Each of these things is either/or.

This is not to say that the old should be done away with completely. It just doesn’t work to mix the two, that’s all.

Fasting v feasting:

We have had three weddings in the church so far this year. Weddings are a time for joy. In fact, the person who officiates at a wedding is called a marriage celebrant, from the word celebration. That’s because a wedding ceremony is a celebration of love and commitment and family.

Even though the first meal after a couple are married is usually dinner, it is called a breakfast because a wedding marks a new beginning, a new day and indeed a new covenant.

In the first of our three metaphors today, Jesus responds to the question of why his disciples do not fast. To fast, in this context, means to go without food. The Jewish Law only required people to fast one day in a year, on the day of atonement. [1] But over the centuries some of those who were more zealous or strict had volunteered to fast two days a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. This kind of fast was not for 24 hours, it was just during the daytime.

The purpose of their fast was to express mourning over Israel’s sins and grief over the fact that the longed for salvation of Israel (predicted by the prophets) had not appeared. [2] The fasts were a protest, a call to repentance.

“The Pharisees had assumed that the way to hasten and prepare for the coming of the new age was through stricter adherence to the Old Covenant. They did not seem to see that the coming of the new age was a gift of God’s grace.” [3]

In verse 19 Jesus says: “Do you expect the guests at a wedding party to go without food? Of course not! As long as the bridegroom is with them, they will not do that.”

In this little parable Jesus refers to himself as the bridegroom and his disciples as the guests. Jesus’ coming, his work on earth, is like a wedding in that it celebrates God’s love. It marks the beginning of something new, a new day, a new family and a new covenant. In and through Jesus, the promise of salvation (predicted by the prophets) is fulfilled.

Jesus’ appearance was cause for celebration, not cause for sadness. Feasting was a more appropriate response to Jesus’ coming than fasting. The meals the disciples enjoyed with Jesus were like a foreshadowing of the future heavenly banquet.

We might not think anything of it and perhaps it went over the heads of Jesus’ questioners at the time, but it was quite a thing for Jesus to refer to himself as ‘the bridegroom’. This is a title used of the Lord God (Yahweh) in the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus was aligning himself very closely with God here.

The other thing that is a bit shocking are Jesus’ words in verse 20…

But the day will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast.

Normally the wedding guests leave when the party is over and the groom gets on with married life. But in this scenario the groom is taken away from the wedding celebration by force. There is a strong hint of violence here. Jesus is anticipating his arrest, suffering and death.

The point with the wedding parable is that Jesus’ coming is a time for feasting, not fasting. It is a time for gladness, not sadness. A time for celebration, not mourning. So the disciples’ behaviour is entirely appropriate to the occasion. In fact, it would be rude and offensive if Jesus’ disciples did fast while he was still with them.             

After having answered the question about fasting, Jesus then goes on to tell two more parables which address the bigger issue of the relationship between Jewish ceremonial practice and the arrival of the kingdom of God. [4]

Fixed or flexible:

If you have ever had a flat battery in your car, then you may have used jumper leads to get your car going again. The trick with jumper leads is to match the positive terminal on the donor battery to the positive terminal on the receiving battery.

Likewise, the negative terminal on one battery needs to be matched to the negative terminal on the other battery. So you match like to like. Positive to positive and negative to negative. Don’t get your wires crossed or sparks will fly.

In verse 21 Jesus says: “No one uses a piece of new cloth to patch up an old coat, because the new patch will shrink and tear off some of the old cloth, making an even bigger hole.

The old coat would have done its shrinking but the new cloth still had flexibility in it. Why waste new cloth on an old coat? Just as you do with jumper leads and car batteries, match like with like. Old to old. New to new.

I have here in my hand a rubber band. In its relaxed state it is about 6 or 7 cm’s long. How far do you think I can stretch this rubber band? Anyone want to take a punt?

Who thinks 10 centimeters?

What about 20 centimeters?

Any takers for 30 centimeters or more?

Well, let’s find out. Don’t try this at home by the way.

[Stretch the rubber band as far as it will go]  

That stretched probably about 35 centimeters I reckon.

In verse 22 Jesus gives another pithy little parable which is related to the one before it. Jesus says: “Nor does anyone pour new wine into used wineskins, because the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the skins will be ruined. Instead, new wine must be poured into fresh wineskins.”

The wineskin parable needs a bit of explanation. Back in the day people did not store their wine in glass bottles. They stored it in leather animal skins that had been sewn together. You had to put new wine into new wineskins because the new wine gave off gas as it fermented and the gas caused the wineskin to stretch and expand.

If the wineskin was old, it had already stretched and had no give left in it, like our rubber band at full extension. New wine which was still fermenting would burst the old wine skin and both would be ruined. New wine needed a fresh skin which was supple and flexible and still had some stretch in it.   

In both the parable of the cloth and the wineskin, the old coat and the old wineskin are fixed, while the new cloth and the new wineskin are flexible.

The new wine and new cloth that Jesus brings require a certain flexibility or elasticity of mind.

To translate this into the context of the first century, Jesus was basically saying: the old things of the Jewish ceremonial law (things like animal sacrifice, clean and unclean foods and male circumcision), no longer fitted with the new covenant and the new day that Jesus was ushering in.

Jesus was doing something new which could not be patched on to the old traditions. If we attempt to put the new wine of Jesus’ teaching into the old wineskin of Jewish ceremonial law, it just won’t work.     

This is not to imply that Jesus came to do away with the law. No. Jesus came to fulfill the law of Moses. So, if the baby is the moral law and the bath water is the ceremonial law, then we don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. We still need to obey God’s moral law.

Faith is still what saves and God still looks for faithfulness. But the new wine of righteousness that Jesus calls for is greater than the old righteousness of the law.   

If you were here a couple of weeks ago you might remember the story of Rosalie Macgeorge, New Zealand’s first Baptist missionary. I imagine it took some real flexibility and elasticity of mind for the church of the 1880’s to send a woman as a missionary from New Zealand to India. 

Indeed, Rosalie herself stretched things on occasion by refusing a salary and by publicly saying, at a missionary conference of Baptists in Bengal, that if a missionary was convinced of trying a new method from the others, she should be allowed to move to a branch station and do so.

Christian missionaries can never afford to be too rigid or fixed in their ways. Missionaries are often required to be flexible and adapt to the changing environment they find themselves in.

Ritual v renewal:

So far this morning we have talked about the either/or dichotomy between fasting and feasting, and between being fixed and being flexible. Today’s Scripture reading also touches on the relationship between ritual and renewal. 

Ritual and renewal is not always a hard and fast dichotomy. It is not necessarily either/or. Ritual often provides a helpful transition to renewal.

Rituals tend to be external, physical type things like fasting. Giving up something during Lent can be helpful to your faith. It can help you to identify with Jesus and his suffering. But when Easter Sunday comes and Lent finishes you can stop the ritual of fasting.

Communion is another ritual for Christians. Communion helps to reminds us of Jesus’ presence. But when the Kingdom of God is realised in its fullness there won’t be the need for the ritual of communion because we will have the reality of Jesus’ presence. 

Not all rituals are religious though. Scanning QR codes has become something of a public health ritual for us over the past year. As long as COVID is a threat, we need to keep up the ritual of scanning QR codes. But one day, when we have immunity and COVID is no longer a threat, we will hopefully be able to do away with the ritual of scanning. 

Rituals serve a good purpose for a period of time but they are not an end in themselves. Rituals point to a reality beyond themselves, the reality of renewal.

Last year our national leader, Charles and some others came up with this descriptor of the Baptist churches of New Zealand…

 “We are a collective of faith communities bringing gospel renewal to people and places within our local neighbourhoods.”

This statement describes who we are and what we are about. The part in the middle there, about bringing gospel renewal to people and places, seems to be a pretty good description of Jesus’ mission.

Gospel is a word that simply means ‘good news’. The gospel also refers to the first four books of the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) which tell of Jesus’ earthly mission.

When we read the gospels we get a picture of Jesus bringing the good news of renewal to people and places wherever he went. Jesus came to make all things new. Gospel renewal happens in all sorts of ways, through Jesus’ work of healing and setting free people free and forgiveness and restorative justice and so on. 

There is a wonderful scene in the movie Forrest Gump, where a young Forrest is running away from some bullies. The doctor had prescribed special braces (or calipers) for Forrest’s legs. These braces were helpful for a while. They made his legs and back stronger. But there came a point when they actually got in the way.

In the scene from the movie, Forrest is making slow progress in the leg braces, trying to get away from his tormentors. It was an either/or scenario. Either, Forrest kept the leg braces on and got overtaken and beaten up. Or, he got rid of the braces and outran the kids chasing him.  

As Forrest stretches out his legs and begins to run faster, the steel braces fall apart and Forrest is running free. (‘Run Forrest, run’.) Forrest doesn’t need the braces after that.

The rituals of the Jewish ceremonial law, like fasting and animal sacrifice and observing special holy days and only eating kosher food, were like Forrest’s braces on the legs of Israel. They were necessary for a time. They provided strength and support. But there came a point in God’s plan of salvation when they got in the way. Jesus’ coming brought renewal so that his disciples could run free.

In Acts 10 we read how God gave the apostle Peter a vision of all kinds of ritually unclean foods with a voice from heaven saying, ‘Get up Peter; kill and eat.’ At first Peter resisted the idea. ‘Certainly not Lord! I have never eaten anything ritually unclean or defiled.’ But Peter received this vision three times.

Then some men came knocking, asking Peter to come with them to the home of a Gentile called Cornelius. Normally Jews would not eat with Gentiles because it made them ceremonially unclean and they couldn’t participate in worship. But the vision he received unshackled Peter from the leg braces of ceremonial ritual, so he was free to preach the good news about Jesus to the Gentiles.   

Sometimes the work of mission requires us to move beyond our set rituals in order to find and bring renewal. It’s not that rituals are bad. They are good up to a point. But, if Jesus is going to use us to bring gospel renewal, we need to have some flexibility.

Now when I say, we need some flexibility, I am talking about backbone flexibility, as opposed to being a jelly fish or a brick wall. In the process of bringing gospel renewal there are some things we should not compromise on. We can be flexible with rituals up to a point but moral stuff is not negotiable.

The gospel renewal that Jesus brings is a renewal of the heart. A renewal from the inside out. Jesus’ new way is less concerned with the externals of relating with God and more concerned with one’s heart attitude to God and neighbour.

Or to put it other terms, with Jesus’ new way, character is more important than ritual. Quality of relationship is more important than the number of activities or programmes we are involved in.

God longs for a heart that celebrates his presence by responding to him and caring for others. [5] That’s the kind of gospel renewal that Jesus brings. It is the sort of work our Tranzsend missionaries are involved in and it is the sort of work that Jesus calls the local church to be involved in too.

Conclusion:

One last thing to say. Gospel renewal, and in particular the renewal of the human heart, is often a long and painful experience. We need to trust ourselves to God’s Spirit and we need to have grace for ourselves in the process.

May the Spirit of Jesus help us to walk in freedom and in righteousness.    

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • What is the main point of Jesus’ three metaphors (or parables) in Mark 2:18-22?
  • Why does Jesus use the image of a wedding feast to describe his coming and mission? (What does this image show us about Jesus’ mission?)
  • What do the twin parables of the cloth and wineskins show us about the relationship between Jesus’ new way and the old ways of the Jewish ceremonial law?
  • Discuss / reflect on the relationship between ritual and renewal. What rituals do you practice? Are these helpful to you? When is it better for ritual to give way to renewal?
  • What might ‘gospel renewal’ look like in your life, in your home and in your neighbourhood?  

[1] Leviticus 16:29

[2] Refer Larry Hurtado’s commentary on Mark, pages 45-46.

[3] Refer Ben Witherington III’s commentary on Mark, page 127.

[4] Refer Donald English’s commentary on Mark, page 71.

[5] Refer Darrell Bock, NIVAC on Mark, page 173.

Tawa Baptist

24 Hours

Scripture: Mark 1:21-39

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Communicating with confidence
  • Caring with wisdom
  • Communing with God
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

There are 24 hours in a day. That’s 1,440 minutes or 86,400 seconds.

How do you spend that time?

The answer will differ from person to person and from day to day of course but if we say the average person works 8 hours, sleeps for 8 hours, spends about 2 hours eating & drinking, around 2 hours shopping or doing housework, maybe 30 minutes to an hour on personal care (depending how long you take in the shower and how many times you have to go to the toilet), and say 30 minutes to an hour travelling places. Then that leaves maybe 2-3 hours of spare time. The remains of the day.

Today marks the beginning of the annual Tranzsend prayer and self-denial campaign. Tranzsend is the sending and resourcing arm of the New Zealand Baptist missionary society. In two weeks’ time, on the 28 March, we plan to collect a special offering to support the work of New Zealand Baptist missionaries. On the table in the foyer are some A5 sized brochures explaining a little about Tranzsend, with a detachable bookmark to remind us to pray for our mission workers. You are welcome to take one per household after the service.

Please turn with me to Mark chapter 1, verse 21, page 45 near the back of your pew Bibles. For the three Sundays of the self-denial campaign we plan to look at different aspects of Jesus’ mission from the gospel of Mark. In this morning’s message we read how Jesus spent 24 hours, one day, near the beginning of his ministry. From Mark 1, verse 21, we read…

21 Jesus and his disciples came to the town of Capernaum, and on the next Sabbath Jesus went to the synagogue and began to teach. 22 The people who heard him were amazed at the way he taught, for he wasn’t like the teachers of the Law; instead, he taught with authority.

23 Just then a man with an evil spirit in him came into the synagogue and screamed, 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Are you here to destroy us? I know who you are—you are God’s holy messenger!”

25 Jesus ordered the spirit, “Be quiet, and come out of the man!”

26 The evil spirit shook the man hard, gave a loud scream, and came out of him. 27 The people were all so amazed that they started saying to one another, “What is this? Is it some kind of new teaching? This man has authority to give orders to the evil spirits, and they obey him!”

28 And so the news about Jesus spread quickly everywhere in the province of Galilee.

29 Jesus and his disciples, including James and John, left the synagogue and went straight to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 Simon’s mother-in-law was sick in bed with a fever, and as soon as Jesus arrived, he was told about her. 31 He went to her, took her by the hand, and helped her up. The fever left her, and she began to wait on them.

32 After the sun had set and evening had come, people brought to Jesus all the sick and those who had demons. 33 All the people of the town gathered in front of the house. 34 Jesus healed many who were sick with all kinds of diseases and drove out many demons. He would not let the demons say anything, because they knew who he was.

35 Very early the next morning, long before daylight, Jesus got up and left the house. He went out of the town to a lonely place, where he prayed. 36 But Simon and his companions went out searching for him, 37 and when they found him, they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”

38 But Jesus answered, “We must go on to the other villages around here. I have to preach in them also, because that is why I came.”

39 So he travelled all over Galilee, preaching in the synagogues and driving out demons.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

I’m not sure this was a typical day for Jesus but it was certainly a full day. At a guess he might have spent about 6 hours communicating with people, maybe 6 hours caring for people and probably around 6 hours communing with God. Which left him with roughly 6 hours for everything else, like eating, sleeping, walking, washing and toileting. 

It’s impossible to be certain about these numbers but what we do know for sure is there was no screen time in Jesus’ day.

I don’t hold this pattern up as an example for us to follow necessarily. Most days we should be aiming for more than 3 or 4 hours sleep. If you tried to follow Jesus’ example in Mark 1 every day you would soon burn out.

The point is, Jesus’ mission appears to have consisted of three main things: communicating with people, caring for people and communing with God. First let us consider Jesus’ communication. Jesus communicated with confidence.

Communicating with confidence:

When I pack the car to go away on holiday I always put the larger, less flexible, items in first. So the suitcases and chilli bin go in before anything else. If I can get the suitcases in, then I have confidence I can fit everything else in as well. Shoes and sleeping bags and raincoats and miscellaneous stuff like that can squeeze in the corners and gaps.

Communicating is like packing a car. Some topics are more important than others and if they are left unsaid that’s like leaving the suitcase of essential items behind. But once you have said the big stuff, the stuff that is weighing heavy on your mind, then you can have confidence that the other things will fit as well. The less bulky topics of conversation can be fitted in around the main suitcases.

There may be something important your family needs to discuss. You don’t try talking about those big issues when you are in a rush trying to get everyone off to school in the morning. You wait until a time when you can all sit down together, around the table at dinner, to talk things through in an unhurried way.

By the same token there are often little gaps in the day when you are walking or driving somewhere and are able to say something small but significant. How was your day at school? How was that meeting at work? Do we need milk? Life has felt quite full lately. Shall we try and get away this weekend?

I remember the day Robyn and I were married. We were being driven by a friend of my grandfather’s, Mr Ken Pike. Ken was a lovely guy and he used the time to make conversation with us. One of the things he said was, ‘Never let the sun go down on an argument.’ In other words, make it a priority to communicate. Don’t let the seed of bitterness or resentment take hold. 

A big part of Jesus’ mission was to deliver a message; a suitcase of ideas if you like. He needed to make sure that packing that suit case in the boot of people’s minds was his priority.

I estimated before that about 6 hours of Jesus’ day was spent communicating. Some of that would have been formal public speaking, when Jesus preached in the synagogue in the morning. That was like the suitcase that he had to get in first.

But much of the communication would have been informal personal conversations with people, perhaps while he was walking to and from the synagogue or while he was having lunch at Simon & Andrew’s place.

Some of those informal conversations would have been significant but Jesus had to get the suitcase of preaching & teaching in first. His suitcase of ideas set the agenda for the little conversations that squeezed in the gaps of the day. Indeed, Jesus’ suitcase of teaching has set the agenda for the past 2000 years.     

Today’s Scripture passage doesn’t tell us exactly what the content of Jesus’ preaching and conversation was but we get an idea from reading all four gospels. Probably it was about the Kingdom of God, the centrality of love, the dynamic between repentance and forgiveness, the importance of grace and the need for faith.

At this stage, Mark is more interested in pointing out that Jesus communicated and taught with authority. I take this to mean that Jesus spoke with confidence. Jesus’ words were original, they were his own words and ideas, and not someone else’s. More than that though, Jesus’ words had the ring of truth. They were not light weight. They had a substance and meaning that resonated in people’s hearts, minds and experience. Jesus’ words carried an eternal significance.

Verse 22 says that people were amazed at the way Jesus taught. Unfortunately, amazement is not really an adequate response. The obedience of faith is a better response to Jesus. In other words, we need to move beyond amazement to trust. The kind of trust that is willing to put Jesus’ words into action. When we do that, understanding follows. Not just understanding what Jesus’ words mean but understanding who Jesus is.

Last week we heard the story of Rosalie Macgeorge, the first New Zealand Baptist missionary. Rosalie left New Zealand in 1886 to reach women in Bengal. Most of her mission work centred around communication. She spent her first two years learning the language and most of the next two and half years talking to women and children about Jesus and the Bible. It was hard graft.

Communicating who Jesus is along with the content of the Christian faith is not easy in our land today. Like Rosalie Macgeorge and other overseas missionaries, we have to learn the language of contemporary New Zealand society. We have to find words and stories that are original and authentic to who we are. Words that relate and resonate with people.

It seems the church has lost something of its authority too. That means we have to build trust and confidence in the gospel by living the message we preach.

Caring with wisdom:

If the message Jesus preached was the suitcase, then Jesus’ wise care for people puts handles on that suitcase. Communicating and caring go together.

In today’s reading from Mark 1 we are told Jesus did two main things to demonstrate his care for people. Jesus cast out demons and he healed the sick. In other words, he cleansed people and made them functional again.

Ironically the demons recognised who Jesus was (the Holy One of God) but Jesus silenced them. Jesus did not give the demons an audience. It is not for evil spiritual beings to dictate the agenda.

People these days, people like us in the Western world, are heavily influenced by a materialistic mind-set. We find it difficult to accept anything non-material or non-physical. The fact remains there is a spiritual realm all around us which we don’t see but which is nevertheless very real. Christian mission is engagement in a spiritual war.

It’s not that Jesus or his followers go out looking for a fight. Rather, when one proclaims truth and does good, evil reacts in a defensive way. As Bono says: ‘Darkness gathers around the light’.

Once again Mark emphasises Jesus’ authority. After seeing Jesus cast out a demon the people in the synagogue remark how even the evil spirits obey Jesus.

Following the morning synagogue service (which was sort of like Jewish church) Jesus goes to Simon and Andrew’s house for lunch. As soon as he arrives Jesus is told that Simon’s mother-in-law is sick in bed with a fever. Without saying a word Jesus takes the woman by the hand and the fever leaves her. In this case Jesus is not casting out a demon, he is healing a physical illness.       

The woman responds to Jesus’ care for her by showing care for him and serving them lunch. As is so often the case in the Bible, it is a woman who shows us the right kind of response. We are saved to serve.

After sunset the people of Capernaum brought to Jesus those who were sick or demon possessed and Jesus cleansed and healed them. The people waited until sunset because it had been the Sabbath day, a sacred day of rest, and the Sabbath ended at sunset.

By this stage it was after six at night. I imagine Jesus was quite tired and yet he summoned the energy to care for people where they were at.

A couple of things we note about Jesus’ care for people. Firstly, it was personal or one to one. Jesus did not apply a one size fits all protocol or procedure. He didn’t perform a mass healing. He dealt with people on an individual basis. This means he treated each person according to their need. The man screaming in the synagogue received a different kind of care to Simon’s mother-in-law who had a fever.

Dealing with people on a one to one basis like this is not efficient. It is time consuming. But it also makes the person receiving the care feel particularly loved and special. 

The other thing we note is that Jesus’ care for people was wise. Although Mark doesn’t put a great focus on the wisdom of Jesus’ care we know from a wider reading of the gospels that Jesus cared in a wise way, a discerning way.

Jesus had the ability to accurately diagnose the problem at a glance. So his care was wise in that it treated the cause of the issue. We also know that Jesus was careful not to create dependencies. Jesus empowered people to be restored to inter-dependent relationships with others in the community.

The key to caring for people in a wise way is understanding what the individual can and can’t do for themselves. Jesus did not do everything for a person. Jesus’ care addressed the thing that person could not do for themselves. That’s wise. That’s empowering care.    

We are not all able to do great things. We might not have the ability to drive out demons or heal people miraculously, like Jesus did, but we do have the capacity to care in practical ways, like Peter’s mother-in-law did when she waited on Jesus. Often it is simple acts of care and concern (small things done with great love) that communicate most powerfully the Christian message that God is love.

You may remember, from last Sunday, the power of Rosalie Macgeorge’s care. How when she asked for some goat’s milk for herself, she made sure the mother would not reduce the small boy’s share of milk. And how this impressed the small boy so much that, as a grown man, he later became a follower of Jesus.

After a full and busy day of communicating with and caring for people, Jesus spends probably the better part of six hours communing with God.        

Communing with God:

In the old days of sailing, before satellite navigation and radar technology, sea captains set their course by the stars and by hand drawn maps. If you were heading for a small group of islands in the pacific you had to be pretty accurate with your bearings or you could easily sail right past the very place you needed to stop for water and provisions.

Navigating by the stars meant staying up late at night. We don’t know what time Jesus got to bed that evening. If people didn’t start turning up at Simon’s house until 6pm, then they probably didn’t leave until maybe 10 or 11pm. Verse 35 tells us that Jesus got up very early the next day, long before daylight. If daylight was around 6am then that means Jesus was up in the early hours of the morning, maybe 1 or 2am. That doesn’t leave much time for sleeping.

Verse 35 tells us that Jesus went out of town to a lonely place, where he prayed. On this occasion at least, Jesus felt that communing with his heavenly Father was more important than sleep.   

We know from reading the other gospels that Jesus often went off by himself to pray and commune with God. However, Mark’s gospel only mentions three occasions. Here at the beginning of his public mission, then in the middle of his ministry (after the feeding of the multitudes), and finally in the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before his crucifixion.

Each of these three times marks a significant stage in Jesus’ journey to the cross. On each occasion Jesus needed to keep his perspective and get a bearing (not from the stars) but from God.

Mark chapter 1 describes the beginning of Jesus’ mission and the passage we heard this morning describes one day in particular when Jesus became famous and popular. The risk with popularity and fame is that one can be carried away by the adulation of the crowd and, in the process, lose perspective and direction.

Just as the sea captains of old needed to get up in the middle of the night to navigate by the stars, Jesus needed to spend time communing with God, in prayer, in order to stay on track and not lose his way.

The band Six60 have a song ‘Don’t forget your roots my friend’. It’s about remembering where you come from, who you are and where you belong. It’s about staying on track through life and not losing your way.

Taking time apart to commune with God was Jesus’ way of remembering his roots and his purpose. God the Father is Jesus’ roots and bringing in God’s kingdom (His reign) was Jesus’ purpose.

In order to stay true to God and his mission, Jesus needed to keep moving around preaching the Kingdom of God to other people. He could not allow himself to be side tracked or domesticated by the people of Capernaum. Jesus was not a people pleaser. He was a God pleaser. It made him unpopular and misunderstood at times but it resulted in our salvation.   

In some ways this single verse about Jesus going to a lonely place to pray is really frustrating. I want to know how Jesus did it. How did he get close to God? How did he find that intimacy of communing with God? How did Jesus hear God’s voice with such clarity and find his direction? Mark doesn’t give us an answer. Jesus’ communion with God is cloaked in mystery

All we know is that it involves slowing down and setting apart time (a decent amount of quality time) to be with God. Now, in my experience, setting apart sacred time to listen to God does not automatically guarantee that you will hear God speak. Sometimes you hear God clearly and sometimes you don’t.

Whether you hear from God or not, there is still value in making time for him. If nothing else, it restores our perspective and reminds us that we are not in control. God is. 

Conclusion:

This morning we have heard about three aspects of Jesus’ mission: communicating the suitcase of God’s message with confidence, caring for people with wisdom and making time to commune with God.

Communicating, caring and communing. These are not three separate things. They are all inter-related and overlapping. Caring for people gives credibility to our communication of the gospel message. And communing with God keeps us faithful to God’s mission and message.

The other thing that needs to be acknowledged is that Jesus is out of our league. Compared to us Jesus is a spiritual superman. He was able to do what he did as an individual but we can’t. We need to take a team approach to mission. We shouldn’t try to do it all on our own.

Whenever someone is baptised I’m conscious of the many people who have contributed to that person’s decision to be baptised. Whenever someone becomes a Christian it is usually because more than one person has cared for them and communicated to them the love and truth of Jesus in different ways.

It is God’s mission and it is our part to be available to serve him as He requires. In order to serve most effectively we need to stay close to God. We need to be still and commune with him.   

The musicians will come now and lead us in the song: Be still and know…

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • How do you spend your time in an average day?
  • What was the communication like in your home growing up? What is it like now? Are you happy with your communication? If not, what would you like to change? 
  • How often is Jesus (and his ideas) in your conversation?
  • In what ways was Jesus’ care wise? Who do you provide care for and how do you do this? 
  • Why did Jesus sacrifice sleep (at the end of a long and tiring day) to commune with God? Why is it important for us to make time to be with God? 
  • Thinking of the three aspects of Jesus’ mission (communication, caring and communing) which do you think you are strong in? Which aspect(s) do you need to develop?
  • What is your part in God’s mission?    
Tawa Baptist

Rosalie Macgeorge

Scriptures: Mark 4:30-32, Matthew 9:36-38, Mark 4:3-8 & John 12:24-26.

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Leaving NZ
  • Reaching out
  • Difficulties
  • Conclusion

Credits: The information about Rosalie Macgeorge in this message was gleaned from the following web page…

https://www.bwnz.org.nz/womens-history-month-rosalie-macgeorge-1859-1891/

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Can anyone tell me when New Zealand held its first general election. [Wait]

That’s right, it was 1853.  

Can anyone tell me when the New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society (or NZBMS) was founded. [Wait]

That’s right, it was 1885.

Just one year after that, in 1886, the NZBMS sent their first missionary overseas. Her name was Rosalie Macgeorge.

Today is Women’s Sunday, and the beginning of missions’ month. With this in view our message focuses on the story of Rosalie Macgeorge, New Zealand’s first Baptist missionary. But even if it wasn’t women’s day or missions’ month I would still want to tell Rosalie’s story because it is quite incredible really.

The newly founded New Zealand Baptist Missionary Society of the 1880’s had heard of a special need in Bengal. The seclusion of women in zenanas.

A zenana is an Indian term to describe the inner apartments of a house where the women of the family live. Some say a zenana is the Indian sub-continent’s equivalent of a harem. Essentially women in the zenanas were isolated or secluded and therefore not able to hear the Gospel of Christ.

The NZBMS took this need so seriously they were seeking only women missionaries to reach the Indian women in the zenanas.

In August 1886 two women from Hanover Street Baptist Church in Dunedin volunteered to go: A Miss Fulton and a Miss Rosalie Macgeorge. The idea was that the two should work together. This follows Jesus’ practice of sending apostles out in twos. Unfortunately, Miss Fulton pulled out.

I am not sure what motivated Rosalie. I don’t know if she had some mystical experience in which God spoke to her and told her to go. Or whether she simply felt an unction in her spirit. In any case, Rosalie stayed the course.

Leaving New Zealand

But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s go back a step. Rosalie was born in Australia, in 1859, the third of nine children. She had seven sisters and one brother. It is thought she probably came to NZ when she was about five.

In her mid-twenties, Rosalie is described as “A young woman of fine appearance, strong character, and deep devotion to her Lord.” She had been baptised 12 years before, had become a church member, served in many departments of church life, and was an able speaker.

Rosalie’s family were respected and active members of the Hanover Street Baptist church. Rosalie herself was held in high esteem also. She was a trained teacher, and had a special love for children — a love and understanding that was demonstrated later in the many letters she wrote to them from India.

Rosalie’s departure was a rush. Her farewell was on the 28th September, 1886, barely a month after she had signed up. Rosalie would travel with English Baptist missionaries, Mr and Mrs Kerry, to Calcutta. Rosalie asked for the prayers of God’s people. She was 27 years old when she left NZ.  

The minister, Rev Alfred North, noted that the occasion was unique as Rosalie was the first missionary from the Baptist denomination in New Zealand to go overseas, and the first woman sent by any NZ group for mission work.

Alfred North said something else that proved to be very true: ‘The work which lies before you is exceptionally hard and exhausting.’ He mentioned disappointments, pity, compassion, hope deferred, ignorance, time-consuming language study, separation from loved ones and climate.

In saying these things Rosalie’s pastor was essentially paraphrasing the words of Jesus, that going into the world as his representative would not be easy. That his followers would face many hardships.

The Rev North charged her,

…Go! In the assurance that His presence yields. Go! In simple faith in the power of the Gospel of His love. Go! Your heart over-brimming with love to all on whom His love is set, and for whom His blood was shed. So shall the blessing of the Lord Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, rest upon you for ever.’

The faith of Rosalie Macgeorge was truly remarkable. We need to remember that in 1886 there were no aeroplanes and no internet. One couldn’t skype or text or email or jump on a plane if things got tough. People travelled by boat over the ocean and they sent hand written letters which could take months to arrive.

This wasn’t like a short term mission trip. Once a missionary left they were gone for many years. Rosalie’s family and friends back home did not know if they would see her again (in this life at least).  

The other thing to remember is that the 1880’s were not a time in history when women enjoyed equality. Rosalie Macgeorge left NZ six years before women anywhere in the world were given the vote.

Rosalie was an incredibly brave woman with a deep devotion to her Lord. She was walking by faith and not by sight. Like Peter, Rosalie stepped out of the boat to walk on water with Jesus. Unlike Peter though, she did not begin to sink.   

Rosalie reached Calcutta in December that same year (1886), so it took her about 2 or 3 months to get to India. Once in Calcutta she travelled to Faridpur to join women on the South Australian mission society while she studied Bengali.

The next month she wrote to the children at her church how a woman who was helping her learn was crying bitterly because her baby had died. Rosalie was deeply distressed that she had no words to tell of Jesus and his love. She was impatient to start work but recognised she must do about two years of study.

There was bookish, classical Bengali but that was a little different from the common spoken language. One time she got her words mixed up and called her teacher a cow. He was not amused. But Rosalie was never content with the books. She insisted on gaining colloquial words, tones and twists of language, even asking local children to correct her. She wanted free conversation style, something many missionaries had missed out on.

Reaching out

By early 1888, after just over a year in India, Rosalie could write, ‘I feel I could do a little in the zenanas if necessary, but it would be blundering work, and would cripple me in the language for the future.’ Rosalie wanted to lay a good foundation before reaching out. She knew the way to build that foundation was by listening and learning, so she kept studying.

Rosalie prepared a short talk to give to the women in the zenanas, carefully correcting her pronunciation. Her joy was great when seven weeks later, she found she was understood by the women in a house. Yay! She was getting somewhere. She visited five houses a week and talked to the women for an hour.

Later in the year Rosalie started a young men’s Bible Class for Hindu boys who were learning English. Rosalie told them, ‘Of course, my motive is to teach you about the Bible, but at the same time you will have the advantages of hearing English spoken and of having your mistakes corrected.’ I like the way Rosalie was up front about her agenda. 

The class grew from three to eight, to eleven… Soon the boys were more interested in the Bible than in English. By May two of this class wanted to know more of Jesus and by the end of the year 100 students had been through her class at some point.

In Mark’s gospel Jesus compares the Kingdom of God to a mustard seed, saying: “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like,or what parable shall we use to describe it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest of all seeds on earth. 32 Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden plants, with such big branches that the birds can perch in its shade.”

In Christian work we do not despise small beginnings. God can work with small. Rosalie’s English class started with just three boys but it grew. Not only that but the seed of the gospel grew in people’s hearts and minds.

As Mother Teresa said: ‘We cannot all do great things. But we can do small things with great love.’

An Indian Pastor was preaching at a mela (festival) and Rosalie, together with an Australian woman, Miss Newcombe, helped by giving out tracts and singing hymns. Rosalie played on her concertina.

Miss Newcombe told the story of Rosalie saving a little girl’s life. The girl was bitten on the leg by a snake, and her father saw Rosalie walking past and called her to help. ‘Rosalie ran and applied a ligature above the bite, and then sucked out the snake poison. Her quick resourcefulness undoubtedly saved the life of the child, who, within a few days was almost completely well again. [As a consequence] the parents sent two sons to the Sunday School.’

I like this little vignette. It demonstrates how God uses people. Rosalie’s response was very practical. The miracle was in God’s timing, that Rosalie was walking by at just the right moment to help. We notice too, the response of faith by the boy’s father. Rosalie’s action inspired the parents to trust so they sent their sons to Sunday school.  

The New Zealand Baptist mission wanted a site of their own from which to work. Dacca (Dhaka) was suggested, but Rosalie wanted somewhere smaller, so they chose the sizeable river port of Narayangunj. The Australians and Rosalie asked the committee in NZ to send them more workers as soon as possible.

This reminds us of Jesus’ words in Matthew 9…

36 When Jesus saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

Rosalie’s sister Lillian offered to come, and soon another woman, Hopestill Pillow, offered as well.

Rosalie started by walking the streets of Narayangunj with a muslin saree over her dress to indicate she wished to identify with the people. Initially she spoke to a few women who were willing to learn to read.

It was tough going, though. Hindus did not mind her Bible teaching but on occasion Muslims asked her, ‘Do you intend to teach that Jesus is the Son of God?’ When she said ‘Yes,’ they said point blank, ‘We don’t want you.’

The men grew noisy and vehement.  But Rosalie quietly and bravely held her ground. She said a Bengali hymn or gave out tracts, offered to come into the homes and talk to the women if they invited her.  During this tense moment, she asked to be allowed through the crowd and walked away quietly, followed by the children.

Soon she had permission to enter 30 homes weekly where there were about three women in each. Some women listened happily. Some didn’t. Some babies cried too loud for lessons to happen. Some women chattered non-stop. Some asked questions. ‘Why don’t you get married?’ ‘What soap do you use?’ ‘Will you have a smoke?’ ‘What did you eat for breakfast?’ ‘How do you twist your hair up?’ ‘Let us see the colour of your feet.’ ‘How much money does the government pay you?’ [The government didn’t pay her anything of course.]

Sometimes we can romanticise the work of ministry and mission. While good things do happen it does not always feel meaningful. Missionaries are not immune from frustration. It was hard work for Rosalie, especially with the language difficulties, but some women were also interested in the Bible stories. Children loved Rosalie and she loved them and taught them songs that helped them remember her lessons.

We are reminded of Jesus’ parable of the four soils in Mark 4, where Jesus says,

3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

The seed is the gospel of Christ and the soil is the human heart.

Difficulties

Sadly, Miss Newcombe became unwell and in 1889 doctors told her to return to Australia and not to return to Bengal. This was a big blow to Rosalie, who longed for and needed a fellow-worker.

Rosalie’s health had been good but in April 1889 she became unwell and was sent to the cool of the hills, in Darjeeling, for some respite. In June she returned to Narayangunj feeling much better, but was promptly dragged down in health and by July was unwell again.

On top of all this Rosalie was beginning to feel affected by the loneliness. She had been expecting her sister, Lillian, to set out for India but Lillian was given a negative health report and told to stay in New Zealand. Hope deferred.

Remaining in India was becoming more difficult. No land had been bought for the NZ mission base and no decision made. But Narayangunj itself added to Rosalie’s difficulties. Her biographer notes that ‘The sights and sounds appalled her, the smells, the poor hygiene, the lot of women, the plight of the widows, the sad little child-wives, the rudeness and discourtesy of the men, the poverty, the disease, and the godlessness of the English residents, the idolatry… She was never free of it and she had no one to share it with.’

This is the experience of exile.

Still, there were some good things. There was a woman who, in great discouragement, turned to Jesus for help and continued to pray. Another, at the end of Rosalie’s long day visiting homes, who said she believed in Jesus Christ and her husband had concluded the Bible was a true book. Rosalie now had some new converts to nurture.

During 1889 Rosalie worried the NZBMS committee back in New Zealand by refusing to accept a personal salary. They tried to dissuade her, fearing she may no longer obey them if not in their pay.

But Rosalie had prayed about it and was determined. She believed God would bless a simple life of trust. She felt receiving a salary compromised people’s view of her, making them think she was a government agent. And she wanted to free up mission funds to support others.

So instead she lived with a Hindu family and earned her keep by teaching some of them English and other subjects. This would also enable her to understand the culture more.

The apostle Paul took a similar approach. Paul was a tent maker by trade and, at times, he supported himself financially by doing that. Better to give than to receive, I suppose. But Paul didn’t always refuse financial help. There were times when he did have the grace to receive. 

The Baptist Assembly in New Zealand made a resolution that they were highly satisfied with Rosalie’s usefulness, her devotion and success but regrets that she does not accept her salary and hopes there may be no cause for divergence between them.

Rosalie wrote and delivered a ‘paper’ at a missionary conference of Baptists in Bengal to the effect that if a missionary was convinced of trying a new method from the others, she should be allowed to move to a branch station and do so.

At this time the NZBMS enlisted the help of Baptist missionaries of Australia and the UK to try to settle on a place for a New Zealand mission site. They chose against Narayangunj (which was prone to flooding), and got Rosalie to move to Comilla, to the south-east.

They then considered Pabna at the request of the Australians, but eventually, with Rosalie’s encouragement, they chose Brahmanbaria. Rosalie was caught up in this stressful indecision.

Rosalie moved to the town of Muradnagar and told schoolboys she would like to meet their mothers. This worked. A Hindu man invited her to stay in a bamboo hut on their family grounds.

It turned out he had given up worshiping idols, forbidding his wife and children to do so as well, and wanted to learn about Christ and God from Miss Macgeorge. Rosalie enjoyed her 10 days there, so many people wanted her to teach them.

About this time Rosalie again became ill. She stayed in her hut and one evening a small boy peered in and saw her pray to her God. When she asked her house owner for some goat’s milk she carefully checked that the woman’s child would not receive less milk because of her. Small things done with great love.

Two new companions and an experienced middle-aged couple arrived from New Zealand to work with Rosalie. Wonderful! Miss Hopestill Pillow worked with her for a while and then went to Faridpur to concentrate on language study. The next was Miss Bacon, also going to Faridpur. This was a relief to Rosalie, who had spent so much time alone.

In January 1891 Rosalie wrote home that she was well and strong again and ready for another year’s work. However, at a routine doctor’s visit, she was told to return to New Zealand immediately. The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.

A dispirited and unhappy Rosalie left East Bengal to go home via Calcutta and Sri Lanka (which was then called Ceylon). Old friends, the Carters, met her in Ceylon, finding her ill with a fever, and immediately arranged a stay inland.

Even though Rosalie was attended by a skilled doctor she passed away six days later on 12 April 1891. She was 31 years old. (Women had still not been given the vote.)

Missionaries and Tamil Christians sang as they carried her to her resting place in the garden town of Kandy. In four and half years of missionary service Rosalie had, with devotion and zeal, forged a pathway for others while winning a number of converts.

Conclusion

But Rosalie’s story doesn’t end there. Many years later a man asked at a nearby mission station to be baptised. The pastor enquired as to how he was converted. He said he was the small boy that Rosalie had been concerned about. At Rosalie’s request, his mother had pledged not to decrease his milk. He had been deeply impressed by this, and by Rosalie’s piety, unselfishness and gentleness. So years later he had searched for and found Rosalie’s Saviour.

In John 12, Jesus says…

24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies,it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep itfor eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant will be also.My Father will honor the one who serves me.

Not everyone is called to overseas mission, as Rosalie Macgeorge was. Some are called to serve God in the home, others in the work place and others in the local church. Where has God called you to serve Him?

Sources

Summarised from ‘Rosalie Macgeorge—Missionary Pioneer’, by R.J. Mardle, a Paper of New Zealand Baptist Historical Society, published November 1960.

NZ Missions Interlink https://missions.org.nz/about/ 

https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/199041739/rosalie-macgeorge

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • How do you feel hearing/reading Rosalie Macgeorge’s story?   
  • Indian women in the zenanas were secluded and not able to hear the gospel of Christ. Who do you know who has not heard the gospel?
  • Not everyone is called to overseas mission. Some are called to serve God in the home, others in the work place and others in the local church. Where has God called you to serve Him?
  • Discuss (or reflect on) Jesus’ parable of the mustard seed in Mark 4:30-32. What small thing can you do with great love?
  • Discuss (or reflect on) Jesus’ parable of the four soils in Mark 4:3-8. How does this fit with your experience of being a Christian and sharing the gospel?
  • What would you like to be remembered for? 
Tawa Baptist

Stand

Scripture: 1st Peter 5:6-14

Structure:

  • Introduction
  • Cast off your anxiety
  • Stand firm in the faith
  • You are not alone
  • Conclusion

Introduction:

Good morning everyone.

Today we conclude our series in the New Testament letter of first Peter, focusing on chapter 5, verses 6-14.

When I started this series back in the middle of August last year, I thought this is a relatively short letter, just five chapters. It shouldn’t take too long.

I didn’t quite appreciate how much Peter was able to say in so few words. Peter’s letter is like Dr Who’s Tardis; it is a lot bigger on the inside than it appears on the outside. Excluding the holidays, it has taken 19 weeks to work through. But that is God’s word for you, generous and full of hidden gems.

From 1st Peter chapter 5, verses 6-14, we read…

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

12 With the help of Silas, whom I regard as a faithful brother, I have written to you briefly, encouraging you and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand fast in it.

13 She who is in Babylon, chosen together with you, sends you her greetings, and so does my son Mark. 14 Greet one another with a kiss of love.

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

May the Spirit of Jesus illuminate God’s word for us.

The main metaphor Peter has used in his letter, to describe Christian believers, is that of the Jewish exile. In many ways the Christians of the first century were like exiles or resident aliens in a foreign land. As God’s people they were a marginalized minority. They were not in a position of political strength and were vulnerable to the pressure to conform to the pagan way of life around them. In that context it would have been very easy for Peter’s readers to lose faith in God and be assimilated into the cultural soup they found themselves in.

These Christian believers needed to remain very clear about their identity and their future hope, when God would restore them. They needed to stand their ground, without resorting to violence, and without compromising who they are.

While the church in New Zealand today does not have it as hard as the church of the first century in Asia Minor, it is becoming increasingly difficult to hold to Christian faith and values. We need to resist being assimilated into the prevailing culture.  More than ever we need to be clear about who we are and whose we are.

With this in mind, Peter closes his letter with three pieces of encouragement for those who, because of their faith in Jesus, feel like exiles in a foreign land:

Cast off your anxiety, stand firm in the faith and know that you are not alone.      

Cast off anxiety:

Have you ever been swimming in jeans? I don’t recommend it. Swimming in heavy clothes that cling to you is hard work and quite dangerous. You tire more quickly and tend to be dragged under more easily.

Maybe you haven’t swum in jeans but you might have been caught in a surf rip. They say the best thing to do when you are caught in a rip is to not fight it but go with it. Then swim to the side before coming back to shore.

In verse 7 Peter says: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

This verse is talking about giving your worry to God rather than stressing out by trying to handle everything yourself.

In some ways anxiety is like trying to swim in jeans – it tires you out and drags you down. The best thing is to cast off the denim of your anxious thoughts before you go swimming. You might do this in prayer, by talking to God and asking him to deal with whatever problem is bothering you.

You might say, for example, ‘Lord, this issue feels too big for me to handle myself. I am looking to you for help. You know all things and you know what is best in this situation. I put it in your hands. Show me what part you want me to take responsibility for and what part I need to let go of.’

Often the next day, after you have prayed about it and slept on it, your perspective returns and the path forward becomes clear. God has a mysterious way of providing a remedy which we usually only see in the rear vision mirror.

Of course, as anyone who has struggled with anxiety will tell you, it’s not always as simple as saying a prayer. After giving our worries to God we might feel a compulsion to take them straight back again.

And so sometimes, anxiety can be like getting caught in a rip. You don’t feel in control and the harder you fight against it the worse it seems to get. The more you try not to think about the thing that is stressing you out the more anxious you become.

If that happens one strategy is to distract yourself by doing something completely different for a while, something you enjoy. In this way you conserve your energy until the fear passes and you can find your way back to solid ground.

You need not wait until you are in the rip tide of anxiety though. It is good practice to have built in routines in your day and week which create circuit breakers for anxiety. The Sabbath (a day of rest) is actually a God given circuit breaker but you may do other things in between as well.

What is your circuit breaker? What is that thing you can do which disrupts the holding pattern of anxious thoughts? It needs to be something quite different from your regular job, something which gives your mind a rest from focusing on the stresses and strains of life? Maybe its gardening or wood working or baking or beekeeping or kitesurfing or music or sewing or something else. Work it into the rhythm and routine of your life. In this way you will find it a bit easier to cast your anxiety on God.

Now I need to point out that casting your anxiety on God is not the same thing as throwing caution to the wind. Casting off anxiety is not a roll of the dice. No. In casting off anxiety we are still holding onto our responsibility.

Peter was a fisherman and with fishing there are no guarantees. Some things are outside of your control. You can’t control the weather, for example, or where the fish are going to be. But you can look after your equipment so that when the weather is right and the fish are teeming, your net doesn’t break and your boat doesn’t sink.

The point is, we take responsibility for those things we can control and we leave the rest to God. We trust God with the outcome knowing that he cares for us. Doing that enables us to stay calm and think more clearly.

Cast off your anxiety but hold on to your responsibility. Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. You can get rid of the dirty bath water of anxiety. But you have a responsibility to take care of the baby.

One thing that creates anxiety for many people is imagining what other people think of them. But what other people think is outside of your control.

When you are a child you go through life blissfully unaware that other people may have a perception of you that is different from your perception of yourself. But when you go through adolescence your brain becomes aware that other people see you differently from the way you see yourself. This can be difficult to come to terms with and may be one reason why teenagers can be quite sensitive at times.

If you are a teenager and you struggle with angst and social anxiety, then take heart. Those intense feelings won’t last forever. As you get older you tend to be less concerned about what other people think.

As Christians we need to be more concerned with God’s opinion of us than anyone else’s opinion. This is what we call ‘the fear of the Lord’. Fear of the Lord releases us from the fear of people.    

Early Christians could not afford to care too much about what others thought of them. First century society generally looked down on Christians and said things about them that were untrue and unkind. The average believer was routinely prejudged, misunderstood and humiliated by the words of their neighbours. And it hurt. A humble, lowly status was forced on Christians whether they liked it or not.           

It is no accident that Peter’s exhortation to cast your anxiety on God comes straight after the part where says, Humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. It can make us anxious to suffer insult and humiliation. To humble yourselves under God’s mighty hand is to leave your reputation with God. Let him vindicate you in due time. Your responsibility is to manage yourself with a clear conscience.   

Okay, so that’s the first thing: cast your anxiety on him who cares for you.

Peter’s next encouragement is to stand firm in the faith.

Stand firm:

One thing they say to every soldier is, ‘Look after your feet’. Your feet are like the foundation of your physical body. When the foundation is sound you can stand your ground.

From verse 8 Peter writes… 

Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith,

This is the only time in his letter that Peter talks about the devil. Peter doesn’t give the devil much attention and so we should probably take our cue from that and follow Peter’s example.

Suffice to say the term ‘devil’ means slanderer or accuser. This was quite pertinent to Peter’s readers who suffered slander and false accusation from the prevailing society in which they lived as spiritual exiles.

A roaring lion is something which provokes fear. The devil, who personifies evil, works by trying to intimidate believers. Unlike God, who cares for people, the devil wants to devour and destroy.

I said a couple of weeks ago that our faith is incredibly precious to God. He treasures our faith. Faith makes love possible and that is why the devil seeks to destroy faith.

But the devil is not like a lion in every respect. Peter says we are to resist the devil, standing firm in the faith. You can’t really resist an actual lion, in the wild, by standing your ground. The lion is too strong. It will overpower you. If you hear a lion in the wild you need to quietly get out of its way.

The devil is not like an actual lion though, because we can resist him by standing our ground. Because Jesus has defeated the devil we are able to resist him. Faith in God is the devil’s kryptonite. When we make faithful obedience to Jesus the foundation of our life (when we build our life on Christ and his teachings) the house of our soul stands firm through the storm. 

To put it more plainly, Peter seems to be saying, “Don’t be intimated by the devil’s roar (his slander, his false accusation and his threats). Stand your ground. Maintain your belief and trust in Jesus. Don’t modify your behavior in order to fit in. Don’t assimilate to the pagan culture around you and don’t renounce your faith. Keep trusting Jesus. Remain loyal to him.”

It is interesting that Peter prefaces this stuff about the devil by saying, Be alert and of sober mind. Evil often looks for a way in through the mind. A mind which is alert and sober can act like a gate keeper for the soul, keeping out the Trojan horses and poison thoughts.

When discerning which thoughts to follow and which to ignore you could apply the THINK acrostic (T.H.I.N.K.) I’ve mentioned this on other occasions. Before you walk down a particular path in your mind ask yourself…

Is it true? Is it helpful? Is it inspiring? Is it necessary? Is it kind? If the answer to any of those questions is ‘no’ then it’s probably best not to pursue the thought.       

Peter’s encouragement to stand firm in the faith was tested more than once. On the night when Jesus was arrested Peter tried to stay close to Jesus. He managed to position himself in the courtyard of the house where Jesus was being questioned.

Despite his great enthusiasm, only hours before, Peter buckled under pressure and denied the Lord three times before the cock crowed. He was bitterly ashamed of himself but, as we heard last week, Jesus didn’t hold it against Peter. Jesus restored Peter and made him steadfast and strong.

Peter’s story gives us hope. Like Peter we may deny our Lord and assimilate to the surrounding culture in a hundred different ways, large and small. We may be right to feel guilty about that. But we do no one any favours if we allow our guilt to paralyze us. It is how we respond to failure that matters. It is not how one starts but how one finishes that really counts. 

Several weeks after denying Christ, Peter boldly testified to Jesus’ death and resurrection, on the day of Pentecost. Then, after leading the church for many years, and I imagine suffering many trials, Peter’s faith was tested one last time and proved true. The Bible does not tell us how Peter died but tradition says that he was martyred for his faith. He did not count himself worthy to die in the same way as Jesus and so they crucified him upside down.

Standing firm in the faith goes hand in glove with casting your anxiety on the Lord.

Peter’s third piece of encouragement, in these closing verses of his letter, is to remember you are not alone.

You are not alone:

Sometimes at weddings you hear that reading from Ecclesiastes that a rope of three strands is not quickly broken. It is very appropriate for marriage and for life generally. We are stronger together than alone.

If I take a single piece of paper it is very easy for me to tear it in two, like this. (Hopefully that sound effect comes through on-line.) But if I take two or three pieces of paper and fold them a few times, it becomes a lot more difficult to tear the paper. We are stronger when we are folded together than when we are alone. 

Sometimes when we suffer we think we are the only ones and that creates a very lonely feeling. Loneliness makes us vulnerable to anxiety and despair. Loneliness discourages us. It makes us want to give up. Feeling that we are on our own makes us fragile, like a single piece of paper, easily torn. 

In verse 9 Peter reminds his readers they are not alone in their suffering. Other believers throughout the world are suffering in similar ways. There is a certain solidarity in knowing that.

I’m not sure about you but it actually doesn’t make me feel better to know others are suffering. It’s hard to enjoy life when you know others are doing it tough. But knowing others are suffering for their faith does motivate me to stand strong with and for them.   

As Christians we are all connected. We may not always be aware of this connection consciously but I believe it operates on a subconscious level. If a fellow believer drops out of the faith, then we may feel a certain sadness or loneliness about that. But when a believer hangs tough for Jesus we can feel a certain solidarity or strength and can take courage from that.      

Peter reinforces the point that his readers are not alone (with another fold of the paper) in verse 10, where he says…

And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

Not only do we stand in solidarity with other Christians all over the world, God also stands in solidarity with us.

Verse 10 reminds us of the past, the present and the future of God’s grace. God has called you, so you have history with God. In the light of eternity, your suffering is just for a little while, that is the present dimension. And the future looks bright, for God will restore you. In other words, God will complete his work in you and make all things new. Your present situation of weakness is not permanent.   

Peter’s letter ends with a number of greetings which further reinforce the fact that his readers are not alone. Peter sends greetings from Mark and Silas. We can’t be sure but most likely this is the same Mark who wrote Mark’s gospel. Peter refers to him as a son, not in a biological sense, but in a spiritual sense.

Silas is most probably the same person we read of in Acts, who travelled on mission trips with Paul and others. It appears that Silas was the one who delivered Peter’s letter to the house churches in Asia Minor. His physical presence in delivering Peter’s letter would have demonstrated to the church how they were connected to the wider family of believers.

In verse 13 Peter gets poetic saying, She, who is in Babylon, …sends you her greetings. In all likelihood the ‘she who is in Babylon’ refers to the church in Rome. Babylon being a cryptic way of referring to Rome. (The actual city of Babylon lay in ruins at the time Peter was writing.)

All these greetings underline the point that the church in Asia Minor is not alone, they are connected. Peter’s last instruction, to Greet one another with a kiss of love, is an encouragement for believers to remain connected with each other.

This kiss of love is a form of family like affection. Sort of like we might give someone a hug or shake their hand. It is a physical reminder that we are not alone. And it is not a difficult instruction to carry out. It is something pleasant. 

Conclusion:

Having read and studied this letter of Peter’s we can see the apostle has come a long way. In the gospels Peter comes across as a bit brash and somewhat of a blunderer. Sincere and well intentioned, for sure, but often putting his foot in it. He had the tendency to speak before thinking and to make grand claims he could not support. Sometimes his words hit the mark but just as often they were out of place.

The letter of 1st Peter reveals something of Peter’s personal transformation. His words are thoughtful and his attitude is humble. He is uncompromising in his loyalty to Jesus but quite gracious and kind in the way he writes.

There is a winsomeness to this Peter that we don’t see so much in the gospels. It is truly lovely that he should close his correspondence with the threefold encouragement to cast your anxieties on the Lord, to stand firm in the faith and to know that you are not alone.

In the journey of Christian faith, it is not how one starts but how one finishes that really counts. 

Peace to all of you who are in Christ.

Questions for discussion or reflection:

What stands out for you in reading this Scripture and/or in listening to the sermon? Why do you think this stood out to you?

  • Why do Christian believers need to be clear about who they are and whose they are? 
  • How might we cast all our anxiety on God? What are some practical strategies that work for you? What is your circuit breaker?
  • What does it mean to stand firm in the faith? How can we avoid assimilating to the world’s values?
  • How might we vet or sieve our thoughts in order to protect our mind?
  • How do you feel when other Christians suffer? What might you do to stand in solidarity with them? How do you feel when a fellow Christian turns away from their faith in Jesus? What might you do to stand firm in your faith in that situation?
  • What practical things can you do to strengthen your connection with other Christian believers?