MIDWEEK LENT 4 March 6, 2013 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: John 19:8-16

MIDWEEK LENT 4

March 6, 2013

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: John 19:8-16

“THE LAMB CONDEMNED”

1.     By a man who thought he had more power than he did.

2.     By a man who feared men more than God.

3.     Instead of those who think they have more power than they do,

4.     And those who fear men more than God.

John 19:8-16 (NIV 1984) “ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, ⁹ and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”¹² From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”¹³ When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). ¹⁴ It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.¹⁵ But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.¹⁶ Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.”

          A few years ago Mel Gibson directed a film called the Passion of the Christ that followed the events of the Passion History you are hearing about in these services. Imagine you are the casting director. That means you are responsible for picking actors that fit the various roles. Who would you pick for Pontius Pilate? What would he look like, sound like? What kind of a man would he be? Think about that as we look further at the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Today we see the Lamb condemned by a man named Pontius Pilate, a man who thought he had more power than he did. “ When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, ⁹ and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰ “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”¹¹ Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” Maybe we should cast Pontius Pilate as Pompous Pilate. A little history. The Roman empire was in control of Israel at the time. Rome’s way of operating was to allow a local government to rule as a figurehead but to have the real power in the hands of their own Roman governors. So there is a King Herod but Pontius Pilate is really in charge—or so he thought. Naturally then when the Jewish religious leaders brought Jesus to him for the death penalty Pilate figured he was in charge. He had the power of life and death over Jesus. But Pilate’s power didn’t come from Rome. It came from God who had instituted government. Pilate just thought he had more power than he did.

          He also feared men more than God. Right before this, the Jewish leaders had told Pilate that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God. That’s what Pilate heard that made him more afraid. He didn’t want to mess with God’s Son. But something changed. “From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”¹³ When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). ¹⁴ It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.¹⁵ But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.¹⁶ Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.” Maybe we should cast Pilate as “no conscience Pilate.” His fear over messing with the Son of God was replaced with a fear of someone else—other people. The Jewish leaders were pressing him. The allegation was that setting Jesus free, doing the right thing, would get Pilate in trouble with Caesar. He feared men more than God.

          Now, if you were the casting director, how would you portray Pilate? What would he look like? Probably not a strong noble looking guy, right? More like a weasely, spineless fearful looking guy. He’s the guy who condemned the Lamb, a guy who thought he had more power than he did and feared men more than God. So maybe this Pontius Pilate guy looks kind of like us.

          See, he’s not the only one who sometimes thinks he has more power than he does. Sadly, if we look in the mirror of God’s laws we find that we do too. One of the most blatant ways that happens is when people in any way practice what’s called works righteousness. That means that you believe and act as though you gain your status with God by what you do. You earn blessings. You deserve His  love. I have the power to make God love me. In its grossest form it shows up in the manmade religions that practice that voodoo of “you do.” You do this you are right with God. It sneaks into the visible Christian churches that teach belief in Jesus and righteous living as the way to heaven, or that teach that you have to decide to believe in Jesus as though you have the power. It shows up when we put ourselves in the way of temptation thinking we’ll have the will power to resist. It spooks around in our hearts when we think or feel we ought to catch the break for all we do for the Lord or are upset over someone else’s blessings because, admit it, they’re not as good as us. Even our best intentions can be turned when we plan the way something is to go and then expect that God has to do it. Why? Because we said so?  People who think they have more power than they do. There is no one who is righteous, not even one,” says God. All your righteous acts are filthy rags,” God declares. Do you believe it?

          And then there is that fearing men more than God. Those times we are embarrassed to stand up for our beliefs and all Bible teaching because it is more important to fit in with people than stand out for God. Kids, every time you give in to peer pressure, when you stand by and say nothing when classmates are sinning, you prove yourself to be a Pontius Pilate. Someone who fears men more than God. Adults, are we different? Do you speak up in your family, to your children and grandchildren when you see them following the ways of the world rather than the ways of the Lord? Why or why not? Is it because you fear men more than God?

          To all of these we fess up and acknowledge we are weak, weak, weak. We have fallen short of the glory of God. But let’s stop looking at Pilate and ourselves. Let’s look at Jesus. How would you cast the Lamb condemned? Maybe like that Lamb, a victorious lamb. Jesus let Himself be condemned. The Father allowed it no  matter what Pilate or the chief priests thought. This was God’s doing. Jesus wanted to be condemned for you and for me. He loves us so. Jesus knows we don’t have the power to earn heaven, God’s love, His blessings. But He wants us to have them anyway so He takes our spot. Jesus knows our weakness. He knows how hard it is and how we agonize later. He loves us anyway. He was condemned instead of us.

          That’s why we love Him. Brothers and sisters, let’s not leave here today feeling sorry for the lamb that wanted to be condemned or pitying ourselves for Pontius Pilate impersonations. Let’s leave with the joy and love that Jesus has for us filling our hearts motivating us to go back out and try again to live for Him, the one who loves and has freed us from our sins by his blood. The lamb condemned—for us. Amen.

February 27, 2013, Third Wednesday Lent Service
Sermon by Pastor Paul G. Eckert
Sermon text - John 19:1-8

    This week’s sermon theme is THE LAMB SHAMEFULLY
SURROUNDED.  Picture a lamb peacefully feeding in a pasture.
Then picture that lamb surrounded by a pack of wolves.  What a
shame when you think of what is going to happen to an undeserving
little lamb, so helpless, so weak.
    Jesus is the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the
world.  Was He like the lamb you pictured?  Was He undeserving of
what was coming?  Was He helpless, weak?
    Let’s go back to Jesus in the temple at age 12, about like our 7th or
8th grade children.  Luke 2:46-47 tells us, “After three days [Mary
and Joseph] found him in the temple courts, sitting among the
teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.  Everyone
who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his
answers.”  That doesn’t sound weak and helpless, does it.  It sounds
more like a child prodigy.
    Eighteen years later, as Jesus carried out His ministry He didn’t
seem weak or defenseless either.  One time his enemies tried to push
Him over a cliff.  He walked right through their midst and left them.
    But now we come to the time at the end of His three year public
ministry and what do we see?  We see Jesus who appeared to show
weakness, we see all of His disciples shamefully deserting Him.  But
not only the disciples’ actions were shameful.   
THE LAMB SHAMEFULLY SURROUNDED
I    BY A CROWD  (Mark 14:43-44)
    1. There had been many crowds.
        a) Think of Jesus feeding 4000, 5000.
        b) Or a man lowered through a roof because of crowds.
    2. Then think of Gethsemane.  (Mark 14 43-44)
        a) From our reading at the lectern before: Just as he was
speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, appeared. With him was a
crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent from the chief priests,
the teachers of the law, and the elders.  Now the betrayer had
arranged a signal with them: “The one I kiss is the man; arrest
him and lead him away under guard.” 
        a) Judas sticks out shamefully here.
        b) With him was a crowd, an armed crowd.
    3. Think also of a smaller group that disappeared.
        a) Yes, John and Peter showed up at the courtyard late.
        b) But Peter denied, the others all had deserted Jesus.
    4. Will we shamefully forsake Him?
        a) Deny Him by being ashamed to stand up as a Christian?
        b) Forsake Him by not hearing His Word, using His Supper?
II     BY GOVERNMENT PEOPLE  (1-2a)
    1. Jesus not opposed to government.
        a) He disobeyed no laws, called for no uprising.
        b) He clearly said should pay taxes to Caesar, the government.
    2. But look at the government people here. (1-2a)
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged.  The soldiers ---
         a) Shameful - a top official having an innocent man flogged.
        b) Shameful - soldiers obviously having shameful enjoyment
    3. Earthly kingdoms can often be very shameful.
        a) Are you happy with what’s happening in  mideast?
        b) Are things in good shape in our United States?
        c) Instead we can say that the Christian religion is more and
more open to being surrounded by shameful ridicule.
    4. Jesus teaches us to pray “Your kingdom come.”
        a) He was talking about God’s kingdom or government.
         b) Only God’s kingdom promises true peace.
III    BY A CROWN  (2ab)
    1. A crown surrounded Jesus’ head. (2ab)
The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his
head.
        a) What a shame - physical circling pain for an innocent person.
        b) What shameful mockery of Jesus, crowned as a king.
    2. They shamefully mocked what was a fact.
        a) On Palm Sunday the crowds correctly shouted, “Blessed is
the king who comes in the name of the Lord!  Peace in heaven and
glory in the highest!”  (Luke 19:38)
        b) But here Jesus was surrounded by a crown and surrounded by
soldiers who shamefully mocked Him as a king..
    3. He willingly endured that mocking crown.
    4. We know why - it was that we might have the crown of life,
as Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:8, “Now there is in store for me the
crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will
award to me on that day - and not only to me, but also to all who
have longed for his appearing?”     
IV    BY A ROBE  (2c-3)
    1. Jesus was surrounded by a cloth robe. (2c-3)
They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and
again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they struck him in
the face.
        a) This surrounding robe was like the circling crown.
        b) Both shamefully surrounded Him with kingly mockery.
    2. Yet it was sin that really surrounded Him.
        a) Your and my many many sins were the robe He wore.
        b) They surrounded the Lamb who came to take them away.
    3. Now He has given us a robe.
    4. Let’s sing about what that means for us  in 376:1-3.   
V    BY CHURCH OFFICIALS  (4-6a) -  (also Mark 14:61b-65)
    1. Pilate was being “used.”  (4-6a)
Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews, “Look, I am
bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a
charge against him.”  When Jesus came out wearing the crown of
thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the
man!”
    2. Church officials were really behind this. (6a)
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they
shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
    3. They should have proclaimed who He was. ((Mark 14:61b)
“--- the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the
Blessed One?”
    4. Do many churches today see only a model, an example?
VI BY REJECTION  (6b-8)
    1. Jesus’ innocence was established. (6b)
Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I
find no basis for a charge against him.”
    2. What was rejected was clear. (7)
The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he
must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
    3. Did Pilate have reason for fear? (8)
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid,
    4. Let there be thanks and not fear. - sing 105:5-7.

 
        .
           

LENT 2 February 23-25, 2013 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: Philippians 3:17-4:1

LENT 2

February 23-25, 2013

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: Philippians 3:17-4:1

“STAND FIRM IN THE LORD”

1.     Enemies are everywhere.

2.     But our home is in heaven.

3.     So follow the Leader!

Philippians 3:17-4:1 (NIV 1984) “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you. ¹⁸ For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things. ²⁰ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.4 Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!”

          If you are a fan of war movies or historical dramas you have probably seen the scene where the order is given to stand firm and hold the line. It might be the Roman centurion encouraging his legionnaires as the Gauls attack or General Washington with the Continentals as the Redcoats advance or the Union captain with his soldiers as the Confederates charge or the sergeant with his platoon holding the high ground as the Taliban move forward. Again and again in wartime it is necessary for soldiers to stand firm, to hold the line against the enemy’s attack. Brothers and sisters, we are in a war. This is no movie. It’s real life. We are part of Jesus’ Church on earth, also known as the Church Militant, the fighting Church, so with eager hearts let’s focus our attention on words of God to strengthen weak knees and give us backbone. Hear the Lord’s encouragement to stand firm in the Lord.

          Why? Enemies are everywhere! “For, as I have often told you before and now say again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹ Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is on earthly things.” Nothing new. Some 2000 years ago the Philippian Christians needed to know they were in the Church militant. Enemies of Christ were everywhere. But let’s focus on the ones we deal with. Do you understand that you live in a country that is up in arms against arms because of the awful murder of 20 children and six adults at Newtown but makes not a peep about the arms of the 1,200,000 little babies cut to pieces inside their mothers’ wombs each year in America? Do the math. That’s a slaughter of  almost 3300 children a day. Why is there no uproar? Because in America the murder of babies is called abortion and is legal. Where are the lawmakers and the press conferences? Jesus died for unborn as well as born. Enemies of the cross of Christ. You understand you live in a country that is taking glory in shame, more and more it is rejoicing in upholding, protecting and advancing sexual sinning. Practicing homosexual activity is called normal instead of perversion and the nation is proud of how far it has come. More and more it puts pressure on Bible believing Christians to accept and bow down to the god of political correctness. Enemies of the cross of Christ. Let’s not forget the growing influence of Islam not only worldwide but in our country. Islam which views Christ as a lesser prophet to Mohammed and no Savior for the world. Enemies of the cross of Christ.

But they are not just on the outside. In the visible Christian Church mainline denominations and megachurches one after the other gradually switch from emphasizing Jesus as Savior from sin and the mission of the Church to proclaim Christ crucified to what’s called social gospel seeing as the real mission of the church to end poverty or world hunger. Great goals. Great things for all people to work at, but not Jesus’ mission. He could have ended world hunger and poverty when He was on earth. He still could. But that’s not the plan. It was the cross. And those who take people’s eyes off of it are enemies of the cross of Christ.  Their minds are on earthly things. I have a friend in Texas who was bilked out of thousands of dollars by a man who befriended him in the name of Christ. A Christian taken advantage of by an enemy of the cross of Christ. There are others. The Bible calls them belly servers, those who use their Christianity for financial gain for their business or start churches just to get a paycheck.  Their god is their stomach. Oh and there’s more. What about the enemy living inside of us? Our own sinful nature. Be honest. Are you in weakness adapting to the society you live in so that drunkenness is funny instead of disgusting, and sex before marriage or living together without being married is just the way it is these days? Is your mind more on earthly things than what God says is important? Enemies are everywhere. Their destiny is eternal destruction. There is a need to stand firm.

          By now you probably feel like the Light Brigade in Alfred, Lord Tennyson’s famous poem. You know, “Cannons on the left. Cannons on the right. Cannons in front.”  Or Henny Penny. “The sky is falling! The sky is falling!” “No, it’s not,” says your Lord. “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹ who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” We need to stand firm in the Lord because enemies are everywhere. But more importantly, heaven is our home. Keep your perspective brothers and sisters. Those who have visited with me in pre-marriage counseling know I like to use this illustration: “Your wedding. Your marriage. Your wedding. Your marriage.” Why put so much time, energy and money into something that is less than a day and ignore what is to last a lifetime? It makes no sense. Why get so uptight about the things of this life when heaven is our home. Earthly life. Heaven. Earthly life. Heaven!

          And scared, worried? This is Jesus we are talking about! Look at Him! He has the power to bring everything under His control. And He is going to use that to transform us from soldiers in the Church militant to rulers of heaven in the Church Triumphant. Heaven is our home. Everything that is going on in our country and our world is temporary. Every battle with every enemy of the cross of Christ will not last. Because Jesus has made heaven our home we can stare battle in the face with a smirk and a grin that says, “This too shall pass!” Heaven is our home.

          But until we get that home we need to stand firm in the Lord. “Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!” How? “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.” Follow the leader. Paul urged the Philippians follow his example and the example of those who lived according to their pattern. But Paul wasn’t the real leader. Jesus is. Jesus had called Paul from being a zealous persecutor of Christians to be a zealous proclaimer of Christ. Jesus had forgiven Paul. Jesus kept forgiving Paul. So Paul denied himself, took up his cross and followed Jesus. He describes his life as one of daily repentance, resisting temptation, of devoting himself to God’s word, of prayer and patient endurance. He called on the Philippians to stand firm in the Lord by following that example of Christian living.

          This is why it is so important today for pastors and teachers to watch the way they live and what we teach very carefully. Others are supposed to learn from watching us how to stand firm in the Lord. But it isn’t just pastors and Christian day school teachers, it’s elected leaders in a church and Sunday School teachers. But it’s not just church leaders. Parents and grandparents, people are watching you. God’s people. They might look like children and they are, children of God, and if they are going to stand firm in the Lord they need to see what that looks like from you. So what do they see from you? We’ve all heard the phrase, “Do as I say and not as I do,” and recognize its hypocrisy. How much better to be able to say, “Do as I say and as I do. Follow me as I follow Christ.” Stand firm in the Lord.

          If you are a war movie fan you know that in the good ones, the charge of the enemy fails. Dramatically the line always holds, the hill is held. You also know that in the realistic ones that’s not true. Sometimes the enemy wins. Brothers and sisters, the Lord has not yet dismissed any of us from service in the Church Militant. We must continue to fight and continue to stand firm. Sometimes it might seem like the enemies are winning, that we can‘t hold out any longer. Not true. Heaven is our home. Every replay of the ongoing battles shows that Jesus wins. Always. We don’t stand firm by ourselves. We stand firm in the Lord! Amen.

February 17, 2013  -  Lent 1  -  Sermon by Pastor Paul G. Eckert
Sermon text - Luke 4:1-13
----------------------------------------------------------------------

    The season of Lent started this past week with Ash Wednesday.
Let’s do some counting.  Not counting the Sundays, from Ash
Wednesday to Easter Sunday comes to 40 days, a number that is used
a number of times in Scripture.  In the Old Testament we might think
especially of Israel’s exodus from slavery in Egypt and then spending
40 years wandering in the wilderness before reaching the promised land
where our Savior was to be born.  The number 40 is connected with a
wilderness in the New Testament too.  In our sermon text we hear of
Jesus being in the wilderness for 40 days.  The wilderness wandering
for Israel was difficult.  What of Jesus’ 40 days in the wilderness?
JESUS FACED TEMPTATION FOR US.
I  JESUS’ PUBLIC MINISTRY BEGAN WITH THIS.  (1-2a)
    1. There are few details about Jesus before this. (1-2a)
Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was
led by the Spirit in the desert, where for forty days he was
tempted by the devil. 
        a) We know Jesus was born in Bethlehem, that He was taken to
Egypt as a child to escape from King Herod who wanted to kill Him,
that He returned to Galilee and lived in Nazareth, and that He was in
the temple in Jerusalem at age 12.
        b) After that, up to His present age of 30, about the only thing
we know is that Jesus was a carpenter like his stepfather Joseph.
    2. His ministry had begun with His Baptism.
        a) When Jesus now was being tempted in the wilderness, the
devil challenged Him by saying, “If you are the Son of God.” 
        b) Just before this wilderness encounter, God the Father had
attested to the fact of His divine Sonship when at Jesus’ baptism He
said, “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”
    3. Jesus now went face to face with the devil.  (2a)
--- for forty days he was tempted by the devil. 
        a) There weren’t only the three temptations we hear about in our
text.  Those came at the end, after 40 days of other tempting.
        b) Can you just try to imagine what the devil all threw at Jesus?
    4. Jesus here was doing His substitute work for us.
        a) We might feel Jesus can’t understand what we have to face
every day as our world gets more and more immoral and dirty.  We
may find it hard to imagine Jesus facing all of the temptations that
come to us, like anger, lusting, stealing, breaking laws.
          b) Then remember, He faced 40 long days of tempting here.
Whatever we have to contend with, Jesus had it too.  The difference is
that He did not fall.  Listen to these words from Hebrews 4:15: “We
do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way,
just as we are - yet was without sin.”
        c) My dear fellow believers, Jesus, to be our substitute, faced the
sin we have to face. He can understand us.  But He did not sin.  He
survived to be our perfect substitute on the cross. 
    Now let’s look at the 3 special temptations mentioned in our text. 
II  TEMPTATION INVOLVED DAILY EXISTENCE.  (2b-4)
    1. Jesus had truly humbled Himself for us. (2b)
He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was
hungry.
        a) He, God’s eternal Son, had humbled Himself when He left the
glories of heaven, took on Himself our human flesh and blood as a
helpless baby and grew into a true flesh and blood person.
        b) Here He willingly humbled Himself again.  Yes He, as the Son
of God, positively was stronger than the devil.  But here He was
substituting for us.  He let Himself become weak in hunger.  And the
devil tried to take advantage of that, exactly as he does that with us,
tries to exploit our weaknesses of which we have plenty, tries to make
us listen to him, the devil, and not to what our God wants.
    2. Could Jesus have turned stone into bread? (3)
The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to
become bread.”
        a) He could have, easily!  Think of how He on separate occasions
fed crowds of over 4000 and over 5000 people.  Think of His many
other miracles proving His power, even raising the dead to life.
        b) We too could get bread by our own doing, like stealing it. But
would you as a Christian listen to the devil urging you to do something
wrong instead of listening to God’s will about getting daily bread, what
we need for our daily existence?  Jesus refused, passed the test.
    3. May we too be guided by God’s revealed will. (4)
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread
alone.’”
        a) In effect Jesus was saying to the devil: “You’re not my boss.”
        b) Let us say the same thing if evil is behind temptation, and get
the needs for our daily existence in ways that God approves of.
    4. In other words, listen to and trust God.
        a) Remember the Lord’s Prayer: “Give us this day our daily
bread” and “Your will be done.”
        b) God in His correct wisdom will answer that prayer, providing
for our needs of life, mainly by working and certainly not by stealing.
        c) Trust Him.  And thank Jesus that He did not give in to
temptation here.  Had He, He could not have paid for the times we fall.
III  TEMPTATION INVOLVED THE GOALS OF LIFE.   (5-8)
    1. How appealing the goals of life can be. (5-7a)
The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant
all the kingdoms of the world.  And he said to him, “I will give you
all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I
can give it to anyone I want to.” 
        a) How stupid the devil was!  Jesus already had all this.  He was
with the Father and the Spirit when this world was made.
        b) What the devil did have was sin, deceit, deception.  And Yes,
by following him, by doing wrong things, by cheating and stealing and
lying, some people can gain a great deal in the eyes of the world.
    2. But there is a price for worshiping the devil.  (7b)
“So if you worship me, it will all be yours.”
        a) Whom do you worship?  It’s the devil if you follow his will.
        b) Might you outwardly gain much?  Yes.  But Scripture says,
“What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet
forfeits his soul?”
    3. Remember our God’s goal for us. (8)
Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and
serve him only.’”
        a) Worship God, acknowledge Him, praise Jesus for refusing to
listen to the devil, for being our Savior, a perfect substitute for us.
        b) And serve Him by letting fruits of faith be evident in our lives.
        c) Remember God’s goal for us: eternal life with Him in glory.
IV  TEMPTATION INVOLVED CHALLENGING GOD.   (9-12)
    1. Misusing God’s Word challenges God. (9-11)
The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest
point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw
yourself down from here.  For it is written: ‘He will command his
angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up
in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a
stone.’”
        a) If I would trip and fall in front of a moving bus, God could
take care of me, whatever His good will for me would be.  But if I did
it deliberately without God telling me to do that, that is another matter.
        b) Here the devil’s temptation was “another matter.”  This was
the devil, not God, telling Jesus what to do.
    2. Again Jesus overcame temptation. (12)
Jesus answered, “It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the
test.’”
        a) Don’t misuse God’s Word, try to get around it by somehow
excusing cheating at school or in a marriage, or deliberately putting
yourself into a dangerous spot God has told you to avoid.
        b) Let’s face it.  We do at times try get around God’s Word, in
effect challenging God.  Thank God Jesus didn’t do that.  This
temptation He defeated too, all to be our perfect substitute who never
failed, who could be an innocent sacrifice on the cross for our sins.
V TEMPTATION INVOLVES REMAINING ON GUARD. (13)
    1. More temptations were coming for Jesus. (13)
When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an
opportune time.
        a) The 40 days of temptations continued for the days of the next
three years of Jesus’ public ministry.
        b) You may think especially of the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus’
struggle knowing what was coming.  But there too, like here in the
wilderness, Jesus did not let the devil’s will get done.  His prayer there
ended with “Your will be done.”  God came first, though Jesus faced
a terrible death on the cross.
    2. We too need to be on guard.
        a) The devil will use opportune times to tempt us because he
wants us to be a part of his kingdom of hell.
        b) So that we might be a part of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus
endured all He did without sinning, died an innocent death in place of
us the guilty, victoriously shouted out, “It is finished.”
    3. So fight the devil, keep on coming to your victorious Savior.
        a) Earlier I referred to these words from Hebrews 4: “We do not
have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our
weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way,
just as we are - yet was without sin.”
         b) The next words are: “Let us then approach the throne of
grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find
grace to help us in our time of need.”

    Yes, take the times you fell into temptation to Him who was
tempted and did not fall.  Take from Him His mercy and grace, His
forgiveness because of His love.  And ask for the Spirit’s
strengthening to fight harder against temptation and to serve ever
better our Savior who is waiting to welcome us one day into the
kingdom of heaven.


          

ASH WEDNESDAY February 13, 2013 Pastor Timothy J. Spaude Text: John 13:1-17

ASH WEDNESDAY

February 13, 2013

Pastor Timothy J. Spaude

Text: John 13:1-17

“THE HUMBLE LAMB”

John 13:1-17 (NIV 1984) “It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. ² The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” ⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” ¹⁰ Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. ¹² When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

This year in our Children’s Christmas service the Gospel was proclaimed using the Bible’s pictures of Jesus the lamb. John in his Gospel records John the Baptist’s proclamation about Jesus, “Look the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” It’s fitting then for our special Lenten services to use portions of John’s Gospel to see the Lamb of God. In our reading today we see a humble lamb.

The Bible sometimes presents us with paradoxical pictures, oxymorons, to draw attention to important life changing truths. For instance in Revelation chapter seven we get these two. In verse 14 it describes believers in heaven as ones who have washed their robes in the blood of the lamb and made them white. Really? You wash something in blood and it becomes pure and white? Ah, God draws our attention to the work of Jesus. And then later in verse 17 it says the Lamb at the center of the throne is the flock’s shepherd. What? A lamb is the Shepherd? Ah! Jesus is both sacrificial lamb and Good Shepherd at the same time. In our reading today we see another paradox, a living oxymoron. The King of kings and Lord of lords, the Master does the work of the lowest servant. What are we supposed to Ah Ah! Here?

Jesus was celebrating the Passover with His disciples. It’s what we call Maundy Thursday, the Last Supper. “Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love… ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.” We are supposed to Ah! The meaning of real love and how it’s shown. Real love takes care of real needs. In those times a real need was to have your feet cleaned. Mediterranean climate, dusty roads  equals dirty sweaty feet. Feet need to be cleaned. Do it yourself or if you wanted to be hospitable to your guests you have your servants do it. Who gets stuck with that? The lowest servant. Jesus. The humble lamb. What would He do to teach us? Clean our room? Clean our church? Fold our laundry? Scrub our toilets? Real love meets real needs.

          But the humble lamb went further.  “He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” ⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” ¹⁰ Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.” Jesus here talks about cleaning hearts, not feet. Only Jesus is the Mr. Clean of sin. He looks ahead to what He would do the next day. The Lamb would be sacrificed to pay for the sins of the world. The humble lamb lovingly serves by meeting the needs of His people.

Including the need to be blessed. “When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. ¹³ “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. ¹⁴ Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. ¹⁶ I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. ¹⁷ Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” Now that you know these things you will be blessed if you do them. Do you know what things Jesus meant? There are some Christians who believe Jesus was specifically talking about feet washing and so they regularly wash each other’s feet. They miss the point of humble service, of showing love by doing what other’s need to be done rather than what a person wants to do. That’s a whole lot harder than washing someone’s feet.

          You know that. Think of how easy it is to schedule, plan and do the things you like to do. Think of how hard it can be sometimes to do what needs to be done. Think of the times you’ve dreamed of doing something great that would bring you great praise and the times you’ve grumbled about the little things that need to be done for the good of the family, the neighbor, the school, the church, a classmate. It doesn’t have to be that way. Jesus the humble lamb enables us. He humbly served even though that meant dying on the cross. That death paid for our sins of selfish service, of only doing what we want instead of what other’s need. Then the humble lamb rose. At our Baptism we were connected to Him. We too got a new life. It’s the part of you that see the humble lamb and says I want to be like that. I want to be like Jesus. So now we can follow the humble lamb in serving the needs of others. We can be the oxymoron, the paradox, future rulers of heaven who serve those on earth.

          No servant is greater than his master. No one here would even want to be greater than Jesus. It is enough for us to be like Him. Look the humble lamb who serves the needs of others. Now that you know these things you will be blessed if you do them. Amen.