"Glory Is On the Way!"

Scripture: Luke 22:20-38

Jesus’ teaching was anything but straight forward - but, I imagine you already knew that! We know that he spoke in parables; he taught things that were in direct contrast to the Law of Moses; his message was seldom understood, even by those who were closest to him; and many times, his preaching left people scratching their heads in complete confusion. People, in particular, many who are living today, aren’t comfortable with this “Jesus” approach to faith. It doesn’t make sense to them, and they have a confessed desire to rewrite scripture to make it more acceptable, more politically and socially correct.
But even though Jesus made his words intentionally difficult, it was never his intention to make faith difficult. “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) The way to faith, however, isn’t quite as straightforward. It was the Father’s plan that the Son would come to clarify divine law and to correct false teaching, so that the world could know the better way to salvation and eternal life, and that goes against all human reason.
During this season of Advent, this time of preparation for the celebration of Christ’s birth, we will consider some of the strange words that come from God, and what they are really telling us. And as we take this 4 week journey together, remember that the Lord’s word is always true and reliable – it is only our lack of understanding that will be a failure!

Today, we join the Lord Jesus Christ and his 12 in the Upper Room.

Read Luke 22:20-30

Greatest or least, master or servant, betrayer or faithful, server or served – before Jesus spoke the words, these men were certain as to which was the preferred position, but afterward, they weren’t quite so sure!

One was going to betray him – so why not identify the traitor? Why just condemn him in words, and not deal with him right now? And if he knew who and what was to happen, why didn’t he take steps to stop it – or least let them stop it? And the men began to doubt their own faith. Was this Jesus’ intention – to bring all of this confusion and uncertainty and doubt into their lives?
Hardly. He simply wanted them to know what was coming to them all, and that these tragic events would be God’s will and Jesus’ purpose. And if the Divine Plan for this created order was to play out to its completion, betrayal of the Son of Man not only had to be, but it had to be by one of his closest followers. Talk about strange! But the Perfect Wisdom knew that this was the only way to glory.

And if this issue of betrayal wasn’t enough, they almost immediately began debating, not only who was worst, but who was the greatest! Each of them wanted to be known as “great”, because that one could never be the one who will betray! And Jesus tells them to be careful what they wish for! He tells them that characteristics like true greatness and leadership can’t be defined in human terms. All too often, human leaders want you to think that they are beneficial to the lives they rule, even though they aren’t; that those in authority have nothing but the best at heart for their subjects, even though they don’t; that they should be honored and envied, even though they don’t deserve it. That was how the Romans and Jewish authorities ruled – trust us to know what is best for you, because you don’t really know! Jesus tells us that this type of greatness is not what we should aspire to.
God sees greatness as gentleness and submissiveness. He wants those who profess him to put the needs and desires of others first, and for those who would lead and rule to have the heart of a servant. Why? Because that is how and who Jesus is – he is not only our God, he is also our example.

God is not careful. Theology is careful, and it ought to be; but God is not careful, is not bound by rules. This double-dealing, magic-weaving, careless God, this God of strange codes and complex twistings of imagery and power, this God whose sense of humor so often seems to outweigh any sense of ethical propriety, this playful God: This is the God of the artists.
--Sara Maitland, A Big-Enough God, (New York: Henry Holt & Co., 1995).

The Almighty plays by Divine rules and brings Divine glory, not human ones, and he wants us to know and live by his ways, too.

Read Luke 22:31-34

And the strangeness only gets more intense. In Matthew 16:17-20, Jesus gives Simon the name Peter, which means “rock”. The faith that this disciple had shown would be the foundation of faith, and that would be the “rock” – the underpinning of the Church. Jesus would refer to Simon by this new name until this very moment, and now, as he pronounces the fact of this “Petra” will be part of Satan’s attack on the Christ, he reverts to the disciple’s earthly name. But when Simon Peter replies that he would rather die as one of Jesus’ own than live as a servant of the Accuser, His name, once again, becomes Peter.

As I read and considered the impact of this passage, I have to come to the realization that it is both a prophesy and a promise for each of us. In our Christian walk, we, too, will fail our Lord, and in doing so, we become servants of Satan. But when we repent in faith, when we re-acknowledge who the true Lord is, we, too, will be returned in service to Christ. That doesn’t mean that we can go our own merry way whenever we want to because Jesus will always welcome us back. It means that when we do fall for Satan’s lies and deceits and innuendos, when we do fall away from the Lord, we will never be counted out as long as we get back on our feet and back on the path that Jesus has created for us.

From a Christmas card:
When time was full and human longing at a strange new height, God came to us to make the wrong, the right.
Immanuel, God is with us in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
--1992 Christmas card composed by Bishop James S. Thomas, Atlanta, Georgia.

Peter would discover the truth of Jesus’ words of failure, and he would have to live with the Lord’s judgment. But in a few short weeks, he would also experience the grace and mercy of his Lord and Savior, as his “wrong” would be destroyed, and God’s “right” would take its place. Jesus would never give up on Peter – not during the previous years of his “foot in mouth” life, and not on this night of tragic happenings. The disciple wouldn’t pass the test that night, but glory would be his one day soon. And so will it be for us.

Read Luke 22:35-38

In Luke 10:1-4, Jesus sent 72 followers out to minister to the world, and he commanded them to go without any provision. They were to simply trust that God would provide through the generosity of those who would be touched by the word they brought. Now, he changes the message, and not only are they to take provisions, but they hear that they are also to take a sword with them.
Will the Lord no longer be providing for them? Will they have to begin fending for themselves? As we read Acts and the various epistles, we know that this isn’t true – that God will go with them, all the way. So what did Jesus mean?
I believe that the message is that in ministry, we have to be prepared not only in faith, but in worldly ways, too. Think of it this way – just because we submit our lives to God’s will and call, does that mean that we can quit our jobs? That we can stop making payments on our house mortgage and apartment rental? That we no longer have to go to the store and buy food? That our clothes will be provided by someone else? That we don’t need medical insurance because we will never again get sick?
Of course it doesn’t! As followers of Jesus Christ, we not only make a commitment to follow and serve him, but that we also have an obligation to our physical needs. And the meaning of the “sword”? He isn’t saying that his people are to start killing those who oppose them, but rather that the world will be bringing everything that they have against them, and that they must be prepared in an emotional and faith filled way. They don’t need a metal sword for protection – they need the sword of faith. In Ephesians 6:10-18, we read that we need to “put on the full armor of God”, and one part of the divine armament is “the sword of the Spirit” (v.6), and this sword doesn’t attack, it reclaims.

Jesus life among us was filled with truths and Godly fact, and it was equally filled with the tragedy and failings of those closest to him. God’s will is never a simple thing to understand – it never was and it never will be. But for all who would claim the name of Christ for their own, we must give our all. Faith isn’t complicated, but it still requires study and examination and commitment.
During this Advent season, study his word to know his truth; examine your life to see if it is in harmony with that word; and commit to follow, regardless of what that may mean or require.

Christmas reminds us that life, now and for eternity, is by God’s plan and his rule, and never by ours, and that the glory of God, while seemingly obscured right now, is on the way!