“Truth or Foolishness?”

Scripture: Mark 8:34-38; 1 Corinthians 1:17-25


Today, we consider the last of our Christian symbols, the Cross. Jesus was condemned to crucifixion because the legalists of his day just couldn’t accept all that he taught and all that he stood for. In essence, he was seen as a liar, and to lie about God was a great sin of that day. And that is what the problem that folks throughout the centuries have had with Jesus – they just won’t believe in him.

Of course, in John’s gospel (John 14:6), Jesus tells us that he “is the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” So which is the correct statement – is Jesus “the truth”, or is he a fake? Is he God, or is he a pretender? Can his word be trusted, or should we run for the hills whenever his name is mentioned? Believe it or not, some folks are still trying to figure out the answer to these!

And in that same light, there is another question that we need to consider – was the cross an instrument of evil, or one of glory? I guess the answer needs to be “Yes” – it was both. It was the tool of evil that was used by the forces of darkness (those authorities of earth), even while God was using it to ensure a path to glory for all who would simply and honestly see Jesus and his word as the Truth for our lives.

But we also need to understand that as important as the Cross was in gaining our salvation, it is also an important symbol for every life that would be part of Jesus’ ministry.

Read Mark 8:34-38

Jesus is teaching us a vital lesson that all who would aspire to be one of his followers must first learn. But even more important than that, he is showing us that if we want to be one of his, we must first commit to being imitators of him. Over and over in the gospels, Jesus was referred to as “Rabbi”, or teacher. And that is exactly who he is for each and every person on the face of the earth. Of course, many still don’t want to listen to him, but that doesn’t mean that he doesn’t want to help us to learn the lessons of heaven!
Consider what this passage is saying that we must do! Notice that we aren’t being asked to do a single thing that he hasn’t already done!

First – “whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves”. How much did Jesus deny? He left glory behind so that he could come here to be maligned and hated, he chose humility instead of the power and authority that was so rightly his, he surrendered the honors that the heavenly host had always shown him, and in its place, he accepted the lies and temptations and disbelief of those he came to save. Why would Jesus gave up all the good of heaven, just to take on all of the bad of ours? Simple! He did it out of the over whelming love that he has for all people. He did it so we could gain the glory and honors that he had left behind. It would never be about him – it was always about what the Father has asked of him, and all about what he wanted to give to each of us.

Second – “Take up your cross and follow me.” Without taking up our own cross, how could we ever emulate our Lord Jesus? Now understand that this doesn’t mean that we will have to suffer crucifixion like Jesus, although some have, and others will – it means that we must be prepared to suffer the condemnation of the world in order to carry on the ministry that Christ has begun. The world doesn’t like Jesus’ followers, and they will do whatever they can to disrupt efforts to proclaim Jesus throughout this place.

Third – “whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and the gospel will save it.” Jesus gave his life, that we might find that same life in him. Which is more important to us – the life we live in the world, or the life we can have in Christ? There is no half way, and there is no way to have both. Quite a choice, isn’t it? But choosing between a life in the world and a life in Christ will be the most important choice we will ever make.

Fourth – “what good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” When the Satan came to Jesus after his 40 days of fasting, the Lord was offered authority over all of the earth - IF Jesus would just bow down and worship him. Jesus said that it wasn’t worth it, and replies that there is only one who we should ever worship, and that is our God. (Matthew 4:8-11 Which will we choose – the finality of this life, or the eternity of a life in Christ?

Fifth – “what can anyone exchange for their soul?” In other words, is there any chance at all that we might be able to buy our way into heaven, that we might offer a trade that would be sufficient compensation to enter eternity, that we could ever be good enough to earn the right to live with God forever? The answer is, obviously, no – there is no chance whatsoever, without faith in Jesus Christ.

And he finishes with the admonition that his words are true and vital for us, and if we refuse to deny ourselves, and instead choose to deny Christ and all that he has taught us, then it will not bode well when we stand before the Seat of Justice, seeking a place with God.

Take up your cross, and follow me.
Deny yourself, and become one with me.

There is no other way.

Read 1 Corinthians 1-17-19

Paul was a highly educated man, and for all practical purposes, he had been quite arrogant in his original and misplaced faith. But after meeting the Lord Jesus on that Road to Damascus, he was completely changed. He had become one who was dedicated in proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ – not through his education, not through his own abilities, but through the humble truth of his new found Lord. And without that abrupt and total change in him, his words would have left the power of the Cross in the hands of evil, and all the good that was accomplished at Calvary would have fallen flat on the ears of the world.

But he also realizes that the general opinion of this message of hope is that it is nothing less than pie in the sky rhetoric, that it is nonsense, that it has no place in our search for the righteous life. But even more than that, the apostle writes that God will no longer honor that which comes through human intellect and understanding. Wisdom and truth are only valid when the truth and way of God are at its core. Remember Jesus’ words of caution in Matthew 7:21-23? He says that many will cry out “Lord, Lord”, and will then try to explain all that they had done in the name of God, but that he will know that their efforts were never in his name, but always in their own way, in their wisdom, and in their own strength.

So remember these words – that when we decide to circumvent the ways of the Cross, and try to carry out ministry in our own safe and comfortable way, the Lord will “frustrate” all that we do, and it will be worthless on that Day.

Read 1 Corinthians 1:20-25

What good are the signs if we only want them to say what we want them to say? What good is wisdom if it is only based in the limited knowledge and intelligence that we have? “We preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles.” The beauty and the glory of the Cross makes no sense, unless we have accepted the wisdom and truth of God in Christ first! And the hope and promise that is inherent in accepting our own cross is hollow and senseless without faith in Jesus, and without seeing the hope and promise that lives within his Cross.

And the last verse in our readings today is the truth behind all the questions that we have been considering – the “foolishness” that we attribute to God is wiser and truer and more glorious than anything we could ever devise or explain on our own.
And just as important – that the “weakness” that others believe that faith in Jesus Christ demonstrates will be more powerful, more authoritative, more successful than all the armies, all the governments, all the strength that the earth can, and will, ever muster.

Is the Cross of Jesus Christ foolishness or glory? Is it truth or fiction? Is it penalty or victory? Is it evil or divine?

To paraphrase Joshua in 24:15, if accepting the ways of the Lord seem foolish or inadequate to you, then choose whoever you will serve, but don’t come crying to Jesus on the Judgement Day, begging for his mercy, confessing that you just didn’t understand, that someone else must have made some mistake!

If we make the foolish mistake of denying Christ, instead of having faith and accepting the truth that he brought to earth, then one day it will all be upon our head, not on that of others!

“Leave It There!”

Scripture: John 20:24-29; Colossians 2:13-15

As we continue in our discovery of some symbols of Easter, we are also getting closer to the specifics of Holy Week itself. Last week, we considered the significance of the palms of Palm Sunday. Today, we look at the next symbol of that week – the nails. There is an old saying that it wasn’t the nails that held Jesus to the cross, it was by the love he has for you and me. There wasn’t a single moment that Jesus couldn’t have stepped down from that Cross, sparing himself of all the pain and humiliation and the trauma of death that was slowly taking control of his life and body. But his love, and passion, and commitment to this sinful and corrupt human race would never allow him to deviate from the path that had been laid out for him.

Jesus’ mission to the people of earth was focused on two tasks – first, to bring the truth of God to our lives, that the fallacy and futility of the law might be set in its proper place, and second, to create an achievable way for us to gain eternal life in him. His years of ministry had corrected the false impression that adherence to the law was all that we had, and the sacrifice of his humanity on Calvary’s tree, with the shedding his blood, and the surrender of his life, would open heaven’s door for all who would simply believe.

The nails were an important part of his executioners’ work, but for God and all who believe in Christ, they are simply a sign that, by the Lord’s own choice, he would never cheat Calvary and deny the world their only opportunity to live with him forever.

Today’s sign of Easter are the Three Nails of Calvary.


Read John 20:24-29

Thomas had always been a slow, but deliberate learner, but when truth would finally enter his heart, it was there for good. He would be led to India to minster to the people in that part of the world, and eventually would die a martyr.

He had been a disciple of Jesus for quite some time, and it took the entire time for him to finally understand just who and why Jesus had come to be with him. In John 14:1-7, Jesus tells his followers that he will be leaving them soon to prepare a place for them (meaning an eternal home!), but that he will be back to take them with him. He then says that they (the disciples) know the way to where he will be.
Thomas, in his wanting to know where that place is and how he will know the way there, reveals the truth of his lack of understanding when he replies “We don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus then becomes very pointed, and informs them all that not only is he the way, but that he is also the truth and the life that they have been seeking.

Thomas was one of those folks who just had to be 100% certain – he needed overwhelming evidence before he could trust that what he was being asked to believe was, indeed, the truth for his life.

And in our passage, we realize that the Risen Jesus has appeared to a number of his faithful, but Thomas had missed it all, and when he was told about the truth of their Lord, he replies that until he can put his finger the holes in his hands and can put his hand in the spear wound in the side, he will never be able to believe this incredible story.
Just then, Jesus appears, and since the others had already seen the Living Lord, we can assume that this appearing is specifically for Thomas. And before anyone can utter a word, Jesus offers his peace to those who are gathered, then tells Thomas to do just as he had desired – to put his finger in the nail holes, and his hand into the wound in his side. And then, to top it off, he tells the disciple to stop doubting and believe.

And that was just what Thomas needed. There is nothing to indicate that the man ever took Jesus up on the offer, but in that same moment, Thomas makes his confession of faith – “My Lord and my God!”

Were those nails, and the holes that they made, just for Thomas – that he would finally understand and believe? Perhaps, but more likely, they are there for all who would doubt and hesitate in believing that Jesus is truly the Risen and Living Lord of all. Faith and trust didn’t come easily for Thomas, but in this story, we discover that Jesus is patient and, when necessary, intentional and direct with anyone who is unsure, anyone who is overly cautious, anyone who tends toward doubt and hesitation.

And when we finally set the limitations of earth aside, there is no limit to what God can do with, for, and through us.

Read Colossians 2:13-15

In these 3 verses, Paul presents four truths for our lives.

First, even while we were still immersed in our sinful lives, we had been brought to new life through the perfect life and sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That’s right – we don’t have to become worthy of Christ before we come to his way. Worthiness was won for us while we were still dead in our sin! In Paul’s letter to the Romans (Romans 5:8), he expressed this same promise with these familiar words – “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

His worthiness was sacrificed for our worthlessness, so that we could become worthy of a life in him.

Second, Christ has cancelled all of the charges, all of the debt that we have incurred against our lives. Those debts, the sins, those acts that we have committed in opposition to the Lord’s ways, have been wiped from all Godly memory. We deserve the condemnation that sins brings, but the Lord has given us another option. In Zechariah 3:1-10, God demonstrates the authority and completeness of his forgiveness. Satan is present to proclaim all that the man has done to defy and deny God, but the Lord rebukes him, and the charges aren’t even mentioned. Clean robes and a royal headdress are brought out to cloth the man, and God proclaims that his Branch, which is Jesus, is coming soon to wipe out all sin in a single day.

When God eradicates all record of our sin, it is as complete and permanent as though a damp rag has cleaned the chalk from the blackboard of our existence.

Third, our sin, the charges that stand against us, our condemnation, has been nailed to the Cross of Christ, the place of righteousness, with the same nails that pierced Jesus to the point of death. Our sin has suffered the same penalty that Jesus was subjected to – death. The only difference is that there is no hope of resurrection for our sin! It is gone!

And fourth, the “powers and authorities” of earth, or rather the law and its demands that earth has imposed upon us, has been “disarmed”. The authority that the law once held over the people of earth no longer has any power, can no longer condemn, will no longer hold any threat of death and punishment for our less than perfect lives. It has been rendered impotent through the life, the love, the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The nails that Christ accepted at Calvary, the nails that changed Thomas’ doubt and hesitation into faith and absolute trust, the nails that have nailed our sin to the Cross that held Jesus, are the same nails that now hold our sins in condemnation - all through the freedom that Jesus brings to those who believe and trust in Jesus and his life.

The nails of Good Friday, the nails of condemnation and death, have become the nails of hope and life and forgiveness through faith in our Lord, Christ Jesus.

Praise the Lord! Amen.

“The Righteous of God”

Scripture: Leviticus 23:39-43, John 12:12-16, Revelation 7:9-10



The Palm

Today’s Symbol of the Christian faith is the Palm. Of course, the Palm is best known for the part it played on Palm Sunday. But in Psalm 92:12-15, we read “The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the LORD, they will flourish in the courts of our God.” The Palm, in Hebrew tradition, has come to signify Righteousness.

In those few days before Jesus would be crucified for heresy and blasphemy, he received honor and glory from the people, and was being proclaimed as a Righteous Man. The Pharisees and priests who served as members of the Sanhedrin must have been quaking in their sandals. Plans were underway to charge him with capital offences, and here he was being honored and praised by the people. But before we open that passage, we need to consider one of Israel’s annual feasts that incorporated palm branches.

Read Leviticus 23:39-43

This is one of three annual and mandatory feasts for Israel. The Feast of Tabernacles, also known as the Feast of Booths, is one of seven festivals that God had ordained for his people, and this one was to celebrate all that the Lord had done for them throughout the centuries. He had rescued them from bondage in Egypt, he had brought them through those 40 years of wilderness living, he had carried them into, and then out of, exile, and had given them produce from the fields and vines that sustained their lives in the Promised Land.
In preparation for the festival, they were to take branches from several different trees, including palm trees, and build shelters, or booths, to live in during the eight days of celebration. These shelters symbolized the crude housing that they used during their years in the desert, and were to be seen in contrast of the better homes that they now lived in.

Worship and sacrifice were integral parts of this week, as was celebration and remembrance of all that Jehovah God had brought into their lives. But it was even more than that. It was also the Lord’s way of telling them that even greater things were on the way. It was to be the promise of Messiah’s coming, with all that God was putting in place for them and the entire world. And it would also represent God’s plan for Messiah, that Jesus would come, not just once, but that he would return to earth to take his beloved people to live with him in a glorious eternity (John 14:1-7).

The feast of Tabernacles was a time to show honor and praise to their Righteous Lord and King.

Read John 12:12-16

The feast that this passage refers to is Passover, another of the three mandatory festivals for the Jews. No matter where they lived, whether in Judah, or in the Galilee, or in a foreign land, this was a time to come home to celebrate the goodness and saving grace of their God. Little did they know that this year, and during this celebration, the gift that the Lord was going to bring to them would dwarf all that he had done for them during the past 1,500 years! And when the people began to wave the palm branches, and lay them at Jesus’ feet, they were proclaiming his glory, and majesty, and the righteousness that was his very nature. And they didn’t have a clue as to the best part of all – that he would convey that righteousness and glory to all who would accept him and his ways as the Son of God.

And each of the praises that they shouted out had their own powerful significance, whether they fully understood what they were proclaiming or not.

“Hosanna” – they were calling on Jesus to save them. But his salvation wouldn’t be from the oppression of the world - it would be from their sin and the condemnation that it could one day bring to their lives.
“Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord” – Psalm 118: 25-27 is a further affirmation of just who Jesus is.
“Lord, save us; O Lord, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. From the house of the Lord we bless you. The Lord is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar.”
“Blessed is the King of Israel!” From Zechariah 9:9, we read:
“Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.”
And the passage goes on to proclaim the peace that will rest upon them when all the implements of war are taken away. And verse 11 testifies:
“As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you, I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.”

These three expressions bring everything about Easter into context.

But did the crowds actually understand what they were saying? Did they realize that their shouts of welcome and joy were really affirmations of what the scriptures had proclaimed about Jesus many centuries before? Did they know that He could be their ultimate salvation, their King of kings and Lord of lords, their decisive righteousness, and that the blood of his covenant would have infinitely greater power for their lives than the lamb’s blood of Passover?

They probably didn’t, unfortunately.

Read Revelation 7:9-10

Again, palm branches, being held by the righteous people, who will come “from every nation, tribe, people and language”, and they now knew the victory that faith in the Lamb of God would bring to those who were faithful to the life and teaching of Christ. The brilliantly white robes were a sign of victory, and as we read in chapter 7, we discover that this whiteness comes from none other than through the power of “the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:13-14). Righteousness, victory, purity, glory – all of it made possible for the people of earth by the love, sacrifice, and commitment of Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

The righteous nature of God, proclaimed from the beginning of Israel to the final victory for the people of earth. On Palm Sunday, when we all hold the palms of Jesus’ triumphal entry, not just into Jerusalem, but into our hearts and lives, remember the righteous victory that he brings to all who will just believe in him.

May his glory and righteousness and promise of eternity rest upon us all.

“Jesus Christ, Savior”

Scripture: John 21:3-6, Matthew 13:47-50

The Fish

The sign of the fish has been a part of the Christian faith since the beginning. It was used as an introduction of one Christian to another when they met as strangers on the road. 1 person would scribe one side of the “fish” in the dust of the road, and in response, if the other person was also a Christian, he would scribe the other side, making a fish. The dust would then be quickly spread around, obliterating the sign from the prying eyes of other travelers.

But why a fish? Why not a cross, or some other unmistakable sign? First, the fish wouldn’t be as obvious as a cross, because anonymity, in those early days, was vitally important for the lives of these followers of “The Way”. But also, when the first letters of the Greek words for “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior” were placed together as one word, it would spell “ichthys”, which is the Greek word for - “fish”, so it was also a testimony for these early believers!

Today, we still see the sign of the Fish on car bumpers and other places of prominence, as a sign that we are looking at a Christian.

Today’s Christian sign is the Fish.

Read John 21:3-6

This, of course, is the time, following Jesus’ resurrection, when the disciples had gone back to the Galilee, waiting for Jesus to come to them again. It had been a turbulent month, first with their struggle over Jesus arrest, trial, scourging, and crucifixion, then the fear of discovery, and the possibility of their own execution at Calvary as the result. Then the joy came with God’s revealing of the resurrected Lord, his appearance in the locked room, and the many other sightings of the Living Jesus. It had been like an emotional roller coaster, and they could only imagine what was going to happen next. But they hadn’t seen him since they left Jerusalem, and the anticipation was beginning to wear on their nerves.

I’ve never been much of a fisherman, even though I did manage to cast a line or two when I was growing up. It takes a certain amount of patience to wait for that nibble on the bait, but once you manage that, the peace that comes greatly outweighs the wait, and when a fish hits your line, the thrill is unlike anything in this life. For these 8 disciples, many of whom had been commercial fishermen, restlessness led them out to the Sea of Galilee for an evening of relaxation and stress relief.

But after an entire night of fishing, there was nothing to show for their efforts. Until, that is, the stranger on the shore told them that they were casting their nets on the wrong side of the boat! It appears that a few feet make a huge difference when it comes to fishing. So if this is true in fishing, imagine what a minor deviation from the truth makes in our faith? Everything that Jesus taught during his three years of ministry was very direct and specific. Consider his parables – stories that related to everyday activities that the people understood very well. They were pointed and specific, like the lost coin (Luke 15:8-10), the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30), the unjust Judge (Luke 18:1-8), the forgiven debts (Luke 7:41-43), and many more. The lessons were poignant, and the truths that each contains can never be discounted as we grow in faith and trust of Jesus. When it comes to our faith, there is no fence sitting, no being good enough, no blending of the Lord’s words with the words that come from our culture. Whether it is being a few feet off in fishing, or only coming close to Jesus, neither one of them will ever suffice.

And when these men listened to Jesus, their catch was so large, that even when all of them pulled, they couldn’t bring the net into the boat. Later in this passage, we read that 153 fish had been caught in one cast! Just as in our walk of faith, when these men listened to Jesus’ direction for their fishing, great things happened, and that night, not only did the Lord show them where to fish, but he fed them a breakfast of fried fish and fresh baked bread.

When we follow the Lord’s guidance for our ministry, we not only discover great victories in our humble efforts, but he nourishes us and feeds us to strengthen us in faith. And that will be enough!

Read Matthew 13:47-50

This is one of those teaching parables that comes to us from Jesus. It is based in an activity that several of the disciples understood very well, but it was never intended to be limited to a worldly perspective only. Every story, every sermon, every encounter that we read of in the gospels is based in human reality, but each also has a spiritual message that must never be overlooked.

This parable, while on the surface is about fishing, is really teaching us what the Church should be about. The net doesn’t care what fish is being trapped within its strands – whether good eating or bad, whether big or small, whether healthy or sick, the net doesn’t care – it gathers them all in and is incapable of discriminating between the desirable fish and the rejects.

The Church, too, must be open to all. When we reach out to others, those who have either been hurt by the Church and have shut the door on faith, or those who, for whatever reason, have never been invited to give Jesus a chance, we don’t get to be selective as to who we share Jesus with. But why?
First, we never know who will discover that the Lord is the best Person that they will ever come to know. Just because we only know them through their lifestyle or reputation, it can never be the reason for us to decide that they will never have a place in Christ! In Matthew 7:1-5, we read that judgment has no place in our lives, and especially not in our ministries.
And second, we don’t get to decide who will eventually reject the ways of Jesus and leave his Church. Our only part in their lives is to give them every reason to stay and learn and accept Jesus as their own Lord and Savior – and not just for this life, but for eternity.

The next lesson that this parable offers us is that even though we are not to judge, there will be a Judgment one day. This Judgment will be at the hand of God Himself, and will not be based in how much good we have done, or how strong we have been in ministry, or how many sermons we have preached, or how many people we have brought into the Lord’s Presence. The only examination that we will be subjected to will be whether we have followed the Lord’s lead for our lives, or not – whether we have accepted him as Lord and Savior, and have been faithful to his teaching, or if we have given our lives over to the world and its ways.

The symbol of the FISH is about each and every one of us. The only difference is that we have the choice to either be saved, or to remain on the outside looking in.
The net is about the Church, except the Church can choose to bring all the fish into the shore, or to let holes develop that let many of them to get away, which will, in and of itself, be a denial of all that Jesus would have us be.
And Jesus is the fisherman. When the Church is faithful, Jesus is the one who keeps it in good repair, and never lets it miss proclaiming hope to all. And when the fish choose to be caught up in the glory and power of Almighty God, Jesus is the one who welcomes them and saves them for the best of all outcomes.

Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior. Where will we be this day? Caught up in Christ, or letting the currents of earth carry us away from him and eternity?