The Ears of Christ

Lenten Devotional Message

March 22, 2006

† In the Name of Christ †

2 Thessalonians 1:2 (NLT) ² May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.

Will God Hear?

I have heard a question asked, many times in my ministry. It is a question that is as hard to ask, as it is to answer. Simply stated, the question is,

Will God hear me?

It is a question that every person asks in their life, and I think, if we are honest, a question we are not sure of the answer of, especially when we, or someone we care about, is suffering. Or when our prayers seemingly go unanswered, because we fail to see the result that we desire. Example – we have prayed our house in Yucca would sell, and we have prayed for Darrel’s getting the HUD voucher, or Pr. Knotek’s wife memory improving, – those answers seem non-existent, in light of other prayer requests.

Often times, we come across as being trite, because we say God can also answer, NO, or Wait. Sure he can, but that doesn’t end the dilemma, it doesn’t bring much comfort to Pr. Knotek and Ruth, it doesn’t help move Darrel to the apartment in Escondido.

Wrong Question?

Did we hear Him promise to Hear?

Example – the friends bringing the deaf/lame guy

Israel’s crying for freedom, their cry for food, their cry for water

Their cry for forgiveness

The teaching of the Lord’s Prayer

I think we might be asking the wrong question, in asking if or will God will hear our prayers. I think we need to hear something, that rather leaves us in doubt, leaves our faith strengthened. Will God answer our prayer, leaves one in doubt, for it leaves to many other questions unanswered. But do we ask, did we hear that God asked us to place all burdens on Him? Do we know the promises that nothing can separate us from His love? That He will be with us, until the end of time?

Did we see the gospel story tonight, where Jesus heard the pleas of the friends, and the man heard and talked miraculously? Did God hear Israel in Egypt, or when they hungered and asked food, or water? Did He not hear? Of course He did!

He heard, and He promises to hear our cries.

Remember the words from Luke’s gospel, that follow Jesus teaching the apostles ot pray,

¹¹ What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; ¹² or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? ¹³ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11:11-13 (ESV)

God gives us himself, the Holy Spirit, to lead us, to guide us, to save us, to bring us comfort and peace. Even in the midst of the worst problems, the Holy Spirit is there with us, providing us the peace and comfort, that will allow us to act - in faith.

Even in the situations, where we walk in valleys unknown, we know that God has promised to be with us, to be the Shepherd who guides us with both staff, and rod.

Have we heard what God promises we can lay before Him, and know – He has heard?

Things like dealing with Temptation, and the devil

Things like forgiving those who have sinned against us.

Things like receiving the forgiveness of our sins.

Things like the necessities for daily survival.

Things like God ruling in this world, ensuring the outcome for His people.

All those things, Jesus has promised that we can pray to the Father about – and that the Father will hear.

Because Jesus is the response, the cross the tool, that ensures God willl listen, and forgive, and make right.

His death ensures, we can pray to our Father.

So tonight, we shall have a workout prior to dinner – an exercise of faith.

Our prayer tonight. a test in faith…

We, not I shall pray. I shall lead off, and as we pray, lay your burdens before God. Someone remember to pray for our church – that we shall deliver the gospel to people here, and through our missionaries – to the world.

Someone just ask God to bless our community.

This is not in detail – just ask God to bless those you are concerned about a few quick words – example – Lord – help the pastor’s house to sell, or God – take care of Darrel’s living situation. After a while, I will end as the bulletin says…

Let’s exercise our faith in God, not only for salvation, but in His promise – that He will here.

And having laid those burdens down, may the peace of God which passes understanding, guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

AMEN?

Zealously CLeansing Temples

(note - this came out far more polished than this)

Zealously Cleansing Temples

John 2:13-22

3/19

† In the name of Jesus, the Christ †

Grace to you, and peace, from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ!

In your notes this morning, there is a map of the temple area. It will become important to understand what happens in the gospel reading today. It occurs in that section labeled the Court of the Gentiles, and there is a lot to see in this story where Jesus gets mad. Let’s go into that courtyard, just as Jesus did, and see what is going on….

It is the week of Passover, the highest feast of the Jewish Calendar. Literally, over a million people will come into Jerusalem that week, and not only come to Jerusalem, but also to to this magnificent Temple, originally dedicated for one purpose, to gather God’s people into His presence. But in this courtyard, it resembles a swap meet far more than a church. Money changers and brokers have set up their booths, knowing that this day, they will become rich. With a million people in town, the crates of pigeons are stacked as high as possible, and the strings of sheep and oxen cover so much of this courtyard.

Imagine all the noise, as people attempt to haggle with the brokers, but really can not. Add to this the noise of hundreds of sheep, and pigeons, and the horrible aroma that would arise from those animals and the pigeons that by the thousand, were kept in cages. These were the animals Israel was required to sacrifice. In the name of convenience, certain merchants were given the rights to sell the animals, while others sold the special coin required to play the temple tax. On these hot days prior surrounding the Passover Feast, one could feel incredibly overwhelmed. The last thing on their minds, would be the grace of God. It gets to the point where they just want to meet their obligation, and leave this… mess.

Because of the chaos, the last thing desired, is be to spend time in celebration and adoration of the Lord who delivered his people from so much since that first Passover. The incredible time that He delivered them from the angel of death, and slavery in Egypt.

But that was why Jesus had come that day to Jerusalem. It was the reason people were gathered there, by the incredible love of God, to receive the assurance that they were His people, that their sins were forgiven, that He would receive their adoration and worship, and hear their prayers. But because of convenience, because of profit, this was stolen from them. As Satan, and the world, try to steal our celebration of the grace God has given to us.

No wonder, Jesus, the Son of God, got a bit over-heated, and proceeded to make a mess, out of what man had made of the Holy Place of God. No wonder He was so zealous about cleansing that temple. No wonder He is so desirous of cleansing ours.

Zealous about Cleansing

Why it needed to be cleaned

What needed to be cleaned out

Why was He so zealous? 1 King 8

A little bit of background is necessary, to understand Jesus’ attitude – His frustration, His anger at turning the Holy Place into a mega-mall.

Back to picturing the court of the Temple, the place also known as the court of the Gentiles. As we look around, as we hear the noise of voices, and coins and animals, as our senses are assaulted by the smells, we notice something else going on, missed by all those engaged in business.

A few people are over there in the corner, kneeling on the ground; attempting to pray - despite the chaos. A few more are over there, sitting on the steps, trying to listen to words of the rabbis teaching at Solomon’s porch. Others, trying to ignore the distractions of business, as they attempt to praise God, as they realize He desire to forgive their sins as well as those of Israel. For it was written of them in the prophet Isaiah,

⁶ "And the gentiles who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant— ⁷ these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples." ⁸ The Lord God, who gathers the outcasts of Israel, declares, "I will gather yet others to him besides those already gathered." Isaiah 56:6-8 (ESV)

You see, God was calling these Gentiles, who could go no closer than this court, this market, to the temple, He called them to be there, as surely as He has called you and I to be here today. In the midst of this Holy place, mankind had set up shop. In the name of providing convenience, in the pursuit of incredible profit, the priests and merchants stole from them the chance to receive God’s blessing in peace, to pray without distraction, to hear the words of God, clearly. Remember – this is the place of which, at its dedication, Solomon was inspired by God to say,

²⁷ "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! ²⁸ Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, ²⁹ that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, 'My name shall be there,' that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. ³⁰ And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. 1 Kings 8:27-30 (ESV)

Yet, in the name of profit and convenience, the prayers were made in the midst of chaos, the worship done amidst the noise and confusion of a mall at Christmastime.

Something had to be done! Yet no one was willing to forego the convenience, or the profit. And so, people were denied the ability to pray, to learn, to worship in a peaceful setting. This is more than just a shame, it is sinful. And it will invoke the wrath of a God, who told us long ago, that He is a jealous God.

Jesus that day, cleansed the temple, with a cleanser more powerful than anything every seen before. With both the wrath, and the love of God.

He once again, made it a Holy Place! As He can with our lives.

Our Temples too, need cleansing

Oblivious to distractions

Poured out

Turned over

As I kept re-writing this section, trying to find the correct words, it hit me – our faith is like two different snow storms. The first is the kind like the temple prior to Jesus cleaning. A nice light inch or two of snow – enough to make the mountains take on the appearance of Colorado, but not enough to stop our usual agenda.

The second is like the snow storm we received last week – where it just dumps all over us, burying us in the clean white stuff – so clean and white, it can blind our eyes. That kind of faith struggles with the changes it makes in our lives. We can’t just go on the way we usually do, though we might try, by first trying to dig out the shovels, or putting chains on our 4x4’s. And we miss the blessings that kids see, the joy of sledding down the hill, or the quiet solitude of cross country skiing. Or just relaxing with family and a friend or two, in front of a warm fire.

Paul describes our lives as temples of the Holy Spirit, and sometimes we let them get into what I call obligation mode. How much do I have to do, in order not to spend eternity in hell. Can I buy my sacrifice, rather than give up I care for? WE don’t even care if that convenience results in others not being able to receive the blessings God would pour out on us all! We just settle for the appearance of Godliness.

We need out temples clean, the booths and tables turned over, the false sacrifices driven out, the coins spilled out. We need Jesus to come in and do a thorough cleansing of our lives.

The Cleansing Agent

Resurrecting this Temple of His Body

That is our hope in all of this, the same hope that those gathered in the courtyard of the Gentiles found that day. You see, Jesus is great at cleaning temples. He has a remarkable combination of cleansing agents, that He applies to us, driving away all that is corrupted, all that is distracting.

It is the cleansing agents He pointed to, in answering the cry for a sign of His authority. Destroy his Body, He challenged them, and in three days, that temple would arise from the dead. In that death and burial and resurrection, we find the most incredible cleansing agents possible – the water of Baptism, where we are united with His death, and the Body and Blood, given to us in the Lord’s Supper.

Applied to our lives, they pour out the incredible grace of God, which cleanses us from all sin, that leaves us, not full of distractions, but awe at the incredible zeal that God has for His swelling place among us.

For you see, it wasn’t about the building, but it was about what it has always been about. God, living in the midst of His people, and His people, recognizing that God is in their midst, and rejoicing in His love, while adoring and worshipping Him.

Living in the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, by which Christ zealously guards our hearts and our minds.

AMEN.

The Wilderness

Mark 1:12-15
3/5 First Sunday in Lent

† In the name of Jesus †

Grace and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ!

Our sermon today, is about 40 days in the life of Jesus. 40 days that were not, among the most notable. No Pharisees were chewed out, no miracles were done, no sermons were preached, no one was healed.. There were a few conversations with Satan, but those were not a blessing, but some of the more stressful days that Jesus would see, as he walked this planet. 40 days, that is a long time to be in a wilderness, a long time to be isolated from others, a long time to think and dream, both great dreams, and dreams that can only be classed as nightmares.

We live in a society that abhors being isolated, whether in the wilderness of the Anza Borrego desert, or in the wilderness of Los Angeles’. Think, when was the last time you spent 30 minutes, alone, and quiet? How about 60 minutes? I love all my gadgets, that allow me to play music, or games, or do my work without silence. Even in silence, I have my library to keep me company, to give me worlds to escape into, avoiding the isolation of being in the wilderness. It is one of the reasons you will always find a book near me, in my cars, in my living room, even in my bathroom! There are times I will do anything to avoid that wilderness, because of my fear of it, and frustrations I have had, in my past, in dealing with the wilderness. Yet, I believe firmly, that the wilderness is more of a blessing, than we can ever realize.

As we have entered Lent, it is right that we consider the wilderness experience. Where we see what Jesus went through. More than that, it is a time to realize why he went through these things, so that while we are in the wilderness, we would find comfort and peace in him. As well, we shall learn a bit, about helping others, as they go through those wilderness times.

His Wilderness Journey
Loneliness
Temptation
Result

We begin this journey of Lent, observing Jesus being driven into the wilderness. The first verse of our passage states what happens next, the Spirit drives Jesus out into the wilderness. I like that word, drives, it shows the force that is there in the verb in Greek. Think of a group of ranch hands, driving the cattle, or Tiger Woods, calmly driving the golf ball some three hundreds yards. This 40 days that Jesus will spend out there, has a reason, as he prepares for 3 years of ministry, with a cold, hard splintered cross at the end. Just as there is a reason, when we are in the wilderness!

The Spirit drives him out into the wilderness, the place of hermits, and hermitages. Places of desolation, of quietness, places that would have names like the badlands. The kind of place where you are alone with yourself, where you have time to think. There Jesus was driven, to confront the very problems that haunt mankind. The problems of loneliness, and the challenge of dealing with temptation.

I love Mark’s way of dealing with the temptation of Jesus. Where Matthew and Luke get into the actual temptations, Mark just mentions that it happened. What was important was that Jesus did face temptation, temptation of every kind. I think it beneficial for us, to define temptation. It is the attempt to pierce our defenses, to find those spots that are weak, so that our enemy, the devil, can attack us there, and see us fall. For some of us, some temptations are easily defended against, yet are devastating to others. Our weakness are such, that others may not understand how we fall so easily. Satan wants to know, how can he trap us into sin? The sin the Bible pictures as ensnaring us so easily. He will try to get us to doubt, to question, to not trust in God.

Yet Jesus did not sin, despite every temptation, and combination of temptations. Hebrews tells us, that this is a blessing, for us!

Hebrews 4:14-16 (ESV) 14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Jesus, at the end of the 40 days, at the end of the time of isolation, goes out, and proclaims, the Kingdom of God is Here! Repent and Trust in Me! You can approach the throne, and receive the mercy and grace!

What a great thing to hear, when you are alone, a virtual hermit in the wilderness.

Our Wilderness Journeys
Temptation & Loneliness
Will we allow ourselves to be served?
By His “angels”

I tried to come up with a “wilderness” story, for the sermon, and there are many. We see Israel sent into the wilderness, as they are rescued from Eqypt. That wilderness journey lasted forty years, and included lots of temptations, some of which pierced through and caused them to sin. But that journey, is perhaps too far removed for this sermon. We each have our journeys in the wilderness, some lasting longer than others.

The best short version I could come up with, was one night, when I was around fourteen. I don’t remember if it was a field trip, or perhaps a cross country or winter track meet. I remember the bus pulling up to the school, around sunset. Most of my friends had their rides waiting from them, or were picked up quickly. Slowly, it became apparent that I would be the last one there. I could read whatever book I had, sitting against one of the may light standards. That may have lasted for a while, but soon, the deserted campus seemed to grow larger, and more scary, more wild. As I shrunk, and instead of the strong tall 14 year old, felt like I was about four. After an hour or two, my mind began to play games, as our minds do. Had there been an accident? Was my family ok? Worried, I then wondered if I had just been abandoned, if my family had forgotten about me. What did I do wrong that caused them to abandon me? What sin did I commit, that this was the consequence of? Worry turned to anger, anger into resentment. Finally, my dad pulled up, in our long sleek, navy blue monte carlo. Relief melted in, as I knew I was no longer alone, I was safe, though a bit ticked off at my family.

Our wilderness experiences can be like that, as we have to deal with being, alone. Not a pleasant feeling at all. There may be times, where we get angry, and are pierced by Satan’s temptation, and sin, as we try to rescue ourselves. We may get depressed, or angry, and blame others for the wilderness we find ourselves in. We don’t often do well with isolation, and wildernesses, we are made to face the fact that we aren’t as big and brave, and strong.

As I finished this sermon, I was listening to one of my favorite musicians, and a song, appropriately titled, the wilderness. It talks about Israel being sent out into the wilderness, and it has some incredible lines. One of them is “He gives grace sufficient to survive any test, and that’s the painful purpose of the wilderness”. That is the incredible message of today’s gospel – that because Jesus had his own wilderness experience – He knows what we are going through. He provides the grace, the grace that is sufficient, in any circumstance, in any wilderness. You see, even as Satan’s temptations pierce us, and we are snared by sin, Christ was pierced, not by temptation, but by the nails that bound his hands to the cross. There, He ensured that we would be forgiven, that we would never be alone in the wilderness again, but that we could know, that the Holy Spirit is with us, guiding us, even as God has always guided His people, from the wilderness to His presence. It is that time which Christ so richly proclaimed as He returns from the wilderness. As the Ephesians says,

Ephesians 1:7-10 (MSG) 7 Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we're a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! 8 He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, 9 letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, 10 a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
You see, we are not really alone in those times of wilderness. Of course Christ is there, but even as Christ was ministered too by angels, so are we. Some of those angels are present, sitting perhaps in front of you, or to your left or right, or a couple of rows back.

Their Wilderness Journeys
Temptations & loneliness
Will we be the ministering angels?
Sent by HIM!

That brings us to our last section, about the fact that we really don’t go on wilderness experiences all by ourselves. Most of the people around you, are on their own journeys in the wilderness. They face temptations as well, and sometimes defend themselves, and sometimes fall into sin, even as we do. The same Lord Jesus, the Messiah, who faced temptation, and intercedes for us, desired to do so for them as well.

In the gospel, there is the great note, that Jesus, having conquered Satan’s temptation, angels are sent, to minister, to serve him. Angels are, simply, whether heavenly beings or men, messengers of God, sent to bring His gospel, His message of peace, to those stuck in the wilderness. After all, the best time to be found, is when you are lost!

There are times in life, where we need to let those people God has sent to us, serve us. Where we need to let them be the angels that are sent to serve. For ministry is simply that, serving people, giving them what they need, even when it is not what they want. There are other times, where we are the messengers of God’s love, as we love because He loved us. Here is how it is put in Hebrews,

Hebrews 10:21-25 (ESV) 21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

As we wander this wilderness, we wander it together, as the church, the people of God, for whom He died. We serve each other, we become, angels of God’s mercy, for each other. This is done out of love for God, reminding them of the forgiveness of Christ, assuring them of His love, and peace and grace, assuring them that He is there, for them. Sometimes we are the one served, sometimes, we are the ones to serve.

But like my dad, and I, once picked up, we are in this together, led by the only one, who survived the wilderness, by His own strength.
AMEN.

His Feet

A sermon for Ash Wednesday


The feet were about 33 years old. The had stood in the temple, when teachers questioned him. They had endured 40 rough days, as Jesus was tempted in the desert. They had cold water pass over them, as John baptized Jesus, for our righteousness’ sake. They also had walked over the top of Lake Galilee. They had walked upon the side of small mountains, in order that people could hear Him, and walked up another mountain, so that Peter James and John could hear the Father. They walked the length and breadth of the land of Israel, through tiny villages, and in the cities. They brought the incredible message of life, to people who knew only suffering.

They were the feet prophesied about in the Old Testament,

Isaiah 52:7 (NKJV) 7 How beautiful upon the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who proclaims peace, Who brings glad tidings of good things, Who proclaims salvation, Who says to Zion, "Your God reigns!"

In today’s gospel lesson, one lady found those feet beautiful, so beautiful that she could not but show her love, her adoration, her care, for those feet, and the message they brought her.

Up to that day, she lived a life, that ignored the fact that God reigns. Everyone knew she was a sinner, matter of fact, people like her were often used as an example of walking in sin, ignoring the commandments of God. For her, to receive the message that her sins were forgiven, that she could live in God’s kingdom forever, brought her to her knees.
The complete joy of knowing she was free from condemnation changed her. The incredibly expensive perfume that regularly was part of her life attracting men, was now poured out on his feet – for those feet brought the message of salvation. She knew that she had been rescued, that she had been delivered. Her response was one of awe, and of inexpressible joy, joy that poured itself out in the tears that washed his feet. She worshipped the God, whose life reigned over hers.

Her example is shown today, and lifted up over that of the Pharisee who invited Jesus to dinner. Not because she did something extraordinary, or sacrificial. It is why she did it- she knew – she believed, she had faith, she trusted in the incredible message that she heard because those feet brought him close to her. Feet that would ensure her salvation, as they are pierced to a cross, where Jesus would die. For her, for us.

TO bring us into the incredible Kingdom of God!

AMEN!

What does this mean?

Mark 9:2-9
The Transfiguration

† In the name of Jesus †

Grace and peace from God our Father and our risen Lord Jesus Christ!
What caused them to ask what does this mean?

If we numbered the incredible things that happened while Jesus walked the earth, the Day of the transfiguration has to be in the top six. The days of His birth, His death, His resurrection, and the day of His ascension to Heaven are the four most obvious ones, but this day, and the day of His baptism come close behind. For it is on these two days, when He was baptized, and when the apostles saw Him in His full glory, that the Father spoke, audibly, about His Son.

In the passage, the apostles ask a intriguing question. It is a question often repeated in catechism class. What does this mean? As they travel back down the mountain, they discuss that question among themselves. What does this mean? What does this mean? In a way, they remind me of some of the people we met on our vacation.

One of the days of our trip, we went out to see the Hoover Dam. On the way back, we stopped at this place where we could get a view of Lake Mead. We had just visited this incredible dam, which on one side is the incredible lake, the other side, nothing for a long way down. Incredible views, of which I have at least 30 pictures. The cars, parked beside the buildings at the base, look about 1/10th the side of a matchbox car. At the overlook, you could see 20 plus miles across a beautiful lake, and incredible mountains and rock formations. What seemed off to me, was the people enjoying the incredible views. What gathered their attention, were about 15 little squirrels/kangaroo rats, which gathered just on the other side of the wall. With all the magnificent scenery, the little varmints were talked about more than the lake!

Peter, James and John seem to me to be like that. You see, they had just seen Moses and Elijah, talking to a Jesus, whom for the first time, they showed in ALL of His glory. O what a sight that must have been, to seem Him shining, fully transformed, the son of God. And then, just as incredible, a cloud covers the mountain, it overshadows them, and they HEAR the voice of the Father, proclaiming His love for Jesus the Son, and commanding them to listen.

Yet, as the three apostles walk back down the hill, they don’t discuss these things, they questions about what this means, is about something Jesus said, as they were leaving. It wasn’t about the Moses and Elijah and the transformation, it wasn’t about the Father’s voice. No what they needed to know about, what they asked it each other about; was “what this rising from the dead might mean”. When I first saw that, it seemed to me like the people getting excited about the varmints, while incredible vistas were all around them. Yet, the more I struggled with it during the week, the more I realize that they stumbled on the key to the passage, and why the transfiguration is so incredible.

All of what happened that day, balances on the question, what this rising from the dead might mean. Without it, the Transfiguration, and the Father’s call to hear Jesus, doesn’t really matter.

Rising from the Dead
§ Mark 8:31 & John 2:19
§ Is it the more… personal miracle.

This talk of Christ’s death is not something new to the three apostles. In the previous chapter of Mark, they heard it as well.

Mark 8:31 (ESV) 31 And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.

In John 2, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, a similar comment was made. In those days, perhaps the apostles could overlook such comments, as they became enamored with following around, the one who could really be the Messiah. But now, a few months away from the cross, this question of Christ rising from the dead, takes on a more personal meaning.
Their rabbi, their teacher, whom they have traveled with for three years, their friend, in order to rise from the dead, must die. Jesus had to die. Had to die.

Though we see the Old Testament as clearly talking about the death of Christ for us, the apostles haven’t put it together yet. Here the prophet Isaiah’s words, 700 years before Christ’s death,

Isaiah 53:5-8 (ESV) 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?

Jesus had to die, and rise again, so that our sins, could be forgiven. Until that time, until we trust in that death for us, the Transfiguration, and the command to hear Jesus, doesn’t make sense.

… Hearing Jesus, doesn’t make sense without the resurrection either
§ HE is more than just a Rabbi
§ The Ten Commandments parallel

The term in greek for hearing is the source of the word acoustic. As we talked with the man who is building our pipe organ, I began to understand why the ceiling stucco is called an acoustic ceiling. It is because it absorbs the sound, and internalizes it. Not something positive for hearing hi quality music, but it presents a great picture for hearing. Hearing is not just interpreting the sound waves into words, but it is internalizing what is said, the words are absorbed into our being.

When we in trust in Christ, for the forgiveness of our sins, the gospel has stuck to us. By the power of the Holy Spirit, we have absorbed that message, and come to a life in faith. Until then, the words have no great meaning, we don’t realize their significance. He came, to bring to us the Kingdom of God, for us to live in the presence of God, as forgiven children of God. That sin, which stopped us from hearing the word of God, from being able to hear, and understand, is no longer holding us in bondage.
We hear, we believe, we trust, in the grace of God, which brings us to life in Christ.

Because He rose from the dead. That is what this rising from the dead means, for us.

… Transformation doesn’t make sense without the resurrection
§ His, or ours
§ 1 Cor 3/Romans 12

There is so much to preach on in this message, the ties into the old testament are incredible, but perhaps more so, is the idea of Transformation, that our epistle adds some insight into. You see, the term for Jesus’ transformation is used only two other times in the New Testament, one of those times we see in our Epistle reading.

Jesus is transformed before the apostles, instantly returning to the view that we shall someday witness. In all of His glory, as He is pictured in the Book of Revelation. Such an incredible view! Jesus , in all of his majesty and wonder, God visible in all his glory, to mortal men.

Yet, our reading from 2 Corinthians talks of us reflecting that image, being transformed into that image. Moses only reflected that glory, when he came down from the mountain. 2 Corinthians talks about the on-going work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, transforming us, as we behold the glory of God. Romans 12:2 -10 talks of this as well, as we are transformed by the re-newing of our minds. Such incredible things are done to us, as we take on the righteousness of Christ, credited to us in our baptism.

Do you realize that transformation is occurring even now, within us, as we see the forgiveness of God, given to us in the death and resurrection of Jesus? That is what this rising from the dead means as well. It is our salvation, our being found righteous, and it results in our sanctification as well, as we are being transformed into the image of Christ.

That is why, in Romas 12, goes on from our transformation to talk of our using our gifts in ministering to each other, and 2 Corinthians talks of us having the incredible treasure of God contained in our lives, a treasure, not to be horded, but to be shared. Here is how it is put there,

2 Corinthians 4:13-15 (ESV) 13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, "I believed, and so I spoke," we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

What does this rising from the dead stuff mean? Incredible things. It means that we can, in a moment, share the body and blood of Christ, in through and under the bread and wine. It means, doing that, we know we are forgiven. It means we can boldly proclaim with the apostles, that He is Risen!
That means something…..

That the peace of God is ours, a peace that passes all understanding, given to us in Christ, and it shall keeps our minds and hearts, His. AMEN