Easter Reflection

Reflection has been a way of life for many people for many millennia. We see people reflect on their triumphs and failures. We see people reflect on advice and input others have given them. We see people reflect through statistics and stats, and graphs. We see reflection in our school systems as teachers ask questions and students ponder on what response might get them the best grade.

Most of our reflection today in our society is based on our successes, failures, and how to achieve the optimal results that our peers and superiors are looking for.

I have a question: As we come to the end of this easter month, what do you find yourself reflecting on?

Where do you find your thoughts carrying you?

How has this affected your spiritual walk?

Take 5 minutes with your group to discuss these questions.

As we come to the end of the Easter month, it causes me to pause and reflect. It causes me to reflect on the conditions of our hearts as well as the hearts of those around us in our community. I find myself reflecting on the world's willingness to hear the gospel's good news.

Equally, I find myself reflecting on the church's willingness to speak the word of God unapologetically.

As I think about Jesus and all He did while He was in ministry on earth, I can’t help but think of how He spoke the good news everywhere He went. And when He was challenged by those who were in authority in the land, He didn’t back down.

The news that Jesus came to proclaim was so important He was willing to ruffle some feathers and even pay the ultimate sacrifice.

Jesus, through His ministry, proclaims that He is indeed the son of God and that no one can get to the Father except through Jesus Christ.

The leaders around Jesus would try to get Jesus for eating with sinners (Mark 2:16), for upsetting stereotypes about him in his hometown (Mark 6:3), for violating principles about the law (Mark 2:24; 3:6; 7:5), and of course they tried to catch him several times for blaspheming (Mark 2:7; 3:22; 11:27-28; 14:53-64; 15:29-32, 39)

What is interesting, but definitely not surprising, is Jesus’ response to these Pharisees.

Let’s look at these.

Read the following passages with your groups.

Group 1: Mark 2:15-17; Mark 7:5-9

Group 2: Mark 2:23-28; Mark 11: 27-28

Group 3: Mark 3:1-6; Mark 14:53-65

Group 4: Mark 3:20-30; Mark 15:29-39

Questions to consider while reading these passages: What was Jesus getting in trouble for?

How did Jesus respond?

Jesus found himself primarily in trouble for helping people who the Pharisees saw as unclean.

Jesus worked many miracles, and he preached of a new covenant that had come. Jesus claimed, rightfully and truthfully, that he was indeed the son of God. The Pharisees couldn’t handle this revelation as Jesus took all authority from them. The Pharisees didn’t like that If people followed Jesus, the Pharisees would no longer have the power they had commanded! So they devised a plan to get rid of Jesus to secure their way of life.

Jesus knew what had to happen, and this is recorded in Mark 8:31-38

Read Mark 8:31-38

Mark 8:31–38 NASB95

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. And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul? “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”

What happens if we reject Jesus?

What happens if we are ashamed of Jesus and His word (the Bible)?

Read John 12:47-50

John 12:47–50 NASB95

“If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day. “For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. “I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”

The truth is we are all invited by Jesus to have everlasting life… but it is our decision to accept this gift. This gift cannot be forced on us.

And if we accept the invitation to have Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, and we also accept to invite others along the way.

But we must repent and turn our lives to Christ.

Matthew 22:1-14 describes it like this

Read Matthew 22:1-14

Matthew 22:1–14 NASB95

Jesus spoke to them again in parables, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son. “And he sent out his slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding feast, and they were unwilling to come. “Again he sent out other slaves saying, ‘Tell those who have been invited, “Behold, I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fattened livestock are all butchered and everything is ready; come to the wedding feast.” ’ “But they paid no attention and went their way, one to his own farm, another to his business, and the rest seized his slaves and mistreated them and killed them. “But the king was enraged, and he sent his armies and destroyed those murderers and set their city on fire. “Then he said to his slaves, ‘The wedding is ready, but those who were invited were not worthy. ‘Go therefore to the main highways, and as many as you find there, invite to the wedding feast.’ “Those slaves went out into the streets and gathered together all they found, both evil and good; and the wedding hall was filled with dinner guests. “But when the king came in to look over the dinner guests, he saw a man there who was not dressed in wedding clothes, and he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you come in here without wedding clothes?’ And the man was speechless. “Then the king said to the servants, ‘Bind him hand and foot, and throw him into the outer darkness; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ “For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Here is the truth of the matter, the Israelites were the chosen people of God, Jesus came to remind them of the new covenant that was prophesized about, but he was rejected. So Jesus began to invite many to the banquet, the Samaritan woman, the tax collector, the thief, the sick and the afflicted. All he said was repent from your ways and follow me. So they did. They chose to repent from their sins and follow Jesus. He came knowing that he would be rejected by many, but he also came to save all those who needed a sacrificial lamb.

Without Jesus, we are all damned to hell.

“For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23.

How does the next verse continue?

And all are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

So what is Jesus’ response to all of this?

Read Mark 16:15-16

If we stick to Mark we find Jesus says in Mark 16:15-16 “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” In Matthew 28:18-20 we know this as the great commission. “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

All the disciples took this command seriously and went out and preached everything Jesus had taught them, and most of these disciples gladly took up their crosses and died harrowing deaths. Today, Christians around the world still gladly bare their crosses and follow Jesus. Proclaiming the good news for all to hear.

So here is my final questions: If you believe in Jesus, what is stopping you from confidently proclaiming the good news?

If you don’t believe, what is stopping you from believing?

And finally, as you think about what we have talked about today, where do you find your thoughts?

Instead of joining back with your groups, I want to invite you to spread out and think about those questions. Next month we are going to be diving into a series called Doubt & Questions, where we are hoping to tackle some of your doubts and questions in the light of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, God’s word, and how we can look for God in unexpected places. So as you think about the questions I asked, please feel free to write down your thoughts and questions on the paper I provided. You can include your name if you want a one-on-one conversation about it at some point. You can even request who you would like to have that conversation with, or you can even keep your page anonymous. We won’t be able to get to everyone's thoughts and questions, but we will certainly try. I have also brought paint and canvas’ as you reflect on everything you have heard, I would encourage you to try painting your thoughts and feelings into existence on that canvas.

After a while, 30 minutes or so, we will come back together, and I will invite you into a time of reflective worship, and we will take communion together.