March 31, 2024 - The Way to Life
Notes
Transcript
13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!”
Palms were laid out before Jesus - as He made His way into Jerusalem…!
WHY?
Because as we heard last week - Palms were a symbol of Victory...
And so the people were EXCITED to know that VICTORY had finally COME…!
Their MESSIAH was now HERE!
SURELY - all of their PRAYERS (the prayers of the Jewish people) were about to COME TRUE...
As Jesus - NO DOUBT was going to usher in a NEW ERA for the Jews!!
FREEDOM was coming!
Oppression would be a thing of the PAST!!
Victory had arrived!
And so - those PALMS - were laid down - revealing the PERCEPTION of man!
What do I mean?
The PERCEPTION of the Jews at that time consisted of -
YES - Victory…but of a certain kind!
They expected Jesus to:
Set up a new - physical kingdom
Free the people (Jews) from Roman oppression!
Relieve the people’s SUFFERING once and for all!
THIS - was the expected VICTORY to come!
And so - the people REJOICED!
They EXALTED Jesus!
They BOWED to Jesus!
BUT - they did so - on the basis of those PERCEPTIONS!
And here’s where it went SOUTH for the Jews...
SLIDE:
They expected Jesus to come and cure them of their biggest problems…yet they didn’t know that according to Jesus, they themselves (their hearts) were their biggest problem.
They didn’t understand that THEY needed RESCUED - from THEMSELVES!
Last week - we saw the PERCEPTION of the PALMS.
AND - we saw that SAME perception play out in the life of - Peter.
If you remember last week, we looked closely at the life of Peter, and more specifically we looked at the night of Jesus arrest...
...when Peter drew his sword...defending Jesus and his own reality...
And so what did we see last week?
Looking at Peter’s background: Normal guy (relate)
Highs and Lows of Christian walk
Highs:
Peter KNEW who Jesus was - "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God"
Getting out of the boat
Lows:
We saw a pattern...
Instead of receiving truth, he would try to impart his own truth...What he thought was true...(wash, Jesus death)
Result?
Peter's passion for Jesus Christ trumped his awareness of Spiritual truth...
When Peter drew that sword the night of Christ's arrest....he did so THINKING...
THEIR PHYSICAL RESCUE had come!
BUT THEN - Holy Week played out.
Things began to TAKE A TURN!
Jesus wasn’t very POPULAR!
And it became apparent that THIS WHOLE thing wasn’t going to play out like Jesus’ followers had hoped!
men come to ARREST Jesus…and Peter PULLS that sword!
And we realized this...
SLIDE:
Peter’s passion and zeal for the Lord trumped his awareness of spiritual truth
Now, this leads us into this week...
Last week we were focused on What Lead to the Drawing of Peter's Sword (the night of the arrest)...
And now this week I want to focus in on this...
How did Peter respond when Jesus told him - "Put your sword away"
Because HERE’s THE THING - We celebrate Easter - the Resurrection of Christ - Easter EXISTS - BECAUSE - God’s WAY - entailed Jesus saying to His followers - Put Your SWORD AWAY!
This is what I want to look at today...
I want to see How Peter responded when told his plan wasn't going to play out how he thought it was going to play out...
And then from there I want to relate that to us...
...to see how we respond to being told the same...
And then bring it all back to - EASTER
Let's start by looking at our text from last week, and then moving on from there...
3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with lanterns and torches and weapons.
4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?”
5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them.
6 When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
7 So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.”
8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.”
9 This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.”
10 Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.)
11 So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?”
Ok so, Peter thinks he's defending Jesus and God's plan of rescuing His people from oppression...
But then Jesus says - Uhhh, no, put down your sword...
This MUST happen...
This is MY plan...
Now, let's continue on with the story...
54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance.
55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.
56 Then a servant girl, seeing him as he sat in the light and looking closely at him, said, “This man also was with him.”
57 But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know him.”
58 And a little later someone else saw him and said, “You also are one of them.” But Peter said, “Man, I am not.”
59 And after an interval of about an hour still another insisted, saying, “Certainly this man also was with him, for he too is a Galilean.”
60 But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” And immediately, while he was still speaking, the rooster crowed.
61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.”
62 And he went out and wept bitterly.
We hear this story and we know - Yes, this is Peter's denial of Jesus...
If you remember, a little earlier in this story, Peter made a claim to Jesus about denying Him...
30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.
31 Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’
32 But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.”
33 Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”
34 Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.”
35 Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.
Have we heard this before from Peter?
Yes..
We heard it all last week...
"You will NEVER wash my feet Jesus"
"You will NEVER be killed Jesus"
And now again - "I will NEVER deny you Jesus!"
We see it again - this same pattern in Peter's life...
Instead of receiving truth...he tries to impart His own truth...
And again, he doesn't LISTEN to Jesus...
Jesus says - YES, this will happen, and then THIS will happen...
But Peter refuses to listen!
Instead he says - NO, Jesus, you must be mistaken....You're wrong!
Well.....we know what happens...
Remember - THIS (verses - Foretelling of Peter's denial) happens before Jesus is arrested and Peter's drawing of the sword...
So THIS happens, then...
they come to arrest Jesus...
Peter draws his sword...
Jesus tells him to put it away
And then Jesus is taken...
And Peter is left to think about not only his own actions...but what's playing out before him...
HOW DOES PETER RESPOND?
Ultimately, we all know that Peter denies Jesus...3 times right?
But now, this week, here's what we're going to focus on...
When Peter drew that sword...he was ready to fight...
He was ready to defend...
Jesus
His own thoughts of how Jesus would rescue His people (the political other throw that he was hoping for)
Well....if he was so ready to fight when he drew the sword...
SLIDE: Question
How did Peter go from that readiness to fight for Jesus....to him denying Jesus?
That's the question for today....on this Easter Sunday.
And no, I haven't forgotten that it's Easter...
We'll see by the end of this how this all ties into Easter...
How did Peter go from - READY TO FIGHT - to DENYING Jesus?
His faith - in a sense - had - fallen.
So what we're going to see today is this -
SLIDE:
The Agents of Fallen Faith
I know...
This is supposed to be a happy day, so why we lookin at the Agents of Fallen Faith...?
Well, if we can recognize the agents of Fallen Faith, then maybe we'll be able to avoid some of the pitfalls that Peter fell into...
And that's a good thing!
SLIDE: Agent of Fallen Faith: Self-Confidence
Agent of Fallen Faith
Agent of Fallen Faith
Self-Confidence
The first agent (initiator) of fallen faith we'll look at is - Self-Confidence...
You will NEVER wash my feet Jesus!
You will NEVER be killed by the chief priests and scribes!
I will NEVER deny you Jesus!
We hear this sort of thing over and over again when looking at Peter...
Even when TRUTH was looking him in the eyes, he still didn't LISTEN!
Jesus was constantly imparting truth to the apostles...
And over and over again, we see Peter essentially look at Jesus and say - "No, You're wrong!"
And so we need to make the connection...
Peter was confident that what he thought was RIGHT!
The problem is - Confidence can be based on many different things...
Was Ivan Drago (the Russian fighter) pretty confident that he was going beat Rocky in Rocky IV?
Was the radio host Jim Rome confident that Odell Beckham Jr. was gonna take the Browns to the Super Bowl?
Was the media confident that Hilary Clinton was going to win the Presidency in 2016?
Were the Golden State Warriors confident that they were going to win the 2016 NBA Championship after going up 3-1?
Self-Confidence is an agent to fallen faith...why?
Because man is FALLEN...
See self-confidence is one thing...but wisdom is another...
26 Whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool, but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
What we see over-and-over again is Self-confidence in Peter's walk with the Lord.
And anytime that we begin defending our OWN:
ways...
thoughts on reality...
We're actually displaying Self-Confidence...
And a LACK of FAITH!
Unless my confidence is rooted in Jesus Christ, then my confidence is a sinful Self-Confidence...
It's an agent of Fallen Faith...
But it's not the only one...
SLIDE: Agent of Fallen Faith: Following Jesus at a Distance
Agent of Fallen Faith
Agent of Fallen Faith
54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance.
So here we see, really, the first response from Peter after:
being told to Put Down his sword...
Realizing that his WAY wasn't THE way that this was going to play out...
From being the FIRST to jump up and ready to FIGHT for Jesus...to what?
FOLLOWING AT A DISTANCE!
From being the FIRST and ONLY one to jump up, and say - "Jesus, if that's You...COMMAND me to come to you out on the water!"
To now what?
FOLLOWING AT A DISTANCE!
No longer up at the front lines...
No longer READY to fight...
Now remember, verse 54 here happened BEFORE Peter denied Jesus...
BUT we can see what's building up here!...
There's now a sense of DOUBT setting in!
"Can I TRUST this Jesus character?"
And this situation with Peter kind of MIRRORS what had happened during Holy Week...
Do you remember how the people initially responded to Jesus as He rode into Jerusalem??
37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen,
38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Matthew 21 puts it this way:
8 Most of the crowd spread their cloaks on the road, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
See, for those there, this was the time!
Jesus was going to set up His Kingdom!
conquer the Romans!
elevate Israel to it's proper place!
In all of the world...this was the place to be!
And the City let Christ know how excited they were...
“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; [even the King of Israel]
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
“Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!”
The people saw, in Christ, an opportunity...and they rejoiced!
Hosanna to the Son of David!
Hosanna means "save now, save now!"
They were NOT crying out for Spiritual Salvation from sin...
They were talking about - "save the nation...save the nation!"
...save us from the oppressive Romans...
save us from our desparate condition in this world.
They rejoiced in that which they "thought" was going to happen.
And when THEY realized that Jesus WASN'T going to do as they pleased...
Their cries of HOSANNA turned to cries of "Crucify Him"....
He's NOT doing what we WANT Him to do...
So crucify Him...!
Like the City of Jerusalem....Peter's once READINESS to fight (his once Praise and Adoration) turned to...
Distant glances
Now on the outskirts trying to see what's happening.
This is FALLEN FAITH.
Peter had ELEVATED his own ideas above his ADORATION of Jesus!
To the extent that when his own ideas about what Jesus was going to do didn't pan out...
...his faith in Jesus became DISTANT!
And there's no worse place to be...as a Christian...then in a place where we're now ON THE OUTSKIRTS...taking OCASSIONAL glances at Jesus...
Peter was vulnerable...and his vulnerability leads to the next AGENT of FALLEN FAITH...
SLIDE: Agent of Fallen Faith: Keeping Bad Company
Agent of Fallen Faith
Agent of Fallen Faith
54 Then they seized him and led him away, bringing him into the high priest’s house, and Peter was following at a distance.
55 And when they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat down together, Peter sat down among them.
What we're going to see here is that while YES, it's important for us to be IN the world yet NOT OF the world...
...we need to be VERY cautious!
We might think that we're the SHINING light in a dark place...
We might think that we're having a positive influence on the lost around us....
BUT....
Could it be that the world around us is actually pulling us down?
It says here that Peter was - Following at a distance...
and then...
SITS down among those looking to persecute Christ!!
He sits down...
NO DOUBT Peter had his world rocked when Christ told him to put his sword away...and that God's plan must be fulfilled...in His death.
No doubt that Peter had doubts...
BUT, we have to know....Each of our worlds is going to be ROCKED...probably sooner than we think...
The question is - HOW WILL WE RESPOND?
And something we need to consider is this - Who do we spend the bulk of our time with?
Again, yes, we're called to shine our light to the world...displaying Jesus TO the world...
BUT, if we spend the majority of our time with UNBELIEVERS, then we BETTER be spending just as much time in the Word of God....
...Otherwise what's going to happen?
Here's what - Tragedy will come...You're world will begin to cave in all around you...
...and if you're not theologically prepared to rest in Christ at that moment...you won't!
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
Peter needed to be reminded of this...
What does it say - BLESSED is the man who - WE WANT to be BLESSED in those MOMENTS don't we?
When we get the 2 am phone call with bad news, we WANT TO BE blessed!
When we get the call from the doctor, we want to BE BLESSED in those moments...
Blessed is the man who:
walks NOT in the counsel of the wicked...
nor stands in the way of sinners...
nor sits in the seat of scoffers...
Notice the progression - REgression...
It goes from - Walking...to standing....to sitting...
Isn't this how sin usually works in our lives...
Sin will walk up next to us...and as we walk together....begin a conversation with us...
Once we get comfortable, sin will then reach out it's hand...slow our walk to a stop, and stand and chat with us...
Then, once we're MORE comfortable, SIN will offer us a seat next to it...
Will we take it?
Before you say - "I'll NEVER take that seat"....just know...
Peter did....
His world was caving in around him...
Everything he knew to be true...was crumbling away...
He was confused...
doubtful...
worried...
And because his FAITH had waned...he resided himself to the fact that Jesus was going to die....
And there was NOTHING he could do about it...
At that point in time...Peter didn't know what was going to happen once Jesus was killed.
If he had an idea...he surely was doubtful now!
He didn't know...and so his doubts controlled his actions...
He sat down by the fire...
Nothing else to do...
Sat down with those ready to see Jesus die...He sat in the seat of scoffers...
NOW - I haven't forgotten it's EASTER...
We now...sitting here today...we're now on THIS side of the Resurrection!
Where Peter was trying to FIGURE OUT what was going to happen...having doubts along the way...
WE have the advantage of being able to LOOK BACK and KNOW what happened!!
He ROSE!
Where it's understandable why Peter had DOUBTS about what was going to happen...
WE HAVE NO EXCUSE!
Where it's understandable why Peter was filled with fear not KNOWING what was going to happen...
WE HAVE NO EXCUSE!
**I’ve WATCHED Browns games - RECORDED Brown’s games - KNOWING that they end up winning*
All that fear and anxiety of NOT KNOWING turns into - CONFIDENCE...ASSURANCE!
We HAVE the script!
Jesus ROSE FROM THE DEAD!
JESUS PAID THE PENALTY of SIN for ALL WHO WILL BELIEVE!
JESUS ABSORBED THE WRATH OF GOD for all who will BELIEVE...
We KNOW the ending...!
And so - IF GOD IS FOR US - WHO CAN BE against us?
It's already set up...
It's just a matter of time!
IF YOU BELIEVE THAT - everything I've said for the past 2 minutes...
It'll change everything...!
It'll change the way you approach your day...
It'll change the way you view cancer...
heartache...
suffering...
it'll change the way you view money...or lack thereof...
It'll change the way you view your wife...
your kids...
your retirement...
your spare time...
It changes EVERYTHING...if you believe.
It doesn’t make us PERFECT - in THIS life...
On THIS side of the grave… BUT - it doesn’t empower us!
And so on THIS Easter Sunday...as we look at this man - - Peter...
And we see your Average-Joe...normal guy...with an up-and-down Christian walk...
I hope TOO that you see the BETTER VIEW that WE have...
As we look BACK at the cross of Christ...KNOWING what it all accomplished for us...in this life...and ETERNITY!
Conversations at work about Jesus - nothing to fear - just lay down your sword.
Conversations with neighbors about Jesus - nothing to fear - just lay down your sword.
Inviting people to church - nothing to fear -
That CRAZY situation you’re walking through? - nothing to fear -
Servant like living - nothing to fear
Let's pray that God would help us leave here with a HOLY PERSPECTIVE...CONFIDENT that IN CHRIST...we have NOTHING to fear...
That EVEN in the unknowns - ESPECIALLY in the unknowns - we have nothing to fear… but that we would lay down our swords in TRUST.
We know the ending...
May God use this Easter as a springboard to HOLINESS in our lives...that we would walk in the Spirit...by faith not by sight.
...And so have you called out to Jesus...
That apart from Christ...your goodness....in life...is ONLY sufficient enough to send you to hell...
See God is HOLY...
And because He's HOLY, he is perfectly loving...
And because He's perfectly loving...
He is also perfectly wrathful...
Because He loves...He also MUST HATE...and He hates sin...
Did you know THAT YOU NEED to be PERFECT in order to get to heaven?
What's your response when you hear that?
You might be thinking - "Well that's NOT good because I'm NOT perfect"
And you're RIGHT...
You're NOT perfect...
So what does that mean?
It means we're damned...UNLESS!!!
Unless there was someone who came and lived a PERFECT LIFE...FOR ME...
That's what Jesus did!
See, Jesus didn't JUST DIE FOR YOUR SINS...
HE ALSO LIVED FOR YOUR RIGHTEOUSNESS!!!
You NEED to be perfect in order to get to heaven...
That's why Christ came and LIVED A perfect life...
SO that when you put your faith and trust in Him, HIS righteousness is now IMPUTED to you...
That's the GOOD NEWS of the gospel...
Christianity is not about STUCK-UP people thinking they're better than everybody...
Christianity is about people who understand they are WORTHLESS...apart from Jesus Christ...
The bible says that all those who know they're a sinner in need of a savior....
and call out to Jesus to save them
and trust in Jesus for what HE did...
The bible says that you will be saved! And that you can be assured of this...
This is what the LIFE, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ accomplished for ALL THOSE WHO BELIEVE...
My PRAYER - is that this EASTER - KNOWING how this played out - AND knowing how this ends...
We can trust Jesus enough - to lay down our swords
He’s calling you to -
reach out!
speak HIM INTO those conversations
befriend that person
SHOW grace
Teach
Engage that discipleship group
LEAD
CONSIDER your Lukewarmness - lest you be spit out of His mouth
PREACH
Engage your neighbor for Him
Put down your sword!
KNOWING what you know - NOW - today.... What would you have said to Peter when he drew that sword - the night of Christ’s arrest?
“hey man.... don’t worry… TRUST ME!!”
OK - can we do the same?
Let's pray...
The Lord's Table
This brings us to the Lord’s Table…a time for each of us to reflect on our lives, to examine ourselves spiritually, and to remember the cost of our faith. We were bought with a price, and these elements remind us of this.
Have you experienced the Saving Power of Christ at the cross?
We are however, not to take this lightly. Scripture says – “ whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
Take time now and examine yourself before the Lord.
22 While they were eating, He took some bread, and after a blessing He broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is My body.” 23 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. 25 Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”