Totally Committed
Holy Week A • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 1 viewJesus committed Himself to our salvation, in fulfillment of the will and purpose of God
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1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Commitment
For many days an old farmer had been plowing with an ox and a mule together and working them pretty hard. The ox said to the mule, “Let’s play sick today and rest a little while.” But the old mule said, “No, we need to get the work done, for the season is short.”
But the ox played sick, and the farmer brought him fresh hay and corn and made him comfortable. When the mule came in from plowing, the ox asked how he made out. “We didn’t get as much done, but we made it all right,” answered the mule. Then the ox asked, “What did the old man say about me?” “Nothing,” said the mule.
The next day the ox, thinking he had a good thing going, played sick again. When the mule came in again very tired, the ox asked, “How did it go?” The mule said, “All right, I guess, but we didn’t get much done.” Then the ox also asked, “What did the old man say about me?” “Nothing to me,” was the reply, “but he did stop and have a long talk with the butcher.”
O holy and most merciful God, You have taught us the way of Your Commandments. We implore You to pour out Your grace into our hearts. Cause it to bear fruit in us that, being ever mindful of your mercies and You Laws, we may always be directed to Your will, and daily increase in love toward You and one another. Enable us to resist all evil and to live a godly life. Help us to follow the example of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and to walk in His steps until we shall possess the Kingdom that has been prepared for us in Heaven, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen.
Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
When I first heard that story, after I finished laughing, I wondered, “How committed was that ox to his desire to avoid pulling that plow?” When it comes to commitment, the Bible declares that there is a level of commitment that, none of us will attain.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
It isn’t that we would not die to save someone else, but in making that supreme sacrifice, we have to have a reason that gives value to it, otherwise, how does it differ from just recklessly throwing your life away, a suicide? When a soldier, sailor, airman or Marine throws his or her body into harm’s way to protect others in the unit, we understand that either the lives of his comrades or the integrity of the mission is the fuel that motivates that sacrifice. Even then, those who are preserved as a result, feel the weight of living up to that sacrifice.
Today marks the beginning of Holy Week. Matthew records the events of Palm Sunday in Matt 21:1-12. But the journey to Jerusalem begins in Matt 16, beginning in v. 21 after Peter had confessed Jesus to be the Christ in v. 16. Matt 16:21-23
From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.”
About one week after this, Jesus takes Peter, John and James onto what we know as the Mount of Transfiguration. These three, and especially Peter, have now received the revelation of Jesus’ mission and being. Jesus forbids them to share what they have seen with anyone until after He was raised from the dead.
On the surface, the narrative of Jesus’ activities seems to indicate that nothing has changed in terms of how he deals with the crowds or with the Jewish religious leaders. Jesus only discusses his impending death with the 12, recorded in Matt 17:22-23
As they were gathering in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him, and he will be raised on the third day.” And they were greatly distressed.
Matthew records a third instruction to the 12 regarding what was to come, this time specifically saying that it will be by Crucifixion, which will involve the Roman governing authorities, since Crucifixion is not a Jewish mode of execution, but a Roman one. With this teaching, we now learn that the Jews alone cannot be held responsible for the death of Christ.
In all of this, the crowds are still coming to Jesus seeking His teaching, seeking healings, and his enemies are still seeking to ruin His credibility before the people. All of these things by themselves would be enough to cause anyone else to become sidetracked, perhaps even to question the certainty or necessity of Jesus’ death; I’m quite sure that, for anyone else, it would have at least led to consideration of the idea that, maybe, another way could be found to establish the Messianic Kingdom. Maybe the crowds will finally recognize the meaning of the signs and wonders, maybe the Scribes and Pharisees will realize that Jesus is not just your typical Rabbi. Surely, Jesus’ request at the beginning of Matt 21:1-3 must mean that Jesus is about to do something major, even transformative.
Now when they drew near to Jerusalem and came to Bethphage, to the Mount of Olives, then Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, “Go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them to me. If anyone says anything to you, you shall say, ‘The Lord needs them,’ and he will send them at once.”
Everything Jesus does is in support of the missio Dei. Every teaching, every miracle, every confrontation with those who set themselves against him, they all take place under the shadow of the cross. Our Old Testament reading is the narrative of what Jesus is doing and to what purpose. Isaiah 50:4-9
The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. Behold, the Lord God helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.
You cannot follow Jesus and not “read, mark, learn, and take to heart” the Word of God. It is not enough to have a passing familiarity with Jesus’ story. It is not enough to be sympathetic to Jesus’ concerns for the poor and the hurting. Jesus did not come to make life on earth more pleasant; He could have done that by taking Satan up on his offer three years before. As St. Paul wrote to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:15 “The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost.” On the cross, what his enemies said, in mockery, was the truth as it is in Christ. They ruined it by demanding what He could not do if He would fulfill it. Matt 27:42
“He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.
The road ahead was not going to be easy for our Lord. John 12:27-32
“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
We cannot remove the Cross from the Gospel without removing its power, because the only way to destroy sin is to die to it. Technology won’t overcome it, self-help gurus cannot manifest it. Politicians can neither legislate it nor decree it. Only Jesus can supply it, by His own death and bodily resurrection!
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus didn’t ignore sin or sanctify sin. He became sin - for us. As it is written, 2 Corinthians 5:21 “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
Today you can put your trust in Christ, because He didn’t stop with “Hosanna” and “ride on King Jesus.” Jesus, the Son of God, paid it all, on that old rugged cross, because God was totally committed to bring you the Gospel of your eternal salvation! “The blood, that gives us strength from day to day, it will never lose its power!”
And the peace of God that passes understanding, guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen.
