The Word Lays Bare

Prayer

The Surprising Division of Jesus

Start with what may seem little unusual place to start this evening as we take some time to reflect on Jesus last hours on earth - his suffering and death.

Luke 12:49-53 - “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to undergo, and what constraint I am under until it is completed! 51 Do you think I came to bring peace on earth? No, I tell you, but division. 52 From now on there will be five in one family divided against each other, three against two and two against three. 53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.”

Fire on the earth! Ready for it (kindled)! Fire represents two things in Scriptures - destroys and it refines...

Baptism - speaking about his own impending death, resurrection, that’s what it will kick everything off

Then this surprising declaration - I didn’t come to bring peace, but division. To divide - and to divide the closest of relationships. Is this really Jesus’ purpose, to break up families, to pit the generations against each other? (same way politics can today). Or is Jesus saying something else (spoiler alert, he is)

Get a clue as to what that is in another unusual passage - Revelation 3:15-16, in a letter from Jesus to one of the seven churches, he gives them this warning: I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

It’s a very graphic image, gets the point across clearly. Jesus would rather you be one or the other, in or out, with him or against. No place for neutrality, no straddling the fence, pick a side!

Look at the Gospels, this is exactly what Jesus brings out in people. Because he calls for our allegiance, our commitment to follow him, to proclaim him Lord, there is no neutrality. Either for him or against him. Played out in the Gospels, especially as we look at the events of Holy Week as tensions heighten, as his “baptism” draws nearer.

Triumphal entry - On the one side, fellow pilgrims & many in the crowds cheering, laying down their coats, waving palm branches, shouting Hosanna! On the other, religious leaders telling Jesus to tell his disciples to be quiet. They go as far as plotting to kill him (very much against him).

Plays out throughout the week as Jesus enters the temple court area to teach every day - crowds eager to hear him, then Pharisees and teachers of the law, Sadducees all trying to trap him, discredit him in front of everyone with their trick questions.

Even at the Last Supper, Jesus gathered with his disciples, celebrating the Passover. Last special night with his disciples - washes their feet (act of servant love), final instructions and assurances, sharing the meal together. Here, too, divisive cracks start - learn that one of them, Judas will betray Jesus (complete flip). Jesus tells (Luke 22:31) that Satan has asked to sift you as wheat - in other words, to separate, divide the disciples.

But most of all, we see it in the last hours of Jesus life, as Jesus makes his way to the cross. Suddenly the crowds that were cheering his entrance into the city of Jerusalem, seeming to be very much for him, have turned against him, crying out for his crucifixion. You can see the sharp divides all the way throughout the entire terrible episode of his execution.

Majority of folks allied against him - crowd that cried out for his crucifixion. In Mark we read that people passing by would hurl insults at him (which is just very rude). Of course, at the top of the list of were the chief priests and elders, they didn’t waste the opportunity to mock him, now that he was getting his just desserts as far as they were concerned. The soldiers who beat him mercilessly, cast lots for his clothing, they mocked him as well, this so-called king of the Jews. In both the gospels of Matthew and Mark we read that the criminals being crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

But we also see some folks who demonstrate that they are very much for Jesus - and in some wonderfully faithful ways. Something about the way that Jesus bore the punishment and humiliation changed hearts. One of those criminals began to defend Jesus against the other and asked if he could join Jesus in his kingdom (he could). One of the Roman soldiers, a centurion, exclaims upon seeing how Jesus died, “Surely this man was the Son of God.” Not all of the crowd were against him, from a distance the women who’d followed him stood and watched. Lastly, even a couple of the religious leaders showed themselves to be for Jesus - Joseph of Arimathea asks Pilate for his body and with the help of another member of the Jewish ruling council (Sanhedrin), Nicodemus, took down his body and prepared it for burial in a tomb that Joseph owned.

This is exactly what Christ does. Especially Christ crucified. What this story, the word does to us. It divides us, it reveals us, exposes us. Note what it says in Hebrews 4:12-13, For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Remember, when we’re talking about the Word of God, we’re talking about both the written word, the Scriptures and the incarnate Word, Word made flesh, Jesus. And the Word is alive and active because the Spirit, the one sent by Jesus, is alive and active. See what it does, because it’s so sharp, incisive - penetrates down to the deepest parts of who we are, our soul and spirit. It divides and judges and reveals all that’s going on in us, thoughts and attitudes of our hearts. The Word lays us bare before God. Everything uncovered.

It’s because the word isn’t just informational, but transformational. It calls us to change, to repentance. When Jesus hangs on the cross, the Word written above him is “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”. God’s way of saying, this is your king - will you follow him? Obey him? Worship him? Will you give him your allegiance? To him and only to him?

Response was divided, So many there said “no way”...

But there were those who said “yes, I will”...

This was my experience, even though I didn’t know it at the time...

Tonight we gather, in a sense, at the foot of the cross, as we spend time remembering and reflecting on Jesus’ suffering and death. Jesus at the cross, if we truly stop and take the time, has a way of laying us bare before Jesus. As we think about all the folks on either side of the divide, perhaps the most interesting are the ones who crossed the divide, switched sides (like I did at camp that summer!).

Tragic case of Judas, from follower to betrayer - what prompted that heart change, what was he expecting from Jesus that didn’t happen?

But even more amazing the ones that happened as Jesus was dying on the cross...

The criminal hurling insults, turns from being against Jesus to being for him, recognizing him as king, even in the midst of being crucified (though innocent, bears death with grace)

And the centurion, man who held power, life of Jesus in his hands, yet in watching Jesus dying on the cross, though weak and vulnerable, sees a strength in Jesus).

Time of silent reflection, bring yourself to the foot of the cross. Lay your heart bare before him. What is it that you want to express to Jesus? (Reflective Music)