Med/Dent Camp Thursday Night

I. Intro

There’s nothing quite like a first kiss

Do you remember yours?

I remember mine – start to get mushy then stop

I won’t bore you with the details, especially since my wife’s not here to keep me honest.

But tonight there is some kissing involved.

Not just one kiss, but two.

Nonetheless, we will be talking about kissing today, not just one kiss, but two.

II. The Kiss of Grace

1. I want to take you back to that Dinner Party we talked about a couple of nights ago

We connected with that story as we wrestled with question of control

1. I want to take you back to that Dinner Party we talked about a couple of nights ago

Tonight, we come back to that moment and we’re going to look that it from a different angel

Its the same woman kneeling there at Jesus feet

Its the same overpowering smell of perfume that fills the air

Simon is the same judgmental guy

And Mary is the same grateful woman

Poor Simon had an awkard social situation on his hands that was rapidly progressing from bad to worse.

At first, he had no idea who this woman could be who had thrown herself at Jesus feet.

And then he began to feel that she looked familiar

And then her hair fell back and he could see her face clearly as gently kissed the feet of Jesus.

a) Simon

And he knew exactly who she was

2. The Kiss

Luke 7:39 NIV84

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”

a) At that moment the hair fell back and he could see her face clearly as gently kissed the feet of Jesus.

You could say that Simon was intimately familiar with Mary’s back story.

I don’t know how it went down.

Maybe Mary was in one of her manic phases

c) Simon knew all too well what this woman did for a living

She’d come on strong and he saw an opportunity

But very few things stay secret in a small town

And very shortly thereafter, Mary had left town, and Simon had his own problems to deal with

There could be no doubt he’d been cursed of God for his sins

The Leprosy had come on so quickly

If it hadnt been for Jesus, he’d still be waiting to die in a Leper colony on the outskirts of town.

How easy it is to forget the grace you’ve been offered when your past sneaks up on you like that

g) “She is a sinner” he said.

e) She was a prostitute. She sold herself for the pleasure of others.

f) Jesus certainly couldn’t be the Messiah if he would let such a woman touch him, let alone kiss his feet in public.

g) “She is a sinner” he said.

B. The Kiss of Grace

1. Correction, Simon

a) She was a sinner.

b) She was a prostitute

c) She was a woman of ill-repute.

2. But now she’s a child of God.

a) She has been touched by grace and in response she does the only thing she can think of to express her gratitude and love

b) She kisses the Master’s feet.

c) A kiss born of grace

III. The kiss of Law

A. The other man.

1. There was another at the table that night

a) Luke doesn’t tell of his reaction, but the other three gospels do.

b) Perhaps its appropriate that Luke is the only one to not mention him because Luke is the only writer to focus on the kiss of the woman.

c) The other writers focus on another kiss, one to come a few short days after that banquet.

2. He sat there that night and shook his head in pious indignation.

a) Unable to hold his tongue he blurted out, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages”

b) That was what all good rabbi’s were supposed to do, help the poor.

c) It was commanded in the law.

d) Extravagance of this nature was against moral principles

e) Judas couldn’t believe that Jesus would tolerate such a display of waste.

f) It wasn’t like the Messiah to ignore the deep traditions of charity to the poor and stewardship of means.

John 12:4–5 NIV84

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.”

John 12:7–8 NIV84

“Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

3. Jesus rebuke was more than he could take

. Jesus rebuke was more than he could take

. Jesus rebuke was more than he could take

a) That night he made the decision.

b) Before he left that Pharisee’s house he had decided that it was time to put his plan in motion.

c) If Jesus refused to act like the Messiah of his own accord, perhaps he should be forced to live the part.

4. He wasn’t around much in that last week.

a) He even left the Passover meal early for some strange reason.

b) None of the disciples could figure him out.

c) But they all had a lot on their minds. Jesus had been acting strangely too.

B. The kiss of Law

1. The night chill was creeping in on the disciples as they waited there for Jesus and the other 3 to return.

a) They saw the crowd coming up the path

b) As the dim light of the torches drew near they made out the faces of the temple guards.

c) Fear gripped their hearts and rooted their feet to the earth.

d) Then they saw Judas step to the front of the mob.

e) I wonder, Did they begin to breath easier?

f) “Oh, Judas is with them. There must be some problem at the temple that requires Jesus assistance.”

g) They watch as Judas approaches the master.

h) A moment’s hesitation and then his hands move with purpose as he grasps the shoulders that already bore the weight of this sin in progress.

i) He leaned forward and lips met cheek. And he kissed him.

IV. Two kisses

A. The Only Two times Jesus is kissed

1. Similarities

a) Jesus knew both of those who kissed him

b) Each kiss foretold his death

c) Both were placed by sinners upon the sinless one

2. Yet how different could they have been

a) One was lavished upon a savior in gratitude for the grace shown to a woman in need.

b) The other was a tool to force the fulfillment of long-studied prophecies and personal ambitions.

c) One whispered gently of grace

d) The other clamored harshly for justice and fulfillment of the law

B. Two kisses needing completion.

1. The need of Grace

a) Yet each needed something to complete it.

b) The kiss of grace is powerful and filled with warmth and love.

But by itself its the answer to a question that was never asked

Its the completion of a story that never had a beginning.

Its the path home but remains unmarked

2. The failure of grace alone

d) Jesus knew as much when he met this woman the first time.

e) He had shown her grace by writing in the dust and removing her accusers.

f) Then he had said to her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more”

Include direction here of the difference between this kiss and all the kisses she had bestowed on so many others who had no expectation of a committed relationship

2. The failure of grace alone

a) I have heard more than one person suggest that God is so loving that he will not allow anyone to be lost.

b) I watch as many of my fellow believers lose their ability to speak to the moral problems in our society because they preach that Grace is all there is

c) If we accept grace we will love one another

d) But grace never did or could convict of sin.

e) Paul makes it very clear in Romans that the Law points out our failures and drives us to our knees before the savior.

3. But the kiss of law is a cold, hard kiss.

a) It demands a high price of those it touches.

b) It is exacting, demanding perfect obedience and fulfillment.

4. The failure of law

a) I have watched as many Christians have steadily drained the joy out of living as they struggle to ensure their own obedience to the law.

b) I have watched as those same Christians stand guard upon the boundaries of proper behavior and crush the life out of those around them.

c) Yet not one of them can take the full consequences of their own philosophy, for the law demands a high price.

C. The two meet in Christ.

1. We can watch as the kiss of law lays full claim to the two men.

a) Jesus is led off to face a mock trial

b) And while he stands there, refusing to exercise his divine power to overthrow the Roman yoke, Judas watches in mounting horror at the failure of his plan

c) The full weight of his own actions bear down upon him as he stumbles out of the high priest’s chambers.

d) This wasn’t the way it was supposed to be. The law and the prophets said nothing of this. There were laws in the universe. God wouldn’t allow himself to be humiliated by a pagan Roman legion. The Jews must triumph. It was written that way.

e) God wasn’t following the rules.

f) And Judas finally took upon himself the full consequences of his own philosophy.

g) While one man was dying for the sins of an entire race, the other hung himself from a tree and took his own punishment.

h) To the bitter end he refused to acknowledge what must be so if we are to have any hope.

i) On that fateful day at Calvary, Jesus carried not only the kiss of Judas on his cheek.

j) On those pierced feet lingered the loving kiss of Mary.

k) On that Friday so long ago, Justice and Mercy kissed one another.

l) Grace and Law came together in one man and the impact split the gates of hell wide open.

m) And on that Sunday morning the very elements broke into applause as the King of Kings rose from the grave still carrying the memory of not one, but two kisses.

V. Conclusion

The great truth about God is that he brought two seemingly incompatible realities into fusion with one another.

While fulfilling the law he extended grace to all so that through his life all might keep the law as well.

On that day, law and grace, justice and mercy stood face to face…

And they kissed.