What's In a Name
Notes
Transcript
Scripture:
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being
4 in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.
5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him.
8 He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light.
9 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him.
11 He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him.
12 But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God,
13 who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God.
14 And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.
15 (John testified to him and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks ahead of me because he was before me.’ ”)
16 From his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
17 The law indeed was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known.
19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.”
20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord.
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.”
22 When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.
23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.”
INTRODUCTION
You may think it unusual that we didn’t read the gospel message of the resurrection this morning. That’s usually where we start - Oftentimes we read about Mary in the garden by the tomb weeping because she thinks Jesus’ body has been taken - until He says her name, and she recognizes that Jesus has risen. We often read about Peter and John running to the tomb where they find the graveclothes, but no Jesus. But that is not our text today. Instead, we read words about the beginning. We read words about the Word of God. We read about light and darkness.
We are familiar with darkness - especially over the last year. Last Easter we were unable to meet together in person, and our Easter celebration was online only - but we still celebrated! We’ve seen darkness in the form of death over this past year, both because of this pandemic that has brought death to hundreds of thousands, and because of many other sicknesses and diseases. Many of us have lost loved ones - many of us have lost multiple loved ones since we last celebrated Easter. And we have been separated from loved ones far too often.
The pandemic was not the only darkness we faced in the last year. The division within the United States involving politics and an ugly election which resulted in a raid on our capital could be described as darkness. We were reminded of the ugliness of racism which is deeply embedded into our culture, and the inability that we seem to have in seeing past our differences and loving people as they are. You could add economic crisis, loss of jobs, masks, despair and depression - altogether, these things have built up and added up to a dark cloud that we see everywhere we go these days.
The whole world has experienced darkness - the followers of Jesus had experienced a great hope while He was with them and teaching them - but the tragedy of Friday - was a darkness that they could not shake. But this is Sunday! The darkness of the last few days was vastly overcome by the light of Easter! This seems like a good day to be reminded once again that, while we are people who know darkness— as the people of God, as people of resurrection—we also know the light. Darkness cannot overpower light - no matter how dark that darkness may be - the light will always overcome. Our sins cost Jesus His life on the cross, but death could not hold Him - Christ is risen!
BODY
1) The disciples were in need of light
They had locked themselves in a room for fear that they would be next.
a) Everything that the disciples had committed to and lived for over these past 3 years had come to a screeching halt on Friday. The person they had pinned their hope and their future upon had come to a bitter and painful death on a cruel Roman cross. They had watched as he breathed His last.
i) In addition that that, they were fearing for their lives because they had aligned themselves with Jesus, and you know, that whole guilty by association thing is real, and they knew they were in danger! They had reason to fear both the Roman political leaders who could kill them as insurrectionists, and also the Jewish religious leaders who would view them as blasphemous. Herod didn’t want anybody that would challenge His authority - Pilate would do Caesar’s bidding. The Jewish religious leaders were not about to let Jesus compete with them for the hearts of the people.
ii) The hope that they had dared allowed themselves to have - that Jesus would be the one to raise up a rebellion and overthrow the Romans - was gone. Not only were they grieving the death of their leader and friend - they were grieving that the hope they had for victory over Rome was gone. It is hard for us to imagine how difficult life was for them generally. Life in general was hard for everyone back then: women often died in childbirth, and small infections led to death. Simple survival in the first century took a lot of time, work, and energy.
iii) Despair and hopelessness was overwhelming the disciples. There was a darkness that could be felt in the room where they had gathered.
b) Everything felt like darkness for the disciples. They had watched their hope die when Jesus breathed His last breath on Friday. They had hoped he would save them from Roman oppression, but now they feared not only the Romans, but the religious leaders as well. Instead of peace, hope, joy, love, and light, everything felt dark.
c) Then Jesus—the Light—showed up.
i) While they were at their lowest and while they were experiencing the darkness, Jesus showed up! He found them where they were, in the midst of their fear and questions, showing up in the middle of a locked room. He brought the light into the darkness because he is the Light. Light overcame the darkest darkness of death through the resurrection.
d) The resurrected Jesus pronounced peace over them. The Hebrew word was shalom, it is the usual greeting for those who speak Hebrew. It is the exact opposite of what the disciples were feeling - they were in despair and turmoil - Jesus says “peace be with you.”
2) The disciples needed to see once again that Jesus was the Light.
a) John 1 is written in such a poetic way to introduce us to a God that was God from the beginning - He was the word through which He created everything, and John makes it clear that this same God injected Himself into our world and drew near to us. John 1 is an important beginning place because God is three in one—but also because, if we don’t grasp that Jesus is God, then we miss the whole point of His coming.
b) Jesus is referred to as both Word and Light in this text.
i) God spoke all that was created into being. John tells us that Jesus is that creative Word of God - He was in the beginning - He is not created - He Is God!
ii) Light is an image of overcoming darkness, which is important because of the nature of light. Darkness is nothing but the absence of light. Darkness can not overcome light darkness can be measured by how much light is taken away - Light always shines through the darkness.
c) The Light came; the Word made his dwelling among us. Jesus did not stay enthroned but instead became human. It matters that Jesus put on flesh because it means that he fully knew what it was to be human, and it meant that God wanted to be close to humanity. God did not wait for humanity to come to God. Instead, God went to humanity in the the form of a human being. The fact that He came to earth and lived a human life tells us that there is no distance our God wouldn’t go for the sake of humanity. Jesus desires to have a relationship with us.
d) Jesus brought light into the world when he came. He defeated the darkness of sin and He overcame the power of our most heartless enemy - death - through his resurrection.
3) We also need to be reminded that the Light has come into the world.
I need reminded often as I look at the darkness of the world around me. I need reminded of His goodness and light when I experience the pain and sorrow of this dark world that is controlled by the enemy of our soul. Easter comes at just the right time to remind us that the light has come!
a) It’s easy to look around at all the darkness and be overwhelmed. Our world has a lot of darkness.
i) Poverty: what can one person do against such a huge problem?
ii) Disease: we have seen this one take loved ones all over the world this past year.
iii) Racism: we’ve watched people cry out in pain and anger over how this sin has impacted them.
iv) Despair: what can we do to help people battle darkness in their hearts?
v) Pollution: how can one person do anything that helps make the world a better place to play, breathe, and enjoy?
vi) The list could go on and on. There are darknesses that raise their heads and threaten to defeat us. r
b) This is true, but Easter reminds us that we must not forget that the Light has come! Jesus did not stay enthroned in heaven but came to earth to live among broken people drowning in darkness.
i) Because light came into the world, the kingdom of God broke into the world, and we can see glimpses of this kingdom even now:
(1) While it might seem impossible to eradicate the darkness of the world and the issues it faces, there are stories of people doing incredible things for others.
(2) When we see good, loving, gracious things going on, we know the Holy Spirit is at work.
(3) We can be reminded when we see goodness that the Light has come.
iii) The incarnation wasn’t just for the shepherds, the angels, Mary, Joseph, or the disciples hiding in a room. The incarnation is for us. Whatever darkness we are facing, Jesus is there with us. There is nothing that we face that we face alone. We serve a God who is well acquainted with grief and who is with us through all of it.
(1) The line in the Apostles’ Creed about descending into hell means that Jesus goes into all the hells of our lives as well. He joins us in our suffering. He is with us in the darkness. He is seeking to bring light.
c) Jesus declares peace over us in the midst of our darkness, just like he declared peace over the disciples. Jesus’s declaration of peace is a way to bring light into darkness. Shalom is a message of complete wholeness and well-being. This message of peace is light in dark times.
As people who have been raised to new life ourselves, Jesus says we are to be a light for the world.
4) We are sent into the world to share the light of Christ with those around us.
a) Jesus commissions the disciples at the end of John 20 to go out into the world. This is a commission for us as well. Those of us who have encountered the peace of Christ are to go into the world and be peacemakers.
i) Jesus said: Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
ii) We ought to be the people who help bring peace not heartache - peace, not judgement - peace, not pain - peace, not confusion. Jesus did not come to condemn the world, but to save it! If we are to be like Him, then we are to be that light in the darkness.
iii) If we know Christ as savior, we are to be a Beacon of Hope to the world. What places in our world need light? What are ways we can be actively engaged in illuminating the darkness?
b) The kingdom of God is now and not yet. Jesus ushered in the kingdom of God when He came, which means the kingdom of God is at work in our world now. Where do we see the kingdom of God at work? How can we participate in the work?
c) The resurrection frees us from the power of sin and death, it frees us from the darkness, and it empowers us to live in peace. This is good news for the children of God and for the world!
CONCLUSION
There is light in the midst of the darkness of our lives, and his name is Jesus. There is peace for us, where we are, no matter the darkness, because God left the throne of heaven in humility to enter into humanity. He suffered and died on the cross, and he descended into hell, joining with us in all the hells we experience. Ultimately he rose again, conquering the power of sin and death, conquering the darkness. There is light for the world too. Jesus came into the midst of the darkness to be the light and to dispel the darkness. This is good news for those of us who know darkness. It is good news for a world that knows darkness, and we get to join in the work of sharing light in the world. We get to look the darkness of our world in its face and dispel it with love, with grace, and with the light that is Jesus.