3.6.2022 - A vivid picture of why Jesus died

March 6, 2022 - A Vivid Picture Of Why Jesus Died Good morning... great to see everyone here in person and to have others joining us online. Baptism Sundays are a ton of fun and we are super excited to celebrate with those of you taking this important next step in following Jesus. Before that, we want to dive into some more great stuff in the Gospel of Mark. Over the past few months, we've been studying this early biography of Jesus, exploring how it gives us a unique window into who Jesus is and what Jesus came to do. In particular, the gospel of Mark emphasizes the Kingdom of God and highlights how Jesus is a different kind of king than we might expect. Unlike the rulers of this world (even in our day) that try to exert power to achieve their end goals - Jesus accomplished his mission through self-sacrificial love. And he invites us to follow in his footsteps. Look again at Jesus' statement from Mark 8, where we left off in our series two weeks ago. 34 Calling the crowd to join his disciples, Jesus said, "If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me. 35 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it. 36 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? 37 Is anything worth more than your soul? That's some pretty light, easy stuff, right? (Wrong!) If someone tries to portray Christianity as a nice, comfortable religion, I seriously wonder if they have ever read what Jesus said and considered what Jesus did. ● To follow Jesus means that we are yielding our way to his way. ● It means letting go of our attempts to grab onto a good life, and trusting Jesus to give us a life that is beyond what we could ever imagine. This process of dying to ourselves can seem overwhelming to us - even impossible at times. Until... we realize that we aren't walking this path alone: Jesus has gone ahead of us. As the suffering servant, Jesus literally gave up his life on the cross for us. And that makes it possible for us to "'bear our crosses" in our various experiences in life. In this season of Lent, as we reflect on Jesus' journey to the cross, we want to take in ALL that Jesus' death means for us. Here is a quote I ran across recently from theologian NT Wright that summarizes much of what we want to talk about today. "Jesus stood in the middle of history, with his arms outstretched to the past & to the future - holding them together, even though it killed him." Let that sink in for a moment. The journey to the cross begins with Jesus putting himself right in the middle - in the middle of the tension of what has been, and the hope for what will be... and he invites to experience real life by coming to him. With that in mind, grab a Bible, either in front of you, or pull that up on your device and turn to Mark 14. This morning, we are going to read about the special meal Jesus shared with his disciples the night before his crucifixion, and explore what this vivid picture shows us about why Jesus died. Mark 14:12-26 (page 711) On the 1st day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples asked him: Where do you want us to go & make preparations for you to eat the Passover? 13 So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, "Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him. 14 Say to the owner of the house he enters, 'The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?' 15 He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there." 16 The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover. 17 When evening came, Jesus arrived with the Twelve. 18 While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, "Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me." 19 They were saddened, and one by one they said to him, "Surely you don't mean me?" 20 "It is one of the Twelve," he replied, "one who dips bread into the bowl with me. 21 The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him. But woe to that man who betrays the Son of Man! It would be better for him if he had not been born." 22 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take it; this is my body." 23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many," he said to them. 25 "Truly I tell you, I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God." 26 When they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Oh man, there is so much we could explore in this passage... including Jesus experiencing betrayal - we'll save that for a later message in this series. But as I mentioned a moment ago - today, we want to focus on the last portion of the passage, hitting on this from a couple different angles. First - If you're a bit of a Bible nerd, we're going to connect several rich themes of theology that appear throughout the Scriptures. But, 2nd we're also going to be intensely practical this morning, considering what Jesus' death means for us... including this key point: ● (Would you say that outloud with me?) Very brief PRAYER As NT Wright noted... Jesus had his arms outstretched to the past and to the future. Here's the first angle we want to explore. 1. Jesus reached to the past (and gave brand new meaning to the Exodus and Passover) Look again at how today's passage begins in Verse 12... ● On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus' disciples asked him, "Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?" What is Passover? What was that all about? Passover was a meal that commemorated the defining moment in the history of Israel. After suffering as slaves in Egypt for 400 years, God delivered the Israellites, with Moses leading them into freedom. ● And here's a key element of that story: on the eve of their rescue from Egypt, each Israelite family brushed the blood of a sacrificial lamb over their doorway. And as judgment came to the land that night... death "passed-over" these families that were covered by the blood. ● So - from that time on, each spring, God's people would gather to eat the Passover meal - celebrating what had taken place in the Exodus, and asking God to intervene as their deliverer once again. Now, in American culture, we have traditions like Thanksgiving, but Passover goes way beyond that. Every element of the Passover meal was infused with deep symbolism. There was bread made without yeast, bitter herbs, roasted lamb and different cups of wine - each relating back to a different part of the Exodus story. It was customary for someone to preside over the gathering (usually the head of the household) and their job was to explain what each element of the Passover meant, as those gathered ate and drank together. Okay - so, picture this scene described in Mark 14. Jesus was the presider for this Passover, and for a good portion of the evening, everything with the meal was unfolding. But then... ● Jesus took this prominent story and made it intensely personal Imagine the astonishment of the disciples in this scene. Jesus blessed the elements & he explained the symbolism of the elements (that's all very normal) but then he started to talk about something different. Rather than referring to "the bread of affliction" in general... He showed them the bread and he said, "this is my body." And Jesus took the cup and said: "this is my blood." Jesus was making a remarkable claim: Just as this meal was first observed the night before God redeemed Israel from slavery in Egypt... now, they were eating it on the eve of an even greater rescue. And this was not just a salvation from social & economic slavery, as bad as those were. God was going to redeem all of humanity from the bondages of sin & evil itself through Jesus' death on the cross. It's important to remember Jesus didn't choose a random night to unveil this teaching to his disciples. He chose the Passover, and he intentionally framed his upcoming death as the starting point of a brand new Exodus. ● Jesus was saying - "I am the ultimate Moses and I am leading the ultimate exodus. All the other deliverances, all the other sacrifices, everything else, was pointing to me. My death is the climactic event toward which all history is moving." Jesus put himself in the middle of this story - making it intensely personal for him, but also for us. Because Jesus went to the cross, that means that we don't have to be stuck in our old ways of life anymore. We don't have to be weighed down by guilt and shame. Jesus' death has opened up a path of rescue for us. ● In large part, that's what the folks getting baptized today are proclaiming. They are putting their trust in the fact that Jesus has dealt with their past.. It's been buried in the ground just like he was. And they are being raised to a new life of freedom in Christ. ● The same thing is true about what we celebrate when we take communion. We remember that we could never do enough to earn God's approval... Jesus did everything that was needed. He was our substitute. ● He is the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world. So - at this special meal, Jesus reached to the past... 2) Jesus also reached to the future, (pointing to) the promise of new creation. We see that most clearly in verse 25: "Truly I tell you (Jesus said) I will not drink again from the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. Let me put that statement in some further context within the Passover meal. In our contemporary practice of the Lord's Supper, we typically just drink one cup of juice or wine. But historically, there were four cups, each with its own blessing and its own story to tell. They represent the four "I wills" that God declared Exodus 6. There was the cup of... ● Sanctification: "I will bring you out from under the burden of the Egyptians." ● The Cup of Judgment: "I will deliver you from their bondage." ● The Cup of Redemption: "I will redeem you with an outstretched arm" ● The Cup of Praise: "I will take you for My people, and I will be your God." Jesus and His disciples had already partaken of the first two cups as they ate the Passover meal. In Mark 14, it was the third cup, the Cup of Redemption, that Jesus gave to the disciples. ● What about that fourth cup? Interestingly, it's quite possible that Jesus did not drink from the final cup. Jesus was waiting for a future day, when he would drink that anew in the Kingdom of God. At this key moment, Jesus was looking ahead... anticipating the time period when His kingdom would be experienced in all its fullness. Jesus was pointing forward to a day when everything would be made right again. This Passover meal, the Last Supper, was foreshadowing the great banquet that will occur at the end of time. When he returns, Jesus will gather his people from every corner of the earth - every tribe, tongue and nation. And He will bring us to a meal he has prepared for us, and we will enjoy an eternally life-giving feast in his presence. Here's how the book of Revelation describes this: (Rev 19) 4 Then the twenty-four elders and the four living beings fell down and worshiped God, who was sitting on the throne... 6 Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder. They cried out: "Praise the Lord! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. 8 She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear." For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God's holy people. 9 And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb." And then, two chapters later, in Revelation 21, we read even more about what the new creation is going to be like: there's a new heaven, a new earth, and a new holy city Jerusalem - and from the throne we hear these words: "Look, God's home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever." The one sitting on the throne said, "Look, I am making everything new!" The promise of new creation - all things being made right again. That is what Jesus is pointing to, and what his death and resurrection secure for us. ● When we align ourselves with that truth, it can fill us with tremendous hope, and it gives us perseverance to push forward until that final day. This is another key reason why we regularly take communion together. When we eat the bread and drink, not only do we remember what Jesus has done to forgive us of our past sins. Communion is also a foretaste of the feast that is yet to come, and it helps us to grasp onto a resolute hope for the future. Let me share with you a renewed way I was encouraged by that just this week. ● In 1 Corinthians 11:26, the apostle Paul writes this: Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes again. As I've been reflecting on this verse, with so much pain and brokenness currently present in our world, I was remembering how communion can be a powerful expression of spiritual warfare. I've really needed that this week. ● Think about it... right now, with the unfolding invasion in Ukraine. ● There is on-going strife between different pockets of our society in the US ● There are systems of injustice that continue to go unchallenged, further crushing already-vulnerable people. ● And then, I think of this experience the other morning. Within an hour, on our staff's internal text message string - hearing the news of deaths that had just occurred within 3 different families connected to our church; and sorting through the possibility of two other close friends being on the verge of death. So, so heavy. In light of all these situations, I am renewed in my desire to take communion today as a response of defiant confidence, proclaiming that the pain of this present age is not the end of the story! ● Maybe that is something for you to grasp onto today as well. Okay... Circling back again to the quote we began today with: Jesus reaches out to the past - he reaches out to the future - and he stands in the middle of it all. It's there that (3) Jesus invites us into relationship right now. In Biblical language - Jesus welcomes us into an experience of the new covenant. ● Look again at verses 23 &24: Jesus took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. "This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many..." (Mk 14:23-24) Once again, Jesus uses a short phrase that is jammed-packed with meaning - this time referring to the theme of covenant relationship. In the Bible, this thread goes all the way back to the beginning. In the book of Genesis, we read that God entered into a covenant with Abraham, promising to bless him with a good land and abundant prosperity. In the book of Exodus, we read how God renewed this covenant at Mount Sinai after rescuing Israel (Abraham's descendants) from slavery in Egypt. He pledged to be their God and to make them his people. Moreover, this covenant was ratified with the blood of sacrifice. Exodus 24 says that: "Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the people saying, 'This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with these words. Hundreds of years passed. The people disobeyed, and yet God pursued them... promising this through the prophet Jeremiah. "The time is coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah... I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God and they will be my people. I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more." When Jesus says, "This is my blood of the covenant" - that is a staggering claim. Jesus had a crystal-clear perspective about his death on the cross. His death wasn't an accident and it wasn't forced upon him. It was the divinely appointed sacrifice by which this new covenant was ratified. Jesus willingly offered up his life in order to bring his people into a renewed relationship with God. The writer of Hebrews describes this so succinctly... (Hebrews 9:15 says) Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant. The purpose was that those who are called should receive the promised inheritance of the age to come... For Christ died to set them free from the penalty of their sin. This verse excellently restates many of the things we've touched on today. ● Look again at the end - Christ died to set us free from the penalty of our sin. We don't have to stay stuck. We can be forgiven and set free. ● It says that we can receive the promised inheritance of the age to come. That is a fancy way to say that everything that belongs to Jesus is going to belong to us as well. And somehow... we get to start experiencing some of those blessings of the age to come, right now. ● And Hebrews 9 says: Jesus is the mediator of this new covenant. Being fully God and fully human Jesus was able to be the intermediary we need to reconcile us back to our Creator. He is the one that makes it happen. ● It sounds simple, but it is so very powerful... through his death, Jesus redeems our past failures & he gives us resolute hope for the future. Through the years, I have seen and heard countless real life stories on why these straightforward truths matter. ● My own story: Remember this week being in services at my small town Lutheran church: (Bible is God's word, God is right, I need to be forgiven). preparing for communion singing "Just as I am without one plea, but that thy blood was shed for me. And that thou bids't me come to thee. O Lamb of God, I come. I come." ● I think of examples - sitting in my office with people that are overwhelmed with guilt and shame about things they've done in their past. At their core - they wonder - could God really forgive me? What a privilege it is to help people embrace... yes, God really can and He loves you right where you are. Jesus' death on the cross has taken the weight of all your guilt and shame upon him. You don't have to carry that any more. ● Or stories of facing loss like the ones that have taken place this week or facing situations that don't look like they will ever change this side of heaven. You can't fake your way through times like those. Either you have a hope that extends beyond those present experiences or you don't. It is striking to sit with people in these times and see the stark contrast between folks that have the gospel as an anchor in their lives and those without that. Where are you at today? ● Do you have hope like that? Would you like some more of that kind of hope? I think Jesus wants to give that to you today as you turn to him. ● Or maybe, what's on your mind are things from the past. Things you've done, or things that you didn't do. The gospel is clear: When you turn to Christ, you can experience forgiveness and real freedom. You don't have to stay stuck where you are. Again, I think that is something that Jesus is ready to do in your life today. Along those lines, before we transition into baptisms... I want to invite us to take communion together. Mark 14 details the Last Supper that Jesus has with his disciples. Communion is the meal of remembrance that we enjoy as we gather together in worship. If you are watching online - if you haven't gathered elements for communion yet... you can take a moment to do that now. Or if any of you here in person didn't get one of the communion packets on your way in, you can grab one of those off the table now. As we prepare for communion... let me offer two additional thoughts that go along with everything else we've covered today. First of all... we call Communion: the family meal. ● Jesus said to his disciples: this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. ● This is something we do together... not only marking our union with Christ, but also marking our union with others that also follow Jesus. It's interesting... Historically, immediate families would celebrate the Passover together. Those folks that you share a last name with or at least the same DNA. But, in another twist, Jesus transformed this meal and expanded its meaning... pointing to God's larger family, which we fittingly call the Body of Christ. ● Jesus is saying, "If you believe in my death, that conviction is so transforming that everyone else who also believes in my death is your brother and sister." ● When you take the Lord's Supper, you're doing it with brothers and sisters; we're doing it in a family. One writer put it this way: "What binds us together is not common education or common race, common income levels or common politics, common nationality, common accents, common jobs, or anything of that sort. Christians come together because they all have been loved by Jesus Christ. A second thought is this. Jesus said: "take and eat" "take and drink." We are invited, not forced into identifying with Christ. There is a choice to make - in reality a whole life of choices - where we make the decision to align ourselves with Jesus and his kingdom. ● Communion is a great way to put into practice that Michael talked about the other night at our Ash Wednesday service: prioritizing "seeking more of God in this season of Lent" ● In communion, you can take in more of God. More???? Let's take communion together... - We look back - We look forward - We meet Jesus in the middle of this present moment - Walk through communion together... So, communion is the family meal... one of the historic ordinances of the church. Another ordinance is Baptism, where we welcome people into God's family. We are excited to celebrate with a number of folks taking that step today. If you are getting baptized this morning, would you make your way up to the front right now? As you do that, let me read a few verses from Romans 6... which describe so powerfully what takes place we put our hope in Christ in this step of baptism. Baptism - Romans 6:3-6; 10-11 3 When we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death. 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. 5 Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. 6 We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. 10 When Jesus died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. 11 So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Movement: ● From being dead to becoming alive ● From an old life to a new life ● From slavery to freedom ● From isolation to unity and identification with Christ BAPTISM When you are baptized, you are asked ancient questions, variations of which have been asked of millions of people for nearly 2000 years: ● Question 1: "Do you believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and Jesus Christ his only Son our Lord and King, and in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of life and grace? ● Answer: "I do." ● Question 2: "Do you renounce Satan and all his works and all his ways?" ● Answer: "I do." ● Question 3: "Do you confess your need for the forgiveness of sins and with a humble heart put your hope in God's mercy and your whole trust in Christ as your Lord and Savior?" ● Answer: "I do." ● Question 4: "And with his help, do you seek to follow him, becoming more like him until you see him face to face?" ● Answer: "With all my heart, I do!" Would you join me in praying for these folks... Explain how this is going work: ● Baptize these folks ● Worship while that is happening ● Invitation again for spontaneous baptism