Betrayal in the Garden

Friends,

Two of the greatest love stories ever told. The one, at Camelot…the other, at Calvary. Two of the noblest kings ever to live. The one, King Arthur…the other, the King of the Jews. There are many comparisons and contrasts between Camelot and Calvary, but one scene from Camelot illustrates a great theological dilemma that only the cross could resolve.  We start with a scene from Camelot, where the immoral relationship between Queen Guinevere and Arthur’s most trusted knight, Sir Lancelot, has divided the Round Table. When the scheming Mordred catches them in an encounter, Lancelot escapes. Guinevere is not so fortunate. She faces a trial. The jury finds her guilty and sentences her to die.  As the day of execution nears, people come from miles around with one question on their minds: Would the king let her die?  Tragically but resolutely, Arthur decides: "Treason has been committed! The jury has ruled! Let justice be done!"  Arthur stands high in a castle window, as Guinevere enters the courtyard, she walks to the unlit stake.  Arthur turns away, emotion brimming in his eyes.  A herald mounts the tower where Arthur has withdrawn -- “Your Majesty. Shall I signal the torch?"  But the king cannot answer.  Arthur’s love for her spills from his broken heart: "I can’t! I can’t! I can’t let her die!"  Seeing Arthur crumble, Mordred relishes the moment: "Well, you’re human after all, aren’t you, Arthur? Human and helpless."  Tragically, Arthur realizes the truth of Mordred’s remark. Being only human, he is indeed helpless. But where this story ends, the greatest story ever told just begins.  Another Execution Scene. Another time. Another place. Another king.  The setting: A world lies estranged from the God who loves it. Like Guinevere, an unfaithful humanity stands guilty and in bondage, awaiting judgment’s torch.  Could God turn His head from the righteous demands of the law and simply excuse the world’s sin? Like the wicked Mordred, Satan must have looked on in delight:  Without even waiting for His Guinevere to look up in repentance, the King stepped down from His throne, took off His crown, laid aside His royal robes, and descended His castle’s polished steps into humanity’s pockmarked streets. That scene in the movie was an epiphany of understanding. Suddenly, it all made sense. We know now why He had to die, why there was no other way. When love and justice collide, only the cross offers a happy ending. (Philippians 2:6-8)  (From Ken Gire’s book Windows of the Soul. Copyright © 1996 by Ken Gire, Jr. Zondervan Publishing Houses.)

It is just over a month until Easter.  We will consider the story of Jesus’ betrayal, death, burial and resurrection…the most important events in the history of the world.  After Jesus’ High Priestly prayer in chapter 17, the private ministry of the Lord and His disciples has now ended, and the public drama of redemption is about to begin (John 18:1-11).  Man will do his worst, and God will respond with the very best. This reminds us of what Paul shares in Romans 5:20, “But, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.”  Perhaps the best way to see and understand the truths of this section of Scripture, is to pay attention to the symbolism that is involved.  First, we have the Garden of Gethsemane (which means “oil press”), and which is located on the west side of the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem.  Jesus would often retreat to this garden to pray, rest, and meditate. (Luke 22:39)  Human history began with a garden…the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:8ff), and the first sin of man was committed in that place.  Jesus is obedient to His Father when He comes into this garden, and…because of His obedience…righteousness and life are available for all who would trust in Him. 

Now, Jesus has been rejected by His people and at the very moment is being betrayed by one of His disciples.  Jesus is fully aware of what lies ahead of Him.  He leaves eight men near the entrance, and then takes Peter, James and John and goes into another part of the garden to pray.  Judas has lived with Jesus for perhaps three years, and has listened to Him teach…yet, He does not really know Jesus. The traitor brings soldiers armed with clubs.  The word “band” means this number is equivalent to a Roman cohort -- 600 men! Judas wants to be certain that he has enough men to handle the job, apparently…if only he had a clue at all, as if the Father couldn’t dispatch 600 men with but a whisper.  He has no idea that the Lamb of God is going to meekly submit, and that there will be no battle.  Jesus understands what is about to take place. Judas expects some sort of deception, so he arranges to identify Jesus by kissing Him (Matthew 26:48-49).  The kiss is a sign of affection and devotion…so the fact that it is used for betrayal symbolizes just how base an act of treachery that is taking place.

Jesus shocks both Judas and the officers by boldly presenting Himself to them.  He has nothing to fear and nothing to hide…He willingly lays down His life for the sheep.  By surrendering, Jesus helps to protect His disciples from harm…He keeps them safe not only spiritually, but physically as well (John 17:11-12).  It is fascinating that all of the soldiers draw back and fall to the ground when Jesus tells them, “I am He.”  Perhaps their fall is a manifestation of Divine power or an exhibition of the majesty of Jesus…we do not know.  What we do know is this -- Jesus is in control of this situation.  The Jewish leaders had tried to arrest Jesus on a number of occasions, and always without success.  They may be prepared for conflict, but when they are met with surrender and calm, they are overwhelmed. 

All of the disciples have courageously affirmed their devotion to Christ, now Peter decides to prove it with an act of violence.  He draws out a sword and decides to bring the fight to those present…he cuts off the ear of the servant of the high Priest, a man named Malchus…like this provocation had any chance of succeeding.  Peter obviously has not understood Jesus’ plan…that this is going to be a “spiritual” battle, and not a physical one. The sword represents rebellion against the will of God.  His spirit, heart are not yet in the right place…but, they will be.  Jesus does not need Peter’s protection…as He could have called 10,000 angels to come to His defense.  Jesus’ miracle in healing Malchus’ ear symbolizes and reveals Jesus’ grace toward us…and so the story will move ahead.

So in case some left it out or forgot to mention it when they explained what it meant to be a Christian, let me be clear: There is no forgiveness without repentance. There is no salvation without surrender. There is no life without death. There is no believing without committing.  Kyle Idleman, "Not a Fan" (p. 35)

There are so many lessons to learn from this event.  Jesus is the Prince of Peace who came not with a sword, but with grace and love.  This is not a political statement in my estimation…and those who would use this event to defend pacifism do so out of context, in my estimation.  But, what we do understand is that Jesus wants us to live lives of surrender…and to understand that we are not going it alone in the spiritual battle against the world and Satan.  He is willing to come along side of us and fight our battles.  He sent His Holy Spirit to do just this…to empower us to live lives based upon His estimation of matters in this life, and not from our own standards, as exemplified by Peter.  It really does come down to a choice that we have to make every single day – am I going to live for Christ, or am I going to live for myself.

Blessings, Don

New Beginnings with Heavenly Leanings

Friends,

The story is told -- At the beginning of a new year, a high school principal decided to post his teachers’ new year’s resolutions on the bulletin board. As the teachers gathered around the bulletin board, a great commotion started. One of the teachers was complaining. "Why weren’t my resolutions posted?" She was throwing such a temper tantrum that the principal hurried to his office to see if he had overlooked her resolutions. Sure enough, he had mislaid them on his desk. As he read her resolutions he was astounded. This teacher’s first resolution was “not to let little things upset her in the New Year.” Or how about this one…a son called his parents to wish them a happy new year and when his Dad answered the phone, He asked his dad,” well Dad, what’s your new year’s resolution? His dad replied, "To make your mother as happy as I can all year," When his mom got on the phone he asked her the same question. His mom replied my resolution is "To see that your dad keeps his New Year’s resolution." Or some of you may have given up on resolutions taking the same attitude as the characters in the cartoon Calvin and Hobbes: The cartoon character Calvin from Calvin and Hobbes once said, “God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I’m so far behind I’ll never die.”  This might be the case with you…just keeping up with what you have may be enough.  But, even if this is the case, it is important not to forget that we have responsibilities to focus in on eternal matters of the spirit and soul…to keep our commitments that the Lord wants and expects us to keep.  We need to consider keeping first things first as we enter into the New Year. If we do, we will be blessed beyond the season.

Philippi was a Roman colony on foreign soil.  In a like way, the church is a “colony of heaven on earth.” Paul has been the athlete in his letter to the Philippians…now, he is the alien (3:17-21).  We are all aliens…citizens of another world, living on earth.  This should help our perspective as it relates to the lives we live.  Paul continues to deal with the difficulties presented by the Judaizers, or culturally Jewish Christians.  He uses some strong language to describe them, calling them “the enemies of the cross of Christ.”  These people are not spiritually-minded, but earthly-minded…holding to rituals and beliefs that God had given to Israel, but fulfilled in Christ.  Following regulations under the guidance of flesh, rather than submitting to the Spirit, is their calling card and it shows their allegiance. Jesus has already broken down the wall separating Jews and Gentiles (2:14-16)…now the Judaizers are trying to rebuild it.  Unfortunately, this is a problem that still exists today.  Some choose to build walls and regulations where the Lord never intended, rather than build the unity of the Spirit.  It is bad enough that such ones go astray…worse, still, that they lead others astray.  It is no wonder that Paul weeps over them.

When a lost sinner becomes a Christian, this person becomes a citizen of heaven, and his or her name is written in the Book of Life (see 4:3). This person begins eternal, heavenly living at that point.  Paul’s point, in relationship to conversion is -- we may have to live in this world, but we should not be citizens of it.  It is necessary to continually remove the yoke of the world’s pleasures and priorities that seek to bind us.  The good news is that we who are believers can be and need to be exemplary citizens…any person can choose to be a “spiritual citizen” – it is a choice.  Citizens of heaven understand spiritual matters; they are governed by heaven’s laws.  And the greatest spiritual matter that governs us is love…we are more concerned about others than ourselves, more interested in giving than getting.  The heavenly citizen glories in the cross (Galatians 6:14), not in self and experiences a new vision – looking ahead for the Savior. He or she is willing to share the Good News.  When Joseph was revealed to his brothers, he chose not to dwell on his brothers’ past, but to see matters from God’s point of view – He looked ahead at God’s plan for them.  The fact that Jesus is returning is a powerful motive for living a dedicated life of service…today.

Christians who are looking ahead, Paul says, will receive a glorified body, like Christ’s (1 John 3:1ff). This will happen in a moment (1 Corinthians 15:42ff)…and at that moment, everything in this world will be completely worthless to us, which relatively speaking, is how it ought to be today.  But, we say – I like my things. This is fine…there is nothing necessarily wrong with this…just don’t hold on to them too tightly.  When Jesus comes again, He will “subdue all things unto Himself” (3:21b) or “arrange in ranks” or “bring everything under His control” may be a better way to interpret it.  Citizens of heaven allow Jesus to arrange matters in their lives according to the proper priority, living for things that truly matter…with eternity’s values in view.  Even though matters increasingly crowd our priorities and choices, being a citizen of heaven should be the most prized possession we have!  Let’s remember this as we enter into 2015. 

Steve Ely offers this -- During a practice session for the Green Bay Packers, things were not going well for Vince Lombardi’s team. Lombardi singled out one big guard for his failure to "put out." It was a hot, muggy day when the coach called his guard aside and leveled his awesome vocal guns on him, as only Lombardi could. "Son, you are a lousy football player. You’re not blocking…you’re not tackling…you’re not putting out. As a matter of fact, it’s all over for you today, go take a shower." The big guard dropped his head and walked into the dressing room. Forty- five minutes later, when Lombardi walked in, he saw the big guard sitting in front of his locker still wearing his uniform. His head was bowed and he was sobbing quietly.  Vince Lombardi, ever the changeable but always the compassionate warrior, did something of an about face that was also typical of him. He walked over to his football player and put his arms around his shoulder. "Son," he said, "I told you the truth. You are a lousy football player. You’re not blocking…you’re not tackling…you’re not putting out. However, in all fairness to you, I should have finished the story. Inside of you, son, there is a great football player, and I’m going to stick by your side until the great football player inside of you has a chance to come out and assert himself." With these words, Jerry Kramer straightened up and felt a great deal better. As a matter of fact, he felt so much better he went on to become one of the all-time greats in football and was recently voted the all-time guard in the first 50 years of professional football.

This entire message is about perspective.  We need to consider our perspective as it relates to how we live.  Christians allow the Lord to set their priorities.  We should not be looking to set our own priorities and then say…okay, Lord, give it your rubber stamp of approval.  When we are living for Christ, everything changes.  We may all be busy, but is it the Lord that is guiding us in our busyness?  Or is He left behind, because we are not following His priority for our lives.  This is what we mean when we say, Jesus is Lord.  He is Master, Ruler over everything.  When we dedicate our lives to Christ, this is what we claim.  I am no longer Master.  My attention is on Him.  If I am heavenly living on earth, this affects everything.  When we are living as citizens of heaven, we should dedicate a certain amount of time every day to be with the Lord, in study and prayer.  We should come to worship focused on him, having prepared ourselves for it.  Our prayers should be in tune with the prayer leaders.  We also sing from our hearts, and not just our mouths.  We should be intently focused on the Lord’s Supper.  The first checks we write each month should be to the Lord.  We should not only hear the sermon, but live it out in our lives.  When we live as citizens of heaven, it changes…not only our perspective, but our priorities, as well.  Be a winner at the most important thing that matters in this life…living as a heavenly citizen on this earth.

Blessings, Don

Come to the Table

Friends

Well, I have not spent a whole lot of time blogging or reading blogs this summer, as I have allowed myself to be distracted with too many other things -- for shame, I know. This is not necessarily a new subject, but it is an important subject.  Hopefully, there will be some ideas here to stir your thinking. For my friends who will be reading this, I hope that this message will be a blessing!

One of the things that I love about John's gospel is that it is not so much a chronology of many of the events in Jesus life, as related in Matthew, Mark and Luke’s gospels. Rather, it is more like picture frames of Jesus’ life…critical events that take place…some of them corresponding with the other gospels, while others that do not. For example, John gives us the wedding at Cana in Galilee (2:1-11), where Jesus changes the water into wine. He did this, ultimately, in order to reveal that He would shed the wine of His most precious blood on the cross. Also, Jesus took some time to feed 5000 men and likely women and children, as well (John 6:1-14)…a story found in all four gospels. However, only John expands upon Jesus message concerning the fact that He is the Bread of Life (6:26-40). What we come to understand when we consider what John is trying tell us is in relationship to fruit of the vine and bread…it is the foundation for what Jesus shares with His disciples on the night before His crucifixion – the Last Supper, which is seen in some form in all four gospels. It is also is the background for what Paul teaches the Corinthian church (1 Corinthians 11:23-34) concerning the Lord’s Supper which we partake of every Lord’s Day.

When we come to the table, it is an important time. Often, in our churches, it seems that the Lord’s Supper is something that we do as a part of our worship, but which has no more significance than anything else that we do…perhaps, even less. In writing to the Corinthians, Paul seeks to teach concerning this very misconception that affects even them. He wants them, and us, to understand the importance of the Lord’s Supper…and that it is not something that we should treat passively or frivolously in any way. For the Corinthians, the Supper was a source of disunity, rather than unity, as some were coming in and taking it early and not waiting for their brethren, while others were coming to the table having had too much to drink, and yet others were dressing in a way that was causing others to stumble…wrong, wrong, wrong. They were treating the Lord’s Supper with a lack of intent and seriousness…some of them simply were not taking it in a worthy manner. They may have had a certain commitment, but it was not sincere and secure in any respect, as their lack of focus revealed.

The Lord’s Supper is not a casual commitment, but is a participation in what Jesus has done in having His body broken and His blood shed on the cross. When Jesus, Himself, takes bread and the fruit of the vine, a common meal, He presents them in a way that is a meaningful spiritual experience for believers. As we often speak about it, the broken bread symbolizes and reminds us of the body of Jesus Christ broken for us; the cup of juice symbolizes and reminds us of His blood shed for us. This is a commitment of our hearts, souls and minds. We choose to do this as often as we come together, following the example of the early Christians (Acts 2:42, 20:7). The Lord’s Supper allows us an opportunity for spiritual growth and blessing...if we approach it with the correct mindset.

No worship assembly should be a time where we take a few minutes out of our service in order to fulfill our obligation to partake of the Supper. It should be the focal point and climax of our time together…whether we are partaking of it at the beginning, middle or end of our time together…although the end would seem to be most appropriate. The Supper should be what we are continually focusing upon as we worship in our praying, singing, hearing the message, contributing…and whatever else we choose to do in our worship time. I thank the Lord that He gives us the opportunity to come together on a weekly basis and “look around,” not to judge what others are doing, but in order to participate with the church family in our Lord’s Supper, building up the unity of the body. And not only this, but to look back…“to remember Jesus’ death burial and resurrection”, to look ahead…“to anticipate our Lord’s coming again”, and to look inside…“to consider your own situation as to whether or not you are in a right relationship with the Lord.” It is my hope that we will consider all of these things as we come to the Table. Blessings friends!

Don

Lessons in Soccer and Life

Friends,

Many moons ago I had the opportunity to play some college soccer for four years at a small Christian college in Portland, OR. We had a few unremarkable seasons until my senior year when we won the whole ball of wax, but that is a story for another time. I believe it was during my second season, we had an unfortunate set of circumstances with illnesses and ineligibilities that left us with eight eligible, available players for one game. Our coach made a pre-game agreement with the opposing coach to play the game 8 on 8…we would forfeit, so it wouldn’t matter. Well, as it turned out, the opposing team came out with 11 players against us. Our coach encouraged us to give it our best, and we played most of the game on our half of the field. At the end of the half, we were only down 3-0, and we felt like we were actually winning…and they were feeling defeated – perspective is an interesting thing. They wore us down in the second half, and we ended up losing 10-0. We believed that we played fairly well, and that it could have been much worse. It was only a game, but it is a game I still remember, because I believe we handled ourselves as good Christian citizens, even if the other team may not have done so.

Let’s fast forward about 15 years, and I am coaching a high school girls JV soccer team in SE Washington. We had a number of good players that were talented, and I believe our record was about .500 when we came up against a perennial power in our conference. Due to certain circumstances beyond our control, we had a number of players succumb to illness and two who were declared academically ineligible. Stop me if you have heard this before, but we had eight players who were able to suit up. I contacted the JV head coach from the other team and we had an agreement to play them, 8 on 8. We would forfeit to them and play the game anyway. When we showed up to the field, the Varsity head coach from that team was there and he directed his JV coach to…you guessed it…put 11 players on the field. I could tell that the JV coach felt bad about breaking the agreement, but the head coach was kind of smug about it…they were going to take us to the woodshed and give us a beating. I told the girls that I had been down this road before, and so we lined up much like our college team did, with a 3-3-1 line up, as opposed to the usual 4-3-3. I was exceedingly proud of my girls, as they played hard and defended well, and at the end of the half the score was? Yes – 3-0. The feelings were much the same as our college team…we felt like we had actually won the half, while the opponents looked defeated. We had a good half-time session and our girls came out with some good energy. I was just hoping to keep it within about 10-0, like our college team. Well…a funny thing happened. My center midfielder was able to thread a pass to our forward who was able to get a fast break. She beat the defenders and the goalie and scored! We couldn’t believe it – we scored and it was 3-1. Now, I would like to believe that I am a faithful person, but I had not seen too many miracles in my life…but, there was a small part of me that said – could the improbable happen? Could we actually make some sort of a comeback down three? Or girls were pumped, and the other team’s players were on their heels. Our girls exhibited the best control of the ball that I had ever seen them exhibit that half and we were able to run the play to our forward again, and she was able split the defense for a another goal, making it 3-2. Finally, we were able to put together a really good cross, redirect play down the field and score our third goal to make it 3-3 – true story! I couldn’t believe what I was watching. The coaches on the other sideline were screaming, but I was feeling mighty good…in a Christian sort of way.  With about five minutes left in the half, one of my midfielders was able to get a break and she had a really makeable shot on goal, but put it just wide to the right, so we just missed on the go-ahead goal. Nonetheless, we held them the last few minutes to end the game in a 3-3 tie. Let me tell you…we had a victory celebration! And they looked entirely defeated. They were good sports, as we all shook hands at the end of the game, and the JV coach was congratulatory of our efforts. The disgusted head coach of the other team wouldn’t come out on the field to show any sportsmanship…and I had all I could not to yell – How do you like them apples?! But, I didn’t…I was good sport…and just smiled (grinned) and walked back to our sideline. I thanked the Lord for a fulfilling result from the game…and even a positive fulfillment for the memory from 15 years before…as well as a story I can now share more than a decade later.

Why do I share these stories? I want you to know, as you have probably heard, that preparation, perseverance and faithfulness can bring about good results. Do not ever give up! It is easy to do, I know. I have been on the winning and losing side of many games as a player and a coach in a number of sports. But, it was almost like the Lord afforded us a reward for hard work, good attitudes, good play and we were very grateful. Do I believe God plays team favorites? No, but I do believe that he rewards the faithfulness of individuals…and that can affect an entire team. For our team, it was a real bonding time. We finished the season a little over .500 for the season, but we all had a memory that would last a lifetime from that one game.

In Matthew 17:14ff, Jesus and three of his disciples (Peter, James and John) come down from “the mount of transfiguration” to “the valley of need,” where they meet up with a distraught father of a sick child. There is a lot going on in this situation. The father has appealed to the nine remaining disciples to help heal his son…which they were not able to do. Not helping were opponents, the scribes and Pharisees, who are always looking to try to catch, trap Jesus or the disciples to seek to cause them to stumble. (There are occasionally opponents in life…some good, some bad). The scribes are accusing them…and while the disciples are defending themselves, nothing is going well. The father in the situation sees Jesus and rushes to Him. The Lord’s first response is one of sorrow, as He sees the embarrassed disciples, the arguing Scribes, as well as the needy father and son -- what a circus! Jesus expresses some frustration with their unbelief. He heals the boy and gives him to his father…all while the crowds marvel and give glory to God. Somehow, during the Lord’s absence, the nine disciples had become lazy, selfish, distracted – they lost their focus! Their faith weakened when the crisis came, because they were unprepared. From this experience, we see the importance of staying spiritually faithful and healthy. Jesus concludes the experience by talking with them about “faith the size of a mustard seed,” which suggests not only size (a small seed that can turn into a large plant), but also life and growth (that God will honor even a little faith -- there are great possibilities!) “Faith like a mustard seed” is a “living faith” that is nurtured and caused to grow…and this makes moving mountains possible.

Faithfulness can and will lead to great things! But, it must be cultivated in order to do even greater things for God…and the kingdom of God. It doesn’t take much faith to move mountains…only a mustard seed sized faith. Jesus is calling His disciples, calling us to something far beyond this. The Lord may admonish us, as he did the disciples, if we continue to make the same mistakes and are not striving for genuine spiritual growth. The Lord does expect us to learn, grow and depend upon Him for our spiritual strength and sustenance.

Blessings, Don